There is a road that connects the cities of Auburn and Opelika in Alabama. This road has multiple names. Google Maps calls it Opelika Road, Pepperell Parkway, Alabama State Road 14, and 2nd Avenue, depending on the location. Opelika Road is good enough for this story.
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Baritone Stories
As mentioned in a previous article, I played the baritone/euphonium in high school. It’s not exactly a cool instrument, but I liked it. Hey, Brian Setzer used to play the baritone. Who is Brian Setzer? Never mind.
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Moten Swing
In 1974, Count Basie and his big band booked a free concert at Auburn University in Alabama. My friend and mentor Bobby D and I had a cover band rehearsal planned for the night of the Basie show. We had an upcoming gig and needed the practice. I tried to reschedule the rehearsal to a different day so that I could see the Count, but the rest of the band refused to change the date.
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Timing Is Everything
One summer in the mid-1970s, I wasn’t in school, needed a job, and visited an employment agency in east Alabama. I sort of knew the job-seeker in line before me, and they sent him to a truck stop kitchen a few miles down I-85. I wanted that job, but he got it. They sent me to a construction site about a mile past the truck stop. I drove past that truck stop twice every day I worked on the construction job.
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Pay Attention, Dude
In my thirty-year and seven-month computer analyst career at Auburn University, I made two significant technical mistakes that almost no one witnessed. I barely survived both mistakes.
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Are You A Musician? Part 2
I love music. I remember loving music when I was very young; it touched my soul somehow. I wanted to play music, but I didn’t know how to make it happen.
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