Old Fashioned Glazed Donuts

Starbucks has the best "old fashioned glazed donuts" around.  The one in Yardley got me hooked, and now every time I go to a local Starbucks, I have to have one.  Pair that with their bold coffee, and you won't go anywhere for hours.

I got a wrist brace for my ailing appendage, and it's really helping a lot.

I had a pretty good Christmas weekend.  It was brief thanks to the weather.  Mother Nature dumped 8-10 inches of snow on us (18+ in NJ).  I left early Christmas Day because of that, and I hit nothing...all dry.  I wouldn't consider that luck, though.  It all kinda just got dumped over the course of about 12 hours.  This was nothing compared to February's twin terror blasts of winter over the course of a week...a lot of it has melted already.

My time at Parties and More is winding down for the time being, which is good and bad for me.  First, it's good because I have a bit of time now to catch up and develop my career, evaluating successes and acting on ideas I've thought of recently.  It's bad because that's half of my income (or at least it was...January-May is very slow for MLA too).  I'm sure I'll be getting another part-time job to hold me over until the summer, but don't expect me to be traveling too much.

As for the immediate future, tomorrow night I'll be playing at the Pyramid Club in Center City for New Year's Eve.  It's $135 a head...the club thought they were doing MLA a favor by asking only $110 for MLA guests.  I wouldn't pay $50 a couple for a New Year's Eve bash.  I'll just host my own.  Anyway, it's on top of a skyscraper, and it'll probably be really cool.  I just wish I could spend it with Kerri.

Saturday is the Mummer's Day Parade...nuff said.  Sunday is the Eagles vs. Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field.  Kerri and I have tickets, but we don't know now if we wanna go.  We're probably going to sell them because 1) the Eagles are playing for nothing, and 2) the starters will be sitting most of the game.  It will be just like a preseason game, except it's against the Cowboys, and as much as I don't like the Cowboys (because nobody likes the Cowboys), it's just not worth it, and we could use $180.

Unfortunately, tonight, I am unable to attend most/all of the party tonight for Kerri's siblings, The Triplets.  They turn 21 and Kerri planned a party for them down in Philly, but because I have to make money, I cannot attend until later.  To Meghan, Samantha, and Larry - Happy Birthday, and don't get arrested or flip over a dumpster.

That, my friends, is my week ahead.  Thanks for reading, and I'll keep you posted on more mundane happenings as Old Man Winter kills the mood.

The best ideas are thought of in the shower

Earlier today I took a shower (I do that sometimes), and I always do a lot of thinking in there - maybe an explanation for why I take so long.  I had to get these ideas out here because I know that I'll forget them later.

According to David Cutler's "The Savvy Musician" (www.savvymusician.com), you have to create opportunities for yourself and then become the foremost expert on whatever it is that you create.  By that logic, I should think of something lacking in the trumpet/brass world and make it.  In turn, I would be the best at it because I'd be the only one doing it.

Brass quintets are nothing entirely new.  There have been brass bands around for at least a couple hundred years.  However, the music that brass bands/quintets play is very limited.  The volume just isn't there.  Often, the brass quintets of the world keep rehashing the classic standard literature for the genre and limit themselves.  I think I should form an ensemble that puts on both solo and ensemble performances.  Each member would be showcased by performing solo with ensemble accompaniment.  Then, I would have a quintet playing something jazzy or rock oriented or play a large orchestral transcription...just not everything that is standard for brass quintet only.

Also, I could turn standard trumpet pieces into something more modern by turning them into rock or jazz tunes.  The Halsey Stevens "Sonata for Trumpet and Piano" could be a prog rock masterpiece for trumpet, piano, drums, and bass.  Sounds a little far-fetched, right?  I'll probably try it just because I can.

Another idea I had was to transcribe trumpet pieces for electric guitar and put them with accompaniment.  I figure that would pique the interest of brass players around the world if I can become good enough at it and advertise it properly.  I would be interested to see a guitarist (who is trained as a trumpeter) play some trumpet pieces on guitar.

And maybe at these performances I can give away beer samples from my batches.  We'll see.

More ideas to come...I'd love to read some comments and/or suggestions.

Today...is Christmas

There will be a magic show at 0930.  Chaplain Charlie will tell you about how the free world will conquer Communism with the aid of God and a few Marines...

