*Ask AfricAnimalAZ Anything*

[MikaelaMuppet]

Played the violin many years ago and still keep it. Tried the guitar, but fingers hurt. I'll occasionally play the piano when there's a song I really want to learn, but then the interest fades, I find it boring, and stop for a while. To answer the question, yes, I play instruments sometimes, but whenever I do, it's mostly the piano. To add to that, I'm nowhere near musically gifted, so when I attempt to play a song, it's by ear.

*On the other hand, I've recently been thinking of going back to the piano for more than a few days now, so...if there's music to be made again, then it could happen maybe today, tomorrow, the day after, or when I finally get to it - we'll see. : )

Do you still play violin a little bit?

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Have you ever met any famous people?

 

[AfricAnimalAZ]

Do you still play violin a little bit?

Well, rarely. The two most recent times I played it were in late 2015 when I was trying to learn a violin part in a song for fun. Coincidentally, my young cousin was going to start playing it in school at the time, so she wanted to see mine and sort of get a grasp for it. After that came a gap and I put it away until August of this year. A friend from out-of-town was visiting and I was showing her around the basement, where some of the instruments are kept. When I told her about the violin, she asked that I take it out and play something -- now, since I'm more than rusty, (believe me, it sounds like nails on a chalkboard), with slight difficulty, I managed to turn out a fragment of a Disney song (*thankfully, it only took her a few seconds to recognize it). I tend to feel a bit nervous on the violin because it can sometimes be impossible to get a decent sound out of it, even when it's in tune. That said, I still play it, but once in a while.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Well, rarely. The two most recent times I played it were in late 2015 when I was trying to learn a violin part in a song for fun. Coincidentally, my young cousin was going to start playing it in school at the time, so she wanted to see mine and sort of get a grasp for it. After that came a gap and I put it away until August of this year. A friend from out-of-town was visiting and I was showing her around the basement, where some of the instruments are kept. When I told her about the violin, she asked that I take it out and play something -- now, since I'm more than rusty, (believe me, it sounds like nails on a chalkboard), with slight difficulty, I managed to turn out a fragment of a Disney song (*thankfully, it only took her a few seconds to recognize it). I tend to feel a bit nervous on the violin because it can sometimes be impossible to get a decent sound out of it, even when it's in tune. That said, I still play it, but once in a while.

That's the same for my friend as well, but doesn't play violin. She plays trumpet instead. She's an older lady who is a teacher at my alma matter (high school) and only plays trumpet around Christmas Eve/Christmas with her young grandsons.

 

[AfricAnimalAZ]

Have you ever met any famous people?

I've been in the presence of a few 'famous' people, but they're (or they were, in one case) only partially-known in the US. The first person was a Pakistani singer seen on several occasions. Last I talked to her was when she visited Chicago in 2012 -- unfortunately, she had passed January of the following year. There was also a certain kids' band from Down Under. Though I went to three of their concerts, I didn't directly meet any of the members myself, but my sister and some cousins did (*we were able to to get ones' autograph), so I think that still counts. In those days, I'd be watching from our seats nearby -- trying to capture partial footage/pictures of the performance while the rest ran up to meet a band member/character. At one point, someone would come off the stage and walk around the entire room, greeting the audience (*I couldn't tell if the kids or parents were more excited). The closest I've ever gotten to actually meeting any of them, though, was when my sister met the guitarist (his was the autograph) and when I was making a video of a short 'meet-and-greet' between one cousin and the then-lead singer(*or maybe the same cousin was standing near me and I started recording after he met him, I haven't watched it in forever, so I forget) - he (the lead) was only a few feet away...as for the video itself, I've kept it saved since.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

I've been in the presence of a few 'famous' people, but they're (or they were, in one case) only partially-known in the US. The first person was a Pakistani singer seen on several occasions. Last I talked to her was when she visited Chicago in 2012 -- unfortunately, she had passed January of the following year. There was also a certain kids' band from Down Under. Though I went to three of their concerts, I didn't directly meet any of the members myself, but my sister and some cousins did (*we were able to to get ones' autograph), so I think that still counts. In those days, I'd be watching from our seats nearby -- trying to capture partial footage/pictures of the performance while the rest ran up to meet a band member/character. At one point, someone would come off the stage and walk around the entire room, greeting the audience (*I couldn't tell if the kids or parents were more excited). The closest I've ever gotten to actually meeting any of them, though, was when my sister met the guitarist (his was the autograph) and when I was making a video of a short 'meet-and-greet' between one cousin and the then-lead singer(*or maybe the same cousin was standing near me and I started recording after he met him, I haven't watched it in forever, so I forget) - he (the lead) was only a few feet away...as for the video itself, I've kept it saved since.

Do you know the name of the band?

 

[AfricAnimalAZ]

Do you know the name of the band?

As somewhat humiliating it is for me to admit, that Aussie group was The Wiggles - really popular among little kids back in the early-to-mid 2000's in America (*they weren't too bad yet not all that great, either, but I was already outside the demographic when I first saw them, so it didn't really matter). Today they're not as well-known, though.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

As somewhat humiliating it is for me to admit, that Aussie group was The Wiggles - really popular among little kids back in the early-to-mid 2000's in America (*they weren't too bad yet not all that great, either, but I was already outside the demographic when I first saw them, so it didn't really matter). Today they're not as well-known, though.

Knew it!

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

If you could have somebody narrate your life, who would narrate? Which actor and actress would play your parents?

 

[AfricAnimalAZ]

If you could have somebody narrate your life, who would narrate? Which actor and actress would play your parents?

Not sure...never actually thought about it.

If someone were to narrate my life, then it would probably be myself - though, David Attenborough could come at a close second (and he narrates nature documentaries!) Parents would most-likely be portrayed by real-life parents, or it might become one of those things where one person plays every character - self and both parents. I've seen something similar on TV before. : )