It started with being a music fan. Then I started playing. And singing. And writing. And recording. And then not too long after finishing my first CD, I started interviewing other artists and posting the audio here (and in iTunes) in my “Songs and Stories” podcast. Over the weekend, my new friend “Stryng”, a fellow songwriter, asked me what I wanted out of music. My honest answer, “I don’t know”. I know you’re supposed to have goals. Sometimes, though, just moving along whatever you’re creating is pretty darned satisfying, too.
Lately, the best analogy I can equate my little music path to is a very benevolent, multi-headed hydra. One head is the songs. Another is taking the tunes out to play them for other people. Still another is this opportunity I now have to interview other artists.
I’d say that everything was going according to the plan. If I had a plan.
This past weekend, I herded the hydra up to Coloma, California to attend the second annual American River Music Festival, a three-day event that marries rafting and hiking, two full days of music, camping in nearby campgrounds, music at each campground’s lodge every evening, a VERY efficient shuttle service between venues, and a chance to see great music in a very intimate setting, all the while making new friends in the process. Not a bad way to spend a few days.
I worked “security” on Sunday. Here’s a shot of me and my pal Tommy keeping the back forty clear of giant inflatable beach balls who entered the venue without wristbands:
Click here for more American River Music Festival photos
This year featured artists I know well (Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Keith Greeninger and Dayan Kai) and many I was very glad to have seen for the first time (Ray Bonneville, The Refugees). I was also happy to meet bay area artist Dana Hubbard and (all the way from England) Stryng and her bandmate Martin. Keep checking the web site here. You’ll hear more from them in a “Songs and Stories” interview very soon.
I have a lot more to say about this wonderful little fest, including a follow up interview I did with Joziah Longo about Gandalf Murphy’s new record, and lots of audio I recorded during our late-night song circle back in camp featuring me, Stryng, Dana, Greg Kitchell, Rob Hastings, Tommy Sellers, and a security guard who told us we were up way too late past Quiet Time. And if you’re wondering, yes I recorded us being reprimanded, and yes you’ll definitely hear it on the podcast.
For now, however, I’m being summoned by the “job that pays for the other job” (that would be the darker head on the hydra). More to come on a recap of the American River Music Festival. Promise.
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