I was checking out how people came to my site, and one of the searches was a MSN search for "Views From the Back Row". So I checked to see what all came up. As expected, this site came up first, since it's an exact match. But as I scrolled down, I saw the name of Roger Bobo. I would dare say that not one of you recognizes that name, but he was, at one time, the absolute best tuba player in the world. He may still be--I don't really keep track of that sort of thing. He has played forever, and all over, and does things on the tuba that should be impossible. You've undoubtedly heard his playing--he lived in L.A. for years and recorded innumerable studio sessions for film and TV. His most recognized excerpt would be the tuba voice during the "discussion" with the mother ship from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (the tuba represented the U.F.O.).
Anyhoo...he has a website, and writes a number of narratives. Blog entries, if you will. One of them is titled "A View from the Back Row". It's based on observations from his decades of playing in various orchestras. And how the trombones and tuba players behave. And get paid. And generally aren't as "into" it as the string players. I found it a great read (but I live in the back row). You might not, but I figured I'd share anyway! You can find it here.
Now if I can just figure out who works at the Environmental Protection Agency who used the same search! (and who is a regular reader here!)
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