Spring time

Spring time in Mechanicsburg

Parkside

Chillin at Parkside

Laundry

The perfect addition to a night at the laundromat.

Papa John's!!!

Waiting

Just waiting. And when we're done waiting, we wait more!

Tech Rehearsal

Once the tech guys get going, it's a game of hurry up and wait. These
tech guys are awesome. They are very dedicated and very good at their
jobs. I appreciate what they do very much.

My job is sometimes to get out of the way and wait.

So here I sit in the theatre. Waiting.

Spring

The coolest sign that we are right in Spring season.

Trees in bloom. That's something you don't get in California.

Here we go

Well tomorrow starts an 11 day run at Hershey Park.  The first 8 of them are all rehearsals.  The last 3 are actual days the park is open.  I'm not really looking forward to all of those hours of rehearsal.  But I am excited about getting the show completed.  It will feel VERY good to be finished!  

But for now I think it is time for some much needed sleep.  The past two days have been good rest.  Megan has been sick, so that's not good.  But she stayed home from work and rested up very well.  So all should be good.

Once the show at Hershey is under way, it's time to get the fall drumline going.

Oh, and I need to book some freakin camps!!!!!!!

Good day

Today was a good day.  Today's rehearsal went very well.  I really think that this show is going to be a lot of fun.  We are putting a lot of effort into it, and I think the design is going to be great for people visiting the theme park.  I just think it will be so much better than most theme park shows!  (Especially Drumbone and Battery Battle!  Haha!)

I am learning a lot this time around.  Most of it has to do with working with others.  I'm still so used to working with people in the drum corps realm.  I always feel...different when I'm around other creative people that are not involved with Drum Corps.  And some don't even know what drum corps is!  It has been an exciting adventure.  I am learning lots from these people.  I'm excited about it!

But now I need to head off and write some more music.  It looks like this might be the last of what I will be writing for the show.  The only other thing after this I need to create is my snare drum solo.  

I hope I don't suck!!!!

Saturday

Once the summer gets rolling my schedule will be sweet sweet sweet.

But right now it's brutal.  Trying to get all of this situated is....brutal.  I didn't realize I was going to be writing so much music for the show!  It's a great opportunity.  I hope the work I have put into this show from a creative standpoint will lead to work in the future.  My pay is VERY similar to some others, and they are only showing up and rehearsing.  They don't have to stay up late at night writing parts for the show.

But ya never know.  I may be helping with numerous shows in the future.  And those others will be sitting on the couch doing nothing.

But who knows.  What His plan is for me, I will follow enthusiastically.  

I need to write some music right now.  But instead.......I think I will sleep.  I will get up in the morning.  And write some more.

Geez I'm tired.  

I love my wife so much.  There are times.....many times....that I feel I suck as a husband.  I need to figure that out.  My mind is some times filling with things I feel I need to improve on. She deserves so much better that me.  When I look in the mirror, I get frustrated that I'm not doing more to be supportive for her.  I just don't want to blow it.  

Maybe instead of sleeping, I will do some reading on how to be a great husband.  We'll see where that leads me.

:-)

But for now.....I'm freakin tired!!!!

Dancin in the Light

He has the lyrics down!

The Mutant Child

Fun times

Fun times at Michael's playing some crazy Dutch card game.

Back to work!

Rehearsals are from 10-6 for the next 4 days.  Monday we have rehearsal, but it is split into two 4 hour blocks.  So 5 days of getting this show together.  We made some good strides during the first 5 days.  We started slow, and by the middle of the second day, we were on track.

The next number we need to work is the Battery Battle.  I'm a little uneasy right now about it.  They've asked me to write it, but I don't know what equipment we will be playing on, and I foudn out that we will be playing to a click track during the opening solos.  That is just strange to me.  A solo to a click track.  It's going to be strange to play a rudimental solo on snare drum and I have to stick to the same tempo through out the entire tune.  And even if I am able to change tempo, I have to do it after the same exact number of measures every single time we perform it.  The light show is programed into a computer and is done automatically with the click track.  So that means the music we play can NEVER change.  For every part of the show, this is a good thing.  But for the solo sections at the top of Battery Battle......it makes me nervous.

