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Tony Adams
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The Western Swing
A couple of nights ago I attended a Western Swing ensemble class at The Old Town School of Folk Music. It was a blast. I'm playing bass. There are two mandolins, two fiddles, a guitar and a drummer in the class (with people playing them of course). There are two instructors who play fiddle guitar or mandolin as necessary. A cynic could say, "Hey tony - you are PAYING to be in a band." She would be correct. However, I'm paying to be in a band with a lot of guidance from people who are really really good at it. The instructors pick the music, provide sheet music and recordings and do a great job of leading the band. It is totally worth it. I get to play music I've never played before with new people. It is both fun and a tiny bit intimidating. One the less obvious benefits is that I get all the fun of playing in a band without any commitment at all beyond showing up for the eight weeks of the class.

A confluence of influences rapidly led me from thinking about doing this to actually doing it. Julia and Patrick, both pillars of the local music scene, live in the Old Town School neighborhood and became members a year or two ago. As a result they have been kind enough to drag me to some great shows there that I otherwise would not have been able to see. In turn, this led me to join the school as a member myself. Meanwhile my friend Andy has been encouraging me to take a class there. He met his current Gypsy Jazz partner in a class at the Old Town School. Andy's amazing progress on the guitar is mostly the result of being brilliant and actually practicing his instrument, but be credits the school for getting him on the right path and hooking him up. Then a few weeks ago my friend Lisa mentioned that she was deeply impressed with her mandolin teacher at the school, Colby Maddox, and that he was anxious to find a bass player for his upcoming Western Swing ensemble class.

While I'm not the biggest Western Swing fan on the planet, I've always thought the music was fun to listen to. It turns out that it is _totally_ fun to play. So, I'm learning new stuff, meeting new people and having a great time - the story of my life in a nutshell.

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