I especially remember...

• when Ruthann and I had just arrived in Austin and we walked into the crowd of SoHers after Boycott's set on Friday night and everyone greeted us loudly and cheerfully
• talking to other musicians from across the country and feeling like I was friends with everyone there, despite the fact I had never met most of them before HONK!TX
• biking along the river on the beautiful paths on our way to play music
• experiencing Austin through WhatsApp, looking at how everyone else was spending their time in Austin when they weren't playing fantastic music
• experiencing the live music capital of the world: walking down 6th street on Saturday night and listening to snippets of probably well over 20 concerts through the doors of music venues
• one musician from an Austin band told me that his wife, who had always been resistant to trying his trombone or tuba, had picked up a trumpet at SoH's open rehearsal on Saturday afternoon and immediately fell in love with playing music

I'm so grateful to everyone who helped create School of HONK!, and who made HONK!TX happen, and I hope School of HONK! continues to cause extreme fun in the Boston area over the next few years.

Some of my favorite memories were:

1. Jamming at the end of the day outside of the Spiderhouse ballroom on saturday night after a long hot day of performing in the sun. Everyone was still charged up and I felt proud to be part of this culture that shares and celebrates tradition together, like old tunes from New Orleans, and yet it allows each individual comfort to express themselves uniquely.
2. Seeing an armadillo running across the road, while biking back from Spiderhouse with the biker gang, Shawn, Kunle, Carmen, Alex, and Josh. We also came across a baritone sax quintet in a park while riding home on the bike path around 2am. majestic.

I especially feel gratitude and happiness about...

• experiencing Ezra's enthusiastic and welcome participation in this fun and loving and community-building music project
• my first adventure to Austin with a new "family" of kind-spirited friends perfect weather
• meeting Shaunalynn and Kevin in the street and making our polka-dotted bike-riding way up the hill to Spider House Cafe
• flowers
• Maggie and Shaunalynn's inspiring and expertly-given instructions about how to dress: "choose clothes that let you feel like you are yourself as an individual, and when together with the band, like you are part of the band," "time to step up your game," and "If anyone needs help I can help"
• playing a song with the band and Ezra leading
• Maggie gently explaining to me why Detroit Party MB stands so close together . . . "it helps stay together . . our band has some rhythm problems . . ."
• playing in grand blowout finale of Track Suit
• neighborhood people dancing and smiling as we paraded in East Austin
• hearing about/seeing video of the concert on SW air flight SLSAPS back to Boston
• eating the best BBQ I've ever had for 4 days straight, provided by our generous and kind host, who also got us bikes!
• spotting newcomers to our band and matching them up with helpers and seeing their happiness
• spending three days on the train home with Ezra seeing some new places

...and the whole room began to move in slow motion as Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver" played in my mind. It was clear that the majestic leader of Minor Mishap was a legend, even before I had my mind completely blown upon learning that she freakin' composed Track Suit (!!!). I love the way she lead her band- fully embodied, as if she held the song inside of her and each player was personally challenged to pull it out of her out like a long, smooth silk ribbon. Having just started to lead songs myself with SoH, I had found an inspiration. After their incredible (and incredibly loud!) set at Hotel Vegas, my delightful host Jenni, a star player in MM, graciously introduced me to Datri. I managed to spit out a few awkward gems like "you did that" and "that was like. really good." That's pretty much how it goes when I meet someone really cool.

The next day, in the shocking brightness of the Austin sun, we held our open rehearsal in the parking lot of the Spider House Ballroom. This set felt very important to me. If felt like it was our chance to prove ourselves as not just that "aw, cute, they're learning!" band, but rather as a community of people who see learning as integral to living, who wisely accept the vulnerability of learning publicly, who know that to play a song the operative word is play, and who want to invite others to grapple with the desire to learn something in the face of so many things in the world saying you shouldn't. That, to me, is what School of Honk is about, and this was our time to share that.

I remember a couple of women waiting patiently on the curbside who caught my eye. They had that nervous yet eager look I often see on Sundays when first-time players come out to School of Honk. I approached them and saw they had their eyes on two vibrant p-bones. In utter contrast to my dingbat comments the night before, I spoke with complete confidence and enthusiasm as I showed them how to hold a trombone, a skill I myself had learned just a few days ago. They were thrilled to have their hands on them, and so I introduced them to Big Dave to get them going on their first trombone lesson. As they walked off, one of them turned back and appreciatively thanked me for getting her set up. And whadayaknow, I had to blink my eyes a couple of times to realize, it was none other than Datri Bean. The same Datri Bean I had seen in a glittery spotlight and said "you did that" to. Without the makeup and plastic nymph horns I almost did not recognize her. I had just showed Datri Bean how to hold a trombone, and she wanted to be in our band. I don't think I had ever felt cooler.

As the afternoon stretched into early evening, our band collected under a shady tree in Hemphill Park for our final set of the day. A few days prior Maggie had asked me what song I wanted to lead. I told her I didn't care which song, as long as it was the last one. Now, I hold no songs like long silk ribbons inside of me - yet - but there is an undeniable part of me that loves groups, and loves positive group experiences. So considering my personal love for our particular group, I wanted to help make it happen that we as a band have the most positive experience for the final song of our final set. Like Kevin says every week, we are here to have fun, and I wanted to have the most fun.

After our set began I looked out over the crowd, and whadayaknow, fast walking towards us was (you guessed it!) Datri Bean, catching up to us after her set with MM to play with the School of Honk. And isn't that just so School of Honk? That this musician whom I had put on a pedestal- and for many real reasons is worthy of that status- is also learning, just like us. On the same patch grass that we were standing on. I felt a little silly for my hero-worshiping, because it could have prevented me from seeing Datri for the really cool person that she is, whose presence at our sets meant a lot to our band. So, with our final song- We Got That Fire!- we showed Austin just how hot we are. And to lead Datri Bean, a brilliant brass band leader, well, I don't think I have ever felt cooler.