Notes from a Desert Pied Piper
Current mood: content
Category: Music
Nothing like being on the road to give you an appreciation for home. This week began attending a memorial for a friend who died suddenly of a massive heart attack in his living room. His memorial was on a late afternoon in their back yard and art studio. It was so hot and we were all squishing around the shade like delicate plants. What was amazing was how he navigated so many different crowds here in my little town on the Rio Grande. Painters, poets, sculptors, writers and of course musicians all knew Juan and we gathered ate, drank and gave our funny accounts of our personal experiences. I played a song on my flute that he had suggested a title for. It was moving and interesting to see how many people showed up. I don't even think I know that many people……
The chilie fields behind my house are growning so fast. I trimmed many Mexican Elder and Pecan trees trying not to wear out my hands. Rehearing for upcoming shows is going well. Problem is when I rehearse I always end up writing new material so have to give myself a talking to. The fires here in the west make our skies hazy. The Mexican border town of Juarez is just 35 minutes away and when our monsoon season kicks in we can smell the acrid fumes from the 2.5 million citizen's cars and huge Maquiladoras where our cheap electronics are assembled. The violence in Juarez is out of control lately. Nearly 300 killed this year alone from drug violence not to mention the women of Juarez numbering in the thousands by some accounts whose bodies are found in the desert raped and strangled. Very sad and disgraceful.
Yet there are wonderful signs of art and friendliness. When I'm in town I try to make it to our Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings where growers and artisans gather to trade their wares in an open market. Even when I'm traveling I always try to go down to the local Grower's Markets and busk, or play for tips. There is nothing better than playing for hundreds of strangers and trying out your music. Today there were volunteers walking dogs available for adoption so that was heaven for me. As usual the children always gather around when I'm playing and I love it. I think this must be the first time they are hearing a Native American flute and definitely a Hang drum. They love it when their parents give them money to put in my tip can. Cool.I bought some summer squash, plums, chilie and fresh garlic to make Calabacitas. Yum.
Musically some great things are going on I think. My music was included on last week on Hearts of Space a nationally syndicated ambient/new age music radio program. I was so happy as this is one of those desires that is in my things I want to manifest journal. My T-shirts with the Kokopelli/Hang logo are here and I have put a website to order merchandise and CD's. http://www.randygranger.net/order.html You can still order the traditional way through CDBaby.com, iTunes and Amazon.com. My newest CD "A Place Called Peace" is out in the world and I wish it well. It is all Native American flute music some with Hang, percussion and vocals. I'm very proud of this music and grateful for the opportunity to share it.
A couple of gigs fell through mostly due to the person I booked with initially was three persons ago and my contract is no where in sight or because my promised time slot was moved, trimmed or given to the friend of the organizer etc. Oh well. I believe everything is just as it should be so no longer fret. I uploaded a new song called "Chaco Moon Meditation" that has Hang and the mysterious Anasazi flute. I missed a chance to hang out with radio host Robin from NAMAPAHH due to conflicts of time. Mainly I had to take a friend to the airport very early Friday morning. Sorry Robin. Added some new shows to so it all balances out eh.
So check out the T-Shirts and give a listen to the new songs on "A Place Called Peace." Say hi if you are at a show or festival. There is a special deal I'm offering to my MySpace fans for a few days. Order any CD and a T-Shirt from my website and I'll throw in a free copy of "A Place Called Peace." Yep free. It is my way to say thank you. Only one T Shirt per person please. I need some to sell on the road gas prices kicking my ass and all…… Just type in the word "myspacefan" for the deal.
Zion Canyon Flute Fest Wrap Up and Video....
Current mood: cultured
Category: Music
I'm back from a road trip to the Zion Canyon Art and Music Festival in Springdale, Utah. Though the weather was amazingly hot, dry and breezy—kind of like living in a huge blow dryer set on low—overall some really excellent music took place and loads of fun.
On my drive up, which is a 13 hour drive from my home in New Mexico, I camped out in Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Reservation of northeast Arizona. Canyon de Chelly is a deep, red-walled canyon with a small river running through it. The Anasazi and later the Navajo have made this verdant canyon home. Driving into ZionCanyon is always stunning and stirs every part of my being. Seeing the friends I've made again always makes me happy. This time I met several new people as we gathered around the campground across from the entrance to the festival. Rick Dunlap and his family on Djembe, the Tank Tongue Drum which sounded like a Hang and son Ricky on didgeridoo and all the others who were jamming up a storm made for a raucous good time. I volunteered to MC the open mic stage on Saturday and Sunday. I loved hearing the flute players from all over the country. Some really nice and original music was made.
