OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY -- PART II
(be sure to read part I first!)
++++++++++ 7:45 AM ++++++++++
I awake and jump in the shower. My grandmother has been up since 5 AM. I decide I’ll let Nicki sleep, and don’t go in to wake her up until 9:00. She’s still in bed, waiting for me with bloodshot eyes. She hasn’t slept a wink. Too much coffee, different surroundings, unmade bed (an oversight on Grandma’s part that Nicki was too polite to point out) – for whatever reason, she has tossed and turned all night. Ever the positive trooper, she acts like nothing is the matter, and when asked, graciously tells my grandmother that she slept very well, thank you.
I do a few odd jobs to help out around my grandmother’s house, a short warmup on the guitar, and then Nicki and I jump back into the car to head to Delaware for the first rehearsal.
++++++++++ 12:00 PM ++++++++++
It’s raining, and we miss the exit.
++++++++++ 12:35 PM ++++++++++
We arrive in Delaware, and with a little extra time to spare, we decide to check out the town. I head for the nearest music store to buy extra strings, and Nicki makes a bee-line to a trendy coffee-house for another infusion of caffeine. I look up and down the street for a place to buy a shirt for the concert, but can’t find one. Time to head to rehearsal…
++++++++++ 12:55 PM ++++++++++
We arrive a little early, which gives Nicki a chance to grab a couch and chill, and me a chance to pace about nervously. The concert hall is gorgeous – very wide, with red velvet seats, and a big pipe organ at the back of the stage. The musicians are gradually filtering in – this is always an awkward time for me, as I never know whether I should introduce myself or not. They’ve been playing my music for weeks, and by now, have probably decided whether I’ve got the goods or not. I decide to keep to myself and continue to pace about nervously. I find the poster advertising the concert:
“Metallica meets Mozart”
Great, I think – the crowd is going to show up for a meal of Metallica and they’re gonna get served Bonney a la Modal.
The rehearsal starts with “Reflections in a Tidal Pool”. Already, the band sounds great. The hall is warm and reverberant, and the lush chords fill out the acoustic beautifully. I’m much at-ease within the first 30 seconds. Milt is very gracious about encorporating my suggestions, which are really just musical and interpretive polish for a well-prepared ensemble. The other musicians are also very responsive to my individual comments, and I can hear my intentions carried out almost immediately. Soon it’s time for "Chaos Theory", and I slap my gear together and strap on my guitar. One of the musicians (Matt) has brought two of his amps in for me to choose from, and within a few minutes, I feel good about the first one I’ve plugged into. Milt gives the downbeat, and we’re off! Allison, the bass guitarist, is beside me onstage, and I’m glad to be able to exchange devious grins with her before we drop in on our heavy unison chords together. At the end of the run-through of the first movement, I can’t contain myself and I let out a big yell – this band sounds tight and ferocious and HUGE! They all laugh at my outburst and I take this as a good sign – we’re all having a very good time with this music. We finish rehearsal, take a break, then the students sit down in the audience and I squat on the podium. Its “question and answer time”. There is a steady stream of good questions, and I try to answer them as clearly and as honestly as I can. I also try to keep it entertaining, so I make lots of jokes, and am VERY relieved when they’re still laughing. Some of the students come up afterwards and introduce themselves, and I’m glad for the individual contact. We take the stage again, and this time, the bassist and I turn our amps towards the ensemble so they can really hear us. This turns out to be the most nerve-wracking part of the entire weekend, and I fumble through my part (complete with memory lapses and missed entrances), praying that at least maybe they still think I’m funny. After rehearsal, Joe the bass trombone player, stops over to tell me that he really digs the part I’ve written – not the usual lame 3rd trombone part. Another of the band-members (Joey) is cool enough to invite me to hang with more students later on that night – normally I would eagerly accept, but since we’re staying out-of-town, I have to decline. Next time…
++++++++++ 5:00 PM ++++++++++
The other musicians have headed out, and Milt and I are running on fumes. Before we can have dinner though, we have to deal with the missing shirt. Milt, Nicki, and I buzz over to Polaris in “Suzy the Isuzu”, Milt’s faithful 4-wheeler, decked out with custom steel grill-guard (hand-welded by the conductor!), and almost 200,000 miles on the odometer. Milt and I dash into Saks 5th Avenue. Pickin’s are slim – ill-fitting, or too expensive for a musician’s budget. We dart into the mall, eyes shooting left and right for the next possible – J.C. Penny’s! Within 5 minutes I’ve grabbed a shirt (on sale for $17.99!!), and paid for it without even trying it on. After retracing our twisted path, Milt and I eventually escape from the mall. We adjourn ourselves to the nearest eatery (the ubiquitous mall-side Appleby’s), and the three of us spend the next hour getting to know one another. Milt is a real down-to-Earth guy – a deep soul and a dedicated educator, and Nic and I both really enjoy his story and his company.
++++++++++ 8:30 PM ++++++++++
Nic and I have just about flatlined when we get back to my grandmother’s house. We stumble through the door, and my Uncle Jim, Aunt Miriam, and cousins Ray and Mary have been kind enough to drop in to visit and play some cards. I’m very glad to see them. Nicki and I rally for the occasion -- crack a few Stroh’s, and settle down to lose some money. We play my grandma’s favorite game (7’s – a mixture of cards and dice), and I don’t win a single hand all night. I take this in stride, hoping that the windfall from this karmic ass-kicking will be a successful concert tomorrow afternoon.
