a semi- normal christmas

so, i ended up going with shawn and mona, over to their friends' debbie and petes' house. eli and i , that is.
shawn warned us that it'd be rather boring : "it's just gonna be some people sitting around, watching movies, and they've got kids - so, we're just waiting for santa to come around"

well, that just sounded fantastic to us. back at the train, we had the next day off, it was christmas, and it was one of the dancers birthdays - all this means, loud, crazy party at the train. now, for the past few weeks and off nights, it seems people have chosen to gather right outside of 90 car (car 190 - i.e. the car i live on)

after work, we were all pretty beat, and i was looking forward to a nce quiet night og blog writing, movie watching and chess playing ( quick plug here for GAMEKNOT it's my new addiction and i invite ANYONE reading this to play a game or two, it's an online chess site, and it's awesome, and they don't pay me)

anywho, i know such a quiet evening would NOT be had given the afore mentioned factors, so this normal evening sounded perfect.



check this place out! there's a chirstmas tree, wood floors, a tv set, and best of all .. COUCHES! the kids were hayley and ethan and were very charming as they were all excited about ol st. nick's arrival- hayley organized a plate of cookies with a generous variety of pastry and a glass ready for milk. the glass was decorated in greek images - a "greece" glass, in case santa hadn't been to greece yet, of course. like i said, charming. they reminded me of some former piano students of mine so i was very entertained and pleased with the evening.

mona is, perhaps, the most complimentary of this here blog, and i truly appreciate her readership. everytime she visits shawn she mentions a recent post, and how much she enjoys it - that's cool and feel good to hear since i have such an incredible ego that needs stroking quite often. at the house i told her i just posted a new one (the last one) and she rushed to grab a computer ( about a 10 on the ol ego-stroke-a-meter) i thought this a perfect oppurtunity for a little slice of carnia history.



this is a photo of mona (the bloggee) taken by me (the blogger) of her reading the blog, while being told by the blogger (me) that this photo would then be used to blog said moment, THUS the pun of mona seeing a photo of herself doing what she is doing at the very INSTANT of reading these very lines, while reading text descirbing what she's doing both NOW and THEN, but with the then and now boundries being crossed as she is temproally disected while remaining consciencely where she is now ... is complete.

so, to recap - christmas:good
house : awesome
kids : great
shawn : great photo subject/satisfactory chess player
lists : convenient
company : perfect
pictures : funny

so this is christmas?

tomorrow is christmas eve and it certainly doesn't feel like it. we've got rehearsals tomorrow. we've been doing full run throughs of the entire show for the past couple of days. more and more im past feeling like this is work and simply accepting it as what there is to do with my day. there is simply nothing else that exist - i believe "enveloped" is the proper word. the past few days have also seen the entire cast and crew be at the building no less then 12 hours each day. methinks i'm going batty from all the craziness - check THESE bags out!


what IS refreshing is knowing that none of the time is wasted - there really just IS this much that goes into this show, and everyone is being very professional about things from my vantage. i'm surprised that people are as focused as they are given the long days - it's inspiring, really.

amidst all of this i have felt tinges of unsettlement as the holiday comes upon us and here i am in an almost surreal world - far away from the family routes through San Antonio, familiar food, and comfy couches. i've got some mac n cheese, and my iPod and gifts to mail.

Mona is visiting - Mona is Shawn's girlfriend - they are from Cincinnati

this is Shawn, Mona is not pictured. they've got friends down here from what i understand, and they've rented a house nearby. "all are welcome" so says Shawn, so maybe i'll spend my day with them - they Are nice folk.

after all these long days though, all i'm thinking is how i need to do laundry and clean my room - and sleep!

doors

so, there are 2 kinds of folk here on the train ... from what i can tell anyway.

the hallways are very narrow, see VIDEO below, if ya haven't already, for a good idea of the inside of the cars.

anywho, 2 kinds of folks : those who hang out with their door closed, and those who keep them open. you're walking down the cars and through the vestibules, and you might see folks on their laptops, or making a meal -

watching TV, or on the phone. when you're walking through a car with all the doors closed it feels deserted. there's really no way of knowing if anyone's even home -

unless there's a lot of noise of course. no porch light that would be on, no car in the driveway, no window to catch a glimpse through - complete, uninterrupted and ABSOLUTE privacy.

