Zildjian Roadtrip

It is 3 days after the long roadtrip, and I finally feel back to normal…meaning back at my place, rested, and healthy. I came back with a cold, and tried to suck it up for the last few days of the trip. When I got back here I just felt terrible, and then went into a weird caffeine withdraw…but now, all is well!

I kept a little journal on my computer during the trip, but since internet was hard to come by, and sleep was more important, I never uploaded it to my blog. So here is a week worth of adventures…

The Van (it was a Ford! woohoo!)

In 60 hours it got us from Stockholm-Venlo-Innsbruck-Vienna-Straubing-Frankfurt-Odense-Stockholm!

Monday, March 22: driving from Venlo to Innsbruck

After a lovely breakfast at the hotel, Anders and I got on the road to head to Innsbruck, Austria. We had about 8 hours of driving, but no stress in getting there at a particular time. The roads and rest stops in Austria are really nice, so we had a few nice meals and even a fika. As we approached the mountains it was getting dark, but they were still stunning and majestic. At about 7pm we took a pit stop to get more gas…and when we tried to get back on the main road we took the wrong exit! Instead of staying on the main route we got on a back road and spent the next hour driving through small curvy roads up and down the mountains! It was crazy! At one point we saw a beautiful castle lit up in the distance…and before we knew it we were driving just next to it. Anders drove really carefully and we laughed a lot at the situation. It was cool to see the Alps at night, and it was a fun mini adventure.

The town of Innsbruck was really cute and clean. After checking in at the hotel we walked down to a pizzeria to grab some food and a beer. I tried a pizza with anchovies (I like to just pick something off a menu that is in a foreign language and see what I get…and that’s what I got!), and it was actually pretty good. Then, the guy who is the contact person for this seminar (helped organize and advertise it), Stephan, met us to show us around and grab another drink. I was really tired and got a bit tipsy quickly, so I didn’t talk much. But as always, it was just fine to listen and absorb the info.

My cute hotel room

Tuesday, March 23: Seminars in Innsbruck
We met Stephan in the morning to go over to the conservatory with the van to unload the cymbals. When we arrived there was a whole bunch of guys waiting to help us unload. It was really nice because we had so many heavy boxes. We set up in a few small rooms in the percussion area. Three of the guys kept asking me what they could do to help. They spoke decent English and would have done anything that I asked! How nice!

Since Neil wasn’t arriving until around 4pm, Anders started the day with a seminar on 'sounds' and the differences between the cymbals. There were about 12 students, a few teachers, and one older man that plays in a local group. They were very attentive throughout the whole seminar, and loved playing and getting involved. My job was to take a lot of pictures and help out whenever I was needed.

Anders' sound seminar

We split for lunch and ate outside at a café next to the conservatory. The weather was so incredible…I actually got a little bit of sun! I couldn’t read the menu, so Stephan recommended a traditional Austrian dish. I still don’t really know what it was, meat/rice patties with sauerkraut, but it was good. It was also a little funny because I was the only lady surrounded by 6 men…I am realizing even more through this experience that I chose a career in a man’s world!

After lunch we went back to the cymbals…Anders helped the instructors and pro players pick out some cymbals while I went on a stroll through the city. The weather was so perfect it was unbelievable! I took a lot of pictures, and tried to absorb as much sun and culture that I could before going back to see Neil and get ready for his clinic.

beautiful!

Neil’s clinic was awesome! I really like his approach to the instrument, it is very unique and he gets a constant and full sound with every crash. The students were positive and great to work with. I learned a lot by just observing…plus got a few great pictures!

Cleaning up all 60+ pairs of cymbals was a breeze because I had so much help. This studio was full of some really nice and considerate guys, and they seemed really happy to have us there. After loading the van with everything, Anders, Neil, and I had a nice dinner at the hotel before heading back downtown to a bar/club. Stephan asked Anders to play vibes with his steel band, and of course Anders agreed. Neil and I went to listen and had a fun time watching the group. It was incredible that Anders could easily improvise in that setting! After the gig, I hung out with some of the percussionists from the clinics that day, and noticed that they are much more chivalrous than boys in Sweden...plus I don't think many American female percussionists visit Innsbruck. :)  Unfortunatley, I also noticed right away that it is still legal to smoke in public places in Austria. Yuck. Those clothes were quite stinky after that night!

