so the weekend was pretty good all in all.
friday was cool. played routine with becker and hung out. colin and i setup the stage for the chip valley concert around 5:30, then we went to acoustic for food. dress rehearsal for chip valley after that, then to the house to make chicken with becker and colin.
the chicken was amazing. i think those chickens must have been sent from heaven or something because they're little legs tasted like amazingness. after we got done eating our chicken, colin and i, and a couple of other people from the house went down the block to the hastings house for a special viewing of conan. conan had spent a week in finland because he looks like their female president and the friday night showing was an hour long chronicle of his time there.
after conan we went back to the house and the party had pretty much died. by 12:30? lame! i walked home and went to sleepy sleep.
saturday was mostly spent cleaning my apartment. i was really happy to get that done and my place has returned to sweetness. i went to the state a little early and got a good warm up in on my tenor, in the hopes that it would be a little nicer to me than it was on friday. it worked, i think, because i made it through that damn wedding march without completely embarrassing myself. cavis pointed out that my part is higher than his part for the entire piece. note to mendehlsohn: don't friggen write trombone parts that are consistently higher than the trumpet parts moron! just kidding mendy. it was good for me. i won't go into detail about what i thought about the rest of the performance because ya just never know who reads these things.
after the concert we went down to the acoustic to hear john raymond's group. they sounded good and they had a huge audience, which was cool to see. i hung till the end just so i could hear them play kenny garret's "happy people." i love that tune.
so i went home, changed out of my tux, put some normal clothes on, and went to the joynt. we played darts pretty much all night and it was cool. the uncool part is that i broke down and started drinking again. dammit. colin was drunk and made some comment, while we were kicking his ass in darts, about how i was sober so ofcourse we would be beating him. little did he know that my dart game actually improves if i have a few in me. his taunting wasn't the real reason i went and got that glass from the bar though. the real reason is that my stress level was higher than i wanted it to be and i just needed to relax for a night and let go of my inhibitions. and let go i did. i had a lot of beer in two hours time and it felt great. now would probably be a good time to publicly thank mcginnis, lydon, and ben for taking care of my sorry ass that night. nuff said about that.
sunday:
practice, wind symphony concert, practice, dinner with mark, chill, then dooley's with evan and mark. in typical fashion evan came over 45 minutes later than he had told me. i wuv that little guy. we played darts and i didn't drink. we basically had the whole place to ourselves which was cool because it wasn't so loud that we couldn't talk. one of the bartender's was playing really crappy music, but i laughed about it more than i got upset. however, the hanson brothters "mmmbop" was pushing that tolerance level.
so here it is, monday morning and i'm pretty excited about all the snow that is falling. we basically had no winter here so this is cool. i don't care what you think, snow is a beautiful thing.
today will be spent mostly practicing with a trip to the gym thrown in there somewhere. thanks for reading.
oh yeah, and i finally figured out how to put links to my friends' blogs on the right hand side. if you'd like to be added or removed, please let me know. i just put the ones i could think of off the top of my head over there and may have forgotten a few. i love you all so don't let me leave you out.
love,
james
Monday, March 13, 2006
Sunday, March 12, 2006
journey to manhattan, part II
well, as promised here is installment number 2 of my trip to the MSM audition in NYC (don't ya love acronyms?).
Sunday
i woke up at about 7:30a and popped right out of bed...or should i say, andy's couch. i had used my north face jacket as a blanket and slept with no pillow. colin was on the hardwood floor with a blanket, using one of the couch cushions as a pillow. despite going to bed at 2:30a, being woken up by colin's phone ringing at 4a, sleeping on a couch with no pillow or blanket, i felt surprisingly awake at 7:30. i'm pretty sure it was the adrenaline of being 3 hours away from my audition. anyways, i took a shower, put on my suit, woke colin up, waited for his slow ass to get ready, and we hit the subway.
the manhattan school is on 122nd and claremont so we knew that we'd be getting off at the 125th st exit. having parked my car in front of the school last summer on a trip to the city, i had an idea of landmarks to expect when we got out of the subway. i didn't see those landmarks and began to wonder where the crap we were. so, we walked to 122nd and turned in the direction i thought we should. after a block i realized it wasn't the right way and we turned around and went the other direction. after a couple of blocks we came to a T intersection....which was no good because we hadn't run into our cross street yet. so we went down to 123, and then continued in the same direction. finally we recognized where we were and found the school. phew.
with an hour before my audition, i went to the practice rooms only to find that they were full. all 3 floors of them. with about 45 minutes to go, i found one and began warming up. luckily the auditions were running behind and i was able to feel warmed up before i went in. right before my audition colin came up and sat down next to me. he gave me his headphones and said "here, listen to this, it'll relax you." we were probably the only two that dared to listen to jimmy smith before going into our classical trombone auditions at the manhattan school of music. it worked though, because i felt a little more relaxed.
the audition went well. the panel was steve norell (bass bone of the met. opera), dave finalayson (2nd in the ny phil) and a tuba player whose name i can't remember right now. i played a solid audition. i didn't receive much indication of what they thought of my playing. just a couple "nice job" and "sounds good" type comments. i've figured out, after taking a number of auditions, that that's about all you'll ever hear from the panel. they just have so many people to listen to and are constantly surrounded by good musicians that you're just never going to wow them. even if you did, though, i'm sure they wouldn't say much to you immediately after you're done. which is fine. i can wait for the letter.
after colin finished his audition we went back to andy's place, changed out of our suits, and hit the town. first we grabbed some pizza at a place just a few blocks down from andy's. then we got on the subway and went down to soho to visit the apple store. colin hadn't seen it and soho is a pretty cool place. it was gorgeous outside too, so we bummed around down there for a while.
next we went up to rockafeller plaza because colin wanted to revisit the sharper image store. when we got there we went up to the ice rink and watched all the skaters. there was one guy that instantly grabbed our attention. he was wearing his iPod and skating around doing all these crazy awkward moves, inspired by whatever crap he was listening to, i'm sure. at first i kinda chuckled, then i lost it and was laughing so hard i almost started to cry. he was doing this move where after almost running into another skater, he would skate backwards on one leg while thrashing is other leg back and forth in the air, then turn around and do this thing with his shoulders. then....a girl fell down next to him and he was instantly transformed into romeo. the problem was that juliet was interested at all and he didn't catch the hint. he kept putting his hand out for her to hold and i can't imagine how awkward the conversation must have been. colin and i began talking as if we were them. you can only imagine some of things we said. all and all, we laughed for a good half hour which is exactly what we needed after the traveling and auditioning. release is a good thing.
next we went to the sharper image store and sat in their massaging chairs for a while. as i was sitting there i witnessed an all out religous debate that again had me in stitches. there were two couples, probably average age of 40 or so, who, from what i could gather, didn't know each other. one couple was looking at a gps system as the other couple walked by. one of the guys kinda looked over at the other guy and said something like "aren't these things incredible." the other guy kind of acknowledged and said something about how times have changed, or something to that effect. from there, and i have no idea how they got to this, they began arguing about jesus while i sat there in the reclined massaging chair, trying to hold my laughter in. after about 15 minutes i couldn't take it any more and we left. the last thing i remember hearing was one lady saying "do you think life is easy? because i sure don't." yeah, maybe that's because you spend your time in sharper image stores arguing about the bible with random people...gotta love the colorful people of new york city!
after that we met up with andy and got burritos at this really good mexican place. they were huge and i barely finished half of mine. colin, of course, demolished his. i love that guy. after dinner we watched a movie called "16 blocks" at a nearby theatre. it was pretty good. maybe not $10.50 good, but it was still nice to relax in a comfy chair and be mildly entertained for a couple hours. after the movie we went back to andy's and crashed. we were completely exhausted.
to be continued...
Sunday
i woke up at about 7:30a and popped right out of bed...or should i say, andy's couch. i had used my north face jacket as a blanket and slept with no pillow. colin was on the hardwood floor with a blanket, using one of the couch cushions as a pillow. despite going to bed at 2:30a, being woken up by colin's phone ringing at 4a, sleeping on a couch with no pillow or blanket, i felt surprisingly awake at 7:30. i'm pretty sure it was the adrenaline of being 3 hours away from my audition. anyways, i took a shower, put on my suit, woke colin up, waited for his slow ass to get ready, and we hit the subway.
the manhattan school is on 122nd and claremont so we knew that we'd be getting off at the 125th st exit. having parked my car in front of the school last summer on a trip to the city, i had an idea of landmarks to expect when we got out of the subway. i didn't see those landmarks and began to wonder where the crap we were. so, we walked to 122nd and turned in the direction i thought we should. after a block i realized it wasn't the right way and we turned around and went the other direction. after a couple of blocks we came to a T intersection....which was no good because we hadn't run into our cross street yet. so we went down to 123, and then continued in the same direction. finally we recognized where we were and found the school. phew.
with an hour before my audition, i went to the practice rooms only to find that they were full. all 3 floors of them. with about 45 minutes to go, i found one and began warming up. luckily the auditions were running behind and i was able to feel warmed up before i went in. right before my audition colin came up and sat down next to me. he gave me his headphones and said "here, listen to this, it'll relax you." we were probably the only two that dared to listen to jimmy smith before going into our classical trombone auditions at the manhattan school of music. it worked though, because i felt a little more relaxed.
