Licorice
During the layover in Iceland on my way home from UK tour I was very excited to visit the duty-free shop and buy lots of Icelandic licorice (or liquorice, as it is sometimes written). As I sat at the gate happily munching away I recalled how complete disgusted I was by the stuff when I was a child, and reflected on how it’s now one of my favorite candies. Did the change happen suddenly or gradually? It doesn’t matter. The point is, people change, tastes change, you change, sometimes suddenly and sometimes so slowly you don’t notice it’s happening until years after it’s happened.
I’m in a bit of a hurry today as I’ve only been home a couple days and I’m leaving again tomorrow so this may be a relatively short one. But there are some fun surprises in store for you–
– Upcoming Tour Dates
– Highlights from UK Tour
– New Corn Potato Music Videos!
– Book Report
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
with Corn Potato Duo (Lewis/McCaw)
Sep 13 – Binghamton, NY – House Concert
Sep 14 – New York, NY – House Concert
Sep 15 – Housatonic, MA – Brick House Pub
Sep 16 – Albany, NY – House Concert
Sep 19 – Naples, NY – Roots Cafe
with Corn Potato String Band
Sep 20 – Harrisburg, PA – Fort Hunter Barn/Susquehanna Folk Music Society
Sep 21 – Frenchtown, NJ – ArtYard
Sep 22 – Wanakena, NY – Town Gazebo
Sep 23 – Sprakers, NY – Rocky Top Concert Series
with Emergency Bluegrass System
Sep 28 – Alpena, MI – Thunder Bay Folk Festival
Oct 10 – Chicago, IL – Winter’s Jazz Club
Oct 11 – St. Louis, MO – The Focal Point wsg Ethan Leinwand
Oct 12 – Des Moines, IA – Des Moines Performing Arts and Civic Center
Oct 13 – Randall, IA – Ragtime in Randall Festival
Oct 14 – Minneapolis, MN – James Street House Concert
Oct 16 – Madison, WI – The Brink Lounge
Oct 17 – Bloomington, IN – Player’s Pub wsg New Hoosier Broadcasters
Oct 19 – Flint, MI – Churchill’s
Oct 20 – Peninsula, OH – G.A.R. Hall
and then I will be at the Banjo Gathering in Bristol, TN/VA Nov 1-4 and I think I am performing at some point during a concert there…
Nov 11 and 29 I will play in Toronto with Lindsay at The Local and in between those dates we will be in Hawaii with Roochie Toochie for the Kauai Old Time Gathering.
Nov 30 I will play with Kyle Rhodes at the Ann Arbor Distillery 7-9.
And I should be able to send another update by then.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM UK TOUR
At Bunkfest in Wallingford we saw Pure Queen, aka the best Queen tribute band ever. Stayed one night on a boat across from Windsor Castle. Went swimming in the sea at Freshwater East, in Wales. Saw The Winter’s Tale at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Went on lots of nice walks along rivers. Played a great square dance in Richmond, London, with Rachel Eddy and Suzanne Ambrose joining in on guitar and bass. Ate American-style BBQ that was better than anything I ever thought I’d have in the UK in Barry, Wales. Stayed in a couple of medieval houses across the country. Played a bunch of sold out shows and great festivals and really played our best and visited with many of our favorite people in the world, old friends and new.
NEW CORN POTATO MUSIC VIDEOS!
I should really string these out but we have three new ones from our UK tour that are all great, especially this first one, shot and edited by John Breese Films. It’s our own version of Trombone Slide, which came to us by way of Curly Miller, RIP, of The Old 78’s, originally recorded by the State Street Ramblers in the 1920’s.
If you watched that a few times and you’re still thirsty for more, here are two videos from our performance at the most wonderful Didmarton Bluegrass Festival — Russian Rag and I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes. I will try and remember to post these on FB too, but not while I’m driving or performing, so not for a while.
BOOK REPORT
I can’t remember the last book I finished but I just started two books about islands. The first one, Aku-Aku, is written by Thor Heyerdahl (of Kon-Tiki fame) and covers his exploration and excavations of Easter Island. So many mysteries around that place and he dives right in. Chapter Two covers the extensive and terrifyingly narrow and dangerous underground cave systems of the island, which people used for refuge to hide from colonial invaders and from each other during times of war.
The other book is more contemporary, a recently published history of the colonization of Hawaii by Sarah Vowell entitled Unfamiliar Fishes. It’s very informal in tone and comes across like having coffee with a very well-informed friend with a sharp sense of humor who also cares deeply about the subject matter. I figured I should learn a little bit about Hawaii before I make my first trip over there in November, and this seems as good a place to start as any.
ALL FOR NOW
Thanks for tuning in. As always, come see me at a show, say hi, and if you can’t make it send some friends out in your place! See my website music page for free streaming music all the time. I hope you have a lovely end of summer and beginning of fall, my favorite season.
Until next time,
Aaron
P.S. If for any reason you don’t want to receive these e-mails just write and let me know and I’ll take your name off. I don’t want to spam people so if you want off just let me know and it shall be done.