Hot Fab Djazz Club (occasionally) (FRENCH AMERICAN/GYPSY JAZZ)
Extreme Klezmer Makeover (sub) (TRADITIONAL AND ORIGINAL KLEZMER)
Influences
Accordion: Myron Floren, Art Van Damme, Frank Marocco, Petar Ralchev, Ivan Milev, Sunny Sauceda :)
Steel Drums: Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Robert Greenidge
I like trend setters and hope that I will get to work with as many different artists as possible. Everytime I work with someone, they influence my playing in some way. The more creative the project, the more inspired I am to create....
Hello Everyone! Welcome to "Gee's" official MySpace page. Aside from my "professional" bio, I will try to add more personal biographical information when I have time. My main instruments are the accordion and steel drums, although I think my real passion lies in the instrument that many make fun of - the accordion. My other interests include fitness and animals.
I look forward to gaining new friends from all over the world! I wish everyone good health and happiness....
HABERDASHERY QUARTET: Bassist and USC graduate Brandon Turner wraps up recording his new group, the Haberdashery Quartet. The Haberdashery Quartet is led by Brandon and also includes Chris Luther on violin and Dr. Dan Cole on guitar. I play the accordion of course. You can hear more clips at our website or here on MySpace.
THE VIGNATIS: Tracy and Fabrice Vignati, the innovators of the musical genre "Gypsybilly," have released a new album, "Birth of the Gypsybilly." www.TheVignatis.com or www.myspace.com/TheVignatis
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7/23/08: ACCORDION LESSONS
I have been swamped over the last few months with inquiries about accordion lessons. The last time I had any serious (competitive) accordion students would have been around 1995. From that point, at least in my musical world, not so much was happening in regard to the accordion. Perhaps because I was more focused on my academic work rather than performance. Over the last couple years, however, it seems that there is an accordion revival happening!
So, yes, I do give lessons, with the understanding that I'm keeping fairly busy with my performance and college teaching schedule. Please e-mail me at ethnomusicologee@yahoo.com or call me at 888-650-3972 if you are interested in lessons and we shall discuss what your goals are and the rates for lessons with me.
Ms. Gigi "Gee" Rabe has completed Ph.D. coursework in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and holds an M.A. degree in Ethnomusicology from UCLA and a B.M. degree in Performance with an emphasis in Commercial Music from California State University (CSU) Long Beach. Her main research interests include Americana music, subcultural music, music and religion, popular music and culture, youth and music, smooth jazz, worldbeat, tango, the international music industry, Balkan music, and Caribbean music, especially ska and steel band music. She has given papers at conferences, including the Society for Ethnomusicology and the British Forum for Ethnomusicology. Academic awards she has received include a UCLA University stipend; UCLA’s Thayer Special Collections Fellowship, and the UCLA Fine Arts Trust Award. She was also the recipient of a grant from UCLA’s Institute of American Cultures and the Center for African American Studies.
An accordionist since 1975, Ms. Rabe has won major awards for her performance, including the Accordion Federation of North America's virtuoso (Western classical) and virtuoso jazz competitions in 1984 and 1985 respectively. Her teachers have included Glenn Stead and LaVoy Halle (Western classical); Frank Marocco (jazz); Pepe Motta (Argentinean tango); Milen Slavov, Petar Ralchev, and Ivan Milev (Bulgarian accordion); and Sunny Sauceda (Tex-Mex). In 2002, her article "Aspects of Regional Difference and Performance Technique in Bulgarian Accordion Music" was published in the journal Musical Performance and she is presently working on a musical analysis of Balkan accordion performance. Ms. Rabe is diverse in her performance styles and currently performs with Vaud and the Villains (folk/blues/zydeco), and the Haberdashery Quartet (chamber jazz/Gypsy jazz/tango/Balkan). She has recorded for award-winning composers Jack Allocco and David Kurtz as well as Bruno Coon, Alvaro Morello, Andrea Morricone, S.J. Petterson, and Edwin Wendler. She has also recorded for film producer Mary Sweeney. Her accordion can be heard on the CBS soap opera “Young and the Restless – Paris episodes” which aired November 6-13, 2008 and sidelined on the show which aired on December 31, 2008. Additionally, in 2008 she recorded accordion parts for the Disney ride “Toy Story. ” In 2007 she was the accordionist in the Getty Villa production “Tug of War,” which received outstanding national reviews, was featured on a segment of the CBS News Sunday Morning, and was named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the top ten productions in Los Angeles at that time.
As a steel pannist, Ms. Rabe has performed professionally since 1986 and has worked and studied with Trinidad’s famous Len "Boogsie" Sharpe and Robert Greenidge. She has also recorded for television, radio, and film. She appeared on the last season of the television sitcom “Friends,” where she was cast in the role of “Marjorie,” Phoebe’s eccentric friend who plays the steel drum for her wedding. In addition to playing steel drums, Ms. Rabe has studied Latin percussion with master percussionist Francisco Aguabella.
