as you know i am now working at the famous COLONY MUSIC in times square. just started friday night 4PM-1AM. what a BuSy store!
i love this job. really, i do. haven't been able to say that for a long time for a regular 9-5ish job. but i guess this is a little different since i'm using my knowledge of different genres of music. This really surprises me. the rest i fake or figure out as i go along. i actually look forward to work since the night crew i work with are "old" regulars who have been helping me and answering my stupid questions. crusty old guys who have a good sense of humor and know how to get away with making the job easier and fun. one guy is ted and he's been guiding me and telling me basically what i can get away with and not. the guy who hired me, richard [the owner], is such an unassuming and very nice person that i just breezed in and basically got the job because 1] i'm a musician 2] i have alot of knowledge about many genres of music and 3] i think he liked the fact that i came in and said i wanted to work there. the staff is friendly. for the most part. i get "who is this new guy?" standoffish routine from a few of them. but i'm finding out that all the years i've spent working on music and learning all that music history and being familiar with the different genres has made me a great sales associate. i love to go to work because i know i am using my powers and knowledge for good. and plus, i found out tonight that i get a 50% discount on all music. 50%!!!!! do you understand what this means for a musician??????????? as soon as i learned this, tonight i started making my wishlist of all the music i want: all sondheim piano/ vocal scores, gershwin songbooks, orchestrating and arranging books, and interesting books like a book on the beatles. the list is going to definitely get bigger because COLONY has EVERYTHING [i also applied a padilsons sheet music but they weren't hiring ...yet...]. before this, i probably wouldn't have thought of buying them, yeah, i'd think about it, but tonight i looked at the $100 scores and said, "$50? yeah, i could do that!" a chance to build my library.
tonight i found a 1500 page book/ score of the transcriptions to every single song the beatles ever wrote and recorded. i looked inside and found it written like a professional orchestral score with every note, nuance, instrument, notation, accent, and lyric written for the professional music reading musician to ponder or use. amazing for $110. but for me, $55! west side story score? $110. with discount, $55! i'm kind of nervous because this job is basically for paying my rent and i could just see me going hog wild in the store and at the cash register!
i'm really surprised on how much music knowledge i know and have collected so i can help customers find what they are looking for asap. there are so many types of music that i'm finding it very comfortable switching gears. one customer wants celene dion [usually the foreigners] and then i turn around and find a classical douible bass book for another person. i basically know where all the sections are now. hey! and only the second day of work! well it helps that whenever i have visted NYC in the past, i have spent may hours salivating over the sheet music and books in COLONY.
~AND~ it's a good thing i have my business cards because if i am talking to someone and i hear the song is in the wrong key for them, i very non-chalantly say i do music transcriptions and give them my card. i've already got a few gigs from doing this. so i can market myself while doing my regular job. this is very comforting since i only work 24 hours in a week and if i can get two or three transcription jobs per day during my shifts, this will help immensely with the income i need to make. tonight, a couple bought the schubert version of "ave maria" and it did not have the chords written in [because i guess schubert just didn't do those kind of things back then. go figure!] so i told the couple if they bought the music, i would write in the chord progression above the vocal line so they could play it on piano [the guy doesn't read music] or guitar. so i started doing it and he slipped me $10 on the spot. tomorrow afternoon i deliver it to him and his wife at the ritz carlton. how cool is that? maybe this is the job i was meant to have? i love working with customers because 95% of them are there to find the music that they love, that they can perform or music that will help them become better musicians. i love helping them find the answers/ music to their questions. it's a challenge i like. and work breezes by because i already feel comfortable in what i'm doing.
so dear friends, while i can't abuse the discount, please contact me for you 50% discount on any music. and if you need a transposition, we can talk. check out the website: http://www.colonymusic.com
SIDENOTE: being on my feet for 8+ hours is kilLinG my feet. i have to talk to dr. scholl about hooking me up with some comfy shoe pads. gawd, my feet hurt. ouchie. the floors are hard...they should at least have those spongy restaurant type mats where you feel like you are walking on air....ahhh...that would feel great!
most of our customers are very friendly foreigners with very broken english or no english looking for frank sinatra or barbra streisand kareoke CDS. kareoke CDs are VERY popular.....and anything WICKED. these customers are very nice and we figure things out even if there is a language barrier. i draw big pictures in the air with my figures and hands and use my spanish i remember to figure out if they will understand. i think we do rather nicely bridging the communicatin gap. there is always laughter and smiling involved and that seems to help out.
oh, and in the catacombs of the basement lies the most putrid bathroom i have ever been in. if i had a gas mask i would use it! i'm bringing my windex bottle tomorrow to forge a path to the urinal.
so, come by and see me at COLONY friday saturday or sunday [4PMish to 1AM] if you're in the area. we'll make that 50% discount work.
oh, i forgot...interesting tidbit...COLONY is wired with security cameras all over the place, the guys i work with showed me the blind spots in the store so if i wanted to sit down a minute, no one could detect me doing so. the scary thing about this is one of the employees has access from his computer at home for viewing all the views LIVE and he's been known to call the store and tell so and so to not do something or quit sitting around. big brother is watching, but we are so busy i'm not even worried about it!
