Yesterday we played for the Ann Arbor Summer Fest’s “Top of the Park” event. The evening included a dance lesson taught by Avik and Patricia and dancing to the live music with our band Tango Folias. Check out the video clip!

A few years ago we joined M.U.S.E. (musicians united to sustain the environment).  They not only promote musicians who sing/play about being conscious of their impact on the earth, but they also promote musicians who try to make their touring eco-friendly (if that is possible…)

After wrapping up our tour stats, we decided that we could probably call ourselves eco-musicians…we drive instead of fly, avoid conventional indoor lodging whenever possible, cook our own food from locally grown produce, and for the most part try to stop and local businesses throughout our travels.

Here are the numbers:

Total number of States: 12

Driving Time: 71 hours (69 by Andy, 2 by Carmen…sorry honey)

Distance: 4830 miles

Number of Fastfood stops:  ZERO

Out to Eat: 5 times

Hotel Sleeps: 1

Cabin Sleeps: 1

Tent Sleeps: 8

Car Sleeps: 1

House Sleeps: 8

Rain: 13 out of 20 days!!

Hiking: 56 miles

Best Coffee: Wake and Bake Coffee House in Moab, UT (where coffee is still leagal…)

Best Groceries: Keweenaw Co-op in Houghton, MI (best bulk stuff! even garden seeds in bulk)

Number of States we played music in: 4

Pulled Over: 1 time (for going five over the speed limit…no ticket)

Best Bumper Sticker: “There is room for all God’s creatures…right next to my mashed potatoes” (saw this just after the Mackinac Bridge after crossing into the lower peninsula…made both of us laugh really hard)

Best Beer Before Noon: Moab Brewery! 20 ounce pours the same price as pints on Sundays!!

Yesterday we gave flute and guitar masterclasses and a concert at Finlandia University sponsored by our friend Pat Valencia who has a Suzuki guitar studio in Hancock called Valencia Estudio. We have found that without people like Pat who really make an effort to be a caretaker for music performance, it would be impossible to bring our music to people. The whole event was extremely well organized and we found this had an affect on the way people responded to our music. It seemed that maybe there is hope for building an engaged public audience for new flute and guitar music.

Pat does something similar to what I do with the MAJIC Concert Series at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.  He curates a grassroots performing venue for artists who want to bring something new and interesting to the community. Without enthusiastic advocates in local community, it would be more difficult than it already is to find viable places to perform for an appreciate audience.

My prediction (and hope) for the performing arts is that grassroots art support will not only grow, but shift to being the most affordable and affective way of bringing music into pubic life. Much like the way people are starting to understand the importance of local food and locally made goods, I will continue to help make a scene for locally supported music.

Good Food When We Needed It…

Our canvas bag pantry in the trunk was filling up with some gourmet odds and ends from all of the meals we cooked for my family and friends along the way, so we decided to stop in the middle of nowhere (Floodwood, Minnesota) after an especially cranky couple of days topping off our 1500 mile mark of the trip.

This lunch helped bring me back to feeling that life is good. It is served warm, and comes out a golden yellow from the saffron.

Orzo Chickpea Stew with Saffron and Bri Cheese

• 2 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• dried oregano
• pinch of saffron, pre soak in a little bit of warm water)
• 3 parsley stalks, pull leaves off whole
• 1 dried chili
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 cup orzo (we used tri colored)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 TBS olive oil

1. Saute the shallots, garlic, oregano and dried chili. Add the saffron and water. Cook a few minutes and add chickpeas.
2. Cook orzo and drain. Add all ingredients together and wait a minutes for the cheese to cream things up.

The best rest stop lunch I have ever had…

We played a very cool restaurant gig in Ashland, WI last night. We were pleasantly surprised by the 2^nd Street Bistro. They serve dishes with local meats and produce, have good regional beers on tap, have a boutique wine list, and of all things, they have music twice a week to help support local musicians!!! If you visit Ashland be sure to stop here on a Wednesday or Friday for the good food, drink and music. You could also make a stop at the pub called South Shore Brewery that is just around the corner to try some locally brewed beer.

