Football games.

I'm sure its no secret how much I dig playing in the marching band. I will skip that whole speech this time. Instead I was hoping to simply go over a few awesome things that happened to myself and the MASH Marching band during the first couple weeks of the season. Friday was the first home game, and there was a pretty good showing of fans despite the questionable weather. After our band winning/team loosing romp in Oil City, I'd say we were all pretty fired up, despite the fact that we didn't expect to win. It would appear that our band has developed a tendency to battle other bands that we run in to. On this particular occasion, the Warren band though it would be funny to try and one-up some of our stand tunes. They even tried to out-dance us. Our drum major made absolutely sure that didn't happen. With a lot of help from the basses. Yes, believe it our not, we have a surprisingly fun-loving bassline. By the end of the night, we all felt as though we had played better, moved more, and had more fun than anybody else. And the football team even won! That just iced the cake for one fantastic night.

But we weren't about to stop there. Oh no, because we had in fact been asked to perform at the Allegheny Gators' football game the very next night. And even if the Meadville fans had gotten nearly as excited about the band as the band had, it would have been no comparison to the loud, rockous appreciation that we received from the gold-clad gator fans at Bender Field. After our well-played but poorly-marched halftime show, the drumline and our trusty backup dancers made a pilgrimage to the student section of the bleachers. We played some crazy cadence jams, the band was dancing, and they ate it up. Those college students couldn't get enough, they were so energetic and into it that it made me feel like some sort of rock star. The MASH band moved to every groove from Soul Man to Jump On It. And of course the dancing bassline didn't fail to impress. I think it was a fantastic opportunity for all of us to give the show our best in front of an unfamiliar (and thankfully quite accepting) crowd of people. And the Gators even won the game!!! Everybody could see that the players were enjoying the band just as much as the crowd, and I personally believe that our team spirit helped the blue & gold Gators win out.

A couple of updates

To start this off, the first day of school went better than I though. It looks like I may have a chance of making some sort of a minor comeback presuming I don't get screwed over by any other situations beyond my control. I am especially excited to have an independent study in band class four days a week, which means a lot of potential progress in mallets, timpani, and other things that I can't access at home.

In other news, you gotta check out my YouTube channel!!!!! Its brand new and crazy cool!!! Its even called SutterSpeak!!! http://www.youtube.com/user/SutterSpeak

Any other youtube channels our URLs that you may have heard now cease to exist. Thanks!!

Last day of summer....

In honor of Summer's last day I feel compelled to say something here. Hopefully you all have some sort of an idea about how much fun I've had since the end of 10th grade, both while exploring opportunities in other parts of the country and discovering more about myself and the place where I live. It is just a bit scary to think about how important it is to not screw up this year so that I may have a chance of going to a big college in the west with a hella tight division 1 marching band. At least getting a chance to go somewhere that really interests me and has well rounded programs and students. The really scary thing is how easy it is to get off track. I learned this last year, which truly was not that difficult, but I was unmotivated and I'll admit that I pretty much blew it. I suppose that means I can only improve from here. There is really no other choice in the matter.

And by the way, this year's marching band season is gonna rock!! Stay tuned!

