Yellow Tuba, White Noise

Put the Roof on the Sucka'

2010-06-18T00:27:00.004-05:00

So here is the work that's been done to my Father-in-Law's house since my last post:

Here's the front of the house as of 6/17.

As you can see, there is a garage now, owing to the fact that Dick and I framed it all up. The other ting you'll notice is the roof trusses are all up. That was quite an ordeal involving like 10 guys, a crane, and the requisite swearing and posturing. My job was to get stuff for people and be unobtrusive. I succeeded in the first and usually succeeded in the second. Mostly due to swearing and posturing.

And here's the left side of the house. You'll notice that the roof trusses hang out a ways; this is to accommodate the roof that will hang over the deck off the upper floor. Also, we've started putting up the house wrap.

Here's the back.

Here's the interior. All of the rooms on this floor (with the exception of the kitchen pantry) are done. Pretty different than last time!

And finally, here are the cedar logs that will be the pillars on either side of the front door. Being in northern Idaho, they're going for the rustic look. These logs came from the property here, and we stripped the bark off 'em the old fashioned way, using a sharp ax. I felt all old-fashioned and frontiersy and it made me want to smoke my pipe while I worked.

Idaho, June 2010

2010-06-05T21:49:00.004-05:00

OK, so because I can't say no to my wife about anything (heh), I agreed to spend the month of June this summer in Sandpoint, Idaho helping my father-in-law build his retirement house.

I'm not entirely sure he'd like for me to call it his "retirement house," but whatev.

Lauren is not here with me, though she did join me for the drive out and will come out at the end of June for the drive back to Nebraska.

Truth be told (and isn't that the point of blogging, after all) I was not really looking forward to this trip. There were a few things I was looking forward to, not the least of which was learning about building a house in the first place. Dick is very good at building stuff from houses to airplanes and I'm...well... I'm learning. Let's leave it at that.

Though some of the things I was not looking forward to are still kind of a bummer (not having Lauren here, for instance), the rest of the trip is going just fine so far. The weather has not really cooperated; it's been rainy as often as not. Still, a lot has been accomplished already. And I'm getting better at this building thing. I've got pictures to prove it.

This first one proves nothing except that I have been practicing tuba in a construction zone. One of the things I LOVE about summer is playing tuba outdoors.

My "practice room."

The view from outside my camper. It's not too easy to see in this shot, but there is still some snow on the mountains.

This shot is taken from the front corner of the house. The wall in the left of the photo is the front. Towards the right is where we will be building the garage once the cement guy comes and pours the pad. In the few good work days we've had since I've been here we have put all of the OSB (plywood) up. The house was only framed when I got here. Also, we did the flashing at the bottom of the house today, as a soil/moisture barrier. That stuff is a PAIN to wrangle into place.

The rear of the house. Notice that it has a basement which will be totally finished, perfect for the summers here.

The West side of the house. Note the walk-out for the basement and the opening for double doors coming off the master bedroom and living room. Soon they will open onto a deck.

Interior shot looking from the rear of the house towards the front door.

Here's the not-yet-poured garage pad and the camper which is my home for the rest of June. The large building to the right of the camper is Dick's workshop.

The basement so far.

All-America Concert Band

2010-02-25T14:01:00.002-06:00

Last week I attended a concert by the Siouxland All-America Concert Band. They perform throughout he academic year and are comprised of adult musicians, many amateurs but also quite a few local band directors/music teachers, etc.

They're a good group, and the coolest part is that the musicians are not paid and 100% of the ticket sales go towards local nonprofit organizations.

I'll be joining them starting next week, and our last concert of the season will be Sunday, April 11 2010 at 7:30 pm.

www.allamericaconcertband.com

On the Nature of Hard Work

2010-02-18T20:37:00.002-06:00

The theme for this semester in our studio has been "Practice." Practice Journals, Practice Blogs, Practice, Practice, Practice.

