Hello New Year

Time to start the new year by dusting off the sketch gear and spending some time in my journal. I've been meaning to and just never quite get to it. I like a process that Roz Stendahl has done in the past (RozWoundUp.typepad.com). She'd spend time around New Years doing some activity in each of the various art forms and activities she likes to do throughout the year. She does it in 24 hours. I select a few and spend the three-day weekend catching time to do them. It gives me a chance to see how much (or little) they mean to me. My sketch shows some of them.

My problem is that I collect interests. It's hard to get rid of any, too. They're all rewarding in their own way. I know others have this issue, too.

I wanted to start the year sketching again, too.  Don't know if it will continue on a solid basis or not. My sketch journaling is too rewarding to drop. I'm still processing what I learned from Roz's on-line class on sketching live subjects and need to spend some follow-up time on the skills. Just need more time sketching. Then I need to figure what my goals should be to continue on this sketching journey. There's plenty to learn.

I have done more sketching that I've posted. Wilma and I took our first cruise, and it was to Alaska. We've always wanted to, and kept putting it off. For our 35th anniversary we did. I managed to keep a travel journal, too. From experience I've found that you can't depend on having time to sketch when you travel with someone else. However, I brought my sketch gear just in case. I did my layout and probably half of my sketching on the trip, and finished it at home. I'm thinking of posting it just to show others the type of travel journaling that works for me.

More later.

An Open Mic

I was on business travel the last couple days in Tulsa. There a coffeehouse there that has an open mic on Tuesday nights. That's the night before my meeting so I had free time and took it in. It's a nice way to spend a night on the road.

With all the sketching of food on other blogger's sites I had intended to sketch my cheesecake. My problem is that it tasted too good. It didn't last long enough to sketch. At least the plates don't move fast.

Community Jam

Time for our monthly jam. Our hobby music club, the Kansas Prairie Pickers Association, hosts a monthly jam at the Auburn County Community Center. I don't make it to all of them, but today I made it. It's a nice community gathering of players and listeners.

Auburn is a small town. It seems the small towns understand do-it-yourself music as a community event. Don't need a TV or video games. It's face-to-face networking. Most of our club members are from the smaller towns around Topeka. "T Town" doesn't get it. The small towns make their buildings available for our type of activities, the small cultural non-profits the build community. It's a nice atmosphere.

Felony Banjo, II

First off, WHO STOLE JUNE! I've never missed a whole month of blogging since I've been at this. No excuses are being offered. It just happened.

Now, if you remember from last July 4, our family camps out with extended family and friends on July 4 (and other holidays) at Clinton Lake in northeast Kansas. Part of that tradition is evening picking and singing at least one night, around the campfire. Ed on guitar, me on banjo. Last year, for the first time, we got shut down by authorities because it was Quiet Hours. A first.

So I wrote a protest song of sorts to memorialize the event, and was looking forward to singing it this year in its debut. Daily storms got in the way. Ed's son drove his family in from Tennessee (with huge 5th wheel trailer and truck) and really wanted to hear his Dad sing, so on the last night we huddled up under Ed's awning, in light rain. Started at 9:30 p.m., when the rain started to let up.

Things went well until 10:15 (Quiet Hours start at 10). Nobody camping close to us and people with any sense are all inside their campers to stay dry, so I thought we were safe. Nope. The deputy walked in, suggested we make this our last song and walks off. Well, we think another couple songs won't hurt. Wrong. He keeps driving by and stopping to watch us. Tension builds. I'm ready to quit but the group wants to push the envelope. I sing my "Shut'em Down" protest song and everyone loved it. Just one more song. But as we're playing we see a second patrol car pull up to the deputy. We sing more. A third patrol car pulls up. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. I don't feel so good. I think five night sticks and five 9mm semi-auto pistols trumps a banjo and guitar. We call it quits, quickly, and disperse as the five cars eerily drive in close formation into the camp to shut down some illegal fireworks (very few this year) and US. Once again, my banjo is my weapon in the commission of a crime.

We all make it to our campers without incident. A couple guys in our group stay up and the deputies clamp down on them for laughing too loud. We can't win.

So, another year, another violation of federal regulations. This just isn't working.

Felony Banjo

Ok, maybe not a felony, but it's my blog and I can sensationalize for the fun of it. At a family camp-out I was jamming with a family friend into the Quiet Time, entertaining our families. Ooo . . . criminals! We violated the Rules and Regulations of a federally owned campground. That's breaking a federal rule. A rule is almost a law, so this was almost a felony. What bugs me is that I tolerated loud boom boxes all day and that was legal. We play live music and we're shut down. Oh well. We'll be at it again at our next holiday camp-out.

Gig Night

We, the 89th Street Bluegrass Band, perform at a local coffee shop three or four times a year. Last Saturday night was the latest gig. Things went well (sometimes they don't). A few mistakes but we covered most and had fun. For once, all band members had people in the audience to see them, be it family, church or just plain 'ol friends. We do three one-hour sets. A sign of success is when you don't scare them off before the first set is done.

Solo Gig

Playing acoustic music is a hobby of mine. Bluegrass in particular, but I grew up listening to rock so when its just me, I play old rock and some folk, too. I'm a fiddler in a hobby bluegrass band and we've played our local county fair for the last five or six years. However, this year my band mates couldn't make it and I decided to do a solo gig. About 15 years ago I did it two years for the Stafford County fair in their food tent as background music. It's nerve racking to do! Nobody to help you out when you falter, and the pace and song selection are all up to you. And this time I did some of my own songs that have never been heard by others. It's a push, but it's rewarding. There's something about performing that keeps me doing it . . . until they start throwing tomatoes.