Facial Hair

Every couple of months I get the urge to experiment with facial hair. Occaisionally, this turns out to be a disaster. Well, I'm currently fascinated with the late 19th century...truly the golden era of men's facial hair styles, and so I had the grand idea of trying this design:





Unfortunately, it didn't come out so well. I made a mess of it, and as I tried to fix things..I made them worse. At this point, there wasn't much left to do but admit failure and start from scratch. Now most people who know me, are aware that I almost NEVER have a clean-shaven face (I've got strong opinions on men with no facial hair....you know who you are!!!!). Anyway, for me it's kind of like taking your clothes off...The last time I did this (about 7yrs ago), my friend Dave Drotos told me that I resembled the retro toy "Inchworm". Of course I didn't really like this but secretly admitted he might be onto something. Anyway, since this may not happen again for several years, I decided to have a little fun.

You decide for yourselves:

Last day. I'm ready to go home. As much as I love traveling, I miss my pack...dog, cat and of course, wife. Also, I feel as if I've been "skipping stones" with my money....just throwing it around to see what happens...Anyway, since my flight is not until later, Jeremy, Isaac, Ben and I will take a little drive to check out some scenery and then I'll drive to ABQ and start my way home...

I felt a little sentimental saying goodbye to Jeremy. While he technically moved away from Cleveland two weeks ago, I've spent nearly all of that time with him...so he really hadn't left. Today, as I was saying goodbye, it seemed strange to think that I wouldn't see my tall, serious, good-natured, vegetarian friend around anymore. I greatly admire him as he is a deeply committed musician who is always pushing to experience new things. I'll be seeing him in November in NYC where I'll be recording/collaborating with some other projects. It seems that while we'll be living in different parts of the country, we'll continue developing our work together and make these small tours more often.

Had fun with the kids. Here's our rock star pose...

The performance last night at the High Mayhem Festival(Santa Fe, New Mexico) was pretty good. Because we had more time than at the NWEAMO Festival, we were able to do a couple of other pieces. These were a little ragged (due to lack of rehearsal) but never-the-less, seemed to go over well. We closed with eftah, the piece we've been playing a lot and it was by far the best performance yet. Jeremy and I are starting to get to that next layer of performance chemistry that only comes from repetition. Things are going to be different with him living in Arizona...we'll have to work long distance.

The High Mayhem Festival is really impressive. A three day event with about 30 musical/poetry acts, the organizers really do a great job of moving things along. This is not affiliated with any universities...just some really dedicated people who work really hard all year to put this thing on. All of the music I heard was interesting and varied, from very "out" to "sort of out" to groove based. The sound technicians were all patient and helpful and there seemed to be no shortage of people around to help with moving and carrying things.

I met all kinds of cool people, some of them other artists and some just local folks just there to hang out and listen. Jeremy took the kids back to the hotel room (starting to fall asleep) about midnight but I stayed to the bitter end (3:30am).

There has been some really cool hangs. Jeremy's sister Andi and her husband Kevin were in town vacationing, so we had a few meals with them. They also came to the show so it was nice to have a little support...It was cool to have Isaac and Ben there as well, I'll miss seeing them. There was also a continued Cleveland-San Francisco hang as Last Chance for the Loneliest Kitten (Josh, Kurt and Ava) were also performing.

Today it's rainy and cold, so I'm just sitting in a coffee shop, checking my email and blogging. I sort of wanted to go hiking somewhere but the weather and very little sleep are keeping me firmly planted on my ass. Later, I'll go and wander about downtown Sante Fe's shops and galleries and look at all of the stuff I can't afford to buy.

Played San Diego Friday night. Overall, the show was really strong. Our performance was pretty good. I had some weird computer issues that prevented me from doing a few things, but I think the piece came across well. The performance space was really nice. The stage was really wide (this is where the University orchestra performs) and the guys running the board were on the ball. In fact, all of the sound technicians that we have dealt with were very good. Here's a pic of jeremy warming up:


















All of the pieces on the program were new to me. The Electric Hammer performed 3 works and as usual were slammin'! I had a really fun night out afterwards with everyone. So many cool folks. Jeremy stayed back at the room to sleep before his drive down to Bisbee, AZ and then on to Santa Fe. I rented a car so that he could take care of his affairs and pick up Isaac and Ben (his boys) and I could take my time driving across Arizona to Santa Fe where we will hook back up and play at the High Mayhem Festival.

The drive out of San Diego on I-8 is really stunning. The transition from tropical to desert is very subtle. Palm trees give way to rock and small cacti. Passing through the mountains(Cleveland National Forest...funny) about an hour east of the city, takes you up to some higher elevations that affords really nice views of all the surrounding areas including Mexico to the south. Here's a pic:

















Arizona is just beautiful. Started getting into some beautiful desert valleys east of Yuma, Az. I was making really good time. Because of the spatial relationships of country this open, speed is deceiving. It was easy driving at 80-90 mph...it wasn't until I topped 100 mph that I felt like I was speeding...what fun. But making time wasn't really the point, so I kept stopping to take pictures and just generally experience the place. Temperature in the low 100s, maybe high 90s...not really too bad. I had the overwhelming urge to take all of my clothes off and dance around naked in the dry desert air...I didn't do this but I'm kind of regretting it now:) The colors around here are just spectacular, the sun slipping in and out of the clouds, constantly changing the perception of distance and texture. You almost need to just pick a spot, sit on the ground and hang out for hours. I took I-8 to I-10 just south of Phoenix where I picked up Rt. 79 (beautiful) to Rt. 60 East which would take me all the way to Soccoro, New Mexico. A long drive, but interesting and scenic.

