Drumming Where?

An Open Invitation to Watch

2012-02-22T19:27:00.003-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, our veterinarian performed surgery on our pooch, Gabriel. Tracy and I cleared our schedules with the intention of waiting impatiently for the doctor to give the thumb's up on a successful procedure.

Instead, we received an invitation into the operating room to watch from beginning to end.

Dr. Ratzlaff talked us through every step of the procedure, explained the anatomy, incisions, showed us the uroliths, discussed the suture patterns, and left us with a positive and anxiety-lessened experience. He was comfortable in his work, masterful in the surgery, and open to discuss every question we threw his way. In short, his sincerity and professionalism combined for a special experience in an otherwise undesirable situation.

Gabe is still recovering next to me as I type this and I have to say, my knowledge of canine anatomy and foremost, our trust in Dr. Ratzlaff is unwavering.

(Gabe pre-surgery)

Let's consider our craft.

Are you more aware of your practice routine when observed by others?

More considerate of your lesson plan or appearance when video recorded?

Bring your "A" game when under the microscope of your employer?

In a session at this year's PASIC, John Parks stated he records each lesson he teaches. This provides his students with an archive to refer to and ensures his best teaching. I found this approach inspiring, honest, and very refreshing.

Might this openness towards constant observation improve your craft?

Gain credibility with your students, audience, or potential clients?

Personally, I welcome observers to my rehearsals, lessons, and classes. When teaching private lessons to pre-college students, I encourage parents to observe. I require my percussion methods students to observe percussion lessons and percussion ensemble rehearsals. If a student intends to teach private lessons, I encourage them to observe several teachers to acquire a variety of styles.

And yes, I'd be happy to provide video of my practice sessions.*

*Warnings:
May cause drowsiness.
Wardrobe may be disturbing.
Language may not be suitable for children.

I feel you, Bill Cosby.

2012-02-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

The other day, I performed with our bass professor and sax professor. Both are members of the USAF Academy Band's Falconaires, one of the nation's finest big bands. They can play. Really play.

Someone called "Cherokee." Being that up tempo swing isn't part of my daily regiment, the first thing that came to mind was this wonderful clip of Bill Cosby describing his experience playing "Cherokee."

Although I held my own, I still need those sticks with the blue tips.

Blogging about Blogs

2012-02-20T22:06:00.001-07:00

Blogs answer questions the reader has yet to formulate.

I write when inspiration strikes and something is in need of vetting. If this endeavor were to serve as a means to monetize my thoughts, I'd fail miserably.

There are countless blogs worth subscribing to and even more unworthy. For my taste, I consider the source. In the percussion world, unfortunately, many of the industry's "fountains of knowledge" do not blog. Younger generations of percussionists have embraced blogging but the content may or may not contain wisdom. That's the downside when anyone can be "published."

On the upside, blogging raises the stakes, forcing the writer to put thoughts into the public domain. However, unlike something published in book or magazine, it can always be re-edited or simply deleted.

For this reason, blogging is a tool for my music business students to:
a. establish a web presence
b. raise the stakes on their writing and help clarify their thoughts

I'd like to share periodic entries of my students, because in some instances, they write about great topics with astute thoughts and opinions.

In this case, Chelsea, a clarinet performance, music education, and composition student (who also plays piano in my big band) writes on education. She has something to say. She has an angle. It's interesting and well-presented.

Give it a read and consider following her entries:

Chelsea's Blog

Seven Mountain Biking/Musician Principles

2012-02-12T13:26:00.004-07:00

I love to mountain bike. This habit began some years ago while living in Northern California, arguably the birthplace of mountain biking.

There are certain principles you learn early on in this sport:

1. Crashes sometimes happen. Oddly, the more epic, the less they tend to hurt. The more mundane the spill, the more likely for serious loss of skin, broken bones, and even worse, broken bike components.

2. When riding in mountain lion country, you don't have to be faster than the lions, just faster than your slowest riding partner.

3. Lighter components are generally expensive. A fit/light rider plus a light bike equals speed. The average rider can save cash by having one less Sierra Nevada at the end of the ride and avoid that extra gram or two of bodily fat.

4. When the vultures start swarming overhead, you may want to hydrate, eat, and look for your missing riding partners.

5. The solution to navigating difficult terrain may be a matter of a little more speed.

6. Don't look at what you want to avoid- i.e. trees, cliffs, giant bone-crushing rocks.

7. When you get to the top of an epic climb, enjoy the view.

These principles apply to what we do as musicians. Let's consider the parallels:

1. Mistakes happen in performance. However, if you prepare to the best of your abilities, mundane mistakes are less likely to factor into your performance or psyche.

2. To succeed as a musician, you don't necessarily have to be the best. It is, however, beneficial to be better than some of your competition.

3. Having strong financial support, high quality instruments, and a great pedigree can help you achieve your career goals. However, self-discipline, perseverance, and dedication to your art is something everyone has access to, and more importantly, is free.

4. When things aren't going your way, evaluate what you are/aren't doing and correct the course. Seek advice if needed.

5. Over-analyzation, or "paralysis by analysis" can keep you from reaching your goals. If you've chosen the right path, keep going and enjoy the ride.

6. If you're hung up on what can go wrong, guess what... things probably will. Stay focused on the goal.

7. Take time to appreciate the simple fact you're lucky enough to be a musician and the accomplishments are plentiful.

Skills You May Want to Have. Part II. Something Besides Your Primary Instrument

2012-01-29T20:41:00.003-07:00

In a previous post, I discussed how the job-set skills needed to succeed in higher education jobs greatly exceeds the ability to give great faculty recitals, well-programmed ensemble concerts, and stellar private lessons. The first part in this series related to event planning.

This post will pertain to the realities of many college teaching positions:

Be comfortable/competent teaching something besides what your primary area of study says on your degree.

If you're looking for college jobs, you probably follow the Music Vacancy List and have likely been disheartened at the few jobs available. If so, take a moment to collect yourself, take a personal inventory, and dig a little deeper.

I am lucky enough to have a full time college teaching gig. Here's what I teach/have taught in this job:
Percussion Lessons
Percussion Ensemble
Steel Band
Percussion Methods
Percussion Literature and Pedagogy
Hand Drumming Classes (enrichment)

AND:
Jazz Ensemble (big band)
Jazz Combo
Dixie Combo
Marching Band Assistant Director/Drum Line
Improvisation
Introduction to Music Literature
Topics in Music Business
Basketball Pep Band

I annually conduct one of our high school honor bands and when needed, our concert band and wind ensemble. I also supervise the audio work studies who are responsible for all audio/video recording and sound reinforcement needs of the department.

Many college gigs require the above, as well as an expectation to teach theory, aural skills, music history, additional conducting duties, music ed classes, and a host of other areas.

I love my job. It is full of diversity and offers a variety of skills to draw upon and continue to improve upon. However, this gig isn't for everyone.

Many of my full-time friends and colleagues do something similar, and very few teach courses specific only to percussion. Those who do rarely did so in their first gig.

If you aspire to teach college, the best advice I can possibly give is to diversify your skills, seek opportunities outside of your primary area of study, and acquire significant professional teaching experience.

The upside is you become a more versatile person. And if you're lucky enough to land your utopian gig of teaching only in your primary area, your diverse background will enhance your relationship with colleagues and effectiveness with students.

Watch for more in this series in the coming weeks, and visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Rudiments Renewal

2012-01-05T00:24:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Here's a late addition to your list of resolutions for 2012- a renewed effort to bring your Percussive Arts Society International Drum Rudiments to the ultimate level of mastery. To achieve rudimental god/goddess stature, utilize the following resources:

1. The amazing resource that is the Vic Firth website. You're presented the rudiments in progressive tempos, applications of each rudiment, and a video of John Wooton demonstrating proper technique. No books or metronome? No problem.

2. Utilize THIS CHECK LIST I've created to track your progress as well as my formula for success:
a. Go to the Vic Firth website
b. Choose five rudiments
c. Sequentially test your chops. When you can no longer play comfortably without tension, stop and record your tempo on the check list.
d. Move to the next rudiment

In a little over a week, you'll have a baseline tempo of each rudiment and can begin the process of gradually increasing your tempo while carefully maintaining good technique. Take your time. Vary your dynamics (stick height). Change playing surfaces (pad vs. drums). Try different gradations of accents vs. taps. Evaluate what changes as you increase tempo. Track you progress every step of the way.

Before you know it, you'll be burning through all 40 rudiments and ready to tackle the inverted flam cheese, plutnduh, churruckitahs, and the rest of the latest hybrid rudiments.

Now get to it!

To grab some other useful checklists, visit the resource page of my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Reflections on my time as a musician in the United States Air Force

2011-12-22T10:15:00.007-07:00

I enlisted on May 25th, 2000. That evening, I found myself in basic military training, and at the beginning of an 11 ½ year adventure as a military musician.

A few months prior, I had won an audition with the USAF Band of the Golden West and was guaranteed a position as a percussionist upon completion of basic training. There are names, faces, and memories you never forget during the indoctrination into the armed forces, and they are just as vivid today as they were in 2000. One such memory was of Sgt. Johnson determining leadership of the drum section of the trainee drum and bugle corps by asking Matt Thomas and I to name our favorite drummer.*

Once out of basic training, I settled into life in California and time was measured by tours rather than semesters. My playing responsibilities were with the concert band, ceremonial band, percussion ensemble, and salsa band, and my “extra duty” consisted of booking tours and acting as a media representative for the band.

After five and a half years of performing, touring, and watching the military around me mobilize for war, it was time for a change. I broke my second enlistment, moved to Colorado to teach at Adams State, and began a six year stint with the Air National Guard Band of the Gulf Coast. During this “part-time” military portion of my journey, I performed regularly with other Air Force bands and deployed with a rock band in support of Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. These experiences traveling and performing throughout war zones will never be forgotten.

So on this day, December 22, 2011, my last day as a member of the military, I have a few reflections to share.

1. In my family, there is a lineage of military service. The fact I went straight to college was no big deal for my parents, but I’ve always had the desire to continue the tradition. Serving as an Air Force musician after graduate school fit the bill. As a member of the military, to include musicians, means making sacrifices. As you assimilate into a new culture, service becomes your life. Yes, in many cases you lose free will, but you are afforded countless opportunities for personal and professional growth.

2. Some of the best musicians I’ve ever worked with were in the Air Force. Talented, diverse, and by the nature of the job, humble. This includes my experiences in the Air National Guard. Civilian experience in the music industry is invaluable to the military band career field. Many of my colleagues, active duty and guard, are great musicians, leaders, and mentors.

3. This path was an outstanding way to launch a career straight out of college. Housing and healthcare for Tracy and I, great instruments to play, numerous musicians with whom to collaborate, and opportunities to perform a plethora of repertoire in a variety of settings for hundreds of thousands of people are hard to come by. In retrospect, it was easy to take these things for granted.

4. Coexisting with 59 eccentric individuals in a daily work environment where you make music together, travel extensively together, socialize together, all within a rank structure, is guaranteed to develop serious people skills.

5. Military bureaucracy (and health care) is pretty much the same as in the civilian world, including the politics. Some things are better and some are worse, but it’s all pretty much the same, just different clothing and haircuts.

6. Sometimes the best audiences were the hardest to reach. Be it the middle of the Mojave desert or the Iraqi desert, the Oregon coast or the African coast, there are wonderful audiences appreciative of live music. I always enjoyed the gorgeous concert halls and upscale hotels, but the remote concerts hold the greatest memories.

7. Without question, I garnered a wider world perspective as a result of the people I met and the places I performed. Four continents and numerous countries meant performances in the wealthiest and poorest locations imaginable. From dignitaries, movie stars, and professional athletes to average taxpayers, African villagers, and wounded service members, interactions varied drastically. These experiences shaped my career, musicianship, citizenship, opinions on domestic and foreign policy, and purview as an educator.

And here are a few random thoughts about my time in the Air Force:

1. Being “required” to exercise as part of my day was kind of awesome.
2. I’d rather fly in a C-130 over Afghanistan than on a domestic American Airlines flight.
3. I’m not looking forward to paying for sticks and mallets after today.
4. The uniform thing was great. On most days, I essentially wore the equivalent of pajamas with boots and never had to plan my wardrobe.
5. Not everyone in the military is a right-wing conservative.
6. I’ll miss the TSA agent thanking me for my service.
7. I won’t miss the endless computer-based training.
8. In the grand scheme of things, the military bands budget is a drop in the bucket.
9. Despite #8, I hope the career field can evolve to be more efficient, effective, and relevant.
10. I don’t have to “work” on the 4th of July next year!

Thank you for supporting the past several years of my life with your tax dollars and have a safe and Happy Holiday!

*The training instructor looked a bit like Kevin Eubanks, Jay Leno’s former band leader/guitarist. In my sleep-deprived state, my answer was Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Leno’s drummer. Matt responded with Gene Krupa. Needless to say, I was stuck being in charge of the drums and Matt was forever known as “Krupa.”

Photos from top to bottom: 1. Drumming in Iraq 2. My Grandfather in Europe during World War II 3. Playing for villagers in the Horn of Africa

Ten Gift ideas for the Percussionist in Your Life

2011-12-21T09:24:00.004-07:00

My intention was to post this list early enough for the holidays, but trust me, the percussionist in your life will be happy to wait. Here are a few gift ideas (prices may vary) for the percussionist who has everything:

1. Vic Firth Live Wires brushes. These brushes add a whole new compliment of sound to the palette while retaining the fundamental sound of brushes. Great for use in the big band, slightly louder acoustic settings, and the recording studio.

2. The Boss DB-90 "Dr. Beat" metronome. If the price tag is too much, consider one of their other lines. Sure, you can download metronome apps to your iPad or iPhone, but unless your self control is outstanding, a stand alone metronome prevents the temptation of checking your messages each time you change the tempo.

3. A Black Swamp Sound Art tambourine. The synthetic head is a life saver in varied climates and as a vegetarian, I appreciate saving baby cows by not using calf skin. Alright, off the veggie soapbox- these tambourines sound phenomenal, feel great, and are made by an outstanding company.

4. A Cooperman frame drum. These hand-crafted drums sound great, feel wonderful, and are built by a terrific family in Vermont. Last time I visited their factory in Bellows Falls, I truly felt as though I stepped into Santa's workshop.

5. A Vic Virth Stick Bag. I own three of these, one of which survived a trip throughout the middle east in mid-summer. Ample space for sticks and mallets, pockets for supplies, metronome, and mini-practice pad, and a durable and attractive design.

6. A high quality practice pad. I grew up on the Drum Headquarters "Real Feel" pads, but there are plenty of other outstanding pads available. Why not buy a double-sided pad?

7. The Tommy Igoe "Groove Essentials" books. These two books will give you so much mileage, it's ridiculous. Great play alongs, posters and DVD's for reference, and just about every style you will encounter.

8. Speaking of books, Stick Control is the standard. If your percussionist doesn't already have this book, buy them two so they get caught up!

9. Instant Downloads from Hudson Music. Watching your favorite drummer is always educational, but more importantly, inspiring. With the instant downloads, your gift will fit under the tree and be here in time for the holidays.

10. A Zoom hand-held recorder. The price on a high quality digital recorder, be it audio or video, has dropped significantly. The applications are endless. And if it gets here in time, the video camera can double as a holiday gift for the whole family!

Happy Holidays!!

Skills You May Want to Have. Part I. Event Planner

2011-11-27T20:50:00.014-07:00

When asking graduate students what they want to do, the answer is often "teach at the collegiate level." In fact, I blogged about this in a previous post.

Higher education is a delightful career. The opportunity to mentor students in their final years before entering the "real world" is a powerful position and one not taken lightly.
As graduate students, we learn the ins and outs of performance and pedagogy, observe our teachers, and get inspired to do what they do. But there is much more to consider.

(As a side note... your first gig probably won't be like your graduate school).

Important Consideration Number One:

The job-set skills needed to succeed greatly exceed the ability to give great faculty recitals, well-programmed ensemble concerts, and stellar private lessons.

I plan to address several of these "other duties as assigned" skills in subsequent blogs. Let's start with number one: Event Planner.

Example:

This week, in addition to teaching classes and lessons, I will:

1. Direct three different dress rehearsals.

2. Present my percussion ensemble and steel bands concert.

3. Host a jazz festival with several high school bands, trumpet legend Bobby Shew, pianist Chuck Lamb, PROJECT Trio with beatboxing flutist, Greg Pattillo, members of the USAF Academy Band Falconaires, jazz vocalist Theano Lamb, and in addition to performances by my big band and combos, host a regional big band.

4. Perform and have students perform for our department's community holiday collage concert.

Project management. Event planning. Call it what you will. This is a very important aspect of my job with far reaching implications.

Integral to the above events, the following needed to happen:

1. Countless emails, phone calls, texts, and face to face meetings.

2. Budgets and schedules negotiated. Contracts created and artist fees negotiated.

3. Industry partners acquired.

4. Personal and professional relationships strengthened and finessed.

5. For profit and non-profit organizations brought on board.

6. Advertising campaigns launched and managed (print, radio, internet, etc).

7. Paperwork pushed through several different campus offices.

8. Scheduling. More scheduling. Rescheduling.

9. Forms created from scratch, work-study students supervised (no graduate assistants), and student volunteers coordinated.

10. Oh, and rehearsals.

If hosting a dinner party stresses you out, I'd suggest getting some experience. But where?

As a member of the USAF Band of the Golden West, not only did I play percussion, but I served as a tour manager; a job I credit with making project management a familiar task. I was fortunate to gain these experiences directly out of graduate school.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Book your solo act or chamber group for a multi-day tour.

2. Serve on the board/volunteer for a live music association/music festival and learn the ropes.

3. Plan and implement a local "Day of Percussion/Clarinet/Accordion/Zither."

4. Observe the events you attend and decide what works and what doesn't. Talk to the event planner and ask for any flow charts, check lists, and to-do lists they are willing to share. You can always email me!

Event Planner. Get the experience now and avoid mistakes later.

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Thanksgiving. Thank you.

2011-11-24T10:45:00.002-07:00

Here's what I'm thankful for:

-A day with such a wonderful name and positive feelings. A reason to stop and reflect.
-Wonderful family and friends, near and far.
-A rewarding life of enriching work in the arts... music and teaching. Giving.

Every day, I'm reminded how fortunate I am for this career, this life. There are many highs and the occasional lows, but a day doesn't pass where I miss the chance to practice my art.

There are trade offs. In higher ed, you move to where the jobs are, and that usually means greater distance from family. Upside- you are afforded the opportunity to create a large community of friends and family, and the long holiday breaks aren't so bad, either.

As musicians, you are beholden to when and where the work is, and that often means distance and busy times during the holidays. Upside- you are given an opportunity to share your art, change someone's world for a time, and have a positive effect on a group psyche. Powerful.

On this day and every day, I am thankful for all of those in my life, past and present, who in one way or another, led me to where I am today.

Thank you.

"Get More Done"

2011-11-21T21:43:00.001-07:00

Lately, I've been adding "tips to get more done" as my Facebook status. It's not that I'm particularly efficient or an expert in productivity. What I am is a percussionist and educator who likes to stay busy. As a result, I've collected concepts that work for me and posting these ideas helps keep accountability to myself.

As musicians, we generally carry around a feeling of unfinished business- there's always more to practice. More to learn. Coming to terms with these feelings in an ever-busy world can be the ultimate challenge and an indicator of success or failure.

For the time being, my blog will elaborate on these "Tips to Get More Done."

To follow my daily tips, friend me on Facebook.

1. Walk faster: Well, this isn't exactly fair nor applicable to all, but through casual observation, mopers tend to produce less. Move a little... it's good for you.

2. Close Facebook: Ironic being I am using it as my platform. Like any tool, it can be too much and can become an endless time suck. I challenge you to keep track of your Facebook usage for one day.

3. Enough already. Stop talking and start doing: You've heard the phrase, "death by committee." Talking is easy. Doing is the hard part.

4. Do one thing at a time: Trying to do otherwise is overwhelming. This, too, is ironic being percussionists are known for doing more than one thing at a time. However, we are never really doing things independently, but interdependently.

