Sooza Brass at The Great American Brass Band Festival...

 We saw many bands at The Great American Brass Band Festival on our recent trip and they were all great. One that stood out for me was Sooza Brass from Gainesville, Florida. 

I could plagiarize from the band's website to describe their music but using my own words I'd say they have some similar elements to a couple of dual sax and drum bands which I have seen and bought cds by called Moon Hooch and Big Blitz. Afterwards I met the band, a bunch of friendly nice young people who when I told them my impressions they said, "Yeah!" 

Seems a popular brass band style of dress is the Dickies zip up coverall type garment which is how my dad dressed to go fishing. Louie Meshoit, the Cajun fiddle player in the Lost Bayou Ramblers wears a pair on his gigs. Like Louie my dad chose the lighter browns and sky blues while the brass bands choose black or maybe dark blue. I happen to have one of these garments in dark blue but it's never occurred to me to wear it to a gig. I do like the look. It gives the band a post apocalyptical/tech/punk/Devo sort of vibe that they fine tune with their music to get the message across.

I did meet the tuba player, Bianca at the merch booth and bought a t shirt with a tuba on it. She had a nice tuba tone with a bit of grit to it and I ask how she got that sound. She said "plug ins" which is some kind of digital thing and makes me think she might be good at math since I'm still using tube amps, Big Muffs and envelope filters to chase sounds I hear in my head and they need no math.  

I suggest adding Sooza Brass to your playlist.

 

   

 

When You've Been There Before...

 At our church, St. Patrick's, we have a St. Vincent de Paul Conference. Cathy and I volunteer there. if you don't know anything about SVDP it's an old charity ministry that begun in France a couple of hundred years ago to help the poor. SVDP finds it's place in communities with thrift stores, food distribution or as we do rental, transportation assistance utilities and more. We go on a home visit, listen, pray and help right then the best we are able. 

In the course of home visits I think I have been in every neighborhood, apartment complex, motel, trailer or RV park in town. I don't hardly need a GPS or directions to find a place and a few days ago I got a bit discombobulated on a home visit because I had been to the house before. 

I know the exact date I was at this particular house. I had loaded up with a couple of friends, Larry and Beamon and went there, which was where the drummer lived to jam on blues tunes. The date was March 10, 1989 and I do not recall the drummers name. I recall that date because it was written on the cassette tape that was recorded of the jam that night. 

It was mostly what you might expect. Guys playing too loud and long using low-fi equipment to record themselves. The instruments were Larry and Beamon on guitars, me on harp and bass and the unknown drummer. There was one song, written by my friend Larry that stood out and he called it "Cadillac Boogie."  

I guess the reason for my discombobulation was that I realized that out of the people on that tape that were together in the home I was visiting that long ago evening I am the only one left alive. Larry and Beamon are gone. I don't know but I bet the drummer is also. It's not like these were things I did not know it's just these are things I had not gathered in my thoughts the same way I did at the moment in time when I stood in that place again. 

We helped the folks living at the house with bill assistance. I mentioned music to them but it rang no bells. They had lived there several years but without any knowledge of previous residents. 

Here's some knowledge for you:

Click this link to hear Larry's song "Cadillac Boogie"  

I wish I had a matador outfit...

You know, like they wear in Spain to fight the bulls. I don't care what color, just one with a lot of sparkles, stones and designs that match a purple cape. I already have a sword, in case I have to kill a bull but I wouldn't do that, that's not me, man.

