July, 2006
Here it is, July 26th, and I haven’t written in the journal in quite some time. Being an obsessive web surfer myself, I am always please when my friends post new things for me to read online. Therefore, for any of you who have stopped by these pages only to feel a perpetual dissappointment, please accept my appoligies.
It’s been a busy month. Mostly in NYC working a variety of steady gigs in bars and restaurants. After growing obsessed with the world cup, for the first time in my life, I was very heartbroken by my temporary hero, Zidane. What the *&(^ was he thinking!!! To add to my dismay, my computer had another meltdown and I spend a few days taking care of some foundational maintenance. Now things are pretty much up and running and I’ve been getting into some good music.
The highlight of the month came last week with a short BTD tour. We hit Rochester, NY (see above photo) and took our time getting to the Grassroots festival in Trumansburg (a full day off, chilling in the hotel).
At Grassroots I was extra busy with 2 performances. Krystle and I had the opportunity to perform as “Ruby Rosa” on the Cabaret Stage in the afternoon. We totally rocked the house.
Krystle rode down with my long lost girlfriend, Marie, and our good friends Supi and Eric. We spent our downtime at the “Healing Arts Tent” having a little energy work done.
Later that night BTD had a great performance on one of the main stages in front of about 5,000 freaked out festival fans. It was amazing. Here I am flying on my trampoline.
The energy was amazing on stage and everyone felt that the show was a success.
The next day we woke up super early to head to the Jazz Festival in Bethel Woods. This is the location of the original Woodstock. It is a beautiful piece of land where they’ve built a top of the line new amphitheater. We were on a bill that included Chris Botti, Diane Reves, and Wynton Marsalis. The groups were all full of incredible musicians and I was very to happy to see some of my favorite drummers. Billy Kilson, Greg Hutchinson, and Ali Jackson were all grooving hard.
The festival closer was Wynton. On his second tune he announced a special guest, told a funny story about eating shrimp, and brought Cyro out with heartfelt praise. He said “ladies and gentlemen, truely one of the greatest musicians in the world, Cyro Baptista.”
As a long time fan of Wynton it was amazing to feel connected to him through Cyro and to be a part of this festival with them both. It was very beautiful and I felt very grateful.
Tomorrow we leave for the Floyd Festival in Virginia. This should be a great gig!!! I appreciate you checking in with me. Keep in touch.
Best,
Clay
