So in case you didn’t see the other posts in this series “Groove Service” or “My Rebirth Into Jazz” and “Narcissus and the Goldmen” or “My Life as a Bloodbag”, this has been sort of like a musical memoir of the last 8 or so years of my life, starting with when I left L.A. and moved to Santa Cruz. I guess I didn’t really share that part, but essentially I was living in Los Angeles and going to school and working as a valet. I was there for 4 or 5 years and that was an experience all its own but I wasn’t really making much music at the time besides a few odds and ends so that time will remain shrouded in mystery for now. I guess that move marked the end of an era as well.
Too Legit To Quit
So as you know I was studying music at UCSC while playing in a few jazz combos and working as a gardener while sleeping alternately in my car, a garden shed shaped as an icosahedron, and my girlfriends apartment. What I was studying at UCSC was classical upright bass performance. Kind of ridiculous since I didn’t grow up playing in orchestras from the age of 5 and was not attending Julliard so the chance of me getting work in an orchestra was slim to none, but the bass teacher there was really awesome and taught me a lot about music and life in general that continues to serve me well to this day. For instance, “if you’re not happy with some aspect of your life, you really have two only two options: change it or make peace with it.” That was pretty life changing for me at the time.
Proto, Bottesini, Bach, and a Jazz Chaser
To finish my studies I had to complete a senior recital which had to be a certain amount of music performed at a certain level. I really had my heart set on performing the Bottesini Concerto in B minor which was way over my head. But I’m pretty stubborn. So I practiced that 20 minutes of music for hundreds of hours. I don’t think I played it very well all the way through until the time I finally performed it on stage. Finally that one time, I really transcended. All through school performing solo classical music in front of anyone, even my teacher, made me so nervous I was nearly passing out; shaking, sweating, literally losing my hearing with fear which is not very helpful in that situation. But somehow, when it counted, on stage in front of a hundred of my peers, teachers and family, I nailed it. Here is the recording for your listening pleasure:
Besides the Bottesini I played Frank Proto’s “Sonata ‘63” which was also really tough for me as well and also required several hundred hours of practice and a selection from the Bach Cello Suites. I had never heard the Proto before but I ended up really liking it. Check it out:
Intermission
After a brief intermission (for a quick toke with my good buddy Alex “Juicy J” Raymond) I came back to the stage and finished with some jazz as a duet with him tickling the ivory’s. We played “Round Midnight” (which got a bit long and heavy in my opinion, I should have brought the melody up the octave), “The Days of Wine and Roses”(which was the best one I think) and closed with “On the Sunny Side of the Street”.
Drama
You may remember I mentioned that my then girlfriend was kind of driving me crazy. Well, we broke up shortly before my recital. For the second or third time. Anyway she called the night before my recital to ask if she could come. Now despite our crazy relationship I really did care about her and music was a huge part of both of our lives. This recital was an absolutely huge event for me as I had never successfully performed that type of music in front of anyone. It hurt me but I had to tell her no. I was afraid that she would get there and create some kind of drama and tip me over the edge. It wouldn’t have taken much and just her presence probably would have been enough to be honest. I know I had no other choice but I still feel bad about that.
yeesh...
Alright so that’s that. I can’t really go back any further in time and provide video, but now that I think of it I could go back another 5 or so years and still have some purely aural content to include in my confession, I mean story. But I’ll save that for later. Next time I’m taking you to Sacramento for some tasty treats that’ll move your feets.