Busking by USA Rail Pass: Oakland to Los Angeles to Albuquerque
When a fellow student at Open Studio commented that I could stop by her place in Albuquerque on my way to the Midwest on the Southwest Chief, I phoned 1-800-USA-RAIL and changed my reservation to allow a 24-hour stopover at her place (Amtrak phone agents are extremely helpful and can help if you’re having trouble...
Busking across America with the USA Rail Pass: Life can change in an instant
I have a USA Rail Pass and I’m taking my piano and amp around the country! It’s not about making money, though that’s nice. It’s really about freedom. Giving the gift of music to the people. And making music on my terms. No complications, no band to manage, no tickets to sell, no shitty sound...
PMO Tour: California gold
So much time has gone by, or so it seems. We’ve had a series of gigs back to back, so there’s really not much time to do more an eat, sleep, eat more, exercise, rehearse, soundcheck, perform, eat, sleep, pack and then travel. We had three great gigs in Arizona. The Fox Theater in Tucson...
PMO Tour: getting to Prescott
There’s a lot to cover since I wrote last! Unfortunately, my wireless keyboard has gone missing. Could it be on the bus, or at the last, glorious hotel we were at for less than 24 hours? Our Albuquerque gig went great, though I was, for the first time on this tour, in a bit of...
PMO Tour: Biking through Albuquerque
Yesterday was Halloween — the first I’ve spent not trick-or-treating with my kids in 13 years. I started off by calling home and discovering that my kids had no plans to wear the costumes I’d made! Here I am on the road, surrounded with testosterone, and meanwhile, they’re home with Daddy, also surrounded with testosterone!...
This is it! On tour with Pacific Mambo
October 23, 2013. So I want to establish a habit while on the road of documenting everything, or at least journaling, something I do rarely. I’m in a plane looking out at an oak-dappled and lake-dotted Northern California landscape… we’ve passed Sacramento… ooh there’s a super tall white bridge over a river. I love looking...
Birth of an Arrangement: The Names of the Winds
It was the second set of our show. The pianist shot me a malevolent glare, then proceeded to butcher the opening chords of the song I was about to sing, obfuscating the key so I couldn’t tell what note to start with. He finished the intro; silence lingered as the band waited for me to...