Sorry; I love Full Metal Jacket.

Anyway, my last blog was last Sunday, and I laid out some plans to free myself of my fears and prepare myself better for success.  Here's what I've done so far...

I joined a gym.  I am fat (compared to my previous physical condition at least), and I need to run.  I used to run a lot, and it kept me in fantastic shape.  In fact, had I run in high school, I could've been on cross-country, but I did band instead.  In 4 days, I ran a total of 15 miles, and I'm pretty sure it resulted in losing a few pounds.  This was after not running more than a day at a time in over 3 years.  It looks promising that I could run at least a half marathon at some point.

I did all of my Christmas shopping before Christmas week this year.  Have I ever done that before?  What do you think?

I developed a serious case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from playing computer and video games in my immense free time this past week.  Lately, I've been on an MS-DOS kick, downloading a ton of computer games for DosBox - the equivalent of XBox for computer/DOS format.  On Thursday and Friday, I played about 10 hours of PS3 and Wii, having nothing else to do.  I need a wrist brace now, and I'm gonna cool it with the computer for a few days so I can recover.

Last night was the Christmas Eve gig in Pittsburgh.  We played with an organist with probably the worst tempo I've ever encountered from a professional.  We completely botched John Rutter's "Gloria" because the organist couldn't lay down a tempo to save his life.  I felt sorry for the choir especially because they're really good, and they have no rhythmic leader to follow.  This guy shot us, the brass quintet, dirty looks the whole time because he thought we were screwing it all up.  Let me tell you something, if you're just holding notes from the beginning of the piece and think 5 people are going to get the same tempo out of it, especially if you don't show us a tempo even with your head, you are absolutely insane and shouldn't be playing music.  This guy was fumbling over notes like it was his job.  Then he didn't thank us after the gig or even talk to us.  All of us were just waiting for him to come over to us to complain, and we were ready to verbally unload on him in front of the parish.  He was on thin ice, at best.

The actual success of the gig for me was that it was a huge blow for all of us, the most I think any of us have ever played for a church gig, and I got through it ready to play more.  Thanks to Main Line Affair, I can play waaayyyyy longer.  I'm not saying I wasn't a little tired - I was - but I had a lot more in me.

Anyway, so that was my week.  I got a beer making kit from Kerri for Christmas...I can't wait to start brewing.  My first beer is an amber ale.  If that turns out ok, I'll move on to a Hefeweizen.  I'll keep everyone updated on that too.  Depending on taste (I think my beer-tasting palate is pretty refined by now), I'll be distributing 6 packs to friends, so that's why you should pay attention.

Until next time...

What's on my mind tonight?

I just saw "Inception" tonight.  It got me thinking about what reality is.  Before you go thinking I'm going to get extremely in-depth and boring about this, stop yourself and just hear me out.  I promise I'll keep it relevant.

How many times do you find yourself regretting something, regardless of how important or unimportant?  Personally, I do that a lot.  That's a crappy feeling...what might have been.  What if we stopped underestimating ourselves and tried what we wanted to do in the first place?  It sounds a lot easier than it is.

My problem my whole life has been fear of failure.  I have given myself very few opportunities to fail.  It's a risk-reward world.  If you're willing to risk a lot, you just may strike gold and pave a path to success.  You also could lose much of what you own, tarnish your reputation, or experience irreversible rejection.  In a world where we have so much technology to leak up-to-the-second updates, is it worth it, especially if you're famous enough, to risk all of that for personal achievement?

Absolutely.  Why?  Good question.

For me, I never really think that much of what I have is replaceable.  I'm not used to having any money to speak of, so I feel like if I lose things, especially my most important possessions (i.e. musical instruments, car, electronics), I can't replace them.  Of course, right now that's true, but in the abstract, they're just things and can be found/bought again.  It would suck to waste all that money, but that's not the important thing here, right?

The most important things to me are the things that are hardest to take away from me.  Kerri, Hank, my family and friends will still accept me as long as I'm loyal and am trying to be the best I can be.  I can't really replace them, but as long as I don't do anything to turn their lives upside-down, I'll keep them.  As long as I don't cheat on Kerri, stop feeding Hank, or  lose complete touch with my family and friends, they'll be there through thick and thin.  That is a good thing.

