What a Wonderful, Busy Day!

Yesterday was wonderful, packed day. A day worth sharing:

I played drums at the Wabash Fine Arts Center with friend and local bassist (and religion scholar), Paul Myre. While playing, Sister Stella (the leader of the Wamidan African ensemble) stopped by, listened, and asked if I would consider playing on her upcoming album. I instantly agreed and ended up rehearsing the entire afternoon with her group. The African groove of her music fits right into the style I’ve been working on, so I’ll be at Manic Muse Recording again in about a week, right before we head North.

I went directly from rehearsal to Lafayette. Micheal Richmond and I met up at Vonn’s Bookstore and went from there to my favorite regional used/new CD and record store; afterwards, we stopped for dinner at a cheap Chinese buffet nearby, and, after a walk and a smoke, found our way to Greyhouse Coffeeshop. Along with the wonderful company and conversation about notebooks, life, glasses, the joys, trials, and absurdities of writing and moving — along with all that and more — I also did some shopping.

At Vonn’s I bought a very affordable and quality-looking Watson-Guptill sketchbook, for my assorted notes and other nonsense. I also purchased three used books: Selected Tales of Nikolai Leskov, a worn, Modern Library volume of The Works of Tolstoi, and In Defense of Women, by the always outrageous H. L. Menken.

At the music store, I had to cull my herd of desires to something very specific: live soul albums. I did pretty well with this line-up: Erykah Badu’s Live album (featuring the material from Baduzium), Experience: Jill Scott 826+, Bill Withers’ Live at Carnegie Hall, and James Brown’s Live at the Apollo. I also added Marvin Gaye’s classic What’s Going On, for good measure.

I made my biggest move at Greyhouse where I acquired the Rocha family’s very first French press coffee maker and a coffee grinder (both pictured above).

The day ended with a lovely phone conversation with my dear friend and unbelievable drummer, Andre Scott, about life, music, and my upcoming album.

On a day of such utter indulgence, I cannot be anything but grateful and even a bit sheepish about the ability to do such extravagant things. This weekend promises more of the same: family, music, writing, and a visit from another good friend.

SR