Summer of touring, teaching, and getting married!

It has been quite the eventful summer to say the least!  We had another successful round of the School of Groove in July and again in August with my fellow teacher and organizer, Michelle Cormier.  It was great to see how much the students can learn in a week and we had a lot of fun - despite the heat!

July kicked into touring time for me, as I hit the road with Tambura Rasa on a trek across B.C. to play at the South County Fair.  We had plenty of adventures, including going down a logging road in search of hot springs with giant logging trucks barreling at us the other way (we later discovered the correct road...).  Thunderstorms in Fernie before our show left the entire town without electricity until an hour before we started.  Props to The Royal in Fernie for taking care of us amidst the storm.  The crowd at South County Fair were with us the whole way, and chilling in the hammocks under the stage before our set was pretty sweet.  

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I came home for a day, then departed for the next leg of the journey with Bocephus King and coompany on our way across B.C. to Kispiox Valley Music Festival.  We had plenty of good music listening - including Tom Waits new album, which is quite something.  And managed to find a delicious noodle house in Prince George which we stopped at both on the way up and the way back.  We got to chill on Mark Perry's horse farm in Smithers before the festival and stare out at snow-capped mountains while jamming on the porch.  The festival itself was a blast with plenty of opportunities to collaborate.  Liron Man, Joanna Chapman-Smith, C.R. Avery and Shara from Mamaguroove all ended up on stage with us by the end of our Saturday night set for a musical experience you can only get at festivals like this!  We then crossed through the rest of B.C. on our to the Kootenays for a outdoor bash kootenay style.  Jerry Garcia's birthday on one of the coolest stages I've ever played, decked out to the nines with an amazing double decker bus parked nearby.  Ainsworth hot springs the next day restored us all and we rolled home in good humour.

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Wedding preparations were in full swing and the day of the wedding couldn't have been better.  So sweet to be surrounded by loved ones and celebrating our union on a cloudless summer day!

Bless and I then rolled down the Oregon coast and into Portland for a honeymoon full of good food, wine, hot tubs, and plenty of relaxing.  Oh, and lots of coffee drinking and clothes shopping in Portland.  No tax rocks!

Next stop.....

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