November 2023

Corey Lehman/CLE Photography 


The Art Market at Peace Park will feature local art vendors and will be a day for community members to swap art supplies with each other. We will also be collecting food donations for Woo Fridge. I am incredibly proud to be a featured performer at this fantastic event, which will take place at Peace Park on Pleasant Street in Worcester from 11am-3pm on November 4. 

 

The Dirty Gerund Poetry Show is a weekly open mic at Ralph's Rock Diner on Grove Street. I am a member of the house band and a regular performer. Any and all are welcome to sign up to express themselves creatively with this loving and supportive community.



Current Creative Endeavors:
Counting Sheep

The cycle of creativity follows no timeline. It's discouraging to be stuck in a Writer's Block with no end in sight. While I was settling into my music career earlier this year, my poetry writing came to a halt. There were several occasions where I picked up a pen and my journal hoping for a shred of something to come to me, but it was like drawing blood from a stone. I had nothing to inspire me, to light a fire in me. The only thing I could do was wait for that something to come along.


I came down with a brutal cold in the beginning of October, which kept me in bed for four days. When I finally felt well enough, I spent a Sunday morning with myself at Donker Farm in Worcester. I immersed myself in nature and was rewarded with a beautiful moment; at long last, inspiration struck, and this poem came to me:


Donker Farm

By MD


I happened upon a hillside

in search of a hiking trail.

I found fences, but no way out

except where I entered.

I turned to leave,

but was beckoned to stay

by the sheep that decided to join me.


Sunshine on the hillside

that dims and brightens 

as the wind ushers the clouds east 

and rustles the wild ferns;

the leaves whisper 

their secrets to all who will listen

before their return to the moistened earth 


I'm wide awake, sitting on the hillside

and I count 7 sheep 

6 white and one black

They graze while I gaze

and we are all rich. 


What a privilege to share such a moment with such gentle creatures! The black one (who, I learned afterwards, is named Shadow) came right up to me and licked my hand. While I was sitting and writing, she shoved her head into my backpack. Just simply sitting and engaging all of my senses allowed me to exist in the present, an activity I've always found challenging. I learned that day that nature is a great source of inspiration for me. And now I know where to start when that Writer's Block hits me again. As they say, practice makes perfect!

In Reflection:

Lessons Learned At The Wedding Gig


At the end of September, I played my first ever wedding gig. I was asked to sub in for another sax player in an eight piece band: two vocalists, sax, trumpet, bass, guitar, drums, and keyboard. This was an incredible opportunity for me to rub elbows with the pros and to learn as much as I can about this particular corner of the performance industry. 


I felt intimidated by the preparation that was required of me. A month before, I was sent a tentative setlist of about 5 hours worth of music that I was expected to know. My inexperience led me to believe that we were going to be playing ALL of those tunes: "Celebration," "September," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "Semi-Charmed Life," "24k Magic," "Levitating," "Proud Mary," "Crazy In Love," pretty much any popular song you'd expect to hear on a wedding dance floor. The list intimidated me, and my fear of failure manifested itself into classic procrastination. This was the first big lesson I learned from this gig before I even got there: it's utterly impossible for me to learn 5 hours worth of music in less than a week. I spent the entire prior Wednesday in my practice space running through every single tune and making sure I was able to play all the horn parts from memory or from sheet music that I ripped from frantic internet searches. I played so much that day that my bottom lip chapped and I burned myself out for the rest of the week. But the silver lining in all this is that lessons learned the hard way tend to stick better. 


The gig took place in Whitefield, NH, about a three hour drive away. I picked up the trumpet player (who referred me to this gig) from his home in Lawrence, MA on the way up that morning. We drove through Franconia Notch State Park as the leaves were just starting to turn; the mountain views were absolutely gorgeous and the route itself was a very easy drive. We arrived at the venue around noon, two hours before call time, and got ourselves some lunch at a diner nearby. We didn't need to get there so early, but I don't regret it - I'd much rather have ample time to get settled than rush around panicking from one checkpoint to the next. 


There was lots of waiting around between load-in and the performance. Since I was a sub, I felt like a bit of an outsider among the other band members, but everyone was very friendly and welcoming. While the bass player and I were setting up for the jazz cocktail hour, we discovered that we're both half-Chinese. The keyboardist acknowledged that being a sub is a bit of a thankless job and that I was holding my own just fine. Both vocalists were absolute sweethearts, and one of them even asked me for my pronouns! The trumpet player supported me during the performance, reminding me what key certain tunes were in and letting me know when we did or didn't have to play. 


We didn't even play half of the tunes on the setlist! I thought that we'd be playing each one in the order they were listed, but the drummer and band leader just called them at random throughout the night. We were provided in-ear monitors so that we could hear him discreetly call the tunes. Another lesson learned: do NOT cheap out on headphones! I was asked to bring my own in-ear headphones, and I thought a $10 pair from Target would suffice. I could hardly hear anything, and it hurt to wear them all night. Granted, other band members were also having a hard time hearing through the monitor due to technical difficulties, but I promised myself I'd trash these headphones immediately after the gig. 


About halfway through the first dance set, I noticed that I needed to change reeds. The tune we were on didn't have any horn lines, so I thought I had enough time for a quick switch. While I had the new reed in my mouth and the ligature on my music stand, the vocalist called, "Saxophone solo!" Thankfully, the trumpet player stepped in and soloed instead while I frantically put my mouthpiece back together. Lesson learned: change reeds in between sets, NOT during!


All in all, it was a successful evening. I ended the night with several new Instagram followers and a sense of accomplishment with this new experience. I had booked an AirBnB for that night, knowing full well that I would not want to drive for three more hours that day. We stayed at an adorable little hostel/art gallery in town, and were greeted by one of two resident cats and their friendly owner on our way out the next morning. 


A few days later, I received positive feedback from the bandleader, which further boosted my sense of accomplishment. But the most important thing I walked away with after this event was a new professional connection. I proved myself a worthy band member, which will benefit both me and the band should they need a sub again in the future. This is the biggest opportunity I was thankful for, because it will ensure the growth of my reputation in the community of musicians, and therefore my career. The connection may not come back to me in a few months, or even in a year, but I put myself out there, showed them what I got, and made a good impression. This was truly a great success.