Carrying the risk of finding out no one cares

[dichertz]

I am back.

Good Day.

Dana

[psylichon]

I care. Where ya been.

[Buffy]

I have wondered where you've been! ....SO???



P.S. Glad you're back!

[up10ad]

Good day kind sir. It is a pleasure to hear from you again.

[patrickj]

Glad you're back ...

[ColsTiger]

It has been awhile since you've posted.

[Hondamaker]

Yeah, where ya been? Any adventures to tell us about?

[Hayesimus]

Hey! Its you! You are here! Yes, do tell us of your grandiose adventures while you've been away from the forums!

[psylichon]

Still waiting for those materials to master, btw.

[themanofthedark]

you are back!


hoorah!

where might you have been?

[kokogirl]

What have you been up to? Played any really interesting gigs?

[dichertz]

Good Day to all,
Thank you for your interest in my return.

I have been working/playing in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for the past 3 weeks.

I flew out to LA on March 27 to work on a "workshop" of a show I had played on in the past, which had closed in LA and needed to be "fixed".

The show is called "The Kid From Brooklyn",www.kidfrombrooklynmusical.com and is a story about the life of comedian and actor Danny Kaye. I worked on the original production which premiered in South Florida last year, and I wrote the drum book (the drum music) for the show and also music directed (conducted) many performances.

The show went to LA in December, and the cheap bastards that were producing the show didn't want to pay for my housing (which, admittedly in LA is outrageous) so they used local musicians and had a disaster area for a pit. (HA HA HA).

When the show closed the producers (the same ones who wouldn't pay for my housing to play the show) decided my input was needed on cleaning up the score and adding new numbers to the show. I never burn bridges (professionally anyway--there are plenty of women who would testify to my incinerating personal bridges, but that's another story for another time....) so I went. Two weeks in LA, all expenses paid. (Well airfare, rental car and housing were covered. Vodka, sake, baseball games and hockey games were extra, as was $4.64 a gallon gas--and yes, I DID take pictures of the gas pump).

When I found out I was going to LA, I called a friend of mine who is a performer in Las Vegas (Greg Bonham--no relation to John) to say I was driving past Las Vegas, on my way to the Trinity Test Site (where they tested the atomic bomb in 1945), see White Sands Missile Range (http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/trinst.htm)and he told me he had a couple of gigs the weekend of 11-12-13 and needed a drummer. I was available, so I took them too.

So no big gigs, unfortunately, just 2 weeks of 8 hours a day rehearsals, which actually consists of sitting around and reading more than playing music, and 3 gigs with Greg, which is, quite honestly, one of the most difficult and fun gigs I have ever played.

I do HATE Las Vegas, having lived there for 9 months, but it was nice to be there for 4 days.

So, that is it, I am back in Florida until Mid-June when I go back to Boston to work for the summer. It is very slow musically down here, so I am going into Legal Seafood in West Palm Beach on Friday and hopefully will get some position in the kitchen (I went drinking with the Chef the other night and he told me to come in on Friday and he wanted to see what I can do).

Enough about me.
Thank you for your responses and interest.
It is nice to be back.

Good Day

Dana

[Hayesimus]

wow that was very informative and concise! Sounds luke you had an eventfulr few weeks.

[up10ad]

Very interesting trip Dana. In some ways I envy you, but I don't think I could handle the recurring travel. Thanks for the update. :smile:

[patrickj]

Very nice recap. You always sound like someone who'd be a ton of fun to listen to stories from over a few drinks. Really like the line about incinerating personal bridges ...

[dichertz]

Hayes,
That is a fairly normal couple of weeks, with the exception of the trip to Trinity.
Concise? I almost deleted it after I wrote it because it was so long I didn't think ANYONE would really be interested in reading it. Thanks anyway.

Rick,
I LOVE the travel.
I am not married and don't have children, so I can (and do) travel at a moment's notice.
It's one of my big selling points.

Patrick, I spend a lot of time over drinks. Let me know when you'd like to join me.

And that line about incinerating bridges isn't mine.
It was from one of the women whose bridge was burnt, but I can't remember which one. Seriously.

Good Day

Dana

[patrickj]

Hayes,
That is a fairly normal couple of weeks, with the exception of the trip to Trinity.

Rick,
I LOVE the travel.
I am not married and don't have children, so I can (and do) travel at a moment's notice.
It's one of my big selling points.

Patrick, I spend a lot of time over drinks. Let me know when you'd like to join me.

And that line about incinerating bridges isn't mine.
It was from one of the women whose bridge was burnt, but I can't remember which one. Seriously.

Good Day

Dana

Dana - I don't travel much at all - I've got a (wonderful) daughter plus wife (3rd and final one) and large, ridiculous dog. If you ever find yourself near Austin, Tx, I'm buying :)

And wow - the fact that the incinerating bridges line is attributed to a nameless woman due to inability to recall her name, somehow makes that even more perfect ...

[Hayesimus]

Burning bridges. I love that term. I've burned bridges at 2 previous jobs. One, I wrote a formal letter(it was very articulate and concise) to the owner telling him how worthless he and his management team were. I even called them his minions and said I felt like I'd wasted part of my life there. And when I worked at the movie store, they promoted a girl from another store as our Store Director. She had been with the company less time than our least experienced employee even though we had SEVERAL choices IN our store that had been there for 2 years, like me, or more, like the 3 people above me. I had respect for all of them and they had respect for me and each other. We would have supported anyone that had been promoted.

But because the District Manage dispised our previoius boss, trash talking her which i would think was inappropriate, he thought that promoting someone who was used to doing things her way would be ill advised. When she was our director we were number one in the district like every week. But hey, lets promote this new girl, who doesn't know a thing about the job still.

