March 29, 2009 - Boom-ba

My Influences:

Boom-ba

Percussion Instrument of Pennsylvania Dutch Tradition

There are two questions typically associated with this beautiful invention.

What?

Dear friends, this is a musical instrument that is most often credited to the Pennsylvania Dutch. Really, it's any body's guess its true origin. If one does a brief search on the subject, a number of different histories can be found depending on the name used.

It appears that the boom-ba goes by a few names with respect to cultural background: pogo cello, polka cello, stump(f) fiddle, devil's (teufel) stick, lagerphone, Turkish Jingle, Chinese pavilion, etc.

No matter what you call it (boom-ba is my personal choice), it is a fantastic and joyful noise-maker! Essentially, it's a pole of some kind with any number of different percussion instruments attached. It is typically held in one hand and bounced on the floor while being struck by the other hand in some manner (drum stick, hand, magic).

Why?

This isn't really a question with an answer! My best guess: one day, some poor soul didn't have an instrument handy so he fashioned himself this device using whatever random bits happened to be in his presence. Genius!

I grew up in an area and family with ties to the Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. One of my first memories of excitement over a musical instrument was my step-grandfather's boom-ba. I don't remember him playing the thing a whole lot but when he did, it was truly wonderful!

I was permitted to try it under strict supervision; such an instrument could truly corrupt a young, impressionable mind (or, even, an aged, incautious mind).
From time to time, at family reunions, five or six of the senior members would bust out their boom-bas and have themselves quite a time (no musical accompaniment, just boom-bas).

-Definitely, a time when the question WHY? is most appropriate!

In recent years, Lauryn and I decided that we should construct our very own family boom-ba.
We did.

Lauryn premiered this great new addition at the last Big Jug Band performance! What a time we had!

I would like to recommend that everyone build his own boom-ba. It's a rather cathartic endeavor and will surely go a long way toward achieving world peace and personal harmony.

Hooray Boom-ba!

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Some links:

http://skew.blkbx.com/four/stage/home.html

http://everything2.com/title/Boom-Ba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_cello

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Pogo-Cello

"All night long, I dreamed of pretty girls and candy. Life is great!"
~ Alexander High

Daren - March 16, 2009

My Influences:


Daren Appelt
Music lover, Community Activist and Benefactor

Austin, Texas is a great many things to me and to many folks living here. I was enticed to move here by its residents with descriptions of many different musical genres and talented musicianers. None of these residents, however, had ever explained to me the many other treasures that an interested party could discover as part of this community.
I have stumbled on so many jewels in the last decade and each of these has anchored my heart to this town just a bit more.

One of these jewels is a gracious and kind man named Daren Appelt. Daren is most certainly a fan of music! Very regularly, I noticed his face in the crowd at a few different shows each week. When he and I finally introduced ourselves, he very graciously thanked me for my music and complimented my musicianship. As we talked, he revealed to me a list he kept in his pocket that detailed at least three different shows he planned to attend that evening. On this same list, he had a secondary list just in case one of the other shows had been cancelled or, in some other way, became impossible to attend! Obviously, this man was out to hear some music that evening!
Daren and I spoke at many other shows following the first. I came to realize that he planned each night in this manner! Wow!

Not only is Daren excited about taking advantage of how much live music this city offers, he gives it right back!
Daren regularly and graciously opens his warm home to professional musicianers in town who are interested in playing music together. He presents this opporunity as a time when these musicianers can "play" without having to "perform" for an audience. He also gives musicianers a chance to see each other ... we're usually too busy performing to catch other bands around town!
His kindness and good spirit pervades the entire house and each separate jam that pops up. There is an openness and warmth to each; to me, it seems that in each circle that forms, there is a happy willingness to meet new people, experience and learn new music, and share some good times and community spirit.
This, friends, is one of the unique gems that makes this town so appealing to me. And, friends, this gem is a heartfelt gift from our very good man! In presenting this gift, Daren is actively organizing a community and encouraging it to grow in a healthy manner!

Thank you so very much, Daren! Your gifts to me (and to so many musicianers) are cherished and priceless.
I look forward to sharing music with you at your home and at any old venue around town.


"All night long, I dreamed of pretty girls and candy. Life is great!"
~ Alexander High

March 1, 2009 - Pam

My Influences:


Pamela Brewer
yoga instruction, guidance

During a discussion about staying in shape while touring, my old pal, Beau, argued that one can't always use a gym or swim laps, and running, while a sure thing just about anywhere, is sometimes not the safest bet. However, there is always enough space in a hotel room for a yoga practice.
I had no experience with yoga but Beau promised that I could get a good start at the "free" class Ruta Maya offered. So, one morning not too long after this discussion, Beau dropped a line and I headed over to meet him at the coffee house.
I'm quite glad for that call and even happier to have found such a great guide through the world of yoga! (Thanks Beau!)

Pamela Brewer is this great guide. Of course, she leads the morning classes at Ruta Maya and has done so for the last five years. Her classes are warm and inviting. If present and involved, one could walk away having learned quite a bit from her instruction and direction.
I have; that's for sure!

Pam has certainly shared with me so much about the physical, mental and, spiritual practice of yoga. She has also presented herself as a great example of the well-rounded benefits of the application of a yoga practice to everything in life.
We've shared a number of great conversations on the more important stuff in life ... health, happiness, social responsibility, gratitude, light-heartedness, etc. (... you know, the same stuff I talk about every week). At the end of these conversations, I walk away feeling like my head's a little more together.
What's more? She offers all this freely, happily, and without judgement of any kind.

Pam, you have been and, I'm sure, will continue to be a great guide on my yoga path and in life in general. I am truly grateful!
Thank you and see you at Ruta Maya!

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"All night long, I dreamed of pretty girls and candy. Life is great!"
~ Alexander High