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Krakatoa - Shows by the Community Band

  
     
 

Shows:

  • When the Krakatoa Community Band (including Accompaniment & Guest Artists) feels confident enough and has completed the mandatory Dress Rehearsals, those who choose to perform (you are NOT required to) will put together a Show for the community in order to entertain, encourage, and inspire others:
  • In order to be best prepared, the members are also encouraged to use this website's FREE Lessons and supplement this with Private & Group Lessons arranged by Contacting Us.
  • A good Show requires lots of variety in the music, including:
    • Just about every shape & size of Drum & Percussion instrument, varying in pitch & timbre.
    • Various Meters (number of Beats in a Measure), Pulses (Beats that are emphasized), Subdivisions of the Beat, and Rhythms (patterns of Beats, Pulses, and Subdivisions).
    • Varying the Phrasing (within Measures and as larger 1-Bar, 2-Bar, 4-Bar, ... ideas), Dynamics
      (general loud vs. soft), Accenting (Dynamic changes on individual notes), Syncopation (non-Meter emphasis), Articulation (short vs. long Tones), Techniques of playing (hand, stick, mallet), inserting of Stops & Breaks, and the changing the Tempo (slow vs. fast).
    • We'd rather play shorter songs (about 3 minutes each) with more of them in the Show (10-15) to
      represent different genres of music (e.g., Rock, Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Funk, Latin, African, Cuban,
      Caribbean, Brazilian, Irish, Middle Eastern, Ska, Hip Hop, Greek, Techno, ... you name it!).
  • Nevertheless, a good Show goes beyond the music. Ultimately, the audience must be "moved" emotionally and also physically (we hope) so as to participate in the thrill the Krakatoa Community Band is experiencing. One way we'll do this is to feature/showcase Role 6 Soloists or the Accompaniment & Guest Artists.  Another way is that Role 2 Steady Time-Keepers should interact with the audience (e.g., start a dance-line that avoids the camcorders) - unless you're too shy, then you can opt to stand in the back of the stage. Other ways the Krakatoa Community Band can do this are: 
    • making eye contact with the audience
    • smiling & laughing
    • whistling & shouting
    • swaying, bouncing, jumping and dancing
    • clapping, waiving, pointing, or gesturing to the audience
    • "air" or "forearm" fake-strokes
    • trading sticks between each other or clapping each others hands ("patty-cake")
    • stick-rapping or mid-air stick-clicks
    • tossing or twirling your stick
    • cross-over & cross-under hand/stick techniques
    • other visual showmanship

Show Attire (See also Class Attire):

  • Black or very dark blue-colored: shorts or pants (long skirts are OK), socks, and shoes.
  • The "official" tie-dyed "volcanic-eruption" Krakatoa long (you'll get hot!) or short-sleeve T-shirts or an approved substitute that is yellow/red/orange/black-streaked. Call Shirla Peterson at 1-480-982-0046 or email at: Az_sunshine@yahoo.com for the "Fire Burst" design of the Tie-Dye Hanes T-Shirts that she now makes by hand. It's mostly a bright orange shirt with yellow, red, and black streaks that spread upward, like a volcanic explosion! They are $13 + postage ($4.95), so it's better to order a few at once, because they can cut the cost of postage per shirt down (so find out who else in the Band needs one and order together). It takes 2 Wks to get them made and shipped to you. Make sure to tell her the date you absolutely need them by. Don't buy anything or wear anything that has blues, pinks, greens, purples...or any other colors than: orange, red, yellow, and black streaks or flames eminating upwards. It's possible to find something like this online or at a local store. We should ALL look similar - representing the explosion of the Krakatoa volcano.
  • Guest Artists are not required to wear the Krakatoa T-shirt. They should dress appropriate to the audience & venue.
  • Cool hats & sunglasses are OK.
  • Please remove all rings, watches, and bracelets. Get rid of the chewing gum.

Show Set-up & Etiquette:

