Volevo scrivere queste righe al ritorno da Londra, per fissare le tante emozioni vissute in quel weekend lungo (5-8 Giugno) passato li' ma, come al solito, appena tornato sono stato sommerso dagli impegni! Londra, dicevo...io non sono mai stato un tipo da pianti, anzi, qualche volta avrei voluto esserlo perche' sfogarmi mi avrebbe fatto bene ma mi e' successo davvero raramente. Ebbene non credo di essermi commosso cosi' spesso come in questo quattro giorni! Prima il matrimonio di Manu e Chiara, anzi la loro "civil partnership"...ero cosi' contento per loro che era davvero impossibile non commuoversi! Il giorno dopo, Wicked (grazie a Marco e Vale :) dovrebbero dare anche davanti all'Apollo Victoria gli adesivi "Ho fatto la coda" come a Wimbledon!)...nonostante CJ non mi abbia del tutto convinto come cantante e Dianne spesso sia eccessiva nella recitazione, come si fa a non commuoversi a "As long as you're mine" o a "For good"? Il culmine e' stato il sabato a Les Miserables: gia' alla morte di Fantine ero in lacrime, lacrime vere intendo, e ho continuato cosi' per quasi tutto lo spettacolo; non ci posso fare niente, a me il tema di "On my own" mi uccide! E poi basta, per fortuna, la Domenica era una giornata splendida e siamo andati a fare un pic-nic a Finsbury Park prima di partire...non credo di aver mai visto una giornata cosi' bella a Londra nella circa ventina di volte che ci sono stato!
I wanted to write these few lines right back from London, to recall the whole shower of emotions I had during that long weekend (June 5th-8th) there but, as usual, I drowned in all my business straight after landing. London, then...I've never been the crying type, just the opposite, sometimes I just wished I was because taking it out would have made me feel better but it rarely happened. Well I think I've never felt moved as often as in these four days! First, Manu and Chiara's wedding or "civil partnership"...I was so happy for them, impossible not to be touched! The next day, Wicked (thanks to Marco and Vale :) like in Wimbledon, they should give the stickers "I made the queue" at the Apollo Victoria, too!)...even if CJ wasn't entirely convincing as a singer and Dianne was really overacting sometimes, how do you manage to keep the tears off your eyes on "As long as you're mine" or "For good"? The peak was at Les Miserables: by Fantine's death I was already in tears, REAL tears, I mean, and I went on like that for most of the show; "On my own" theme really kills me, nothing I can do! Then no more cry, luckily, Sunday was a great sunny day and we went for a pic-nic in Finsbury Park before leaving...I think I've never seen such a day in London in all twent-ish times I went there!
Un diario bilingue delle mie esperienze di vita.
A bilingual diary of my experiences in life.
mercoledì, giugno 25, 2008
lunedì, maggio 05, 2008
Teamwork
Ovvero, come cambiare completamente il comportamento quando ci si trova in squadra. Chiunque mi conosca da abbastanza tempo sa che, come pallavolista, sebbene non ossessionato dalla vittoria, sono sempre stato "sanguigno" in campo...urli, pugni chiusi, high five ecc. ecc. hanno sempre fatto parte del mio repertorio abituale. Da quando gioco a tennis, invece, in campo sono la persona piu' tranquilla del mondo...nonostante perdere continui a non piacermi (poche storie, a chi piace?) esternamente non do nessun segno di "sentire" la partita...non esulto, non mi arrabbio, sembro non avere emozioni. Pensavo fosse tutto legato al fatto che il tennis e' uno sport in cui sono un novellino, in fondo, e quindi vittoria e sconfitta le accetto allo stesso modo senza scompormi...SBAGLIATO! Ho giocato un doppio, qualche giorno fa, e, magicamente, sono tornati urli, high five e pugni chiusi...ho capito che, quando la responsabilita' del gioco e' solo mia, mi sento piu' "freddo" mentre quando dal mio gioco dipende il rendimento di una squadra sono piu' teso e quindi meno "controllato" nelle esternazioni. Mi chiedo se questo fa di me un buon giocatore di squadra o no...oggi, tra l'altro, al lavoro ho iniziato un corso sull'efficienza del team, cerchero' di saperne di piu' sull'argomento!
