Cabernet, with Blues, in the Afternoon...

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2009 jim otterstrom

Afternoon sunlight filters through my glass of Cabernet Sauvignon as J.J. Cale plays his beautiful blues instrumental, 'Shades'. What is mellow?

;~)

Dallas With Snowflakes...

...On The Porch This Very Morning

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

Dallas, at 9:30 this morning, watching me from the porch with his chin resting on the lower railing.

Snow is falling lightly, Peggy is curled up on the couch downstairs reading Naomi Klein's 'Shock Doctrine', there's a warm glow coming from the woodstove and John Fahey is playing guitar on 'Robinhood Radio'.

I'm upstairs enjoying the peaceful ambiance of home on a Saturday morning while I sit at the computer restoring some ancient family photos in Photoshop and finishing up the Acorn Class post which will be on the blog sometime today!

Now David Lindley and El Rayo X are coming through the old Sansui with 'Tiki Torches At Twilight'.

Our 30 year old Sansui 9090DB receiver, and matching 1977 Sansui 5000A speakers, seem right at home with the nearly 13,000 hand-picked tunes playing through them by way of that new-fangled i-Pod gizmo hooked up to the system.

POSTSCRIPT

The songs below were also heard on our own homegrown Robinhood Radio today as the minutes ticked sweetly away...

Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley

Hip-Hugger - Booker T & The MGs

Dragalevska Ruchenitsa - Traicho Sinapov

There's A Moon Out Tonight - The Capris

Run Pete Run - Jimmy Martin

Raunchy - Bill Justis

Two Hearts - Chris Isaak

That Growling Baby Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson

The Fool On The Hill - The Beatles

Ti-Pi-Tin - The Andrews Sisters

Prairie Lullabye - Jimmie Rodgers

Choo Choo Ch' Boogie - Asleep At The Wheel

Dancing In the Dark - Cannonball Adderly

Saucy Sailor - The Wailin' Jennys

Carry On - Crosby, Stills & Nash

C'est Un Mauvais Garcon - Baguette Quartette

Blue Suede Shoes - Elvis Presley

Blue Motel Room - Joni Mitchell

Ain't Enough - Guthrie Kennard

This Masquerade - George Benson

The Devil's Great Grandson - Sons Of The Pioneers

No Ordinary Love - Sade

In The Rhythms - Nobuko Miyamoto

Swanee River - Oscar Aleman

He's Funny That Way - Billie Holiday

Walk Between Raindrops - Donald Fagen

Spadella - Spade Cooley

Can't Feel At Home - The Carter Family

Come See About Me - The Supremes

Coal Creek March - Pete Seeger

Rock Island Blues - Lewis Black

When You Come Back Down - Nickel Creek

It Had To Be You - Billie Holiday

Mademoiselle Will Decide - Jools Holland's Rhythm & Blues Orchestra with Mark Knopfler

Khar-Shabi - T. Fazylova

I Betcha My Heart I Love You - Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys

Abilene - Dave Alvin & The Guilty Men

That Nasty Swing - Cliff Carlisle

Rollin' & Tumblin' - Canned Heat

Working Class Hero - Beatle Jazz

People Are Strange - The Doors

Opus 57 - David Grisman

Truck Driver's Blues - Cliff Bruner & his Boys

And So It Goes - Graham Nash

Just Like Starting Over - John Lennon

Hobo's Lullaby - Arlo Guthrie

Disgusted - Lucinda Williams

Em Mi Viejo San Juan - Los Panchos & Noel Estrada

I Know That You Know - Lionel Hampton

Mistreated Blues - Jimmy Gordon

Cookie Man - The Jazz Crusaders

Blue Light Boogie - Taj Mahal

El Paso - Marty Robbins

My Uncle - The Flying Burrito Brothers

I'll Be Ready When The Great Day Comes - Teddy Bunn

Driftin' - Eric Clapton

Contemporary Blues - Barney Kessel

The Day You Came Along - Jimmy Rowles

Carmelita - Linda Ronstadt

Viavy Raoxy - Henry Kaiser & David Lindley

I Wish It Would Rain - The Temptations

Beautiful Delilah - The Kinks

Cryin' Shame - Lyle Lovett

Lookin' For A Leader - Neil Young

Chains Of Love - J.J. Cale

Just Waitin' - Hank Williams

Ain't Got No Home - Clarence 'Frogman' Henry

Follow Me Home - Dire Straits

Take A Whiff On Me - Woody Guthrie

One World - Dire Straits

Las Cuatro Milpas (Four Little Cornfields) - Mariachi Coculense de Cirilo Marmolejo