the audition went well. the panel was steve norell (bass bone of the met. opera), dave finalayson (2nd in the ny phil) and a tuba player whose name i can't remember right now. i played a solid audition. i didn't receive much indication of what they thought of my playing. just a couple "nice job" and "sounds good" type comments. i've figured out, after taking a number of auditions, that that's about all you'll ever hear from the panel. they just have so many people to listen to and are constantly surrounded by good musicians that you're just never going to wow them. even if you did, though, i'm sure they wouldn't say much to you immediately after you're done. which is fine. i can wait for the letter.
after colin finished his audition we went back to andy's place, changed out of our suits, and hit the town. first we grabbed some pizza at a place just a few blocks down from andy's. then we got on the subway and went down to soho to visit the apple store. colin hadn't seen it and soho is a pretty cool place. it was gorgeous outside too, so we bummed around down there for a while.
next we went up to rockafeller plaza because colin wanted to revisit the sharper image store. when we got there we went up to the ice rink and watched all the skaters. there was one guy that instantly grabbed our attention. he was wearing his iPod and skating around doing all these crazy awkward moves, inspired by whatever crap he was listening to, i'm sure. at first i kinda chuckled, then i lost it and was laughing so hard i almost started to cry. he was doing this move where after almost running into another skater, he would skate backwards on one leg while thrashing is other leg back and forth in the air, then turn around and do this thing with his shoulders. then....a girl fell down next to him and he was instantly transformed into romeo. the problem was that juliet was interested at all and he didn't catch the hint. he kept putting his hand out for her to hold and i can't imagine how awkward the conversation must have been. colin and i began talking as if we were them. you can only imagine some of things we said. all and all, we laughed for a good half hour which is exactly what we needed after the traveling and auditioning. release is a good thing.
next we went to the sharper image store and sat in their massaging chairs for a while. as i was sitting there i witnessed an all out religous debate that again had me in stitches. there were two couples, probably average age of 40 or so, who, from what i could gather, didn't know each other. one couple was looking at a gps system as the other couple walked by. one of the guys kinda looked over at the other guy and said something like "aren't these things incredible." the other guy kind of acknowledged and said something about how times have changed, or something to that effect. from there, and i have no idea how they got to this, they began arguing about jesus while i sat there in the reclined massaging chair, trying to hold my laughter in. after about 15 minutes i couldn't take it any more and we left. the last thing i remember hearing was one lady saying "do you think life is easy? because i sure don't." yeah, maybe that's because you spend your time in sharper image stores arguing about the bible with random people...gotta love the colorful people of new york city!
after that we met up with andy and got burritos at this really good mexican place. they were huge and i barely finished half of mine. colin, of course, demolished his. i love that guy. after dinner we watched a movie called "16 blocks" at a nearby theatre. it was pretty good. maybe not $10.50 good, but it was still nice to relax in a comfy chair and be mildly entertained for a couple hours. after the movie we went back to andy's and crashed. we were completely exhausted.
to be continued...
Friday, March 10, 2006
post no. 27
well, this isn't a continuation of my journey to the manhattan school, but i need to write about some current happenings before i continue the rest of that chronicle.
we had chip valley rehearsal tonight. it sucked. tenor trombone wasn't nice to me. tomorrow will be better, i'm sure. becker made us laugh, which i definitely needed (and desperately need right now). he basically just made an entrance in the wrong place, but the visual exchange between him and nobu was funny enough for colin and i to crack up and begin our spatula choreography. then we continued laughing and couldn't play. it was great.
after the rehearsal we went to the house and made chicken. it was friggen delicious. and it was done just in time for us to eat it and run to the hastings house to watch the special conan o'brian episode of him in finland. i don't watch much tv these days, but it was fantastic to watch conan with a bunch of cool guys.
the drinking sabbatical continues and it is getting harder by the day. why did i decide to do this again? oh yeah, i want to get the crap out of here.
actually, i don't really WANT to leave eau claire. i like it here. i love my friends and i'm going to miss them sooooo much. but, i do need to move on i guess... i just wish moving on involved staying here with my friends.
so, anyways, i just had a good walk home from the house. it is absolutely gorgeous outside. the stars were out, the moon was bright, and it was warm and smelled of spring. settings like that always get me thinking, which is exactly why i chose to walk home instead of getting a ride from my dear friend colin. i needed to do some good old fashioned thinking. i'll be mysterious and keep my thoughts off this blog because it's not the most appropriate place for me to share what i had to think about. it involves people, places, and things. just like on the wheel of fortune. and isn't the wheel of fortune just one big metaphor for life? i mean, you have a pretty woman (vanna white), a buddy who helps you out(pat sajak...he tries), money problems, and random successes and losses. sounds like life to me.
gosh, i think it's bed time now. my random thought meter is telling me to quit writing now. did i mention that i haven't had a drink in a while?
with much love,
james
we had chip valley rehearsal tonight. it sucked. tenor trombone wasn't nice to me. tomorrow will be better, i'm sure. becker made us laugh, which i definitely needed (and desperately need right now). he basically just made an entrance in the wrong place, but the visual exchange between him and nobu was funny enough for colin and i to crack up and begin our spatula choreography. then we continued laughing and couldn't play. it was great.
after the rehearsal we went to the house and made chicken. it was friggen delicious. and it was done just in time for us to eat it and run to the hastings house to watch the special conan o'brian episode of him in finland. i don't watch much tv these days, but it was fantastic to watch conan with a bunch of cool guys.
the drinking sabbatical continues and it is getting harder by the day. why did i decide to do this again? oh yeah, i want to get the crap out of here.
actually, i don't really WANT to leave eau claire. i like it here. i love my friends and i'm going to miss them sooooo much. but, i do need to move on i guess... i just wish moving on involved staying here with my friends.
so, anyways, i just had a good walk home from the house. it is absolutely gorgeous outside. the stars were out, the moon was bright, and it was warm and smelled of spring. settings like that always get me thinking, which is exactly why i chose to walk home instead of getting a ride from my dear friend colin. i needed to do some good old fashioned thinking. i'll be mysterious and keep my thoughts off this blog because it's not the most appropriate place for me to share what i had to think about. it involves people, places, and things. just like on the wheel of fortune. and isn't the wheel of fortune just one big metaphor for life? i mean, you have a pretty woman (vanna white), a buddy who helps you out(pat sajak...he tries), money problems, and random successes and losses. sounds like life to me.
gosh, i think it's bed time now. my random thought meter is telling me to quit writing now. did i mention that i haven't had a drink in a while?
with much love,
james
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
my journey to the manhattan audition, part I
last night i returned from nyc where i was auditioning for the manhattan school of music. today, i will start to document my trip. while it's tempting to tell about the most recent happenings, i'm going to start from saturday morning and work to the present
so here goes...
Saturday
colin picks me up, about 20 minutes later than we planned, at 10:20a and we drive to the msp airport. we were going to make a stop for lunch at chipolte, but decided we were cutting it close enough and skipped out on burrito heavenness.
we parked off-site and took a shuttle to the aiport. when we got to the airport we navigated our way (it was complicated...) to the northwest airlines (who i will now refer to as nwa) counter. after entering all of my information into the automatic check in computer thing, it told me i needed to speak with a nwa representative behind the counter. i waited patiently and was eventually informed that our flight had been cancelled. our fully booked flight was cancelled? really? the dude tells us that we can take different flights and get there about an hour after we were scheduled. however, we can't be on the same flights because there's only one seat left on each flight. one of us has to fly to boston and make a connection and one has to fly to toronto and make a connection. so they book me to fly to boston and colin to toronto.
so we go through security...
colin gets through just fine. james' bags go through and the lady working the x-ray screams bagcheck as if the bomb i planted in my backpack was about to explode in 10 seconds. another lady comes to her aid, takes me backpack and asks me "is this yours" in an accusatory tone. i politely say "yes it is" and i follow her to the table where she proceeds to take out everything i had just carefully packed. after going through everything (i know it's her job, and i'm not mad about that) she says to me "there are lighters in here, where are they?" hmm...i don't smoke so i'd like to know where they are too... i tell her i have no idea, and she continues to look as if she didn't even hear what i had just said. she frustratingly gives up and decides that she's going to send everything i have in my backpack through the x-ray individually. after doing so she comes back, gives me all my stuff in a bin and says "you're good to go." i ask "did you find them?" she says, "no, you're good to go." i quickly re-pack my stuff, and hurry to my gate with 10 minutes to spare.
phew.
my flight left as scheduled and i got to boston in time to make my connection to nyc.
when the plane touched down i turned my phone on and listened to a voicemail colin had left me. his plan had made an emergency landing in detroit and it looked as though he was going to miss his connection in toronto. i'll spare the details of this whole thing because i believe colin is going to write about it in the next couple of days but basically, it involves him going through canadian and then us customs with no passport or birth certificate and eventually landing at la guardia around 11p where he then tries to board a bus to get him to the subway without a metro card and eventually ends up fronting a $30 cab fee. his rendition is more detailed and comical.
to sum up the travel, we paid nwa $267 for a non-stop flight from msp to jfk that left at 12:55 and arrived in nyc around 4. what we got was two seperate connecting flights that didn't get us to our destination until 11p.
no worries. we got there. however tired...and annoyed...we got there.
we got some chinese food and went to bed at about 2:30a.
to be continued...
james
so here goes...