That is to say, how to completely change behaviour when playing in a team. Anyone knowing me long enough knows that, as a volleyball player, even if I was never obsessed by victory, I've always been quite emotional on court...yells, fist pumpings, high fives, you name it, have always been part of my usual act. Since I'm playing tennis, instead, I'm the coolest person in the world, on court...I still don't like losing (who does, seriously?) but I don't show any sign of "feeling" the game...I don't exult, I don't get mad, I don't seem to feel any emotion. I used to think it was because in tennis I'm a total newbie and therefore I accept winning and losing in the same way, without losing composure...WRONG! I played doubles, some days ago, and, magically, yells, high fives and fist pumpings were back again...I figured out that, when I'm the only one responsible for the game I feel more "relaxed" while being responsible of the performance of a team makes me more tense and less "controlled". I wonder if this means being a good teamworker or else...today, at work, I started a training on team effectiveness, I'll try to figure out more on the subject!
That is to say, how to completely change behaviour when playing in a team. Anyone knowing me long enough knows that, as a volleyball player, even if I was never obsessed by victory, I've always been quite emotional on court...yells, fist pumpings, high fives, you name it, have always been part of my usual act. Since I'm playing tennis, instead, I'm the coolest person in the world, on court...I still don't like losing (who does, seriously?) but I don't show any sign of "feeling" the game...I don't exult, I don't get mad, I don't seem to feel any emotion. I used to think it was because in tennis I'm a total newbie and therefore I accept winning and losing in the same way, without losing composure...WRONG! I played doubles, some days ago, and, magically, yells, high fives and fist pumpings were back again...I figured out that, when I'm the only one responsible for the game I feel more "relaxed" while being responsible of the performance of a team makes me more tense and less "controlled". I wonder if this means being a good teamworker or else...today, at work, I started a training on team effectiveness, I'll try to figure out more on the subject!
sabato, aprile 05, 2008
I forgot...
OK, vi ricordate di questo post? No? Neanche io, in realta'! Infatti ho dimenticato di dire che, ormai un anno fa, ho postato su YouTube un paio di video del "making of" del demo in questione...rimedio ora!
OK, remember this post? No? Neither did I, honestly! In fact I forgot to say that, a year ago, I've posted on YouTube a couple videos of the "making of" that demo...here they are!
Part 1:
Part 2:
OK, remember this post? No? Neither did I, honestly! In fact I forgot to say that, a year ago, I've posted on YouTube a couple videos of the "making of" that demo...here they are!
Part 1:
Part 2:
domenica, marzo 16, 2008
Greatest hits of the '80s...
Ok, ok non sono mai stato un tastierista, e probabilmente mai lo saro'...PERO': quanto e' anni '80 suonare su due tastiere impilate?? La cosa e' stata del tutto casuale...Venerdi' sono stato a suonare con i Clistere al "Checkmate" e, ripassando un po' i pezzi a casa, mi sono reso conto che il JV-30 faceva un po' di bizze; pertanto ho deciso di portarmi anche il JX-1 come backup (memore della pessima avventura del primo dell'anno) e, una volta li', mi sono detto "visto che le portate, mo le monto tutte e due!"....risultato: mai divertito tanto alle tastiere, mi sentivo molto David Paich col piano sotto e i fiati sopra! Tra l'altro ho notato che i tempi di setup tra un pezzo e l'altro (che erano la principale preoccupazione nell'adottare questa soluzione) non sono aumentati di molto per cui e' stato tutto fantastico!
Ok, ok I've never been a keyboard player, and probably I will never be...BUT: how eighties it is to play on two stacked keyboards?? It was totally incidental...Friday night I played a gig with Clistere at the "Checkmate" and, reharsing at home, I found out that the JV-30 was acting funny; so I decided to bring the JX-1 along as backup (recalling the awful experience of New Year's Day) and, while setting up the equipment, I thought "I have both, I'll set up both!"...result: never enjoyed that much playing keyboards live, I was totally feeling like David Paich with piano on the bottom and brass on the top! Furthermore I noticed that the setup time between numbers (that was my main concern about using this solution) haven't increased that much so everything was awesome!
