Gary Bowman: Calendar

I hope the 'audience' had half as much fun as the band! The Aquarium is even more magical in the evening than in the day time. The Troubadours performed all of the original tunes from 'Song of the Oceans' before breaking into a festive 'Surf Set.' Not sure how the sea otters responded, but a lot of people folks stepped out on the dance floor, and seemed to have a pretty good time of it. Great event!

"World Music Day, or Fete de la Musique, began in France on June 21, 1982, as a spontaneous event to bring people out on the streets to play and enjoy music." This event was very low-key, and very cool - refreshing and invigorating (Darn clever, those French!). Nice park setting; spectacular summer day, with a few clouds rolling overhead. What I had figured to be a short visit, with a few songs, turned into a full afternoon of singing and storytelling, in a very relaxed setting. I started with a few country and western songs on guitar, as well as a few mountain songs on the long-neck banjo. Soon shifted gears, sharing originals, including a few new tunes from my current project, "Song of the Bugs", including "Mayfly Song", "Metamorphosis", "Ladybug Sonnet" and "Country Bug, City Lights." Really enjoyed meeting all the great Auburn folks who stopped by to listen. Let's do it again NEXT year!!!

WOW! Fantastic conference in St. Pete's. It was great to see 'old friends', and make a few new ones. The teachers at the conference were very cool, and a lot of fun. We had a good time coming up with ideas for new songs, including one about 'Winter, the Dolphin (with a prosthetic tale) and another one about 'Photosynthesis (Whew!)'

Great afternoon at Summer Thyme's Coffeehouse in Grass Valley! Anna and I sang songs about the animals and oceans, and Lance joined in on the djembe. Kids danced to the lively tunes, parents swayed to the music, and the rest tapped their feet to the beat. It was also cool to debut a few of the tunes from my current project, 'Song of the Bugs.' Hope to return to Summer Thyme's this fall!

Fun time, as always, with host Loyce. Special treat, as Ronny Cox called in. Ronny is a great guitar player and singer, widely known as the man who sat on the bench next to the banjo-pickin' kid in the movie, 'Deliverance.' After the show, we went over to Frenchy's Cafe in Auburn, and had a great jam session with the 'Nuked Ukes' (Auburn's infamous ukelele band).

It was a rare treat to play the tenor banjo alongside Conductor Michael Goodwin, Pianist Robert Theiss and the 90-piece Auburn Symphony for a performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue at the Mondavi Center in Davis, CA. From the rousing performance, itself, to the overwhelming audience response, this was a day to remember. Of course, it is not often that a banjo player puts on a tux (see photo gallery).

Of course, the album was actually released in March, 2009 - after all, these things take time!

Had a great time! The band was a lot of fun to work with, and the 'audience' was fantastic. Performed a lot of classics like Wipe Out, Little Grass Shack, Misirlou, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Tiny Bubbles, as well as some of our new stuff - Yodeling Sea Horse, Tide Pool Stomp! Anna's singing/hula dancing were awesome, Lance's drums/conga were rockin', Don did a heckuva job on the uke and guitar, and, bass-man Tim was 'in the groove!'

Had a rockin' time with Loyce and Vic (nice job on the 'mandolar', Vic!) - played a few traditional country songs (Carter Family, Hank Williams), and had a chance to introduce some songs from the new CD, including 'Yodeling Sea Horse'

Very cool time with Middle School students at the California Montessori Project in Shingle Springs - talked about songwriting, and environmental activism; Shared ideas about new song, 'Plastic Island' - students are fascinated with the 'Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch'

Awesome afternoon with the 2nd and 3rd grade students at Butte Vista Elementary School. Shared the lyrics to '3-Legged Cat', highlighted by projected pics of the song's stars: the Folsom's Zoos rescued animals; really enjoyed singing with the kids!

Thanks, Loyce and Bob, for a great session - the time flew by! And, had a great time at the Coffee Shop with the gang. Thanks for the invite, and hope to do it again.

Fantastic! It was great to see everybody, and show appreciation for their support of the Project. Highlights: Jam session (Robert/violin, Mike/bass, Don/keys, Brian/drums, Gary/guitar); Solo performances by Lyndsey and Anna, with both singing original songs; My golden lab, Buddy, joining in the celebration!