 If I had a matador outfit I wear it all kind of places. I'd wear it walking the new sidewalks of down town Lufkin in the dusky evening falling dark, spangles catching the last light while people cutting through the downtown short cuts taking kids home or getting off work would see me and think, there really is some new business going on in the old places. I'd wear it white bass fishing off wind swept sandy points on the big lake, the glitter of the suit catching the rays of clear blue bird spring days while I stood casting in the front of the boat and shining in a thousand broken shards reflected across the water so that people miles up the lake driving across the long bridge think someone dropped a disco ball in the water. I'd wear it at the boat ramp when asking other fisherman what they caught them on mostly. I wear it to one of those cowboy churches where everybody just wears jeans just to show people that it's cool to dress up and go to church. I'd wear it to one of those Angelina County Democratic events I always get email invites to just to see if they would still send invites. I'd wear it to an Angelina County Republican event just to see if they though I was a Democrat. I'd wear it to New Orleans for Carnival. I'd wear it down to the French Market where James sells tie-died t-shirts and dresses just to show that straight guys know how to have fun too. I'd wear it because I want to see if I could get on the TV news in New Orleans one more time, just like those times before. I'd wear it at the next polka band gig because it would give the folks great pleasure. I'd wear it to a family reunion so they could see the real me. I'd wear it because I'm 64 years old and by golly I think I'd look good in the damn thing. I'd wear it when Cathy wore her belly dancer outfit. And if she got cold, I'd wrap her up tight in my purple cape.

Miles and Miles of Shoreline...

I like fishing. Sometimes people pass on tips to me like, "They are really biting down at the old community hole..." and I have headed down there to get in on the fun. Usually though at a place like that I don't catch anything. I get there and it's crowded with everyone else that heard they were biting at the community hole, there's trash left by Johnny come lately opportunist, my fishing tactics are tuned into a different kind of thing and all in all it's not exactly my idea of a great time in the outdoors. Fortunately, living near the biggest lake totally within the state of Texas there is plenty of room to get out there and at some of my favorite spots I may never even see another person. 

Even though it was the beginning of a holiday weekend we had been tubing with no one else in the area and had pulled to the shore for a picnic when this group of boaters and jet skiers, there was at least 4 miles of empty shoreline between here and the nearest launch, put in right next to us. That's my boat and you can see how close their set up was. 

To their credit they did not bother us. The kids were kept in check as pap paw warned, "I'll whip so hard you won't be able to go to school next year," and someone else advised, "Don't cuss, there's people over there." Now I don't doubt pap paw was probably kidding about the whipping and I warned Cathy not to cuss either but you get the idea. We are bombarded by input from various sources everyday and the lake should be a getaway. 

We finished our picnic and resumed tubing. The also tubed and jet skied in the area but thankfully kept to respectable distances. 

Only boater that came close was the Angelina County Sheriff's Department Patrol Boat. We were fully in compliance with the law and our pro tip is you don't have to tell them where you caught the fish. Just say at the community hole. 

 

   Miguel and the boys tube

There's one person who won't be on the tube this summer and it's our resident knee board and stunt specialist, Mary. Won't be long now.

There are a couple of people in training. Here's Ezra trying for daylight.  

Luca tries for outside the wake but it helps if you have some weight. 

Here's the boat ramp, Friday afternoon the third of July. It's not crowded. 

There's miles and miles of lake out there for you to fish, tube and have fun.  

The Hot 8 Brass Band at The Great Americian Brass Band Festival...

 We saw the Hot 8 Brass Band at the Great American Brass Band Festival in Danville, Ky. I think the last time I saw them was in New Orleans at a Frenchman Street club in 2018.  The tuba great Bennie Pete was still leading the band. Bennie passed away due to COVID in 2021 and their latest release is in his honor and remembrance and is called "Big Tuba." Naturally this release is my new favorite and I bought it as soon as it came out. The Hot 8 has always been one of my favorites and they do a great job of bringing all the elements of New Orleans culture that I love so much together in a rocking show. 

Of course I think the tuba player in this band (I couldn't find a list of band member names) is great but my favorite guy in the band is one of the trumpet players. He's the guy on the left in this photo. 

Last time we saw them in New Orleans he was stone cool onstage but he seems to have a more prominent role center stage singing, second line style dancing, sweating and soloing that really highlights the joys of New Orleans brass band street culture. It makes me feel happy watching him. 

That looks like a happy drum and tuba section right there.

Trumpet and trombone.

Big Tuba!

