It's about time we got out there to do the full band thing. We've all been missing performing together, and we've really missed seeing familiar smiling faces and dancing feet. The Thugz are alive and well even though we haven't been doing our regular local Thursdays lately. Spending our time working on recording tunes has been good for us, however. Last night helped to remind us how much we appreciate our tribe, our fans. We were scheduled late for the Johnny Downer event at the Hopmonk. Lots of folks had been there most of the afternoon and into the evening, so by the time we set up near midnight, we had the tried and true devotees left standing. We did some of our own tunes like "The Other Side," "The Quiet Ones," and "Good Guys" - but, we just had to squeeze in "NSWB" and "Shakedown Street." It was fun to play, and it felt good to honor Johnny, his musical legacy, and support local school music programs. Stephanie Salva added her talents to the mix, singing with the Jug Dealers (of course), Free Peoples and with us. Johnny's love for our west county music scene paid off last night. His spirit and inspiration were right up there on that stage with everybody. So on we go into 2014. We'll play in Sebastopol again on January 25th at the Oddfellows Hall with the Chris Bramble band. It should be a fantastic dancing venue. The River Theater looms on the horizon, and our CD should materialize before too long, so we're hoping our tribe will weather the winter "break" and emerge with even more gusto come spring. My daffodil bulbs are coming up now, and watch out for those acacia blooms - it's all happening! Take care. Love, Sylvia