Open Mic Night

One of my students, Hailey, performed at Open Mic Night, Saturday evening, at Mammoth Music.  The store hosts an Open Mic Night once a month, usually the last Saturday.  She sang "Christmas in the Sand" and "Santa Baby," and yes, that's me accompanying her on the electric piano.  She did a beautiful job.  She's in 7th grade this year, but has always been mature for her age, works hard, practices, and it all pays off.  Working with her is one of the joys of life!!

Gotta love an outdoor concert

I made a road trip with Jane to Rock Springs Tuesday evening for an 8:30 pm concert.  It's a two and a half hour journey to get there, but so worth the trip when you get to see Martina McBride in concert at the country fair!!!  The stage was set up at the Fairgrounds...and we didn't realize we needed to bring our own seating... oh well.  So, since we (and almost everyone else) were standing, we wiggled our way to a  spot fairly close to the stage. 

That gal has a set of pipes!!  She's a little 'ol petite thing... with a big voice.  She has three back-up singers, her four piece band and another four playing reeds and horns.  What a great - full - sound.  Martina highlighted every single member in her group at the front of the stage, and they were all fantastic musicians/singers!

Great performance!  She sang non-stop for an hour and a half...ending the encore with "Independence Day."  The crowd loved it, swaying, hands in the air, and singing right along with her.  She had lots of adoring fans in Rock Springs.

I overslept the next morning...

Blue Grass in Summer

All the live music opportunities of the summer are wonderful; I'm trying to take in as many as possible.  Here's the Low Water String Band performing at an "Unplugged" event at the Riverton Library.  They are a Blue Grass band, and they have a lot of fun performing.

Playing in the pit

The orchestra pit.  The surroundings are not glamorous.  Behind me are pieces of sets leaned up against each other; some look like they may have been sections of a raised stage.  Large wooden set pieces and flats fill other sections of this wing of the stage.  And that's where we're nestled: stage right.  Hanging high on the walls are remnants of other shows: I suppose the scene shop workers hope to recycle these at some point.  Or perhaps they are simply reminders of beloved set pieces of favorite shows.

On the floor, a maze of electrical cords for all the microphones, music stand lights, amps, camera, and monitors clutter the passageways out of the tight rows of chairs and stands.  Small scattered rugs have been scattered around in an attempt to protect the electrical connections. 

During rehearsals and productions I've been watching the show on a 13" monitor about 15 feet away.  The image is by no means HD, and I'm wearing my "piano" glasses, so the distant image looks even fuzzier, but still allows me to follow the action on stage. 

But none of those things are the important pieces of being here in the "pit." In fact, the surroundings fade away when my attention is focused on the opening "Overture." The director Adam and the talented musicians make it all happen. Rogers & Hammersteins' music has some great moments,  and  I love hearing Laura's rich clarinet phrases,  Amy's articulated flute runs,  Kelly's trumpeted fanfares, Marissa's harp, and Amanda's haunting bassoon passages.  And there are other moments of fabulous full orchestra crescendos that sound wonderful.  It's filling the air with music, bringing the story of "The King and I" to life, that is addictive.  

Thursday's Thoughts...

Double-checked the calendar.  First week of February.  Looks like winter; feels like winter.  But the red and pink hearts for Valentine's Day are quite cheery, despite the frosty, foggy weather.

Drove the Dodge Ram to town.  More fog.

Met a friend for morning coffee and catching up.  Even saw retired friends doing the same.  Nice to say "hi."

Met with the orchestra director; now I know what parts I'll be playing on the keyboard with the orchestra for "The King and I."  It's all doable.  Yea.  Rehearsal is Saturday afternoon.  I should have time to go all the way through the score at least once before Saturday.

Isn't it about knit time???

Drumming up some excitement

The kids at my old high school now have the opportunity to join a drumline!  Chad R. has started the group, and they are adding excitement to the basketball games and other events.  It is so great to hear them learning various cadences, and for just getting started, they sound VERY GOOD. 

One of my friends said, "I wish he'd start an adult group," and I have to agree.  Wouldn't that be FUN???

I took this photo from across the gym...but next time I'll get a decent close-up.

More music in the outdoors...