Wednesday, March 24: Innsbruck to Vienna (show cymbals) to Straubing
I stayed out pretty late last night, so I wasn’t exactly ready for the drive from Innsbruck to Vienna early this morning. I would have loved to stay in Innsbruck a few more days...it was so beautiful and the people were so friendly. But, the tour must go on! The drive to Vienna ended up being fun, though! Neil and Anders are pretty darn funny…and although the car is cramped and not very comfortable the conversation is nice and they make fun of me for being able to fall asleep so easily.

A lot of our jokes revolved around the crazy GPS lady. Sometimes she spoke in English, sometimes Swedish, and sometimes not at all. She was crazy!

Beautiful scenery at a rest stop

We had no idea what to expect in Vienna. When we finally found the place that we were supposed to be, we met up with Stephan’s friend Christian who arranged the seminar there. He showed us into his “studio” that was literally a basement. We had to take about 4 flights of stairs down into the depths of a damp space. His studio was made up, but the air was still stale. We didn’t take the whole box of cymbals down because it was too big and heavy, so we unloaded the pairs we needed.

Creepy!!

The studio space

Christian said that people would be coming around 3pm, so we ate lunch until then. About 8 professionals from various groups in Vienna showed up. Anders did a great job dealing with all the personalities and breaking the ice. Soon they were out of their chairs trying and analyzing all the cymbals. It was fun to just observe how they interacted, how they crashed, and what kinds of sounds they were looking for in the cymbals. Anders told me I could go walk around if I wanted to, but I really like watching and helping. It’s not everyday that you get to see these kinds of players. One of them is borrowing four pairs to try out during rehearsals this week and will let us now what he thinks. I hope he likes them, because it would be a big success for Zildjian if they choose our cymbals.

When they were done trying the cymbals, we packed up and immediately left Vienna (at around 6pm).
We drive 3 hours to a small town called Straubing. The van got a little closter phobic at the end, but we made it just fine. We had an amazing dinner (duck fillets with apple honey glaze and yummy potatoe thingies). At the hotel, I tried to skype mom and dad, but the connection was bad. It was good to hear their voices at least!

Thursday, March 25: Straubing to Frankfurt
On the road again…3 more hours to Frankfurt! I feel like I caught a cold from the smoke and damp air in the basement/studio, but it’s not too bad, just a little sniffly!

What a team player! If he ever gets tired of the London Symphony, he can always open his own window washing business!

Yes...this is how we spent hours and hours.

In Frankfurt we met up with Conrad at the Radio House to show the cymbals. Not many people came to this meeting, but it was still worth it because we sold a few pairs, and made some really great connections. Since it was slow, I asked Neil to give me some pointers on my crashes. It felt good to play after watching everyone else have the fun the past few days. Neil really helped me out and I’m going to work on the things that he suggested. After the showing there, he flew back to London, so it was back to just Anders and I traveling.

Now, we're at the hotel that is near the airport. I laid down for a bit to try and get rid of the cold, but it’s not getting any better. During dinner in the hotel bar/restaurant., the guy sitting next to us started to chat and said he was from Philadelphia. Yay Americans!

Friday, March 26: Frankfurt Musikmesse and drive to Odense
We headed back into downtown Frankfurt around 10am. We sent up a few boxes of cymbals in one of the Zildjian conference rooms so Anders could meet with a few more people. While he did that, I walked around the messe, which is a huge HUGE music convention…tons of vendors from all around the world for everything instrument/anything to do with music. It was really great to see, but after a few hours I felt as though I had seen enough! I went back to the conference room, where I met Dieter, the European sales rep for Zildjian. He asked me about the week, and what I thought of the tour. We had a really great conversation, and it felt good to share my opinions. Then, Anders and Stephan came in and we had lunch. Anders had to go meet with some more people, so Stephan and I decided to go down to the lobby and have a coffee. We sat there for a long time chatting, mostly about the difference between percussion education in the States vs. Europe. Then, Rainer, one of the percussionists in Ensemble Modern (big deal) joined us. He was really down to earth and easy to talk to. After sitting there for a few hours, we decided to go back to the Messe. I found Anders, and after a few more chats with the sales people, we loaded the van again and hit the road.

