Can This Ugly Mug Be Saved!?

I'm slowly going blind as a bat. But I don't have to look square doing it. Vote for my new frames here! If your choice is selected you'll win 20 points and an ice cold Coke.

This Sure Beats Blinding Blizzards

We had marvelous thunderstorms a few nights ago here in Zwingle, IA. First ones of the season. The vantage point from my little house on a hill was perfect for viewing the lightning as the cells swept by. For a few more shots of the deadly bolts go here. Aside from the weather, life has been pretty calm. I've been trying to crank up the marathon training (just under two months to race day) and salvage as much from my decimated winter schedule as possible. The combination of (1) super frigid, windy, snowy weather, (2) lots of traveling, (3) low motivation, and (4) sore knees made for some pathetic weeks. I could handle any one or two of these potential excuses but when all four raise their ugly heads I often caved. So I'm about ten miles below my projected weekly mileage, my long run is three miles under what I would have liked it to be by this point and my pace is still about 20 seconds/mile slower than goal race pace. We'll see how things progress as the weather continues to improve.

Inspired, in part, by Raleigh's decision to practice more, rather than date, I have begun to experiment with cranking my own practice time up. I've always been a believer in the canonical "three well-spaced hours a day" for brass players. However, the odd story of horn players putting up big numbers (I heard JL say she was playing 10 hours a day before winning principal here, and legend has it AU was doing six hours a day before his CSO auditions, though I have it on pretty good authority that some of that time was longtones while watching March madness) coupled with the intense work ethic of string players and pianists makes me a little curious about the 4.5 to 6 hour/day practice regime.

In the spirit of experimentation, then, I am ramping up my daily hours very gradually and will plot my progress here over the coming months. I've known of several players who have suffered from overuse injuries and therefore will be extremely cautious every step of the way. That's all that's going on here. Time to get to bed so I can wake up early and get a jump on my taxes... during practice breaks, of course!

Fit To Be Shot?

Three weeks, three dates and about 200 emails later, Raleigh has given me my marching orders. She's too busy with audition prep for anything serious and I came on way too strong. I feel like Barbaro, not a quarter mile outta the box and -snap!- broken ankle. A rather dubious debut back into the dating world some years after the big “D” but I shan't mourn long.

Even though Raleigh was scary close to my dream woman -she's absolutely gorgeous, wicked smart (likes to read books on, and ponder, quantum mechanics), hilarious (“You live in Zwingle? That sounds like a Swedish potato chip!”), and completely driven when it comes to her music- apparently an essential quality must also be that she miss me when she's away! Failing that test, I got the boot. Seriously, I think it was just a combination of bad timing and the result of her being the unfortunate focus of my years of pent up romantic tendencies. It all came a'gushin out like the Love Canal had breached its levee! Hurricane Heartthrob made landfall on the coast of North Carolina! Typhoon Swoon wooed the waters of... aah, I got nothin'.

In other news along the same depressing line, I didn't win the summer gig for which I was hoping. Another musically unemployed summer is a desolate thought. Although I've managed to sock away loads in savings. Probably enough to last two summers. Still, I'll try to get some paying chamber music off the ground to alleviate the draw on funds.

On the up side, I had the great pleasure to play with RA (formerly of the Cologne Symphony) in the LSO last week. He's newly relocated from Germany to Wisconsin. A wonderful horn player with decades of pro experience and a modest, decent guy to boot he said he's suffering big time from orchestra withdrawal. It was nice of him to slum with us for a set.

It was my last set of the season as co-principal with this orchestra and I felt pretty good about it despite some inexcusable fracks in Debussy's, Trois Nocturnes. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't gotten the “let's just be friends” call the day of the Friday show. Oh, the spices of life. So it goes...

The Snow, I mean, the Show Must Go On.

Some are already calling it the blizzard of '07. Hundreds of miles of interstate closed, dozens of cars and trucks stuck in roadside drifts; throngs of stranded motorists; whiteout conditions for stretches long enough to recite significant portions of the Catholic rosary. But the show must go on. The people need their classical fix. They must have their Galway. And so we traveling musicians, we road warriors, we happy few, we... band of brothers (and sisters), risk life and limb and car and instrument to make that happen.

