Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Trivia

MY STUDENT (on way out of lesson): Look out, we're about to get blocked in by tympanis!
ME: It's not "tympanis." "Tympani" itself is plural; the singular is "tympanum."
TYMPANIST: Wow, I feel like such a bad tympani player for not knowing that.

(I also found through some quick research that another singular form is "tympano." And I informed the tympanist that both "broccoli" and "graffiti" are also plurals, but you knew this if you've been reading this blog for a while.)

The best word that could be used to describe today: ARRRRRRR.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Their Injuries

Today, I taught one who was out for a while with a broken arm, contusions, etc.:
ME: So are you pretty much all healed now?
KID: I still have a stitch in my side.
ME: Gotcha.
KID: I have a picture of it on my phone.
ME: I see...
KID: Wanna see it?
ME: Nah, I'm good.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Their Siblings

Again, from a sixth grader: "I lost my phone last week, and then I found it in my baby sister's crib. She was probably texting all her friends from day care."

If Ever a Commercial Was Deserving of An Encore...

...it's this one:



It aired during the Cowboys-Jets game tonight--only the second time it's ever been shown on TV, with the first being during the 2002 Super Bowl.

I have to admit, this got to me even more than the tribute I played for during church services this morning. Kudos to whomever came up with the original idea, and to whomever decided to rerun it tonight.

Playing This Week in the Kevmobile

As always, here's the recap of car-tunes from the past seven days:

• MONDAY: Playing today in the Kevmobile: Gary Burton/Chick Corea/Pat Metheny/Dave Holland/Roy Haynes, "Like Minds." The rare "supergroup" that sounds like a coherent band (likely because they've all played together on numerous occasions in smaller groups).


• TUESDAY: Dafnis Prieto Sextet, "Taking the Soul For a Walk." Cuban-born drummer leads group through energetic set.


• WEDNESDAY: Naruyoshi Kikuchi Dub Sextet, "Dub Orbits." Japanese tenorist leads a traditional group that's augmented by cool electronic effects.


• THURSDAY: One O'Clock Lab Band, "Lab 2011." Straight from the mailbox, a great followup to last night's Syndicate gig. (A review of the CD will be posted at this site within a few days.)


• FRIDAY: Tim Berne and Bill Frisell, "Theoretically." Re-released 1984 album puts a different spin on sax/guitar duo--skronkier than anything we'd ever do in Credulous, but nonetheless interesting.


• SATURDAY: Esbjörn Svensson Trio, "Tuesday Wonderland." Great '06 release by the late Swedish pianist's genre-bending threesome.


• SUNDAY: Flim & The BB's, "New Pants." Dick Oatts, Jimmy Johnson and company play early '90s fusion with integrity.

I've once again been digging into my vast CD collection in recent days, so even though I don't anticipate getting any new releases this week, there are still plenty of unblogged/untweeted titles from which I can choose.

Where Were You....

...ten years ago, when you heard the news? I've posted this in some form every year since I started blogging, and I pause to remember again:

I was on a break from teaching, like every Tuesday, and actually spent the time of the attacks in blissful ignorance at a nearby Starbucks. I had CD's on in my car instead of the radio, so I totally missed the news on both the way over and the way back. I did hear someone listening to a radio on the Starbucks patio and they were talking about "the second plane," but it didn't register with me at all. (It amazed me later that nobody walked inside and told us about it.)

When I got back to the school, the flute teacher stopped me in the hallway and asked me if all my students were being pulled out of school (evidently hers were). I said, "No, why?" and she told me what had happened. I spent the rest of the day like everyone else, in shocked, depressed amazement, catching the news when I could. There I was, not even two weeks into being a homeowner, and the world suddenly felt so different. It added to the pall cast over everything when I found out that the sister of a girl I graduated from high school with was on Flight 93, the one that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. (I know that there have been quite a few lists of names read aloud today, so let me share hers: Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas. May she rest in peace...)

