Slavic Soul Party at Festival International....

People tell me, "I like old music." It was about 20 years ago we got our hands on a Slavic Soul Party CD so I guess this could fall under the old category. They have been on our list to see live ever since. We finally got the chance last week when they played Festival International in Lafayette, La. 

Slavic Soul Party is an American band based in New York City. They play in a Balkan style that synthesizes Roma, funk, jazz, klezmer and more into a lively blend. They open for some big rock bands on occasioanl, play festivals like this but most often they can be seen on Tuesday nights at Barbes in Brooklyn. This summer they will celebrate 1000 Tuesday gigs there. I've been to Barbes and it's an intimate venue about the size of the this festival stage.   

I'm always up for some drum and tuba. I think this gentleman was a sub. They thanked him for sitting in, he was the only player with a cheat sheet on a stand and I have forgotten his name. 

Fantastic triple tonguing by the trombones and trumpets. Really virtuoso players. Checking out the bands tour schedule I would imagine some of these guys have days jobs and though they might be music related such as teaching or working in a music store or such it shows how hard it is for great players to make it in the business.  

Matt Moran is the energetic band leader. I love the bass drum cymbal set up. Lot of bands using it at HonkTx and we also saw a drum group from Columbia called La Perla at this festival.  

Cathy took this great cell phone photo of the accordion player. She stretched out over the rail and it seemed he posed just for her but I think he was actually looking down her shirt when she leaned forward. Accordion players will do that. I think I had a photo of Mary and Miguel with accordion  conjunto great Flaco Jiménez and Flaco seems to be looking down Mary's shirt.   

Great to accomplish a goal of seeing a favorite band. I have a hatful of their CDs.  Check out old music. There are some bands out there making it sound new. 

 

As We Age...

 When I'm scrolling Netflix and I see a movie blurb that says something like, "a heart warming coming of age story" I just keep on clicking right past that. Maybe that's cause I have lived all that kind of stuff and it was with my old friend Kenny Baker whose funeral I attended today.

 From about eighth grade band on up to graduation from high school we were inseparable friends. He played trombone and I played tuba. In addition to the social activity of band we went to the same church and grew up close learning to play music, drive old 1960s beater cars, listening to music, going to concerts, hunting and fishing like our dads taught us and engaging in as many teen age hijinks as our imaginations could come up with. Yeah, coming of age is a good way to put it. Certainty Kenny, as he aged became the man his family and the world will remember him as and maybe one day I will too. 

Here's an old band hall photo from about 1972. Left to right back row is Ernie Murry (I'll play a concert with him tomorrow) Kenny, and Ivor Little. Bottom row is Mike May (RIP), Bob Pennington (Bob's a nurse, I have worked with him and he's taken care of family) and me. 

After high school though we went to the same college our paths in life diverged and we would only meet and play in an occasional community band or band alumni concert. 

Recently someone came up and introduced themselves as Kenny's co worker. Kenny knew I was connected to the person and they told me, "He talks about you all the time." If that's not some cosmic reach out, I'm soon be gone but I'll be watching out for you moment I don't know what it is. If I felt that vibe from Kenny I can only imagine what his family and really close friends feel from his presence in Heaven.  

I saw many old friends from those high school band days at the funeral today. As we age it will just be a matter of time till we feel the call. Hopefully we will be able to reach out and touch the ones we love, our families and each other just like Kenny touched me.   

Here's an old clipping of the jazz band, 1972. Kenny is the trombone on the right. He's been playing that same horn as in the photo all these years.   

       

8th and 9th grade band about 1971. I'm the tuba on the left. Kenny is the tall guy next to the white sousaphone. 

Trombones, baritones and tubas, yearbook photo probably 1973. Can you pick all us coming of agers  out? 

Band alumni concert 2009. Me and Kenny in the back, probably causing trouble.  

We Have Merch...

Since I made a million buck on the Drum and Tuba Christmas thing money is not an issue here. All that was a DIY thing but now staff artist Miguel Aamora is on payroll designing these new Tuba Man Eclipse stickers.

If you would like one, these 3" x 3" peel off stickers are perfect for posting on city light poles, trash cans, in public restrooms or wherever hipsters hang out, message me your address cewallac@consolidated.net and venmo me what it's worth to you. If demand is high the cost of postage could set me back more than the cost of stickers not to mention the artist commission.