it's pretty easy to keep to yourself out here - VERY easy, and VERY to yourself.

it's easy to get things done without anyone bothering you, and it's easy to be up to no good without anyone to answer to.

there are interesting people here indeed - and many interesting ways to becomes one of these interesting people - i just hope i can stay nice and plain

so tired - i'm starting to feel better, i've been a little sick. finally got a chance to get some groceries - was in DIRE need of laundry detergent, but now i'm glad to report that i've cleaned myself up!

had to stay late a couple of the past few nights and program and i think i'm just about done.
which is a huge relief - now, it's just re writes and edits, but i'm at least caught up to the show, and everything seems to be in working order. the keyboards Have been giving me alittle grief as they've been freezing up perodically, but i hope it's nothing to worry about and that ic an figure out a way to lighten their respective memory loads.

heading to sleep now - happy sleepings to you all

tired

so - i'm losing track of days here - we're getting one day off a week, but it's not regular. and i think if it weren't for union rules they'd work us every day! it feels like winter quarters is never going to end and there are all these people there everyday, but no fruits

until today - we had the first run through of act I. over the past few days, the band has been staggering our lunch so we can do sound checks while the floor is empty.



there's a great deal of scheduling for the performers to get their floor time to rehearse and block their own acts. of course there's a lot of space and several preformers so there are always acts getting their stuff ready.




it's not all toiling and brick making though - there have been 2 nights of note - Gag Night and Act Night

Gag Night is where the clowns presented what they've been working on - different acts to be or not to be the the show. there were solo and duet acts mostly and one 4 man act that was great. it was great to see the clowns in their element doing something fresh. everyone's been doing the same show for 2 years now - so there's definately that excitement here in WQ despite the long days...

12 clown gags in all, and i believe 6 were accepted.

last night was act night and was most of our first peeks at the new acts. you'd think with all this circus people flipping and jumping everywhere we'd have seen SOME of these acts by now ... but we, the band, are locked up in this back room playing this new music almost as quickly as it gets written and printed in yet aNOther cave of a room with all the orchestraters, composers, and copyist in it. if i'm not there, i'm off at my keyboards programming them and revising and re-organizing samples and loops and patches orders.... it's tedious, but fun ... but ... tedious



so ... right .. act night .... it was nice to just sit back and enjoy a show of sorts and they laid it out as best as could be done - it was dubbed "The Greatest Act Night on Earth" (for a more detailed expounding of Ringling's protocol concerning standards of greatness please click here

the acts are shaping up to be classic circus, and i couldn't be happier

there's a trapeze act! and several handbalancing and contortion act!

we had neither of these things this past tour.

the new tiger act looks great - more tigers and the tamer is a charmismatic guy with great presence

we've also recently at least run acts I & II so there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel - mostly we're just trying to stay focused and get sleep where we can.

...and back

now, i'm done with home as quickly as i started ... ?

i'm here in florida along with what seems like the entire Ringling family. this is as close to home base as the circus comes to. we'll be here until the new year - HQ is the florida State Fairgroiunds in Tampa Bay and it's where the new edition of the show is being put together. from acts to costumes to lighting design and music - it all gets put together HERE.

it's quite a a sight - this army of people putting together this massive ... thing! the clowns are are one side of the arena practicing - stilt walkers stretching - dancers have mirrors set up on the other side practcing their moves - we're set up in a back room rehearsing all the new music as it gets printed out and sent to us from the guys writing it in yet aNother part of the complex.

it's very fast paced - we work 6 days a week from 9-6 - and things get done.

This whole ordeal is called "Winter Quarters" a funny name considering we're in florida where it is now 72 degrees and it's 7PM! not quite the winter wonderland. not that it was any cooler in San Antonio - but there is little around to let us know that it's December, much less that Christmas is close by. My world right now is COMPLETELY Circus!! i'm at the train or at the fairgrounds - no malls playing Xmas tunes - no walking around downtown with tinsel and bell ringing santas - nuthin. it could be JULY for all i know!

we're getting 1 day of off a week and it's long days at the stategrounds ... Ryan (keys II) and I spend most of the time and extra time (lunch and after/before work) programming the keyboards for the show. it's a tedious process, which is fun - just a little repetitive sometimes and i find myself pretty tired at the end of the day ...

