BCM in Duluth (pt.4)

Between the time-change, the anticipation of Hallow's Eve, and the first opportunity to sleep late in WEEKS, I just knew this was gonna be a special day. We started at noon with our first rehearsal with the 108-piece UMD Concert Band. In spite of their mammoth size, they were a very nimble and sensitive ensemble -- Newman's "1861" and my "Reflections in a Tidal Pool" were treated to very moving performances. I conducted the rehearsal, but after seeing the regular conductor, Dan Eaton, leading them in another piece on the program, I decided to let good judgement (rather than my ego) rule the day, and asked him to conduct the performance. I'll practice my stick technique a little more and conduct it the next chance I get!

A very special thanks to Mark Whitlock, Dan Eaton, John Lace, The UMD Wind Ensemble, the UMD Concert Band, the Twin Ports Wind Ensemble, and the Maroon and Gold Honor Bands, for making this great opportunity possible. It was wonderful to meet so many dedicated musicians and directors these past few days. Thank you for hosting such a fantastic music festival!

Brand X

Milt played a run-through of WIND ENSEMBLE X's "TZDoJ" Friday performance over the cell phone... hard to be completely sure, but I think it may just be an UNBELIEVABLY INTENSELY AWESOME performance! Still gathering details... will keep you posted...

BCM in Duluth (pt.3)

Steve, Newman and I started the morning with another clinic, then I attended a brass clinic with Mark Whitlock's brass quintet. Next was a luncheon with the visiting directors, and then Steve and I went to honor band rehearsals -- his band was performing "Dusk", and my band was doing "Reflections in a Tidal Pool". I told them a little about the piece, and then turned to the director -- who then asked me to conduct the piece! Well, I hadn't expected to be conducting, but I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity! This was the first time I'd conducted (without a click track) in 8 years, and before I started, I had to warn the ensemble of my conducting idiosyncracy -- I conduct left-handed. All things considered, things went quite smoothly, and the band was very responsive to my direction. Within a few minutes, they were phrasing the ending with real beauty and sensitivity.

We all went to the concert, which also included all three movements of Eric Whitacre's "Ghost Train". The entire concert came off with great success, and it was great to talk to some of the audience and the musicians afterwards. One of the musicians gave Steve an amazing piece of anime art she'd done the night before -- inspired by their performance of his new piece, "Dusk".

Later that evening, we all went over to Mark's for pizza... but after such an exciting few days, Steve found he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, and faded out while we were all talking in the living room. Of course this meant that we HAD to get the camera out...

X hits the spot

I'm only going on hearsay and scuttlebutt, but rumor has it that the clandestine WIND ENSEMBLE X performance of "TranZendental Danse of Joi" was absolutely SMOKIN'... more news soon...

BCM in Duluth (pt.2)

After 2 clinics, a rehearsal, and another clinic, it was time for some performances -- the Twin Ports Wind Ensemble performed a firey version of "Chaos Theory", followed by a very moving performance of "Courage & Compassion". Mark Whitlock did a fantastic job of conveying the very contrasting styles of these two pieces to this ensemble, and I really appreciate the effort and conviction he and the band brought to this music.

Later that evening, a group of us headed over to Blackwoods restaurant, for a late dinner and a chance to swap stories. The most amazing ones were from the pianist, Tom -- who'd befriended Aaron Copland at the airport (!). He told of his continued adventures with the Maestro, including stolen luggage and an absolutely bulletproof memory -- hilarious!

The X is on

It is official -- Milt Allen has managed to put together WIND ENSEMBLE X for a premiere performance of "TranZendental Danse of Joi", including a bass guitarist, keyboard player, and sax soloist. I have almost no details of all of this because I've been so busy in transit and getting my bearings in Duluth. More details soon... stay tuned...

BCM in Duluth (pt.1)

Up at 5:30 AM and off to the airport. Flight delayed. Finally arrive in Minneappolis, and remember my last visit to this airport (a cancelled flight and an all-night stay in a chair at the gate). Meet up with Jonathan. Flight delayed. Finally arrive in Duluth -- meet up with Steve and Mark Whitlock. Quick stop at the hotel (NICE) and then head to University of Minnesota at Duluth to meet the ensembles and start rehearsals... tonight we rehearsed with the UMD Wind Ensemble and the Twin Ports Wind Ensemble. Both groups have been very well prepared, and I think these performances are going to go very, very well.

