things i
did
in 22.
a moustache-twisting journal of the few things in my life worth mentioning
23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 | 2000 | 99 | 98 | 97
got a new kettle
Our wedding-gift glass water kettle finally gave out, so we got another one, updated and spiffy, with lots of features. Then it gave out within months. Phooey! So we got a less spiffy, more reliable one. We drink so much hot-water-required stuff every single day; it's a blessing.
returned to the Roosevelt stage
For some years now, I've been the professional anchor in the otherwise student pit orchestra for the TR high school musical. This last year it was SpongeBob. Then, later, in the year, I played the piano score for the delightful mystery play Clue. After a performance, one of my old Sunday school kids came up and we each said, "What are you doing here?" Yep: his kid was in the show, and is a good friend of my niece at the school, and no one had put it together. Crazy.
accompanied
Another high school group: this time it was the Madison Choir. Usually such groups need pianists who read the ink, but this time around they needed my skill set for an end-of-year concert. What fun, to get with young musicians this way.
interviewed Sharon Isbin —– and 87 other guests
My Texas Public Radio show hit a nice stride, with lots of performers and composers and directors coming on-air. Some of the best classical musicians around, and I feel like the luckiest fan in the world, talking to them all, including some big names. Isbin, bar none the world's foremost guitarist, was a sheer pleasure to talk to.
got glass storageware
For years, we've used the typical plastic stuff to seal food. But recently it's come out that glass is better than plastic. So now that's what we're using. It's nice to work with, too, handling hot and cold much better.
co-taught a kids' songwriting class
Musical hub Owen Duggan got in touch with me: would I be interested in helping an elementary class write a song? You know the answer to that —– sure! We zoomed every week for a semester, and wound up with a delightful kid-written song about cactus people makin' music on a train. This semester it'll get recorded. Stick around and you'll hear it.
got a new radio show mic
Covid took me away from the radio studios and their Shure SM7s. I produced the show at home with my very serviceable studio rig, which was quite up to the task. But the whole time I was thinking I could use a really great mic. So, early in the year, I nabbed the SM7's cousin, an MV7. Nice, crisp, clean radio-voice sound. And guess what: it's been put to a dozen other uses, too. A good tool is one of the great pleasures of life.
valentined
It's a central event for Cate's church. She gets all worked up and excited every year to see all these people she loves. And I'd never been to one —– not even one! —– because it always falls right during Baylor rehearsals.
But I went last year, for the first time, because I . . .
didn't do sing, or pigskin
This time not because of covid. It may very well be that the year I hit that amazing tipping-point, where I'd been in Sing for half its history, was my final year. Who knows. I always loved getting back to campus, and connecting with my fraternity and with family and friends and then their kids over the years. But, for the moment at least, it looks like they're getting their synth-and-digital-audio expert from somewhere else.
howled at the lodge
Clara's godfather Abraham and his daughter shared a grand suite with us at the alt-Disney Great Wolf Lodge, an update of those American roadtrip hotels I encountered in the 70s and 80s —– the fake stone, the Indian-ish-ness, the obvious kid-marketing —– but blown up to a thousand and well done, and with an indoor waterpark. Several times, the kids pronounced it the best vacation ever. Message received!
concerted
I got invited to be part of a Texas Composers Concert, where I played an original classical composition. I've performed all my life, but this was different: doing a classical thing for a classical audience. Boundaries expand.
lived my 20,000th day on earth
Sometimes I do some amazing thing on a K-day, and sometimes I just live. This time, I shuttled girls to their grandparents', took my Scout to her Scout ceremony where I got teary-eyed, edited and produced a classical radio show, spent some relaxed and romantic moments with my wife, and had a wonderful meal of about 12 different meats and the most amazing, complex, beautiful Malbec. Twenty-thousand days on this planet!
did more brubeck gigs at jazz tx
The Jazz Protagonists, with special guest saxophonist Rich Oppenheim, got great crowds with our Dave Brubeck tribute, in which we played the entire album Time Out beginning to end. Such good crowds that they had us back for several appearances. And there's more to come. So far we haven't not sold out. It's a weird challenge, to get into another player's skin like this, to really dig into a group's style and figure out what makes them sound the way they do.
