The Official Get to Know the Staff Thread!

[pete]

I get to completely step out of character and introduce myself first and try to make everyone feel a bit welcome.

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I'm Pete. I'm sure I'll have some defined function at some point, but right now, I'm havening fun annoying the heck outta Ed and Jim, especially since I've discovered that I can edit their posts.

About me:

You probably know me as the guy that created saxpics.com (http://www.saxpics.com) and ran it from approximately 1997 to 2007, when I sold it. I've also served as an administrator, moderator and columnist for Sax-on-the-Web. I'm currently consumed with my yearly saxophone calendar (http://www.thesax.info/mediawiki-1.10.0/index.php?title=Calendar_project), the forthcoming book project regarding my sax calendars ... and possibly something related for the good folks here. If Ed asks nicely.

Interestingly, this is my first musical foray into a forum that is NOT SOTW. Yes, I've written a couple articles for a couple other websites, but I've never posted on another forum.

Anyhow.

Here's my professional music resume, in brief:
* Assistant to the director at an extremely large church in Western NY for about 8 years.
* Director at two different churches in Tucson, AZ for about a year each. The bankruptcy of one was NOT my fault.

In addition to directing, I arranged music and taught beginning sax and clarinet lessons.

I studied saxophone at the State University of NY College at Fredonia under Dr. Wyman for a year -- he's a first gen student of Sigurd Rascher -- and I studied for eight more years, both sax and (sometimes) clarinet, with one of Dr. Wyman's former students (a pro player) both before and after that. I play mainly classical, but I've played in more than one jazz ensemble.

And I took voice lessons from a former Miss Arizona.

Let's see. Oh. What do I play 'n' stuff.

I've played, in college and high school, a variety of pitches of saxophones and clarinets, but mainly bass clarinet and baritone sax, although I played Bb contrabass clarinet (Leblanc paperclip) for awhile and Bb bass sax (Conn New Wonder). I find that the bass clarinet and bari sax are closer to "my voice" than anything else.

I've recorded two CDs with my various church choirs -- singing (bass), not playing. I mainly sing, havening stopped playing years ago, but I've had a variety of health issues over the past couple years that have prevented me from singing, too.

I'm a full-time computer tech and live with wife, kids and dog outside Phoenix, AZ. I've attended a few "get together"-type events, before, and if you're payin', count me in!

[Ed Svoboda]

I'm Ed. Technology guy by day. The Woodwind Forum Community creator by night. I started out playing the alto sax in fifth grade although I really wanted to play tenor. A few years ago I converted into a tenor player and then this year I converted back to E-Flat but to the Bari. I'm still out of breath! I also have been known to get noises and sometimes nice sounding notes out of the clarinet and even the oboe. Flute appears to be the hardest instrument I've ever tried to play.

In my spare time, I am working on various writing projects. Some of which will be featured at the main Woodwindforum.com page. Thanks to Pete Hales I have become known as one of the experts on vintage Yanagisawa saxophones. I believe that I single handily made these horn increase in value and I'm looking for a commission!

I have also spent a lot of time creating a line of saxophone mouthpieces and doing refacing work. These days that project has moved to the back burner so that I can concentrate more time on writing and creating.

Some of you will know me by my "handle" at Sax On The Web as Hurling Frootmig. I served with pride as a moderator and admin on that forum since sometime in 2004. We trying something a little different here and I hope everyone enjoys it.

[Gandalfe]

Hi, I'm Jim and I'm an GAS addict. That is to say, I collect musical instruments. Recently I have been selling off my vintage instruments that I never made much progress on. You can see my favorite instruments here (http://biskey7.wordpress.com/my-axes/). I also have been building a big band and sax quartet chart library.

I played alto sax from 5th grade to my first year of college. Then I took a break... a long break. I'm back and enjoying music with the Woodinville Community Band (http://www.woodinvilleband.org) where I am the events director and sax section leader. I sub for a number of big bands around the Seattle area. I have also played soprano, tenor, bari sax, sop and bass clarinet in some theater pit orchestras.

