I haven't been blogging much because the past couple of weeks have been pretty fast and furious. Both the Ohio Valley Gathering and Will McClean Festival were a blast and the video is starting to surface on The Dulcimerica Video Podcast. Made lots of new friends at both events and got lots of playing time in.
It wasn't too long ago that I was still in what could be considered a musical wilderness of sorts; all alone grubbing on the tuneful equivalent of locusts and honey. So it is absolutely amazing to me that I find myself hanging out and jamming with some of the best players of the mountain dulcimer including Stephen Seifert, Butch Ross, Aaron O'Rourke, Gary Gallier and many others. It's really sometimes very overwhelming because, you know, there are so many questions and so many ideas floating around in this head-trippin' head space of mine.
The push right now, along with maintaining balance, is to really put the pedal to the metal and raise my performance bar. I was honored to jam with Charley Groth and Marge Chavin at WillFest while sipping coffee and enjoying the smells and sounds of breakfast cooking by the campsite Saturday morning. He later invited us on-stage to perform with him during his set, a definite honor that was somewhat marred and pre-empted by sound issues, including the absolute deluge of rain that fell upon the festival grounds. Still, Charley's an internationally traveled performer, and that kind of recognition and encouragement wasn't lost in translation.
I've got some serious video work to do this week before heading up to Jacksonville for a house concert this weekend. There are also events next weekend and the weekend after that, so festival season has kicked in hard. In all reality, you may be seeing a lot more video than words in the next few weeks, but I'll try and shed some light on the backstage action as well. Mohave has a rehearsal this week for our show at the Central Florida Fair this month and seeing as how this blog was originally started as a chronicle of the times of that band, I figured it was a good idea to mention that.
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