Ahhhh, Fall...

We woke to temperatures in the low 40's this morning, appropriate given that today is the second day of Autumn. Fall, or, more accurately, that "shoulder" between Summer and Fall, is my favorite time of year. It has that promise of slower pace, of hunkering down, of flannel, down, wool, and fleece. The mornings and evenings are cold, the afternoons still hot. Leaves are changing, the angle of the sun has noticeably decreased toward the South, the days are shorter. The garden is still producing, but starting to taper off:

(And yes, this boy from Idaho can in fact produce potatoes!)

This pile of rounds are split for the wood pile and winter warmth (and lots of exercise since I split it by hand):

Finally, the shorts are retired and the sweaters are resurrected from their summer cedar box slumber.

In years past, this has also been the time when the desire to go skiing became overwhelming. The snow reports at Silverton, Wolf Creek, and Monarch were closely monitored in hopes of an October road trip. This has also been the time to refresh my first aid skills for the upcoming ski (and ski patrol) season. The past few years, though, have brought change in the forms of a growing family, injuries leading to questionable back strength for rescue activities, growing interest in other pursuits, and a growing dis-satisfaction with mechanized activities (such as lift-serve skiing). After a lot of thought, I've decided to let it lapse. I have one more class to teach, and then I'm done with Ski Patrol for a while. Believe me, after 10+ years as a patroller, extensive training, awards, and involvement in teaching every discipline (ski, toboggan, mountaineering, avalanche, first aid), this decision was not easy. It still haunts me. But, I reserve the right to go back, and have elected "Alumni" status in the event that my life opens back up. For now, I'm content to hike, snowshoe, and cross-country ski with my family, and ski the backcountry bowls, glades, and peaks with my friends.

I have a few gigs coming up with The Affordables this fall:
- Oct 5, private party in Santa Fe
- Oct 31, Los Alamos Beer Co-op Party
- Nov 3, Pajarito Brew Pub

The Craig Martin Experience is off until February, when we'll be playing for the K2 Women's Weekend (at Pajarito Mtn.). We are working on a great new set of tunes that we're all excited about. 

Finally, I picked up a great fall/winter project yesterday--a woman across town was giving away her old upright piano on Freecycle. It's severely out of tune and needs some repair, but instead of fixing it, I'm going to gut it make it a home for my digital piano and itty bitty recording studio. It has some nice woodworking details. Now to get it to my house...

Have a great week!

The Faux-Rhodes Gets New Guts!

I pulled the trigger on a new keyboard last week, upgrading from the pretty good Casio PX-3 to what promises to be the great Casio PX-5S (it was a Keyboard Magazine "Key Buy" in 2012). It combines everything I liked about the PX-3 into a package with better pianos, some fantastic electric pianos (the 60s EPs really caught my ear), fully editable and tweakable synthesizers, complex and interesting tones ("hex-layers"), and some really nice stage features. I was initially somewhat put off by the white color, but I think the black on white color scheme will be much easier to see in the dark on-stage. I can't wait to put it to work. I think it'll open up a lot of sonic possibility and perhaps even some other musical opportunities (one man band-type stuff). Some of the "techno" presets are fun to mess with (though not that useful in the jazz and rock groups I'm currently in). I've been wanting to throw strings in with the jazz band for a while, but the PX-3 strings were shrill, too loud, and unusable. I have a bit of programming to do, but I'll use it this coming Saturday with D.K. & the Affordables at the Pajarito Brew Pub.

I hate to sound like an advertisement, because I'm a "find what works for you" kind of guy (and the PX-5S might not be it for many folks), but the community that has rallied around this instrument is quite phenomenal. I've found probably 20 hours of tutorials on YouTube, and Mike Martin, the marketing guy from Casio, personally monitors a bunch of forums and participates in the PX-5S Facebook page. I guess folks are excited to see an extremely flexible and functional pro-level stage piano for less than $1000. So, thanks to the team at Casio for creating not just this product, but the support to go with it.

The only wrinkle in my gig rig is the MicroB Hammond emulator--it usually sits on top of the piano, on the left, but with the PX-5 controls up there, I'll have to get used to it on the right side. Oh, poor me.

Have a great week!