Dallas to Clovis to Santa Fe and a New Marimba

Greetings,

As I sit in my hotel room in Santa Fe, enjoying the weather and feeling mellow from the margarita imbibed upon arrival, I am happy to report we landed the new marimba mentioned in previous posts. This instrument will be a wonderful addition to our instrument inventory and great for the studio. I am pleased... and relieved.

As for the tour, the trip has been relatively uneventful. We traveled west from the Metroplex of Dallas/Fort Worth and into the great cattle feed lot/oil country of West Texas. To my surprise, countless zero-emission, non-fossil fuel burning windmills pepper the landscape between Lubbock, Texas, and Clovis, New Mexico. On our route, we stopped in the appropriately named town of Mule Shoe, the birth town of one of our singers. Taking photos with the town mule statue was mandatory.

After a particularly rough sound check, we played a show in Clovis, turned in, and departed for Albuquerque this morning. According to the Tom Tom, we were 1/3 of a mile from our next gig when a very sweet older woman tried drinking her tea while driving. The end result was a collision- her car drilling our rental van. After a long wait for Albuquerque's finest to arrive and make a report, we coordinated a ride for those on the gig, and then August, Shonda and I continued on to Santa Fe, checked into our respective rooms, and immediately went to The Cowgirl for some Southwestern cuisine and margaritas... ah... Santa Fe.... I think I have to work tomorrow, but at this moment, nothing really matters.

Back in Texas...

Greetings Everyone!

Due to the cost of gasoline, an unintended aspect of travel includes free upgrades on rental cars. Turns out, economy/compacts are now popular, and mid-size cars are crap. My particular "upgrade" is a driving blind spot with AC unable to contend with the oppressive heat and humidity the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is experiencing. Texas, Texas, Texas...

We are locked in rehearsal mode for the next couple of days before setting out on what should be a decent tour. I say decent because it will take us through New Mexico and Colorado, with extended stays in Santa Fe and Durango. Who can complain about that? Well, I'll let you know- surely we'll have guilty parties.


Thoughts from today's rehearsal:

-I should find a psychologist/sociologist willing to split research on morale and the under-staffed percussion section.
-Playing drum set with a concert band is like trying to drive a tractor trailer on ice.
-I think I've played every piece ever written for the wind ensemble/ concert band... and if not, I might as well have- it's all running together....
-Pop tunes from last summer's Middle East/East Africa tour suck a year later. Although, we now have the guy from this group fronting our band. He doesn't suck. La Bouche was huge in Europe and evidently, did well here too. Even I know this song...

I'll write more as the tour progresses, assuming wifi stays free and plentiful. Less drama from last year's tour is guaranteed (no mortars/rockets/camels/biblical ruins/African villages/humvees/black hawks/and sweaty rides in C-130's)

Summer.... ahhh... ehhh???

It's summer. The season I craved since last summer wrapped up and the school year took hold. So why is it I wake every morning with a to do list longer than what I feel during the semester?

Despite my calendar looking sparse, I've had a lot going on. Besides the typical work on the house/yard/etc tasks, I've performed a few times locally, including with the "newest ensemble in town," The Jadid Ensemble- a group accompanying Middle Eastern dance... good stuff. Even presenting a music class for 75 wily little children at the local library took more work and planning than we would have liked... fortunately, Tracy is an early ed specialist... I just want to drum.

Getting the Alamosa Live Music Association's summer concert series together equals finding money. I scored a $2500 grant last night thanks to the tourism board, and with a little luck, I'll score big time with the Colorado Council on the Arts today...

A nice family vacation to the Isle of Palms, SC seems like the distance past as I sit in my office picking audition music for the ASC Big Band, working on those "professional affiliation" things that are evidently very important to one's career in higher ed, and working on a large item purchase previously mentioned in an earlier blog- help if you have money to give away!

Speaking of money, I am once again fortunate to have donors helping with the creation of this momentum-building creature called the Rocky Mountain Pan Handlers. Here's a picture of the steel drum band at Black Swamp Percussion- scroll down a bit... click here.

Tonight, I'm going to check out the local taiko group, which should be good. Tomorrow, I am attending a workshop hosted by author Wayne Sheldrake regarding how to get a book published- you know... just in case I write one... or do I already have one??..??.. stay tuned.

My mother and sister are driving out across the apparently cursed midwest and up to the high country for a week's vacation with us. It should be a great time and a reason to get out and see the local area. Hopefully we won't have to visit this place....

I head out on tour in a couple weeks for Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, and then the rest of the summer should be mine... I think...