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.