Well, pretty much all of he golden team began to quit or transfer. This new director was phenomenally incompetent. On one occassion, I walked in on a friday night at 5 to begin my shift. It is against company policy for people to work alone at night. Well, she started to clock out and was like,"see ya later." I said,"who's working with me?" She said,"Oh, Crystal(***** that I actually HELPED get hired, what a mistake that was) will be coming in at 10." I was appalled. SHe expected me to work ALONE on the BUSIEST night of the week... I said,"When are you finally going to hire some people?" SHe responded,"Well, should be in a couple of weeks." I then said,"Well, you need to hurry up. This is getting really old." Then she rolled her eyes at me and left. She told Crystal that I was "*****in" about it.

I thought that was also inappropriate as Crystal was my subordinate. In my opinion you shouldn't talk about people DOWN the chain of command like that. If i had a problem with a subordinate I could go to my boss. But if my boss had an issue with me, she can't go running her mouth to our newest(except for the boss at hand) employee. So. A few more instances like this happened and then I was supposed to takeover my friend's hours one night. Well, i got invited to go do something and I was tryin to get someone to take my hours. No one would so I went in to work anyway. Then I heard that the Director had been talking to Crystal and that if I didn't show up I was gonna be fired. (which even if i had not shown up, she couldn't have. There is a process involving 3 write-ups and warnings and all that before termination is allowed.)

Well, I was tired of her. So, I rechecked my friends and family's movies and deleted some late fees and then looked at my coworker Crystal and casually said,"See ya'll later..." and left. They had lines to the back of the store and everything. It was great. ANYWAY! SO yeah two bridges burned pretty bad. Yet the first job called me back because I was a great worker, and the second job tried to get me to comeback also but I turned them down. BLAH BLAH BLAH. wow, sorry that was so long.

[darklight]

Dana,

in 6 years, come to Boston, because you seem like an extremely interesting idividual to talk to over a drink or two.

Ok? ok.

[dichertz]

Sam,

I have an apartment in Swampscott.
I was born in Lynn and most of the gigs I did in my early career were all in Boston.
The last time I played in Boston was in 2003 at the Colonial Theatre with Beauty and the Beast.

I would be glad to sit down with you when I come back this summer.
OK?

Good Day Sir

Dana

[kokogirl]

Sam,

I have an apartment in Swampscott.
I was born in Lynn and most of the gigs I did in my early career were all in Boston.
The last time I played in Boston was in 2003 at the Colonial Theatre with Beauty and the Beast.

I would be glad to sit down with you when I come back this summer.
OK?

Good Day Sir

Dana

Dana,

I enjoyed your travel "diary" that you wrote for us. I think I told you before that I was a music ed major and used to teach band and some orchestra. I love hearing musician stories!

BTW, my brother and his wife used to live in Swampscott! They really enjoyed it there. Then they moved to Medford and now they are in a little town in VT.

[dichertz]

Dana,

I enjoyed your travel "diary" that you wrote for us. I think I told you before that I was a music ed major and used to teach band and some orchestra. I love hearing musician stories!

BTW, my brother and his wife used to live in Swampscott! They really enjoyed it there. Then they moved to Medford and now they are in a little town in VT.


Good Day Lisa

If you ever mentioned to me that you were a music teacher, I must have forgotten.
Are you still teaching? What was your primary instrument?

I have been working with quite a few band and orchestra directors lately.
I have a good friend who is a cellist in the Buffalo Philharmonic and is a high school orchestra director in the Buffalo area. She had me come to Buffalo to play for her high school musical this year and the drummers for the band and orchestra wanted me to coach them. So I did and LOVED it.

I have been working here in Florida at a couple of the performing arts schools and done a couple of clinics with the UM and Miami Dade jazz bands talking about chart interpretation and history of music and how it relates to styles of drumming.

Small world, isn't it? I LOVE Swampscott, but the winters just KILL me.
Where does your brother live in Vermont? Anywhere near St Johnsbury?

I have to get to the Supermarket before 10.

Thank you for your interest in my post.
Good Day

Dana

[kokogirl]

Good Day Lisa

If you ever mentioned to me that you were a music teacher, I must have forgotten.
Are you still teaching? What was your primary instrument?

I have been working with quite a few band and orchestra directors lately.
I have a good friend who is a cellist in the Buffalo Philharmonic and is a high school orchestra director in the Buffalo area. She had me come to Buffalo to play for her high school musical this year and the drummers for the band and orchestra wanted me to coach them. So I did and LOVED it.

I have been working here in Florida at a couple of the performing arts schools and done a couple of clinics with the UM and Miami Dade jazz bands talking about chart interpretation and history of music and how it relates to styles of drumming.

Small world, isn't it? I LOVE Swampscott, but the winters just KILL me.
Where does your brother live in Vermont? Anywhere near St Johnsbury?

I have to get to the Supermarket before 10.

Thank you for your interest in my post.
Good Day

Dana

My primary instrument was clarinet, but I played some saxophone in jazz band and for fun.

I loved working with the kids, but the rest of the school BS bummed me out and my FIL offered me a job working for him, so I help run the office for our family business.

My brother lives south of Burlington in Waitsfield. My SIL is the graphic designer for Sugarbush resort. I am not knowledgeable about the area-I have not been to their house yet. I hate the cold, so I refuse to go in the winter. We are going to visit them in June.

[chcorey52]

Hey i have never really talked to you but there have been some of your old posts that have helped me so i just wanted to welcome you back!

[dichertz]

Hey i have never really talked to you but there have been some of your old posts that have helped me so i just wanted to welcome you back!

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

Good Day chcorey

I am glad that some of my posts were a help to you.
I am surprised, however. I feel that I contribute nothing to this site except some unusual stories.

Thank you for your greeting and your thanks.
I do appreciate it.

Good Day Sir

Dana