Copyright: A Quick Guide to Playing Nice With Others

Death, taxes, and copyright: It seems that if you publish--whether in print or on the web--sooner or later you're bound to run into concerns related to copyright and the legal rights of creative content and intellectual property. If you maintain a blog, you might well find yourself having to negotiate these issues from both sides; bloggers that provide information from other sources have the legal and ethical responsibility to respect the rights of their sources, while those who publish original content often find themselves in the unfortunate position of having to defend their work from unauthorized use.

As a teacher with a professional background in communications--one who also happens to spend a great deal of time and resources on creative pursuits--I've been over this road a LOT. Plagiarism is reaching epidemic levels on college campuses, and a troubling consequence of this behavior is that students often carry their sloppy habits into the workplace where they can result in liability exposure for their employers. As a photographer, I've had to confront infringing uses of my work ranging from relatively innocent appropriations by individuals, to un-compensated commercial use and blatant attempts at copyright grabs by media companies. These concerns resurfaced recently, when I discovered that material on this very blog had been used without my knowledge or permission. Not surprisingly, this leaves me more than just a little sensitive to the whole issue, and to the ongoing need for simple, plain-English do's and don'ts on avoiding copyright infringement.

So... what follows here are my own brief guidelines. I generally address things I've got experience with, so this should NOT be assumed to be comprehensive, and I urge you to investigate the additional resources at the end of this post for more information. Finally, this blog post does not constitute legal advice; if you have specific concerns, consult an attorney.

Q. I just found a really cool picture/article on the web! Can I use it on my own blog/website/newsletter?
A. Not without permission. Doing so constitutes copyright infringement.

Q. But when someone posts a picture they made on the web, doesn't that put it into the public domain?
A. No--it's really no different from the owner publishing their picture in a book or magazine. Unless the copyright expires, or unless the owner explicitly puts the work into the public domain, the work should be assumed to be copyrighted, and that the owner holds the exclusive rights for publication and republication. (1)

Q. Don't you have to register a copyright for it to be valid?
A. No. Registration provides for the award of statutory damages in infringement lawsuits, but it is NOT necessary to claim ownership. According to the Berne Convention (which the United States adhered to in 1989), a copyright is automatically granted as soon as a work is "fixed" in some medium. (2)

Q. Okay, but what if there's no copyright notice on the website?
A. The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U.S. law. (3)

Q. Can't I just go ahead and use the item as long as I credit the author/photographer?
A. No. Acknowledging the source of copyrighted material is not a substitute for permission.

Q. What if I can't find the owner, or the owner doesn't respond and I'm on a deadline? Can I use the item anyway?
A. You still cannot use the item without the owner's permission. Be prepared for the process of securing permission to take time, and plan alternative material if you can't locate the owner. A lack of response to your inquiry does NOT entitle you to unauthorized use.

Q. If I represent a non-profit organization, or my intended use is non-commercial, do I still have to secure permission, even if the owner insists on payment?
A. If the copyright owner requires compensation, you must comply or you can't use the item. Non-profit and non-commercial use of a copyrighted work are not exempt.

Q. What if I found the item on a personal blog, or on a personal profile such as on Facebook?
A. It doesn't matter whether the item was found on a commercial or personal site. If you don't own the copyright, you can't use it without permission.

Q. What if I hot-link to the item instead of copying it?
A. The law is still unclear as to the legality of hot-linking copyrighted material. However, in addition to potential legal liability, hot-links consume bandwidth on the hosting server and should be avoided without permission.

Q. But isn't what I'm doing considered to be fair use?
A. Not necessarily. "Fair use" doctrine allows only limited use of copyrighted works without the owner's permission. Acording to the 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law, certain uses are allowed:

...quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported. (4)

Q. I created the photo/article. Might I still have to seek permission to use or republish it?
A. Possibly, if you transferred or licensed the copyright in the same work to someone else.