Vaseline Machine Gun - Leo Kottke

4 on 6 - Lee Ritenour

Lucky Thirteen Blues - Brother Yusef

Keep It Clean - Charley Jordan

When The Sun Goes Down - Leroy Carr

Cold Blooded Murder #2 - Bumble Bee Slim

Nocturno - Andrés Segovia

The Roundup In The Spring - Martin Roberts

Slow Walk - Bill Doggett And His Combo

Blue Flame - Elvin Bishop

Almost Cut My Hair - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Man In The Long Black Coat - Bob Dylan

Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman

Can't Put A Bridle On That Mule This Morning - Julius Daniels

I Can't Believe You're In Love With Me - Hot Club Of Cowtown

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor? - Lonnie Donegan

Mosadi - The Crusaders

With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles

Don't Get So Down On Yourself - Chris Isaak

Wrong Man Blues - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee

What'd I Say - Jerry Lee Lewis

Morning Train - John Prine

Muskadine Blues - Little Walter & Baby Face Leroy

Tralala - Mark Knopfler

Blue In Green - Miles Davis

Gotta Serve Somebody - Bob Dylan

Hattie & Janelle - Joe Craven & Rob Ickes

Love Is A Rose - Neil Young

Oh Carol - Chuck Berry

Creepin' In - Norah Jones

Dance Me To The End Of Love - Madeleine Peyroux

...and, there you have it.

Nearly an entire day of Robinhood Radio (at least what I remembered to write down) as presented by the iPod at Earth Home Garden while Jim caught up on computer stuff, and Peg finished her book.

Goodnight all, it is now 10:03 P.M.

Six Days In September --- Mountains, Music, & Merryment --- 34 Pictures, with links...

~Thursday~

September, 13th

MT. WHITNEY FISH HATCHERY Click on any photo to enlarge - all photos © 2007 jim otterstrom unless otherwise noted

Peggy and I went on vacation in September to the Eastern Sierras.

We rented a car---for the second time this year*---to visit friends in Independence, California.

Our friends, Brad & Amy, pictured below with their daughters, are wildlife biologists who live near this historic hatchery, built in 1917.

We arrived at their house shortly before noon and the girls immediately took off grocery shopping, so Brad & I had to entertain ourselves out in the back yard with beer, music, dogs, a few yarns, & the majestic Sierras as a backdrop.

:~)

*We rent a car between 2 & 4 times a year to visit friends, attend family gatherings, or just get away. We don't own one or use them in our daily lives.

~Friday~

Amy, Hannah, Claire, and Brad

Hatchery Pond

The hatchery pond is full of Rainbow Trout and sometimes Claire and Hannah get to feed the fish.

Claire & Hannah Pose
Among The Rocks Of 'Secret Valley'

On Friday, our first full day of Independence, Claire and Hannah wanted to take us on a hike to one of their favorite places, "Secret Valley".


On the trail to Secret Valley

Along the way to Secret Valley is an ancient dump containing priceless hidden treasures. Brad, Peg, and Claire head up the trail trying to catch up with Amy and Hannah, while Jim lags among the rusty old cans & broken bottles.

"Hold On Guys, I Could Use Some Of This Stuff!"

Peg & Jim's Treasure Trove

In just a few minutes we found and old whiskey bottle, two pieces of melted cobalt blue glass, the embossed bottom of a Sani-Clor bleach bottle, a piece of a fancy candy dish, and old perfume bottle stopper, a nicely rusted---pre pop-top---steel Lucky Lager beer can, and a metal California license plate tag from 1952, the year of Peggy's birth.

PRICELESS, I'm Tellin' Ya!!