We planned on driving about 6 hours to stop in Odense, Denmark. This was the first time that our plans were foiled…we sat in stand-still traffic for about an hour and a half. We didn’t make it to Odense until 4am!! Luckily, the hotel receptionist was really nice and funny, and they let us have a late check out at noon.

Saturday March 27: Odense to Stockholm
I just noticed that as the trip progressed, I took fewer and fewer photos! Silly me! Today was the last leg of the driving. Although it’s been a long trip, Anders and I are still in good spirits (and I took a box of tissues from the hotel, so at least I can suppress my running nose and coughing!). Conversation continued to roll and I’ve learned just as much from boucing ideas and stories off of Anders as I have in the seminars.

We decided to take a fika in Copenhagen. It’s a great city, and I would describe it as more European than Scandinavian in its architecture. Anders knew of a great coffee place, so we walked around to stretch our legs and then sat at the café for a bit. I had a danish in Denmark! Haha. It was yummy, and I was on a bit of a sugar high for the next hour of the drive!

We got back to Stockholm at around 10pm, and it was really great to see Anne and Emma (Tove wasn’t home, unfortunately). Emma and I chatted for a long time, then I took some Nyquil, and a lot of vitamins and don’t really remember the rest of the evening!

Sunday, March 28: Stockholm to Piteå
I slept like a log until 10am, and hung out with Emma and Hannah all morning. Then Anne and I chatted about Easter traditions in Sweden. One of my favorite topics is learning about how holidays are celebrated here vs. at home. After a lovely morning/afternoon just hanging around, I had to leave to catch my flight Piteå. I was happy to be heading home, and to be in one place for awhile!

plane, fire truck, boat, van

It’s about 9pm, and we’re in the van somewhere in middle of Germany. Anders and I left Stockholm at 9:30 this morning, and have been on the road since! It’s been such a fun weekend, and I can’t wait to see what this week has in store!

Lou and I arrived in Stockholm at 11:30am on Friday, and instead of going right into the city we stopped over at the Arlanda airport fire station where Elias works (friend from Piteå…helped me get my bike a few weeks ago). We had lunch at the station with all of the squad, got a personal tour of the station, went down the slide on the stairway, and even got to ride around and shoot water from the fire truck! It was a blast! Not many people can say they’ve done that!

After spending a few hours hanging out with Elias, we headed into the city. I went to the studio to help Anders load the marimba and vibes into the truck and take them to the church while Lou went to the hostel to check in and hang out. I met up with Lou after we were finished moving the instruments. We stayed in a boat hostel! It was so cool! The room had 4 beds, some lockers, a little table and chair, and a sink. It was quite clean and nice for a hostel…plus, it’s a boat!

I only had an hour to spare before rehearsing with Anders and the choir that night, so Lou and I ran up to T.G.I.Fridays for dinner. I know, I know…it’s pretty bad to go to an American chain while in Stockholm, but we were in a hurry and wanted to know what kind of food we’d be getting. We literally inhaled our food and parted ways once again.

Rehearsing and playing with the choir was a really new musical experience for me. Swedish choirs sound much different than the groups in the States. The tone is very pure and clear, and they don’t use any vibrato. The acoustics in the church were incredible, and the sound was really powerful.

The rehearsal ended around 10pm, and I met up with Lou again. We decided to walk around and try to find a quiet place to have a glass of wine, but ended up strolling into a café for tea and a chocolate ball instead. It was actually the perfect ending to our first night in Stockholm…Lou had to have a final late night fika before leaving Sweden for good.

Whilst out having tea, Lou told me that someone else checked into our room in the boat (it was for 4 people). It was a guy named Marcel from Switzerland. I thought it was odd to share a small space with a guy we didn’t know, but she said he was cool…and he was! The three of us had a funny evening making jokes and chatting before falling asleep, it felt like a really weird sleepover, in a boat.