Q. I didn't know any of this when I "borrowed" the work. Am I still held responsible for infringement?
A. Absolutely. In the United States, ignorance of the law is NEVER considered a defense for violating it.

Q. Honestly, I don't see what all the fuss is about--the writer/photographer should be flattered that I want to use this item. And besides, how will they know?
A. Creators of original works, whether professional or amateur, are entitled by law to control the use and distribution of those works. In some cases, the unauthorized use of a person's work can have a detrimental impact on the potential market value of other work they create. Furthermore, doing so is a violation of the ethics of professional journalism, and can expose the infringer and his/her organization to civil (and in some cases, criminal) liability. Finally, one should NEVER anticipate that an infringement will escape detection, as tools are widely available for locating and identifying potentially infringing uses of copyrighted material.

In a nutshell, be aware of your responsibilities under copyright law. Know how to legally and appropriately use material created by others. And if you choose to infringe on others' rights, don't assume you won't get caught.


Additional resources:

U.S. Copyright Office

Stanford University Libraries: Copyright and Fair Use

Associated Press Stylebook (subscription may be required)



(1) Michelle L Devon, 2009. Copyright Infringement and Web Content. suite101.com Online Web Resources. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://onlinepublishingresources.suite101.com/article.cfm/copyright_infringement_and_web_content .

(2) Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/trtdocs_wo001.html .

(3) Copyright Basics. U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf .

(4) Fair use. U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html .

Computers: Tools, or tyrants?

Hmm. This post by my twitter friend Maria Langer has got me thinking about the lure of the computer, the internet, and their ability to infiltrate every waking moment in a geek's life--not always for the better.

I don't watch TV, to speak of. Yes, I'll turn it on once or twice a week during football season, partially because I'm a rabid UCLA fan, but also because I just like watching the game. Occasionally, I'll watch a movie, but this is on the order of about once a month or two. But mostly, the TV stays off, and I'm glad my life isn't ruled by what's on during primetime. Unfortunately--and I'm being completely honest here--I don't have the same self-control when it comes to my computer, smartphone, and iPod. I'm a gadget geek to logarithmic proportions, and I know full well that those can have the same frustrating effects on life and productivity.

For those of us who fight ADD and its related impulses, the computer is both friend and foe. It's obviously a useful tool, and since I'm big on integrating technology into my classes, I am forced to spend a lot of time in front of the keyboard. The geek in me doesn't begrudge that one bit, since I enjoy tinkering, learning, and keeping up on networking trends (lately, the uses and misuses of social media) is informative and fun. The problem, I think, is that in my business, the lines between work and the kind of play that intrigues me are so blurry as to be indistinguishable. When I surf around to people's blogs on barcamp and Startup Weekend, am I working or goofing off? Both, it seems, and because of that, it's damned difficult to set limits on either one. What do I miss as a result? Well, time to exercise, housework, practice, walk with the dogs, etc. I do all those things (well, most of them... housework has a tendency to drop off the priority list a lot), but I'm sure I don't get to them as soon as I should.

What's the solution? Well, I don't know... I think Maria's computer-less days might be one way to de-tox. Putting myself on a strict schedule is probably going to be a must, since one reality of my work is that I have to be reachable for at least a while each day. Since I tend to abhor structure (but secretly need it), scheduling is likely to be an interesting exercise. Anyone have suggestions for making it work?

Meanwhile, I'll try shutting the computer down when I leave my office in the next hour and leaving it in my bag until, say, 10pm. After that I make no promises, but I'll see what I can do. Wish me luck!

Wow... is July gone already?

Not quite, but I think I see the end of it around the corner.

What's been happening? Got back from Switzerland (had a great last couple of days), got back into classes, was deluged with gigs, got a new scooter, and a massive head cold. That enough?