Hanging with the legendary Alex from Duluth!

More musicians from the UMD Wind Ensemble.

High point of the day: the 85 year-old second clarinetist, pinching my bum during rehearsal... gee, thanks Ruthie!

pit stop

I'm back from Texas and in Chicago for less than 48 hours -- priorities while I'm home:

1. Remind Nicki what I look like... before I leave again.
2. Coordinate recording sessions with celebrities for the first week of November (so far I only have Penn & Teller and Billy Dee Williams penciled in...)
3. Pack for Minnesota.

More news later...

Texas Butchershop

Today was just slashing and hacking -- cutting up Steve and Newm's music. So far we've got a first edit of "Dusk", "Bloom", and "1861" finished... they should sound great on the new BCM "Men of Industry" CD.

(a few suggestions for fine dining in Stephensville, TX: the pecan waffles at Peacock's Restaurant are fantastic, the waffle-fries at Jack & Dorothy's Cafe are the best I've ever had, and the Bar-B-Que at Hard Eight was worth the entire trip!)

Tunes in Texas

Today was my first serious engineering gig in about 8 years... recording Steve and Newman's music with the wind ensemble at Tarleton State University. This job went off without a hitch, but it was a textbook case of improvisation and grace under pressure...

We didn't have tall enough mic stands, so we bought dowels at a hardware store and taped 'em to the stands. We had shipped down a DAT machine, but we didn't have any DAT tapes... so we recorded to CD-R and Steve's laptop. The left speaker had a blown woofer, so we ran the whole session on headphones. There was no way to hook up a talkback system, so we hooked up a Clearcom headset and cranked it as loud as it would go...

But the band played great and I think we get some good tracks down... tomorrow we'll start editing...

Game One

I flew from Chicago to Dallas so I could watch Boston play St. Louis.

Who am I rooting for? That's a tough question... y'see, I was born in Boston. My Dad's family is from the Boston area, my sister lived in Boston for years, so I've visited Beantown many, many times. And I know there are relatives of mine that are wishing and praying that their team finally breaks the Curse of the Bambino.

But when I was 9 years old, living in Lake Ozark, Missouri, my Dad took me on a father-son trip to the big city, to see my first professional baseball game -- it was the New York Mets against the St. Louis Cardinals... so there's some deep-rooted nostalgia there for me.

The truth is, I've really only ever been a Cleveland Indians fan. I went to the Cleveland Institute of Music in the early 90's, when the Indians gave that city some exciting runs toward World Series glory. I watched that team keep the city's dreams of respectability alive -- when you live in "the-mistake-on-the-lake", you take your self-esteem where you can get it. The players that made up that team have spread themselves into the wind, so I now follow the former players more than the actual team. Manny Ramirez, powerhouse hitter for the Red Sox, was one of those brave Indians. And I hate Manny Ramirez.

Let me be very very clear -- I mean I HATE HIM. When Manny was with the Indians, he'd play like a champ all season. Then the Indians would make it to the playoffs, and he would CHOKE. Time and time again, while everyone else on the team would fight and claw to keep "the dream" alive, Manny would CHOKE CHOKE CHOKE. He'd swing at every bad pitch they threw his way, until his slammin' batting average would take a highspeed nosedive, like a Kamakazi pilot on a hot saki bender.

So how do I decide?!? It's actually very easy. Lemme break it down for you: I live on the North side of Chicago -- that's Cubs country (FYI: if you live on the South side, you root for the White Sox). While I am still a fairweather fan, alot of my friends mental stability lives and dies on the fate of their beloved Cubbies. So I'm rooting for them -- Lennox, Brad, Vince, Rob, Steve... this one's for you.

Y'see, the way I see it, if the Boston Red Sox can beat the 85-year-long Curse of the Bambino, then maybe - just maybe - SOMEDAY, the Chicago Cubs just might break the Billy Goat Curse, and their NINETY-SIX year losing streak!

... and sometimes I even write music...

