Lunch, Filmmaking, Re-Bop Records, and the Supreme Court

Our friend David has made his way up to VT to work on several projects, one being a documentary film about a local Vermonter Diana Winn. The more we learn about her story, the more we want to hear. Diana is a musician/songwriter who started the Re-Bop record label, where she brings together talented songwriters, musicians and child and adult vocalists to create songs for the “award winning” recordings. Another claim to fame is that she has been a part of a Supreme Court case, “Wyeth v. Levine,” that could have a major impact on the lives of millions of Americans.

Ten Dayz in the “City”

House sitting has been a service we have been providing often lately. From our care taking in Philadelphia to some serious pet sitting in rural Vermont, we fortunately had the opportunity to cat/house sit in Montpelier- the capital city. Not only was it fortunate for us to be staying in town at the home of some very cool older folks, we also coincidentally lost use of our vehicle just days before the gig. This city (town) is easily traveled without wheels, so we could live and function efficiently by walking everywhere we needed to go. Our dear friend, Iza, kindly drove us to our temporary dwelling, and when we arrived we saw we were just blocks from Hunger Mountain Co-op, so it was a bit like our lives back in Philly when we were just minutes from the Market.

EXTRA, EXTRA! Sagittarians and Saris!

December not only brought us a lot snow here in the North East Kingdom, but it also brought us two fabulous events that we were fortunate to attend. Our great new friend Chris (Yogi Mukti) invited us to his annual Sagittarius party in Montpelier, and we were happy to accept because “we like to party” and, hey, I (Jon) am part Sag myself! The email invite stated that it would be a tropical themed party and to dress for warm temps which sounded entertainingly ironic for this time of year in VT. So, after picking up Brooke from work, we ventured to the outskirts of Montpelier. When we arrived, as promised, there were subtropical temperatures in Mukti’s home along with people decked out in bathing suits and tropical wears.

FEVER, FEVER, FUN!

The temperatures are cooling, and we have tried to imagine what it will be like when these great outdoors become less friendly and less like an addition to our cabin. See, we have no bathroom or plumbing (our running water has frozen) and we are used to going “#1” amongst the trees and “#2” up the path in the outhouse or at the house. So far, we have still been able to find comfort in the chilled air, but we are anticipating the changes.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Glacier National Park

After some debating whether or not to head east from Missoula, we decided to head north to check out Glacier National Park. We made the trek, excited to see some beautiful nature and to finally camp for the first time (and I don’t mean “car camp”).

The Blue Ridge Rascals Theme Song

Here is a video that our great friend David Parvey shot for the Blue Ridge Rascals. We had the privileged of meeting the Rascals while we visited David in Virginia. We also were able to see them perform live on their radio show at WPAQ…. This video features the late great Jerry Tackett on lead vocals. Rest in peace Jerry.

Our Tribute to Michael

It was sad to find out about the passing of the King of Pop. As a tribute to him Here is a youtube video of the first Billie Jean LIVE performance and first live, Jackson moonwalk. Motown 25: Yestarday, Today, and Forever.

VIDEO BREAK!!! MewithoutYou

MewithoutYou… our great friends and fellow grease travelers have released a new video from their fourth album, “it’s all crazy! it’s all false! it’s all a dream! it’s alright.” The video for “the Fox, the Crow and the Cookie” is playing exclusively now at Entertainment Weekly. (Our other wonderful friend) Amy Carrigan co-directed and co-produced the music video with puppets along with David Bell as co-director and Josh Bender and co-producer/DP. See you guys in San Francisco on the 23rd…

White Sands and Las Cruces, NM

Our next drive took us from desert landscapes to steep climbs and forests to White Sands. As we descended from higher elevations, we came upon a vast open area. Mountains hugged the skyline ahead in both directions, and at the base of the range we were able to make out the sea of White Sands. We passed a sign advising us not to pick up hitchhikers (they may be escaped convicts) and then we passed another informing us that we were soon to be surrounded by missile ranges. Dodging hitchers and deadly flying objects, we made our way to White Sands National Monument.