Dad Stuff: The Expensive Bass Clarinet His Son Picked is Now Awesome Somehow

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift · May 27, 2026 · 10m

Kids learning music rarely goes the way anyone plans. Bob Addison's son had never touched an instrument until September. It was mandatory. None of that matters now.

The bass clarinet was not the cheapest option. He picked it, practiced until it filled the house, chose it as next year's elective, and turned a Kendrick-to-Pink-Floyd musical detour into something his parents stand around listening to.

There is a concert tonight, a Whistler trip on the horizon, and a band retreat near Princeton. There is also a dad who has always wanted to play the saxophone and still has not started, for reasons…