Jason Mraz is the man

So I am pretty much an avid concertgoer now. I know my way around Americas stages and stadiums. I went to see Jason Mraz on Monday. Anybody who knows a thing about me knows that I'm real tight with my man Jason. I've known this guy since "The Remedy" first got radio airplay and I have pretty much memorized all of his recorded work since then. The first time I saw him was down the street from my house at Shaffer auditorium at Allegheny College. This time was at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater in Cleveland, Ohio. With a few friends and a whole bunch of snacks in our "party van", we headed to the city tickets in hand, ready to have a good time. The only major disappointment was that I made the mistake of ordering general admission tickets, which seemed to be a good move at the time based on my prior knowledge of the seating arrangement at TWCA (when I saw the Killers, there were no seats). But alas, they had rearranged the seats to that the people who were generally admitted could only stand in the far back (behind rows of seats) or on the sides, not even under the tent. After being deeply saddened by the situation in the far back, we sought a bit of redemption around the sides, leaning over the fences and looking past the beams and pillars that held the great tent in place. This view was a bit better, quite suitable for the opening acts, but since we paid nearly as much as those with the seats, we generally felt as though we deserved to be a bit more involved in this party. The thing to do was to go around to the other side. And lo!! A gap in the fence did appear!! I was on the inside by the start of his third song, found a seat for myself, and later, the rest of the group. We were practically making small talk and joking around with the guards while they checked others' tickets. The quality of the experience increased dramatically. Jason's energy and enthusiasm was extremely engaging (alliteration!), and of course hearing the music live somehow made me appreciate it even more. With the addition of operatic interludes, lyrics translated into other languages, and freestyle rap (featuring Jason's opening artists K'Naan and G.Love), even the most recognizable of his repertoire became something completely new. Not to mention the brass section that was smokin' all night long! And to top it all off, Jason presented a new view on the customary encore performance, running through the crowd onto a smaller stage in the center of everything, nightclub style. And guess who snuck in to the very front of that little ordeal? Me. Though I was on the very outside, I somehow made a move that got me within a few feet of the man himself without much trouble. It was as if it was meant to be. His final songs were some of the best, and nobody in the audience could doubt that a fantastic time was had by all. So here's to you, Jason Mraz, in the hope that you will continue to make great music and put on unforgettable performances, you are the man.

Second week of band camp

I think most of my bandies would agree that the second week of band camp was even more exciting than the first. We got to take the gong and the large concert bass drum onto the field so that we may hit them as hard as we possibly can and create some epic amazingness for the beginning of our show. Then we got to working on the rest of the show. It was impressive how much we got done, at least some days. Other days were not so productive, spending most of the morning on a few sets of our opening song, nobody really focusing or thinking clearly. But for the most part the whole band did very well. By the end of the week our director was very excited about how well the show was going and I think most of us agreed with her. I personally feel that once we get the drumline tightened up and more in sync with the rest of the band, it will be a huge step towards making our show great. Then of course there was the annual band pool party, which was more fun this year than any other year I can remember! Not only was there some great chicken-fight action, plus we threw lots of people into the pool, one of them got nearly three quarters of the way across!! Another one of them happened to be the band director. Everybody was totally worn out the next day, but a fantastic season kick-off party has got to indicate a fantastic season to come.

Let the marching begin!!!

So I'm finished rocking out in Los Angels, through gallivanting around the bay area, done being puzzled by classical music in Oberlin, and am now back in Meadville for the remainder of the summer. What happens now? Marching band is what happens, of course. Yesterday marked the last day of the first week of band camp, a five hour a day marching extravaganza in which we aim to finish all of the drill for our show and learn the music along with it. This is often exciting, and never fails to be thoroughly tiring as well. This first week was a serious workout, but we are well on our way to finishing the first two songs and it is all looking good so far. Being the section leader of the drum section, I was especially concerned about how well the line was holding up with so many new people. I am happy to say that we are off to a good start. With much help from drumline guru Duane Banks, we have made it quite far in a week and will keep progressing all season. I am especially excited for next week because so many people have been gone this last week, and they will all hopefully be coming back for the end of band camp. There is no way that we'll pull everything together and make the show look great with nearly half our members missing on a daily basis. This is one problem that the MASH band still needs to overcome this year and in the future. One thing I know for sure is that the entire drumline will be present and ready for action next week, and I can wait to perfect our cadences and learn some sweet moves to put in the show. I know its gonna be big, loud, and rocking!

Oberlin Percussion Institute 2009....

