After all these years of playing music with my Thugz family, I still feel a bit unnerved when Mike can't lead the pack. He took off for a well-deserved vacation on Maui with his family, so Andre, Chris and I did the Blue Heron gig last night without him. He is such a wonderful leader that it can be hard to fill in the gap. We did fine, however, and I know Mike would have enjoyed it. Andre played some stunning guitar solos and held down the Grateful Dead tunes. I got to pull out a few songs from my country/americana past. Chris is always right-on, ready for anything. We were a trio of musicians who knew how to blend with each other, and it felt musically satisfying. Folks started coming in early, and we had what looked like a convention of Thugz fans wall to wall in no time. After a short break, Bradley showed up for a visit, so we asked him to join us with his little drum set-up. We got to do some rockin' versions of Dylan's "Thunder On the Mountain," "New Speedway Boogie," "Loser," and a spectacular "Scarlet Begonias." Andre confessed he had only sung that song around a campfire, but he did it - boy did he ever do it! His guitar solo was the shining star of the evening.
We are anxious to have our fearless leader return, but in the meantime, it was good to know that we all have the Thugz sound and spirit within us. 2015 looks like fun lies ahead! Take care. Love, Sylvia