Tangled Blue News - August 2010

Where have the summer months gone? June seems like it was much more than just six weeks ago and July was a blur. It’s August; wow! Aimee and I are enjoying a week at home after almost seven weeks of constant movement. All of July and most of June was spent in either the Dakotas, Texas, or Louisiana! We enjoyed a full week in New Orleans and connected with lots of our southern friends along the gulf coast. There are simply too many highlights from these past months to pick from and not nearly enough photos to match to these rich memories... Off the top of my head, and in no particular order, here are a few experiences that come to mind:

*working with the Disciple Project students at TLU on an original song and leading a really great closing worship service with them (it included violin, viola, flute, recorder, three drummers, scads of guitars, and lots of great singers who blended beautifully)! Facebook users can view photos from this week at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115108828090

*having Rob Ticherich along to play drums for two full weeks in Texas and New Orleans!

*having Matt Goodson add his wonderful piano skills to our new liturgical pieces in worship at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in San Antonio.

*becoming God-parents to Isla Grace Anderson last week at her baptism in the beautiful Black Hills while at Outlaw Ranch.

*an evening of star gazing with Aimee in the cool, clear air of the Black Hills.

*meeting and performing for international students from Korea, Hungary, Columbia, Argentina, Germany, and Australia.

*a relaxing day on the San Antonio River Walk.

*did I mention we had a full week in New Orleans?! The combination of friends, food, and conversation were superb AND we got to enjoy the clarinet playing of the talented Tom Fischer twice while in town! You can get a glimpse of Tom’s skill here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfAYYsndt6o

*having our nephew, Nick along for part of our journey through New Orleans.

*meeting folks face to face who pledged toward our upcoming recordings on Kickstarter.

Thanks to all of the fine folks who hosted us this spring/summer in Sioux Falls, Robbinsdale, Inver Grove Heights, Minneapolis, Edina, Dickinson, Bismarck, Fargo, San Antonio, Sequin, Plano, McAllen, New Orleans, Custer, and Rapid City! You have blessed us richly; thank you!

This week at home has been a great retreat... I know, that statement doesn’t make sense for most folks, but home is a great place to retreat to after seven weeks of travel. Last summer we had a nine week tour that pushed me to the point of sickness. Aimee and I both remained healthy this summer and having this week at home is the likely difference. Our return home has included fresh veggies from our garden (Thank you to Nina, Nick, and our neighbors for watering while we were away), grilling out with neighbors, the Uptown Art Fair: http://www.uptownartfair.com/, and the Twin Cities Fringe Festival. I’m hoping to find time to take in a Fringe Fest show at the Fallout Arts Initiative titled “#Ringtone” before we leave for the next run of shows: http://www.fringefestival.org/2010/show/?id=1343

We have some performances next week in Colorado, then North Dakota, then Minnesota, then Iowa... all with a few open days in between each performance. I’ll post the details to the end of this note. Let me know if we can be part of your community this fall as we continue to refine our new songs and work on the new CD.

Thanks for making Tangled Blue part of your day.
Under the Mercy, and looking forward to the next time we see each other face to face,
Joel

joel@tangledblue.com