Are my thoughts bound by what I think others will think?  To an extent, yes.  I need to change that.

I need to be more free and stop caring so much what others will think and trust myself.  So far, I've used my musical training and developing communication skills, but I'm still limiting myself because of my track record.  I have to put the past behind me and only remember what will benefit me in the future.  I dwell...it's bad.

Things I'm going to do this week to free myself:

Keep my chops in shape - practice every day to increase skill, not just maintain it
Read more
Run as long as I can every day
Write a song - I think I suck at writing, but I've never let anyone hear anything I've ever written...maybe I can change that
Improve grooming habits so I can stop being so self-conscious
Look for new contact lenses

It's that time of the year again...

It's time once again to take a look back at the past year's events, and believe me, 2010 was easily the most difficult and eventful year I've experienced yet.  I got engaged, moved to Philly, and played some of the coolest gigs of my life.  I also don't live in my own place, still rely on others financially, and have gotten really out of shape.  Good or bad, these are the events of 2010.  Let's get started.

January 1 - The Mummers are to Philadelphia what the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is to New York City...but it's a million times better and not nearly as family-friendly.  These people are dressed in ridiculous outfits and are basically a bunch of marching bands with strings.  They're also hammered...well, for the most part.  The best string bands are sober and put on awesome shows.

Anyway, Kerri took me to my first Mummers Parade, and I have to say there's nothing quite like celebrating New Year's Eve hard and getting up to go to the parade.  We're going again next year (read - in three weeks), and this time we'll be more prepared.

January 25 - I had been thinking about my future with Kerri for a while and decided that day, after looking at rings for a few days online and weighing my options, that I would go shopping.  I ended up at the Mall at Robinson in Pittsburgh, eventually stopping into Jared.  Laurel educated me on the finer details of diamond buying - though I will say that I already knew a lot.  I figured out how I would propose while I was waiting for the diamond to be placed in its setting, and I was on my way.

Later that evening, I called Kerri's dad while she was in the shower, and I asked if I could marry her...I know it's old-fashioned, but you never know.  When she was out and dressed, I got on one knee after singing a silly song I wrote earlier.  I had to ask twice.  She said, "Yes."

February - Kerri and I picked out a date and venue for the wedding.  Big decisions.

Blizzard of 2010 hit full-blast all over the region.  Pittsburgh's streets were not cleared for weeks, and many, including 6536 Darlington, were snowed in for days.  Many hours of shoveling yielded us just spots that were taken as soon as we left, even when doing the whole "let's leave a plastic chair there so nobody can possibly move it and take our spot trick."

Panama Rock Machine made its nameless debut at the Institute on Melvin in Squirrel Hill.  It was just a sign of many bigger things to come.  Also, two words:  Gin Bucket.

March 17 - Alisha Atkins, Will Cosby, and I gave an alumni recital at A-B with the assistance of Mrs. Lillian Long and Dr. Hooi Yin Boey.  It was an honor to make music with these wonderful people.

April 6 - QUIT PANERA!  I loved working with the people I worked with, but I just couldn't deal with how uptight 96.8% of our customers were.  As rich as many of them were, a much smaller percentage of them actually had a brain.  If you are reading this and go to Panera to eat, please realize that we are all human and that it isn't a gourmet restaurant that can just go out and order your favorite caviar because you snapped your finger.  Please also realize that the employees there aren't out to get you and most would do their absolute best to help you in whatever way possible to make sure you get what you want.

April 9 - Panama Rock Machine made its Peter's Pub debut to a packed house of nearly 200 people.  Try finding any other band that has played there and gotten nearly 200 people to show up at its first actual public show.

Middle April - Kerri and I decided it would be best if I moved to Philadelphia in anticipation of Kerri graduating.  After much thinking, I decided on May 2 as my move date.

April 30 - PRM put on the best show in Peter's Pub history.  We debuted our Blues Brothers-esque skinny black ties and white shirts, now standard PRM attire.  Less people, but it was the most fun I've ever had anywhere.

May 2 - I moved to Bucks County, Philadelphia, PA.  It was pretty much a foreign country to me - different language, people looked different, couldn't figure out where I was going, terrain was different, etc.

