| Dear Friends Nearly six years ago I embarked on a journey. On December 18th, 1998 I began playing the saxophone, and I have since dedicated my life to the study and practice of music. After 2 and a half years, I started getting calls to play professionally around Spokane with various groups, and eventually on cruise ships. However, for the last 3 years, I have been fighting injury. In that time I have seen more than a dozen medical professionals from physical therapists to an acupuncturist, taken various medications, and even taken 3 months off from playing at one point. Most of these approaches showed little improvement or permanence, but this summer I thought I had made some progress with a combination of massage, bone work, acupuncture, and changes to the way I play. Nevertheless, about a month and a half into my current cruise stint, symptoms began to resurface, and are now as strong as ever. There is constant pain in areas from my neck to my hands, and my fingers feel stiff and weak to the point were it is difficult to perform. It is because of these injuries that I am retiring from a career in music. It's time to move on in life, and explore new opportunities. I'm sorry if this has been a little verbose, but I just wanted to let people know what is going on, and to thank everyone who has been there along my journey, whether as a teacher, student, peer, or audience member, and to especially thank Kent Meredith, Rob Tapper, Dick Hubbard, and of course, my parents. What do I plan to do now? First thing, I would like to eat some decent, healthy food. Short term, I probably need to find a job and an apartment (if you know of anything promising...) and try to get healthy again. Next fall I may return to college at UW or WSU to pursue a degree in some engineering or science-related field. Musically, I really doubt I could stop playing, so I'm hoping to continue playing here and there--it looks like I'm going to sub with Tuxedo Junction Big Band at least once this winter. But my days of playing 2-6+ hours a day are over. So, that's where things stand. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope to see you upon my return to Spokane around November 29th. Brian Einstein Lassiter |