Riezebeek & Five-Week: gearing up for a second year

Hey Berklee fans! Here is the last blog for you before the Five-Week finally starts. I am really stoked and cannot wait to be a part of this very unique experience once again. I have been doing a lot of things to get myself prepared and it has been a great time. Here is what I have been up to lately!

First of all, I started preparing my audition piece. I chose to play a sax solo on the guitar. I really like the way saxophone phrases and concepts translate to the guitar so I went ahead and challenged myself. The specific solo I am working on is an amazing sax solo in the tune “Run For It” by Charlie Hunter. This track has such a great feel and groove to it and the solo in the song really blew my mind. If you would like to check the first small section I posted a little video on my Facebook page. Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=128394833840491

I also just became a member of a new band, which consists of friends of mine in high school, and it is one of the more exciting social experiences I have ever had. We are playing a huge gig pretty soon at a local festival! The stage will be floating in a big pond… that’s what I call unique. The group is called “JeMoeder” and it’s a mix of all styles of music. We have two guitar players, a bassist, keys, vocals, rapper and a fantastic drummer. Ever since we started playing together, we have been focusing on crafting a unique and interesting sound. I am really happy that I am a part of this band because the experience is really expanding my skills in playing different styles. In some songs I will find myself playing a funky, staccato, strummed riff but at the same time in another song I will find myself playing a very open sounding hybrid picked riff. I am really enjoying the fact that playing with this group really challenges the control I have over my instrument.

Last but not least, I have been experimenting a lot with home recording and especially on cheap home recording. I have been doing some small experiments in my bedroom with a simple USB mic and a MIDI keyboard. I have really been able to surprise myself with the results you can get by just recording with Garageband. If you just experiment with compression and different EQ’s, you can really get some nice sounding demos. While experimenting with recording, I also started singing and I really hope to further expand my singing skills this summer at Berklee! I think it would be a great expansion of my musical skill to learn how to sing, and I really think it could open some more interesting doors for myself on a musical level.

Ok everyone, that’s about it! Please do approach me at the Five-week and you are always welcome to drop by my dorm room if you want to hang out and talk music. Always up for a jam as well!

Cheers and thanks for reading,

Drew

Read more on Andrew Riezebeek:

Catching Up With Five-Week Student Andrew Riezebeek

From Guitar Sessions to Five-Week