Ri - Hannah!!!
Last Girl On Earth Tour Blog!
-
images/features/111.jpg
HannahXS
-
images/features/111_gallery_0.jpg
HannahXS
-
images/features/111_gallery_1.jpg
HannahXS
-
images/features/111_gallery_2.jpg
HannahXS
-
images/features/111_gallery_3.jpg
HannahXS
-
images/features/111_gallery_4.jpg
HannahXS
-
images/features/111_gallery_5.jpg
HannahXS
-
images/features/111_gallery_6.jpg
HannahXS
18th May 2010, 4:18pm
Ri-HANNAH!!!!!
Hi everyone! Last time we spoke I was just finishing off Anastacias summer tour and was starting with the Sugababes. Over the last 8 months I had a load of fun playing and gigging with them, and also with both Jay Sean and Jason Derulo for their UK dates.
Anyways, it was mid-march when I got an email from esteemed American MD Tony Bruno, who I had met a couple of years back. All the email said (ominously!) was "call me now"…! I called Tony and without a lot of small talk he asked me if I would be interested in playing keys for Rihanna’s upcoming tour, as one of her keyboard players was unable to do the gig. It was all extremely last-minute as the rehearsals had already started that same day in LA, but after a few days of back and forth with Tony and management the gig was confirmed! I was on an airplane just a few days later, with nothing but a live rehearsal tape on my ipod – excited but unbelievably nervous – it had all happened so fast and I had not had a chance to listen to the tracks, let alone think about parts, programming, etc…!
So after a grueling 10-hour flight I arrived in LA and went straight to Sony rehearsal studios in Culver City to meet the band. The musicians were some of the best players in the US– Eric Smith on bass, Chris Johnson on drums, Adam Ross and Nuno Bettencourt (yes, THAT Nuno!!) on guitars, Kevin Hastings on first keyboards and Ashleigh Haney and Kim Ince on BVs.
After quick introductions the band proceeded to play through the one and a half hour set – they were all at the final stages of tweaking the music when I barely knew the names of the songs! Gulp! So as you can imagine, the next 4 days were spent with me barely taking a break and programming, learning parts, programming and learning yet more parts…!
At least I had one constant to rely on in this whole crazy situation, and that was my trusty Motif XS – for this gig I was using an XS7 and XS8. The XS came through for me once again, and I was able to get really close and detailed with the sounds I programmed. As with most of the bigger gigs these days, the original stems of the keyboard parts from the albums were available to me, this makes the job of matching and programming sounds so much easier, as you can really analyse and zone in on exactly recreating the sounds for the job, and then hopefully taking them one level further! A feature on the XS that I use time and time again is the in-built sampler, I was able to load in quite a few of the sounds from the original stems via USB, and build presets around them, this made for some great sounds which I kept tweaking and slowly the basis of the set was formed. Thankfully, the keyboard tech on this gig, Dan Roe, was English and therefore understood the importance of a cuppa! Numerous cups of tea and about a week later, I was more or less there, and finally took a deep breath and tried to start to relax into the set. At this point I also started really listening to what was going on around me. And I realized how phenomenal this band was! Chris and Eric are just a ridiculous rhythm section – I have never heard anything like it, Nuno and Adam complement each other perfectly and Kevin Hastings, the other keyboard player has incredible feel and energy! I have to admit that it was all quite intimidating in the beginning – new country, new musicians, new set – the pressure was on!!
Rihanna joined us a few days into rehearsals and sang through the set with us. She sounded amazing! It was fantastic to work with Tony Bruno - as he is a guitarist himself, the arrangements were musically very complex but still raw and audience- friendly. Tony’s whole concept was: "I don’t wanna go to a gig and hear the album versions", so the arrangements were really fun and interesting to play with quite a few tricky bits that took a while to get under my fingers!
After a while we moved on to Production Rehearsals. I was completely blown away by the sheer scale of this show – no expense had been spared! From moving platforms to lifts – from aerial work to dancers on stilts – from a ramp with a treadmill to cars being bashed up and a pink tank being danced on – the list just goes on and on and on. It was literally an assault on the senses and it took a lot of concentration for me to play the parts and not get distracted by what was happening on the stage!
A little bit about the show and its concept. The show is entitled "Last Girl on Earth" and is meant to present a post- apocalyptic world where Rihanna is the only survivor and the only hope for the future of mankind!! This "mad max" type concept is reflected in the way the stage is set, costumes, lighting, video interludes and choreography. As can be expected, Rihanna has 8 costume changes – each outfit more glamorous than the next. It was inspiring to watch her work and see how she totally switches it on when performing!
So, I have now been on the road for about a month. We have been in Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland and are currently playing in the UK for a few weeks. I had the pleasure of 2 "homecoming" gigs – the first in my hometown Berlin, where I was born and raised, and also the o2 in London, a couple of miles away from our place in London. It has been wonderful to have my family and friends come and see the show – I still can’t quite believe that I am on a gig like this! I have to admit that I am still ironing out a few bits and bobs – there is always room for improvement, right?
We finish the European tour at the beginning of June, have 3 weeks off and then start a 10 week US tour. This is going to be my first time touring the states and I am really looking forward to it! I will keep you updated - It’s nice to be back blogging!
Speak soon, Hannah x