Saturday
colin picks me up, about 20 minutes later than we planned, at 10:20a and we drive to the msp airport. we were going to make a stop for lunch at chipolte, but decided we were cutting it close enough and skipped out on burrito heavenness.
we parked off-site and took a shuttle to the aiport. when we got to the airport we navigated our way (it was complicated...) to the northwest airlines (who i will now refer to as nwa) counter. after entering all of my information into the automatic check in computer thing, it told me i needed to speak with a nwa representative behind the counter. i waited patiently and was eventually informed that our flight had been cancelled. our fully booked flight was cancelled? really? the dude tells us that we can take different flights and get there about an hour after we were scheduled. however, we can't be on the same flights because there's only one seat left on each flight. one of us has to fly to boston and make a connection and one has to fly to toronto and make a connection. so they book me to fly to boston and colin to toronto.
so we go through security...
colin gets through just fine. james' bags go through and the lady working the x-ray screams bagcheck as if the bomb i planted in my backpack was about to explode in 10 seconds. another lady comes to her aid, takes me backpack and asks me "is this yours" in an accusatory tone. i politely say "yes it is" and i follow her to the table where she proceeds to take out everything i had just carefully packed. after going through everything (i know it's her job, and i'm not mad about that) she says to me "there are lighters in here, where are they?" hmm...i don't smoke so i'd like to know where they are too... i tell her i have no idea, and she continues to look as if she didn't even hear what i had just said. she frustratingly gives up and decides that she's going to send everything i have in my backpack through the x-ray individually. after doing so she comes back, gives me all my stuff in a bin and says "you're good to go." i ask "did you find them?" she says, "no, you're good to go." i quickly re-pack my stuff, and hurry to my gate with 10 minutes to spare.
phew.
my flight left as scheduled and i got to boston in time to make my connection to nyc.
when the plane touched down i turned my phone on and listened to a voicemail colin had left me. his plan had made an emergency landing in detroit and it looked as though he was going to miss his connection in toronto. i'll spare the details of this whole thing because i believe colin is going to write about it in the next couple of days but basically, it involves him going through canadian and then us customs with no passport or birth certificate and eventually landing at la guardia around 11p where he then tries to board a bus to get him to the subway without a metro card and eventually ends up fronting a $30 cab fee. his rendition is more detailed and comical.
to sum up the travel, we paid nwa $267 for a non-stop flight from msp to jfk that left at 12:55 and arrived in nyc around 4. what we got was two seperate connecting flights that didn't get us to our destination until 11p.
no worries. we got there. however tired...and annoyed...we got there.
we got some chinese food and went to bed at about 2:30a.
to be continued...
james
Thursday, March 02, 2006
when to say no more
well, against my better judgement, i'm going to write at an hour when i'm probably not thinking as clearly as i should be.
just got back from the joynt. my drinking sabbatical is still going strong. tonight i had a sprite and a water. the second i walked in there i reminded myself of what my goals are in the next couple days. manhattan grad school audtions....probably the biggest opportunity i've had yet, just a couple days away. pray for me.
the joynt was fun tonight. colin got in a verbal bout with some really drunk guy. i admit i was a little anxious about what drunk guy was going to do because he was getting loud and his judgement probably wasn't quite spot on. the last thing i wanted to see was colin getting whacked in the mouth at such an unfortunate time. on a lighter note, lydon and i teamed up and did well on the dartboard until we got beat the last game. kevin and jake were up to 120 points with 20s and 18s closed after two rounds. ouch.
i had a thought as i drove home...
at what point do you give up and at what point do you keep trying at something? is it a matter of how much something means to you or is it a matter of how long you've been at it and how close you think you are? should trying for x number of years with little success be a sign that it's just not going to happen? i can't remember the last time i gave up on something...well, something moderately important anyways. i've been having this thought about music, and other things... maybe i'm just at a point where it feels like it's do or die, but in the end it's really not. personally, i think giving up blows. but then again, so does mental anguish and i know that i have the ability to let it all go once and for all. my problem is that once i let something go, it's gone forever (which is what i want), so it's hard for me to take that step. no worries though. i'm not about to give up on trombone (yet anyways) and i'm not giving up on life or anything like that. in the grand scheme of things, my problems are miniscule (sp?) and for that, i'm thankful.
dad came down today and we had lunch at the acoustic. when i got in his car he had a page of the newspaper folded open to an article titled Impeachment would solve many of country's problems written by garrison keillor. a surprising find for me since my dad is a republican. here's a link to the article; http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/editorial/13997364.htm if you've taken the time to read this far into my post you probably have a couple more minutes to invest in reading it. i'm not sure how long that link will work either. keillor refers to dick cheney as "gunner" which i found to be pretty freaking hilarious.
welp. that's all i got for now. i probably won't get a chance to write before i leave for nyc, so i'll be sure to save up some good stories for the next post.
g'nite,
james
just got back from the joynt. my drinking sabbatical is still going strong. tonight i had a sprite and a water. the second i walked in there i reminded myself of what my goals are in the next couple days. manhattan grad school audtions....probably the biggest opportunity i've had yet, just a couple days away. pray for me.
the joynt was fun tonight. colin got in a verbal bout with some really drunk guy. i admit i was a little anxious about what drunk guy was going to do because he was getting loud and his judgement probably wasn't quite spot on. the last thing i wanted to see was colin getting whacked in the mouth at such an unfortunate time. on a lighter note, lydon and i teamed up and did well on the dartboard until we got beat the last game. kevin and jake were up to 120 points with 20s and 18s closed after two rounds. ouch.
i had a thought as i drove home...
at what point do you give up and at what point do you keep trying at something? is it a matter of how much something means to you or is it a matter of how long you've been at it and how close you think you are? should trying for x number of years with little success be a sign that it's just not going to happen? i can't remember the last time i gave up on something...well, something moderately important anyways. i've been having this thought about music, and other things... maybe i'm just at a point where it feels like it's do or die, but in the end it's really not. personally, i think giving up blows. but then again, so does mental anguish and i know that i have the ability to let it all go once and for all. my problem is that once i let something go, it's gone forever (which is what i want), so it's hard for me to take that step. no worries though. i'm not about to give up on trombone (yet anyways) and i'm not giving up on life or anything like that. in the grand scheme of things, my problems are miniscule (sp?) and for that, i'm thankful.
dad came down today and we had lunch at the acoustic. when i got in his car he had a page of the newspaper folded open to an article titled Impeachment would solve many of country's problems written by garrison keillor. a surprising find for me since my dad is a republican. here's a link to the article; http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/editorial/13997364.htm if you've taken the time to read this far into my post you probably have a couple more minutes to invest in reading it. i'm not sure how long that link will work either. keillor refers to dick cheney as "gunner" which i found to be pretty freaking hilarious.
welp. that's all i got for now. i probably won't get a chance to write before i leave for nyc, so i'll be sure to save up some good stories for the next post.
g'nite,
james
Sunday, February 26, 2006
there's another surprise at the end!
just walked into my apartment about 10 minutes ago. been gone since wednesday. the trip was good, but exhausting. here's the timeline.
wednesday-
5:30p leave eau claire
10:00p arrive in fon du lac
10:30p play through audition for colin's family
12:30p go to bed
thursday-
5:30a wake up and get ready
6:30a leave for milwaukee airport
9:30a depart for rochester
1:30p arrive in rochester
2:30p shuttle to hotel
3:30p walk to eastman to play trombone
5:00p dinner with colin and jennifer
7:00p back to eastman to practice more
10:00p back to hotel to sleep
friday-
7:30a wake up and get ready
9:00a audition meeting thing at eastman
10:00a warm-up
11:00a food
12:00p play more
1:00p relax
2:45p audition
3:30p back to hotel to chill
5:00p chill time with colin, darts, pizza, etc.
12:00a bed
saturday-
6:00a wake up and get ready
7:45a shuttle to airport
9:30a depart for milwaukee
12:30p arrive in milwaukee
1:00p leave for eau claire
5:30p arrive in eau claire
5:32p leave for minneapolis (maria schneider concert)
8:00p maria schneider concert (amazing!)
10:00p hang with george flynn
12:00a hang with evan benidt
1:30a bed (still in minneapolis)
sunday-
11:00a wake up
12:00p leave minneapolis
1:45p arrive in eau claire
and that brings us up to date. as soon as i'm done with this post i'm gonna take a shower, and head over to school to practice.
the audition went well. it wasn't a personal best for me, which was disappointing, but it was still okay. i'm certain that the only reasoning that will get me in, however, is if they recognize that i got a little nervous and pawn off some of my mistakes on that. i can't worry about it any more. time to focus on manhattan next weekend.
the best part of my trip was my conversation with a 2 year old girl named audrey as i flew between detroit and milwaukee. i began to fall asleep before take off and audrey tapped me on the shoulder to make sure i didn't miss the best part of the flight. so we talked a little bit. she has a brother who is 4 and another brother who is 7. she likes gummy worms and is excited to move into her new house in milwaukee.
well, time for the surprise i guess. a few of you had seen the last video i posted, but i guarantee you haven't seen this one. i received this one through e-mail from a friend (i can't remember who it was anymore) in high school. it's a short video clip of me playing "makin' whoopee" with high school band. the camera work is top notch and 2 points will be awarded for each member of the band you can identify that ended up coming to eau claire. good luck, and enjoy!
http://www.jamesyardley.com/video/mvc-153v.mpg
love,
james
wednesday-
5:30p leave eau claire
10:00p arrive in fon du lac
10:30p play through audition for colin's family
12:30p go to bed
thursday-
5:30a wake up and get ready
6:30a leave for milwaukee airport
9:30a depart for rochester
1:30p arrive in rochester
2:30p shuttle to hotel
3:30p walk to eastman to play trombone
5:00p dinner with colin and jennifer
7:00p back to eastman to practice more
10:00p back to hotel to sleep
friday-
7:30a wake up and get ready
9:00a audition meeting thing at eastman
10:00a warm-up
11:00a food
12:00p play more
1:00p relax
2:45p audition
3:30p back to hotel to chill
5:00p chill time with colin, darts, pizza, etc.