~Entering Secret Valley~

As we entered Secret Valley, Gracie, the matriarch of our friend's three-dog pack, took a short cut, which led to my 'find of the day'.


The Remnants Of An Antique Electric Hotplate

photo by Amy

Thank you Gracie, for leading me to this great artifact I'll be adding to the collections of...

The Earth Home Botanical & Beer Gardens

~Last Outpost Museum~

& Temple Of The Lost Civilization.


WIDE OPEN SPACE

Peggy takes in the view, looking south, from the other side of Secret Valley.


And Yes, The Sky Really Was This Blue
Looking back at boulders we climbed over on the hike out of Secret Valley.


Dallas, Cooling Off In Oak Creek
Frolicking & quenching his thirst for quite some time in this cool rushing Sierra snow melt, Dallas was reluctant to come out of the water, after our long warm hike. I'm glad I wasn't wearing that coat!

After our morning hike we drove a few miles south to the

Manzanar National Historic Site

A World War II Japanese Internment Camp

Manzanar has been partially restored and is now under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.

Below is a description from the NPS website.

"The Manzanar Interpretive Center includes 8000 square feet of exhibits, a bookstore, and theaters which show the site's award winning 22-minute film, 'Remembering Manzanar'.

Extensive exhibits span a century of history, from 1885 to the present, with a focus on the World War II relocation and internment of Japanese Americans from the west coast.

Exhibits include a large scale model of Manzanar War Relocation Center crafted by former internees, historic photographs and audiovisual programs, and artifacts. A large graphic includes the names of over 10,000 Japanese Americans who spent all or part of World War II at Manzanar."

My camera batteries died on this heart-wrenching historical excursion so I have no pictures, but I'm adding several links below so you can read about the place.

http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/manzanar1/page10.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzanar

http://www.nps.gov/manz/planyourvisit/interpretive-center.htm

http://www.manzanarcommittee.org/

~NEXT ON OUR AGENDA ~

MILLPOND MUSIC FESTIVAL

September 14th, 15th, & 16th, 2007

We all had tickets for the 3-day, Inyo Council For The Arts, Millpond Music Festival in Bishop, California.

Peggy & I came to Millpond in 2003 on our way home from The Strawberry Music Festival just outside of Yosemite, and we loved it here.

This is the first chance we've had to come back.

Here's an accurately descriptive blurb from their website.
“Millpond Music Festival brings an eclectic and fine collection of traditional and contemporary music to one of the most intimate festival surroundings imaginable. Crossing ethnic and cultural lines in a celebration of life in all its diversity, you can immerse yourself in an exotic mix of world music, surrounded by the stunning mountains at autumn's first blush.”

There were 18 acts performing over 3 days, beginnng at 6 P.M. Friday, and ending about 9 P.M. Sunday. So much is going on at the festival that I didn't get pictures of all the performers, but some of our favorites are pictured below.

Other perfromers we liked included:

IDLE HANDS BLUEGRASS BAND

WILL KIMBROUGH

INCENDIO

THE WEST AFRICAN HIGHLIFE BAND

JOE CRAVEN* & DJANGO LATINO

THE JOHN JORGENSON QUINTET

*Joe Craven is a wonderful wild man, just visit his website and put a smile on your face.

~Saturday~

Ashley Broder & Jamie Laval

"Traditional Scottish, Irish, Bretagne and bluegrass music with innovative hints of classical refinement and ethnic music from around the world."
(read more at Ashley's website)

For us, this extremely talented Celtic duo was one of the highlights of Millpond this year.
We bought their great CD, Zephyr in the Confetti Factory, and Ashley Broder even posted my photo of them on her website.

TAARKA

David Tiller and Enion Pelter-Tiller, of TAARKA, create energetic magic with their "seismic gypsy hypno-jazz" on Saturday, following Ashley & Jamie, with another crowd-pleasing performance.

Saturday Night Jam At Nina's Camp

Nina (in lavender at the right), a friend of Brad & Amy's, plays her mandolin during a sweet little jam at her Millpond campsite on Saturday night. Some very good players dropped by to sit in.
At the left of the table in the background, you can see Peggy with Claire on her lap.

