'10 Review

Photos:

Lizard on my windshield:) October '10.

Louisiana wetlands from my window seat, August '10.

My little cousin Ember Edwards of Tofino, B.C., sporting a totally sweet cap knit by my mom. August '10.

FU, BP; the sentiment shared by many throughout the Gulf region. Florida, July '10.

The sun sets over the Straight of Georgia in British Columbia, August '10.

Colin sings with Wellbottom in Eugene, OR at the Eugene Celebration, August '10.

My apologies to the folks who think that posting a blog entry every seven months is weak...

2009 saw me making three long trips between the Northwest and New Orleans in my little Nissan truck. In 2010 My truck has stayed in New Orleans, and I have spent quite a bit more time here as well. Music and gig opportunities have continued to present themselves for me and I now find myself a resident of the city.

It was just before Jazz Fest when the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform took place and it sure was a giant shit storm that ensued. I was not surprised to find out that BP had been putting profit and swiftness far ahead of human and environmental safety, but the more I learn about what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, the more it seems like a shamefully avoidable catastrophe.

I've gigged in New Orleans with more and more regularity as this year has gone on and I am thankful for that. In addition to playing my own solo and duo gigs, I've also had the pleasure of playing some Mardi Gras Indian music at a few clubs around town, including with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, one of the most well known and charismatic Indian singers of all. Mardi Gras Indian music is very raw, elemental music played with lots of energy and a variety of syncopated rhythms. I've never really played guitar in a band other than my own, so playing this music provides me with great challenges and the opportunity to learn a whole lot.

I spent much of June and the early part of July in the Pacific Northwest, playing gigs and visiting friends and family. I got to play a couple great shows with Wellbottom as well as a few duo shows with my friend Chance Hayden, the wonderful Portland-based jazz guitarist. For the third straight year I played at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland. The cool weather in the Northwest was just what the doctor ordered for me. The spring in Louisiana is pretty muggy and by mid-May things get downright uncomfortable. I thought I had really learned how to sweat this spring, but I had little idea what was waiting for me in New Orleans after my west coast reprieve....

Summer down here is hot. The humidity engulfs you each time you walk outdoors and it can be crippling. It slows everything down. Everything. That's all I can say.

Thankfully I also got to spend a little time on a few Gulf Coast beaches and in the cool rivers of the Texas Hill Country, before heading back up to the Northwest to cool off again in August. I had a lovely visit with my Canadian cousins up on Hornby Island, British Columbia. It was a wonderful getaway on an island in another place and time. The island regions of Washington and B.C. are truly some of the most enchanting in the world and have captured my imagination since my parents started taking me through them by boat as a child. For several months this year, I followed closely the story of the Barefoot Bandit, the young thief who committed petty crimes and break-ins throughout Washington's island counties over the past few years. As he grew more brazen, the barefoot bandit graduated to stealing cars, vessels and small aircraft and I was captivated by the notion of a lone teenager bouncing from one beautiful, shadowy island to another in stolen boats and planes.

One of my best shows all summer was with Wellbottom at the Eugene Celebration in Eugene, OR in late August. We have a decent recording of that show and will try to make it available for download from the website in the near future.

The month of October in New Orleans was beautiful. Just incredible weather and very low humidity.

Now, the rain is falling.

Too Busy to Blog

Images:

The view from my friend Janet's house outside of Kremling, CO. October.

My first time in the Supa' Dome. Saints v. Carolina. November.

Dawn Marie: The cutest roadie. New Orleans, January '10.

Trailblazers over the Suns at the Rose Garden. Portland, December '09.

Me and Baby Arlo, December '09. Portland.

My first time in the 'Hive'. Hornets over the Nets.
New Orleans, January '10.






It's been almost six months since I've made a blog entry. The phrase "write new blog" has been transferred from one to-do list to another and followed me from state to state. Between booking and promoting my own gigs, keeping up with emails and occasionally enduring periods of limited internet access, there has been little room for published self reflection.
It's January 8th, 2010 and I'm writing from New Orleans once again. After spending the summer of '09 living and performing in the Northwest, I packed it up once again and headed south in early October. Following a run of solo shows in Idaho, Colorado and Texas, I made it back to New Orleans just in time for Halloween, a 'national' holiday down here. It wasn't but a few weeks spent getting settled again in NOLA before I found myself back on the road. I spent Thanksgiving in Texas and flew up to Seattle at the beginning of December.
While I wasn't eager to spend one of the darker, drearier months back up North, I had a great run of shows lined up, including a solo slot at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle, opening for one of my musical heroes, Kelly Joe Phelps. In the ensuing weeks I played several shows up and down I-5, as well as two excellent shows in Portland with my band, Wellbottom. After our show on DEC 19th, I clocked off and headed back up to Washington to spend Christmas week with friends and family in Seattle and Leavenworth, WA, where my mom and stepdad live.
A few days after Christmas, I embarked on another ambitious stretch of travel, flying back down to Texas and then driving from near San Antonio to New Orleans just in time to play my first New Year's Eve show ever. I played DBA on Frenchmen St. with my friend Don Williams fairly early in the evening, then headed down to the river front to catch the most amazing fireworks display I've ever seen (by far). I don't know if it was in celebration of a new decade, or if they just plain have some new firework technology, but this shit was truly incredible.
Later in the evening, I headed back to the venue to catch some of Eric Lindell's NYE set. Having met Eric and played with his band last spring, Eric spotted me and asked me to sit in on a hot-ass gospel/soul tune that brought the house down. After a lot of travel and a couple of very long days, this was a perfect finish to my best New Year's in recent memory.

