Guest blogger: musician who drove through the fire

You think your commute is tough!? Musician Amy Sanchez had the drive of her life en route to a concert recently. We featured Amy and her drive through the flames that scorched Southern California on "News To Me" last weekend. She not only made it through the fire, but...

You know, I should really let Amy tell her story... it's a good one, which is why we asked her to be this week's "News To Me" guest blogger!

Not just another gig...

As a freelance musician in Los Angeles, traffic and distracted, multi-tasking drivers are a common hazard in driving from gig to gig. It's just part of the job. And sometimes having to allow 3 hours between the last lesson you're teaching and the concert that evening, even though it should only be a 1 hour drive... that's just part of the job, too. You never know "in traffic". What's not part of the job, however, is carpooling with friends to a concert and literally driving into a wall of flames on the freeway!

Click above to watch the story featuring Amy and several other citizen journalists who faced the flames.

The recent fires throughout Southern California were devastating to many families. I'm sure anyone who found themselves near the fire quickly realized they were powerless in it's path. I was lucky, in that I just passed through the fire – it wasn't threatening my home or family. In light of my good fortune, the whole experience was amazing to witness, and surreal at the same time. I don't envy those who lost their homes and now have to rebuild their whole lives – for them, a surreal situation has become very real.

I was on my way to perform with the Riverside County Philharmonic (I play the French Horn) , carpooling with 3 other musicians from Long Beach. We had been following the fires on the news all morning, knowing that the Yorba Linda fire wasn't far from the 91 Freeway we were planning to take to Riverside. The winds were very strong, gusting up to 80mph, and were blowing embers all over, which in turn, started new fires. We allowed extra time to travel in case we ran into road closures and had to find a route around the fires, but the Eastbound lanes of the 91 remained open. As we headed closer to the fires, the smoke blocked out the sun and colored the sky in menacing reds and oranges. That's when I pulled out my camera, which I try to keep with me – you never know what you're going to want to remember... The thick black smoke at the center of the fires looked like a war-zone, and we were headed straight for it... but traffic was still moving, right? And you don't stop in traffic. Until, all of a sudden, the cars in front of us did stop and it seemed no one knew what to do. At this point, we clearly saw spot fires on the opposite side of the freeway and realized that the fire was crossing the road ahead of us. Drivers at the edge of the fire must have stopped when flames and smoke whipped across the road directly in front of them. Deciding it a better option to get past the fire than sit directly in front of it, trapped on a freeway, these cars started darting through the smoke to get out of danger. So traffic was moving again, and it was our turn. All cars were squeezing into lanes as far away from the fire as possible, and as we drove through the black smoke, bits of flames and embers hit the car and can be seen flicking up the windshield. The fire in the Anaheim Hills Apartments had just started on the opposite side of the freeway. Aside from our amazement at what we had just experienced, the rest of the drive was uneventful – and we even made it to the performance on time. Traffic is never an excuse to be late to a gig...

Life as a freelance musician can be interesting, as almost everyday is different, and your "office" is rarely in the same place! It may not be the most stable line of work, but for me, it is worth it to do what I love. I've had the opportunity to perform throughout the United States and across the world, with different ensembles and in varying genres of music. And often, these types of crazy situations present themselves – whether it be climbing Mt. Fuji in the middle of the night in Japan, traveling to the West Bank in Israel, floating in the Dead Sea, or almost being hit by another vehicle while packed in an auto-rickshaw in India! I've performed with a touring Broadway production throughout the US, Canada and Japan, recorded for a Bollywood film in India, played an opera in Israel, toured with a wind ensemble in India and Ireland, and had tons of random gigs in Los Angeles. I've played with everything from rock bands to church choirs to jazz bands, done studio recording for film and television, and even played in the orchestra for "The Hour of Power" at the Crystal Cathedral. Not to mention the countless orchestral concerts... So, yes, I'd have to say I enjoy life as a freelance musician. I've begun to document my travels and experiences on my website, and I've included music that I've written and performed. I'm constantly looking for the next opportunity, so if you've ever wanted to collaborate with a horn player, check it out – you can contact me from the site. And you can be sure I won't be late for the gig... flames or not.

I would like to thank Eric and "News To Me" for including my video in their fire coverage. ["News To Me" Coordinating Producer] Mike Kane was especially helpful and fun to work with on my part of the segment. It has been a crazy week full of unanticipated media attention for something I had originally just planned to show to family and friends, so you can imagine my excitement at being part of a CNN [Headline] News production! Guess I'll chalk this one up to just another day in the life of a freelance musician...

-Amy Sanchez
www.amysanchezmusic.com

Filed under: Guest Blogger