The whole thing felt so surreal; how could anyone hate us that much? The concept of the suicide hijacking was unprecedented as well (before that, hijackers just usually wanted to go to Cuba, and that's why airline personnel were taught to cooperate with them rather than try to subdue them).

I know there are still terrorist plots being hatched, and people capable of carrying them out...but I hope nothing like this ever happens on U.S. soil again. Or anywhere, for that matter.

For those who may be new to reading this blog since then, I'll invite you to share your recollections in the comments to this post.

As I've said for several years now, I hope nobody tires of talking about this every once in a while, because if we stop talking, we might forget, and this is a day that need not be forgotten anytime soon.

I'm sure that the blogosphere will be full of great tributes today, and I'll add links to those later, after I get back from playing in church this morning.

A New Day for Mean Green Football

Last fall, I was among those in the alumni marching band who bid farewell to the University of North Texas' Fouts Field after 58 seasons. Across I-35E, we could see the skeleton of what has since been christened Apogee Stadium rising in the distance, and we knew that things would never be the same for Mean Green football once this season began. And today, a not-quite-sellout crowd got to experience it in person.



The fact that the new stadium is across the freeway from the main campus certainly makes it a different game day experience from the outset. Parking on the stadium side is reserved for Mean Green Club members and season ticket holders, or one can park at Fouts Field (which is still there and sits forlornly in the distance, visible from many parts of the stadium) for ten dollars. Or you can do what I did, which is to park in another part of campus just east of Fouts for free; needless to say, the free lots were quite packed even by the time I got there, which was three hours before kickoff. It's quite a long walk from there, but everything is set up well for pedestrian flow, with a lane of the North Texas Blvd. bridge dedicated to walkers.

The tailgating experience is different as well, as several options are now available: The hill east of the stadium (which was built on the site of the university's former golf course) is open to those who wish to set up shop without the actual vehicles present, and a dirt lot across the street from the west side of the stadium is used for those who wish to drive in and park (though a pre-bought pass is required for that lot). Looking at the towering structure from across the street caused many of us to just stand there and bask in the different-ness of things for a while.

As for the stadium itself? I found it to be wonderful. Granted, my experience was atypical, as I managed to score an upgraded ticket to a club member whose wife was out of town. I had enjoyed being a guest in the Hospitality Deck at Fouts on many occasions in the past, and that was one of the things that several of us said we'd miss about the old setup, but the new club experience really provides the best of both worlds. (I'll write another Note after a game where I have a more Joe Average Fan experience, but this was really a great way to enjoy Opening Day.)

The club is entered through a special entrance and reached via elevator. The pregame buffet was tasty and plentiful, and the club room offered a spectacular view from all directions. During the game, club members can sit in their assigned seats (which are just below the press box level), stand on a center deck. or sit at tables or stand on one of two covered patio areas located in the area of each end zone.

During the game, one of the first things I noticed was that it was so much easier to hear everything in this stadium, as it's a lot more of an enclosed box than Fouts (indeed, the knock on Fouts has always been that the field and the seats are separated by a running track, which keeps even the front-row fans way too far away from the action). The PA announcer was heard more clearly, the Green Brigade marching band sounded great (and louder than before) both during the halftime show and in the stands, and the increased intimacy made this fan feel a lot more engaged with the game.

Although the Mean Green did score the first points in the stadium on a first-quarter touchdown, Houston would prevail in the end. Coach Dan McCarney has made some very positive changes in the team in his short time in Denton (one of the things that impressed a lot of people in our seating area was the fact that the team never quit, even when falling behind by over 30 points in the fourth quarter, thanks to nearly 500 passing yards from the Houston offense), but there is still work to be done. But that being said, the team has a spectacular new facility in which to play, a greatly enhanced game day experience for the fans, and they're finally free of the shackles of the white elephant across the freeway, which had to be a negative in terms of recruiting (what blue-chip player would want to come to Denton when his high school facility was undoubtedly nicer than Fouts?). I'm willing to bet that most of the fans came away from today's game with a similar sense of optimism, and their numbers should certainly grow throughout the season.