May 6 - I started working at Parties and More.  To be honest, this has been my favorite non-musical job yet. I learned all about Philly by driving around all day all over the city and into Jersey.  Nothing else could've acclimated me to Philly better than this job.  My goal when I moved here was to know nearly everything I needed to know about the area in less than 6 months, and I believe I obliterated that goal.

May 13 - I lost a monumental bet to Kerri that the Flyers would lose to the Bruins in 4 games (they were down 3 games to 0 in Game 4).  I said that I would owe her massages, the amount of which depended on how far they got in the series.  If the Flyers won the series, I would owe her massages on command for the rest of my life.  They got to Game 7 and were down, appropriately enough, 3-0 in the second period.  They came back and won the game and the series.  That was easily the greatest comeback in the history of hockey and maybe even sports history.

June 12 - Went back to Pittsburgh for my birthday weekend that included playing a show with PRM, got a new computer, and retrieved Hank for a cross-state excursion to his new home.  I don't remember the show, but I do remember the car ride with Hank, and it sucked.

Also, during that weekend, I asked Nick Andes to be my best man.  He cried.

June 30 - I bought the phone that transformed my career from one in which I had to wait to respond to opportunities into one in which I proactively search for and promptly respond to opportunities  - the iPhone.  This thing does it all.  It was a necessary investment, and I've gotten many gigs and students because of it.

July 6 - Desperate to get back into musical activity, I answered a lot of ads on Craigslist in the beginning here in Philly.  Over the summer I played with the Warminster Symphony Orchestra, and A Wing and a Prayer Brass Choir.  In July I auditioned for wedding/private event band Main Line Affair (www.mainlineaffair.com).  Thankfully, they needed a new trumpeter and someone who could fill a high male vocal void.  I was asked to join, and since then we have performed several times a month in New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  This has been the most important part of my career development so far in Philly.

End of July - Made a real website with my actual name on it.  It's www.ajcutright.com.

August - Kerri and I picked a photographer for the wedding.  Her name is Nina Perini.  Check out her work here: http://www.ninaperiniphotography.com/

September - Kerri FINALLY moved home.  I had seen her maybe three times since I moved, and it was very tough.  I won't get soft here, but I'll say that from May to November, I've never had a tougher stretch.

October - Kerri got a job and quit all in the same month.  She quit for a number of reasons, first of which was because they hired her after she said she could only work one day a week, yet for the duration she was getting 40 hours by Wednesday.  She said, "See ya!" and left.

We confirmed Andre Crews as the DJ for the wedding.  He's our friend and will be yours.  If you, like me, refuse to dance in public (or at all), you will be throwing away those preconceived notions and shaking your ass with me, Kerri, and everyone else.  I guarantee it.

We also started registering for stuff.  Our registries are at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Kohl's and Sears.  If you wanna see it, just type our name in on their Registry sections.

November 10 - Finally began having some success with building my lesson studio.  That day I did my trumpet lesson with Lu Ann Cahn (see the "No-Break November" blog).  Several students later, I am still teaching and continuing to grow my studio.

November 19 - Kerri successfully defended her thesis!  This was not the end, however.  That would come two weeks later, after certain people she needed to keep on track dropped the ball and stalled her graduation.  She finished all the stupid paperwork with just a couple days to spare, had to make two return trips to Pittsburgh, and waste a stupid amount of money just to make sure people didn't drop the ball again.

Again, one of the most trying periods of our relationship has been the last few months, and I believe we've gone through it as strong as we could ever imagine.  We're there for each other and have the other's back.  We're the dream team.

November 28 - Kerri went to Jared, and I went to Kay to buy our wedding bands.  I know it's early for that, but this is something we think is even more important than the small details.  These wedding bands are totally "us."  It's nothing outrageous, but they're very elegant at the same time.

There are still another 21 days left until 2011, so who knows what else will happen.  It's crazy to think of all the crap that has happened this year, but let's recap, shall we?

- got engaged and decided lots of wedding stuff already
- moved to Philly
- went without Kerri for over 5 months
- brought Hank to Philly
- joined Main Line Affair
- started teaching
- learned about Philly by working at Parties and More
- worked with an 8-time Emmy winner
- bought wedding bands

What I still need to do:

- get my own place
- get out of debt
- make more money
- increase amount of playing jobs
- add more students to my studio
- buy recording equipment
- have professional photography done for trumpet
- keep working on my image/business skills
- finalize wedding plans (honeymoon, reception food, etc.)
- make music my full-time job

I'm in a much better position at the end of this year than I was at the end of last.  Here's to 2011...

