The Arts Alive! Community Band - Band Member of the Month for January 2001

Brian McFadyen

for JANUARY 2001

Happy New Year everybody!!

Happy 2001!! Am I the only one that thinks the words 'a space odyssey' after hearing those numbers?!

I hope we all have survived the holiday season to the best of our abilities and have become better people as a result.

Our January band member of the month is Brian, from our saxophone section. Brian is a man of relatively few words, but his intelligence and quick wit still shine through. He is always ready to give a helping hand to those who need it. Let's get to know Mr. January, Brian McFadyen. Woo hoo!!!!!

Happily mitted,

Linda Riha
BMOTM Editor

Our January BMOTM gets some last minute instructions while testing
a helicopter at the "Weapons of Mass Destruction Rent-a-Center"
First name Brian
In which town do you live? Palos Hills
How do you make your living?
Cable TV Technician for AT&T - it's my job to take the signals off of the satellites, and air waves, and put them onto the cable system. I'm on-call 24/7 all year except when I'm on vacation.
How long have you been a member of the Arts Alive Band?
About 2 years solid, and for several years prior to this on an “as needed” basis to play a missing part at a concert.

Mr. January and his wife enjoying a “little” beer at the Hofbräuhaus in München, Germany.
What instrument(s) do you play?
Soprano, Alto, Tenor sax - have tried bagpipes (to the extend of using a practice chanter) would like to learn the recorder.
How long have you been playing it/them?
Since 11th grade. I made first chair by my senior year due to my love of the saxophone. Granted our school was small and it didn't take much ability to become first chair.
Are you involved in any other musical groups, either inside or outside the Arts Alive system? If so, which ones?
Arts Alive Jazz, Southwest Community Concert Band (on hiatus),
What do you like most about this group?
The fact that we have so much fun before, during, and after band.

Our favorite Belgian street band -- attempting to decipher one of OUR requests.
Describe your best/favorite band moment.
In Germany, when the Belgian band contingent from the Belgian Sister City requested "In the Mood", we replied "We don't know that one" because we hadn't rehearsed it recently, and their come-back was "You must know it, It's from your country". But then there was Duedelsheim....hhhmmmmmm and the Castle courtyard and ........hell, Germany in general!! Woo Hoooo
What are your hobbies?

Electronics
HO Trains
Ham Radio (sort of)
Music (of course)
Astronomy
collecting Silver Conn Saxophones older than 1930
(I presently have 5 silver ones and 2 nickel plated- the oldest one is from 1908)
Skiing
Hockey (when I can)
Archery/Target Rifle (if I had a rifle out here)
Fixing things (anything - I like the challenge)

Brain is learning to pace himself the early in the 2000 Germany tour.
Fellow band member Eric is on the left and on the right,
one of our hosts readies himself to deal with those “ugly Americans”.
What is your favorite Jell-O flavor?
Rum (oh wait, is that a Jell-O flavor?)
Is there anything else you want your band friends to know about you?
Around age 15 (Webmaster's Note: Note he isn't saying what year!) I saved the lives of the vice-president of IBM (New York office) and 3 of his guests from a boating accident in front of my parents house on a foggy night. Unfortunately it took an insult to his wife from my mother's co-worker to get a thank you from him in the form of a picture book. I have never received a verbal thank you from any of the 4 men. They would have surely drowned.
In 1995 ('96?) I helped save the life of a fellow band member who had what was believed to be a heart attack during band rehearsal with the Southwest Community Band. A fellow member and I gave him CPR and he revived. Unfortunately he passed away 24 hours later at the hospital. He was my neighbor & friend!
I am the first member of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the Society of Telecommunications Engineers (S.C.T.E.) to become certified as a Broadband Communications Technician and I have one test (out of seven) left to pass to be the first chapter member certified as a Broadband Communications Engineer.

No, this isn't the Adirondacks -- it's the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. But both areas have skiing!
My wife and I come from the Adirondack Mountain region of New York State about 30 miles from Lake Placid, the home of the 1980 Winter Olympics.

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