On Saturday we got up around 8:30am to grab some breakfast and walk around Gamla Stan before my rehearsal at 11:30am. Marcel joined us for a relaxing morning. Lou continued to go sight seeing while I rehearsed at the church, then had lunch with Anne, Anders, and Emma, and got ready for the concert at 3pm.

The concert went really well! I played doumbeck and marimba on a few pieces that Anders wrote, and we improvised in-between a few of the pieces. It was such a treat to be able to play with Anders. I felt that although I was always following him, I could still use my ideas during the more free portions. Plus, the choir and the collective sound was just sooooo incredible! I’ll have to post a video soon.

So...now I have officially made my Stockholm and choir accompaniment debut! The concert was even more fun because Anne, Emma, Lou, Sebastian (friend from Piteå who recorded my last concert and used to sing in this choir), and Arvid (the airplane guy! We met on my way back from the States in January and have kept in touch) all came to the concert. It was actually a much bigger audience than I anticipated, and the feedback was really nice.

After the show Anders and I had to take down the equipment and move it back to the studio, and then pack some cymbals for the roadtrip. Lou went home with Anne and Emma, and we all met back at the apartment for a fantastic dinner by Tove! It was great to have 5 of my favorite people in Sweden at the same place. Not to mention, the dinner was scrumptious!

Since it was Lou’s last night, we wanted to go out and grab some drinks. We met up with boat hostel guy and airplane guy (haha, that sounds funny, but they were really cool!) in Södermalm. It was the most random group of four people of coincidental meeting, and it was great! We went to a pub and chatting for the whole evening. It was a very easy group of people to hang out with, and I hope that we can all get together again.

I had to say goodbye to Lou this morning, and we both got a little teary eyed…which just means I’ve made a friend for life. I can’t wait to see where/when we meet up again!

----now it’s 2am, and I’m in a swanky hotel in Venlo, Netherlands---

16 hours later…the first leg of the Zildjian marketing roadtrip is over! Anders and I had a really great time, and the time went by surprisingly fast. We took a lot of stops, and just talked as much as possible. We met up with a distributer, Christian, in Malmö to pick up some more cymbals. He was extremely friendly and had a beautiful house. We had a proper fika and talked business. I think he will be a great contact!

After a few more hours, we took a ferry from Denmark to Germany which doubled as a dinner break. After that I couldn’t tell what country I was in for the entirety of the evening, and at times forgot we were in Europe…it just felt as easy as driving through the USA.

I stayed awake until about 12:45...which is pretty impressive for me. Now, it’s time for bed it my awesome hotel room! Tomorrow we are going to the Pearl headquarters to pick up the big box of cymbals and heading to Innsbruck! I hope it’s sunny because it should be a beautiful drive!

1am and packing

I feel like I've crammed 2 weeks of work into 4 days! I feel good and enjoyed all the projects this week...but it 1am, and I am just now starting to pack for the 10 day roadtrip. Whoops!

I leave tomorrow morning at 8:30am to go to the airport to catch my flight to Stockholm (with Lou). We have a lot to pack into the two days and will be meeting up with a lot of cool people while in the city. I'm super excited about having the opportunity to play with Anders with a choir at Jakob's church on Saturday:

http://www.stockholmsdomkyrkoforsamling.se/page.php?p=403

Then, on Sunday morning Anders and I start driving for the big Zildjian Austia/Germany tour. It's really going to be amazing! I'm taking my computer and will update on the road for sure!! Here is the link to Neil Percy's website...he will be in the cities with us:

http://www.neilpercy.com/events.php

It's going to be a great trip. I should probably pack now.

visiting and leaving

I’m really excited because I just skyped with my Aunt Betsy...and she is definitely visiting in April/May! We’ve been chatting about the idea for a bit, and are solidifying the details now. It means a lot to me that she is making the effort to fly all the way over here. I can’t wait to show her what I’ve learned about Sweden and share this experience with a loved one. We’re going to spend a few days in Stockholm, take a cruise to Helsinki, and then spend a few days in Piteå. Thanks, Aunt B, you’re the best!

Today has been filled with a lot of random meetings, rehearsals, and lessons to keep me busy. I headed into school early this morning to practice and get organized for the trip to Stockholm/Austria/Germany. I chatted with Daniel and we are going to try and book a concert and recording session for the end of May. It’s good that we are making some decisions on repertoire because it helps me focus my practicing and composing. I also met with a few other musicians about various projects, and it’s going to be a very busy April and May…rather be too busy than bored!