i'm taking pictures on my camera phone to put up soon. in case you missed it - i think i lost my camera somewhere in boston - possiby the North End.

home

i'm home finally for a visit for t-day. it's been a while and made longer given the craziness of where i am/was

i've only got a week here before i fly out to florida where i'll be for a month while we write and prepare the new edition - 138th edition of the show for next year..

i'm trying to see everyone and eat all the home food i can before heading back out.

no posts for this week cause of this.

hope all is well with everyone - and Happy Thanksgiving

the greatest

it's november, and i've been here on the show since may 4th. my first time playing a show solo was lafayette, LA at the end of may. i threw around some rough numbers - which means i used my cell phone calculator feature as provided by the kind folks at verizon wireless - and figured i've done somewhere around 250 Greatest Shows.

now, one may wonder how one such as myself keeps such a consistant record of greatness. well, let me tell you - i don't do it alone! every single person on the show must give their all EVERY SINGLE TIME out of the blocks. do you REALIZE the pressure involved at not only being part of the Greatest Show, but, as a show is only as strong as it's performers, one must routinely be THE GREATEST. every single action, response, and thought must be The Greatest. if we were to hear "Good Job" after a show, then, our job, we have not done. even "great job" is not par. after the last strains of the Greatest Last chord in a show die away into the echo of the arena - i lean over to my bandmates and say "Guys, ... that was the GREATEST playing on earth" we all nod casually, because, of course, the Greatest - is simply routine.


here, we have Jonathan - by title - the Greatest Guitar Player ON EARTH!! can you, the reader, POSSIBLY fathom the weight on this man's shoulders?! his mind - a steel trap, his hands - FAULTLESS in execution, his creativity and technical wizadry on those six strings? UNPARALLELED!



melissa here? she works at the Pie Car (coinicdently, she's known as Pie Car Mel-the greatest nickname on earth) - provider of the food that fuels the greatest performers on this planet. now, do you think that food to be anything less than stellar? i think not. and who makes stellar meals? The Greatest Cooks on Earth!! THAT'S who!

you see, being the greatest permeates through everything we do. this is no random compiling of persons from around the world! mountains were climbed and rivers crossed to find the most, skilled, talented, NAY, the GREATEST person for each position!


so, how did I get here?! they came and found me in a little corner of the world called San Antonio - the greatest city on earth, as it happens ... and plucked me from my private utopia to fulfill my destiny as Greatest Keyboard player on the face of the Planet. Tall order ain't it? also leaves little room for career growth.

Sunday Nights

i was talking to a friend from back home this past past sunday night - just catching up, chattin. i was telling her about boston (i'm still sorting through the pics - have em up soon) and just the road in general. she said she was jealous that i get to do all these things and go to these places . . . it IS cool, don't get me wrong - but then i mentioned to her how i'm jealous that she gets to sit on a couch! she gets to drive anywhere she wants, visit friends, go to all my favorite mexican restaurants, see all the local bands, etc. . . there're definately pros and cons.

my sunday nights, for example, are a bit unique.

we usually close the show for that city on sundays. saturdays and sundays are the busiest days with 3 shows on sat. and 2 - 3 shows on the sunday. after the last show is load out - as SOON as we play the last note of the exit music the crews get to it. i go change and put my hard hat on and help load out with the sound crew. the whole process takes anywhere from 5-10 hours depending on the building and how many hands we've got. each crew has casual labor, which are performers who want a little extra cash - i'm casual labor for the sound, the other c.l. for sound are some of the chinese - some of the nicest folk on the show! and some of the most efficient workers.

anywhoo, so load out is heavy, hard, long work and is a ton of fun, and the best part is the load-out shower! the bus takes us back to the train after all the wagons and semi-trucks are loaded, while the "transpo" crew takes the wagons back to the train to load them onto the flats.

now, at this point the train is split up into "cuts" and is "spotted" (parked). once everyone's on the coahes they close the vesibules and start hooking the train back up and getting it ready to roll out. i hopped in the shower and was enjoying the time limitless warmth. washing the work off of my hands , thinking how i need a haircut - when all of a sudden the lights go off. this may seem odd, but it's quite normal around here, especially during spotting and hooking up. they have to dettach and re-attach power lines between cars during all this. we've got back up lights, so no worries.

i'm continuing with my dark shower experiencing a smidge of what it might be to be blind, then the water goes off - this is less common during hook ups, but it Does happen. i was done anyway.

