I like Tuesdays. Tuesdays have a history of being cool. They're not as intense as Mondays...not as exhausting as Wednesdays. They're busy but rewarding. For all of these reasons, I think students are more tuned-in on Tuesdays...there's something there...wait for it..."Tuned-in Tuesdays." Students, like all of us, need a day to acclimate and shake off the weekend. Therefore, Monday has to exist. Tuesday proves that life is a process: if you get through Monday, you get Tuesday...and, by the way, this is going to happen 52 times a year. You never get to graduate out of Monday...it's always going to happen. Plus...if Monday is horrible, Tuesday is still going to happen. So, what can you do about Mondays? Embrace the Mondays...plan for the Mondays...enjoy the Mondays...and then really appreciate the Tuesdays.
Thank you for all of the positive feedback about Suite of Miniature Thoughts by Charles Savage. If you haven't watched it, please take a listen. I really enjoyed learning it, collaborating with Charles, and designing the video. The idea for the video came out of a conversation about how to premiere it. When Charles wrote it in 2016, the goal was to debut it...somewhere...anywhere. Anytime there was a chance of playing it, there was a conflict. Fast-forward four years, add Covid-19, and you have a clear opportunity: YouTube. With so much music being discovered on YouTube, it made sense. With it being a video, I knew the content had to be interesting. As much love and support as I have, one camera in one room might have been boring to watch. With Charles giving each movement a subtitle, I got the idea to tell a story. I had some requirements: The audio wouldn't be edited or multiple takes spliced together. I would use two cameras: an iPhone and an iPad. The video directing came out of sketches, they can be seen below. With the cameras in place, I performed each movement to the best of my ability. If I made a mistake...which I did...multiple times...I would start over. The goal was to do a true debut with the option to present the best take.
Each week, the individual movements are released. Movements 1, 2, and 3 are now up. The reality being that most casual viewers don't have the patience, time, or attention span to watch a 15-minute video...but they may watch a 2-minute video. While the composition should be enjoyed as five movements, how you discover it is fine by us.
I have a performance coming up. It's going to be a fundraiser, here in Des Moines, and I'll have more information soon. For now I want to tell you that I'll be debuting four songs off of my upcoming album. My performance at this fundraiser will be just me and backing tracks. I'd love to have a band behind me but I can't ask any musician to play for free right now. Lisa helped me design some new business cards to help me get the word out about what you already know: this website. Thank you for your continued support. And a special welcome to my new subscribers.