Earlier this evening, The Brit (Lou), The Swede (Anna), and The American (Me, duh) had our final weeknight gathering at Ankars. It was pretty sad, but hysterical as always. Lou made a cloudkaka (sper yummy chocolate cake…whoops, the whole “no sugar during Lent” thing didn’t really work out!), and we ate it sitting on the floor, gossiping like little girls, and trying to cope with the idea that a large chapter of our Piteå life will soon come to an end. I cried a little when we talked about her leaving this weekend and reminisced about all the silly things we’ve done the past 6 months. It’s amazing how many memories can be made in such a short period of time. Oh man, I need to stop writing about this because it’s making me way too sad!!

On a happier note…I did inherit half of Lou’s wardrobe because it won’t fit in her luggage :)

Happy Monday

Even though nothing too exciting happened today, this is my attempt to get back in the habit of writing more often. Life is getting much more routine based, and the daily experiences don’t seem as exciting as they did when I first arrived. But, I guess I’ll look back on this blog and want to know what happened on Monday, March 15, 2010. So, here is my “Monday play-by-play”!

I had a laundry date with Anna this morning at 7am. I knew I was more likely to actually get out of bed if I knew she’d be there too. Predictably, I did go back to sleep while I waited to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Haha…still, I’m starting the week off with a bunch of clean underwear, so the early wake up call was worth it!

After doing my laundry I was in a productive mode, so I did all of my dishes and cleaned my apartment. Then, I packed my lunch and went up to school so I could eat with everyone. I know it’s kind of lame, but it was better than eating alone!

Anna and I decided to go to the Red Cross after lunch because it was a beautiful, sunny day and I was in need of a new pair of pants. Of course, we found a few nice items, chatted with the workers (because they still recognize us…) and spent another hour walking around town.

Around 3pm I had to meet my friend Igor (from Ukraine) because we had to create a dialogue in Swedish to perform in our Swedish class on Wednesday. It’s fun to speak the language, but I still get self-conscious. I know I get better when I practice, but it’s just so easy to speak English! I blame my friends for not being hard enough on me!

The rest of the night was spent picking up some groceries, gmail chatting with mom (I’m so proud of her for figuring that out!), working on the doctoral application, and organizing the next few weeks. Anders called to talk a little more about the gig this weekend and trip next week. I’m getting so excited about it for so many reasons!

I know this wasn’t the most exciting blog entry…

But, this morning I did find 20kr on the sidewalk. Happy Monday :)

SMASK

I've been really fortunate to have the opportunity to play in many great chamber groups, orchestras, wind ensembles, percussion ensembles, musicals, etc....and now I can officially say that I took part in the 2010 Sveriges MusikAkademikers Sång Kåntest (SMASK)...which is definitely in a category on its own! It's a variety show...meets a schlager/pop concert...meets an orchestra...meets a rock concert...meets ABBA.

Even though the music was silly and usually predictable, the audience loved it...and the reason I do what I do is to entertain! Plus, not only did the audience laugh a lot…but the entire back of the orchestra (percussion, guitar, bass, piano, synth, etc…) had our share of jokes as well!

What I think made the experience really memorable is the fact that I can honestly say that I feel 100% comfortable with being myself around everybody now. I hope that the momentum with the friendships I made over the past few weeks continue, because if so…staying here another few years will be great! (even though talking to my parents tonight on Skype did make me sad becuase I miss them so much. If I do get the funding to stay, being away for so long is going to be really hard! too many emotions at once!)

The orchestra

In our percussion/toy/drums filled corner

long rehearsals

Where I spent the better portion of a week

This school goes all out for its productions! really impressive!

every percussion instrument was mic-ed...and Alex made sure we sounded good

My tambourine chops really improved this week

trying to imporve my photography skills as well!

Before the show...the drummer/percussion guys: Erik, Sebastian, and Steven. good people.

