From last blog...
We left our intrepid traveler lost in the wilds of Northern Pennsylvania, in picturesque Wellsboro – a town that looks like the setting of the movie ‘Groundhog Day’.
The pretty town of Wellsboro has a main street lined with working heritage gas lamps and is home to my gracious host Steve Belcher, bassist with Bluegrass band ‘The Hickory Project’. After our great gig at ‘The Barn’ - see last blog - I was invited to hang with Steve & the rest of the ‘Project’ and check out one of their shows. This invitation/wild goose chase took us to an overnight stay in upstate New York with great crazy company (thanks Laz & Linda!), a ‘Spinal Tapp’ moment where the band couldn’t find the gig, unplanned detours through Hassidic Jewish compounds and a chance to play with the Bluegrass maestros themselves! Local identity, Poppa Chubby, also dropped by to say ‘hello’. All wonderfully surreal and great fun – but I still had to get to New York City and, much like ‘Groundhog Day’, somehow found myself back in Wellsboro...
In the end I got a ride back across the state-line to Elmira airport, where, with some trepidation, I picked up a rental car equipped with one of those new-fangled GPS things and started driving. Received wisdom indicated that arriving in New York for the first time whilst driving solo was possibly crazy, or at least, unwise – so I was thrilled to successfully negotiate my way to the Belvedere Hotel in the Theater District, my new ‘home’. Waiting for me was my mother, Margaret, who had arrived from Australia the previous day. An experienced and intrepid traveler, my mum calculated that her frequent flyer miles plus the lure of NYC galleries, architecture and Broadway shows equaled a great holiday idea!
I am extremely grateful, because usually the musicians’ lifestyle is strictly delineated by financial and business concerns – you never get time to actually ‘see’ things, which drives me crazy sometimes. Now with Margaret’s stunning tour-planning skills on hand, we were both in for a treat.
Don’t get me wrong – I did actually have gigs in NY too! – but first, a few days of touristic bliss. We walked round the corner to the bustle of Times Square, ate a Rueben sandwich at Junior’s Café, saw the Empire State Building from the ‘Top of the Rock’ and had our photo taken with a Rockette at the Radio City Music Hall. The beautiful artworks of the Frick Collection, housed in a mansion across the road from Central Park, the stunning Museum of Modern Art and a Broadway show – a spankingly energetic production of ‘Chicago’ - rounded off our first lot of activities in the City. Good show!
Back to business…Tues – Friday lunchtime shows in various public locations as part of the ‘River to River Festival’. My first show was just round the corner from famous Bryant Park, so I went there for a coffee with New York International Guitar Festival director, David Spelman. David and I met at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival a couple of years ago – he’s a very interesting bloke (actually, he’s ‘a dag’ in Aussie parlance) and we enjoyed his genial company several times over the next few days. See photos here!
The next day, I took the PATH train over to Jersey City for my second show – surprisingly easy, certainly easier than trying to drive & park there! After, it was time to make my way down to Bleecker St, Greenwich Village to a little club called ‘Terra Blues’. I’d visited the venue previously to see Brooklyn guitarist Michael Hill. Michael is a very talented and gentle man; we met years ago at an Australian festival and have kept in touch. He has quit full-time touring with his band Michael Hill’s Blues Mob, for family reasons – but he is still keeping the music fresh with various projects. Check out his ‘Funky Fritter’ outfit here! He graciously invited me to join his set and play, so by the time I returned the following week for my own show, manager James greeted me like an old friend.
Despite a Summer thunderstorm which caused an absolutely torrential downpour, I had a most appreciative crowd – including audience member Don Handel, who had traveled from Atlanta, GA to see me! If you scroll down to the comments on my main blog page you can find a glowing review of the show – thanks, Don!!!
Adelaide radio presenter/podcaster/blogger Tess Coleman turned at my next gig, along with her partner local blues guitarist John Earl Walker. More photos, anyone? It was great to see Tess & meet John – and as a bonus, I could just glimpse the Statue of Liberty as I played. The stage was right on the Hudson River, outside the ‘Winter Garden’. From the plaza behind there is a sobering view of ‘Ground Zero’.
On Friday, one last lunchtime show – all different venues – all great fun - and a big thank you to the tech crew who looked after me so well all week: Kris, Sam, Leif and sound engineer, Jeff.
Although Margaret had been indefatigable in support of my work, it was now time to get back to some serious sightseeing…look out, New York! Lunch in Chinatown, the ‘Down Town Loop’, Grand Central Station. The Metropolitan Museum of Art - if I lived here, I reckon I’d visit once a month for several years - the Guggenheim Museum, the Statten Island Ferry (for better views of the Statue of Liberty) and – yes – another Broadway show! Mum was initially concerned that ‘Avenue Q’ may not be suitable for her delicate sense of propriety, with its’ advertised warnings of ‘live puppet sex scenes’…but, honestly, it was as funny as hell and we both enjoyed it immensely. I’ll leave you with that mental image of me and my mother at a somewhat saucy show…but, remember, there’s plenty more adventures to come!
