Thomas Doggett: Aerofone Electroniq

Yesterday, we had a memorial service for my father-in-law. I read a blog entry that I wrote after he passed away:

My father-in-law passed away last week. If he knew I was publicly celebrating his life, he would probably say “awe jeez” with his mid-western nasal twang. He was a quiet humble man…except once. He bought an Indiana Jones hat at Universal Studios on a family vacation. He looked great in that hat and he knew it. He channeled Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. That hat with his grin was a handsome combination. He had three units of measurements: metric, standard and a Buick. For example: “that couch, awe jeez, that couch is as heavy as a Buick”. He was a Buick man. His was always clean and maintained. I only saw him cry once. It was the day after I married his daughter [it’s ok to laugh] but seriously, we were leaving for our honeymoon and we were about two hours into our Minnesota-goodbye. My wife said “dad, don’t cry because if you do, I will”. He said “ok” and the tears started. He shook my hand and welcomed me into the family. I thought he was going to cry a second time but he didn’t. It was when our son was born. He transitioned gracefully from dad to father-in-law to grandfather. No conversation about him is complete without mentioning Mario Lanza. It didn’t matter who was performing, you could have anyone and his response would be “that’s pretty good but it’s no Mario Lanza” The only CDs in his Buick were Lanza. Any conversation about music always returned to Lanza and his powerful voice and colorful lifestyle. Back in 2009, I was in LA for a performance. I was bored so I took a walk down Hollywood Blvd. I was near the intersection of Hollywood and Franklin just past the Kodak Theatre and what catches my eye, Mario Lanza’s Star on the sidewalk. I took a picture of it and sent it to him. We had an ongoing conversation over the course of seventeen years about science, religion, space, Einstein, circuit boards, contradictions, logic and anything else, usually in his Buick listening to Mario Lanza. Those conversations helped me mature and re-evaluate my attitudes and opinions about life. And for that, I’m thankful to have known him.

We gathered in the woods near his house and poured his ashes across the ground. A few other stories were sharded about his life and a poem was read by my brother-in-law. Then, my wife and sister-in-law presented my mother-in-law with a plaque with a star named after him. And so they can always be together, a second plaque with a star named after her. From the Nothern Hemisphere, look to the south and locate the Ophiuchus constellation and at the bottom tip, just to the right of the Serpens Cauda constellation, you’ll see two stars: one for Herman and one for Darlene.

My father-in-law passed away last week. If he knew I was publicly celebrating his life, he would probably say “awe jeez” with his mid-western nasal twang. He was a quiet humble man…except once. He bought an Indiana Jones hat at Universal Studios on a family vacation. He looked great in that hat and he knew it. He channeled Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. That hat with his grin was a handsome combination. He had three units of measurements: metric, standard and a Buick. For example: “that couch, awe jeez, that couch is as heavy as a Buick”. He was a Buick man. His was always clean and maintained. I only saw him cry once. It was the day after I married his daughter [it’s ok to laugh] but seriously, we were leaving for our honeymoon and we were about two hours into our Minnesota-goodbye. My wife said “dad, don’t cry because if you do, I will”. He said “ok” and the tears started. He shook my hand and welcomed me into the family. I thought he was going to cry a second time but he didn’t. It was when our son was born. He transitioned gracefully from dad to father-in-law to grandfather. No conversation about him is complete without mentioning Mario Lanza. It didn’t matter who was performing, you could have anyone and his response would be “that’s pretty good but it’s no Mario Lanza” The only CDs in his Buick were Lanza. Any conversation about music always returned to Lanza and his powerful voice and colorful lifestyle. Back in 2009, I was in LA for a performance. I was bored so I took a walk down Hollywood Blvd. I was near the intersection of Hollywood and Franklin just past the Kodak Theatre and what catches my eye, Mario Lanza’s Star on the sidewalk. I took a picture of it and sent it to him. We had an ongoing conversation over the course of seventeen years about science, religion, space, Einstein, circuit boards, contradictions, logic and anything else, usually in his Buick listening to Mario Lanza. Those conversations helped me mature and re-evaluate my attitudes and opinions about life. And for that, I’m thankful to have known him.

I’d rather be rehearsing.

I found this while cleaning.  I wrote down everything I learned after releasing my CD Two Turntables and a Saxophone.  The CD was released in 2005 and I wrote this journal entry in 2007.  You may learn more about me then you want to but you may also be able to apply some of this to your life.  Good luck!

What I’ve learned:

• First impressions are usually correct.
• Financial commitments are more serious than verbal commitments
• Established people are not always nice, helpful or supportive.
• I can be an asshole.
• I’m a better artist than I give myself credit for.
• Don’t lie or even fib.
• Chemistry is everything.
• It’s o.k. to talk about yourself.
• Performing regularly is really important.
• Being passive is not o.k.
• Have a clear vision.
• It’s all about the music.
• Don’t confuse an audience and never confuse a potential audience.
• I’ll always make mistakes.
• It’s better to try and fail then to not do it at all.
• Airplay, live shows, and CD sales mark success but it doesn’t mean the work is over.
• Spend a lot of time creating music.
• Business skills are really important but if there is no music to talk about the conversation is kind of pointless.
• I need help.
• It is easy for me to talk to people.
• I will always be a gear snob.
• If you can’t buy the best, buy the best you can afford.
• I can be overbearing.
• I shouldn’t worry about the big picture so much.
• See the show, play the show.
• I still can’t find the big money everyone talks about.
• There is an audience for the music I create.
• I’m a better musician than composer.
• I need to show off my technical playing from time to time.
• Play music with people your own age.
• I hate the sound of mp3’s at 128kbps.
• I’ve done some really cool things but I don’t feel accomplished yet.
• Doing something half-ass is better than someone else not doing it at all.
• I have high standards.
• I tried to give up but it failed.
• I’m clueless about money when it comes to charging for shows, Cds and consulting work.
• Having friends on myspace means nothing.  Having fans that buy songs, Cds and attend shows is everything.
• Marketing is challenging and so is booking.
• Play music with people that are better than you.
• Hang out…a lot.
• Money makes a lot of things happen.
• I know of the crooked nature of the music industry and I still want to be part of it.
• Don’t beat a dead horse.
• I should listen to that little voice inside more often.
• I’m not delusional.
• There’s no race.
• If given the opportunity, my performing entertains people.
• Most people are “wowed” when they look at my bio.
• Most people don’t understand why I work at Guitar Center.
• I thought I’d be touring in 2005.
• Don’t give recommendations for someone you don’t 100% trust.
• Waiting is hard to do.
• I work best as a collaborator and in a supportive role for artists that know what to do with my abilities. 
• I’m full of ideas.
• Emails get lost and over-looked.
• If it’s in print it’s probably outdated.