i love this job. really, i do. haven't been able to say that for a long time for a regular 9-5ish job. but i guess this is a little different since i'm using my knowledge of different genres of music. This really surprises me. the rest i fake or figure out as i go along. i actually look forward to work since the night crew i work with are "old" regulars who have been helping me and answering my stupid questions. crusty old guys who have a good sense of humor and know how to get away with making the job easier and fun. one guy is ted and he's been guiding me and telling me basically what i can get away with and not. the guy who hired me, richard [the owner], is such an unassuming and very nice person that i just breezed in and basically got the job because 1] i'm a musician 2] i have alot of knowledge about many genres of music and 3] i think he liked the fact that i came in and said i wanted to work there. the staff is friendly. for the most part. i get "who is this new guy?" standoffish routine from a few of them. but i'm finding out that all the years i've spent working on music and learning all that music history and being familiar with the different genres has made me a great sales associate. i love to go to work because i know i am using my powers and knowledge for good. and plus, i found out tonight that i get a 50% discount on all music. 50%!!!!! do you understand what this means for a musician??????????? as soon as i learned this, tonight i started making my wishlist of all the music i want: all sondheim piano/ vocal scores, gershwin songbooks, orchestrating and arranging books, and interesting books like a book on the beatles. the list is going to definitely get bigger because COLONY has EVERYTHING [i also applied a padilsons sheet music but they weren't hiring ...yet...]. before this, i probably wouldn't have thought of buying them, yeah, i'd think about it, but tonight i looked at the $100 scores and said, "$50? yeah, i could do that!" a chance to build my library.
tonight i found a 1500 page book/ score of the transcriptions to every single song the beatles ever wrote and recorded. i looked inside and found it written like a professional orchestral score with every note, nuance, instrument, notation, accent, and lyric written for the professional music reading musician to ponder or use. amazing for $110. but for me, $55! west side story score? $110. with discount, $55! i'm kind of nervous because this job is basically for paying my rent and i could just see me going hog wild in the store and at the cash register!
i'm really surprised on how much music knowledge i know and have collected so i can help customers find what they are looking for asap. there are so many types of music that i'm finding it very comfortable switching gears. one customer wants celene dion [usually the foreigners] and then i turn around and find a classical douible bass book for another person. i basically know where all the sections are now. hey! and only the second day of work! well it helps that whenever i have visted NYC in the past, i have spent may hours salivating over the sheet music and books in COLONY.
~AND~ it's a good thing i have my business cards because if i am talking to someone and i hear the song is in the wrong key for them, i very non-chalantly say i do music transcriptions and give them my card. i've already got a few gigs from doing this. so i can market myself while doing my regular job. this is very comforting since i only work 24 hours in a week and if i can get two or three transcription jobs per day during my shifts, this will help immensely with the income i need to make. tonight, a couple bought the schubert version of "ave maria" and it did not have the chords written in [because i guess schubert just didn't do those kind of things back then. go figure!] so i told the couple if they bought the music, i would write in the chord progression above the vocal line so they could play it on piano [the guy doesn't read music] or guitar. so i started doing it and he slipped me $10 on the spot. tomorrow afternoon i deliver it to him and his wife at the ritz carlton. how cool is that? maybe this is the job i was meant to have? i love working with customers because 95% of them are there to find the music that they love, that they can perform or music that will help them become better musicians. i love helping them find the answers/ music to their questions. it's a challenge i like. and work breezes by because i already feel comfortable in what i'm doing.
so dear friends, while i can't abuse the discount, please contact me for you 50% discount on any music. and if you need a transposition, we can talk. check out the website: http://www.colonymusic.com
SIDENOTE: being on my feet for 8+ hours is kilLinG my feet. i have to talk to dr. scholl about hooking me up with some comfy shoe pads. gawd, my feet hurt. ouchie. the floors are hard...they should at least have those spongy restaurant type mats where you feel like you are walking on air....ahhh...that would feel great!
most of our customers are very friendly foreigners with very broken english or no english looking for frank sinatra or barbra streisand kareoke CDS. kareoke CDs are VERY popular.....and anything WICKED. these customers are very nice and we figure things out even if there is a language barrier. i draw big pictures in the air with my figures and hands and use my spanish i remember to figure out if they will understand. i think we do rather nicely bridging the communicatin gap. there is always laughter and smiling involved and that seems to help out.
oh, and in the catacombs of the basement lies the most putrid bathroom i have ever been in. if i had a gas mask i would use it! i'm bringing my windex bottle tomorrow to forge a path to the urinal.
so, come by and see me at COLONY friday saturday or sunday [4PMish to 1AM] if you're in the area. we'll make that 50% discount work.
oh, i forgot...interesting tidbit...COLONY is wired with security cameras all over the place, the guys i work with showed me the blind spots in the store so if i wanted to sit down a minute, no one could detect me doing so. the scary thing about this is one of the employees has access from his computer at home for viewing all the views LIVE and he's been known to call the store and tell so and so to not do something or quit sitting around. big brother is watching, but we are so busy i'm not even worried about it!
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