But I guess we will see what happens today!  So far the producer and director have been very very cool.  So I'm not worried.

Break a butt crack!!!

Available on DVD April 15th

I just remembered that Juno is out on DVD today.  I think I'm making a stop to Best Buy before I meet Megan for lunch.

Yay!

5 days have gone by

I started rehearsals at Hershey 5 days ago.  It feels like I have been there for about 5 weeks!  The first day was rough, but the last 4 days have been going much better.  I feel good about where the show is going.

I have been asked to design and write some drum "feature" type stuff for this show.  I'm really excited about the opportunity.  I really want to pursue this as another part of my drumming career.  I presented some stuff I came up with today and I got some great feedback.  I hope they all like it!  They seem to.  So that's good.  I'm just so nervous about it for some reason.  I really want the producers to REALLY like what I come up with.  I want them to walk away and say to themselves, "We need to remember to call Brian next time we have drumming in our shows!"

Well I have the next 2 days off from Hershey.  I need it.  I was getting a little burnt out.  

Right now the Red Sox are on TV.  They are playing the Indians and they are losing.  4-1.  Sucks!!!  But at least they beat the Yankees last night.  It's always a great day when the Red Sox win, and when the Yankees lose.  And when the Red Sox beat the Yankees, it's a WONDERFUL day!!!

Time to sit on the couch, enjoy some coffee, and watch the game.

Adios!!!

Lunch break

Hershey Park Day #1

Well my first day of reherasals have come and gone.

It went.....well.

I'm looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow!

Great song by the band Something Corporate.

I can't imagine all the people that you know 
and the places that you go 
When the lights are turned down low 
and I don't understand all the things you've seen 
but I'm slipping in between 
You and your big dreams 
It's always you 
In my big dreams 
And you tell me that its over 
wake up lying in a patch of four leaf clovers 
and your restless 
and im naked 
you gotta get out 
you cant stand to see me shakin 
no 
could u let me go? 
i didnt think so 
and youi dont wanna be here in the future 
so you say the presants just a pleasant interuption to the past 
and you dont wanna look much closer 
cause ur afriad to find out all this hope 
you had sent into the sky by now had 
crashed 
and it did 
because of me 

and then you bring me home 
afraid to find out that your alone oh 
and im sleeping in your living room 
but we dont have much room to live 

and i had these dreams in them i learned to play guitar 
maybe cross the country 
become a rock star 
and there was hope in me that I could take you there 
but damnit you're so young 
well i dont think i care 
and if i hurt you 
then im sorry 
please dont think that this was easy 

and then you bring me home 
cause we both know what its like to be alone oh 
and im dreaming in your living room 
but we dont have much room to live 

and konstantine is walking down the stairs 
doesnt she look good 
standing in her underware 
and i was thinking 
what i was thinkin 
we've been drinkin and it doesnt get me anywhere 
my konstantine came walking down the stairs 
and all that i could do was touch her long blond hair 
and ive been thinkin 
but it hurts me thinking 
that these nights when we were drinking 
no they never got us anywhere 
no 

this is because i can spell confusion with a 'K' 
and i can like it 
its to dying in anothers arms 
and why i had to try it 
its to jimmy eat world 
and those nights in my car 
when the first star you see 
may not be a star 
im not your star 
isnt that what you said 
what you thought this song meant 

and if this is what it takes 
just to lye with my mistakes 
and live with what i did to you 
all the hell i put you through 
i always catch the clock 
its 11:11 
now you wanna talk 
its not hard to dream 
you'll always be my konstantine 
my konstantine 
they'll never hurt you like i do 
no they'll never hurt you like i do 
no,no,no, no, no, no, no, no 

this is to a girl 
who got into my head 
with all the pretty things she did 
hey 
ya know 
you keep me up in bed 
this is to a girl 
who got into my head 
with all these fucked up things i did 
hey 
maybe 
baby you could keep me up in bed 
my konstanine 

you spin around me like a dream 
we played out on this movie screen 
and i said 
did u know i missed you(x7) 
i miss you 

and then you bring me home 
and we go to sleep 
but this time not alone 
and i know 
and you'll kiss me in your living room 
i know 
i know you miss me in your living room 
cuz these nights i think 
maybe that i miss you in my licing room 
but we dont have much room 
i said does anybody need that room 
because we all need a little more room 
to live 

my konstantine... 