5. Set tangible deadlines: As in, I will get my inbox cleaned out before the continents revert back to Pangaea. Seriously... work expands to fill the time allotted. Give yourself a realistic deadline and do what you need to do.

6. If you're going to bother doing it, do it right the first time: Think about how you approach practicing. When you get in the practice room, do you learn systematically, relating what you're doing to time (a metronome), working out things correctly? Or do you mess around, hoping you magically absorb the music? Doing it right the first time prevents a pile of mental interference.

7. Stop making excuses. Woman up. Or man up. Take your pick. No one likes a whiner: What more can be said about this one?

This is a week's worth of tips. What are your best tips for getting things done?

Thanks for reading.

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Changing Roles

2011-10-09T11:36:00.003-06:00

Think about how you fit into a working group. Are you the best? Strongest? Smartest? Weakest? Somewhere in between?

Consider the changing roles one experiences as a member of an ensemble.

An inexperienced musician may have the self awareness as to where he or she is on the spectrum of ability level compared to the other members. And then again, he or she may not have the self awareness. Either way, it's my job to clarify this awareness and move the student along the spectrum while continuing to challenge those more advanced.

As the musician matures, he or she discovers a new feeling of knowledge, sometimes accompanied by impatience towards others. It's also my job to foster both patience, empathy, and student leadership. "How to" is another matter.

Group dynamic is the untold linchpin of any group, regardless of overall talent. Developing group dynamic is an art. Like all art, it constantly evolves, requires practice, and is a never-ending pursuit.

This photo displays a possible outcome...

How do you foster role changes in your groups? How do you manage role changes in your life?

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Collaborate... what does the taste of pineapple sound like?

2011-08-04T21:51:00.004-06:00

How do you collaborate in your work? Does it inspire you? Scare you to lose control? Energize a project that may have become mundane?

Take a moment and consider how you can add variety and interest to your next concert, meeting, or grant initiative by involving others outside of your typical realm.

For musicians, there are the obvious collaborations- dance troupes, theater, film scores.

Here's a collaboration my students and I undertook in the spring with a 3-D art class.

Step 1: Art students are given instructions to create a visual representation of something non-visual. Create the taste of pineapple. The sound of a gunshot. The smell of honeysuckle.

Step 2: Music student(s) records a two minute improvisation based on the 3-D project with no knowledge of the artist's inspiration.

Step 3: Art students take the recordings and shoot a film based on the recording. Essentially, the usual roles are reversed as the movie is set to a soundtrack rather than vice-versa.

Step 4: Music students take the video, project it in a live concert without prior viewing, and improvise a new soundtrack to the film.

This particular project was a lot of fun for all involved. The ability to create something new without preconceived notions of what is expected allowed an immense amount of freedom for artist and musician alike. Reflection on the metamorphosis of the project was invaluable to trace the path one takes in creativity.

By the way, the audience liked it, too.

At your next opportunity, consider what new collaborations are possible.

What are some of your favorite collaborations? Future endeavors?

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Shut it.

2011-06-07T22:24:00.003-06:00

What annoys you most about large ensemble rehearsals?

My answer to this question was observed today, yet through a positive reminder.

Here's what I mean. A question arose in our section requiring a second opinion. Instead of bringing the issue to the attention of the conductor, the section member brought his concern to the attention of the principal player. The two musicians had a brief private discussion, the question was addressed, and no rehearsal time was wasted on behalf of an individual issue. This happens countless times throughout a typical rehearsal...

Obvious enough, right?

I wish.

How many times have you experienced, even in high end ensembles, an individual(s) interested in hearing themselves talk, selfishly asking in the middle of intense rehearsing, "excuse me maestro, in measure 347, beat three, should that 16th note be mezzo forte or piu forte?"

Ugha.

When playing in a large ensemble, a group not typically run in a democratic fashion, my personal goal is to avoid any need for verbal interaction with the conductor. It's not personal, but professional and serves the good of all.

Simple rules to follow for the uninitiated:

1. Be prepared.

2. Communicate with section members first, then let the principal player address any issues beyond the section should resolution be needed by the conductor.

3. Your artistic choices should be predetermined but flexible. (See my previous post regarding flexibility).

When in doubt, refer to this list of fines for clarification.

What are your biggest rehearsal pet peeves?

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

What interferes and is out of our control

2011-06-06T22:48:00.005-06:00

The summer gigging/travel schedule is well underway as I begin a recording session with the USAF Band of Mid America, just across the river from my hometown of St. Louis, MO. I'm here to do a week of rehearsals followed by a week of recording the music of Clifton Williams. The project is with the concert band, arguably a musical dinosaur and the topic of recent discussion based on this bit of national news. Having spent several years playing with the USAF Band of the Golden West and my current affiliation with the ANG Band of the Gulf Coast, I'm attempting to formulate my opinions on the state of military music- a great artistic oxymoron. I'll tackle this topic as these two weeks unfold.

However, this entry has to do with circumstances that affect our performances in ways seemingly out of our control.

The following three examples entertained me today while doing what classical percussionists do best... counting rests.

1. The Editor/Engraver/Publisher Faux Pas

Sightreading this morning's rehearsal, my eyes quickly caught a measure of 12/8 with eleven beats. Jittery on iced coffee and a bit disoriented due to the heat, humidity, greenery, and weird smells of the Midwest, I double checked the error against other parts and quickly determined the original intent. No big deal. Then in a tacet moment of rehearsal, I reflected on the number of errors I've encountered over the years, considered the millions of printed scores generated throughout the centuries...

And soon lost my place counting rests. Nonetheless, what do you do with part errors?

Solution: Grab the score, other parts, and/or recordings and check the parts. Regardless of what you may find, there's no better tool than your ear. Always assume the part is wrong. Chances are, particularly if it's a standard piece of repertoire, someone has posted errata and the great oracle, Google, can shed some light on your issue.

2. Page Turners are Overworked and Underpaid

As an undergraduate, I wore an advertisement visible only to faculty and staff declaring my subconscious willingness to turn pages for any and all accompanists. Turning pages, on the surface, is absolutely inconsequential. You sit there, follow the score, stand up, watch in your peripheral vision for a head cue from the pianist, and in one quick motion, whip the page quietly and thoroughly without disrupting the sight line before returning temporarily to your seat. No brainer.

The reality... the page turner has nothing to do with the performance, little invested in the outcome, no recognition, yet the ability to crash the entire performance. Not to mention, pianists have the ability to execute some serious head fakes.

Solution: Just say no. Or demand a lot of money and top billing. When using a page turner, treat them with respect and dignity, massive amounts of scholarship money, and buy them a frosty beverage or two once in a while.

3. Sound Reinforcement Debacles

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to perform in collaboration with wonderful musicians and dancers for a local festival. Unfortunately, as is often the case at music festivals with ever-rotating acts, a meltdown occurred. Mid-set, the stage right sound went out, taking with it the tabla, hammered dulcimer, and vocals while rendering our monitors useless. Needless to say, it was frustrating to diligently rehearse our performance, bringing countless years of collective creative experience to bare in front of a large and receptive audience, only to have it diminished by "technical difficulties."

As a side note for festival planners: Two services you don't want to skimp on:
1. Portapotties
2. Audio Services

To be clear, this is by no means a rant about audio engineers... I've worked with so many talented audio engineers over the years who've made me and my ensemble du jour sound wonderful, regardless of the innate challenges of the venue.

Here are some immediate post-performance thoughts:

-We almost always pick the musicians we perform with, but it's rare we have control over who reinforces the sound.

-An inexperienced performer is easily noticeable to the average audience member, but an inexperienced engineer is easily overlooked by contractors.

-Playing gigs with only the most reputable and highly skilled engineers is simply not reality for a large percentage of performances.

Solution (in three parts):

A. Be prepared. Have a detailed tech rider, gather as much information as to the expected audio offerings, and do your best to work those people skills. In my experience, particularly good engineers are happy to be in the background. Going unnoticed means they did their job. Inexperienced (and often overconfident) engineers need to be coerced with verbal ninja skills into wanting nothing more than to be a successful part of the product.

B. Learn to speak their language. This is similar to dealing with an IT guy/girl. Playing the innocent victim sets yourself up for catastrophe.

C. Become super awesome and famous and hire your own hand-picked audio engineers. That should do it.

The Bottom Line: We should, as artists, take music very seriously. But at the end of the day, it's music. Keeping life in perspective is not just important in the above examples, but in all we do. Learn, make notes, and move on.

Please visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Tipping the Scale

2011-04-13T19:21:00.006-06:00

There are two buckets.

The first bucket collects the sumptuous, brilliant "correct" notes you play. Even some of the notes you wish to play differently may be technically correct. They go into the first bucket as well. One at a time the correct notes collect, tipping the scale away from the empty bucket.

On occasion, we tend to play "wrong" notes. Physics, physiology, and psychology rear their ugly heads* during performance to prove their worth. As a result, rogue notes happen. In the second bucket are a handful of these musical malfunctions.

Think back to your last live performance.

You surely had the first bucket overflowing with good notes, the second with a few others.

However, we tend to give so much more weight to the wrong notes and ultimately create a psychological impairment that spirals into chaos.

To be clear, 95% right notes, or an A does not make for a good performance. A greater percentage is generally required, as demonstrated around 2:25 here. This is a bit of an extreme example.

Think back to the last live performance you attended. It's incredibly likely you heard wrong notes. At the same time, I hope you heard a well prepared, passionate performance.

Remember, your goal is to keep an overall perspective and prevent the dangerous cycle of focusing on the occasional clammed note.

To accomplish this, two separate personalities are required- one for the practice room and one for the stage.

The first analyzes, the second demonstrates without passing judgment. Learning versus sharing. As you exit the learning phase, practice the performance phase. When it becomes time to take the stage, you are focused on what matters. (More on this in future blog posts).

Sharpen your awareness on what you're trying to say musically and the number of notes in each bucket will cease to be relevant.

The scale is already tilting in your favor. Trust the process.

Inspired by William Allaudin Mathieu and his wonderful books.

*Much love to my colleagues in the ugly-headed disciplines

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Don't Do This!

2011-04-10T23:57:00.014-06:00

With an upcoming gig of smashing* (see below) cymbals together for a couple of performances of Orff's Carmina Burana, I am reminded of the time I was fired for doing such a thing. To be clear, it wasn't my musicianship that got me in to trouble but something much more hideous... my egregious attitude.

Here's the story:

(The ensemble, conductor, city, and time period in my life shall remain anonymous)

I'm killing it in the final rehearsal of a very gratifying concert run, playing enjoyable repertoire with a very good anonymous ensemble. We are reading everything down and I'm nailing my timbre choices with impeccable timing, tasteful balance and blend, and feeling, shall I say, utterly confident about my abilities, my career choice, and my art. There's nothing I'd rather do than play music, and the fact I was getting financially compensated meant I'm obviously a fully accredited professional. Life simply couldn't be better.

Then the moment which shall forever live in my mind, in the deepest, darkest recesses where pride and shame reside to do battle with one another for eternity. Okay, perhaps I'm slightly overstating the psychological effects of the incident, but here I am, an anonymous amount of time later recounting the incident with perfect mental clarity. I'd say the moment was quasi-defining. I'll leave it at that and get on with the story....

As the anonymous ensemble reaches a climactic moment in this anonymous composition, the typical anonymous composer from the typical anonymous time period wrote a dramatic cymbal crash at the pinnacle of the work. On this gig, it's my job to punctuate it with a dynamic cymbal crash, perfectly blended with the ensemble, timed to perfection, and with ridiculous, perhaps unfathomable amounts of tone color. In my hands are the perfect pair of cymbals for this very crash and in my soul are years of technique for this very refined instant.

I make it happen.

I look over at my anonymous colleagues in the percussion section and they nod with approval... perhaps even envy.

I selfishly look throughout the ensemble to see if anyone else was impressed by the artistry I just dropped on the rehearsal. Perhaps an eye from an anonymous violinist.

I smile to myself, let the drama sink in, and begin to plan my entire future playing more crashes in ensembles the entire world over. This is my gig. My calling.

Then for some inexplicable reason, the conductor stops the ensemble and says, "Mr. Cymbals, I need you to hold the cymbals up in the air after you hit them like this so everyone can see them."

Confusion sets in. A sense of panic. First of all, I kept my family name at birth and "Cymbals" isn't very Irish sounding. Then I think, is he really talking to me? Considering what just took place, the only words he should be uttering to me are "bravissimi" or "give the man a raise." What is going on? I immediately second-guess the sound I created and whether or not it was sufficient for "Mr. Baton's" taste. However, that's not consistent with his statement.

So I ask, "Is there a different sound you are looking for?"

He responds, "just hold the cymbals up in the air after you make the crash so we can see them."

I coldly reply, "I am certain the audience will see the cymbals just fine. If you want a different sound, tell me, but if you want me to look different, I'm not going to alter my technique."

A staring contest ensues....

He finally summons the response, "Do as I say."

I retort, "No."

Tension wafts throughout the ensemble, and then with the diplomacy of a U.N. Peacekeeper, the personnel manager announces our break.

My blood pressure is through the roof, but I held my ground. How dare this clueless conductor tell me how I should look when I play. Would he question how the clarinets sit? If he felt the urge, would he tell the bassists to use a German grip versus French? I don't think so. Me, 1, conductor, 0.

As I'm collecting my thoughts and wondering where the rest of the percussion section disappeared to, I see the personnel manager bee-lining in my direction.

We'll say the conversation was less than cordial.

To make an already long and painful story a few paragraphs shorter, I was allowed to play the two concerts and would never be rehired. Conductor, 1, Me, 0.

No, I didn't change how I played the crashes for the concert.

Would I change how I handled the situation?

Emphatically, YES. How arrogant I was. How humbled I quickly became.

Did the conductor handle himself well? Probably not. But it really doesn't matter.

We strike some sort of artistic or technical compromise all of the time.

The bottom line is to be mature, professional, and realistic. Play the gig, serve the music, and if the artistic and professional expectations are unreasonable, courteously bow out of the next opportunity.

There are countless ways this episode should have been addressed.

Simply put, don't do what I did!

*smashing with great artistry, finesse, and countless hours of practice and performance. However it's still just hitting two plates of metal together. At least it's not making flatulent sounds with your lips into plumbing (i.e. brass players).

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

5 Ways to Survive a Painful Performance (as an audience member)

2011-04-07T22:17:00.009-06:00

Surely you've sat through an excruciating performance with no hope of escape. Our modern day distraction, the smartphone, isn't socially acceptable in the concert hall (although, that rarely stops audience members) so we're forced to either:
a. Suffer in silence
b. Have a game plan

Here are my top five lifesaving distractions:

1. The Toe Rudiment Challenge
Practice all 40 PAS Rudiments... with your toes. Go in order and see how quickly you can burn them. Caution: Loosen shoes before beginning as swelling may occur. Also works with gluteus muscles. Proceed with caution.

2. Death by Polyrhythms
Perhaps you've seen a woodwind player in an unconscious moment air-fingering through a difficult passage during conversation. Their fingers wiggle quietly and no one seems to notice. The same can be done with polyrhythms. If you're lucky enough for the performer(s) on stage to be keeping time, you can lock into some good practice of 3 against 4 against 5 (your toes are already warmed up so get them involved).

3. Meditation
Nothing but upside. Breath control, stress management, focus, and energy conservation are all part of musician's daily lives. It takes practice to go to your happy place. Do you really carve out an hour or two of your day to practice meditation? As an audience member in a cruel and unusually punishing recital, launch your meditation practice. For a "how to," I'm a fan of Thich Nhat Hanh but there are hundreds of other Zen masters with a book to sell you.

4. Create Poetry
Limericks are the best. Use your fellow audience members for inspiration. "There once was a man with bad odor..." What rhymes with odor?
If you want to be a little classier, try Haiku. If you need help, this link should do it. Immediately notate your gifts to humanity on the back side of the program once the concert has concluded. Celebrate with a tasty beverage.

5. It Could Be Worse
I just finished reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption and clearly, a bad concert isn't torture. However, some survival tactics may apply:

a. Try and determine why the performer(s) have chosen to torture you. There are countless reasons that may or may not include sadism. Chances are, they aren't prepared for the performance. Try and diagnose their performance maladies and develop a treatment plan.

b. Plan your escape. An exit through the same doors you entered lacks creativity. Could you cause a distraction? Low crawl? Chisel through the floor beneath your seat? The more bizarre, the better. At least 5 minutes of the performance can be expended planning the great breakout.

c. Maintain physical activity... in your chair (see number one and two). The same applies to flights during that awful period where you are forced to stow away all portable electronic devices. Here are some seated exercises. Bring a towel.

d. Stay positive. There's still much to live for after the concert. There may be punch and cookies.

What are your tried and true survival techniques?

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Perseverance. Use it.

2011-04-02T15:30:00.004-06:00

The answer to a successful career in music is perseverance. An obvious prerequisite is musical proficiency, but seriously... we've all heard and seen performers/composers/educators/etc who lead us to think, "I can do that...and better."

Persevere five years after school and you've probably outlasted many of your peers*. A few years of hard work and you'll realize you can do it.

Your gigs get better, your reputation grows, your music and business skills evolve, and you're making a living as a musician. There's nothing more rewarding.

The challenge is, the work never ends. If you're driven, you'll never feel as though you've arrived. You're always looking for the next gig, recording project, commission, connection, or new opportunity.

Embrace it. Enjoy the challenge. Make career planning and development part of your routine and enjoy the ride.

Thanks to composer Jenni Brandon for inspiring this post. Check out Jenni's great music at www.jennibrandon.com

*As a side note, this statement isn't passing judgement on those who leave the music business. Life and career changes happen. Ask around... how many sociology, psychology, education, etc graduates are working in their field?

Conferencing 101

2011-02-08T23:55:00.006-07:00

Lately, it seems as though I spend every 21 days at a conference of some sort or another. Each time I pack for a trip, three things happen:
A. Laundry keeps me up late
B. Gabriel, my pooch, suffers from anxiety at the sight of the suitcase
C. I reflect upon how to cut more corners and make the experience a little better

Here are some things to consider before your next conference. Check back as this list will grow and please feel free to add your suggestions to the comments.

Here we go with the first 10:

1. Comfortable shoes. Obvious. At this past year's PASIC, I fell victim to the insole saleswoman... but my bubbly insoles feel great.

2. Hand sanitizer. Too many hand shakes, buffets, etc. Gross.

3. Remember the business cards. They may seem passé, but you'll feel lame when someone asks and you cannot deliver.

4. Water bottle. Every conference provides water. Dry hotel air and late night drinks will dehydrate. Why pay for water? Save your money for that kitschy little piece of garbage in the exhibit hall you've had your eye on.

5. Sit on the aisle and near the door if there's even a remote chance you may want to leave. Don't feel bad for leaving. Just make like you have an important meeting and do it.

6. Conferences are for networking. Yes, you go for learning, presenting, recharging, and renewing inspiration, but networking is key. Make an effort to introduce yourself to the person next to you. When walking from session to session, strike up a conversation with someone near you. Keep it positive, even if the session you attended was the epitome of suckage. Steer away from negativity whenever possible.

7. Food. Bring energy bars. A $47 caesar salad that's been unrefrigerated for six hours as your only mid-day meal option is not okay. And don't be shy about asking people to join you for meals. Remember the gum and mints.

8. A designated receipt envelope. When you get home (or are preparing for the next conference) and are cleaning out jacket pockets, bags, suitcase pockets, wallets, purses, or man bags in search of every single meaningful receipt, you'll be grateful. Hopefully someone else is footing the bill, but if not, write it off!!

9. Balance your sanity with session attendance. Only you know how much of the exhibit area you can take before psychosis sets in, and getting hit with too much information by attending every single session may have the opposite effect you were seeking.

10. When you get back to the room/on the plane, write down names, thoughts, ideas, brainstorms, inspiring moments, action items, and followups while they are still fresh. This is very important to get the most out of the conference. If you are a presenter, reflect upon your session and jot down ideas you picked up from other presenters. Watching a great presenter can supersede the most mundane subject matter.

See you at the next conference, wherever that may be. I'll be the guy bouncing gleefully in his bubbly insoled shoes, or sitting near the door for a quick escape.

