Thanksgiving '05

I figured I'd better post some more pics. Maybe it'll force me to take more with the new camera! So I present Thanksgiving '05 with Os' family:

I didn't get to use the camera much--the sisters had to grab it. This is S2 with her daughter N1 on the computer checking out any last minute online sales. Remember the old days when everyone got together around the piano and sang songs? Well, neither do I, but there was food to be cooked--why are they on the computer?? The second picture is BIL2, N2 and S2. N2 is now officially the tallest in the bloodline, other than Dad. She was just named to the varsity basketball team this week. GO BRUINS!


This is S3, with her kids the Nephew and N3. The Nephew is the youngest, and has all these females hovering over him all the time. To his credit, he's small, but an incredible athlete (like his dad). Unfortunately, he also likes to dance and has shown some musical talent (making his uncle proud!). It will be interesting to see how that all turns out!



This is the general chaos in kitchen area. I'm involved in the general supervision of things. Note the "big people" table behind me. I didn't get to sit there. There was more than a couple of bottles of wine put down. I drank Bud. The only real problem I have with my dad is that he's doing what my grandfather used to do. Buy the cheap beer. No microbrews for this guy. Though to his credit, there were 6 bottles of Fat Tire in the garage refrigerator. Must have been left by someone over the Fourth. Does anybody else's family have a refrigerator in the garage whose main function is to keep beer cold--nothing else? I think we've had one since 1969. Seriously. Dad's getting ready to slice the bird. It was actually alot larger than it shows in the picture! And the whole damn family arguing about how to take the family picture. The camera was on the kitchen counter, so it was a little low. But Mom decreed that no one was to sit down to eat until we took the picture! You can see that on the other site...

This is what I found at the stop sign on my way home. They made no attempt to get up and leave, even though I had stopped, gotten out of the car, and fumbled around with the camera. I think I could have petted them, if I were so inclined!

Trip To Oregon

Be sure to click on the pictures to see the large version!


This is Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. It's one of the most photographed beaches in Oregon. As you can see, there wasn't much of a crowd. Then again, it was cold and windy and early November! This is me waiting for the tide to come in and take me away, and Just.A.Girl just lookin' sassy!



The waves were particularly heavy this day! It was also the first day to put the new camera through some paces. All pictures were taken basically from the same spot. All close ups were taken with the new zoom lens. Yes, I think the camera was a fine purchase. If the butt munch who stole mine shows his face again, I might have to thank him!


I wasn't going to post these pics, but I think the world needs to see them! The one on the left is Addict's initial reaction to seeing me in her studio. Somewhere between pure shock and "who the hell is THIS dork?" The second picture is Addict and Kalani chatting it up. I told Kalani to smile for this picture. I think she may have been flashing me instead....


This is j.a.g. sucking down a watermelon martini from 30 floors above downtown Portland. All windows, and a great view from up there! I don't know how she did it, but she got me to eat sushi! I don't know that I'm hooked or anything, but it was certainly a good experience!


The picture on the left is after driving about 9 hours, non-stop. Do I look tired? I should. I found that having a flash going off in your face will give a good boost of adrenaline. Doesn't help trying to find the road right afterwards though. The second picture is photographic evidence of being attacked by the lunatic ferret (read all about it on the other blog). Please excuse the dry, scaly, hairy feet. They've never been one of my better features...

Symphony Under the Stars (part 1)

Here's pics from the past two days. Click on the picture for a larger version. The weather on Friday was overcast, but pleasant, until a nasty 20-minute storm blew threw and drenched everything and tossed chairs, stands and percussion equipment all over the place. But we were able to recover for an early evening rehearsal (under clear skies--go figure). Saturday's weather was gorgeous. We had a mid-morning rehearsal, and the breeze was refreshing, but bothersome--blowing the pages of the music. There was a bit of a breeze until about 15 minutes before the concert started, and it was absolutely ideal for the rest of the night. Not a cloud in the sky, temperature in the upper 70s, and very little wind. My estimate of the crowd would be over 6,000, though I could probably be convinced it was 7,000. We ended with the "1812 Overture", complete with fireworks which ended with the final cutoff of the orchestra. The roar that went up afterwards brought chills. Actually, I've got goosebumps just writing about it now! I stuck around for about 45 minutes to supervise some post-concert stage clearing, then left for some food and beer. Well, beer and then food. Finally got to sleep in for the first time in ages, but I'm still tired and unmotivated to do anything. But I'm feelin' really, really good!


