OK, well I have a lot to talk about tonight it seems. So much has been going on! Umm, let’s go with the most recent first. If any of you have been paying attention to my gig schedule, you’ll know that I was in Seaside, OR over the weekend. That ended up being quite the party! Well, it just so happened that friday was my girlfriend’s birthday, and I wasn’t about to leave her home all alone while I went skipping about from plane to plane only to end up on the Oregon coast to do something I LOVE! It only seemed right to bring her along, so naturally I did.
The festival in Seaside will now be known throughout the land as Jazz for the Significant Others! This was Denise’s first time doing the whole-package festival where you get on an airplane, fly to a distant major airport, hop in a cramped van with the band, and drive for 2 hours to the playing-spot du weekend. What a first time it was! The flying part was fine, of course, as my lady is definitely well-traveled throughout the country and then some. However, when we arrived in Portland, we looked around for band members so we could get a jump on that long 2-hour van ride. Well, in the process, we ended up running into the drummer, who brought his wife along, since she has family up that way. Ok, that makes things a little less roomy. The drummer is on the phone with the driver and is finding out that the bass player didn’t bring his stick bass, but instead his full-size upright. That should knock out a whole row, cozier still. Finally the van arrives at the curb to pick us up, and it seems that the bass player, in addition to bringing his bass, has also brought his girlfriend. So much for bass players loving their instrument more than women! Well, let’s just say we all experienced 2 hours of pure bliss! All in all, we had a great time, except when I told everyone that it was Denise’s birthday. She was having a blast up until that point. Boy did I get it….. no worries though, I managed to charm her out of being mad at me.
The festival itself was fantastic as always! The crowds were pretty darned good considering the economy. I’d like to say a personal thank you to all the amazing volunteers up in the musician’s hospitality area. They work their a$$es off making sure that we are all fat and happy the whole weekend long. I also got to see some of my students from jazz camp, particularly ones who have long since aged out. One is now 23 and the other a whopping 27 I believe. It’s really strange seeing them grow up like that, but it’s so great to see them all still interested in the music like never before!
Dave gave me a lot of solo features this time around, which was kind of surprising, but I think it had mostly to do with an overall air of laziness throughout the band. You see, we’re all a little out of shape since we haven’t done a festival since November! I don’t know why they assume that I’m the least out of shape AND in the least need of a break. Oh well, it sure sells recordings that’s for sure, I managed to use my earnings from the very first set to take my girl out to dinner for her birthday! Thanks all you rabid fans! You made Denise’s birthday very special this year! While I certainly enjoy getting to play my own stuff once in awhile, I never actually know what it’s going to be. Dave usually springs these things on me when I least expect them, and so the best I can do is usually to just watch and see what the hands do. This weekend, particularly, I had some real winners. I hadn’t played “Angel Eyes” in forever, and that came out, as did a lot of creative tempo changes and innovative craziness throughout the weekend. Another highlight was listening to Karen sing a new song and flubbing up the words, which I can totally say because later on she did another new tune that she nailed, and I flubbed up something fierce! Usually by the end of a festival I’m ready to go home, but with Denise there, I didn’t want to leave! However, all good things must come to an end.
Aside from the festival, though, we’ve been really hot on getting into owning a house. So most of my time has been devoted to research and development in that lately. That’s why I haven’t been blogging so much lately. Instead of spending time twittering and managing my site, I’ve been surfing the web and looking at houses in the area. We’ve found one we like, but we’re still waiting around to hear on financing. However, that certainly doesn’t keep the developer from wanting to move forward with details. I’ll tell you all about the house as soon as we find out if we can do it for sure, but for now all I can say is that the latest in the development has been picking out floors and window coverings and all kinds of other options that will go into place provided everything is a go. I can’t tell you how many appliance deals there are going on right now. I certainly hope it all works out, or this is going to amount to a lot of wasted energy. I wish I could say more, but at the moment I can’t. Don’t worry, it’ll all come out here regardless of what happens! Anyway, that’s all for now. Be sure to stay on my twitter for the most frequent updates. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE! Bye everyone!