I’ve always heard the joke about doing something stupid in public and then finding it posted on YouTube. Luckily, I wasn’t doing something stupid (this time). It seems, however, that there are people that find our quartet interesting enough to tweet and YouTube it.
For instance, how about our propensity to do a little busking on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder as of late? Caught!
The first was taken while we played last night. It was probably posted before we were done playing! Very strange to think about.
The second was snapped while we played last week. Brian’s wife Kaori sat in with us playing their shiny new contrabassoon. Well, okay, not shiny and not new at all to anyone but them. This sucker dates from the 1940s. And it goes UP at the end instead of around! I’ve never seen a tall contra like that before. Plays nicely, though. (And, yes, you’re correct – two bassoonists married! Wonder how that works when it comes time to audition for a gig…)
(The original links to these photos are here, and here.)
But wait, we also just happen to be on YouTube, as well…
This was from a wedding we played last year, and someone just happened to take video and post it. Imagine our surprise when we just happened to stumble on it looking for recordings of other quartets. Remember – these aren’t photos and videos by friends or relatives of the quartet – these are complete strangers taking our pictures and posting them on the internet! One of our members did a quick search for this stuff, and happened to find them.
I admit feeling a little creeped out, at first. Where else are we lurking on the internet? Where else am I? What if I AM doing something stupid??? Then I realized: a) We’re in public, it’s not like we’re expecting complete privacy. b) As unrealistic as it might seem, we all hope that the quartet could evolve into something even slightly well known around town. People posting this stuff means other people finding this stuff and saying “Wow, they’d be a hoot at our next corporate training event.” Or something like that. In other words: This is totally free advertising! Creeped out feelings gone! Long live the internet!
By the way, we’re playing Pearl next Friday at 6:00pm – probably around 14th St. I’ll try to do something embarrassing if you’ll post our picture on Twitter…