What are your conference musts?

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Body Language

2011-02-07T22:58:00.002-07:00

Think about it... as a musician, everything we do is based on body language. What we project from the stage, how we read a conductor, other musicians in a chamber setting, or following the guitarist/lead singer through a tune you've never previously performed. How someone breathes, cues, feels time, preps their body, and reacts to subtle change is important in everything we do. And not just in music.

There are people we say are easy to follow. Why some and not others?

Do you practice picking up on mannerisms? Projecting mannerisms? Of course you do- every single day. Transfer these skills to music? Are you "easy to follow?" If not, be that person. Practice in a mirror. Practice for friends. Practice with musicians.

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Reverse Engineering

2011-01-31T09:13:00.002-07:00

At a recent clinic on developing the small school drum line, I discussed the concept of reverse engineering music and the western traditional way of learning. What I mean is to take aural learning (rote, by ear, etc) and converting it into reading. Breaking the standard modality and consequently accepting others into the fold.

Be honest, does the mention of learning by rote evoke a negative response?

Now consider other cultures- when you hear a virtuoso tabla player, do you shudder by the fact they probably learned through an aural tradition? A master gyil player from Ghana- same thing?

I've taught numerous students who weren't products of their public school music education system but could seriously play. They learned in church gospel bands, garage bands, and by listening to others and emulating.

They had 50% of what every musician needs. I taught the other 50%. Reading.

Both are important. Both are musical traits worthy of development.

Why do we transcribe solos when learning to improvise? Reverse engineering.

The same can be done with anything we play. Play it. Record it. Write it. Reverse engineered.

Have your students do the same. Have your drum line create a cadence, record it, and then write it down. Now it's recorded for next season and in print as well. You just opened the door to students who would not otherwise be interested and capable of playing.

Steel band... same thing. Teaching both sides reaches a larger pool of musicians and through skillful teaching, you can merge the two types of musicians, the readers and aural learners, into one.

Develop the skill in lessons, too. There's only an upside.

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Writing Your Future... the Dream Bio.

2011-01-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

As I prepare to present a clinic on entrepreneurship for college students, I'm reminded of a poignant exercise in career planning:

1. Google someone who is currently doing what you want to do.
2. Read their bio.
3. Determine their path... perhaps email them and request an interview.
4. Compare their path to your current trajectory.
5. Write your "dream" bio and the steps you'll take to get there.

Am I suggesting you copy someone's life? No. But you can use their examples as a map.

When XC skiing in the back country, if there are already tracks, you can choose to take them, cut your own, or use a little of both. The bottom line is, you get to the destination.

'Tis the Season!

2010-12-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

The holiday season is here and I'm hoping those gifts under the tree are exactly what you were hoping for! I know my gift from Tracy worked out, although it's not under the tree and has already been used on a gig. Thank you to the fine folks at Cooperman for yet another terrific Christmas gift.

But this blog isn't about a new riq...

Spending time with family and friends, finding time to decompress, and getting caught up on sleep is typical for many of us. If you're like me, it takes a day of downtime before getting a little stir crazy. There's the, "I feel guilty for relaxing" immediately followed by "I feel guilty for not relaxing." Can You relate?

Just when I was leaning towards taking a day or two off from thinking about music, practicing, teaching, writing, etc I got a call from the great NYC-based percussionist Valerie Naranjo. She and Barry Olsen are in town visiting family and skiing and were interested in getting into the music building to.... yep... Practice.

Okay.

So here's the compromise I've struck:

1. Do something everyday I wouldn't necessarily find time for during busier times
2. Do something music/percussion/career-related everyday that I wouldn't necessarily find time for during busier times

For the first to-do, movies fit the bill, reading, dare I say, fiction, and exploring this wonderful valley I live in. Sounds relaxing, right?

For the second to-do, I have a stack of David Kuckhermann DVD's I've been meaning to get through. Then there's the advance copy of a riq text by my friend and fellow LSU alum Tom Zirkle. And practicing riq is relaxing, afterall!? (Question and a statement...).

That should hold me over for a week...

What do you do over extended breaks?

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Paradigm Shifts for the Classical Percussionist

2010-12-11T17:00:00.011-07:00

As of late, some of the blogs and percussion forums I read are ablaze with discussions about the lack of traditional career options for aspiring professional musicians and educators. This is a common thread in our modern day economy/society, regardless of degree earned, course of study, or pedigree.

Orchestra and university positions have become ridiculously competitive or have dried up entirely. As many students get closer to graduation, their idealistic mindset quickly evolves into panic as they see traditional careers simply unavailable, and consequently, they:
a. continue on with school
b. accept an arbitrary sense of defeat
c. Find a way to continue with their art outside of the norm

Can you relate to any of the above? Hopefully letter c. If not, well, read on.

Time for an assignment:
Make some lists; things you can do. Items include musical and non-musical work, hobbies, and other activities that consume your daily life. Here we go...

1. Make a list of what it is you are doing now or have done.

2. Make a list of what you want to do. What you can do now. What you think you can do with a little more work, or ten years of work.

3. Now, make a list of some craziness that would be daring. Ideas that seem insane but would be thrilling to achieve. What can you do that's not a traditional path.

4. Time to compare. Find commonalities? Anything non-traditional that sparks your interests? Diversified? Strengths you haven't considered? Enlist friends to do the same. Compare notes.

Example: You're a musician. You practice yoga. Yoga studios make great venues for performances. Some styles of yoga incorporate live musicians, including frame drums, marimba, tabla, and more. There are specialists in yoga for musicians. There are thousands of musicians who practice yoga... see where I'm going? Perhaps there's a niche you haven't explored. Can you get a degree in musical yoga studies? Not that I know of. Will this pay the bills? Depends on you.

A few months ago, I blogged about the variety of opportunities in my life and how I find the diversity rewarding. Music and pedagogy are both my career, hobby, lifestyle, and the one constant in everything I do.

At a Vic Firth meeting, I remember the Man himself, Mr. Firth say something poignant. He was asked about his career as a musician, educator, composer, publisher, and stick manufacturer. Then he was asked what he considers himself first- a musician, educator, etc etc. He responded, "A Business Man."

A piece of advice:
Talk to someone working in the business sector. How did they navigate their way through the post-college "real world?" Take notes.

Your Career is Yours. It doesn't belong to your teachers, institution, degree program, history, society, external factors, or fate. No finger pointing, just make it happen. Do what works for you and your art.

Once I got my mind around everything written above, a powerful and rewarding paradigm shift took place in my life. Suddenly, I was doing everything I wanted, stretching my comfort levels as a musician and educator, and living a very full life. It's my responsibility and my journey.

It's your journey too and trust me, well worth it. Now get started.

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Three Documentaries Worth Watching

2010-12-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

The following documentaries share a terrific amount of information on the music business. Some things you know, but surely a lot you didn't know.

What do you know about Les Paul? Find out more and how his inventions revolutionized the music business. Watch this documentary for free on Hulu.
Les Paul- Chasing Sound

How have corporations influenced the music business, and what do some of the greats in the business have to say? Watch this documentary for free on Hulu.
Before the Music Dies

And here's a great documentary discussing copyright issues with music and media in the 20-21st century. Watch this documentary for free on Hulu.
RiP! A Remix Manifesto

Check out the documentaries and share your thoughts.

www.jameswdoyle.com

Programming..."Monteverdi Mayhem!"

2010-11-28T20:48:00.002-07:00

This post is more of a question than anything. In an era of bankrupting orchestras, there has been a movement recognizable to percussionists... the downsizing of the barely-hanging-in-orchestra to a "baroque" style approach to programming.

By eliminating the need to hire that third bassoonist/contra doubler, third flute/pic doubler, bass clarinetist, third through fifth (utility) horn player, a few percussionists who mostly sit around, and a drunken bass trombonist (stereotype?), you can save a lot of money through programming. Playing a "Voracious Vivaldi," "Handel the Heretic," or "Couperin's a Cool Guy" concert saves money on personnel, but how does it play with audiences? I don't know? Do you?

I teach a section of "Introduction to Western Art Music" to 70 general education students- a class I enjoy immensely. What better challenge than to find ways to make the music of mostly dead Europeans relevant to a student population of freshman students of a varied socio-economic background. I can tell you, even with my best theatrics, multimedia presentations, juicy historical gossip, and all out preparation, this generation won't likely subscribe to an orchestra season of "Fervent Frescobaldi" programming.

Will programming save the orchestra? Is the once mighty symphony destined to serve merely a segment of urbanity in a higher socio-economic range? Exist on a part-time basis?

What brings your tribe to a symphony concert?

Please share your thoughts!

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Travel Time!

2010-11-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year where we take to the roads and skies to visit family and friends in far off destinations. Food and good cheer is plentiful, shopping is required, and a home without a full compliment of percussion instruments becomes our temporary residence.

For the better part of my professional career, I've spent a lot of time on tour. In other words, frequent trips in vehicles and airlines, long weeks spent in hotels, and countless hours away from a rigid practice routine. With the travel season upon us, here are some ideas I use to continue pushing the ball forward as a percussionist while away from home.

In the car (for long commutes... but of course, please be safe!):

1. Egg shaker and/or bones practice. Put on your favorite driving music and practice patterns, alternative accent patterns, hemiolas, and tone color changes.

2. Practice Solkatu. Learning and reciting bols is a great use of drive time. Develop a new counting scheme that you can apply within your own practice and teaching.

3. Listening. There are countless recordings we all should spend more time listening to. Something I've taken to recently is listening to a jazz standard to memorize the head and absorb solo ideas (as well as memorizing solo phrases). Then, play an Aebersold of the standard, sing the head, and of course, sing solos. It's a great ear training exercise, focuses your attention on chord progressions, and expands you vocabulary of ideas.

On the plane

1. Writing. I find flight time to be perfect for writing exercises, creating practice spreadsheets, and forced time to reevaluate my goals.
2. Reading. There are so many books I want to read/reread but rarely slow down enough to partake. A long flight to the east coast is ideal for reading. Here are a couple of musts:
Talent is Overrated
The Savvy Musician
The Musician's Way
The War of Art
3. Podcasts. An outstanding opportunity to get caught up on Tom Burritt's great podcasts, Percussion Axiom TV, as well as my favorite inspirational podcasts by TED. Check them out!

In the hotel/guest house/guest room

1. Naturally, all of the above work in this situation.
2. A small practice pad and a pair of sticks. This is a no brainer, but you should never let a day go by without drumming. My small Vic Firth practice pad has traveled with me to three continents and countless states in the past three years. A small metronome is easy to travel with as well. The lists of exercises to practice is endless, but here are some favorites:
Stick Control
Rudimental Arithmetic
Polyrhythms-The Musicians Guide
3. A pandeiro, riq, or small tar. The volume of these instruments won't bother the neighbors while the weight makes packing and traveling easy. The course of study for these instruments is immense, but don't be afraid to dive in.

These ideas are by no means exclusive and I'm always looking for new ways to evolve my travel routine. Please share your traveling practice routine!

Happy Holidays!

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

How Often Do I Say...

2010-10-26T23:11:00.002-06:00

Slow it down...

Count/subdivide...

First establish a pulse...

Keep your hands low...

More wrist, less arm...

Exaggerate the dynamics/phrasing/etc...

Watch your hands...

I have a wonderful studio of outstanding young percussionists that I'm honored to teach and mentor. In fact, it was at the conclusion of four great lessons that I thought about common threads from one lesson to the next. Each of these statements were finished with a "why." And then I began contemplating how many times, since 1993 (when I started teaching lessons), I have spoken the above words and many more phrases eluding me after five hours of rehearsals and four hours of teaching lessons... Who knows how often?

To be clear, this is not a rant, but a place to collect commonly uttered phrases in lessons. A collection of observations and instructions that may need to be turned into more efficient teaching strategies... ideas that can lead students to these discoveries without the need for an instructor to make statements or have a question asked of them. Essentially, a way to make myself obsolete.

Or perhaps I can record each statement and press the appropriate button when necessary.

Focus on the second note of the diddle....

Take a half step back from the marimba/snare drum/etc...

Relax your index finger/shoulders/etc...

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Fostering Competition...

2010-10-02T12:25:00.003-06:00

How about it? Competition. It exists in everything we do in life, from promotions at your place of employment to bidding for items on eBay, rushing for that coveted parking spot in a crowded lot to fantasy football leagues with your college friends. In regards to music, there's the audition, the concerto competition, festival appearances, marching/WGI/DCI competitions, talent shows, scholarships, job interviews, or simply trying to get ahead of your competitors in the music business world.

Is competition such a nasty thing for artists, or is it a fact of life? Should it be nurtured, taken with a grain of salt, or denounced?

As the fall semester is upon us, I cannot help but think of the arguments for and against. In my studio, I tend to foster some friendly competition on a number of levels. The most recent was to ensure the 40 rudiments are firmly in the hands of all students, from memory, at reasonable tempi, dependent on their individual development. The final round took place in front of my music appreciation class with the 70+ general ed students as the panel. After a split verdict, the student athletes in the class demanded a head to head "drum off" of improvised solos that was incredibly entertaining (and very impressive)! In the case of the two students in the "drum off," one marched snare with the Cavaliers this past season and the other is a frequent competitor in drum set solo competitions around the region. Their musical lives are surrounded by competition.

As a youth, I competed in team sports where 50% of the participants were winners and 50% were losers. As an adult, I raced bikes on the Northern California road and mountain bike circuits. Bike racing has one winner and 100 losers. It was here that my opinions on competition developed. I lost my share of bike races, but grew immensely as an athlete, physically, technically, and mentally. The key was keeping perspective. There were races I was in peak condition and didn't finish top 10 and races I won on days I was there simply for the training.

The same can be said in music, and for that reason, carefully creating competition amongst my studio allows an opportunity to address the realities of our mutual career choice, foster an outlet for those motivated extrinsically, and ensure proper perspective is kept.

Two questions for you:

1. How do you feel about competition?
2. What types of competitions do you foster?

Thanks for reading!

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

James

Guitarists have good ideas too!

2010-09-18T00:54:00.000-06:00

My good friend and colleague Roberto Capocchi is a fantastic guitarist, freelancer, recitalist, recording artist, and educator. It's always a pleasure to spend time discussing music, music as a career and lifestyle, and teaching. He recently started a blog where he addresses the topics often repeated each year to students. Check it out for some wonderful thoughts on practicing and much more!

Roberto Capocchi

Under Destinations, scroll down to blog and instantaneously become a better musician...

Staying Connected- a new website

2010-09-06T14:36:00.001-06:00

Informal education is easier than ever with the constant growth of online resources. One not to miss is a new website, http://drumchattr.com/

Check it out, stay informed, participate, and continue to learn.

Because You Never Know

2010-08-03T23:37:00.002-06:00

How many times has a well-meaning acquaintance put you on the spot by asking how you'll make a living as a musician? Or maybe you've been the well-meaning individual who asks that very question to an aspiring musician under your tutelage? Either way, typical responses often include, but are not limited to:

Teach school
Get an "orchestra gig"
Go to grad school and then figure it out
Get a "college gig"
or
Move to NYC/LA/Nashville/Vegas/Burma/Chechnya/somewhere and "break into the scene"

Along the way, teachers, mentors, friends, family, clergy, rivals, significant others, classmates, idols, enemies, audition committees, and others in our environment offer up grandiose advice in an attempt to steer us in the "right" direction. Sure, we all know individuals who focused on a goal from day one (to become the timpanist of the Southern North Dakota Ukulele Radio Orchestra) and landed that dream gig. To those who found themselves following a direct route without interruption to their final destination, I salute you.

For the rest of us, it's a work in progress and subject to change. For that very reason, I've adopted the "Because You Never Know" approach to a music career.

In 1993, although I would have never openly admitted it, my career goal was to be an orchestral musician (learn excerpts, buy tux, take auditions, get job, wear tux, be happy). Somewhere in the career preparations, this goal seemed less important to me as other interests grew. In an ever-saturated market, diversifying your skills can not only be fulfilling, but profitable. Creating a niche for yourself may very well be the key to a fresh and successful career.

As preparations begin for a magnificently eclectic performance with the Andy Skellenger Percussion Project, the career path deviations from my 1993 projections are never more evident. Here's a partial list of "paying" gigs representing numerous genres, styles, instruments (50+ instruments played), and settings from late April through August.

-Orchestra gigs (tux, excerpts, etc)
-Teach course in improvisation
-Teach private lessons to college students
-Direct college jazz ensembles
-Host, direct, and perform on the college percussion ensemble/steel drum concert
-Adjudicate an indoor circuit solo and ensemble festival
-Present a clinic on frame drumming techniques for a Day of Percussion
-Perform a two hour percussion quartet concert for a music festival where I play marimba, vibraphone, and literally dozens of other percussion instruments
-Lay down drum set tracks for someone's recording project
-Play congas with a salsa band
-Tour for two weeks with a military concert band
-Teach for eight days at a summer music camp while performing with a band, orchestra, guitar ensemble,and choir, as well as faculty performances of jazz, Irish traditional music, and pop music
-Record congas and cajon for another album
-Teach private percussion, drum set, and frame drum lessons
-Teach drum line camps
-Record marimba tracks for another album
-Play doumbek, tar, bendir, drum set, udu, and cajon with a tabla artist and other musicians for a music festival
-Accompany a belly dance troupe
-Perform with a world-renown tabla virtuoso on a private concert
-perform marimba "background" music at a large national conference
-Play vibraphone with a jazz combo
-Teach a marching band camp, including writing parts
-Prepare classes and ensemble repertoire for the fall academic semester

The point is, you may never know where life's journey will take you. How you manage this may be the difference between a life full of rewarding experiences or an existence full of career disappointment.

Concerned about the "jack of all trades, master of none" label? Seems awfully black and white, don't you think? Who's to say you cannot be great at something and proficient at many other things?

There's no rule that states you must play vibraphone at a certain proficiency before age 23. No rule requiring you to be the best singer/songwriter before performing publicly. Sure, society has musical expectations, but there's always an "in the meantime niche" for your music. Perhaps if you diversify your musical skills, your experiences will remain new and exciting, and you'll continue to grow your niche.

Because you never know where your career might lead, absorb as much as possible. To quote a letter Bela Bartok wrote in 1931, "I don't reject any influence, be it Slovakian, Romanian, Arabic, or from any other source. The source must only be clean, fresh and healthy!"

What are your thoughts?

Please visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Determining a Philosophy... Really?

2010-07-15T22:58:00.008-06:00

The idea of writing a philosophy may sound disgusting. Seriously, could something be more academic? However, putting guiding principles into writing adds transparency and accountability to why you do what you do. Be it your approach to teaching, business, performing, or overall living, taking a moment to stream thoughts into words, words into organization, and organization into a declaration can be an enlightening exercise. Here are a few points to consider:

1. The philosophy is subject to change... never written in blood
2. Whether or not to share with others is a personal choice
3. The writing doesn't have to read like an 18th century philosopher's oration

Take a moment to consider where you are, what you do, how you do it, and why.

Here's a brief example of the "philosophy" for my percussion studio. In this case, the audience is the student, the setting is Adams State College, and yes, it's subject to change.

My educational philosophy can be summarized by the following statement:
‘When the phone rings, you will be prepared to say yes to whatever the gig may be.’

A corollary to the above statement is:
‘You will always be called back because of your musicianship, preparation, flexibility, communication skills, and collegiality.’

Achieving the technical facility to express oneself artistically is the goal of every lesson, coaching, and rehearsal. Additionally, many musicians, regardless of degree program, teach in some capacity. For this reason, it's important for all students to learn “how” and “why” technique and artistic expression is developed. The ability to articulate these skills through verbal explanation and modeling is of the utmost importance and beneficial to all percussion students.
Achieving success lies in the collaboration between student and professor.

In fact, this blog entry has inspired reevaluation... What are your thoughts? What would you change? What's your philosophy?

Please visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Essential Tools for the Practice Room

2010-05-25T10:23:00.005-06:00

Instrument
Music
Tuner
Pencil
Metronome
Recording Device
Journal or Checklist
Water
and...
Kitchen Timer

That's right, a kitchen timer. Preferably not a wind up, tick-tocking timer but an inexpensive, easy to use digital timer. The kind available at the dollar store for, well, a dollar.

