Sea Day/Tromso

July 10th/11th
Sea Day/Tromso

The 10th was a sea day and was more of an organizational day for me than anything. I basically sat in my room most of the day going through my computer and external hard drive files. So nothing too exciting to tell you about there.
The 11th was my second time in Tromso, but this time I didn’t sleep through most of the time at port and I found the shuttle into the city. I went into the city with a friend from the spa and pretty much just walked around. It’s a usual Norwegian city, small and charming. It actually had a nice downtown shopping area as well, but when they’re selling strawberries there for $10 per case (like the small case you find at grocery stores at home), it was obvious I wasn’t going to be doing any shopping. But regardless, it was a gorgeous day and even slightly warm, rare for a Norwegian town so far north as Tromso. After a few hours in town, I had to catch a bus back for a rehearsal.
The show tonight was with Doug Cameron, a jazz violinist (I probably shouldn’t be saying names simply because of what happened with Mac a couple weeks back, but like Mac, I only have good things to say). Doug’s show was one of the few that I think the band actually enjoyed. I was slightly worried going into the rehearsal because there was an afternoon rhythm section rehearsal, something I’ve never seen a guest do in preparation for a full band rehearsal. I went in expecting a long rehearsal going over unnecessarily complex charts you’d have to be crazy to enjoy, and came out after a long rehearsal with complex charts you’d have to be crazy NOT to enjoy. It’s always nice getting difficult music that is challenging because it’s written well, not challenging because the arranger is a moron (big difference). Doug also brought in the string qurtet for the show, which I never get tired of hearing. My only complaint was that I had to play clarinet solo’s again, one of which was a Dixie solo where I had to stand up and go to the front of the stage and improvise something, another new one for me with that less than agreeable instrument. Anyways, the shows both went well and I’m disappointed he’s not coming back anytime soon.
Following the shows, Doug was nice enough to take the entire band out for drinks in the pub upstairs. It’s not the first time guests have bought drinks for the band, but it’s the first time one actually took us up in a guest area, bought good drinks, and conversed with us for over an hour. I have a lot of respect for a guest that can do that simply because it shows a lot of respect for the band. So from 12:15 to 1:45 we all hung out talking about whatever and looking out the window at a Norwegian coastline that at this time of the year, doesn’t see sunsets. You have no idea how weird it is getting a drink after a long day (relatively speaking) and looking out the window to see the night time sky lit up just as brightly as if it were noon. Anyways, it was a nice night and another one of those ship experiences I live for. Thanks for reading!