The Road to Change

It has been a while, yet updates are needed, and so the writing must continue...

EOS

This month is full of Saturday weddings and a Balloon Festival concert. The more gigs we play the more we find out how to be more efficient, and what works and what doesn't. We have a better cable system, I am using a better in-ear monitor system, and sound quality has been improved through tweaks (DI boxes and cable improvement) and the occasional use of a dedicated sound person. I have a few more things I can do to help my situation with my pedal board (sound issues), and switching between instruments. Unfortunately, it always involves more money, so I will wait until it is absolutely necessary. For the time being, rechargeable batteries will be of great help!

Here is a small list from this month:

--8/6 Newry, ME wedding
--8/13 Pownal wedding
--8/20 L/A Balloon Fest (Auburn side)
--8/27 South Portland wedding

As always, the website provides information on the band: http://www.eosunday.com/

Career

Since I have graduated (and well before), I have been applying to several positions around the state for work that fits with my degree. I also would like work that pays for my education level-- and that seems to be the most difficult part. I cannot maintain my student loans and continue to work in the many places that I do. I also strive for results, and currently I am not able to see those to the degree I would like. I love helping students, but the summer has meant a low turnout. I have no dance lessons planned despite email inquiries. I just finished helping out for summer school, but so long as I remain in my position, there is no upward mobility (nor financial). The time for transformation is now, and I am chasing any leads I find. I would like to remain close to home for family and community, but if I have to work a distance away for the right money, then so be it.

Solo Music

Honestly, I need to get back to recording and playing for myself on a regular basis. I have ideas, and a new way to record them-- I just need to make the time.

I promise more musical insight in upcoming blogs. I seem to stray more into "life" territory, but then again, survival has always been my priority. I have been lucky to have music to aid me in this!

Almost halfway through 2016 and on to a new horizon

I may not have been writing here, but I have been writing...and researching for a master's thesis. It was official turned in at 10pm on Thursday (5/5). I look back at the 2 and 1/2 years it took to complete this degree, and I only feel partially accomplished. I feel some regret for time lost, but mostly I feel empty. The many events and projects I put aside in order to do school work, the people that I might have disappointed, my young son upset that "Daddy has to do homework", and a family that saw me constantly busy and on the go-- I let many people down. I spent the past 2 years without more than a 2 week break from classes (taking classes during the summer to help fulfill the requirements). I am drained, and these past few weeks have seen a mix of emotions in me. I have repressed much of it with exercise (more on that later), but it is still there waiting.

For what? I don't know really. In a week I have to wear an expensive cap and gown (as they get more elaborate with more advanced degrees), and attend a crowded ceremony in Portland. Do I technically put initials after my name following that day? Will my LinkedIn account explode with job offers? I doubt things will change with these credentials-- it will still be my persistence and personality that helps me work up the financial ladder. I have met many great thinkers along this academic journey, but they also are fellow wolves hungry for a piece of the pie. I need to set my sights and chart a path, but until then, I need to play catch-up on things I have ignored.

This blog is one.

Music is another.

This blog is about my life as a musician. To be truthful, although I have played gigs this year, my mind was elsewhere. This did not diminish the performance (autopilot is easy), but it was hard to enjoy the experience. Anyways, here is a list of some of the things I have done "performance/music-wise" in 2016 so far:

I was hired to teach a ballroom class in Lewiston Adult Ed in March. There were literally no takers. I am set for November to do the same, so I will see what happens.

Every Other Sunday (http://www.eosunday.com/) played at Colby college in February, and it was a good chance to play for a new audience and also try out band lights. I liked this gig because the college was generous, large, and had resources for us (aside from electricity and a room to change in). I hope we go back, and I hope we make colleges as 'alternate' gigs to our normal weddings. We have multiple weddings scheduled later in the summer as well as a benefit this month for the Make-A-Wish foundation.

