Do you have a downtown?

After a wonderful breakfast with pancakes and all kinds of fruits I leave Joyce and dan and start heading for Sacramento. I have a radio show at KXJZ with Jeffrey Callison at his “Insight” show. I met him a couple of year ago when on tour with Jamie. He’s got a great personality and a distinct radio voice. I love doing radio especially when there are good questions and surprises. Jeffrey comes up with the Ds-ART remix of “Inside Out” and I wonder how he got a hold of that one. We have about half an hour where I play a couple of songs and chat with him. I hope that did the trick for the Sutter Creek Show tomorrow!

After that I’m driving out to Rocklin where I will stay with my old German friend Arie. He came to the house concert the other night and offered me to stay with him tonight. Rolling into Rocklin I’m looking for an Internet Cafe or better a downtown area to hang out until he’s off work. After driving around some time without getting any further I stop at a Pet Groom store and walk in to ask for directions. The Lady looks at me a little confused and then turns around to here Co-worker saying “Hey Sue Ellen, do we have a downtown?” - Hum?!, Never mind, I’ll find my way to the next Starbucks, after all I’m from Seattle and I can smell ‘em from miles away:)

Later that evening we go and have dinner in a Thai restaurant with a friend of his- I love Thai, and the food inspires a great conversation about the world and everything concerning.

Back in his house we chat until late that night. It’s good to speak German for a change and slowly I get back some of my language skills.

Grass Valley House Concert

I woke up at 4 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I had a melody in my head and some lines. Something that said “life is simple” - wonder how I got to that one. Around 5:30 I was ready to go back to sleep. I pretty much spend all day in the house talking with Dan, changing strings on both guitars and playing some tunes and doing some email. Dan was cooking a chowder that was superb, kind of East Coast style, tomato based rather than the butter and cream style of the West Coast.

Joyce came home around 6 pm and we had dinner together. Both are so sweet and I really enjoy staying with them.

People arrived around 7:15 and we got a nice crowd together. They were very appreciative and inspiring.

Arie an old friend from Sweetsmill came by and I first did not recognize him because it was out of context. I’ll hang out with him tomorrow after the Sacramento interview and will stay overnight. That is part of the beauty of traveling, you never know who is going to showing up.

Travel day

I left Will’s place in Mill Valley early in the morning and went downtown for a Breakfast and catching up with my email. It takes longer than expected and so I leave around noon driving up North to Grass Valley to stay with my friends Dan & Joyce which host a house concert the following day. I’m prepared to hit weather again, Dan told me about a foot of new snow yesterday when I called but everything is green and only small patches indicate that there was actually snow.
The little internet Cafe that I used to go last year is gone and the building empty and deserted which somehow reminds me of the constant changes in our life. We always think that things stay the same but it’s constant flux. Around the corner on Main Street is a little wine tasting shop. I go in to get some Zinfandel for dinner. While talking with the owner i find out that Jerianne, who interviewed me last year at KVMR is also an Artist and designed the Labels for this winery in Grass Valley. The world is small and we are all connected. After buying two bottles of a nice 2002 Zin I walk across the street for a Mate Tea and some more Internet stuff before I drive out to my friends place. That evening we have a great dinner and talk until we finally go to bed.

See the whole world

This morning I had breakfast with Monica. Eva joined a little later.

After that I drove her down to the Bart Station and I was on my way to Mt Tamelpais National Park and Muir woods. I remembered the way exactly form 7 years ago when i lived with Will in San Francisco for a little bit. I love that drive along a curvy road through the woods, it really prepares you for what lies ahead. When I entered the Redwoods time seemed to stand still and I imagined some of the trees as little babies around 1000 AD. These are the oldes living creatures in the world and so massive that I forget about myself. What an ease for the mind breathing in the moist air and slowing down the heartbeat just to get closer to the real witnesses of the millennium.

You have to see it with your own eyes to believe it. They reach into the sky and sometimes I think I could just climb up into a total new reality kind of like the story with the beanstalk and the Giant.

