New London
Big Band
"Meatspace"
Virtual big band video live premiere
This is a brand new tune, composed by bandleader Sean Nelson, recorded and filmed individually at each players house, and compiled together to create this video. As part of the release, we'll be raising money for the Connecticut Food Bank, which is providing food for so many people in need all across the state. Please consider donating by clicking here (and if you do, please let us know!)
On May 13 at 8:00pm, we will premiere this video as part of a live event on Facebook, where we'll see interviews with band members, hear the story behind the song (including the title), have a live performance from trombonist Sean, and of course see the finished video.
“With our calendar being wiped clean of any gigs for the foreseeable future, we’ve been forced to find creative ways to connect with our audience (and each other.) I wrote a new tune, sent it to the band and asked them to play their parts on selfie mode, and convinced two specially skilled members of the band to produce the audio and video. “Meatspace” means the opposite of cyberspace, and it represents our collective longing to play in the room together for other people. In the meantime, we’re hoping to spread some good vibes to the universe, and to raise money for the Connecticut Food Bank.” - Sean Nelson
The band members
Video editing - Tom Brown
Audio mixing - Dan Hendrix
Erik Elligers - Alto 1
Tyler Wilkins - Alto 2
Felipe Salles - Tenor 1
Josh Thomas - Tenor 2
Jeff Emerich - Baritone
Megan Nelson - Flute
Don Clough - Trumpet 1
Seth Bailey - Trumpet 2
Haneef Nelson - Trumpet 3
Tom Brown - Trumpet 4
Sean Nelson - Trombone 1
Leroy Loomer - Trombone 2
Dan Hendrix - Trombone 3
Brian Sturm - Bass trombone
Matt Jefferson - Contrabass trombone
Doug Maher - Guitar
Jen Allen - Piano
Lou Bocciarelli - Bass
Nathan Lassell - Drums
"Meatspace" - How we did it
1. The first step is to write some new music. Thanks to some bottled up creativity and need for expression, Sean composed "Meatspace" in record time - 9 days! It's just under 4 minutes long, and is written for 19 musicians. NLBB is normally 17, but I wanted to include my wife on flute, and an out-of-town friend (see below).
2. After finishing the composition, I sent out parts to all the band members to have them record their parts at home and make a video. I also got some additional help from a old friend in Nashville to play the rare contrabass trombone, because suddenly geography doesn't matter when your band is virutal!
3. After collecting all 19 videos, trombonist and audio engineer Dan Hendrix downloaded the audio out of the videos and mixed it, edited it, and did his magic to make it sound like a cohesive band.
4. Trumpeter and video editor Tom Brown compiled, lined up, and edited all 19 videos together and creatively combined them into one complete video. He used the audio track that Dan mixed and lined it up with the video.
5. Once the video was complete, Sean went to work promoting it - Facebook posts, our website, press releases, connecting with the Connecticut Food Bank to raise money, putting together interviews and behind the scenes videos, and planning our live release event (more below on that).
6. We will premiere the video live on Facebook, including the story of the project, interviews with band members, behind the scenes info, a live performance from Sean (playing along with a pre-recorded video of bassist Lou Bocciarelli), information about the Connecticut Food Bank, and finally the premiere of the video itself.
"There is a joy that reverberates from to the audience and the dancers and back. It's one of the reasons they are so much fun to watch."
- The Day
Winner:
"Best Jazz Band"