Speakeasy

Arts in Action kicked off their concert series with a free concert on the lawn at the college campus.  They featured The Craft Brothers (from Sheridan).  The opening act was Speakeasy, a local band new to the area.  Loved the music.  (I wish Speakeasy had played a little longer; love their music!) Wonderful talent.  Head-bobbin', foot-tapping tunes.

The Craft Brothers

Music in the mountains

Oh my, it's been busy around here...and I haven't found the time in front of the computer.  Anyway, I'm going to finish the story of Guitar Town.

I'll make mention of some of my favorite guitar players.  First up, it's Joe Robinson.  A few years ago he won the "Australia's Got Talent" competition; he's truely gifted!  I first saw him when he was just 17 years old; now he's around 20.  He's grown up and filled out, and he's trying to make his way into the guitar greats with his own style. I hope he makes it big.

John Jorgenson is another; he's a 2-time Grammy winner and a legend in the guitar world.  Over the weekend, I heard him play in three different bands he's put together: acoustic quartet, blue grass, and electric.  He can play anything!! I bought his latest blue grass CD; it's fantastic!!

Laurence Juber is another GREAT talent. (In the picture above, he's the one on the left.) He played with the Beatles for years. I HAD to buy his latest CD and get it signed by him. It's just him playing the guitar; it's lovely - tunes you're familiar with; and his skill is amazing. You can check all these guys out on iTunes or probably YouTube as well.

And finally, Tommy Emmanuel.  He is THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE GUITAR PLAYER I'VE EVER SEEN AND HEARD.  What he does, seems like it would be impossible to do.  And yet, he does it effortlessly and is a great showman.  Every part of his being "lives" the music. 

If you ever get the chance to see any of these guys, do it; you won't be disappointed.  They are some of the best in the world.  They will astound you.

A Colorado Mountain High

I traveled with my family in Colorado to an annual event at Copper Mountain Resort: Guitar Town.  This is my second time to attend...and it's unbelievably awesome.  The event draws top guitarists from the US, Australia, and Canada. It's two days of free entertainment from an outstanding list of performers.  It's a constant stream of music from noon to about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Each artist does about a 40 minute set.

But first, here's the setting, as seen from the balcony of the rooms we were staying in.  Aw, the smell of fresh air, laced with pine. The elevation is above 9,000 ft. That's not always a welcoming aspect of the experience if you're a musician who lives at sea level. Many of the performers seemed to get winded pretty easily.  But the beauty of the setting for outdoor concerts is magnificent.

And here's what the stage looks like; we got out lawn chairs parked in the grass about 7 rows from the front, so it was pretty good.  More tomorrow...

Thursday's Thoughts

I attended another concert on the library lawn last night.  The performers were the same folks from two weeks ago (no new pictures), but they played an entirely different set of songs. 

One song that Ben sang was one I had never heard before.  The tune is titled,"The River Knows Your Name" and was written by John Hiatt.  It's a beautiful song...and Ben delivered the lyrics beautifully.  After I got home, I had to look it up on-line, get a copy of the lyrics and guitar chords.  I also listened to a You-Tube recording of John Hiatt singing this song, which he wrote...but I'm not too impressed with his singing voice and delivery.  Nevertheless, if you listen to it, you get the idea.  When this piece is sung with a deep, lyrical voice... it's memorable!  Last night's crowd loved this piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp7iz2RZ80o

Here are the lyrics:

Oh the river knows your name
and your tears falling like the rain
all around you suffering and pain
Oh the river knows your name

And the river hears you cry
As the lightning cracks the open sky
As your Momma sings a lullaby
Oh the river she knows why

Let the river wash you down
Beneath the surface with a rushing sound
Like a freight train passing through a town
Let the river wash you down

Let the river take away
All the words what you and I could never say
In the silence Darling let us pray
Let the river take it all away

Oh the river knows your name
From the Brazos to the Wabash to the Seine
No two journeys are ever quite the same
But the river knows you name,
Oh, the river knows your name

Music of the night...

