Stars full of Jazz in 2019

Last year I wrote a post about Alyson's end-of-year Jazz Under the Stars concert. It's a yearly event that is a lot of fun because you get to see the students at their peak and raise some money for the arts. But this year Jazz Under the Stars was a bit more hectic for the …

Into the orchestra

Another year, another Spring musical by the Redondo Union Theatre Arts Program. This time around, my alma mater put on Stephen Sondheim's take on Grimms' Fairy Tales: Into the Woods. https://youtu.be/avMx1nmTMIA The show had live music by a pit orchestra, in which my sister took part. When they did Crazy for You last year it was the …

Rainy day jazz in Santa Barbara

At this point it feels like I'm collecting California high school visits for a checklist. Once again my day has been spent journeying to watch my sister perform with the Redondo Union High School jazz band. The destination? Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara. The event? The 50th annual "Jazz in Paradise" Jazz Festival. …

Mini-band banquet bonanza

Well I promised two blog posts today, so even if I don't have a lot to say I might as well follow through. For the past week or so both my parents have been pretty sick. As a result, thanks to still being on vacation, I've become a more distinct guardian for my sister. Which …

Bands under the Bob Cole banner

As promised last night, here I am to talk about sitting around in Long Beach all day. Except today there was a much more pertinent reason for me to be there! Instead of just bumming around laughing about how much the campus at Cal State Long Beach looks like an F-Zero track, I got to …

Strange Associations: Irvine band competition edition

Tonight my family and I braved the smoke-ridden California atmosphere to head out to Irvine for the California State Band Championship semi-finals, where Alyson and the RUHS band performed. I'm not sure whether it's wrong of me to talk about that while people in areas actually ablaze right now are surviving a horrible tragedy? But …

What does that song sound like?

Everyone's had those moments where they hear a song — be it in the background of a T.V. show, on the radio or a restaurant backing track, or whatever it may be — and can't quite put their finger on what that song is. If you haven't had that moment because you have a photographic …