Where to start? Gigs. Wow. Normally, late July/early August are especially quiet for me, and I was kinda looking forward to lots of practice time. Not this year. Over the last week or so, I've gotten a ton of calls I wasn't expecting, and I'm as close to booked solid as I can get. Upcoming dates that are open to the public are listed in the right-hand column of this blog (hint, hint to music lovers), and those don't include the obligatory rehearsals before many of the gigs. It's fun, though... two musicals, a bunch of big band stuff, and a couple of R&B gigs with Chadwick Williams. On one of the musicals (Oliver), I'll be reading the woodwind IV book, which is a bassoon book. That would be no problem if I played bassoon, but since I don't I'm going to be transposing from bass/tenor clef (both in C), to play the parts on a Bb treble clef instrument. I'm sure I'll be kicking myself later for saying I'd do that, but it's a good skill to develop, so I've already started practicing. I'll have to post again on how it goes.

On the work front, things are going well this quarter. I'm teaching three strategic management classes, and although it's never easy to keep people focused in summer classes (and let's face it--who can blame them?), I've got a nice group and they seem to be enjoying the class. We're pilot-testing a new version of the learning management system (a web-based system that allows me to provide online content, making my class a "hybrid" format as opposed to strictly face-to-face), and although I'm starting to get the hang of it, either the interface isn't as intuitive as the one I'm used to, or I'm just getting brain damaged in my old age. Something simple as quiz feedback suddenly has more options, the flip side of which is having more ways to screw things up. I'll get it, though... eventually.

In the ongoing quest to be greener, we've been taking a harder look at transportation costs and energy use, and with all the driving I do, that's a pretty sobering thought. In an effort to address some of that and have a bit of fun in the process, I started looking around at scooters, and about a week ago we picked out a true geek rocket--a Yamaha Vino 125. This is one of those in-between sized scooters--it requires a motorcycle license, but isn't big enough to be freeway legal. But it's FUN to drive... should hit up to about 55 or so (I'll have to test that once it's broken in), and so far I've been getting around 80-85 MPG. The first time I filled up the tank, it cost a whole whopping $2.40, and it was everything I could do to not dance around the gas station, giggling and pointing at the other drivers. I don't get to ride it at night until I take the skill test for the full license, but for the time being I'm having an absolute ball, taking it to rehearsals (I can't carry anything bigger than the tenor sax, but that still covers a lot) and trying to get a little practice in every day.

Other than that, I'm getting over my latest cold (and this completely sucks in July--thanks A LOT to whomever gave it to me), and gearing up for class tomorrow. Midterm exams are in about a week, so things should be interesting.

Yawn. Off to bed. G'night!

Just when I thought it was safe to relax...

Some vacation week *this* was. Finals were last week, and with everything going on--including some unexpected filling-in for a colleague--I didn't get all my classes' term papers graded. So that, along with all the other end-of-quarter grading I normally have to do, spilled over into this week in a major way. I got everything posted by the deadline, but that required a few *really* late nights that I'm just recovering from now.

Speaking of paper-grading, one problem that I can see has gotten markedly worse is the volume of cheating I'm seeing in class assignments. In fact, I don't think it would be exaggerating to say that plagiarism has now reached epidemic levels. I beg people not to do it; I warn them that I wrote professionally for years and I can spot this stuff (and yes, I check), and I schedule additional office hours the week before case studies are due. In spite of all this, I've found more papers with unattributed copied-and-pasted material than I *ever* have in a single term. One particularly lazy student actually pulled stuff right from Wikipedia and pasted it into his first two pages. I don't know if they think their professors are retarded, or whether they just don't care, but either way, but I'm frustrated with the apathy and especially irritated that I have to waste so much of my time being the plagiarism cop. And since it's clear that many/most of these folks have no intention of actually learning from assignments like this, I don't really see the point anymore in putting us all through the exercise. Instead, I'll make a group strategic plan (which can't be ripped off) more intensive, make it worth more toward their course grade, and then give an objective final exam. Yeah, I realize this amounts to giving in, but I'm not sure what else to do and keep my sanity intact.