I played bass for Little Shop of Horrors at Community Little Theater in April. Most of the pit (save for 1 person) was EOS members. This was my 4th or 5th time playing this show, and yet playing the bass made it fresh again. I don't mind being the L/A theater bass player (since my high school music teacher who held that position left town after a breakup). I played bass for years in a punk band and a jazz band in college. I like "holding up" the music from the bottom and not always adding the embellishments that guitar is known for. Let's face it, if anyone listens to Dream Theater and thinks that their "embellishments" are on par with John Petrucci's, they seriously need to examine their mental state. Yes, I just say Dream Theater's "The Astonishing" in Boston. They are the real deal! On an equal but opposite side, Pat Metheny is the jazz-equivalent of Dream Theater.

Exercise

I mentioned this earlier. I began exercising more frequently in January. I have had spurts of this over the years. My excuse has not been about health issues, but that of results. When I am not getting results in my life, I find a way to make them. Time in the gym yields results. Nutrition and dedication yields results. You can aimlessly complete assignments week after week and feel nothing, but you can throw weight around for an hour 5 days a week and feel the strain of getting stronger. Eventually you can even see it. This time I am hoping to not stop, because it is also helping me with digestive issues that have increased this year. I need this body to last and help others in peak performance. There is so much more to that last statement that relates to other avenues I have been exploring over the past 4 years, but that is for another blog (Humanity + Maine).

Goodbye for a shorter amount of time.

2015 is over-- Goodbye to that hustle!

January 2016-- I finally made it!

Last night Every Other Sunday (http://www.eosunday.com/) played a New Year's Eve celebration at the Franco Center in Lewiston. It was sold out, and a good way for us to wrap up the year.

I realize that I have not blogged about any of my music travels for many months, and since this next year doesn't look promising for any gigs, I figured that I would start the year off with possibly the only musical blog for the year. The truth is that I am at a nexus with my career, and things will be changing this year with my professional life-- and that doesn't entail music. One can easily look back at this blog and find a struggling person only working as a musician for several years. That was not so fun. Maintaining a student roster throughout the week and trying to grab any gig in sight is tiring. I remember inquiring about gigs to all the directors I knew, and playing events that I only learned about during a phone call 1 hour prior. If the money was good, and sometimes it seemed like it was, I might still be in that predicament. Fortunately, my focus on my graduate studies (3 classes this past semester) and the ability to say "no" has helped me separate from that stressful lifestyle. It is better to have money that you can count on than money you only hope for.

 Since my last post in October 2015, following a few months of recovering from a robbery (and no, the police have not contacted me since), I have done a number of gigs.

Oct. 17th-- EOS played a "country gig" for Becky and Kris's wedding. Becky was an old friend who did theater with me in Auburn. The band learned a lot of country music hits, and we did it quite well (and to think of the potential with all the summer festivals in Maine). The wedding was beautiful, and I discovered that my Ovation acoustic has an electrical issue (which I might get around to fixing).

November-- I played guitar for Shrek the Musical at Yarmouth HS. This was a great pit, and I started liking a few songs by the end of the run. It was a bit of a hike to get there, but I also got to see more of this town that I have wanted to move to for years.

I performed in the Franco Center's medieval feast next. Good food and great acting, even if the script was a little confusing. I was Rumpelstiltskin and I gave away chocolate quarters during the night. I played the lute (as usual) when guests came in, and I had my picture taken a dozen times because of that fact. I miss playing early music, but the level of dedication to do it well has not paid off in the past so I stopped pursuing it. Maybe this year I will take the lute out again.

Legally Blonde the Musical for Lewiston HS finished out November. I played this show before, so it was easier this time. A good portion of the players were from EOS.

December-- I played Mitch's yearly holiday concert at the AUMC and Franco Center on the 19th. It went smoothly once everyone was comfortable with tempos and such. I got to stand on a riser box on stage for a Trans-Siberian Orchestra piece, and I am sure that this piece will be played again next Christmas.

As mentioned before, EOS played New Year's Eve and finished this busy year.

This year I will be starting a new blog more dedicated to what I do now, organizational psychology, and my ideas about the future of business and biotech (a personal interest). If any gigs pop up, I might note them on here. Otherwise, I will be finding what creative ventures music offers me, and choose to write about that instead. I have started improvising again just to relax, and I think that posting it would be interesting. I may just end up as a musician that prides creativity over all else.

Take care.