Sedalia, MO

Sedalia was a nice stop. I wish I knew how to whistle in that loud way that some of our audience members do. I think my favorite things to hear after getting done with a piece is a loud and thunderous HOOAH and piercing whistles. All concerts should be fun and boisterous!

One of the pieces we play that always makes the crowd go wild is Xylophone Ragtime with soloists Brian Spurgeon and Bill Elliot. Here is the auxiliary percussion set up that Bill uses! Pretty unique. 

So as I was wandering around Sedalia, I stumbled upon this beautiful sight and couldn't be believe my eyes! I really hope that gas stays this cheap for a while so I can get in on some of that action when we get back from tour. 

Look at our awesome welcome billboard! Sedalia was very hospitable and we were featured on two newspaper publications! Very cool. 

Trenton, MO

Our performance at North Central Missouri College on Tuesday night was really enjoyable. Despite being held inside a gym, the sound was not bad at all. 

Probably my favorite performance of the night was SFC Judith Norton singing Mozart's Parto Parto with SSG Marlena Burghardt soloing on clarinet. One of the cool things about touring is that you get to hear the soloists interpretations many times and in many different venues. You really get to appreciate their flexibility! 

I can't wait until I get the opportunity to play in front of the band!  

We were in a really interesting hotel at this stop. I don't think that I ever remember using a real jingly-jangly metal key for entry into my room. This was a very old school hotel with a Western vibe. 

When walking across the street to Wal-Mart one would frequently be passed by pig trucks. They are somewhat aromatic to be sure. 

Well, I am now caught up with my blogging! I'll try to stay more on top of things but it does get busy! Tonight we are performing in Sedalia, MO so I'll have updates from this evenings performance soon. Hope everyone is doing well!

Kirksville, MO

This concert was at the Truman State Auditorium. I like this picture because it looks like UFO's are getting ready to abduct the bassoons. :) Our conductor, Colonel Palmatier, is a graduate of Truman State. There were lots of students in attendance, both high school and college. I participated in the evening's pre-concert talk where we answer questions and tell the audience a little bit about ourselves and our experiences in the Army. I was asked to talk about what it was like to go through Basic Combat Training! I was a little nervous speaking to the crowd, but it was a fun experience and a new way to interact with our audience members. 

Hannibal, MO

We played a matinee concert in Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Mark Twain and where Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn were set. We actually stayed in a hotel across the river in Quincy, Illinois. It was fun to come play in such an historic community. The Field Band works hard but likes to have a good time too. Here are a few pictures of some of the goofier moments I've experienced so far. 

Barack made a cameo on Bus 2! 

You never know what is going to end up in your bell if you leave your horn unattended, (it's a whiffle ball if you can't tell).

Jacksonville, IL

After playing in some really beautiful halls we were back in the gym for a performance at Illinois College. Sometimes the gym crowds are really fun and inspiring, and this was definitely the case in Jacksonville. You can't tell in this picture but there were people on all three sides of us and even standing in the upstairs foyer. I particularly enjoyed the color guard from the local American Legion chapter. 

Rolla, MO

Wow, look at that crowd! We had an awesome concert in Rolla, which is right next to Ft. Leonard Wood. It was fun to revisit the Wal-Mart were I made my very first post-basic training stop with my parents. It is good to be back in Missouri under much better circumstances. The crowd in Rolla was great. I am very behind on my blogging so will do several short entries for each stop & try and catch up to where we are now. 

O'Fallon, MO

I am finally back in Missouri, my summer home for 2008. :) O'Fallon was a nice town, and the concert had one of our most enthusiastic audiences. There were many students from the local high school and it made the experience lots of fun. This is me with the O'Fallon Fire Department Honor Guard, who presented the colors at the concert. They definitely win the prize for spiffiest uniforms! 

Here is Chris and Colonel Palmatier holding a pre-concert talk with the audience. These are a great chance to get to know members of the band and ask any burning questions about what we do. 

We are staying in O'Fallon for two days so that our many chamber groups could go play and have master classes in local schools. My group went this morning and it was an enjoyable chance to interact with students. Tomorrow we are off to Rolla, which is right near Ft. Leonard Wood! 

Carbondale, IL

One of our two Illinois stops this tour was in Carbondale. It was nice to play at a university and with a packed house! The hall was very pretty too. Was also great to play again after a day off. We did the Finale from Barnes Symphony No. 3. 

We rotate different marches each night, and it is kind of fun to get to know these classics intimately. This night was Fairest of the Fair, one of my favorites. I can't wait until I'm an old-timer and know every march on the face of the planet, but for now they are still challenging and fun. 

 

So perhaps the most unique moment of the night was a post-concert trip to Buffalo Wild Wings where we happened to run into the dubious celebrity presence of none other than Ron Jeremy.... 