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened today -- voice session in the morning, then phone-calls out the wazoo -- calling celebrity agents to schedule voiceover sessions, calling lawyers and licensing execs to confirm the deals, calling Newman and Steve to double-check the gear for this weekend, calling the guy who's gonna broker the CD manufacturing for BCM, calling the artist who's doing the cover art...

Nicki left town 2 hours ago to go visit her family for the weekend, and I miss her already. Tonight I'm gonna edit up the "TranZendental Danse of Joi" recording, maybe practice some guitar, then go home to pack. I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go to Tarleton University to record their wind ensemble for Newman and Steve -- they've got 4 tunes lined up to lay down for the new BCM CD. Then I come back on Tuesday, and leave Thursday for Duluth, Minnesota. I love to travel, but the distance is hard on me and Nic...

voiceovers, voiceovers, voiceovers...

I seem to be in the midst of a dozen voiceover sessions... I'm scheduling celebrities for the new Hollywood Squares game. Richard Simmons, Billy Dee Williams, David Hasselhoff, Loni Anderson, Little Richard, Penn & Teller, Doris Roberts, Katey Sagal, and Joan Rivers... tomorrow I'm producing Chicago voice talent Elizabeth Laidlaw, and today I recorded Pete Stacker -- the voice behind the hilarious "Real Men of Genius" Bud Light commercials, most of Comedy Central, Oprah Winfrey's daily promo ads, many movie trailers, and video games like "Oni", and HALO 1 and 2 (they named "Sgt. Stacker" after him!). This guy is a consumate pro and extremely creative and talented -- totally amazing working with him...

New York to Chicago

Woke up at 6 AM when I could've slept till quarter to 7. Took a cab to Penn Station when I could've taken the subway. Caught the first available train to Newark Airport at 7:24, even though I didn't need to be on a train until 8. Hoped on the monorail, got my ticket, and blew through security. Now I'm sitting at my departure gate. I'm over 2 hours early.

I think I'm ready to go home...

Late Night with BCM

Eric was cool enough at get me, Steve, and Newman tickets to the David Letterman show!

Quite the process: first, you have to answer a trivia question about the show... for this, we turned to Newman -- our up-to-the-minute pop culture guru. He passed the test with flying colors, and we were in.

We showed up at 3:30 PM, picked up our tickets, and went across the street to the Roseland Ballroom, where the entire audience stood on the dance floor and waited for them to let us in to the show. At 4:00, an overzealous woman showed up and gave us instructions -- clap and cheer loudly, don't hoot, don't whistle, and if you're not sure if something is funny or not, laugh anyway. By 4:30 we were in our seats. We sat in the balcony over the band, which was pretty cool. I was psyched to see Anton Fig and Will Lee in person. And I figured my buddy from GSU, Tom "Bones" Malone, would be there, but unfortunately he had a sub...

Anyway, the guests were Jude Law and Ricky Gervais (from the BBC hit comedy, "The Office" -- which Eric swears is the greatest TV show ever created), and at one point in the show, did do a camera pan of the entire audience. So if you happen to be watching Late Night, and you see it's that episode, watch for the BCM dudes!

Scenes from NYC

BCM is converging in New York City for two days this week. We have a video interview with Frank Oteri for NewMusicBox, an interview with Ginny Allen for The Instrumentalist magazine, and a chance to take pictures and prepare for the upcoming "Men of Industry" CD. Here are a few snaps of me, Newman, Steve, and Eric in New York City:

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XX)

Milt, Nicki and I arrive at Dublin Scioto High School around 11:30 AM. Nicki is really feeling queasy, so she finds a quiet place to sit while Milt and I start rounding up chairs, stands, and percussion instruments. We work out a seating arrangement just as Alan Bise shows up. Al gets busy bringing in his gear, I continue taping up the player's parts, and Milt writes people's names on their part and places it on their corresponding stand. Soon Derek Scoles, our first trumpet player, shows up ready for action. The rest of the players begin to stream in, and even though I knew 40 people were gonna be here, it's just amazing to actually see each member of this ensemble that we put together -- one player at a time.