Ok, ok I've never been a keyboard player, and probably I will never be...BUT: how eighties it is to play on two stacked keyboards?? It was totally incidental...Friday night I played a gig with Clistere at the "Checkmate" and, reharsing at home, I found out that the JV-30 was acting funny; so I decided to bring the JX-1 along as backup (recalling the awful experience of New Year's Day) and, while setting up the equipment, I thought "I have both, I'll set up both!"...result: never enjoyed that much playing keyboards live, I was totally feeling like David Paich with piano on the bottom and brass on the top! Furthermore I noticed that the setup time between numbers (that was my main concern about using this solution) haven't increased that much so everything was awesome!
domenica, marzo 02, 2008
I'm so alive!
Anche se non sembra...sono ancora vivo! E' incredibile che siamo a Marzo e io ancora non avevo scritto nulla dall'inizio del 2008. La parola d'ordine in questi mesi e' stata "live"...ho suonato tantissimo, tra concerti dei Clistere al Limone (5 fino ad ora, a partire da quello di capodanno - verso meta' serata la tastiera si e' bloccata su un suono di flauto con cui ho dovuto suonare il resto dei pezzi...un incubo) e prove con il gruppo acustico (che ancora non ha nome). Abbiamo debuttato al "Anche no!" il 21 di Febbraio ed e' stata una buona serata...e' stato fatto anche un video e spero di riuscire a pubblicare qualche brano su YouTube (coi Clistere non ci sono mai riuscito, per vari problemi). Sul fronte lavorativo nessuna novita' di rilievo se non che c'e' la possibilita' che debba andare in Algeria per qualche giorno...prospettiva che non mi piace per nulla! E questo e' piu' o meno tutto!
Even if you wouldn't tell...I'm still alive! It's unbelievable that it's March and I didn't write anything since the beginning of 2008. The password of these past months has been "live"...I played a lot, gigs with Clistere al Limone (5 to date, starting from the New Year's gig - towards the end of the first part, the keyboard froze on a flute patch that I was forced to use for the rest of the gig...a nightmare) and reharsals with the (still nameless) acoustic band. We made our live debut at "Anche no!" on the 21st of February and it was a good gig...a video was filmed and I hope to be able to publish some excerpts on YouTube (with Clistere I never managed to do it, due to various problems). Work-wise no particular news except that chances are I have to go to Algeria for a few days...not exactly my piece of cake! That's (more or less) all for now!
Even if you wouldn't tell...I'm still alive! It's unbelievable that it's March and I didn't write anything since the beginning of 2008. The password of these past months has been "live"...I played a lot, gigs with Clistere al Limone (5 to date, starting from the New Year's gig - towards the end of the first part, the keyboard froze on a flute patch that I was forced to use for the rest of the gig...a nightmare) and reharsals with the (still nameless) acoustic band. We made our live debut at "Anche no!" on the 21st of February and it was a good gig...a video was filmed and I hope to be able to publish some excerpts on YouTube (with Clistere I never managed to do it, due to various problems). Work-wise no particular news except that chances are I have to go to Algeria for a few days...not exactly my piece of cake! That's (more or less) all for now!
domenica, dicembre 02, 2007
Popular!
Cavolo e' davvero parecchio che non scrivo! In realta' non e' che mi sia successo qualcosa di veramente importante, ma un paio di cose vale la pena ricordarle:
- Io e Luigi siamo stati a vedere Desperately seeking Susan e Rent a Londra nel weekend del 16-17-18 Novembre...e' stato bello, e' sempre bello tornare a Londra, rivedere Manu e Chiara, e godersi qualche spettacolo nuovo. Nonostante le insistenze di Luigi non ho proprio voluto andare a vedere di nuovo Wicked e cosi', dietro consiglio di Manu, siamo andati a vedere DSS che e' stato carino, molto anni '80 e poi le canzoni dei Blondie sono sempre belle! Rent e' stato molto bello, sapendo che c'erano state parecchie modifiche agli arrangiamenti avevo paura di cosa avrei trovato, invece ho apprezzato molte delle scelte fatte...certo i chitarroni mi sono un po' mancati.
- Sembra che io sia diventato popolare...in neanche una settimana ho avuto quattro proposte per nuovi gruppi! La fregatura? La maggior parte erano per suonare le tastiere! Ora, so bene che i tastieristi sono merce rara, ma mi chiedo a che livello di disperazione sono arrivati molti, al punto di chiederlo a me (che, se non fosse abbastanza chiaro, NON SONO UN TASTIERISTA!) Comunque, per ora ne ho accettata solo una, un gruppo acustico con Lino Verdicchio, Lello Miele e Giampaolo Costantini dove, finalmente, posso suonare solo la chitarra senza preoccuparmi di altro. Vedremo come andra' a finire.