Got into Santa Fe around 1am....tired. Drove about 850 miles today. Worth every moment. My only regret is that it got dark as I got into New Mexico. Almost all of the rooms were booked up due to "Balloon Festival". Finally found a Red Roof Inn. Jeremy and the kids stayed about an hour south. We'll hook up tomorrow.Here's a few pics:

Drove from San Francisco down to San Diego last night. Really hated to leave. That city is just awesome. MUST RETURN SOON! This trip would have been more amazing except for the fact that we didn't get out of SF until about 2pm...we were just lingering a bit...by the time we got to Santa Cruz, the rush hour traffic was totally gridlocked. To compound this, Jeremy went on a fruitless 1hr excursion to find a T-Mobile store so he could fix his phone. I just waited in a coffee house...apparently, the address he was looking for did not exist. A Grand waste of daylight...By the time we got to Big Sur...darkness. When I was younger, I would have spent this moment being mad and pouty because something didn't work out, but we just pulled the car over near a treacherous cliff, turned the lights out and sat outside looking out over the ocean at a beautiful yellow fingernail moon and a sky full of bright, clear stars. I've seen a lot of great starry nights, but I've never seen them looking over an ocean cliff. Really special. Here's a few pics:

"A Man Called Jeremy"



















Jeremy was really sleepy, so I drove the rest of the night down 101 south through Los Angeles to San Diego. Los Angeles is just an urban disaster...just never-ending sprawl. But it's still kind of interesting reading all of the signs with well-known places and streets, We got into SD around 4AM. I just drank a bunch of coffee and listened to news/talk radio...viva la "Coast to Coast".

Right now I'm sitting on stage at San Diego State University getting ready to sound check. Looks to be a good show tonight. Several of the groups are not familiar to me.

Today was tourist day. Took the streetcar to where Jeremy's friend Michael works (architect), walked back to his place, then we went out and had some delicious Ethiopian food and beers in the lower Haight. This part of the city has some really beautiful old houses. The food is really good here. A lot of affordable choices.

Tomorrow we get back into the Volvo and head towards San Diego. We are going to try and stop in L.A. and say hello to a couple of friends...but the traffic will be gawdy so who knows if that will work.

Got to San Francisco today. The weather was really clear so coming into the city via the Golden Gate bridge was really spectacular. This city is so beautiful. The mountains, the architecture, the ocean...the way that the houses just sort of fold into the hills, seems very mediterranean. We are staying with Scott Barkan(Barky) in the Sunset neighborhood about 3 blocks from the ocean.

We performed tonight at a nice coffee house, opening for singer/songwriter Kevin McCarthy. It was a really fun gig. Afterwards, we had tleveland hang consisting of: Myself, Jeremy Bleich, Scott Barkan, Kevin McCarthy and Kurt Kotheimer. Very cool...kind of surreal. Not sure which deserves more attention, the fact that so many Cleveland musicians are living here or that so many of them have left Cleveland...

Stayed in a little coastal town in Oregon last night. Jeremy and I tried very hard to find a bar/pub to find some food and drink but sunday night was just not happening. So, we grabbed some tortilla chips, green salsa, cottage cheese and an avacado, went back to the hotel room and watched I Robot....not a good movie.

Continued back down the coast. Got into California around noon. Went through some amazing stands of Redwoods. Rounding a bend, we ran into this:





















I love the genital detail on Babe...it really makes a bad sculpture interesting...

We're staying in a little California town tonight (Garberville?)...nothing whatsoever happening here. We'll just go to bed and get going early.

Left Portland today. The drive down the Oregon coast is spectacular. There are tons of drive thru espresso bars...most likely to help folks through the rainy, dreary weather. Jeremy and I got pulled over by police 4 times. Let me repeat that: 4 times. Why? Because Jeremy's Volvo is missing a tailight and license plate light. Amazing. The police were very cool though...they got one look at our packed car and figured we had enough to deal with (by the way, for those who don't know, Jeremy is also moving on this trip to Bisbee, Arizona,,,hence all of the personal possesions)...

Check out this scene:


















Anyway, here's a couple of beautiful pics of the Oregon coast. This place definitely deserves another visit.

Today was amazing. Jeremy went to visit one of his long-time friends, so I decided to spend the day walking around Portland, riding the awesome streetcars, and just having a chill day to myself. As I was walking down the street, I saw a guy(Justin) I met on the plane ride out there. We had chatted quite a bit about travel etc.. Anyways, he was out walking with his friend Randi with whom he was staying with, and they invited me to hang out with them. I ended up spending the entire day with them! Randi just moved out there herself about 2 months prior but she seemed to know the city well, so first we walked to a nice little street fair where I bought a nice little bamboo flute ($15), then we took a train across the river to the South East side. It was a really cool strip with all kinds of shops, restaurants and cafes. After that, we went and hung out for awhile at her apartment. From there I took the streetcar(free) down to Portland State University to hear the Saturday night NWEAMO concert. I am so glad I ran into those guys today. I enjoy walking around towns by myself but having some fun people to hang out with was really great. Here's a pic: