Not Exactly Rockin' The Casbah...

So... it's been two weeks since I ventured a blog and it's been a whirlwind of activity (not that it hasn't been a whirlwind of activity for pretty much as long as I can remember here). The weekend immediately after the last blog, in a sort of attempt to make up for not being at jazz fest, by being my own jazzfest, I took part in the first ever Petaluma Moose Marching Band... pulling my trumpet out of mothballs (actually borrowing one from the band "director") and putting it to my lips for the first time in over a dozen years. I took that horn home to my new little apartment and drove my new neighbors (and landlord) crazy while I attempted to bring my lip back out of musical atrophy and played Rebirth Brass Band over and over and over again, trying (more or less sucessfully) to figure out my 5 measures of notes for Saturday's Butter and Egg Days Parade.

Bright and early Saturday morning I joined my partners in crime at the Moose Lodge and picked up my music from band leader Michael Whitley who must have thought he was insane taking on this raggedy bunch of wastrel musicians into a public venue. Michael was a great director; patient, attentive, creative, and most of all lacking in any big expectations. At the bottom of my music sheet ran the words, "PLAY ANY NOTES YOU WANT." It was good of him to give me that sort of permission since what I was actually playing was more or less beyond my control. What was really amazing was that while we all waited for the parade to start Michael started vamping on "Low Rider" and when the band picked it up, I was right there along with 'em.

The fact is the parade was an absolute joy to be a part of, not only because I was getting the chance to play trumpet for the first time in decades, but also because the celebration of Petaluma's 150th anniversary (an all year event you're bound to hear more about in the coming months) was a nice thing to be a part of; a chance to settle into this place that, over the last couple of years has become quite unexpectedly (and more or less against my will) a real home to me. As much as I have fought it throughout most of my life, finding my place in this little Northern California town has brought me a centeredness and a joy that I was not really sure that I would ever find.

Happy Birthday P-Town!

I STILL Know What It Means...

If I was in my adopted hometown, right about now I'd be making my way to the Cafe Du Monde booth for my iced Cafe Au Lait (with coffee made with chicory)and my first Beignets of the weekend. The liklihood is that I would have already begun my morning with a mind-blowing Bloody Mary at Liuzza's before even entering the gates of the New Orleans Fairgrounds and Racetrack... because this morning starts the Holy Grail of music and culture for anyone with a penchant for jazz, blues, roots, or other "American" music... It's JazzFest Time in New Orleans!

For the next 10 days music and food will reign even more supremely than usual in The Crescent City. People will wander around in dust and/or mud, they'll gorge themselves on foodstuffs both wonderful and peculiar (or wonderfully peculiar). People at the fairgrounds, in their homes, and on the street will eat more crawfish than people elsewhere can even imagine exists. All of this will go on accompanied by the incessant drumbeat and lilting melody of music wafting out of every nook and cranny. New Orleans exists both for and because of this incredibly rich mixture of food and culture (not to mention food culture) and despite all of the strange, horrible, and frustrating realities that accompany The Big Easy (both now and from long ago), this is the reason people will ALWAYS return!

You can read some of my previous posts on JazzFest here and here at SpeakLo, and you can catch the fever for yourself by tuning into the Best Radio Station In The World and at the Jazz Fest site itself.

Of course the best thing to do is GO! There really is no other way to truly capture the amazing mixture of people, food, and culture - the incredibly rich tapestry that is New Orleans - than to spend the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May festing with the best of em.

See ya'll next year! Have some mudbugs 4 me!

The Biggest Day

It's been two weeks since my daughter got married at Fort Mason in San Francisco on April 5th. It's been even longer since I wrote a blog, but those two realities have been related. After my adventure of Opening Day in Oakland my parents and my sister and brother in law hit town in preparation for the big event.

The wedding was truly wonderful. It was the perfect combination of the life that Jen and Andy live, the friends and families that they bring together and the meaningful, hopeful, lovingly playful spirit that is them, and in them, wherever and however they seem to be. In this way, the party after (and the wonderful vegetarian dinner that accompanied it) was more significant, and more about them, than all the rest (though the rest was great).

One of the best moments for me was the "Dad and Daughter Dance" that I got to share with Jen, as Paul Simon sang Father and Daughter playing off the iPod I borrowed for the occasion from my friend Steve. We started out with Jen dancing on the tops of my shoes like she did when she was little, talked and laughed as the dance went on, and ended with "eskimo, butterfly, and ear whacks." Likely the last time I will get to play that silly goodnight game with the little girl that has always been the true light and center of my life.

Ironically, just a few days before the wedding I moved into a new house - a new place to begin a new life - something that feels perfectly timed and perfectly right. As Jen and Andy (or Jandy as the photographer called them) move out into their new life together, I am myself starting a new life of my own. Life changes every day (some days more than others) and we find our life's meaning in those moments in between.

It was a wonderful wedding; it was a beautiful day... Congratulations Mr. and Ms. Park.

New Park and Park Classic

You're Never Too Old For Opening Day

I'm 53 years old. I was born in Cincinnati, grew up in South Florida where the Braves always had spring training and went to a church where they always came each year for "Father and Son Dinner." For the last 30 years I've lived in the SF Bay Area where both the Giants and the As play and I've been to maybe a total of 10 Major League Baseball games in my whole life.

I've NEVER been to opening day... until today!

This evening in Oakland, Karen's As will play Zach's Red Sox and I'll be sucking up hot dogs. peanuts, cracker jack, and beer with the best of them. I'll salute the flag and sing the national anthem, stand and sing "Take Me Out" in the 7th inning stretch and WHISPER "Manny Manny" when he comes up to bat (I am with an As fan after all!)


It's OPENING DAY OF BASEBALL SEASON and I'm as excited as a little kid!

The Tide Is Turning

Okay... I know that my YouTubing is getting out of hand, and I really wish I could stop it... BUT there is so much good stuff being sent out into the cyber-universe right now that it's really hard to control myself.

This piece, put together by producer and huffpo contributer, Bob Cesca, is the latest example of this wonderful phenomenon. Combining Obama's recent speech with an old Roger Waters tune from Radio KAOS it brought tears to my eyes within the first fifteen seconds.

I've said it before, and I'm planning on saying it over and over and over (so get used to it) between now and November... THIS IS WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT.

We, as a country and a people, have suffered through so much wrong headedness, presidential laziness, lies, and hubris during the last eight year the newness, the dream, and THE CALL to a new way of being goes over me like a soothing ointment and a soft massage, and it sets me up to put my body, my self and my future on the line.

I LOVE FEELING LIKE THIS... I actually have HOPE again and it calls me - like all hope should - to change myself too.