I truly and honestly believe that everyone in the studio is learning and growing through all of this focus on practice, but with growing comes growing pains. I've been seeing (and hearing about) burnout, so now seems like a good time for me to ruminate on hard work in general, and practice in particular.

First, a few quotes/sayings about hard work:

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do."

-Henry Ford

"Things may come to those who wait... but only the things left by those who hustle."

-Abraham Lincoln

"The only place 'success' comes before 'work' is in the dictionary."

These things are all true, and I'll wager you've heard at least one of them before. Hard work is important. It builds character. It increases skill. It's also hard.

"It's hard" is my least favorite excuse for not doing something. Where would the world be if everyone only did things that were easy?

There are a few things about hard work as related to practicing a musical instrument that are important to consider:

Improvement is neither fast, nor linear. Sometimes improvement will come quickly, sometimes, it will come slowly, and occasionally it will come not at all. In many cases getting better at the tuba, trombone or euphonium includes the breaking of old, bad playing habits. These are called habits for a reason; they are a part of one's learned (and ingrained) behavior and can reappear from time to time. This will happen less frequently as the new, better habits replace the old. Our quality as musicians depends not on our willingness to practice when everything is going well, but rather on our ability to persevere when the going is toughest.

Practicing in itself is a difficult skill to master. There are right and wrong ways to practice. This begins with finding when to practice. Practice requires a rested, healthy body and an alert, focused mind. Do not practice when you are exhausted, starving, angry or depressed. Take frequent breaks. Be sure to spend adequate time on fundamentals, and be sure to maintain a high standard for yourself as you work. Don't settle for a product that is below your potential. Be sure to find enough time in smaller chunks; cramming is not possible and will only frustrate you.

Recognize "burnout," and combat it. It is possible to practice too much on one thing. Beating your head against a wall can make practice frustrating, and you get burned out. Sometimes walking away from the horn is a good solution, but it's another bad habit to get into when you take a big chunk of time off whenever you get a little frustrated. Remember, practicing is hard. Don't confuse being tired and a little frustrated with serious burnout. When you need a mental break, put your "work music" away and play something fun. I Like to play big, loud orchestral excerpts with a recording to get my mind back in the right place. Maybe do a little improv, dig out an old tune you play well and like to play, or rock out the melody or bass line to your favorite tune. Remember, burnout is mental, you still need face time on the horn, but take the stress out of the equation. Consider an extended break as a last resort.

Have Fun! Remember, we are very blessed to be able to pursue music as a career; we get to do something we love and get a check every week for it (someday, students, someday). Having a career doing something you love is not a right, it's a privilege. It must be earned through hard work. When I need to be reminded of this, I think of my father. He worked his whole life doing something he hates so I could have the opportunity to pursue the career of my choosing. I'm thankful for that, and I won't let his sacrifice go to waste by slacking off. You'd have to work just as hard flipping burgers, at least music is something you love.

More to come later...

-J

NSBA Intercollegiate Band

2010-02-11T10:37:00.002-06:00

Some members of our Low Brass Studio have been selected for the 2010 NSBA Intercollegiate Band:

Jason Sipes, tuba
Mike Fulton, tuba
Harley Mohlman, euphonium

Other WSC students accepted:

Marshall Keough, tenor sax
Jessica Janke, flute
Andy Gould, percussion
Blake Lyon, trumpet
Eric Heithoff, percussion

Congratulations, guys!

"Buy my CD!"

2010-02-01T14:57:00.002-06:00

So Carol Jantsch, Principal Tubist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, created a rap video to "pimp" her CD release. This has to be the first video like this in history, and it just goes to show that they probably didn't teach rap at Michigan.

Kidding, Carol. Love the vid, even if the milk moustache you're wearing in the tub is a bit odd.

Seven Nations

2010-01-29T11:43:00.003-06:00

So since some of us have been posting links to cool bands and such, here's a vid of one of my favorite bands: 7 Nations.

Rock Music + Bagpipes + Fiddle = AMAZING!

