Another McGraw is just what the world needs!
What?!
Murray in Da House
August 27, 2023
cute, who knows baby, gem, murray, romey, uncle chris Leave a comment
Yo Turns 65
June 17, 2023
food, party, photography, travel belgium, bookstore, caroline, garden, gem, grappa, leuven, mixology, party, photography, travel, video, violin, yo 2 Comments
Nothing quite like staying with dear friends in Leuven. Yo and Caroline are excellent hosts. This visit was made even more fun by including a 65th birthday party for Yo.
Here are some pictures from my visit.
I even managed to sneak into the circus on Friday evening. An incredible show focused on lighting matches, making pizzas, and spinning plates.
The cast of two and the poor “volunteers” who were pulled from the audience.
Leuven.
There was dancing in the kitchen.
And there were homemade cakes.
We even got to try out some mixology for the party.
Rosemary grappa lemonade…let’s call it the “yo-yo 65.”
The birthday king presides.
The actual power behind the throne is slightly capricious.
The site of the party is the back garden with lots of veggie plants. Delicious food was about as “locally sourced” as you can get. There were fresh snap peas and strawberries. So healthy and so delicious.
This gorgeous cake was my favorite. Banana cheesecake. Yum.
There was some dancing in wooden clogs yo some truly bad fiddle sawing.
We walked several miles together all using the house as a base of operations.
And we visited the English books at FNAC to compare notes.
All in all about as much fun as you can have in Leuven!
Where’s Aubrey Recording in Wilmington
May 25, 2023
art, music, ocean charles, charles arthur, dogs, gem, music, ocean isle beach, original music, recording, rhine, studio, the stick, where's aubrey, wilmington Leave a comment
All work and no music makes gem a dull boy. So we fixed that. Music refactoring at the Stick followed by recording in Wilmington. Here are some highlights.
Where’s Aubrey was joined by the incredible Charles Arthur in the studio.
And yes, we started at the Stick (on Ocean Isle Beach) where we practiced. Our schedule was tight, and sleep is for the weak. But first things first. Since Rhine flew into ILM, we set up an impromptu rendezvous with Adrian and Julie. Dinner was excellent, and Moonshine made a fast friend of Ralph.
We ended up at the Symphony with those fine people come Saturday.
Practice on the porch.
Industry sour with the last bottle of Green Chartreuse in NC.
Moonshine got in some fine music time.
The Wilmington Symphony played Shostakovich 5.
Moonshine, meanwhile, destroyed the screen door.
Turns out I found a musical sibling (same teacher, Linda Case, as Suzuki kids).
The bassist from NY. Hella talent.
NC sippy cups for the concert. LOL.
The after party was a blast. But then it was time for even more work.
Each night before a recording session we crammed on the music.
There was also some beach time. Moonshine was a hit at doggie day care.
Studio day one.
Hope in time for sunset and breakfast for dinner.
More cramming. And more studio time.
Followed by more beach and more cramming. We were very efficient, but the work was intense.
Studio day three (the last).
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And then it was time to get into the Liberals.
All in all a great experience. We bonded as musicians and friends.
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Storied Strings (or rather Guitars) at VMFA
January 12, 2023
museum, music, photography art, art museum, charles arthur, gem, guitars, richmond, RVA, stephen mccarthy, video, VMFA Leave a comment
The Strings exhibit at VMFA is devoted to the guitar. If you like guitars, guitar history, and historical curation you need to see this. We’ll ignore the fact that the most important strings are usually on a violin for now (LOL).
Romey and I learned about this exhibit by watching a video shot to promote and expand on the show with some live music featuring my friend Charles. Both Stephen and Charles are way better guitar players than I will ever be! Check out their session here.
Here are some pictures and commentary about the exhibit.
Charles as guitar.
In one of the rooms, there were a couple of guitars. So we just had to play them. They were squishy and hard to play.
The master goofs off.
Proof that I should stick to the violin.
Bill got into the act too.
Guitar versus violin. What turns you into a geezer faster? Guitar of course!
The dog is named Fay Ray. We knew another one of those once.
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Fond memories of a session? Charles in front of the recording studio.
The world’s smallest guitar.
First (and last?!) time on the river 2022
September 5, 2022
nature, river, who knows gem, kayak, nature, photography, river, romey, shenandoah, shenandoah river, skaggs, video Leave a comment
We are way too busy. During COVID the river was a key respite for us. Time to get back to our roots.
A run in September is just what the doctor ordered.
Honestly, they did answer…
Boyle’s boat looking grand.
A run of the class 0 rapids (with one hand).
