5 Star Charity Ball *****

Last nights Big Band gig was a success. The venue was at the MacDonald Randolph Hotel, Oxford (5 stars).

It was a bit of a shame that the raffle, auction and speeches ran on as this left us with only a fraction of the 2 hours we were booked for.

But we gave it hell …

Times are Changing

Quite literally with the clocks changing tonight I'm losing an hour of what little sleep I'd get after a late Big Band gig tonight and a wedding in Coventry first thing in the morning. It's not the best time for it : ).

I caught up with Chris Lydon last night and …

A Show I'd Rather Forget

When I was 15 I played My Fair Lady at the Buxton Opera House. The regular trumpet player had deped the week out to a guy called Adam who encapsulated all the negative stereotypes of trumpet players.

He was supremely arrogant (with no reason to be), played ridiculously …

South Park

No news....

... but no reason for a boring post : )

An Unexpected Evening

I was already to crash out last night with a box of Lemsips when I got a call from a mate I play in a Big Band with. He was just calling to ask if I was coming to the rehearsal in Birmingham. I thought it was odd as I only go to the rehearsals before gigs (because of …

What To Do When Your Ill

This usually happens to me. I'm on the go all the time and as soon as I get a little time off I get ill.

It's not too bad, just has an effect on my playing. So what else is there to do?

Well I've watched the entire first series of battle star Galactica that a friend …

My Cup Mute(s)

If you've read my other mute posts you'll know that I use a jo ral harmon and straight. So you won't be surprised to read that I also have a jo al tri-tone mute.

However you may be surprised that this isn't the mute that I use.

The tri-tone is a good mute which comes …

Mobile Musicians; Who Has The Best Phone Deals and Service

Like most musicians my phone is the lifeline to my work and recently I've been considering getting a PDA-style mobile phone - mainly so I can more easily keep up with my posts etc.

I was due for an upgrade in my contract and Orange sent me a reminder at the end of …

Rain or Snow ... but no rain.. and lots of snow..

I started this morning by driving to Birmingham through a blizzard before playing outside in the freezing cold at 9 o'clock.

I sometimes look at a few current and past gigs and hope that I'll be laughing at all this 5 years from.

But for now, beggars can't be choosers …

ABRSM; Done and Dusted

My pupils took there exams yesterday and I'm happy to say they all played as well as I thought they would.

I've got a pretty packed few days but I will try my best to get my weekend posts done.

Don't forget to check out my new video.

My Students; Destroying The Competition

Later on today I have a few of my students going in for their trumpet exams. I'm sure they'll do very well as over the past few weeks they've been making me very proud.Last week my students played at the Worcestershire Competitive Arts Competition.

Four of my students …

The 1 to 7 Arban Challenge

Recently I've found that my practice regime has been lacking (to put it mildly) and as a consequence my progress is flat lining.

So in an effort to re-inspire and pick myself back up I will be trying a 30 day run of a new technique inspired by a fantastic trumpet player …

Mac is running at 97%

With the exception of 1 small issue my Mac is a s good as new!!

So to celebrate this long awaited moment I thought I'd post a random picture I made when messing around with Photoshop.

.... I don't even know why? :p

Jo Ral Straight Mute; The Strongest Straight You'll Find

Like most trumpet players I started with a Dennis Wick straight mute, which I used all the way up to the Conservatoire.

It was there I met serious trumpet players in and out of college. This gave me the chance to try a whole range of mutes and find what suited me with …

Wasting A Day

Is there anything better than looking forward to a day where you do nothing constructive?

Unless this happens to you all the time the answer is; no.

After a crazy 10 days I set myself a "Wasted Day" earlier this week where I just played X-Box all day with an old school …

Swingin' at The Skakespearience

The big band gig I did last week was a really good one.

The audience seemed to love it as the evening was filled with copious applause, 2 standing ovations and 2 encores.

The only thing they seemed a little unhappy about was that we didn't come out for a 3rd.

However, …

The Green Hornet

It's been a long time coming, but now (finally) I have a short video that you can watch of me in action.

The video is taken from the Orchestra I created for the "Sound Ideas" Project a year ago. The piece is The Green Hornet from the movie Kill Bill (and originally I …

My First Podcast

Dave Livesey and I are currently working on creating our Podcast.

We'll be discussing a variety of topics including music, ourselves, our posts and other things.

Plus we would really like some questions or topic suggestions from our blog audience. Should you have …

Blue Juice - The Valve Oil Of Kings

The subject of; "who makes the best valve oil?" is a widely disputed topic as there are 2 main features you look for.

Some do one better than the other but it's Blue Juice that seems to be get it right:

1) It's slick

(The whole purpose of the oil, making your valves …

Trial and Error - The Experience That Build A Musicians Extra Bag

Spending my life playing the trumpet I've gone through all sorts of equipment, mutes, trumpets, valve oils, cases, music etc.

This is why I will dedicate one post a week to writing about my experiences with these different things. Good to Bad, Recommendations to …