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MARCH-APRIL 2004 NEWSLETTER (Covering March 12 through May 6)
So, on a recent drive, Michael and I bought the Carpenters' Greatest Hits album. It covers their (yawn) 30-year career and includes all the hits plus (zzzzz) lots of what are called B-sides. There are also, (stretch) remarkably, songs that Richard says he wishes he never recorded. As you can imagine, some of (zzzzzz) those selections are not very good. However, (stretch) it is quite a collection of catchy tunes, and Richard's arrangements are (yawn) really something—though they do not rise to the level of the master, a certain Mr. Manilow. It was a nice diversionary cd for a long drive, though you're advised (zzzz) to stock up on coffee before plowing through this imposing (stretch) collection, replete with every thought Richard ever had (yawn) about every single song (zzzz) on the double cd.
First, a little bit of housekeeping. After recording 215 concerts over the last 3 years, I'm hanging up my recording engineer's cap. Long-time readers will recall that in August 2001 I made the following pledge: "You can obtain recordings of each night's LOST AND FOUND concert from now unto eternity, or at least until I get tired of recording them." As you may have noticed, the Temple has not been rebuilt (holographic projections aside), and so it turns out I'm just tired. But it's a good kind of tired. Though we might return to recording on an occasional night when the stars are properly aligned and the creek don't rise, as a rule of thumb, the constant flow of nightly recordings is a thing of the past. On a happier note, every single one of those 215 concerts is available at our website in the Stuff To Buy section. Perhaps I'll offer periodic recommendations down the line.
Ice Fishing
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So, let us drift back to early March . . .we started with a trip down to election alley, starting in Orlando. We were there for yet another one of those groovy Believe events, put on by Christ In Youth. Next it was the Tampa area, followed by Winter Park, which is Orlando to you and Mickey. My parents came to this concert and, contrary to what my father always claims, it didn't even rain while is in their state! To make up for that, though, when I got back home it snowed. But as you can see from this photo, a little snow doesn't stop fishermen from doing their fishing out our back door. I guess when the walleye run you've got to run too.
Huh?
Incisions, incisions
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Michael came out to the snow belt and we drove over to Anderson, IN for another Friday night at Believe. From there we headed west to Des Moines and eventually found the secret road that took us to the church where we played an afternoon set for some youthworkers who were having a meeting. I found this sign on the door, but maybe I just don't understand what they're trying to say. That evening, we played a public concert in the same room, though it was somewhat sparsely attended. That night, we drove up to Ft. Dodge so that we could play some songs at worship in the morning. That afternoon, we played some songs and a former pro football player named Shawn Harper performed amazing feats of strength. They were amazing. And they were feats of strength. I dropped Michael at the Des Moines airport and drove off into the darkness to stay in Kansas City. That night, while trying to plug in my computer at the hotel, I performed surgery on my scalp using a wall lamp. Oh, it was intentional, believe me. I tell you that so that the gift from Michael will make sense later on.
Scary upshot!
Big time at last!
Safety First!
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Anyway, I flew to San Diego for important meetings, while Michael flew to Los Angeles for important cat feeding. Then we both met up in Memphis, where we played, and then drove up to Rockford, IL. In that town, a fellow requested that one of us wear his Dr. Who scarf toward the end of the concert. I obliged, and here's the proof. From there, we both went home for a couple days, until I drove down to Georgia and we met up for an April 1st concert. Troy had been telling us that he booked us in the Bacon Theater, and we were psyched to ponder the glorious past of that famous theater. However, I'd always thought it was in New York City. Turns out, though, the Bacon Theater is in Georgia, in a town called Alma (as in "rowdy friends have settled down"). That evening, Michael gave me a gift of protective headgear in an effort to preserve my scalp. I dutifully donned it and went about my work hooking up cords in the sound system. Also that night in Alma (as in "ex's live in Texas"), we experienced some of the local culture by strolling down main street. One of the more interesting finds was the selection of clothing at the children's shop. Following Alma (as in "sorrows, soon forgotten"), we drove up to Atlanta for the year's final Believe event. We've had a great season with these folks, and we look forward to seeing them all in various towns around the country.