Here’s to more Fall runs during 2022.
Porchfest in Bridgeport
August 28, 2022
music, party gem, greyhounds, music, original music, porchfest, rhine, swimming Leave a comment
Lets play music in Connecticut. The Greyhounds welcome you to the house.
But first a dip in the pool.
And then it’s off to the porch.
George, gig one of three…
Sound check
And then another dip in another pool, between gigs.
Gig the next.
All we’re missing is the drummer. George, gig three…
Picasso and Ramen in Barcelona
July 28, 2022
art, photography art, art museum, barcelona, fine art, gem, into the unkown, museum, picasso, ramen, romey Leave a comment
The Picasso Museum in Barcelona is an institution and is worth a quick visit. But if you have been looking at Picasso for years, you won’t find much in the way of major works. In any case, Barcelona is proud of what it has come to think of as its home town boy. Lots of early work.
Lots. Like an entire wall’s worth.
Set in four connected villas, the museum has amassed a very deep (but not very wide) collection.
This blue.
Avant guard in Paris with the Russian ballet. Picasso was blending fine art, music, and dance in 1909. (And here we thought we were onto something with Into the Unknown.)
After so much Picasso, Ramen is the answer.
Lets Get COVID in New Hampshire!
July 22, 2022
art, dance, music april, gem, into the unknown, italy, julia, New Hampshire, NH, oopstock, rhine, spool, where's aubrey 1 Comment
We thought we had narrowly escaped COVID with our collective departure from Italy. But it was not to be.
Everything was looking good, from the could-have-been-worse schlep through the Zurich train station with the enormous guitar case (no carts?! no humans who help?!), through wine tasting in SwissAir First Class, to smooth arrival in Boston.
My trusty ally and friend Spoolia was there to scoop me.
And driving into Newton it was as if we hadn’t even left Italy! Heck, dinner even was Italian, but pronounced incorrectly.
Mabel was impressed, and this is a dog not really impressed by much!
So it was off to New Hampshire for some music. And a side of accidental COVID.
Oopstock has been going strong for 29 years. Many of the usual folks were in attendance. But get this: there was a professional sound guy, and there were high school kids manning the grill. Holy cow, so upscale!!
This made my life much easier (not to mention Rhine’s). Here are my feet on the table where the sound board USED to be positioned way back when I was the sound guy. The hombre to the right is Steve. He ran great sound.
The usual instrument pod.
The East German Gold Medal Swim Team Captain.
New blood with high charisma.
Where’s Aubrey did an iteration of the Into the Unknown game. We all missed Sogol’s dancing. But here is the picture that April made.
The Moose Hut guys also got whacked by COVID. Chris was down and didn’t make the party. As a result, a game of musical chairs around who plays what instrument resulted. Zack played drums?!
Everybody missed Romey.
There was, in deference to Italy, a Negroni session mid-day.
The sun set. The babies went to bed.
And the bands came out under the actual light show. FWIW, LED lights still attract shit tons of mosquitos.
Guy Ferrari played some original music. Tight.
Moose Hut became Moose Nut or maybe Moose Butt.
And then it was the Grayhounds (a quasi-iteration on Splatterfoot with a new guy named Paul whaling on guitar).
Sadly, Rhine was infected the whole time. He started feeling symptoms Sunday. And I got it from him. I am pretty sure this all started with the Italian villa art collective (and I secretly wonder about their self-reported negative test results before our performance). So many years of top notch risk management come tumbling down when you change your risk stance. WHOMP.
A view from the stage. We played electric until 10 then shifted to the campfire where this year’s highlights were a complete treatment of one side of the Pink Floyd Animals record, and a coveted iteration of Hangin.
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Then it was off to Spain to become a vector. Unknowingly. Alas.
Special thanks to Spool for making this all possible and to Rhine and April for persisting with the music party even in a summer crammed with art and fun.
Play for Your Dinner
July 21, 2022
art, mountain, music, travel, who knows full moon, gem, live performance, music, opera, piedecavallo, rhine, ruers, santuario, video, where's aubrey Leave a comment
The thing about Italians is that they love live music. And they love Americans too (in spite of our recent proclivities for absolute dumb shit behavior). Rhine and I took advantage of this by dragging around our instruments and playing for our supper where we ate.
The first great restaurant run happened after our worldwide debut as Into the Unknown in Campiglio Cervo. The crowd converged and decided we needed a reservation subito subito.
In the end, I was spirited off with Santa Mariela so I could see the restaurant and meet the owners with my own eyes. That’s because Ruers above Piedicavallo exists past where the road ends. So you have to walk there once you ditch your car. Incredible views await. And the kindest people.