Recognition

2010-01-26T09:08:00.003-06:00

Pep band season has officially begun. This past weekend the band played at four basketball games, two on Friday and two on Saturday. All of the games were exciting, the men's game on Saturday in particular.

We were hosting Southwest Minnesota State, and the game went into double overtime. The band hung in there and represented our department in fine style, never complaining (that I could hear, anyway) about the extra time put in. We have also resumed our role as head cheerleaders, making more noise than the rest of the crowd in Rice combined.

Something happened that I'd never seen before: after the conclusion of the game, while the band was playing the victory song, the basketball team came over to the band section, went INTO the band and started high-fiving the kids. I've never seen that, and it was pretty amazing for the players to show appreciation for the band and what they do. In the other places I've been the band has been treated with disinterest at best and animosity and ridicule in other cases. It's this camaraderie that makes Wayne State such a neat place to live and work.

Bravo, pep band! I hope you realize what a special and unique moment that was.

AMAZING Band Performance

2010-01-20T09:40:00.003-06:00

Whilst surfing TubeNet I discovered a link to an INCREDIBLE all-girls high school band in Japan. This will blow you away!

As impressive as the technical playing is, I'm an even bigger fan of the flawlessly-in-tune chorale section at 0:49.

Odd but Lovely Winter Weather

2010-01-19T15:55:00.003-06:00

Lately in Wayne we're been having freezing fog. I thought that freezing fog sounds like the kind of weather you only hear about in the bible, but it actually has a nice effect on the trees when it builds up over time. I snapped a few photos:

Following my own Rules (or not)

2010-01-19T13:20:00.002-06:00

This semester's theme in the WSC Low Brass Studio is PRACTICE HABITS. As in developing them. The entire group has been assigned practice journals, and these blogs, to further that agenda. Unfortunately I myself have not been able to practice, owing to a monster of a cold sore.

I'm treating it, mostly by drinking water by the gallon and putting vitamin E on my lips (break open the gel-filled capsule and rub it on) but my lip still splits every time I smile or take a big bite of something (and I LOVE smiling and taking big bites of something!)

Ah, well. Hopefully I heal up soon so I can get back to tooting!

You'd Think I'd Dropped off the Face of the Earth...

2010-01-14T09:23:00.002-06:00

...but that won't happen until 2012. Kidding.

I decided to take a(nother) page from John Manning's book and have my students at Wayne State write blogs, related to music. Since it's only fair I do one too, I figured I'd better get back into this. You ought to see regular posts from me in the future.

The Whirlwind Continues

2008-04-23T15:04:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year, when those of us caught in the perpetually recycling net that is academia are torn between tearing our hair out and jumping for joy.

FINALS!!!!

Actually, for those of us who teach, finals aren't that big of a deal (shh... don't tell anyone!), but the two weeks or so leading up to finals are a bit of a nightmare, especially when you have concerts to attend, conduct, or play in every day, as is the case with me.

It's not the performances that are the issue, it's the time that goes into the final prep... making programs, scheduling last minute rehearsals, making sure the venues are good to go, all of that needs to be done in order for a performance to be a success.

In addition to that, I've been judging at some district public school music festivals, which has kept me on the road over weekends.

And the keystone in my castle of madness is that Lauren and I BOUGHT A HOUSE! Talk about a big step. After we signed the papers, we left the realtor's office and I turned to Lauren and said "Holy @#!%, did that really just happen?"

Yep, it did. And I couldn't be happier. The place is in great shape, Lauren and I can LIVE TOGETHER again, and money will be going into equity instead of just going into some landlord's pocket every month. And before you get all "owning a house is hard work you don't know what you're in for it'll own you as much as you own it there goes all your free time be prepared to dump all your money into the house blah blah blah" on me, I'll let you in on another dirty little secret: I like doing the house stuff. I like yard work. I like that if something breaks, I can do it myself instead of calling a landlord and hoping they can get to it before the place floods. I like power tools and painting and building things and decorating, and I find it rewarding beyond belief. Other than a big fat mortgage, there is not any part of owning a house that isn't an improvement over renting as far as I'm concerned. Truth be told, even the mortgage won't be too much of a stretch for us.