The stage comes in looking like an ordinary semi truck. This particular one was in West Virginia last week for a Flaming Lips concert. The incoveniently placed light pole forces us into very few workable stage positions. It's not the best position, but it works quite well!
After the bed of the semi is jacked up and leveled, a self-contained hydraulic system raises the sides of the trailer--these become the roof of the stage.
The floor of the stage is pulled out, and then leveled in all areas (probably the most time consuming function).
Hydraulics extend the roof out from the trailer sides, and roof support towers are added to the corners. We didn't hang a sound system, but if we had, there would be some more support scaffolding along the towers and across the top of the roof.
The truck rolled in at 8:30 AM, and at 11:45, the stage company was essentially done. God bless technology and hydraulics!
See part 2 below!

Symphony Under the Stars (part 2)

These are from concert day. Click on the picture for a larger size.


Since the concert is free, you can come and go as you please. Seasoned concert goers will come to claim "their spot" as early as 6 AM. These are the tarps/blankets/etc. marking territories shortly after 9AM. What's remarkable is that no one will try to take over someone else's spot! It's good to live in Montana! The chairs in front are reserved seats for those who don't want to sit on the grass.
About 2 hours before the start of the concert. Far more territories claimed by now. In typical Helena tradition, the bulk of the audience won't show up until the last half hour before showtime.
Ummm....OK.....it was a nice sunny day.....good time to work on a tan......note the cooler.....lots of coolers at this thing.....and considerable amounts of beer and wine consumed, from the reports I've received!
About 90 minutes before the concert, and still not a great number of people. But lots of unattended tarps. This is from the trees at the top of the hill.
This is the "View From the Back Row" that my blog refers to. It's about 5 minutes before the start, so the stage lights haven't been turned on yet. This would be less than half the crowd. There's just about as many to the right of this picture, and maybe half again as many to the left. Next year I get some sort of panoramic lens for the full effect.

Unfortunately, once the concert started, I wasn't able to take any more pics. If I receive any from other people from the concert itself, I'll certainly post them!

Wedding pics

Wedding at the Elkhorn View Lodge. Go here for more details...


This was part of the group square dancing event on the lawn in back. Can you sense the enthusiasm?


Not everyone wanted to stay up for the entire evening.


I'm not sure what's happening here, but it's a bit distressing. That's the bride in front, with her husband behind her. After that, your guess is as good as mine.


What caught me about this picture is that the girl in the black top with her back to the camera appears to be sporting a wedgie. Didn't know you could do that in a skirt....


Alot of leaping going on here. And the one guy trying to "Dance Like an Egyptian". Sadly, again, alone.

Alive @ 5!

One of the things that Helena does well in the summertime is Alive @ 5. What started a number of years ago as a downtown party for maybe 500 people (on a good day) with food, beer and music, has developed into the premier street party series in the state. Even Spokane, WA has added a similar thing, but with nowhere near the results! Other towns have attempted it, maybe with music for an hour or two, or with their parties happening every two to three weeks. None of them can hold a beer cozy to Helena!

Locations vary along the downtown mile, from the middle of the street, to store fronts, to one of a couple of different parks. The beer starts flowing at 5:00 (duh), with music starting at 6:00, and continuing on until 9:00. Rain or shine. Food, games, music, beer, dancing, etc., etc. People from other towns come to Helena, just for Alive @ 5! Last year was the most successful, with crowds nearing 3000 during the middle of the summer. This is the reason God invented summer!One of the exciting things to happen at this first one of 2005 was to actually spend some real face to face time with fellow blogger Rachel! We've known that we lived in the same town for awhile now, but until this past week, we'd never actually met. Well, that's no longer the case! This is the two of us after a couple of cold ones---Yeah, we're in the shadows. Oh, well. Possibly the most exciting thing about all this was to find out exactly what she looked like--that little photo in her profile doesn't do her justice! So I offer this one from dinner later in the evening--Guys--she's fun, she's funny, she's a kick in the pants! We hit it off well, and I don't think this is the last you're going to hear from us. In fact, I can guarantee that! So if you should find yourself in Helena on a Wednesday, go downtown (head for the music), and look for us. We'll be over by the beer!

The Ladies

This would be Mom and the sisters after our Mother's Day golf outing. From left to right: Sister 2, Sister 3, Mom (behind the flowers--I'll have to find something better....), and S3's oldest (Niece 3). Not a great picture, since no one's looking at the camera, but at least it's better than looking at my lip!
These two young ladies are my nieces (S2's girls). For ID purposes, we'll call them N1 & N2. Despite their apparent disinterest in Mother's Day, they really are good kids. Disgustingly good, even!