Probably because I had a Hang drum with me several people asked me to sit in with them. Kiriel from Phoenix, Stephen DeRuby, the Dunlap Clan and others that I played with were all just really open and we all shared a passion for the Native American flute and its possibilities. Joe Young, a musician from Boise, Idaho did a fantastic job with sound and played an amazing set of music. He was nice and asked me to sit in on Hang and Cornell Kinderknecht on Bansuri played so beautifully both in his solo set and with us.
Will Hoshal asked me and California musician Vince Chaffin to sit in during his concert and it was just an hours worth of smiling on both sides of the stage. Thanks Bill. Can't wait to do it again. Being able to do what is your passion is truly a privilege. All the dehydration, sunburn, egos, too little sleep and extremely long drive was worth it. On the return trip I camped below Sunset Volcano Crater north of Flagstaff, Arizona. Very serene.
I lusted after so many flutes this year and really wanted one of John Kulias' ceramic flutes and several of Michael Allen's flutes but since gas is over $4.00 a gallon so the choice was pretty clear. Buy flutes or walk home….ha ha
Here is a video/photo montage of Canyon de Chelly and ZionCanyon set to a song from my new CD "A Place Called Peace." The song is "Apache Tears."The CD is ready and available but I'll post a note soon about a special MySpace offer….stay tuned.
Well as I sometimes do I like to start by saying it is so hot here. It has been in the low 100's for the past week with a steady wind and at sometimes a downright gust accompanied by so much dust and grit it could sand blast a tree bare.People say well at least it's a dry heat to which I respond—you mean like an oven or a blow dryer?I was driving outside of El Paso yesterday when the hugest Dust Devil I've ever seen picked up a road sign and slammed it into a car which swerved causing all sorts of craziness.
So in the midst of this heat I'm off to the Zion Canyon Art and Flute Festival again this year in Springdale, Utah.It is a 12-hour drive so I'm going to camp halfway in Canyon de Chelly, pronounced (Canyon de Shay) an ancient Anasazi dwelling site on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona.I'm looking forward to being surrounded by silence, stars and such spiritually significant land. If you have never been on Indian reservation or in a village there is such a great stillness and peacefulness there. Much the same way that really cool cities are electric--Indian communities are on the other end. I'm looking forward to recharging and playing my flute in that setting.
The other night I was playing at a party in the Gila national forest in a funky town called Kingston. When it got dark the number of visible stars was just breathtaking. The moon was a thumbnail but so bright like someone cut a slit in the curtain. I was playing my Hang while a friend played her didgeridoo then another guest read a poem and some others sang on guitar. It was quite magical….or was it the homemade beer? Of course people went crazy over the Hang and scheduled a few concerts for me in the fall so it was a great time.
Zion canyon is really beautiful but I do wish the festival would return to the original October dates. It is really hot there and I couldn't find a room nor tent site so am staying 45 minutes away in St. George. That is almost two gallons of gas and at over $4.00 a gallon it is getting a little tough to tour. I'm playing and MCing the open mic stage on Sat. and Sun. I love hearing what other flute players are doing. Of course seeing the friends I've made is so worth it. On my return trip I'll camp in the mountains or something near Flagstaff, AZ. It should be slightly cooler.I'll take pictures especially for my fans in Europe, Japan and Eastern Europe. Thanks.
My new album "A Place Called Peace" is scheduled for release next week though I don't know if it will be back in time to take to Zion. Oh well I have others…I've uploaded a song from the CD called "Double-Barrel Train Wreck" which you can download for free on my profile. Woo hoo.It is a solo song on a double barrel, or drone, Native American flute which imitates a train in motion. When I perform it live I say it is like a Native American flute met an electric guitar and collided with a locomotive. Listen for the Bluesy riff at the end—my nod to Hendrix! I always welcome your comments!
