again with the music
Sep. 29th, 2021 10:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jennlkyou'd think that's all I do. Wait, it really *is* the only thing I do outside of the house. so there.
Monday's FCB rehearsal was, again, a scramble. Last Friday, BM (business manager/lead cat herder) found out that the high school we usually rehearse at was holding a pep rally Monday evening. Well, there's not gonna be space for us there! A quick move to our summer rehearsal space (a church parking lot) ensued. Set up went fine, but their parking lot lights are not as bright as the high school's, so reading music by them was not really plausible. And the sun goes down at 7:30, with full dark by 8pm. We raced through a rehearsal, adding in a bunch of the things we did this summer because There's A Concert On Sunday! EEK! A 70 minute parking lot gig, to be done on five hours of rehearsal. I'm still unsure about layout. Call is 2:30 for a 3pm concert, but I plan on getting there by 1:30 to do setup, etc. (and it's an hour from my house. sigh.)
Last nights' Livingston rehearsal was much less scrambl-y. DM apologized for 'embarrassing' me b asking the first clarinet player to help read the solo in In the Mood. Hell, that's not embarrassing - I freely admit that this is *way* out of my comfort zone, and I'll take all the help I can get. (OK, on one level it is kinda embarrassing, but really, soloing is not a thing I've *ever* done, and I'm getting used to a new horn at the same time. If I'd known about the solo, I might not have swapped to tenor.... I've been playing Bari for 15 years, and played nothing for over a decade before *that*.) They do themed sectional costumes for the Halloween concert, and the low saxes are doing our own thing. The theme is "Through the Decades", and since they didn't specify that the decade has to be one represented in the program, DS and I are doing the '90s. The 1890s. :) It was his idea - he leaned over to me and said "I have a Gay 90s suit", "*I* have a Gay 90s suit" "well, there we are." (I need to do a smidge more fitting on the jacket, and check the waistbands for fit. And find the petticoat.) Too many people are doing Blues Brothers (it's easy) or 1980s.
Last week's rains gave us about 6" of rain by the time they were done. Most of the rain soaked in - there were no puddles in the drain easement, and not really a lot of standing water in the ditches. We did lose a tree, though. I noticed last Friday that there was a branch down on a tree in the easement, and when I finally dragged J out to look at it yesterday we discovered that in addition to losing about a quarter of it upper structure, there was also a crack down the main trunk. It's a fairly small tree, as these things go (about 5inches in diameter), and should be relatively easy to remove. I'm trying to get him to call a tree service to take out the two cottonwoods in the front yard - there's too much shade up there now that other trees around them have grown up, and they're messy and nearing the end of their lives anyway. I don't want them coming down in a storm!
This evening is the Marching Band Exhibition at the high school. A few weeks ago, when I saw the first ads for it, I emailed the band director and asked if she could use some help. She said "absolutely", and sent me a link to the SignUpGenius for the event. As is often the case with these events, lotsa people want to go to the event, but far fewer people want to work them.
Monday's FCB rehearsal was, again, a scramble. Last Friday, BM (business manager/lead cat herder) found out that the high school we usually rehearse at was holding a pep rally Monday evening. Well, there's not gonna be space for us there! A quick move to our summer rehearsal space (a church parking lot) ensued. Set up went fine, but their parking lot lights are not as bright as the high school's, so reading music by them was not really plausible. And the sun goes down at 7:30, with full dark by 8pm. We raced through a rehearsal, adding in a bunch of the things we did this summer because There's A Concert On Sunday! EEK! A 70 minute parking lot gig, to be done on five hours of rehearsal. I'm still unsure about layout. Call is 2:30 for a 3pm concert, but I plan on getting there by 1:30 to do setup, etc. (and it's an hour from my house. sigh.)
Last nights' Livingston rehearsal was much less scrambl-y. DM apologized for 'embarrassing' me b asking the first clarinet player to help read the solo in In the Mood. Hell, that's not embarrassing - I freely admit that this is *way* out of my comfort zone, and I'll take all the help I can get. (OK, on one level it is kinda embarrassing, but really, soloing is not a thing I've *ever* done, and I'm getting used to a new horn at the same time. If I'd known about the solo, I might not have swapped to tenor.... I've been playing Bari for 15 years, and played nothing for over a decade before *that*.) They do themed sectional costumes for the Halloween concert, and the low saxes are doing our own thing. The theme is "Through the Decades", and since they didn't specify that the decade has to be one represented in the program, DS and I are doing the '90s. The 1890s. :) It was his idea - he leaned over to me and said "I have a Gay 90s suit", "*I* have a Gay 90s suit" "well, there we are." (I need to do a smidge more fitting on the jacket, and check the waistbands for fit. And find the petticoat.) Too many people are doing Blues Brothers (it's easy) or 1980s.
Last week's rains gave us about 6" of rain by the time they were done. Most of the rain soaked in - there were no puddles in the drain easement, and not really a lot of standing water in the ditches. We did lose a tree, though. I noticed last Friday that there was a branch down on a tree in the easement, and when I finally dragged J out to look at it yesterday we discovered that in addition to losing about a quarter of it upper structure, there was also a crack down the main trunk. It's a fairly small tree, as these things go (about 5inches in diameter), and should be relatively easy to remove. I'm trying to get him to call a tree service to take out the two cottonwoods in the front yard - there's too much shade up there now that other trees around them have grown up, and they're messy and nearing the end of their lives anyway. I don't want them coming down in a storm!
This evening is the Marching Band Exhibition at the high school. A few weeks ago, when I saw the first ads for it, I emailed the band director and asked if she could use some help. She said "absolutely", and sent me a link to the SignUpGenius for the event. As is often the case with these events, lotsa people want to go to the event, but far fewer people want to work them.