When you start your practice session, you usually have goals to accomplish within a fixed amount of time. Set the goals, set the timer. As you practice, set micro goals and set the timer. You'll be amazed with the increased efficiency of your practice time and the focus you can keep throughout.

As a side note, set the timer for breaks as well.

Kitchen timer... trust me, you'll love it and it will revolutionize your practice sessions.

What are your practice room essentials?

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Balancing Overwhelmed Inspiration

2010-05-24T12:22:00.004-06:00

So you have a great meal that inspires you to achieve new heights in the culinary arts. However, boiling water is a challenge, you don't own a decent knife, let alone know how to slice, julienne, or mince, and your current repertoire of knowledge is limited to reading the box for suggested microwave cooking times. So instead, you let the dream go and order pizza.

Inspiration hits us for a reason, and even though the road may be long and without a Food Network contract, it's a journey worth taking. The upside is you develop new skills, eat healthier meals with fewer preservatives, and accomplish new things in your life that are extremely gratifying.

Having just returned from the inaugural Jazz Education Network conference, there's a lot of great information swirling in my head in need of digestion. In order to savor these captured moments, words of wisdom, and inspiring performances, I write. What stands out? What resonated? Why did certain ideas move me? How can I implement these new ideas into my life? Will these ideas transfer to other aspects of my musical career? Open new doors? Help me grow as a musician and educator?

When inspiration strikes, follow through with a few clarifying steps.

Step One:
Write down what inspired. Performances, quotes, ideas, conversations, anecdotes, etc.

Step Two:
Take a moment to reevaluate your goals- short medium and long term. How can this new inspiration meld with your goals?

Step Three:
Keep it in perspective and get to it!

Step Four:
Periodically revisit your list(s) of inspiration and re-sync your goals.

The great vibraphonist Stefon Harris made an excellent point in his clinic- when you step back and see what there is to learn, it can be overwhelming. So he gives himself parameters and decides to focus on the fundamentals. If he's amazing at the fundamentals (which he is), then he can get closer to being amazing at everything (which he already is).

Take your inspiration and move forward. It's a journey worth pursuing with guaranteed growth!

Please visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Checklists for the Practice Room

2010-05-16T15:13:00.008-06:00

Make a list.
Cross off the completed task.
Ahhh.
Sound appealing? If so, why not apply the same principle to the practice room?

I am a devoted follower of the Covey Quadrants and have set up checklists on Google Calendar to help me process tasks. The same approach is taken while structuring practice sessions. This need for organization includes the use of Excel spreadsheets. Not the creation of formulas and calculations, but to keep track of tempos, sections of music, knowledge of scales, techniques,or whatever needs organizing.

When preparing repertoire, analyze the music, determine form, notate the performance tempos of each section, and plot this information into a spreadsheet. For example, if the "A" section is 120 beats per minute, list "A Section" to the left and tempos from 40 bpm to beyond performance tempo across the top. As you accomplish the A section at 40 bpm, you can put a "yes" in the column. Instant and visible success! Before you know it, you are progressing in an efficient manner, have an understanding of the form, and clear goals in print for your next session.

Here are some useful checklists to print and use.

Scale Checklist

Rudiment Checklist

If you'd like these forms (or others I use) in Excel format, e-mail me.

Happy (organized) Practicing!!

For more practice resources, visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

Building an Inventory

2010-05-11T16:53:00.006-06:00

How do you build a collection of the music, mallets, and instruments needed to freelance, teach privately, and make a living as a musician?

One purchase at a time.

Like all planning, think in the short, medium, AND long term. What types of gigs might you play? Do you currently have a vehicle to get you and your instruments to the gig with ample cargo space? What can you afford today? Save for tomorrow? Can you afford rent for the extra room these instruments require? Can you borrow instruments from your institution (either as a teacher or student) or the local high school?

While ordering the custom built marimba of your dreams will be inspiring, give you the ability to practice marimba whenever you like, and a nice big piece of furniture to add to your home, do you think you'll make a living playing marimba? To be honest, I bought the marimba of my dreams when I started teaching college... one place where a marimba is requisite.

Make a list of what you need for the career you desire. Then price that list, considering quality versus price point. Update your list as you purchase and your plans change. Set money aside for these purchases, and don't beat yourself up if you absolutely have to have that pandeiro but aren't sure if you'll play gigs on it. If you get proficient, there's no reason you couldn't. And you could always start with this pandeiro instead (I love mine and yes, have made money playing gigs on it).

Before the marimba, bills were paid with a drum set, concert snare, triangle, tambourine, an old Deagan glockenspiel, crash cymbals, a xylophone, etc etc. Lessons were taught on these instruments, and you know, they were affordable to acquire- one purchase at a time.

It's never too soon to start collecting your tools of the trade. Keep an eye on Craigslist, eBay, and the occasional estate sale. Although this is a dark statement, many of your peers bail from a career in music and are left with music, mallets, and more that are often sold for cheap.

Before you buy that incredible chromatic set of tuned almglocken, ask yourself if it is the top of your list, will help distinguish your career, and bring personal and financial reward to your future.

Now get to that list!

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

The Penny Method

2010-05-09T21:53:00.003-06:00

How many times have you been making your way through your practice routine and found yourself guilty of the following:

Play, play, play, mistake, back up, play, continue (got it right!) play, play, etc....

or worse:

Play, play, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, continue (got it right!), play, play, etc...

What happened here? To begin with, you stopped and backed up. Was that part of your strategy for this session?

The other problem is the mistake, redo, mistake, redo, got it, move on mentality. Obviously, this gives a pretty low average of success, as you are reinforcing mistakes more than the smooth performances. Here's a quick fix:

The Penny Method.

Place a stack of pennies on your music stand. Play a difficult passage. Each time you are happy with the passage, move a penny to the right, making a new stack. Happy? Move a penny. Move another penny. But what happens if you make a mistake?

Move all of the pennies back to the left and start again...

This method will do two important things:
1. Improve your average
2. Put real world performance pressure on you to get it right.

The Penny Method- do it!

Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com

New Direction- Making Music Your Career

2010-03-28T13:59:00.004-06:00

No one reads a blog unless:
a. Your reader is family and feels obligated/only know what's happening in your life by reading
b. You have something to offer

This blog was created in the summer of 2007 as a way to track an overseas trip playing drums in warzones. Since that time, it served as a random update of musical and personal events. The new focus will be to give you ideas and resources for your business- your business of making music a career.

In the Fall of 2010, the Adams State College Music Department officially launches a new emphasis for music students- the Music Business Emphasis. How many musicians do you know who are qualified performers and/or educators, but struggle to make ends meet? This first step will provide a foundation to succeed in the music business.

What will the blog provide? The anecdotal information gleaned through personal experience and continued research will be beneficial for those trying to answer the question, how do I get started/what do I do after college? An incredibly important question which is, unfortunately, often avoided by academics.

To begin, check out these blogs:
The Savvy Musician

Seth's Blog

These two blogs will give you more than enough "food for thought." Bookmark and enjoy.

The information is out there.

J-

It takes the H1N1 to force a blog update

2009-10-13T15:22:00.002-06:00

Here I am, lying in bed with a fever, cough, congestion, and what seems to be the flu. Naturally, it takes an ailment to slow me down and stop pushing forward. It must be time to write.

So what's taken place since the conclusion of the spring semester? Somewhere in there was summer break but for the life of me, I cannot recall what sort of vacation time occurred. I spent quite a bit of time playing in and around OKC, of all places. I played the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango where I met some wonderful people and enjoyed playing some terrific music at Durango Mountain Resort and the Bootjack Ranch. Other than that, where did the summer go? There were the occasional folk music gigs, pop music gigs, and recording projects, but for whatever reason, nothing is jumping out.... maybe it's the fever.

The school year started with a very motivated drum line, a young but very promising big band, and a very, very busy academic schedule. In addition to nine lessons at the college and three private students, I'm directing the steel drum band, percussion ensemble, big band, teaching a section of music literature, percussion methods, jazz improvisation, and assisting with the marching band. At some point, I have to get the basketball band up and running. In addition, there are the regular trips to Dallas, gigs with Eric Shiveley, some recent recordings at Don Richmond's studio for Michael Hearn, Nick Branchal (ASC faculty member and founder of all of the great Mariachi ensembles in Colorado and New Mexico), and Fred Hargrove.

We've accomplished a very early homecoming concert with the steel drum band, jazz combo, and big band, and another is just around the corner. Hopefully, as I continue to lay here in bed and type, the big band is rehearsing without me! Same goes for tonight's community and college steel drum bands...

Over the weekend, as this flu was starting to settle in, I rehearsed with Denver singer/songwriter, Andy Ard for an upcoming gig in Morrison. He is a wonderful musician and I am grateful to get to play with him. We met years ago at a video shoot for Eric Shiveley's movie, played a gig together with Eric a year and a half ago, and now a trio gig with a Denver bassist, Steve Millin.

It's also a pleasure to have a gradually growing rep with Tracy where we can play without too much preparation or stress. I fact, we recently performed together in Sequoia National Park at a retreat center for a wedding. A beatiful setting for a beatiful wedding. It was memorable for it's uniqueness, as well as the family of bears we came across!

In case I don't get around to another update anytime soon, some other projects include a series of clinics throughout the area, including the Colorado Day of Percussion with She-e Wu. A gig with the Taos chamber music group, Soundscapes, and a few more surprises. It's also time for another faculty recital... perhaps early May? First, I must conquer the flu, then some new repertoire.

One Week to Go!!

2009-04-26T13:54:00.006-06:00

Greetings- These blog updates tend to be few and far between. Since the last post, I've been a bit swamped with booking a tour of Oklahoma, teaching classes and lessons, and either directing or performing recitals. The past few weeks included a performance for the dedication of some new Guatemalan marimbas for the valley's Guatemalan community, the final jazz ensembles concert of the year, a performance with saxophonist Ryan Janus, and the capstone performance for my percussionists, the spring ASC Percussion Ensemble and Steel Drum Bands performance. Everything was a success and we are a week from finals. Tracy and I have a duo recital on May 3rd at 7pm Leon Recital Hall which should be fun. We have selected some interesting works, including opportunities for me to play some tar and bendir, as well as the usual marimba,vibraphone, and drummy stuff.

An interesting opportunity closes Tuesday night with my lecture on the music of Pakistan for a class taught by 16 different professors from different disciplines throughout the semester. Could there be a country more important for our future? The preparation for my section of the course has taught me a lot about Pakistan and raised my awareness beyond the headlines.

My to do list for the summer looks promising. I cannot wait to begin!

Pandit Samir Chatterjee Followed by A Noteworthy Evening

2009-04-06T23:02:00.009-06:00

This past weekend was packed full of fine music and positive energy for our college. I am always amazed by the many wonderful things happening in our community and how there are so many times I cannot make it to everything I would like. With the college, concert venues, a vibrant community, and of course, the wonderful natural landscape, one can find ways to be double or triple booked on the same evening. And when not attending an event, you very well may find yourself involved in the presentation of activities. In this instance, I was glad to be a part of the offerings.

On Saturday, the college hosted a joint concert by Salman Ahmad from the band, Junoon, and Samir Chatterjee, world-renown tabla virtuoso. Salman has family ties and relationships with our director of student engagement here at the college and seriously, what better story could there be? Combine an Indian from Calcutta performing traditional Hindustani music with a rock star Pakistani from Lahore on stage performing together. Cynicism is easy. Making a difference globally is heroic. These two are making a difference. Salman works on many issues regarding peace, global health, and moderate teachings, while the latest and most inspiring cause I am aware of is that of Pandit Chatterjee's affiliation. He is working within Afghanistan to restore the musical culture, including the state-supported music school in Kabul. If you are interested in supporting this cause, make a donation here. What a cause-- returning the culture to a proud society disrupted by decades of war. Musicians can be the most cynical people on the planet, but music seems to be the one thing void of true conflict. Traveling to a war zone to teach young musicians, especially when fundamentalist religious teachings may see no place for music takes a person with immense character. How can one not be inspired by this global perspective?

Prior to the concert, Samir was kind enough to share his time with our music students by presenting a class on Hindustani music and specifically, tabla. I remember being stunned when first exposed to tabla playing and I hope those in attendance experienced that same feeling. For my students to be able to sit on the floor a few feet from his playing had to forge a connection with the complexities and beauty of tabla playing. I know it did for me! And Samir- what a great person, performer, and guru. Those in NYC and Pittsburgh who study with him are privileged individuals.

Special thanks to Aaron and Masood for making this entire event a success.

The next event was a large undertaking directed by Tracy. On Sunday, the music department hosted the first annual event titled "A Noteworthy Evening" where we were able to raise a healthy amount of money for the music department's scholarship endowment. The event was formal, involved the entire faculty performing a recital, followed by a reception with dancing to our faculty jazz combo. Following the dancing, we moved the party to the brewery to celebrate the success and mingle with friends and guests. As always, it's a pleasure to hear my colleagues perform and so much fun to play with Matt, Johnny, and Mel in the combo. We were even joined by the vocal faculty on some Gershwin and Cole Porter, and Tracy threw down some great flute solos on Moondance!

Based on the feedback of those in attendance, there's no doubt we will continue this event on an annual basis. If you are interested in donating to the music department's scholarship endowment, click here. If gifts are specified towards music scholarships (which I highly recommend), it will help us compete with other colleges in the state in our recruiting and retention efforts. I have no doubt we offer an incredible education here, and our hope is to give our students the best opportunities possible to study, practice, and prepare for their futures without the need to work three jobs to pay for school. The Noteworthy Evening was all about our students and I hope we can continue to identify individuals willing to give our endowment the boost it needs. In the mean time, every dollar brings us closer.

Next up- ASC Jazz Concert.

Thanks for reading!

North American Frame Drum Association Festival and More Events to Come

2009-03-31T10:22:00.005-06:00

,
It's the last day of March and so much to do before the end of the semester. I find that blogging helps me organize what has just passed and prepare for the next step... feeling productive while not exactly being productive.

So I live in a very remote region of the Colorado Rockies and find it hysterical that as I type this, Valerie Naranjo is at my house practicing on my marimba for the New York City Weekend of Percussion, and in a few days, I'll be hanging out here in Alamosa with Samir Chatterjee, tabla virtuoso.

This past weekend was an inspiring time in New Jersey. The North American Frame Drum Association festival took place outside of NYC and was truly an amazing experience. The biggest names in frame drumming held workshops, taught private lessons, and performed concerts. It's a small event so you really feel as though you are getting up close experiences. One of these days, I'll write more about the event, but with so much marimba, vibraphone, and chamber music to practice for upcoming recitals, frame drumming will have to wait... although I may compose something for tar, bendir, and flute for the May recital. We'll see if we have time. Regardless, I'd like to attend NAFDA North in Brattleboro, VT in October. Tracy's family is from the area, the leaves may be changing, I can visit the Cooperman factory again, and what an excuse to head back east. Here's a pic of Steafan Hannigan, Irish musician and amateur comedian.

Colorado Pan Festival is on the Horizon

2009-03-24T00:09:00.003-06:00

Pack the Subaru with dog and go. Once in Denver, find ethnic cuisine. This time around, it was Middle Eastern on night one, Indian on night two. Dog park for socialization with "city dogs," Gabe's old designation. Shop for new phones and now Blackberry's to "enhance life." Really? We'll see...

The important aspect to this trip as it pertains to my blog was a meeting with some fine gentlemen who are widely known for their pan playing and programs. A lunch meeting in a Golden, CO cafe with the following:

Don Prorak- leader of Pan Jumbies, the CSU Steel Drum Band, and others, as well as a board member for the local musician's union.

Rick Henson, pan player, educator, and director of the Rocky Mountain Steel Bands.

Tom Miller, one of the big names in steel drum bands. Among other things (like directing Denver University's Lamont School of Music Pan Program), he is the president of Pan Ramajay Productions, curiculum director of the Manette Steel Drum Workshop, and is a well-known recording artist.

The topic for the meeting was the creation of a western states pan festival and our target is April 2010. The idea would be to host other bands (including ours), do clinics during the day, and have the featured artist(s) perform in the evening, with a concluding mass band performance. I cannot wait to help make this happen. There's a great amount of experience amongst the group and I have no doubt it'll be a success.

If you know of anyone interested, do not hesitate to contact us!

J-

Practice time

2009-03-19T12:54:00.002-06:00

Late spring break and still a lot to practice. More to do. This is an example of not practicing. Back to practicing.

What a difference lighting can make and a new CD.

2009-03-10T17:55:00.003-06:00

Greetings,

With spring break only a few days away, it's great to have a plan in place. Things have been hectic around the college, but we have arrived at the trough of activity before the final crest takes hold. Tracy is on a 10 day tour with the USAF Academy Band so as I type this, she's probably playing flute in civilian attire with a bunch of people in uniform, somewhere in Indiana.

A great friend, Matt Thomas came to Colorado to do the same tour so we were able to hang out over the weekend. Matt and I met on the audition circuit almost 10 years ago, played together in the AF band, and toured together playing everything from salsa to Ugandan Amadinda. It was great to catch up and he was gracious enough to do an Afro-Cuban drumming clinic for my students.

My next clinician is Samir Chatterjee, virtuoso tabla player. I cannot wait!

As for my musical outlook, today was the first day of executing a plan for practicing. With a fundraiser gala, a recital with saxophonist Ryan Janus, a student's senior recital performance, and a duo program with Tracy all on the horizon, it's time to get to work. Additionally, I am looking forward to performing St. Paddy's Day at the brewery. Any gig I can walk to with a concertina and bodhran, drink beer, and not have to worry about driving home is a good gig. I also need to squeeze in a final recording for a documentary project on Martinique. Don Richmond is in the final stages of writing the music and I want to finish this thing for him!

Last night and this morning served as my official test run of new lighting around my marimba. Amazing what a difference seeing the bars can make.

Also, a CD I recorded the drum tracks for is now available. Check out Mike Addington here and if you like southwestern country, you'll love this album.

Off to steel drum band rehearsal. Thanks for reading!!

J-

A Day of Percussion

2009-02-23T22:12:00.006-07:00

After an amazing week of Top of the Nation honor band, our choral area hosted the honor choir festival. As part of the event, I hosted a concert for the 100+ high school participants and their directors. It turned out to be a great night, with a performance by my steel drum band, 68 West Jazz Singers, and a closing performance by my jazz ensemble. The thought of boring the audience with some Sammy Nestico charts made me nauseous so I invited the Alamosa Salseros- a local group of dancers who are very dedicated to spreading salsa dancing throughout the community. We played some salsa, the dancers taught the audience to dance, and we had a party.

The following evening, I performed with the ASC Concert Choir at Sacred Heart Catholic Church before rushing over to the music building for a rehearsal with guest Valerie Naranjo. The 9pm rehearsal wrapped up at 2:15am, and I slept for a couple of hours before starting the process of setting up for The Colorado Chapter of PAS Southern Colorado Day of Percussion. Thankfully, Alamosa is a small town. I then ran back to Sacred Heart to perform with the honor women's choir. As soon as I was done, it was back to the college for set-up.

Preparing for a large percussion event is a bit of a logistical headache. Hosting guests, getting cumbersome instruments in place, getting mallets collected, sponsor banners hung, door prizes organized, sheet music in place, music stands piled, students put on task, signage posted, programs typed, programs proofed, programs changed, programs re-typed, programs printed, program sponsor catalogs displayed, payment of artists procured, getting the small instruments in place, finding storage space where there is none, and dealing with a power outage takes time. Yep- power outage as we were setting up. Half of the city.

For this event, I hosted Valerie Naranjo, Shilo Stroman, visual artists Kathy Park and Henry Woolbert, and Jon Latta and his Ft. Lewis College percussion ensemble. (Jon and I played together in the Air Force). The Fort Lewis students set up, rehearsed in near darkness, and then the we headed off for dinner to the west side of town where power was still present. As soon as the students sat down at the SLV Pizza place, the power went out. The entire town without power, hungry students, and a pending rehearsal sent us to the next town over for a marginal dinner of Mexican food and some student interaction between the two studios. We made it back to Alamosa by 8pm, met Shilo and Valerie, and began a four hour joint rehearsal.