Some images from Summer/Fall '09

Some images from summer/fall '09:

My man Taylor as "Dog the Bounty Hunter" on Halloween in New Orleans.

My friends Don and Harmony on Don's birthday.

Pre-Sunset in Port Townsend, WA, early September.









My friend Jeff and I sailing aboard the S.V. Sora on Elliott Bay. Seattle, WA, July.

Fabio and Mariah tying the not near Mt. Hood, OR, July. Fabs had me and my band on the clock for this one.

Sid awaits his lovely bride Abby on the south end of Bainbridge Island, WA, July. I got to play Taj Mahal's "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes" for their first dance.

Going WEST

Pictured:  Blues Singer's AC across TX. 

Rushing runoff in McCall, ID.

The view from the Miller Stage at Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival.

Redi Jedi and the Space Needle in Seattle.

Colin and Eric Lindell rocking in Alexandria, LA.

With the help of my friend Matt who put a new clutch in my truck, I was able to get on the road by noon on Friday, May 8th. 

 That night, I opened for Eric Lindell to a packed house at Spirits in Alexandria, LA.  Later in the evening, Eric invited me to join he and his band on lap-steel.  We played several songs together including a rousing rendition of the Allman's "One Way Out".  The folks in Alexandria always treat me well and this night was no exception.

The following day I headed down to Lafayette to open for The Iguanas, a New Orleans favorite.  From Lafayette, I made my way into the Texas Hill Country for a few days and then on into West Texas where I played the Railroad Blues bar in Alpine.  Texas is pretty warm in May and in the afternoons I would pull a hand towel out from a bucket of ice that I refilled each morning, ring it out, and lay it on my head as I drove.  It's an effective but slightly less glamorous alternative to AC.

On my way back north, I also played in Las Cruces, NM and Silverton, CO where I got to spend time with my friends Sally and Mike Barney as well as make all sorts of new high-altitude friends.  

Of course I also played McCall, ID once again, and while I was there, my buddy Mike Green took me for a Kayak trip down the upper Payette River.  Nothing too crazy, but an incredible ride with incredible views.  At one point we found ourselves less than 50 yards from a young male moose who was enjoying the last of the afternoon sun on the banks of the river.  He stood still for over two minutes as we hung out in an eddy watching him.

Eventually I made it home to Portland, where it was time to reconvene with my band and prepare for a run of NW shows.  Over Memorial Day weekend, we played the Folklife Festival in Seattle.  Our set there went well, but the experience was marred later in the evening when a few thousand dollars worth of equipment was stolen from Paul's (our drummer) vehicle.  

Recent shows with Wellbottom have sounded very good and I've been excited to integrate some of what I've learned in New Orleans into our sound and our set.   

The past few weeks have kept me very busy.  We've been working on new demo recordings during the week and last weekend we played the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival here in Portland.  On Sunday we played the Miller Main Stage and were joined by an excellent horn section; Matt Crampton on trumpet and Marc Hutchinson on Sax.  

The Northwest is an incredible place to be during the summer and I am glad to be here. Temperatures are perfect and the days are long.  Life up here is relatively easy and safe and we are insulated from the problems that riddle many other American cities.  

A call came from New Orleans a few weeks ago letting me know that the landlord at my first house there had just been found dead of a crack overdose. 

Thoughts on New Orleans

Pictured: entrance to the St. Roch Cemetary in the upper 9th ward. Mardi Gras Indians at Jazzfest. Trombone Shorty, late night. Behind the scenes at a lemonade stand near the Jazzfest entrance. Street-style; playing for $ and respect on Royal Street in the French Quarter.

Where to start? Jazzfest has just ended and I'm in the midst of preparations for my tour home to the Northwest. I have made a staggering number of new and great friends here in NOLA and throughout Lousiana. I am humbled and flattered by how well my music has been received since arriving here in January. I have come a long way from the first dreary nights that I spent on the floor of a run-down shotgun house on Montegut Street. Without power, heat or appliances, with few friends and little knowledge of the city, I would occasionally wonder how I ended up in New Orleans, but I never questioned why. I came here on a mission to learn more about the music that I have been in love since the first time I heard it and to meet the folks that make it all happen. In a few short months I've done and seen things I never thought I would, all the while enjoying the company and incredible generosity of some of the most genuine people on earth.

As so many classic New Orleans songs will tell you, this is a city with huge soul and unique tradions that are truly worth keeping alive. Last Saturday at Jazzfest, I listened to Irma Thomas explain the concept of a Second Line to 50,000 folks from around the country. "In New Orleans we celebrate everything", she said. "Anniverseries and divorces, birthdays and backaches, life and death. When you hear the beat, you put your hankerchief in the air, and your backfield in motion." That's good advice from the Soul Queen of New Orleans.

