Camp Rocks

As a kid, I never really went to summer camps. Or, rather, I never went in the way most people romanticize summers of their youths away at camp. I didn't spend summer by the lake, I didn't endure terrible cabin counselors, and I didn't write letters home about being miserable.

It's not as though I didn't have the opportunity to, it was more I was just busy doing other things. If you grew up in Arizona--or anywhere with a scorching hot summer, for that matter--you probably filled your summer with indoor activities; if you grew up in a place with blizzards and miserable winters, you probably relished the chance to leave your house not in a coat. Examples of my summer activities included art classes, fiddling programs, theatre workshops, Lego-building, and pretty much anything not outside. (You know those reading challenges libraries put on for kids during the summer? The kind where you get progressively cooler prizes when you read more books? I was all over those.)

A camp site near our venue in Mt. Gretna, PA. Canoes in the foreground, ropes-that-swing-into-the-lake in the background.

Now that I'm a grown "adult," I yearn for those summers away at camp in the way many people yearn for things they didn't have growing up. During my time at ASU, I went on a total of 10 retreats up into the mountains for different student organizations, and those were always my favorite weekends of the year.

Group campfires? Sign me up.

T-shirts? Done.

Ice-breakers? You had me back at campfires.

All that being said, you may just understand why two of my favorite activities in these past two months involved me going to camp: once as a camper and once as staff.

Back in August, Daniel and I went off to the very first Mark O'Connor Method Summer Camp, a week-long program in Charleston, SC, where we received training for the soon-to-be-released third book of the O'Connor Method.

The camp had a really inclusive feel to it, as it was filled with both young musicians taking lessons and group classes, and adults (like myself and Daniel) observing classes and receiving training. Plus, most of the people on faculty at the camp were in their 20s or 30s, so it was also a great opportunity just to meet other string players who feel similarly passionate about teaching and playing a variety of styles.

Downtown Charleston.

Night off at the beach.

A jam session at a nearby Irish pub.

Daniel and me with Mark O'Connor.

While I expected to have an incredible time (it was a camp, after all), I had no expectation that my own musical boundaries would be pushed in the ways they were. I had an incredible breakthrough with improvising (to which I'm very much a newcomer), and found myself just wishing the camp were longer so I could continue to soak up all that it had to offer. 

One of my favorite parts of the week was getting to collaborate with Daniel for a performance on a camp concert, where students and faculty were encouraged to get up and perform anything they had -- ultimately, there is no way to get more comfortable on stage than to just get on stage! And though Daniel and I play with each other all the time in Barrage, we'd never worked or performed as just the two of us, so it was an exciting first for us both!

Yesterday, Daniel and I recorded the set we threw together for our recital performance at the camp. Here it is! (For you fiddlers, the tunes are The Irish Washerwoman and Tam Lyn.)

Then, in August, I was asked by Highland High School to go up into the mountains for their Symphony Orchestra's weekend retreat as the 2nd violin sectional coach.

While I recognize many people my age would think the idea of spending two days in the mountains with high schoolers was some sort of punishment, I really get a kick out of being around high schoolers. For me, there's something infectious about their unflappable optimism and enthusiasm.

Plus, the students at Highland are some of the most mature, thoughtful, and hilarious high schoolers I've met in my travels.

Leaving Gilbert early in the morning.

The open rehearsal hall.

A view from inside the rehearsal hall, looking out into the forest.

Sunset.

I can't wait to start working with them for Barrage's 3-day residency beginning at Highland tomorrow morning!

See Barrage Run

On Sunday, Daniel, Phil, Kiana, Kristina and I ran the Harbor Half Marathon in Corpus Christi, TX.

I must admit, I thought Kiana was crazy in August when she suggested the idea of running a half marathon during tour. Having previously run two half marathons on break from tour, it seemed to me, given our busy touring schedule, the rigorous training required to prepare for one would not only be nearly impossible to complete, time-wise, but it would also have the potential to really injure someone.

