Coming Up For Air At the Miami Customs!

Friends, laughable and furious at the same time. Miami Customs, a line so long that the building couldn’t even take it. It’s an amazing contrast touching down after a mellow flight and an even more chill Curacao experience into the swirling anger of bureaucratic customs stew. Ten flights arriving all at once. Of course we’ve got luggage for days, hauling it around in search of the end of the line. My able constituents from the band, because they’re making a career out of traveling, zip right on through this hurricane with the aide of the almighty Global Entry pass. I gotta score one of those bad boys before the next out of town jaunt.

Anyway I survived, they lost my luggage between Miami and SD and yet another delay and line to deal with tracking it down to be delivered the next day. Life on the road sparkles with love and hate, boredom and inspiration. All of that mixed in coming up with the divine realization that it’s great to be home!

My first trip was a cool ride up to Tacoma to help my daughter Kylie slip into her new living quarters. We had bliss moments at Target and Wal-Mart, ah-ha eye openers discovering silverware at various thrift stores, Indian food with her roommates, a Trader Joe’s mega shop, walks with big green tree accompaniment to her school, a movie night seeing “Lucy” which rocked for about 3/4’s of the time and then fell apart and went the total “I don’t know how to end this movie” at the end. It was a good trip and I think she’s all set for a good year of learning and kicking the social chill factor into high gear. Press on!

Kylie and the Trader Joe mega shop. Infinite health food!

Kylie and the Trader Joe mega shop. Infinite health food!

The Dianne Reeves hit in Curacao was a fun scene with music, island humidity, the warmest water ever filtering into the fake beach, super expensive everything, a wild conglomeration of musos from everywhere. Chaka Kahn was on the plane along with Rod Stewart’s band. Entourages, tour managers, baritone saxophone cases shoved into the overhead bins, layers of guitars and basses taking up all of the space on the plane—it was a hoot! The island is on the dry side, not jungle-ish like Hawaii. No waves to surf and rocks up to the ocean. The sun was full on and our spare time was spent hiding under the palapas and talking endless life on the road stories. It was a good time and to hear Dianne sing again, wow that gal has it completely going on. Big league jazz vocals!

Smoking bridge at Curacao and as you can see, some really blue ocean and some clean air!

Smoking bridge at Curacao and as you can see, some really blue ocean and some clean air!

The Metropol Orchestra tearing it up at Curacao. This was on our day off so we got to take in the concert.

The Metropol Orchestra tearing it up at Curacao. This was on our day off so we got to take in the concert.

Big audience dancing to the music!

Big audience dancing to the music!

It’s a new fall chapter getting ready to kick in and my scene is a steady flow of studio work, a nice amount of gigs and then some time to think about what the next big project will be. I have a ton of options and I’m airing out the upstairs (the brain and it’s endless ruckus) and letting the truth filter in. I’ll let you know when it becomes clear. Exiting times!

Letting the truth filter in at 10,000 feet.

Letting the truth filter in at 10,000 feet.

In store for this week is a neat Palomar College midday gig tomorrow with Gilbert Castellanos on trumpet, Gunnar on bass, and me on guitar playing a set for their ongoing concert series. It’s a nice listening space and the admission is free. Can’t wait!

Gilbert taking a breath, prepping for the next notes.

Gilbert taking a breath, prepping for the next notes.

Tomorrow night I’m geared up to play an evening of solo guitar at the Roxy Restaurant in Encinitas. I’ve been working on “Lush Life” leaning into “Got to Get You Into My Life” morphing over to “Gymnopedie” and passing it along to “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds”. There’s a good chance liftoff will occur!

That’s the word for now. Thanks for tuning in and I’ll be back for more exaggerated tales of the musos life next week. But I hope to see you before that, maybe at one of the gigs….

namaste, Peter