Therefore this addition to "Sights from the Road" is from the most recent commute between my little house on a hill and a DMS rehearsal 200+ miles away. Now keep this in mind: the first singular thought upon embarking on this drive was self and vehicle preservation, not travel documentation. As a result I probably missed what would have been the most striking images.

For example, at the very beginning of my journey as I was waiting for a safe gap to get on to highway 61 from my country lane, no more than a quarter mile into my trip, I was confronted with the sight of an overturned, snow swept SUV lying in the median; driver's side door still ajar, wheels in the air, looking like a bloated wildebeest carcass lying hooves up on the Serengeti yet to be scavenged.

Or when a semi-truck started to pass me on the left while we were going up a hill and then slowed to my speed boxing me in just as we crested. After cursing the driver for his indecision, I saw the sight he'd seen from his vantage few seconds earlier: over half a dozen trucks and cars strewn every which way on the down side of the hill. The sight made everyone coming over that hill rethink their travel priorities and recalculate their ETA.

By far the most dangerous parts of the trip were the numerous complete whiteouts caused by blowing snow. In Iowa there are lots of wide open areas without a trees for miles. There is no reason to believe, upon entering such a blindingly opaque environment, that you will be exiting it anytime soon. You can't brake because the asshole tailgating you. The only rule: keep any oncoming traffic on your left.

All in all, the trip was more exciting than anxiety provoking but I hope it's the last one like it I'll need to make this season. Oh, and the people seemed to like Galway. He's an audience ham and a lot shorter in person than I thought.

CSO Audition Report (no not that CSO)

A quick post from the Columbus (OH) airport. I leave here a loser, me and 150 other horn players. I played pretty well. I didn't chip anything. Some intonation lapses here and there and possibly a couple spots of uncertain rhythm. Nothing I'm ashamed of, really. I know I can prepare better with regards to these elements in the future.

The audition was very well run considering the number of players involve. They had two venues going simultaneously for a day and a half and thus allowed everyone a nice chunk of time to play everything. Though a nice little fruit spread in the waiting room is always appreciated.

I learned I prefer to have the amenities like flying rather than driving, staying over the night before rather than going the day of, getting a rental car rather than public transportation. It all just makes the experience more relaxing.

I also very much like having someone back home who is thinking about you and who cares about you. Someone to call after the whole damn thing is over. It calms the heart tremendously!

Out of Tune Good-byes?

We're performing Mahler 1 this weekend. For some reason I've not been very comfortable this set. Our conductor gave me the 'finger' during our rehearsal Monday night. You know... the 'intonation finger'? When he calls out your instrument or stares you down and makes little up or down pointing gestures with his index finger. It's usually seen in conjunction with raised or lowered eye brows and/or a cocked head. The tonic M3rds at the beginning and ending of the duets in the first movement introduction were too wide and, as second horn, it is my job to make the necessary adjustment. I'm not used to "flattening the third" by raising the tonic.

But, like I said, it's my job. I've practiced that duet a hundred times in the past week playing against a recording of myself on first; navigating the major and minor 3rds and 6ths, as well as the tendencies of the harmonics (and myself!). But once you get another living, adjusting body on the other part all bets can be off. Not to mention where everyone else in the orchestra takes the pitch in the opening measures.

I've also been breaking my own golden rule way too often. And it has served me so well lo these many years: Don't play too goddamn soft! The "choreography" in the last movement is also still a mess. You'd think getting eight horns to raise their bells and stand in sync wouldn't need a Martha Graham master class but sometimes you'd be wrong. We've got one more rehearsal tonight to get it sharp so our "aufstehen" doesn't turn into an "oof-da shten!" Any time you get a conductor comment like we got Wednesday night ("Horns, it looks like your doing the stadium wave! Stand up together please!") you know it's sloppy.

