'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.