I cannot describe the experience of this afternoon. I'd been working since January on this piece. The effort had reached a fever pitch the past week, and the music had only been finished at noon the day before. I'd wanted Milt Allen to conduct the first performance, and sure enough, there he was. I wanted Alan Bise to record it, and he was there too. I'd wanted an ensemble of players who were excited to be there and excited to play the music, and there they were. And I wanted Nicki to be able to be there to enjoy it... well, she was there, but before the session had even started, it was clear that she was fighting a NASTY case of stomach flu. The poor thing...

Everything had finally come together. A possibility I invented had manifested itself in the universe, and my only wish was to allow the energy and the inspiration that was this occasion continue past me, past this afternoon, past this ensemble -- that anyone who came into contact with this project would resonate with unlimited possibility, and the power of positivity.

Idealistic? You bet yer sweet little bipper!

There was very little I could do to compensate these musicians for their time and talent, but tried to do a few small things. I had t-shirts printed up:



And I invited everyone out for pizza afterwards. I was really pleased to see how many people were able to show up, and I was glad for a chance to thank them personally, and enjoy their company.

Thank you to Milt Allen for being the first person to believe in this crazy idea, and for being an amazing source of talent, resources, and positive reinforcement. Thank you for dedicating yourself to the music, to the project, and to the members of this ensemble. There is no possible way I could have pulled this off without you.

Thank you to Alan Bise for once again proving what a true friend and great guy you are. You take on every thankless task with a smile, and you never stop trying to create the best work you can -- your passion in what can be a passionless profession is invaluable, and I'd follow you into Hell, my friend.

Thank you to Jim Gray and Dublin Scioto High School, for providing the time and the place and the hardware (and the percussion!) to make this possible. Extremely generous and giving of you, and I appreciate you all embracing this project.

Thank you to Susan Powell, for the roto-toms! And it was so great to meet you -- thanks for taking the time to come to the session. Keep in touch!

Thank you to Margaret Allen for sharing your home, and the AWESOME FOOD! So great to finally meet you! And thank you to Superdupersuperboy and Princess Madeline for the non-stop entertainment. REV IT UP!

And thank you to every member of Wind Ensemble X:
the flexible flutists (because I kept tweaking their parts): Melanie Angert, Laura Nieman, Morgann Davis, Christina Lyons...
the lone oboe cowboy: Eric Schwartz...
the lone bassoon cowgirl: Emily Patronik...
the clarinet mob: Justin Johnston, Christine Kloss, Andy Brown, Bria Baker, Dennis McElroy, Tami Stripsky, and Deanna Brizgys on bass...
the slammin' saxes: Ryan Alexis, Megan Beavers, Jess Mullen, Steve Alguire...
the killer trumpets: Derek Scoles, Stephen Ondak, Adam Ladd, Zak Reed...
the strong (yet sensitive!) horns: Greg Edwards, Jenna McCoy, Amanda Purcell, Travis Pennell...
the bullet-proof trombones: Matthew Saunders, James Arthur, Lee Auer...
the world's most patient low brass on Earth (because let's face it, they weren't exactly the most exciting parts!): James Erchick and Jackie Philbin on Baritone, and Joe Witkowski and Zach Roberts on Tuba.
and of course, the intrepid percussion section: Brian McNulty, R.J. Demland, Maria Finkelmeier, Chris Lizak, Chris Woten, and Steve Purcell, groovemeister extraordinare.

And most of all, thank you to Nicki, for giving me a good excuse to start this piece, and then tirelessly reminding me that it WAS a good idea until it was finished. You're the best, Angel.

Club Milt

“Mr. Bonney, is it OK if we play down here?”

It’s Ben. and it’s 7 AM.

“Suuuuuure.” I croak out my reply.

Pandemonium immediately resumes it’s regularly scheduled program. Nicki and I have a great time playing with the kids, before we pack off to Panera Bread for breakfast. (BTW: if you never had an Asiago Cheese bagel with Sun-dried tomato cream cheese, you haven’t lived, my friend). We stop off at Lowe’s Hardware -- my new favorite source of musical instruments. I check out their varied supply of 5 gallon paint buckets, and settle on three plastic ones that have subtly different sounds -- I think it’ll make for a more interesting blend for the recording (seriously! This is how artsy-fartsy I can get!).

Nicki mentioned that she doesn't feel very well...

