Two weekends ago (June 7th time frame), the Affordables made the trek to Tucumcari, NM for their 2nd annual Rockabilly on the Route festival. It was all things mid-20th century nostalgia--old cars, rockabilly/rock & roll music, greasy hair, motorcycle boots, rolled-up jeans, sideburns, tattoos, pinup girls. Two bands traveled from way far away (Norway & Colombia!) to make the gig. The Affordables played a morning gig for the car show, and then backed Elvis impersonator Justin Shandor for the headline gig. I said it on Facebook, but I'll repeat it here: Justin confirmed what I somehow always knew--a gig with Elvis would be an absolute blast.
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| Affordables rockin' with Justin Shandor, the Ultimate Elvis. Photo by Andrea Huber (taken from the Rockabilly on the Route Facebook page). |
A few nights ago I had another gig with the Craig Martin Experience (CME) at Los Alamos County's new stage at Ashley Pond. The stage is really nice, and creates a great venue for which to see an outdoor show. We were initially afraid we'd get rained out, but after a few mini-squalls rolled through, we were able to take the tarps off the electronics and swing the night away. It was a fitting tribute to Horace Silver--we played 4 of his tunes--who passed away on Wednesday, June 18. Silver had a hand in creating the highly enjoyable, groove-heavy genre known as "Hard Bop," which CME has gravitated towards.
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| A great evening of music with the Craig Martin Experience. Great photo by Britton Donharl. |
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Well, we are about 13/16 moved or, somewhere between 3/4 and 7/8. All the bedrooms at the old house are cleared out, the backyard fixtures (patio table, rain barrels, etc.) are moved, and the furniture is all at the new place. What's left are some odds & ends in the shed, tid-bits in the kitchen and pantry, and building materials, a couple chairs, and my workbench in the garage. Probably another truckload, and/or another few evenings back & forth. Luckily we didn't have to move far!
I did some work at the new place this week, getting my studio set up for lessons (first one is Friday!), and getting the garage/shop set up for the myriad chores I have at the new place (putting my son's room together, unpacking, finishing the shop stuff, etc.). I still have some work to do at the old place (pigtailing outlets, installing trim, yard care), but the renters move in July 15. On top of that, our trusty 4Runner decided to throw an electrical fit while we were moving. Every time we open or close the back hatch, the doors lock. If you unlock it from the inside, no problem. If you try to unlock it from the outside, however, the alarm sounds. What a drag. I've heard from my mechanically inclined friends that electrical issues on a car are a challenge (expletives omitted). But, I get to tear into that soon, too! In the mean-time, I think I'll look into disarming the alarm.
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Also this week I defended a proposal that, if funded, will lay the groundwork for next-generation antibiotics. Bacteria are out-evolving us, making our current batches of antibiotics obsolete; our proposal looks at turning a pathogen's iron-scavenging machinery against it (stay tuned, hopefully). Many articles have been written about the end of the antibiotic era; this one from the CDC gave me pause (no, I didn't read the entire 114 pages, but scan it and you'll understand why we are working on antibiotic resistance at a national security lab). In my opinion, the downfall of humanity will be the combination of a lack of clean water, untreatable and contagious infection by some sort of nasty pathogen, interpersonal and international violence, air pollution, and crop failure. Wow, that went to dark places fast. To prevent this doomsday, wash your hands, go solar, love your neighbor, ride your bike, and buy organic food. (Oh, but I wish it was that simple!)
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Anyway, we are enjoying our new house. The kids spent the week with Grammy & Grampy in Colorado, so my wife and I felt like we were staying in a vacation home--no kids, can't find anything, don't know where the lights are, everything is nicer than at home, etc. But no, we did indeed upgrade, and it was a great move. Now we just need working internet access so I don't have to type this blog from the library!
Thanks for reading!
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