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.