More players at Nina's Jam

Another view of Nina's jam, from the opposite side of camp, catches Brad playing some of his fancy guitar licks, just before the guy in the center, playing mandolin, started belting out some great vocals---and a fine yodeler he is too!


The Horse Flies

Rich Stearns, Judy Hyman, & Jeff Claus, of The Horse Flies

Composite photo by jim otterstrom

"A band that's earned a buzz ... The Horse Flies churn out swirling, addictive songs, blending tradition with invention." -- Rolling Stone

Peggy and I came to Millpond to dance, and The Horse Flies really delivered the groove with their driving, primal---almost trance-inducing---techno-bluegrass mind-bending rhythmic jams.

HAVING THIS MUCH FUN CAN'T POSSIBLY BE LEGAL!!!

From 9 P.M. til after midnight we danced non-stop, which took us into the wee hours of Sunday, September 16th, our 28th Wedding Anniversary, and what a fantastic way to celebrate it!


Fellow Revelers Dancing To The Horse Flies

As you can see, everyone was having a helluva good time!

That's Nina again, on the left.

She hiked for 4 days, alone, out of Sequoia National Park to attend Millpond, and then hiked 4 more days back in again.

~Sunday~

The Waybacks with Joe CravenThe closing act on Sunday night, still our Anniversary, was The Waybacks, a hot band of musical prodigies with dizzying chops. Another group that had everybody on their feet!

A Happy Blurry Peggy In Dance Mode
Just Before Sundown As The Waybacks Get Started
What can I say, it's hard to focus the camera when you're dancing.
That's Claire 'dancing' with Brad on the right.

What Is She Doing With That Guy?

~Love Is Blind~

Peg & Jim In Front Of The Waybacks
~photo by a thoughtful girl in the audience~

~MONDAY~

more adventures in nature On the way to Mount Whitney Road, and a day of hiking at the edge of the Golden Trout and John Muir Wilderness areas, Claire shows me and Dallas a cave that would be perfect for us to live in.
Good Find Claire! I'm Ready To Move In...
I think I even have a door to fit it!


A Little Farther Up The Road
We saw this beat up old Desert Tortoise on the shoulder, heading for the highway, so Amy very carefully moved it across the road so it wouldn't get run over.


WHERE WE WERE HEADEDThis sign was the end of the line for Dallas, he's not allowed in Wilderness areas.

Along the Way...
Peg & Claire on a log bridge


Hannah dropping pebbles in a pool...


Brad exploring nooks & crannies...


~Coming Back Down, After The Hike~
Looking Northeast toward Lone Pine...
...and no, we're not in an airplane!



WE'RE ON THIS ROAD!!!
An adventure in itself...

...but then came

~THE ALABAMA HILLS~

One of the most breathtaking places I've ever seen.
I''ll be coming back to this spot with my camera, for maybe a week, just to explore & take pictures!
I love this photo, it's the new backgound on my computer screen.
And it's just how it came from the camera, no color enhancement.


The end of a long day...
...back at Brad & Amy's place

~Tuesday~

On The Way Home

A stop at Fossil Falls





~and then~


Back Home, Tuesday Afternoon, September 18th???

The sky was full of water-dropping helicopters...

...because

photo by Jonny-the Computer Doctor

This is what had been going on in Big Bear while we were lost in bliss in the Eastern Sierra.
The town of Fawnskin, on the north shore, was still evacuated, but no homes were lost, and the fire was pretty much contained by that time.
Glad we missed it!
Sometimes Ignorance Is Bliss!

Into The Music

Click on photo to enlarge

#10
Jamie getting into piano at Grandma & Grandpa Griers house.

Camping & Singing

Click on photo to enlarge

#13

Jamie and our friend Elizabeth working on songs to sing by the campfire during one of our camping trips to the Eastern Sierras.

The Earth Home Garden Library

Click on photo to enlarge

Even with all the thought & effort we've directed toward simple living, and reducing our consumerism, I'm still addicted to books & music, so here you see the results of a lifetime of reading & listening.
This composite of two photos shows about 2/3 of the library.

