Weekly Roundup

Over the last few weeks I have played jazz out a couple of times, checked out a couple of Toastmasters groups, helped a friend find a car and gone on a couple of short hikes.

An old musician friend called me to substitute for the regular piano player on a Wednesday night at the Balcony Club. This was great fun and the first public gig I've had in a few years. A minor downside was the tendency for the group to "trade fours" on pretty much every tune. I think that trading fours is effective if used sparingly. Doing it on almost every tune defeats the surprise element and becomes rigid and non-creative. A week or so later I came back to sit in for a couple of tunes. This was enjoyable and I played in a trio setting, so I could avoid trading fours, which I did.

I have an interest in improving my ability to speak spontaneously. Participating in a Toastmasters organization is one way to do that. They offer a "curriculum" of 10 speeches that range from ice breaker to entertainment to use of props. Everyone who speaks gets an evaluator who gives constructive criticism. Also, there are table topics which require you to stand and give a spontaneous 1-2 minute talk on some random topic or question. I have not decided if I will commit to this yet, but I have visited two different organizations in the Dallas area so far to investigate.

My friend bought an Acura TSX this past weekend. She loves it!

We started to go for another hike on the Katy Trail today but decided instead to go to church at Unity Church of Dallas. We had not been to church there in several weeks and Karen Epps was finishing up the series on the book, Writings in the Sand by Thomas Moore. The presentation was superb as usual.

Balcony Club 2010

Rainy Wednesday night. Young couples dancing. Straight-ahead Jazz. Renewing old acquaintances. New acquaintances. Old Friends. Old jamming buddies. Days of Wine and Roses. Sugar. What's up the last 8 years?

Balcony Club is a staple of Dallas low rent, down to earth jazz/blues experience. Lots of memories and annoyances. Good to have a place to show up, relax and have a beer or listen or play or whatever.

The last time I played at the Balcony Club I hated it. It was smoky, the piano was way out of tune (not even close enough for Jazz). The trumpet player running the band loved to take lots of "out" choruses. That about did me in.

These days it is non-smoking. Much better. The piano is much better and the band was good. I sat in for a couple of tunes at the top of the second set. Lots of fun.