Several of us alums commented tonight that we couldn't believe that this was the same place where we had gone to school. UNT has undergone many positive changes in the past several years, and this beautiful new stadium is a great addition to not only the physical plant of the campus, but its fall weekend culture as well. I'll be back in two weeks for the next home game.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things When Translating Foreign Words

The kid was playing a piece marked dolce (Italian for "sweetly"), and we were reviewing the style before she started to play it...

ME: So, do you remember what "dolce" means?
KID: Oh...you talked about it in sectionals.
ME: That's right. Do you remember what it means?
KID: Hmm...well, I know that it doesn't mean "Grandma."

(That's correct, of course, but I managed to tie it in ever so slightly with Grandma by pointing out that one of her grandmas might have called her "sweetie," which she confirmed was true.)

Kids Say the Darnedest Things When Taken Out of Context

A kid walking into the band hall just now said, "Now I have nothing to bring! I usually rip the heads off." One can only wonder what in the world she was talking about...

(One of my Facebook friends suggested that perhaps she was talking about shrimp or crawfish; if so, that would be a most unusual--not to mention smelly--school lunch.)

Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Their Futures

At the end of his lesson, a sixth-grade beginner said, "If I ever end up homeless, I'm gonna play my horn on the street corner for money."

I told him two things: 1) You should aspire to higher things than ever being homeless, and 2) If it really does happen, keep your case open so people will have a place to put the money.

Playing This Week in the Kevmobile

This week's listening included some of those funny little round things (actual CD's, as opposed to the usual iPod fare), courtesy of the Borders going-out-of-business sale:

• MONDAY: OK, this is a first: Evidently, I managed to not tweet what I played that day; chalk it up to being the first Monday of the new school year. And now, six days later, I can't remember...


• TUESDAY: Red Hot Chili Peppers, "I'm With You." A new semi-mainstream rock album on a major label? Hey, it happens...especially with an album like this, where the tunes just jumped out of the speakers at me when I heard the samples on eMusic.


• WEDNESDAY: Tomasz Stanko, "Wolnosc w Sierpniu." The title of the Polish trumpeter's album means "Freedom in August," so it seemed appropriate to play it on the last day of that month. (I also played a semi-obscure European jazz musician on purpose, as a tongue-in-cheek promise to a friend who pretended to lose faith in me because of my mainstream choice from the day before.)


• THURSDAY: Brandt Brauer Frick, "You Make Me Real." German trio plays techno-type music w/ mostly acoustic instruments. (I can't wait for the first release from their large ensemble later in the fall!)


• FRIDAY: They Might Be GiantsZ, "Join Us." Latest effort from Brooklyn duo, procured for $6 at Borders' closing sale.


• SATURDAY: Manu Katché, "Third Round." Album #3 on ECM from French drummer features a young band and funky grooves. (Also obtained at the Borders sale, for around seven bucks.)


• SUNDAY: Michel Camilo, "One More Once." Pianist revisits his classic tunes with all-star big band featuring Paquito D'Rivera, Jon Faddis, and more.

Those last three selections have, as I said above, been on actual CDs, and I may well dig into the shelves at Casa de Kev in the week ahead to catch up on things I haven't listened to in a while.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Other Instruments

As the sound of the beginner trumpet class wafted in from the other room yesterday afternoon, my beginner alto player described it as follows: "They sound like a swarm of bees." (There was some accuracy to this, as the kids who still need work on their air support were undershooting the target note by an octave and a fifth. But hey, they'll get it; we were all beginners at one time.)

Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Fintess Equipment

It takes a bit of pinky dexterity to play the saxophone's lowest notes, and some kids struggle with it at first. My running joke is that they should "go to L.A. Fitness and use the pinky machine." This week, one kid's response to that was, "Wait--is that real?"

