My wife has hidden stuff from me for 25 years. The father in law told me at christmas that she was a virtuoso bassoon player and that she turned down 2 offers to play in orchestras because she's "Demure". I know she plays clarinet, sax, oboe, english horn, trumpet, cornet, baritone, violin, recorder, and clarinet. She has 2 music degrees, and is a couple of courses short of a Masters in Music. She also did her degree in piano, and then took the courses to teach band at high school. Says her favorite thing in band was percussion.

I on the other hand took a hundred bucks of lessons on a 120 bass piano accordion, and then about 5 months of piano where I made her drop Mary Had a Little Lamb for Love Story and how to chord. Some Baptist lady wore a hat in her house and a knee length dress in the 60's and was the church organist.

Then 10 years later pulled out the accordion, played a moog in a band, and bought a Wurlitzer piano that was chrome and black and had little reeds or something.

Now, I'm in the old age, and found out with the Bose gizmo I can really sing ok, and am putting together the touring package.

We both play baritone in a Brass Band, British Style, and we play some gigs with flute and keys. Due to the fact that every set has some 12/8 and 6/8 stuff in it I've never really taken Band in a Box on some serious outside drive, other than play the odd open mic thing.

So she is being made to retire in a year, and I'm putting together the touring package. The last time we did anything like that was in Lake Chapala Mexico, and we played 3 nights at a country club, and they want us back. So between our 3 keyboards, sound system, the flute, the horns, I want to expand the repetoire.

Matt's point is valid. I'm a newbie at the technology, and want to have something we both can play, and is versatile, but does not need a lot of fooling around. If she can play all those instruments, well...we should be good to go.

And we need more fun. Heck knows this advanced arthritis thing is driving me nuts.

John Conley
Musica est vita