The books cover a wide range of interests including organic gardening, small scale farming, the raising & caretaking of poultry & livestock, composting, permaculture, self-sufficiency, sustainabilty, ecology, species diversity, native-plant gardening, simple living, alternative lifestyles, alternative transportation (pedal-power), human powered tools, arts & crafts, classic & contemporary literature & poetry (especially that related to ecology and a sustainable future), histories of empire building, colonization, imperialism, globalization, fascism and the corporate state, the military-industrial complex, democracy & dissent, political history, socio-economic classism, racism, religion, genocide, anarchy & survival, and practical guides on everything from primitive skills like basket weaving, acorn preparation or hand tanning hides to more contemporary manuals on carpentry, earth-friendly houses & their construction, alternative energy (such as solar & wind power) and several titles on watershed and habitat restoration.

There are also many books on healthful cooking, holistic medicine, medicinal plants & herbs, grammar & writing skills, philosophy, human sexuality, a large assortment of books on natural history, evolution, geology, biology, botany and related technical manuals, journals and field guides, Beacham's 6 volume reference guide to endangered species of North America, a 10 year collection of World Watch Institute's 'State Of The World' reports, dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, music books and more...

All in all, probably close to 1,000 hand-picked volumes which are an invaluable resource, and will be even more so if "civilization" continues on its present course, which seems highly likely.

On the music side there are over 2,000 CDs spanning nearly a century of recorded music.
A large collection of early American mountain & folk music (fiddle, banjo, classic ballads, hillbilly & cowboy music) as well as hundreds of historical folk recordings from vanishing cultures of every continent on earth, and there's country blues, delta blues, blues, r&b, cajun, reggae, jazz, big band, swing, country, western & western swing, pop, doo-wop, rock, modern jazz, classical, contemporary folk, alternative, hip-hop and contemporary world music.

Again, all hand selected during a lifetime of fascination with music (& dancing) and its historical & contemporary significance to people's lives & times.

I'm often rather self-conscious about possessing this large library of stuff, but to me it represents a lifetime of research and self-education (I'm an unrepentant high school dropout), and I like to think it might someday be treasured by a small community of like-minded folks as part of a library for their own research, education and (hopefully) home-schooling.

By the way, the couch is a second-hand freebie, the lamps were bought at a yard sale for 3 bucks each (we had to buy shades), the curtains were home-made from remnants, our musical instruments were all purchased used (except for the ukelele which we got from the local music store that was going out of business), many of the books & CDs were purchased used, the signs on the wall to the right were also freebies (found art junk Americana from defunct gas stations of the terminally ill petroleum age), the fan that cools the room in summer is 100 years old and our little cabin was hand built in 1969 by the old guy we bought it from.

Phewww!
There, I feel better now! ;~)

See what stuff does to you?
Sometimes I feel like Frodo with that damned ring!

Cheri's New Guitar...

Click on photo to enlarge

Friend and neighbor Cheri Williams playing her brand new Martin guitar for us on the deck this afternoon.
Cheri's soulful bluesy voice and tasteful rhythmic guitar are a real treat for us when she has the strength to play.
Cheri has a terminal disease of the pancreas which makes these impromptu performances even more special.
Cheri and Kenny Hamsley (see the entry below) have met only twice, but they instantly clicked, belting out several spine-tingling duets here during those two encounters.
We're working on the idea of making another CD, this time featuring duets with Kenny & Cheri, and they both would love to do that, but each has serious health problems which overshadow the scheduling of rehearsals and studio time.
So we'll just take it slow and see what happens.

Kenny, Live On The Deck...

Click on photo to enlarge

Our friend, singer & guitarist Kenny Hamsley, came over and played for us today.

The photo on the left was taken on our deck this afternoon, and, on the right, is the cover of the Georgia Boy CD I produced with Kenny in September of 2003.

I met Kenny at a bus stop in December of 2002, and, after inviting him over for dinner to hear him play & sing, I just had to get him recorded.

We recorded 18 songs (most of them in one take) during three sessions at Superchief Studios here in Big Bear at a cost of about $400.

