Life in a band by Anita
There always gets a point in a band where everything just grooves. Everybody knows the words to everything. Everyone is dancing and having fun while playing. An album is recorded and more are planned. These are the cosmic clues that your band is about to have a major change.
This change can be one or more of many different things. It can be personnel changes, style changes, gaining a bunch of gigs, losing all your gigs. It can be a confusing time.
Well we will be having a major change to our band soon. Ren, our singer has decided to go back to school full time this spring while working full time. So she does not have time for rehearsals, recording, or gigs. She gracefully notified the rest of the band at the end of the Renaissance Festival this year. This gave us time to find a replacement and to train her in.
We will be introducing our newest member of Reve du Faun, Katrina Radcliffe, this Saturday at O’Malley’s Pub in Woodbury. We feel so fortunate to have found her. She has a really amazing voice and lots of enthusiasm.
Notes from the road-Memphis TN , December 13-15, 2007 by Anita
It has been a bit
of time since I have written anything about our trials, tribulations and
travels. Well that ends now! Ok now that I have gotten that out of my
system... The band recently traveled to Memphis Tennessee. The home of Ribs
and Elvis Presley. Every meal had pork in it or near it. Katrina was in
heaven, I however decided to steel my resolve to talk my mother out of cooking a
Christmas Ham.
Day one of our journey started out with me (Anita) getting the sniffles and sneezes. This of course meant I was coming down with a cold. Right before what we all perceived as the most important gig of our life. I vowed to resist it and told my body it could be sick after the gig was over. My body decided to take me up on that. We settled into our hotel, a nice posh Hilton and had a small lunch of appetizers at the lobby bar. We perused the gift shop where they had everything from an Elvis clock with a swinging pelvis to Elvis chapstick. Later that evening we went out for dinner at the world famous Rendezvous restaurant for dry ribs. Our waiter had actually spent a few years in Minnesota. That always seems to happen to us. Whatever other state we happen to be in, at least one of our wait people has spent a significant part of their life in Minnesota. Larry our cabbie was wonderful and gave us all sorts of advice about what to eat and what to see in downtown Memphis. After dinner we went walking around. We visited the Peabody Hotel and visited the ducks on the roof and took in the view of the city. We also went walking down Beale street. We ended up in Silky O'Sullivans with dueling piano players and electric palm trees. It was fun. Larry came and picked us up and took us back to the hotel.
The next day saw us touring Graceland. I have never really been a fan of Elvis
or the Jumpsuits, but I found myself completely fascinated by the whole of it.
Elvis' jumpsuits are just costuming marvels. I loved them. I think they are my
favorite part of the tour. I picked up some postcards for my family and took a
bunch of pictures that are still on my camera. We also toured the car museum
that was interesting and fun. We lunched at a little diner attached to the car
museum and I was very happy to find vegetables (finally).
Day three was gig day. We spent much of it in a meeting and watching speakers
and found the whole thing very interesting. At gig time we were kinda nervous
and a little scattered. We were performing as part of a street scene. Once we
settled down and realized that we didn't have to fill the entire space with
sound we were much more grounded. The energy of the whole production was so
high and intense that I felt a little over stimulated and definitely on sensory
overload. We made some good friends like Macey who wanted to join the band with
her "musical" glow stick she pretended was a flute also, Brian who wanted to
quit his job and become our groupie and Stuart who really wants to bring us to
London. We would love to go. The night wound down in the hotel lobby bar.
Terrance we love you. Thank you for pouring and mixing our drinks and keeping
us in good humor for the entirety of our stay.
Day four we packed up and headed out for the airport for the trip home. By this
time my cold decided it was time to hit. If you have ever had a head cold on a
plane, you know the "fun" I was about to face. It took me a could of days to
feel like I could actually hear again. A week later I am still not quite 100%
well, but I'm getting there.
We would like to thank a few people for this trip. First Carr, thank you so
much for bringing us along on this magic ride. We won't let you down and we
always have your back. To Amy for being our handler, confidant, cruise
director, and photographer. You rock. To Marion and John and the rest of the
Ontend team for your support and companionship. To our colleagues on the trip -Gordy,
Rosie, Lloyd, Paul, Mick, Jason, Caleb, Gary, Kathy, and Charlie the second-
Thank you for the pep talks and fun. This trip has been one of the best
experiences of my life.
O'Malley's Pub, December 29th, 2007 by Anita
There are all
sorts of problems and feelings that can derail your performance if you let
them. Inevitably something gets left behind (like a guitar stand), nerves, the
weather is bad (or just cold), a costume isn't working like it should (3 1/2
inch heels....I don't know what I was thinking.....yes I do, I'm short), or the
New England Patriots are attempting an unbeaten record for the season. You
know, random things. Despite all the external factors, we were able to push
almost everything aside (3 1/2 inch heels....ow...but I was taller and my feet
didn't really, really start to hurt until the third set).
O'Malley's has a really wonderful atmosphere. The place is part local hangout
and part sports bar with an Irish pub feel woven throughout. The people that
frequent this pub are really friendly and just as interested in the music as
they are in the Minnesota Wild (who won in OT, btw) or the Patriots (although I
think most of the people were cheering for the Giants).
We want to thank Heidi, Ryan and Les first for moving from the back corner to
the front row, it is always nicer to have people at the front table who are
really interested in the music. Also, thanks for the round of drinks. You guys
are really amazing people. We want to wish our heartfelt best wishes and
congratulations to Heidi and Ryan on their upcoming wedding. Ryan, you did
good...Heidi's ring is gorgeous! We also want to thank the family Nordin for
coming up from Hastings to catch the show. I'm glad you got to hear all the new
arrangements of the songs. Happy Birthday Viki. We really appreciate that you
come to our gigs. Thanks to John, Jeff and Endre (I'm not sure I spelled that
right) for coming out. It was a nice surprise to see some familiar festy
faces. Thanks Jeff and Endre for the drinks.
Guinness is yummy.
Freaking out when Success is on the line by Anita
Success is a
funny thing. It can change your life. Being on the brink of success can rock
you to your core. The big what if. That question has so many possibilities
mostly depending on how you finish it and how you answer it. I guess that is
the question that makes us hope and dream.
I have a strategic mind. I just keep on running scenarios non stop. Some
things are rather mundane like cooking or what to wear. Some things are quite
complicated like the big what if. For someone with a mind like mine, this is a
question that will keep you up at night.
Always after the Minnesota Renaissance Festival there is a space of time for us
to reflect and plan for the next festival. The post performance depression sets
in and we start working on new material, dreaming of recording a new CD and try
to book gigs at bars. This year we haven't had our usual down time. We booked
some gigs right away and Katrina came aboard when Ren decided to go to school
and work full time. Training in a new member is always a long process and we
have had to do it on fast forward.
We have started working with Ontend Creative Partners. Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D
and Carr Hagerman have written a book called "Top Performer" (I highly recommend
it) and they are taking the message out to the masses and have asked us to be a
part of it. Everything with this opportunity keeps happening so fast, sometimes
it is hard to catch my breath. Of course my mind is working overtime with the
big what if question. The possibilities are endless in so many good directions
and a few not so good directions, but so many things could happen. I feel like
so many cosmic things are happening for us right now anyway. Seeds planted long
ago have turned into trees bearing blossoms with the promise of fruit. I could
get used to things going right.
