Member Profile

Paul Waech Cornet pwaech@yahoo.com
Joined the EIBB in 1995	Started playing cornet in 1978. He plans to keep playing as long as possible, "as long as I can breathe, hold my horn and see the music, I'll be playing."
Paul says, "I grew up in the thriving metropolis of Wilton, IA, located in scenic southeast Iowa, but quite far from many scenes..."
He attended the University of Northern Iowa from 1987 to 1992 and is proud of the fact that he was never asked to leave, no matter how hard he tried. Finally he received his Bachelor of Music Education degree.
As Paul says he is currently, a "shepherd. Actually, I teach music at Hiatt Middle School, which, technically, is not far off from being a shepherd."
A different picture of Paul will be posted here soon.	Paul has some special memories of band concerts and trips: "Playing for the Olympic torch as it came through Iowa, in Iowa City...but especially in Cedar Rapids, in front of THOUSANDS of people. In fact, that whole summer was something special. We had so many concerts, and were often short-handed in the front row cornets. But, as Dennis would say, "We're men." Well, not Beth...but she sure did her part too!" "Any contest we atteneded...but hard to match the year we moved up to the Championship class and won 2nd place! That was the year we traveled to Lexington. The venue was nice, and situated not too far from a brew pub. It doesn't get much better..." "Hearing Grimethorpe Colliery, WATCHING them, at one of the Gala concerts." "Being able to stand in room in Little Rock for solo contest...and see right in front of me the faces of so many friends. Any nervousness I had disappeared at that moment."
"There are probably several goofs and gaffs I've made during concerts I would just as soon forget. But one moment I would like to forget...and yet is burned in my memory forever...is being trapped in the bathroom of a charter bus on our way to a concert. We were traveling north on I380, and I felt nature calling. One thing I've learned, if nature calls and you're on a bus, have someone take a message. The door closed behind me...and then would not open. I jiggled the handle, which...did nothing. Different people from the band tried the same trick, but from the outside, and miraculously...nothing worked." "It gets hot in a bathroom on a bus, I assure you. The driver pulled over to the side and stopped. The he came back and...jiggled the door handle. Finally, it still didn't open. I heard him get on the radio and call for help. Other people came and pushed, banged, kicked...and jiggled the handle." Finally, God quit laughing long enough to send a minor miracle my way, and the door clicked, and came open. I'd like to say I had some witty, memorable remark ready, but all that came to mind was to sob thankfully." "There are so many pieces I've loved playing...brass band music is unlike any other type of music I've played. Playing "Kingdom Triumphant" for IBA stands out, as does playing "English Heritage" at NABBA in Chicago."
When Paul isn't with the band he says, "I like to watch movies, exercise, work in the yard...mostly, I enjoy playing my horn. That really is a hobby for me...which makes it all the more enjoyable, I think. It settles me and brings balance on days I feel "off."
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