I went to the OPI summer camp in the hopes of learning a bit more about percussion in classical music. There is no doubt that I learned many important things about marimba, timpani, snare drum, triangle, etc. in a classical context. What I also learned quite quickly was exactly how much everybody else already knew about such things. It was overwhelming to encounter so much knowledge among my peers in so short a time. Partially this just made me angry. But fortunately it also encouraged me to work harder. At least it will at some point.
The campus is a beautifully empty place in the summertime, the few students that wander here and there in small groups don't exactly translate to the surprising amount of activities that are actually going on when school is not in session. Walking a couple long blocks down from our dorm, plus jaywalking diagonally across a four way intersection got us to the conservatory every day. This was a trip we made several times within a 24-hour period, having to return for lunch, dinner, etc. The main percussion studio was where we all spent most of our time, a cavernous rectangular space with a towering, messy set of cabinets at the far end that block the view of what is probably more space. The room is a percussion mecca withing a fortress of classical music at its finest. It houses at least two massive five octave marimbas, several xylophones, sets of bells, hanging chimes, bass drums, snare drums, several timpani sets, a vibraphone or two, and who knows what else. Every day, the folding chairs were arranged in some different configuration to accommodate whatever clinic or master class we would be attending that day. Everything from the style of four mallet marimba to the precise art of the triangle, that room was clearly where it all goes down. And I must admit that the majority of these classes were very interesting and much more in-depth than what I am used to. I rarely have the chance to study technique used specifically for orchestral snare, and the man who taught us, Tom Freer, was exceptionally skilled and undeniably engaging. I had a great deal to learn from him, and even more to practice afterward. But as all you drum set players should understand, I don't often practice or perform while standing up, which is the most common method among orchestral percussionists. Even his discussion on the precise art of the triangle (as I mentioned earlier) were very enlightening. The other teachers provided equally unusual and useful insight. The head of the percussion department lead a cymbal clinic and a demonstration of putting a calf head on a drum, among other things. There was also a timpani expert who assisted many of us with the technique used to get the best sound from these large, expressive instruments. All of this was infused with eccentric stories about the escapades of the teacher and/or their colleagues, which were always amusing and mostly related to what was being taught. And you cant end an experience like this without having your mind blown, it just wouldn't be right. There was an end-of-the-week performance given by Percussion group Cincinnati, of which one of our teachers is a member. The night's repertoire consisted of pieces that ranged from cheerful and melodic folk songs played on the marimba to their rock solid conclusion which John Cage's Third Construction, which was so intricate, complicated and precise that it absolutely must be heard to be believed. If brains could explode, my brain would have definitely exploded by the end of the week.

Down by the Bay Pt. 2

The house we stayed at with my dad's old friend was just a hop, skip, jump, and a few very sharp turns from the train station, in the Berkeley hills. I never though I'd see buildings on such steep inclines, nor with such twisted roads going around and about them. Right near Berkeley was Pixar Animation Studios, where one of our friends works and was kind enough to give us a tour. Their campus could be a college, with everything from a food court to lecture halls and art studios. The amount of work that goes into making one of these movies was readily apparent. Each movie starts as a series of black and white sketches, and progresses across various easels and whiteboards, onto clay models, through a multitude of computers, not to mention going in and out of the brains of everyone from painters to software engineers long before you even see the trailer on YouTube. I gained quite an appreciation for what Pixar does, and really how well it gets done.
The very next day (if I remember correctly) my dad and I took the subway-metro-train thingy to the amazingly amazing city of San Fransisco. What a day it was! As soon as we got out of the station, what did I get to see? Sutter street!! The greatest street in America!! I was so psyched that we just had to take a bunch of photos of me whenever we got to a Sutter Street sign. I took many pictures that day, Chinatown was such a scene, but really there was something happening anywhere where anything happened to be. And since wherever something happened to be there was something happening, I happened to be in many places where many pictures could be taken, which happened to make me very happy. But I was baffled by the dramatic changes in altitude that took place from one end of a street to the other. It was like one minute we were riding donkeys into death valley, and the next we were on an expedition with Sir Edmond Hillary! Northwest PA is a bit hilly, but San Francisco is mountainous. I pity the fool (or tourist) who unknowingly drives into that city without knowing what is waiting for them.
But lets talk about Berkeley for just one more second. Visiting the campus was quite exciting. There are many great old buildings, each with its own odd personality. I got a feeling that things were happening, even in the middle of summer, still many people milling about. We couldn't help but thoroughly enjoy a jaunt down Telegraph Avenue, still a mecca for counterculture and weirdness after all these years (though maybe not quite as much now). We investigated classic locations such as the Cafe Mediterraneum, claiming to be the birthplace of today's cafe latte. Personally I was a huge fan of Amoeba Records, with an out-of-this-world music collection ranging from shred metal to big band, and reasonable prices throughout. All these kinds of things served as more than enough to boggle the mind of an easterner such as myself, and I'll quickly admit to the unparalleled levels of awesome that can be found down by the Bay.