Notes form the Road- Indianapolis, IN January 21-23, 2008 by Anita
Traveling by
plane is eventually going to be interesting. That is the nature of the beast
and a fact of life. We had our first tiny taste of interesting this time. It
was snowing in the Midwest for much of Monday and because of that it affected
planes flying from or into Chicago's O'Hare airport. Our plane was late
arriving. Once we were on it, it had a mechanical problem that needed to be
fixed. Then it needed to be de-iced. I'm glad that the airline dealt with all
of these issues in a prompt and efficient manner (entirely because it
dramatically reduces the likelihood of crashing and of course death). Our plane
that was supposed to take off at 11:50am finally took off at 1:30pm. We landed
in Chicago somewhere around 2:30pm. Still time to catch our connection to
Indianapolis at 3:10pm which was pushed back until 4:10 (lucky us we could grab
some lunch). We landed in Indianapolis around 6pm (local Eastern time) where a
cab was waiting for us and 7 of our traveling companions. We got checked into
our hotel and were all tired from the trip and went to dinner at the Webber
Grill (yes like the barbeque grill most people have in their garage somewhere.)
It was a nice place and I could eat their garlic mashed potatoes for days on
end.
When we got back to our hotel room, the radio was on, the bed was turned down
and there was a chocolate racecar on the pillow. Jay was at the bar waitng for
Jac to arrive (he drove and had a much more interesting trip through Wisconsin
in the snow storm). When Jac arrived, Katrina joined them in the lounge for a
drink (I needed to get my contact lenses out of my eyes). They met a gentleman
who asked them for a tune (Jac brought all the guitars with him). Jay had to
refuse at first (the guitar cases were locked and I had the key), but he went
down and played "City of New Orleans" for him and his friends. They all
appreciated it and Jay was jazzed about doing it.
Our shows went just great the next day. We had a great time and I think we
sounded fab. We want to thank Rod and especially Chip for showing us around the
room and for keeping us hydrated and well just everything. You were our hero.
We didn't have a lot of time to explore Indianapolis, but we'll get a second
chance at the end of February. There's a mall really close to the hotel and it
looks interesting. They still have a Carson Pierie Scott in it. They have been
gone from Minnesota for well over a decade.
Our plane rides back were mostly uneventful. I sat next to a gentleman named
Rowdy who was on a whirlwind tour of his own. He has a new business that makes
travel towels. They are compressed into a large tablet about a half inch thick
and a nickel in diameter. You just add water and unroll it. It is made from
cotton so it has some strength and is biodegradable. It is really cool.
Perfect for camping, renaissance festivals, or mom's purse. Check it out here
at
www.eztowel.com
We wanted to send out some thanks on this trip too. Thank you to Rodney at the
Embassy Suites for snagging some of the left over egg rolls for Katrina. I
wanted to thank Katie from Salon Ave in Vadnais Heights for the really great
haircut and the awesome eyebrow wax. I feel like I look fantastic and I've been
turning heads ever since.
Notes from the Road- St. Petersburg, FL -January 31-February 2 by Anita
We left the frozen tundra of
Our hotel rooms weren't ready when
we arrived so we left our bags with the bellman and changed into clam diggers,
tee shirts and flip flops and took a walk. Katrina found the most awesome
Katrina sunglasses ever at the hotel gift shop. We met up with our friend Chip
and joined him for lunch at the Fresco Bistro right on the marina for some
snackage and drinks. I had what was possibly the best appletini I have ever had
and Chip treated us to some Thai calamari. It was delish. This was the start
of an adventurous day. Katrina was talking on her phone….to someone….and some
very large and scary fish swam from under the dock. We later were told that they
were yellow tailed jacks. Apparently they are good eatin'. They disappeared
for a while and I was sure that Katrina was telling us a fish tale (sorry). The
chef and bartender were a great tag team trying to lure them back for us. The
chef tossed some raw squid into the water and the bartender kept a watch and let
us know when they were back. In the meantime, I (Anita) taunted all the minnows
in the water. Telling them all the horrible ways they were about to die. I
have to say that the Jacks were big, but not as scary as some fish I've seen. I
mean I've seen sturgeons….not to mention sharks.
After lunch we walked out to the
Pier. Katrina and I fed the pelicans. It was neat and a little scary.
Pelicans are big birds. I wished we had a camera with us. But we will be back
in April and I think we will feed the pelicans again so that we can get the
film. We did some window shopping inside and took in the sea air of
We did dinner at the local Irish
Pub, Courigan's. Ryan Stroh was playing that night. We were all way too tired
to stay up and listen, but we hope Ryan had a good night. He was off to
The next day was a busy one. Show
day. Jay and I took a walk on the bay through the marina and saw the sunrise.
It was glorious. We also came across some army recruits jogging and all of them
made a point of greeting us with a "good morning". We caught some breakfast
and started to prepare ourselves for our shows. It was our last show with Jac
until the middle of March and we tried to make the most of it. The set ups have
been consistent and we are starting to get into a groove. After all our shows
were over the client treated the whole Ontend Top Performer team to a Wii party
in the executive suite on the 15th floor of the hotel. It had a
panoramic view of the bay. It was gorgeous. Katrina and I tried oysters for
the first time. Gordy taught us how to eat them and we tried them on three
together. I have to say that the texture is a little weird, but they weren't
bad. Katrina didn't like them at all. On this trip I have become a hummus
freak. I love it, love it, love it.
The next day we left from the
Thanks again to Chip and Rod for taking care of us and bringing us water.
Notes from the Road- Washington DC -February 2-5,2008 by Anita
On our way out of St.
We went to the Washington DC Mall
at about 4:30ish and walked around the end with the
The next morning we got up early
and took the dark knight out for another session of site seeing. We went back
to the Mall to see some more memorials. This time we went to the Franklin
Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the George Mason
Memorial, the Capital and US Grant memorial. I also took many pictures of the
On the way back from the Jefferson Memorial, we stopped by the George Mason memorial. It was a neat design. It had a statue of George Mason sitting on a bench with a walking stick and some books sitting next to it. It was a little larger than life size and Jay looked a little bit like Lily Tomlin (that's the truth, pbbbbt!) sitting next to him. Of course I took a picture of that. We passed through FDR on the way back and I took a bunch more pictures there. In the FDR gift shop Jay and I picked up a couple of pocket constitutions so now we can do some research and answer some of Mark Lazarchic's questions/challenges on his blog.
Next, we drove the Dark Knight up to the Capital building. I took a bunch of pictures of the US Grant memorial there. I promised my niece Alexa (through a postcard) that I would take a bunch of pictures of the horse statues around town. She is almost 4 and very into horses. The US Grant area is all about the horse statues and I took a bunch of shots. There was a small boy (about 5 or 6) that was reenacting the civil war all by himself. We first noticed him twitching on the ground in his blue coat and civil war cap and oddly enough confederate canteen. He stood up and dodged many bullets only to be mortally wounded yet again and die a very dramatic and twitchy death once more. I think I saw him "die" about 3 or 4 times. Very cute. When we were leaving, we passed all the museums we didn't have time to visit. We decided that we are all definitely coming back to DC just for the museums and maybe more of the memorials that we didn't get to see. We were a bit exhausted and headed back to hotel. This time we planned our return route so we wouldn't get lost again.
