Well, here we are at the end of another year! I didn’t write a year end blog post last year because, to be perfectly honest, it wasn’t a great year and I was feeling a little disgruntled about it. In 2018 some things really came together both musically and personally and I’m feeling excited again, so here we go.
The Quintet
In 2018, we got the full band out twice, trios a few times, and a handful of duo gigs. Though we didn’t play a whole lot this year, the shows we did play included some pretty great ones. The big show of the year for the Quintet was at the Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. We played to a great audience at the Nutrien Club Jazz Freestage. We experimented with some new tunes and had a lot of fun doing it. We’re always appreciative of the opportunities that the jazz festival gives us.
With the smaller groups we played some great events, including the City Park Community Association’s Gatsby Night, Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Brunch, Bubbly, and Bling, and our first ever wedding ceremony. 2019 is shaping up to be a great year for the band in all its sizes with three trio gigs and a quintet gig booked in the first four months.
Other Musical Endeavours
I played with a fair amount of other groups in 2018 which is new for me and I had a great time doing it. I had a great year with the Toon Town Big Band, playing our annual shows, including our feature performance at The Broadway Theatre. After university was over, I really missed playing in a big band, so it’s been great to be back doing it. With the Drew Tofin Band, we were pleased to be invited to our second time playing for the grand opening of a Save On Foods. It is a rather interesting experience when you look out from the stage and directly in front of you is the produce section.
The Howlin’ Huskies Pep Band had a great start to year, but it unfortunately went down hill very quickly. Both Huskies basketball teams were having a great season and ended up with home playoff games, but due to budget issues Huskie Athletics decided to replace us with a DJ. That was just the first road block. Come fall, we were expecting to be back for football season, but they decided to scrap us there as well. Then, come basketball season, we were dropped again. This could mean the end of the Howlin’ Huskies Pep Band, but hopefully not. If it is though, we’ve had a good run and it’s been lots of fun.
Back to happier times! My year is ending in a pretty exciting way. I decided to take a step outside my comfort zone and signed up for Band Swap. For those that don’t know, Band Swap is a charity event where 35 musicians get together, split into 7 bands, and have 24 hours to put together a 20 minute set. This is coming up this Saturday night, December 28th. It’s all for charity so come on out! However, that’s still not the end of my year. I’ll be playing New Years Eve at the Cosmo Seniors Centre in Saskatoon with the Oral Fuentes Reggae Band. This is my first time playing with this group. It’s been a lot of work to get ready for this show, stepping out of my comfort zone again and learning all the tunes by ear and memorizing them, a skill I’ve been wanting to work on, and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it. Come on out for a Caribbean New Years Eve!
Teaching
I’ve had a pretty busy year of teaching. I’m now in my 8th year at the Saskatoon Academy of Music and I’m privileged to have fantastic students and coworkers there. I also have one student who I’ve been teaching in their own house. He’s a great kid and a dedicated student who I have really enjoyed teaching. I’ve also been trying to set up a home studio at our new place out in Rosetown, but have not yet had any students sign up.
This year I really kept busy with teach band clinics, teaching ten in total this year. The number of clinics I’ve been teaching has been growing each year and I really enjoy doing them. I’m very happy to see so many schools doing a second round of clinics in the spring to give their students an extra boost before their year end concerts.
Personal Life
This year brought a big change in my personal life when my wife accepted a job in Rosetown. We immediately decided she would take the job, but we didn’t immediately decide that I would go with her. We both recognized that living in Rosetown would add a major challenge to my pursuit of a career in music. After giving it some thought though, I decided to go with her. The lower cost of living meant that I didn’t need to have a conventional job. The deal was that I would split my time between music, a new work from home, commission only, sales job, and taking care of the house. It’s challenging at times, but so far it’s working and we like it. It’s meant a lot of help from our families though. We didn’t have a place in Rosetown until October 1, but our lease in Saskatoon was up at the end of August, so Chelsea spent September living in Biggar with my parents, and I spent most of September living in Saskatoon with her parents because I was busy with beginner band clinics. Even though we now have a place in Rosetown, I still need to spend a lot of time in Saskatoon which means I’m staying with my in-laws A LOT. I’d really like to thank Chelsea’s parents for supporting me in my pursuit of this career by giving me a place to stay and feeding me while I’m there. It really makes a huge difference in my ability to make this work. I’d also like to thank my parents for giving Chelsea a place to stay in September. It made a huge difference to her by cutting half an hour off her daily commute for that month. I’d especially like to thank Chelsea for giving me this opportunity to chase a dream. It takes a really special person to understand that this is what I really want and to support me on the road there. She recognizes that even though I don’t have a set schedule and I’m not always making money, that this is still my job and that I am working. I am eternally grateful for this.
Thank You
I always wrap these things up by giving thanks. First, to the people who come to my shows and support my dream. It’s always great to play for people you don’t know, but it means so much to see familiar faces in the audience because it tells me that people believe in me. I’d also like to thank all the musicians I’ve work with this past year, particularly Larry Hume, director of the Toon Town Big Band, my good friend Drew Tofin, and Oral Fuentes for giving me the opportunity to play with his band. Last, but certainly not least, I’d be lost without my bandmates, Michael Stankowski, Bryn Becker, Nevin Buehler, and Dylan Smith. I’m thankful to have such talented musicians to work with and I’m grateful to have such a great friend in each and every one of them.
