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.
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.