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XIX)

5:30 AM - up and at ‘em again... I came up with a good ending yesterday -- the piece is about 15 seconds longer now. All I need to do is orchestrate and incorporate it into the piece. I also need to finish copying the changes I want to make since the St. Charles reading -- man, was that a helpful experience!

12:00 PM - I’ve finished the revisions to the score. I borrow my buddy Mike Connelly’s car, and zoom over to Kinko’s to get it blown up and bound. On the way back, I realize Mike’s gas tank is almost empty, so I stop off to fill it up. I’m pressed for time, but I want him to know I appreciate him letting me borrow his ride... (besides, I need all the karmic brownie points I can get!) Head back, start extracting parts, and burn them to CD-R.

1:45 PM - Nicki is waiting in a cab. We were going to take the El train, but we’re running a little late so we take Mr. Toad’s wild ride all the way out to O’Hare airport. I’m loading the CD-R into my laptop and PRAYING that the files open so we don’t have to drive back to the studio... fortunately they open perfectly.

4:00 PM - plane takes off. As soon as the tray tables don’t have to be in their upright position, and we’re free to move about the aircraft, I’ve got my laptop open again and I’m furiously proofreading parts.

6:30 PM - arrive in Columbus, OH. Nicki rents a car, I proof parts. Nicki drives, I proof parts. We arrive at Milt Allen’s casa, I’m still proofing parts. We go in and meet his wife Margaret, and his kids Ben (a.k.a. Superdupersuperboy) and Madeline (a.k.a. Princess). We have an AWESOME dinner of jumping noodles and homemade bread, while I try to be as mentally present as possible (in spite of the fact that I’m subconciously still proofing parts). Alan Bise stops by for homemade apple pie, and while everyone is enjoying each other’s company -- yep, you guessed it -- I’m proofing parts.

1:00 AM - After much technological trial-and-error, Milt and I finish printing out the proofed parts. Now Milt has a moment to look at the finished score for the first time. I went to bed soon after we got home -- Milt won’t say how long he was up studying the score.

duck dreams

See if you can tell me what this one means: I'm sitting in a rowboat with two other guys -- I can't remember who they are, but I respect them (could be one of my uncles, or my dad or Nic's dad -- can't remember). We're "duck-hunting" (bear in mind that I've never hunted ANYTHING in my life). Evidently, what we're doing is sitting in the boat and waiting until the ducks swim close, then you just reach into the water and grab 'em by the legs. The ducks don't seem to mind this at all. First guy does it, no problem. Second guy right afterwards -- nothing to it. I'm totally dumbfounded.

They tell me it's my turn. They tell me I've come all this way, I might as well get a duck. I turn to look over the side. My duck has extended himself fully, legs straight up in the air. My duck looks more like a rubber chicken floating straight upside-down, with it's feet sticking out like a handle. It's pretty humorous, and it's just too easy, so I grab my duck... but I still feel kinda funny about it. One of the guys starts up the motor and we start heading out. It's at this point that I notice the sign saying duck season ended yesterday. I tell the other guys we've got to let these ducks go. They say the ducks don't seem to mind. I tell them it's still wrong. They don't seem to hear me over the engine. Just as I'm about to decide that regardless of what they do, I'm going to let my duck go, and decide how far I'm going to push the issue for them to let their ducks go too -- just as this is about to happen -- my alarm goes off.

So technically speaking, I still have the duck.

I don't know if this is a good thing or not...

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XVIII)

... up at 5 AM... rethinking ending... rewriting... rewriting... rewriting...

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XVII)

Rented a car and beat feet out to St. Charles, Illinois for a reading of "TranZendental Danse of Joi" with Jim Kull and his top wind ensemble. His band and I played "Chaos Theory" together last spring -- an event that deserved to be immortalized, and would've been in this blog had the stupid computer not have crashed when I posted it!?!?!?! Grrrrr... Anyway, they're a really good band, and we had almost an hour scheduled to read through this new piece.

The first thing Jim and I do is split the ensemble -- I take the percussionists, and he takes the winds and brass. Me and the percussionists go into a smaller rehearsal room and I proceed to isolate certain sections that are percussion intensive. I'm amazed at how fast these guys are getting this -- I mean they're GETTING IT! Even the off-beat flower-pot part is NAILED on the second try -- no one has EVER pulled this part off cleanly before! I'm getting so excited, I'm having a hard time conducting (which I haven't done in about 4 years!), and very soon, Jim is at the door checking on our progress. The winds and brass are getting it too and they're ready for us to come back!

