“Your mind is in a restless state which only travel will satisfy.” I’ve mentioned that little fortune cookie slip before and written about it — it describes my mental state for much of my life. I almost felt as if I had invented it but I was going through some stuff a month ago and found it! Now it’s in a little frame on my bookshelf. This artwork describes that longing for me. Just took someone to the airport, off on an Italian adventure, and wished I was going along.

Some advice I picked up a long time ago: When you get to a certain stage of a project DON’T TALK ABOUT IT. At this point you have gathered information and skills, done your research, talked it over and now you have to just do it, get creative, experiment, see what works. The photo is a dark and moody image of a beautiful tool that I’m using in this new artistic venture. I picked it up at an estate sale this summer for $24. Alto’s EZ/Mat Cutter Deluxe, made of brass. It was never used and old enough that it has a video included, not a DVD. I looked it up — they don’t make them anymore and when they did they sold for $230. (I love estate sales!)

Adventurous, mysterious, possibly even heroic. That’s the definition of romance. I hope these items will have a whiff of that. Eventually they will make their way into my Etsy shop (on the right). Stay tuned.

A friend and I went to the 318 Cafe in Excelsior, MN to see Reynold Philipsek and fellow musicians in his East Side band on Friday night. The small but acoustically lovely room (the open timber has a nice timbre) was set up with long tables in the middle and smaller tables around the edges. Wine, beer, soup, sandwiches — tasty. OK, sorry about the “timbre”.

On to the important stuff — the music. Awesome, tight, lyrical jazz with musicians Michael Bissonette (percussion) and Matt Senjem (acoustic bass) who play with Reynold as East Side. Their harmonica player, Clint Hoover, has moved east but shows up occasionally — we saw him with Reynold, Matt and an accordian player at the Aster Cafe in Minneapolis which has the same owner as the 318. They were in total sync on Friday night, blending together and playing off each other with beautiful precision. The bass player was grounded with lots of bright notes and the drummer seems almost psychic, playing on some inventive altered plane and still squeezing in comic relief.

A lot of gypsy jazz on this gypsy guitar which has a smaller mouth (“Petite Bouche”), a gentle arch in the wood to give it volume and a wide moustache bridge. Beyond that I don’t know what I’m talking about except to say that gypsy jazz is not for the faint of heart — a lot of aggression, strength and excitement in this music. Listen to “Silesian Mist” and “Beatnik Pie” here. Reynold has Czech and Polish roots; Upper Silesia is now part of Poland. He told a story about learning “Dark Eyes”, a Russian folk tune, from his grandfather in a different than usual minor key and then played that toward the end of the night. During the break, Reynold handed out free CDs. He likes to get involved with his audience and it’s a pleasure to talk to him. Get on the mailing list and see him when you can.

From Wikipedia: Philipsek’s work as a guitarist has been reviewed in Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar,Vintage Guitar, Billboard and Downbeat, where Philipsek received a four star review at the age of 22. Philipsek was chosen as a Guitar Player Magazine Jazz Poll nominee for six consecutive years (1975 to 1980), has been nominated for three Minnesota Music Awards, and has three songs in the iTunes Top 75 Gypsy Jazz Essentials.

I’ve had traveling fever for weeks now but yesterday and today it was on the boil. I checked the weather reports, hotel rooms, cleaned my car out, washed my clothes, even got my bag down out of the closet. I was on the verge of disappearing, slipping away, but something stopped me. Money, I suppose, and time and things that need my attention.

It wasn’t just travel fever, it was also a longing for Ruby and Get Lost. It’s been months and months since I’ve paid any attention to my novel. Well, physical attention, pen and paper kind of attention, because it’s almost always in my mind. I know eventually I will have to go on a little writer’s retreat and give it some completely undivided attention.

Meanwhile, here is Ruby, traveling.

Walking Satellite. I chose the name some twelve years ago from a song by Rickie Lee Jones called “Satellites”. I’m not sure what the lyrics mean, only what they mean to me. Friends should stick together, if you learn something pass it on, if you see or hear or taste something special share it and so forth.

So you keep talking in many languages
Telling us the way you feel
Don’t stop confiding in the road you’re on
Don’t quit, you’re walking satellites

Each blog is a postcard from me to you from these roads I’m traveling on, roads we are all traveling on. Freeways, blue highways, dirt roads, dead ends, going the wrong way down a one-way street, on a train, on a plane, in the gutter looking at the stars (Oscar Wilde). Feel free to join my conversation by commenting or adding your own story, along the way.

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