On the same fact finding mission, we also had to make a quick trip to visit Dick (a local Scott of great flare) and his cat, and catch up with pretty much everyone we encountered. This was fun, but it made us late late late.
My scouting expedition revealed this view (that is Biella down there somewhere).
We returned (very late) in the Fiat 500, parked at the edge of the world, and proceeded to have an excellent dinner replete with local wine house made cheeses, polenta, roast beef, and even gluten free stuff for Matt.
After dinner we got out our instruments and played a little music. Here is part of the “first song” (a song by Bob that we always play first so we never have to figure out what to play first).
Then we entered the kitchen to play for the cooks. This was a blast, and the staff was most appreciative. Lets just say we are welcome back any time, forever.
Check out the face on this guy.
This kind of experience is what makes a trip to Italy an amazing, humanizing experience. And to top it all off, the Signora would not let me pay all that I owed.
Of course, once we did it once, we had to do it again. That’s just how it goes.
Rhine and I scouted out a restaurant run by the slightly pazzo Roberta in Sanctuario San Giovanni. The moon was almost full, and the werewolves were awakening.
The local Barbera was outstanding. This was one of the best simple meals we had on the trip.
Top of the world to you.
If you look closely, you will see Rhine.
Roberta recognized us as part of the concert crowd from Campigliano Cervo and asked if we had brought our instruments. Since we rushed to arrive by 8:30 the answer was no. Roberta asked us to return the next evening after our big opera, and a plan was born. We promised to arrive a punto by 8:29pm.
She sent up home with a 100 year old plate for April and some goodies for breakfast. We shared some grappa.
It took some doing after the big opera performance, but we did make it. The moon was full. Everyone else arrived shortly thereafter. I played my violin at the edge and made Mariela cry.
And, once again after dinner, we played in the kitchen for the cooks even as the vegan meal was blitzkrieged on the massive stove. The floor was sticky, but the love was palpable.
We stayed until the grappa ran out.
And we will return.
Performing in Campiglia Cervo: Into the Unknown
July 21, 2022
art, dance, music, who knows april, April Claggett, art, dance, dobro, gary mcgraw, gem, guitar, italy, live art, matt, matt savage, painting, performance, rhine, Rhine Singleton, sogol, sogol shirazi, violin, where's aubrey 2 Comments
The stadium in Campiglia Cervo is scaled to match the interstate highway system that blazes through the center of town. We packed the stadium to the gills with what I am told was 65 people, including the vice mayor who introduced us, but not including the mayor himself who had more important things to do like look at himself in the mirror. Just so you know, this was a much bigger show than the show Metallica put on at the same stadium!
The show was actually very good. Intimate. Interesting. Tight. During the rest of our time in Rialmosso we ran into lots of people who either attended or heard through the grapevine about our performance. That was both really cool and very gratifying.
So what happened, exactly?
First we invented the idea. And we practiced. Then Matt arrived and things got remarkably much better. in the end, the performance included:
April Claggett, realtime art
Gary McGraw, violin, mandolin and vocal harmony
Matt Savage, piano
Sogol Shirazi, piano and dance
Rhine Singleton, guitar, dobro, vocals, songwriting
The road crew set the stage after arriving the day before to check electricity levels and make sure all of the seating was available. We have nothing but admiration for our intrepid road crew. They work so hard so we can do what we do.
The show consisted of three parts as shown on the billboard above.
Here is a stage floor view of the set list for those of you collecting bootlegs.
And a view of the nosebleed seating in the back before anyone was in the house. You can see the dancing props professionally built by our dedicated construction crew.
Publicity was run by our crack PR team who were able to put up a poster with the last of the tape.
Fortunately that poster was all it took to fill the space to the gills. When we started (only 5 minutes late), people were standing because the seating was gone. Even the reserved section for mastiffs and toddlers was full.
We sincerely appreciate the willingness of the locals in the area to support our art with enthusiasm and love!
The stage is set. The weather is perfect.
And we’re off. Sogol and Matt play Bach together.
Dancing to Vivaldi Concerto in G major for Two Mandolins, Strings and Continuo, RV 532 (re-re-arranged for violin, guitar and piano).
Realtime art during We Will Float Away.
Then the game.
Here is a (raw) video compilation of the show, barely edited. This is six minutes of an hour long show.
A complete properly-produced video will be available someday (or so we believe). We are told it is being edited by the BBC in cooperation with NPR.
Another view of the Finale from the audience.
We had so much fun inventing the game and performing it that we want to do it again.
