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Theo Croker is a musician, trumpeter, composer, and producer. He¡¯s based between NYC and Shanghai, and he¡¯s got a bunch of shows coming up at Cabaret, JZ, and Cotton Club. Check out his MySpace page here.
Music! Music! Music! Music! It¡¯s the oldest and most universal language known to the world. We hear it everyday and everywhere for every reason. As a composer, performer, and producer you'd think by the time the weekend comes I¡¯d had enough. Sometimes I look in the mirror and tell myself, "There is more to life than music"! But the response is always the same: "Yeah, then see how much fun you have doing anything else"!
Victory and defeat all in one. Can't fight what's in the heart. I am a music junkie. Yes, I said junkie.
Friday is when the madness begins. I will (painfully) roll out of bed around 10am to begin to warm up. Yes, just like a band nerd I practice a lot (for all too obvious reasons). I'm that guy playing the trumpet in the mornings. After that's finished it's off to an 11a.m. rehearsal with the JZ Latin Band. There's nothing like Salsa at noon on a Friday to start your weekend off. It's also a cool feeling being in a nightclub during the day. You can really feel the soul of the venue when it's empty and not all dressed up. After rehearsal is time for lunch. I love the lamb Hot-Pot spot on Wulumuqi Lu. Don't know the name but it's the spot with the red doors right near Fuxing Lu. After that it's back home and returning to the wood shed (yes, I'm going to practice some more). Dinner is usually grabbed on the fly. Lately I've been on a gig with Coco Zhao (sometimes the fabulous Cocolicious at "Cabaret"). So it's time to break out the suit and tie and head down to the Bund. After Cabaret the night is still young and I'm still twitching to play, so it's either down the street to House Of Blues & Jazz or to JZ for some Salsa. Once I can't feel my lips anymore (which is a greatly satisfying feeling), I¡¯m after a dark smoky cave such as The Shelter or LOgO. Eating breakfast while the sun comes up is the only way to live to me. Charmant or Bi Fen Tang is where I'll be when it rises.
Wait... did we overlap into Saturday?
Saturday... I love Saturdays! I get a taste of sleep before heading out in the early afternoon to explore more Shanghai. I'm a New Yorker. I like my sidewalk dinning on the weekends. A nice outdoor lunch at one of the many hidden gems in the Taikang Lu area is always a winner. My personal favorites are Lotus and Ups. Ups is the first place I ate when I arrived in Shanghai in 2007. I even get choked up sometimes. A return home for yes, you guessed it, more time in the "Woodshed", and then it's off to Cotton Club to play with the legendary Sugar Momma. This woman is amazing! She can transport the audience back in time to a southern U.S. blues club in the 60's. Simply amazing! After Cotton Club, I¡¯m off the "JZ old school Jazz Jam". I believe it starts around 2am and goes until there is no one left. 3:30-5am is normal. Jam sessions are essential to the music continuum. You don't get together to play and impress the audience or yourself. You go (or "should" I will say) to push the music somewhere new. Collaborate with someone new. Find something new. You've been playing what the people want all week. Now it's time to push the envelope. This is usually my biggest "score" as far as my music junkie issue goes. This is where I will finally get my fix. After this I'm usually so high (off the music that is) that everything else is a blur. So we'll leave some things to the imagination and skip to Sunday.
Sunday is chillax day. I believe that's a universal policy. Hopefully I wake up in time for the last hour of brunch. If I'm not going to cook at home then it's off to someplace like Element Fresh or Azul Viva. I will probably sit there for hours and knock back as many mimosas or mojitos as possible before going home to relax. Sunday is a chance to get to work on some producing so I will lock into the computer and compose all day. It's usually a quick dinner at home before the twitching and itching for my fix begins. I will lethargically head to the legendary Sunday Jam session at House of Blues or check out a set with Coco Zhao at JZ.
I'm on a mission to push that musical envelope so I won't be home until Monday morning.
Yes, my weekend spills into my weekdays. I love not having a day job.
Photo Credit: Rick Purcell