Loss

Well the Pirates lost. 12 innings. It was brutal.

Time to walk across the bridge.

Pirates

Good times in Pittsburgh for the Pirates home opener.

Now I just need to get to Boston!!!

Food

Fuel & Fuddle

Great food in Pittsburgh

Game night

Megan and I finally joined the game night fad that's sweeping the
nation.

Here's Megan & Becky concentrating during a round of Cranium.

Laundry

I can't wait to move.

I am looking forward to living without all the trips to the laundromat.

Movies!

Tonight the feature presentation is.....

Run Fat Boy Run

Exciting News!!!

Ok well here is my exciting news I mentioned a few days back.

I have been cast in a show at Hershey Park!  I will be performing on stage ALL summer.  I'm VERY excited about it.  It has been about 3 years since I have done any performing and I miss it terribly.  

I don't know very much about the show yet.  But it is a show cenetered around drumming.  So I won't be the only guy up there playing the drums.  It should be cool!

And here is some other news.  Megan and I are FINALLY moving!  We found a townhouse.  2 bedrooms, AND a basement with washer and dryer.  Holy crap I'm pumped!  I never thought I would be this excited about a washer and dryer.  I have just been going to laundromats for YEARS.  I'm ready to be doing laundry in my won home.

I will be able to have my own office now, which is great.  Our kitchen will be much bigger than the one we have now, which is about the size of the trunk of my car.  

Oh, quick note.  Here is ony way I deal with missing Cali so much.  My morning coffee helps me remember home!

Another great thing about our new home is that it is litereally right behind our current apartment.  Which means when it's time to move our stuff, we just have to walk it over to the new place!  No loading a huge truck or anything like that.  Yay!!

This summer is going to prove to be a great great thing.  Megan and I have an opportunity to save a bunch of cash.  We have so many plans!  Things like a house, debt, and babies!!!  we would like to have some money to help take care of some of this.  But it's in God's hands of course.  But we are feeling pretty confident.

Next thing on the list for today.  Clean our current home!  It's a mess.  I think as soon as I realized we were getting a new home, I stopped cleaning up after myself.  So I need to get some work done first, then I plan on cleaning the kitchen.  Then I plan on going to the gym and kicking my ass.  

The plan after that is more work, more cleaning, and maybe a panini.  Yes I'm still a little obsessed with panini's.

Ok I'm outta here.

Rock & Roll Forever

So funny

I know this has been on TV for a while.

But it's just so funny.

Desert

At Wegman's trying to pick the perfect desert.

Kids

When Megan and I have kids, I wonder if they will have red hair?

People have said this to us for a while now.  My goatee has lots of red in it.

I wonder if it will come true?!?!?!?!

Focus

I'm having some serious issues focusing today.  I mean, I started the day listening to jazz and blogging.  What does that tell you?

I am getting some work done.  But there is much more I can be doing.

It's time to make a list.  And get to it.  I am going to go to the gym later too.  And I have to teach drumline tonight.  

Lots to do!

My kind of morning

Well the weather this week sucks.  It's not very cold, so I guess that's good.  But it's raining every day this week.  I woke up this morning, and it's very dreary outside.  I'm listening to some jazz while I have my morning coffee.  It's very nice.  I haven't felt this relaxed in a morning for some time.  I'm usually stressed out with work stuff that needs to get done.  I still have a lot of work stuff that needs to get done, but I'm just so much more relaxed.

Right now I'm listening to, "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole.  This song makes me think of a Christmas movie.

Ok here comes the next song.

"Lonestar" by Norah Jones.  Good stuff.

I purchased an external hard drive for my iMac a couple days ago, and I'm really excited about it.  Is that lame?  I'm excited about an external hard drive.  Geez.  I have officially become a computer geek.  

"Freddie Freeloader" by Miles Davis.  Holy crap this is good music.  

I might just sit here and listen to jazz all day while I blog.  I wonder what would come of that?

Ok well I'm going to get to work now.  I hope everyone has a great day.  And that's that.