12:00a bed
saturday-
6:00a wake up and get ready
7:45a shuttle to airport
9:30a depart for milwaukee
12:30p arrive in milwaukee
1:00p leave for eau claire
5:30p arrive in eau claire
5:32p leave for minneapolis (maria schneider concert)
8:00p maria schneider concert (amazing!)
10:00p hang with george flynn
12:00a hang with evan benidt
1:30a bed (still in minneapolis)
sunday-
11:00a wake up
12:00p leave minneapolis
1:45p arrive in eau claire
and that brings us up to date. as soon as i'm done with this post i'm gonna take a shower, and head over to school to practice.
the audition went well. it wasn't a personal best for me, which was disappointing, but it was still okay. i'm certain that the only reasoning that will get me in, however, is if they recognize that i got a little nervous and pawn off some of my mistakes on that. i can't worry about it any more. time to focus on manhattan next weekend.
the best part of my trip was my conversation with a 2 year old girl named audrey as i flew between detroit and milwaukee. i began to fall asleep before take off and audrey tapped me on the shoulder to make sure i didn't miss the best part of the flight. so we talked a little bit. she has a brother who is 4 and another brother who is 7. she likes gummy worms and is excited to move into her new house in milwaukee.
well, time for the surprise i guess. a few of you had seen the last video i posted, but i guarantee you haven't seen this one. i received this one through e-mail from a friend (i can't remember who it was anymore) in high school. it's a short video clip of me playing "makin' whoopee" with high school band. the camera work is top notch and 2 points will be awarded for each member of the band you can identify that ended up coming to eau claire. good luck, and enjoy!
http://www.jamesyardley.com/video/mvc-153v.mpg
love,
james
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
here we go! (read to the end, there's a surprise)
just returned from chip valley rehearsal followed by some 'old man ball' at the hastings house. if you haven't played, it's a great game. colin and i took the first two games versus phil and ryan. not able to cope with losing at their own game, they challenged us to a third and we lost. teams were then switched up with phil and i taking down colin and ryan with a dramatic rebound shot that passed ryan's by a mere inch, thrown by yours truly. a good time was had by all.
chip valley rehearsal was good. tenor felt great today. maybe because i warmed up before hand? also maybe because i'm endurance has shot way up from grad school preparations. if i can get a grip on that mendelssohn wedding march i'll actually feel like i made the right decision by playing principal for the season. I still can't believe we're performing that on ANOTHER concert....c'mon, it's ceremony music, not concert music. i'm sure nobu has a good reason though. the low brass, i thought, sounded pretty good tonight as well. our intonation is starting to lock in, mostly because i'm learning where to place 3rd and 5th degree chord tones. we don't see much of that in the bass bone parts. if you don't know what i'm talking about...it's okay. i don't know what i'm talking about half the time either.
tomorrow begins my journey to my first grad school audition at the eastman school of music. colin and i are going to drive to fon du lac tomorrow so we can be only an hour away from the milwaukee airport on thursday morning. we'll fly in on thursday, walk to the school, get aclamated (sp?) to our surroundings, and then play great auditions on friday. we both did mock auditions for studio class yesterday and they went fairly well. for those who are interested, which i'm sure very few of you are, i'm playing the hidas meditation for bass trombone as my solo, exceprts from berlioz hungarian march, haydn creation, and the sarabande from bach cello suite no. 5. i think these selections do a really good job of showing off my strengths, but the audition as a whole is quite a marathon for me. i'd be fine if i could take even a minute between the solo and the excerpts, but i guess i'll just stall as long as i can to catch my breath. everyone tells me that they can't tell that i'm tired by the end of it, but i know they're just being supportive (which i sincerely appreciate!). the other thing i feel good about is the fact that i've been through this process before and i can already mentally picture how it will all happen. go positive thinking!
if this is getting long winded, it's because i have a ton of crap on my mind and i'm trying to get it all out before i go to bed. sleeping is difficult lately with the pressure of auditions on the horizon.
but...the one last thing i gotta say is that i'm extremely thankful for the backing i have here in eau claire. i can honestly say that i'm not going into this audition trying to win it by myself and for myself. i'm pretty sure if i tried to do this all on my own, i'd fail miserably. instead, i have a teacher who knows what it takes to get in, and a studio who is eager to see how i fair. for some, that may be cause for more pressure, but for me, it relieves some of the pressure. somehow i just have this feeling that i'm part of a team trying to get me into grad school instead of trying to do it by myself. i feel extremely lucky to be even given the opportunity to go do this. i'm prepared because i've worked hard. i'm focused because i've attacked my pieces from every angle possible and nothing can throw me off. i played well last year at eastman and i think by showing up again, at my level of preparation, there will be no doubt about how much i want this. i know they want to hear me play well too. all of these things are going to make for a great audition.
well, you must be bored by now. so here's something mildly entertaining as a reward for stickin' in there. it's appropriately titled "flaming trombones." i don't remember where i got it, but i found it sitting on my desktop. enjoy.
http://www.jamesyardley.com/video/winning_the_audition.wmv
keep your stick on the ice,
james
chip valley rehearsal was good. tenor felt great today. maybe because i warmed up before hand? also maybe because i'm endurance has shot way up from grad school preparations. if i can get a grip on that mendelssohn wedding march i'll actually feel like i made the right decision by playing principal for the season. I still can't believe we're performing that on ANOTHER concert....c'mon, it's ceremony music, not concert music. i'm sure nobu has a good reason though. the low brass, i thought, sounded pretty good tonight as well. our intonation is starting to lock in, mostly because i'm learning where to place 3rd and 5th degree chord tones. we don't see much of that in the bass bone parts. if you don't know what i'm talking about...it's okay. i don't know what i'm talking about half the time either.
tomorrow begins my journey to my first grad school audition at the eastman school of music. colin and i are going to drive to fon du lac tomorrow so we can be only an hour away from the milwaukee airport on thursday morning. we'll fly in on thursday, walk to the school, get aclamated (sp?) to our surroundings, and then play great auditions on friday. we both did mock auditions for studio class yesterday and they went fairly well. for those who are interested, which i'm sure very few of you are, i'm playing the hidas meditation for bass trombone as my solo, exceprts from berlioz hungarian march, haydn creation, and the sarabande from bach cello suite no. 5. i think these selections do a really good job of showing off my strengths, but the audition as a whole is quite a marathon for me. i'd be fine if i could take even a minute between the solo and the excerpts, but i guess i'll just stall as long as i can to catch my breath. everyone tells me that they can't tell that i'm tired by the end of it, but i know they're just being supportive (which i sincerely appreciate!). the other thing i feel good about is the fact that i've been through this process before and i can already mentally picture how it will all happen. go positive thinking!
if this is getting long winded, it's because i have a ton of crap on my mind and i'm trying to get it all out before i go to bed. sleeping is difficult lately with the pressure of auditions on the horizon.
but...the one last thing i gotta say is that i'm extremely thankful for the backing i have here in eau claire. i can honestly say that i'm not going into this audition trying to win it by myself and for myself. i'm pretty sure if i tried to do this all on my own, i'd fail miserably. instead, i have a teacher who knows what it takes to get in, and a studio who is eager to see how i fair. for some, that may be cause for more pressure, but for me, it relieves some of the pressure. somehow i just have this feeling that i'm part of a team trying to get me into grad school instead of trying to do it by myself. i feel extremely lucky to be even given the opportunity to go do this. i'm prepared because i've worked hard. i'm focused because i've attacked my pieces from every angle possible and nothing can throw me off. i played well last year at eastman and i think by showing up again, at my level of preparation, there will be no doubt about how much i want this. i know they want to hear me play well too. all of these things are going to make for a great audition.
well, you must be bored by now. so here's something mildly entertaining as a reward for stickin' in there. it's appropriately titled "flaming trombones." i don't remember where i got it, but i found it sitting on my desktop. enjoy.
http://www.jamesyardley.com/video/winning_the_audition.wmv
keep your stick on the ice,
james
Saturday, February 18, 2006
brrrrr
dang it's cold right now. i'm beginning to wonder how i grew up in duluth where weather like this is considered warm. i'll never forget those 20 below mornings delivering newspapers for the duluth news tribune at 5am. those were the days. really...they were. i didn't have to think about grad school. i didn't really have to think that much about money. i didn't have to think about girls. all i had to do was deliver the papers, go to school, go to practice, do my homework, and go to sleep. life was definitely good.
mmea convention performance with trombone choir was really rewarding. the group played well, and the audience loved us. i've never seen a trombone choir receive a standing ovation before. that was a nice gesture. it was also rewarding being able to play for my high school trombone teacher who hadn't heard me play since i left high school. i was actually nervous for the first time in a while. that took me by surprise. my old band director was there too. i talked to them for a while after the concert and they made me feel really good about the progress i've made since i left. we got back to eau claire just before they locked the building so i got a good 1.5 hours of practice in afterwards too.