When we got back to the hotel we found out that the client had set up a Super Bowl party complete with 5 big screen plasma TV's and a bunch of munchies. It was a fabulous way to end a fabulous day. They also had a wii set up…I think the wii is going to be a companion to us all in many of the cities we will be visiting.
Our shows again went fantastically
and we had a great time performing. We had a guest artist with us for the show,
Next day we set out for
Notes from the Road- San Jose, CA Feb. 5-7, 2008 by Anita
I'm a little behind. Mostly because I'm not bringing a computer on the road with us so bear with me as I attempt to catch up.
This was our longest travel day
yet. We left
So
We had our first on tour rehearsal since we started going on this tour. I think we spent about and hour and a half working out our arrangements so they were tighter. We had our friend Richard with us again for this trip and we were finding the balance of guitar to voice a little challenging so we spent the early part of the night trying to work that out.
Jay and I went out to dinner the
night we arrived with some friends that live in
It doesn't matter where in the
States we are I seem to wake up at
For the most part our performances
have been what are expected of us and more. The music is sounding really good.
We are having a great time performing and getting to know lots of people. We
take people by surprise and that is a great feeling. It is also kind of
frustrating. We have been banging our heads against the wall called
The trip home was a long one too,
just not as long as the trip there. We went home from
Tillies Bean February 9th, 2008 by Anita
We played Tillies Grand Re-Opening celebration. It was so nice to be there in the company of friendly and familiar faces. I love that in times of sorrow and joy the family that is the Minnesota Renaissance Festival -participants supports each other. We are always happy to help people by playing for benefits or donating stuff.
Having just come off the road, we were a little bit crispy, but we longed for the familial and felt loved and appreciated. We did a short set of tunes and it was just 3 of the 4 of us. Jac is still in Florida doing a festival. I can't wait until he is back with us again. I miss having his bass line to groove to. I can't recall what songs we sang. I think we debuted a new one that we had just learned in San Jose. It is called the Sun is Rising. It was written by a woman in Oregon. I can't find her name to credit her, but I will. It is a great song and I'm glad she wrote it.
Notes from the Road –Indianapolis, IN, February 24-26, 2008 by Anita
When we left for Indianapolis, I was hoping I would see a little bit more of it this time. Well that didn’t quite work out. We were invited to a party on the only night we could really go anywhere and do anything. But it was a fabulous party. It was an Oscar Party. We had ballots to fill out and there were fantastic prizes to win. I even won one.
We were again lodged at the downtown Embassy Suites. I like embassy suites. They realize that women wear makeup and give us a table with a mirror and a magnifying makeup mirror just for that. It is wonderful. This hotel is also attached by skyway to a mall. I think I mentioned that before. But in that mall is my new favorite chain restaurant –PF Chang’s Chinese Bistro. Seriously, Minnesota has got to get more of these. We had a nice lunch there with our favorite fairy after our noon time performance. After lunch Kathy went shoe shopping and we headed back to the hotel for a nap and a costume change.
The next part of our show day is a Q&A. The seminar attendee’s ask us all questions and we answer them. Pretty simple and always a bit more than funny. I mean when you have Gordy, Gary Parker, Mick and Caleb answering questions there is bound to be some pretty funny remarks thrown around. After the Q&A we do our production number of sorts to end the seminar and take everyone into the Street Fair reception. At the reception we schmooze a little-play a little- schmooze a little-play a little-cheep, cheep, cheep-schmooze a lot-play a little more. Then we usually go out to dinner as a group.
This time we went to the Webber Grill. I have also talked about this one before. I wasn’t terribly hungry for dinner and I just didn’t want anything with meat in it. I get meated out pretty easily. Anyways I opted for the Garlic Mashed Potatoes and a side Caesar Salad. It was very funny as Katrina ordered the same thing independently from me from the other end of the table. For dessert Caleb ordered Bananas Foster-which oddly enough this restaurant does not light on fire-It was a huge plate of dessert and Caleb invited all interested parties over for a bite or three. It was quite delicious.
Every city we go to the people in this project become more and more like family. In fact I had a naughty dream about one of my colleagues (I’m not telling). But all in all I have an enormous amount of respect for every one on this tour and I’ll be sad when it is over.
Notes from the Road -New Orleans, March 8-11, 2008 by Anita
This is going to be a long one as we had a lot of adventures in New Orleans.
Katrina and Jeff (Katrina’s boyfriend and the hand underneath Felton) left for New Orleans the day before Jay and I did and Jay and I left about 3 hours before the rest of the group. We almost thought we might not make it very early. Our plane was supposed to take off at 7am. As our plane was taxiing to the runway, Chicago (where our plane was going first) called a ground stop. It was snowing in Chicago. So we sat on our plane for an hour and a half. This is alarming to us because our plane to New Orleans is supposed to leave Chicago at 9am. It takes longer than a half an hour to fly to Chicago. So we are resigned to the fact that we probably missed our connection to New Orleans and they said over the intercom that if you missed your connection you would be booked on to the next plane bound for your destination. I held out a little hope that maybe our plane to New Orleans would be delayed or something and my wish kind of came true as the voice from the intercom announced that the plane we were on was heading for New Orleans. Yay!
It was Jay’s Birthday. Katrina and Jeff met us at our hotel and we went out to the French Quarter. We were a little peckish and the first thing we did was stop at Café Du Monde for beignets and hot chocolate. Then Katrina treated us to a carriage ride through the Garden District. All the carriages in New Orleans are pulled by mules. They are stronger and harder to spook than horses. Our mule was named Brown Sugar. She had a crown of silk flowers on her head-red roses- and was mostly your average brown mule. As we trotted off toward the garden district, our driver alerted us that something was going to happen (curiously he didn’t say “Hup”). Brown Sugar stopped at a praline shop and refused to move until she got some. A gentleman from the shop came out with some samples for us and Brown Sugar. They were very tasty. Check them out at www.southerncandymakers.com . The Garden District is a very beautiful part of New Orleans. The houses were interesting many of them still had the structures of Slave Quarters on them. I had always wondered where they had lived in the cities. Many movies about the Civil War South only deal with plantation shacks and hovels slave quarters. It was interesting to see what the urban slave quarters were like from the outside. Still they looked small and cramped, but most were attached to the houses. Katrina loves cemeteries. We stopped by the Lafayette cemetery and it was closed but our driver let us in and we walked around quietly. I had my loudest shoes on, so I tip toed everywhere. We also hand fed Brown Sugar some well deserved carrots. She was a happy camper. On our way back to the French quarter, we came across a couple of enterprising young girls selling pink lemonade. So of course we bought some and it was great. I lived in a rural area when I was a little girl, so it wasn’t commercially viable to sell lemonade, but I always wanted to.
