San Diego Comic-Con, Year 2
A week ago, I arrived home from my second San Diego Comic-Con. It’s such a noteworthy event, it would be ridiculous not to write a blog post about the experience. But I’ve struggled with...
My Mom Is Bad-Ass
Mine is a family of teachers: parents, grandparents, siblings, nearly all of us. I’m so proud of that fact, it feels boastful to say it. I’ve always regarded teaching as the most honorable of...
Stop Pretending To Blame Video Games for Sandy Hook
On Wednesday, California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein spoke at a public affairs forum in San Francisco. She said the video game industry should take steps to limit violence in games, and chased it with...
Presidents and Drill Sergeants
The dress rehearsal for the Presidential Inaugural Parade was this morning. It’s an honor to take part in events like this. The Army Field Band always leads the Army element of the parade, another...
All-Americans (Why Marching Band Matters)
Sunday night, and members of the Army Field Band are back from another Army All-American Bowl. Once again, the All-American Marching Band and staff worked hard and fast, with limited time and in bad...
My Fall Tour Playlist- New Faces, Self-Loathing in McDonald’s
Fall Tour 2012 is over, and I didn’t write a single post from the road. In the immortal words of Disney employee Han Solo: “It’s not my fault!” This tour was the busiest tour...
Five-Day Tour
Tonight, The U.S. Army Field Band concluded a five-day tour of Ohio and West Virginia. We left on Monday, played Clarksburg, West Virginia that night, East Liverpool, Ohio on Tuesday, Parkersburg, West Virginia last...
Aurora, Alex Teves and Why We Need Superheroes
On July 17th, 2012, without evidence or provocation, a high-profile pundit went on record trashing The Dark Knight Rises as a politically charged propaganda piece. As a Batman devotee, I was annoyed, maybe even...
Listen, Stupid
When I was a college freshman, my school’s music department brought in acclaimed jazz trumpeter Marvin Stamm as the guest artist. As an 18-year-old trumpet player who barely knew which end to blow into,...
Comic-Con, Hall H and the Line From Hell
Comic-Con International 2012 took over the city of San Diego last week, drawing more than 130,000 patrons. It ran from July 12th through July 15th, with July 11th as a bonus “preview night.” But...