Down by the Bay Pt.1

Hopefully you have heard by now about the epic-ness of my days at Musician's Institute. I filled everybody in on the other various events during the first week of my stay. Well that wasn't it my friends. I had the good fortune to get an opportunity to fly from LA to Sacramento with my dad to go visit his sister in Davis. This was exciting because I hadn't seen my aunt in a while and hadn't been to the Bay Area since I was four. The first day we walked around the campus of UC Davis where my aunt works. And what a walk it was! Davis is a massive place, and we must have spent hours exploring the various lecture halls, classrooms, dorms, gyms, trails, pools, sidewalks, cafeterias, shops, grassy knolls, trees, students, passing cars, clubhouses, Starbucks, empty fields, libraries, bicycles, street signs, and bridges that cover the vast college area. The Starbucks helped a lot. That is basically the gist of Davis. It's getting late so I'll move on. The next day was Sacramento, just a short jaunt down the highway and we were in the capital of California!! (Everything seems much closer once dad and I jacked my aunt's car) Our first order of business was to walk around the old town for a bit and check out the old west style architecture that has maintained (sort of) since back in the day. The railroad museum was also an interesting experience. Getting to see how it is possible to have so many gigantic machines in a building was entertaining enough, but the stories that accompanied each vehicle were also enlightening. For some reason I could especially appreciate how the main room was set up in a certain way so that each train car could be rolled out through these big doors and spun around on a giant disk, then there is a whole system of tracks outside......Although I cant image that anybody tries to move those trains around particularly often. Since looking at trains takes so terribly much energy, we hadn't a choice but to eat a large lunch. It was of such an impressive size that I really could have just taken a nap for just a bit afterwards. But we decided to go on a bike ride instead. It was a place just around the corner, and the bikes were the nicest rentals either of us had ever seen. The bike path was converted from old train tracks, it crossed a couple grand old bridges and ran along the river for quite a distance. It was a beautiful day and a great deal of fun to take in some new scenery and get some exercise. I hadn't been on a bike in a while, an riding along the river in Sacramento was an outstanding way of getting back into it for sure. The Jamba Juice we had after was a nice addition as well. Our final stop had to be, of course, at Sutter's Fort, a very well-named structure in the middle of town. We took some great novelty pictures of me in front of the wall, contemplating the sign, and knocking on the large wooden doors of my historic building. All in all there was much fun to be had, though we unfortunately soon found ourselves boarding a train to Berkeley, saying goodbye to my aunt and the city of Davis, wishing them both well. Not that there is anything wrong with being on a train bound for Berkeley, I might add.

Rocking out at Musician's Institute

its late and I'm a bit tired from rocking out (or watching others rock out) all day, so i will try to make this quick, and please excuse any errors. There is no doubt that I've had a fantastic time at Musician's Institute this week. From the open jams to the guest artist concert, even the technique classes, it was all worthwhile. I basically want to run through a few cool things that have gone down here so that we don't get too far behind. Surprisingly, the first day of camp was the least hectic. The process of registering was a bit hectic, but when that was over we got to chillax and watch Dan "the man" Gilbert and a bunch of other MI teachers rock out in the concert hall. It was an excellent show and an appropriate way to start off the week. We transitioned smoothly to the first couple of classes and visited the registrar more than enough times in order to get schedules sorted out. The very next day I got to meet my band! I was a bit worried because all those changes may have put me in a band with people of unfortunate musical persuasion (bad taste. Metalheads.). Luckily, I ended making a connection with a couple of great characters, two friends from Barbados who were more into alternative rock and wanted to play something more on the complicated side. SCORE! We were joined by a seriously shredding Italian and slightly older dude from the LA area. When we began rehearsing Radiohead's Paranoid Android, the others seemed to immediately appreciate my style. This made me happy. The next few days got a bit more complicated. We began checking out the various seminars and jam sessions that were happening at the Institute. I was suddenly quite busy, ironically there was barely enough time left to find a practice room. At the end of the week, every group formed during the camp got a chance to perform in the professional grade concert hall. What excited me most about this was that (other than the fact that my group was killer) the advanced lighting and screens on both sides could make one feel like a true rockstar. I have a feeling that the crowd loved us as well. Can't wait to get the DVD of our performance to show the friends back home! Unfortunately, I must conclude this so that I may pack for my flight to Sacramento tomorrow, but email me or text me if you want to know any more of the rockin' details! PEACE.