Next time…GPS to Fabulous Thunderbirds, Edmonton with Boyes, Brill & DelGrosso, and ‘home’ to a moving experience…
We left our intrepid traveler lost in the wilds of Northern Pennsylvania, in picturesque Wellsboro – a town that looks like the setting of the movie ‘Groundhog Day’.
The pretty town of Wellsboro has a main street lined with working heritage gas lamps and is home to my gracious host Steve Belcher, bassist with Bluegrass band ‘The Hickory Project’. After our great gig at ‘The Barn’ - see last blog - I was invited to hang with Steve & the rest of the ‘Project’ and check out one of their shows. This invitation/wild goose chase took us to an overnight stay in upstate New York with great crazy company (thanks Laz & Linda!), a ‘Spinal Tapp’ moment where the band couldn’t find the gig, unplanned detours through Hassidic Jewish compounds and a chance to play with the Bluegrass maestros themselves! Local identity, Poppa Chubby, also dropped by to say ‘hello’. All wonderfully surreal and great fun – but I still had to get to New York City and, much like ‘Groundhog Day’, somehow found myself back in Wellsboro...
In the end I got a ride back across the state-line to Elmira airport, where, with some trepidation, I picked up a rental car equipped with one of those new-fangled GPS things and started driving. Received wisdom indicated that arriving in New York for the first time whilst driving solo was possibly crazy, or at least, unwise – so I was thrilled to successfully negotiate my way to the Belvedere Hotel in the Theater District, my new ‘home’. Waiting for me was my mother, Margaret, who had arrived from Australia the previous day. An experienced and intrepid traveler, my mum calculated that her frequent flyer miles plus the lure of NYC galleries, architecture and Broadway shows equaled a great holiday idea!
I am extremely grateful, because usually the musicians’ lifestyle is strictly delineated by financial and business concerns – you never get time to actually ‘see’ things, which drives me crazy sometimes. Now with Margaret’s stunning tour-planning skills on hand, we were both in for a treat.
Don’t get me wrong – I did actually have gigs in NY too! – but first, a few days of touristic bliss. We walked round the corner to the bustle of Times Square, ate a Rueben sandwich at Junior’s Café, saw the Empire State Building from the ‘Top of the Rock’ and had our photo taken with a Rockette at the Radio City Music Hall. The beautiful artworks of the Frick Collection, housed in a mansion across the road from Central Park, the stunning Museum of Modern Art and a Broadway show – a spankingly energetic production of ‘Chicago’ - rounded off our first lot of activities in the City. Good show!
Back to business…Tues – Friday lunchtime shows in various public locations as part of the ‘River to River Festival’. My first show was just round the corner from famous Bryant Park, so I went there for a coffee with New York International Guitar Festival director, David Spelman. David and I met at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival a couple of years ago – he’s a very interesting bloke (actually, he’s ‘a dag’ in Aussie parlance) and we enjoyed his genial company several times over the next few days. See photos here!
The next day, I took the PATH train over to Jersey City for my second show – surprisingly easy, certainly easier than trying to drive & park there! After, it was time to make my way down to Bleecker St, Greenwich Village to a little club called ‘Terra Blues’. I’d visited the venue previously to see Brooklyn guitarist Michael Hill. Michael is a very talented and gentle man; we met years ago at an Australian festival and have kept in touch. He has quit full-time touring with his band Michael Hill’s Blues Mob, for family reasons – but he is still keeping the music fresh with various projects. Check out his ‘Funky Fritter’ outfit here! He graciously invited me to join his set and play, so by the time I returned the following week for my own show, manager James greeted me like an old friend.
Despite a Summer thunderstorm which caused an absolutely torrential downpour, I had a most appreciative crowd – including audience member Don Handel, who had traveled from Atlanta, GA to see me! If you scroll down to the comments on my main blog page you can find a glowing review of the show – thanks, Don!!!
Adelaide radio presenter/podcaster/blogger Tess Coleman turned at my next gig, along with her partner local blues guitarist John Earl Walker. More photos, anyone? It was great to see Tess & meet John – and as a bonus, I could just glimpse the Statue of Liberty as I played. The stage was right on the Hudson River, outside the ‘Winter Garden’. From the plaza behind there is a sobering view of ‘Ground Zero’.
On Friday, one last lunchtime show – all different venues – all great fun - and a big thank you to the tech crew who looked after me so well all week: Kris, Sam, Leif and sound engineer, Jeff.
Although Margaret had been indefatigable in support of my work, it was now time to get back to some serious sightseeing…look out, New York! Lunch in Chinatown, the ‘Down Town Loop’, Grand Central Station. The Metropolitan Museum of Art - if I lived here, I reckon I’d visit once a month for several years - the Guggenheim Museum, the Statten Island Ferry (for better views of the Statue of Liberty) and – yes – another Broadway show! Mum was initially concerned that ‘Avenue Q’ may not be suitable for her delicate sense of propriety, with its’ advertised warnings of ‘live puppet sex scenes’…but, honestly, it was as funny as hell and we both enjoyed it immensely. I’ll leave you with that mental image of me and my mother at a somewhat saucy show…but, remember, there’s plenty more adventures to come!
Next time…GPS to Fabulous Thunderbirds, Edmonton with Boyes, Brill & DelGrosso, and ‘home’ to a moving experience…