As in the true Swedish way...the most anticipated part of SMASK was the party following the show. I have never seen a stage stuck so quickly in my life, because no one was allowed to drink until everything was put away. There was a ton of stuff (3 timpani, xylo, vibes, chimes, glock, drumset, keybaords, chairs, stands, etcc...and it all had to be carried down numerous flights of stairs!)...and it literally only took us about 30 minutes! Everyone started to party at the school, then we all went dancing at Kåren, then after-party at Kvartes (club house at the apartment complex), then some how about 20 people came over to my place for the after-after-party until the wee hours of the morning. It was one of my favorite nights in Piteå to date!

That was the gangster sign we made up for the percussion section...except now it really doesn't look like a "p". Hum. We failed on that one!

 

Erik, Lindie, Johan, Mikael, and Steven hanging out after the crazy show/night.

 

check out these you-tube links to my favorite songs:

I spent all of yesterday recovering from the day/week. Lou, Anna, and I hung out all day and watched the entire season of "Cougar Town". It was brilliant and the perfect way to spend a Saturday! I'm so sad that Lou leaves Sweden this weekend. It still hasn't really hit me yet, and I know I'll be really upset when it does! We are going to try to make this a great week and weekend in Stockholm for her...so I better go to bed so I have enough energy to plan another fun week!

showtime

SMASK is tonight! This week has been a busy production week, but I have had such a great time. Can't say that I've been challenged musically, but it's been nice to just laugh, dance (don't ask), and be involved in a show that includes so many elements. I've never seen a student run show that is so advanced when it comes to technology and media. You can stream the show live at pitetv.se at 7pm our time (I think that is 1 o’clock in Ohio)

piteTV

Check it out! I know everyone in America will be so confused; not only because of the language, but also because of the crazy costumes, pop/corny music, and silly acting (it’s a newly written/arranged song competition where the craziest tune usually wins). It's all in good fun though, and it will definitely be entertaining! I know that they’ve been filming me lot (playing cowbell and fast xylophone licks, plus showing off some sweet choreographed dance skills…) so you may see me amongst the craziness.

I’ll share pictures soon. I’ve become a lot closer with the musicians involved in the show, which has been really awesome. I made an American breakfast for the percussionists this morning, and gave Jakob a haircut yesterday…nothing says friendship like trusting someone with your hair and your hunger! Haha! Time to shower and head up to school!

Asbra

My new favorite word to use on a daily basis is 'asbra'. It just means 'very good', and isn't that exciting to Swedes, but it is fun to say with an American accent!

Although silly, it has been useful lately because life has been pretty darn 'asbra'. My concert last week went really well…although there were plenty of mistakes, and I wasn’t 100% happy with my playing, I was pleased with the overall product. I set out to share my art in a creative way with those that are not very familiar with percussion music, and the response tells me that I was successful!

We started setting up the Black Box theatre at around 2pm. Rasmus and Lindie did the lighting, Sebastian took care of the sound (both live and recording), Johannes and a few other friends helped with he equipment, Anna and Lou took care of the little things (feeding me an orange, and finding me a black carpet so the drumset wouldn’t slide around!), and I was surprisingly calm and not stressed! It was truly a group effort, and I am eternally grateful to everyone. Of course, we had fun with everything, and I think that we will all be working together a lot in the future…the final product was too unique not to do something similar again soon!

The stage looked amazing thanks to Rasmus and Lindie’s idea to remove the back curtain and collect all the floor based lamps in the school and use them for backlighting. So, along with the colored lights from above, the lights behind me gave it a very ‘warehouse/basement’ feel. Then, instead of trying to organize all the instruments that weren’t being used, we scattered them around. It looked avant-garde, but intimate and trendie…what I had hoped for, but better than I could have imagined!