(I assured him that it wasn't...but if there actually were such a thing as a pinky machine, could you imagine the size of the weights? And the machine itself would be so small that it would have to be nailed down, lest someone take it home in their pocket.)

Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Vintage Horns

Glancing at my Selmer Mark VI alto (with the expected areas of missing lacquer), one student said, "Why is your saxophone so dirty?" (If only she knew how much that "dirty" saxophone was actually worth...)

Playing This Week in the Kevmobile

This past week was a mixture of old classics and new arrivals; let's talk about 'em:

• MONDAY: The debut album from James Farm. It's been repeated a few times already, but...it's just that awesome.


• TUESDAY: Kurt Rosenwinkel, "Heartcore." Guitarist experiments with different textures on what's become known as his "electronica album."


• WEDNESDAY: Stefon Harris & Blackout, "Urbanus." Latest release from vibraphonist and his genre-bending collective.


• THURSDAY: Ingrid Lukas, "We Need to Repeat." Estonian-born vocalist, who works regularly with Nik Bärtsch, does her own brand of jazz minimalism on Bärtsch's Ronin Rhythm label.


• FRIDAY: Level 42, "Guaranteed." 1992 release from premier UK funk/rock band features guitar wizard Allan Holdsworth.


• SATURDAY: Aaron Parks, "Invisible Cinema." James Farm - Joshua Redman + guitarist Mike Moreno = a great debut CD from the pianist.


• SUNDAY: Brad Mehldau, "Highway Rider." Pianist's 2nd collaboration w/ producer Jon Brion features Joshua Redman.

Look for a few more new items in the week ahead; every month, when my eMusic credits refresh, it's like a mini-birthday for my ears.

Marathon Friday?

The first week of the fall semester has concluded, and two things are apparent at this point: 1) Business is looking up--way up--for this school year, and 2) I'm going to be insanely busy.

Sure, some will say, "But Kev, aren't you always insanely busy?" Yup. But with the high schools where I teach undergoing a radical schedule change--moving from a five-period day with trimesters to a seven-period day with semesters. There are advantages and disadvantages to this move (which is being used this year by two schools--the only two district high schools where I have a studio--that will be adopted district-wide next year if it's successful), but the long and short of it is that the top bands at the high schools and those at the middle schools now meet at the exact same time, for the same reason: Using the period that encompasses lunch means a longer rehearsal.

But with five schools' top bands meeting simultaneously, and five days in the school week, this means one school per day for me at that time. Needless to say, this creates logjams at that hour and requires some students to come in before or after school, though this is mitigated somewhat at the high schools by the addition of year-round jazz band class (which only used to meet during second and third trimester when the day had two fewer periods).

It's actually been much easier to schedule than I thought it would; I was expecting all kinds of chaos, to the point where I started compiling my schedule two weeks earlier than usual, only to be surprised at how effortless most of it was. Still, I've never quite seen this busy of a Friday before. How busy, you ask? This busy: I teach at the high school from 8:15 (the beginning of second period) until nearly 2:15 (halfway through seventh). When a few final slots are filled, this will happen nonstop; I don't even have a lunch break. (I did bring one today, but I was playing along with students so often that, by 1:00, I had consumed only my carrots).

But wait--there's more! When I'm done there, I go over to the middle school (after a 45-minute decompression break) to teach two more kids in last period and three more after school. That's 18 students, assuming all the slots get filled, and by far the Busiest Friday Ever. Sure, I have Marathon Wednesday every summer, but Marathon Friday is new territory for me.

Still, I came out of this week with a decent amount of energy, and I felt that I was "on" for the duration of the day, despite the large number of lessons in a row. (OK--I sank into the couch like a rock for a few hours when I got home, but that's beside the point.) And as I noted earlier in the week on Facebook, it still amazes me that I get to do what I love and get paid for it.