Leaving Georgia, we drove northward and played in Roanoke, VA (as in Croatin). Had a fine time in a big gym, and continued northward to Catonsville, MD (Baltimore to you and me). The folks here worked really hard on publicity, and turned out a large group for the evening's ditties. Lots of fun for all ages . . .even the post-modern one. Then Michael and I went home for Holy Week. I sat in with choir at my church, which was pretty easy for me, since they were singing one of our songs. After this long break, I drove westward and Michael flew eastward and we met right around the geographic center of the continent, aka "Kansas." After our rendezvous, we drove up to Lindsborg, aka "Little Sweden" to play at Bethany College. Though the auditorium there is h-u-g-e, the hosts brought out enough folks to make for a great night. And we enjoyed ourselves mightily.
The next night, we played in Cedar Falls, IA. We've played this room in the past on the university campus, and we were quite pleased to find that they've since installed an elevator, with the ballroom being on the second floor. And speaking of playing before, the next night we returned to Sioux City, IA. Got there surprisingly early, and this gave us all plenty of time to joke about what we'd do if the power went out during the coming severe thunderstorms. Fortunately, this meant were prepared when the power did in fact go out, a half hour into the concert. Seeing as how this was a Lutheran Church, they had plenty of candles around, and we took the guitar down front and played an acoustic set. (We started with a few crowd pleasers such as "If I Had a Hammer," and then moved on to some of our own stuff.) It made for an interesting night, that's for sure. Afterward, Michael dropped me at an airport hotel, and drove through the night to Chicago where he got on a plane before I did!
The next weekend, Michael and Troy flew to Chicago, picked up the van, and met me in Kentucky for the Ichthus Festival. I think it was a little stormy for an outdoor festival, but I guess I'm just a little wimpy that way. Setting up our sound equipment was challenging, since we couldn't get close to the stage and couldn't set anything down in the mudbath. However, folks seemed to have lots of fun, and took advantage of the mud in various ways. On Friday, we sang happy birthday to several people including Frosty. We were surprised that it was Frosty's birthday, since you'd think that would be sometime around November. However, in the words of the Kinks, give the people what they want, right? On Saturday, the rain let up, and it was just a mudpit, sans rain.
Oh Barber . . .
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After Ichthus, we headed north to Chicago, where we played at a Community Youth Ministry event. They served up some fine hamburgers and hotdogs, and we were happy to partake. Afterward, Michael and Troy drove back to Minneapolis, and I drove home to Ohio. A day or so later, I flew to Minneapolis, and Michael and I drove over to Wisconsin to play at UW Stout. (A word to the wise, there is no town called "Stout" in the state of Wisconsin.) Had a nice time, and were treated to coffee and cookies by the hosts down at the local coffee and cookie place. The next night, we were back in Minneapolis for a boisterous crowd of confirmands at St. Phillip the Deacon Church. As you can see in the photo, sometimes folks in middle school have to adapt to the sudden growth of hair that comes with puberty.
Good Game!
Oh Barber . . .
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Then, Michael and I flew to Memphis, and drove over to Little Rock (as in "tonight I'm gonna have to slip you off"). There we were honored to be the inaugural event held in the Lutheran High School's new gymnasium. A beautiful room, and an appreciative group of folks. They used the new scoreboard to count down to the concert, and we noticed at some point that the visitors were behind one to nothing on the scoreboard. However, by the end, it seemed we'd done okay. And speaking of having to adapt to the sudden growth of hair, it seems that Michael really does need to visit a barbershop pretty soon. I mean, this is getting a bit ridiculous, don't you think? From there, we drove back to Memphis, where we played an event with our friends Traveling Mercies. Had a great time, and then drove off into the sunset. Or, back to a hotel near the airport anyway. I flew out at dawn-thirty, and went to Boston by way of Cleveland. Michael and met in Boston where we played the first of two events called "Winterfest." I tell you, I think I'm getting my seasons all confused.
And that brings us up to today, May 6th. If you'd like to see photos of the folks who endured our music, you can click on the Photo Phrenzy and be whisked away to that section of the site. Tune in next time for more adventures in hopefully warmer climes. Until then, try to stay dry, and you kids get out of the mud this instant!
later on,
george
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