1/31/2003 12:00:29 PM|||Brian Fending|||

DA CAPO
You may have noticed my silence. Or not. Either way, I still have a beard, a dog, a fiancée and lots of stuff to report on, but not in that order.

It's cold here. REALLY cold. Sometimes the weathermen are so wrong it's ridiculous, but they're not exaggerating this time. Note to people *not* living in the Northeast: Send plane tickets to your location asap.

PLAYING
Look for me in the trio at Cafe Etc in Niagara Falls on Friday 31 Jan and Friday 7 Feb, 9:30pm - 1:00a(e-gads)m. I've got some stuff cooking for trios and other small jazz group work, so watch the calendar for updates!

I'm gigging a lot more than a few months ago, at which time I took a little break. Some shows at the Lancaster Opera House in very early March for you, perhaps? :)

Composing a bit, too, in addition to catching up on collaborations. Any percussionists interested in reading down the draft of a new work for percussion ensemble? How about some hotshot solo marimbists?

If anyone knows anything about Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra personnel management, give me a call. I can't seem to get so much as a finger, nod or acknowledgement letter after sending my resumé for an opening that's being heard for in May. (Thanks!)

TEACHING
Starting this Tuesday, I'll be teaching (on Tuesday nights) at The NACC (Niagara Arts & Cultural Center, I think - at any rate, it's the old high school in the Falls). Let me know if you have any minds in need of percussive molding. I'll have a lot of gear on hand with which to teach and look forward to building up my studio again. press release

WEDDING
Still on for 3 May 2003, Rochester, NY. Week-long honeymoon in Cape Cod to follow. No boats. No swimming. No cell phones, no laptops. Just good fun. Looking forward to this like you wouldn't believe.

WEBMASTERING
"The Library: It's Work." (Somehow, I don't think the American Library Association is going to adopt this slogan...) The knob turns slowly, but it turns - look for something more substantial from this in September. Redesigned the intranet; too bad I can't show that here. ("Damn the electric fence!")

Rhythmic Media: Many things happening here, including - you heard it here first - *web hosting* for $120/year! Just finished angolachiropractic.com. If you're looking for a good chiropractor in Western NY, please contact our good friend Dr. Smith!

GOLFING
It's official: I'm officially subscribed and read cover-to-cover WIRED and GOLF MAGAZINE. I go to the range every other week to work on my swing, so I'm either getting old or just fitting in. Knowing me, the former is more probable but less appealing in the grand scheme of things. Oh, God.

RANTING
Okay, so I've expressed my concern that a Niagara Falls, NY-based casino will *not* work, and that investing so much money into a single thing has no chance of succeeding unless an economy successfully develops around it. The City of Niagara Falls - oh, wait... it's not technically a city anymore - has repeatedly scoffed in the face of opportunity and is trying - I mean REALLY trying - to make me prophetic.

Historically, they have wasted resources both natural and man-made and are not leaving that legacy in the past. The leadership there needs to change, transitioned to one that can be stronger than the millions being poured into that casino, that can leverage one of the seven wonders of the world, that understands that, yes, it IS prettier to walk on the Canadian side and the state parks system isn't going to change that fact. The only thing the City [sic] needs to do is make it easier for tourists and even the people who haven't left town to spend their money IN THE CITY. Not just the one-in-however-many-thousands that get lucky at the casino and try to find something to blow their cash on, but every daily pedestrian, every casual tourist, every person who graces the City with their presence and is looking to buy a good time.

No further social commentary will be expended on that last point, but it will suffice to say that my confidence in the success of the casino - not as its own turnkey money-making establishment, but as a turningpoint asset for the City - has been far from bolstered by the continuing events of this less-than-epic saga.

FINE
That's all I've got. Send students. Come to gigs. Eat vegan.

|||109171064965318156|||Playing, Teaching, Wedding and Otherings