Having finished it, though, I'm glad to report that it is indeed possible to train for and compete in a half marathon while on tour with this band!

After the race! L to R: me, Phil, Kristina, Kiana and Daniel.

In some weird way, I think it brought the five of us closer together, in that we had a goal on which we were collectively focusing, completely outside the realm of what we do in our daily Barrage existence. Kristina had made shirts for each of us with the Barrage "B" on the front and our last names on the back, so we even felt like a team when we were on the course. Plus, Daniel had the great idea to turn the race into a opportunity to collect money for a charity, so we've spent quite a bit of time focusing on raising money for Josh Groban's Find Your Light Foundation, an arts education non-profit that is doing some amazing work across the US and Canada.

While I met neither of my personal goals for the race, I'm still pleased with my run given the difficulty of the course!

Feeling cheeky for a race photographer around mile five. (More importantly, this was before we had to cross that giant bridge in the background for a second time.)

The race reminded me, though, how much I love running for its community. It somehow manages to be incredibly supportive and inspirational even in a seemingly competitive atmosphere, and simultaneously draws people from all walks of life: young, old, big, small, rich, poor.
 
If you've not run in a race before, especially a longer one, it's quite common to make "running buddies" out on the course. Usually, these are people next to whom you find yourself for a portion of the race, but sometimes you just end up speaking to them during it.
 
I had a short conversation with one girl next to whom I ran for a good 3/4 of the race, and there was an incredibly built guy who gave incredibly-not-built me encouraging words when I had succumb to fatigue and was walking up a part of the bridge. These types of interactions, however short, take on a greater significance when everyone is collectively hitting mental walls and pushing themselves.

But, my favorite running buddy was this guy who pulled up next to me around mile nine.

From behind he hollered, "Morris! I'm sick and tired of seeing your shirt in front of me! Won't you just let me pass you?! Cut me a break!" I laughed, and said, "Well, you'll probably get a chance here coming up. I'm not feeling very well." His response? "Yeah, I'm not feeling well either...I went out drinking last night and have a hangover."

Later, about 100 yards from the finish line, I saw him walking with his two young children, finisher medal already around his neck. I shouted out to him, "Hey! What happened?! Where did you go?!" He yelled back, "I pushed ahead, man! You're almost there! Finish strong!"

And with those final encouraging words from my hungover, tattooed friend with gold in his teeth, I sprinted to the finish line.

Broken Record

Wow, this is terrible. I was just about to start this post by lamenting the fact that I'm still behind on posts, when I realized that I've basically done the same thing at the beginning of each of my last three posts. 

So...yeah...

We're back on the road through mid-December, so I'm in it for the long haul right now. Today is a day off, which has been much needed! It's definitely nice to be back in the routine, though.

One thing in which I have been extremely belated is thanking and acknowledging awesome friends who made long drives this summer to come see shows!

First, in July, my friends Jere and Lies'l drove out to Redlands, CA, from AZ (6 hours each way!) to see our performance at the Redlands Bowl. Not only did they make t-shirts and a poster for the concert, but they even stayed in the same hotel just to hang out for the night! It was an awesome way to start tour, having my friends in the same hotel just a handful of rooms away.

With Jere & Lies'l the following morning in the hotel.

For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, they were the ones responsible for this hilarious photo from our show in Gilbert in 2009.

We grabbed some food after the show and nearly stepped on this little guy as he crossed the sidewalk.

Then in Napa Valley, just two days later, Ben, with whom I was a groomsman in a wedding earlier this year, came to the show with his wife, Sam, and her brother who was in town visiting! 

L to R: Sharon, Sam, Ben, and me.

Even though this tour was only one week long with two shows, I made a pretty terrible mistake in my opening speech and said, "We're so excited to be here in Redlands!" Not until I heard the audible groaning from the audience did I realize that Redlands was two nights prior and we were actually in Napa Valley. Whoops. Funnily enough, Ben and Sam both thought I had misspoke on purpose...I must have covered better than I thought!

