Yes!!! It’s true, True, TRUE! I’m going on tour with a rock band!!!! And not JUST ANY rock band, but with one of the world’s most amazing, incredible, virtuosic guitarists ever — Steve Vai!
Here’s a picture of us talking backstage when I met him in Boston last year:
Vai & DHC Backstage in Boston 2011
Rehearsals start in less than a month – and I, with my CAMAC 32-string electric chrome MEGA-HARP – will get to tour with him this fall all over the US & Europe as a member of the band!
OK … so …. how am I feeling about all this?? Trust me, I’ll be talking a lot about it in the coming weeks. But in a nutshell: I’m excited, scared, daunted, thrilled and I want to ROCK!!!!
And what I REALLY want to do … is bring you all along on this adventure – by blogging and sharing everything I’m learning and doing.
OK …what I REAAAALLLY want to do is to blog AND collaborate with a women’s magazine, and write about this as an ’embedded’ journalist — because this is SOOOOOOO incredibly cool.
Ben, Vai & Me (note the DVD Vai has in his hand)
How cool is it???
It’s SO, SO, SOOOO freakin’ cool, that my teenage stepson is JEALOUS of ….. ME!! (That may be one of the best parts so far! See stepson in photo at left)
Aaahh!!! I dream of standing up during my solo moment and saying: “OK, all you girls out there — GIRLS OF EVERY AGE and GENDER — this is for YOU! See this instrument?? It’s a HARP! This harp means that YOU can rock your life with whatever you got!” — and then ROCKING OUT on my harp. Yes, yes … I know … this isn’t my show — it’s Steve Vai’s show (and I’ll tell you way more about him and his incredible approach to music in the coming months), but … look … I want to make it YOUR show.
I want you to get to experience this amazing adventure with me. Because if you told me 30 years ago that practicing my freakin’ harp with a metronome for hours on end would eventually take me around the world, get me a record contract, a Grammy Nomination, lead to my own symphonic TV special, get an instrument named after me and land me in a rock band with one of the world’s greatest living guitarists, I would have given you the name of a good psychiatric social worker (and trust me, I had one.)
So I want to share this with YOU in every way I can. Because….
Yowwwzzzaaa!!! I’m gonna be in a Rock Band!!!!!
To read more in the Rock Harp Diaries, go to: https://hipharp.com/blog/category/rockharp-diaries/
AWESOME! I’ve looked up Steve’s music on youtube and indeed, it’s really awesome that you’re going to joing them as a harpist! So you’re also going to the Netherlands? I see that there’s a concert on the 20th of July in the Heineken music hall (first show on the tour). The HMH is a rather big concert venue, I’ve never been there, but if you’re going to be there, I’ll also be present! 🙂 (if I manage to escape the surgeons on my rotation).
As you’ll have to be in Frankfurt the next day, I guess there isn’t any time for impromptu masterclasses/private lessons etc, is there? (just hoping…)
Hey there, CT! I won’t start touring with Steve until his Fall tour – I’m not on any of the dates that are on his calendar now. I won’t start until the Fall – starting in late August, I think – it’s just the first set of rehearsals that begin now. I guess I should have made that clearer in the blog! I’ll do it in future blogs for sure, especially once I know some dates.
I’m grateful the rehearsals are in two block (a few weeks now, then some just before the tour) since I have a lot of music to get under my skin and coming out my fingers!
So you have plenty of time to prepare the surgeons!
OK, I’m glad I didn’t buy any tickets yet… 🙂 Well, actually, I was put off a little bit by the prices (50 euro/ticket!) so now I’ve got some time to save up money… if you’re going to play in the Netherlands at all. Good luck with rehearsing!
Hey CT! I don’t know the tour schedule yet — but I think they’re going to be very different shows so remember you can always see the current show without me … and then do an A – B comparison! (Yes, yes, I’m joking! … wait, no I’m not … no … Yes, I am … no I’m not). I hope to see you one way ‘tother …. or BOTH!
Fantastic! I’m looking forward hearing all about your adventure. Rock On!!!!
Congratulations what a wonderful opportunity and adventure! Keep posting!!
Thanks! It truly IS adventurous — it’s ALREADY an exciting musical adventure as I work on the music, and I also had the opportunity to take the ‘Steve Vai Guitar Techniques” online course at Berklee so … well, I’ll try to blog about that since it’s a whole great adventure on it’s own!
Deborah!!! This is like a dream come true!!!!! You are like my most favoritest harpist ever not only because of what you play but for how you are and what you do!!!! My husband, an electric guitar player, has always snickered at me a bit (all in good fun though) when I would try to play rock songs on my harp!!!! I just sent him this, he is an hard core fan of Steve Vai!!!!!!!!
This is perfect!!!!!! We will definitely line up for tickets when they come out!!!!!! I so can’t wait to hear you guys!!!! I hope it will help the two of us play together, we find it really hard because of the polar opposites of both our training (him by ear me by reading music) to play together… It would be my dream to be able to play with him on one of his gigs…. Hopefully seeing you and Steve together will make it click for us!!!!
Harp n Roll Baby!!!! That’s the way to go!!!!!!
Take care!!! You are God’s gift to music!!!
Keep on harping!
Chantal
This is frickin awesome!!! You are unleashing the power of YOU! and the world is a better place because of it! Sooooooo excited for you and we will check out tour dates when they come out and find you somewhere! Congratulations!