speaking of practicing, i just got done for the night. i feel like i was really productive in my practice, but i still don't feel like i'm 100% focused yet. i'm probably at about 88%. i recorded myself tonight with my mini-disc player and learned a lot about the way i am playing. whoops. that always happens though. stupid recording equipment....doesn't it know that ignorance is bliss? the bach sarabande is slooowly becoming acceptable. the other stuff is okay too. okay isn't where i need to be for these auditions, though. so, tomorrow will be more practicing.
not much else to say right now i guess. i'll probably be ready for some good old fashioned ranting by monday though.
what do you call a cow that plays the trombone?
a mooo-sician
-james
mmea convention performance with trombone choir was really rewarding. the group played well, and the audience loved us. i've never seen a trombone choir receive a standing ovation before. that was a nice gesture. it was also rewarding being able to play for my high school trombone teacher who hadn't heard me play since i left high school. i was actually nervous for the first time in a while. that took me by surprise. my old band director was there too. i talked to them for a while after the concert and they made me feel really good about the progress i've made since i left. we got back to eau claire just before they locked the building so i got a good 1.5 hours of practice in afterwards too.
speaking of practicing, i just got done for the night. i feel like i was really productive in my practice, but i still don't feel like i'm 100% focused yet. i'm probably at about 88%. i recorded myself tonight with my mini-disc player and learned a lot about the way i am playing. whoops. that always happens though. stupid recording equipment....doesn't it know that ignorance is bliss? the bach sarabande is slooowly becoming acceptable. the other stuff is okay too. okay isn't where i need to be for these auditions, though. so, tomorrow will be more practicing.
not much else to say right now i guess. i'll probably be ready for some good old fashioned ranting by monday though.
what do you call a cow that plays the trombone?
a mooo-sician
-james
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
andreistrizek.com goes live
andrei's website is now live. you can view it at www.andreistrizek.com. it's basic, but, as far as the code goes, it's my best work. let me know what you think.
james
james
thickburgers, ugh
ever had so many things on your mind that you can't even remember what day it is? or couldn't fall asleep till 4am? atleast i got to see a lot of the olympics.... i really wish i could just fast forward a month so i could see how it all ends. instead, it's all just hanging over my head, stressin' me out. usually i'm great about keeping my head on straight and staying focused, but something's come over me where i have these moments of terrible confusion. it's all gonna work out right? k, good. as long as you think so, i'll trust ya.
yesterday was valentines day, and in typical fashion, it was spent mostly with my trombone and trombone related friends. i did go on a date, however, with most of the trombone studio to hardees for thickburgers. i've never had a hardees thickburger, and now i can safely say, that i never want to again. until maybe next valentines day. something like 2/3 lb. of beef, w/bacon, fries, and a drink. i could barely finish the damn thing and i felt like crap afterwards. colin, however...that boy amazes me. 1 thickburger, fries, drink, then 2 chicken sandwhiches. then, just when you think he's done, he goes for the cookies n' cream shake. i think just the thickburger combo alone is somewhere between 1500-1800 calories. gross. it atleast reminded why i never eat that crap. i know it doesn't sound like any fun, but you gotta picture colin, randy, ben, matt caine, brad, justin, and myself at the deserted hardees on clairemont avenue all acting completely ridiculous while stuffing ourselves with terrible fast food on valentines day. physically i felt like poo, but it sure was a lot of fun socially.
rehearsed the bass bone feature with jazz 1 on monday. i felt like i played well, especially for having practiced it only twice (i got my part on friday for a monday rehearsal). i'm supposed to show up at the end of rehearsal today to possibly run it again. i'm having a lot of fun with it, but we'll see how much fun it is when i'm in the studio. recording is sooooo much different than playing something live.
not much else to report i guess. well, there is, but i'll spare ya.
monkeys, cows, bananas, so on and so forth,
james
yesterday was valentines day, and in typical fashion, it was spent mostly with my trombone and trombone related friends. i did go on a date, however, with most of the trombone studio to hardees for thickburgers. i've never had a hardees thickburger, and now i can safely say, that i never want to again. until maybe next valentines day. something like 2/3 lb. of beef, w/bacon, fries, and a drink. i could barely finish the damn thing and i felt like crap afterwards. colin, however...that boy amazes me. 1 thickburger, fries, drink, then 2 chicken sandwhiches. then, just when you think he's done, he goes for the cookies n' cream shake. i think just the thickburger combo alone is somewhere between 1500-1800 calories. gross. it atleast reminded why i never eat that crap. i know it doesn't sound like any fun, but you gotta picture colin, randy, ben, matt caine, brad, justin, and myself at the deserted hardees on clairemont avenue all acting completely ridiculous while stuffing ourselves with terrible fast food on valentines day. physically i felt like poo, but it sure was a lot of fun socially.
rehearsed the bass bone feature with jazz 1 on monday. i felt like i played well, especially for having practiced it only twice (i got my part on friday for a monday rehearsal). i'm supposed to show up at the end of rehearsal today to possibly run it again. i'm having a lot of fun with it, but we'll see how much fun it is when i'm in the studio. recording is sooooo much different than playing something live.
not much else to report i guess. well, there is, but i'll spare ya.
monkeys, cows, bananas, so on and so forth,
james
Friday, February 10, 2006
before i start practicing....
just went to the music building to play for an hour, found out it closes at 10, so i got my horn and came home. gonna practice all my stuff, but figured i'd kill some time while i wait for my apartment to warm up. biggest reason i haven't been practicing at home lately is because it's just too damn cold here and i can't really afford to turn the heat on. so here comes some blogging.
things are incredibly busy lately. you'd think that after a guy graduates and doesn't have a job, there'd be plenty of time to do whatever. thankfully, that's not the case for me. (and i am thankful for that!) so here's a list of all the things off the top of my head.
concerts:
auditions:
recording session:
maybe sometime before march 5? but not sure. the session itself won't take much time for me, but i've got a freakin' hard feature to prepare. take a listen at http://www.rewindplay.com/airmenofnote/sounds/holidaynote.htm. it's the last track, 'you're a mean one, mr. grinch' i'm totally pumped to play a feature on a cd, but i just got the part today and it's hard. 4 octaves of hard.
web design:
rehearsals:
every monday and tuesday night.
so like i said, that's all stuff off the top of my head. there's more. i'm not bitching about being too busy, because i'm not too busy. it feels a little overwhelming, i think, because the auditions and recording are somewhat high pressure ordeals. but, i know i can handle it and everything will be fine. yay positive thinking.
not much else is new. and i think my apartment is now at a bearable temperture for me to begin practicing. i'm gonna go check to see if my neighbors are home so that maybe i don't have to play with my practice mute in. that'd be a treat.
cows,
james
things are incredibly busy lately. you'd think that after a guy graduates and doesn't have a job, there'd be plenty of time to do whatever. thankfully, that's not the case for me. (and i am thankful for that!) so here's a list of all the things off the top of my head.
concerts:
- chip valley tomorrow night.
- bone choir at minnesota state music convention, friday, feb. 17
- chip valley march 10
auditions:
- eastman, feb. 24
- manhattan, march 5 and 7
- indiana, sometime soon after manhattan
recording session:
maybe sometime before march 5? but not sure. the session itself won't take much time for me, but i've got a freakin' hard feature to prepare. take a listen at http://www.rewindplay.com/airmenofnote/sounds/holidaynote.htm. it's the last track, 'you're a mean one, mr. grinch' i'm totally pumped to play a feature on a cd, but i just got the part today and it's hard. 4 octaves of hard.
web design:
- trying to update my site in a timely manner - http://www.jamesyardley.com
- working on andrei's site, hopefully will have something up in the next couple days
- working on prescott middle school band website, no idea when it will be complete, but it's going to be a huge project
rehearsals:
every monday and tuesday night.
so like i said, that's all stuff off the top of my head. there's more. i'm not bitching about being too busy, because i'm not too busy. it feels a little overwhelming, i think, because the auditions and recording are somewhat high pressure ordeals. but, i know i can handle it and everything will be fine. yay positive thinking.
not much else is new. and i think my apartment is now at a bearable temperture for me to begin practicing. i'm gonna go check to see if my neighbors are home so that maybe i don't have to play with my practice mute in. that'd be a treat.
cows,
james
Sunday, January 29, 2006
an interesting weekend
tomorrow's monday. that means the weekend is over....sad.
my family came down on friday to see the cabaret stuff i had been telling them about. just so ya know, i didn't encourage their visit. cabaret is nothing i would want people to travel 2.5 hours to pay $35? to see. it's fun for us, but it's not that good. when all was said and done with cabaret i successfully, however latefully, wrote the ricky martin set, which, i received praise and guff for doing, and played the solo on 'hit me with your best shot' during the 2nd overture. received an equal amount of praise and guff for that one too. i believe the words doc schwartzhoff used were 'taco bell' and 'flatualants.' well, my response to that is that atleast my flatualantly sound stayed in time and on pitch. just kidding...mostly...don't be offended.
seeing the fam and the dog was cool. i didn't get to see my parents much, unfortunately, because they had to take off early on saturday morning for a funeral. i guess one of my dad's friends suddenly dropped dead during a hockey game. man, life is so freaking fragile and unpredictable.
my bro hung around for the weekend, which was cool. he came to phil's surprise party with me after seeing cabaret on friday night. i was happy to make it to phil's party. he's just a sweet guy and we both came to the awesome conclusion that we need to hang out more. congratulations to him for making principal in orchestra too. that's uber cool to be playing principal on mahler 3. good for him.