We combine the ensemble together and begin to slug our way through the piece. Comp readings are usually like making sausage with live cats -- you don't want to see it OR hear it going down. But this group is digging in and GETTING IT -- they're hanging tough on the odd-meter/mixed time signatures, and it's actually sounding like music! This piece might not be so bad after all!

Pretty soon we're through the piece, and we've come to the brand spanking-new ending I'd just written the night before. It's bad. No, that's not accurate -- it sucks. Bigtime. I suggest a few things to possibly fix it. The band cranks back a few bars and gives it a running leap -- nope, still sucks. I make one last ditch attempt to save this new ending, and the band gives it everything they've got. Sucks. It's clearly not gonna work. Note to self: write new ending.

We do one more run-through, and Gill has been cool enough to throw up some mics so he can give me a recording when we finish. A few of the musicians come up afterwards to tell me they like the piece -- man, I was NOT expecting that after a first reading, and I am so grateful that somebody else actually likes it! I thank you all so much for putting such a great effort forward -- I figured out a TON of good stuff, and I hope you get a chance to play it in the spring... when it's actually finished!!!

(Incidently, it turns out that Jim Kull had read the blog where I mentioned the soloist, Steve Zoloto. Steve's a monster sax player (and fantastic composer too), and does quite a bit of studio work in Chicago. Jim said he knew Steve way back when... so when I got back to Chicago that day, I mentioned to Steve that I'd seen Jim Kull. Steve's eyes totally bugged out -- he said he used to IDOLIZE (yes, those were his exact words) Jim Kull when he was in high school -- evidently, Jim Kull was THE baddest alto sax player in the area back in the day...)

THANKS AGAIN GUYS!!! GREAT JOB!!! Can't wait till January and IRON CHEF BIG BAND!!!

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XVI)

Frantically finishing up fixes to the score -- I've got a reading at 11:45 AM with Jim Kull and the St. Charles High School Wind Ensemble. I've changed the beginning. I've changed the ending. And I've reorchestrated the middle. I think I'm starting to go a little cuckoo..

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XV)

WE DID IT!!! WE DID IT!!! WE'VE GOT A FULL BAND!!!



Here is the wind ensemble for October 16th, 2004 (bold=latest additions):

FLUTES: Melanie Angert, Jenny Packard, Laura Neiman, Morgan Davis, Christine Lyons.

OBOE: Eric Schwartz.

CLARINETS: Justin Johnston, Christine Kloss, Andy Brown, Bria Baker, Dennis McElroy, Tami Stripsky.

BASS CLARINET: Deanna Brizgys

BASSOON: Emily Petronik

SAXOPHONES: Ryan Alexis, Joe LaFlamme, Jess Mullen, Steve Alguire.

TRUMPETS: Derek Scoles, Stephen Ondak, Adam Ladd, Zak Reed.

HORNS: Greg Edwards, Jenna McCoy, Amanda Purcell, Travis Pennell.

TROMBONES: Matthew Saunders, James Arthur, Lee Auer.

EUPHONIUMS: James Erchick, Jackie Philbin.

TUBAS: Joe Witkowski, Zach Roberts.

KEYBOARDS: Jim Trompeter.

PERCUSSION: Brian McNulty, Rachael Demland, Maria Finkelmeier, Chris Lizak, Chris Woton, and Steve Purcell (drumset).

BASS GUITAR: (probably me -- we'll see)

SOLOIST: tentatively, Steve Zoloto -- alto sax monster

CONDUCTOR: Milt Allen

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... IT CAN BE DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!!!!

Chicago Marathon 2004

(Dad, me, Mum, Andrew and Christina, and my sister Anne)

The whole family turned out to Chicago again for Anne's Chicago Marathon foray. If you've never seen a marathon from the sidelines, do it -- it's a great communal experience, and the positive energy is really inspiring. I agreed to meet Anne at mile 21 and run to the end with her. That's 5 miles -- farther than I'd ever run before (but big hairy deal -- she's running TWENTY SIX POINT TWO). I figured my job was just to keep pace with her, and try to pump up the crowd as much as possible. Oh, and don't wuss out before she did (after all, she is my little sister).

