CauliMash

I haven't been this excited about something I made in a long time. Seth is on a quest for low/no carb food. Since I don't eat bread or potatoes very much in the first place, it makes things pretty easy for me. He suggested cauliflower as an alternative to mashed potatoes. I was skeptical because I think cauliflower smells like fart. But then I remembered that apples were cousins to potatoes, possibly avoiding gross smells and weird texture. Turns out I was right. The recipe below is what I came up with just today and it was delicious.

What You'll Need:

• A Blender
• 1 Head of Cauliflower
• 1 peeled and cored Fuji Apple (I only used about 80% of it and ate the rest)
• 1-2 Cups of water
• 1 Clove of finely chopped Garlic
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 tsp of unsalted butter
• appx. 1 Tbsp of light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup of milk
• Parsley Leaves

What To Do:

1. Cut the head of cauliflower into snack-sized pieces
2. Cut the apple into small chunks
3. Put the cauliflower and apple pieces in a medium sauce pan with the water
4. Steam for 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is easily broken with a fork
5. Empty water from pan
6. Add butter and cream cheese
7. Further break the apple and cauliflower into smaller pieces
8. Mix in the remaining ingredients (salt, pepper, garlic)
9. Move the contents of the pan into the blender
10. Add Milk
11. Blend or puree until the consistency is smooth
12. Pour contents of blender back into the sauce pan
13. Garnish with parsley
14. Enjoy

Like I said, it was quite good. You can eat it with anything you'd eat mashed potatoes with. I really like baked chicken and green beans. I wish I had a picture but we ate it all.

The Savvy Musician

I feel like I'm about a century behind everyone. But in case you're even more behind the times than I am, check out this website. For any musician with big dreams, Savvy Musician is helpful, encouraging, and forward looking. Thanks to a friend, I've seen the light. I'm into it. Thanks, Kiki.

Doin' It Right

This album is what I need. For one, its release gives me hope that Daft Punk will come back to The United States at some point. When I discovered them about 6 years ago (late, I know), they were doing their final appearance in The States. Of course, with me being in a freshman in college in Michigan and the concert happening in Las Vegas, I did not go. Now, there is a sliver of hope that they will be back. I do hope it happens.

In the 60s I wasn't a thought. In the 70s and early 80s, I was a hope and dream, maybe. This new Daft Punk album is taking me back in time to groovy days and phone parties. Or at least, that's what I imagine was the case back then.

The music on this project is a fun reminder of the past, hence "Random Access Memories." It does not forsake today's connotations of "dance music," as there are plenty of electronic manipulations of instruments, voices, and effects. It does however possess a decided mood of what dance music was circa the 60s and 70s. It's smooth, organic, and beautiful. You can dance, take a ride, lay out on a beach somewhere... It makes so much sense.

The whole album is my favorite. But here is one called Touch and their latest single Get Lucky.

Get it now.

Touch feat Paul Williams

Get Lucky feat. Pharell Williams*

*He's producing the soundtrack to the sequel of Despicable Me 2. Can't wait to hear it. If you haven't seen the first movie or heard the soundtrack to it, it's worth it. 

40 Yard Fake and Acid Dreams

Summertime is (almost) officially here. For me, it's been here since May 11.

THANK GOD.

Lots of driving, hanging out with friends, catching up with sports (moment of silence for The Red Wings), drinking, eating... It's been great.

Of particular note was the trip Seth and I took to Paris. We flew to London first, staying long enough to eat a little something, taxi through the city, and then hastily catch the next train to Paris. We went through "The Chunnel," which I slept almost the whole way through. I assume it was pretty boring, given the whole dark tunnel part.

Once we woke up, Paris was in our midst. It was graffiti-laden and beautiful. Also very dangerous. If people feel like they'll die in New York City traffic, then go to Paris once and you'll appreciate your life in an instant. The driving there is CRAZY. Like I saw three accidents crazy. And I was only there for a week. Besides constantly dodging death, we had a swell time. The city is like a living museum. Everywhere you go is old. Even convenience stores and bars are edifices with hundreds of years of history.

My favorite part of Paris: The Food (and drink).

Breakfast: Paul's. It's a chain but it's fresh and delicious. The ham in the omelet I had was incredible.
Lunch: Just about anywhere is great. You can grab a sidewalk spot, some coffee, and people watch for hours. I will say, ketchup is really different over there. Should you get french fries, be warned.
Dinner: Chez Fernand. Great wine list. Many options. Fresh vegetables. Very kind. My favorite place above all places.

Least favorite part of Paris: The Eifel Tower.

It's a 40 yard fake: Good from far. Far from good.

Don't misunderstand me. The view from it is incredible. And again, looking at it from afar is very nice, especially at nighttime. But up close it is brown. Like dirty brown. And apparently, Parisians feel the same way. Got some great pictures from up top. And since Seth is terrified of heights, we didn't stay long. Sorry, not sorry.

All I ever heard about France and Americans was that they don't like us.  I think that as long as you make an effort to indulge the French culture, they'll meet you part of the way. Either we were really lucky or my French was so bad to the point of charm. Regardless of the reason, our experience was enjoyable and without any major complications (besides getting lost a lot, which I happen to enjoy).

-----------------------------------

Two days ago, Seth and I got back from Las Vegas for his cousin Corey's bachelor party (also for his soon-to-be cousin's bachelorette party). This was my second stint in Vegas. Four days of Hangover worthy fun in the sun, dancing in the dark, and a lot of stuff in between.

The highlight of this trip was Kaskade. He is an electronic music phenom.