this time of night is always nice. i'm out - so fresh and so clean (clean....clean...clean) i slip on my comfy clothes, tidy up my room a bit, put my house slippers on - make some tea and CHILL!

the train's bustling with music and movies, drinking, and talking. no one's allowed off the train, there's nothing to do for the next couple of days, and the pie car's open 24 hours during runs!

when the train makes that first shift and starts rolling -it's pretty exciting - we're not leaving yet, but just hooking up. nice and easy until the cars slam each other in order to lock latches. it's a small jolt - so you've gotta make sure your TV's strapped in with the provided rubber straps and that you've got heavy things down from high places in your room! :)

where else do ya have to do that? that quickly becomes second nature though. train runs tend to be a nocturnal time. people are up late which suits us perfectly. it's a train full of artists, performers and kooky people. not your regular 9 to 5 , tie wearing folk.

and then we're all hooked up and slowly rolling out, the train starts rocking and your engage that train run "walk" head out into the vestibule - raise your glass and say goodbye to whatever city this was - we'll be doing this again next sunday.

video

here's the video i've been working on. it took a little while, and it IS my first one, so it's not great, but i like it.

this is me, jonathan, fulkerson (seated, on the phone), shawn (cooking) and adam (sound guy - w/ iPhone)
this was shot during a train run from Des Moines, IA to boston, MA which was over 3 days long, so we had a lot of free time!

fulk, jonathan, shawn and i live on this particular car - car 190! and the video ends up on the vestibule, which is a popular hangout during runs - really whenever. the hallway is in the car, and is kinda narrow, as you can hopefully see. shawn's cooking in his room, and my socks come off in my room. it's small, but it's home!

hope you enjoy - i hope to make more like this in the future.

pics, pics, and more pics!

well, my camera cable came in! and we've been having much fun on this past run from Indianapolis to Des Moines. First, as promised, here are the long awaited photos :
Some Wonders of Houston

yup, that's right! down in Houston, TX there's a house covered entirely of beer cans! When i first read the article touting the Seven Wonders Of Houston I was under the impression that the house was MADE of beer cans, as in , the structural integrity of the entire building was dependant of cans previously used for debauchery... however, upon mine and Jonathon's arrival we discovered that while it's not comprised or "beer can bricks" it is still impressively covered from top to bottom in flattened out cans.

We started to "wonder" (get it?) if anyone actually occupied this residence upon spying the mailbox out front - well, apparrently, whoever does likes to save their pennies and gets the weekly coupons, perhaps to buy more building material.



And ... here's a HUGE statue. Out in one of the suburbs of Houston is a giant statute of Quan-Am, one of the Buddhists deities. not much to say - it was huge and the temple was beautiful.

Quan-Am, one of the Buddhists deities. not much to say - it was huge and the temple was beautiful.

there was a man praying inside the temple, so i chose not to go in, though people were free to. It was a little overcast that day and really muggy, but it was a nice break to just walk around the grounds and get some nice shots.

now, to be fair, this wasn't "exactly" in Houston, this was in Sugarland, but who's splitting hairs? We got lucky in this town as Jonathon had family and was able to borrow a car for the 2 weeks that we were there. Uusally it's all cabs and feet when exploring the cities, and cabs, while convenient, can get pricey - so we've been known to fit was many as 5 Passengers in a standard issue cab! We're all family afterall, right?

man in camoflauge standing on a picture of a horse?
check!

that's "Pie Car" John. It's pretty simple - we call him that cause there's where he works: at the pie car. We've all done that at our work places - identify people by their department : "Ya know, Rachel from receiving." "Have you met Robert from HR?" etc... only here, it's more like "Floor Amber" (people who work props and set on the floor), "Concessions Billy," "Kate-nursery," Aaron from elephants." "Exotics Laura" (works with the exotic animals) and, of course, "Jay-clown"
We're in Dallas there, and they opened up the Dallas Mavericks' practice court for us to mess around. Ah, the perks of circus life! I'm kidding!
Now, to be honest, those aren't "really" camo pants. if you look close it's actually a bunch of images of culinary items like mixing bowls, and spoons, and such. those are his work pants. I think they're pretty nifty - but employees of the pie car don't seem to agree - i'm still trying to convince them to sell me a pair.

by the way, I'm Jaime - Band Guy

Indianapolis, IN

We pulled in about a day ago, had today off, and don't open until tomorrow. usually, we open on Wednesdays...

