http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/SoundWars/

Will you please click my name on this page?  It takes 1 click.  Right now, I'm in 2nd place.  The top 10 come this Monday at 4am move on to the final round next week.

This is fun!  Thank you!

Update – I’m even more amazed now. I just phoned Senator Hutchison’s office to thank her. They put me through to Carolyn Kobey in her Dallas office. It turns out, she’s the one who helped us. She has worked for the Senator’s office for 16 years and she says we were the only thing she did all day yesterday.

“It was a pleasure to be able to help you all. Believe me, I felt your pain and with the swine flu, I just thought, ‘We gotta get them out of there.’”

She confirmed that Cynthia was wonderful… a real spitfire.

When it was all resolved, Continental even sent Carolyn an email to let her know that we had made our connection to Austin. Talk about Guardian Angel!

Oh! and Carolyn has already emailed every person in Mexico and the US that she dealt with yesterday to thank them and to let them know we got home. Man, I just love these ladies who can get the job done and again, I am SO GRATEFUL!

So, my Rock Star Husband got this killer gig, playing for a fund raiser for an orphanage called Casa Hogar in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was a Celebrity Golf Classic Tournament. Actors, football players, and very down to earth, interesting RICH PEOPLE who love to have fun for a good cause. If you have never looked on a map, click this link, because this will be pertinent. Notice how Cabo is at the very bottom tip of a narrow peninsula, 775 miles from the United States border.

The band got to bring the wives and girlfriends. A villa on the ocean was donated for us. Incredible rock star treatment and the orphanage was so amazing (more on that in another post. Hopefully I can get a link to the video that Donna DeBerry made about the boys). I got to watch a whale frolic in the ocean FROM THE POOL. We had a very good reason for leaving our babies (now 2.5 and 8 months) home for the first time and we felt it was good practice for me returning ever so gracefully to my career as a touring musician. They knew they were safe with their Grandfather Diddy and my 2.5 year old knew EXACTLY when we were coming home, because he has his own little calendar and he and Diddy marked the days off.

At Buffalo’s gig on Friday night at The Hard Rock Cafe in Cabo, his wallet was stolen from the stage while the band and the company that provided the backline were packing up.

I knew instantly, the severity of our situation. I’m not certain that anyone else did or possibly could know the severity, without having lived in a multinational marriage. I started to see my little boy’s face, when we didn’t come home as promised… HEARTACHE. TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF TRUST AROUND MOMMY LEAVING. (you can’t understand unless you have kids). I also knew that because I speak Spanish and have traveled extensively in Mexico and because of emerging situations in the country, I could not leave my husband, who grew up in a Welsh village with more sheep than people and speaks ZERO Spanish alone to sort it out.

The following article covers the current situations in Mexico. The title pretty much sums it up. Swine Flu, Earthquake, and Drug Wars Rock Mexico.

Note: Going into this trip, Swine Flu and Earthquake had not happened and the drug Wars are not know to be a problem in Cabo, because it’s SO FAR AWAY from the rest of Mexico and the border.

Ok… so on this trip, we were surrounded by lots of highly capable, generous, successful people full of ideas and contacts who might be able to help us. One person spoke directly with someone they know at the State Department. One person emailed a Senator. John Zaring, the amazing, amazing event producer was relentless in trying to help us and he started making arrangements for IF we had to stay longer in Cabo.

In the mean time, we spoke with the Cabo and Mexico City Consulates and EVERYONE said the same thing. Cabo consulate could do nothing for us. Buffalo’s two options were to obtain a Transportation Boarding letter IN PERSON from the Mexico City Consulate in order to be allowed on a flight to the US and then apply for a replacement card in person or to make his way to the border, where he could apply for a replacement card. Everyone said, “Your Best Bet is to get to the border.” I mean everyone other than the many (clearly not experienced with anything INS related) people who said things that all started with phrases like, “well, shouldn’t you be able to…” and “surely you could just…”, and “I would think that because Sarah is a US citizen…”

-Transportation Boarding Letter to allow Andy to fly home could only be obtained in person in Mexico City or Tijuana.
-Mexico City (and Consulate) closed indefinitely due to Swine Flu Epidemic
-Next Flight to Tijuana from Cabo = 4 days after our scheduled flight home
- What I found on the internet about driving from Cabo San Lucas to Tijuana, the nearest border town
About 775 miles. If you plan to drive make sure you don’t drive at night or after dusk - ever. Cows and horses walk in the roads at night and you can’t see them until you are a part of them. It is very, very dangerous. Cell phones - all carriers - do not have coverage most of the way to Cabo or San Jose. It takes 2 very full and very long days to drive in the summer and 3 days in the winter due to shorter drive time hours.