My next stop is going to be Mt Tamelpais. I park the car and hike the rest up the hill. I’m all by myself, sit down and lean against a rock overlooking the bay area. It is so pretty and I completely forget about the blasting cold wind. I need to share this and call Abby, I know she’s been here and has memories of her own and shares one where she’s up there with three kids of a friend. The 5 year old Peter jumped out on a rock at the top parking lot and said, "Wow, I can see the world from up here!" The 8 year old said, "That's not the world, stupid, but boy is California big!" And the 12 year old whined, "When are we going to the beach?" . We both laugh for a while on the phone and it’s good to hear her voice.

It’s time to get going so I slowly drive down. I’m the only car so I can just cruise along and sing with Joni Mitchell “All I want” and “Circle Game.” Larkspur is a little community and the Theater is still closed so I look for a Cafe and have a little sandwich and an Americano. Whatever awaits me tonight it was already a wonderful day.

The Theater is a wonderful space and Daniel and his spouse Irma have created an little cultural island with an incredible atmosphere and charisma.

Meeting Caren is like we know another for years, same with Carolin. I’m excited to be on stage with such wonderful artists. and it rocks! Man do I have fun - we are all so different but the mix is just fantastic. Caren starts the first set with four great songs

Than its me


Than Carolin with Edo on bass


The second set is a round which works out just great so the audience is completely taken and wowed. That was a memorable evening and I’m looking forward to seeing my new friends again soon.

One more day in the Bay

I got up early today and drove to Berkeley. There is a little breakfast place on Shattuck that has great croissants and wifi, so I spent about 3 hours there catching up with email and stuff. It’s not easy to constantly do biz even on the road but today is kind of open. I only have to give a lesson in Oakland at 1 pm. Around noon Erik calls and gives me directions. He lives close to the Grand Ave exit, half a block from the lake in a nice house with a white picket fence.

We have a nice lesson and I leave around three and take a little walk. I come by a cool car creatively decorated with shells and stuff.

Later I call Susan Klein at KVMR. I have a phone interview with her at 4:30 pm. I thought I would still be over at Eriks using a land line but he has to leave, so I have to use the cell phone. I drive back to Berkeley and get a Tea at the Nomad Café. I remembert rying to book a gig there but they only do locals. I’m glad it didn’t work out, it’s another internet place packed with people staring at their screens. Kind of scary actually, it looks like everybody is drugged out. I find mysel driving again looking for a good reception and a quiet place to park. I find it in some side street just a block off Shattuck. The interview goes well and Susan plays a couple of cuts of the album and pitches the concert.

All my attempts to for an overnight didn’t work out and I decide to go and watch a movie. “Unknown white male” is a documentary about a very rare form of amnesia - I can’t really decide if I should leave half way through but then the movie does the trick and lures me in.

On the way out of the cinema I try to reach again a couple of friends for a place to stay -still no luck. I call Evo in Fresno and we brainstorm through the Sweetsmill list and finally come up with some names. Eva is currently in the Bay Area staying with friends so I give here a call. This time I’m lucky and 45 minutes later I get there.

Eva’s friend Monica lives with her German husband Gerhard, Her mom and two kids just across the Berkeley hill off highway 24. I stayed with them last year and am looking forward to seeing them again. We chat into the late envening while the storm outside slowly picks up and gets bigger and bigger...

Get you brain washed

In the morning Will, Nicole and me had wonderful breakfast with blueberry pancakes, maple syrup and all kinds of fruit (I usually never eat that). I might have had too much coffee and had all over sudden a terrible headache that made me lay down for some time. I was glad when it was gone and by then it was time to drive downtown to play the Brainwash Café.It’s kind of a Coffee house with an attached Laundromat, something I’ve never seen before. It’s a double bill with David Serotkin, a local Singer-Songwriter and very nice young man that recognized me when I came in.

We connected right away and had a nice talk. At this venue you have to set up their PA yourself and after that I started the set.

Phil came from San Jose to visit which was very nice.

The show was ok but I still haven’t found the right SF venue to play - certainly not the Brainwash Cafe. After David’s set I pack up and am on my way back to Mill Valley. Will and me watch the end of an old 50’s type movie with Jeff Bridges and than i go straight to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Alameda is an Island

The morning view in Mill Valley is great and I spend some time on the deck watching the birds chase each other.

