Songs & Strings Tour Journal
Autumn 2002, West Coast
Michael DeLalla & Andrew McKnight
October 26, 2002: Thinking Outside the Box Canyon
Return to Our Homepage
Songs & Strings Tour JournalAutumn 2002, West Coast
|
Return to Our Homepage |
 An eerie red glow over this little duo jam under the big umbrella
Andrew gets down to deliver a little "Bad News" |
Today's musings actually begin with the end of the drive from San Jose's Fiddling Cricket. Shortly after midnight we pulled into Concord in the East Bay, finding ourselves at the home of Pete and Ginny, old friends of Andrew's, new friends of mine from the January tour. Upon entering their house I felt such a feeling of comfort and welcome--familiar territory that provided a well-deserved break from cookie-cutter motel tedium. A home. Pete and Ginny are, in the truest sense of the word, genuinely hospitable. Alas, we didn't have nearly enough time to catch up, with just a leisurely breakfast before Ginny dashed off to march in the San Francisco peace rally and Pete headed off to his digital camera class for a couple of hours, Andrew and I got caught up on journals, practice, and restocking of road-food--yogurt, dried fruit, flatbread, hummus--to fill our depleted cooler. No fast food for us. And no bad coffee. And never, ever: Starbucks. We also took a half hour to do a phone interview with Frank Gosar of KLCC 89.7 FM in Eugene OR, where we do a show on Wednesday (Cafe Paradiso). Frank is truly a great interviewer, with insightful questions based on careful listening and the unflagging enthusiasm for music that marks so many of the denizens of folk radio. Another new friend of the Falling Mountain family. That's another fascinating thing about touring--how much larger, broader, the touring environment has become with the onset of recent technologies: a phone interview between Concord CA and Eugene OR, webcast worldwide, followed by an email response from a listener back East. It's sometimes a bit overwhelming, but always very cool. Our stay in Concord was made complete by a great moment with Pete, when he returned with a bag of tacos and beer. Off to the backyard table to swap stories...I love these people: a grandmother who trots off to march for peace, while the bearded seaman takes a break from his boat-building to have some tacos and beer. Then, off to Napa for a 7:00 show, start time contingent upon the completion of Game 6 of the World Series (Viva Giants!). The Napa show was pretty intriguing. The venue was a "Secret Garden" courtyard behind Headfeathers, a downtown hair salon (great haircut, Rick!). Kari and Jim, partners in publishing Napa Valley Life Magazine, put the show together, and provided several good Napa wines to take some of the night's chill out of the fingers (medicinal purposes only during a concert) ...more good wine to accompany a stellar late dinner provided by Misto's, then off to Kari and Jim's for the night. What is it about having one's hair cut that can enable conversations that lead to sudden insights? While cutting my hair, Rick started a description of Napa with the words "It's a box canyon". The rest of his description was lost on me as I pondered the larger meaning. The concept of a box canyon illustrated to me the mythic lure of this part of CA--a metaphorical final destination, where the best of food and the best of wine, brought together in an idyllic locale, forge a framework for a life most of us only dream about. And music? Where does music fit in? How are the acoustics in a box canyon? Pass the Cabernet and we shall ponder it. Michael |
Set 1 |
Set 2 |
Return to Main Journal Page & Index
Previous day | Top of this Page | Next day
Copyright © Falling Mountain Music, All Rights Reserved.