As a teaching associate in the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, Ms. Rabe had taught discussion classes on the subjects of music of Mexico and the Caribbean, music of Europe and the Americas, the Cultural History of Rap, and South American music. She has been a lecturer at CSU Northridge since 1995, starting their steel band program, which is one of the largest steel band programs on the west coast. In addition, she has taught the first online music course at CSUN. She has also taught music classes at Santa Monica College.
Proud member of AFM 47 and ASCAP.
Home video clip of the CSUN Steel Band Fall 2008 from YouTube
Here is a recent interview by Rosanna Woo of CSUN's Valley View News. Apparently I must have been given an honorary doctorate!? Also, I was a teaching associate at UCLA and on music faculty at Santa Monica College but I'm currently teaching at CSUN exclusively.
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DEMO MATERIAL:
KLUTTER theme song from Eek! Stravaganza, Fox Kids, 1995-1996. (Steel drum)
Here is the scene from "The One With Phoebe's Wedding," from the television show Friends 10th season. Look for my colorful cap and the "Buffalo" next to me...the music is toward the middle and end of the scene. Recorded in November 2003; airdate was February 12, 2004.
Here are some clips from the Young and the Restless "Paris Episodes," which aired November 5-13, 2008. Music composed by Jack Allocco and David Kurtz.
Here is a clip of my very cardley Young and the Restless cameo on 12/31/08! My almost one minute of fame is around 5:17-6:11. It was fun having my own dressing room across from the Price is Right stage! Nothing like getting your hair and make-up done next to the stars too. After the take, the very cardley Joshua Morrow requested some rap so I played a little bit of P.I.M.P. as he started to shake his booty. Too bad I was done for the day and they had to film the next scene!Music by David Kurtz.
Here are two clips from the Texacali Drifters, a country band that I played with in 2008.
Hey! Thank you for adding me! it really mean a lot! Hope you enjoy the music. So instead of leaving lame "Download my EP on iTunes" comment" I am known for leaving you off with a gnarly joke from my favorite comedian Mitch Hedberg!
"I find a duck's opinion of me is very much influenced by whether or not I have bread."
Well greetings from Sweden to WONDERFUL LA! So nice to hear from you and your music! Your talent with that accordion is priceless and will DEFINITELY let you know if I need some. Thanks for the offer and I feel it would be great to work with a "diva" like you lol.
Si
deseas obtener los mejores tracks de nuestro CD Arravaltronics 1 puedes hacerlo
entrando en http://www.reverbnation.com/tranxgo
e introducir tu e-mail en el cuadro que dice "JOIN THE MAILING LIST"
.
If you want to get the tracks from our CD
Arravaltronics 1 you can do it just going to http://www.reverbnation.com/tranxgo and introducing your e-mail into the space at "JOIN THE MAILING
LIST" .
Hey! Thank you for supporting my music. Check out my web site at www.vanessathompson.net and my music videos at www.youtube.com. One of my youtube videos is below for you to hear. If you like it, feel free to put it on your page and share it with your friends. There are also some banners on my page if you want to use them on your page. If you have Facebook, please add me. Some are putting me in their top friends. The support is really appreciated. Hope you liked the cover on Hollywood Celebrity Magazine. If you like my music, please add it to your play list for others to hear. Thank you :)
My new music video to my song "Heartbreakin Game" will be out later today or tomorrow. It will first show up on www.youtube.com. Let me know what you think. There is also a fanpop page for me that has been set up. If you get a chance visit it at http://lnk.ms/0zvbC . You can also sign up to follow me on twitter :)
Thank you to all those who supported my live performance at Club Heaven in Seattle, Washington for the Seattle Music Revival. This is an event that will help define the Seattle music scene.
On Oct 3, a fantastic gathering occurred within a cafe-sized room canopied by trees. The Gypsy Camp is a long-visited place within El Escorpion Park in West Hills - long overdue to be utilized as a unique venue for live music.
It was the beginning of a new series of acoustic shows that bring bands out of bars and clubs, friends and musical enthusiasts out of the house on a saturday afternoon, and a unique and magical experience to everyone involved.
If this looks like a good time to you, please tell people about it, and join us for Gypsy Camp The Second on Saturday, Nov. 14. Prepare yourself with a cooler and blanket and an afternoon to enjoy some great music.
this is a public service announcement to let you know that weasels will
be invading the vicinity of venice in a furious performance at the Good
Hurt this Sunday.
we want to see you! we know damn well that you weasels exist out there,
and we want to use our existence to rock yours! come, weasel with us.
and pick up a copy of our CD so that it may furtherly infect minds,
hearts, and nether regions*.
* Weasels exist. will not give you a sexually transmitted disease
Online Now!
