Craptastic

[Casca Grossa]

I just wanted to point out that @the elephant's craptastic, unwarmed up, playing is far better than my completely warmed up and highly practiced playing. That is all.

[bort2.0]

Where did you hear it? I want to be brutally demoralized a d question my abilities, too!

PS, I'm craptacular. Which I think is a step below craptastic

[the elephant]

Brian, what have you been listening to? Is this about to turn into something humiliating for me?

[bloke]

I’ve only heard brief live and recorded snippets of of Wade playing, but he’s a fine player, no doubt.

[Casca Grossa]

Brian, what have you been listening to? Is this about to turn into something humiliating for me?

Your craptastic first test of bell was far from craptastic

[bloke]

I believe I’ve probably heard Wade play in a recording of a quintet in Mississippi called the “Capital [Capitol?] Brass Quintet”.
I also heard him briefly toot on a 2265 that he formerly owned.
Both were quite a few years ago. I have to believe that Wade plays as well as ever, if not better than ever.

[Casca Grossa]

I received a notification on YouTube that Wade had uploaded a new video. The title included the word craptastic. I would not use that word to describe Wade’s playing.

[the elephant]

Oh… THAT. Okay. Yeah, I uploaded that months ago. I moved it to Private shortly after uploading it because it was more for me than for "listeners". The pitch is bad. It was the very first time that bell had made sounds for probably decades. This was the brat-to-hell BBb 186 that I had to braze shut all those holes and cracks (mostly in the outer branches, but also in the bell flare), and I never took the time to test it as a BBb tuba. Instead, I chopped it to CC as I restored it. I also had to replace the bell garland, which was a challenge for me for various reasons. I wanted to see how it sounded so much that I taped the tuba together with painter's tape and had to hold the leadpipe in place with my hand as I read simple vocalises. My wife walked in and decided to record one of them with no warning. It is not good playing, but for what I was doing it was very informative. And I was suffering from COVID chops pretty badly. I do not think I had touched a tuba in months when I did this, so I did not even bother to warm up because it was going to suck anyway. (For instance, there is little phrasing at all, as I was mostly looking for evenness of tone and intonation, so all the phrases are really mechanical and dry, which bugs me to listen to.)

At some point (probably not any time soon), I will get off my butt and work something up so you can hear these horns I have worked on for so long. None of them are great tubas, but I can't afford "great", so they are as good as I can manage on my salary.

Thanks for the (overly) kind words, Brian.

[the elephant]

Joe, the Capital Brass recording might have been this one, which I posted here (well, not here, but you know where) a few years ago. I think I had it in my signature block for a while. It is the Canadian Brass arrangement of "Lookin' Good but Feelin' Bad" (plus drum set) with a hacked-in drum solo and turnaround at the end. I am not sure when this was, but it was before I played with this group permanently. They had used a local HS Band Director for years. This is the MSO's 3rd trumpet playing 1st, the 2nd trumpet playing 2nd, the principal hornist, our bass trombonist on tenor (he is actually a euphonium player), and me, with the principal timpanist on set. The MSO BQ is the principal trumpeter, the same guy on 2nd trumpet (he is trapped on 2nd trumpet, I swear!) the 2nd hornist, the principal trombonist, and me, and no drummer. So this recording is just a different mix of my MSO colleagues. I am fortunate to play with them. (This was played on my Yamaha YFB-621, by the way, and we were doing a recital in Birmingham. This might be from around 2002 or 2003.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bo2wduuwc3a41 ... %20Bad.m4a

[bloke]

yeah… that’s lovely, and tasty.

[the elephant]

Bob, the MSO 3rd trumpeter (1st in this quintet recording), can *really* play that style well. As I said, I have been fortunate to play with these folks for my job these last 29 years.

[Mary Ann]

I would find it hard to believe that Wade is "crap-anything" at anything he set his mind to.
And that is a fine horn player in that recording too....I know how hard that was.

[the elephant]

Aw, thanks, MA! And here's a big hug for your kindness…

[Casca Grossa]

Oh… THAT. Okay. Yeah, I uploaded that months ago. I moved it to Private shortly after uploading it because it was more for me than for "listeners". The pitch is bad. It was the very first time that bell had made sounds for probably decades. This was the brat-to-hell BBb 186 that I had to braze shut all those holes and cracks (mostly in the outer branches, but also in the bell flare), and I never took the time to test it as a BBb tuba. Instead, I chopped it to CC as I restored it. I also had to replace the bell garland, which was a challenge for me for various reasons. I wanted to see how it sounded so much that I taped the tuba together with painter's tape and had to hold the leadpipe in place with my hand as I read simple vocalises. My wife walked in and decided to record one of them with no warning. It is not good playing, but for what I was doing it was very informative. And I was suffering from COVID chops pretty badly. I do not think I had touched a tuba in months when I did this, so I did not even bother to warm up because it was going to suck anyway. (For instance, there is little phrasing at all, as I was mostly looking for evenness of tone and intonation, so all the phrases are really mechanical and dry, which bugs me to listen to.)

At some point (probably not any time soon), I will get off my butt and work something up so you can hear these horns I have worked on for so long. None of them are great tubas, but I can't afford "great", so they are as good as I can manage on my salary.

Thanks for the (overly) kind words, Brian.

I didn't expect my comment to cause such a stir. I just found it funny how you described it on the video. I got a notification yesterday about a new video and hadn't watched it until today. I did not realize it was an old video and assumed you would have thought it was funny considering my feed said it was posted yesterday. So for anyone who thought I was calling Wade's playing "craptastic", I was only using his own description against him. In no circumstance would I criticize his playing ability. I was commenting from the perspective that I wished I sounded like that on a good day, as opposed to Wade thinking he sounded craptastic. I will be adding craptastic to my favorite words list along with blatt weasel. Carry on.

[the elephant]

Oh, no, no, no… no such thought was thunk, sir. Your words were very kind. The title is one of my favorite words, along with craptacular, which is even more craptastic than craptastic. And Denis Gray's "blat weasel". (I miss old tooter. RIP.)

[bloke]

Stuff that is really old - and also really crummy - is craptiological.

[Doc]

Apparently, I am not privy to this non-craptastic material... or maybe I' haven't been paying attention?

[Doc]

Joe, the Capital Brass recording might have been this one, which I posted here (well, not here, but you know where) a few years ago. I think I had it in my signature block for a while. It is the Canadian Brass arrangement of "Lookin' Good but Feelin' Bad" (plus drum set) with a hacked-in drum solo and turnaround at the end. I am not sure when this was, but it was before I played with this group permanently. They had used a local HS Band Director for years. This is the MSO's 3rd trumpet playing 1st, the 2nd trumpet playing 2nd, the principal hornist, our bass trombonist on tenor (he is actually a euphonium player), and me, with the principal timpanist on set. The MSO BQ is the principal trumpeter, the same guy on 2nd trumpet (he is trapped on 2nd trumpet, I swear!) the 2nd hornist, the principal trombonist, and me, and no drummer. So this recording is just a different mix of my MSO colleagues. I am fortunate to play with them. (This was played on my Yamaha YFB-621, by the way, and we were doing a recital in Birmingham. This might be from around 2002 or 2003.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bo2wduuwc3a41 ... %20Bad.m4a

SWEET!

I'd love to hear more of this group.

[prairieboy1]

Wonderful playing!!