Music is an International Language!

I had my first jam session with some of the locals on Koh Samui last night.  They were impressed with how seamlessly I was able to blend with them without knowing more than the key the song was in (yeah, I can do that).  But what impressed me- beyond the fact that they were all skilled musicians in their own right was how well we were able to communicate.  My fondest memory is when a key change came in one particular song the guitarist leaned over and said "Semitone."  We all kept playing and everything was cool.  He also called out the key to me before we started each song.

After we were done playing I tried speaking with him, and we found that neither of us knew enough of each others language to say more than "that was good...I had fun...let's do it again."  Of course those are probably the key linguistic points, but while we were playing together the energy was the same as playing with people in the states.  The key calls were in English, and really that's all that's needed to jam on a song.

Talking with the bar owner afterward I learned there are no violin teachers on Samui!  And I've talked with a couple locals with a desire to play violin.  I think a trip to a couple music education outfits is in order.

We went this Wednesday to the local bar: Mitch's. In Lafitte there is only one, and by virtue of that simple fact it is the whirlpool center of nightlife here in the bayou. For anyone following True Blood- it has the same relevance to the town as Merlotte's, except that Merlotte's is designed by studio designers, not builders who know that a hurricane is going to come wreck the place every so often. But I digress.

What was amazing about the night was there was a live band, and people of all ages were there to hear music. People my parents and grandparents age were there, drinking, listening and dancing. And it was crowded! There isn't a bar or club in Portland that has this sort of relevance to the community. I always knew it would be hard starting a band in Portland, but seeing the crowd and how closely they were listening, and how excited they were made me realize just how unappreciated local bands are in my home town. Also there was just one band, they normally stop at 10, but they played longer because the place was jumping. No 6-band bills. No 20 minute sets, no headlining for "the band that people are going to actually maybe show up for." The headline was "Come in, we've got live music tonight." And people came. This will change my life.

We have not sunk yet. But there are complaints among the crew. It has been in the high 90's and probably cracked 100 a couple times, and the humidity is stupid! I've been working through all of it. Moving stuff, prepping the warehouse to rehearse in. We moved the boat early in the week, and now it's docked right next to the ApigW (our rehearsal space is an abandoned Piggly Wiggly) and now thankfully we don't have to walk a half mile to get there each morning.

I've been able to practice a bit. But the only private space is the ApigW during 'burn time'. That's when most people nap or lie below deck because it's too hot to work. Some people say you need to suffer to be an artist. To this I say: practicing is suffering enough. Practicing outdoors in Louisiana in the hottest point of the day is unnecessary and inhumane. If there were a better way- I would do that instead, only there isn't.

The crew all have daily chores aboard the Amara Zee. I've cooked a couple times this week, and that was received very well, apart from heating up the salon on a very hot day when the AC wasn't working. After doing that once other people have grilled at least part of the meal. It's difficult cooking for 20 people. I also had the extra challenges to work with ingredients on hand when we didn't have enough money to buy food one night, but a menu of Jambalaya (chicken or veggie) with Chaote squash hit the spot for most people. I'm patting myself on the back especially since people haven't really known what to do with that squash, and we bought a barrel of them.

Weekend arrived and most of the crew took the bus from Morerro to New Orleans. Keely's husband came with a car, and he ferried the lot of us to Morerro where we caught the bus in to town. He also scored a $2-300 room at the Hilton for $115. Several of us ended up splitting it, and after a week of hot sweaty work, the comforter felt fantastic!

We walked through the French quarter in the evening. We happened to be there on red dress run day and there were many people still sporting their crimson. We met several other caravaners on Royal St where we looked in a few art galleries, had the best beer in the world, and heard some great street musicians, and then stopped at a bar and heard a little more music. It was nearly midnight and the bar closed, sadly, but this led us to the happy and amazing discovery that NO lets you walk down the street with a drink in your hand! Brilliant! Closing time meant everyone who still had a drink in their hand could get a plastic cup to take their drink with them outside.

We found a cafe for breakfast, and ended up having it partially in the rain. It was very picturesque- but the food was sub par.  After that we rented a car, packed our bags, and headed to Pensacola for a visit with some of Charity's relatives. Our plan is to return to the Amara Zee on the 19^th once rehearsals and creative things are beginning in earnest.

