Maker Faire

Thanks to the folks at the Maker Faire for having me play. The Maker Faire is a festival for creative inventors. It is usually held in San Francisco, but was held in Austin, TX for the first time. Some of the highlights was a demonstation from the 17 year old kid who hacked the iphone before anyone else did, a huge mentos and diet coke explosion display by the team who first You Tubed the idea, and a ferris wheel that rolls around freely on the ground. My favorite invention was a tiny remote control keychain with one button that can turn off any TV in the world ( in airports, malls, etc. ). I felt a little undeserving to be there since I didn't invent anything, but I suppose that I invented the songs I performed. I look forward to going again next year.

Marfa Picking Club

I was fortunate to stumble upon and sit in with "picking club" at the Marfa Coffeehouse in Marfa, TX. The mandolins, accordians, guitars, and voices all echoed through the room. These folks meet and play every Thursday from 7 to 9 pm, however, last night we played until after 10 pm since the coffeehouse stayed open to accomodate the early crowds of the Chinati Weekend Festival. The were lots of names, but the ones I remember are Banjo Billy, Wendy, Gary, Paul, Jim, Drew ( Marfa Public Radio 93.5 FM ), and Tim ( the Marfa Bookstore ). Thanks to Chase ( Marfa Coffeehouse owner ) for hosting this event.

thanks terlingua !

Thanks to the famous Starlight Theater in Terlingua for having me play last night to a packed house. Thanks to whoever put a $50 bill in the tip jar. Thanks for whoever cooked the Portabello mushroom "steak". And thanks to Peter for the free breakfast at the Ghost Town Cafe this morning.

Phoenix

Mama Java's had a sparce, but quality crowd. However, they don't stop their expresso machine during songs, like the Bazaar Cafe does. They did send us off with loads of Bagels and pastries though. After Phoenix, we drove to Tucson to pick up Trevor Smith's ( of Green Mountain Grass ) bicycle. Trevor's mom had potato salad and muffins waiting for us, which we gobbled down. We figured out that we would have to drive through the night in order to make it to the house concert in San Antonio on time. We drove as far as possible before resting inside a roadside teepee for several hours. We were woken by a cop, who was just making sure that we weren't "illegals". He apologized and told us to watch out for rattle snakes and "illegals". We trekked on. Along the way, in the van, I won the Joanna Newsom sound-alike contest. "Oh, my Love...Oh it was a funny little thing."

Death valley

We trekked through Death Valley to get to Phoenix. We managed to choose the hottest time of day to drive through Death Valley. It was 121 degrees at peak heat. No AC ! It was actually cooler when we closed the windows, b/c it stopped the hot wind from searing our skin. Raina had an idea for each of us to hold a bag of ice, hoping that it would cool down the car, but we didn't end up testing that theory. Needless to say, when we arrived in phoenix for the show, we were all a little wilted.

L.A.

After a fine evening at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco, we headed down to L.A. where Hunter and Raina played a short set opening for John Elliot at the Hotel Cafe, which is neither a Hotel or a Cafe. Many thanks to Tiger Moon and Miric, who put us up in a Beverly Hills mansion for the night ( no joke ).

Arcata, San Francisco

We played in Arcata last night at Muddy Waters. It was a great evening and the crowd was very attentive. I am still not drinking coffee ( it's been almost a month ), so I am drinking Chai Lattes instead. Raina has offered her support by not drinking coffee either during this tour. After Arcata, we decided to take 101 through the Redwoods instead of I-5ing it. It was a good decision. It was also a beautiful foggy drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Tonight we played at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco. It was a great evening with a full house that was a combination of friends in the area and passer bys who came inside off the street to escape the chilly August night.

Lincoln City

The tour kicked off nicely, with Raina and friends ( Johann Wagner and John Elliot ) performing at the Laurelthurst Pub in SE Portland. The Blue Hit ( from Austin ) followed. We left Portland this morning with rideshare guest Inessa ( from Russia ) and arrived in Lincoln City, where Raina will be attending a wedding at her old summer camp. Hunter managed to break two strings while changing out his old ones. Snap !

Alberta St.

Thanks to those who came out to the Alberta Street Pub in Portland. It was a beautiful evening. Thanks also to guest performers Alan Kanning, Justin Power, Lindsey Verrill, Hunter Paye, John Elliot, and Raina Rose for playing.

tree music is my business

It's official. "tree music" is a business. I registered it today for $16.24 at the state office. So, I guess that means I'm no longer unemployed.

spelling trē

"trē" is how the "tree" in "tree music" is supposed to be spelled. However, the macron ( that little line over the "e" ) is not a recognized font on the American type pad. You can download various typepads which support this character, but some browsers and most websites still would not display the font properly. This has been a constant barrier and the main reason for the change of spelling. "trē" is the project name ( band name ) that was used to represent my music over the last several years. That spelling will still be used when possible, however "tree music" is now the official registered company name, or label if you will. For confusion sake, tremusic.com , treemusic.net, and tremusic.org all forward into treemusic.org...so don't worry about having to remember which is which.

Kerrville Review

How does someone describe the Kerrville Folk Festival to someone who wasn't there ? You can't.

Delete me from Myspace

I tried to delete my old MySpace page, but all it did was block me from logging in to my page ( which is still viewable to others ). After searching the FAQ section of their site, being that there is no customer service line, I read that in order to properly and completely remove an account, a user has to send in a self-photo with a sign that includes their username. I did that, but haven't heard back. Please do not try to contact me through MySpace. I won't get your message. Contact me through treemusic.org only. Thanks.

The "Meth Mobile" has been sold

The meth mobile ( it runs on methane ! ) has been sold to Texas Community Project, the non-profit in Austin where I used to work. Texas Community Project ( TCP ) will use the meth mobile to shuttle crews of activists out daily to organize voting precincts about important issues ranging from clean air to mass transit and bicycle infrastructure.

The meth mobile, which runs on natural gas, served me well for the last four years as a touring vehicle, and as far as I know, is the only vehicle of its kind to travel accross country, solely on natural gas ( without running out ).

It will be missed, but I am glad it's in good hands.

For more info on Texas Community Project, go to www.txcp.org .