Friday, March 26, 2010

School of Rock

Once upon a time I was dancing with a guy, and he looked me in the eyes, all romantical, and said, "Wow, Megan. You're pretty normal for a musician." And I said, "Um... thank you. ? ." I have yet to decide whether or not that was a compliment, but it's given me something to cling to when I feel the strain of the life I have chosen. I am at least more normal than some people. Of course, this was several years ago, so who knows. Things may have gone down a different path since then.

Being a string quartet musician is a fantastic fate, but after several weeks of rehearsals that almost come to blows because one person thinks that "this cadence needs to expand," and another thinks that "it needs to get bigger," I find it entirely necessary to stop being a snob. And that brings me to my current project. I like to call it "String Quartet Hero." Move over Guitar. We've got moves you've never seen. To that end, I'm taking a blogging break from arranging "Hey Ya!" by Outkast for us to play. That's right... I said Outkast. The idea occurred to me long ago (like, at least two weeks) and it is now being brought into fruition. It is not the first song of its kind to make it into the Tesla Quartet repertoire, and it won't be the last. But seriously, it's freakin' awesome! I'm kind of excited about it.

I've also arranged "When You Were Young" by the Killers, and my 1st violinist arranged "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. So my question to you, dear blogging buddies, is what would you like to hear the Tesla Quartet play? Here's a proposition for you. If I pick your song to arrange, then I will also arrange to have us play it for you personally. It may be over the phone, but it will be a private concert. So, tell me your ideas, please.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

And Now For Something Completely Different...

If by "different" you mean "weird" and quite possibly "disturbing in a funny, can't miss sort of way..." Yep, you guessed it. I'm going to Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, CO. That's this upcoming Saturday, so if any of you have been wanting to come visit, NOW is the TIME!

What the what!? you ask. Well. It all started with a Norwegian guy named Bredo, who is now affectionately known as Grandpa. See, he got really into the whole cryogenics thing and decided to wait on ice until people could reanimate him. So, he asked to be shipped after death to a cryo facility in CA. He stayed for four years until his daughter emigrated from Norway to the loverly state of Colorado in 1993. Grandpa went there to "live" with her. She promptly stuck him out in the Tuff Shed in the backyard. Well, due to some pesky visa issues and several zoning fights, the daughter was evicted. But they let Grandpa stay. (Goooo Colorado! Good priorities, I say.) So, a new guy named Bo Shaffer answered a want ad and has been trucking in 1600 lbs. of dry ice every month to keep Bredo "alive" ever since.

So, what do you do with this situation if you are living in Nederland (where all the hippies and weirdos go)? Why of course, you turn it into a festival! Duh. So, what do you do if you're me and you read about this festival in a book and then find out it's a mere 20 minutes down the road? Again, duh. You go!!! So, I'm looking forward now to a Saturday full of coffin races and obstacle courses, a hearse parade, frozen salmon tossing, etc. It really should be a, well, interesting time.