Later.

Lessons Learned from my Students

So I've been teaching here in Philadelphia for a few weeks now, and I've learned more about how teachers used to view me than I ever did when I studied with them.  It's hard to put yourself in the shoes of a teacher when you're a student, but damn, I was difficult to deal with sometimes.

I currently have three students whom I teach weekly or bi-weekly.  I'm starting to get the hang of regularly teaching more than one student, especially students who aren't older adults.  Last week and this week, two of my students had major breakthroughs.  It was so cool to just walk into a lesson and hear a completely different player, transformed in the matter of just a couple weeks.  I'm not saying they're Wynton or anything, but it's satisfying to hear great improvements.

So far it's been up and down for me...one minute I feel like I'm completely missing the mark, and then the next minute they're playing up a storm, and I feel like I've helped them get to that point.  What I'd like to know from my teacher friends is how do you stay patient through it all when they don't quite get it, and how much of their success (or lack thereof) do you attribute to your instruction?

Please let me know what you think.

A.J.

A Defensive Weekend and a PRM Party

What an eventful weekend!  Thursday, Kerri and I departed for Pittsburgh for what would prove to be the most liberating weekend of her life (at least that's what it seemed like).  Her thesis defense was Friday.  I had never seen an engineering defense; all I've seen are recitals.  I had been helping her with her appendix - copying and pasting charts and labeling them - but I really had no idea what I was doing.  When she explained all of her variables and terms that I had been working with, I felt like I was a little bit of a part of that.  She passed, so now we all have to call her "Master."  Congratulations to my beautiful fiance!

The second item on the agenda for the weekend was the mega-party/reunion with Panama Rock Machine.  This was unusual because we were a six-piece for the first time.  As always, the crowd drowned out the band with their awesome singing, and we even had a few guest performers on some songs, including my little brother in Phi Mu Alpha, Phill West, coming on stage with trombone in hand.  It is very likely you'll see PRM playing many more horn-oriented songs to be scattered throughout the set.

The highlight of the concert was at the end of the night.  I had heard throughout the show many requests for "Piano Man."  I kept it in mind, and then I begged the guys to do it.  It wasn't our best version, but hey, we didn't even rehearse it, so who cares?  The crowd, whose voices were ruined by this point, did their best to make it sound like a 50,000 seat stadium.  There was supposed to be a DJ after that, but we closed the place.  Sorry, dude.

Anyway, this weekend will be even busier.  Wednesday is travel day #1...en route to WV for Thanksgiving at home.  Then, Kerri and I will head back to Pittsburgh Thursday night for the warm-up for Friday...the Backyard Brawl.  Pitt and WVU hate each other, and I got my first taste of the Brawl last year.  I lost the sense of taste after a few hours of tailgating in Morgantown, but I won't go into detail.  Let's just say Kerri owes me big time for how I acted.  I'm hoping it'll be just a lot of intense bickering...

Saturday is MLA's final wedding for 2010.  Friday evening/Saturday morning is going to suck.  I have to get up to be back here in Philly (more like West Chester) for the wedding by 1:30.  That means I'll have to leave around 9, which isn't the worst thing ever, but I probably won't get to enjoy Friday night with everyone else in Pittsburgh.  However, it's money, good experience, and that's more important.

Anyway, I have nothing else to say for now, so maybe next time it'll be a more compelling read.  Stay tuned.

A.J.

No-Break November

I started this in August, and I made a commitment then to continue to blog, to not let up on my career, and I laid out some goals I wanted to reach in the next couple months.  I am proud to say that since then, I have continued to perform with Main Line Affair, taught a local celebrity her first lesson, have new students, and have started to gain traction with a business idea I have.

Since my last post, Main Line Affair has performed in Delaware, Atlantic City, Long Island, and about two blocks away from Times Square.  We get around.  I feel so much more comfortable performing for brand new crowds than I did when I moved here.

