October, the holidays just around the corner and my birthday!! I
get my kicks at 66 this month. Rites of
passage: I had cataract surgery a couple of days ago, and I am a new member of
the bionic tribe. They took out the
damaged lenses in my eyes and put in plastic ones; like having contact lenses
inside your eyes. It is wonderful to be
seeing the world so clear and purdy without the fuss of eyeglasses or contact
lenses. Amazing times we live in.
Next week is the FARWest Conference at the
Oakland
Marriott hotel. Whee!! It has been a busy September wrapping up
preparations and next week we are going to have some fun. For attendees, there are workshops, radio
interviews, showcases, and networking opportunities. For the general public, there are evening
concerts, starting with the Pre-Conference show at the Freight
& Salvage in Berkeley on Wednesday, and followed by the Venues' Choice Concert at the
hotel on Thursday (where five venues spotlight artists they feel deserves
broader recognition. On Friday and
Saturday at the hotel, the Official
Showcases feature the winners (seven on each night) of the 2015 performing
artist competitions. The talent level
is very high and the admission prices are so cheap -- y'all come, you will not
be disappointed. Check the links for
more info, or email me.
I told you about the
Strawberry Music festival in my last newsletter, and a week after all that fun,
I had the pleasure of playing with JC
& Laney at the Monkey House in Berkeley . We had a
small but appreciative audience and had a great time. I confess I was hoping for a packed house
because they are such fine performers. I have been posting a lot of videos
from that night, so maybe next time they come to town we can bring in a bigger
audience for them. (Ah, the life of the
impresario.) Here and here are a couple of videos
from that night that are hot off the video editor.
Two weeks ago, I was at a cowboy
poetry celebration at Emandal, a farm retreat down a long gravel road in Mendocino county. Heard a wonderful
western singer/storyteller, Dave
Stamey. Here
and here
are a couple of his songs, and there are many more on Youtube. And if you haven't heard any cowboy poetry
lately here is a fun
one for you.
Played a tail gate party at Sacramento State Sonoma , on October 25th.
Life is good here and hope
the same for you. What's up?
John
Roy Zat
Croizat
Whatever