After I’ve done some email Will and me are driving downtown (if there actually is one) to a sweet breakfast place where we meet Nicole. She already reserved a table so we can go right to work - oh how good it tastes.

Nicole has a grand piano back in their house and I get lost on it and start writing something new. Around 2pm I leave for Alameda. It’s a nice drive over the Richmond bridge past the St. Quentin state prison.

All over sudden I have all these movies in my head which made me realize that we saw a lot of American TV in Germany but never had any relation to the actual place.
Alameda is an Island and only accessible via a bride or a tunnel. I cruise around until I find Park Street where Julie’s Coffee and tea Garden is located. Julie recognizes me when I come in. After unpacking the car I have a couple of hours, so I drive to the beach, sit down in the sand and observe the movement of the waves and see San Francisco in the foggy horizon.

As soon as I’m back in the Cafe I star setting up the little PA system that I borrowed from Maria and start playing.

Tonight I have a special guest, Carol Alban a classical flute player that I met on Myspace. We play several songs together and have a lot of fun. Towards the end Sue Ellen a friend of hers and cello player joins us. People enjoy the sound of guitar, cello and flute. Here is a picture of Sue Ellen, me and Carol.

After the show we chat and Carol asks me to play her favorite track of the album “Spirit of the Land.” Then I have to pack the car again and drive back to Mill Valley where Will surprises me with a fantastic bottle of wine out of his cellar that gives the day a perfect finish.

San Francisco I missed you

After packing all my stuff and saying goodbye to Howard and Merritt I’ll drive into Santa Rosa and visit Mick and Laurie at the violin shop. It’s located in the heard of downtown and has an European flair. It’s actually a little bit like going into a Violin shop in Vienna.

We chat for some hours and eat burritos. After lunch I play a couple of songs and both sing harmony on “Listen To The Moon” one of their favorites. Emile, a guitar builder who works just next door joins us and I get to play one of his guitars. It has a great sound and I play some Brazilian songs. It’s getting time to leave and say another goodbye (I got to write a song about all these little goodbyes) I’m on my way down 101 South to San Francisco. I loved that city, it has such an interesting flair. It’s raining again crossing over the Golden Gate -

but stops as soon as I enter the city driving down to Point Lobos. I spend some time sitting on a bench and watching the Pacific enjoying the brief sunshine on my face and the stunning view.

After the energy charge I drive down to the Sacred Grounds Cafe. Parking is always an issue but I am lucky and find a spot close by. No poster or anything that indicates that I play tonight. Bruce’s chinese wife recognizes me but does not know anything about tonight and just hopes that all my friends will show. I know that Phil wanted to come from San Jose to see me but other than that I’m not sure if I get anyone out here without any advertisement. My attempts to get it in the paper failed because the Sacred Ground Cafe is not officially listed as a music venue, which safes Bruce the exorbitant entertainment license that the city put upon little businesses that want to have live music but also makes it almost impossible fgor touring artists without a local following. It’s about 7:30 pm and I’m thinking of calling it off, there is no one here but two people checking their email. I see Bruce around 7:45 pm and let him know that I pass. It’s no problem and we sit down with a beer and chat ‘till about 10 pm about music, the biz and community. He’s a wonderful character and has really tried to make music happening but it just didn’t work out.
Here is a picture with him and me just before I leave.

I’m going to stay with Will and his wife Nicole. I know Will since I came to the US and stayed with him in his downtown house several times. Now they moved out to Mill Valley, just 10 minutes North of the Golden Gate Bridge. I can’t help but doing some experiments with my camera while I cross it.

Their place is easy to find and we chat until midnight. They have a downstairs room with two couches that I can choose from. I’m curious about the morning view from the deck.

Radio like it should be

In the morning I looked out the window and was on top of a mountain with a stunning view into the foggy Humboldt Bay. It was still early and after a cup of coffee and a nice goodbye picture of Marty and Jodi I started the drive down the hill.

After about 30 minutes I drove again on 101 into Eureka. I found a little Internet Cafe where I could do some biz before went on to Santa Rosa. Marty had mentioned KHUM in Ferndale again and Mike Dronkers who is the DJ. I had some email exchange with him. I called them from my car and he was on the air, so I got that number and called him right away. He invited me on the spot to come over and play a couple of songs on the air.

