Today we’re leaving for Belleville or at least some of us are. A group of us will head down to Zwick’s Park and set-up the tent this afternoon. It makes for a much easier day tomorrow. Don’t be fooled tomorrow will still be a long day (we perform till 8PM) but it would be practically impossible if we had to set-up the tent tomorrow. And the people who leave tomorrow have it a little better this year they don’t have to hit the road till 7AM instead of the 5AM that it’s been in the past few years. I really hope the weather holds up for tomorrow. It looks good right now but you never know with the way it’s been lately. It could be sunny and switch to rain in a minute. Got to finish packing, don’t want to forget anything. See you tomorrow.

Hi Everybody, yesterday was the Parry Sound Dragon Boat Festival I think this was something like the 7th year we have done it and I’m not kidding every single time rain has been an issue, including yesterday. On Friday the forecast said 60-70% chance of showers and a thunderstorm was suppose to hit at 11 AM, right in the middle of our first set. If you have been following my blog you have probably figured out that rain is the enemy, especially when we have a new pans. The quality of these instruments are absolute top notch and we are very careful with them so the last thing we want is for them to get soaked. Well anyway back to yesterday. When we got there it was slightly rainy and very misty, turns out we didn’t have to worry about a thunderstorm we were in the clouds, well a fog cloud that is. Set-up went OK although it makes it a little bit more work when you can’t set the cardboard boxes that we transport the pans in on the wet grass for obvious reasons (they’re cardboard after all).

When it was time to perform there wasn’t to much of an audience but as soon as we started it seemed to attract people because soon we had a decent sized crowd. I have to admit there wasn’t as many people as there have been in past years but there wasn’t as many people at the event over all. I suppose most were put off by the forecast and usually people show up to the beach in the afternoon when it gets sunny but seeing as it never did…It was kind of chilly out so we got a chance to break out our new fleeces. This past winter some anonymous person donated fleeces for the entire orchestra…AWESOME. I guess they have seen us shivering on cold days so they decided they could help us out. Thank you who ever you are!

All Smiles

NICE Fleece

9 Bass at Work

Almost Done

Yesterday we performed at Deerhurst Resort for the Opening Ceremonies of the AMCTO. If you are totally confused as to what is the AMCTO don’t worry so were we. As a matter of fact most us didn’t even know who/what we were playing for before we arrived. The AMCTO is the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario. The event was their opening ceremonies for their 72nd annual meeting. OK, yeah I know not quite as glamorous as it sounds. But they were actually a fun crowd. There are different kinds of performances, when we perform as part of a charity event we usually have our own place and our own crowd. Sometimes it’s an event just about us and we are up on a stage. When you perform for a wedding you are the hired band who plays for everyone to dance and party to. But corporate events are different from other events generally we are the background music. Which was sort of the case this time. We performed while the guest entered the reception hall mingled and found their tables. When the dignitaries were ready to enter we played Scotland the Brave for them to enter to. Then we stood for a moment and next it was time to play O Canada as the guest sang along. Then we stood and waited while the speeches went on, and then we did some more standing and waiting and then a little more (by the way we got some nice mentions from the Mayor and others in their speeches). As the ceremonies closed we played for the crowd while they prepared for the keynote speaker. Once he arrived it was more waiting for us but this time we got to leave the hall and sit down. We had to wait for them to finish their thing so that we could pack up. All in all I think we played something like 8 songs, not that much music. But for a group of clerks and treasures they sure were relaxed and enjoying themselves and the music. I’m going to try and get photos for y’all to see. I’ll probably get a chance to post them in the next couple of days.

So on Monday we found out we would be starting a new song that night. By tonight at rehearsal we were able to play the first 3 sections which is about 70 bars. Well sort of play, at least some of us were sort of playing while others were really playing it. Sometimes it is a bit of a challenge to cram all that new info into the brain and then expect it to come out the hands right away. It usually takes me a while to even remember what it’s suppose to sound like. So we are hard at work on that song and we are getting ready for out small group performance in Huntsville on Monday, then guess what?!?! PARRY SOUND here we come! I’m looking forward to next Saturday. A week from now I’ll be totally exhausted lying in bed thinking about the fun I had, I hope I’m also thinking about the awesome turn out and how much the audience enjoyed the music so make sure and spread the word. Party on the beach next Saturday.