Grace writing this one again. My most recent activities include the Jack London Square Crab Crawl, Arturo Sandoval’s Mambo Mania Big Band at the SF Yoshi’s, a home screening of “No Country for Old Men” and the most packed Starbucks I have ever played at. Crab enchiladas from Cocina Poblana (could be Cucina) are amazing. The Blues bands for the event were underwhelming (if you can’t hit Credence Clearwater notes, please just lower the key!). A couple nights before, the big Mambo band at the new Yoshi’s was well worth it. I recall sipping prosecco and at first feeling jipped when the musicians looked slightly bored in between songs. This was the music of technical prowess. These were the hard-to-impress trumpeters and I-live-off-reading-sheet music people who raised an eyebrow when the piano solo finally hit on something they hadn’t heard; something challenging and different. These were artists’ artists. Whitney could understand it. He knew the drum solo was fantastic. I only noticed the lack of expression on everyone’s faces and the fact that they stared at pages the whole time. I wanted them to look at us and tell us what the music was saying, but they were better than that. It was written in perfect runs of melody and cascading rhythms. The mambo’s and the solos spoke for themselves. Improvisation and musical intelligence. I want more of that. I want to have more than message and emotion. I will work hard so that my years start to show more of that! I liked “There Will Be Blood” more than “No Country for Old Men”. One of our academy friends lent us the DVD and thought “No Country” was good, but not Best Picture Good. In 2 weeks we record more for the next album. It’s all bubbling up right now- the new thoughts and the new feel. I can’t wait for you to hear it! One of the new songs will come out to play this Sunday the 9th at the Make Out Room in SF. Can’t wait to see you!

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