Hello all! Back at work after a lovely mini-vacation, and I thought I would post my mini-fest report. Julius and Barb (my best friend) and I landed in the airport on Thursday night, then drove to Santa Monica. The next day, we picked up Paz and Nikki at LAX, and we were off to lovely downtown Anaheim for the NAMM convention, where we got some passes and went in. It was like walking into some sort of heavy metal hell, but since I am from the wrong side of the tracks, I fit right in. Long hair, much piercing, a large amount of black hair dye, you get the picture. Julius and Barb and I went in through the back, where we were lucky enough to see Ted Nugent and his entourage pulling up to go in to the show. This was just one of the many fabulous celebrity sightings we encountered, along with CC Deville from Poison, the Misfits signing autographs, Steve Vai (he touched Barb's arm!) and so on. We hung out at the show, then later we all went back to our hotel suite and played guitar and had cocktails and relaxed. The next day, it was a whirlwind trip to Disneyland for my b-day, which was everything I ever expected. We had a great time there, while the rest of the folks hung out at the NAMM show. Later that night, we went to the All-Star Guitar show, which included a performance by Dogstar, Keannu Reeves' band. THey were surprisingly quite good! Keanu actually can play the bass, not to mention he's FOXY! After that I got to hear not only the fabulously talented Kate Bennett play, but also her very talented husband Jeff, quite a musician in his own right. We had alot of fun just hanging out in the JMDL suite and hammering out songs. Sunday was definitely the kicker, though. We arrived at Kakki's in LA a little late, after getting turned around (Paz and I went a few rounds, he learned the meaning of "cat scratch fever" for sure). Finally our fantastic driver Julius delivered us to the door of much music, food and beverage. It was amazing to hear a dulcimer live, it really is an incredible instrument. Steve Dulson and his wife Michelle are truly delightful people. Coyote Rick became an instant pal (yes, it was us that left that mystery message). He is not only funny, but also handsome as I am sure you have seen in the pics. It was great to finally meet Kate after emails and listening to her cd. Phyllis, who happily sang from the back of the room but wouldn't get in front of the mike...it was great to meet you! Darice made me a yummy cheesecake for my birthday, so thank you Darice. It was great to meet you, too. Clark, after hearing everyone rave about your CD it was so nice to finally hear your stuff! I enjoyed your performance. THE MUSIC! Kakki's friend Scott really added to the mix, and we messed around with a lot of CSN stuff. it was all great, except for the songs I tried to play guitar on. ;-) i'm way outta practice. I have to go home now. I hope i didn't forget anyone! Anyone considering coming to New York for Lahm's suggested get together, please don't hesitate. It really is just as FANTASTIC as it sounds. Whew! Far and away my longest post ever... alison e. in nyc Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/
