Author Topic: A Musical Update  (Read 9363 times)

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Offline Eupher

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A Musical Update
« on: February 03, 2018, 04:46:17 AM »
Okay, I've been on these pages for some time. Previous to this I was fairly involved with usmilnet.com, etc.

I'm a musician, but I can't make a living doing that any more beyond the Army. It's a passionate hobby, one that I'm pretty intense about.

Mrs E and I have moved around quite a bit over the past few years, and we have finally landed - never to move again, believe me - in the Little Rock area.

From a musical standpoint, there is a lot more happening here than in other places, and I'm delighted to be here. To that end, I've begun playing BBb bass (tuba) in the Natural State Brass Band, a competing ensemble in the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA). Brass banding is the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning -- it's intense, it's difficult, it's challenging, and it keeps me on my horns.

I am not a tuba player by trade. Per my screen name, I am a euphoniumist. Yet I began playing tuba in 2009 and have developed a reasonable amount of skill (though one never truly "arrives").

I'm also a bass trombonist, and have played in several ensembles and a symphony orchestra. Ditto with that -- I am a euphoniumist, though I have developed a reasonable amount of skill on that instrument, having begun in 2005. I began playing bass trombone and tuba 10 years and 14 years, respectively, past my retirement from the Army. Kinda tells you how big I am into low brass. lol

Lately, I have auditioned and have been accepted in the Little Rock Wind Symphony, a collection of truly outstanding musicians, on both tuba and euphonium. I'll audition again in September on bass trombone.

Yep, I'm liking this Little Rock thing. Couldn't get anywhere in Mississippi (no surprise there since I don't play guitar or mouth harp) and things were only marginally better in Missouri, where we lived from 2007 till 2015.

As hickok45 says, "Life is Good."
Adams E2 Euphonium, built in 2017
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euphonium, built in 1941
Edwards B454 bass trombone, built 2012
Bach Stradivarius 42OG tenor trombone, built 1992
Kanstul 33-T BBb tuba, built 2011
Fender Precision Bass Guitar, built ?
Mouthpiece data provided on request.

Offline BlueStateSaint

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Re: A Musical Update
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2018, 05:07:59 AM »
Aaah . . . Another Hickok45 devotee!  The owner of my LGS met him last year at SHOT Show.  Said he's a heluva nice guy.  Did you see him shoot a Marlin Guide Gun and ice, a couple of months ago?

ETA:  Broadening your musical horizons is always a good thing.  We've got a new church space to sing in, and it's a challenge.  I can still do serious amounts of damage to our sound system, so I still have to rein my voice in.  We have a special wall coating in the new ($6.4 million!) church that reflects sound, and it was the first time that both the architect and the construction contractor had worked with it.  We hope that said coating actually allows us to use less power in our system, thus driving our electrical costs down.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2018, 05:14:41 AM by BlueStateSaint »
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Offline Texacon

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Re: A Musical Update
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2018, 07:56:51 AM »
Glad you’re enjoying Little Rock. Next time I’m up that way I’ll try to give you a shout.

KC
  Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day.  Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

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Offline BattleHymn

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Re: A Musical Update
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2018, 11:43:14 AM »
So you started out north of me, then moved southeast of me, and now south of me.  Are you sure Tulsa and then Wichita aren't in the works?  :rotf:

Offline Eupher

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Re: A Musical Update
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2018, 12:30:19 PM »
So you started out north of me, then moved southeast of me, and now south of me.  Are you sure Tulsa and then Wichita aren't in the works?  :rotf:

I'm in my sixties now. Getting tired of pulling up stakes and moving every 2-3 years (on average). It's almost as if I were still in the freakin' Army.

No. I've been to Tulsa and I drove through Wichita without getting arrested. I ain't pushin' my luck.  :lmao:
Adams E2 Euphonium, built in 2017
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euphonium, built in 1941
Edwards B454 bass trombone, built 2012
Bach Stradivarius 42OG tenor trombone, built 1992
Kanstul 33-T BBb tuba, built 2011
Fender Precision Bass Guitar, built ?
Mouthpiece data provided on request.