Ten days w/o any blogging?    ;)

So it's been really nice actually driving my '81. So much work was done! It drives well and so far, has no real issues. Niggling small details yes, but I think that's true of most Vanagons or any vehicle this old. Time will tell, but so far, I think this bus should be reliable enough for some trips. My first venture should start next Monday and take me east into WA state. The idea is to do a little camping, and, do some recon on Spokane. As for the '88 Westy, it sits idle.

The Bass Trombone continues to get better but as with learning or relearning anything, there are plateaus and good or bad days. I swear though, in my mid 20's to late 30's, this didn't happen. I'd really worked out that horn. But as work changed, so did my playing.

As I'm sure I've already written, winning the Spokane audition is a long shot. And even if I won, there would be logistical issues. i.e. this is not a high paying job. There would be some large decisions required.

At the very least, it's a goal. I've gotten 2 lessons with a local respected player. Originally, I intended to play for him and get a few critiques but this turned into lessons. A good thing.

I've always known that playing 8 shows a week of the same show can "kill" a player. Forget the fact that it can be mind numbingly boring, it's super easy to "learn" bad habits. It seems I've done this to some degree.

In spite of the cussing that goes on while practicing my horn, this is all worth it regardless of the audition outcome.

Ah Google. Always changing.

My seaside cliff theme has gone to black. I like mountains.

"Wood shedding" continues for the possible audition. Getting back into "show shape" after months off is hard enough; getting back into shape for orchestral bass trombone, after years off, is a challenge. Am certainly improving and getting closer to where I was but it ain't easy. It all comes down to muscles etc. which are proving to be slightly unpredictable (understandable). Thankfully though, more than 80% of the time it's "ok" (by my standard). This percentage will increase.

This article has me rethinking things. The author of that article is a highly respected musician. Also to his credit, it seems he's done a great job of weathering life in the orchestra. Not a small feat! From the POV of a 30+ year pro freelance musician, and though I've done a lot of freelance orchestra gigs, being a "full time" member of a pro orchestra would be a large change. You're no longer an independent. Generally speaking, you become an employee. (I should BE so "lucky" to get an orchestra gig. That is a long shot)

Pros and cons to everything it seems. My current "job" has been fairly steady over the last 10 + years and I'm thankful for that, but after this spring show, I'm out of work for some time. This is part of the reason I'm looking into the orchestral world. It's either that or pursue the possibility of US citizenship. This would open a door to road work playing tours of shows. But. Though playing this show was a ton of fun and a "dream gig" for any musician these days (almost a full big band. Like almost every show only has 1 trombone.... if any), it too had the typical pit falls. It's not all fun and games and is truly a 24-7 commitment.

Posting all this here really doesn't serve any purpose beyond me venting or w.h.y. but for any layman or upcoming musician that stumbles on this, it may provide some insight. The music business as I knew it, is done and has been "done" for some time now. There are few if any studio sessions, almost every orchestra is financially challenged, and almost every "Broadway" type show uses either a greatly reduced score (instrumentation) or "canned" music (no band). In the old days, in a good month, I might see studio sessions in a week. Now I'm lucky if I see 1 session a year. In the old days, pit orchestras were closer to that term. Now it would be unusual to see any more than 10 musicians in the pit or on stage. In the old days, a lot of the studio playing was "live off the floor" and tape was the only media used in recording. Edit: not entirely true. There were "direct to disc" sessions. i.e. (one of my all time favourite bands!) Most sessions were recorded to tape however. Not long after I got into the studios, digital was introduced. Though studio techniques vary according to the producer, musical director etc., and the techniques have thankfully changed, capturing a performance or chunks of performances is not the norm. At a very simple level, the copy/paste function of digital audio software has done away with performance and in a large way, actual session musicians. Sadly, these aspects of the business have likely changed forever. Sample libraries have gotten quite sophisticated. That tech along with rampant music trading has killed CD sales. Irony: these sample libraries are also pirated. Bottom line: why even train to learn a craft like playing a horn? You push a key on a MIDI keyboard and voila; you have a sound. Possibly even the sound of a highly trained and experienced musician from the Vienna Phil.

My career has been quite fruitful. I've gotten to do a fair amount of high end quality work. The studio work is what I enjoyed most. But with the huge presence of more affordable electronics, trading of music via digital means, (in the old days it took time to make a mix tape now it all happens in a few mouse clicks which leads to rampant abuse), and a general assumption that music is free, the value most people place on a musicians skills or the importance of an ensembles contribution to a given form of entertainment, has dropped to an all time low. And, my general perception is that present and upcoming generations have been heavily swayed into thinking that fashion, bling and how much skin is flashed (or flashed upon), determine if one is a "musician" or not.

"Grump, grump grump"    ;^)

Well, I mailed it. Mailed in my resume to Spokane Symphony.

Plan A: drive down in my '81 Westy, camp overnight, play the audition. Brave. I can see it now. To the audition committee:

"uh, can you guys wait? I just have to swap out the fuel pump....."

All aside, it seems like things are finally buttoned up on this Westy. Oh wait. Gotta change the oil! Ha! It never ends.

I'm torn though. Next gig starts at months end but I'd really like to get a road trip in. All this audition stuff has to be woodshedded and I need to stay in shape. Even if that means playing with a practice mute while in the campground.

So up next is my blue '88. It runs "ok" but I really want to do a swap on it. We'll see. This "running two Westy's" idea kind of makes sense but not really.