Unfortunately this sticker drop may get overshadowed by the new Taylor Swift Album and my gig on Sunday April 28th at 2:30pm in Temple Theater with the Angelina Civic Band (it's swing music) has to compete with the Rolling Stones Houston Concert so as indie artist we really appreciate your support.

Ratcliff Lake Camping...

The very best song ever written is "I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop" by Jim Jackson. Ratcliff Lake is a pretty good campground to sit around the griddle and let the bacon do the  singing. We had Warren and Coraline for a visit and stayed two nights, the Zamora family stayed one night and the Morgan and Ali family joined us for one day. We weathered a thunderstorm Saturday night staying nice and dry in the camper but power to the park went out the next morning so with my dependence on an electric coffee maker showing we packed it up and came home on Sunday.     

We called this place Camp Catawba Worm because my tree at home was covered with worms and we turned those worms into a fish dinner. 

The campground was pretty full and maybe it was the Boy Scout troop but Ratcliff was a better choice than Sam Rayburn this weekend because of the Big Bass Splash with it's 6000 entry draw. Here's a photo of me winning the Anti Big Bass Splash Tournament. 

You can see the rain that filled the canoe on Saturday night. 

Luca, Ezra, Parker, Warren and Morgan trash the water to a froth off the pier. Barely visible is Cullen whose main mode of transport for the time being is a wagon since he broke his leg and is awaiting casting. He did as well as anyone else casting from this seated position. 

The Zamora mobile. 

I think we ended up with about 10 fat bream with most boat fishermen scoring on lures or Catawba worms. I was hoping the panfish would be in full spawning mode but with the little cool front we did not locate any big concentrations with most fish holding tight to the weeds. Seemed to be some fish in the backwater right in the brush that were hard to target, especially with the crew I had.   

See that stick out over there, that's called a sickout. If you have not said this do you even know anything about boating? 

Later this week we are off with the camper again to Festival International in Lafayette. Warren and Coraline will again accompany us and we get to see one of our favorite Balkan Bands out of New York City, Slavic Soul Party. We have collected the cds for years so this is a big deal.  

 

Soccer...

 I occasionally ponder some past life experience, not like a reincarnation thing but some experience passed and ask one of my kids, "How was that for you?" I have a good relationship with my kids so the answers can be brutally honest. That's ok I can take it. I was doing the best I could but I haven't asked anyone how it was playing organized sports yet. This weekend since Mary and Miguel had a commitment we took Ezra to his soccer game. 

I don't really know all the rules to soccer. That makes it easy to just sit there ad watch what looks like a melee out on the field. Ezra is the one that looks like he's thinking about kicking the ball. He claimed a 7-2 victory which I was told is comparable to a 49-7 football score. I did not see that many scores but there was a noticeable dominance in keeping the ball near the opposing goal but good sportsmanship was demonstrated all around by players, coaches and parents.  

Luca will be old enough to play in the fall. He was in charge of picking flowers this game. 

Era is number 5. 

The wagon the kids got us for Christmas is perfect for gear and baby hauling.

Soccer is pretty low key at least at this stage. Ezra has been playing a couple of years so there was a progress to not score keeping and no goalie but they have moved up to where they have those things, play positions and go by some rules. 

Maybe one day someone will ask Ezra did Pop Pop like soccer? and he will say, "I don't know he just sat there."

If I just sit maybe I won't have to come back again and prove anything. 

Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band...

Cathy handles that banking duties up in here. She makes sure all the bills are paid and occasionally sends me to the bank to get some cash (I've never operated an ATM) essentially operating as a bag man and I'm happy with this arrangement. When we go to a music festival like the recent Honk!Tx in Austin, Tx. I pick the bands to see. I pick good and Cathy is also happy with this. 

I picked the Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band as a must see. I did no research as is easy to do with google and all that but I thought it was a cool name. The music was cool also and just the right mix of Balkan, Klezmer, funk and thrash metal as they describe themselves and that Balkan thing is what Cathy (check out her collection sometime if you have the time) really likes.      

Actually as we found out later Emperor Norton was a real person. A San Francisco failed businessman Norton proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States in 1859 and later when Napoleon invaded Mexico "protector of Mexico." He was somewhat celebrated in the bay area and received special favors such as free train and ferry passage, meals, had a currency issued in his name which was honored at his favorite establishments and spent a good bit of time in libraries and at musical performances. On his death in 1880 up to 10,000 people lined the streets to pay respects. 

They don't make them like this anymore or at least since the invention of better mood stabilization medications and it's great that this band, though they are from Somerville, Massachusetts honors the great Emperor. I have never been able to make the backstory thing work as a band name and I respect the industry involved here.      

