Thunder? Storm!

I've been bouncing around the state recently, San Francisco, Ojai, Big Bear; even bounced over to Alabama for awhile to launch my People Places & Sings project. It's a slow cookin' backwards tour.

In LaFayette, Alabama, Janice Key-Walding, The Southern Herbalist, graciously hosted me. It took a couple of weeks, but the trip bore a song called Snake In The Rafters (true story.)

Thanks to Deborah Crooks, you can read more about it at: http://deborahcrooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/nina-jo-smiths-people-places-sings.html

Still working on healing my sprained ankle. The more I hang out with it up on the back of the couch, the better it feels. I'll spare you the technicolor photo.
Instead, here's one of my friend Elisa playing the grand old Steinway at SF's Cadillac Hotel.

Got to see Sonja & Patrick yesterday and subjected them to the icy-wind torture of walking on otherwise beautiful Baker Beach. I love that place for the obvious reason of its natural beauty, also because something special seems to happen every time I go there.

As I reflected on their visit, I was thinking we didn't see anything especially remarkable (unless you count the nude sunbathers....). Then I realized what was special was our being there together!

Wonder of wonders, I'm no longer locked out of my blog.

Here's the Reader's Digest Condensed version of an update since my last posting: I retired from my day job to pursue my music. About that time I developed hand pain that kept me from playing guitar for about 8 months. Grr. After a lot of work to heal, I'm gradually getting back into playing guitar.

I'll be the featured performer at Hotel Utah Open Mic on April 27. This is the liveliest open mic in San Francisco, without a doubt, & I'm really glad to be back.

Hey thanks to everybody who rolled out of their nice warm abodes last
freezing Sunday afternoon to enjoy our Fried Pickles Front Porch Jam
at The Hotel Utah Saloon in San Francisco.

Crystal Eastman of Crystal and the Wolves came down from the mountain with her glowing originals and some traditionals we added harmonies to; Jeanne Foss shone with her wonderful lyrics and cool rhytmic fingerpicking, Ruth Butler anchored us with her bluesy keyboard & tickled us with her uke; Toy Yamaji of Toy House gave us great acoustic rock versions of her great songs; Robin Galante's steady voice and thoughtful lyrics were a marvel of craftsmanship; and I juggled my three guitars and tried not to fall off my chair - the ladies really rocked my new song, Take Me Back, Alabama played on the mighty Lee Mallory 12-string. Thanks, ladies!

The six of us maxed out the Utah's sound board & had every sound guy
in the place working: Clay (unbelievably running sound in spite of a
broken pelvis), Kevin, and our own Jeff Cotton who added his finesse
to the project. And thanks to Mike the booker too, for getting us on
the calendar!

If you missed it, well, we had such a good time jamming that we may
just do something like it again.

All the best and, see you in the music!
--Nina Jo Smith
http://www.redwoodrivermusic.com

My cousin Tiernan has a blog, my friend's daughter Rachel has a blog, hey, I want a blog! Tiernan is traveling in Guatemala & El Salvador and doing good work there. Rachel is studying in France. They are both very cool young women who work to make the world a better place.
If you want to know what I'm up to, you can check out my website www.redwoodrivermusic.com and I'll also post some stuff n' nonsense here.
'Bye for now, folks,
Nina Jo