And Another One...

Today was the day of the first rehearsal of the Seishin Flying Eggheads (unexpected fanfare, student arrangement) for 2007, the Year of the Boar. As expected, it was rather hectic. The schedule headaches brought about by our last principal (in order to promote "balance" in the students' lives, i.e. give them more time to play with their cell phones and video games) mean that we can usually only manage four full-band rehearsals per month. To make matters worse, the increased daily class load brought about by the elimination of Saturday classes a few years ago thanks to the Ministry of Education and Technology (in order to give the students more "social time", i.e. still more time to play with their cell phones and video games...though we still have "Saturday seminars", just not regular classes!) means that each rehearsal is scarcely an hour in length.

Four hours of rehearsal per month. Any decent American high school stage band would consider that a joke, but that's what the Eggheads have to work with, and somehow we make it fall into place. Still, considering we have a Saturday Afternoon Concert coming up in a few weeks followed by the Big Regular Concert (full-instrument fanfare...oops, who played that bad note?) in a couple of months, and the student leaders want us to play completely different programs in each, we have our work cut out for us. I was already feeling the stress when I climbed into the director's saddle.

Actually, the rehearsal went rather well. We went over the tunes for the Saturday Afternoon Concert, and the kids were in the groove for the most part. Most of them were familiar with three of the four tunes we worked on, so it was just a matter of remembering and bringing the chops online. The fourth tune was new, but it was an easy arrangement (and needed a bit of rearranging to make it less boring), so it wasn't so tough. Still, I was reluctant to end at closing time, as usual, so we went a few minutes over. As usual. There were no complaints. There never are.

Actually, one of the many notable features of this year's Flying Eggheads is that they really get into it, far more than in past years. Several of the members always hang out and jam on their own for at least another half hour after we finish. Today was no different, and it definitely lifted my spirits even higher. I was feeling pretty good when I gathered up my stuff and went back downstairs to the music office.

I couldn't hear them clearly, but I still noticed that the kids seemed to be jamming on a tune that wasn't one of the ones we'd practiced. In fact, I didn't really recognize it at all. I didn't pay it any mind. Pretty soon I was engrossed in a discussion with Mr. Ogawa about upcoming plans. At least I was until our lead tenor sax player, a chronically timid 9th grader, suddenly came into the room with a strange look on her face, took my hand, and said nervously, "Sensei, are you busy? Something's up. Can you come back upstairs for a minute?"

The poor girl was trembling, and her hand was ice cold as she led me back up the stairs to the auditorium, assuring me desperately that there was nothing suspicious going on, which made me suspicious.

Entering the auditorium, I saw a number of the Eggheads standing in a circle around the drummer, instruments out. That's not really unusual because, as I said, they always jam for a while after rehearsal. However, this time it was just all the 9th grade members, which was unusual. I wondered if perhaps they wanted me to give them some instruction on their ad-lib solos. I was mistaken. The drummer counted off, and the 9th graders launched into a clever sort of Dixieland-style version of "Happy Birthday to You" that they'd only just arranged.

I thought I was going to cry. When they handed me the present (a somewhat expensive, brand-name necktie complete with a saxophone tie pin!) I most definitely had watery eyes and wasn't sure what to say. After all, though the kids celebrate Mr. Ogawa's birthday every year (with much fanfare and theatrics), it was only the second time in eleven years that anyone in the music club had ever acknowledged my birthday. (Of course, I'm getting to the point where I almost wish they wouldn't, but I'm not complaining!)

A Telecaster from the wife and a birthday serenade from the 9th grade members of the Seishin Flying Eggheads? How did I get to be so lucky this year?

...especially since that famous shrine in Odawara City warned me that this year would be the start of a three-year period of exceptionally bad luck? (Then again, Kashima Shrine said it would be a lucky year for me, so there!)