So, a little extra time off is great, however, it'd be more great if I wasn't sick!!

at this point feel free to feel sorry for me.

there's been a little cold bug making it's way through the show. A few of the band guys have had it over the course of the past few weeks, so i suppose it was only a matter of time before i caught it.

On, the brighter side, it's given me a chance to catch up on some reading and music.

I found this interesting book called "My Lobotomy" by Howard Dully.
the title pretty much says it all. it's Howie's own account of his search as to why his parents gave the go ahead for this procedure to be performed on him when we was 12 years old! Interesting to say the least. His mother and the doctor who performed the operation have passed away at the time of the book, and the only one left is his father, so we'll see how that turns out!

my current listening has been "the Remainder" by Feist , and "Till the Sun Turns Black" by Ray LaMontagne
and I simply CAN NOT stop listening to these albums. I t should be noted that when i find a new artist i like I tend to fixate on them for quite a while until I find a new fix, but for now these are satisfying me just fine!



A couple of things that stand out are their unique voices. Feist's is so small at times, and burst out unexpectedly but not overwhemingly. her writing is magnificent! from playful, hopeful sing-a-longs that make you wanna dance and clap along to melencholy, soothing songs of love.

those who talk to me regularly have heard of my recent purchase, but the others, i'll share it here.

i recently bought a talkbox effects box for my keyboard! the easiest way to explain it if you don't know what it is is to click HERE! it's a video of the one and only Stevie Wonder using one back in 1972. So, if you haven't clicked that yet, do yourself a favor and go back and click it!

I've been playing with it here in my room and am pretty giddy about it. it's definately a new skill to learn, but it'll definately be a fun new source of sounds.

*sniffle* that is all

projects in progress

people have been asking me to put more pictures up, and, well, they're in the right.

i apologize for the lack of fun pics, but that is soon to be rectified. see ... i lost the USB cable for my camera somewhere in kentucky, so i've got a whole mess of pics sitting on my camera and nowhere to dump, and, consequently no room for new pics.

i ordered a new cable over a week ago, so hopefully it gets here soon. i also ordered some interesting books from amazon, but thay have nothing to do with cameras or camera accessories.

once that happens you can expect a virtual buffet of photographic documentation!!

---

some of the highlights shall include the following :

- some of the world famous "WONDERS" of Houston, TX!!

- step-by-step photo instrucitions on how to put on your very own circus!!

- a man in campflauge pants standing on a picture of a horse!!

- some great shots of countryside we seldom see!

- the much requested shots of my tiny train room!!

- a bearded man pulling mail out of a mailbox made of BEER CANS!!!

- and other FANTASTICAL THINGS TO AMAZING TO MENTION HERE IN PRINT IN ANY FONT!!!

---

in other news, i've started several songs while here, and i'm quite excited about them. I'm posting them on MySpace page. The plan is to rotate them out and get some feedback on different songs, and, ultimately release something on itunes or some other interStore sites.

also, coming soon to the blog, in addition to the many fantastic photos i will be posting videos!

yay videos!

so that's exciting right? yes.

what a wonderful world

and what an interesting life it's been ...

one of the first times my boss talked to me on the phone, he said "Don't think of it as a gig, think of it as a lifestyle change." Well, truer words were seldom spoke!

I'm here in Moline, Ill right now, and if you've you've never heard it there's a reason why. There's not much here. The claim to fame is that it's part of the "Quad Cities" Moline, Rock Island, Davenport and ----- and it's also home to the John Deere museum - no joke. I checked it out and fought the urge to buy a yellow & green camoflauge cap or commerative John Deere dartboard.

But I digress, i guess this blog has turned into a travel blog more than a circus one, and it's easy to have fun - seeing new places - which I've been doing, and it's been great. All the while, however, I guess I've been adjusting to a different life that I've been plugged right into with little warning.

I live in a 6x8 room. Yes, it's small, but it seems to suit me fine. It's imparitive to make one's room, no matter how small, "HOME." That's the 2 big issues here, I suppose: Space and Time. very little space, and almost too much free time.

Space, you can't do anything about. Mine is actually one of the mid size rooms! I have the luxury of being able to actually spread my arms out and not hit a wall.

