Me & Pirates in San Fran 2005
In 2005 I decided it was time to take my convertible, guitar and albums and head west on tour. I researched venues for several months prior to departure and with the help of friends and a few booking agents, put together a solo tour from Austin to California and back. I crammed a suitcase full of clothes, my guitar and PA system, a road atlas and a few boxes of CDS into my little Mitsubishi Spyder put the top down and hit the road in late July and returned home at the end of August. I hadn’t arranged many places to stay and I wasn’t sure what I would do exactly and was waiting on some gigs to come through, but it was time I took the leap of faith and went westward.
It was exhilarating and addictive to be alone on the open highway for so long. I trusted that all would be fine and that I would be safe. I performed in all sorts of places, rustic saloons, wine bars, restaurants, cafés, mountain lodges, house concerts in San Fran high rises, fire circle gatherings. . .
I met amazing new friends, saw brilliant landscapes in full panoramic view, mountains, deserts, canyons, forests and oceans . . . I nursed a broken heart through every landscape and cloud formation. . I turned the music up loud and let the wind blow my hair to tangles. I pulled over to stand jaw agape in my car at rainbows that arched over the highway, felt the rain and tears drip down my cheeks in the sweet desert air.
The Historic El Rancho Hotel
I awoke one morning at the Historic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup New Mexico and went down to the city center to watch the Gathering of Nations parade, Native Americans from across The Americas in ceremonial attire, dancing traditional dances singing and playing traditional instruments . . . That same day I drove through Arizona all the way to Tempe to perform and then proceeded to get in my car and drive to San Diego through the night. I drove from Jackson Hole Wyoming to Sacramento over a 20 hr period and accidentally took a wrong turn in Idaho and had to take an alternative route through a very beautiful and rarely traveled mountain road full of winding rivers, Indian Reservations and some of the most gorgeous rock formations . . . I hiked in the Colorado Rockies, through the vast and magnificent red Canyonlands of Utah. I watched helplessly with a dear friend from Louisiana in LA as hurricane Katrina blew into New Orleans. . . I watched the sunrise morning after morning on the tops of the Redwood trees after dancing a fire circle to the most entrancing drumming one could imagine. . .
There’s something so intangible and liberating about traveling alone that long and far. Even though I was blessed by the companionship of amazing new and old friends at each stop, the road was all mine and mine alone. It was magic.
Though I’ve been out west since 2005, I haven’t made the trek beyond the sweet Mountains of New Mexico. I’m thrilled to be heading back out this summer. . . This time with a new album in tow, years of experience, new routes to travel and with Chad Pope as my traveling companion. . . and his son, Brandon will be joining us for the first 10 days of tour on his first journey into the mountains, plains and canyons of the west.
On this tour, I’ll share a blog of photos, movies and words. . . I also intend to practice yoga in each destination along the way. . . I’ll be sharing a little yoga journal with you too. . . Stay Tuned. . .
