If you don’t mind, this month’s article may be a little shorter than usual! I am in California on vacation and I don’t have much to say. Imagine that!
I started my vacation with a Paul McCartney concert in Oklahoma City on Monday, July 17th. All I can say about that is, “Wow!” The next stop was Winslow, Arizona, where I was obligated to stand on a corner. Then on to Flagstaff, Arizona for some much needed rest and a visit the next day to the Grand Canyon, which, by the way, “Don’t weigh nothin’!” according to guitarist Mike Franklin.
Heading into California flooded my memory with many memories of the years that I lived in the Golden State. On the top of that list are the friends that I made out here. There were so many folks from all walks of life that shared music with me, life with me, and friendships that will never die. California is where I met my wife and where my first son was born. Now, is that special or what?
Next were the musical artists that I was able to see without having to travel very far. Some as close as a three minute walk from my Huntington Beach apartment. Let’s see, there was Bob Dylan, Leo Kottke, Jim Keltner, Adrian Belew, Jesse Winchester, The Band, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Joe Pass, Andre Segovia, Jaco Pastorius, Bonnie Raitt, Hirth Martinez, Jesse Colin Young, Pat Metheny, Leon Redbone, Jesse Ed Davis, Warren Zevon, Johnny Copeland, Mose Allison, Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Richard Thompson, Los Lobos, Eric Clapton, T Bone Burnett, Dr. Demento, Martin Mull, Shuggie Otis, Albert Lee, Gene Clark, The Roches… well, you get the idea. It still amazes me.
And lastly, for you musicians that think about moving to one of our nation’s music capitals, run this by your travel plans. I was reminded of a story that I heard shortly after moving to the “promise land”. The Hollywood Musician’s Union wanted to spread the word about the number of musicians that hit LA on average. It stated that 1600 new musicians move to the Los Angeles area every year! One thousand and six hundred musicians with countless dreams! Wait! I’m sorry, that’s 1600 new musicians a month!! That’s getting close to 50,000 musicians a month! Wait! I must apologize again-that’s 1600 new musicians a day!!! You do the math! I’m going to leave you with that and get back to my vacation. Thank you.
