A Beautiful Piece of Equipment

We finally decided to take the plunge and invest in my new camera! Why, you ask? Well, my cousin Lea is getting married in a month, and has asked me to photograph the special occasion for her. With this in mind, we decided it was time for an equipment upgrade. So on Wednesday, July 16th, we went to Circuit City and bought a Canon EOS D40.

It was quite an investment, and while it is incredibly exciting, it is also a little scary. It's a whole new ball game now. Do I really have what it takes? We'll find out... I have a LOT to learn, but am eager to begin! :)

Pretty nifty, eh?

The whole package: The camera, lens, carrying case (our old one was too small), plus an Epson Stylus Photo printer (not seen here - it came for free with the purchase). So exciting!!! :D

And now I embark on this new journey of photography...

Music Man - Zelda vs. Mario

Hello Everyone!

As you may or may not know, last semester I did a jazz band arrangement entitled Zelda Vs. Mario. It includes four main themes from the original nintendo games The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. Today, I finally got a live recording of the jazz concert in which Studio 11o of Henry Ford Community College performed my piece for the first time. It was a really neat experience (it's a rush!) to have everyone playing music that I arranged.
So, here it is, for your listening pleasure...dedicated to old school gamers everywhere:

Zelda Vs. Mario http://www.box.net/shared/0kcfli2w40
Big Band style!


Sincerely,

Music Man


P.S. Comments are welcome...like if you think I should try and get this arrangement published.

Upcoming Gigs

I am a little scared but mostly excited about the next two Fridays coming up. I am going to be the live music during the Dearborn Farmers Market and Artisan Fair. Basically, the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce got my name from someone for who I played a college related gig for earlier this year. I'm nervous because that gig was only background music, and I was playing in a group. This time it'll just be me and my instruments, and I'll be singing. One cool thing about it is that they said I could play whatever I wanted...So, I'm going to play a mix of covers (oldies and new stuff) and originals. The down side to all of this is that they can't afford to pay me directly, but I am allowed to put out a tip jar.

This is going to be the first time for me to ever do a solo act like this...so, like I said I'm both excited and nervous.

If anyone wants to come and hear me play (it's free!) here's the info:

When: July 11th and 18th from 11:30am - 1:30pm
Where: West Dearborn, Between Monroe and Military just south of Michigan Ave.
Why: You like my music? Emotional support? So you can say you knew me before I got famous? Why not?

A Visit

Last week we were blessed with a
spur-of-the-moment visit by some family! Danielle (Jeremy's sister) came with her two boys, Caleb (3) and Logan (1), and Jeremy's mom, Barb. They stayed for four days, and we had a great time.

Arianna loved seeing Grandma, but was not always sure that she enjoyed having the boys here; she is not accustomed to sharing all of her toys, and is rather used to being the center of attention. But she and Logan had some good playing moments together, and we're sure that in the future we'll all look back at this visit and laugh about how by the end of the visit she would scream whenever he came near her. :)
It was really good to visit with everyone. It's crazy how much the boys have grown since we last saw them! Aren't they adorable? I'm glad we had this time together before the family reunion (which is just a few weeks away now!).

If you want to see more pictures, check our flickr account (the link is at the bottom of this page) - I just added a whole bunch.