Well, this past weekend was another Apollocon.  Two years ago I met my singing partner (Sundara) in a filkcircle there...and now we've performed in concert each year since then!  Last year author Steven Brust joined us on a song (playing the dumbek (sp?)) This year Amy McNally was the Music guest of honor and she played several  songs with us in our concert.  (sqeee!!!)
  It was a fun weekend and I hate to return to the mundane world again after spending the weekend with all the great people at the con!

well,
We've been really looking forward to performing this year at the CMA Beltaine...apparently so have the rain-gods!!!   hoping against hope, Patti and I got out there Thor's Day evening and set up. Sundara and her guy were already there and setting up the pavilion we had for the band.....and everything looked great...there was a chance of rain (60%)  but I figured we were beating the odds....no such luck...started raining Frey's day morning really early...was intermittant all day...finally about 3 or so it stopped and we were able to get our equipment to the "Plan B" stage (the main stage was not usable because of the weather.  we were featured band so the other band went first...and took 30 minutes to set up the sound mics and started much later than they should have....and played out their entire planned playlist.. We were supposed to play an hour (from 7:15 to 8:15)  but we didn't get to start until nearly 8:00....we did finish just before 9:00, which was when the main ritual was scheduled, so we didn't lose audience to that starting....and we actually had a good number in the audience despite the rain.
   Our show was well received and we actually sold a couple CD's after it.

On the down side,  our tent was in a river every time it rained...we do have a good tent with "bathtub'  flooring in three of the rooms (center room is just a removeable tarp floor which is nice in non wet conditions.   we had a few seams that neead to be waxed to prevent the seepage that we got....our bedroom was dry..but we just didn't enjoy the constant wet, so after the performance last night, we took some stuff and took off to go home to sleep (we're only 45 minutes from Spirit Haven)  (we had actually had to have the truck towed out of the parking area to the road because the ground turned to mush, but they had a tractor doing that for people)  we went back today to pack our stuff up, but discovered that we couldn't get across the small creek that flowed across the main road in!  have to wait for the water to subside (depth went from about 2 feet to 8ft overnight....was over the road too deeply to even wade thru.   I had planned to sit in our booth and jam with other musicians today..but that didn't work out.  Sundara was caught on the other side of the creek, so she's been cooped up in the big Main Tent area or in her tent.   

Our next gig is a coffee house May 9th, we will be  1) indoors  2) not camping 3) Dry!   
The Highland games the following weekend will be indoors too...so we won't repeat this kind of problem for a good while.

Well, it's hard to believe, but this Friday (the 13th) will mark exactly one year since my father passed away. :(
I only mention this because I made the statement that I needed to write a song for him, and I think that more than a year would be a cop out on my part...as it is this is cutting it fine.  One should realize by that last statement that I have come up with a song for him.
    Now it gets convoluted.  I was thinking about him this morning and then about the song that I sang at Gafilk.  Chimes was probably my father's favorite song of all the songs I wrote.  He requested I sing that song nearly every time I saw him...up until the last time too.  Now, because i was thinking about his death, as the words to Chimes ran through my mind, I realized that the song could take on an entirely different meaning by changing a few words, and adding another verse...well after writing the extra verse, I realized that if i changed the original last verse, it would be even better....so what could be more appropriate?  My tribute to my father...an adaptation of his favorite song of mine!  

Chimes Revisited

(words and music ©2009 by Berdene C. Foye)

 

The chimes in the steeple they ring out for me
They tell me I’d best be movin’ on

  But I don’t pay them heed, ‘cause I don’t see the need

Why can’t I stay right here?

 

The birds in the trees, they sing out at me

They tell me I’m wasting my time

But I disagree ‘cause I’m living for me

And I’m doing just what I want.

 

But Times will change,

And like the wind I’ll be gone

The People around me, they want me to stay

They all know I’ll soon be  movin’ on.

But I don’t want to go, ‘cause I love this place so

But soon I will be on my way

 

My life is now behind me: so full and rich and grand

Loving faces everywhere I turned

But I hope I’ll not forget all those people I met

As I go on my way

 

The Chimes in the steeple, they ring out for Dad
They tell me he’s gone far away.

But I’ll never forget the things he did, and yet

I wish he was still here today.

 

                          

 

Current Location: home
Current Mood: melancholy

Patti and I celebrated one year of being together last week...and what a year this has been.

