Ups and downs and ups

After mailing some stuff and having a bagel breakfast I’m leaving San Jose driving to San Luis Obispo. I like that stretch of 101 and there are some very beautiful parts in it.

When I come to the wine country I'm thinking of taking a little break and do some testing. I pass various wineries but when Io come by “Scheid Vineyards” I can’t help but stopping. Scheid is my original German last name so I have an incentive to check it out.

I test about 4 different red wines and we talk about awards that one wine got from a San Francisco magazine when I drop that I’m a traveling musician and my latest CD just got awarded best acoustic album 2006 by Indie Acoustic Project - not a Grammy but still pretty good!. Soon after that my CD plays loud over the speakers into the courtyard and I sell 2 copies right n the spot. Actually I trade one for a good bottle of Merlot. The other goes to a woman from Finland that happened to overhear the conversation. Refreshed and excited I continue the drive down south.
I play in a place called “Frog & Peach” which turns out to be an all American bar, certainly nothing I’d expected, plus it is farmers market and everything is buzzing.

The sound system is partially broken and only one speaker works, well actually only the bass and mid frequencies of that speaker work, well no, sometimes the treble kicks in and pierces ears for a split second. It is a tough show, certainly the worst so far and I’m lucky that Judy, a friend of mine brings six of her friends. Am I lucky? No I’m embarrassed that it sounds so shitty that I think to simply stop and walk out the door. But I’m holding through and her friends are very nice. After the show I’m offering to play just for them acoustically. Mariah finds a gallery around the corner that lets us in and so I get to finish the concert appropriately in a round of new friends. Here is a pic with all of us.

I’m staying with Judy tonight but first we have to find her car. Then I try to follow her to her house in Cayucos but lose her at a turn. I realize that I don’t have phone number but find the address. Some folks point me in the right direction and 30 minutes later I sit in front of a good bottle of Zinfandel and chat into the night.