Ahhhhhh back from LA. I love it down there.
The band did well, put on their best show all year. They went up against some REALLY good schools. So, I'm proud of them. Good stuff. And, I got a great picture of my high school private studio, which I really had no idea how many there were until they were all in one place. 12 just in high school. So that was something that I had wanted to do for a while. A picture with all of them.
Then came my weekend. The band left, I stayed behind with a friend to check out the area. Walked around USC for a while, even though it was a Sunday, so most of the music buildings were closed. Oh well. I really liked the campus. I have a feeling USC will be making a return to the short list of probable grad schools.
Then we headed out to Santa Monica to chill on the Promenade, grab a bite to eat, and just relax. I absolutely LOVE Santa Monica. If I could afford it, that would be my place of living. Hands down. Now all I have to do is get into a grad school down there...
The motel we stayed at was pretty ghetto, however it was across the street from the Santa Monica Pier and about 2 blocks from the Promenade. The drawers in the night tables apparently over the years became message boards, so I simply had to add my own touch:
Before:
And after: (Yay for colored pencils used in my scores...)
And, of course, I had to do this: (Just wish I had more than 2 stickers...)
Then came the touring. Went out to Anaheim (Eff the Ducks) to check out the Kanstul factory. I had never toured a musical instrument factory before, so that was pretty cool. Next was the Kanstul showroom, which entailed me playing every low brass instrument incessantly for hours while Tom played every trumpet there. Good trombones, not great, but good for college level playing. Decent tubas, again, good for college level. Then there was the marching brass. Which included a 5/4 Contra. This thing was stupid huge. (picture below)
Then it was off to Fergusen's Music. THE place on the west coast for trombone players. Man, this shop was AWESOME. I found the horn of my dreams, although now I know it's not the "horn" of my dreams, it just had the "trigger" of my dreams. Now, where can I find $2000 for the Greenhoe Valve?
Next came the mad rush back to San Jose. I left Fergusen's in LA at 3:00, not sure if I would make a
rehearsal in Los Gatos at 8:25. Well, I'm not sure how, but I did. Yay.
All in all, that was a great weekend. The best thing about it was that it reaffirmed my goal of going to grad school. Now I have something tangible to work towards. Now to just get working...
Pictures:
Me in front of the Kanstul Factory
Me inside the Kanstul Factory
Comedy:
Inside the Kanstul Showroom in front of concert and marching tubas. These run about 10,000 bones each:
Me with the 5/4 Contra. Who the hell plays this, I don't know...
Bet it sounds great though....
The band did well, put on their best show all year. They went up against some REALLY good schools. So, I'm proud of them. Good stuff. And, I got a great picture of my high school private studio, which I really had no idea how many there were until they were all in one place. 12 just in high school. So that was something that I had wanted to do for a while. A picture with all of them.
Then came my weekend. The band left, I stayed behind with a friend to check out the area. Walked around USC for a while, even though it was a Sunday, so most of the music buildings were closed. Oh well. I really liked the campus. I have a feeling USC will be making a return to the short list of probable grad schools.
Then we headed out to Santa Monica to chill on the Promenade, grab a bite to eat, and just relax. I absolutely LOVE Santa Monica. If I could afford it, that would be my place of living. Hands down. Now all I have to do is get into a grad school down there...
The motel we stayed at was pretty ghetto, however it was across the street from the Santa Monica Pier and about 2 blocks from the Promenade. The drawers in the night tables apparently over the years became message boards, so I simply had to add my own touch:
Before:
And after: (Yay for colored pencils used in my scores...)
And, of course, I had to do this: (Just wish I had more than 2 stickers...)
Then came the touring. Went out to Anaheim (Eff the Ducks) to check out the Kanstul factory. I had never toured a musical instrument factory before, so that was pretty cool. Next was the Kanstul showroom, which entailed me playing every low brass instrument incessantly for hours while Tom played every trumpet there. Good trombones, not great, but good for college level playing. Decent tubas, again, good for college level. Then there was the marching brass. Which included a 5/4 Contra. This thing was stupid huge. (picture below)
Then it was off to Fergusen's Music. THE place on the west coast for trombone players. Man, this shop was AWESOME. I found the horn of my dreams, although now I know it's not the "horn" of my dreams, it just had the "trigger" of my dreams. Now, where can I find $2000 for the Greenhoe Valve?
Next came the mad rush back to San Jose. I left Fergusen's in LA at 3:00, not sure if I would make a
rehearsal in Los Gatos at 8:25. Well, I'm not sure how, but I did. Yay.
All in all, that was a great weekend. The best thing about it was that it reaffirmed my goal of going to grad school. Now I have something tangible to work towards. Now to just get working...
Pictures:
Me in front of the Kanstul Factory
Me inside the Kanstul Factory
Comedy:
Inside the Kanstul Showroom in front of concert and marching tubas. These run about 10,000 bones each:
Me with the 5/4 Contra. Who the hell plays this, I don't know...
Bet it sounds great though....