After the carriage ride we wandered around the French quarter a little more. We went down Royal Street and looked at some antiques. We went to M.S. Rau Antiques and I think it was more of a museum than a shop. It had some amazing pieces in it. I tried on a ring with a flawless yellow diamond it was beautiful (http://www.rauantiques.com/28-8827.html). As it turns out, yellow jewelry looks pretty fantastic with my skin tone. They had furniture, crystal, china, jewelry, and walking sticks…all sorts of objet d’arts. Check out more of what we saw at www.rauantiques.com. Everything was way out of our price range. I was quite taken with a jewel encrusted clock. I have told many people about this clock. Zoom in it is worth looking at. Check it out here http://www.rauantiques.com/jump.jsp?itemID=3184&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C221%2C234%2C350 . It says price upon request, I asked and it was priced at $2.5 million….yep million.
Later we took the obligatory stroll down Bourbon Street. We saw a fair amount of street performers. Seriously, with the crew we have on this tour, we could own this town. Aside from the Dixieland jazz combo’s on the street, Reve du Faun would have killed. We heard very unenthusiastic groups doing some of the tunes common to renaissance festivals. They sounded as bored as they looked. I don’t quite understand it as the performers are required to get a permit or otherwise pay for the privilege of performing on the street. You would think they would be more energetic about it. There were tappers, break dancers and more living statues than anywhere should have. Most of who were only so-so. We stopped for a drink at Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith shop and called Jac. He told us we should go there and I think by all accounts it was a good move. On our way back to the hotel we stopped by a shop lined with Daiquiri machines and got some slushy goodness to go. We didn’t have too much more time to look around because we wanted to get all dressed up and go out to dinner.
Out of all the famous restaurants in New Orleans, we decided to check out Antoine’s. It is a restaurant that has been owned and operated by the same family since 1840. This is the place where Oysters Rockefeller was born. Check out their website www.antoines.com . Antoine’s is located on St. Louis Street between Bourbon and Royal. Our waiter’s name was Murphy. Murphy has been a waiter at Antoine’s for 20 years. His father was a waiter there before him and trained him in and now Murphy was training in his daughter. We started out with some appetizers. Katrina ordered Ecrevisses Cardinal (Crawfish tails), Jay and I split Escargo al la Bourguignonne (ok, so we love snails) and for Jeff it was Potage Alligator au Sherry (yep alligator soup). We tried all of the dishes around the table and everything-even the alligator- was quite yummy. We then had our main courses. Katrina and I settled on the Poulet sauce Rochambeau and Jay ordered the Poulet aux Champignons. Both of these are chicken breasts with different sauces. Jeff ordered the Tips de Filet en Brochette de Marchand (beef tenderloin tips in a wine sauce). Again everything tasted amazing. Our pallets never had it so good. We rounded out our entrée’s with Broccoli sauce Hollandaise, Spinards sauce Crème (creamed Spinach) and Pommes de Terre Soufflés (puffed Potatoes). Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, it was time for dessert and coffee. Everyone else ordered Cerises Jubilee (Cherries Jubilee), but I was more in the mood for Mousse au Chocolaté and a café au lait. I think that might have been the best chocolate mousse on the planet. Katrina also ordered the Café Brulot Diabolique (Spiced Coffee). The Cherries and Katrina’s Coffee had a common element. They both had a lot of rum in them and were lit on fire. Murphy had a great time with this and poured burning liquid onto our table cloth for an added effect. When we were waiting for our dessert, Katrina noticed that Noah Wylie was dining in the restaurant. He was just as cute in person as he was on TV. This was our first star sighting. We were respectful about his space and refrained from autograph seeking. We looked around the restaurant after dessert as it had so much Mardi Gras and other memorabilia hanging on the walls it was almost like a history museum.
The next morning we stowed our luggage at the Hampton Inn hotel we were staying at (we were switching hotels in the afternoon) and went out to do some morning site seeing. Our first stop was the St. Louis 1 cemetery. This is a really interesting grave yard. In New Orleans they have to do above ground burials because of the sea level so it is automatically interesting, but there are a few historic people buried there as well as it is the cemetery that they used for the movie Easy Rider. We stopped by the grave of Marie Laveau and also noted the grave of Homer Plessy of Plessy v. Ferguson fame. After a good long stroll we walked back to the Jackson Square area. The square itself was closed as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was taping something there. We decided to have more beignets at Café Du Monde and get a good sugar high going. We then walked all over the French quarter shopping and looking at all sorts of stuff. I wanted to find postcards and Jeff and Jay were kind of into looking at all the art. There is a lot of art in New Orleans. It is for sale everywhere. Prints and originals sold at the square, on the street and in shops. It was as common as music and living statues.
We stopped for lunch at a place called the Alpine. Our server was kind of funny. She was really hung over and made no pains to hide it. She was amusing. We switched tables on her to get into the sun and I thought she might have a nervous breakdown. It was here that I learned that if there was alligator in the menu, Jeff would order it. We took our time with lunch and relaxed a little. I like the laid back atmosphere of New Orleans. After lunch we did more shopping around the Jackson Square area. We went into a shop called the Jamie Hayes Gallery. I bought one of his big lips dolls and attached it to my flute case. Her name is Tallulah. She is cute and her color scheme is so wrong it is right. Anyways you can check out more of his stuff here www.jamiehayes.com he has all sorts of items like children’s books, bags and dolls.
We went into many other shops looking for some beads for Katrina and I wanted to look at masks. All types. I wanted to see if I would like making them and how much they were selling retail. We then noticed that the square had opened up. I really wanted to get a picture of Jackson on his horse. If you read my DC blog you know why it was a big deal to get that shot. I really loved the chance to get outside and move around. I feel like I have gained a little weight during this tour as we are always eating out. I think it was about 4 or 5 in the afternoon that we went back to the Hampton Inn to retrieve our luggage and went to the Hilton on the river. We had some hassles checking in and we were late for our cast meeting –they had been happening so sporadically that frankly we forgot that we have them. Anyways, after the meeting let out, Jay spotted a guy with a guitar case and asked if there was a jam happening or something and the guy said yeah and Jay asked if the band could come by and sit in. He said sure. So we went in search of dinner asap so we could hurry back and play.
So we went across the street to a brew pub called Gordon Biersch. They are a chain restaurant that does not have locations in Minnesota. They had been slammed all weekend long and they were out of everything I was considering eating. I finally was just going to cancel my order and our server saved the day and brought me what I really wanted all night long which was garlic mashed potatoes. They were very garlicky. I think they use garlic at this pub like Café Du Monde uses powdered sugar. We ate and ran back to our hotel to find our instruments and jam with the musicians we found.
Turns out the musicians were some of the cast and crew from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. OH MY GOD. So we jammed a little with them. At first we were just sitting in on a rehearsal they were having. One of the producers was leaving the show and they were having a party the next night and were going to surprise her with a concert. It was really neat and they were quite good. Paul plays guitar, mandolin and keys. He was very modest about his abilities (I asked him if he did any Irish or Bluegrass on his mandolin and he answered me that he doesn’t know anything other than chords, but hey he has really good energy and timing with those chords). Ed from Australia plays the harmonica and a mean one at that. Adam was playing a guitar and they had a bass player and a banjo player. After they were done with the rehearsing part of the night we set in and did some tunes with Mike who did most of the singing. He played some stuff and we played some stuff. Then we played them Locomotive Breath and Ed said we kicked ass. It was so cool.