Whew, long time no see!! Not that something really big happened to me but a couple of things are worth mentioning.
- Me and Luigi went back to London to see "Desperately seeking Susan" and "Rent" in the 16th-17th-18th of November weekend...it has been great, it's always good to see Manu and Chiara again and enjoy some new shows. Despite Luigi whining about it, I really didn't want to go see Wicked again so we settled for DSS that was good, very eighties and Blondie's songs rock as usual! Rent was very good, I was a little afraid knowing that there had been many changes in the orchestration but I ended up appreciating most of the choices made...well I missed big distorted guitars a little..oh well!
- It seems that I'm becoming popular...in less than a week I had four invitations to join new bands! The trouble? Most of them wanted me to play keyboards! Now I know that keyboard players are very rare these days but I'm wondering how desperate a musician can get, to the point of asking me (me NOT BEING A KEYBOARD PLAYER!) However, for now, I only accepted one, an acoustic band with Lino Verdicchio, Lello Miele and Giampaolo Costantini where, at last, I will be able to play guitar without worrying about anything else. We'll see what happens next.
- Io e Luigi siamo stati a vedere Desperately seeking Susan e Rent a Londra nel weekend del 16-17-18 Novembre...e' stato bello, e' sempre bello tornare a Londra, rivedere Manu e Chiara, e godersi qualche spettacolo nuovo. Nonostante le insistenze di Luigi non ho proprio voluto andare a vedere di nuovo Wicked e cosi', dietro consiglio di Manu, siamo andati a vedere DSS che e' stato carino, molto anni '80 e poi le canzoni dei Blondie sono sempre belle! Rent e' stato molto bello, sapendo che c'erano state parecchie modifiche agli arrangiamenti avevo paura di cosa avrei trovato, invece ho apprezzato molte delle scelte fatte...certo i chitarroni mi sono un po' mancati.
- Sembra che io sia diventato popolare...in neanche una settimana ho avuto quattro proposte per nuovi gruppi! La fregatura? La maggior parte erano per suonare le tastiere! Ora, so bene che i tastieristi sono merce rara, ma mi chiedo a che livello di disperazione sono arrivati molti, al punto di chiederlo a me (che, se non fosse abbastanza chiaro, NON SONO UN TASTIERISTA!) Comunque, per ora ne ho accettata solo una, un gruppo acustico con Lino Verdicchio, Lello Miele e Giampaolo Costantini dove, finalmente, posso suonare solo la chitarra senza preoccuparmi di altro. Vedremo come andra' a finire.
Whew, long time no see!! Not that something really big happened to me but a couple of things are worth mentioning.
- Me and Luigi went back to London to see "Desperately seeking Susan" and "Rent" in the 16th-17th-18th of November weekend...it has been great, it's always good to see Manu and Chiara again and enjoy some new shows. Despite Luigi whining about it, I really didn't want to go see Wicked again so we settled for DSS that was good, very eighties and Blondie's songs rock as usual! Rent was very good, I was a little afraid knowing that there had been many changes in the orchestration but I ended up appreciating most of the choices made...well I missed big distorted guitars a little..oh well!
- It seems that I'm becoming popular...in less than a week I had four invitations to join new bands! The trouble? Most of them wanted me to play keyboards! Now I know that keyboard players are very rare these days but I'm wondering how desperate a musician can get, to the point of asking me (me NOT BEING A KEYBOARD PLAYER!) However, for now, I only accepted one, an acoustic band with Lino Verdicchio, Lello Miele and Giampaolo Costantini where, at last, I will be able to play guitar without worrying about anything else. We'll see what happens next.
giovedì, settembre 20, 2007
Turn it on again!