I like my room - it gets nice and cold, I've got a nice window which is great on train runs, and room enough for my books, speakers, keyboard and guitar, microwave and food - There's really not much more that I need.

The space around the train yard is a unique element. We live on a train, yes, but trains live in train yards, so, therefore, WE live in train yards. Sure, it's not the most exotic of locales, but it's all functional. You spend your time in the city, in your room, or at the arena ... (now, that I think about it, I guess i do miss sitting on a couch, but the beds function as such so, it's a fair trade I think.)

Train yards are plain, full of other trains, and uneventful. Little if no grass, in fact, most times - ROCKS & GRAVEL. lots, and lots, of Rocks and Gravel. If we're lucky civilzation is a short walk away - I've found that's the usual case. Otherwise there's the bus.

The bus is an old schoolbus and it takes us too and from the arena. Arenas are always downtown, down where you wanna be. the bus runs once an hour so you're never "stuck" anywhere. Free bus ride into town, do what you please. At least once, and usually twice a week there are what's known as "Market Runs," also done by bus. (everything's a "run" interesting ...)

Time is a different issue - there IS a lot of it, and, sometimes, seemingly, no clocks.

We did a 3 day train run from Dallas, TX to Lexington, KY a couple of weeks ago and it just seemed like we were in this other world. there's nowhere to be - no reason to be up or go to bed. You really find out what your body's clock is like, and what You'd Really do with no outside motivators.


I, personally LOVE the train runs. People like to watch movies, read, hang out - it can be very much like a college dormitory. And, of course, you can keep to yourself if you'd like. And, the rocking of the train can provide some of the BEST sleep you'll ever have!

It's easy to spend lose track of time standing out in the vestibules, with your head sticking out, feeling the great wind rolling through, and watching the countryside go by. It really is beautiful you know. We go where highways don't, where people don't. Think about it ... how often do you really see moving trains? At crossings, right? I've found that i love passing crossings - watching people watch back. Some folks have cameras and are waving. (the train has the Ringling name emblazoned across every car)

Of course, some are just waiting for us to pass so they can get to where they're going.

long hiatus - New Orleans

it's been too long, and i apologize for the break, but reast assured it was jusitfied ... kind of. Texas is my home state - I'm from San Antonio, and so, the majority of my free time was spent visiting family and friends. I won't be back around here again until late November, so - gotta do the rounds.


it's been 5 cities since my last post. I find myself using cities to measure time with. ex: "remember that yard with the nice grass, ya know that really clean one? i think it was like 2 or 3 cities ago." For the record, that yard was in Pensacola, FL. Usually the yards are a bit somber - lots of rocks and some graffited freight trains as neighbors, but that one in Pensacola was like an upscale hotel in comparison. This here are some shots of the train yard in Houston. That's a concrete making building of some sort. Glamorous, I know!

This is what I see in the morning - way off in the distance is our bus that takes us to and from the arena. It's just a repainted school bus, and it does the job. that creek you see there got pretty wide when it rained. And it's been raining ALL through Texas!

We were in New Orleans, Austin, and San Antonio, Houston, and Corpus Christi. Now, I'm from San Antonio, and Texas being one big happy family and all meant that I spent a lot of my free time visiting family and friends and what not. (hence the lack of postings)

New Orleans was New Orleans! What I mean by that is there was good food, little sleep, and lots of money spending! Here's a tip: Don't use Bourbon Street ATM machines - I paid a $10 service fee at one, I think the lowest was about $7. Now, for the most part "What happens in New Orleans stays in Orleans." But, I will say that there was good music, dancing and fun had by all.

The high points were the Tower of Power concert and the Habitat for Humanity day.

Now, if you you haven't seen or heard of Tower of Power - they're a soul/funk band most famous for their tight horn section. They played at the House of Blues down in the Quarter on Decatur, and luckily Eli(head sound guy) and Jonathon (guitar player) got to catch them after a show one night.

That place was PACKED! House of Blues venues are usually pretty good for shows. They got great atmosphere and good sound systems. This was my first TOP show and I loved it. These guys were amazing. The vocalist was a powerful tenor and the band was indeed tight and made you dance! I couldn't stop moving the whole night!
Their funk songs were kickin' and their ballads were powerful - it's tough to get a crowd that big wailing on a ballad, usually that's bathroom break time, but they sold it. these guys have been around for awhile and they showed they know what they're doing. Tower of Power - big thumbs up, great live show.