On other fronts, the show with Roger Neumann went well, and I'll post a recap of that later. Also recently heard a CD that I played on a couple of months ago (I was sitting in for a friend), and a solo I played sucked *SO* bad that I'm going to pretend it never happened and just move on with life. Right now, though, I'm dog-sitting. Punky, my Springer Spaniel who was born blind from an inherited eye malformation, had a second eye develop glaucoma and had surgery to deal with it this afternoon. The condition is very painful--human sufferers compare it to a migraine headache that never goes away--and treatment in dogs depends largely on whether the dog has vision in the affected eye. If so, medication is typically used keep the intraocular pressure down. When the dog doesn't have vision to preserve, treatment is often more aggressive and ranges from surgery to relieve the pressure, to replacement of the interior of the eye with a prosthesis (which gives the dog a more normal appearance), to enucleation (removal) of the entire eye. Since Punky has been through this once before, the decision to remove her remaining eye was an easy one; she's the kind of dog who pile-drives her way through life, and a useless eye just gets in the way of things like catching rats (yes, really) and terrorizing mailmen. It's also a permanent solution to the constant management of cornea ulcers and secondary infections common with blind but active dogs. She's home from her surgery and in a fair bit of discomfort now, but experience has shown that she'll be back to her evil ways in a day or so. It'll also take some getting used to for me since her eyes are now permanently closed, but I'll figure out a new way to "read" her. I'm just glad she'll be out of her pain.

And on that note, I'm off to cook some doggie dinners. Cheers...

Okay... getting better....

I'm home from playing a gig at the elementary school a couple of blocks away. I remember being that age, and seeing a concert where they demonstrated the instruments, just like we did today. The rest, as they say, is history.

Busy weekend coming up. Saturday we're doing the yard sale fundraiser for Springer Rescue. Saturday night I'm playing a private party with the R&B band. And Sunday, the GCC band is playing a concert (4pm, Glendale College Auditorium) and featuring Roger Neumann as our guest artist. He's a great reed player, composer, and a very cool guy, so the concert should be a lot of fun.

Other than that, just trying to get papers graded and a jump on working out final grades. One more week to go in the quarter, then I'm off for a week. Whew!

Happy weekend to all you working folks, happy retirement to my mom (YEAH!), and a big "hang in there" to my teacher bretheren. Summer is almost here...

Stop already!

Look, I know this means little to the rest of the world, but I really just have to practice.

I've got this show coming up where I have to *not* suck. It's kind of a big deal to me. You see, it isn't that everyone's problems/issues/gripes/paranoias are unimportant. It's just that I can't fix them all RIGHT THIS MINUTE, okay?

I just need to practice. Only for an hour or two. Without the urgent phone calls and e-mails telling me that all hell is breaking loose. Okay? PLEASE?!?!?

Where's the "pause" button?

I need one on my life.

Today was a drag. This is the part of the academic quarter when everything shifts into overdrive. The strategy classes turn in term papers and are doing three-a-day decisions, the Principles of Management class is getting ready for final exams and presentations, and everyone is wiped out from the combination of stress and exhaustion. My final exams are pretty much ready to go, but 2/3 of the term papers I've been expecting just landed on my desk, and it's freaking me out just to see the size of the pile sitting there, knowing that I'll be getting forty more tomorrow. And today is Monday, so I had the six-hour lecture gauntlet to run, which was made immeasurably worse by technological glitches. How can I possibly have tech problems in a classroom setting, you ask? Well, in a 21st-century college of business, it's assumed that we will teach our graduates to use (and stay abreast of) current technology, and as such we try to integrate it in our classes. Trouble is, there's a point at which technology is so much a part of your methods that it's indispensible, and then when you arrive at a classroom to find that the faculty workstation you use for lectures and/or simulation just bought the farm, it can be dammed difficult to improvise something on the spot. This happened to me not once, but TWICE today. It's especially maddening when you see evidence that the system is in the process of being worked on (like, it's in pieces), but nobody thought to warn the professors who were going to have to actually *teach a class* in that room today. Even with a heads-up it still would have sucked, but a few minutes' warning is still better than nothing.

