Back home, back online, back on the horse

Hey, here I am.
I'm back from some time away with the in-laws at a big family wing-ding in Castle Valley, Utah.

A grand time was had by all, and here's just a few photos...

The tiny community of Castle Valley sits about 20 miles Northeast of Moab, Utah's hipster enclave and extreme sports mecca.

Beautiful country.
Red Rock and Fall colors, and our visit was during a spell of perfect weather.

This past Saturday, several of us drove several miles up into the hills to an overlook spot along one of the valley ridges.

The local contingent knew a place nearby where there was easy access to some dinosaur footprints left in the rock eons ago.

I had no particular expectations, but sure enough, there they were.

Fascinating, sobering, and freakin' cool.



There were several of the prints scattered about, many of them very distinct and in a discernible trail.

I felt very lucky to have been given the opportunity to see them.

There was every good intention for finding time to seek out Native American petroglyphs as well, but joyful conversation and eating vast quantities of barbecue back at the B & B somehow took priority.
(Life's rough)

Another time, I suppose.



⬅ In this photo you can see where one of the trails of footprints leads to the edge of what is now a cliff.

I'm curious if the trail might continue somewhere on the opposite side of what is now the large canyon below...


So now I'm back home in the land of available cell phone signals and internet capability, after a pleasant 'reboot'.

Glad to share a bit of my weekend with you, and eager to jump back into the usual nonsense you might expect to find here!

A Musical Celebration in San Francisco

I had an interesting evening tonight.

I was fortunate enough to have received an invitation to attend the celebration for Village Music held at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.
I flew back to the bay area this weekend to attend one of the several parties thrown to bid farewell to the record store in Mill Valley, California, where I grew up.

Wait. Which - -? Huh? Grew up where? In the town or the record store?
Take your pick.

(Grew up? A matter of opinion.)

I may have made some reference to Village a time or two here on this blog.

It's the store where I got my very first record, (Disney's 'The Jungle Book' soundtrack LP - - still have it) in 1968, when I was five years old.

It's the first-rate collector's shop where my all-inclusive interest in music began and was fostered.

It was where I worked my first job, for several years following my release from high school. A great place to further my education.

It had been something of a 'given', a constant in my life, up until I finally moved away from California in 2006.

Village Music's passing marks the end of an era for myself and many others, and it's a passing that also speaks to the changing state of the music industry and independent retailers.

I'll wager that you might know of a small independent music store or book store near you that's closed up recently, or perhaps soon will. It's a shame, huh?

If I sound like I'm making too big a deal over a store closing, you'll just have to humor me. This place is special, and it'll be gone at the end of this month.

For some background, you might follow these links to some press coverage on Village Music and its proprietor, my old boss John Goddard...

- An Elvis Costello in-store appearance, as reported in the Marin Independent Journal on 5/03/07, with audio slideshow.

- 'The Village Music Story', another small audio slideshow that accompanied an article from The San Francisco Chronicle on 5/08/07.

- More recently, a 9/04/07 article from the SF Chronicle, with further delving and reactions to the impending closing, and a short video showing some of the related festivities that ensued recently in Mill Valley.

I was really glad I was able to attend the affair at the Great American Music Hall earlier this evening. I'd have hated to miss out.

I said hello to some folks I hadn't seen in years and decades, and celebrated the existence of a place I'd had the luxury to grow up thinking was a 'given'.

I also enjoyed some wonderful musical performances that I think do much to illustrate the eclectic spark and spirit of the store, by some artists who recognize that spirit.

Below are some crappy snapshots I took of the concert, from the table where I sat. Mostly I think I got nice shots of that 'exit' sign...

DJ Shadow warmed up the crowd, and spun during some of the short intervals between bands, as well. He was using mostly 45s he'd found at Village.

Sugarpie DeSanto still kicks up a storm and shakes it down to the ground. She's what - - in her early seventies? She's hot! That's bass legend Stu Hamm in the background, playing with the house band.

