Earthquake

We were sitting at home last night having dinner and I swore I felt the room move. Jen didn't feel anything but then I saw the light fixture above swaying ever so slightly.

We're up in Marin and the epicenter was down in San Jose, but I still had a small vibe. Amazing how it can travel so far so quickly.

I spent most of the day today thinking about the ground we live on and how we take it for granted.

There was another smaller shake this afternoon which I didn't feel but folks in my office felt something.

Hopefully this relieves the necessary pressure to keep things stable for a little while longer...

Las Tortguas II

I had the pleasure of heading up to the mountains of Yosemite this weekend to partake in "Las Torguas II: Dance of the Dead" -- a music festival at the scenic Evergreen Lodge with Tea Leaf Green, ALO, New Monsoon, Blue Turtle Seduction, JGB, Guitarmageddon, Adam Burns Band, Sean Lehey, Monophonics, Buffalo Strange, Greensky Bluegrass, Izabella, Mr. Brown and Tracorum (did I leave anyone out?)...

There were a lot of bands for such an intimate place, but it proved to work well for seamless transitions. There appeared to be a solid chunk of people there but also enough room to walk around, get your groove on and generally put yourself in a fantastic space.

We arrived Friday evening, walking into the outdoor tent as they were introducing Guitarmageddon. Good timing. Shready stuff. ALO followed with a fantastic performing that featured an alt-tempo'd version of the famed "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down". Tea Leaf Green came on next and tore the place up, with Blue Turtle Seduction closing out the late night. In between main stage sets the side room or the Tavern had younger up and comers showcasing their wares.

On Saturday, while others ventured out into the wilderness to explore the paths and waterfalls, I stayed back and nursed a still aching right foot from an unfortunate tumble during Echo Project a couple weeks back (long story, but it's not broken).

The Evergreen Lodge is an amazing place, situated just off the main western entrance to Yosemite about 5 miles down the road. Surrounded by nothing by beautiful forest, the owners have renovated the properties and established a 'retreat center' with dozens of private cabins, a main lodge, restaurant and tavern. It's next level festivaling.

The Saturday evening set was as glorious as Friday, featuring Izabella, Blue Turtle Seduction, Tea Leaf Green and New Monsoon on the main stage, along with fantastic interludes of rocking and ripping from all sides of the grounds. A sweet sweet night of music.

Sunday morning awoke to packing up the cabin, checking out and then heading back over to the main area for one last musical journey with our friend Trevor Garrod.

All in all a perfect weekend escape out of the city and into the woods. Slowing down for some beautifully blissful moments with friends and music we love.

Special thanks to the producers of Las Torugas (Sean Dolan, Adam Haft & Dan Braun), Bob Cogswell and John Hart for taping tips and patches, my lovely wife and the chef at Evergreen. Those meatballs were fabulicious.

My heart also goes out to the participants of this year's RPGLVE taking place in Vegas this weekend alongside Vegoose. May the crap tables and $5 Wheel of Fortunes do you right this evening...

Enjoy Trevor's Sunday morning set here below:

Steel Train

American Babies

Echo

I had a great time in Atlanta this weekend for The Echo Project. The
weather was gorgeous during the day and chill at night, farm setting
was fantastic and the music was of course spectacular.

It felt good to reconnect with old friends and see my favorite bands
play their anthems for welcoming crowds.

While it was not overly crowded, the organizers pulled off a
tremendous first year and are well on their way to growing Echo into a
large precense on our yearly adventure radars.

Thanks to Meatcamp, ConsideritDan and DanaBugg for the hospitality -
and to the Sweetwater Brewing Co for their contributions. It was also
nice to hear some real crunk music on the radio.

More photos sent to Dee posted at http://superdeelove.blogspot.com

The Necessity of Vowels

dd y knw y cn typ mst wrds wtht vwls nd stll ndrstnd th sntnc?

Revenge of the Jedi

Last week I learned that Return of the Jedi, was actually going to be called Revenge of the Jedi.

It was originally written as "Return", but the studio didn't think that was edgy enough, so they changed it to "Revenge"

At the 11th hour, Lucas changed it back...because Jedis don't seek revenge.

I gotta say, that's pretty awesome.

Amidst all of the pressures, money, and posters already printed, he stood by his convictions and did what he felt was right. It was, after all, his story. Had he let the movie go out with the 'wrong' title it might have been karmatically flawed forever.

Bravo Mr. Lucas, Bravo...

Weir Here

Bob Weir sitting in with Dark Star Orchestra at Fillmore: Jack Straw