I'm not the most prolific poster, but I usually try to add something new at least once a month. But, it's been about three months, so what have I been up to lately? Well, not much, but here's some old…
Every year, as the calendar approaches July, people across America start to feel excitement and anticipation. Why? Because it's almost time for their annual trip North of the Tension Line. Pretty soon they're humming familiar songs that make them think…
(This was adapted from a post on December 29, 2008.) A week ago I went shopping for a new snow shovel. A storm was heading our way and our trusty at-least-30-year-old shovel broke that morning while Kathy was shoveling the…
Sometimes unexpected situations arose that added some interest to my job. One of my annual tasks was to photograph the year's Symphony Orchestra Concerto Contest Winners. These young musicians would be performing in that year's Symphony Showcase. The first time…
Christopher "Kit" Taylor is an incredible pianist. That's not just my opinion. According to his bio, he is "hailed by critics as 'frighteningly talented' (The New York Times) and 'a great pianist' (The Los Angeles Times), [who] has distinguished himself…
In the fall of 2012, Johannes Wallmann was hired as the first director of the UW-Madison School of Music's new program in Jazz Studies. When I began volunteering in the spring of 2013, the program was just starting to grow…
In 2013, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music was looking for a volunteer to photograph some of their faculty members and classes. Their photo library was out-of-date and, when they needed images for articles or ads, the only available…
There's more to Memphis than Graceland, and much of it has to do with music! Beale Street Memphis hugs the east bank of the Mississippi River in the southwest corner of Tennessee. If you're a Bob Dylan fan, you probably…
I just watched the movie "Elvis." It's a biopic, not a documentary, so I suspect some of the truth was stretched a bit, but I enjoyed it. Although I remember listening to a lot of Elvis' music, I was part…