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I often play at churches with brass quintets. However, this Easter gig is by far the best. The music is actually 2 trumpets and 2 trombones - but we use a horn on the trombone I part, the trombone on the trombone II part and myself on tuba on the trombone II part 8vabasso. It works out quite well (I've tried playing the tbone II part at pitch, but the lack of foundation = poor group intonation).

Anyways, the church we play in is HUGE. We are able (and encouraged) to really "dig in" to the music. Usually at these church things (with choirs) we always get "the hand." It's always nice to be able to show off the full potential of these modern brass instruments.

I am playing Easter at my own church (gratis) but was hired to do a tenebrae (shadows) service on Maundy Thursday that was quite moving. No fanfares... only really emotional music. Then complete darkness and silence as everyone left.

I'll be with the Richmond Concert Band at Louis Ginter Botanical Gardens this afternoon. Like most community bands, not only do I not get paid, but I kick in a little to the band fund periodically. (Is it ironic that we will be playing an Easter concert at a park named for and created by a Jew who established the golf course next to this park to have someplace Jews could play because they weren't allowed in the other country clubs?)

No church gigs for me... but we DID do a really fun Easter Parade on Saturday morning. It was just our community band on our parade trailer following the Easter Bunny and the Town Council President & wife. Behind us were perhaps 200 kids with wagons and tricycles strutting their Easter stuff. Small towns are FUN!

Didn't have a church gig this morning but played a place Friday Night called San Roc Cay in Orange Beach.
This is a bar/restuarant overlooking a marina full of high dollar boats and traffic of all kinds-foot and driving.
The plan was to have John and I play 4 P.M. to 8 to draw folks off charter boats when they pulled in and draw traffic looking for chow and cocktails.
We set two EON's soft so our crowd could talk over them and two more at the extreme ends of our porch and ran them cranked up to be heard a mile down the road.
We play mostly for locals and our tuba-guitar combo is well recieved but San Roc Cay is mostly tourists and they tip better and buy lots of C.D.s.
John and I had a great night, got a cook going on, great tips. sold all our C.D.s we brought with us and management sprung for our late night seafood repast.
They counted the receipts, the numbers were there and they booked us the next four Fridays. A great day if not for the couple on the motorcycle that got run down right in front of us as we were loading up. John was the first one to the scene and called 911. They both were hurt and talking .Many volunteers kept them still and talking until she was in the ambulance and he left in the life flight helocopter.
A day in the life of a Gulf Coast bar picker.

I got a good chunk of cash for a 50 min. rehearsal and ONE service. Man if only gigs like that could come more often!

Ralph

I got to go to mah ol' hometown, and play Easter morning with my dad in a brass choir (with bell choir, choir choir, and organ). I was sightreading (which is hard when you have double vision, fortunately the page stays put). The whole thing went off really, really well, and I stumbled outta there feeling ten feet tall. After the anthem, the congregation broke out in spontaneous, if muted, applause. In church! No bucks, but you feel like you must be doing something right if people are THAT excited.