New Role For Me

This afternoon, I hosted the grand opening of the new branch office of the musicians' union. I'm donating my office space to do this. The union local in my city, Peterborough 191, amalgamated with Kingston 518 in 1992. There hasn't really been a presence here since then.

Two board members drove up for from Kingston to help me greet local musicians. They brought brochures and other materials for the office, and answered questions and discussed issues with a few local musicians. Good hard discussion were had on career challenges musicians face. Going forward,  I will have help and backing of at least one knowledgeable veteran. Members from the local labour council attended so I was able to begin a relationship with those organizations. A young musician was in attendance as well which was encouraging.

After the event, I felt motivated knowing that I have real support in my new role as the Peterborough representative. I hope to make a difference in my community.

2020 So Far

The first six weeks of 2020 has been surprisingly active for me as a musician. In early January, I gave a one-hour solo concert at a retirement residence using my loop pedal. At the beginning of February, I was saxophonist in the back up band to a local pop choir. For Valentine's Day, I played classical guitar in a chicken restaurant.

The Valentine's Day work came up suddenly only a week before. I practiced very hard to gather material together to fill three hours. I repeated some stronger pieces in the third set since I figured the diners would be completely different. Now I have a list of material I can refine for the next opportunity.

I entered my latest unreleased single in a national songwriting contest. Once again, I didn't make it out of the first round. Disappointment has become the expected, so I've learned not to get emotionally invested in those kind of things. It didn't take a lot of effort or cost any money, but maybe a few people discovered what I do.

Three gigs in six weeks isn't exactly where I'd like to be, but it is better than most of 2019. I have a couple of Saturdays coming up in March with my looper shows. I've been busy on the home front too, looking after my mom's house and well-being.

This week, I picked up my grandfather's bassoon from the instrument repair shop. It is a Buffet Crampon and is about 100 years old. I inherited it only last summer. I never knew my grandfather; he died about eight years before I arrived. I wish the instrument came to me when I was younger, but it went to a non-musical side of the family. The repair technician told me he hasn't seen anything like this bassoon. The case was literally falling apart, but the restorer did a fabulous job repairing it with all the original handles and latches. The bassoon sat in a basement for 50 years. Fortunately, the case protected the instrument from damage. I'm going to learn to play it for fun. Instruments need to be played. I thought it would be fun to make a YouTube series of me learning to play it to document my progress. As a saxophonist, the bassoon feels completely alien to me. That will be the first challenge...figuring out how he wore it. In the photo, it looks like he's wearing a strap which I don't have.

It may a while before I get to the bassoon project. I want to start recording my next song, prepare for the March gigs, and do my taxes.