Last month in Rochester Hills, MI, my friend David brought his girlfriend Julia to the show. David and Julia, both of whom are PhD candidates at MSU in Zoology, had just spent the summer researching hyenas in Kenya. You read that correctly: they're hyena researchers. They're hyena researchers in the David-has-been-chased-by-a-lion-and-is-conversationally-fluent-in-Swahili kind of way. Ridiculous.

The MSU Hyena Research Lab keeps a blog, to which both David and Julia have contributed. To check it out, you can go here. [Warning: some of the photos on the blog are slightly more graphic than Disney's depiction of the circle of life.]

Thank you Jere & Lies'l, Ben & Sam, Sharon, and David & Julia for making trips to come see the show! I feel incredibly lucky to have such supportive friends.

Coincidentally enough, I'm heading out in just a little bit to go see The Lion King 3D (...for a second time) with some of the Barrage people!

Celtica 2011 & Some Thoughts on Normality

As I sit down to write this post, I'm struck by a few random things:

1) I'm really having difficulty catching up on my blog, even while home. Fortunately, I can guarantee that this is not a result of laziness, but rather not having time.

2) Last week a friend took me to hear Joy Kills Sorrow, an acoustic/bluegrass/folk band. They're absolutely brilliant. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to their (newest) CD since I bought it last week. I'm actually listening to it right now. (I think this is my favorite song.)

3) Tonight at an alumni event for an organization in which I was involved at ASU, someone asked me which is more normal: being on the road or being at home. I've known that being on the road feels more normal for sometime, but I don't think I've ever been asked that question directly. It felt weird to confirm, definitively, that being on the road feels more normal.

3a) This has actually been driven home by various incidents during the past week in which I've done things that are quite normal in Barrage, but just plain weird outside of it. For example, we spend a lot of time talking in accents and odd voices related to our inside jokes. When you do that in front of non-Barrage people, it usually elicits awkward pauses and strange glances. It's like when you use your family's word for "grandma" in front of your friends (my family says "nana"). It's just weird.

3b) I miss our absurd behavior when I'm home. A lot.

3c) At the same time, I do really enjoy the ridiculous things I do with my friends at home. Nothing is quite as fulfilling as seeing old friends. 

4) That is all.

Back to catching up on events from the summer!

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Our visit to Celtica in June, my favorite event with Barrage, was quite different this year. 

When we performed at Celtica in 2008 and 2009, we were so busy that we hardly got to experience the festival. This year, however, our schedule was structured in such a way that we had Friday night and Sunday afternoon off, allowing us to actually attend the festival in the way so many audience members do.

[Note: I went back to look at those old posts and the formatting is incredibly messed up, especially in the one from 2008. They shouldn't look like that, but editing was hopelessly futile. (I tried.) Sorry about that.]

I've not been to many festivals, but I'm convinced that Celtica is among the coolest in the world. It just has to be!

Now that I think back, I was so wrapped up in experiencing everything Celtica has to offer, that taking photos was the last thing on my mind (as I suppose maybe it sometimes should be?). And, as I browse through the random pictures I do have, there's not really any coherent way to explain or organize them.

So, I present to you in no particular order (well, I guess these are loosely chronological?), my few photos from this year's trip to Celtica!

The panoramic view of Courmayeur, Italy, from my hotel room. [Click to see it larger.]

Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.

Some stairs into the neighborhood behind our hotel.

Why, hello there, cats.

...people live on this street!

And just when it felt like we were so far away from home, Charlie and I went for a walk up the mountain and saw the Google Maps car.

A shot of the main stage in the woods, with the Alps in the background.

The dining tent.

Riccardo, one of the heads of the festival, giving a closing speech to the people who stuck through till the very end.

A look into the Aosta Valley from Bard Fortress.

Iain and Federico, my two best friends from Celtica, performing as their awesome duo, The Sidh.

With Federico and Iain after one of their performances at Bard.

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5) Along with missing Barrage, I also miss my friends from the road. 

And I know for a fact that missing people is definitely normal.