There's the back of Jimmy McCracklin's head. I was thrilled he did *both* 'The Walk' and 'Georgia Slop'! One of several standing ovations tonight.

Polish tap-guitar viruoso, Adam Fulara, in his first US appearance. Jazz and classical and improvisation, and mesmerizing to watch work the double-neck guitar.

Sammy Hagar and his band rocked hard. He's still just SO good at what he does...

Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman performing 'Maggie's Farm'.
Word is that Weir had been in Chicago with his family at an auto race earlier this same day...

Larry and Lorrie Collins (!!!), speaking of double-neck guitars. Larry still does a bit of the hopping around like he did as a kid.

This shot of The Collins Kids was taken by my buddy Big Dave, another former Village employee there with me basking in afterglow and old stories.

Oh my lord, Betty LaVette wrapped up the show. Spine-tingling. Amazing. She's singing 'Let Me Down Easy' in this little sequence...



ADDENDUM, 9/13/07: Follow the link to a review of the show that ran in the SF Chronicle earlier this week.

NOT Comic-Con '07: Off to the Balboa Park Botanical Building for a break in the madness

As of this writing, the big funny-book convention has ended for another year.

On Saturday, during the most crowded and hectic portion of the show, I took off to enjoy a palette-cleansing interlude at the Botanical Building in San Diego's Balboa Park.

There was such an overload of visual input at the convention center. It was a treat to breathe and let my eyes rest on some different stimuli. To say nothing of seeing sights that don't exist at home. That's vacation.

Then I started playing with my camera, and had fun taking closeup photos of the beautiful plants in the Botanical Building.

I was trying to steer clear of taking snapshots, and concentrated more on just capturing small arrangements of patterns, textures, colors and shapes that would bounce around in my head for a little while.

Here are some of the results of the pictures I took...

Comic-Con '07: Greetings from Dork Vegas!

Flew in to San Diego yesterday, and it's a real treat to be someplace else for a few days.

Especially nice to be back someplace where there's water. And moisture in the air. And color. Very special.

I've been excited about coming back to Comic-Con. Changing planes in San Francisco yesterday for the second hop, it was great to start spotting others who were clearly heading here as well.

Pioneering underground comix creator and comics historian Trina Robbins sat behind me on the plane. It always does my heart good to see her at events like these.

(Hey, check out Trina's website.)

She was flying down with her partner, Steve Leialoha. I've always liked his artwork, though I confess I haven't seen any recent examples of his work in a while.

(ADDENDUM: Later that same day, there was Mr. Leialoha signing autographs in Artist's Alley. The artwork he's included in his two sketchbooks show a style that --to my eye-- has grown leaps and bounds from what I've seen in the past. Lyrical, eloquent lines, lovely stuff. Wow. I loved his work then, I love it more now.)

Braved the confusion of registration and badge pick-up in the afternoon, and had a blast wandering among the hordes at 'Preview night' in the evening. It's wild to think that's as 'empty' as the convention center will get during the Con.

I strolled around without any particular destinations in mind last night, but I imagine today and tomorrow I'll roll up my sleeves and get serious and systematic. A lot of ground to cover.

I saw some familiar faces and said hello to a few folks during my prolonged mosey about the exhibit hall - - Jordan Crane, Derek Thompson, William Stout and a couple others...

...and then I got down to some hunting. I worked my magic wantlist a bit, filled some nice holes, and found some fun stuff at the right price that was too cool to pass up. (see below)

Okey-doke, off to breakfast and back to the safari!

To be continued...

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⬅
- - Hey, so is it just me, or does this Bugs Bunny cover seem a little unsavory somehow?

I think Bugs looks drunk. Sitting alone, had a few, making phonecalls and keeping both hands free for carrot-fondling...

...I don't recall seeing him in blue gloves before, either. D'you suppose they're rubber?
Eeew...