Greetings!
Our travels find us within a month of returning to home
territory on the west coast, and actually seeing our own little cottage in
Oregon for the first time since we purchased it in February. Whoever said that
the only thing that’s constant is change was pretty wise. Many of us have
experienced sad changes over the past few months and we have shared your
sorrow. Luckily, springtime in the southwest is such a season of optimism and
renewal that we are encouraged to make the most of our days and appreciate all
the goodness we encounter. We hope you navigate all of your springtime changes
with hope and happiness and a renewed awareness of our affection for you. ~
Brian & Andi
Wish You Were Here
On this our tenth visit to Albuquerque, one might wonder what is left for us to do that we have not already done. Plenty, actually, but we rectified one glaring omission this year with a trip to the famed Acoma Pueblo. Also referred to as Sky City for its location on the top of a 400-foot mesa, Acoma lies approximately 60 miles west and a bit south of Albuquerque. About a dozen families live on top of the bluff full time while others who dwell below only inhabit the upper pueblo during special ceremonial times. Sky City may be visited only by tour and the group we joined was led by a young fellow called Brandon (or “Turtle”). A short bus ride took us up onto the mesa from which we could view the surrounding golden desert dotted with dusty green pinyon and cedar, and broken by other jutting sandstone monuments. In the distance were faint blue mountains, including Mount Taylor (pictured below next to Turtle). People have inhabited this mesa for at least 1000 years and the structures are now a mix of somewhat modern and more traditional building styles. Brandon gave us a tremendous amount of information about the Acoma people as he walked us down dusty lanes, past outdoor mud brick ovens, to scenic viewpoints overlooking barely perceptible agricultural fields, past the one cottonwood tree (jokingly dubbed “Acoma National Park” by residents) and to outdoor tables where locals sold their wares – mostly pottery with traditional geometric designs. A few people sold fruit pies or fry bread – who could resist? Good thing we were allowed to hike the nearly vertical stairs back down to the bottom of the bluff at the conclusion of the tour. The fine visitor center where we purchased our tour tickets also featured a movie room, museum, café, gift shop and more skilled vendors offering lovely pottery. A memorable Albuquerque side trip, to be sure.
Life on the Road
Concerts have been a large part of our life on the road for
about eight of the last ten years, but only on Native flute and percussion.
Lately, we have had a hankering to try out some of our original ukulele songs
in public under our everything-but-Native-flute-and-percussion alias of
“
Wayside View”. Beginning last fall, we have taken advantage of open mic nights
in several cities. The first were in Port Townsend and Edmonds, Washington,
followed by Newport, Oregon and now we have done three in Albuquerque. The
usual scenario is that an open mic host comes rushing into the restaurant, bar,
brewery or coffee shop (slightly late), sets up some type of PA system plus a
microphone or two, and puts out a signup sheet. The host will often play a
couple of songs to get things going before turning it over to the assembled
talent. We have taken to choosing the third performance slot and by then the
audience is prepared to listen (if they are going to be inclined to listen at
all, which is not always the case.) Every host we have met has been extremely
nice, as have the other performers. We have heard poetry, guitar, rap, comedy,
stories, original songs, bamboo flute, political commentary – you name it. We have
rigged up our ukes with electronic pickups so they can be heard and we usually
play two to four tunes. And how have audiences responded to our open mic
contributions? So far, so good.
Coffee Chat
It is a fairly rare occurrence for us to run into familiar
faces in Albuquerque, so imagine our surprise when we were walking to the
Fitness Center on the Air Force base and a voice from behind inquired, “Aren’t
you the BusRoads duo?” We turned to see a young man who reintroduced himself as
a former campground neighbor in Key West several years ago. We chatted merrily
in the parking lot, happy to share fond memories and current stories. It was an
unexpected and pleasant reunion.
Did You Know?
After our most recent open mic performance, a lady asked us
how we identified our musical genre and offered a suggestion: Trop Rock.
Although we had never heard the term before, we immediately knew that it meant
tropical rock and evidently it is a recognized but relatively new style.
Wikipedia defines Trop Rock as “a genre of popular music that incorporates
elements and influences of contemporary folk music, rock and roll, reggae,
country music, caribbean, Calypso music and zydeco, with themes and musical
compositions inspired by an island style that represent a way of life that is
relaxing, exotic and full of tropical cocktails.” What a delightful concept!
Now Hear This…
If you have listened to us play you have probably already
heard this song, but one of our originals that seems to exemplify the Trop Rock
concept is “Island Sun.” You may listen to it and other tunes at this link:
www.ReverbNation.com/waysideview
Springtime in the Southwest
Thanks for sticking with us. Next month, a report about the "new" house!
On this our tenth visit to Albuquerque, one might wonder what is left for us to do that we have not already done. Plenty, actually, but we rectified one glaring omission this year with a trip to the famed Acoma Pueblo. Also referred to as Sky City for its location on the top of a 400-foot mesa, Acoma lies approximately 60 miles west and a bit south of Albuquerque. About a dozen families live on top of the bluff full time while others who dwell below only inhabit the upper pueblo during special ceremonial times. Sky City may be visited only by tour and the group we joined was led by a young fellow called Brandon (or “Turtle”). A short bus ride took us up onto the mesa from which we could view the surrounding golden desert dotted with dusty green pinyon and cedar, and broken by other jutting sandstone monuments. In the distance were faint blue mountains, including Mount Taylor (pictured below next to Turtle). People have inhabited this mesa for at least 1000 years and the structures are now a mix of somewhat modern and more traditional building styles. Brandon gave us a tremendous amount of information about the Acoma people as he walked us down dusty lanes, past outdoor mud brick ovens, to scenic viewpoints overlooking barely perceptible agricultural fields, past the one cottonwood tree (jokingly dubbed “Acoma National Park” by residents) and to outdoor tables where locals sold their wares – mostly pottery with traditional geometric designs. A few people sold fruit pies or fry bread – who could resist? Good thing we were allowed to hike the nearly vertical stairs back down to the bottom of the bluff at the conclusion of the tour. The fine visitor center where we purchased our tour tickets also featured a movie room, museum, café, gift shop and more skilled vendors offering lovely pottery. A memorable Albuquerque side trip, to be sure.
