Del Castillo Goes Batty!

South Texas is home to the largest concentration of bats in the world (at least according to National Geographic),about 40 million mexican freetails and about 5 other varieties. Only Austin,however,could find a way to celebrate the urbanization of their bats- holding a festival right over the place where the bats roost. Of course, it is one of the busiest bridges in the whole city, with cars, buses and such going overhead and, bikers, hikers and canoe- ers underneath. If the bats don't mind that, they shouldn't have too much trouble with some music, hm?

I was surprised really- even though I got there late-ish in the afternoon, I doubt the bats were any more roused than usual. Folks who have lived in Austin for years, many of whom had never seen this daily....err....nightly...event were congragating to watch the little mammals come out from under the bridge about 9 PM. I was astounded at how little people seemed to know about bats. Without them here in such numbers, the mass of south central Texas would be unlivable- the insects would overwhelm humans and crops. So be nice to the little fuzzy flying mice. They are not vermin, they do not suck blood, or automatically carry rabies. They ARE however a vital part of the local ecosystem,each eating nearly its weight in insects every night. It's natural pest control- appraciate it!

www.batcon.org

Okay- Del Castillo and the bands before them could've used some light-loving bats last night! Just about the time the little furry dudes were heading out, I looked over and saw the stage just swarming with insects. I started taking bets among the Posse how long it would take Alex to inadvertantly swallow a bug! He never did to my knowledge, but the little critters certainly did make themselves at home during the set. It remains to be seen if I caught the cricket sitting on Mark's knee during one of his solos, just paying complete attention to the guitar. See guys!? It's even intra-Species now!

We lucked out at this gig- it could've been a scorcher- but the weather gods let things cool down for us, and other than humidity, it was a good night. The Boys seemed to be happy to be home, and the despite some sound problems, it was a wonderful gig, Couple of new tunes, including one called Everlasting (possibly a partial title- got that from the set list) that has an absolutely BLISTERING bit of drumming from our Mike Zeoli! I love the DC Trio- Bert, Mike, and Carmelo, but this drum line stopped me in my tracks. I've seen Mikey play metal, and he showed some of that off in this number. Wow.

I am headed for Corpus Christi in a few hours and have some loose endss to tie up here before the drive. I will write more later. Ya know....I miss the Red Room sometimes. I found a lot of good new music there. But I am so glad to be able to go see Del Castillo again. There just isn't anything quite like them.

www.delcastillomusic.com

The things I do for music......

I am sunburned.

I am dehydrated.

I am soooo tired.....!

And I had a blast making my way to Austin to hang out at Waterloo Park and watch a lot of people become potential new Buttercup fans.

It was so blessed hot and humid, it took awhile for folks to decide to come out of the shade for a song or two, but the boys kept it popping and rocking enough, I think they made some new friends, for when they play INDOORS next up there!

It was the Austin Hot Sauce Festival, and the salsas had trouble conpeting with 95 degree weather and 75% humidity. Chips were gettin' soggy just sitting there! My fellow Del Castillo nut Angie had entered a chocolate-piqian (lil tiny super demon hot chilis) salsa, which she promised to make for one of her get-togethers sometime. Lines to taste the non-pro stuff were long, so we opted out to head to the Texas Chili Parlor for some grub and cool down time.
Man, to think I am doing it again next weekend, willingly, at the Bat Fest for DC....I think the Tejas sun musta fried my mind! At least the Boys are playing after the sun goes down. I may have to sacrifice my front of stage spot, but I might be up to traveling to Corpus the next day, per current plans. They play indoors there!

ah. Must go feed the body some more, and do some chores, then sit and chill before
bed. Been a long weekend. Zee was down here last night with Gypsy Soul, and next Friday is Joe and Hilary, then Saturday in Austin, Sunday in Corpus...good lord, I am tired already! Whew. I thought when the Red Room ended that my life would get simplier. Pphht! Not a chance! ;)

The Moon and The Nightspirit

One of the few things about MySpace that has kept me there is the music I have been able to find. I love a band from Finland called Gjallerhorn, and thru them, I found a Russian group called Moon Far Away, and from them, I found the Moon and The Nightspirit. I have become obsessed by the music of this last band. They are fellow Wiccan (that is a PLURAL term, for those not in the know......see my rant elsewhere about that.) and the music is exactly the kind of stuff I would want playing in Circle with friends gathered for a seasonal dance. It is beyond difficult to describe, so I leave you with a couple of links and hope some will check out this wonderful band from Hungary. Makes my gypsy feet want to roam again- Give me my wagon, and a couple of stout draft horses, enough food for the day and rain for the flowers, and I will be content.
namsste all!

www.myspace.com/themoonandthenightspirit
http://www.themoon.equilibriummusic.com/

Remember the Greatest- RIP, Max Roach

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHSBNv-IFrA


That link should take to a version of Max Roach at YouTube playing "The Drum Also Waltzes." He was an extraodinary musician. Now he's in the Summerlands, and I just get a thrill thinking of him and Jaco Pastorius ripping it up.

Makes me miss both of them even more.

Goddess protect you Max. You changed the world for a lot of us.

Nothing given away......

This has no real place in any of my blogs, but Severus Snape shares a birthday with Mr James Patrick Page.

It has come about that the fictional character of Severus Snape has been given a birth date. Turns out he was born either right after or right before me......1958 or 59. Some say '60. Who the hell cares?! And on January 9th......birthday of Jimmy Page, and my grandson Marco.


Truly, I am a big fan of the Harry Potter books. They are well written, and enthralling and have brought younger people back to the joy of reading. If you have only seen the movies , do yourself a favour and go read book one. do them in order- it DOES make a difference. I can forgive the movies for not being able to cover so much detail, but the books are ten times the movies.

And I am an equally big fan of actour Alan Rickman, who has brought a permanent face to Snape. I don't think anyone could have done this character as much justice- good choice!
I have seen much of Alan's work, and think the world of him. They could not have done better giving him this incredible anti-hero to him to mold.

Anyway, no, I am not saying anything about the newest, and last book, in the series. Except that I have already read it twice and browse through certain parts almost daily. I am sorry to see the series end, but will enjoy these books for the rest of my life. I just would like to know what they will do with the movies to do justice to the tremendous expectation built up in the fan world. They better get it right.......