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.

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)