This last week has been very productive for me.  I have been posting ads for my in-home trumpet lessons for the last few weeks.  Last week, I received two responses in the same day from people interested in lessons.  I sent return e-mails, we began working together a couple days later.  Hopefully this turns into a more full-time thing.

In addition, on Monday, I received an e-mail from someone associated with Lu Ann Cahn from NBC 10 Philadelphia.  She has a blog called "One Year of Firsts" (http://oneyearoffirsts.wordpress.com/) and wanted to take a first trumpet lesson.  She would then document that by posting it and some video on her blog.  We met Wednesday and had a wonderful first lesson.  She started out having never picked up the horn, not being able to hear anything but air coming out of the bell.  By the end she was able to play a few notes, and if we had more time, she would've been able to play a tune.  Here's hoping for more exposure from that.

Finally, I've been thinking about making my in-home trumpet lessons into a business.  I'm going to call it Traveling Trumpet Lessons.  I know that the idea of providing in-home lessons is not unique, but I looked it up, and there aren't any trumpet teachers using this as a brand.  I'm going to capitalize on that and try to stay organized so I can optimize how much area I cover.  Depending on demand, I'll travel to one area one night, another area another night, and so on and so forth.  My website, http://www.ajcutright.com/ , shows the area I cover, so if you know someone in that area who needs or wants trumpet lessons, please direct them to me, and I'll do what I can.

That's it for now.  Keep checking back here for more news and updates!

See ya!

It's way too late to be writing but...

Just finished playing a "happy hour" about four hours ago.  If you want a shore atmosphere in your backyard, go to Cherry Hill, NJ to Top Dog.  The place is huge and has all kinds of weekly things to do like cornhole and beer pong tournaments.

I wish I could read an audience as easily as some others.  I know when people want us there and when they don't, and I'm pretty sure tonight was one of those where there was no energy, and there were distractions like the Eagles' game in the background.  We did get the chance to play there again, and we also got a gig in October for a birthday party, which is nice.

For the first time since I bought it in 2004, my Crate sounded good!  Our guitarist wasn't there, so we had a guitarist-by-committee approach where someone would play a few and then pass off the guitar.  We used my awful Crate, and it sounded pretty decent.  At least the sound carried, unlike when I was in "Code Mid-skey."  I was always completely buried by a wall of Marshall sound, and my amp wouldn't cut through anything.

I also used my new 1 1/2 C mouthpiece.  I bought two new mouthpieces because I needed something smaller that wouldn't swallow my face.  The 1 C made me really tired really quickly, and this 1 1/2 is a little brighter but has a nice warm sound when I need it.  It's gold-plated and pretty.

I'm going to buy a new guitar soon.  Hopefully, I'll be playing more guitar in MLA when a second guitar is appropriate.  Everything will come together piece by piece, and I will have an awesome rig set up for myself.

This weekend...two more weddings...then Ocean City for a few days.  I'm pretty excited.

On the road with MLA

Just played two weddings this weekend, and I gotta say I've seen some cool places so far.  My first wedding with Main Line Affair was two weeks ago in Hammonton, NJ right beside their river.  It was outside and kinda hot, but it went over ok.  The next wedding was in the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, DE.  That place is awesome!  We got great food...the theme was "Breakfast at Tiffany's," so there was a large brunch buffet.

Last night was a wedding in Doylestown at the Fonthill Museum, which looks like a castle with towers.  The crowd was very small, but the scenery was pretty cool.  It's a very old building; I'm assuming from the 1700s since this is a pretty historic place.  Tonight was a wedding in Center City at the Mutters Museum.  I didn't get to check out the actual museum section that has the oddities and medical freaks, but the rest of the place was very fancy.  The main party was held in a large ballroom where there were pictures all around of very important physicians back in the 1800s and 1900s.

There is also a lot of travel involved.  Doylestown was the closest place so far that I've played.  I performed for the first time in two new states the first weekend, and I've never traveled less than 30 minutes to get to any of them.  On October 10 (10-10-10), we're headed to New York City in Times Square to play the Harvard Club.  That's going to be such a cool trip.  I love NYC, and I don't have to drive.  It's gonna be a blast.

This gig is taking me down to Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey, and all the way up to NYC.  Maybe we can even go farther and take a trip to Pittsburgh.  I know all the cool hangouts...

