Memorial Day, Summer Gigs and Local MusiciansDear Friends,Last February at Uncle Bo's, a favorite venue of ours in Topeka,KS, we sang Jamie O'Hara's song, "50,000 Names On The Wall," and afterwards a fellow named Gib (we didn't get his last name)approached us and gave us each a beautiful, beaded necklace thathe had made. He told us that he usually sells them, only giving them free to other Vietnam vets. But the song moved him to give us a present. His gift moved us and when we're not wearing the necklaces, they live on our nightstands at home. Today, Memorial Day, Robin's morning emails contained remembrances of friends of his from high school and college who died in Vietnam. We've kept Gib's thoughtfulness with us and, especially today, we're thinking of him and all the other vets who have given so much for us all. Thankfully we haven't been on the road this weekend and instead we've spent most of our time outside in our flowerbeds and vegetable garden. After almost a month straight of rain and clouds, the sun has returned and things are exploding. When we first moved here in the '70s, we had an old friend who, when asked what she would be doing that day, would always reply, "I'm going outside and my yard and garden will tell me what I'm doing today." Thanks to Linda's planning our place is really looking good. The iris are on their way out which is sad because they've been beautiful. But the columbine is still going strong and the lilies are on their way. It's been nice being home some but we're looking forward to a busy summer starting soon at the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, TN. This is a recently renovated venue and one look at its outstanding lineup (http://www.franklintheatre.com) will give you an indication of why we're thrilled about performing there. Keep your eyes and ears open for another email coming SOON about discount prices to our email list subscribers (AND their friends) for our gig at The Franklin. If you can't make it, maybe you will let someone else know who can. We'll also play this summer at several festivals, at a teaching camp and at a number of concerts series.. It's certainly enough to keep us out of trouble. Next week our traveling rig goes for it's annual summer shakedown and inspection. One thing we don't need is vehicle trouble when gigs are looming. Bumper Sticker Of The Month: My will is going to be a dead giveaway. Finally, we'd like to give a shout out to all local musicians everywhere. One of the many good things about living where we do is getting to know and becoming friends with many regional musicians. We went to hear a neighbor, Danny Goodson, with his band last weekend that is as good a dance band as you'll ever hear. We danced all night. The next night we were at a friend's house and played some of the most fun old time music we've played in a while, all of us sitting outside under a covered porch while a gentle rain was falling.Our CD player constantly has music from local folks playing on it and most of them don't play for a living. That blues singer you're listening to, well she's really a veterinarian. That sax player nailing that solo actually makes his living as a contractor. That fiddler has a PhD in Biology and the accordion player is a college English professor. That songwriter/guitar player, he's an expert in and teaches film. We're constantly amazed that folks can be such good musicians AND have jobs. It's all we can do to just to keep our chops up. We can't imagine having to work 40 hours a week at something else that's not nearly as much fun as music. As we always say, we're living the dream. Linda was introduced to someone recently who asked her what she did. Linda said she was a musician and the person asked, "are you local? " Linda said, "everybody's local somewhere." We hope this finds you well and busy. Go out and see some live music.
Your pals,
BOOKINGS: Trish Galfano, Myriad Artists, |