Kenny has sold several hundred of these CDs at local clubs in the past 2 years and I was able to realize one of my lifelong dreams, to conceive, design, and produce an album with an unknown musician.

It was a great experience for both of us and the CD turned out great.

Below are the liner notes I wrote for the CD.

Kenny Dale Hamsley was born on January 6th 1953 in Unadilla, Georgia---42 miles south of Macon---where highways 41 and 230 intersect.
He was the 13th of 15 children born to Melvin and Alice Hamsley, and, at the age of 6, was given his first guitar---a gift from older brother Herman.
Kenny has 11 brothers and 3 sisters, all but one of which play musical instruments or sing, yet interestingly enough, neither of their parents were musically inclined.
Kenny's mother Alice gave birth to the first of her 15 kids when she was only 13 years old, and reached the ripe old age of 84, even after her husband Melvin died at 59, leaving her as the sole parent, and loving matriarch, of their very large family.

In his teens, Kenny fronted a 'Future Farmer's Of America' sponsored string-band, which he named the K-Hams Band, while attending Unadilla High School where he was also a notable quarterback for the Unadilla Blue Devils until 1970, when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, training to be a Navy Seal.

By the age of 22 Kenny was back with a new version of the K-Hams Band, playing all around his part of Georgia, as the band cooked up their own steaming renditions of the best 'Southern Rock' of the day, adding some original songs to the mix as well. Reveling in the music of bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, Alabama and the Doobie Brothers, the K-Hams Band worked all the local towns, including Cordele, Warner Robbins and Perry, where they were regulars at places like the Flamingo Club, The Commodore Lounge, Mount Chalet and numerous VFW halls.

Kenny also sang and played piano in church and, at his mother's insistence, performed often for the elderly at various nursing homes. "Those nursing home performances are among my best memories", Kenny said, "seeing the sparkle in the old folks eyes when we came to play for them".

Life, and the circumstances of reality being what they are, Kenny wouldn't find a lasting career in music, but he never stopped playing or sharing his rare natural talent with all who would listen. And while living in Big Bear City, California for the past two years, Kenny, when he's not pounding nails at some construction job, is still at it, gracing the front porches of a few fortunate mountain friends as he sips his vodka, plays guitar, & sings the hours into sweet oblivion.

Kenny is old school and his sensitive handling of songs by the likes of Merle Haggard, Hank Williams and George Strait can melt even the hardest of hearts, but he can pick the hell out of a guitar too, so just when you think you've had enough of them sad ol' songs, he'll lay into some old-time country pickin' or classic southern rock wicked enough to raise the dead.

Finally, after more than four decades of playing & singing, Kenny Hamsley is on CD, his first recording. I hope you enjoy this heartfelt down-home front-porch music as much as I do. Straight from the heart, this good ol' Georgia country boy, dedicates the CD to his daughter, Angelica Christina Hamsley.

What we recorded through musical kinship, is now passed along to friend and family, especially Kenny's siblings. So here's to the rest of the Hamsley clan!

Frank, Bob, Mary, Nell, Herman, Willy, Carolyn, Horace, Melvin Jr., Roy Elbert, Floyd, Larry Eugene, Ronald (Terry) and Benny (Butch).

The Infamous Stagerobbers!

Click on photo to enlarge

The infamous Stagerobbers during an impromptu bluegrass jam on the deck at Earth Home Garden until the late hours of a Saturday night.

One of those rare & beautiful moments in life where a great time was had by all and the music was phenomenal.

Thanks guys, that was a special treat and a total blast!

Mountain Monsoon Sunset

Click on photo to enlarge

A beautiful sunset closes a perfect day of desert hiking, thunderstorms, mountain bluegrass music and a bar-b-que buffet with margaritas.

The Stagerobbers In Big Bear

Click on photo to enlarge

Our friends in the The Stagerobbers bluegrass band play their second annual gig at a private ranch party here in Big Bear.

Strike Up The Band!

Click on photo to enlarge
A collection of musical instruments makes for fun possiblities on the deck this year!
This picture is posted for the inspiration and amusement of our friends in the virtual band 'Compost' at the Path To Freedom 'music' forum.