I live in a 1940’s vintage neighborhood. The lots are small and the houses are close to each other. We have zoning coded so antiquated that one is allowed to build to within 7 feet of one’s property line. There are zero covenants on house color, styles, roof tiles… nothing. It is a wonderful neighborhood.
My neighbors are from all different strata of life. One lady at the end of the street has been here since her house was built in 1942.
I have now been here so long that I am well known in the area. I am the music guy. I think what that means to most of my neighbors is that I am the guy who is always home during the day. If you need your battery jumped- I am home. If you need help moving stuff during the day- I am at home. I have a fairly steady stream of neighbor kids who show up at my door with a guitar that needs a string or a violin that needs tuning. The day before yesterday Talia K. showed up on my porch with her trumpet and played Hot Crossed Buns. She is 8.
Once a year I have a huge Christmas party. I think something like 250 people come. I hire a band. This year it was a Trad/dixieland group of upright bass,drums,banjo/guitar, trumpet,soprano sax and trombone. When they are not playing I play piano and everyone sings Christmas Carols. If I do say so myself it is a hella party. One of the great parts of this party is the reaction of my ( non-pro) neighbors to this music making. This might be the only time each year that they see and hear this level of excellence at close quarters. The musicians that show up are not as impressed. Mostly they are waiting for a chance to sit-in. It is the neighbors’ wide-eyed stares that make me so happy to put this party on. I think they all feel like they stepped into a Bing Crosby movie. To see great music being made with so much joy, and seemingly, with such off-hand effort. There is no printed music in sight. This totally bewilders the neighbors who may have studied piano in the past or played clarinet in high school band. This is a party that takes dancing and singing and generally merry-making seriously. That is,of course, what the party is all about. But what I love to see is that look of astonishment on the face of someone who thought you only got to see and hear music like this for fifty-five dollars at Wolf Trap. The ease of it all, the fun of it all, the free of it all, the excellence of it all is reflected in their eyes and their gushing comments. ” How did you FIND these guys?” is a regular comment. My answer is determinedly casual. ” Oh, these are just a bunch of guys I work with”. They are so much more than that. They are all guys who have devoted their lives to this craft. They all bring thirty years of diligent practice to this gig- just to make it look easy. It is really grand to be the guy that brings this, with a lot of beer and chili, to the neighborhood.
– Charlie's Blog –
tonight at The Hamilton
Getting ready for the Chaise Lounge gig at The Hamilton. How weird is it that I am spending more time picking out a suit than I am going over any ragged musical details? I have decided on the mauve one FWIW.
Thank you, Dave Brubeck
for a very full life of interesting and inspiring music. I will miss you. Listening to Countdown- Time in Outer Space to remember some of the wonderful moments I have had with your music. ( on vinyl)
The Sports Page
This is a really special day. The sports page in the Post was as good as it has been in 25 years. The Wizards beat the Heat last night. The Nats got their fifth starter, Dan Haren and it looks like they are going to retain LaRoche. The Skins are on a roll with a true star in RG3. The Hoyas won. The Terps look good. I always wanted to live in a good sports town. Maybe now I do!
Tonight at The Mansion at Strathmore
Looking forward to a great night of music with Chaise Lounge and my two AIRs (Artists in Residence) Owen Danoff and Deborah Bond.
Wednesday at Strathmore with the young Artists in Residence
Looking forward to playing at the Mansion at Strathmore with Chaise Lounge–natch–and Owen Danoff and Deborah Bond on Wednesday night Nov.28th. Part of the deal with being a mentor in the AIR (Artists in Residence ) program is to premier a new song. The new song is called “I Just Want All of My Stuff.” Another sad, sad tale of love gone wrong. And certain vigilante actions taken afterwards.
Just to follow up
The CCS concert was a success. Thank you for all your attention to detail and your enthusiasm for music.
Velocipede
I went to a Capital City Symphony rehearsal last night. They are going to premier a piece of mine on Sunday called Velocipede. The atmosphere in an orchestral rehearsal is a wonderful thing. there is a real seriousness of purpose. Everyone there does this purely for the love of it. It is a community orchestra But there is nothing casual or cavalier about the attitude they bring to playing music. It is all business. Vicky Gau, the conductor, is a terrific rehearse-er. She has got great ears for finding the troublesome bottlenecks in a passage and coming up with just the right fingering or phrasing that will help. Looking forward to hearing the finished product on Sunday. ( 2:30PM and 4:30PM at the Atlas Theater, 1333 H St NE, Weashington DC )
Jeans
My favorite pair of jeans just reached the turning point where they have gone from being perfectly comfortable and stylish enough- to being a beat-up pair of work jeans- I mean, for like working on the roof. I’ve been watching that white-ish, threadbare part of a knee get more and more fragile for the past month. I loved those jeans and wore them every day. And today.. they ripped and instantly went to being the jeans I will only wear to work outside in the yard. I’m glad this doesn’t happen with guitars. If you love your guitar and play it every day, it rewards you by becoming a better sounding ax. Not so bluejeans.
Complete sentences
I just saw Frank Rich and Fran Lebowitz at the Strathmore Music Hall in a lecture sort of event. They sat in two chairs and talked about the State of the Nation. That was the show. Both their political stripes run bright blue. It was a Republican bashing boldly playing to the dangerous and hostile environment of Montgomery County, Maryland. Ha. They were both very funny. But what impressed me about both of them was their ability to speak in complete sentences. Even their short, pithy comebacks had a subject and a predicate. Frank Rich is from DC (Wilson HS) but is now a New Yorker and has been since he was the chief theater critic for the Times in the ’80s. Fran Lebowitz was not born in New York either. But I cannot imagine anyone being a more complete Manhattanite. Their comfort with language is astonishing. They both make their livings with the English language, yes. But how they manage to keep their thoughts so far ahead of their mouths and construct such elegant verbal masterpieces is beyond me. Their conversation is publishable. I can only think of a handful of raconteurs like this. Oscar Wilde. Gore Vidal, William F. Buckley, Johnny Carson, Carl Sagan, Hubert Humphrey… Ok, the list is actually very large. It certainly does not include me. I can’t get a full thought out of my mouth without a string of “ums” and “ahs”. Last night’s conversation was a virtual jam session of bon mots. There is no trick to it. Just be incredibly bright, know a lot and talk a lot. It is still impressive.