Ferndale is a little victorian town that lies quietly in a valley some 5 miles away from 101. Radio the way it should be everywhere. I had such a great time and left with a big smile. I did a short detour to visit the old downtown and check out some buildings.

Back on the road it started pouring again, the further I get south the harder it rains and even mixes with snow. It takes almost twice as long to get down to Santa Rosa and I arrive just in time for a shower and a little dinner. Howard and Merritts house lies in the hills and oversees the valley. They are wonderful people that I met while touring with Jamie several years ago. They have a great house music series and are the only ones in the area. We have about 17 people coming for the show which is a nice full room. Their attentiveness is very inspiring and it turns out to be a wonderful exciting show. On the way out we take a couple of pictures with some of the audience.

I’m already looking forward to returning next year, Merritt has offered to get me some school shows to add on which would be lovely.

Rock & Mud Slides Roll

It’s about 6:30 am when I wake up. Today I’m going to drive to Eureka down at the Coast. The weather looks fairly ok and after a breakfast wrap, a big coffee and some biz time I’m on my way down Interstate 5. Lake Shasta has a lot of water and as if it weren’t enough it starts raining hard. The turn towards the coast is in Redding right when you come out of the mountains and new landscape for me.

Once you get away into a valley it starts to be beautiful. Even the rain does not bother me at all. There is hardly anybody on the road and it seems to be an eventless drive until there are signs for Rock’n Mud slides. Well 10 minutes later I’m standing in a line of cars and am chatting with a truck driver that does that route every day. Even he does not know exactly how long it’s going to take - great, another adventure. He also mentions a pass that lies ahead where we likely need chains. Well, I have ‘em in the car and it would be a waste to only use them once after I got them. After about an hour we move on and the pass is luckily free of snow. A couple of hours later I arrive in Eureka. The Chapala Café is easy to find and Ted, the owner greets me with a nice smile. It’s more a mexican restaurant than a Café and I’m curious how the music will get over.

I change in a little storage closet that is about half as big as I am. It’s 5:30 now and I’m curious what lies ahead. It’s another no clap show, background music. The only thing that keeps me awake is the sound of my voice in the big room. It seems to be everywhere. The guitar can’t keep up with it and disappears. That’s gonna be some long 2 hours without saying anything, only playing. So far I haven’t had one serious show on that tour which bugs me a bit but as always things turn up that where you don’t expect it. Jodi comes along (I met Jodi and her husband Marty in Shasta and they offered me a place to stay in Eureka) and it takes me a while to recognize her but then I get it. After the gig we drive to Martys office. He’s an optician and his band practices between Armani glasses and mirrors. It’s the coolest set up I’ve seen so far. Very nice people and good musicians. After they are done I follow Jodi’s car 30 minutes up the hill through fog and past mudslides to their house. That alone is an adventure - I have absolutely no clue where I am. As soon as Marty gets home we take out our guitars and start sharing some songs. That’s the highlight of the day and I can go to bed easy on my mind.

Back in 3rd Grade

Yesterday night Julie asked me if I’d like to play a school show for her 3rd Grade class and maybe teach them a song. I was thrilled, I love doing that especially on tour and unexpected. So after a late breakfast at the Stage Door and a phone interview with Michelle Mills from the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper I drove down to the Mt Shasta Elementary School and met with Julie. We picked up the kids from their lunch break and marched back to their class room. I was scheduled for two half hour sets in different class rooms. All the kids were incredibly sweet and interested and started asking a lot of questions. I had to stop them so I could teach a song. We did “Pinguin” from my “Hazzazar” album and I told them the story of how the song came about. They loved it and sang along quite well. It was probably their first song ever in German. After that I played “Blackbird” and everybody made bird sounds. I finished up with Sun in November and then we took a photo with everybody.

From there I went straight to the next classroom where everybody already sat on the carpet in expectation of what there may come. We had so much fun learning the song and again I was bombarded with questions that I answered the best I could.
After that we also took a group picture.

I drove back to the Stage Door to meet Tom and had to stop for a freight train. That’s where I took this picture of Mt Shasta.

