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A favourite pashion of mine is music: both performance and listening.
I've been playing musical instruments for longer than I care to remember. Also,
I take my music pretty seriously as you'll read shortly. At work, the only
method of getting my attention is a high velocity projectile aimed squarely at
the back of my head. Headphones have been surgically inserted into my ears they
reckon....
These days I mainly play bassoon, clarinet and sax and teaching myself guitar. Since moving to Perth from Sydney, things got a little slower on this front. I had a semi-regular gig is with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra - one of only three amateur orchestras in all of Perth! The standards aren't too bad, but not as good as I'm used to playing with in Sydney. In Seattle, I've not been able to break into the scene too well. I've done some call-in work for EastSide Symphony, which has been fun. Not having any gigs is not due to being a poor muso. In my past I've played with groups like the Sydney Youth Orchestra, SBS Television Youth Orchestra and a (locally) well known military concert band. I've also completed Level 7 exams at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music which was the highest you could do on Bassoon. (Since I've left, they've readjusted and added an extra level pushing the requirements for level 7 down a bit). My teachers have also been of high quality - Gordon Skinner, former principal bassoon for the SSO, and Doug Eyre, principal bassoon of the Sydney Opera and Ballet Orchestra (the orchestra of the Sydney Opera House)
Of course, I also like to listen to music. Favourite stuff - anything techno or dance. The louder the better. Actually, that's not quite true. Sometimes when I need a bit of energy, the volume goes up, but generally, a medium level going through the headphones helps keep me focused on work. The average collection usually consists of everything from Drum 'n' Bass, Massive Attack, Ministry of Sound labelled, Prodigy and a number of local labels. A close inspection of my CD collection (over 500 CDs and growing!) will reveal that the most popular labels are from Dancepool (Oz) and React (UK) and Global Underground (UK). In general US dance music is pretty crappy - way too poppy. I don't know why, but we only really see good stuff from local, UK or Europe in the clubs, unless of course it is pop-dance type stuff, which nobody seems to know how to dance to anyway around here.
Huh? Yup, that's right, I also dance a bit too. Not that I would call myself an expert or anything but I do. For a while, at the insistence of my then roommate, I took some classes in street latin dancing. An interesting form of dance that-requires lots of hip movement. No, its not the lambada stuff, but it does similar stuff. Less flashy, more fun. After probably 12 months, I'd ended up being serious enough that I became one of the assistant instructors, helping teach the newcomers classes, along with my dance partner at the time. I continued that for another 12 months or so until I left Perth. My main dance interest is in club music (techno/house). When at a nightclub (almost every Friday and Saturday Night) you will find me on the floor - usually with a big gap around me. Unfortunately that's not because what I do is spectacular, just I like to wave my arms around a lot! Once I hit the floor its a long time before I'm dragged off it. I don't usually end up chatting up the women because I'm having way too much fun dancing. For a while I did dancing with a local group. This was mainly podium and group performances. Time prevented me from continuing on with that for too long.
Of course, a good audiophile has a good stereo system. Back when I had a car, I used to have a nice high-quality custom-fitted stereo, That's all gone now, but I still sometimes long for having a car again, just for the stereo.
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