Bits and Pieces

This week was off to a much better start.

I was able to get a lot of work done on Monday. While several people seemed interested in buying various instruments I'd listed online, no one has actually pulled the trigger yet. Oh well. Just gotta be patient!

Partway through the day I got a call for my first gig! Trevor (local trombonist and BAC employee) sent this gig my way as it was initially offered to him but he was unable to take it due to scheduling. Looks like it's going to be a Phil Collins tribute band. Fun!

So on Monday I skipped practicing, because I'd only brought my large bore horn to the store and wanted to start back up with the small bore for this gig. I went to the gym instead. During my workout there was a passing thundershower, and when I stepped outside I was greeted by this vibrant rainbow. Wow!


From there I drove home and had a nice relaxing night, watching Katanagatari while listening in on my boyfriend giving music classes online. I enjoy hearing his voice and am glad he lets me "audit"!

Tuesday was also good. I was in front of the computer a lot, but there are things that really need to be done before rental season starts. Like inventory, and ordering products that we'll need for the school year. It's an interesting experience for me to be doing these processes in a smaller store. At Music & Arts, inventory systems were already in place and the ordering of rental equipment/accessories was mostly handled by a different branch of the company. Here at BAC with just fifteen employees, everyone seems to play a role in gathering the necessities.

I spent a lot of time Tuesday counting all of the reeds in the store and manually adding them into the ongoing POS inventory. At the same time, I used the information gathered while doing inventory to create an ordering spreadsheet that will hopefully make it easier for us to place orders with our suppliers. At the same time, there are many products in the store that do not yet exist in the POS or are incomplete entries, still needing SKUs or pictures or correct pricing. So as I was doing inventory and creating an order spreadsheet I was also updating product information in the POS. It may seem tedious, but come rental season I think we'll really appreciate the ease of having all of this at our fingertips. And when inventory is done, I think I'll be proud to have contributed to a large chunk of BAC infrastructure.

After work I stuck around to practice, but didn't go to the gym (opposite of Monday). Playing through scales and traditional method books was kind of "meh", and I didn't feel that it was good prep for the tribute band gig, so I decided to try something else on Wednesday. After practicing I locked up the store, hit the grocery for some little things, and went home to listen to Phil Collins and take notes. Non-musicians may not realize this, but a lot of work goes into pre-gig preparation. What's the sound you're going for? How long is each piece, and how much playing will I be doing? What's the visual style of the band? What equipment will I need besides my instrument and charts? How will I need to breathe, or articulate, or sustain? What did the composer want? And on and on. And yeah, this is my first KC gig and I want to do a good job :)

Wednesday at work, nothing special. I got a lot done. After work I stayed at the building to practice.


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