Saturday evenings from now to June will mean playing in the band for me … and a dozen +/- fellow musicians.
Everyone I talk with about this is ENTHUSIASTIC. The support from the Darby Schools and Adult Ed staff is phenominal. I was hopefully optimistic when I launched the idea. Now I am EXCITED.
My dream gig, what I really want to do musically is play 3rd trombone in a blues, jazz, swing or big band. All that has been available to me in Montana is playing upright bass in a weekly bluegrass jam.
This idea to use the marketing, support and facilities of the Darby Schools Adult Ed program to share with potential fellow blues musicians has taken on every bit of life I could have dreamt for it.
My outreach got a HUGE BOOST when The Ravalli Republic newspaper decided this week to do a generous feature article on this venture:
Get the blues with Bitterroot band class
Starts tommorrow evening!
I am not pretending to be anything other than a amateur trombone player and good organizer, I will lead the band until a better leader bumps me back into my trombone section chair.
This is a performing band. It is not a music theory class. We are making music for the joy of it. While I won’t mind playing for the public once in a while, that is not the point. We are playing for us.
I hope, and suspect that the music won’t stop at the end of the semester. If we are having a good time together, we will find a way to continue the gig.
Speaking of gigs, I received a phone call right after the Adult Ed fliers arrived in local mailboxes. One of my wife’s cohorts in the Garden Club wants our Bitterroot Blues Band to play at her family reunion in June.
Our first gig arrived before our second musician.
Musicians are free to jump in at any time. Saturday evenings are widely available, but also occasionally preempted. That is all okay. Come when you can. Miss a few when you must.
For those wishing to dip their toe into the waters first, Come On Down. You can try the Bitterroot Blues Band out for fit before you sign up for the semester. While we will honor our hosts completely, I would hate for someone’s fear of commitment to keep them from joining us.
