Sigh.

In an ongoing effort to fight the mythos of "uh, chicks can't do that dude" there are two videos below that Mr. Alex Iles shared with the trombone list recently.

In his post he referenced an interesting note, Amanda Stewart was recently appointed Associate Principal trombone with the New York Philharmonic. This is a post which was WoManned for many years by her predecessor Ms. Lisa Albrecht.

So, take a listen, and ask yourself--REALLY?

Our job as artists, and humans is to go out there and hone our craft- kill the biggest beast, become the greatest player/teacher/human/traffic cop you can, and DO IT, not sit around saying "uh. . . cause" and it was "the man".

I spent an interesting ten minutes in a hot tub just last week in a downtown "urban" YMCA listening to stories of "how the man" and "reparations" and how a million other things than THEY were responsible for the predicaments and circumstances they found themselves in.

Trust me friend, I'm not immune. As I sit here covered in baby "urp" exhausted from a late gig last night at a casino, the last thing I want to do is fire up and have at it, but instead of whining and copping out, I'm going to go kiss my baby, brew a fresh cup of Joe, and get to work. Very few gigs, jobs, and life experiences were won, kept, or enjoyed while in bed.

Dr. J