My program was:

A Minute of News (1990) by Eugene Novotney (1960)

Juxtaposed
  Solfeggietto (1770) by CPE Bach (1714-1788)
  Variation No. 1 (2010) by Maria Finkelmeier (1985)

Dance and Drive (2002) by Anders Åstrand (1961)
  Dancing in the Parking Lot
  Driving Down the Highway

-pause-

unknown expectations (2010) Maria Finkelmeier (1985)

Ten Years to Alma-q (2009) Ulf Blomqvist (1983)
  Markus Sundquist: Piano
  Mathias Lundkvist: Flute

The Ragtime Robin (1928) G.H.Green (1893-1970)
  Markus Sundquist: Piano
  Robin Jonsson: Bass

The first half was completely solo, while the second half included other musicians. For my piece, Denis and Daniel were set-up behind the audience and improvised to create an ambiance as they came back in after the pause. Then, Markus and Mathias joined me to play Ulf’s piece (we played it on a concert a few weeks ago. Ulf is great, and I really liked the piece and wanted to play it again. Plus it counted as the ‘contemporary’ and ‘chamber’ piece for the program). Everyone loved the ragtime tune at the end, and I think we are going to try and get in the studio sometime soon to record it.

The only negative aspect of organizing a concert on my own is that I have to take care of every detail. Luckily I have great, talented friends, but some minor details still get overlooked. Lou was awesome and took some photos during the sound check, but I didn’t have a chance to ask anyone to take pictures during the show. Plus, the video is ok, but the rag is cut off, which would have been a great representation of my playing. I still need to ask Sebastian to dub the good sound recording over it (I am going to use it for my Doctorate application), and sometimes I feel so bad always having to ask for so much help!

After the concert, a group of us went out to Challenge to hang out. We had a blast, and I wish that people hung out like that more often! During the week it’s hard to get into town, especially when the weather is bad…but now that Spring is on its way (kind of) and I’m becoming closer to some people, I think I’ll have to organize more relaxed outings like this one!

A few photos from the day:

Starting to set-up!

Rasmus and Lindie taking a well-deserved break

Sebastian making me sound good

We suspended the Spiral Crash Cymbal!! it looked incredible!

Starting to sound check...talking and playing...so talented. haha!

Intense!!

Happy!

Corny! 

Thanks for taking some pictures, Lou!

I'll upload the video from the rest of the concert as soon as I can! 

After concert fun...

I bribe/thank the people that help me with cookies!

With Lou and Venla at Challenge enjoyed some drinks and the wonderful company!

Ulf and I shared a burger. I ate it like an American. He ate it like a Swede. My way was MUCH better!

 Funny group of people!

Sebastian is the very first student I met here! super nice and good sound guy!

my favorite picture of Anna and I ever! Lucky to have a friend like her!

time to go home...Markus decided to take a nap in the snow. haha!

Beautiful flowers from Anna and Lou in my kitchen. Also displaying the beautiful weather that we had this weekend. The snow will be around until May, but the sun was shining, and Spring is in the air!

Now it's time to focus on what is next. This week is production week for SMASK, so it will be consuming most of my time. I have some ideas for the next solo/chamber concert I'd like to do, and I have to start planning it. I get quite lazy if I don't have a goal to work towards! Also, next week I'll be filling out and sending in the Doctorate application, playing with Anders and Rolf in Stockholm on Saturday, and then leaving for Germany/Austria with Anders for the Zildjian tour on Sunday. So, I guess I have a lot to look forward to, but it's hard to focus on practicing right now! Oh, well...I guess a little break never hurt anyone!

I bought a bike!

Last Friday I joined Elias, Johann, and Tim on a trip to Repris (the second hand store that is bigger than the Red Cross…has more furniture and such) and on a whim, decided to buy a bike. I wanted to get one when I first arrived here, but there were too many other things to take care of first. I usually don’t go shopping with the boys, so it was the perfect time to take advantage of their manliness…I know if I would go with the girls we would not have been able to get it back to Ankars!!!

The bike is yellow and awesome, and only cost 250Kr (which is about $35). This snow really needs to melt so I can use my new wheels!

Elias admitted that he felt manly after figuring out how to attach the bike to the car...so really I was helping him out just as much as he was helping me!

Johann and I didn't really help too much.

Bra jobbat Elias and Tim!

New student!

I have a new percussion student that I’m teaching through the University! His name is Tim, and he’s an exchange student from Germany. Micke told me that I’ll be teaching him until the end of the year, and I’m so excited! He’s been studying percussion for a long time, is quite good, and is actually older than me. He speaks English pretty well, but I still have to be creative and very clear with all of my instruction. I’m really excited to teach at a higher level, it’s going to be a great experience!