In 2010 I created the Washington state non-profit Dissonance Bands (http://www.gandalfe.net/diss.htm) which consists of three groups, the Microsoft Jazz Band, the Dissonance Jazz xTet, and the Professor Gadget Sax Quartet. I am enrolled in the Association of Community Band (http://acbands.org/) for licensing purposes. I have not applied for a 501c Corporation status because I don't make money with these music groups.

http://www.gandalfe.net/images/SaxGuyzSM.jpg
That's me on the left in the hat and my wife Suzy on the right at a Dec '07 holiday gig.

Some of you in the virtual world may know me from my three-year stint as an admin and columnist at the Sax on the Web (SOTW) forums. Other might know me from my online work at a major software company were I am considered, among other things, a community guru. I hope to get to know everyone who signs up for this forum and look forward to participating in many interesting conversations.

[SteveSklar]

Hi, I’m Stephen Sklar

I Like Pies (I was told to say that)

I’m one of the CE’s, or Content Experts. I’m a tech guy during the day, a dad to four great little kids and a musician and clarinet repair technician in between all the chaos.

I have been playing saxophone since 1974 and clarinet since 1978, plus a slew of other instruments (cello, French horn, flute, xylophone, percussion, and others that I no longer play anymore including the ones I just mentioned). I may not know everything but I’m willing to learn more all the time.

I am primarily a saxophone player but don’t let that fool you, my clarinet playing is pretty good too.

I grew up on Couf-land so I’m pretty well dedicated to Couf saxophones. Though, I happen to play Selmers. I also love Buffets, and early Yamahas, early Yanis ?. Well, you get the picture.

I had quite a growing sax performance looking career including Wayne State School of music; University of Michigan (aka Sinta ?you?ll never get past the first measure? School ) but I decided that due to health issues that Music Performance wasn’t the way to go. But I never stopped loving playing my sax and clarinet. You can catch me locally in college bands; college trios, quartets; local Big Bands and any place I can play.

I started learning how to tech (we have to start somewhere) back when Mr Couf handed me a Buescher spring hook after I asked about how to connect and disconnect the springs back when I was a small lad. Since then I?ve been on and off in repairing as I?ve increased my abilities through the years.

About 8 years ago I joined up with a buddy of mine and started http://www.SaxManiax.com. Since then I stopped working on flutes (my fingers got too big), and stopped saxes (too many kids and not enough time for everything) and now strictly work on clarinets and clarinet mouthpieces. Of course that required a name change to http://www.ClarinetPerfection.com

Welcome aboard and have fun, I know I will :)

[Merlin]

Hi All,

Merlin Williams, CE. That either means compact edition or content expert.

I'm a woodwind doubler in Toronto, Canada. My main calls are for big band and theatre work, and people seem to have gotten in their heads that I'm a bari specialist.

I actually play saxes from sopranino to bass, clarinets from Eb down to EEb contra, flute & picc and bassoon. I've worked in the past on oboe and english horn, but sold them just to make sure I wouldn't actually have to keep my chops up on them.

Over the years I've also taught middle school band classes and worked in music retail.

My designated area of interest here on The Woodwind Forum is doubling.

Some time, just for a laugh, I'm going to have someone post a pic of me carry all of the horns I have in my avatar pic.

[Helen]

Some time, just for a laugh, I'm going to have someone post a pic of me carry all of the horns I have in my avatar pic.

Hi Merlin. How are things in TO? I noticed that there's a bass sax in your avatar. Do you have one again? Or are you still going through withdrawl? ;)

[Merlin]

Some time, just for a laugh, I'm going to have someone post a pic of me carry all of the horns I have in my avatar pic.

Hi Merlin. How are things in TO? I noticed that there's a bass sax in your avatar. Do you have one again? Or are you still going through withdrawl? ;)

I have access 8-)

[Gandalfe]

Hi Merlin. How are things in TO? I noticed that there's a bass sax in your avatar. Do you have one again? Or are you still going through withdrawl? ;)
I have access 8-)

Merlin and Helen are some of the few players I'd lend my bass sax to. :ugeek:

[Merlin]

Hi Merlin. How are things in TO? I noticed that there's a bass sax in your avatar. Do you have one again? Or are you still going through withdrawl? ;)
I have access 8-)

Merlin and Helen are some of the few players I'd lend my bass sax to. :ugeek:

I'm going to print out this post, just in case it gets mysteriously deleted!