My prayer is that I come out of the last Friday of the semester as refreshed and excited as I am now.

Strike Out the Band? Only Partially, and It's Better Than the Alternatives

A friend on Facebook tipped me off to this story, which evidently was on the news today (I don't get to watch "the news" all that often, sometimes because I'm not home that early). One local school district's budget cuts have affected fine arts in a negative way, but not the way you might expect; for one thing nobody got fired. So how did they do it? They decided to let the high school bands perform only at home football games:

Starting tonight high school football teams in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD left the bands behind for away football games. The approved cuts are to the fine arts and athletics departments.

Benching the band is expected to save the district $50,000 in transportation costs, meaning hundreds of students at the district's five schools will perform to recorded music during the 17 away games.

"None of us are happy about having to do that," said the district's fine arts director Jim McDaniel. But "we literally save a teacher's salary, at least, by not going. We didn't cut anybody in the district. We kept everybody. We've been very committed to teachers. They're gonna go to some of the JV games as well and on Sept 23rd we're going to have a night that's just for our high school bands."

There are cuts being made in other areas as well--certain junior high "B" teams are being eliminated, sports camps are being shortened, and parents will have to buy letter jackets for their kids now, instead of the district picking up the tab.

As someone who was a Band Guy in high school, and works with school band programs now, my initial impression is that I'm not wild about the idea. Part of me says that's unfortunate, and that they should have cut the position of Deputy Associate Vice Superintendent for Curriculum Development in the Northwest Quadrant as a better way to save money.

And yet, another part of me is glad that no faculty positions were cut, realizing that not going to away games is just like marching at a second-tier football school such as my alma mater, UNT, where we went to maybe one away game a year. And while the bands won't be quite as performance-tested as usual by the time they get to their regional marching contest in October, it certainly could be worse. (Picking a random C/FB school, Newman Smith, it appears that the band only loses three out of ten games during the season; they only have four away games, but one is against another C/FB school, so it's played in the district stadium.)

I always hate to see any cuts done to fine arts...or any other area that affects students; as you may know from reading this blog, I'd prefer to see non-teaching areas trimmed down a bit first. So while this news disappoints me, I can't keep thinking about this one thing: No teacher lost a job here. So while I hope that a lot of districts don't make this move--football games might become as dull as some of the ones I attended at UNT during college--you have to give them credit for thinking at least slightly outside the box.

What say you? Let me know in the comments.

Playing This Week in the Kevmobile

There were a lot of reruns this week, but it's all been stuff that's well worth repeating:

• MONDAY: Playing today in the Kevmobile: Nobody's Business, "Forward Momentum." Great '07 release from quartet of then-UNT jazz students Teriver Cheung, Evan Weiss, Roberto Verastegui and Colin Hinton.


• TUESDAY: Oktoposse, "Blues Lee--Volume III." Latest release from creative and occasionally wacky German octet.


• WEDNESDAY: The debut album from Speak, a creative Seattle quintet w/ trumpeter Cuong Vu and four of his former students.


• THURSDAY: Weather Report, "Heavy Weather." Rockin' to the classic album by Zawinul, Shorter, Jaco, Acuña and Badrena, featuring the original "Birdland."


• FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Miles Okazaki, "Generations." Sophomore release (2009) from up-and-coming guitarist/composer.


• SUNDAY: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, "Winterwood." 2009 release from Tulsa-based group, still available as a free download at their website.

There's likely to be some brand-new music here next week, so stay tuned!

Playing This Week in the Kevmobile

This week was a bit of a challenge, with the venerable iPod going into hibernation on Thursday...but I made my old iPhone into a backup iPod Touch and kept moving on.

• MONDAY: Radiohead, "OK Computer." Now I know what the original versions of those Brad Mehldau covers sound like.