I know I'm new at this, but let me hang onto my optimism for at least a few months.

The new Casa de Calkin, as of the closing on May 30:

This dark and fuzzy picture courtesy of my iPhone coupled with a less than stellar Nebraska day.

It's going to be a busy summer: I've been contracted to play in the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band again this summer, I'm going to the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference in Cincinnati in June, I've got some wedding and church gigs lined up, I have two new courses to develop and, of course, there's the whole moving to our new pad thing.

Hopefully I find some time (and money) for a little golf every now and then.

Big Things and Small Things

2008-03-20T13:24:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy few weeks, to say the least, and it's put me in a bad way, but more on that later.

Spring Break was the week of March 3-7. Far too early for it to be called "spring" anything in Northeastern Nebraska, but I digress. I spent the majority of that vacation in the car, having gone to Lincoln for Nebraska Bandmaster's association the first weekend, then working the Wayne State Middle School Music Festival on Tuesday, then driving to Iowa City to visit my wife, and finally heading to Omaha for a concert on Friday then back to Wayne that evening.

A bit about that concert... I got a plea over TubeNet a couple of months ago from a member of a band called Slavic Soul Party! who desperately needed a tuba or sousaphone for their Omaha gig on Friday, March 7. I agreed to bring one of Wayne State's sousas down and they promised me free tickets to the show. It was an amazing experience. SSP, to boil it down, take the Eastern European brass band tradition and blend it with aspects of modern music (funk, rock, jazz, etc.) and the result is surprisingly spectacular. Anyone who digs a good groove would like SSP. Check their website out.

The following week I got to attend Tubonium6, at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. Tubonium is a tuba/euphonium convention hosted annually by Paul Budde, Professor of Tuba and Euph at GAC. I've attended Tubonium for the past few years and each year has been a fantastic experience. This year's guest artists were Dan Perantoni from Indiana University, Brian Bowman from North Texas and John Stevens from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

I returned home from Tubonium late Saturday evening and immediately began preparations for John Manning's recital here at Wayne State. Being my most recent former teacher at Iowa (and just a great guy) John offered to do a recital and masterclass here. Naturally I accepted, and so on Monday (St. Patrick's Day) John presented a recital and asked me to play on some duets. We had a great time, as you'll see from the photos we took:

(In case you're wondering, that's my M-W gang sign, for the brand of tubas I play: Meinl-Weston.)

So basically, I've been running myself ragged over the past few weeks. In addition to that, the water heater died at my place over the Tubonium weekend and so I was bathing 18th century style, using hot water from a pot I heated on the stove. So the crazy schedule combined with no hot water combined with a brief return to winter temperatures conspired to make me pretty sick, which is where I am now. I took one day off (all I'll allow) to recover which, sadly, hasn't totally happened yet. When I got to take a hot shower on Wednesday (my first one since Saturday) it was a near religious experience. I stayed in for like 20 minutes, which Lauren will tell you is a LONG time for me.

Speaking of Lauren, the best news of all from the previous few weeks... she gets to keep her job at Percussion Source! She'll be able to work remotely from Wayne, which means out financial outlook is quite good at the moment. The next step is buying a house, and we're closing in on that, too.

Hooray for progress!

And the Winner is...

2008-02-25T12:38:00.002-06:00

...me! This morning I was officially offered the full-time tenure-track position here at Wayne State!

So now that main trial is over, and the new struggles can begin:

1.) Lauren now must figure out what will happen with her employment. We're hoping that she will be able to continue with Percussion Source, remotely. If that is not possible, we will need to actively look for work for her in Wayne and neighboring communities.

2.) House hunting. We have something in mind, but we need to work out the little details, like finances, moving, etc. Unfortunately, this is going to depend on Lauren's situation, so this is not something that is going to resolve itself quickly.

