Santa Fe- good food, relaxation, music, and a documentary you cannot miss

Yes, this is a great town. Take some time in your life and visit Santa Fe. Enjoy the cuisine, the music, the art, the architecture, and the people. I was sitting at a restaurant with a friend from Plano, TX who was absolutely enjoying the people watching- much more interesting than the Dallas suburbs!

I spent the day off from playing with the band by reading geeky drum magazines and practicing my Mediterrasian Tambourine. Last time I was here in the land of green chile, adobes, and hemp clothing, I met up with Glen Velez to play frame drums and the Mediterrasian Tambourine.

As I footed it to the plaza from my hotel to choose a dining experience for lunch, I found myself walking at a mellower pace than usual, singing melodies in my head inspired by the fresh air, blue sky, and cool architectural designs in everything- doorways, cement work, fencing, etc, etc. Slowing down once in a while can only be healthy. Playing hybrid tambourines is also good for the soul... in case you were wondering. Only Santa Fe can remind me of these things.

This evening, Randy, our guitarist, flew in from Dallas. We grabbed dinner and went down to WilLe's Blues Club to catch the great local band, Nosotros. They rocked and had the dance floor packed. Maybe Tracy can eventually get me salsa dancing...

It's odd hanging out with great musicians like Randy Ro, Lane McCray (mentioned in a previous post), and others while watching a great band. It makes you think about who may be in your audience on any given night. I remember playing a gig in Palm Springs years ago and a gentleman came up afterwards and told me stories about playing in Sinatra's band... whoa.

As I attempt to mellow out for the night, I am listening to a set list for an upcoming gig I have with Eric Shiveley. He's a wonderful songwriter, musician, producer, videographer, writer, documentarian, and chihuahua enthusiast that I have the pleasure of knowing. We met a couple of years ago when he hired me to play drums for a video shoot he was doing for his award-winning documentary, Everyone But You. This movie rocks- find it, watch it, love it. He's an amazing talent and quite hysterical. Self depricating? Yes. A true artist? Yes. Check out some of his music, while you're at it.