Do you remember your own feelings about the music and arts education you received in public (or private) school? I always dreamed of playing bass; I loved the sound, the look, the strings, the resonance I could feel throughout my own body. I loved bass players. In third grade, when instruments were assigned like roles in the school play, but without auditions, I was told I was too short to play the bass. The violin, I was told, was better suited to me, and Ive resented it to this day. When I hear a master bass player not too much taller than I am, such as Joe Fonda, I get angry, thinking of what might have been. At the same time, I think, "Yeah, Joe, you do it for all of us."