did the charleston again
My trip in '19 turned out so great, the amazing Maggie Worsdale had me back again. This time, it was to do new arrangements of Patsy Cline tunes, live. The audiences were packed, appreciative, and reverent. Maggie knows how to put on a show that's a real journey. And the music-making was a blast. We did studio work/play, some sessions with young students of hers, and of course lots of Charleston fun. Man, what a life I lead!
might as well mention the irish castle
Speaking of my charmed life, oh boy. Music fan, Broadway producer, and all-around mensch Paul Boskind had a big summer shindig at the castle he bought and spectacularly fixed up. A day-long feast of local musicians doing various Irish things, with an American dish added: San Antonio crooner Ken Slavin, who brought me along to accompany. 5 days of luxurious fun, conversation, amazing three-star cuisine, and a close encounter with a 15th-century castle. Unforgettable.
got burned
Plugging in an iron, I got sparked so badly it looked like a Wile E. Coyote scene. There was even a black spew on the table, with a my-hand-shape cut out. It hurt, badly. The doctor cringed and winced, then sent me to the military base's burn unit, one of the most advanced in the world, where they picked necrotic skin off my finger as I watched. The senior doc said, "First, in 20 days, this will all be better." Whew —– that's all I needed to know. The thing is, the best way to help the skin heal and stretch was to keep playing through the pain. This happened 3 days before my trip to Ireland; the doctors were all glad to hear I would have to keep doing the necessary stretches. All is perfectly back to normal now, with the one exception that I'll never plug in an iron that way again.
jazz-partied for the 20th year
Hard to believe it, but the Protagonists Jazz Party on KRTU turned 20 in September. We did a special 20th-anniversary show, with never-before-heard music from our copious archives. We're officially an institution, I think.
said farewell to ron
One fall morning Catherine got up and took the girls to the hospital on a hunch. I'll be forever grateful she listened to that hunch. Her father's battle with bladder cancer, a slow-then-sudden decline, ended that day, as he was surrounded by his wife and daughters and two granddaughters. He was the picture of intelligence and faith and integrity and kindness all rolled into one, showing there need be no conflict between those qualities, which meet at their apex. We are all changed by the remarkable life and service of this wonderful man. Rest well, Ron.
got back to the triad
The Triad Theater, that is, where Ken Slavin returned for his first post-covid performance. Another great weekend of eating and drinking and conversing with old friends, and playing a really great show.
bought some monk strap shoes
Black, Florsheim, with a crisp buckle. Dress 'em up, dress 'em down, they go anywhere you go. After years of wanting some and never getting around to it, I got around to it.
van went
To one of those immersive Van Gogh things. Zillipixels of superbly-produced experience. The girls were even quiet for a moment.
danced
With a very special lady. The school started a father-daughter dance tradition, in time for me to take Clara. She was so darling about getting dressed and ready for it, and just had a blast with her friends. The thing itself was superbly done, with mainly classic pop and swing, and lots of dressed-up dads and their girls.
wrote a christmas carol
I got into a discussion about Christmas songs and their often-bad theology: "The little Lord Jesus . . . no crying He makes?" Obviously written by a harried parent, and hey —– I've been there. But. Could there be a carol about how Baby Jesus cried and squalled just like any other baby, and that's what's beautiful? I set out to write one. Here it is. Get your church choir to get the music for December. Give it a listen: solo version and choral version.
gigged in December
Speaking of the coolest month, 2022 finally felt like a Musician's December again! Not so much fun for Cate and the girls, but it was nice to have entire weeks of a gig, sometimes two and even three, every day. We might be getting back to normal.
skated on thin ice
It's a recent Travis Park tradition downtown: the Rotaries put up an ice rink, Texas style. Yes, it's cold, and yes, we totter. We had some wintry fun in those damp shoes.
told the armadillo to go
San Antonio College got a new mascot, who needed a spirit track: a song to be playing as it frolics and gets the crowd pumped up. That's where I come in. I had fun putting together a suite of 6 crowd-pleasin' jock-jam tracks. I'm glad to say the armadillo liked it.
raved with catherine
Years ago, I gave her a rave as a Mother's Day gift. But the right one just never came along when we could go. Finally, it happened, in the wee hours one summer night. She absolutely loved it. We'll do it again some year.
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What a year. Dedicated to the glory of God.
so, what did you do?
23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 09 | 08 | 07 | 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 | 2000 | 99 | 98 | 97