Welcome to the south! It's hot. All the time. If I'm not feeling dirty just from sweating, I feel it from wearing a layer of two of sunscreen and bug spray. We walked into town with the hope of checking service at the post office. The post office was closed, but the door was open and the air was cool. On the way back I got a straw hat at the piggly wiggly. It was hard buying something so ridiculously unfashionable, but in this case function has to come first.

Back on the ship we had the day mostly to ourselves. Half the crew went into New Orleans last night so the boat is quieter than usual. Charity and I cooked for the small crew that was left. We made shrimp with an eggplant dip, and we both scored some cooking points with the others. I started to clean some laundry, but it was getting dark and I couldn't find clothespins.  The water is maybe 10 degrees cooler than the air outside.  Not enough to be cold, but enough to be a nice bit of relief.  We've all jumped in a few times.

 Akira's been sleeping in the bunk.  I don't know how he does it.  It's sweltering in there!

 I've been sleeping in the salon.

A full nights rest and I am back on my feet albeit a little sluggish. I perked up though after a cup of coffee and some farm fresh eggs! One of the roosters was crowing while I showered. I washed the plane off me, and shaved and now am better able to face the world.

We three went to the dollar store and acquired a couple squirt guns and some balls to soak with water. Fun for later! When we returned to the chateau we met Anna, one of our crew mates who had arrived during the night. We went together to St Coffee on St Claude. It was amazing to me how much wreckage we passed. Ruined houses, bits of concrete that were once bases for houses, all flavors of rusted metal. Katrina was several years ago- not in the news any more and yet the affects are still very apparent. It reminds me of Philadelphia...except Philly didn't have a hurricane.

We were picked up and arrived at the Amara Zee today!

The water is lower than expected which meant a couple kinks in the docking plan. First, we're docked at a scrapyard about a half mile from our work and rehearsal site. There are two barges docked between us and dry ground because the draft of the AZ won't let us get as close to the bank at this water level. There is no water at the dock , so showers are rationed. Also the distance makes moving equipment more of a challenge. Despite that, if my band mates were here I would totally make a music video!  Pictures to come.

Once we arrived and lunch we set off to work cleaning the old Piggly Wiggly which is our rehearsal space. Properly: it WILL BE our rehearsal space once we sweep and swab the floors, which have all the detritus of years of disuse and two hurricanes. We have our work cut out for us!

Once the sun went down it cooled off a bit. The fish were jumping whole feet out of the water! I sat on deck and watched while the sun went down. Charity and I set up a tent on deck for Akira to sleep, but just as we finished putting it the lightning started. The storm passed directly overhead and we stayed out to watch. I hoped it would bring rain, but for the most part that didn't happen.

Arrival in New Orleans

I arrived in New Orleans yesterday, but I may as well have been a zombie. Three solid days of moving boxes and cleaning out my old place took their toll on my energy. Getting an hour's rest before waking up at 3:30 for a 6:00 flight didn't help either. So after arriving at around 3 in the afternoon yesterday I became a zombie shuffling around the streets of New Orleans.

Our hosts pointed us to a Thai resteraunt a few blocks away, and Charity, Akira and I walked over. It's hot and humid, but I don't really mind. I wonder if I will today having woken up properly? The air conditioning once we came inside was very welcoming, and the food was good. I tucked away a huge plate of noodles probably big enough for two, but I think my body latched on to the familiar flavors. I felt comforted as well eating real food after having eaten trail mix and almonds the rest of the day. The resteraunt didn't serve alcohol which struck me as unusual. Charity and I both wondered if this was how Louisianna does things. Our waiter clarified that no, most places serve alcohol alongside food but they'd been burned by regulations and so didn't serve it any more.

After dinner I we shuffled off to a local co-op to get some things for breakfast. It was inside a healing center building and there were some people practicing martial Tai Chi. Seeing people practice push hands made me feel more at home too. As we walked back inside the building to the co-op we saw several badassed skeleton statues including this guy!

Christian signs and symbols are everywhere and so are Vodoun. Even in business names and branding. I think "Pray to God" taxi company sends a mixed message: makes me smile, but I will probably never try them out.