My name's Jon Davis, and I've been playing the Stick about 2 years now, since a used one came my way (10-string standard). My musical training is in piano, theory and composition, and after decades as a keyboard player, Stick is now my primary instrument. Though by no means the only one: my current setup includes a theremin and a guzheng I got in China.

My active band is called Zhongyu (http://www.facebook.com/ZhongyuBand), but I also record a lot of solo stuff at home (http://soundcloud.com/zhongyu).

I'm based in Seattle, and my style wanders around between progressive rock, jazz, and world music (mostly Asian).

Glad to be here!

--jd

Welcome aboard!!

Brett

Hey JD, welcome to the show.

I am going to be up in Seattle later in February and will definitely have my Chapman Stick with me if you want to hang out and talk Stick.

Hi JD,

Welcome. Maybe you can join us in Vancouver in May. Bring you koto!

I would say that my training in piano helps with hand independence -- and would even more if I'd kept up with practicing on the keyboard!

Right now I have to rehearse all of my two-instrument bits extensively, and make sure they're not too complicated. I'm hoping as my hands get more accustomed to the Stick physically, it will come easier. When I'm recording my demos, I usually do it in two separate takes, and don't even try to play both at the same time.

And to go a bit deeper... the stock saying is that 10,000 hours of practice are needed to get really good at something, and at this point in my life, 10,000 hours on the Stick is not going to happen. But if you combine my practice on other instruments, I'm probably there, and in my mind, they all come together on the Stick. Those years of playing keyboards, bass, and guitar weren't wasted. For me, music is a compositional thing rather than a performance thing (not that I don't enjoy performing, but I know I will never be a virtuoso on any instrument). And the Stick is the vehicle I've chosen for my compositions.

So while I'm impressed by all the great Stickists who can play versions of Classical pieces or pop tunes, it's not something I'm interested in doing myself. (That being said, I have a few radical rearrangements of other people's music I'd like to try someday with my band.) I'm looking to develop a vocabulary of idiomatic Stick sounds that I can use in original music. Not there yet, but it's my goal.

--Jon

Greetings John, I live here in Seattle, and would be happy to meet with you... my phone is 206-706-4511. I am a beginner, and would be happy to share what little I know of this great instrument!

Rclere... what kind of music are you into? Curious if we're headed in any of the same directions.

--JD

I'm also in Seattle, for all intents and purposes ... actually on the east side, but you know, "details." I have a 12 String Grand that I think should be done in the next few weeks... and then I get to start figuring out how to play it. Also ultimately looking in the prog rock direction, but I expect it might take a while to work up to it

Hi Jon, nice to see another Washingtonian around here! I'm down in the SW corner of the state, near Vancouver. I've been learning to play for the past 9 months or so. If you're ever down in these parts, drop me a line...I'm always looking for opportunities to meet up with and hear others on the Stick.

I haven't listened to your soundcloud stuff yet, but I look forward to it...I don't have a huge music collection, and the artists I've heard are a limited subset of what's out there, but progressive rock is far and away the style I mostly enjoy listening to. (Brett Bottomley is an exceptional Stick player who frequents this forum, he does some really neat prog/jazz stuff.)

Cheers!