E ci siamo, primo post sul blog dopo la fine delle vacanze! Non ricordo un rientro al "travaglio usato" piu' duro di questo...le vacanze sono state belle piene, stancanti (la settimana a casa e il mio trasferimento in mansarda) ed eccitanti (la musical week londinese, 8 spettacoli in 6 giorni!) e oltre a questo c'e' stato anche il matrimonio di Laura, per "chiudere in bellezza". Ora e' ricominciata la solita routine, nel bene e nel male, il lavoro, il tennis, i concerti dei Clistere al limone (ne abbiamo gia' fatti due, ed altri due sono previsti per ottobre) e quella sgradevole sensazione di non avere tempo di fare nulla. In verita' io vorrei tornare a registrare qualcosa, ho tanti progetti sospesi e non ho intenzione di rinunciarci ma, al momento, l'unico mio pensiero e' "quand'e' il prossimo week end lungo???"
And here we are, first blog post since the end of the holidays! I can't remember a comeback as rough as this one...the holidays have been very busy, tiring (the week home, moving in the attic) and exciting (the musical week in London, 8 shows in 6 days!) and also Laura's wedding to end them "happily". Now the usual routine is on again, good things and bad things, work, tennis, gigs with Clistere al limone (we already played live twice, and two more gigs are planned for October) and that unpleasant sensation of running out of time for everything I plan to do. Honestly I would like to start recording something again, I have so many projects on hold and I don't want to give 'em up but, right now, my only obsession is "when will the next long week end come???"
And here we are, first blog post since the end of the holidays! I can't remember a comeback as rough as this one...the holidays have been very busy, tiring (the week home, moving in the attic) and exciting (the musical week in London, 8 shows in 6 days!) and also Laura's wedding to end them "happily". Now the usual routine is on again, good things and bad things, work, tennis, gigs with Clistere al limone (we already played live twice, and two more gigs are planned for October) and that unpleasant sensation of running out of time for everything I plan to do. Honestly I would like to start recording something again, I have so many projects on hold and I don't want to give 'em up but, right now, my only obsession is "when will the next long week end come???"
lunedì, luglio 23, 2007
A full month...
Questo Luglio e' stato incredibilmente pieno...e non e' ancora finito! Una bella serata con i "Clistere al limone" il 7 al "Mirage" (anche ripresa con un paio di videocamere) con la graditissima sorpresa di avere Alessandra tra il pubblico (direttamente da Los Angeles!), una fantastica settimana di vacanza in Calabria interamente dedicata al tennis (il Tennis Village al Villaggio Sabbie Bianche dall'8 al 13), il Telecomcerto dei Genesis a Roma il 14, i lavori a casa (mi sto trasferendo in mansarda!), un incontro con Laura dopo mesi, un'altra serata con i "Clistere al limone" giusto ieri allo "Chalet Hafa Cafe'" e oggi mi hanno pure dato un aumento al lavoro!! Speriamo che il trend positivo duri!
This July has been incredibly busy...and it's not over yet! A great live gig with "Clistere al limone" on the 7th at "Mirage" (that has also been captured on film with a couple of camcorders) with the great surprise of having Alessandra in the audience (straight from Los Angeles!), a fantastic, week long holiday entirely devoted to tennis (the Tennis Village at Villaggio Sabbie Bianche from 8th to 13th), the Telecomcerto in Rome with Genesis on 14th, working at home (I'm moving in the attic!), finally meeting Laura after many months, another live gig with "Clistere al limone" just yesterday at "Chalet Hafa Cafe'" and today I also had a raise at work!! Let the good times roll, I say!
This July has been incredibly busy...and it's not over yet! A great live gig with "Clistere al limone" on the 7th at "Mirage" (that has also been captured on film with a couple of camcorders) with the great surprise of having Alessandra in the audience (straight from Los Angeles!), a fantastic, week long holiday entirely devoted to tennis (the Tennis Village at Villaggio Sabbie Bianche from 8th to 13th), the Telecomcerto in Rome with Genesis on 14th, working at home (I'm moving in the attic!), finally meeting Laura after many months, another live gig with "Clistere al limone" just yesterday at "Chalet Hafa Cafe'" and today I also had a raise at work!! Let the good times roll, I say!
martedì, giugno 12, 2007
Tennis...I love this game!
Tennis...adoro questo sport! Ormai e' piu' di un anno che gioco regolarmente e sta diventando un'ossessione. Non credevo che avrei trovato un altro sport che mi appassionasse tanto quanto la pallavolo, a piu' di 30 anni poi! Eppure e' cosi', non vedo l'ora di giocare di nuovo e solo i vari piccoli dolori al ginocchio o alla spalla mi impediscono di giocare tutti i giorni. A parte la questione fisica (sono dimagrito di piu' di 20 Kg dall'anno scorso) e' anche molto efficace come antistress, giocare mi rilassa e mi carica al tempo stesso.