Paducah, KY

We made our way back to Kentucky for one last concert in the home state of Colonel Sanders. We played in one of the best halls so far. It was three stories and gorgeous! The crowd was full and fun. Paducah was also special because we had our first "Maintenance Day"  here. We generally play a concert every night for ten days and then have one day off. I spent my day off not doing anything particularly productive. I got my laundry done, ate at a nice Chinese place called Chong's, did some exploring and shopping. I found a Sonic and had my first Cherry Limeade since basic! So thank you, Paducah, for being a lovely host. Now back on the road!

Princeton, IN

Life on the road is going well. Here are some pictures from our stop in Princeton, Indiana. There are two things to notice about this concert hall: #1- the layout of the seats looks like a "W," very similar to the marching band formation created every friday night by the Willis Wildkat Marching Band to the tune of March Grandioso. #2- if you look closely there is a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Princeton knows how to boogie. 
This is what the bus looks like on our rides back to the hotel after concerts. Some very creative members of the band have installed Christmas lights over their seats. 

Backstage at the concert I found this awesome computer terminal, that I swear looks like it came straight out of "War Games." Also note the tiger head keeping watch over the superior 80's technology. 

This is an example of a typical lunch aboard the Field Band Bus. Laid out before you is a peanut butter & banana sandwich, a piece of cheese and some beef jerky. All tastefully arranged on a football napkin and placed on a euphonium gig bag table. 

This is my tour roommate, Erika, who is also new to the band. She plays oboe, and watching her make reeds is fascinating!

Indianapolis, IN

Saturday I ventured, for the first time, into the great state of Indiana. The weather has been magnificent- just creeping into Fall, with cool breezes and sunshine in the afternoons. We stayed in an Embassy Suites hotel again, and it was so nice. They have couches and tons of room, kitchenettes, all the good stuff! The hotel in Louisville was a bit suspect for various reasons so this was a nice upgrade. I also enjoyed the cooked to order free omelets in the morning! 

Our concert was at a lovely hall and for a very nice crowd. I hear that a simultaneous Sarah Palin appearance in Indianapolis might have leeched a bit from our audience, but I thought we had a good turn out and the concert was fun to play. 

Ever onward- we are going to southern Indiana next, back to Kentucky and then further West. 

Lexington & Louisville, KY

Well, I was trying to keep everything in order, but I'm waiting on some pictures from other sources to complete my entries on Lexington and Louisville. My camera has been acting up, but these two concerts were both especially memorable to me, so I will post pics later as I receive them. 

Lexington was one of the most energetic crowds we have played for yet! The hall was nice and the people were just fantastic. It really puts something special in the performance when you feel that enthusiasm coming from the audience!

Louisville will always be memorable because I was promoted to Staff Sergeant before this concert. For those of you who pay attention to detail, I have been wearing SSG rank on my concert uniform because those patches have to be sewn on a particular way and it would be almost impossible to have it done mid-tour. So I was a Specialist in Sergeant's clothing  until October 16th, when I was officially promoted. It was a good moment. I take the responsibility of how I represent the Army very seriously, and I am honored to serve at my new NCO rank. 

The Louisville concert was also at this awesome downtown theatre with a really great crowd. I will have pictures from this night posted soon, but I wanted to give my run down now, so that I can get caught up on our journey!

Pikeville, KY

I'm a little behind on my blogging, but I promise to have posts covering our recent stops in Lexington & Louisville soon! 

Our first concert in Kentucky was at Pikeville High School. After playing in gyms and field houses for a few days, it was nice to be back in a concert hall.  One of the things I enjoyed about this concert was that there were lots of young people in attendance, particularly from local band and JROTC programs. Having the opportunity to hear military bands when I was in high school certainly helped shape my interest in music. 

In case anybody is curious, this is what our tour bus looks like. It also has the Army star logo on the back. Pretty sweet huh? We have done three concerts in Kentucky and are now headed to Indiana. 

Parkersburg, WV

Today we drove about an hour away from Charleston to Parkersburg. Okay so I know that two isn't really a pattern, but we've played in two "burgs" so far, so I'm wondering if that is a "thing" in West Virginia. 

This concert was in a huge high school gym. There was a really big crowd and they were very enthusiastic. It was one of my favorite concerts that we have played so far. We got to do Bach's Toccata & Fugue and Chris nailed Pantomime. 

Here is the TUSAFB euphonium section trying to look intimidating before the concert. 

It was a good day overall. Had lunch with some ladies in Charleston at a really neat restaurant called First Watch. I did some walking around, got some practicing done, very relaxing. Finished an awesome book on the drive to Parkersburg, then played a fun concert. Tomorrow we are off to Kentucky! 

Charleston, WV

We are in the capitol of West Virginia, the fine city of Charleston. The weather has been fantastic, really warm and breezy. So far the cold I've been fearing from this trip has not been there. We will see as we drive on. 

