My lovely wife Amy and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary a week ago today. Our celebration was basically kicked off the night before when we went to the Granger High School Auditorium in West Valley City, Utah, as Amy and her fellow members of the West Valley Symphony of Utah performed "Symphonic Dances" in concert, under the direction of music director and conductor Donny Gilbert.
Amy Miller performs with the West Valley Symphony of Utah. (Photo by John G. Miller)
After many years of performing at the Granger auditorium, this was the last time for the West Valley Symphony to set foot in the facility before it's taken down to make way for a new auditorium, and a lot of memories will go along with it for the all-volunteer orchestra of nearly 70 musicians.
It's a group of musicians that does it purely for the love of the music.
Among the selections played at the concert were Russell Bennett's "Cakewalk, Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango, Ravel's "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte," and Tchaikovsky's "Pas De Deux" from "The Nutcracker."
Among the highlights for the evening were Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2," "Danzon No. 2" by Arturo Marquez, and the finale of "Berceuse and Finale" from Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite."
Daniel Arellano and Nicolas Snarr work together. They also play together. They carry small, soft instrument cases in to their day jobs as trainers at a Salt Lake City area customer service company. On their break times, they can most often be found opening those cases and pulling out ukuleles while relaxing and feeding their faces.
Daniel Arellano (left) and Nicolas Snarr (right) play with Bludgeon Muffin. (All photos and videos by John Miller)
They're not playing "Tiptoe Through The Tulips." You could hear some Hendrix, some Zeppelin, some Bill Withers, some Michael Jackson. Ask Daniel to play flamenco-style on his uke, and he'll do a bang-up job.
That's at their day job.
Rena Ripley, Misi Touhuni, Nicolas Snarr, Daniel Arellano
In their off-hours, they play together in a band called Bludgeon Muffin, along with lead singer/rhythm guitarist Misi Touhuni, backing singer Rena Ripley, bassist Bruce Kamai, and drummer Michael Bailey. They play rock, blues, and hip hop. What they play mostly, though, is reggae. And they have a good fan base in the Salt Lake City area behind them.
Bludgeon Muffin's fan base is loyal enough that they packed The 19th Hole at The Copper Golf Club in Magna, Utah, on a snowy Saturday night for a big Post Mardi Gras Party.
DJ Misi's vocals are strong and smooth, especially combined with Ripley's voice. Arellano shows a variety of influences on lead guitar, getting in some strong riffs. Snarr plays a mean electric ukulele with some tasty effects. Kamai and Bailey make up a solid rhythm section, and when Bailey is given time in the spotlight he turns in a dynamite solo on drums.
They had the party crowd at The 19th Hole doing some serious jamming. The weather was ice-cold outside, upholding Utah's rep for the "world's greatest snow."
Inside, though, with the flag of Bob Marley decorating the stage, it was red-hot.
