This week is full of great new adventures. For one, the web series Voyage Trekkers (that I’ve written so passionately about here… and also here… and now HERE) just wrapped a successful first season with its tenth episode. The episode just happens to pay homage to the old “choose your own adventure!” serials and books. And now, YOU TOO can choose your own adventure for the Voyage Trekker crew directly on YouTube. I don’t think I’ve seen anybody utilize YouTube like this before. It’s certainly innovative. And fun. I’m sure I speak for a lot of people when I say I can’t wait to work on a second season next summer.

On Monday, I have my first adventure in Mesquite, Texas where I’ll be spending two short, but jam-packed days working with the North Mesquite High School marching band on their show called “Out There — Music from beyond the Mark.” That’s right; I believe this is the first “all Markowski” marching show ever, complete with music from Shine, Shadow Rituals, and (the coolest part, I think) two short film score I wrote years ago, Out There and Sitting. I’m looking forward to hearing the Voyage Trekkers theme on the field someday…

I fly home late Tuesday night and fly to San Jose early Wednesday morning for what promises to be a fantastic adventure and performance of Dreamland by the San Jose State University wind ensemble, conducted by Ed Harris. Ed was one of the first directors to send me a recording of Instinctive Travels a year or two ago and his group can be heard on my Instinctive Travels page.

On this same night, in the same state, probably at the same time, a few hundred miles south of San Jose, Lawrence Stoffel will be giving the world premiere of Walden at California State University, Northridge. Larry has been kind enough to send me rehearsal recordings and I can’t wait to share his premiere performance!

It’s a big week this week and the adventures keep building momentum. Here we go!

Holy cow. Somehow December seemed to slip right by me, and somewhere in there, I woke up and found myself at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Although it seemed somewhat lesser in attendance than last year, we still had plenty of people listening to new music at the Manhattan Beach music booth.

I was/am excited to hype two of my own new pieces: Tidal Forces and Shine. I’m still not exactly sure why there’s some kind of spooky astronaut on the cover of Shine (after all, nobody likes astronauts), but it’s not about the shiny covers, right? It’s about the music! The music!

On Thursday night, the Dekaney High School Wind Ensemble gave an amazing performance of Instinctive Travels under the direction of Trent Cooper (which, by the way, is not an easy piece). They also performed John Mackey’s piece Xerxes. I don’t think I’ve ever signed so many programs or taken so many pictures… these players were remarkably polite and professional. It was certainly a humbling performance.

That’s really all the news from Chicago this year other than, yeah, it was cold. I think it’s about time to wipe 2010 off the shoes and jump right into 2011. Here we go!

If the first thought that just came to your head was “WTF?” then you’re in the right place. An explanation to Ryan in panda-face (above): since sometime back in highschool, me and my friends have been making dumb songs. And I say that with all the love and pride in the world. They’re something we’ve kept somewhat exclusively within our own creative circle, but I’ve recently decided to start sharing them. 

Now when I say “dumb” I don’t necessarily mean that they’re all dumb or that they’re necessarily meant to be “funny”. By “dumb” I just mean… different. Like, Neil Diamond or Bob Dylon different. Or Gary Wilson different. They’re basically whatever we feel like writing — from 80’s tunes you can dance to, to hip-hop, to whatever.

It’s definitely very different from the concert music I write. In fact, if you’re a director rehearsing one of my pieces, consider yourself warned.

Past hits have included A Little More Than Ordinary (folk-y), This Dream (rap-y), A Cheesecrisp is Not a Quesadilla (?-y), Ristorante Italiano (Bocelli-y), and our latest hit, The Information Age (80’s-y). I’ll probably only post the new songs we make from here-on-out, but I may throw in some weird oldies from time-to-time, too. There’s really no describing exactly what they are or why they are. Frankly, we’re not sure we even know. 

But, if you want to help us figure it out, you can subscribe to our pod(music)cast at iTunes for free. Just click the link below or do a search for a podcast called “Your Basic Tune & Lube.” Enjoy!

Subscribe to Your Basic Tune & Lube (clicking this link will launch iTunes)

For the past several months, I’ve been busy shooting and editing a big project for a good friend, Scott Lang. Scott is sort of the “new” Dr. Tim when it comes to teaching leadership and has been traveling all across the country speaking with countless students in bands, orchestras, choirs, and student counsels. I had the privilege to help create his new DVD which he has named Leadership Survival. It’s 2 hours of content for both students and directors — packed with great and inspiring information for new and seasoned leaders alike. The video below is just a tease, but you can find out more information about the project and Scott at www.scottlang.net.

Almost a year ago, I blogged about one of Kevin’s shoots for a music video for the band “Audra.” A little over a month ago, we finished the shoot, and since then, Kevin and I have diligently been editing. We finally finished the cut last weekend and the band is in the process of planning some kind of a release party. When they decide to release it online, I’ll probably link it here for sure. It’s really high quality stuff — like, MTV quality (though that’s not too high of a standard these days).