After a few hours of restless sleep, it was back to school for the event. The last minute details always take more time than it should- late students, a locked men's bathroom, a jammed printer, etc etc before a morning rehearsal with Valerie. We finished that rehearsal, my jazz combo rehearsed with Shilo, and Tracy and I rehearsed for the first time on a duo piece. Here was the order of events:

10am- Master Class with Valerie Naranjo on her gyil transcriptions- deceptively challenging works on marimba. Four of my students played and did a great job.

11am- Remembrance Performance- Valerie, Tracy and I, and my percussion ensemble performed works in memory of many in the community and extended musical community who we recently lost.

12-1:30- Zimbabwean Marimba Clinic- Valerie led numerous community members in the study of some Zimbabwean music, with the help of my studio.

2pm- Shilo Stroman drum set clinic- Musical Glue- a great concept for a clinic. Shilo played with my jazz combo and I was very proud of them all!

3pm- Ewe Dance and Drumming with Jon Latta and the Ft. Lewis Percussion Ensemble. This event was similar to a recent clinic we had on campus by Jon's teacher, Mike Vercelli.

4-6pm- a concert featuring Valerie, Shilo, the ASC Steel Drums, ASC Percussion Ensemble, and the Ft. Lewis Percussion Ensemble. We concluded with some very powerful Zimbabwean and Ghanaian works with everyone involved- it was a blast!

By the time the event was cleaned up and everyone left, it was pushing 8pm.

I am grateful to all who helped make this event a success- with a special thanks to Valerie, my students, the president of our jazz club, Leslie, and of course, Tracy.

Moving on.

Almost March

2009-02-16T13:14:00.005-07:00

One of my favorite news sources is local- the slvdweller. Not only do they provide links to the happenings pertaining to life in and around the valley, they also magically find links to bloggers who mention the valley. Today's discovery made me laugh. Their set-up is Defining Culture and the blog post suggests a lack of cell phone coverage signifies a lack of culture. Clever. As a side note, I've never had coverage problems here. In fact, the post contradicts itself by commenting on text messaging... anyhow. The post reminded me of two things: a. living here is a choice that's not for everyone and b. I should update my blog.

I want to begin with letter a. A couple of conversations come to mind. A great friend and financial supporter of my steel drum band once told the following story: A woman asks a local what the people are like in this town. The local responds by asking what the people were like in their last town. The woman responds, they were friendly, caring, thoughtful- everything you'd want in a community. The local responds that yes, that's what the people are like here as well. Moments later, another woman asks the local the very same question and the local responds with the same follow-up question. The woman states the people in the previous community were cold, rude, and disingenuous. The local replies with a yep, that's what you'll get here too. I don't think I need to point out the moral to the story.

In a discussion during our water "crisis" in Alamosa, a friend shared he is always secretly glad when the valley gets negative press. As a long time resident and self-admitted xenophobe, he's happy to keep others out who would otherwise muck up the wonderful community we have here.

Part b to this post intersects with my weekend. The blogger mentioned above was apparently a band director who attended our recent Honor Band. This year, we hosted the great Ray Cramer- the retired director of bands at Indiana University. He conducted the Wind Ensemble, as well as split conducting duties with Jamie, Tracy and I for the Concert Band. I personally enjoyed conducting- working with high school students who want to be here is a treat. As a conductor who loves to conduct but doesn't often do so, I had to reflect on what is most important to me as a musician. I've always appreciated a conductor who inspired, had artistic expression, and held me accountable for my parts. Tough was good, but rapport was essential. The students who attended the honor band were great and I was honored to work with them!

The honor band is a large recruiting effort on our part. Recruiting is hands down the most difficult part of higher ed. Actually, I should say for music higher ed. It's not a problem for a math professor who will teach math whether a math major shows up or not. They spend very little time recruiting, while on my day off today, I've sent over ten e-mails, put the finishing touches on my upcoming Day of Percussion, and pondered other approaches. This upcoming week, we have the honor choirs on campus, followed by the Day of Percussion, and then a week of classes before I head to Ft. Worth for some rehearsals. It never ends. Although, March is a nice break before the onslaught of recitals we call April. More later...

Everywhere you look.

2009-01-19T14:48:00.010-07:00

Greetings,

When I moved to the San Luis Valley in December of 2005 (actually, I moved Tracy here in the summer of 2005 but spent a few more months in California), I expected the music scene to be just a bit limited. At the least, I'd be one of the only drummers in town. Upon arrival, I met my next door neighbor who just so happened to drum for a traveling band back in the day and who still plays around town.

So much for that notion.

As it turns out, there's a lively scene here, and a plethora of artists of all walks of life with a variety of backgrounds, levels of dedication, and an assortment of talent. The following is a story of one such person with a. the varied background b. immense dedication and c. bottomless talent.

One day, I was helping a neighbor (different neighbor than the above) remove weeds from the alley when the conversation turned to careers. Upon learning I'm a percussionist, she put me in touch with a recent expat from Denver who was working on a movie and needed a drummer for a music video shoot. I was given a tune to learn and arrived on scene to what would prove to be an interesting evening, where I played far more tunes than expected with this guy fronting the band while this guy worked a video camera, hosted a large crowd at his self-built home, and then sang/played guitar with us. This began my relationship with Eric, his dogs, and his music.

On the rare occasion I meet such a person, I'm always so very impressed by someone who puts their art before traditional concerns (wealth, fame, status, etc). Artists who can relate their life back into their art, even if it's not their traditional medium, are the most inspiring. Eric, the musician and recording engineer, became a film maker with little to no background in film making. His first endeavor, Everyone But You, clearly an arduous task, caught my attention (and not just because I appear for .2 seconds in the video shoot scene) as a multifaceted story capable of capturing an environment, a life in music, and the twists and turns such an artist takes. To date, I've watched the film nine times and am still captivated by it's story, soundtrack, videography, and meaning. The movie won awards at indie film festivals but there's a lot more to his creations than seeking validation from others.

Eric recently "completed" the film with the making of a video set to an original song so hauntingly beautiful, it stands alone without any need for the visual element of a video. Putting the video into context with the rest of the movie- the rest of his life here in the San Luis Valley- creates a depleted mood and takes the experience to a whole new level. This video is classic Eric ingenuity and creativity, if there's such thing as "classic" Eric.

Check out the video, listen to the words, put it into context, and if you haven't done so already, watch the movie. While you're at it, download some of his tunes off of his site. Better yet, buy his work. You won't be disappointed.

I'm very glad my neighbor put us in touch. I'm perpetually inspired by Eric's dedication to art, his musicianship, and commitment to our community. He has a., b., and c., and so much more.

And it begins again...

2009-01-19T14:29:00.003-07:00

After a much needed vacation, the semester has begun in full force. We are lucky to be experiencing rather moderate weather, so the desire to wake up and get to the campus isn't dampened by the -20 degree weather outside (-5 is much more manageable). Having said that, a week in 88 degree temperatures and many cervezas on the beach in Mexico may have freed my mind (and thawed my spirit).

Up until our trip to Akumal, I've always felt guilty on vacations. When not feeling guilty, I've wanted to accomplish something pertinent- like study a new technique, learn something culturally significant on my agenda, or read the "history of"" this or that. I was recently expressing this sentiment to a friend when she responded, "you were doing something- healing." While this statement may sound a bit existential, I have come to believe she's right. A clear mind and relaxed body is needed to prepare for the onslaught of recitals, concerts, recruiting, festivals, and classes that is the collegiate spring semester. The semester began with the least amount of stress I've ever felt, and in addition to accomplishing some recordings, practicing, taking in pre-inaguration coverage (and a limited amount of football), I feel ready to give 110% to my students and colleagues from day one.

And if not, Cancun's not that far away.

Winter Break!

2008-12-24T17:03:00.003-07:00

Happy Holidays!

What a relief to be on break! After a rather hectic semester teaching, I can finally look forward to some decompression time. We are heading to the Mayan Riviera for part of the break, and if I'm sneaky, I'll toss a riq or tar in my luggage to practice on the beach. I have a tough time sitting on the beach doing nothing. We'll see what happens.

My previous blog may have mentioned it, but I managed to total my Brendan White bodhran in an unfortunate accident. I really don't want to talk about it, but I'm looking forward to breaking in my new drum courtesy of Brendan and his goats. If I can work out getting over to Ireland this summer, I want to win this.

Tonight, Christmas Eve, we are having dinner with the ever-talented Eric Shiveley and hope to do some playing. If we can throw a few tunes together, we may just go and play at the local homeless shelter for Christmas.

As for playing- I've recently done just a bit- a Medano Creek Jazz Trio stuff, some bar playing, and then a performance with Tracy at ASC's winter commencement. Otherwise, it looks a bit sparse for the next few weeks, with the exception of playing for a soundtrack for a documentary on Martinique.

February 22 is the Day of Percussion at Adams State College. In addition to hosting the always fantastic Valerie Naranjo, we'll also feature my ensembles, as well as the great folks over at Ft. Lewis College. Contact me for more info!

By the way, the best sound maracas EVER can be purchased from Trey at California Percussion. His joropo maracas are amazing. Why buy really good maracas? Why not?

Merry Christmas!!

J-

Another day to reflect... Thanksgiving.

2008-11-26T09:39:00.011-07:00

Greetings,

It's been a long while since I last updated but it is clearly not the result of a lack of things to talk about. Since my last post, the jazz ensembles gave two great performances, the steel drum bands performed three great performances, and the percussion ensemble has been doing great things each and every performance.

On my end, it seems I've been playing a lot and definitely looking forward to more chamber music experiences. Tracy and I have played in just about every imaginable situation- from pre-school to high school to Bongo Billy's in Salida to recital halls. We are playing for commencement ceremonies in a couple of weeks which means a large, restless audience. Makes for a weird performance experience for sure!

PASIC was inspiring, and in addition to being elected to the Colorado PAS chapter board, I've been asked to be a member of the PAS Drum Set Committee, as well as the Interactive Drumming Committee. It's always great to catch up with old friends, mentors, teachers, and make new connections. I had coffee with John Parks from FSU after having seen his symphonic lab. That guy can take over a room with his energy. Wow.

Locally, I've given up the Executive Director position with ALMA and am happily situated on their board. I've gotten the community steel drum band off and running, and look forward to the high school honor group going as well. I still make my usual trek to Texas where I am trying to book the rock band a fun trip for the summer, as well as make the "Latin" ensemble sound good.

I've also found myself doing a lot of recording for various artists, including a popular group in Colorado, The Mitguards. They are a sweet couple with a really great bass player. I'm looking forward to hearing the final product. Of course, it's always great to work with Don Richmond. I learn a lot from him with each session- he's really dialed into the Americana/Southwest sound and I'm grateful for his musicianship and ability to create a wonderful environment for creativity.

On the subject of directing ensembles, it's great to see the students growing leaps and bounds and knowing I am preparing them to be successful after college. In the jazz ensemble, the students are learning to play with correct style, articulation, and most importantly, learning how to improvise well. For many teachers, in the rush to put on programs, teaching tends to be less geared towards growing the individual and instead, making sure the program doesn't fold. It was my goal to spend every day teaching and ensuring the students become better musicians for their sake. There have been growing pains for students with this different philosophy, but I firmly believe perseverance will pay off.

The percussion students are growing dramatically too. I have a very creative group of musicians in my studio, as well as the 30 students in the steel drum band. How grateful I am to have so many smart, dedicated students who are really into playing music. It's such a joy to see their faces when the crowd goes ballistic over their performances. It's great to see the students make the connection between the hard work and the pay off of a great performance. Ahh... this is why I teach.

So with this little break for Turkey Day, I'm able to get caught up on paperwork, but also plan ahead. My donor for the steel drum band continues to support me so I want to work on a large event for him in the spring. I'll be participating in the North American Frame Drum Association in March, so I'm back to digging into frame drumming. The local immigrant resource center purchased a Guatemalan marimba and is housing it with us. I am now researching a bit more of this so we can add it to our repertoire. Our valley has a tight-knit Guatemalan community and different departments from the college spend a lot of time in Guatemala. I'd love to take the next trip and interact in the schools in Guatemala. I see this as a serious possibility in the not so distant future.

Additionally, I'm teaching a cross-discipline course with a group of dedicated professors on Pakistan in the spring so I'm looking forward to hitting the books and research something new. And since Tracy and I will be doing some kayaking and relaxing on the Mayan Riviera in a few weeks, I'll have something to do while laying on the beach! I wonder if she'll let me bring my bendir? Moroccan music on the beaches of Mexico?

Happy Holidays!!

A day off to look back and forth.

2008-10-04T19:57:00.004-06:00

On my first day off since mid August, I'm able to catch my breath before pushing on. Working my way backwards, I played at Milagro's last night with the reconstituted Tripping Upstairs, and also played with Eric Shiveley. Prior to that gig, Tracy and I did a tour up through the Arkansas River Valley of the Rocky Mountains playing some interesting gigs and doing a bit of recruiting. Packing for a tour such as this means selecting repertoire that fits into a Subaru. Needless to say, no marimba.

This semester, I started teaching the jazz ensembles, have over 30 in my steel drum program, and have a gig coming up next Friday! Once that jazz concert is over, it'll feel relatively less stressful in rehearsals... getting the first performance out of the way is a really big deal.

I've managed to squeeze a set in with the San Juan Symphony, have been to Ft. Worth and back, played a bit here and there, performed with Tracy on her recital, have been turning our drumline into a more polished group, and during the first week, played a really fun gig with Eric Shiveley. He brought some old band mates down from Denver and we did some of Eric's tunes, some Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams, and then some standard covers (Johnny Cash, etc).

I just got a copy of the final product from Matt Schildt's latest album. Great stuff. Once it's online, I'll put up a post. You know, when you drum on an album, listen to each mix, and really get into the details, it's sometimes hard to listen objectively. Not the case here. Just a really good, diverse album.

Things should mellow out by the end of next week and the final push through the semester will be underway. As it starts to turn cold here in the mountains, I start looking for sweaters to wear, the UGG house shoes come out, and Gabriel's hair starts to look crazy.

Bring on winter vacation!!

Home.

2008-07-15T12:39:00.006-06:00

It's great to be off the road and able to contemplate the remainder of the summer. Climbing back into some sort of reasonable fitness begins tomorrow just over the border in New Mexico, followed by movie night in my backyard, followed by a 9 year anniversary (whoa) back over the border at Ojo Caliente. Tracy mentioned our anniversaries feel more like the square root of the actual year. Once I was reminded of how one calculates such things, I agreed.

So I am in the composing phase of the previously mentioned CD project. I'm starting with cells and progressions and once I like a few, I'll record them. Speaking of, I think I deserve an endorsement contract from these guys. I've sold enough to believe I've missed my calling and, well, here I go again... this thing is practically idiot-proof and has great quality.

Place your orders now for our CD... in a year or two, or three, I'll mail it to you.

Durango- contacts in the oddest places... and bike races

2008-07-10T14:45:00.015-06:00

We've been in and around Durango, CO for a few days and playing gigs on only the rarest of occasions. So last night, I was hanging out in the beer garden at the local VFW, conveniently situated next to the city park where our concert was (and where I wrecked my car a couple of years back....err) where I met a great couple. The first was the stage manager for the Music in the Mountains Festival. His wife works at Ft. Lewis College as a web designer/publicist/etc in the music department and is involved in the festival as well. They're putting me in touch with the artistic director- a connection I wouldn't have made, were the daughter of the VFW post commander not hanging out in the beer garden with her husband... thanks!

Today was another day off from our tour so I meandered downtown to find lunch and a place to read. Things worked out perfectly, for I walked into Carver's Brewing Co. and was able to sit at the bar, eat, watch stage six of a different type of tour- the Tour de France, and read my book during the lengthy commercial breaks. First of all, the book I'm reading is great- Faces of Salsa: A Spoken History of the Music, by Leonardo Padura Fuentes, kindly translated by Stephen J. Clark. The book has short interviews with the most important names in the salsa movement of the middle 20th century through the book's publication date. The history of "salsa" music is just as misconstrued as jazz or any other musical phenomenon. Texts attempting to provide a generic history of music offer an incomplete picture. First person accounts relating to the time and place seem to provide more insight, and it's up to the reader to piece the information together and develop his or her own view of the history (in my humble opinion).

So I'm sitting in a bar in a town known for cycling, listening to commentary by Bob Roll, a guy the bartender knows personally, and watching the race with other people who actually understand the who,what, where, and why of bike racing. The experience brought back a flood of memories from my racing days- mostly the emotions I no longer access now that I've stopped competitive racing. As I sat there watching the race in my new character of anti-social tour person, always walking around alone and enjoying the time off, I was able to reflect on racing and what experiences were important to me. The following thoughts came to mind:

-Experiencing the feeling of being on the front of the race, feeling the energy of 99 other racers on your wheel, while leading through the wind provides an odd sort of adrenaline rush.
-The feeling of being near the back, coming out of turns, focusing on staying on the wheel in front of you without an ounce of energy spent on what's happening at the front... just trying to prevent a gap between you and the next wheel without blowing up.
-Balancing boredom with steady nerves and intensity.
-Attempting to read the feedback your body is giving (feed me, give me water, spin higher rpms, shift gears, loosen the shoes, take off the arm warmers, stop trying to kill me)
-Trying to stay patient when someone jumps off the front and you are forced to decide whether to follow the move, let someone else chase, or both.
-Always wondering if the move heading up the road is decisive or a waste of energy.
-Setting out for glory on your own before the final climb.
-Making ad hoc teammates in breaks, chase groups, or the lantern rouge (the dropped members of the field).
-Wondering if your teammates will ever repay you for the work you've done for them in a race.
-Hoping you grab your bottle in the feed zone, and if not, can you steal one at the end of the feed.
-Realizing the odds are 1 in 100 to win the race- there's always one winner and a lot of losers but always trying to keep that feeling alive that today can be your day.
-Trying to let go of the impending feeling of demise while on a 45+ mph descent in a pack of nervous riders.
-Avoiding fist fights while riding all out in the peloton when the bumping begins, especially along the barriers during crits.
-Always wondering if your legs/heart/lungs/brain can hold out for the finish line.
-Trying to select the best wheel to sit on for as long as possible.
-At the start of a race, wondering why everyone doesn't want to race bikes, only to question your own sanity for deciding to get into racing in the first place once the suffering begins.

I suppose these emotions may serve as metaphors for life, but during races, they become immediate- very present and very real. As a guy that pretty much just rides a fixed-gear around town instead of expensive road bikes with super light wheels and components (although, they are still in the garage), these emotions are rare, and do not translate well to a music career... or my music career. I've competed in music- concerto competitions, auditions, etc, but to me, the feelings are different, and I'm glad they are.

Back to the book...

J-

Santa Fe- good food, relaxation, music, and a documentary you cannot miss

2008-07-03T23:57:00.012-06:00

Yes, this is a great town. Take some time in your life and visit Santa Fe. Enjoy the cuisine, the music, the art, the architecture, and the people. I was sitting at a restaurant with a friend from Plano, TX who was absolutely enjoying the people watching- much more interesting than the Dallas suburbs!

I spent the day off from playing with the band by reading geeky drum magazines and practicing my Mediterrasian Tambourine. Last time I was here in the land of green chile, adobes, and hemp clothing, I met up with Glen Velez to play frame drums and the Mediterrasian Tambourine.

As I footed it to the plaza from my hotel to choose a dining experience for lunch, I found myself walking at a mellower pace than usual, singing melodies in my head inspired by the fresh air, blue sky, and cool architectural designs in everything- doorways, cement work, fencing, etc, etc. Slowing down once in a while can only be healthy. Playing hybrid tambourines is also good for the soul... in case you were wondering. Only Santa Fe can remind me of these things.

This evening, Randy, our guitarist, flew in from Dallas. We grabbed dinner and went down to WilLe's Blues Club to catch the great local band, Nosotros. They rocked and had the dance floor packed. Maybe Tracy can eventually get me salsa dancing...