This is our hotel. It was an Embassy Suites, and was so fancy! Luckily we got to stay here for two nights. This view is looking down from my floor. They also had the best breakfast where this guy cooked you eggs or omelets anyway you liked. Yum! 

Our concert Sunday night was at Charleston University. This pictures is about 30 minutes prior to downbeat while we are setting up. You can see the JROTC rehearsing for when they bring out the colors. 

This little guy turned up under my bell at some point before the concert. Hmmm.... 

This is where he ended up :) 

Clarksburg, WV

Last night we played at a National Guard hall in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The Scenery is really pretty here. We are rolling down the highway right now on the tour bus and I can look out and finally see what everyone was always talking about with the beautiful Fall leaves. 

This is a picture of the moon over the beautiful West Virginia hills.  

We had a nice leisurely morning today. We didn't have to leave the hotel until 12:30pm so I had all morning to sleep in, work out, and get pumped up for our next exciting venue. :) 

Hagerstown, MD

I'm going to try really hard to blog from each stop on my inaugural tour with TUSAFB. Last night we had our first official tour performance. It was a fun concert. Chris played "Pantomime" which was awesome!  So far the concerts are really fun. It is hard not to get distracted during the Armed Forces Medley because I like to look out and see all the people standing up. There are so many Navy & Army, and the Marines always look really proud and hardcore. The poor Coast Guard... there is usually at least one representative! 

Here is a picture from my seat in the band looking out. I think it is going to be interesting getting to play on so many different stages. It will be a new way of listening. I think I have been spoiled by the Murchison. 

After the concert we actually drove back home because the venue was only about an hour away. This morning I got up bright and early to go meet the tour buses for our big departure. I'm glad I left early because I got stuck downtown for half an hour because of the Baltimore Marathon. Some of the visual highlights were women dressed in purple with Maryland Crab Hats on, a man who was jumping rope, presumably for the entire 26 miles, and a man juggling the whole way.  

So now I'm on the tour bus and on the road for the next 35 days. Who knows what adventures are in store?

Packing

This week we had our final run-thrus of the four programs we perform on tour. Wednesday and Thursday we have off to conduct "tour prep." As you can imagine, there is lots of packing involved for a 36 day tour. We have a concert in Hagerstown, MD on Friday, then drive back home for the night. On Saturday the buses pull out for West Virginia and we are officially on the road! I'm pretty pumped. 

Check out these sweet "packing cubes" I got to organize my suitcase. Several people in the band recommended them and I think they will be a big help. You organize all your shirts in one, pants in another, etc. That way you don't have to re-pack every time we stop for the night and there is no digging through your suitcase to find something. 

We get to keep stuff on the bus at our seats. This tupperware container has all the yummy food I'm bringing so that I don't have to eat McDonalds for lunch every day. 

In other extremely exciting news, I went to a local bar with the really nice people that live above me in my rowhome. They are artists- two graphic designers and a painter. They have been living in Baltimore for a long time and know much more about city life that I do! Apparently I live around three blocks down from Charm City Cakes of "Ace of Cakes" fame on the Food Network. This is one of my favorite shows. It was really cool, you could look in the windows and see all of the awesome cakes. They are super expensive, but I've decided I'm going to order one for my 30th birthday party (in 6 yrs). I'm going to have a double quinceanera and go all out! 

I'm planning on updating my blog regularly while we are out on tour so that family and friends can keep up with my travels. Should be fun! 

Pumpkin

So I have this thing with Pumpkin. I love it. It is perhaps one of the best features of Fall. Love to eat anything containing it. Love to carve intricate designs into them & leave 'em out so long they rot and collapse into gaseous mounds & my neighbors complain. Luckily for my neighbors, one of the few downsides to my new job is that I will never be home for Halloween again for the duration of my career with TUSAFB.

I absolutely must try anything pumpkin flavored, and I thought I would share some of the items I have been indulging in lately. The latest hero of my morning coffee is this Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer that I picked up today. Also featured are Pumpkin Pie Spice Hershey Kisses, recommended by Scott. My research indicates that these can only be acquired at Target. The interesting looking stuff below is "Pumpkin Pie Fluff." I got this recipe from Scott's mom:

1 tub fat-free Cool Whip

1 can pumpkin

1 package sugar-free, fat-free instant Jello mix

1 cup milk (I use light Silk soymilk)

pumpkin pie spice to taste

You mix it all together and it is amazing. I didn't have the pie spice, and it's still delicious. A good not-too-bad-for-you Fall treat. Some recipes I have seen also have you add a package of butterscotch Jello mix, but I have never tried it that way. 

I've been waiting to find one of these benches unoccupied so I could snap a picture of it. The slogan "The Greatest City in America" is pretty funny to anybody who has ever actually been to Baltimore. As a matter of fact, it is the greatest place for me right now!