A Musician’s Life - The Art of Gigging
Current mood: distractable
Category: Music
For a while I had a quote from writer John Updike as my email signature it goes: "Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or doing it better." I would take that further to say that is what an artist does.I'd like to think of myself as an artist because with every song, every performance and every recording is an attempt to communicate MY experience in life, love etc. Thing is I'm also a working musician and when summer roles around out come the requests to perform at Weddings, Receptions, Rehearsal Dinners…etc.When things are going well and my bank account can keep up with my bills I usually say I'm too busy or have a schedule conflict. Whew!Weddings are madness but so are the many other "gigs" we do like banquets, dinners and the dreaded private party.Recently I was performing at a winery/bistro for a reception/wake sort of event.The woman who passed away owned a huge winery as well as co-owning the bistro.I set up in a tiny little corner next to the bar.After the funeral service the hoards of people, about 300 poured in and it got loud and crowded fast.I'm blowing my little lungs out on flute interspersing with Hang drum selections.I was near the door that leads out to the Patio and at the end of the food line. A group was encroaching on my space more and more and I was getting nervous—they had their backs to me, a plate of food in one hand, a wine glass in the other.Of course one of the fun things about playing these gigs is that you are really paid background music so I must have been invisible. This man keeps backing into my microphone and then knocked over my mic stand which fell onto my speaker which hit a stool which then hit a collection of wine glasses of various levels of fullness. Dude! I'm standing here you know…..
It was crazy and the whole place went quiet.A man suggested I move my equipment further back.I answered a polite but stern,"No."Anywhere where you, the artist, is not a featured performer has the risk of competing with Cappuccino machines, clanging plates and children.When I played the Hang for the Wake a group of children gathered around and started dancing. That's cool by me, but they were bumping into the octogenarians standing in line for food.It was like a kindergarten mosh pit.
Weddings are nice in the abstract. When you are a musician you know there will be a request for a song you have never heard of before and can't possibly be played on guitar, flute or any other instrument.You will be required to meet with the family, the priest, the dreaded church organist and get lost during the service.Of course they ask "could you do a special song at the reception?"And…will $40 be enough?Too funny and too true.
I get a lot of request to play at private parties and just about always say no unless I have my eye on a new flute.Heck, with gas prices the way they are here…..I may have to say yes.Let me set up what it is like to play at a party.It is awkward.Period.Unless you want to put on a show and have the chairs gathered around you like a small concert, you will be background.One thing that happens is as soon as you start playing people go to the other room. If you are playing outside they all drift inside.It's nothing personal. People just don't always know what to do with musicians in these settings. Another thing that happens is people will start talking to you as you are playing as if you're just another party guest.Sometimes someone will bring their kid over and say he/she is really good can she sing a song?Of course when they start singing THEN everyone pays attention. And don't even get me started on the subject of requests.
So with all these types of gigs you have to balance being background music, being a professional, with your need to be an artist and communicate what you do to a listening audience.If you think you have something unique and meaningful to express and share like I do you are grateful to earn a living doing your music period and I am.Luckily I am doing a fair amount of touring and traveling and had to already turn down some delightful weddings in northern New Mexico and a couple of parties here. Aaaawwwww.I will say that something good always comes out of where ever I play. They lead to other gigs or interviews etc. so as they say, It's all good.
Here is a new video of the A Cappella song "Oh Shenandoah" or "Across the Wide Missouri" from my 2006 release Cloudwalker.I hope you enjoy it.It is already 102 degrees F here in the day.Ugh!
"A Place Called Peace"-New CD Progress.
Current mood: artistic
Category: Music
I am happy to say that the new album (CD) "A Place Called Peace" is at the manufacturer getting duplicated and pressed. Yay! It should arrive around June 13th or say.The music on A Place Called Peace is all Native American Flute music some solo songs as well as with Hang drum, percussion and different flutes on the same song. Also I finally recorded a song I've been doing live as well as on video called "Double-Barrel Train Wreck." It is a song on the Drone or Double Barrel Native American flute meant to sound like a train, native flute and electric guitar all collided. Too much fun! Also a first I think, is a song called "Chaco Moon Meditation" with the Anasazi flute and Hang drum. Who would have dreamt that?
I even ordered some T-Shirts with my new Kokopelli/Hang logo in a rich Torquiose color, the logo that is. I know I know, such a businessman eh?
The opening track on the CD is "Za Zee Za Zu Zing" is a World-Pop sing-a-long song that is currently on my MySpace profile. Please give it a listen and let me know what you think. I had an enjoyable time recording this album and am grateful and proud it turned out well. I really hope it is received well and brings some happiness and peace to listeners. As soon as it is completed getting all gussied up I'll post a note. It should be available on CDBaby, Amazon within a week and iTunes, etc. a little later. I have a busy summer schedule with lots of travel, tours, and festivals. Fans are earned one at a time so I appreciate the opportunities I have to spread my music and love it when fans share my music with others too. Have a safe and reflective Memorial Day holiday. I'm off to a pool party in Hatch, NM—the Chilie Capital of the World so they say……
Randy
Oh yeah….here is the CD Cover. I used an illustration by an artist friend called "Gathering Place."