I’m glad it’s a sunny day again and I’m ready to leave early tomorrow for a show in Eureka. It should be about a 4 hours drive and I have some friends that invited me to stay the night.

Stuck in a Snowstorm

When I woke and looked outside the new snow was about 4 feet high. We had a snowstorm all night long. After a coffee I called Patti in Florida and got great tips and resources that will help to get some shows going. I want to spend part of the winter down South. Great to think about while you are snowed in. After breakfast I try to find my car. It's completely dug in and you don't even see the shape anymore.

It takes me about an hour to shovel it halfway free. A neighbor comes with his machine and helps getting the driveway clear.

Half an hour later I'm driving down the road in first gear my nose about two inches from the font window. If I get stuck now I'm in trouble. Luckily it works and I get to the Stage Door in time to give a lesson. I could not believe that someone showed up in hat weather. Well, Rick gets a nice one on one lesson that is quite enjoyable. I remember that I still have to get chains, otherwise I'm completely lost. So I go and dig out my car for the second time today and slide down to Schucks. They sell me on me one of their last item and a couple of teenagers put it on for a little tip. Now I'm set and ready and drive boldly back to Tom and Julie's house. We just hang out together and relax in their wonderful Sauna. Oh how I missed that sweating, getting hot and steamy with eucalyptus and than cooling of in knee deep snow. Shortly after that we have a great dinner with wine and roast - life is good - I don't care if I ever get out of here again.

Mount Shasta Weather

The morning out in Talent where Cat & Bill's house is hidden in a patch of mistletoe covered Oak trees is cold but sunny. Northern Oregon, just before the Sisquiyou pass can have a lot of rain and snow, so we're still good and I'm thinking of my chains that I left in Seattle. After a cup of coffee, especially brewed by Bill (he is a master in various crafts) I play some music with Cat and show her something on the Autoharp. Working with them during my first year and being around one of the best Kilby Snow style players in the world now comes in very handy.

I spot a Ukulele - the real deal with Koa wood and in perfect tuning straight from Hawaii and we start playing "Banks of the Ohio" and "Country Road". ho would have thought that I ever like that kind of music. I start strumming "Something" remembering Paul McCartney in the "Concert for George" movie and have a huge smile on my face. Life is good.

I stay until 3 pm before I head out towards Mt Shasta. Now comes my favorite part on I5, just when you're across the Sisquiyou pass the scenery opens up into a wide valley with Mt. Shasta as focal point. Wow, again - I saw that many times and am still totally fascinated by it. Mountains simply talk to my soul on a deeper level and make me feel humble and fill me with grace and respect.

When I reach the Stage Door Tom and his band are practicing and I sit ant listen for a while. Django style jazz, I love it! The little theater is one of my favorite venues on the West Coast. Tonight is cold and we expect snow so I lowered my expectation of how many people will show up. They played me on NPR all day and I had a good article in the Newspaper but you never can tell. Well, about 11 souls at 8 pm. I'm in a weired mood and try to catch it before it goes out of hand. I'm successful and the audience is lovely. Sometimes it is the quality , no the quantity.

I play one long inspired set and am thanked with a standing ovation! Not bad for just 11 people. As encore I play three of my favorite Beatles tunes and everybody starts singing"Here comes the sun - do den do do". I have some nice talks after the show and make some new friends, some of which come from near Eureka where I play the Chapala Cafe on Wednesday. They invited me to stay with them while I'm down there - I love touring, you just never know what is going to happen next. After a nice bottle of IPA and a great Greek Wrap Tom and me close up the Theater. It is snowing and darn cold and I'm not really prepared for that. Toms battery is dead and I have to drive my little Honda out to his house in the hills. We both don't know if I will make it but I'm used to drive in snow from back in Germany. It's close but I get the car into his driveway. I get my guitars out of the trunk and walk through deep knee high snow to his house. Julie his wife is already asleep and after a nice conversation about Art and Life we both go to bed.

Ashland Artwalk

When I left for Ashland this morning I felt a wave of joy coming up while driving down the road. It reminded me of being 18 again just when I got my driving license and used to drive around without any destination - the feeling of power and control. I can go wherever I want to - well tonight I was expected in Ashland at the Mobius a wonderful small Theater like event. I was scheduled to play during their monthly Artwalk. When I arrived the artists had already set up their tables and I did a quick sound check.


