.
My adventures with
the Chapman Stick began just over ten years ago
At the time I was
teaching music production at a Melbourne University.
A student remarked
that he had something I might be interested in & wanted
to sell it to get
some money. I had only ever seen the little ads in Guitar
Player Magazine
for Sticks. When I discovered he had an old 1980’s
instrument I went
to his house that day & bought it. It seemed difficult & sat
round my studio
for a long time among many guitars. Gradually I imagined
the possibilities,
more information became available online & as I turned 50
I decided this was
going to be what I did musically, having gone back to
an old career (
$$ ) and no longer involved in Studios. It was my “Post 50 “
plan or P50 project
as it became know. Fast forward and I purchased an
Alto Stick because
it is easy to travel with, I fly very regularly with work.
The solution for
me was to practice, practice, practice & then do as many
open mics as possible.
Melbourne is the music capital of the world with
music of every Genre
on every night and open nights everywhere.
My first occurred
in June 2014, actually in Perth West Australia , whilst
my ship was there
( that’s my money job- ship captain) . It’s a famous
venue always booked
up but when I said I had a Stick the owner was
“OMG I’ve
never seen one” and I was on. A very nerve racking 15 mins
but I survived and
hungered for more.
I’ve been very fortunate
to travel to both the Spanish StickCamp at Mallorca
& then the French
event in Provence. The friendship among players who
I have met from
across the globe is quite remarkable, such a diverse group
of people from across
the globe and yet when we meet it’s like seeing long
lost best friends,
all tied together by an unusual and challenging instrument.
Those two trips
have been such highlights. Among it all I have taken lessons
with Steve Adelson,
such a wonderful guy, teacher and mentor. This has
propelled me forward
in many ways. Work also takes me to Singapore and
I have done 10 short
performances there and now have a network of great
friends who can
always find me a little spot to play when I come through.
Jamming with some
real Jazz musicians there at the famous BluJazz Café
& club was a
highlight. Steve convinced me I needed a Grand Stick and the
big Maple 12 String
is now my favourite. In 2018 I fitted in about 25 open
nights for the year
and started to be offered some support & one hour slots.
The open nights
with all their variation in sound , good and bad, crowd noise,
lighting and so
on, prepared me for more significant things.
I still feel like
a beginner, but in February I played at a large tourism facility,
which required three
40 min sets. It was a milestone achievement, properly
and well paid, with
other benefits also.For that afternoon I was a professional
musician and left
feeling like my “P50 “ plan had worked, but there was so
much more to do.
Like most, I have many other things going on in life, but
I do what I can.
My studio engineering days are over but I have a nice room
dedicated to my
own music now and for travelling I use the Alto Stick which
is easy on planes
and helicopters to my ship.Connected to an Apogee DUET
interface and Logic
X on a MacBook I can disappear easily into a world of
Stick Music in the
headphones. Emmett Chapmans invention has taken
over a good part
of my life and also taken me to many places I might not
otherwise had seen.
Slowly but surely music venues in Melbourne are
learning about
Stick, one day at a time. I think there is more to come!
.
Bruce Jacques
Mount Eliza - Victoria - Australia
April 2020.