for the last couple months it seems I've been going non-stop. 
We went to Gafilk in January and had a blast.  the drive up wasn't too bad...we stopped in Mongomery for the night at my brother's going up thursday night, so we were only a couple hours out from the hotel in Atlanta on Friday...no rush and were able to sleep in Friday morning with no rushing ...got to the hotel and had time to even shower the road grime off before anything started.  the whole weekend was fantastic...too much happened to list ..but everyone we talked with and sang with and just hung out with was great :)   monday, we hung around until nearly noon, getting loaded up...then took a leisurely drive north to Winder (where my sister lives)  getting there after she got home from work.  We had a nice  visit and then went to bed...getting up before everyone on Tuesday to drive back home, so we could get there  early enough for Patti to get some sleep (she had to work a 12 hour shift at the hospital on Wednesday).  
    Almost Immediately upon returning to texas, I started packing up stuff and moving it to Columbus (tx).  We decided that since we were together every day, we might as well be in one place, and since I lived in an Apartment, on which the lease was up February 1st, I moved my stuff to her place. that gave us 3 weeks to get everything moved and the apartment cleaned...and she works every other weekend...so it was mostly me packing and moving stuff...except the  bookcases and piano...and other big items which we loaded together on the trailer and hauled over.  Of course, since i'm a packrat, I had far too much stuff to fit into her 3 bedroom house...so i rented a storage unit nearby...which we've filled with a lot of stuff we'll have to sort thru and get rid of what we can.  The house itself is now (the last week of February) looking like  an integrated home again instead of boxes everywhere.
   I didn't get to go to ConDFW this year because of a few reasons...the main being that Patti had to work...and we'll be going up to Dallas two weekends later for The North Texas Irish Festival.  with the move and other expenses, two hotel stays in three weeks would break the bank, i'm afraid. 

Ghost of a Rose has been performing quite a bit now....and more to come!   We had a performance at a small Celtic Festival in the Heights weekend before last....full hour and it went well. 
Patti videoed it..but the sound quality of the camera sucks big time, so there won't be any postings of those on you tube. We MAY be playing at a St. Patrick's Day celebration in Katy at a Pub there, but we haven't heard for certain yet at this posting. The next definite performance is at the Council of Magickal Arts Beltaine Celebration in Cistern in April.  We are supposed to be playing on the Celidh Stage at the Houston Highland Games in May, but  that is also unfinalized.  then in June we'll be at Apollocon...where it all started in 2007!!!
   We have a myspace site now...even have one of the songs from our CD posted (the one Sundara wrote)
http://www.myspace.com/ghostofarose2007 

I've been introducing my lady-friend to the various festivals and cons that I go to...took her to a fairly good sized SCA function where we camped for the weekend. She is enjoying the heck out of it. (she said it's like renfaire, but more participatory!) She has also become my roadie when I have a gig to play...helps cart my equipment...and set it up and take it down!  We had been planning to go to the Baron of Stargate's Yule revel last weekend (It would have been her first feast) and then on Monday I got contacted by Hugh Morrison, asking if I was available to play a gig in Galveston with him and another musician...and I was Immediately thrown into a dilemma...I've been to many feasts...but never have I performed at Galveston's Dickens-On-the-Strand. I wanted to play...but also knew Patti was looking forward to the feast.  When I told her about Hugh's request...she said "there's no dilemma...you go to Dickens"!!  of course, she went along and got to go to the festival, so it wasn't a complete bust for her! LOL

There is a small festival called "Lights in the Heights" this next saturday.  Ghost of a Rose was contacted to play (we get 45 minutes of a 4 hour event in one of the stages) and Patti is really disappointed that she can't go because she is working. And to make it doubly disappointing, Hugh wants us to join him in his stage after we play  our set. ...so we are going to have a busy evening...and she doesn't get to go at all.  *sigh* 

anyway...she is looking forward to Gafilk next month, and condfw in Feb.  I've created a monster!
:-)

Current Location: home
Current Mood: hyper
Current Music: Live at CMA Samhain (Ghost of a Rose)

I have found that Fencon has too much going on at the same time!  not that this is really bad, but it means that I HAVE to make tough decisions...do I go to Bland Lemon and the Lemonade's concert, or "House vs. God" ....things like that.  I found myself pretty much only doing Music/filk related stuff.  ...but then, that's what I like about Fencon.  other cons have other emphasis so that makes each one unique.  of course a filk oriented con like gafilk makes me crazy  because I want to go to everything, and not miss anything!!!  anyway....I thoroughly enjoyed Fencon this year and was very happy about our concert.  it went even better than I'd expected.  

