Symphony rehearsal field trip

Symphony rehearsal

Symphony rehearsal


Being between jobs has its advantages. I spent the morning acting as a chaperone when Ligon’s orchestra students went on a field trip to Meymandi Hall to watch the North Carolina Symphony rehearse for its upcoming Beethoven performance. It was interesting to watch the conductor and orchestra work out the (barely noticeable) kinks in the performance. The kids were also remarkably well behaved, though I think some were quite restless by the end of the two hours.

One of the highlights of the performance was the pianist, Irina_Zahharenkova. She is a phenomenal pianist, memorizing the music so completely that she could know what to play when the conductor asked to start again at measure 415. She also has 8 fingers on each hand, which is the key to her playing. Ok, I made that part up but she can sure play like she has extra fingers!

I hoped to ride Hallie’s bus the five blocks to the concert hall but the seating arrangements made it unworkable. I opted to let her hang with her friends at the hall, too. With that many kids it was tough finding one-on-one time with her. Even so, we compared notes (ha!) afterward and agreed it was good to have gone.

Rock Band Invites 11-Year-Old Guitarist Onstage

This kid’s got chops. I love how nonchalant he remains.

Fisher and his dad waited four hours to nab seats in the front row at the Midland Theatre. And then during the concert, Fisher suddenly graduated from his spot in School of Rock in Millard, Neb. to center stage at a big-time rock ‘n’ roll show, WOWT-TV in Omaha reported.Steel Panther called him up on stage.The band asked Fisher if he was nervous. In front of thousands of fans, he said no — and with that launched into “Eruption,” the iconic electric guitar instrumental by legendary six-string master Eddie Van Halen.Not more than a few seconds into the flurry of notes the Steel Panther guys were visibly impressed…

via Rock Band Invites 11-Year-Old Guitarist Onstage — What He Does Next Blows Away the Band and the Audience | Video | TheBlaze.com.

Highlanders perform at recital

The Highlanders

The Highlanders

We attended Travis’s piano recital on Saturday. Unlike other performances where we were simply part of the audience, the whole family got to perform as “The Highlanders.” Along with the Cadwells and Schuyler Pettibone, the Turner family played “Bonnie at Morn” and “Goat On The Hill” midway through the recital.

It was quite fun to play again for an audience. Once the recital was over (and no one was really paying attention), the Cadwells and Turners returned to the stage to play a few other songs.

I’ve always loved the art of music but there’s something really great about playing together with others. When everyone’s in tune and in sync it is a magical thing. Our little show was the highlight of my week.

Hallie plays in the orchestra

Tonight we attended Hallie’s first concert with the Ligon Philharmonic Orchestra. She was playing 2nd violin for a few fun Halloween pieces, with 69 other students on stage.

It was a wonderful performance and quite a showcase of the talent at Ligon. We enjoyed every minute of it!

I’ve got gobs of video I’m working to upload. Be patient!

Born on the Bayou

Now when I was just a little boy standin’ to my Daddy’s knee
My Poppa said “son don’t let the man get you do what he done to me
’cause he’ll get you ’cause he’ll get you now now.”

I can remember the fourth of July runnin’ through the backwood bare.
And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin’ chasin’ down a hoodoo there
Chasin’ down a hoodoo there.

Born on the bayou
Born on the bayou
Born on the bayou.
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Creative outlets

"The Highlanders" in a May 2012 performance.

“The Highlanders” in a May 2012 performance.


Since we got back from visiting Kelly’s family in Wisconsin over the Fourth of July holiday, I’ve been feeling the need to be more creative. Part of our time there was spent by me sitting around and playing guitar with Kelly’s uncle. I only knew a handful of chords (and songs) so we didn’t play many songs. The few songs we did play was enough for me to reignite my interest in guitar.

This summer we’ve been doing more with music as a family, too. Both kids’ recitals this year had a portion where the families of the students could perform a piece. Our family performed Ashokin Farewell as “The Highlanders.” Every Sunday evening we would practice the song together, me on guitar, Kelly on flute, Hallie on violin, and Travis on piano. I came to crave this hour each week set aside to play music.
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Pandora Paid Over $1,300 for 1 Million Plays, Not $16.89

Here’s another rebuttal for David Lowery, who recently asserted that Pandora was ripping him off. It turns out his record company is ripping him off, which should be old news to him by now.

Lowery told kids to get off his lawn about this time last year, blaming Creative Commons.

David Lowery’s “My Song Got Played On Pandora 1 Million Times and All I Got Was $16.89” article has been picked up over and over and over, including by very respectable folks, often without comment.

This has left many readers with two impressions:

Pandora only paid $16.89 for 1 million plays.1

Pandora pays much lower royalty rates than Sirius XM and especially terrestrial AM/FM radio.

Music royalties are complex, but both of these are patently untrue.

via the understatement: Pandora Paid Over $1,300 for 1 Million Plays, Not $16.89.

Sirius sets

I pulled the plug on my SiriusXM subscription yesterday, when that great six-month deal ran out and was no longer offered. I don’t know, maybe my work with Little Raleigh Radio has convinced me that radio works best if it’s local, but I never got into satellite radio. I guess being able to tune in the world on my smartphone was too easy (and free) to pass up. Also, the satellite receiver stayed in Kelly’s car (the minivan), so it wasn’t around for me during my RTP commutes.

I still admire the company though, and if it offered service the right price I might subscribe to it again.

Little Raleigh Radio server delivered

Little Raleigh Radio

I also buckled down this weekend to get Little Raleigh Radio’s studio server set up and delivered to the temporary studio. Mission accomplished!

The server has a full install of the Rivendell radio automation software and 2GB RAID1 mirrored drives for a HUGE storage space of music. It still lacks a monitor and sound card but those are on the way.

Now the difficult work begins of getting the rest of the staff trained on how to use Rivendell.