Fortunately, Uncle Kevin donated his old alto sax, which he played in high school. (Thank you Kevin - the lunch you owe me for your lost Super Bowl bet is now forgiven. Until the next game, which you will probably lose because I am the best.)
We lugged that sax across the country on our drive home. It even fell on Cole's head once.
I will be the first to admit I don't know much about band. I was never in band, and was off at school and married for most of the time my brothers were band rats. So this is a whole new world to me.
I now know where the preferred (if only? Not sure...) band instrument repair shop is in Lafayette. I have even conversed extensively with the owner. I've driven by the shop 100's of times but never noticed it before. (It's Brent's Bench down on 4th St., in case you're wondering.)
I picked up the cleaned and fixed saxophone this afternoon. It only cost me $75 - MUCH better than the several 100's I would've spent on renting or buying an instrument.
I have also learned where the preferred local music shop is - off of the horrendous Hwy 52. Not only is that the road being used for diverted I-65 traffic, but it is under MAJOR construction right now. It was AWFUL. I was only on the road for a mile, but it was enough to drive me batty.
But I made it to Quinlan & Fabish and was happily helped with all my sax needs. The store owner was really great; I highly recommend his shop!
I picked up a shoulder strap, some cigarette-carton-looking reeds,
and some "premium" cork grease. I guess the "" mean we'll have to decide for ourselves if it is, in fact, premium. PROPER PUNCTUATION MATTERS, PEOPLE!! (I kinda want to cross off those punctuation marks with a permanent marker, but Spencer doesn't need yet more ammunition for his "my mother is crazy" hypothesis.) ((He has not yet verbally expressed this hypothesis. But every time he rolls his eyes I know that's exactly what he is thinking...)
I was a bit dismayed to learn that most new band students go through a box of reeds about once a month. At $30 a pop, that's pretty steep. I later found the exact same box of reeds on Amazon for $2 less. I'm all for supporting the local economy. But not when shopping online will save me money and a drive through the hell that is Hwy 52.
Well, here's hoping band is as glorious as Spencer expects it to be! (And that we continue to find ways to make it a little easier on the wallet.) ((I know, I know. Hope springs eternal.))
1 comment:
The sax looks great. I'm pretty sure the music shop got you to buy the expensive reeds. I didn't start using that brand of reed from Paris until I was in High School. You should see if they sell Rico reeds. (Just looked on Amazon, they're selling for $25 for 10, so I guess not that much cheaper. I remember back in the day (1990s) you could get 5 for $4 at the music store in Fairfield)
But really, if they're using 10 reeds in one month something is wrong. I usually used the same reed for one, even two, week(s). I usually just kept using the reed until it cracked/chipped/tore.
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