  • The Krakatoa Community Band (including Accompaniment & Guest Artists) needs to arrive 1 hr. before Showtime to help set-up, fix/tighten stands, tune, do a soundcheck (volume & EQ levels, feedback problems, etc.), plot out a dance-line pathway through the audience that doesn't block the camcorders, and run through the Show together.  When you arrive, immediately start unloading equipment and help set-up the stage according to this layout (from back to front, left to right - from the audience's perspective):
    • Back Stage:   Having these people in back will keep the focus on the "Mother" Drums and keep the Band's rhythms together. Having the amps up on boxes/stands to the side of each player will save their hearing and help project the sound through the Band (so they can hear & feel it) and out to the audience - we'll definitely do a soundcheck! Don't rely on the house PA or monitor system - they may not exist or be inadequate.
      • Right - "Shy" Role 2 "Steady" Time-Keepers with their own small Percussion Table & instruments.
    • Center Stage: Arranged in a semicircle or slight "V" shape across the stage:
      • Left - 2 Role 3 "Mother" Drums. 
      • Center - 1 Role 1 "Father" Drum: able to watch the "Mother" Drums and hear the Bass Guitar.
      • Right - 2 Role 3 "Mother" Drums.
    • Front On-Stage people have more complicated Rhythms that need to interact with each other (e.g., during Soloing) and those behind them (i.e., Dialoguing), but not so loudly or too close to the other players lest we distract from the Steady Time-Keepers, "Mother" Drum Groove, or Accompaniment's tune.
      • Front On-Stage - Right:  1 Role 4 "Child" Drum and Role 5 Advanced Time-Keepers with their own Percussion Table for mallets, beaters, and instruments.
      • Front On-Stage - Center: Solo Drums mic'd.
      • Front On-Stage - Left:  Krakatoa Instructor's Music Stand, High-pitched "cutting" Quinto Drum for starting the "Mother" Drums & for Soloing with it mic'd (make sure it can easily be removed when speaking), and Percussion & odd drums, sticks, etc. on nearby Table. Vocalist(s) with 1 mic are also there so they can hear the entire Band, near the PA speakers (without feeding back) so they don't need a monitor.
    • Off-stage people need to mingle with the audience more:
      • Front Off-Stage - Right: Put Role 2 Steady Time-Keeper instruments on a table out of the way - most of you (except the "shy" people in back) will be picking them up here, heading out to the audience to start a dance-line during the song, and then returning them here when finished.
      • Dancers should be OFF-Stage, far to the Left or Right only for small portions of the Show, so they don't distract from the Band - it's best to go out into the audience to stir them up.
  • As with all rehearsals, when you're done playing a drum, leave the sticks/mallets on/under the drum. If you played hand-percussion, put it back where you found it for the next person to use.
    • Watch listen, smile, and laugh! Connect to the music, each other, and the audience.
    • If you're a Role 2 "Steady" or Time-Keeper (except for the "shy" ones in the back), you'll be out in the audience interacting with them.
  • All entrances, solos, and exits are cued by the Krakatoa Instructor.  Do not play unless you're cued in - please, no "tinkering" while onstage before, during, or after the Show.  There will be a time to warm-up and rehearse, but after that do not play until called upon - See also Show Format below.
  • Always play at a volume level so that you can clearly hear the people next to you but can still hear yourself.  In that way, you won't be over-playing (and exhausting or injuring yourself) or under-playing.  The sound of the Krakatoa Community Band will be more balanced. 
  • As with rehearsals, do not come drunk, buzzed, or drugged up! Not only does it adversely affect your attentiveness, but it will detrimentally affect your reaction time, responsiveness, and interaction with the Krakatoa Community Band & audience - whether you think so or not.

Show Format:

  • Do not play unless you're cued in - please, no "tinkering" while onstage before, during, or after the Show.  There will be a time to warm-up and rehearse, but after that do not play until called upon to.
  • General order of entrances cued in by the Krakatoa Instructor - come in confidently with ample volume:
    • Role 5 Advanced Time-Keepers
  • After the last song, the Krakatoa Instructor will cue the Krakatoa Community Band (including Accompaniment & Guest Artists) to stand, receive the applause, bow together, stay bowed until the applause subsides, then watching the Instructor, slowly rise and yell "Krak - a - to - a" - shaking our hands high on the "a".  This symbolizes the "volcanic explosion" of the Krakatoa mountain - our signature ending!
  • Dress Rehearsals are required before each Show:  They are also on Mondays (unless the Krakatoa Community Band schedules it differently) from 6 - 8 pm (or longer if we feel we need it) and so will replace the regularly scheduled Krakatoa Techniques Class, and Krakatoa Drum Circle. If there's only 1 Dress Rehearsal, it is required for anyone who wants to play in the Show. If there's 2 Dress Rehearsals and you can't avoid missing one, you'll have to attend the other one and also practice to the "Band Rehearsals" for each song. If there's any doubt by the Krakatoa Instructor that you're not ready for the Show, you'll be asked to wait until the next Show to do so, or more likely, play a simpler part you're more confident about. It's not fair to the others who have diligently prepared, to have their Show put at risk. It's just not professional to "wing it" in public!
  
     
     
     
 
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