Oct 19th. I can’t even begin to describe all the things that went on these past two weeks. It’ll be fun to recap. The following Sunday (Oct 6th) was up early to get the show ready for Emmett that night. Packed up my gear for the day and off I went to the first gig at the Portland Marathon. A couple hours honking my horn on a PA I didn’t have to haul all outside on a beautiful day. Had another commitment for a few hours and then off to Ivories for the big poetry show. Show was okay. It had some great moments, a few weak spots, attendance was lighter than I wanted, but it was a poetry and blues show on a Sunday evening in Portland and the weather was beautiful. Tough day. Off “home” to relax and get some food.
Next day was a morning commitment for a few hours and then into the studio for the mix session. Dennis Carter at Falcon studio starts knocking it out. We put in a full day work on the ears and it was time to go. Had another commitment that kept me until 9:30pm, off “home” after that. Next day was about the same. Busy in the morning, off to the studio, met with a friend, had a dinner with other friends. Home late.
Anytime I got home I got online to promote the loopfests for a couple of hours, catch up on work, email, talk to my wife, plan the next day so I could drop flyers, etc…It’s not like I went to bed. Thankfully my host keeps plenty of Scotch on hand. And there’s usually a night or two of awesome conversation about bands and growing up that goes until a bottle or two is empty. Good times…
Anyway, the next day was the same except after the studio I drove to Seattle. On the way up I thought about how awesome all my friends are. Some have babies, some have businesses, some are single, married, divorcing all off on their own epic adventures. It’s great to drop in for a few days or a few minutes to catch up and hang out. I really enjoyed the moments we could carve out together. And then I got there and was swept away by the force of nature that is my family – my parents had come in from Montana to see the fest.
Thursday morning. Day one of the Seattle LoopFest. I didn’t sleep well. Mostly hung out with my family as they were in an out. I needed to pick up one of the loopers from the airport and then head to the venue. I really was on the last shreds of my nerves. Picked up the talent (Emanuel from Paris, France) and off to the venue. Attendance wasn’t what I was hoping for. The venue said they had a great night. They said it was one of the best Thursdays they had had in quite a while. The performers were out of this world. Some out of this world awesome and some out of this world weird. The variety of tech, technique, style and mood was incredible. Got some great pics. Haven’t checked the video yet. Stayed late. Grabbed Emanuel and off to stay at my sister’s.
Next day was tourist day in Seattle. I had nothing to do and the anticipation was over. I was ready to relax and have some fun. I grabbed Emanuel and everybody went strolling through downtown Seattle to see the sights, have some conversation, cocktails, coffees, etc… Then back to the fest for night two. Venue had a nice crowd. Performers were very strong. Great stuff all night. Home late, stayed up later and then up early to head down to Portland. Stopped at home base to switch gear in/out around, made my morning/afternoon commitment, met up with my wife (for about 3 minutes), met with friends for dinner , and then to the venue for the Portland show. Attendance started light, but really filled up nicely as the night went on. Performers were strong, sound was awesome. The venue was pretty cool. Really liked it there. Good show. Met my wife at “home” very late. Crawled in next to her and fell asleep. She was gone when I got up. I had one last commitment to get to and then was the single social event I planned. A little get together at a great Portland pub. About a dozen showed. It was fun. Getting to know some of the loopers now. Then it was off to get the matinee going. We started rolling at 4pmish and had a light crowd most of the day. Saw some things I didn’t know I was going to see. That’s half the fun of these things. Seeing what the whole thing looks like. Some incredible performances from unexpected places. Wrapped it all up, went out for dinner with a couple loopers from out of town and called it a night.
Next day was a brunch with old friends. And then off to Ashland for a gig. I put one of the loopers from the fest on it as he was going to be in town. Show was awesome. They loved it. Had a nice 5-6 hours in the car with my wife to have a face-to-face chat. First time in a month.
Next day was back in the car and off to Tracy, CA to visit friends. Got online for a minute. Ate a lot of food. It was awesome.
Next day , met friends in Oakland, dropped the wife at the airport and off to Danville for a show. Split the gig with some loopers and I was off late to crash at my buddy Jay’s place. Up early the next day. Saw friends for most of the day and off to Santa Cruz to stay at my cousin’s place for the Y2K Fest.
Since then, mostly been sleeping late and hanging out with the loopers, enjoying performances, did my show and just enjoying the beautiful weather, the incredible past couple of weeks and the new friends. Lovely.