The tuba player used a helicon which is often seen in Central and Eastern European music. Cathy recently remarked that I needed one of these and I take that as evidence that the bank account is in good shape and also as purchase approval. At this festival I could not help but feel good about this helicon, a guy with a green trumpet and a drummer with a purple bass drum and how happy they must have been the day day they walked into a music store somewhere and bought those distinctive instruments.    

An accordion player like cowbell, harmonica, banjo and tuba means more fun. There were many good bari sax players at this festival. A couple of concert seasons back I sat by a young bari player in Civic Band. I told him, "Hey you get in the right band you can really raise hell with one of those things." He looked at me incredulously and pointed at his instrument, "With this?"     

Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band. Get the music on bandcamp. 

 

Honk!Tx 2024...

Yes there were tubas. Lots of them as well as all other kind of instruments at the Austin Honk!Tx street band festival this past weekend.  It was our second year to attend and I love every minute. Though I do get plenty of opportunities to play music with good people all the time I do wish there was something like this in my home town with wacky dress up sensibilities which in many cases with these groups also combine with community purposes to make the world a better place. 

Here's the Honk!Tx Mission statement:

HONK!TX is a nonprofit, community-driven festival that brings street and brass bands from around the country to perform for free in the public spaces of Austin, Texas. Mobile and unamplified, HONK! bands transform everyday locations into spontaneous stages, dissolving the line between crowd and performers and inviting everyone to celebrate the joys of music and community. A range of genres will be represented: New Orleans second-line brass, European Klezmer and Balkan, Brazilian, West African and more. HONK! is a celebration of community, collaboration and creative expression. Join the revelry!

Above is pictured and you may guess their name, The Neon Brass Party from the clothing style. They come to the festival from Seattle, Wa. The traveling bands are put up in the homes of volunteers, preferably located on public transit or bike lanes. Food sponsors, Restaurants, Caterers and individuals feed everyone. 

9th Avenue Brass from Pensacola, Fl. One of my favorites. 

Bramaya West African Music and Dance from Austin.

Generally not real crowded for a free festival but I could not get real close to the Minor Mishap Marching Band. 

Black Sheep Ensemble from Atlanta.  

Greenbelt Honk! Situation from Greenbelt, Maryland. 

Cimarrona La Original from Santo Domingo Costa Rica. Great group, good drums and tuba. 

The Human Band from New Orleans. Not your typical New Orleans thing but a bit of Balkan and other stuff thrown in. 

I think a lot of Honk groups, many cities have Honk Festivals, meet in the park or other public space on a weekend afternoon, rehearse an hour and then perform an hour. I'd love to do something like that. Maybe I'm not too old to have this much energy I just wish I had the arranging skills to put it together. I'd certainty hold down the tuba line.  

 

Chicago Trip...

We made a trip to Chicago this past weekend to see Kathie, Peter, Wallace and Hamish. It was the final celebration of the long drawn out winter holiday known as Wallace Christmas. Our Chicago family were grounded by a big storm on the date they were heading to East Texas for a more seasonal timed celebration but late is better than never when it comes to celebration. There was also the added bonus to have Cathy's sister Margaret, Kevin Grayson and Addison in for Grayson's volleyball tournament.  

Here's the gang hanging out for a meal at Miller's Pub. It was a favorite hangout of people like Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Durante where they were in town. It was Good Friday and Lent so I had the fried haddock. No word on what Marilyn liked to eat there.  

Late Christmas presents flown in just for you! 

Sitting around in the PJ's just like Christmas morning. Being it was Easter weekend we even went to church

I drove to the airport for my gas guzzling flight in my hybrid but I rode around town in the Tulloch's EV and made use of public transit when I could.  

We saw several games at Grayson's volleyball tournament and it reminded me of the tournaments we used to go to in the old Taekwondo days. 

We took a few walks to the park for outside play and sitting on the play ground watching the grandkids I got some fishing tips from a guy that said he often fished the quarry pond there. They were pretty much like fishing tips you get anywhere, use a plastic worm, a rattletrap, a frog. Maybe next trip I'll brig some baits of my own. 

A nice visit and good to see the grandkids but winter still hangs on in Chicago. The trees are not quite leafing yet and temps at night dropped to the 30s. On arriving back home I soaked in the hot tube and sat on the back deck till I was dry. 

Everyone should travel and see distant family. It makes coming home sweeter.