Getting there was long.
Once we got inside it was hot.
We waited for two hours.
My feet hurt.
Then it started and it all made sense.

WHAT A SHOW! There were lasers, ballerinas, whacky colors on an enormous screen, flashing lights, disco balls, cold steam guns... I felt like I had been transported to a time when LSD was flowing and free love was the law. The music, of course, was awesome. Kaskade does this things where he starts new loops on up beats and using the craziest subdivisions. It's jarring and exciting and fascinating. It's improv taken to a new level that I've never heard, at least not in person. So cool.

That night/morning, I didn't sleep for nearly 24 hours. A plane ride back to Michigan at 6 in the morning makes sleeping useless when you're done carousing at 4AM with packing left to do.
It's been a great three weeks of summer so far. Now I've got to be productive. Looking for the motivation...

Gettin Busy

My tuba professor and I always joke about how busy we are because of how often people fabricate

exhaustion due jam-packed schedules or whatever. Hearing about people's limitations (that they have complete control over) gets to be a bit of an annoyance for me. Mostly, I don't like being talked at. But I really don't like insipid excuses mixed with the faded scent of accountability. I bet my professor must really get tired of hearing stuff like this all the time, though. He teaches a full tuba/euph studio, performs around the country regularly, is married and has 4 kids (6 if you include the two dogs). I'd say he's legit busy. And as a result pretty darn tired.

He sent me an article to read a few months ago, after we were both laughing about this topic. And now that the end of the semester is a reality, people are "busier than ever" (planning even more poorly and whining even louder about it). The Busy Trap is funny and sort of long. It raises some good defenses (and offenses) about the choices we make that "make us busy" in life. Though, as far as college is concerned, I think there is little to defend in this regard. Ultimately people will make time for the things they want to do, whether or not it comes at the expense of things they are obligated to do.



Anyway, I am pretty not busy. At least not the overwhelming kind. Case and point: reading a new book. I think it's the 7th or 8th book I've read for pleasure since the start of the school year. It's called Gone Girl. I've never read a Gillian Flynn book until this one.

It's very funny (the laugh out loud and get stared at in public kind), relatable, entertaining, and well-written. The story is about a couple with a lot of love, miscommunication, and booze. There is some whodunit kind of stuff going on and some great character development.

If you like reading you should read it.

I'm gonna go be busy watching some t.v.

...just no time to do anything these days.

Super Ma to the Rescue

ART and LIFE are inseparable, both needing nourishment for a functional, thriving society. Yo-Yo Ma is a real life superman trying to change the world for the better, by advocating for the place of the arts in our country.

NPR Article on Yo-Yo Ma

Adventures in Louisiana

So it's about three weeks after my recital. Naturally, I'm wondering, "What's next?" I've always had trouble keeping a high level of motivation for long term endeavors. Well, SCRTEC ('Sir-Tech) came around at just the right time.

For those of you who don't know, SCRTEC stands for South Central Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference. It's kind of like the auto show for tuba players... Well actually the regional auto show for tuba players. Every two years ITEC (International Tuba Euphonium Conference) is hosted some where in the world. And in between those years, regional conferences are held all over the USA. It's rumored that next year's ITEC will be back in Bloomington, Indiana on the Indiana University campus.

So anyway, SCRTEC. It was a cool experience; my first tuba conference. There were some great performers who gave inspiring performances. Some of the usual big names were there: Demondrae Thurman, Ben Pierce, and Adam Frey among them. But what inspired me most were some of the people who are not always included in that constant adoration of tuba-euph performance. The first of which was Justin Benavidez. He played a program of Piazzola (Etude No. 3), Tibault (3 Danses), and Romanyhi (Parallels). My favorite was the Romanyhi. It was full of musicality and effortless phrasing. It left me breathless at one point; the second movement I think it was. It was just really good music playing.

Another mesmerizing performance was that of Kevin Wass. He's the Tuba-Euph Prof. at  Texas Tech. He premiered a piece by Carson Cooman called Shadowbook (Three Songs in the Night) written for tuba, clarinet, and piano. It had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end. The music itself is really interesting. But what made the performance excellent was the intensity of the players. They took on the character of the movements without crossing a line into the overly dramatic. Dr. Wass really showed off  with his abilities to play with so many colors in rapid succession. It was a demanding piece and it didn't seem so hard for Wass.

By far my two favorite performances. 

I wasn't a big fan of the lectures I attended. Between speakers that were too awkward in front of a group of people and straight up boring presentation, I did not leave most sessions with a lot on my mind besides how I could've gotten a beer instead. There was one discussion, however, that really caught my attention and kept it. Joe Skillen, LSU tuba/euph professor, gave a presentation on entrepreneurship in art music. It was enlightening and informative as well as affirming. He's direct but also easy-going; the kind of guy who loves sharing new ideas but also likes putting them into motion. Skillen has a lot of it figured out and I have a lot to learn from him.

One word: Crawfish. 

LSU SCRTEC hosts Brian Gallion and Joe Skillen had a crawfish boil for the attendees and guest artists. First time I've ever eaten crawfish and it definitely won't be the last. It was a lot of work but it was delicious.

Had some gator for the first time at The Chimes, a Louisiana staple. It was really good. Chimes was great for its beer too. It's got a ton of beer on tap (a lot like Ashley's in Ann Arbor but way bigger). Juke Joint IPA was my favorite local beer. It's hoppy but just a little bit sweet, unlike the sharp citrus tastes that IPAs often have. So, it's something a bit different as far as IPAs are concerned but very enjoyable.


Also got to meet Mike the Tiger, official mascot of LSU.