I’ve been a janitor and a professor. I’ve worked in restaurants and retail. I’ve worked in a bank and in several bands. I’ve taught kids how to march and adults how to record. I’ve been tipped for delivering a pizza and tipped for playing a love song. I’ve rocked out in front of 55,000 people and I’ve taught students one-on-one in a school stairwell. I’ve been thanked and I’ve been yelled at. I am the face of Generation Flux. I’ve changed when I didn’t want to. I’ve done a lot and I want to do more. I love to problem solve and explain complex concepts in simple terms. I’m a extrovert and a introvert. I know a lot about some things and I have the ability to learn about new things.

I began my journey around the Sun 42 years ago.  Every year at this time, I like to reflect on what I’ve done, what I learned and how I’ve grown.  So much of what I’ve accomplished this year, I’ve posted (so you can just read my Archives if you’re really interested).  

In no particular order: I’m a better saxophonist.  I started my studies with Bob Reynolds a year ago and I’ve improved so much.  When I first contacted Bob, I told him who I was, what I’ve done and what I wanted to work on.  I wanted to contact him back in 2009 when I was in LA performing with Corey Taylor but I didn’t and I kind of regret it.  But rather than sulk, I sent him an email last year and we began our correspondence.  I told him that I wanted to “connect the dots” in my playing.  I had some issues with my altissimo, I didn’t feel like I knew what to play and I just wanted to get out of a rut.  From the first lesson, Bob was all over my playing.  I don’t want to paint a picture that he was mean or rude because he wasn’t.  He was just honest.  In hindsight, it’s so obvious what I needed to work on but that was the reason I wanted to find a teacher: it wasn’t obvious to me.  I needed a 2nd pair of ears.  I took my practicing back to square one.  I did longtone exercises and overtone studies.  I set the metronome at 60 and took things slowly.  I worked on all the different types of 7th chords in every key.  And the largest project: transcribe a song a month.  Every month, I’d say to myself: “I don’t think I can do this” but every month I would do more than I thought I could do.  I feel great about what I’ve done and I look forward to the next year.

Not only did I become a stronger musician, I became a stronger person.  I completed P90X with my wife.  We are both healthy people but we’ve let ourselves go in some regards.  We both talked about doing something serious and this Spring we talked about it more and then we finally took the plunge and bought the DVDs.  We started waking up at 5:45 am every morning and some mornings were easier than others.  We put up with the corny jokes and endless repetitions.  It all paid off.  The crazy part for me was that I didn’t lose any weight but I reshaped my body.  My pants fit better and some are even loose on me.  I’ve never had any upper body strength until this year.  It’s fun to be able to do chin-ups and pull-ups.

I traveled to Washington DC.  I was my son’s age when I first went to DC.  That trip as a child really inspired me and I wanted to share that excitement with him.  As I expected, he loved it.  The other important part of the trip was staying with my brother and sister-in-law; I never get to see them…not as much as I’d like to.  I also got to visit a childhood friend and stay with her family on our way home from DC.  It’s so wild to think that we both moved to Ashgrove Court the same year, we played together as young children, went dancing and played music together and now, we’re adults with families.  It was great to catch up and reconnect.  It gave me a lot of perspective on who I thought I was and how the person I wanted to be was the person I became…and a little bit more.

Projects around the house consumed us.  We put down new flooring inside and a patio outside.  I can’t take any credit for painting; that was all Cindy.  The most difficult thing had to be the ceiling fan.  It hasn’t fallen down yet so I did something right.  The most enjoyable was the patio.  I spent every possible moment on the patio; breakfast, dinner, late evenings, afternoons on the weekend.  Coffee, wine and conversation are so much better outside.

As I sit with my herbal tea, typing and reflecting on the 21st anniversary of my 21st birthday, I’m looking forward to another year.

I had so much fun tonight. I’m such a creature of habit that I don’t check things out like I should. Mike Pfaff and Jeff Karnowski are such great musicians. We had a blast playing together. If you’re still reading this: go do something you’ve been meaning to do. You can thank me later.

Open Jam, every Wednesday night, 9 to ? @ Underground in East Village, Des Moines, hosted by $nack$

Gig (check), eat (check), sleep until 1 (check), see Inception at IMAX Theatre (check), eat (check), gig (check)

Our cyclic lives. They go round and round. There’s comfort in the predictable. There is comfort when things go as planned. So what do we do when the plan fails? It’s an age old question. Looking at the Mississippi River flowing by, my answer is: go with the flow. I’m not suggesting “be so passive that you get pulled under”; always keep your head up.  Keeping your head up is a lot of work in itself.  Just remember that things are cyclic and if they were once ok, they’ll be ok again.