Notes from the Road-Minneapolis, MN, March 11-12, 2008 by Katrina
Minneapolis was yet another show where the people I’m working for impressed the
hell out of me. There’d been no hotel rooms actually at the Hilton downtown
booked for us, the thought being that we would be able to commute. My car,
however, has been acting up all winter... deciding only to start when it darn
well feels like it, that sort of thing. I expressed being worried about making
it to the hotel in the morning, and BAM, next thing I know I’m staying at the
Hilton the night before show day. Almost as if a fairy-godmother had just
snapped her fingers somewhere... huge thank you to Amy Miglini once again. Jeff
and I stopped home, unloaded souvenirs and dirty laundry, and headed for the
hotel.
It was kinda nice to be performing for the Home Crowd. Felt somehow easier, as
if they’d love me no matter what mistakes I made more than any other group...
and in reality they probably judged me more, who knows? Jeff was able to join us
once more for the reception, and a few other familiar faces made appearances as
well. Once more, a great show, and once more Reve du Faun headed for home
utterly exhausted but feeling pretty darn good about ourselves.
O'Malley's Pub-March 14, 2008 by Anita
Notes from the Road-Denver, CO, March 16-17, 2008 by Katrina
Okay,
maybe it was that Jac Martins, our wonderful bass player, had finally returned
to us, and we were happy to hear our familiar three-part group become four
again. Maybe it was that we were at an elevation a mile higher than we were used
to. Maybe it was a realization that our gig is ending in a month and we’ll miss
it like crazy. Whatever the reason, Denver was quite the trip.
Once again, set-up night culminated in a gathering with food and wine. Once
again gig day happened, once again there were moments of hilarity (including a
random moment where someone stuck a gold coin between my breasts, which prompted
me to dance, which prompted them to ask what’d happen if they swiped their
credit card), once again we headed out for dinner afterward. This time dinner
was Buca, and by the time we arrived, Gina had already ordered enough food to
feed a small army.
Have I mentioned I love Gina?
I blame altitude combined with over-abundance of energy from the day for the
loopy van ride home. Everything was a straight line or a joke. For the record,
I’d like to state that my Naples are perfectly lovely in the wintertime, and as
to anything about "steaming manhole covers"... well, that one’s all Anita’s. One
more glass of wine at the hotel bar and then off to bed, where I stripped down
and watched HBO (...I find HBO is more fun when you’re naked, just like almost
anything else...) before curling up and dozing off. Early plane once again in
the morning...
Notes from the Road-Charlotte, NC, March 19-20, 2008 by Katrina
First and
foremost, and of highest importance: North Carolina is one of those civilized
places that has sweet tea even in their fast food restaurants. YAY!! Even
better, one of said fast food restaurants was within walking distance of our
hotel!!
Lunch was fast food, but dinner was once again an event. Our crew hosted an
Improv night for us, complete with open bar, ice cream, appetizers, and games
out of Who’s Line is it Anyway?. Highlights include: Anita, playing Blind
Date as a woman with uncontrollable poison ivy; Mick, as the World’s Worst
Street Performer (he imitated Gordy. Priceless.); and Gordy and his World’s
Worst Parenting advice: "Son, sometimes no, no, no means yes, yes, yes."
Beautiful.
Out for dinner again after gig day. A certain flute player had yet another
dream... one of THOSE dreams again, and this time it included not only the Man
in Question but me as well. I, of course, promptly supplied him with this
information, because, well, I’m a snot, and we gleefully made a night of teasing
her with it. Can’t remember the name of the restaurant, but it was Italian, and
amazing. I’ve never tasted tiramisu that decadent. So sweet you wish for a lover
to feed it to, or to feed it to you, be it from a fork or off their fingers.
Seriously, that food was so close to sex I almost blushed while eating it.
Charlotte was beautiful that night as we walked home. The moon was full, there
was wine singing through my blood, I had an aria stuck in my head, and it was
nice enough outside that I had no need of a coat. I was so in love with life
that night. What a fabulous, eye-opening, amazing gig this has been.
We found out halfway to the airport at oh-my-gods o’clock in the morning that
our flight was cancelled; at about the same time I realized I’d left my favorite
necklace in my hotel room. Made for a fun morning. Amy worked her magic once
again for our travel situation, and I managed to make a little of my own to get
my necklace back, so all turned out fine. In the meantime, Anita and I had
makeovers at the airport, then joined Jay and a fellow Guinness-drinker for a
couple of rounds at the bar. We’re sure it was five o’clock somewhere.
Notes from the Road-Portland, OR, March 31-April 1, 2008 by Katrina
I'd been
looking forward to Portland since we first got our schedules for this tour- it's
the one city I'd never visited that I'd desperately wanted to see. Flying from
Seattle over the brilliant blues and greens of the Pacific Northwest takes your
breath away. Kathy described it best at the hotel that evening when she got in
from Arizona: "It's like Duluth in the best part of springtime, only with Kudzu
and mountains."
We arrived at the hotel, from which we had an amazing view of Mount St. Helens,
and my band mates and I decided to walk to the nearby mall in search of food....
until we got to the lobby and found Carr and Mick checking in. Their plan was to
drop things in their respective rooms and head to Powell's bookstore, and...
well, books trump food any day for me, so I was not at all opposed when Jay
suggested we join them. Caleb joined us too, which was nice- he can be a bit
aloof and I enjoy the opportunities to get to know him better- and we got into
the town cars Carr was kind enough to order for the occasion.
If you've seen Disney's Beauty and the Beast, you'll understand what I mean when
I say I walked into that bookstore and felt like Belle in the library of the
Beast's castle: "Oh, I can't believe it.... I've never seen so many books in all
my life! It's so wonderful!" Couldn't have said it better myself. Five whole
stories of books, on any subject I could possibly think to read, including a
rare book room with a gorgeous volume from the 1400s and a section of plays that
went on forever (No copy of Levin's Veronica's Room though... *sigh*). There was
a wall of astrology books, a wall and a half of photography, even a huge chunk
of space full of scores from Italian and German operas... Rigoletto, Il Barbiere
de Seviglia, Cosi Fan Tutti, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini... and tucked in there was a
copy of Niccolo Vaccai's Practical Method of Italian Singing for high soprano.
There it was, the same book from which I learned the grupetto, the acciaccatura,
the appogiatura, recitativo... I haven't seen my copy in years. I flipped
through, hummed some old songs I still knew as if it'd been yesterday that
Thaxter was running me through exercises, yelling, "Tip of your tongue behind
your bottom teeth! Shoulders are still! Chin up! Breath support!" in his Italian
accent. I left it, as I knew I hadn't sold my copy... I merely had to find it
(and I did!!). The experience, though, was amazing.
I picked up an illustrated copy of Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth and a
copy of Richard Bach's Illusions, both of which I've read but didn't own, as
well as a couple of others I'd been keeping eyes open for. Amy showed up halfway
through the excursion, so when the first of the two town cars showed up to take
us home, Mick very bravely volunteered to stay behind with the three attractive
women to wait for the second car. Turned out this was a good time to be so very
brave, as minutes went by and the second car didn't show (a mechanical issue...
the first car ended up having to come back). Plus it was cold, so Amy, Anita,
and I piled on like puppies to conserve heat. All I have to say is Mick must've
had some excellent karma coming to him, cuz a group hug from girls as cute as us
has gotta be the highlight of any guy's day. :)
We got back to the hotel in time to change for our dinner party that night-
there were pictures being taken, so Gina put together a soiree with food and
entertainment for us since we'd all be in one place. They put down a big screen
and played Across the Universe, which I'd never seen, so I curled up on a couch
with Amy, Mick, and a glass of white wine to watch the show.
