What's this all about?  Well, among my many hobbies, music stands out as being among the most important.  I'm not much of a musician, but I definitely have an appreciation for music in its many forms.  I can thank my parents for their great vinyl collection and enrolling me in keyboard lessons, complete with a cute little Yamaha synthesizer.  Of course elementary music class exposed us to the magic sounds of the recorder (oh, yeah!) and ukulele.  Then, one day I discovered the art of noise when I picked up a trombone in 6th grade.  Hot dog, I was in heaven.  My parents were in the opposite of heaven, but supportive nonetheless.  Through a tough learning curve involving this nonsense called "scales" and "sight reading", I worked my way up to 1st chair in concert and jazz ensembles in high school.  I could improvise well, blues scales mostly, and play LOUD.  I never did learn to read music all that well.  Nevertheless, 1st chair All-State Jazz was the peak of my career.  After graduation, I played in a crappy Dave Matthews wannabe band for a summer, the highlight of which was playing a bar called Blind Dog City in Laramie, Wyoming.  Worst.  Beer.  Ever.  In college I discovered an interest in playing guitar, and began learning some basic cords and blues scales.  Over the past decade or so, I've successfully avoided learning how to play guitar for real.  I haven't played the trombone for about as long, much to the delight of my neighbors.

SO, music appreciation is really where I'm at for the moment.   Here is an index to my various postings on the subject.  Thanks for stopping by...

2009:  July - August, October