Another evening concert, on the library's lawn this time, entertained about 50 music lovers sitting in their lawn chairs.   The featured entertainer was Erica Flom on fiddle; she is an outstanding artist who has won many titles in fiddle contests in this region.  She asked Ben Brown to accompany her (at the last minute), and they did very well together, not having had the opportunity to rehearse.  Ah, the fantastic abilities of  accomplished musicians!  It was delightful, and the audience was very appreciative of their performance.

I suppose you heard on the news that we could get a glimpse of the Super Moon over the weekend.  I don't know if anyone has written a "Super Moon" song, but I think an opportunity is there for the taking.  The Saturday evening view was awesome. 

Music in the park...

Kudos to the CWC Community Band musicians for another summer season of "Hot Notes, Cool Nights" on Monday evenings.  I look forward to every concert!!  Jason's selections and the band's musicianship and musicality are wonderful artistic gifts to the community!  Great job!!

The featured guest artists: The Jeff Troxel Trio.  All three are master musicians.  Awesome.  They make fast finger-work look effortless.   I'm so glad they were part of this summer's line-up! 

Jammin' at the Gannett Grill

Here's a young ukulele student preparing to play her tune with the teacher.

On Friday, I went to hear some young music students give a little concert on the patio of the Gannett Grill.  What is so cool about it, is that these students are taking guitar, ukulele, and voice lessons from their teacher, and he has been providing several opportunities for them to perform.  He got together a little back-up band for the kids, and they had a grand time performing for family, friends, and those who just dropped in for food and entertainment.  As you can imagine, moms and dads were busting their buttons with pride.  I love supporting live music!!

This young man played guitar and sang several tunes very well.

This little gal plays guitar and sings beautifully.  I know her, as I gave her mom piano lessons!

Preoccupied...

It seems I've been a bit preoccupied with all kinds of things on my to-get-done-now list, and my blogging has been on the back burner. 

Last Friday I hosted a recital for my piano, ukulele, and voice students.  Unfortunately, four of them were not able to attend; they are busy folks, all out of town.  However, it was very nice to provide the opportunity for the others to perform for their families and friends.  It turned out to be such a nice crowd of folks.  Sorry, no pictures...preoccupied.

Then, there was preparing for graduation and rehearsing a song we'll sing again at a retirement party at the end of this week.

Despite all the busy-ness, I have been knitting.  I picked up the needles on the lacy scarf again...and of course, it's slow going -- slow but steady.  I still have such a long way to go!!

Since I have been spending time on the scarf, that took me away from knitting rows on the purple top. However, I did get the decreases on the armholes completed; after about 2 more inches, I will be shaping the neck. 

I guess I'm rarely too preoccupied to continue knitting...

On with the show...

Here's the cast warming up on stage before the house opens.  It's a beautiful facility...and anyone new to the community would be pleasantly surprised that we have such a big theater; it has served the community well over the years.

And, again, here's the orchestra warming up before the show.

It's been said before, that our county, though meager in population, is rich with artistic talent.  It's been proven time and time again.  As a kid, I was under the impression that big talent came from big cities.  The concept is ridiculous; talent knows no boundaries; tremendous talent can be nurtured even in the remotest areas.

I feel very fortunate to be able to play in the orchestra for the college's spring musical right along side musicians who range from college band and choral directors, to high school band and choral directors, to members of the community band or symphony.  A few others in the orchestra are outstanding high school students.   I admire their talents!

From my vantage point, I am at the back of the orchestra with Carl on my right.  He's a great percussionist and keyboard player; he has taught music for many years and has performed in various bands in a variety of venues.  He blows a mean train whistle in this show! Plus, he's the guy with 2 bags of bite-sized chocolate bars.  It's great for us keyboard players...too bad for the horns and reeds... a distinct disadvantage to have to wait to nibble on chocolate!

Then, on my left is the ever entertaining saxophonist, Jason.  He is the band director at the college, who has been fantastic in leading student and community musicians, both as a musician and director.  But if there's a little down time between his playing three different instruments in the show, he eases the boredom by donning various hats and wigs. 

 Wish you could hear both he and his wife Laura play some of the licks in the show.  The passages are furiously fast, fun, and lyrical -- you have to be damn good to play these parts well. She's on clarinet and is pictured below center (with long brown hair).

Well, time to get ready to go.  We've got two shows today.