Ooh, the artwork behind the lampshade (which you can't see very well) is the same artwork referred to here.

I also notice that my photos here are not terribly good. Faces behind flowers or magazines, no one looking at the camera, artwork behind the lamp. I'm really much better than this. Really!

Ouch!!

I am not picking my nose here. This picture was taken about 3:30 AM, eleven hours after the renegade music stand attacked me, and after playing a 4 hour gig. You might be able to see the center of my lower lip beginning to bruise. Just imagine how painful it must be to play when the mouthpiece sits right on top of that gash. Am I whining a little here???

The band. The Teacher took my camera and got a couple of shots when she had a break. This is the best of the bunch. We actually have a new member here since the post below. The trombonist in the middle is "Skippy". He's a pretty good player, but he's only 17. He's a bit immature in this type of playing, but he'll develop. Besides, everybody should know a "Skippy"!

In Cahoots w/the Mob Rules Horns

This isn't a comprehensive description of the band, but it gives you an idea of who does what. We all sing, to some degree. The horns are mostly relegated to background vocals. And the horns rarely do any choreography. We're a bit boring in that sense. But we kick butt when we play!

This would be Drummer Boy (check out the Satan eyes!) and Princess Leia (the Princess, for short. Not to be confused with Eye Girl in the last post. She's a Star Wars geek). D.B. is the only remaining original member of the band other than myself. Technically, it's his band. He books us, owns most of the PA equipment, and drives most of the time. The Princess plays alto sax, but over the past year or so has claimed the lead vocals on a number of songs.

We call this guy Superman. He plays lead trumpet all night long, and rarely falters. Chops of steel. Here he is with his wife (Superwoman). In real life, they share the same first name. It's so cute you want to puke. They are the proud parents of Superboy, who was born a little over a year ago.

This is the Old Man and the Teacher. I couldn't find a picture of him without a microphone obscuring something. The O.M. has logged numerous years playing on the road from Alaska to Mexico. Even during the sequined jumpsuit, big hair, disco days of the 70s. Due to years of substance abuse, he plays guitar backwards and upside down. That means a right-handed guitar, left-handed, for those of you keeping score. More on the Teacher below...

This is the Teacher, me and the Princess at a Mexican Fiesta thing we played for (note my sombrero!). The Teacher is our newest member. She's our lead vocalist (most of the time). She splits her duties with the Diva (no pictures) who has cut back her gigs since having her baby this fall. Teacher's day job is, duh, teaching 2nd graders. She's also an actress, and has appeared in several musicals over the years. As for me, besides the trombone, I also play some keyboards, bass guitar when necessary, and write most of the horn arrangements. Since this is MY blog, I have no nickname!

3/4 of the Mob Rules Horns. The Princess, Superman and the Rookie, chillin' before a gig. The Rookie plays 2nd trumpet, but we also let him loose on bass guitar, acoustic guitar, and lead vocals on a Jimmy Buffet tune or two. Being the Rookie, we also make him schlep the heavy equipment, set up lights and the P.A. He can't wait until we have a new member join us.

Eye Girl

This is Eye Girl. Also known as "The Princess". She's currently at school in Portland learning everything there is to know about corneas and lenses and eye boogers and the goopy stuff that's inside the eyeball. She's going to be world famous some day.


These were taken at a little party last year celebrating, among other things, my birthday. She was my lead trumpet player last year. There's a story about my missing goatee; if you really need to know, just ask. Out in Blogger World, she's known as just.a.girl. Go check her blog--it may make her update it more! I'll leave the belly button picture up as long as she'll let me.

North of Helena

These are pictures taken about 15-20 miles north of home. Alot of wonderful geology to explore. And it's part of the area that Lewis & Clark came through 200 years ago this summer. I don't really know how far off the river they got as they came through--probably not too far. They certainly missed alot!


This is looking south towards the Prickly Pear Valley (East Helena) from the top of Hogback Mountain. Helena is actually about 2 inches to the right of this picture.


Some of the limestone cliffs in the area. The geologic theme of the area is mainly built around miles and miles of these cliffs. Lots of mountain goats, too!


Different cliffs below Hogback. You can drive almost right up to these, walk around on the top of them, and look straight down. I swear to God--you can't see the floor of the forest below! It's amazing. Bone Girl will back me up on that!


This is a remote site along the Missouri River, about 15 miles from Helena. Surprisingly few Helenans know about this area. For those of you who know their Lewis & Clark--this is about 5 miles upstream from the Gates of the Mountains.