Last night I went down to the Hemingway Lounge in an effort to catch up with saxophone mentor and local music icon, Bob Corbit. The plan was to sit in for a set and get back before eleven and get that good night’s sleep that we all enjoy so much after a day’s work. I hadn’t seen Bob, or Major Hamberlin for that matter (keyboard guru), in a long time. I really wanted to show him the new tenor and see what he thought, and better yet, rip through some tunes together.

Well, for some reason, I know more people with back pain right now than autumn colds. When I showed up at the lounge, it turns out Bob was lying in bed at home sidelined by a bad back. So what was intended to be a one set visit, ended up with me sitting in for Bob all night last night. Don’t worry, Corbit says he’ll be better after a good night’s rest (that thing still longed for after a day’s work).

Once again, though, playing at the Hemingway proves to be one of the most musically satisfying gigs in town. Where else do you get to play straight ahead jazz tunes like “Take the A Train”, “Song for My Father”, “Moanin” and “St. Thomas” followed by funky orignals and Grover Washington’s “Mister Magic” with Clyde Stubblefield workin’ the skins??? It doesn’t get any better for a saxophonist in Madison, Wisconsin!!!!

Here’s an earlier article about this Thursday night event…

My bandmate, John Mesoloras and I agreed to swap gear. He offered to take a couple of my stereo mic pre-amps I’ve had around for a few years in exchange for his MOTU 828mkII that I can use with my Powerbook laptop for some high-end mobile recording and live MIDI synth work.

There’s a lot I still don’t know about this piece of gear, but John swears by it and it will really be a great addition to the Mac laptop. Pretty cool! And it won’t cost me a thing (at least directly out of my pocket). John and I are audio geeks with enough equipment that we’ve agreed to share our gear to make a mega-studio as needed.

I’ll keep you posted on the MOTU developments…

I was never a huge fan of marching myself (I preferred pep bands where you could sit courtside for great basketball games), but Madison, Wisconsin is home to one of the finest drum and bugle corps groups in the nation, the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps. Make no doubt about it, drum and bugle corps is one of the most demanding musical activities around, requiring A LOT of physical stamina and hours of practice and dedication. If you’ve never heard a drum and bugle corps performance or attended a competition, you should add that to your list of things to do at least once. You’ll get shivers down your spine when you here the wall of brass punching your ears and you’ll want to groove in your seat while the drums snap their cadence. It’s cool stuff!

1991 Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps drum line

Yamaha has been a sponsor of the Madison Scouts for twenty years now, and in honor of that partnership, Yamaha has crafted a cool mulitimedia feature of the Madison Scouts. Enjoy!

One of my first and fondest memories of drum and bugle corps was watching the national competitions each year on PBS television. It was usually on a Sunday afternoon and I was probably seven years old or so, and the music and the drums just mesmerized my impressionable mind. Everyone seemed so into what they were doing, and afterwards, everyone seemed so relieved and happy about the experience. It was really one of the first moments where I thought it would be fun to be in band some day. While I never did drum and bugle corps, I appreciate the inspiration they provided myself and, no doubt, thousands of other kids to learn to play a musical instrument.

A couple Sundays ago, I got a call around 1:00pm from the young saxophone legend, Eric Koppa from Chicago. He was just leaving Detroit with the hip hop band, Treologic, after a show there the night before in support of their new album, “Thank You, Lenny”.

Treologic recently won the Midwest Independent Music World Series which included $35,000 in prizes, so they’ve been busy touring and promoting their latest album and riding the positive momentum. Success rarely comes easy in the music business. To raise Treologic’s name recognition, a couple weeks ago they did a Milwaukee show on Friday, a Detroit show on Saturday, and a Madison show on Sunday.

Which brings me back to the phone call Sunday afternoon…

Since I live in Madison, it was my duty to make it to their show, even though it meant being out until midnight on a Sunday evening. I’ve been waiting to see them play in Madison, so I couldn’t miss it when the short notice arrived. Plus, they had a great hip hop act from Boston headlining the show, The Perceptionists.

The show was great and I was even drafted with responsibility of being the honorary roadie, which meant holding onto the giant key ring that held all the band members keys (I’m talking serious responsibility here!). The band rocked hard for an hour set and Eric showed off his hip hop chops and his beautiful King Supersonic 20 tenor. Afterwards, we enjoyed a beer together and a toast to his wedding countdown just 90 days away (Dec 29, 2005!).

Fortunately, everyone made it home safe, upon which time we all returned to civilian life. I was a little tired the next day, but nothing like Eric must have been when he showed up to work at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning. The life of a Chicago rock star isn’t easy, especially when you’re also an M-F, 8-5 Chicago working professional!

I’ll keep posting the news as Treologic continues to rise to the top of the hip hop world! Check out their CD—it’s worth the purchase.