its a wacky world

Waking up to Groovy Judy setting up her music pit-stop in Hayes Green on Bay to Breakers Sunday foreshadowed what would be a surreal day. The race has gotten bigger and more drunken and when your apartment falls midway through the course, well, you gotta just deal (unfortunately, that means contending with a lot of public urination as well as early a.m. sound checks). I got up, had coffee with half the neighborhood to watch the first 40 minutes, then rode out to Marx Meadows to sit in a bit with Ben Bernstein at his Petting Zoo stop. Mimosas, numerous naked people and jams predominated --good times, you might say-- before I rode back home to take a break from the madness before a very fun, and relatively tame Cafe la Vie show. Here's some footage of the Land Sharks at BtoB.

Pedaling to Play

Bike to Work Day got me on my bike again this week to my renewed joy. I let PTSD from last summer's bike-taxi accident get me for the past several months, to the point of almost selling my beloved near-vintage Bontrager again. However, the part of me that remembers how much I love cycling, even slow and cautious rather than my one-time racers self knew better. Great weather in SF and the annual celebration of the joys of 'alternative' transportation made for an easy week of pedaling from home to town and all around.
So I was even happier to hear that tomorrows Bay to Breaker's gig with Ben Bernstein & Friends along the race route is going to be a pedal-powered event! Due to some ingenuity, we'll be powering the PA via bicycle. How cool is that? Proves there are sooooooooo many ways to cut energy consumption and have fun at the same time. Come say hi. BB & Pals is @ Marx Meadows from 8-11:30. I'll be playing around 10:30 (pedaling prior!) :)

songwriting, Songalive! Bay to Breakers, et. al

It's a music week: Monday was a great Song Collective meeting at Wendy's. A dozen of us trading brand new songs in Wendy's living room over dinner. I'm appearing several times this week in different musical configurations, tonight at a Songsalive! showcase and Sunday during and after Bay to Breakers (no, I'm not running and playing but surely someone will be). I'd love to see you.......

Tonight, Wednesday May 14
It's the Songsalive! San Francisco Showcase.
Featuring

Scott Berry         http://scottberrymusic.com/
Jean Mazzei        http://jeanmazzei.com
Renee Sebastian  http://net.blowoutlounge.com/profile/reneesebastian

I'm co-hosting with Steven Andrew Kacsmar http://www.stevenandrewkacsmar.com
which means I'll play a few songs as well.

Time:
7:00PM - 9:00 PM
Where:
Caffe Trieste
1667 Market St. (at Gough)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 551-1000
Cover: FREE
http://myspace.com/songsalivesf

SUNDAY, MAY 18TH, 2008
I will be performing twice, along the Bay to Breakers route, and at Cafe La Vie

Bay to Breakers Hootenanny
Ben Bernstein and Friends
Marx Meadows (30th & JFK), Golden Gate Park
San Francisco CA
Price: Free
BB & friends perform along the 2008 Bay Breakers route.
8am-11:30 a.m. Joining Ben will be Michael Faiella on Drums, Jordan Klein on Banjo, and members of Free Peoples and Bucky Dub. He'll likely sit in w/me on bass or guitar.
I play ~10:30 a.m.

Cafe La Vie
Deborah Crooks and friends
514 Octavia Street
San Francisco CA 94102
(415) 621-6877
Price: Free
6 PM-8 PM

Come hang out after the race for original music, great coffee drinks, and other eats. I'll have Yoon Ki Chai joining me on violin, Koji on bass and perhaps a couple of other folks tba.

Both shows are free!

Recording News
Check out http://myspace.com/deborahcrooks as I'll be posting new tunes soon. I'm 2/3 done with the next CD and in the studio again next week. Stay tuned for CD release news late summer.

Cheers and gratitude ....