on the road again....

...so a typical DM (dancingmoose) gig---I take the train to Dallas where Gordon & Tim meet me and we head to wherever we are headed...in this case...Houston to perform for the EAPA (Employees Assistance Professionals Association). Gordon has very eclectic taste in music---anything from Mika (yay!) to classical to a gregorian chant version of Rod Stewart's "if you think i'm sexy"---Tim sits shotgun....me & Tim's bowler hat are in the backseat.
T & G are anticipating some big changes in their lives---day jobs go bye-bye and such---taking this whole fun stuff very seriously fun.....so we converse about that for a bit---thats a biggie!
the guys put up with my chatting, a bit---Tim nods off periodically.... Gordon drives--I'm the navigator....
so this trip, the guys arrive ONE HOUR LATE at the train station (yes---they called to let me know)---Gordon drives the entire time----so by the time we hit H-town he is white-knuckling the steering wheel---i offer to drive---he politely declines---if you know Gordon, you are smiling right now.
We arrive at the hotel and go our ways. My daughter, Jasmine, meets me at the hotel---she is our roadie for the gig.
A.M.---we meet in time to head to the venue---Tim & Gordon get up earlier than I---they are breakfast eaters----not me---not before a performance. We get to the site---a beautiful building, Greater United Way. We perform for about 65 people---great audience. The staff at United Way was very helpful. I love good venues and good audiences. Every show is a bit different---the personality of the audience encourages us---and Tim & Gordon always crack me up with the extra funnies they toss in.
the drive home---we break down the set---climb back into the truck and head north...stop for lunch somewhere...then I drive while Gordon sleeps. Tim chats with me---we talk family, church---whatever. We figure out we have, between the 3 of us:
15 kids
8 horses
7 dogs
3 cats
8 chickens
2 grandkids and 2 on the way
we are a very amiable group----we tease and good---and then just relish the quiet.
good gig....good times.

The Birth of a Dancing Moose

Tim Anderson, the renegade moose, is our counselor with questionable ethics
Gordon Leeman, in his role as the judge, with Tim as the always-in-deep-water counselor---a recurring theme in the show. Me, as the poor victimized client---well, not so much in this scene---but you have to see the vignette to get it!

the birth...

...it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...two men....professionals...esteemed in their chosen field (rehabilitation counseling, family counseling, private counseling---all things counseling)..working, nay, slaving, daily to meet the needs of their clients and to reach to the highest expectations of their profession. Pursuing their love of education, they eagerly attended conferences, workshops, symposiums....anything that might enable them to better serve their clientelle....the opportunities were out there---oh yes, educational symposiums and new ideas abounded...but one area, ethics, became the bain of their existence. The tedious drone of monotone voices presenting case scenario after case scenario, quoting from the ethical code---but it fell on not deaf ears, but ears that had turned off the boring sound. So---Tim approached Gordon---"there has to be a better way---a more creative way---to present ethics to our community".... VOILA!
now---Tim & Gordon are not new to the musical stage---Gordon has his Bachelor's degree in bassoon/music composition---and Tim has long entertained in theater and music....so the idea of combining their love of music and entertainment, and their desire to save their colleagues from the painful drudgery of 3 hour ethics presentations. Their day job gives them the street cred---but the entertainer in them demanded more!
Carpooling from Dallas to Justin/Denton or huddled around Gordon's baby-grand piano, with a bigger-than-life Angelina Jolie from Tomb Raider watching over them (thats foreshadowing of a future post, i'm sure!)---they combined the good & bad ethical behavior they had seen during their careers---set them to music---and DANCINGMOOSEPRODUCTIONS was born!
a year later, I got a phone call---Tim and I go way back---bless his entrepreneurial soul----Tim said he had a proposition for me---invited me to come audition for Gordon....hesistant and nervous---I sang and played the piano (the requirements for the job)----YEAH!
now---in our 3rd year of performances---this blog will keep you up to date on our 'gigs'---what a great word--our funny experiences as we travel around the area in Gordon's truck and the great people we meet!
Stay tuned!