| Hi Folks, coming to you on this Tuesday evening and setting the environment in the office to try and optimize good words flowing. First off I’ve been experimenting with this computer stand that holds the computer up high so you stand as you compute. I like it so far and I sit enough as it is at the studio control board during my regular work day. It’s kind of nice to vary my posture. Next, music coming out of the speakers to make the airwaves liven up. Tonight it’s John Mayer’s new CD and I’m digging it. The windows are open and the air is circulating.
OK words, it’s time for you to circulate… We’ve had a few cool gigs since we last spoke. The Ki’s hit was already a treat and then it magnified when young Kate Sprague showed up and added her wonderful vocals to a couple of tunes. There were two notable moments—this gig was a first for Kate to sing in rubato (without tempo) and she was a true natural. The tune was “Summertime”, the tempo was warping as it should, and the outcome was pure music! The other magic moment was at the end of the night, we were vamping on a turnaround and I encouraged Kate to announce who was in the band. You ever heard Leonard do this? He really plays it up and Kate’s never done it before. It’s a total Holllywood move, but it’s a laugh! Heck, James Brown had a lot of this going on and it was cool. So Kate ventured forth, suppressing a laugh, and grabbed a hold of a small slice of show biz. Great night of fun!  Exploring rubato at Ki’s with Tripp, Kate, and Peter.  The Ki’s after the gig hang with Sophia (Tripp’s wife and Kate’s proud Mom), Tripp, Kate, the Great Gretchen of 29 Palms, Peter, and Johnny “Harp” Minchin. The next night we took off for LA with Rebecca, Tripp, Gunnar, and Duncan to play at a new spot in downtown called Au Lac. It’s a great high end vegan restaurant with this side room perfectly set up for live music. They have a stage, super cool lighting, just enough chairs to make it feel close and to make you feel like you’re a success, and paramount to the whole setup, really good sound. We launched into the Planet Cole Porter music and the ultra enthused audience cheered us on. What a fun night! At the end of the gig the fellow that’s the chef for the restaurant (Chef Ito) came up to me and pointed at his camera and tried to convey a story without words. I asked him some questions but he didn’t speak and instead motioned some things with his hands. I figured he was deaf and we smiled and I got that he had some pics from the night and he gave me his card and maybe this was a way to see the photos. It was all confusing but still a neat moment. Then, we’re in the parking garage loading the last of the gear, getting ready to make the late night drive back to SD, along comes three cool folks that were at the gig and we started in on a wild conversation that touched into music, the insane heat of the day, and then finally into a spiraling vegan activism rant. It wasn’t bad, in fact it was cool but it just kept fanning outwards. It was the young gal Robin at the helm and she was passionate about her work saving animals. Then she talked a little about Chef Ito. It turns out he’s on purpose not speaking and somehow he’s able to do this and still run a big time LA restaurant. I can dig it! When I was younger I did a few week long silent yoga retreats and once you get into the flow, talking clogs things up. Good on ya’ Chef Ito and we dig your food and photos and search for truth sans words! Check out his emoji at the lower right of the photos. It’s a face with a zipper over it’s mouth. What a great LA adventure!  Planet Cole Porter in Purple! The look was fantastic at Au Lac with Tripp, Rebecca, and Peter.  The whole band framed in the wild visual world of Chef Ito! With Gunnar, Tripp, Rebecca, Duncan, and Peter. Good newspaper news! In this month’s San Diego Troubadour a super positive CD review of my Lucy in the Sky album surfaced. The author is Ted Burke and he took the disc for a spin and thankfully liked what he heard. Thanks Ted! Click here for the review. Coming to you live for this week, first up is a Saturday night gig with vocalist Allison Adams Tucker, percussionist Tommy Aros, and me on guitar. We’re playing at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego. The music theme for the night is INDEPENDENCIA! Jazz on the Latin side celebrating Mexican & Brazilian Independence Day. It’ll be a hoot and hope to see you there!  Allison Adams Tucker On Sunday afternoon at 4pm Leonard Patton and I will play an hour concert at the First United Methodist Church of Chula Vista. We played their music series a couple of years back and it’s a wonderful listening setting for music. Silence is an option and we’ll be thinking of Chef Ito at certain moments, letting the notes float in the air and dissipate gently into silence. It’ll be fun and come and join us if you can. Look below for the details.  Leonard and Peter jammin’ under the purple moon. On Friday night, I’m not playing but I’m going to hear this truly AMAZING guitarist and vocalist named Raul Midon. He’s playing a concert at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad. I first heard him on his debut record and LOVED IT! Next, I was in Telluride, CO playing with Dianne Reeves and we had just finished our show and next up was Raul playing solo. Oh my, totally blown away! And then the next year we we’re in Paris on tour with Dianne and Raul joined us for the last song of the set and did a trumpet solo with only his mouth and again, totally mind melt! This guy sings kind of like Stevie Wonder and has this guitar style all is own that combines chords and a percussive tapping quality. He writes great tunes and also does some clever covers. He’s a true gem and I urge you to venture forth into the mysterious night and make your way to hear his music. I just called over to MOMM and they have loads of tickets still left. I’ll see you there and I’m pretty sure you’ll be knocked out. Here are the details: Museum of Making Music There it is folks, fun with words and thanks for the visit… all best, Peter |
