Happy New Year! Filled with resolve and optimism, we’re off on another year that we hope will be filled with adventures, new opportunities, travel, friends, and, of course, music!
Already, things are busy on the calendar. Glenn booked a bunch of shows up north, in a repeat of our “shred-to shred” adventures last year—in a nutshell, booking gigs near ski areas. It’s two for one: mixing business and fun, by bringing the music farther, hoping to make new fans and friends, and also getting in a little time on the mountains.
Upcoming shows include:
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Friday, Jan. 13: Mocha Mayas, Shelburne Falls, MA
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Saturday, Jan 14: Radio Bean, Burlington, VT
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Sunday, Jan. 15: The Bees Knees, Morrisville, VT
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Friday, Jan. 27: 51 Main at the Bridge, Middlebury, VT
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Friday, Feb. 3: Parish Hall, Peterborough, NH
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Wednesday, Feb 29: The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH
Check out Glenn’s calendar for more details.
Now all we need is snow! (The downside, of course, is having to travel in conditions that are great for skiing, but less than optimal for driving. So let’s hope for snow targeted precisely at the ski areas, to be exact. Am I asking too much?)
Looking back, we had a hectic and fun couple of months, spanning the holidays. I traveled to California over Thanksgiving with my friend and “coaster partner” (and a hell of a good musician/songwriter), Brian Larney, to ride our 300th roller coaster. Wanting to make it something good, we had decided on San Diego’s Giant Dipper—and it was a wonderful choice, a classic, old woodie dating back to 1925, with wonderful views of the Pacific. We spent a long weekend splitting our time between amusement parks (Knottsberry Farm, Magic Mountain) and playing LA tourist (seeing bands at the venerableWhiskey; strolling the Venice Beach boardwalk). Fun and frenetic.
The week before Christmas found Glenn and me in Turks & Caicos, relaxing on deserted beaches, eating great food, and just enjoying a break. Glenn played a couple of gigs at The Lemon Café in Grace Bay, a really nice Mediterranean restaurant with great food and really nice people. Unfortunately, the vacation ended on a down note—on the way to drop off the rental car and fly home, we stopped for lunch, and the rental car was broken into. They stole Glenn’s pedal board, but oddly did not take the laptop or the guitar, which were also in the car. Let me hasten to say that Turks and Caicos is a wonderful place, friendly and pretty safe overall, and not at all sketchy. But crimes of opportunity happen everywhere, and we created the opportunity by parking in a bad spot (blocked by a larger vehicle from view and near a half built hotel complete with a hole in the surrounding fence—hunger makes you stupid). Fortunately, we got off relatively lightly, and he doesn’t seem too bummed at having to get new toys (i.e., gear).
New Year’s Eve was Montreal, just for the hell of it. Spent the previous night in Burlington (and enjoyed better-than-expected skiing/boarding at Bolton Valley), then headed up to Montreal. We had a great meal at Le Petite Italien, recommended to us by John, the chef from The Lemon Café, in TCI, who hails originally from Montreal, and just enjoyed the beautiful city. It was cold, and a lot of shops and restaurants in Old Montreal, where we stayed, were closed (the week between Christmas and New Year, many of the locals are on vacation and close up shop for a week or two), but we had fun traveling around on the Metro, finding great little food spots (if you’re in Old Montreal, definitely hit Le Gros Jambon, a cool and casual small-diner-vibe breakfast joint with delicious food), and just enjoying the moment.
A week in, I’m back to my nine-to-five (nine-to-six, really), and Glenn is busy booking gigs and writing new songs. We’re excited for the year ahead, and hoping to continue to enjoy the good fortune we’ve been blessed with so far. And hoping the same for you!