I'm thankful for all the help I've gotten along the way so far, from friends, family, students and colleagues, and all those who were pulling for me. It means a lot to have such great people in your corner.

D-Day approacheth...

2008-02-18T13:24:00.002-06:00

So tomorrow is the big day, so to speak. Tomorrow is my "Campus Visit," which is to say that I have a whole string of interviews, etc. that I have to do all day, as well as pretending I'm new to Wayne State, which is downright silly, all things considered.

I understand the rationale. All candidates must be considered on a level playing field, or as near as is possible. In reality, the proceedings are skewed (albeit slightly) in my favor since I've been here working with these students and faculty since July.

So the day's schedule includes separate meetings with the Dean, VP for Academic Affairs, Music Department Chair, Position Search Committee and (refreshingly) some students. In addition, I have to perform a half-hour recital, teach a lesson and direct the Wind Ensemble.

All in one day. It's a marathon, no doubt about that.

Still, I'm not really worried. I'll just show up and do basically the same things I always do, in the same place and with the same people I usually do them. Except for the interviews.

The other candidate (there are only two finalists, myself included) will be in town on Friday, so I'm going to do my best to be out for much of that day. I think I'll take the Rev. Ray up on his lunch offer. Hopefully sometime next week I'll know what direction my life is going to take, which would certainly be useful information.

I HATE ELI MANNING

2008-02-03T21:08:00.000-06:00

.....a lot.

The Calm Between the Storms

2008-01-31T13:21:00.000-06:00

I finally have a little bit of time to devote to writing, as my schedule is experiencing a brief lull into normalcy.

This past week was a busy one, since it was my birthday and my wife came to visit from Iowa and my mom came out from Vermont. That was particularly exciting since I hadn't seen her in two years or so. Unfortunately, it happened to be the busiest weekend of the early part of the spring semester for me, but c'est la vie, which I think is French for "shit happens."

Saturday was the Wayne State College Honor Band. This is where area high school musicians send in tapes for auditions, and We The Faculty choose the Best and Brightest to form three bands: one for middle/jr. high and two for high school. I was asked to direct the high school symphonic band for the festival, which lasts one day. Rehearsal begins at 8:30 am and the concert is at 4:30. With such little rehearsal time this has the potential for disaster, depending on the repertoire chosen, the skill of the players and their preparation level prior to the event.

Fortunately, my kids were GREAT. The arrived prepared, they worked their butts off all day long, and they did a fantastic job in the concert. To say I was relieved would be an understatement, since I had never done one of these things before, at least not with my back to the audience. I felt a great deal of accomplishment in what we were able to achieve. All of the responses were positive, I was able to do a bit of networking and I hope that it further cements my appeal for continued employment at Wayne.

Speaking of which, Lauren, Mom and I went out to do some preliminary house shopping during their visit as well. There are a lot of available properties in Wayne, but one in particular jumped out at us and, frankly, I've been daydreaming about the house all week. It's become something of a preoccupation for me, I'm afraid. It's an old house, c. 1916, but it has been impeccably maintained and has recent renovations throughout. It's got everything we need: multiple bedrooms with potential for music room, office and den/library space, a game room (yay bar and pool table), a spacious yard with TWO porches, and a two car garage. Best of all, all of the work it needs (seemingly) is purely cosmetic so we could move in immediately.

All I need is a job.

I really want to stay here. I love my work, I like the town OK, the college is great, the students are awesome, my colleagues are easy to work with, I almost live on a golf course, there's a bike trail nearby... The only thing missing is, well, civilization. No, that's not the right word. I can get anything I want, but it requires an hour-each-way drive if I can't find it in Wayne. I guess the right word is "convenience." That's the biggest drawback to living here, but it's a very small price to pay to get everything else I want, in my opinion.

OK, almost everything. There was always the lingering hope that I'd find a job closer to my family. Seeing my mom or dad once every two years is not nearly enough, to say nothing of my extended family. Still, if we have steady income and a house with four bedrooms, visits will be much easier...

