Oh that was a classic. On Mar 9, 2014 10:49 PM, "Jim Cathey" <j...@windwireless.net> wrote:
> So today I sat in as 3rd trumpet on a concert my wife > was playing. Unpaid, volunteer gig. I have a tux, > and don't charge, so even though I kinda suck I still > get asked to dance once in awhile... > > _Anyway_, there I am, in my tux in the parking lot going to > swap one trumpet for another, as I had to hurry to our concert > band's dress rehearsal immediately after the concert, and > I _need_ the other horn. > > Only the heap's trunk won't unlock. I had been rear-ended in > the snow a month earlier, and while the car was knocked back > together, and the trunk opened and closed just fine, I had > never locked it since the accident. Well, it _locked_ just > fine, but would not unlock. > > So I'm about to be late for the dress rehearsal, and I only > have a C horn. Mind you, I only _have_ a C horn because > I basically can't transpose. The conductor of today's > concert was there, and was the musical director of the > school it was held at. He had a spare Bb cornet in the > band room. "I don't know when it was last played. > There's no mouthpiece. But you're welcome to borrow > it." > > Well, I figure it's a step up from 'nothing', and just > has to be better than me flailing around on C, so I grab > it and dash off to the next school. Which I find, only > there are no unlocked doors. After a trip around the > building, gathering up other lost souls, we eventually > found the one door with a stooge, who had wandered away > for awhile. In we all go, they're starting to play already. > So much for a little recovery time. > > I hold my T mouthpiece into the cornet, a Conn Victor, > and it doesn't blow. At all. I look, and find that > the #1 and #2 slides are swapped. That's not a good > sign, I swap them back. I then check the valves, and > yes, somebody has swapped #1 & #2. I put them back. > #2 promptly binds, it's not working right. And the > horn is still blocked. I look down the bell, somebody > has thoughtfully rammed a marble down there! I can't > shake or blow it out, I think this horn is done for > the day! > > Fortunately my stand-mate had brought her new old > Conn/Wurlitzer Bb/C cornet along for show and tell. > And a cornet mouthpiece. We had to find the stooge > again, and go out to the parking lot to get it. I > played that the rest of the rehearsal, trying to dial > in the (as-yet unknown) tuning, figure out which HP/LP > slides were what was needed, etc. It was fairly grim, > she was still in the middle of polishing it, and > figuring out how it went together. I don't think > she had really played it at all yet. I think I just > played it _way_ more than she had. Unfamiliar horn, > unfamiliar mouthpiece, didn't even have time to tune > it, except on the fly. Oh, and my solo's coming up > fast. Ugh. > > Sigh. And my trumpet is still locked in the trunk. > I have other horns, but I could really use the music > for the concert, and I'm supposed to return it then. > I will drill into it in the morning, I guess. My > good horn, music, and good leather coat are still > trapped in there. > > I think the settlement amount with the Insco just > went up. > > -- Jim > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
