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The Broken Toe

Yoga studios, each and every one, seem to have little protocols that they observe whether it’s hand towels, (or lack thereof), waters, where to place your mat, etc. Nearly every studio I’ve practiced at had a little thing that I wasn’t necessarily keen on observing, but it’s not my house, so I *try* to play by their rules. In this case, it’s mat placement.

A week ago now, I walked in to class, and as per my instructor’s urging, did not set up in the front row, which is my favorite space. I thought I’d give it a whirl to practice close to someone, and see if it truly sucked, or if I was being a complainer. Now, in the past, I’ve definitely hit folks while swinging my arms under for eagle pose (Garudasana), or touched hands with my neighbor in locust (Salabhasana), even accidentally kicked someone in the head in a particularly crowded class. Today, the person next to me placed their blocks, and water bottle at the back of their mat, which I did notice, and thought, “Hmm, what an unusual placement, I’d better be careful”. But since I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, when they moved them around, I couldn’t have possibly noticed.

I was doing so well that day, killing it in plank, warrior I, and rocking the vinyasas at a great pace until it happened: neighbor decided to stop, take water, and placed the glass further away from their mat, and closer to mine. In taking the left side warrior I, I need to come around from the side, (my big boobs don’t allow me…yet…to swing my leg between my arms), and I heard a little “crack”. Instant pain. “Oh, shit!” I thought, “I’ve broken my toe! This hurt, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, and during teacher training! OK, well, I’ll finish the class and see what happens”.

What happened it that my left, second toe turned black, and blue, and I went to the doctor the next day. She called after the visit, and x-ray, to inform me that not only was it broken, but displaced, which meant I’m supposed to stay off of it, wear a delightfully savvy medical-looking boot, and no yoga for four to six weeks. Not exactly what I wanted to hear.

Summer begins NOW!

New Bus!

So its on the road now – the new bus that can actually sleep everyone while moving! Old news to some, big news to others, but the kickstarter campaign really made a difference in our lives! Razzle Dazzle rests peacefully in Phoenix, although we’d love it if someone hauled her off to New Mexico and made an EarthShip out of her…

Wararusa was shut down last night after a mystery lightening storm was going to hit, but never did, so that was a bit of a bust. However, during the day was pretty sweet – I finally got to see Fitz and the Tantrums for a whole show, up front and center! Later got to meet Fitz, who is a sweetheart, and am proud to say I’m a big fan of their band. Checked out the  last bit of Primus, and Les Claypool didn’t disappoint, as he’s still the guy capable of playing super out, funky, bizarre songs. My night closed with watching a handful of M4 peeps onstage with Quixotic before I shuffled off to bed at 2am or so.

Onward to Memphis – I hope I finally get to see Graceland or something Elvis-related!

Oh my….St. Paddy’s in Hawaii was a wonderful break in my tour schedule with March Fourth. Flying out of Albuquerque and back in to Aspen was tricky business, what with airline delays and whatnot.

I left Taos, NM on Tues March 15 at 6am on a shuttle to ABQ, flew to LAX, then SFO, where a delay was concerning, as I had a show that night at Waikiki Sandbox. I arrived at the Box at 11pm, plenty of time to have a drink and start playing.  Stress level: medium.

Then, a delightful day off with Randy & Maryanne hosting a bbq at their house, which was a break before the onslaught of Irish gigs…

There has got to be somebody out there who took St. Paddy’s pics, but I haven’t seen them yet, but I can only imagine how sweaty and crazy we all looked after playing for 12 hours (!), but in all honesty, I had a bang-up time, and would totally do it again!

Saturday found us at Anna O’Brien’s and Once-A-Month-Punk, double-dippin for those fans who like to choose their venue. Thanks to Joah Buley for such great photos and for making us look awesome!

Back on the Bus!