The movie was good, the wine was great, the company was fabulous. I recommend
Across the Universe to those who haven't seen it, and I recommend enjoying it
under the influence of something (be it wine or otherwise), as the movie is a
visual feast set to Beatles' music. Not much of a plot, but I found that didn't
really bother me, and I enjoyed it for other reasons. Up to our respective rooms
and then bed- show day mornings come early.
Notes from the Road-St. Petersburg, FL, take II, April 8-9, 2008 by Katrina
There's something about
arriving in Florida in early April, having left the colorless expanse of
Minnesota's first attempts at spring and coming to the brilliant rainbow of
colors that exist in tropical climates, that makes you feel so very good to be
alive. I wholeheartedly recommend this experience to everyone. For the sheer fun
of it I wore killer heels, a low-cut blouse, and sunglasses to the airport just
to see what it'd be like to feel like a Rock Star even when preparing to get on
a plane. For the record: it feels amazing.
We made it to our hotel without incident (same hotel we were in last time- the
Bayside Hilton. One of my favorites on the whole trip.) and I went upstairs to
drop stuff off in my room. Made it to my door just in time to run into an
employee dropping off a present from Gina- A brand new radio that'll play my
iPod (just like Hamptons have in all their rooms... VERY nice!), a sweet little
childrens' book based on a Leo Tolstoy story about what makes things important
in one's life, and a lovely little poem letting us know how much she has enjoyed
everything we've done as a group for Hampton and her brand team. I sat with my
curtains open and the sunshine on my face, reading both book and poem before
deciding it just might be naptime... and the phone rang.
It's Gordy (who knew he had my number?), letting me know he and Jay are down
poolside, having a beer and chatting... did I wanna join them?
Duh. Back on go the shoes, the shirt, and the sunglasses, and I'm soon lounging
in a chair in the sunshine. WAY better than a nap. It doesn't take long, though,
for both Gordy and I to become antsy, and so the plan forms: let's head for the
pier. Anita and Kathy end up joining us for our excursion, and before long we're
walking in a group for a little bayside restaurant at which to have a drink.
Seriously, how is it possible to have a bad day in this glorious place? The sun
was shining, the breeze was a little cool, we were sitting bayside on a deck
with fresh calamari and drinks and a good conversation... this is what life is
supposed to be. We ended up walking down to the beach, where Anita, Kathy, and I
immediately got rid of our shoes to be better able to collect shells. Not much
of a beach, but with Anita's amazing ability to find something lovely in every
wave, Kathy's giant smile, and Gordy's running commentary on all the random
things that'd been washed up, it somehow became the best beach I'd ever been to.
We still can't figure out what the giant 'W' sign was (maybe it was an M?), but
perhaps some questions are better left unanswered. Gina joined us and we walked
to dinner- a restaurant not far from us down the pier called Cha-Cha Coconuts.
Turned out some of the other trainers and brand team members working with
Hampton had chosen the same restaurant for dinner, so our group grew a bit
before we finally took seats at our table. Even the night was beautiful- clouds
blew in, dark and fast, and we dove under the canopy to avoid the rain as we
ate.
Well... they did. I left my purse at the table and went outside to watch the
oncoming storm. The energy of weather at its worst has always fascinated me, and
watching the wind whip the bay into whitecaps was unforgettably cool. We
finished dinner and walked home by way of the beach again- Kathy had the awesome
idea of seeing if there was anything new to be found, and I simply wanted to
feel the ocean again, so I was quick to join her. I rolled up my jeans as far as
they could go and waded into the water, let the gale blow salt in my face and
the waves crash higher up my legs until my jeans were drenched and I was
breathless. I laughed for the joy of it, I sang opera into the wind and no one
heard but the ocean, I shivered without being cold and watched pelicans catch
the wind in their wings and glide to whatever roost they could find. And then I
stepped out of the waves and gathered up my shoes as Kathy found one more
perfect shell, and we walked the rest of the way home a bit ahead of Jay and
Anita.
Took a rinse off shower upon reaching the hotel, and made sure to wash the salt
out of my jeans before hanging them up to dry. Gods I love the ocean. I read
Witchblade until about 12:30 and then went to bed- although for some perverse
reason the universe refuses to let me sleep on these trips. So much extra energy
from the day, I guess.
Decided to put a little smile on my face on Game Day: instead of my usual nylons
I went with thigh-high stockings and a red garter belt. I had thought it'd be
just for me, but apparently more people are looking at my legs than I realize
during the day, as by the time I went upstairs for evening there was a total of
four people other than myself who knew I'd given up on boring hosiery, two of
whom were band mates and one of whom was my boss (it's okay though, as this was
after the conversation we'd had regarding my double-D sized breasts, so the
brink of inappropriate was already long behind us...).
Dinner that night was a semi-casual affair- I pulled out my awesome little Ann
Taylor dress that Anita talked me into and paired it with some pretty great
chunky-heeled shoes, and I managed to pull the whole outfit (including make-up
touch up and hair) together in less than fifteen minutes. I garnered myself a
couple compliments, some that made me smile (Jay's catcall, Mick's comment that
I'd "brought sexy to the party", and Carr's whispered, "What are you doing? Put
those AWAY, they're distracting!", said with a grin and regarding my breasts)
and one that made me a tiny bit nervous (one of the trainers, who stepped into
my personal space and whispered very low, "You look great, and you smell just
amazing." No big deal, but a bit uncomfortable when he's talking to my body and
not my face.) Dinner was awesome as usual, the conversation regarding training
was productive for the most part, and we all ended up done with our
responsibilities fairly early in the evening.
Rosie and Lloyd mentioned at this point that they had a bottle of white wine
they wouldn't mind assistance with, so Anita, Gary Parker, Jay, and I grabbed
glasses and headed out poolside to do what we could to help. There were a couple
of rowdy tables of GMs already there, drinking in the heat before returning to
their respective cities, and as we opened the gate they turned toward us, saw
who we were, and applauded.
Applauded. The applauded because we opened the gate. We're THAT big to these
people. They loved us, our talent, what we had to say, what we could do to help
their business, and we were so happy to be acknowledged that we sat down and
joined them. I flitted from one table to the other, trying to have conversations
with as many of these wonderful, grateful people as I could, and I found after
an hour or so that I simply needed some quiet to unwind in.