Spring Is Springing - New CD Notes
Current mood: artistic
Category: Music
When I'm playing in other cities and towns I say in southern New Mexico where I live we have two seasons—Wind and Summer. Truthfully we do have Spring but it involves a few nice days and lots and lots of wind, dust and half of Arizona, the state west of us. Lately I've been finishing up work on my new album of Native American Flute music with Hang, percussion, some singing and some music I'm really proud of. I spend as much time as I can outdoors immersed in what creation is doing. You have to go out really early before the 55MPH gusts start. There is water again in the Rio Grande and the Hawks, Egrets, Buzzards, Hummingbirds and Mourning Doves are out in force and I walk along the river listening to flute music. Native flute music goes so great with birds. Something about the random gracefulness just calms me and connects me to the unseen winds. I've been listening to the new CD by Coyote Oldman, aka Michael Allen, a friend and fantastic flute maker. His beautiful new CD is Under An Ancient Sky.
As I'm recording and doing the work it takes to sustain a music career I sometimes battle the discouragement, unreturned phone calls and emails, frustration and missing out on gigs and the desperation at slow sales or ridiculous notion that I should be more successful etc. Everyone, whether in the creative arts or not, has these moments and I work work work to find what I am grateful for. Thankfully I do have a nice piece of dirt here in the MesillaValley of southwest New Mexico. We took a yard that was just hardpan dirt and put lots of sweat and labor and love into it. It is my respite where I refuel and think about driving the long roads of this huge country from gig to gig.
Spring is renewal. The notion that newness is the driving force of all creation and life speaks to me. I mean, nature doesn't hold grudges or hold on to emotional baggage. I see it in my garden that the plants that are talked to the most thrive. Everyone laughs when they ask "My gosh, what do you use on our plants that makes them so beautiful?" and I say—well we talk to them. No fertilizers, no insecticides or anything like that ever goes on them. I grow all sorts of herbs and chilies and lots of roses and flowers that I know the animals like. They come and eat the bugs. I've learned through studying philosophy, science, religions and metaphysics that our mind is much like preparing that garden. Literally we must yank out the weeds of doubt and fear and prepare the soil, plant the seeds of love, hope, dreams etc., cultivate them, talk to them and sure enough they will yield. Recording this newest project I've been taking care to do just that. I'm trusting all this passion and love I'm putting into my music will attract listeners, gigs, recognition and fans like Hummingbirds to flowers.
I've finished laying down the final track to my last song on this project. It is a lively, danceable song called, "A Place Called Peace" with Djembe, Native flute, Hang and a strong vocal line. I decided to invite my friends over to record the background verse that goes Za Zee Za Zu Zing Zing Zing. Who knows what the heck it means but it is pure joy. I can't wait to upload it and better yet have the finished CD sometime this month!My friends are some poets, artists and a city councilor, none of whom sing. So that made it fun and natural sounding. Afterwards we sat on the patio and had wine and fruit and cheese etc.We were watching all the birds and creatures just going about their business and I took some pictures of the Rose bush, some Mexican Primrose and my little water lily pond. Enjoy. Thank you for reading this as always. I appreciate every single one of you.
The Roswell Incident "Hang CD" up for 2 New Mexico Music Indst. Awards
Current mood: grateful
Category: Music
I learned today that two of my songs from "The Roswell Incident" have been nominated in two categories for the 21stNew Mexico Music Industry Awards for 2008. I am really honored, grateful and humbled. The level of professionalism and musicianship in this state is astonishing including our own recent Grammy Winner Robert Mirabal--one of the other musicians up for a NMMIA in my category. Hey I'm ecstatic about that too.
The song " Mi Corazon" is nominated in the Hispanic-Contemporary/Salsa/Latino Rhythmcategory and the song "Amazing Hang" is nominated in the World Beat category. Cool.
What is gratifying for me is that all the songs on The Roswell Incident are centered around the Hang Drum and instrument I've been playing since Sept. 2006 and that most of the original recorded tracks were lost when I accidentally deleted them when I thought I was backing up my Digital Audio Recording deck. I'm honored to be recognized by the New Mexico Music Industry. The winners will be announced on May 18th, 2008 at the Marriott Pyramid in Albuquerque in an Awards Banquet and Show.I'll keep everyone posted.