First date with Raleigh went great. She's beautiful, funny, interesting, really smart and I wasn't a total dolt. Only problem was the handshake good-bye. What was I thinking? Handshake?!

See here's the problem: There are only a few options for the daytime-post-first-date-in-car goodbye. You could just say goodbye (too pedestrian). You could shake hands (too utilitarian). Or kiss, which, on a first date after coffee in the middle of the day when you've never touched this other person flesh-to-flesh, seems a little forward. And that first kiss should be at least somewhat romantic; not just a convenient gesture of affection.

A hug would be perfect, but in a car it's totally out of the question. The belt has to come off, and then you've gotta rotate your pelvis and sit on your side, and there's no room for the right hand (if your the driver) to go around because the seats are in the way... It would end up being a whole Cirque du Soleil production.

Don't get me wrong. The car make-out is great! But you're both in a very inventive, uninhibited mental zone by the time that's going down. Suddenly problems of ergonomics become opportunities for gaining purchase. But back to the question at hand: the daytime-post-first-date-in-car goodbye. Any ideas? A shoulder squeeze? A playful fist nudge to the cheek? Declaring a thumb war?

Snow, Ludwig and Playing Against the Odds

It snowed about five inches last Tuesday in blowing, drifting fashion. One of the perks of my life is being able to call my own snow days. Not really feeling like driving 7 hours round trip in bad visibility to teach one half-hour lesson to a horn minor (incidentally a great student) I sent an email from my cell and minutes later had myself a free day. Which I then proceeded to both use productively (getting ready for this) and fritter away (watching this - I've become drawn to MP for reasons I shan't reveal and am currently working my way through everything she's been in, including seasons 1-3 of this).

Long after the sun set I walked the quarter mile down my lane to get the mail. As I shuffled along, the ankle deep snow was light and fluffy over my feet like feathers spilled from a pillow. Orion stood crisp and tall in the south, his hunting unimpaired on the moonless night. In the north, clouds rolled in underlit yellow by Dubuque ten miles away. I thought of the DSO rehearsing Beethoven 3 at that very moment and how strange it feels not to be a part of that. I've had so few weekends off this season it seems somehow wrong that an orchestra should be working close by while I'm available yet I wouldn't be involved. Not in a greedy sense, mind you, but just in a social sense. I get used to seeing the same few people who play everywhere I do, like cubicle buddies in the office world, and now I just don't show up for work for a few days.

Having played Beethoven 1 last weekend and with Beethoven 2 slated for mid-February with the CWSO it would have been really cool to squeeze in a performance of 'Eroica' too. Hell, it's one of the most revolutionary pieces ever written and I haven't ever played the damn thing. A well, it's a good section and I love everyone in it. Maybe I'll score some comps and attend a concert for a change!


Since I have no concerts of my own this weekend here's a pic of the QCSO horns after our Don Juan performance last Saturday. The QCSO conflicts with the DMS from here on out. I really like all my section mates in this orchestra and will miss them the rest of the season; especially KL & AG who've become good friends. Though the three of us will reunite in Columbus in less than two weeks for the audition.

The weather has put the kaibosh on my training over the last few weeks. Snow hindered my pace and then wind chill advisories put my mileage in a deep freeze. Incidentally, the difference between 10 below windchill and 20 or 30 below windchill is a deep, soul-sucking pain which calmly whispers past your frozen ear cartilage saying, "This would be a nice snow drift to lie down in and take a nap. Aren't you sleepy? Go ahead, lie down. I'll be sure to wake you when it gets warmer." The difference is... training distance become dictated by the point at which one eye becomes frozen shut. Better turn here and head back... and don't blink too slowly on your way home. The difference is... one makes your scalp hurt.

But I got $30 worth of new knit hats and a vat of petroleum jelly. I'm back, bay-Bee!

And I quote...
"Oh yeah, I also met the woman with whom I may want to spend the rest of my life. What are the odds that she has a boyfriend? I know. Pretty darn good."

The odds, amazingly, just might be in my favor this time. I'll refer to her as Raleigh to protect the innocent. Stay tuned...