Gods bless Anita for knowing me so well. She exchanged a look with me, and in
moments we were near the pool, pulling huge lounge chairs out into the open and
laying back on them to admire the crescent moon, wine glasses in hand, my legs
carefully crossed to avoid giving the elderly man that was swimming nearby a
heart attack. Lloyd and Rosie went in to visit with a friend they had in town
just as Mick came through the gate post-Juggling Team meeting (I think he got a
round of applause too, but I could be wrong), and he and Jay came over to sit
with us on our lounge chairs, while Gary moved to the quieter of the two GM
tables. Jay was sweet enough to get Anita a scotch (her voice was bothering
her... it'd turn into a vicious cold, but we didn't know that yet...), I was
still finishing my wine, and the conversation flowed from entertaining, to
religion, to the rock-star lifestyle we've been living, to karma... yet another
of those little moments that happened on this tour that I never want to forget-
I moon bathed with a girl who has quickly become one of my best friends, in a
gorgeous dress with fabulous shoes, drinking cold white wine in the warm air
under a cloudless, moonlit sky, had a conversation about fascinating subjects
with two very cool gentlemen, and generally laid there in utter bliss and
enjoyed the heck out of my life.
When we were all too tired to be outside anymore, we said goodnight and headed
to our rooms. I locked my door, lit a candle, turned on my iPod to something
soft and slow, and hopped in the shower.
I don't know how long I meant to stay in there. I felt the water on my skin and
running through my hair, and I needed the rejuvenation of it, so I tipped my
head back and enjoyed for a while. I let it pour into my eyes til they were red,
swallowed hot mouthfuls, and finally let it take me to my knees so that I sat
under the stream on the bathtub floor. I didn't end up washing my hair at all...
just sat back and let the water hit my stomach and chest and enjoyed the warmth
of it... all of it- the water, the tour, the wine, my utterly changed world, the
music playing in the other room that I couldn't hear, the 200-thread-count
sheets waiting for me, my wonderful life happening all around me. May I never
forget how good that felt.
It took me a long time to fall asleep again that night, but unlike the night
before, the sleep I ended up getting was so amazingly restful that I woke up
with no problem in the morning. We flew home with Gary, Rosie, Lloyd, and Mick,
and although the flight was turbulent we managed to have a good time anyway-
Rosie and I sent a petition up to Mick in first class requesting first class
snack food and signed by all of us, "The Peasants"... the flight attendant was
amused and although I'd gone back to my seat and didn't see the reaction, Rosie
was pretty sure our humor got a smile out of Mick as well. (Smiles are nice, I
say, but snacks are better...)
Airport again, a walk to baggage claim (where Jeff met me with flowers), and off
for home, to hurry up and get laundry done before the next city...
The Women's Club-April 11, 2008 by Anita
Notes from the Road-Nashville, TN, April 12-14:, 2008 by Katrina
It was cold again the
morning we left, and I was having a rough time with the idea that this was the
last time I'd be traveling with this group of people for a while. Our airline
was having some computer troubles, and the door to the jet way was continually
being opened and closed, but luckily I was able to borrow a leather jacket so I
didn't freeze. Our flight got underway about an hour late, but no one minded
much- we like hanging out with each other and Mick and his wife Kirstin were
kind enough to buy us drinks for the flight (those of us who are of the belief
that it's five o'clock somewhere at all times, that is).
We reached the hotel and were nearly all put on the 9th floor (I ended up just
down the hall from Brother Paul West and right next door to Mick and Kirstin).
The afternoon was spent exploring the town: Jac, Jay, Anita, Carr, Mick,
Kirstin, Carr's wife Marian, and I walked down the street to a guitar shop to
ogle the instruments, then continued on to a bar to have a drink and watch the
musicians playing inside. Our group split in two after that- my band mates and I
went to find dinner, and the others continued their shopping, and we agreed to
meet up later that night to watch some live music downtown.
Dinner was a Japanese restaurant called Ichiban, and then we returned to the
hotel, where I fell asleep for a couple of hours. Anita wasn't feeling at all
well, so she opted to rest in her room rather than joining us, and it ended up
being only Jay and I who joined the others that evening. We found the same bar
we'd been at earlier in the day, and oddly enough sat at the same table (which
we were lucky to get- the place filled up fast) to watch the show.
The opening band was my favorite of the two groups we saw- their upright bass
player had played for 10 years with Johnny Cash and their guitar player (besides
being utterly gorgeous) was out of this world talented. (They're called the Don
Kelley Band- look em up...) Since I was hanging out with three utter gentlemen
(Mick, Carr, and Jay) all three of my drinks were paid for, which of course
makes ANY night a bit better. Walked back to the hotel with Kirstin and Mick
(thanks to Mick for the piggy back ride and to Kirstin for the french fries)
earlier than the rest of the group so as to get my sleep- Country Music Hall of
Fame the next day!!
Much like Graceland in Memphis, I was pleasantly surprised by the Hall of Fame.
I'm a country music fan, but not in any way a fanatic, and I know so little
about many of the famous artists of the genre. Luckily Kirstin was with us, and
she was totally knowledgeable about things... plus Jay and Jac know their stuff,
too, and they answered a few questions for me. Lunch at the Hall of Fame, then
back to the hotel to pack our suitcases into a taxi and head to the hotel our
event would be at the next day.
The band, Jason, and Mick & Kirstin took the hotel shuttle to the mall once we
got our rooms squared away at the new hotel. We had lunch and split up to shop
for a while- Anita and I looked at video games and at Spencers before deciding
we were bored and wanted to get ready for dinner. Dinner was once again taken
care of by Gina (Buca! Mmmmm...) and other then our first table being in a room
heavily decorated with images of the Pope (amusing considering at the table
there's two atheists, two people who practice Eckankar, four witches, and an
Episcopalian... and that's just a few of us... needless to say we moved...) the
meal went off without a hitch. We all returned to the hotel and headed to our
rooms... only to see each other again only hours later after a fire alarm
brought the entire hotel outside. Fear not, false alarm... something to do with
a woman and a balloon, from what I heard.
Nashville's event went well, although I woke up not feeling very good. Had a
hard time keeping anything down until Rosie suggested mint tea, and that at
least didn't come right back up.
Kathy, with an evilly cute little glint in her eye, suggested, "Are ya
pregnant?"... and after I arched an eyebrow and said, "Sooo not funny..." she
nodded and was quiet. Then with perfect comic timing and inflection, she returns
with: "Your tits do look bigger."
The room died laughing, and I had to join em. Snot. I love her to pieces.
After our two hour reception we immediately got on the tour bus. For a few
minutes the green room was chaos, with everyone changing clothes, digging in
suitcases, making dashes for alcohol and Dramamine (not together) and food.
Since there was limited room under the tour bus, Jay's guitar came into the bus
with us.
The bus... last time a tiny thing not much bigger than a shuttle for a hotel...
this time the ride of a rock band. Directly behind the driver was the first
section- two couches, a small kitchen table with two bench seats, a television,
and a wide open aisle. Then the middle- the bathroom, the shower, the kitchen,
and two bunk beds. And the back- a large table surrounded by booth seats, with a
mirrored back wall and television of its own. The band staked out the back room
immediately- can you blame us?
We made ourselves at home on the tour bus in no
time- the three separate sections turned out to be perfect for our group- Carr
sat in front, quietly chatting with Jason, Caleb, Gordy, and Rosie. Kathy, Amy,
Kirstin, and Marian camped out in the kitchen, squeezing all four women in and
closing the door. The band commandeered the back room, where we played music for
nearly the entirety of the ride, with Gary Parker and Brother Paul joining in on
the songs they knew. John Hagerman and Mick floated between groups as the night
went on, and Lloyd curled up in one of the bunk beds to get a nap in.