speaking of phil's party and birthday stuff, i'm reminded of a conversation with someone, i won't name names, who once again put me back in my humble position towards the female race. quick story; we'll call her...um...crazy girl (it's an affectionate term, don't get upset). so i'm talking to phil about what he did on his birthday and he tells me that lauren took him to a dragonetti's. it's an italian place and i've never eaten there, but always wanted to. so i said jokingly, 'man, i need to find a girl who'll take me there on my birthday next friday.' so crazy girl walks up and i propose that she take me there. 'yeah right,' she says 'it's expensive and i don't have a car.' fair enough. 'so i'll give you some money and let you borrow my car,' i say. phil chimes in and says that's a great idea and tries to convince crazy girl to take me up on my offer. she declines, despite much prodding. you know you're a loser when....you can't lend a girl your car and give her money to take you out to a nice restaruant on your birthday. i probably would have been willing to dress up in a suit and everything. her loss right? ok, end of story. and crazy girl, if you happen to read this, you know it's all in good fun and that you're still loved.
so that about sums up my weekend. partied a little too late last night, so i'm gonna shower up and try to get some rest so i can make it to the gym before rehearsal tomorrow.
oh yeah, and if you're interested, i think i'm going to try to get my friends together for a nice lunch or dinner at dragonetti's on saturday sometime. gonna try to make my last birthday in eau claire a classy gathering of my friends.
love,
james
my family came down on friday to see the cabaret stuff i had been telling them about. just so ya know, i didn't encourage their visit. cabaret is nothing i would want people to travel 2.5 hours to pay $35? to see. it's fun for us, but it's not that good. when all was said and done with cabaret i successfully, however latefully, wrote the ricky martin set, which, i received praise and guff for doing, and played the solo on 'hit me with your best shot' during the 2nd overture. received an equal amount of praise and guff for that one too. i believe the words doc schwartzhoff used were 'taco bell' and 'flatualants.' well, my response to that is that atleast my flatualantly sound stayed in time and on pitch. just kidding...mostly...don't be offended.
seeing the fam and the dog was cool. i didn't get to see my parents much, unfortunately, because they had to take off early on saturday morning for a funeral. i guess one of my dad's friends suddenly dropped dead during a hockey game. man, life is so freaking fragile and unpredictable.
my bro hung around for the weekend, which was cool. he came to phil's surprise party with me after seeing cabaret on friday night. i was happy to make it to phil's party. he's just a sweet guy and we both came to the awesome conclusion that we need to hang out more. congratulations to him for making principal in orchestra too. that's uber cool to be playing principal on mahler 3. good for him.
speaking of phil's party and birthday stuff, i'm reminded of a conversation with someone, i won't name names, who once again put me back in my humble position towards the female race. quick story; we'll call her...um...crazy girl (it's an affectionate term, don't get upset). so i'm talking to phil about what he did on his birthday and he tells me that lauren took him to a dragonetti's. it's an italian place and i've never eaten there, but always wanted to. so i said jokingly, 'man, i need to find a girl who'll take me there on my birthday next friday.' so crazy girl walks up and i propose that she take me there. 'yeah right,' she says 'it's expensive and i don't have a car.' fair enough. 'so i'll give you some money and let you borrow my car,' i say. phil chimes in and says that's a great idea and tries to convince crazy girl to take me up on my offer. she declines, despite much prodding. you know you're a loser when....you can't lend a girl your car and give her money to take you out to a nice restaruant on your birthday. i probably would have been willing to dress up in a suit and everything. her loss right? ok, end of story. and crazy girl, if you happen to read this, you know it's all in good fun and that you're still loved.
so that about sums up my weekend. partied a little too late last night, so i'm gonna shower up and try to get some rest so i can make it to the gym before rehearsal tomorrow.
oh yeah, and if you're interested, i think i'm going to try to get my friends together for a nice lunch or dinner at dragonetti's on saturday sometime. gonna try to make my last birthday in eau claire a classy gathering of my friends.
love,
james
Thursday, January 26, 2006
stuffage
just returned from cabaret. it was loud, it rushed, the jokes were terrible, and the audience loved every minute of it. good for them. funny things included mr. baca talking to the orchestra in the pit while being recognized by dr. schwartzhoff out in the house and the entire audience looking back at the pit during the 'moment' in the josh grobin (sp?) set while we waved our horns back in forth in the air (i think i started that one...oops). 3 more performances to go. ugh.
tomorrow is going to rock. my family is coming down tomorrow. my parents are coming to see the show. they're way too excited to hear my ricky martin set and to hear my play a solo on pat benetar's 'hit me with your best shot.' couldn't get them to come to an orchestra concert during my 5 years here, but apparently they'll come to hear that. sheesh. my brother is coming down as well. he just turned 21 on wednesday, so i think he wants to go do some boozin'. the most exciting thing, however, about my family coming to visit, is that they're bringing my dog. her name is gert and she's the coolest dalmatian to ever have spots. she's going to stay at my apartment and i'm pretty friggen excited about that. you all should definitely stop by.
dad stopped by today and dropped off some mail from home. i got a diploma and a check from the university for my new york trip. also got a birthday card from grandma. overall it was an excellent mail day.
gonna cut this one short. i'm off to the joynt to hang out with my wonderful friends then up early to play routine with becker, rehearsal at noon, then working on some jazz stuff with my teacher, ben herpel-derpel.
thanks for reading,
james
tomorrow is going to rock. my family is coming down tomorrow. my parents are coming to see the show. they're way too excited to hear my ricky martin set and to hear my play a solo on pat benetar's 'hit me with your best shot.' couldn't get them to come to an orchestra concert during my 5 years here, but apparently they'll come to hear that. sheesh. my brother is coming down as well. he just turned 21 on wednesday, so i think he wants to go do some boozin'. the most exciting thing, however, about my family coming to visit, is that they're bringing my dog. her name is gert and she's the coolest dalmatian to ever have spots. she's going to stay at my apartment and i'm pretty friggen excited about that. you all should definitely stop by.
dad stopped by today and dropped off some mail from home. i got a diploma and a check from the university for my new york trip. also got a birthday card from grandma. overall it was an excellent mail day.
gonna cut this one short. i'm off to the joynt to hang out with my wonderful friends then up early to play routine with becker, rehearsal at noon, then working on some jazz stuff with my teacher, ben herpel-derpel.
thanks for reading,
james
Monday, January 23, 2006
a post about jazz
so it's 1.23am and i just got home from the stones throw. lots of people came out tonight, which was awesome to see. a lot weren't even music majors. i'm happy that monday night is staying alive because i realize it's been good to me all these years.
so lately i've been sitting in, trying to improve my improvising chops. to say the least, it's difficult for me. (i just had a random idea....i should record myself next time i go down.) i'm finding out that no matter how much i study a tune and practice it, it's going to be completely different when i go down and play it. things such as tempo (i played mercy, mercy, mercy tonight and it was so much faster than i had been practicing/listening), volume of the ryhthm section, and how well i can hear myself changed drastically for me tonight. in addition, i thought i knew the form of the tune and became slightly confused when we played it tonight. it was my own dumb fault i'm sure. so as i always do, i assess what i can do to improve the things that caught me off guard. the only thing i could really come up with is to listen to different versions of the same tune and play some of the licks i learn faster and slower. those are the things i can do on my own. other than that, i've concluded that i just have to get my ass down there every monday and play on something to get used to it.
i'm gonna start working with ben a little too. we're gonna meet on friday, which i'm looking forward to. i think ben will be a gentle and concise person for me to learn from. he sounded great tonight.
i'm gonna hit the hay now. maybe do a little reading or something to calm my mind, which is racing with so many thoughts about practicing and improvising. i got a gym membership today and need to get up at a decent time tomorrow and make use of it. i'm looking forward to working out again. it's been too long and i miss it.
g'nite,
james
so lately i've been sitting in, trying to improve my improvising chops. to say the least, it's difficult for me. (i just had a random idea....i should record myself next time i go down.) i'm finding out that no matter how much i study a tune and practice it, it's going to be completely different when i go down and play it. things such as tempo (i played mercy, mercy, mercy tonight and it was so much faster than i had been practicing/listening), volume of the ryhthm section, and how well i can hear myself changed drastically for me tonight. in addition, i thought i knew the form of the tune and became slightly confused when we played it tonight. it was my own dumb fault i'm sure. so as i always do, i assess what i can do to improve the things that caught me off guard. the only thing i could really come up with is to listen to different versions of the same tune and play some of the licks i learn faster and slower. those are the things i can do on my own. other than that, i've concluded that i just have to get my ass down there every monday and play on something to get used to it.
i'm gonna start working with ben a little too. we're gonna meet on friday, which i'm looking forward to. i think ben will be a gentle and concise person for me to learn from. he sounded great tonight.
i'm gonna hit the hay now. maybe do a little reading or something to calm my mind, which is racing with so many thoughts about practicing and improvising. i got a gym membership today and need to get up at a decent time tomorrow and make use of it. i'm looking forward to working out again. it's been too long and i miss it.
g'nite,
james
Friday, January 06, 2006
ahem
first, some musician jokes that i haven't heard before that i think are funny.
Q: how does a violists brain cell die?
A: alone
Q: how do you stop the spread of aids?
A: let BMG distribute it
Q: what do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?
A: everyone is relieved when the case is closed
and finally....