As always I want every award and recognition to translate to sharing my music with as many people as possible so if you don't have these songs yet you can download them at Amazonmp3.com, iTunes, and CDBaby.com.Thank you all for the nice things you say, the encouragement and for sharing some of your lives with me.
Six Degrees of Vibration-Be Flat, Be Sharp, Be Good
Current mood: curious
Category: Music
This week I came across an article confirming that the Earth, our planet, produces a hum. I think the article said that indeed the Earth sings. This isn't new and in 2004 scientists said they identified the source of the hum and the reason for it. Before I get into connecting how vibration connects everything and my role in that I want to share a personal story that I've not told many people about how I began my own Native American flute journey.
In 2004 I had a dream where I saw that since time began there had been a flute player who's vibrations actually sustained all existence and each generation trained and contributed a flutist and that if it stopped all things would collapse in on itself. I was taken to the center of the Earth where there was a cave with a fire glowing and a very elderly Indian man was playing his flute. I saw a young woman, also Indian, who was the relief flute player. As she started I saw the embers from the fire spark and go up a hole on top of the cave and created new stars. My guide told me the flute had to be an "F" flute as that was the song of creation. I woke up and was just really still thinking about this dream. I opened a book I had on the Hopi ways and, no lie, the page I opened was an early 1900 photo of a Hopi elder playing a flute for a ceremony. Later that week I saw a show on National Geographic Channel about the cosmos and the astronomer said that radio wave telescopes somehow determined that the universe emits a sound and if you mapped it on a scale it would be somewhere between F an F-sharp. I thought ok that's it and I ordered my first Native American Flute in December 2004.
Playing the Hang drum, percussion, Native American flutes as well as singing and playing guitar means everything I do involves vibrations. When I'm playing the flute people say it is so peaceful and soothing. The Hang is all about vibrations with its metallic vibrations that are constructed around octaves and fifths, overtones and harmonics. Many metaphysical writers and some physicists say everything is vibration. The idea behind the String Theory is one that says I paraphrase; all substance is created by vibrations of tiny strings of particles or waves that respond to the observer. Wow. Astronomers discovered that a serious black hole emits energy through sound, specifically a very, very low B-flat note. Not even light escapes black holes but sound does. You can't actually here sounds in space because it is a vacuum and sound needs matter to relate to and do its thing. That is a cool thought in itself. Sound waves travel five times faster through water than through air because it is denser. Think of Whales and Dolphins and they their song is heard miles and miles. Elephants communicate through their feet and the ground.
An interesting experiment to do is stand in a stairwell and sing. The corner of the stairwell will resonate a B-flat. In fact it will steel the B-flat from you and continue it after you stop. I heard this story on Krulwhich on Science:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7644823. The note F is related to B-flat but I won't get into that because I don't want to leave people out who haven't studied music. Suffice to say that they are relative keys.Some scientists postulate that the sound of the Big Bang was a note just flat of B. No kidding. "The Tibetan Gyuto Monks perform Buddhist ceremonies while chanting on one fundamental note. Their refined chanting technique enables each member of the choir to sing a three-note chord, exciting the harmonics of the fundamental drone note." It turns out THIS note was also just flat of B and they have sang it for over 500 years.The New Testament of the Bible says that in the beginning was the word and that the word was God creating the universe. American Indians have long said their songs were given to them by the Earth. If you have ever heard Plains or Pueblo songs with their deep rhythmic drumming and chanting you will be moved and understand.
We are roughly 60% water and since water is such a great conductor of sound we have to be affected by each other's vibrations and especially music. People in Taos, NM and parts of the UK have heard a low hum for many years. All this preamble is to say that I know everything is interconnected and it may be through the unseen vibrational forces. People used to say that a place or a person had good or bad "vibes" and the Beach Boys and their "Good Vibrations" song probably reflected their coastal life. I find that the pure sounds of the Flute, Hang, Drums, and Voice & Guitar resonate in very peaceful ways both with listeners and with me. When I've been in bands people would complain that the other instruments were too loud to hear what I was singing. So now, a solo act, I see the immediate affect my music has on people when they close their eyes—I hope they aren't just dozing off. Ha ha.
