Monday, September 3, 2012

Labor Day Weekend Part I: Asheville's Biltmore Estate Hosts Sweetwater Junction


Much has been going on as the summer has faded into a hazy, humid memory.  I have been continuing on my personal quest for a mid-life crisis "makeover."  After my sleep study, involving a night spent in a lab being observed during a night's slumber, electrodes attached, I was referred to an ENT specialist.  He presented me with some feasible solutions to counter my rather mild (apparently - home life seems to indicate a more dire verdict) case of sleep apnea and snoring tendencies.  I went with option B (2 out of 3), which was Somnoplasty.  It also involved a uvulectomy.  I was able to have it done 2 weeks ago, the day after the last TAAG show at Java Monkey.  It was the first time I had general anesteasia.  It meant I had to miss out playing with Martay at Padriacs this month - a sad but logical concession.  I am still healing.  It was a painful recovery; I'm still healing back there.  The pain was constant, but not completely unbearable.  Tylenol helped, and ice water became a close friend.  I quickly learned to eat through the pain after 4 days; old habits are hard to lose.  My post-op check-up went well and I am hopeful that this might work out in the long run.  Doc says it can be up to 4 months before any true improvement can be discerned.
Other things going on: Jack and Spencer returning to school.  Jack is now in 6th grade in Middle School and he's playing football.  That's a major commitment for him and us - practice M-F from 6:30-8:30 and then games on Saturdays.  I've been busy with him in the evenings.  Spencer has started Pre-K.  Growing up so fast!  I cleaned and rearranged the basement music room.  Quite a feat considering it was nothing short of a dumping ground for gear, charts, toys, and other stuff.  I mounted bike hooks to store the bikes - finally!  I had a breakthough in my obsessing over where to store those bikes.  Much like I've read about how song ideas come to writers, I saw the new layout of furniture and everything in one clear instant.  It took a while to do, but I'm very happy with the results.
That gets us up to this weekend, my first gigs in a few weeks.  The TAAG show this past Thursday was called off by Adrian for  family illness, so I haven't played in a good bit.  I headed up to beautiful Asheville, NC for a wedding reception at the Bilmore Esates' Vanderbilt facility.  We were inside, which certainly makes a difference when compared to the last time I was there in June.  This time out, I was with Brian Molin, Mark Letalien, guitarist/vocalist Andrew Black, and keyboard wiz and studio engineer svenja Eric Frampton.















more soon............................

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