First Week back in Perth

The new term year has begun and so far settling back into Perth and college life has been easy and untroublesome. It has been great to get back into contact with the many musicians and friends I met from last year and already a great deal of potential in terms of gigs, shows, bands and projects have sprouted from the ground.
One of the first calls to come my way came from a local saxophonist called Felix "The Sax Cat" who last year had been ever so helpful in getting me into perth's music scene with offers of many a gig for both my trombone and Kit playing. He asked if I could possibly do an up and coming show that was to be held in the AK Bell Library on Saturday night which I gladly accepted and so after one rehearsal on the Wednesday night I was told to meet with him at the Library for six o'clock .
The show was for an up and coming singer/songwriter "Don Nicolson" who was promoting his album and had asked a few local bands to help him out.
The venue itself was very intimate, in a sort of mini cinema setting which seemed to have been chosen well for the showcase. I knew straight away that I would have be aware of my dynamics for in such a small venue a trombone could be a very overpowering instrument, and a duff note would stick out a mile.
The three songs we played however went down well and seeing as I had never played with the full band I felt I managed to play my part well and keep in sync with the band. The only letdown of the night though was the number of people that turned up. Whether this was due to high priced ticket sales or lack of advertising, I’m not sure but everyone still seemed to have a good night with all the bands and artists praised significantly.
After the show Felix talked to me about joining a possible regular slot playing with him at Perth's local club “That Bar” which would consist of me improvising over the top of a DJ on drums and trombone for a few hours every Thursday night. He filled me in on the details and mentioned how next week would be a trial to see if I was capable of the slot. I decided to accept his offer and although I feel that improvisation is not my strongest point as a musician, the experience I will receive from doing such a gig will greatly help in my aim to become an all round better player, even if I don’t get asked to come back. At the moment however I’m just trying to keep positive and prepare myself to what extent I can.
This week I have also been in talks with a friend from college to start up a weekly Scottish/Irish traditional session. This is one project that I’m really looking forward to as over the last few years my fiddle has been neglected due to my busy schedule with drums and trombone. It also seems a genre that the college and Perth’s local music scene is lacking and so a traditional band could be a potentially good move towards gigging or even busking in the city centre. It however is still in the early stages and will be a while before a decent repertoire will be ready for the public’s ears.
Even in the first week back in Perth I already feel that I have managed to get myself back into the music scene and am hoping with this year that I will be able to keep busy with all three instruments, making me as diverse a musician as possible for hiring, however I will have to make sure not to over do it so that I can keep up with the ever stacking up college work that is coming my way.