You 'aint seen nuthin' yet....

I bet some of you out there are thinking that there is nothing left to say about Summer 2009. I bet you are figuring that all my exciting activities are over and there will be nothing going on for the next couple months save for band camp. WRONG! You 'aint seen nuthin' yet my friends. It just so happens that on this very day I will be departing from the small town of Meadville to travel across the world (actually just the country) to Los Angeles where I will be attending a 6-day drum school at Musician's Institute. "Summer Shot" is a condensed summer camp version of MI's full year graduate program in Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboard, or Vocals. The same five majors are available for study during summer shot. I will form a band with other instrumentalists attending the camp, and we will learn and rehearse a song throughout the week for the concert on Saturday (though I don't know quite as many people in LA as I do in PA, all my relatives will be invited to attend). There will also be open counseling sessions, private lessons, and other classes available throughout the week. Admittedly I am not entirely sure how it will all go down, but I'm hoping to get into a band that will play a good jazz or funk tune that will be more difficult than I am used to. And did I mention that this whole think takes place on Hollywood Blvd? Right on! There will be plenty of rocking/jazzing in the near future for me and I promise to keep everybody updated. Peace!

Recording

Needless to say, all of my band mates and I had a great time recording demos for our original songs. Our first studio venture wasn't in a real studio, that would be far too expensive and un-smalltown-like. So instead we recorded in my basement, a far more suitable atmosphere. Our main goal was to make recordings of the four originals we know well before I left for Musician's Institute in LA. Since I am still here, it is evident that we succeeded. But I believe that the success was more than just finishing four songs in just over a week. In a way, we discovered a bit more about our musical styles individually, and as a group. Since recording, not unlike live performance, is a musical skill that can only be mastered by repetition, our next session will undoubtedly be better than our last. I am sure of this because when we next record, the drums and bass will go down first followed by guitars and vocals. Don't forget about the piano, brass, strings, and extra percussion that will be added to enhance the sound. Eventually there will be a good EP that we can sell at our shows, and I really want to pull out all the stops. Nobody really knows what is gonna go down though, we just hope for the best. In the meantime go to our band myspace and listen in to what we have done so far. Feedback is always appreciated, and thanks a lot for the support
!

Parties (Team Us vs. Team Them)

What would the beginning of summer be without parties? Not quite the same of course. After the fantastic kick-off at a friends house (note the previous entry), it could really only get better. A few days later I had some friends over to celebrate my very-belated birthday. Due to unforeseen circumstances of outrageous busyness, it was impossible to have a party in the same month as my birthday. But that doesn't mean we are not gonna party!!! So I chose a random day and was all like "you guys should be here on this day" and actually a lot of people came! We started off by hanging out for a bit while put on some tunes and amused myself with the Xbox (its complicated). Once we got everyone mostly in the same place, mom busted out the game of Things. The game of Things is a pretty hella tight game in which a card is chosen with a "Thing" on it, and everybody writes their response down on a small strip of paper. Theses "Things" can range from "Things you shouldn't doodle on" to "Things to do in a blackout". Whatever the card, responses are hilarious and memorable. Of course we then had some food. And what would a party be without Ultimate Sport Disk? NOTHING! Because Ultimate Sport Disk is the bomb!!! One of the most fun parts of playing the game is getting to the field, in this case by cramming into the party bus for the short trip to Robertson. Once the second Ian arrived, we naturally split up into teams and started running around, ultimating it up, and having a great time. Initially, Team Us was doing very well against Team Them with our power players John, Ian, and Claire, and in fact everyone was doing quite excellently under the scheming direction of Coach Zanie. But, tragically, both teams lost some of their players and after some negotiation we were forced to give up the massively tall Ian to Team Them. Although the new Team Us was still an excellent group, Team Them won over in the second half despite valiant efforts by Kevin and Claire to score and inspired attempts by John and myself to overcome Ian's tallness. Finally, Team Us made an agreement with Team Them to unify into one team and get in the party bus to return home and play Rock Band. All of you should know that there are few wins more epic than playing Rock Band. I would say that the most significant sign of progress that day was how we moved out of playing the original Rock Band in to Rock Band 2. This brought a whole new realm of fun that occupied the remaining party goers much longer than I expected. But whatever, it was a wonderful time and quite a success.