• TUESDAY: Nils Petter Molvaer, "Khmer." My favorite among all the releases by electronica-loving Norwegian trumpeter.


• WEDNESDAY: Mark Wingfield/Jane Chapman/Iain Ballamy: "Three Windows." Gtr/hpschd/sax trio infuses jazz w/ many things--world music, classical, electronica and prog rock, just to name a few.


• THURSDAY: Pat Metheny Group, "We Live Here." It makes frequent appearances here, b/c it never fails to lift my spirit.


• FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Marco Benevento, "Me Not Me." Pianist known for using circuit-bent toys mixes covers, originals.


• SUNDAY: Stefon Harris/David Sanchez/Christian Scott, "Ninety Miles." US trio joins with two different Cuban rhythm sections in lively set of originals from the three leaders.

Here's hoping the old iPod just needs a break from the heat and "wakes up" in a few days...

I'm Perfectly Happy to Wave Goodbye to This Misguided Tradition

I'd seen the messages on the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington video boards this year, and they both amused and pleased me. And now the Texas Rangers' only partially tongue-in-cheek campaign to get rid of the Wave at baseball games is generating national attention:

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington has become the focal point for a movement this season.

It's a push to stop a trend that has long-since slowed at some ballparks across the nation, but still has ardent supporters in Arlington.

It's the drive to end the wave.

The Rangers' public-address announcer Chuck Morgan puts anti-wave warnings on the video screen in the outfield. Fan Stephanie Blumenthal wears an anti-wave T-shirt that she and a friend designed. There's even a website (www.stopthewave.net) that would like to see fans give up on the stadium tradition of different fans in sections rising in unison during the game.

The race for the American League West may be the most important goal at Rangers Ballpark. Stopping the wave could be No. 2.

I for one am totally on board with the idea.

I've been a non-fan of the Wave since it first made its way into the Ballpark. Why? Well, for two main reasons:

• People do it at the wrong time. As noted in the linked article,

  When the Rangers were up 20-6 over Minnesota seemed like an OK time. Same goes for during a rain delay. Maybe even between an inning every now and then. And kids should have a chance to do the wave at least once, right?
  
  But when the Rangers are in a close game and either attempting to rally or trying to snuff out one? That's an absolute no-no and that's what has rankled so many in the no-wave clan.

  And my own opinion is that, no matter what the score, it should never be done when the home team is at bat...but maybe that's just me?


• Not only can it distract the players, but it detracts from the game itself.. It's as if the fans are more interested in themselves being the entertainment than the game itself. People pay money--sometimes good money--to see the game, not their fellow spectators (the only exception to this in all of entertainment may well be The Rocky Horror Picture Show). If you want to create your own entertainment, stay home and play the MLB video game.

Does the Wave even have a place in baseball? Depending on which source you believe, it was created at a college basketball game--or hockey, football, or even auto racing. (And a well-known piece of lore has it being created by Robb Weller, former college yell leader turned Entertainment Tonight co-host, which ought to disqualify it from pure sporting events right then and there.) According to a commenter at the linked article, the purpose of the Wave at University of Washington games (Weller's domain at the time), it was used to distract the opposing team during signal-calling and fire up the crowd during big defensive stands by the home team--neither of which is exactly applicable to the game of baseball. In fact, it came to baseball late, and a lot of us out there wouldn't mind if it just quietly slinked away.

Nobody--not even Morgan or stopthewave.net founder Greg Holland--expects the Wave to die completely, but if the video board campaign prompts even a few people to think, "Oh yeah, this is pretty idiotic, isn't it?", then it will have succeeded.

And there's no way this will ever happen:

Morgan knows there is one sure-fire way to stop the wave at the park, but it will never happen.

"Any more waves, no more beer," he joked.

Yeah, that would be a bit much. But you know what? Back when the Rangers had a section of the park designated as the "non-alcohol family section" (do they still have this?), the Wave would die there every time. Food for thought...