Ringling Bros. did a Habitat work day before we opened in N.O. There was a sign up sheet 2 weeks before the New Orleans dates, and I was surprised how many people signed up. I think about 70-80 people went from the show. It had been raining the night before so it was pretty muddy when we arrived far earlier than any of us were accustomed to being awake! We arrived still yawning, but ready to work. They handed out Habitat t-shirts and the work chief gave us instructions.

Now, our work site was in this neighborhood called Musician's Village, it's a project started by Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, both NOLA natives, to provide housing for displaced residents affected by the Storm. Now, it's mainly intended for displaced musicians, but it's not limited to that, but most of the residents are, indeed, players from N.O.

We were set to work on the foundation for this bass player's house, and that involved a lot of wood carrying and stacking and some hammering here and there. It wasn't extravagant, but it was what needed to be done. Only problem was there was no wood . . . The delivery hadn't gotten there yet that morning, so we ended up just clearing the work site for about 2 or 3 hours until it did. Like I said, there was an army of us so all this moving stuff from here to there didn't take long - we were like ANTS!
a lot of the time we spent just sitting waiting for the wood to get there.

Not too glamorous, or productive...

BUT!

then the wood got there! and we got to it. Now, by this time it was noon and our bus was scheduled to pick us up at 3:00pm so we only had a few more hours left of work, but we made good use of it. Ants, I tell you - like ANTS!!

At the end of the day we were muddy, tired, hot, a little sunburned, and hungry, having constructed at least the begginnings of a foundation, but we were satisfied that we had done at least some good.

The Big Easy

We just got to N.O. yesterday after a very pleasant train run.
They call the commute between cities "Train Runs" and it's kind of an event. The Pie Car (dining car on the train, good food none of which is actually Pie. funny isn't it?) is open 24 hours during train runs and can become the closest to a hang out that we have here on the train.
Another popular thing is to hang out in the vestibules - that's the area between cars. That's become my favorite thing to do and has yielded some great viewing. Like I've said, that train goes where cars don't (and vice versa!) so we get to see some countryside unaffected by people. Lots of folk here love taking pictures, and I joined in on the tradition. unfortunately all those pics I took wouldn't load! I apologize for that. I got some of what I thought to be good shots of some bayous and beautiful lakes, but alas they are lost forever. I did retain some shots of some damage, but thought it tacky to post those only, if at all. We've all seen enough of that...

The train runs yield some of the best sleep I've ever had due to the gentle rocking of the train. the trains can't go faster than 55, so it's not a raucous ride by any means, still one does have to "crash proof" one's room before a run. All the cabinets in my room have locking hooks on them so they don't swing open and they provide rubber straps for securing T.V.s and whatnot. Of course the biggest chore is walking to and utilizing the facilities during a run. The development of "Train Legs" is a must as I'm quickly learning.

june15 - Pensacola, FL

We opened here at the Pensacola Civic Center last night. We usually arrive into a town on Monday evenings or Tuesday mornings. We closed in Lafayette this past Sunday and train heads out after load out. The TRAIN RUN takes about a day. Weird, huh? Why so long? Well trains don't travel 75 miles an hour - usually about 55, maybe 50 and they don't take the same roads that cars do so on one hand it take a bit longer, but on the other hand we get get to see some parts of the states that one doesn't usually get to see.

The Band

Allow me to introduce the guys in the band.
Shawn Elsbernd is our drummer and he's from Cincinnati, Ohio. This guy is INCREDIBLE and he'll be the first one to tell you he's not.One of the nicest guys you'll meet.