I guess if I would have headed over to the merch tent I could have met the guys and I'd had names and probably a new t shirt but the weather was iffy and the Hot 8 set was cut short by rain and lightening. Actually when lightening was reported the band said "they say lightening but we will play one more," but festival officials quickly said, "no you won't" and that was it. It was enough and I though a great set.

 Instead of heading to meet the band we headed for the parking lot in the rain and our car was the last one there.

In 2014 my family, or most of us as I remember (only two grand kids at the time) all went to New Orleans for some of the early season Mardi Gras. There were no big floats but mostly walking parades and low crowd numbers with many brass bands and tubas. I snapped this photo after a parade and I did not know who it was at the time but it's Mr. Big Tuba, Bennie Pete of the Hot 8 with family. I don't think we saw the Hot 8 as such that weekend but Bennie was just out sitting in on the parades and enjoying the community, culture and this photo shows what kind of guy he was. 

Join the family. Get some Hot 8 right now.

  

  

   

 

A Road Trip...

 We are back from an 1800 mile round trip to Danville, Ky to see the Great American Brass Band Festival. It was a fun time at the festival, we stopped to visit family and along the way stayed in nice campgrounds in Arkansas and Kentucky in our camper. I'd highly recommend Jacksonport State Park.   

There was a very good little museum in the park headquarters telling the story of the area. It's the usual thing where big rivers and steam boats make markets and other places accessible, slave labor and fertile ground produce riches for those that have them but then there are floods, war and eventually the railroad bypasses the place and makes the steamboat obsolete and judging from the population stats the area has been in steady decline. You can see it in some of the houses and yards we passed on the way in the park. There were run down properties with old boats, cars and lawn mowers abandoned in the yard. 

You see the same thing in our East Texas area or maybe in our volunteer work for Saint Vincent de Paul we see it more. When we go homes to see how the charity can best assist people it literally looks like something has blown up there from the debris scattered about. Even in my neighborhood there are places close by with this junk car/trashed out chic look and I don't think the people there are particularly poor. 

In contrast Kentucky, where visit to see family and have found a couple of music festivals to like, seems like an unusually clean and orderly place and I can't quite put my finger on why. There is lots of agriculture work which can be difficult to make a living from but I rarely saw a disorderly property and it sure looks like they like to keep the yards mowed. 

For reference I'll post this photo of "The Lawn" where spectators sat on the Center College Campus where the brass band festival was hosted. It's very well kept and much of the surrounding area is like that.

I don't know if it's the influence of people working the land, the Amish community near by or the local  Shaker Village history that contributes to this neatness but it's certainty a notable thing. Some might even use the word, "picturesque." 

Whatever it is we could use some of it around here. I don't know enough about the history of the area to be aware of any boom and bust times as seen in the Jasksonport area that have had generational impacts on recovery. Makes me wonder, not to say anything good about data centers, they seem universality opposed by the general population locally and in Kentucky but if they pass us by will it be like the decline of steamboat usefulness and the next thing you know we can't keep our yards mowed? 

The Kentucky countryside outside of Danville was dotted with these signs. I did not see any signs in favor.  

I'll keep thinking on this and welcome any comments on ideas readers may have. Upcoming blogs will run down the music and bands seen at the festival, something I know about. 

 

  

     

Here Comes Old #10...

 Yesterday friends and family gathered to throw a baby shower for Mary and Miguel who are expecting their fourth boy in early August. It was good times with great decorations, karaoke, hamburgers, hot dogs and lots of kids running around that accompanied all the moms and dads there to help them celebrate. 

So far the name of what I'm calling old #10, our 10th grandchild id unknown to the public. They do have a system of naming, four letters ending with a vowel so guess away and post your suggestions in the comments section of this blog. 

Technically the world cup should be concluded by the time the baby is due. Looks like this crew needs at least one more set of hands on the foosball to make it FAIR. 

Lot of incoming fun for the rest of the summer. Old #10 will be here just in time for the first knee board ride, the baby in the tuba photo and more so stay tuned.