So now I'm back into my normal groove, with one glaring exception: my "may I please keep this job" interview will be next week.

Hooray for life-changing events, and GO PATRIOTS!!!

Living Someone Else's Life

2008-01-19T22:33:00.000-06:00

I'm not where I thought I would be. That seems like as good a place to start as any, since it's the plain truth. As recently as June of 2007 I thought the following fall semester would be spent finishing my academic work at the University of Iowa, with dissertation Hell to follow in the spring. You know, business as usual. Then I received a fateful email (to abuse a cliche) from John Manning, my Iowa mentor, stating that a one-year teaching position had become available at Wayne State College, a small institution in an even smaller town in Eastern Nebraska. I knew nothing about the college or the area but applied anyway, since I was looking for some real world teaching experience and, potentially, a permanent position.

To my great astonishment I was offered the position in record time. It was a bittersweet moment for me; sweet because I was on my way to the culmination of all the work I've done for the past ten years in college, and bitter because I'd have to sacrifice a LOT to make this dream happen, as is often the case with dreams.

Since it was only a one-year guaranteed position (with the option of reapplying for continued employment) and Lauren already had a great job in Iowa, where she had in fact recently been promoted, we made the "executive decision" to live apart for one year. At the conclusion of that year we would live together again, in Nebraska if I was re-hired, and in Iowa if I was not.

It's a strange thing to give up one's marital status for a year, without in fact giving it up. Of course we're still married, but coming home to an empty house (and an empty bed) every night leaves a lot to be desired. See, I'm a husband, and I try to be a good one, and that is part of how I define myself. Leaving my wife and my home (and it IS my home... I may reside in NE but the old adage is true; home is indeed where the heart is) has been more than a minor aggravation for me; at times it has been, well, sad, depressing, all of that.

At least I was able to bring some of what makes me me along for the ride. I have my music, I have my own place, I have my own things... at least, I did. Until January.

I got a great offer in November. I was asked to house-sit for another faculty member who is on sabbatical from WSC for the entire Spring semester. Naturally, I jumped on the opportunity to live rent-free for a semester and besides, I get to live with a cat again which is a big step up from a completely empty apartment. Living rent-free is great. Living in someone else's house is more trying than I would have thought.

It's not quite the same as being a houseguest, because you're not anyone's guest, really. You're living in their house, in their absence. The first night I was there I felt like an intruder, as though I had broken in to steal from these people. I had to close the blinds because I felt like there were eyes on me, as though I did indeed have something to hide being there. Even the cat eyed me with suspicion at first (until he realized I was his new food distributor, anyway. Now we get along fine).

Part of my job is to drive their car occasionally so the battery doesn't die and the hoses don't dry out. So this morning, as I was driving someone else's car from someone else's house to Norfolk to buy food to put in someone else's pantry, it hit me: I've stolen someone else's life. Entirely ripped it off. I'm no longer myself, and the transition took less than six months.

In July 2007 I was a married college student in Iowa, who lived in a two-bedroom townhouse with his wife and two cats and drove his 2005 Ford Focus to school each morning, and drove a bus for money on the side.

In January 2008 I'm a single (it feels that way sometimes, though I'm still a husband, albeit a long-distance one) college educator living in a four-bedroom house with one cat and someone else's stuff, and I drive a 1992 Dodge Caravan. Oh, and the gal who's on sabbatical? I took over her position as faculty adviser for the German Club.

My paycheck is larger, my bed feels larger (and colder), and I frequently wake up not knowing where I am or how I got there.

But at least I still have my music.

Here we go again...

2008-01-18T15:11:00.000-06:00

OK, so I deleted my old blog (which hasn't been updated in forever) and started a new one. Why? Dunno. Just another way to shamelessly spread myself across the internet, I suppose. Plus, this one will be better for keeping in touch with family and all that. So anyway, welcome to the new blog.