Freeway Philharmonic

Published

Sharolyn

on 26 January 2008

in art and culture and asides

Will play for gas money.

15 Responses to “Freeway Philharmonic”

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1 michael lee
26 January 2008 at 4:01 pm

Have you read Mozart in the Jungle? I finished it over break - it does a great job of analyzing the system problems with professional music in the classical world.

How closely does this match Jason’s life?
2 Sharolyn
26 January 2008 at 8:09 pm

I have not read Mozart in the Jungle. I’ve been asked that before, so maybe I should get to work! I’m finishing a book now, so perhaps that will be my next.

The article hits close to home as Jason is playing with the Santa Cruz Symphony all weekend - so it’s almost like he’s out of town. In February it is Modesto Symphony, waiting to hear from Monterey Symphony, etc. so very much like the article. EXCEPT that he has a day job complete with salary and benefits (gig $ is supplemental), so we are not like the subject of the article, waiting to get dental work done! Phew.

He just called on dinner break (between rehearsal and performance) and said everyone was talking about this article, basically because it describes all of them!

I know this is getting long… but when Jason was in the SF Youth Symphony, we didn’t now anyone in it that was actually from San Francisco. They were all kids from affluent areas that drove to SF. We joked that it should be called the Orinda Youth Symphony, the Lafayette Youth Symphony, The Pleasanton Youth Symphony… any of those would have better represented the players.
3 Sharolyn
26 January 2008 at 8:10 pm

Hey Stick, it’s my first orange halo!
4 Stick
27 January 2008 at 1:53 pm

Well done! The orange halo, I mean. Well, the post is interesting too.
5 june
27 January 2008 at 9:56 pm

I just asked: he wasn’t being funny. He actually chose the words “well done” coincidentally.

The blog is getting kind of Escherish right now.
6 Sharolyn's Husband
28 January 2008 at 11:52 am

My life occasionally looks like the life of a freelancing orchestra musician. I went from October to January with one night’s worth of work. (Not even a dinky Christmas gig) Now, I have about a months worth of stuff at night and on the weekends.

A big difference between my life and a lot of other freelancers is that since I teach beginning band, I hear a heck of a lot of Hot Cross Buns.
7 michael lee
28 January 2008 at 11:58 am

Jason, do you find that there is a different level of satisfaction that you get out of these freelance dates than the person who has to string together 40 of them a month to make rent?
8 Sharolyn's Husband
28 January 2008 at 10:04 pm

My best guess is yes and no. And it depends. Most of the musicians I get to play with in a professional setting love making good music. Some people are bitter, but most have a good attitude about where they are. I think a couple of stories might illustrate my point better.

1. I was rehearsing with a great group with a conductor who sometimes lacked great people skills and could get under your skin pretty quick if you actually listened to him and took him seriously. The string section all had various colored paper on their stands which I could see from my vantage point at the back of the orchestra. Turns out they were playing buzz word bingo with some of his oft repeated phrases. To indicate bingo, one was to drop their pencil. These strings knew how to have fun in the face of a potentially bad situation.

2. I was playing a bunch of real fluff pops music for a bunch of rich people at a fundraiser gig. The tuba player had me and everyone else within ear shot in stitches. During a Beach Boys Medley, instead of playing his bass line part, he began doing the falsetto parts through his tuba. It was quite loud and not subtle. This tuba player has been around for a while and is a great musician. One could understand if he would have grumbled about playing crappy music, but he turned it into a chance to make those around him laugh. The trumpets stopped playing since they were doubled over.

The one thing that I probably have that others lack is a green wonder and excitement about where I am and what I am doing. Occasionally I will have to take a half day off from teaching beginning band to be at a rehearsal. I vividly remember taking an afternoon off to rehearse the Nutcracker a few years ago. The rehearsal was in a big concert hall and the orchestra was full of great musicians who were all full time players. As I got out of my car the parking lot attendant asked if I was a musician. “I teach and I play” I replied, “but today, I play!” I entered the hall and had to remind myself to not stare around with my mouth open. I tried to act like this was old hat to me while my body tingled with excitement. I am supposed to be leading kids through Jingle Bells this time of year and instead, I am playing Tchaikovsky. Pretty cool. I am sure most of the people in the orchestra were not as enthusiastic as me on that day.
9 corey
29 January 2008 at 8:20 am

I love that last paragraph. Especially because of how full of crap SoCal is on the “pro musician” level, it’s hard to really soak in the fact that we get paid to play an instrument. Even last night, I played a gig (as a sideman) at a swanky singer/songwriter club and after I was done playing, a gal comes over to chat. In the first few seconds, I’d already heard her two or three biggest credits (i.e., reasons to think she’s legit as an L.A. Musician) and she wanted to know mine. In the heat of the moment, I tried to keep up, but this morning- and in response to your last paragraph- I feel like I wasn’t true to how I really feel about playing music. The Big Game of being a musician is too much posturing, politicalizing, and pandering. What I really want to do is enjoy those still, small moments when I’m actually creating a musical memory with a good group of players. I don’t want to do it for free, but I also don’t want the whole process to feel like I’m running for office either.

I didn’t intend for this to turn into a tirade, but I hear a lot of guys who are jaded by this world of playing for pay, and I’m reminded of pro athletes who have a similarly cursed life of doing something they love for their livelihood. Thanks for that last paragraph!
10 michael lee
29 January 2008 at 12:16 pm

“I teach and I play” I replied, “but today, I play!”

I’m going to keep that on a sticky note in my brain. I love it.
11 corey
29 January 2008 at 2:16 pm

yeah, it’s worthy of hollywood.
12 michael lee
29 January 2008 at 2:32 pm

Corey, I would imagine that when people ask you to give your credits, you pretty much end the game when you say “Taylor Guitars pays me to fly around and play their instruments.”
13 corey
29 January 2008 at 4:54 pm

funny, I realized this morning that I didn’t even mention it (stupid! stupid! stupid!). I said simply, “Have you ever heard of Mike Lee?”
14 Stick
29 January 2008 at 6:14 pm

Well, for Mike and I it’s “Have you ever heard of George Rowe?”
15 Sharolyn
29 January 2008 at 6:18 pm

We watched the documentary last night. I felt every emotion with the seven musicians featured as they experienced the triumphs and disappointments of daily life in their careers. If I ever meet them, I will feel like I already know them.

I wish you guys could see it, but I have a feeling it is a local PBS thing. You can watch the trailer (which is a summary) at http://www.freewayphil.com