Ah, the thrills of professional music in New England in the wintertime! By some strange timing of nature the snow, sleet and freezing rain coincide with when the concerts must be traveled to. Today was no exception. You know the weather is mean when the 4x4 snow plow truck gets stuck in your own driveway! There it sits waiting until tomorrow when the tractor can be brought out of the barn to haul the plow out of the ditch it dug itself into. Yet, by the necessity of survival the musician is driven to show up to the gig on time, usually to find that anyone with any sense in their noggin decided to just stay home and watch a video instead. (well, everyone's heard that the "show must go on")

Actually, I'm given the time and perspective to write this bit because my own concert was cancelled tonight. And though I grieve for the lost income, it's been nice not to subject myself to the "white knuckles on the steering wheel" treatment.

Tonight has been spent listening to tapes on the boom box of recording sessions, listening to the wind break the ice off the trees to send bits clattering down the metal roof just above my head, listening to my fiddle rehearsals slowly, slowly improving, listening to the stove burning wood, listening to the wind literally suck the heat right out of the house.............. I always thought that the wind roaring through the forest sounds a lot like waves crashing on the shore of some beach. Listening..... winter is good for that. When the sense of sight is taken away by the diminished light from the day, the ears open up a little more.

A lot of time was spent today making phone calls, booking concerts for March and April. I'm getting excited about the February tour leading up to the Folk Alliance in Albuquerque. Five days in New Mexico might be due reward for two weeks of driving in February through Colorado and Utah. Ah, the thrills of professional music in the Rockies in the wintertime! 'Till then, drive safe, and watch out for snow snakes!

Dana
Ashfield, MA