Q: how many trumpet players does it take to pave a driveway?
A: seven, if you lay them out correctly.
that was fun. i should start my blogs with jokes more often. now on to something relevant.
my first professional website went live today. www.fancypantsproductionsinc.com is now up and running. this is the first time i've developed a website for a client as a professional and i'm pretty proud of it. i'm pretty sure it's going to get some good exposure too, as dorney park's website is linked to it. i have a link on the bottom, crediting myself as the designer, and i'm hoping it will draw people to my site to hire me. that would be excellent.
hmm....what else. oh yeah, if you haven't seen my new facebook picture you should probably check it out. i laugh everytime i look at it. it combines my love for two very special people in one spectacular image.
on the horizon...gig for the luther midlefort employees party tomorrow night. then off to the cities on sunday for a rehearsal before leaving for new york city.
i got a haircut today and that's about it.
wuv,
james
Q: how does a violists brain cell die?
A: alone
Q: how do you stop the spread of aids?
A: let BMG distribute it
Q: what do a viola and a lawsuit have in common?
A: everyone is relieved when the case is closed
and finally....
Q: how many trumpet players does it take to pave a driveway?
A: seven, if you lay them out correctly.
that was fun. i should start my blogs with jokes more often. now on to something relevant.
my first professional website went live today. www.fancypantsproductionsinc.com is now up and running. this is the first time i've developed a website for a client as a professional and i'm pretty proud of it. i'm pretty sure it's going to get some good exposure too, as dorney park's website is linked to it. i have a link on the bottom, crediting myself as the designer, and i'm hoping it will draw people to my site to hire me. that would be excellent.
hmm....what else. oh yeah, if you haven't seen my new facebook picture you should probably check it out. i laugh everytime i look at it. it combines my love for two very special people in one spectacular image.
on the horizon...gig for the luther midlefort employees party tomorrow night. then off to the cities on sunday for a rehearsal before leaving for new york city.
i got a haircut today and that's about it.
wuv,
james
Friday, December 23, 2005
home for christmas
well, this is going to be the last update for a while. i'm going home to duluth tomorrow and my parents home on wilderness trail road doesn't have internet or cell phone service. there's a lot of trees, and the stars are friggen amazing up there, but just a simple phone line to communicate with the outside world. hence, i won't be in touch with most of my friends for a week or so. :-( sad...
couple things to talk about. first of all, i was talking to my friend katelyn tonight (she was a dancer at dorney and she's pretty awesome) and i was telling her about the northern lights and she said she had never heard of them. it reminded me that there's a lot of people that have either never heard of them or seen them live. if you're one of those people, you gotta check out this link to a photo gallery of the northern lights over lake superior. here's the link http://northernimages.com/webgallery/list.php?exhibition=39. Even if you have seen them before and know what they're all about, you should check it out because there's some amazing pictures in there. i'm hoping to see some when i go home this week.
went christmas shopping today. my whole family is getting sweaters. i asked them what they wanted, and they were way stubborn, so i decided i'm going make a statement and give them all sweaters. i bought them today, and don't get me wrong, they're not ugly christmas sweaters, they're actually nice and somewhat expensive, but the fact that they're each getting the same thing should get the message across. if you're going to be stubborn about telling me what you want, you're going to get a sweater. it'll probably backfire and they'll think they're the greatest gifts ever.
got a call from my ex-girlfriend, jennifer, tonight. boy was i surprised to hear her voice. i usually talk to her about once a year or so, which is somewhat unfortunate, but i'm probably better off that way. she was out with all of our friends that we used to hang out with in high school and i'm sure they asked her to call me. they passed the phone around and i got to talk to about 6 different friends that i hadn't seen or talked to in forever. it was really nice, especially since i'm in eau claire all by myself today, and somewhat on the lonely side. about half an hour later colin's dad called me to tell me that colin had just pulled an 'evan.' i laughed pretty hard. you know your friends are cool when their parents are calling you to tell you about stupid stuff their son or daughter has done. i guess they also called to say merry christmas too, but mostly to tell me about colin.
well, i guess that's it. i've got some stuff to do before i leave tomorrow. dishes, laundry, takin' out the garbage, all on the fun list of things to do. i hope you all have a wonderful break and that santa is good to you all.
thanks for stopping by san diego,
james
couple things to talk about. first of all, i was talking to my friend katelyn tonight (she was a dancer at dorney and she's pretty awesome) and i was telling her about the northern lights and she said she had never heard of them. it reminded me that there's a lot of people that have either never heard of them or seen them live. if you're one of those people, you gotta check out this link to a photo gallery of the northern lights over lake superior. here's the link http://northernimages.com/webgallery/list.php?exhibition=39. Even if you have seen them before and know what they're all about, you should check it out because there's some amazing pictures in there. i'm hoping to see some when i go home this week.
went christmas shopping today. my whole family is getting sweaters. i asked them what they wanted, and they were way stubborn, so i decided i'm going make a statement and give them all sweaters. i bought them today, and don't get me wrong, they're not ugly christmas sweaters, they're actually nice and somewhat expensive, but the fact that they're each getting the same thing should get the message across. if you're going to be stubborn about telling me what you want, you're going to get a sweater. it'll probably backfire and they'll think they're the greatest gifts ever.
got a call from my ex-girlfriend, jennifer, tonight. boy was i surprised to hear her voice. i usually talk to her about once a year or so, which is somewhat unfortunate, but i'm probably better off that way. she was out with all of our friends that we used to hang out with in high school and i'm sure they asked her to call me. they passed the phone around and i got to talk to about 6 different friends that i hadn't seen or talked to in forever. it was really nice, especially since i'm in eau claire all by myself today, and somewhat on the lonely side. about half an hour later colin's dad called me to tell me that colin had just pulled an 'evan.' i laughed pretty hard. you know your friends are cool when their parents are calling you to tell you about stupid stuff their son or daughter has done. i guess they also called to say merry christmas too, but mostly to tell me about colin.
well, i guess that's it. i've got some stuff to do before i leave tomorrow. dishes, laundry, takin' out the garbage, all on the fun list of things to do. i hope you all have a wonderful break and that santa is good to you all.
thanks for stopping by san diego,
james
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
what are you doing new years eve
so i stumbled across something pretty sweet that i need to share with you. if you like music at all, you should definitely check out this video with diana krall singing 'what are you doing new years eve' accompanied by the clayton/hamiton jazz orchestra. great singing, absolutely beautiful orchestration. here's the link: http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/player.aspx?fid=1365&ftyp=3&pgid=6&hid=2701&pl=72&fp=wmp. enjoy!
so here's my plan for the break...
time off mixed in with some gigs and a trip to new york. doesn't get much better than that as far as breaks are concerned. hopefully some of you will be around for some lunch dates and some much needed hanging out time. don't ever hesitate to call because i won't hesitate to call you back.
merry new years, happy christmas, shalom, peace, and everything else,
james
so here's my plan for the break...
- dec. 24 playing a gig in hastings, mn then home for christmas
- dec. 31 playing a gig in menomonie, wi then to eau claire for new years
- jan. 1-9 hanging in eau claire, practicing, working on my cabaret set
- jan. 10-15 in new york city for the iaje convention
- jan. 15-whenver, cabaret rehearsals and performances
time off mixed in with some gigs and a trip to new york. doesn't get much better than that as far as breaks are concerned. hopefully some of you will be around for some lunch dates and some much needed hanging out time. don't ever hesitate to call because i won't hesitate to call you back.
merry new years, happy christmas, shalom, peace, and everything else,
james
Monday, December 19, 2005
answering some questions
well, it seems to be that time when the people who don't know me very well start asking me lots of questions about myself and my future. so, i'm going to answer some of them here. before you read on, i must admit, some of these questions have annoyed me, but most have not. i'm not trying to lash out, just trying to write some thoughts down. it's more for me than anyone else i suppose.
1) what are you going to do now that you've graduated?
answer: the same stuff i've been doing since i got here. practicing, taking lessons, hopefully getting better, trying to get a job playing trombone. i'll still be living in eau claire, i'll still go to the joynt, and i'll still be the same person.
2) when are your grad school auditions?
answer: february and march. i've applied to eastman, manhattan, and indiana. still contemplating either northwestern or depaul. i won't know a thing about acceptance until late april.
3) are you going to get a job?
answer: possibly. if i do, i'm going to try to hold out till after auditions are over. i have some gigs and i'm returning as a web designer and have a few projects lined up including a site for Brian Thorstad's Prescott Middle School band and a site for Maestro Nobu Yasuda. i'm in the process of building an online portfolio at www.jamesyardley.com, but it won't be finished for another month or so.
