keep playing

We pulled one out last night. Great tune but all I’ve got is syncopated eighth notes almost all the way through. I’m back beat, nothing else. Made me feel like a snare drum, it did. Beaten.

John is directing the concert this weekend. It’s a much different line-up than we usually play and I love the change. He got married! AND he’s in a great mood all the time. He started by saying _ We will play the concert straight through and go home on time. I don’t have any WalMart stories._ We all cheered and asked him to continue not wearing pants with elastic bands.

I was pretty good last night, played everything very well, no errors, no surprise key changes. And after Fiddler on the Roof I turned to my stand mate and said I love playing this. Your people have a love of good, interesting music! And he laughed with me.

But I will practice, and rehearse pouring beer in the same time slot!

dawn! I wouldn’t do it except the group is being well-paid.

Odd rehearsal. We are playing an event in two weeks. A ceremony where people with guns get badges and go out to serve the public and what not. Lotta marches. They like National Emblem. Always have. There will be one point where we play the dog fight to the end over and over until the last hand is shook or something. After that we transition to Big Band by playing American Patrol, then Dorsey and Glen Miller. The band is rusty but will be fine for this event.

We site-read some Broadway too. Cabaret, Porgie and Bess, and stuff that always makes me think of Warner Bros. cartoons. Then I came home to her and didn’t say a word about it. But I did say lotsa other words, for Valentine’s continues.

Take Five. I’ve got the first refrains down. Starts on B and has an F sharp as part of the key.

More please. More.

The clarinet fest got moved from Ground Hog’s weekend to St. Pat’s weekend. It’d be nice to surprise people with Dave but I don’t know if I’ll be ready.

I don’t know who composed it, but do know the Montreal Philharmonic recorded it for the show. I want to surprise and annoy, all at once, and keep my embrochure up until rehersals begin again next week.

I’ll keep the instrument out to learn the Tro Lo Lo song. (Starts at G, Darling, and it’s easy from there.) I’ll fool around with some other stuff too. We’ll prepare for the 2013 concert season in January. I’m one party away from being away from this for a while but will be happy to get back when I do.

On the way lies a convenience store. It is a year ago, on the way to this concert, that I stopped and discovered the coffee to end all coffees, the coffee that made Ms R. sit up and murmmer, intently, YOWZA.

I will stop there again. Saturday. And continue with her what is begun. And it will never end.

Holiday music.

Among the usual 43 versions of Jingle Bells (don’t tell anyone, but I really do not care for it) are a classy Holst “In the Bleak Midwinter” and a couple of Leroy Anderson pieces. He’s always more fun than not.

I miss the era not so long ago when the economy supported BIG SHOW concerts with full choirs and organs and all the rest. Now it seems somehow….small.