It feels like we never really left tour, except we have a new coffee maker on the bus. Dee-lux! I’m not used to blogging on a regular basis, but I think I may here as the New Year starts.
This mini-tour is pretty hip; Tucson marked a return of me to the Hut (and some fishbowl-sized drinks), plus running into old friends (Hey, Dave & Coach!). LA was fun too, simply because I had to get my rockstar on that night-glitter everywhere! We’ll see what happens in Vegas tonight…

Road dogs, part 18

I can’t really say if its truly part 18, or even what day it is on tour. We go deeper in to the midwest, it seems, follwed by an exodus to Colorado later this week.
Voodoo fest was incredible, music was awesome, overwhelming, and the late-night antics certainly contributed to my general lethargy during the day, but I certainly didn’t want to go down for a nap while there was so much awesome going on!  Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Trombone Shorty, Ozzy, Muse, etc…what can I say?  Bathed in music, we waded through a lovely sea of costumes and craziness, and lots of glitter!

HAMBURG

What a city!  From the famed St. Pauli football team with skull and cross bones pirate-like logo, a red-light district that’s really quite nice, busking guidelines, and the site of the Beatles’ first gig, there is so much awesomeness here, its hard to put it all in a post, but I’ll give it a shot.  Disclaimer: we spent several days here, so I can’t promise its a chronological account.

Thanks to our kind hosts from the STAMP Festival, we stayed in a hospital scheduled for remodel, so plenty of room, but few amenities.  Frankly, I was so happy to be in Germany, I didn’t mind camping out on a linoleum floor as a home base for a few days.  The STAMP Festival was really a busker showcase with bands from around the world, with a parade thrown in for good measure.  That was the moment I didn’t miss Burning Man, because there was plenty of mayhem, flashing lights, costumes, and stilt walkers to satisfy.

The late night festivities were pretty fun as well, as one of our nights included a jam session with several musicians, horns and drums only.  Everyone danced, drank fresh, pure German beer, and players only stopped from sheer exhaustion.  This is when we met and heard Bandaradan, from Torino, which turned out to be fortunate, as several people had flights out of Italy. (Thanks for taking us in, Gabo!)

There were several nights of busking, which were marked with hilarity – from playing on a stage late night with LED lights behind us (Saloon Ensemble style), Daniel, Taylor, and myself playing in front of the police station, to the full complement of March Fourth rocking the red light district.

Travel Log: Installment I


Here’s the scoop:  I’ll be posting some of my travel blog from each city as I recall the exciting details of the trip.  Unfortunately, some guy stole my phone in France, so I’ll be relying on others for some of the following pictures.  For now, I’m banking on my prose power to bring this amazing adventure to life.

BIELEFIELD
Landing at the Frankfurt airport was so awesome because everything was in German, and I could buy beer and Jagermeister at the snack stand.  Passport: stamped!  After celebrating, we took a nice long ride to our performance location where there was an amazing spread of breads, cheeses, meats, gummis, (Germans have the gummi market cornered) and other fine treats.   This lunch/dinner also included beer.  Lots of beer.

I learned pretty quickly that the cheapest light beer in Germany is usually the local brand, fresh, and a big source of pride with the locals.  I can’t say that I’ll drink a lot of beer in the states, but I sure didn’t want to offend anyone by refusing, so I gave it a shot, and sure enough, the stuff was great.
Playing a show right after getting off the plane was a test, but I think the band passed with flying colors, and we got to check out some amazing salsa bands before and after.  I also got to meet this great trumpet player, Amik, who is friends with a buddy back home, Farnell Newton.  What a player – and with his name on his horn, a custom job.  Someday, me too…

Oh…I always knew I’d love this country, and so far its true!  Visiting Hamburg for several days now has helped me find my way through this lovely place – from “morning” espresso (actually 2pm), donerkabobs & cheap (amazing) light beer for lunch, and a show and a stroll through the Reeperbahn late in to the night makes up for a fun set of travel.

March Fourth has been treated to great hospitality this trip, starting with Bielefield, where I met a great trumpet player, Amik Guerra.  Then Hamburg (see above).  And oh, Peine, you are the sweetest little town that showed us a wonderful time and was so receptive to our crazy stuff.  Plus a delicious spread of food and good convo!

We leave tomorrow for Hannover-Munden, then Leer where we’ll play in a castle!  So exciting!

Travel day

Just arrived at *somewhere” California on the way to an LA showcase event, and then on to Europe!  So many people donated their time and money to assist in our effort of bringing “Joy To the World” tour to fruition.  That’s right – I’m a WORLD-TOURING musician!