++++++++++ 7:45 AM ++++++++++
I awake and jump in the shower. My grandmother has been up since 5 AM. I decide I’ll let Nicki sleep, and don’t go in to wake her up until 9:00. She’s still in bed, waiting for me with bloodshot eyes. She hasn’t slept a wink. Too much coffee, different surroundings, unmade bed (an oversight on Grandma’s part that Nicki was too polite to point out) – for whatever reason, she has tossed and turned all night. Ever the positive trooper, she acts like nothing is the matter, and when asked, graciously tells my grandmother that she slept very well, thank you.
I do a few odd jobs to help out around my grandmother’s house, a short warmup on the guitar, and then Nicki and I jump back into the car to head to Delaware for the first rehearsal.
++++++++++ 12:00 PM ++++++++++
It’s raining, and we miss the exit.
++++++++++ 12:35 PM ++++++++++
We arrive in Delaware, and with a little extra time to spare, we decide to check out the town. I head for the nearest music store to buy extra strings, and Nicki makes a bee-line to a trendy coffee-house for another infusion of caffeine. I look up and down the street for a place to buy a shirt for the concert, but can’t find one. Time to head to rehearsal…
++++++++++ 12:55 PM ++++++++++
We arrive a little early, which gives Nicki a chance to grab a couch and chill, and me a chance to pace about nervously. The concert hall is gorgeous – very wide, with red velvet seats, and a big pipe organ at the back of the stage. The musicians are gradually filtering in – this is always an awkward time for me, as I never know whether I should introduce myself or not. They’ve been playing my music for weeks, and by now, have probably decided whether I’ve got the goods or not. I decide to keep to myself and continue to pace about nervously. I find the poster advertising the concert:
“Metallica meets Mozart”
Great, I think – the crowd is going to show up for a meal of Metallica and they’re gonna get served Bonney a la Modal.
The rehearsal starts with “Reflections in a Tidal Pool”. Already, the band sounds great. The hall is warm and reverberant, and the lush chords fill out the acoustic beautifully. I’m much at-ease within the first 30 seconds. Milt is very gracious about encorporating my suggestions, which are really just musical and interpretive polish for a well-prepared ensemble. The other musicians are also very responsive to my individual comments, and I can hear my intentions carried out almost immediately. Soon it’s time for "Chaos Theory", and I slap my gear together and strap on my guitar. One of the musicians (Matt) has brought two of his amps in for me to choose from, and within a few minutes, I feel good about the first one I’ve plugged into. Milt gives the downbeat, and we’re off! Allison, the bass guitarist, is beside me onstage, and I’m glad to be able to exchange devious grins with her before we drop in on our heavy unison chords together. At the end of the run-through of the first movement, I can’t contain myself and I let out a big yell – this band sounds tight and ferocious and HUGE! They all laugh at my outburst and I take this as a good sign – we’re all having a very good time with this music. We finish rehearsal, take a break, then the students sit down in the audience and I squat on the podium. Its “question and answer time”. There is a steady stream of good questions, and I try to answer them as clearly and as honestly as I can. I also try to keep it entertaining, so I make lots of jokes, and am VERY relieved when they’re still laughing. Some of the students come up afterwards and introduce themselves, and I’m glad for the individual contact. We take the stage again, and this time, the bassist and I turn our amps towards the ensemble so they can really hear us. This turns out to be the most nerve-wracking part of the entire weekend, and I fumble through my part (complete with memory lapses and missed entrances), praying that at least maybe they still think I’m funny. After rehearsal, Joe the bass trombone player, stops over to tell me that he really digs the part I’ve written – not the usual lame 3rd trombone part. Another of the band-members (Joey) is cool enough to invite me to hang with more students later on that night – normally I would eagerly accept, but since we’re staying out-of-town, I have to decline. Next time…
++++++++++ 5:00 PM ++++++++++
The other musicians have headed out, and Milt and I are running on fumes. Before we can have dinner though, we have to deal with the missing shirt. Milt, Nicki, and I buzz over to Polaris in “Suzy the Isuzu”, Milt’s faithful 4-wheeler, decked out with custom steel grill-guard (hand-welded by the conductor!), and almost 200,000 miles on the odometer. Milt and I dash into Saks 5th Avenue. Pickin’s are slim – ill-fitting, or too expensive for a musician’s budget. We dart into the mall, eyes shooting left and right for the next possible – J.C. Penny’s! Within 5 minutes I’ve grabbed a shirt (on sale for $17.99!!), and paid for it without even trying it on. After retracing our twisted path, Milt and I eventually escape from the mall. We adjourn ourselves to the nearest eatery (the ubiquitous mall-side Appleby’s), and the three of us spend the next hour getting to know one another. Milt is a real down-to-Earth guy – a deep soul and a dedicated educator, and Nic and I both really enjoy his story and his company.
++++++++++ 8:30 PM ++++++++++
Nic and I have just about flatlined when we get back to my grandmother’s house. We stumble through the door, and my Uncle Jim, Aunt Miriam, and cousins Ray and Mary have been kind enough to drop in to visit and play some cards. I’m very glad to see them. Nicki and I rally for the occasion -- crack a few Stroh’s, and settle down to lose some money. We play my grandma’s favorite game (7’s – a mixture of cards and dice), and I don’t win a single hand all night. I take this in stride, hoping that the windfall from this karmic ass-kicking will be a successful concert tomorrow afternoon.
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