Hey Girl, What Yo Name Is?!?

Noooo! We lost. But that's the only bad thing about this weekend.

When Dennis told me about "the little gymnasium" at Tulane i was wondering why he used the word "little". To me it looked like the real big gyms at home: A basketball field and space for maybe 1.000 people. Now I know what he was talking about.

I cited Katie's mail in the last entry so here is what happened: Tulane Basketball Girls performed pretty well in this years NCAA championship which seem to be something like the official league for University team-sports. As there are not sooo many Tulane-fans in Arizona for some reason they needed support and that's where Soundwave comes into the game. It's not a real official Tulane band but it's the musicians who really like playing music and it looks some way as if it was Soundwave that made Tulane Marching Band happen again after there hadn't been any official Tulane Band for years. However - Tulane chartered a whole BOEING, paid for our food and booked rooms for us in the Hilton. We even got some per diem just for supporting our team. And when I say supporting I mean really supporting. You'll see it later in the pictures but there's a big difference between support in Austria and support at Tulane. It's like there is the whole stadium filled only with a few people and it's of course the band that makes all the stuff happen. It's loud, it's colorful and it's of course a lot of fun.

To tell the truth I felt a little bit misplaced the first times with the Marching Band. I'm used to seeing a band as "the band" which includes not only music but the whole social stuff. To me it looked a little bit like people are attending a course and don't feel as a part of the band. However, after that weekend I know that Soundwave is way more than just some people playin' music at some sports events.
Unfortunately we lost the game and so we had to travel back on Sunday. This time it was only a DC9 but not a bad experience once again. Actually the food was better than in the BOEING.
I think that's all for now. I posted some pictures below (ooop, I didn't) and if you're really interested you can have a look at my Picasaweb-Album. It's a lot of pictures and I think Soundwave hates me a little bit for taking photos all the time. I'm sure it was kind of annoying.

Happy Spring Break,
Rödel

PS: Did I mention that I got one more real N'Orleans experience now? Somebody stole my bike on Sunday so I had to take St. Charles on Monday. Needless to say that someone else stole my wallet there. Not a big deal as I still have all my documents and financial stuff but it sucks a lot. However - got a new (crappy) bike and wallet now. It's just a bad feeling of missing my good stuff. But back to the basics: Life's beautiful and OZ Radio still keeps rocking my days here. That's the important stuff.

Good Evening from the Hilton!

Ooops. Things are happening pretty fast here. As the last entry happened to be interrupted by that amazing e-mail from Katy I'll give it a second try. Thinking about the right words made my mind confuse like crazy so I decided to find another way. - Voila! - Here are my instructions:

1. Don't wonder 'bout the BOEING.
2. Make sure your work is finished. If not: Make sure you don't give a s**** for it. 
3. Amp to the max. If you don't own an amp: Buy one! Life's too short for listening to crappy music.
4. You can't afford an amp? Sell your TV and go to cinema with your friends. Everything else is waste of time.
5. OK. I told you you're wrong but you still wanna listen on your crappy laptop-speakers? DON'T DO IT! At least: Use your earphones.
6. Go to New Orleans Moonshiners Website .  Select Baby Face in the Playlist on the right side of the Website. If you're in New Orleans right now: Go to Frenchmen Street. Just anywhere. 
7. Maybe have a short look at my Pictures...
8. ...and enjoy this awesome feeling of joy and fun. You know, that's what this city is all about: amazing people, joy, and of course: the music that makes you feel that way all day! 

Hope it works for you!

PS: Did you read the Title of this posting? Have you ever enjoyed lying around in a BOEING that has been chartered just for you and your band? It's great fun!

~*~* AWESOME! ~*~*

Oh wow! Explainin' this is gonna be a hard job...

I already mentioned that I got in contact with some local guys. To be exact they're the Ball Brothers, two guys of roughly my age, both looking pretty the same and both working as a cook in different bars. Now that we've been around for a while it's AWESOME!

Ohhh stop. No more own word now. I just got a message I wanna share with all you guys:

SoundWave,

I have finally gotten some details on our trip, as I just came out of a
meeting with Athletics.  I've attached a tentative itinerary to this email.

PLEASE NOTE: THE TIME AND MEETING PLACE HAVE BEEN CHANGED!
*We are now meeting at 5pm in front of Fogelman Arena.*
This is a time change that was made literally an hour ago, and I apologize if this screws anything up for you.

Here are some highlights for tomorrow:
- we will depart from Fogelman at 5:30pm
- we will be fed Quiznos subs before we board the plane at 6:30pm (flight leaves at 7:30)
- we will have pizza when we arrive at the hotel at 9pm Arizona time (11pm our time)
- we are staying at the Hilton Phoenix Airport Hotel
- there IS free Internet and a pool
- our game will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Saturday at 9:30pm, if you have people who will want to watch

Check out the itinerary for more info.  Either Athletics or I will talk to
you about details tomorrow so everyone will be on board.

Also, Athletics wants us to be completely decked out for this game.  We're
talking face paint, feather boas, wigs, Mardi Gras beads, pom poms,
sunglasses...whatever crazy stuff you can think of!  I have face paint and 2
very full bags of beads that I will be happy to share with everyone.  Get
creative and show 'em Where the Green Wave At!  (RIGHT HERE, RIGHT HERE).
 Yeah, that's right.  I went there.

Remember to bring:
- a swim suit
- GREEN Tulane shirt(s)
- some extra money
- your license/passport
- your Tulane student ID
- your instrument/music and reeds/mouthpieces, etc.
- any schoolwork you might need to catch up on

*PLEASE HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE TIME AND MEETING PLACE CHANGE FOR
TOMORROW*!  Thank you!
If there are any other changes or developments, I will be sure to let you
know.

Hearts, flowers, & Tempe, AZ,

 Oh Wow! U know what this means? It's such an unbelievable good Feeling to be here!

roommate #4

hooh! Met some great guys on Wednesday. 1 musician, 2 wakeboarders and 3 guys having some metal in their shoulders. I think there isn't much left to go wrong anymore.
I don't wanna go into detail as it is 1 a.m. now but we had great times: Goin' to a private party, sitting around the fire and on the rooftop; having some musician singin 20s' songs there. Goin' to a house that was left after Katrina - Big fire and 50+ locals that meet there maybe once a month. Live Local music and a feeling that you won't ever experience as a tourist. Having had my first Burrito and enjoyed it. A great day and a great week!

Not to forget: We've got a new roommate: Nola!

PS: Did I mention that we found a sofa on the street?