The analogy that we are all strings on a guitar and that when one string is plucked the others resonate and vibrate in harmony is a good one. That sound waves need another "material" or "medium" to exist is an apt way to explain our relationship to each other. …..One last thing: The static you hear when you detune a TV or Radio is said to be the residual energy from the so called Big Bang so listen closely.
Using Passion To Keep It Up
Current mood: artistic
Category: Music
That blog title probably sounds more sexual than I meant it to, but I've been criticized lately for my lack of drive so it may be apt.The real meaning behind "Using Passion to keep it Up" is how passion for music is sometimes the only way I can get though a project and see it to its completion.I read once that if you have enthusiasm and passion about what you are doing you all already ahead of 99% of the population. I'd like to think I'm not competing with anyone but the reality is we have no shortage of things competing for our attention begging to distract us what releasing the creativity within.
Right now I'm finishing up recording a new album of Native American Flute music. It is going pretty well I'm happy to say. The songs just keep coming out and a theme is taking shape.I love this instrument and the way it makes me feel and especially the peacefulness it seems to bring to listeners.So that's all good except for the demon I call Depression.Yep, I've fought and lost quite a few battles with debilitating depression most of my life. If you have never gone through the heaviness, painful in every way walk through wet cement that is clinical depression—may you never.It isn't the blues or blahs. It is a physical and psyche manifestation that just drains every bit of energy and enthusiasm and affects your relationships, sleep, health and just about everything else.Thing is, the muse in me never stops, thankfully. Music and songs are always flowing in me so much so I dream about performing, writing, composing and even see sheet music. It's crazy.Sometimes in my dreams it's like I'm on a movie set with musicians playing only to realize that I'm writing the very song they are performing at that very moment.Yikes. I've been reading "Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks who has case after case of people who hear music, or can suddenly play the piano etc.They usually have a giant brain tumor or suffer from emotional chemical imbalance in the brain so I'm a little concerned.
Concentrating is not always easy when I'm in the midst of a depressive episode so I've learned to just leave the tape running as they say when I'm improvising a song.When you put it off then the guilt of not working harder compounds the situation. Enthusiasm hasn't visited me for some time so I'm relying on its muse cohort Passion.I'm passionate about my music and when I hear from a fan it goes a long long way in fueling me.The connection with listeners, audiences and fans is what it is all about for me.As I'm finishing up these new songs I'm starting to feel that tiny light of excitement imagining fans in Poland, England, Malaysia and all over the USA hearing a song like "Apache Tears" for the first time and I'm overcome with gratitude and that's better than depression any day.
This past weekend I was honored to be part of the "Day of Percussion" held at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, New Mexico. Presenters were Jim Carey (not the actor), Dr. Norman Weinberg, Dane Richeson and myself. We were treated to great workshops and clinics on the Vibraphone, Electronic Percussion, integrating world percussion and I did a clinic on the Hang.
I have some other Hang drum clinics coming up and hope to get more sleep the night before. I stayed at the historic Palace Hotel in downtown Silver City. It’s an old place with loads of character and history and some ghosts. Late afternoon I was in my corner room looking over notes when I heard my door handle jiggle and fully thought someone was coming in my room. I could see underneath the door and didn’t see any shadows. I just shrugged it off. The the deadbolt moved and I realized I hadn’t locked the door. So I got up and looked into the hallway and no one was there. I even walked down the hall niether heard nor saw a soul. I sat on the bed again and about a minute later my door handle jiggled and I heard the door press against the frame.
The hotel sits right on the main street of Bullard and Broadway and overlooks Issaacs, the Twisted Vine and is almost right above the Buffalo Bar, Silver City’s notorious Biker Bar. Everytime I would doze asleep a Harley would start up and rattle the windows. Cars with subwoofers drove up and down the main drag not to mention the inebriated bar patrons screaming down the street at each other. It was mayhem!
I met some musician friends at Issacs then headed over the the Twisted Vine to watch the regular middle-aged dancers who are always there dancing up a storm. The band played all Grateful Dead covers. At least that’s what someone said. I am not very familiar with their music honestly but like the vibe. Anyway the band was kind enough to let me sit in with them on my Native American Flute and it was really fun. We did that Billy the Kid song, fitting since he spent so much of his life there. Thanks guys!
I’m booking shows for this summer Hang in tow. Randy
content
cultured
Of course people went crazy over the Hang and scheduled a few concerts for me in the fall so it was a great time.
distractable
artistic
grateful
curious