The band nicknamed me Buford.  I'm not sure why.  I don't...understand why they are calling me Buford...I thought my name was...A.J...  Those in the know will get that reference.

In other news, I'm really tired and about to pass out, so until next time...

Beginning of my career blog

I have been thinking about this for a few days.  Many people have blogs about their own lives, but I think they're typically boring unless they have a little something extra to offer.  My something extra is going to be charting my journey for the whole world to see, from inception to total launch.

I wasted soooo much time in Pittsburgh not capitalizing on opportunities that could've turned into serious professional engagements.  During school, I was referred, helped out, handed extra gigs, etc., and I spent way too much time worrying about what I was going to do with my friends that weekend.  After a year out of school and nothing to show for it, I decided that my new start would be my move to Philly.  Since that move four months ago, I've been working hard to develop a plan to build a reputation and, ultimately, a career.

To date, I have launched a website (which is pretty good for someone who knows nothing about html), bought fresh business cards reflecting my new info, and connected myself online via Twitter, Myspace Music, Facebook, and this blog.  I immediately got my feet wet performing with volunteer organizations like the Warminster Symphony Orchestra and a brass group from Fairless Hills called "A Wing and a Prayer."  I continued to commute across the state to Pittsburgh and play with my kickass band Panama Rock Machine.

I recently answered an ad on Craigslist for a band looking for a trumpeter.  I joined Main Line Affair in mid-July and played my first two weddings with them on August 6 and 7.  What I think made a huge impression on the band is that I can do more than just play trumpet.  They heard me sing some typical 80s tunes, and since they liked it, they wanted me to do some of those at their weddings.  I'm glad I get to act out my rock star fantasies for a few songs a performance.

I still have much work to do before I achieve my immediate goals of starting a teaching studio and performing more.  It would be nice to find a place to teach.  Some people aren't necessarily comfortable with a stranger (...only until they get to know me) coming into their homes.  That's a place to start, though.  Also, I need to make serious lesson plans and finalize my policy.  Finally, I need to advertise the hell out of it so people know I exist.  I can only do so much online; gotta talk to people.

My biggest question for myself (and you) right now is this:  I am a multi-instrumentalist and would like to perform/earn money playing trumpet and guitar and singing.  However, my goals for the next few months are to build a successful trumpet studio, eventually adding guitar students, and to perhaps start a brass quintet.  How should I market myself right now - as mainly a trumpeter or as a multi-instrumentalist that can "do it all?"

Here's to a great weekend...

I recently entered my fourth month in the "City of Brotherly Love."  When I first moved here, I absolutely hated it.  First, nothing was familiar, especially the sounds.  While the terrible accent still bugs me a lot, I'm used to it and have come to terms with the fact that I'll never hear an overabundance of drawls ever again except when I visit home.  Should I start calling this place home?  Not yet...that'll be a little while down the road.

Now, I'm not ripping Philly.  I do like it a tad more than before.  There are lots of things to do, albeit it takes a lonnng time to get anywhere.  Every corner has a Wawa, and it's still Pennsylvania, so beer distributors are in abundance.  Craigslist's "musicians" section isn't full of people trying to rip yinzers for trying to make it in Pittsburgh.  It's actually full of opportunities.  Also, there is a large market to make something of yourself as a musician.

I am pretty proud of myself for figuring out the lay of the land within two months.  How many other people can honestly say they've figured out Philly in such a short period of time?  Yeah...I know.  I actually think I know it better than some other people I know who have been living here their whole lives.  That's probably just because I'm a dork and love geography.

On to the subject of this blog...this weekend.  Kerri and I decided that she needed a mental break from her work and should come home.  I kept it a secret from the Gatti family, and they were shocked when she walked through the door during dinner last night.  Again...proud of myself.  She'll be here through Sunday, and we're meeting with a photographer that afternoon for our wedding next year.  I finished most of the major work on my website (www.ajcutright.com), so I have the weekend to devote to Kerri.

We're going to a Steelers bar on Saturday to watch them play the Lions.  Today we're just gonna lay around and veg, get cat food for Hank and Ashley, and take a walk later.  It should be a relaxing weekend (I hope).  If she isn't refreshed when she goes back, then I haven't done my job.

So, here's to a great weekend...

Later,