It was pretty wild to run amongst 40,000 people in one race, with the crowds and the bands and the water stations and the people puking in the bushes... the high point was Chinatown, where they had Dragon dancers performing on the sidelines. And with all that aural and visual stimulation, the 5 miles were over in a flash (although I'm feeling all five of them now). I can't say that I've been bitten by the marathon bug, but I did agree to do the last 10 miles with her next time...

Congratulations Anne! You rock!!!

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XIV)

Talked to Milt Allen tonight -- we are so close -- I mean SO CLOSE to having this whole sucker nailed down, it's insane. Here are the latest additions:

Flutes: Morgan Davis is in! (Morgan also played on Courage & Compassion, and was one of Melanie's first suggestions)... and Christine Lyons is also in!

Oboe: We've got Eric Schwartz -- thanks dude!

Clarinet: Bria Baker, Christine Kloss, and Tami Stripsky are also going to be there! YES!!!

Saxophones: Jess Mullen is set to play tenor, and Steve Alguire is gonna be on Bari. (These guys are supposed to be just killin'...)

French Horn: Amanda Purcell is officially on board. Thanks Amanda!

Trombones: James Arthur and Lee Auer are also in! BOO YAH!

So what's the count?!?

THIRTY-THREE.

For any pessimists still out there -- we're still gonna be looking for 6-8 more players, but we could go with literally just 2 more... so it's looking really, really good! Ladies and gentlemen, I think it's safe to say that this is gonna happen!!! Saturday, October 16th, 1 PM to 5 PM, at Dublin Scioto High School -- OH YEAH!!!!!

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XIII)

True Story: a wise man once told me "Your only not superstitious when you admit that you have superstitions". I have no idea what he was talking about.

But being mildly superstitious myself, and having a casual infatuation with numerology, I've decided to let #13 go with no news.

That, and the fact that Milt and I were not able to find a good time to talk today -- but we're gonna catch up on the progress tomorrow, so I should have news then... what I did hear is that the OSU musicians are PUMPED to play this piece, and I'm just so pleased to hear that. I can't believe how lucky I am to work with them all.

OH! And Laura Neiman (flute) and Emily Patronik (bassoon) are IN IN IN!!! Turns out they're roommates too -- small world, huh?

So I guess this WAS informative after all...

Happy Fun Time

You wanna try something fun? I mean really, really fun?!? Here's all you have to do:

1. Go over to your girlfriend's apartment at midnight to walk her dog.
2. Take the dog out for a nice walk in the big city.
3. Come back to the apartment building. Realize you've left her keys in her apartment. And your keys. And your wallet.
4. Realize you're totally screwed.
5. Hang out on the street looking nonchalant. Then try to convince women that are coming home alone after midnight that you're SUPPOSED to be let into their building, even though you don't have keys. Or ID. Or an apartment in this building.
6. When you FINALLY convince one of these women to let you into the building (thank you Kristen!), realize that you turned the lock on the apartment door.
7. Realize you're STILL totally screwed.
8. Search through the dumpster out back (being careful to keep the door propped open so you don't have to find another lone woman who'll let you back into the building), then try to break in using a crushed toilet paper tube. (hey, I was desperate!)
9. When a guy comes by and finds you trying to break into one of the apartments in his building, try to convince him that you're not a crook. THEN try to convince him to give you one of his credit cards so you can continue to try to break into one of the apartments in his building.

All I can say is, it's a miracle I didn't spend the night in the slammer with a dog named Ginger and a guy named Tiny.

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XII)

WE GOT A HALL, FOLKS!!! AND PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Jim Gray and Dublin Scioto High School!!!

Still in Vegas

Still in the city of sin... and what happens in Vegas STILL STAYS IN VEGAS!

Vegas interlude

Got up at 5:45 AM to catch a plane to Las Vegas -- all I can say is, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

That, and I'd swear I saw Eric Whitacre at Circus Circus wearing an oversized top-hat, a whole heck-of-a-lot of mardi gras beads, and not much else. He was accompanied by an elderly couple from Tuscaloosa, who had matching vintage "I Shot J.R." t-shirts, and they were all carrying tropical drinks and singing "Moon River" at the top of their intoxicated lungs.

