[Trombone-l] Happy new yearrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Wayne Dyess]

Sorry to hear about your windshield, Eric.  Sounds like a gig I did  
recently in Tyler.  I got a traffic ticket in a small Texas town  
(grump on Wells, Texas) on the way home.  I had my cruise control set  
at 62 and thought all was well.  I just missed the 50 MPH sign...  it  
was sleepy out.

I'll throw in my two cents...

I played in Nacogdoches with the Tom Houston Orchestra.  Pay there  
was only $175, and I drove 2-and-a-half hours one way to get there.   
But my wife and grandson made the trip with me.  I probably spent  
almost as much as I made, but we had a great time.  There's a lot to  
be said for that.

Tom's band is a "cut-down" big band.  4 saxes, 6 brass, 4 rhythm, and  
2 vocalists (including the leader).  Tom is also a fine clarinetist,  
so we were doing lots of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.  There were  
dancers from 6 states, several tables from Dallas and Houston, and  
most were the ballroom dance type.  That made for a fun evening.

I had fun on Buddy Morrow's "Night Train" and Sinatra's "I've Got You  
Under My Skin".  This one was a half step higher than the version my  
band plays.

We made the drive back home today, arriving home around noon.  Not  
bad.  The only negative we had was the hotel's promised continental  
breakfast didn't happen.

:-)
Wayne


On Jan 1, 2008, at 10:49 AM, Eric & Candice Swanson wrote:

> Well, if we're all telling what we did last night....
>
> I was hired to play at a big party that had three bands.  Two big  
> bands
> of about 13 pieces each with a singer, and another small 4 piece band
> with a sax player/singer, Johnny Reno.  I was playing with one of the
> big bands I regularly play with, Hunter Sullivan, but playing 2nd
> instead of my regular bass trombone chair.  At the last minute, I got
> called to play in the other big band also (on lead).  No big deal
> because the band was to only play one 45 minute set before the two  
> main
> bands played, basically alternating 45 sets.  For a while around
> midnight, all three bands were on stage and play simultaneously (the
> same song).  Anyway, I agreed to play the extra 45 minute set for  
> $200.
> The Sullivan band paid $400, so I made $600 for four hours.  Not bad.


Dr. J. Wayne Dyess
Professor of Trombone
and Director of Jazz Studies
P. O. Box 10044
Lamar University-Beaumont, Texas 77710
Visit our alumni jazz band website @
http://www.ndotex.com