I'm sure anyone who teaches in a K-12 classroom probably rolls their eyes when I rant about stuff like this. And there used to be a time (in my previous life as a corporate drone) when I would have had backups at the ready in case something like this happened. But there's a big difference between putting on a few presentations a year and doing several longer ones each week... I just don't have the time to plan for every contingency like this. Especially when I'm in the last part of the academic term, where there's no room for schedule adjustments. Argh.

I wish I could say that music was going swimmingly by contrast, but it seems that the overload just seems to screw that up, too. This became apparent at last week's lesson, when I just couldn't demonstrate any noticeable progress on some of the things I was working on. Clearly, I just haven't had the kind of practice time I had in previous months, and although the results were certainly predictable, that doesn't make me any less frustrated about the situation. Put simply, I'm burned out, and it's spilling over into EVERYTHING.

But enough of the self-pity, since it's just an unproductive use of even more time I can't spare. There was a Twilight Zone episode once where a guy had a stopwatch that would stop time when he pressed the right button. I used to wonder what I'd do if I had a watch like that. Now I just wonder if I'd have the energy to do anything at all...

Random thoughts on a Friday afternoon...

In no particular order...

1. Contrary to popular opinion, the folks at the IRS really *are* a bunch of ill-mannered thugs who attempt to bluff taxpayers into bending over upon demand (nice try, a$$holes).

2. Auto insurance companies are pretty much in the same league as the IRS, except they use their incompetence as their modus operandi, figuring if they ignore/frustrate you long enough, you'll forget they haven't paid your claim.

3. Friday traffic sucks, especially headed eastbound from LA/Pasadena. And I have to play in Glendora tonight. :(

4. It's the time of year again when working dogs shed the heavy undercoat they've been cultivating all winter. I vacuumed yesterday, and the living room already looks like a raccoon exploded in it.

5. Students never read the syllabi and class schedules provided by their well-meaning-but-hopelessly-unrealistic professors each quarter. And while acceptance of this fundamental truth *should* save me a lot of gray hair and gnashing of teeth when I get the e-mails, it never seems to work out that way.

6. A flat indoor surface exerts a substantially stronger gravitational pull on dust particles than on any other object. Conversely, that same surface tends to repel objects containing high concentrations of sugar, alcohol, tomato sauce, or fragile glass.

Did I mention that Friday afternoon traffic sucks?

The calm before the storm...

This has been sort of a light week. Got through Monday-afternoon-hell, got through Tuesday morning, and got all the online assignments wrapped up by Wednesday afternoon. That leaves prep for next week, which I'll probably get going on tomorrow. I should also work ahead a bit, since the next three weeks are going to be packed. Next week: extended office hourse to work with students on term papers. The following two weeks: grading said term papers (12 pages times 110 students... I don't even want to think about it). After that, final exams and project grading. Maybe I'll be able to sleep again sometime in June...

One of the things I'm using the extra time for is to evaluate new strategic management simulation programs. The one I've been using is buggy and, well.... WAY outdated. So much so that I find myself coming up with ways to incorporate its obsolescence into assignments. Given that technology is a cornerstone of strategy, it's kind of embarrassing--but fortunately, I've been given the green light to adopt another if I choose. Yeah, it's a giant hassle to switch, but I'll live. The other thing I'm doing this week is practicing as much as I can. I probably won't have much time for it in the next couple of weeks, so I'm gonna make some hay while there are still weeds to cut. :-)

Speaking of time management, my iPod has turned out to be a valuable tool in that area, since it helps me be productive during the hour-long (each way) commute to work. Things I wouldn't otherwise do as well as I should--like keep up with news--are easier now since I just download the stuff as podcasts and take 'em on the road. With that in mind, here are a few more reviews/recommendations:

Manager Tools - This podcast by Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne covers a lot of the things young managers probably wish they knew more about, but were afraid to ask. Great listening material for my survey class.