Then I went to Cat and Bill’s house where I would stay tonight. After a short chat with Cat I changed and went back to the Mobius. The Artwalk was going well and the venue was almost packed. Marla, the MC and booker went on stage to announce me - the noise level was off the scale as was the response - none! Wow that would be an interesting evening playing for a “Schmuzefest” as someone was referring to. People didn’t care and after I stopped the first song it went just back to the noise level of people talking and getting some free food. I raised my voice and said hi again, trying to talk about another song. Somehow I could not think of any that I wanted to play - what for? But I guess that is when the professional attitude kicks in and I just went through with it. After the crowd thinned out there were actually some people listening and when I finished a friend came by that I hadn’t seen for some years so I played a couple more songs.
The goodbye was short and painless, though it saddens me a little that it was such a nice venue that I probably never play again - well I should go with Sean Connery and never say never. The Thai take out was good and the conversation with Bill and Cat worth driving down.
Tomorrow is another day!

West Coast Tour Start

I hadn't packed a thing until the last minute, so I had to work late night shifts to get ready. I was looking forward going down south and enjoy the drive, even if it is lonely at times so I stopped in Chehalis and had a coffee with my friend Eric Miller. What a wonderful guy, talking to him is always inspiring to me. We had to keep it short because of a 6pm show in Eugene and it was already after 12am. So I got back on the road. As soon as I was past Portland I put on Joni Mitchell's "Blue" - oh how I love that album, it gets me every time. "All I want" - "River" - "The last time I saw Richard"- I couldn't help getting a little blue myself and started shooting pictures of cloud formations.



Blue to Green and back to blue all over sudden I was in Eugene. Usually I'm pretty good finding places but the "Cozmic Pizza" was somewhere in a parallel universe. I passed it several times before I finally found it. Kind of an interesting venue, a huge open space that is shared by a Pizza restaurant, an alternative bookstore, a Coffee shop and an Internet Café. They have a big stage and a good sound system. It is easy to feel lost in there and I was not sure how that tour kick off will work out.



My friends Cathy & Bob came. I know them from the times I toured with Jamie and we played the now closed Café Paradiso - that was a cool venue. The show went well and I tried out a lot of new stuff during the songs. I'm looking forward playing them every day and really dig into the heart of it. As always I had no program and just played the mood. I did not make a break so I played about 90 minutes straight. After that I went to Cathy and Bob's place to spend the night. The great thing about touring is that you develop friendships all across the country.

Well, I got to get to bed now, I got up quite early today. I won't have such a long drive tomorrow, only 3.5 hours to Ashland, but I need to mail some promo and do the email thing.

Lyquid Amber New Year

Lyquid Amber had their 5th Annual New Years Concert at the Bonner Auditorium in the Fresno Artmuseum. It was a wonderful show and we introduced some new material that went over pretty well. Here is a pic after the show.



Evo Bluestein / Eva Scow / Kevin Hill / Hans York

We're due for a new album especially having Eva on board. She's quickly becoming known and will probably move to the Bay Area where she just started a new Brazilan Band. Kevin is talking again about New York and might leave CA within the next year. Well, lets see what we can come up with. Evo and me are certainly talking about it, though I'd love to have a tour first but it makes no sense without a new album. What was that movie again ? ... ah... Catch 22:)

The Twin Towers

Back to the foothills for the holidays. I have my 5th annual christmas concert with Lyquid Amber, my CA band project with my friend Evo Bluestein. Here in the foothills at Evo’s place is where everything started. I stayed almost 6 months after I moved from Germany and we wrote a lot of music together. Here we’re just writing some new music that we’ll perform on Dec 30th in the Bonner Auditorium in Fresno.


Eva, our young fiddle player called Evo and me “The Twin Towers” which almost left me cracking up on the floor. It’s interesting though, we have a strong connection and the music and words that come out of that collaboration is very strong and unique.