First three days of summer

Wednesday was the last day of school. I had a band practice and went to my drum lesson. My drum teacher gave me a whole bunch of music for the percussion camp that I will be going to in Oberlin later in the summer. But there were a lot of mallet pieces that I cant practice at home. So I texted the band director and asked her if I could borrow the band's marimba for the summer. The next morning, we picked it up, wheeled it around the school, and somehow managed to fit it into our van. It was quite a feat of engineering. Of course I love nothing more than to add insturments to my collection, if only temporarily. It was not two days ago when a friend of my mother's lent me one of his mandolins, to my great amusement. But the Oberlin percussion institute is serious business and I must get to work. Then again, another band practice was necessary in order to prepare for the next day's gig. Lets talk about that for just a second. A nice freshman girl asked us to play at her annual end of school pool party, not particularly far from our house. Once we tracked down Jay (a trick we've been getting quite good at), the show started out pretty well. We got through a number of more mellow tunes, and then started the more exciting ones as I had planned. But we barely got through "Mary Jane's last dance" before a policeman showed up in the driveway asking us to turn down. It was our very first time having the cops called on us. And in the middle of the day, too! We couldn't help but be proud of ourselves. I even wanted to take a picture of us with the policeman for our scrapbook. We never actually did, but there was another opportunity when he showed up for the second time in the middle of "Dancing Shoes". Apparently this girl has some seriously sore neighbors. I took the opportunity to go to my next appointment, after having packed up and left the scene before it was to late. A friend's graduation party was the place to be, for sandwiches, cake, and hanging out with music teachers, at least for a little while. I might have stayed longer but there are always more plans to be made. I headed off to another end-of-summer party. Myself and a bunch of friends were toasting marshmallows, taking pictures, playing games, and making bad jokes all night long. At one particular point, the entire party wandered up the road to a nearby playground, then through the woods on a trail that happened to lead to my front yard. But there was absolutely no way of getting into the house, short of scaling the wall and climbing through the upstairs window, a method which has failed many times in the past. Unfortunately my crazy dance party would just have to wait. We walked up the road, down, around, and, after a few other prepositions, found our way back to the official party location. That was when the bad jokes and ridiculous games really begin. It is a given that we must run around in the dark, or in my case just fall in the dark. I honestly fell so many times it was out of control. There was sliding, hopping, tripping, jumping, half-flipping and a bit of face planting. It was amazing that I made it out alive, and it was 1 in the morning at that!

Tally Hall

Have you ever heard of the band Tally Hall Well I hadn't either until one day when a friend from Rochester sent me a message about going to see a band he really likes in Pittsburgh. Of course, I was immediately interested and soon found myself on Google and YouTube checking out these mysterious "Tally Hall" people. And I was in for quite a treat. This group knows no genre boundaries, with hip-hop jams and country tunes, both equally effective. So, in short, I was like, "yea, this show is gonna be sweet!" It was a Wednesday afternoon when myself and two friends from Rochester crammed into the back of their Prius and took off to Pittsburgh. Considering that the back seat of a Prius isn't entirely fit for three teenage boys, it was somewhat of a long ride, but still fun. When we got there, it was absolutely necessary to wander through a labyrinth of hallways to find the theater entrance, with was undoubtedly one of the more obscure places I've ever been too. We sat through not one, but two opening acts before Tally Hall took the stage. Mercifully, the third didn't show up. Tally Hall's show was just as eclectic and unusual as I figured it would be, but what I didn't expect was how darned funny it was. From randomly interacting with audience members to the "technical difficulties breakdown", the show was as amusing as it was entertaining. The five members of "The Hall" wore their classic uniform, white button down shirt with black vest and dress pants. Each one of them has their own color tie. I beleive this references their hilarious and unusual web show, "Tally Hall's Internet Show", which can involve anything from clay-mation music videos to dancing with a man dressed as a gorilla on a street corner. After the show, I purchased their album, "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum", and noticed the excellent cover art and how each member had their own page in the liner notes. When the band came out to greet their fans, I asked each of them to sign by their names. They were all quite nice and just as funny as onstage. The ride back was cramped and I was super tired the next day, but it was totally worth it. Tally Hall is now one of my new favorite bands. You should check them out!!