Major Changes

A self-centered post...

I've decided that after my stint this summer in Colorado, I'm going to move out to California and make it happen. I'm not really happy with the pace and nature of things in Jacksonville, and the West Coast has been where I've known I have to end up anyway. It wasn't the wrong decision, per se, to come down here instead of Los Angeles last year, but I feel that I've gotten all the professional experience out of this area that I'm going to really use toward my ultimate ambition. Staying here any longer I think would cost me getting started as soon as possible in Southern CA , without any actual rewards here in Jacksonville. If I were to stay here next year, I'd be doing the same things that I've been doing this year, and that doesn't whet my palette (sp.?) in the slightest.

Playing with the big band here seriously rocks though. It's an incredible band, and I don't know if I'm going to have that sort of opportunity again for a long time. But playing 10 times a year with a great band isn't enough of a reason to stay and put off my dreams any longer. I've learned far more than I ever expected coming down here, and I'm on top of my craft as a result.

And maybe that's the reason I came here - to start playing in the bigger game even though my chops were just barely there. The musical transformation from September is remarkable - I've come ten times as far as any progress I made in college or high school. In Florida I've played, conducted, music directed, recorded, written and arranged for the best in the business (and some not so near the top) - and it's been the most intense crash course in professional music that I could handle. Everything I'd learned before Florida I used when I got here, and I expect that everything I've learned in the Sunshine State I'm going to use in the real big leagues in Los Angeles.

So I know where I'm going, and I know how to get there. On any other day - some day where I wasn't going through significant unrelated personal issues - it would be a great feeling. I've learned just what is the type of work in the professional field, and how to get it. In April, I'm taking a trip out there to get things moving.

I have a goal and a direction again, something I've been missing for I don't know how long... too long. It's that feeling of being in your native state, the one where you're inspired, and you're inspiring as a result. This is going to be difficult, but I can't think of anything else I'd rather do.