NPR: Car Talk - Finally, the entire show is available by podcast. Yeahh!

NBC Meet the Press - The entire show, in the form of a videocast. Great way to keep up with current events in idle moments.

Science Friday: Making Science Radioactive - Useful science news, some of which has to do with environment and policy. Good stuff.

BusinessWeek Global Outlook: Keeps me well-informed on, well... global business issues.

Center for Strategic and International Studies: Current events having to do with foreign affairs. Very provacative.

... and in the area of disappointments...

Despair.com Video Podcast - For some reason, the black humor that works well in the despair.com posters doesn't appear to translate well to video. Probably not worth the download time.

Geek Girl TV - Being one myself, I *really* tried to like this. But after two tries, I can't get through a single episode. Sorry.



All are available on iTunes. Enjoy!

Wow... what a week.

There are weeks when you conquer, and others in which you are happy to survive. This turned out to be the latter, but it's Thursday night with a weekend of playing lined up, so all is well. Tomorrow night Chadwick Williams (my R&B group) is playing at the Derby, then Saturday and Sunday I'm playing in the San Diego area with the LAPD Concert Band. That's legit stuff, but it's fun and a good workout for the flute and piccolo chops.

Had a great lesson this morning--went over a couple of uptempo tunes, trying now to apply some of the altered and extended chords I've been working on. It was good to get back to playing tunes--the drills are very useful, but sometimes you just gotta blow. I've also been working a bit on some Bob Mintzer funk etudes--they're challenging, but a lot of fun to play. After getting my tenor worked on and finding a setup that plays well for me I'm starting to get some mojo happening on that horn, so I've been practicing it more these days. It's really cool that all of a sudden, these other things are falling into place so readily. It makes me think the practicing is paying off.

Work is exhausting, but I'm done for the week and in too good a mood to worry much about it. I've been contacted about classes for next quarter, so it would seem that things are going well. If they don't, it won't be for lack of effort on my part...

For now, though, I'm fading fast and need some sleep. Rehearsal tomorrow morning for the shows this weekend... not a bad way to kick 'em off.

:-)

And speaking of changes...

...I just gutted my personal website. I've always hated the outdated debris you find scattered around the 'net, and I was getting to be one of the biggest contributors of said detritus. It's kind of sad in a way--kind of like taking a match to a collection of personal mementos--but now I have a fresh canvas to work with when I'm ready to do it.

For the time being, though, I'm busy with working and creating other stuff. This is "Hell Week: Part I" for me in the sense that my ridiculous Monday-Tuesday schedule gets repeated on Wednesday and Thursday--one of three times this quarter. Yeah, I know that normal people (of which I was one once) have to work *five* days a week in some God-forsaken cubicle, and to that I can only reply that two days on my current schedule kick my ass FAR worse than my 9-to-5 ever did. Between those back-to-back classes on Mondays, getting back to campus Tuesday mornings, and creating podcasts/writing exams and assignments/grading papers/revising my classes for summer, I'm whipped come mid-week. Zzzz....

On other fronts, my very first big band arrangement--an afro-cuban interpretation of Henry Mancini's "Charade," seems to be enough of a success that the Big Bad Jazz band will be performing it next week. w00t! If anyone wants to see its debut, come on out!

