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| Gray-necked Wood Rail |
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| lft. to rt. Cheyenne, Toshi, Arapaho |
Well, it's been a while! A probable bout with Ciguatera for both Toshi and I, trying to cut my thumb off with the edge of some zinc roofing I was putting on the new horse shed (if you want to cut off a body part, I really recommend a sharp knife. Zinc roofing does an incomplete and very messy job!) all that and laziness too are my excuses. Still, this morning dawned clear and bright, the big Keel-billed Toucans were all about the place, and five beautiful Gainolas (Gray-necked Wood Rails in your bird book) cluttered the lawn in front of the veranda. They have an amazing call It's our answer to Minnesota's Loons but, if the Loons sing the Blues, the Gainolas play Bebop! And, their babies are the cutest little black fuzzballs scurrying through the brush! Here's one stealing corn from the chickens.
But, of course the real news at Toucan Bluff is still the birth of Arapaho. She's getting all the attention around here these days. Here's a picture of all three of my favorite farm girls. The photo is from yesterday (16/09/'17) and Arapaho is 9 weeks and one day old - one big, sturdy filly! Toshi claims that it's "perspective" that makes her look like a midget next to the foal, but..............
But we were supposed to be talking about music, weren't we?
Let's take a quick look at CD #2,
A Quiet Man.
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| Santos Dominguez, looking uncharacteristically posed |
As proud as I am of the songs and arrangements on
Bittersweet Dreams, for me, personally, this album is where we really find our own unique voice and hit our stride. It starts out with
The Quiet Man, Santos' and my first effort at co-writing. He came to practice one day with a keyboard riff based on a banjo riff I had showed him the week before. It was beautiful and unique so I asked his permission to fill out the chording and add lyrics. What resulted remains one of my favorite songs and one of our most unique efforts.
Belize Breeze is my tourist promotional piece for the album being a light-hearted attempt to lure you to our beaches :-).
Safe In Your Embrace is my advise on how to handle the insanity that surrounds us.
Lazy, Rainy, Sunday brings us back to a banjo based riff set in a Rag-time motif. I think its safe to say "you ain't heard nuthin' quite like this before" and I find the arrangement stunning (I know, I shouldn't say so myself but...). If the next one,
If I Told You, doesn't break your heart, you're made of stone. So, while I've got you down there, why not just leave you sloshing around a bit in the tidal surf of regret and lost loves with
Undertow? Sometimes we have to look at our mistakes and losses head-on, right in the eye. It's good for you, trust me.
When I Was A Sailor kind of plows the same ground but with a much more accepting philosophical eye - truly, an old man's perspective.
Keep It In the Groove? What can I say? Sometimes behaving ourselves just doesn't seem like the most attractive option.
Whatever Babe is where you get to when your loved one just isn't really there for you. loving someone and wanting to live with them are not always the same thing. This is also one of our strongest arrangements, based on an old Piedmont blues pattern. If you can listen To Santos" piano on this and not be awed, you must be deaf! We end with an important public service announcement. I won't say more than that. Just stay out of jail! 'til next time, D
