Well. Check that out. Now I’m 40. And in all truth there’s been a lot of anguish since the morning of February 7th. I know it has nothing to do with being 40, but the coincidence is rattling and I’m hoping to have a really good day soon.
My birthday show – well, almost everything that could go wrong DID go wrong – no band that I’d initially booked showed up in their original form, and the only other act that was in right from the inception of the show other than ilyAIMY – well, Think Again’s singer (Dan Houtz) came down with the flu the morning of the show, and since his was the only act to actually insist in advertising the show, his dropping out definitely smacked the audience’s numbers down…
Sigh. And the audio recording glitched. And the videos had various issues. The show itself was truly amazing. ilyAIMY was a full five-piece PLUS drums (the marvelous Joey Jenkins) PLUS Bruce Lebovitz on violin PLUS Mosno Al-Moseeki on some backing vocals and djembe. I played with Lea, Kristen played with Lea, we were all sorts of cross-pollinating and… well… I’m very, very sad that the recording didn’t turn out, but I guess you had to be there.
And not many people were there. 50 people or so in the house. Not so hot.
And I got a big chunk of metal in my tire on the way home.
Okay – I COULD’VE blown out all 40 candles in one breath if it wasn’t for the fact that for a moment I thought my hair had caught fire!!! At the Circuit in Essex, MD for rob’s Four Ecks. 
Sigh. And in all truth, I don’t get to gripe too much. Monday night at Teavolve was truly stunning. The music that came out was stunning. The audience was huge. I’ve been eagerly awaiting spare time to mix down parts of the night because I want to relive it. Last night at the Board and Brew was not nearly as big, and yet because it was small and just friends it was just Lovely and Kristen and I got to play with Joey some more, which I’m beginning to really, really adore.
And last night – we rushed home to catch Rowan on the Letterman show backing Rhiannon Giddens – a woman I last encountered when she and much of the Carolina Chocolate Drops entourage came to our show in Saint Louis and hung out late into the night as we all danced to 80s music after ilyAIMY was done loading out. On Letterman she let none of that joy shine through, she was intense – almost frighteningly so – and stunningly powerful. Rowan was a silent banjo player in the back corner of the stage, part of her overall hammer of sound but not shining the way he does as a bones player. Truly it was Rhiannon’s performance – but the thrill of seeing Rowan on the Late Show holding it down was still pretty awesome. And David Letterman TOUCHED him!
That’s probably pretty cool. Suffering through the rest of the show reminded me why I’ve never watched any of these late show programs…
Meep! My mom sent me birthday pictures to help me feel old! 
Singing along to my band playing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”. 
A fantastic birthday cake with my face on it! Or is it a fantastic birthday cake… with my FACE on it?!? Thanks to Mara for making this possible, and also for the fact that it’s damned delicious! I don’t remember who it was, but a friend WAS running around yelling that they were eating my eye… that was a little bit terrifying, but I hear it was tasty. 
The quilt my mom made for one of my FIRST birthdays! 
Dave Benham’s been coming to my open mics and playing with Sharif – and when he came to my birthday show with his flutes in tow, I wanted some of THAT for my day too! They were kind enough to comply to my whimsical desires. 
ilyAIMY performing for my 40th Birthday at the Circuit in Essex. Unfortunately I’ve not found any photos with ALL of us on stage, but for the night we also had Bruce Lebovitz and Mosno Al-Moseeki joining us. And in the back? New drummer Joey Jenkins. He was awesome. During the “break” they all joined forces and surpsised me by playing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” for me, nearly breaking my mind. February 7th, 2015.