Fact? Fiction? You be the judge...

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.XI)

[Die-hard blog-watchers, my apologies for the break in the blog -- it was a very, very busy weekend, but a fruitful one as well!]

I've been writing emails for 2-3 hours a night. I've been reviewing my notes from the Wheaton College reading, and proofreading and revising the "TranZen..." score. I've been in communication with Milt sometimes two or three times a day, and he's been beating the bushes in Columbus like these are his last days on Earth (God bless Milt Allen!). And it's really paying off. I've been overwhelmed by the positive responses to this project.

Carly Johnson, the principal trumpet of the top wind symphony at Ohio State, is on board. Brian McNulty, the principal percussionist from the same group, is too. So is Matthew Saunders (principal trombone), and James Erchick (principal euphonium). These are some powerful players, and their leadership is going to be a huge asset to the ensemble.

Melanie Angert (flute) gave me a call just before I went into the Kelly Joe Phelps/Chris Whitley concert, saying she was very excited about the project as well. Melanie played on the "Courage & Compassion" recording session last spring, and she suggested I contact two more flutists who played on that session as well. Thanks for the call, Melanie! There were other veterans from the "Courage & Compassion" session who jumped on board this weekend: Zak Reed will be playing trumpet, Jenna McCoy will be on French horn, and just this morning, I received an email from Adam Ladd, who will also be part of this KILLER trumpet section!

There are some others who have joined that I don't believe I've met yet, but come highly recommended as great players as well as great people to work with: Justin Johnston, Andy Brown, and Deanna Brizgys will be the clarinet section, and with Rachael Demland on percussion and Steve Purcell on drums, I've got a fully-manned, unbelievably SLAMMIN' percussion section! Joe Witkowski will round out my tubas. And the much-anticipated principal alto sax monster, Ryan Alexis, is officially on board -- and bringing everything from recording hall possibilities to the rest of the sax section with him. Too cool!?!

So to Melanie, Justin, Andy, Deanna, Ryan, Carly, Adam, Zak, Jenna, Matthew, James, Joe, Brian, Rachael, and Steve -- as well as Derek, Travis, Zach, Maria, Chris W. and Chris L. -- thank you so much for committing to this project. Every single member of this ensemble matters -- every single one of you makes this possible, and I appreciate and admire you for doing this.

We're not there yet, but we're getting much closer...

Chris Whitley/Kelly Joe Phelps

I saw Chris Whitley and Kelly Joe Phelps in concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music on Saturday night. Masters of alternate tunings -- alone onstage with nothing but a microphone and their guitar. I've seen both of them before, but they were in rare form this evening.
Kelly Joe Phelps mixes blues, roots, and folk music with lyrics that range from surreal to poignant, often in the same song. His voice is as smooth as sandpaper -- rough and flawless. And his guitar-playing is really something. He's extraordinarily fluid and his phrasing is really, really expressive.
Chris Whitley has been an obsession of mine for quite some time. He's a very unique artist who doesn't bend with the business AT ALL. His songs are a mix of raw blues and cowboy music with punk and grunge. He beats the Hell out of a 1930's National Steel dobro, while his singing goes from wailing and melodious to mumbling and indecipherable. He's got a real unique slide guitar style, and he doesn't sound like anybody else I've ever heard... His lyrics are pretty cool too. Check out the album "Dirt Floor" if you want a taste of his best work.

Wind Ensemble Project (pt.X)

Chris Lizak is on-board!!! I'm very excited to have Maria and the Chrises involved in this piece -- they played on Courage & Compassion last fall (scroll back in the blog for more about that session). That's 3 percussionists now... we're starting to gather steam.

We're zeroing in on one hall, and things are looking good. And help is starting to come out of the woodwork -- Steve Bryant emailed me about a fantastic flute player in Dayton, and a former Air Force Band French Horn player that could be interested! My friend Jerod Tate called me with several good ideas of resources from Cleveland, and ways to get around some of the more difficult logistics (Jerod put a chamber orchestra together for his ballet, "Winter Moons", so he's been down this road before!). And I talked to an old friend in California who had a few more suggestions for players I could contact...