...On The Wall

Damn it has gotten cold at night in Pittsburgh. I'm buried under my comforter (well, okay, a comforter that is itself buried inside a very manly (very) denim duvet (pronounced "doo-vay" and not "dove-it"), trying to stay warm. We've closed all the windows, turned off all the faucets, fired up the potbelly. They say the toes are the first to go.

Anyways. Where was I.

Ah! First, let me point out that this is the only time in CB's history that I've ever actually provided a continuation of a previous post in which I promised a continuation. Every time the words "Part I" appeared, thou knewest that thee would never see Parteth II... eth. But now, that's all about to change.

Get ready for...

PART II

Actually, in re-reading my last post, there isn't much to continue on about. I'm spending the majority of the next two weeks working on the second draft of the trailer, stopping only briefly over the weekend for a trip to Rochester to visit my mentor and friend, Tony Caramia. Most everything I am as a pianist I owe to him - there are pre-Tony recordings and post-Tony recordings, and it's *amazing* how much better the latter are - and his recordings of Billy Mayerl, whom I love, have shaped my soundscape for nearly 10 years. Do your ears a favor and listen to his recording of "Get Happy" on his Eastman page. You will not regret it. The highest compliment someone ever paid me was that my playing sounded like his, and I would have written it off except it was his wife that said it! Haha. They are great friends, and they love me and my parents. I think they're as excited to see my mom as they are me, which is frankly how it should be. I hope I have enough music prepared.

Actually, this month is CRAZY when it comes to ragtime. The next three weekends are chock-full of ragtime goodness. Memorial Day weekend I'm competing with some friends in the World Old Time Piano Playing Championship at the Hotel Pere-Marquette in Peoria, Illinois, and then I'm off to the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, MO. I got the hugest buzz the other day when I checked the Joplin Festival site and saw my name and picture in the list of featured performers. I consider it a real honor to be featured amongst the other people there - these people are HUGELY talented and I rock out to their CDs all the time. Check it out here (scroll down to Spitznagel to see me!).

I admit I'm actually really nervous for all these gigs. I set the bar pretty high for myself this year, and I'm working hard to try and learn new material for this year's festival. I've got another Billy Mayerl or two, a Latin piece by Hal Isbitz, and I'm trying to get "Space Shuffle" in shape in time, a ridiculously hard piece that is amazing.

So, that's going to be fun. Jessie has offered to lend me her laptop so I can keep track of, you know, the world when I'm traveling all over creation. I'm going to take my camera and my camcorder - maybe I can do a Captain's (travel)Log(ue).

Gots to get up early. Take care.

m