Tennis...I love this game! It's been a year I'm playing regularly and it's becoming an obsession. I can't believe I'd find another sport as exciting for me as volleyball, let alone at (more than) 30 years old! It happened, though, I always look forward to play again and only because of little knee or shoulder aches I don't play everyday. Apart from the physical improvement (I lost 20 Kilos since last year) it's also very effective as stress relief as playing tennis makes me relax and excites me at the same time.
Tennis...I love this game! It's been a year I'm playing regularly and it's becoming an obsession. I can't believe I'd find another sport as exciting for me as volleyball, let alone at (more than) 30 years old! It happened, though, I always look forward to play again and only because of little knee or shoulder aches I don't play everyday. Apart from the physical improvement (I lost 20 Kilos since last year) it's also very effective as stress relief as playing tennis makes me relax and excites me at the same time.
sabato, marzo 24, 2007
Making movies!
Mercoledi' scorso ho recitato in un film! Il mio amico Bruno di Marcello mi ha chiesto se volevo recitare un paio di battute in Inglese in questo film. Il mio ruolo era quello di un medico legale ed e' stato uno stress imparare le battute direttamente sul set e cercare disperatamente di ricordarsele mentre giravo. Non ho idea di come sia venuta la scena, immagino che lo sapro' quando il film uscira' (se non mi tagliano). Comunque e' stato molto divertente, c'era una bella atmosfera e gente Italiana, Tedesca, Inglese e Americana sia nel cast che nella crew...ho poi scoperto che alcuni attori del film (Joe Zaso, Raine Brown ed Eileen Daly) sono delle celebrita' nell'ambiente dei film horror e thriller indipendenti. Anche Leandro Guerrini (l'unico attore italiano che ho incontrato) mi ha colpito per la sua bravura. Per me Eileen Daly in particolare e' stata preziosa, mi ha aiutato a memorizzare le battute e, insieme ad Alex Birrell, a correggere la pronuncia oltre ad avermi aiutato a calmarmi sul set visto che ero abbastanza nervoso! Ora non vedo l'ora che esca il film (sia che io ci sia sia che non) anche se mi hanno gia' detto chi e' l'assassino :(
Last Wednesday I was in a movie! My good friend Bruno di Marcello asked me if I wanted to deliver a couple of lines in English in this movie. I was cast as the coroner and it has been hard for me to learn the lines directly on the set and desperately trying to remember them while I was shooting. I have no idea about the result of my efforts, I guess I will know when the movie comes out (if they don't edit me out). Anyway it was good fun, good vibrations on the set and Italian, English, American and German people both in the cast and in the crew...I then discovered that some of the actors involed (Joe Zaso, Raine Brown ed Eileen Daly) are kind of famous in the indie horror and thriller movie business. Also I found Leandro Guerrini (the only Italian actor I met) to be very talented. For me Eileen Daly in particular has been precious, helping me to memorize the lines and, together with Alex Birrell, to correct the pronunciation not to mention helping me to calm down on the set as I was fairly nervous! Now I'm looking forward to see the movie (whether I'm in it or not) despite the fact they already told me who the killer is :(
Last Wednesday I was in a movie! My good friend Bruno di Marcello asked me if I wanted to deliver a couple of lines in English in this movie. I was cast as the coroner and it has been hard for me to learn the lines directly on the set and desperately trying to remember them while I was shooting. I have no idea about the result of my efforts, I guess I will know when the movie comes out (if they don't edit me out). Anyway it was good fun, good vibrations on the set and Italian, English, American and German people both in the cast and in the crew...I then discovered that some of the actors involed (Joe Zaso, Raine Brown ed Eileen Daly) are kind of famous in the indie horror and thriller movie business. Also I found Leandro Guerrini (the only Italian actor I met) to be very talented. For me Eileen Daly in particular has been precious, helping me to memorize the lines and, together with Alex Birrell, to correct the pronunciation not to mention helping me to calm down on the set as I was fairly nervous! Now I'm looking forward to see the movie (whether I'm in it or not) despite the fact they already told me who the killer is :(
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