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euphonious excursion, part 2
hi again. we’re a few more days into the trip and have encountered a few more musical adventures. we were too busy to get to a show in los angeles, but my friend victor and i were able to play some new ideas for each other, something we hadn’t done for a long time. victor and i were in numerous bands together back in louisville, most of which would perform unusually complex songs with 15-20 different parts that would normally last about 8-10 minutes apiece. we listened to a lot of slint and big black back then, amongst others. and the music that victor shared with me when we were growing up in louisville was very influential in shaping my early musical tastes. anyway, it was great to talk with vic about new ideas and what we were both trying to accomplish in our lives. and overall, we had a outstanding time in los angeles after leaving l.a., we drove north to visit our friends howie and kate in berkeley. howie and i were also in band together when we both lived in north carolina. amazingly, he had recently acquired a number of free instruments from various neighbors who were moving away. the gratis items included a vintage gibson electric guitar, an amplifier, and a six-piece drum kit. aside from the already awesome nature of howie and kate’s abode, it was exciting to see so many different instruments sitting around, ready to be played. and selfishly, it was really nice to be able to hang out in one room and be able to play a mandolin, a banjo, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and a drum kit again. on saturday howie and i had time before dinner to play a couple songs together with me on the vintage gibson and him on drums. later that night after some apples to apples, howie and i stayed up and traded songs until about 2 or so. again, it was wonderful to play some songs with an old friend with such incredible knowledge and appreciation of music. between our time berkeley and los angeles, it was a tremendously inspiring week.
euphonious excursion, part 1
okay. we’re one week into the trip and have already witnessed some great music. the past few days have been filled with so many little incredible things (too much to type here), so i’ll just concentrate on the musical aspects. on saturday, we stopped in clarksdale, mississippi – birthplace to some of the greatest blues musicians of all time – sam cooke, muddy waters, john lee hooker, ike turner, just to name a few. after dinner at abe's bbq, we drove to the ground zero blues club and listened to big t and the family band for a couple hours whilst drinking miller high life. ah, miller high life – i’ve missed you so. on monday, we arrived in austin, texas. we noticed that antone’s was hosting “super funk monday” with a band called flyjack. the club, founded by the late great clifford antone, sounds amazing. in regard to flyjack, the rhythm section was outstanding, the guitarist and keyboardist were very tasteful, and the horn section was extremely tight. with great songwriting as well. all in all, it was an extremely entertaining evening of music. on wednesday, we drove to an old spanish village called mesilla just outside las cruces, new mexico. after some mexican food, we walked over to el patio cantina to hear some jazz from the border jazz quintet. smooth, smooth jazz. anyway, while we were drinking at the bar, we met a guy named justin who kept warning us against going to mexico because the police had just gone on strike. then, as we were about to leave, he told us that we absolutely positively had to go to mexico. on thursday, we stopped in bisbee, arizona. we decided to stay at the shady dell rv park that rents old 1950s trailers to people passing through town. after walking around town for a while, we noticed that a local bar called the stock exchange saloon was having a jam for local artists. as we sipped on a couple beers and watched the sound man set up the stage, musician after musician came through the door. everyone seemed to know each other and seemed really excited to play some music together. it was really refreshing to see such camaraderie. tonight, we’ll be in los angeles to visit my friend victor. but i’ve heard it’s not really an entertainment type of town, so i’m not sure we’ll be able to find any good music. maybe we’ll get lucky...
back in the states!
so far i’ve played two open mics. the first one was in fort lauderdale at a place called cheers. sadly, sam and diane were not there to serve drinks, but the host, gary gore, was extremely accommodating, especially when he let me use his backup guitar when mine decided not to work. it was the first stage i’d been on for a while, so that was different. i played a couple songs a bit too fast though. i guess i got a little excited. but all in all, i thought it went pretty well. the second open mic was in louisville, kentucky. it took place at a bar on bardstown road called the highland taproom. the hosts for the evening were a local band called the fuckmonkeys. that’s right. they were hilarious and awesome and really nice guys too. i played about six songs around the end of the night, then sat down to listen to some blues from the last evening’s last performer. overall, i thought it went better than fort lauderdale. i felt a bit more relaxed, probably because i was. anyway, i’m really looking forward to playing more of these things. it’s great to hang around with, talk, and listen to other musicians. and it’s challenging to adapt to the different environments of each performance. i hope a lot more opportunities show up along the way during this road trip we’re going to start in a few days.
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