Catch up time!

I had to go back and find out where I was when I last left an entry!

The reason it's been so quiet around here is that a.) I came home for a few days, and b.) I went to Mexico City and left the laptop behind.

But first things first; Oregon. It's been suggested by my Blog Conscience, Jon, that I'm sounding depressed. Not so, says I. I'm just kind of running out of cute quips to write about motel rooms, van rides and fried foods. I'm looking forward to being at home for more than a couple of days. Which is why it was such a treat to have a "slumber party" in Oregon. A couple of years ago, a friend of the family, Pat Sullivan, moved from the bay area to a "Hilltop Estate" with her daughter Jennifer, and grand children Hillary and Hunter. Pat and Jennifer came to the Salem show, and swept me away to their compound in the wilderness along the MacKenzie River.

The place is a menagerie, with dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, and snakes. Then, outside there are goats, roosters and chickens, turkeys, peacocks, geese, and a pot bellied pig. You never know what you'll see when you look out onto the football field they call a front lawn. I was dissapointed that the herd of Elk hadn't shown up yet to graze on their lawn - just pictures from last year.

It was a real treat to get away even for a few hours and be around a family, and they were nice enough to drive me to Bend for the final show of the tour. Thanks again, Sullivans!

So the tour ended, we drove home in a day, and I had a nice little Thanksgiving break with family, not writing blog entries.

The day after Thanksgiving, I had to be at SFO at 4AM for a 6AM flight to Mexico City, for two shows at the Festival de Blues. Any "road boredom" definately got paid off by this one. We had three nights at the Sheraton Centro Historico (beautiful single rooms, mine on the 21st floor), an embarrassingly light work schedule (one 45 minute set opening both shows), a great, great sound crew, and some of the best hangs ever. The rest of the bill was Chicago blues groups of various stripe, including people like Harp legend Billy Branch, who's bassist Nick Charles is an absolute monster (but I hear he can't juggle), Marcy Levy, the legendary Sam Lay, and a bunch of other fun, nice people. Not a butthole in the bunch!

Even with all of that, the person I was most drawn to was Marie Dixon, widow of the late great Willie Dixon. Willie Dixon's biography is the blues, and his influence can't be underestimated.His widow Marie is dedicated to carrying on the traditions and supporting and fostering artists whenever she can through Willie's Blues Heaven Foundation. Plus, she's got a ton of great stories, and whenevr I saw her over the weekend, I'd grab the nearest chair! She'd talk about "the boys" acting up on a plane, and "the boys" are Muddy Waters, Son Seals and other giants. She talked about "ofcourse, the Rolling Stones would always come over to the house", and how President Reagan sent Willie some cufflinks, and how she still had Willie's main bass and the pink Electric Upright he could never bring himself to play live and...well, I was mesmerized. If I ever get to Chicago, that's one home cooked meal invitation I'd never pass up.

Oh yeah...the shows. The shows were outstanding! Saturday night we played the Teatro de Cuidad, one of those old style four tiered Opera Houses, as beautiful a setting as I've ever played. The next day was a big outdoor festival at the Monumento de la Revolucion, with the stage facing the giant tower in the big square. At both shows, the people were so responsive and so into the whole thing that it was a damn shame we only got 45 minutes. These are the gigs you live for, these make everything else worthwhile. When my time on stage is over, these are the kind of shows I'll remember. Thanks to Raul the promoter ("Thanks for coming, and thanks for going home!"), the incredible sound crew, and the people of Mexico City.

And wait till you see the boots I bought!