I'll never forget that bus ride. I didn't want it to end. There was a beautiful
moment near the end, where we were all curled up on each other and sleepy- Anita
leaning on Jay, my legs on Anita, my head on Mick, Brother Paul dozing against
the wall- where I asked Jay to play Bob Seger's Turn the Page softly and slowly
(one of the perks of having a rock star guitar player... he can play ANYTHING)
and sang along as a solo... I've always wanted to sing that song on a tour bus,
with people I love. I was so grateful for the opportunity to do so. (I remember
someone even saying, when I'd finished, that they'd always wanted to hear that
song on a tour bus- which made the moment even more perfect.) May there be more
experiences like that in my future.
Notes from the Road-Atlanta, GA, take II, April 15-16, 2008 by Katrina
We
arrived sometime around midnight at the Hilton Atlanta. I got in the elevator,
ready to head for my room with the others, when Jason stuck his face in the
door. "Waffle House, anyone?" he said as the door began to close.
I hadn't had Waffle House in at least a year, and I was pretty hungry, but all I
got out was, "Wow, really? Yeah!!!"...and the door shut in my face. I turned to
Kirstin and Mick, in the elevator with me. "Was he serious?"
Kirstin laughed. "Oh yeah. He's serious. That's Jason. You can probably catch
him if you hurry."
So I hauled ass to my room, hurled my stuff in the door, and headed back down to
the lobby. I was determined to walk all the way to the Waffle House if I had to
by this point. But such was not the case, as Jason had heard me and was kind
enough to wait for me. We had dinner (or was it breakfast by that time?) which
Jason paid for (thanks Jason. What a gentleman.), and chatted about Top
Performer, juggling, past relationships, and life in general. I had to smile at
the irony as I got back to my room: the LAST night on this tour, and NOW I'm
taking the time to get to know everybody?? Well, better late than never, I
guess. Yet another case of Waffle House making the world a better place.
This may sound like an exaggeration, but our final event in Atlanta was truly
our best one yet. The crowd was into it from the very beginning, and the
gentleman Mick chose to assist him from the crowd (Lamont-Dave, we love you!)
was hysterical. By the time Carr got on stage, he was leading the room in a Top
Performer revival complete with people out of their seats and clapping to the
music's rhythm- talk about Natural Energy. And the reception afterward- our
Kansas City with Gary Parker became an all-cast affair including solos by Gordy
on the violin, Twig on the panpipes, Carr on the guitar, Lloyd on the duck call,
Rosie on her harmonica, and the Danger Committee with a rhythm solo using their
juggling props. (Awesome.)
We had a wrap party that night, complete with gift bags- Gina was kind enough to
give each of us 5 free nights at a Hampton anywhere in the U.S., and a memory
book of photos was put together for us as well. The food was, as usual, superb
(they had the chocolate fountain again!!! HEAVEN!!!) and the karaoke was tons of
fun. We danced, we ate, we drank, we sang... and then we all headed for bed, as
we had flights that headed out early in the morning.
The next day dawned beautiful and warm. I went downstairs early to grab myself a
cup of hot chocolate as I packed, and as I shoved everything into my suitcase I
started thinking what a shame it was that I was in Atlanta at the same time as
the festival and I was unable to see any of my friends in town. Amy had
mentioned something the night before about having switched her flight; some of
the other cast members had business in town still and were flying back the next
day, and she planned to stay an extra day and fly back with them. I thought
about it as I sat downstairs and waited for my band mates to come down. I
thought about it as I checked out of my room. I thought about it as I got on the
shuttle. And finally...
"I'm staying. I'll work it out, and I'll see you guys soon..."
And before I knew it I was checking back into the Hilton, with my own credit
card, and pulling my luggage into a gorgeous suite on the seventh floor. I
called the travel agent, made my own arrangements to fly home with the others
(White Bear Travel was very helpful, as was, once again, Amy. That girl deserves
a medal for everything she did on this tour.), and then called Laura McKinney.
"Hi. I know this is out of the blue, but I'm in town for the day. Wanna have
lunch?"
Luckily, Laura was available, and we headed to the Cracker Barrel near the
festival site to eat and catch up. I always manage to forget how much I really
miss someone until I see them again after a long absence. Then somehow, I'm
sitting across from them in a restaurant, or I look up at them when they walk in
the door and WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? I MISSED YOU
SOOOO MUCH! echoes through me. I love having friends like Laura- no
matter how many months it's been, I can call her up and an hour later we're
sipping sweet tea and laughing our asses off at past mistakes, the people we
know, and ourselves. She was then kind enough to take me with her out to the
festival site, as she had some booth work to do.
Georgia. Was it really two years ago I worked here? Only two years? And yet at
the same time... two whole YEARS? Wasn't it yesterday? Or maybe a hundred years
ago? Did I change even a little bit? Did the place? The booth that had the
chiropractor on Saturday nights... the maze where I sat and talked with a good
friend until dawn, high on caffeine and alcohol and marijuana and life... the
lane where a Shiny Chocolate Deity fed me cookies and vowed to find out my name,
and did within a week... the dais, a hideaway in plain sight, christened one
night in a thunderstorm so loud no one heard a thing.... the woods where I lived
all by my lonesome, except for the cow, the horse, the sheep, the dogs, the
beautiful woman in the neighboring tent, and the man for whom the whole
menagerie of us worked...
I got to see the Fortner family (when did those kids get so big?) and Steve and
Jackson Cowan (when did THIS kid get muscles like that??), as well as Hillary
and Alexia Steveson (Dude, she's three years old and her vocabulary is bordering
mine. When did this little girl get so smart?) I connected with a former
employer, a former friend, and a former confidante. I even got to reconnect with
a former lover I hadn't seen in over a year. It felt so freeing- *I* made the
decision to stay in town and see MY friends. ME. I did that. For the first time
in four months I was not Katrina of Top Performer, or Katrina of Reve du Faun,
but just Katrina on vacation.
Laura and I headed to her house for the early evening, and I read while she
freshened up. We then headed back to the hotel, where we had a late dinner with
Amy and Chip.
My last night in Georgia? I wish I could say I had all my festival friends up to
the room to party until dawn, or that I took a hot bubble bath alone in my suite
with room service champagne before curling up naked in bed with a totally
gripping novel, or that my secret lover showed up and we had passionate,
mind-rocking sex before falling asleep drenched in sweat in each other's arms.
Sorry. My last night in Georgia was beautiful, but mostly because even if I fell
asleep at four in the morning for no good reason, it was because it was (for the
first time in months) on my time, on my own dime, just for me.
And y'know what? There's some memories that are special because they're just
mine. So my last night in Georgia? It was truly lovely. My life is so good. My
friends are wonderful. I'm loved. I'm doing what I love. I'm happy. There are
people in my life- Laura, Amy, Rosie, Anita, Jeff, Kathy, Mick, Jac, Jenny,
Sarah, Jay, Jonathan, Joe, Lindsay, so many others- who for whatever reason
decided I was worth being friends with, and every one of them has made all the
difference.
And so, there you have it. On to the next adventure now.
The Making of an Album by Anita
Harmonic CONvergence July 3, 2008 by Anita
Harmonic CONvergence July 5, 2008 by Anita