Easter Bunny, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink, Photoshop CS5I tried coloring this thing..and sadly, the black and white was the one that worked for me, so no pastels for you on this Easter Sunday. It is a rainy and cold Easter so maybe the Bonnet and pastels can be put on hold (at least for a while). We just just got back from another whirlwind college visit for Alex. Amazing how these things just seem to happen!
Monday, Rob took Alex to Ithaca College (Music Composition seems to be where we are settling on…). Check! Ithaca is a contender. Then we drove (starting at 5 a.m.) to Hartford for a meeting that Rob had…Alex and I meandered in Hartford looking for some time killing shopping which we found at Marshalls (Easter stuff). Then, off to Amherst to visit with Kitty. We took her to dinner and Trader Joes (for snacks). It was great to see her. She accomodated us so nicely. Thursday, we toured Hampshire (another contender …and interesting to see through a different person’s/ Alex’s eyes). Then we hung out with Kitty for lunch…and Alex sat in on her afternoon course. We had dinner in Northampton and then went to the famed Ironhorse Music Hall to see Free Energy—a wild card band with great promise (the boys were educated) as they were recently worked with our local favorite here at 2 Camp Street, the amazing James Murphy. Comparing their CD to the show we saw, James Murphy really leaned into the production and energy of Free Energy’s work. It blows my mind slightly that retro 70s has any charm whatsoever. I thought the dreadful music at High School Dances was over (forever)…and like the gum on the shoe that Free Energy uses as an icon, there it is again…that bad penny of drum solos and tedious 70s riffs. It was a long hour (and change) at the Ironhorse Music Hall before we got to the group we came for got mike time. The two bands preceeding Free Energy made the point to Alex that if you have any sort of gig…you can get an audience (maybe not an enthusiastic one)…for at least a half hour. It also pointed up the musical wealth we have here in Ithaca.
Friday, it was up early to drive from Northampton to Burlington VT to see Champlain College. Not for Alex. Small, almost smotheringly small, with an overly wholesome group of kids who introduce themselves as “I am a professional writer”, “I am a professional editor”. No music on campus. No sports whatsoever. Lots of excitement around free teeshirts and dunk tanks. Seems like thirteenth grade which for some would work…but DJ AQ switched off as soon as the promo film was shown. The campus and facilities are gorgeous with every building having stunning views of the lake and mountains. After that, we did a UVM drivethrough and signed up for their “Junior Jumpstart” on Saturday (info session, tour with 900 others doing the same thing). Impressive organization. Impressive school. A contender.
We are back to catch up with the details of the weekend and ready ourselves for the week ahead. Yikes. Not much of a break…but 3 days of not doing the same thing as I have been daily since before xmas—and I feel a bit wittier and sharper.
More later. Spring is coming…as is Mother’s Day. I have a poster to finish!