The original plan was to camp our way from Idaho to Wisconsin, but of course we followed some massive June thunderstorms throughout Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. We ended up having to do conventional lodging…boo hoo. But, it did afford us some great indoor practice time in preparation for our recital in Houghton, MI. There is a cool lodge in Bemidji called Ruttger’s with very affordable efficiency cottages right on the lake. This was our practice nook for a day.

Today we worked with musicians via the Boise Tango Society on playing tango music for tango dances. Our hour and a half session focused on getting a good marcatto, changing up the texture in an arrangement, and how to utilize ventanas (windows) or the places in the music where the phrase breaks before the next one continues. Our jam band for the dance consisted of violin, viola, cello, piano, three guitars, and harmonica!

We had a lot of fun playing for the milonga that night which was downtown at the Boise Café, a fun spot in the middle of downtown. Jennifer Olso taught a cool workshop on improvisation that we went to before the milonga. Later, I was trying on all the Comme il faut shoes that she was selling…I REALLY need new tango shoes, mine are ten years old…but, alas, tango shoes are such a low financial priority. After all, we could have used our money from the gig to guy gas to get home or to buy me a new pair of tango shoes…hum…

Shoes…let’s get some shoes

Fresh Food at Last

We walked into the Moab Brewery at 11:30am today at the guy at the bar walked up with 20 ounce pours, “pounders are the same price as pints on Sunday,  it is our way of celebrating the Sabbath,” he said.  “Are we in Utah” I thought? We were further convinced by the out-of-placeness of Moab when we headed out from the Wake n’Bake Coffee House, where Andy was served a tall dry cappuccino served in a Captain Morgan’s mug.

Here is the Moab inspired dinner we made at Arches National Park using local Utah produce:

• Spinach Salad with tomatoes, avocados, and cubed chayote squash tossed with lime vinegrette.
• Fire roasted green chili stew with chayote squash and pintos cooked over an open fire
• Local chips with homemade pico de gallo

This is one of the most famous places in Canyonlands, an amazing high altitude plains-like area that is surrounded by a castle fortress of eroding rocks. We had fun capturing it at sunset and then making a fantastic dinner.

Supreme Backpacking Pasta

• 6 oz Udon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 TBS ginger, mined
• ¾ oz. freeze dried peas
• 3.5 oz canned smoked salmon
• handful dried porcinis, presoaked in a few tablespoons water
• 2 tps soy sauce
• water
• 1 tsp dill
• 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
• 2 dried chilies, cracked
• 2 TBS olive oil

1. Sauté veggies, garlic, shallot, ginger and herbs in olive oil then add peas and ¼ cup water. When peas are soft add porcinis and salmon. Sauté a few minutes to heat through and remove.Set aside
2. Boil the Udon, drain, and then toss all together with the veggie, fish, mushroom mix.

Ahh, Natural Resources…

Nothing is too far away from the water source in the Canyonlands campground, but we were worried about finding a place to filter water out in the backcounty.

Water is available only in small isolated pools usually as the base of a rock outcrop in the upper parts of the canyons. When we finally did find water our first night it tasted better than beer!! I think we both got dehydrated and were starting to get water crazed before that point. I couldn’t stop thinking about water all day….and when all the water we were going to use for EVERYTHING (drinking, washing) was literally in the 9 liter bottles on our backs, I stated to get a little obsessed…

We managed to find filterable water twice on the trip…you can actually smell it ½ mile away, and of course you just use your eyes to find it…follow the green.

For our entire six night trip we ended up using 27 liters…that is 2 ¼ liters per person per day…whew….

Another tip for desert travel, don’t for get the lemons!
At the end of each hike we sucked the juice out of meyer lemons straight. Now that is a thirst quencher!

Then we made killer sun teach with the left over halves of the lemons:

Killer Desert Sun Tea

• Two halves of a meyer lemon
• 1 bag black tea
• 1 bag celestial seasonings sleepy time blend
• ½ teaspoon raw sugar

1. Put all ingredients in a dark colored water bottle, fill with water, and let sit a few hours in the afternoon sun. Then put in the shade near a rock ledge to chill before drinking.