Thoughts for Today

"What custom hath endeared
We part with sadly, tho we prize it not."
- Joanna Baillie

"Huh?"
- BassBassDude

Wedding Gig

That's right. Yet another gig coming up again this Saturday. But this time it's about two to three hours outside of Toronto. It's also going to be a full day of CCDD (Ceremony/Cocktails/Dinner/Dance). Sorry, but this one is private

However...

This Friday night, I'll probably be playing publicly with my piano buddy out in the Scarborough area. If that's the case, it will be a duo of jazz and latin with a touch of R&B. I don't think my vocalist buddy will make it, but it should be a lot of fun. I'll post some details ASAP. So, if you're free, come on out.

Lorraine pondering life the universe and everything

Thoughts for Today

"Teach my unskilled mind to sing the feelings of my heart"
- Anna Young Smith

"Teach my unskilled mind to think of something clever to say"
-BassBassDude


This is my friend Monica on "Call for Help"

Running Stuff

For those of you who are into planning races here's a suggestion: Please don't put a hill that goes straight up in the last 500m. I had just run a 10k race yesterday (in Don Valley Park/Sunnybrook) and the last little bit had a long hill that went straight up. I'd like to call this hill "The Eliminator". Basically, you either had enough gas at the end to make it to the top or you gave up and walked the last 500m of your 10km race. This was not the easiest thing to do yesterday, especially with the goal to break the 1 hour mark. I guess breaking 1 hour will have to wait for another day. In the words of John "The Penguin" Bingham,

"The miracle is not that I had finished the race but the courage to start"

At the very least, I at least ran and beat "The Eliminator".
Finish time: 1:01:20.

Wedding Gig

Well, the gig was alright yesterday. Worked well with everybody and we were very professional and played well. Also worked with a new singer who sounds great. I always try to come away with something from every gig. This one I've learned that you can never be over-prepared. Last night, transporting my double bass would have been a lot easier if I had my bass wheel. Oh "wheel" maybe next time.

Not as easy as it looks

Well, I'm just really happy I figured out how to post images. Although people have claimed that it was easy, it still took me a fair bit to wrap my head around how the whole thing works. Sure, it's easy once you get it, but sometimes you have a few mental barriers that you have to overcome. It's funny how a "mini-epiphany" comes about. It's such a gratifying feeling once the light in your head turns on. I'm just happy I found the light switch.

Music Tips - Practicing

Alright, most people all know that one of the hardest things about practicing is actually sitting down (or standing, depending on the instrument) and practicing. Sir Isaac Newton's laws of inertia always are against you.

"When a body is in motion, it remains in motion. When a body is at rest, it remains at rest."

With that being said it can be easy to just completely ignore practicing altogether. So, what can be an easy solution you might ask? Well, there is no real easy solution. Many times, you'll find one thing that will work for you and then the next day, you may find yourself disinterested with yesterday's motivation. Most successful musicians and artists, as well as athletes have found that a set routine or training schedule is the best way to keep the practicing juices flowing... More to follow later.

Thoughts for today

"Doing good to others is not a duty. It is a joy, for it increases your own health and happiness"
-Zoroaster

Hmm... Wise words from the person that dressed in a black cape and mask who first created the machine that warms bread.
-BassBassDude

Wedding Gig

Well, let the fun begin.

A couple of wedding gigs are coming up and yours truly will be doing the double bass/electric bass thing for a couple of Saturdays with MV for the next little while. It looks like most of these will be a full day thing. The usual CCDD thing (ceremony/cocktail/dinner/dance). I'll tell you how this upcoming weekend goes.

Lastly, I'm hoping to get a couple of photos up on my blog shortly.

BTW, for those of you who don't know, MV is Melodious Vibes. It's one of the groups that I'm currently involved with. If you'd like to know more about MV, visit www.melodiousvibes.com

Welcome - Feel Free to Comment

Greetings and Salutations to all. Basically this is the place (for now) if you want to keep tabs on good ol' Mikey.

Whether he's rappelling off Old City Hall, training for a race, or how bad of a golf round I've had. For the most part, I'll be informing you all about when all my public and not-so-public gigs will be. So, keep checking in and come out to as many functions as possible.

BTW, I'm still new at this whole blog thing so we'll see how things work out from there.