Day 8 - Wild West Tour

I'm writing these posts from my phone, so if the formatting is a little off, I apologize. 

We were in Lubbock, Texas for a few days, and played a set for my sister's graduation party. Also got to finally meet my little nephews who live in Houston. Suzi loved playing with them, and the novelty of a stranger being family. 

Texas has been getting a ton of rain, so it's unusually green and lush in the otherwise arid regions. Good for us going to the desert, but lots of dangerous conditions in East and Central TX. Strange to see Lubbock so green, that's not how I remember it. 

We stopped in Lone Star Oyster Bar to play a few songs at their open jam night. The crowd dug it, and the house drummer did a nice job following our songs. They called for an encore. 

https://instagram.com/p/3GBrGKzKAi/

My high school friend Jerry Serrano, trumpet/guitar/keys/talented musician, played a few songs after us. If you're in the area check out his music. 

https://www.reverbnation.com/jerryserrano

I should also say how wonderful it is to go to my grandmother's house, the safety and predictability is an oasis from the road. I wish I could see them more than once a year at most, and I worry each time it could be one of the last. It's painful saying goodbye each time.  We spent a few hours going through old family photos, one of my favorite things to do. 

Here's one of my great grandmother, on the left:

A painting by my grandmother. 

 But anyway, this is a band blog, good as it is to see family while on tour.

We left Lubbock and drove southwest to Marfa, through the Davis Mountains on the way. I think it's about a 4-5 hour trip, but we stopped a lot to look around. Where this picture was taken, the air was thick with the fragrance of blooming flowers. 

Arriving at El Cosmico, http://elcosmico.com/ we got our tent assignment (alas, we didn't get to stay in a teepee 😭). The lobby/gift shop was full of treasures, and sweet ladies running the show. 

Our tent was across a small field, and beyond that was an outdoor community kitchen. 

The three of us unloaded our gear, made a simple dinner from our food box, and set to work putting the PA together and all of their sound equipment. 

We played that evening to an audience of locals and travelers who were staying at El Cosmico. I played bass for one set, and drums for the second set. Suzi came up a lot and played harmonica, tambourine and shaker as usual, but I noticed her working extra hard to listen to what she was contributing to the music.  During Sing Sing she turned to me and whispered "Mom, I'm trying to get the people to clap". 😊

They took this picture:

https://instagram.com/p/3M48ecEWFd/

That night was cold. So cold we slept in knit caps and our sweaters and windbreakers. No pictures of that. :-)