[Gandalfe]

8-)

[pete]

I'll be a witness!

[Heckelphone]

I'm Grant Green -- not the famous jazz guitarist, nor even his son (although I have an anecdote that I'll no doubt bore you all with at some point).

I started with clarinet in 4th grade. Years later, I realized that what I had really wanted to play then was oboe, but I hadn't been able to remember the name when my parents took me to the store, and from my description I ended up with a Conn Bb soprano. In junior high school, I discovered the bass clarinet, and after a year on BCl, the director talked me into switching to bassoon. After a couple of years, I was invited to play with the Kansas City Youth Symphony on contrabassoon, which I greatly enjoyed. I played bassoon in the high school band and orchestra, and bari sax in the marching band and jazz ensemble. Plus a few stints in clarinet choirs, woodwind quintets, and a number of musicals.

In college, I minored in music composition (and continued playing bassoon in the Pomona College orchestra, and bari in the jazz ensemble, plus several musicals). Took oboe in grad school (while still playing bari in the jazz ensemble at UT Austin).

These days, I play mainly bass/contra-alto/contrabass clarinets with the San Jose Wind Symphony (http://www.sjws.org) (and sometimes contrabassoon parts on Eb contra sarrusophone, or bass sax parts on Bb bass sarrusophone). I spent last spring playing Early Music with the Camerata California (recorders, shawms, rackett, crumhorns, rauschpfieffe, bass cornamuse, and guitar). I've also performed here and there on sarrusophone and heckelphone, and try to pull out the sarrusophone each year for the San Jose Saxophone Xmas (http://www.sjsaxmas.com) (playing the bari part an octave lower). One of my favorites was for an encore at a friend's Composer's Recital at UCLA last year -- a quartet for 4 contrabass saxophones called Dragon's First Flight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYnzor_Kpyg). (In the video, I'm second from the left, playing Jay Easton's Bb Tubax; the other players are Adam Gilberti, the composer, on Blaise Garza's Eb tubax; Jay Easton, on his Eppelsheim contrabass sax; and Blaise on an Orsi contrabass sax.)

I set up the website Contrabass.com (http://www.contrabass.com) to talk about sarrusophones, heckelphones, and other low-pitched wind instruments (which ultimately led to opportunities to buy a few). It has an email list with about 300 subscribers, ranging from student to professional worldwide. The past few years, though, I haven't had much time for updating the website or keeping the list going (although it is still sporadically active), as my job has been more demanding.

By day, I'm a patent attorney. I work in-house at the Palo Alto research facility of an international drug company, and about annually get to travel to Switzerland :mrgreen:, and sometimes Munich (I've had the good fortune to meet Benedikt Eppelsheim and visit his shop, and to tour the old Orsi factory in Milan, Italy.) I can explain general questions about patent law (and some copyright), but (a) I cannot take outside clients (part of my employment agreement), and (b) don't have experience particular to musical instruments, so don't expect specific legal advice ;-) When I'm not working or making music, you can usually find me hiking or reading (I like science fiction, cosmology, and neuroscience these days).

Enjoy!

Grant

[Ed Svoboda]

Grant,

Good to have you on board.

[Gandalfe]

These intros were written almost three years ago. Maybe we should update them?

[pete]

I keep on meaning to ....

[Gandalfe]

Same here; I am supposed to be making the bulletins for the gig this week, sending driving instructions to the featured guest, and creating an invoice to be received NLT tomorrow. Sigh... 8-)

Oh, and finish setting up the tenor and piano books for the practice tomorrow and completing the new stand fronts for the band. Thank goodness Suzy is helping me. Maybe sometime later tonight I'll update my little spiel below.