San Jose

Today we played the Espresso Garden Café. It is "the" acoustic venue in San Jose. We sold out and my friend Phil who could not make it for the beginning of the show has to wait outside until they open the doors during the break. It's a great evening and I get to talk to a lot of people. Some unexpected friends show up and surprise me - Oh I love surprises, they are the spice in life. After the show we're talking untill they throw us out : )



I'm staying with Phil & Kristine and will fly out of San Jose early on Thanksgiving day. I hope everything is going to be smooth and they wait in Seattle before they cut up the turkey.

Thanksgiving in Seattle

Yeah!!! I made it. Though the flight from San Jose was about two hours delayed I still made it to the party. The food was out of this world - Iranian Jewel rice - nothing tops that and the wine is plenty. I love those parties at Sia's and Maureen's. That is like being at home as much as it can be for a German dude out of his waters.

Off days in the Café

Due to a couple of cancelled shows I'm spending most of my time sitting in an Internet Café in Boulder Creek (close to Santa Cruz) doing Biz. It's ok but I'm getting a little frustrated and am missing the performance. Just saw "Mr. Hollands Opus" for the 3rd time. It is a great movie but also a little depressing. Having the live of being a touring musician becomes harder and harder. Well let's see how it goes...

Freight & Salvage

Today we’re going to play the Freight in Berkeley. I love this venue and am trying to get a solo show for my March CA tour. The drive is beautiful and the sunshine is soothing and makes me think about my flight back to Seattle on Thanksgiving. Well, I have enough days left to collect some more bags of it to bring back home.
We get there early enough to hang out and relax. Tessa is our favorite sound engineer and does the sound check in less than 10 minutes. I have always butterflies in my stomach when i play the Freight. Well, there are a lot of great artists that play here any day of the week. It’s a great show and we have enough people to make it a successful Saturday. After that we all have a beer and a pizza at the “Lanesplitter”. Jamie and me stay at a friends house in Oakland and pretty much crash right when we get there. We got to get up early for a workshop back at the Freight.

Sebastepol

The drive from Boulder Creek up to Sebastepol is a mess! There are just too many cars around and it makes me wonder how the Bay Area will look in 20 years - well, I better not dwell on that and enjoy the sunshine in November. It’s really hot which is quite unusual for that time of the year. My favorite part is as always going over the Golden Gate Bridge. Amazing to think that they built it in the 30s.
We stay with friends in Sebastepol and just arrive in time for dinner. After that we drive out to the Occidental Church where the show is going to be. I love this little church and the sound is just terrific. It’s a pretty good show and lots of people come up to me and get a CD and talk. That is just the best part of it. I love to get to know the audience.

Boulder Creek

Today was an off day that I spend in the woods close to Boulder Creek, CA
My friend Susan has a big house there and has been a great host now for several years. It really feels like coming home and I’m thankful for that.
I spend a lot of hours at the Rainbow Café. They have great Bagels, a drip bar with Organic Peruvian Coffee and free Internet. It’s great to be able to work from the road and I can’t imagine how I did before that.
In the evening we cooks a big dinner and Jamie, Susan and me sit have a great dinner and good conversations until we retire. Tomorrow it’s going to be an early start to Santa Rosa.

Seattle - San Jose - Berkeley

I get up pretty early to be at the airport at 8am. The check in is fast but somehow my gear bag seems to be the problem and security turns it inside out. The plane has problems with the cabin pressure and so our flight is about 2h late. I’m half asleep and don’t bother. Jamie picks me up in San Jose and we drive to Berkeley for dinner.

here is a pic from the Berkeley Hills



Tonight is a contra dance and I’m looking forward to it. I talked to Evo and he will come by. He’s teaching in Martinez, about 40 minutes North East from Berkeley. It’s nice to see him again. The dance is good but my body feels strange and I don’t get into the rhythm the way I’m used to. After that we go to “Lanesplitter” a pub just around the corner from the Freight & Salvage to have a night cap. The Chocolate Porter hits the spot and their pizza is awesome. After a two hour drive out to Boulder Creek I crash and fall asleep right away.

Tomorrow in California

My flight is leaves at 9:55 am from SeaTac. I still haven’t packed yet and don’t know if I'll get to it tonight. San Jose is a small airport and I should be out by 1 pm. Still got to do some Computer stuff, which takes always more time than expected. Well let’s see...