Wait! I need more time!

Quick updates.

1) I finally finished moving into my generation's version of the 21st century and got a twitter account! You can follow me on twitter (@taylorsnotes) to get updates on...well...you know, things about which one tweets. I figured that since twitter is considered micro-blogging, and this here is an actual blog, it might be cool to have micro-blog updates (under 140 characters) next to my normal blog updates (over 140 characters).

2) I don't know where time has gone! I fully intended to update my blog after attending the Mark O'Connor Method Camp, but somehow found myself busy with all sorts of non-blog things. I will be putting together entries on Italy and Mark O'Connor, and then should, I think, be caught up.

3) We flew into Minneapolis last night for a corporate gig we had earlier this evening. Because we had rehearsals today, I didn't get to see too much of Minneapolis, but I was able to get dinner with my great friend Sarah last night. Back when I was auditioning for Barrage in 2006, Sarah was the most instrumental person (next to my parents) in helping me to prepare for the process, even taking my head shots on multiple occasions! She has yet to see us perform, but will hopefully be able to make a show later this year.

We had dinner at a restaurant by the Mississippi River and then took a short walk around the area.

The tall, yellow building is referred to as the "Tall Blonde." (Reflections at the bottom of the picture are in the Mississippi River.)

4) Tomorrow morning we leave the hotel at 4 a.m. to catch a 6 a.m. flight to Denver for an evening performance in Steamboat Springs, CO...which means I need to be up in 5.5 hours and should probably be sleeping right now.

5) This blog was 1,752 characters in length.

Shijiazhuang

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you...my final post on May's trip to China!

I feel like all I've been doing for the past weeks is uploading photos and videos of China to my blog...which couldn't really be further from the truth, but it's a feeling nonetheless. There's just something so daunting about embarking on a set of posts I know will be difficult to compose (especially the first two on culture). I must say that I'm quite glad to be rounding the corner. Now, I just have to write a few more and I'll be up-to-date!

In other news, I'm currently in Charleston, South Carolina, attending the very first Mark O'Connor Method Camp! I was trained in the first two books of his method a few months ago, and am here to receive training for Book III, which is being released this week at the camp. I've been looking forward to visiting Charleston, but am even more excited about spending the week hanging out with string players and music educators who are interested in the same types of music as I am!

It looks to be an incredible week.

But now, back to China.

We spent two weeks in downtown Shijiazhuang rehearsing for our performances in Italy, working on some new material, and cleaning up the show. 

It's hard to describe exactly what Shijiazhuang feels like because it's a very much a city in transition. 

I guess it was most like what happens when you clean a messy room: Shijiazhuang was at that strange phase where the cleaning has started but parts of the room somehow end up looking messier before they look cleaner. In one moment, we basked in the opulence of a giant mall adorned with recognizable faces, and just two blocks later we came upon the debris of a building recently imploded to make way for new housing.

Here are some photos I took around Shijiazhuang. All of these places, with the exception of the university, were within a 10-minute walk from the hotel.

The library, with sidewalk parking next to the building.

Please don't throw banana peels from your car.

The People's Park of Shijiazhuang.

Mao Zedong.

Bicycle parking on the sidewalk.

With our translator, Eric, and our technical assistant, Ja Wei. Eric, who graduated from university while we were in Shijiazhuang, gave us a tour of his campus before he moved out.

Hebei Normal University. (By the way, Shijiazhuang is the capital of Hebei province.)

Housing.

Going to Eric's room. Each room has three bunk beds, six desks, and six guys.

The building where students get hot water. All of those colored thermoses on the ground are communal: pick one up, fill it, take it.

Eric and Tim play ping pong near the recreation center. The residence halls are in the background.

The gang with Eric.

Eating late into the night at the Aegean Sea, our favorite restaurant in town.

NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts were a great form of entertainment while in China (available as a free podcast through iTunes). After seeing one with concert violinist Charlie Siem and learning of his modeling career, I spotted his face just down the street the next day.

Natalie Portman.