10 years ago I had lost the spark that made me WANT to play and sing.  Things were not going well at home and I just kinda pulled into a shell, and the fact that the kids and my wife who had always been an enthusiastic audience no longer seemed interested.....so I just quit playing.  Once in a while I would get out my guitar and plunk a tune for a short time..but then I just put it away. ...moved on to other interests.
then in 2004 I started going to SF/Fantasy Cons again. It was the Hurricane Rita Evacuation that made the difference in my reawakening.  Even though I rarely played anymore, to me my guitars are irreplaceable, so I threw them in my trunk before heading for Fencon, to have them safely with me, not to play.  Upon my arrival at Fencon, I ran into an acquantance of mine who was practicing on her guitar (Teresa Patterson) she was having trouble pushing the strings of her guitar down with her longer than normal nails and I offered to let her use my nylon string guitar for her concert, as the strings would be easier to push down.  ....while she was trying my guitar out, I held hers and played along with her as she practiced....causing her to ask me to help her out and play for her.  That was my introduction to Filking...and I dove in the deep end!!!  filk circles and the musical programming at the cons became more important. 
        Last year at Apollocon, I met Sundara in the Saturday night filk...after singing several songs together that night...I asked if she'd be interested in forming a duo and singing together more formally.That was the start of Ghost of a Rose...We performed together for SCA feasts and bardic circles...played a concert at Fencon  and played several times at orther places around houston.  Last May we went to CMA;s Beltaine and played in one of the dealer's booths for our enjoyment and that of passerby's...and got to talk with the entertainment people for the event.  As of this week we've been offered our own time slot on the stage for the Samhain celebration in October. I feel revitalized.
    Back in June, I went to the ceileigh for the Houston Highland games and got to jam and sing with some of the performers.  One of them, an accordianist named Hugh Morrison asked me if I would be interested in playing with him when he had small gigs that needed only 2 or 3 performers...I was high on it!!  I've played a couple parties with him and I'm having the time of my life!  
    I've had Heather Alexander approve of a parody I wrote of one of her songs...and play it with me in filk circle.  I've jammed in a private room party with Steven Brust, Emma Bull, and David Lee Anderson  Sat next to Leslie Fish, and Robert Asprin as they sang filk,    I've had Graham and Becca Leathers sing with me in concert when they were Guests at Apollocon, I sang together with Steve Macdonald when he was guest there there too.  Just this past June Sundara and I had Steve Brust join us in our concert on one of our songs....these are things I can't believe have happened...but they have!!!  going to Gafilk and meeting all the filkers from around the country was fantastic...so many more things i could say...but to sum it up....without hurricane Rita...this would likely never have happened. 

These past 4 years have given me new friends, new music and a new lease on life.

Way back (mmumbbl) years ago when getting camping equipment, we got an Igloo cooler,  and pretty much stayed with igloo when it and its successor wore out.  before disposing of them as lost causes, hinges, drainplugs and latches were replaced a few times....and one of the great things was that the main Igloo factory was located within 10 miles of where I lived in Katy, Tx (it was on the very west edge of Houston)!  ...one could go to the outlet store there and get replacement parts much cheaper than by mail order, or even in the sporting goods stores (if you could find them).   Well, I moved west  ...but so did the Igloo Plant.  It's now located about 5 miles west of Katy on I-10.  the reason I mention this, is because I have been trying to gather my camping equipment again and get it in usable shape, and needed new drainplug and latch for my icechest. I stopped off at the Igloo plant to get my parts...and was greeted by this guard shack at the parking lot entrance.,,,it's too bad that it isn't visible from the freeway.....it would become a tourist attraction! lol.

 Today I was NOT happy to receive a phonecall from my younger sister. I did NOT want to hear the words she slowly spoke  I knew what they would be before I opened my phone...seeing the place the call was coming from...and knowing that it wasn't her regular number, but a work phone in Atlanta...i knew it could only be one thing.
   My father has had emphazima for several years...and has been on oxygen and in a wheelchair.  His lung capacity had dropped to 20% of normal.  This means that respiratory illnesses are quite serious....and Dad has been a chronic pnemonia contractor all of my life.  He got pnemonia several weeks ago...was in the hospital and then released to rehab to get his strength back.  unfortunately over the weekend he wound up back in the hospital (ICU) with a recurrence of the Pnemonia!  by Monday he was on a respirator and was being fed thru a tube because he couldn't swallow.  His one remaining kidney shut down.  So did the rest of his body, today, at noon eastern time. 

and now i have to find the words and a melody to write him HIS song....he's been proud of my singing and playing and played recordings I've given him over the years for his friends...telling them that it was his son singing and playing, and pointed out the songs that I had also written.  I have no idea what i'll come up with, but I owe it to the old man.  ..and myself.  Ghost of a Rose performed at open mic night at the Mucky Duck on Monday...and I sang the songs we did for him (sent word to him thru the nurses at the hospital that i was singing for him).  I will miss him...I can't imagine the world without my dad.  ...but then I don't think any child can...no matter how old that child is. 

Current Location: home
Current Mood: depressed
Current Music: that's my job (conway twitty)

Well, last night was monday...open mic night at the Duck... Sundara and I decided to head down to it and sing another three songs.  We decided to give the audience a bit of different songs than they're used to.  We started out with The Leslac Version...with Sunny starting in the audience as a surprise.  I played my new (antique) Lute-guitar for that one...sounded great.  we had several comments about that song. :)   then we did our special arrangement of Scarborough Fair...the orginal not Simon & Garfunkel's  (we do all ten verses).  I played that one on my classical guitar.  We finished up with Virtue  which i played on my 12-string.   It was fun and we plan to go there again  in a few weeks. (for me it's 100 mile round trip...and about 60 miles or so roundrip for Sundara from the other direction)...probabaly middle of march because of condfw this weekend and North Texas Irish Festival the following week...both of which I'm driving to and I think that is plenty of driving for me for those two weeks.

Current Location: home
Current Music: Damh the Bard