Summer Re-cap and Welcome to Fall!

Tue, September 30, 2008

Hey Folks,

Where did the summer go?  I aplogize for being remiss in keeping up with this blog. I had full intentions to do so but life has gotten a bit more complicated than expected and well, here we are, into Fall already.

Since June of this year we've traveled to 8 different European countries and quite a few cities in the US, including as far west as Telluride, CO, to Chicago, Boston, NYC, Philly and in the south Atlanta, Jacksonville and St. Petersburg. I'm happy to say that all of the trips have been successful and that next year promises to be even busier, with more travel all over the globe. We do have one more trip to Europe this year at the end of October into November. We'll be performing again in Germany and Holland--this time in northern Holland (last trip was southern Holland) with our good friend Eric Steckel. The four of us have had a blast and I must say the we've leaving the various audiences wanting more, which is all we could really ask for. When asked what country I enjoy most I must admit--with absolutely no disrespect meant to any of the great people we've met in other countries--Italy is my fav pick. We had more fun than a guy at my age should be able to!  We traveled south from Milan and zig-zagged our way south, hitting both coasts and many places in-between. Then we traveled back north to Milan and flew to Sardinia, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to, and played a festival, opening for the great Robben Ford. In Sardinia we stayed right on  the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Looked just like a post card, amazing place. The food, wine and hospitality in Italy is hard to beat.

In June, Christine and I traveled to the UK where we visited with her brother, Tim, who lives in the north of England. We traveled by rail to Scotland which I found really impressive--Edinburgh is a great city, had a lot of fun there. Heading back on the train to England we went to Liverpool and I finally got to board the Magical Mystery Tour bus and do the Beatles thing. What can I say? Being a fan since they first arrived here in 1964, and realizing as a direct result, at an early age, that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. It was nothing short of a religious experience ... the Cavern Club was awesome. We visited John's home, Paul's home, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, Albert Dock -- you name it from Beatle's early history, we saw it.

Then we went to London, a place that I dearly love. Never have I been in a city where I felt like I instantly belonged. I don't know, maybe it's my heritage--my great-grandparents on my father's side were from England, and on my mom's side, from Wales. Or maybe it's the fact that as a little kid, just about everything I was influenced by--fashion, music, Jaguars, etc.--came from there. At any rate it felt like home. Up until this trip I'd only seen the inside of Heathrow several times, so you can imagine how I felt. Of course along with all of the historical sites and a cruise on the Thames, we went to Abbey Road studios and I had my pic taken walking across the zebra-striped crosswalk, just like on the album. It was a very emotional experience for me. We stayed in Kensington, not far from the apartment where Jimi died. Also we were close to Hyde Park and the Royal Albert Hall. So my thanks to Christine for allowing me to fit in all of these rock landmarks. She's always been cool about that stuff and I sure appreciate it. I made it up to her in Paris as we only visited the sites she wanted to visit there, no Jim Morrison sites or any sites of Hendrix performances.

Speaking of Paris, awesome city with great sites. Of course the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees and of course and  the Eiffel Tower were all really awesome to see in person. I really enjoyed the art and book-sellers all along the banks of the river Seine. We picked up some very cool artwork there.

So, that, in a few paragraphs was the summer. Of course there was Musikfest in August and many other shows that were very enjoyable. I've posted some pics on our MySpace page and also on Flickr. I'll be posting more soon, hope you enjoy them.

There are some great gigs coming up so please check out our schedule page and see announcements of special gigs on our homepage.

As always, thanks so much for your support. Hope to see you at a gig somewhere soon.

— Craig

 



 
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