After spending a few months - or even days - in New Orleans, it becomes little wonder why folks down here dance at eachothers funerals and why millions of people continue to flock to the city year after year.

The next time somebody asks me - in song or conversation - "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?", the answer will be simple.

Never a Dull Moment

Pictured: St. Patrick's day on 3rd st. The TBC Brass Band on a Tuesday night.

New Orleans is a town brimming with all sorts of important traditions. Until last week, I had little idea that St. Patrick's Day was one of them. On the day itself hundreds of people gather outside of the Uptown haunt Parasols. From 10am til dark, 3rd street is packed with people dressed in green who are eager to celebrate the Irish holiday and excercise their right to drink in the street. I was invited to a party called Don-a-palooza that day. The Don in question is a guitarist in the well known New Orleans reggae band the Revealers whose house is sits right in the midst of the St. Patricks/Parasols madness. On this day, Don's back yard had been transformed to an outdoor music venue which played host to 8 bands in 8 hours. There was an indie rock band from New England comprised of 14 year olds that were on their way to showcase at SXSW in Austin. There was a Pretenders cover band. There was an uber-tight soul band, and of course the "Nawlins style Reggae" of the Revealers. At one point as Don waited for one of the bands to show up, he asked if I could play for a bit. I sat in with an all female blues band for a few tunes, and then played for myself before being joined on the fly by a high-school age drummer who could hold it down.

As everyone else imbibed into the evening, I remained relatively sober. At around midnight I jumped in the car with my friend Max to drive through the night to Austin, TX. Max was going to Austin to help WWOZ (the greatest radio station on earth, www.wwoz.org) broadcast from the SXSW festival/conference. I was going to Texas for a little R&R with a special friend of mine in the Hill Country. After a few days we headed in to town and on Sunday morning, got to see the Lee Boys play a Gospel Brunch at Threadgills. The Lee Boys are a gospel/R&B outfit from Miami, FL (www.leeboys.com) that have a great take on the "Sacred Steel" style of music that until recently was only played in far away churches. My trip to Texas was very relaxing, save for the 600 mile drives-through-the-night in each direction.

Tonight my friend Rob took me to hear the Ragin' Cajun, James Carville speak at Dillard University. Carville, the democratic political strategist and cable news contributor, often lectures to students and currently teaches a class at Tulane. Mr. Carville spent most of the time talking about how to communicate effectively; be simple, repetitive and have a narrative. Not surprising coming from somebody who has honed his chops in a world of cable news soundbites and fleeting attention spans. During the question and answer period, I posed a question critical of the corporate-political-media machine in which he is entrenched. James was a good sport but my question did seem to have him a little hot under the collar and before long he was giving me a not-so-subtle brush-off. Afterword I thanked him for taking my question and we enjoyed free punch and cookies together.

Next, we headed over to the Candlelight to see the Treme Brass Band. The Candlelight is located in the Treme neighborhood - a neighborhood rich in African American culture and music. The TBB plays the Candlelight every Wednesday night and it is something to see! The horn players roll in at a leisurely pace and eventually when everyone is seated on or near the stage, a few drum hits signal the beginning of a great night of traditional New Orleans brass band music. The band is lead by snare drum player Benny Jones and bass drummer Uncle Lionel Batiste. Uncle Lionel is always dressed to impress and umistakable in look and presence. It's best to keep him away from your women. Tonight the band was joined by Roger Lewis of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on baritone sax and by Trombone Shorty, among others. All on a Wednesday night....

Down on the Bayou

Pictured: A Cypress swamp near New Iberia, LA. A 1930's era Dobro. Colin with the Theus Krewe in Alexandria.

Earlier this month, I played a house concert in Alexandria, LA, about a three hour drive west and north of New Orleans. The concert was hosted by Graves Theus who runs the Alexandria Music Project. Graves is a good friend of my friend in Portland, Fabio Apolito, which his how this gig came to be.

The show was a great success and I was introduced to all sorts of new people.

After the show, I was invited to head down to Bayou Teche, a bayou (slow moving river) near New Iberia, for an oyster feed and party the next day. So rather than heading back to New Orleans on Saturday, I headed south through Lafayette and onto a series of swampy, backwoods roads that eventually led to Bayou Teche. I was greeted by a great goup of folks and some of the best food I've experienced down here yet. After dinner I played for a while with a zydeco musician named Mojo who tours the world with his band, The Bayou Gypsies (http://www.redhotmojo.com/). Mojo was patient with me as I followed him through a couple of Cajun and Swamp Pop tunes that I was hearing for the first time.

My new friends were kind enough to put me up for the night and in the morning I was greeted in the kitchen with a glass of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice from grapefruits that had been cut down a few minutes earlier. I spent the rest of the morning playing on a 1930's era dobro that Joel, my host, had picked up at a pawn shop in northern Illinois many years ago.

This was quite a weekend and I look forward to my next trip to Alexandria and/or New Iberia... who knows what could happen.