It's odd hanging out with great musicians like Randy Ro, Lane McCray (mentioned in a previous post), and others while watching a great band. It makes you think about who may be in your audience on any given night. I remember playing a gig in Palm Springs years ago and a gentleman came up afterwards and told me stories about playing in Sinatra's band... whoa.

As I attempt to mellow out for the night, I am listening to a set list for an upcoming gig I have with Eric Shiveley. He's a wonderful songwriter, musician, producer, videographer, writer, documentarian, and chihuahua enthusiast that I have the pleasure of knowing. We met a couple of years ago when he hired me to play drums for a video shoot he was doing for his award-winning documentary, Everyone But You. This movie rocks- find it, watch it, love it. He's an amazing talent and quite hysterical. Self depricating? Yes. A true artist? Yes. Check out some of his music, while you're at it.

Dallas to Clovis to Santa Fe and a New Marimba

2008-07-01T18:20:00.008-06:00

Greetings,

As I sit in my hotel room in Santa Fe, enjoying the weather and feeling mellow from the margarita imbibed upon arrival, I am happy to report we landed the new marimba mentioned in previous posts. This instrument will be a wonderful addition to our instrument inventory and great for the studio. I am pleased... and relieved.

As for the tour, the trip has been relatively uneventful. We traveled west from the Metroplex of Dallas/Fort Worth and into the great cattle feed lot/oil country of West Texas. To my surprise, countless zero-emission, non-fossil fuel burning windmills pepper the landscape between Lubbock, Texas, and Clovis, New Mexico. On our route, we stopped in the appropriately named town of Mule Shoe, the birth town of one of our singers. Taking photos with the town mule statue was mandatory.

After a particularly rough sound check, we played a show in Clovis, turned in, and departed for Albuquerque this morning. According to the Tom Tom, we were 1/3 of a mile from our next gig when a very sweet older woman tried drinking her tea while driving. The end result was a collision- her car drilling our rental van. After a long wait for Albuquerque's finest to arrive and make a report, we coordinated a ride for those on the gig, and then August, Shonda and I continued on to Santa Fe, checked into our respective rooms, and immediately went to The Cowgirl for some Southwestern cuisine and margaritas... ah... Santa Fe.... I think I have to work tomorrow, but at this moment, nothing really matters.

Back in Texas...

2008-06-27T18:56:00.002-06:00

Greetings Everyone!

Due to the cost of gasoline, an unintended aspect of travel includes free upgrades on rental cars. Turns out, economy/compacts are now popular, and mid-size cars are crap. My particular "upgrade" is a driving blind spot with AC unable to contend with the oppressive heat and humidity the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is experiencing. Texas, Texas, Texas...

We are locked in rehearsal mode for the next couple of days before setting out on what should be a decent tour. I say decent because it will take us through New Mexico and Colorado, with extended stays in Santa Fe and Durango. Who can complain about that? Well, I'll let you know- surely we'll have guilty parties.

Thoughts from today's rehearsal:

-I should find a psychologist/sociologist willing to split research on morale and the under-staffed percussion section.
-Playing drum set with a concert band is like trying to drive a tractor trailer on ice.
-I think I've played every piece ever written for the wind ensemble/ concert band... and if not, I might as well have- it's all running together....
-Pop tunes from last summer's Middle East/East Africa tour suck a year later. Although, we now have the guy from this group fronting our band. He doesn't suck. La Bouche was huge in Europe and evidently, did well here too. Even I know this song...

I'll write more as the tour progresses, assuming wifi stays free and plentiful. Less drama from last year's tour is guaranteed (no mortars/rockets/camels/biblical ruins/African villages/humvees/black hawks/and sweaty rides in C-130's)

Summer.... ahhh... ehhh???

2008-06-13T12:07:00.003-06:00

It's summer. The season I craved since last summer wrapped up and the school year took hold. So why is it I wake every morning with a to do list longer than what I feel during the semester?

Despite my calendar looking sparse, I've had a lot going on. Besides the typical work on the house/yard/etc tasks, I've performed a few times locally, including with the "newest ensemble in town," The Jadid Ensemble- a group accompanying Middle Eastern dance... good stuff. Even presenting a music class for 75 wily little children at the local library took more work and planning than we would have liked... fortunately, Tracy is an early ed specialist... I just want to drum.

Getting the Alamosa Live Music Association's summer concert series together equals finding money. I scored a $2500 grant last night thanks to the tourism board, and with a little luck, I'll score big time with the Colorado Council on the Arts today...

A nice family vacation to the Isle of Palms, SC seems like the distance past as I sit in my office picking audition music for the ASC Big Band, working on those "professional affiliation" things that are evidently very important to one's career in higher ed, and working on a large item purchase previously mentioned in an earlier blog- help if you have money to give away!

Speaking of money, I am once again fortunate to have donors helping with the creation of this momentum-building creature called the Rocky Mountain Pan Handlers. Here's a picture of the steel drum band at Black Swamp Percussion- scroll down a bit... click here.

Tonight, I'm going to check out the local taiko group, which should be good. Tomorrow, I am attending a workshop hosted by author Wayne Sheldrake regarding how to get a book published- you know... just in case I write one... or do I already have one??..??.. stay tuned.

My mother and sister are driving out across the apparently cursed midwest and up to the high country for a week's vacation with us. It should be a great time and a reason to get out and see the local area. Hopefully we won't have to visit this place....

I head out on tour in a couple weeks for Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, and then the rest of the summer should be mine... I think...

Done and Done!

2008-05-10T09:00:00.003-06:00

Greetings,

At last.... done. The semester is over, I won the national search (and just like that, I'm a "jazzer") for the vacant applied position, grades are submitted, and my summer is in front of me! Last night, Tracy and I played the art gallery closing, I have no commitments for commencement, and with the exception of a gig for a lunch crowd on Wednesday and a gig in Houston next weekend, my summer is free until late June! Yea!

PS- if you want to play in the summer steel drum band, let me know.

PPS- if you are a male singer that also plays guitar and want to audition for our Irish band, let me know!

Almost There!

2008-05-03T18:48:00.006-06:00

It has truly been a whirlwind of a month... wait... it's now May. Either way, the month of April sent me out of town on gigs, my faculty recital, a student's performance as concerto competition winner with the wind ensemble, his junior recital, a gig with the Rocky Mountain Pan Handlers (my steel drum band at ASC), and the percussion ensemble concert/steel drum concert. In the middle of all of this, I taught, had rehearsals in Dallas, and oh yeah, this little job interview. The interview is still up in the air, but hopefully will bring good news to me and the department very soon!

My recital went very, very well.... I love my Marimba One and it seems like Leon Recital Hall was built for marimba recitals! I played some Bach, some new music, some standards, and closed with my first singing in recital, ever. Nebojsa Zivkovic's To the Gods of Rhythm is a hoot to perform and I did so on my new djembe from RBI-Drums (Thanks, Michael!). Singing a Serbian Orthodox chant in mixolydian while drumming was a new experience and this piece will probably make my recruiting tour rep.

It's interesting how the memorization of the Bach Cello Suite concerned me more than anything that took place in my previous blog entries. Getting into a Humvee in Iraq to travel to a FOB didn't phase me... memory blanks raised concern. The memorization held and the playing went great. Preparation is key. (mantra).

My students are playing great and it was never more evident than on their recent performances. I am very pleased with the direction of the studio, percussion group, the steel drums, and the student's individual preparations. Good stuff. This recent percussion ensemble concert also gave the students an opportunity to play folkloric Afro-Cuban rumba, with folkloric dancers. It was an excellent production and now I have to brainstorm for next year's dancers... I've done Egyptian, now Afro-Cuban... I need to find some dancers from Senegal... any ideas?

With the end of the semester arriving in a few days, I look forward to concentrating on my next recording project... it'll be works for marimba/percussion and flute(s) and will be written by me, performed by Tracy and I, and will have a specific marketing niche. More on that once we get it done!

The weather is turning sweet here and I cannot wait to get outdoors again... there are fourteeners all around me and they need to be climbed. I also have bikes that are seriously in need of riding. I had dinner last night with a couple clarinetists from the Academy Band and it reminded me of how easy the good 'ole days of barely working were (no offense to them- they are great... it's the job that is easy!). I haven't ridden my mountain bike since I moved here... I used to live on that thing... and my road bike... now it's just the fixed gear to get back and forth to school... anyway.... rambling.

Another semester down and frankly, it was a good year. I am looking forward to the next... especially if Monday brings good news....

In Durango with the San Juan Symphony

2008-04-19T11:03:00.011-06:00

I recently received a call to play with the San Juan Symphony- a professional orchestra in the Four Corners region and I was glad to oblige. The orchestra seems to exist thanks to what must be a massive endowment (but who knows). The pay is good enough, and it looks like over half the orchestra came in from points far beyond the four corners (Flagstaff, Boulder, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, etc). They put me up in a hotel in Durango for the weekend and since I'm a fan of this town, including Steamworks Brewing Company, it's been nice on a few levels:

1. Playing with orchestras was my original goal in life. When I won my first "real" audition with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and spent a few seasons playing with them, I realized, even if I were to win a major symphony gig, I'm not sure it would be that fulfilling... which leads me to #2.

2. In the second movement of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, I sit there for about 10 minutes before standing up, picking up my crash cymbals, feel my heart beat race to levels one feels with 200 meters to go in a bike race, hope I am in the right place, hope these two pieces of metal in my hands come together artistically in the way I've studied for years, and boom (or crash!) it's over and I sit back down. I can play a two hour gig with a rock band or a jazz group, jam hundreds, if not thousands of notes, and never feel an ounce of pressure.

3. There's a lot to be said about contributing to the performance of music with 100 others playing the works of great composers. You really can appreciate the importance of every sound and movement you make.

4. During my five years in California, I honestly must have played well over a thousand concerts. Since January, I believe I've played... including recording sessions.... maybe 10-15? I became desensitized from the process of performing and lost the connection to the composers and audiences from too many performances and I wasn't able to focus on growing as an artist. Of course I have a big gig coming up this Thursday, which leads me to #5.

5. My faculty recital preparations have worn me down. Chops are tired, my mind is cluttered, and I just want to play the music and move on. At first, I was hesitant to take this gig in Durango, for fear the time away from my marimba would hurt, but as I sit here in my hotel room, enjoying the fresh mountain air blowing in through the window and not feeling a care in the world, I know I made the right choice.

6. Back to #2... I am in the right place. Playing occasional orchestra gigs satisfies those earlier desires to do it for a living while allowing me to take on newer and more interesting challenges as a musician and educator. Playing with an orchestra recharges the creative energies as a "legit" musician which is very important personally and professionally.

I am off to find lunch, take a walk by the river and watch the kayakers and rafters work their way by. Next time I'm here, I'm bringing my bike. Maybe I'll even see this guy.

(I'm still a big cycling fan and Durango is a Mecca... Bob Roll, one of my favorite old school racers is around here somewhere...)

A plea to musicians to teach...

2008-04-16T16:25:00.002-06:00

After spending the better part of the day adjudicating a solo and ensemble festival, I urge anyone with the ability to play music at a better than proficient level to teach music. Even if it's once a year, volunteering at your local public school, teach the students at least one thing you know.

It can only make a positive impact.

Recording Bach in the Living Room

2008-03-29T23:47:00.012-06:00

It's much easier to move recording gear than it is my 5.0 octave Marimba One. For that reason, I've brought a recording rig, some good mics, and a couple of stands to my living room to record the Bach Cello Suite in G Major. I'm recording straight to CD (not a hard drive) which means I must have clean takes of each movement and wow... there are a lot of notes. I know how I want to play the suite, have my stickings worked out, phrasing of each line, tempi, rubato, dynamics, and so forth, but the art of playing marimba simply means you are using muscle memory to hit bars you sometimes cannot directly see. Just a slight distraction or mental hesitation leads to a clammed note and a recording that's no good. Now, I've done countless recording sessions in my life- from large ensemble to chamber, to solo, to tracking drum parts separate from the other musicians. I know what goes into a recording. Don Richmond's studio has a quote attributed to Bono- something along the lines of albums are like sausage, they're a lot more enjoyable if you don't know what went into them. With this current project, I cannot punch in sections because I'm not using recording software (ProTools, Q-Base, Logic Pro, etc). Ugh.

So, aside from living with salmonella in our water (actually, they are chlorinating the system, so it's not the salmonella that keeps me from showering and drinking the local water, but the high doses of chlorine that will burn if used), and some weird allergic reaction to something I cannot trace, I'm trying to get my mind around perfect takes of entire movements. It took me 35 minutes of recording time to get the prelude... that little tune EVERYONE knows. It's all mental... every last bit of it.

I have a private student who is a biology professor and obviously very, very bright. Our lessons are a joy because she asks brilliant questions and makes drastic improvements from week to week. Recently, we discussed the mental hang-ups so many of us have with live performance. I started pulling book after book off of my shelf dedicated to this issue and was reminded as I explained, it's an on going process. A never ending process, perhaps.

I was at a wedding a fews year back of some musician friends in Palo Alto and as musician weddings go, there was a lot of alcohol and a lot of musicians. I was having a conversation with a trumpet player who retired from a D.C. military band as a principal player and was the first call guy in San Francisco at the time. He and I had gigged together a few times and I knew him well. He asked why I wasn't presently taking auditions and I mentioned the fact I wasn't ready and my nerves would kill me unless I totally had my excerpts together. He laughed and said- beta blockers... everyone takes them. EVERYONE. Of course, I am well aware of beta blockers- I was in college once and on the audition circuit but it's hard to fathom needing medicine to calm one's nerves for an audition or performance. It's just music. Oh well...

Some really bad nerve moments:
1. Every audition I've ever taken
2. Playing a Zivkovic piece on a shared Day of Percussion with She-E Wu sitting 5 feet from me
3. The past hour trying to get the minuets down on tape

The process can only get better with practice. Recording seems to help. Preparation is an even better antidote.

Bach, err, Back to work.

J-

On the road again...

2008-03-22T08:56:00.004-06:00

Greetings!

As I lay in my hotel bed in an unremarkable casino in Reno, it occurred to me that I've been on the road for over a week and my mindset has begun to shift back to the old days of touring with the band.

I started this string of gigs in Alamosa, actually. Don Richmond had me track some drums for a singer/songwriter by the name of Chris Coady and I followed it up by tracking percussion and drums for a great friend, Matt Schildt's (the theory/composition professor at the college) next album. Getting into the studio is such an important experience for a musician. Hearing yourself on playback instantaneously and then having to make the determination what you want to re-track versus leave while balancing the amount of time you have (and the artist can afford) is not always easy. It's also interesting to play with other musicians (who already put down their parts) you may never actually meet. In the case of Matt's project, it's fun to interpret his musical ideas into grooves and fills and help him create this album. I'm not sure how to classify the style of the album, but I know I like it.

The next stop was Shreveport, Louisiana where we put the band back together for a gig at the Horseshoe Casino. It's interesting how you just don't forget tunes you've played hundreds of times, regardless of the time between gigs. We did some jazz combo before the actual show and wow can that suck the life out of you when literally no one is listening. The show went off well, the crowd was good, and fun was had.

I then set out for California to play with the old band. Odd how some things never change while the personnel is practically all new. Troy is on his way to Alaska and Matt may or may not stay. The rest of the percussion section is new and I'm not certain what to make of them... It's definitely a different vibe from the good 'ole days of Marshall, Troy, Vince, Matt, and I. Speaking of Vince, we hung out the other night with Holly and he seems to be doing well. WGI stuff with his school seems to be very consuming. Today, we play for a CBDNA convention at the University of Nevada. Tomorrow I return home.

As I said before, my mind has shifted back to being on the road for a living despite the fact I have an entirely new life in Colorado. Although I've found a bit of practice time for my recital, it's disappeared from my daily thought- same is true with the pending percussion ensemble/steel drum band concert. It seems as though time suspends when I'm on the road. It's time to get home and get back to real life.

Valerie Naranjo and a New Marimba Fundraiser

2008-01-21T19:14:00.001-07:00

Greetings, all!

I've been fortunate to teach at a school that is the hometown of the fabulous NYC percussionist, Valerie Naranjo. She is a member of the Saturday Night Live Band, arranged the percussion score and played for The Lion King Broadway show, recorded numerous albums and film scores, toured with Philip Glass for more than a decade, won major awards on several continents, including breaking new ground for women gyil performers in Ghana, gigs more than anyone, and frankly, she's an incredible person. Since I've been here (a little over 2 years), Valerie has done residencies at the college and this year was another treat. Her husband, Barry joined us and not only only is he a phenomenal jazz/latin/salsa pianist, but a fine trombonist (his major in college at Manhattan), and great afro-cuban drummer!

Valerie helped kick off the fund raising project I've started for a new 5.0 octave concert marimba with a very successful women's drumming class, sponsored by Vic Firth, Zildjian, and the Alamosa Live Music Association (ALMA), as well as a concert sponsored by ALMA. I was fortunate to collaborate on the program by playing tar on a piece (the photo was taken at the rehearsal- I'm actually playing a Cooperman hadjira and she's playing my new M1), as well as a trio of traditional Ghanaian drumming/singing. She's incredibly inspiring and I am so grateful she's from Alamosa!!

And by the way, if you are reading this and want to contribute to the marimba fundraiser- please contact me!!!

J-

Screws and a Plate for Tracy's Christmas

2008-01-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

As the previous post mentioned, we took an excursion to the midwest for the holidays, including my father's 60th birthday (way to go, Dad!). Tracy, Gabe and I set out a few days before Christmas, just ahead of a brewing snow storm that would eventually lengthen our trip with a closed interstate and an unexpected stay in the "Little Apple" of Manhattan, KS. We made it to my mother's farm on the eve of Christmas Eve, celebrated, opened gifts with extended family, and settled in for the night. The next morning (Christmas Eve), a few of us took an excursion into the woods on ATV's and on Tracy's inaugural trip driving an ATV, she concluded her ATV life experience with a serious accident, sending her to the ER. The fact she merely fractured her wrist was amazing, and if it weren't for the helmet, it would have been worse.

The 26th, they set her wrist and we extended our stay in St. Louis, while taking in more family time, the St. Louis Symphony for New Year's Eve, and a long overdue visit with a friend since elementary school.

Once we returned to the dry, cool, and elevated San Luis Valley, she started to experience serious pain in her wrist. A follow-up x-ray showed more fractures than originally suspected and a shifted position from the initial set.

Needless to say, Tracy had to have surgery to screw all of the bones back together with a large plate, and we are anxiously awaiting the next several weeks/months as she tries to regain mobility and play her flute again.

ATV's and flutists... yikes.

2008 already

2008-01-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings all!

As I write this first entry of the new year, it is hard to believe my previous entry was made while still in Africa. There was still much to do in the desert before returning- more traveling, more gigs, cleaning and repairing of instruments and gear, preparations for the next band's rotation, and, of course, preparing to return home.

The return home was a whirlwind and took place during the first week of the fall semester. We arrived in Baltimore. Baltimore to Dallas. I spent the night in Dallas and then returned to Albuquerque the next day, was met by Tracy and we made our way back up to our home in southern Colorado on a Thursday evening. I slept the next two days, had a gig with our Irish band, Tripping Upstairs on Sunday, and taught class on Monday. The whole experience quickly faded as new and important activities consumed my life.

To begin with, my studio grew with the addition of some great freshmen, I secured funds for, purchased, rehearsed, and staged a performance with my new and full steel drum band at the college (tentatively called the Rocky Mountain Pan Handlers- I am curious if there's a higher (as in, elevation) steel drum band in the nation (or world... hmmm).

The fundraising began for a new concert grand marimba for the school, while I patiently... ok, impatiently waited for Marimba One to finish building my personal 5.0 octave instrument. I hosted a guest chamber ensemble at the school, taught a section of music literature, percussion methods, ensemble, lessons, and two sections of hand drumming, while making a wonderful connection with a fantastic instrument builder right here http://www.rbidrums.com/ in the valley.

There were occasional gigs here, in Texas, at Don Richmond's studio, and beyond. PASIC was a treat, our newest faculty member (director of bands) is a great guy and amazing musician, and a trip back to the northeast was met with fun family times and a great trip to the Cooperman factory in Vermont. This trip led me to hooking up with Glen Velez in Santa Fe where Tracy and I had a wonderful vacation before returning to the midwest for the holidays (more on this later).

The original intention of this blog was to keep track of my travels overseas, but I now see it as a vehicle to keep track of my percussion life in general, with the occasional reflection on other things non-percussion along the way. I am scheduled to give a faculty lecture on January 30th regarding my thoughts and reflections from the trip, but it is all so fuzzy to me...

One thing that did keep everything in perspective was catching a Denver news story of Air Force guys returning to Colorado in early January from one of the bases we performed at in Iraq. Their deployment schedule would have had them at the base while we were there, and as I watched the story with hair that had not been cut since September, 25 lbs of extra weight, and a mindset of educator, not drum set player traveling overseas, the thought of those still over there from before I got there is something worth contemplating.

Enough on this topic for a while.

Djibouti... who would have thought

2007-08-11T04:40:00.000-06:00

Greetings!

Unfortunately, this blog will be brief- I am awaiting a flight that I secretly hope is canceled... our original flight out canceled and at this point, spending another day here wouldn't be bad at all.

To update, we went out to a village less than 5k from the border with Somalia. On the way, we past multiple sites of interest, two of significance being a camel bone yard and a Djiboutian golf course!?! The latter was nothing but dirt with a few flags in various places. Not to anyone's surprise, it looked as though it would be easy to get a tee time... no one was on the course... perhaps for the past few months!

We arrived in the village with a larger contingency of marines (force protection) and a bunch of public affairs from all branches. We set up at a school and had a great show. Unlike Hol Hol, they let the villagers come in closer (although, the Djiboutian police in our entourage carry sticks to keep the children back...) and we were able to interact and hopefully make a more relevant connection. This mission served multiple purposes- here they are in no particular order:

-Balance the military image in the area- the marines patrol this region with gun trucks- keeping Al-Qaeda on the other side of the border. By bringing a good, interactive show to the village, trust was built and lines of communication were opened.

-Give the marines a platform to address concerns with the village elders and have that information passed down to everyone at once. In this case, there was an instance where a child had a toy gun some days ago- if children get the idea of pointing toy weapons at the marines, there could be an unfortunate incident. The interpreter was able to address this concern all at once while there's a festive attitude.

-Provide another opportunity to bring water and supplies to the villagers. This seems incredibly important, as far as I am concerned.

I am hoping to get my hands on the photos taken by the Army PA folks- they took a lot of photos that will surely be stunning. These trips to the villages were experiences I will never forget.

After the village performance, we returned to the camp and set up for our evening gig at the cantina. This show was a lot of fun, gave us a chance to get the people we worked and traveled with over the past few days up on stage, and we were able to enjoy a tasty beverage or two (or three...) during the show. Camp Lemonier, in my opinion, was our best stop.

This morning, we were escorted downtown to shop. A few observations:

Khat is everywhere. It's a narcotic- a plant that is chewed and among other things, turns everyone's teeth green. There is a lot of history, social issues, and political issues involving khat, but I'll have to save that for a later time.

So many Djiboutian women are beautiful- very stunning facial structures and smiles. It is hard to photograph women, however, due to cultural restraints. The men on the other hand, not as attractive- this being confirmed by our two female singers.

As we prepare to leave, I can only hope our government, other governments and non-governmental organizations continue to do the right thing in places such as Djibouti. While the military's role here, in the big picture, is to provide long term security for ourselves, as I mentioned before, the byproduct can be a good thing for those less fortunate. As a point of clarification, I personally do not believe we should attempt to change a culture, only help provide better living standards, health care, and a stable life. From what I witnessed first hand, the marines are very knowledgeable and respectful of the local customs and cultures, and are doing the right thing.

On to the terminal to catch what may be the most uncomfortable ride of the deployment. Hurray!

J-

Rocks and Rocking Hol Hol

2007-08-09T07:25:00.002-06:00

Greetings all,

Moments ago, we returned from a 30+ mile excursion into the foothills above the capital city of Djibouti. Our destination was a tiny village named Hol Hol on a hard to reach stretch of rock strewn road. I'll tell the story from the beginning. I am spent, so there may be some errors- please forgive me!

We departed at 7 am to load our instruments into a cargo vehicle. Our group consisted of 2 army force protection guys (carrying concealed weapons), three army public affairs (PA) specialists, an Air Force PA, two navy drivers, a marine master sergeant who is the provincial security manager (knows the ins and outs of the village systems, elders, local police, etc- he too was carrying a concealed sidearm), and the nine of us from the band. Once out of the gates from the camp, we convoyed through town in our three vehicles- two land rovers and the equipment vehicle- until we hit what appeared to be the town landfill. For the next 25+ miles, we traveled on rock roads unlike any I've ever seen.

As a digression, I've never seen such a rocky place in all of my life- unbelievable! I would imagine a geologist could explain the interesting make-up of the terrain, but it appeared volcanic in some way, shape, or form. Whatever the rocks were made of, my body was abused by them while riding on a bench seat in the back of a 10 year old equally abused land rover. Might someone know a good chiropractor in Alamosa?

Along the way, we passed goat herders, camels, rotting camel carcasses, what appeared to be a pronghorn or two, children and mothers picking through garbage, and a plethora of rock formations, believed to be crude cemeteries. At approximately the 20 mile mark, our equipment vehicle had a blow out. We were literally in the middle of nowhere, were 100 meters from a baking camel carcass, and none of the satellite phones worked... we had to unload our equipment to find the jack, and after an hour and a half, we were back on the road... if you would call it that...

We arrived at a small Seabee post on the edge of the village after 3+ hours of traveling and when I say small Seabee post... it is unreal what conditions these guys are living in! They are refurbishing a local school, slowly but surely, and we borrowed a tent of theirs while we waited for the marine to gain permission from the village elder. Once we were in the clear, we drove down the hill from the post and into the school grounds.

Security is a major issue in these villages not because of threats to Americans, but the chaotic scene that ensues when Americans are around- we have bottled water. It's that simple. Not candy, food, gum- bottled water. The only thing any of the villagers want is bottled water. Basic.

The force protection guys had us set up in the corner of the school yard which had a tall fence. The locals gathered while we set up and two village police with sticks kept the villagers from coming into the school yard. We went ahead and pulled out a one hour straight ahead show, and frankly, it was the best gig of my life. The villagers were entranced with all of us. There were ladies and children near me that just smiled and stared, nonstop throughout the show. There were other women that actually danced throughout- very shocking due to the conservative nature of their customs. It was amazing. More than likely, they had never seen anything like our production and we had never played such a gig. One of our singers, Erika, is an African-American and she became an instant celeb! At the conclusion of the show, they learned her name and chanted Er-I-Ka, Er-I-Ka over and over!

Playing to a remote village, including passing donkeys and camels... check.

We brought out donated school supplies from Shonda's (vocalist) school district in Plano, TX, and left multiple cases of water at the school for later distribution. We packed and hit the road. The pictures and videos I shot can not begin to relate the story and I do not feel as though I'm doing it justice under my current time constraints.

Tomorrow, we head out for a similar gig before playing a big show here on the camp. I'll try and update more as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading!!

J-

Third World Orphans

2007-08-08T10:47:00.001-06:00

Greetings all,

Today's adventure has left me perplexed and searching for clues to my feelings. After playing an early afternoon gig, we set out with a small group to a local orphanage to interact and feed the children.

Leaving the base gave us an immediate taste of the third world. Absolutely unbelievable conditions. While we as Americans create much more waste than Djiboutians could ever dream of, we are proficient at hiding our garbage in landfills. This is not an option here- neither is adequate housing or infrastructure. From what I've been able to gather, however, this is the perfect use of our military capabilities- working to make a better life for those less fortunate. Again, cynicism may make me question the big picture, but the immediate benefits to the local population is significant. I had a lengthy conversation with a Sea Bee who will spend her next 6 months building schools, wells, and other relevant structures in Ethiopia. If the bi-product of preventing an extremist terrorist climate is a better life, I am all for it.

My musician side was finally satisfied when we heard the call to prayer at a local mosque. This was an experience I had hope to gain, and today didn't disappoint.

Ironically, the traffic both here and in Kuwait sent chills deeper than convoys, rocket attacks and mortars ever could. Wow. Los Angeles traffic is tame, comparatively speaking.

Upon arrival to the orphanage (Franciscan orphanage), the scene became absolutely overwhelming- so many children, so few staff members to manage. How they function without the assistance of the volunteer American military members and French/Russian contractors is beyond me.

The first two children I picked up happened to be special needs- both were unable to sit up, let alone walk. Feeding was incredibly challenging, and battling the flies was exhausting. I was able to take a few pictures but even the brief video I shot will not do justice to our experience. While I want to say our time at the orphanage was beautiful, I was left feeling unfulfilled. I know the tactile experience the children felt from our company is beneficial and necessary, I only wish there was more I could do for them... and orphans everywhere. A completely humbling experience, to say the least.

Again, I need to let the experience sink in.

We are off to a village in the morning somewhere near the border. The marines are escorting us, but somehow, despite my non-weapon-toting tendencies, there is an apprehension that comes with traveling sans body armor and weapons in areas known to have Al-Qaeda influence. I suppose it is for those very reasons we are unarmed, approachable, and bringing our music and good will to their villages.

This leg of our trip is a completely different experience and much more thought provoking. More to come in the future.

J-

And now for Africa

2007-08-07T09:31:00.001-06:00

Greetings-

I am writing from a small post in the hard-to-find-on-a-map country of Djibouti, Africa. If you were to use Google Earth to try and locate this position, it's extremely easy- located on the water in the horn of Africa. In fact, at the moment, I am sitting less than a mile from the sea. Please bare in mind, there are walls, berms, towers, razor wire, and various other barriers between me and the beach... and by no means is this a resort area... comically far from it!!! (By the way, the above picture was staged...).

The installation is a navy/marine base and is quite small. The climate/geographic classification is deemed desert but by way of comparison, my armchair analysis places it something like Florida... of course, I've been here a mere 4 hours- less time than the 5.5 hours it took to ride here in the C-130.

The mission here is preemptive and this includes us. The idea is to help establish infrastructure (clean water, schools, etc) and prevent another undereducated nation from being an environment for fostering extremism and terrorism. Of course, there's probably more to the story, but this is the official line and I see no reason to be cynical (who, me??)...

In addition to concerts on the base, we have some trips out to the villages scheduled. The marines love this interaction, for it has reaped benefits with the locals, such as positive intel on Al-Qaeda and other bad guys. If you took a look at that Google Earth map, you'd see we are virtually right on top of Somalia- that's the direction we'll head over to when the time comes.

We are taking our malaria pills and carrying DEET... as a side bar, the most recent Nat'l Geographic is about malaria. Pick it up and read it... incredibly interesting.

What isn't interesting is this blog post so I will leave you until we actually do something here besides drop our gear and eat.

Take care!

J-

A couple more quick thoughts

2007-08-06T08:28:00.000-06:00

I've yet to chat with a soldier that hasn't been here before- even the low ranking soldiers are on their second tour. The navy has taken on big roles inland- security, transportation, and a lot of flying missions.

I'm not sure what to make of all of this. The amount of money spent to air condition one single tent all day, even when unoccupied, could really make a difference to someone less fortunate. It's hard to fathom the grandeur of this campaign in the desert until you see the moving and stationary pieces. The amazing thing is, despite traveling to a lot of locations, we barely scratched the surface regarding installations, bases, FOB's, etc in and around Iraq.

I hope our nation's future leaders are over here now (or here previously or still to come) and experiencing this place first hand. While I do not feel military service should be a prerequisite to public service, I believe one would be less likely to make decisions of such magnitude without considering the facts, consequences, human toll, family separations, shear expense, and long term ramifications.

My time is up once again in this crowded computer lab.

I hope to catch up from Africa,

J-

Beer from here and where is Djibouti?

2007-08-06T02:10:00.000-06:00

Just below Djiback.

Our Djibouti jokes have begun. We are awaiting transportation out of Kuwait to Qatar and on to Djibouti. The best news is, for the rest of our time over here, alcohol is an option. Not so much a necessity, but having the option is fantastic.

Our show last night was a good time. We drove out to Camp Arifjan- a huge permanent base run by the army. We had a large crowd- the largest so far, and the folks that were responsible for us treated us great.

Some thoughts from the road, so to speak:

Bathroom graffiti can be down right entertaining.

The most memorable aspects of each place we've been is the horrific stench.

No two bases are created equal. No two bases have the same morale or attitude.

Whatever base someone is assigned to here, there's always at least five that are worse.

Carrying a weapon is a drag but not as much as body armor.

The two things none of us wanted to do (convoy outside the wire in Iraq and fly in a Blackhawk in Iraq) are the two most memorable experiences- both from the adventure and the audiences- the hardest bases to get to had the most appreciative audiences.

Life here is really just finding out where to eat and how to do laundry.

Gravel and sand sucks to walk in, especially when carrying speakers.

The "more cowbell" joke just really isn't funny to me any longer.

When I haven't eaten, am tired, and it's the middle of the night, don't ask me to throw the cargo net over the pallet.

There are other encores than Freebird.

Being a light sleeper is a detriment.

It's still hot here, but I no longer care.

Off to Africa- see you all soon,

J-

Things I haven't done (until today)

2007-08-03T19:19:00.000-06:00

Load rock band gear into a Blackhawk helicopter. Check.
Catch a ride across Iraq in a Blackhawk helicopter. Check.
Play a gig during a "prison" riot. Check.
Gun fire during a gig. Check.
Alarms during a gig. Check.
A gig at 8pm followed by another at 3am. Check.

The past few days have been weird. If you were to view a map, you'd see that Iraq and Afghanistan aren't really that geographically separated. Problem is, Iran divides the two. We cannot exactly use their airspace so flights to and from are very long- especially when sitting in a packed C-130, strapped in cargo net seats (we are just cargo, after all), and sweating to the point of total saturation prior to take off and after landing. Two (or three... I dunno) days ago, we flew from Kandahar to Al Udeid, went to the coalition compound to get our three beers (ration cards keep you from really enjoying yourself- alcohol in the middle east pretty much only exists at "The Deid"- definitely not in Iraq, Afghanistan or Kuwait), ate, returned to the terminal and awaited a flight to Kuwait- specifically Ali Al Salem- known as "The Rock."

Kuwait, not unlike every other place around these parts, is stupid hot. We got in, dropped our gear, and went to bed. The next day, we toured the "indestructible" French-built bunkers that the U.S. blew up during the first war, viewed the beautiful drawings on the walls made by prisoners when Iraqi soldiers detained Kuwaiti soldiers, and took a look at the flag pole where the Iraqi army strung up the Kuwaiti base commander when they took the base. We followed this with some fine shopping at the local bazaar... Of course, we aren't here to shop so we later played our outdoor gig, packed and prepared for our next day's adventure.

So today, or yesterday, or whatever, we woke up before dawn to catch a ride to a base in Kuwait City but our point of contact goofed and confused Zulu time with local time... or vice versa. Common mistake... or maybe not. Either way, we went back to bed for an hour, only to catch that ride a little later. We got to the base in the City, loaded one of the choppers with our gear, and piled into another for a flight north into Iraq.

The only animals at the zoo I do not feel sorry for are camels. I saw hundreds on the flight and wow, they have it bad in their natural habitat... or so it appeared from my perspective high above. And to my surprise, some of those beasts are shaggy. I'd take a nice, cushy zoo any day over that nasty, hot, barren desert.

Back to the helicopter- absolutely exhilarating. The flight over Kuwait was amazing- viewing the city from that perspective was stunning in a smoggy sort of way, and flying over the shallows of the Persian Gulf at a lower altitude was unforgettable. I was also able to witness the source of our $3.50 a gallon dependency/addiction (around 24 cents a gallon here, by the way).

We knew we crossed into Iraq when we dropped altitude, picked up speed, began maneuvering, and the gunners pointed their weapons towards the "stuff" below. We landed at a place called Camp Bucca- the largest facility in the world for holding bad guys. It's not a "prison," but a "Theater Internment Facility," or TIF for short. From the stories we heard at lunch, there are some nasty, nasty people with some seriously creative minds bent on killing. Much like American prisons, there are ruthless gangs, weapons, etc and a ton of security forces keeping track of things. These airmen, soldiers, and sailors that run this place have a tough job- dealing with everything from riots (tonight), to "chai rocks" (chai poured on sand evidently makes a pretty lethal projectile), to swords, shanks, slingshots, and spears that would make McGuyver envious. Needless to say, the guards here work odd hours and are always on call. This is a tough, tough place, and the vibe here is quite dark. At the same time, you can tell the detainee ops folks (the men and women that run the TIF) are top notch professionals that understand the importance of their work and the scrutiny they receive on a constant basis. Everyone should be grateful for their professionalism- no one is proud of previous indiscretions at detainee facilities and the military and American public certainly won't tolerate it again.

We played two shows for them (not the detainees)- both outdoors...yikes. They deserve it and we definitely boosted morale for several hundred tonight/this morning. The first show began at 8pm, the latter at 3am. We are all physically and mentally spent but pushing on with the help of highly caffeinated energy drinks, humor, the knowledge we are on a short deployment, and the realization we are the only change from monotony our audiences my receive during a 6-16 month tour- particularly at a place like this. It's now pushing 6am and you know, it's actually time for bed.

Thanks for reading,
J-

Whew- what a journey

2007-07-31T11:35:00.000-06:00

Greetings All,

I am writing from Kandahar, Afghanistan, where we just met up with the other band (from Robins, AFB) to do a NATO ceremony. We combined to make a ceremonial band and then I was able to sit in and play with their jazz combo for the after ceremony in the Kandahar Int'l Airport- every participating NATO member as well as Afghans were there and it was very cool. We are off tomorrow for our next location.

Since my last message, we played a show up at a FOB in northern Iraq called Q-West,- a very remote but appreciative army audience. We got there in the dark of night- a completely blacked out base that just suffered a casualty. They treated us great and I even had a TV in my room. We then flew down to Tallil in southern Iraq where the temperature was 120+ the whole time. The next day, we convoyed up to a very small FOB that has never received entertainment- another great crowd. More on the convoy later.

We played a gig at Camp Adder and then Ali Air Base before returning to our "home" of Al Udeid to await a flight over to our present location. The flight here was absolutely miserable... we boarded a fully packed C-130 in the middle of the night and sat in the plane for 2 hours- sweating to the point of pure saturation- think south Louisiana multiplied by ten. Al Udeid is on the gulf and wow, can it get humid. We landed here, ate, rehearsed, and then showered before heading to the gig.

Back to the convoy- the soldiers that took us up there were true professionals and took pride in getting us there safely. We loaded our gear on a truck with an armored cab and then assumed our seats in up-armored humvee gun trucks- I road in the front vehicle, full body armor, helmet, loaded weapon, etc and a gunner on top with a 50 caliber machine gun. It was surreal going outside the wire and heading up past Bedouins, old Iraqi gun emplacements, burnt out vehicles from previous IED's, and a few stray donkeys and dogs. Sitting in that humvee was the hottest I've ever been- only competing with last night's/this morning's flight.

The return convoy was less hot, being early in the morning, and again, the soldiers were true professionals, fast drivers, and confident in their ability to get oncoming vehicles to yield the road. So, things to have done in life I really didn't want to do- riding in a convoy in Iraq...check.

Our gigs at Camp Adder was good, but our gig at Ali AB was awesome- a fantastic crowd!

This place (Kandahar) smells awful, but has mountains and cooler evenings. We took a picture in the site of the Taliban's last stand- a room where 90 or so were holed up until a U.S. J-DAM came through the roof. None of this registers while you are here... hopefully on my return I can reflect.

A great opportunity while at Tallil was visiting the ancient city of Ur, the Ziggerat (sp), and Abraham's (THE Abraham) home. An amazing place- I am not exactly a bible scholar, but was able to appreciate the ancient ruins, history, and the caretaker's stories despite the heat and dust. I'll send out pics when I return.

There's more to all of the stories above but finding internet access is tough, not to mention internet allowing blog posts.

I'm doing well- just trying to sleep whenever I can and beat this stomach bug that has been troubling me.

More adventures in our future- I'll write when I can.

By the way- congrats to Vince and Holly on the wedding- Tracy forwarded me the pics and Holly, you looked beautiful! Go guitar hero!

Catch you later, everyone-

J-

Still at Mortaritaville

2007-07-23T00:24:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone,

Here's one advantage to Iraq- plenty of hot water in the shower. Cold water is such a novelty that you'd walk an extra mile to find the cooler that actually chills the water down to a refreshing temperature. Speaking of, I wish I wore a pedometer for this trip- we are logging the miles!!!

We are in the airlift shuffle right now- waiting for a flight to our next locale. We were supposed to be there by now and if that were the case, I could tell you where I am... well, you know where I am now... but you know what I mean!

Our new billet is right next to the flight line. This place is incredibly busy, as the fighters that leave her patrol Baghdad and beyond and the airlifters are ever present as this is a huge logistics location. Sleep was not happening last night.

I'll have pics to show everyone when I return, but loading and unloading gear into trucks and vans is a daunting process, but not as difficult as palletizing (placing it on the pallet that loads directly into the aircraft) our gear onto a pallet on the back of a truck. We had a bunch of TCNs trying to help but it made it more difficult, bless their hearts. We did this in total darkness last night without a hitch. Getting gear correctly palletized is important, for the loadmasters of the aircraft can refuse to take a pallet on board if they deem it incorrectly loaded. This means we could theoretically get on our plane and fly away without our gear!

By the way, if I haven't yet explained TCNs, they are third country nationals that do most of the jobs the military doesn't- cleaning, etc. They are not Iraqis but mostly from Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines.

As far as "coalition of the willing" partners, many of the internal control points (places they check your weapons and id's before entering buildings) on this base are guarded by Ugandan soldiers- men and women. These soldiers are very thorough yet very nice and have absolutely striking features. I tried to get my picture taken last night with a Ugandan soldier, but she was too shy and said she cannot have her picture taken while on post. Most are multilingual, they seem to work very long hours, and their uniforms are always immaculate.

By the way, despite the bad haircut, my morale meter rates around an 8 or 9. While the novelty of being here has worn off, it's still exciting to experience these things, both good and bad. As we waited to gain entry into our gig site the other day, we watched gunners load their weapons in their Humvee turrets and head out on patrol outside the wire. The images of soldiers awaiting evacuation to Germany and those soldiers heading out on patrol keeps it all in perspective and makes me realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to teach and play music for a living- even here in Iraq.

Best wishes to all and I hope to be able to update you all from points beyond Balad.

J-

Water, Wildlife, and Wake-Ups

2007-07-22T06:04:00.000-06:00

Greetings,

As I sit in this myspace-user-frenzy of a computer lab (Balad is one of the only bases in the war that allows myspace (Air Force bases, that is). I'm the only person at Balad not using myspace), I'll try and reflect on some interesting tidbits of information.

There's water everywhere- all in one liter bottles. The water is from the Tigris and is purified locally and shipped over to us here at the base.

The wildlife I've witnessed so far doesn't include the famed camel spiders or scorpions, but instead cute lizards on the walls at night, hungry mice, giant scampering ants, dive bombing pigeons, and finches born in the wrong place (makes you think how lucky the finches in America are... or all of us, for that matter).

This base is Saddam-era- it was taken over during the war and therefore has a lot of the existing infrastructure. There are dozens upon dozens of bunkers and hardened hangars, boulevards and buildings that look like they're from a movie set, a mosque closed to Americans, and among other things, a movie theater.

In other news, for whatever reason, we were awoken in the night with the news we need to move billets. After completing this task, we had breakfast, set up and played a gig at a DFAC, found some nice KBR guys to hook us up with an 8 hour turn-around on laundry, and then set up for our big gig tonight.

The TCN just informed me my time is up so I am off. Hopefully I'll be able to continue these updates in the future- we're on the move again real soon.

Take care!

J-

Is today Saturday... eh, who cares.

2007-07-21T06:36:00.000-06:00

Greetings,

It's incredibly easy to lose track of time and day here in Iraq. We have a few more days here at Balad/LSA Anaconda and we are off to more remote points (I'll let you know when we get there). I'm tired of doing laundry in the shower and am hoping our next location has laundry facilities- this base and the previous had contracted laundry (KBR) with a turn-around time greater than our stay. A one gallon bag and hand soap has been my friend. We have parachute cord strung in our billet to hang dry our clothing and it's working like a charm.

On our way to our day gig, we drove along the wire (base perimeter) and saw Iraqi goat herders (and their goats) on the other side. There was an Apache attack helicopter patrolling and numerous towers that surely had an eye on things. This base is also a major hub for convoys so there are armored vehicles EVERYWHERE. You have to remind yourself this is a real war. Conversation among soldiers in the DFAC (dining facility) also reminds you- it's interesting to hear their experiences.

Perhaps I've mentioned this... I cannot remember. Moving our gear (all in large anvil cases and hard plastic tubs sans wheels) is interesting in the sense my active duty counterparts back at my old band would have an aneurysm taking part- not from the lifting but the complaining. There are no sidewalks/pavement and we have to lift everything in and out of our pickup truck and cargo van. We are spoiled here at Balad because we have vehicles easy to load into! My apologies to any of those folks that may read this... I would have been part of the complaining as well... here we don't have a choice.

Someone asked about down time- at the moment, our down time is in the morning. We've been using it as an opportunity to use the fitness center, do laundry (see above), and repack what is needed for the day... and occasionally grab a nap.

I'm truly stunned how easily I sleep here- almost better than at home. The jets taking off an 1/8th of a mile from my billet doesn't phase me at all and I've yet to hear a night time alarm from the "giant voice." This is a good thing.

Well, if you are reading this and see Tracy, give her a hug for me. To everyone in Alamosa- stay dry! I'm off to dinner.

Take care,

J-

Now We're Working

2007-07-20T11:57:00.000-06:00

Greetings Everyone!

We've gigged several times and it feels great to be playing. We'll have played at least everyday from here on out, but more than likely, several times a day. With the capability to do acoustic sets with minimal set ups, we can squeeze small venues in during the day and play big shows at night. There's a lot of gear for a rock band- mains (giant speakers), subs (speakers for the low frequencies), mics and stands, amps, mixer boards, cables, power cords, drums, guitars, keyboards, horns, etc etc etc. We have a cargo van and a pickup truck at this base to load in and out of and many of these cases have some weight to them. It sure would be nice to have a group of roadies!

Nothing new to report. The bad guys outside the "wire" occasionally try and do something stupid- on occasion, we find out a little before, but more typically it seems we learn about it afterwards. This base's nickname is "Mortaritaville" for a reason. I personally view it as similar odds to a lightening strike. Nothing to worry about, this place is very well fortified, the bad guys are terrible shots, and the countermeasures are pretty extreme, serving as a deterrent.

My time at the computer has ended- have a great day and I'll write again soon!

Best!

J-

Financial Advice from Iraq and some people to admire

2007-07-20T06:07:00.000-06:00

Buy stock in KBR.

They own/operate EVERYTHING here. Everything. Blast walls, porta-potties, dining facilities (DFAC), bathroom/shower units (Cadillacs), personnel, trucks... etc etc. Endless.

Today was a sobering day. We walked around the hospital wards and played acoustically for wounded Americans, Iraqi police, and Iraqi civilians. On our very first stop, we encountered soldiers with signature injuries- amputees and head trauma. We actually felt as though we lifted spirits where we could- be it injured troops or the staff that work long hours treating the wounded. The hospitals at Balad are incredibly busy but the staff is very upbeat and a positive bunch- I truly admire everyone I met today.

Stay tuned for more details as time permits!

J-

In German and Iraq thus far

2007-07-19T07:28:00.000-06:00

Greetings from Iraq,

For whatever reason- I can access my blog, but only in German... I, of course, do not speak German and am not typing in German, so hopefully this pans out.

I'm writing from Balad AB/LSA Anaconda. Our flight in on the C-130 was completely packed with Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, contractors, and gear. When we got off the plane, it didn't register we were in the one country most try to avoid.

I'd describe what Iraq looks like but from the majority of vantage points I've experienced, Iraq is nothing but a never ending maze of blast walls... or at least the base has that look. To my surprise, there are a few trees here, albeit very dry. My billet is some sort of a porta-unit with two beds, some cabinet space, and a hardworking AC unit. The billet is surrounded by blast walls and sand bags with a bunker nearby so we are good to go and Randy (guitarist) and I slept well with body armor next to our respective bunks.

To continue describing the scene, it's best to use other senses. The air quality is less than desirable- the air tastes and smells like a combination of burning landscape, jet fuel, diesel fuel, and chemicals. The soundscape is dominated by engine noise- generators, air conditioning units, jets, helicopters, vehicles of both an armored and unarmored nature, and the occasional message from the "giant voice."

This base has a very serious feel, being it's inhabitants are directly fighting this war from both outside the wire and from the air. We all carry weapons and ammunition, so there's that wild west feel- minus the street gunfights and whiskey (unlike our previous location, there's no alcohol in Iraq...)

We played today and will play again in an hour or so- indoors (thankfully). It's a lot of fun to be playing gigs with all of our gear, with a pro audio engineer, and drums that sound good.

My morale factor just sunk a few notches after the TCN (third country national) barber interpreted my haircutting directions as shave it all off. If a bad haircut is my worst experience, I shouldn't complain.

I need to run! Take care, all!

J-

Take the tuba to Kandahar

2007-07-15T08:05:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone!

The title of this reflects a "post-it note" I just read in our office... how funny is that? We are FINALLY getting closer to playing a gig- we're going to play here on this base before heading north for 3 weeks or so.

The heat and wind (blowing dust/sand) is relentless but somehow, it's kind of harsh in a character building way. When we pass to the operations side of the base (where our storage/rehearsal facility is), we all pile into a Ford Ranger with non-existent braking power. Fortunately, someone had the foresight to paint the trucks white. Another character building exercise is the tent situation- crazy-loud crickets, wind beating the tent walls, a pet mouse that has a craving for energy bars to the extent he may soon resemble Mighty Mouse, a mass chorus of snoring, and a guy from one of the other bands that listens to bagpipe music all night. He's a piper, but the rest of us are not... this makes little difference. Somehow, I manage to sleep through it all.

Water conservation is a major priority here- 3 minute showers, etc, so I'm learning things that I'll bring back in that area. It's also interesting that you don't drink the local water. You don't even use it to brush your teeth- there are literally billions of bottles of water EVERYWHERE. It's supposedly from an aquifer 70 meters down outside of Doha... sure it is.

Well, enough for now- take care to everyone!

J-

Sleep and exercise

2007-07-13T21:02:00.001-06:00

Greetings!

This post is more in amazement than anything- perhaps bragging on myself. I slept well and took a jog early this morning- the sun rises around 4-4:30am so I was able to watch it rise on my run. There's no landscape to speak of from here and every time I look to the east, I am disappointed to not see the Sangres...

Ok... this is a short one.
Catch you all later!

J-

Did I mention it's hot?

2007-07-13T12:04:00.000-06:00

Greetings from our "undisclosed location."

We are on the ground after an unknown amount of time traveling... All I know is we lost Wednesday in the process.

Hot. And bright. And hot.

To be perfectly honest, the trip over was cake, the unload was easy, and getting situated wasn't a big deal at all. We're all excited and looking forward to getting to work-- our day and a half has been filled with inprocessing and orientation to the scene- had we arrive later, we'd have missed the acclimation period so we are quite pleased.

Did I mention the heat?

So an interesting phenomenon- you don't actually feel your sweat when it's 120 degrees- it evaporates too quickly. When you enter an air conditioned room, you break into a serious sweat and initially, you wonder why.

You know that feeling when you stick your head towards the oven before the hot air escapes- that's the heat I'm talking about.

A gentle disclaimer- internet access is spotty and time is limited. If you can excuse my typos and grammatical errors- I'd be greatly appreciative. .. I wish I could use this excuse all of the time.

H-O-T.

To summarize- there's not much happening with us quite yet- there are currently three bands here since we arrived a bit ahead of schedule. I'm not sure when our first gig will be as the others are on the road on their own starting soon.

ummmm.... yep, still hot.

I'm excited to be here- the best way to describe it is to say it's interesting- 180 degrees from my normal civilian life. Perhaps similar to arriving on the moon. For time sake, I'm going to establish a "morale meter." 1-10, 10 being great. I'm sitting easily at a 10. Hopefully it will maintain!!

Actually, it's not that hot at night... ok, it's still hot.

And of course, once things are over, I can explain what we've been up to, but for the mean time, being vague is part of the deal. I'm sure you'll understand.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well and having a good summer. Take care and I'll hopefully catch up to you soon!

J-

A little closer...

2007-07-10T21:25:00.000-06:00

Greetings once again,

We are together as a group and at a base in the midwest awaiting our flight overseas- sometime in the next 12 hours (it's 11pm central time on Tuesday). We all went out for dinner, had drinks, and enjoyed our last gathering in civilian attire... In a few hours, we'll cruise over to the flightline in uniform and try and get onboard our plane.

The hardest part of this trip is saying goodbye to family. While Tracy and I have spent a lot of time apart, this trip is a bit different. As a sidebar, I saw Senator Jim Webb in CNN the other night and he's planning to present legislation requiring longer down periods between deployments for military members- active duty and reservists. While this isn't an issue in my situation and I am leaving for a very short deployment, most are experience very frequent deployments. Please take the time to investigate Webb's proposal, think about the men and women that have had to carry the burden of frequent long goodbyes to family members, and consider asking your senator to support the legislation.

Enough of the digression.

So anyhow, saying goodbye, simply and directly stated, sucks.

Whew... I'm ready to start playing some music, sweating profusely, and getting on with the trip! This should seriously be my last one of these until I'm over there! (Having msntv in the room is awesome- officer billeting at this base is fantastic!)

Everyone, take care of yourselves and we'll catch up soon!

J

Ahhh... Colorado.

2007-07-06T11:16:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone!

I am writing from home in beautiful and sunny (and dry) Colorado! The trip home on July 4th was smooth with the notion I'd get to be home with Tracy, the pets, and our friends. Speaking of Tracy and home, we realized this was the first fourth of July we've spent together since before we were married, (eight years ago on July 17th). The previous fourth of July holidays were spent apart- I was always on the road doing concerts. We were ready to kick into relaxation mode for Thursday when I heard my cell phone ring...

I'm leaving Monday for Fort Worth, spending the night, and then we all head out the next morning. The idea is, we fly to a base, catch a flight called a "rotator" that takes troops overseas. We'll make at least one stop in the U.S., one in Europe, and then down to the base we'll be "stationed" during our tour. This base will essentially be the place we dump off the stuff we don't need, rehearse, check out gear (body armor, weapons, if necessary for the itinerary), and return to between trips into the forward bases.

The band that's over there now just returned from the Baghdad International Airport area where they played some concerts on and around the fourth of July. They weren't able to access their e-mail for 7 days while in Baghdad so we may expect similar circumstances when we are in a forward area. We'll see. I've read the military is cracking down on blogs for security reasons. If so, how unfortunate.

Anyways, I have a few days to relax here and intend to do so. If I cannot update from the middle east, Tracy will send out e-mails. Thanks for reading!

J-

July 1st

2007-07-01T10:10:00.001-06:00

Greetings to all,

July 1st brings a welcome day off. It's difficult to find time for individual practice when your drums are in the same room as everyone, so today is my day. During rehearsals, I'll find things I want to do better- change a groove in a breakdown, work out a fill, be able to sing the backup line and not lose time, etc- so I keep a note pad next to me to keep track of these things.

Our unit is based on a naval air station/joint reserve base. It's a former nuclear bomber base that was closed by an old BRAC but stayed open in this capacity. The navy runs the base and therefore the culture is much different than I'm used to. The Air Force really does have it better when it comes to facilities, billeting, and especially food. Additionally, because this place is a reserve base, it sometimes seems like a ghost town when there's not a drill.

Yesterday, we were visited by the colonel in charge of Air Nat'l Guard bands. He dropped by (from the east coast) to give us the standard "go get 'em" speech that these guys give for a living. While I am rarely moved by these things, he brought up a few key points that resonated. One, since we'll be playing for a lot of army soldiers and marines, we may very well be playing for some that won't come home. The other point he touched on had to do with the fact that this war is creating an overwhelming number of disabled veterans our country will have to care for for the next 60 years and the public at large needs to be prepared for the reality and responsibility. The military band programs can get that message out. The first point he made really makes you think... especially when you are civilian (for most of the year) that gets your information from CNN and can easily overlook the reality that this war doesn't affect numbers, but real people.

Well, enough about that...

I cannot express how much I am looking forward to returning home for a few days... I miss Tracy and the house full of animals. While we've talked every day, it's not the same.

Ever since I found out I was going on the deployment, Tracy has been absolutely amazing (of course, she was amazing before that as well). From being supportive, to allowing me to move through the different phases I've experienced in my preparations, to allowing me to enjoy my abbreviated summer off from teaching, I cannot thank her enough. She's been absolutely perfect!!

I suspect this summer will be tough for her in the sense that she's alone and in the dark. I'll be with friends and know where I'm going, what we're up to, what we're facing, and how we're doing, while she is waiting to hear from me when I can drop her a line after the fact. Staying at home and managing everything is tougher than what we'll be doing in the desert, hands down. While we all know there are spouses dealing with longer deployments, loved ones involved in direct combat, etc, it doesn't lessen the situation when it happens to you. So please keep Tracy, Gabriel (the dog), Leo and Mila (the cats) in your thoughts this summer. Thanks!

Take care to everyone and happy July. I'm off to find some lunch- something other than Navy food.

Cheers!

J

Texas for training...

2007-06-29T20:26:00.000-06:00

Greetings all!

I started this blog with the hope I can use it to keep track of our upcoming tour of southwest Asia. There are 7 of us from the ANG Band of the Gulf Coast that comprise a rock band- drums, guitar, bass, horn players doubling as singers, singers doubling on keys and horns, tambourine, etc, and we'll catch up to an audio engineer and tour manager over there.

The Ft Worth area has seen much rain... enough already. I arrived here last Friday to some pretty serious climate shock due to my departure from the dry, cool, high desert air. I guess the Texas heat, humidity, and occasionally dysfunctional AC is simply training for things to come... some of our stops on the upcoming trip will have 100+ degrees and 100% humidity. The mold that coated our rehearsal facility was seriously nasty and served to toughen us up. We rehearsed in there for a couple days but on Thursday, hazmat showed up and shut the room down. I've since started taking Airborne and we've since found a new place to rehearse.

Besides rehearsing, we've done more shots (anthrax... yum), qualled on the M-9, self aid/buddy care training, chem/bio/nuke training, outprocessing, outprocessing, outprocessing, gear issue, etc etc etc...

Today was our final outprocess and we received our orders... It's actually a good feeling.

We are practicing acoustic sets- sounds awesome and is a lot of fun! I'm playing a djembe in this configuration and it cracks me up! I'll probably be the only guy in the world playing a djembe in a warzone with a weapon strapped to my leg, while getting paid! It's the anti-drum circle vibe!

Tomorrow we PT for the record and rehearse the rest of the day-no briefings or outprocessing.

Sunday is a day off.

Monday, rehearsal, Tuesday a gig in Addison.

I think we'll gel as a band once we get some regular playing in- there's a lot of talent and experience in the band, and I think we'll rock. Playing in a rock band is a welcome change for me- I am VERY happy to be doing it and looking forward to the adventure on the trip!
We have some great tunes- plenty more than we need which is a good place to be. We're doing everything from current top 40 to current country to classic rock, R&B, Motown, hip hop, etc etc.

I'll leave Wednesday to return home for a couple days and wait for the exact depart date.

Good news- I've straightened out the golf shot and have actually shot par on a couple holes and even birdied a par 4... let's not talk about the bogeys... double bogeys... triple bogeys... the numerous mulligans... it's a hard game but is much more fun when you can occasionally hit a decent shot. If you are wondering where this golf thing came from, I am wondering too... I've played a handful of times this spring/summer and now I cannot get enough. Great.

That's all from here!

Hopefully I'll be able to continue this blog over there.

Cheers!

J