Wages Argott is our trumpet player from Alabama and he'll let you know that any chance he gets. He's a great player and even toured with a Motown revue. Check his page. He's a wealth of sports and Alabama knowledge. "Alabama beaches - best beaches in the world!"
Jonathon Blazer is a guitarist from the D.C. area. Fairfax, VA to be exact. He's quite the kooky character and most easily identified by his sizable head of hair.
Michael Mullan is our sax guy from New Jersey - great jazz chops and one half of our twin towers along with Wages - they're both 6'4'' which leavesme feeling even shorter than usual. Ryan States is the other keyboard player - yup, there's two of us - it's a synth heavy score. He's the veteran of the band, not including the director. He keeps to himself mostly - he's got a podcast and just realeased a CD on CDBaby.com

John Fulkerson is the baby of the group. He just came on in Lafayette last week and is the trombone chair. He's fresh out of New England Conservatory and learning the ropes along with most of us.
Mike Brown is the bass chair and he's quite the veteran. He's played festivals all over and has even studied with Victor Wooten

And, of course, there's our director, Tim Eaton. He plays trumpet and directs us through all shows countless tags and cues. He's been with the show for awhile, so he knows his stuff; and he's been real welcoming with us new guys. Blazer, John F, Shawn and myself are all realatively new. Shawn's been here about 6 months, Blaze - about 3-4 I think. This is my second and John got here, like I said, last week.

So, that's it, that's the band and charcters in my future stories.

june 8th - lafayette, LA

Well, last night was my first official SOLO show. We had sound check and rehearsal in the afternoon. of course, everyone was a bit rusting coming off the 3 week break, but it went alright regardless. I'm still getting a lot of the music under my fingers, but i'm sure it'll come along fine. it's a bit disconcerting to realize that all those people are hearing what we're doing - whether they're critiquing it or not. i get a little nervous about missing notes and cues, but an the moment of playing i'm just looking at the page and trying to watch the director. those two hours go by really quickly when i'm up there.

On a bright note, the Spurs won game 1 of the NBA finals last night! I am from San Antonio, Texas and very much a Spurs fan, as are the majority of my group of friends down there. Me and some of the band guys went to fast Eddie's, this pool hall chain, to watch the game. We went after the show and caught most of the 3rd and the rest of the game. Twas a very one-sided contest though the Cavs made a little run at the end. I called Spurs in 5 - and now I'm wondering if they'll win even the one.



We went to this place called Don's seafood Hut 2 of the past 3 nights here. Someone said if you find bas food in Louisiana, you've [done something wrong]. So, we put the aphorism to the test. We picked Don's out of a random list of places and loved it! We split a plate of fried alligator both nights (second night was better) and I had some of the best gumbo I've had in a long time.

So, Go Spurs and Go Don's!

june 6th - Lafayette, LA

yesterday morning i started off the day the way any self respecting southerner on the road would - with breakfast at The Waffle House. I opted for the All-star breakfast which included coffee, grits and, of course, a giant waffle.

there was a gentleman sitting across the room from me speaking in a thick cajun accent, and wearing a blue bandana around his neck the way a spoiled chihuahua would, asking if he could tell me some jokes. I shrugged and obliged and sipped my cofee. he started rattling off a variety of religious jokes aimed at various denominations laughing almost hysterically after each one with his cackle that told me he'd been a smoker for quite a few years and was missing about half of his teeth. he seemed harmless enough though his punch lines were a touch offensive, from what i could make out. He didn't seem quite right - he fidgeted quite a bit and wasn't having anything except coffee - lots of coffee. little bit of a twitcher that one.

Ealier, while waiting for my grits and sausage I went and perused the jukebox selections available to me. There was the expected array of country classics including Brooks & Dunn hits from the early nineties. (not that there were any others from other decades) and classic Eagles. However, I noticed a name that appeared quite frequently on this playlist. Mary Welch Rogers. Now, I'd never heard of her and the songs listed had interesting titles such as "Waffle Do Wop," "Good Food Fast, " and, of course, the perennial favorite, "Life is Like a Cup of Coffee." it turns out 'ol M.W. is co-founder of our beloved House of Waffles. Her husband, Joe, opened the first Waffle House in 1955 in Georgia with nothin' but a few bucks and a dream. Mary simply set that dream ... to music.

So, I want to say, thank you. Thank you, Joe and Mary for having a dream and seeing it through with good, old, fashion, American hard-work so that I can eat a waffle bigger than the plate it rests upon, sip coffee fir for a king, and listen to crackpot Cajuns shoot their mouth off.

first stop

I am here in Lafayette, LA. Eli and I arrived this evening around 10:30 p.m. after leaving San Antonio around noon. (San Antonio is home to both of us by the way.) Now, I've already been with the show for a month now. I flew up to Mass. at the beginning of May for training with the then piano player, but I'm starting the blog here because this will be my first city being completely solo.