4) why are you still single?
answer: this one annoys me a little, but, since it's usually asked by people that don't know me too well (like my parents or friends from high school) i tend to let it roll off my back. the answer is that i haven't found a girl that i'm in love with and that loves me back. i think it's a good idea to stay single until i do. i also don't tend to invest a lot of time towards such a goal. i think it'd be great and rewarding to be in that kind of relationship, but right now, i don't have the time to look for that. i don't want to force anything, so i don't spend my time pursuing a serious relationship. i'm happy enough with my friends and confident enough in myself to live without it for the time being. and if you don't believe any of that, then i'll give you answer b; i'm intimdating. don't buy that one either? fine, answer c; my trombone is my girlfriend.
well, when i first started writing this i had intended on addressing a few more questions, but after answering those ones, i've realized that i just shouldn't worry about those people that think i'm not doing the right thing with my life. if you're reading this, you're probably one of those that knows me well and doesn't really question my life path. i guess those are good questions to think about sometimes, they're just hard to swallow coming from someone else.
on a happy note. i really felt like i nailed my jury today. i'm pretty sure i heard Bach clapping for me when i got done playing the sarabande from cello suite no. 5. either that or it was the sigh of relief coming from dr. o signifying 'finally, james doesn't sound like crap on that piece.'
that's pretty much it. until next time, keep your stick on the ice,
james
1) what are you going to do now that you've graduated?
answer: the same stuff i've been doing since i got here. practicing, taking lessons, hopefully getting better, trying to get a job playing trombone. i'll still be living in eau claire, i'll still go to the joynt, and i'll still be the same person.
2) when are your grad school auditions?
answer: february and march. i've applied to eastman, manhattan, and indiana. still contemplating either northwestern or depaul. i won't know a thing about acceptance until late april.
3) are you going to get a job?
answer: possibly. if i do, i'm going to try to hold out till after auditions are over. i have some gigs and i'm returning as a web designer and have a few projects lined up including a site for Brian Thorstad's Prescott Middle School band and a site for Maestro Nobu Yasuda. i'm in the process of building an online portfolio at www.jamesyardley.com, but it won't be finished for another month or so.
4) why are you still single?
answer: this one annoys me a little, but, since it's usually asked by people that don't know me too well (like my parents or friends from high school) i tend to let it roll off my back. the answer is that i haven't found a girl that i'm in love with and that loves me back. i think it's a good idea to stay single until i do. i also don't tend to invest a lot of time towards such a goal. i think it'd be great and rewarding to be in that kind of relationship, but right now, i don't have the time to look for that. i don't want to force anything, so i don't spend my time pursuing a serious relationship. i'm happy enough with my friends and confident enough in myself to live without it for the time being. and if you don't believe any of that, then i'll give you answer b; i'm intimdating. don't buy that one either? fine, answer c; my trombone is my girlfriend.
well, when i first started writing this i had intended on addressing a few more questions, but after answering those ones, i've realized that i just shouldn't worry about those people that think i'm not doing the right thing with my life. if you're reading this, you're probably one of those that knows me well and doesn't really question my life path. i guess those are good questions to think about sometimes, they're just hard to swallow coming from someone else.
on a happy note. i really felt like i nailed my jury today. i'm pretty sure i heard Bach clapping for me when i got done playing the sarabande from cello suite no. 5. either that or it was the sigh of relief coming from dr. o signifying 'finally, james doesn't sound like crap on that piece.'
that's pretty much it. until next time, keep your stick on the ice,
james
Saturday, December 17, 2005
the graduator
welp, i'm gonna take a page from the book of dr. phillip ostrander and start with some positive comments about graduation. lets see, well, i got to sit next to two cool people, kara sorenson and sacia jerome, instead of next to people i didn't know. nicole's speech was excellent. and the last positive comment i have about graduation is that it is now over.
now how about a couple um...other...thoughts about the ceremony. orchestra sounded fine, but i certainly didn't expect the "hiccup" in the national anthem. it's okay, because i love nobu and the rest of the orchestra and it paled in comparison to the speech given by that grant writing lady. hmm...what can i say without being too harsh...how about..that was about the worst speech i've ever heard in my life. i can't remember the last time i wanted to punch myself repeatedly in the face just to dull the pain of having to listen to someone speak. i'm sure she's a very nice person, and i certainly don't have any hate towards her, but good lord. i would rather hear a speech given by a 12 year old about the finer points of bubble tape bubble gum.
oh well. i graduated, it's over, and time for me to move along. even though i'm not leaving immediately, which is what usually happens when normal people graduate, it's gotten me to think about what i'm going to do without all these amazing people i've spent the last 5+ years with. too many to name here, but you know who you all are. in a perfect world, i would keep in close contact with you all and maybe even be fortunate enough to live in the same areas as some of you too. i guess i shouldn't be saying my goodbyes yet though, because i'm still going to be in eau claire for a few more months. i hope to enjoy them to their fullest.
well, it's time to look over those loan papers and take note of how much money i have in my bank account. i think i need to write that stuff down so that when i'm rich and famous i can start my autobiography with "when i graduated from college, i had x amount of dollars in my bank account and x amount of dollars to pay back to the federal government that funded my education." maybe i'll just flee to mexico instead....i hear they have awesome tacos down there.
that's all for now.
james 'the graduator' yardley
now how about a couple um...other...thoughts about the ceremony. orchestra sounded fine, but i certainly didn't expect the "hiccup" in the national anthem. it's okay, because i love nobu and the rest of the orchestra and it paled in comparison to the speech given by that grant writing lady. hmm...what can i say without being too harsh...how about..that was about the worst speech i've ever heard in my life. i can't remember the last time i wanted to punch myself repeatedly in the face just to dull the pain of having to listen to someone speak. i'm sure she's a very nice person, and i certainly don't have any hate towards her, but good lord. i would rather hear a speech given by a 12 year old about the finer points of bubble tape bubble gum.
oh well. i graduated, it's over, and time for me to move along. even though i'm not leaving immediately, which is what usually happens when normal people graduate, it's gotten me to think about what i'm going to do without all these amazing people i've spent the last 5+ years with. too many to name here, but you know who you all are. in a perfect world, i would keep in close contact with you all and maybe even be fortunate enough to live in the same areas as some of you too. i guess i shouldn't be saying my goodbyes yet though, because i'm still going to be in eau claire for a few more months. i hope to enjoy them to their fullest.
well, it's time to look over those loan papers and take note of how much money i have in my bank account. i think i need to write that stuff down so that when i'm rich and famous i can start my autobiography with "when i graduated from college, i had x amount of dollars in my bank account and x amount of dollars to pay back to the federal government that funded my education." maybe i'll just flee to mexico instead....i hear they have awesome tacos down there.
that's all for now.
james 'the graduator' yardley
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
holy monkeys it's an update!
ok, this one's for you andrizzle.
haven't updated in a long time, but it's for good reason...sort of.
i've been too friggen busy. so here's the brief summary,
nov. 21-24 trip to NYC
nov. 24-26 back to school to finish work i missed while in NYC
nov. 28&29 worst jazz 1 tour ever
nov. 29-dec. 1 being very sick, jazz 1 concert on dec. 1
dec. 2-dec. 14, working madly on service learning, web design, and alexander technique class projects, while trying to improve my health, while trying to get my chops back from the time i took off while i was sick.
ok, so we're totally up to date now. graduation happens on saturday. i'm happy to graduate, but damn i'm gonna miss this place. don't worry kids, i'll be around all next semester.
current and future projects;
www.jamesyardley.com - this is going to be my online portfolio of the web design work i have done and will be doing. should be fun. check out www.jamesyardley.com/FancyPants to see my latest project. web design projects on the horizon include a web site for Brian Thorstad's Prescott Middle School Band and possibly a web site for Maestro Nobuyoshi Yasuda.
working on my ricky martin set for cabaret. it's fun but i know i'm going to struggle with guitar, piano, and drum parts. the horn lines are great and i have tons of different ideas on how i'm going to work some subtle unison instrumentation with the vocals.
playing a new years gig at the mabel tainter theatre in menomonie. it'll be my first new years in eau claire, and i can't wait to spend it with my college friends.
off to nyc again jan. 9-15 for the iaje convention. been keeping in touch with george flynn and certain i'll see him when i get out there. can't wait.
grad school auditions are on the horizon. manhattan, eastman, indiana, and possibly northwestern. holy money/time/travel/practicing. gotta keep tellin' myself it's going to be worth it once it's all over with.
well, i think that's about it. cheers!
james
haven't updated in a long time, but it's for good reason...sort of.
i've been too friggen busy. so here's the brief summary,
nov. 21-24 trip to NYC
nov. 24-26 back to school to finish work i missed while in NYC
nov. 28&29 worst jazz 1 tour ever
nov. 29-dec. 1 being very sick, jazz 1 concert on dec. 1
dec. 2-dec. 14, working madly on service learning, web design, and alexander technique class projects, while trying to improve my health, while trying to get my chops back from the time i took off while i was sick.
ok, so we're totally up to date now. graduation happens on saturday. i'm happy to graduate, but damn i'm gonna miss this place. don't worry kids, i'll be around all next semester.
current and future projects;
www.jamesyardley.com - this is going to be my online portfolio of the web design work i have done and will be doing. should be fun. check out www.jamesyardley.com/FancyPants to see my latest project. web design projects on the horizon include a web site for Brian Thorstad's Prescott Middle School Band and possibly a web site for Maestro Nobuyoshi Yasuda.
working on my ricky martin set for cabaret. it's fun but i know i'm going to struggle with guitar, piano, and drum parts. the horn lines are great and i have tons of different ideas on how i'm going to work some subtle unison instrumentation with the vocals.
playing a new years gig at the mabel tainter theatre in menomonie. it'll be my first new years in eau claire, and i can't wait to spend it with my college friends.
off to nyc again jan. 9-15 for the iaje convention. been keeping in touch with george flynn and certain i'll see him when i get out there. can't wait.
grad school auditions are on the horizon. manhattan, eastman, indiana, and possibly northwestern. holy money/time/travel/practicing. gotta keep tellin' myself it's going to be worth it once it's all over with.
well, i think that's about it. cheers!
james
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