Tuesday, May 2nd
Big Bad Jazz Band at the M-Bar Hollywood
Corner of Vine and Fountain, 7:30pm
(I'll be playing bari sax)

Which reminds me, I had a *blast* subbing on Boyd Cannon's big band last week. This group plays every third Thursday at the Border's Books and Music in Thousand Oaks, and my buddy Jennifer Hall recommended me to the leader. I'd heard it was a good band (a rehearsal band for a lot of studio guys, I guess) so I was pretty intimidated--especially since I was to play tenor sax, which isn't my main axe. But my pal Jim Mettler, the bestest instrument repair guy in just about the entire world, did some work on my tenor and it was playing SWEEEET that night--all I had to do was push buttons and blow. Anyhow, Boyd said he'd have me back, so I guess it must have sounded okay. Cool.

Much as I'd like to launch into the diatribe about corporate strategy that I've been mulling over for several days now, I'm gonna hold off for the moment and get to bed. It just occurred to me that I'm functioning on only a few hours' sleep from last night, and I think I've finally reached the stage in my life when no sleep=horriffic cold every time I turn around.

Sucks to be old, I guess. But it's better than the alternative.

Sniff, sniff...

I'm fighting a bit of a cold today, so 'scuze me while I go get a tissue.

Classes start next week, and I'm now one term over the one-year mark at Cal Poly. This upcoming quarter, my schedule will include overload for the first time, so I'm fully expecting my life to completely suck at the midterm point when the paper grading kicks in. I won't turn my nose up at the extra money, but don't think I'm not gonna be earning it.

Subbed on a friend's big band last night, and we backed up the jazz legend Ernie Andrews. That dude is a MONSTER... nobody sings like him. Toward the end of the evening he got this monologue sort of thing going... kind of a "I've been doing this for sixty years" stroll down memory land, then out of nowhere, he turned on the afterburners and belted out a magnificent line from the bridge to start off the tune "You Are So Beautiful." I was so blown away I barely made my own entrance a few bars later. Very cool.

Speaking of subbing, though (which I've been doing a lot of lately), I'm filling in on a recording session tomorrow so I'd better go have a look at the music. But first... a few upcoming gigs of note:

Tuesday, April 3rd
Big Bad Jazz Band at the M-Bar Hollywood
Corner of Vine and Fountain, 7:30pm
(My regular bari sax gig)

Thursday, April 5th
Evening dance with Clyde Reasinger's Big Band
Joselyn Center, Burbank CA
(I think I'm on alto that night)

Sunday, April 8th
Hollywood Bowl Sunrise Service
LAPD Concert Band
(My flute gig)

Saturday, May 19th
Chadwick Williams Band at Paladino's
(R&B bari sax... whooyah!)

Sunday June 3rd
Big Bad Jazz Band in concert
with special guest, pianist Shelly Berg
Glendale College Auditorium
(bari sax again)

Feel free to e-mail me for details on any of these shows...
-Leanne

An exhausting few weeks

I don't know for sure why I'm blogging about it at almost 4am, but maybe I'm still too wound up to sleep.

Classes are pretty much finished for the quarter--all that's left is to get grades worked out and submitted. Then it's prep for next quarter's classes... one of which is getting a total overhaul. Getting a full night's sleep seems like a distant memory.

On the music front, I'm really busy. Had two R&B gigs this weekend with Chadwick Williams, one at 14 Below in Santa Monica and the other at the Derby on Los Feliz. I keep thinking we're such dinosaurs that people will throw us out of these places, but it seems like this classic R&B stuff really connects with people. Go figure. I'm still doing a fair bit of legit playing--both on clarinet and flute. Jazz is happening, but the bar is being raised in lessons now so I'm spending as much time as possible working on it all. Last but not least, I've been trying my hand at arranging for a couple of the ensembles I'm in, and I'm having some early successes. Two tunes (one significantly better than the other) for the nonet, a couple for Chadwick Williams, and one jazz interpretation of "Amazing Grace" for the clarinet ensemble. It's challenging, but a lot of fun.

Stress on the homefront. Kinda ugly, and I hate being conflicted like this. I guess one of life's harsher lessons is that even with the best of intentions, sometimes everyone loses.

Actually, maybe I always knew that.