So I got on Facebook last night and here is what I put as my status: “Sarah needs a friend at the American consulate in Mexico City or Tijuana pronto, por favor. Bufalo’s wallet w/ GREENCARD stolen on stage Friday night. Swine Flu not helping matters. We r in Cabo but they say our only hope is to get to a border town. so many conflicting answers from 1 person to the next. Not kidding.”

Ideas and possible connections poured in on FB. Cynthia Colpaart wrote, “I will contact Kirk Watson in the morning. Don’t panic!” Sure, that would be great, Cythina… all avenues, please!

First thing this morning, I called Continental Airlines while Andy called the INS and triple checked that he couldn’t fly into the US just as an English visitor. A very definite answer from both that we had to have this Transportation Boarding Letter. Andy was off waiting outside the Cabo Consulate for them to open (late), in case he could convince someone to fax this important letter.

Meanwhile, I was trying to find domestic Mexico flights that would get us to the border, preferably the Texas Border, even more preferably, a border town closer to Austin. Cynthia popped up on my Facebook Instant Messenger. It went something very roughly like this…
‘I’m on hold.’
‘They put me through to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s office!’
‘She’s going to help you, don’t worry.’
I emailed Cynthia photocopies of all of Buffalo’s documents, including the stolen Greencard
‘She’s contacted the Cabo Consulate, the State Department, such and so, such and so’ ( I don’t even remember it all, wish I had saved the chat!)
‘She’s says don’t worry.’
‘She says, Let’s get them home!’
Somewhere in there, Cynthia mentioned that she needs a job and I’m thinking… “This lady knows how to get things done! Who wouldn’t want to hire her?”

I’m waiting for Cynthia to fill me on on the details of how on earth this all worked out, but while it was going down, I asked her, “How are you doing this????”
Her answer was so amazing to me, “I’m a child of the 60’s and I learned a long time ago to be patient, to never get angry and to make my politicians earn their votes.”

Just then, Buffalo called and said that the Senator’s office had called the Cabo Consulate (again after getting nowhere with them on the letter) and the message was for Buffalo and I to get to the Continental Ticket counter immediately. They would be expecting us.

And so we did and indeed they were expecting us and from what I gather, Senator Hutchison was able to communicate directly between someone way up at Continental and the head of the Houston INS department. They gave us our boarding passes and told Andy to expect to be detained in Houston, but that it would only be for a few hours and he would probaly miss his connecting flight. And that is indeed what happened. The whole time we were still terrified that their would be a break in the lines of communication that would mean Buffalo was “in trouble” (which can mean deportation… REALLY) and I think I grew a golf ball sized ulcer waiting for them to set my Buffalo free, but after about 3 hours, he came out unscathed and his application for a replacement card had been filed. And really bad weather in Houston even made our connecting flight to Austin wait for us while Buffalo was detained! Can I get an AMEN?!!!

I must mention that every single immigration officer was as courteous and professional as one could possibly be to us and everyone we witnessed.

And from what I also gather, Cynthia was able to get through to Senator Hutchison so that she could SAVE OUR BUMS, simply by being a concerned citizen with good manners… not by being wealthy, connected, whatever. Does that warm your heart or what???? I know mine’s warm right now, but how could it not be? We’re home, our babies waited up for us, and they are now so fast asleep and we are all safe and sound!

I know we are the exception in this nightmare situation. I am feeling EXCEPTIONALLY grateful to Cynthia, Senator Kay ‘Bailey-Me-Out’ Hutchison (my new name for her) and to God for letting me be born in the USA!

oh! and Buffalo is applying for US citizenship PRONTO.

Thank you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcHxiGq4SJw

An interview with Radio Mike from a while back. Last year, I think.

I won an Austin Music award for Best Jazz band! Whew, that was fun!
Thank you!!!! The ceremony was on the opening night of SXSW 2009. I have some great photos to post at some point. SS

I had my first Ham Jam experience and I’m so glad I finally went! Wish I had gone sooner, but it serves me right for too often not doing things unless they are spelled out. Musicians only party. Daren had mentioned it in passing before and Slim and Francie Meaux Jeaux kept reminding me, “It’s the first Monday of the month. Ham Jam tonight!” I had no idea what I was in store for. Thought I’d stop by for 30 minutes… don’t know what I thought, but – THIS IS AN AMAZING THING.

I was trying to figure out which house it was on a cul de sac with condos, modest houses and then this one house – UP HIGH in the corner with a huge porch all the way round on both levels. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it was THAT house… and then it was THAT house! Musicians streaming in with ease (clearly not their first time ) and finding their comrades… I’m just slowly moving, head up, down, all around, eyes wide open and taking it in. Whoa… and thinking, “Wow… Daren’s rich. Good for him. Never would have guessed.”

As I arrived, Francie was out front and she gave me the preliminary run down. This place is almost like a museum, but other than the occasional spilled glass of wine, no one ever messes things up. He’s been doing this monthly for 4 years. We stood near the dining room and watched people deposit their instruments. I took a photo, not sure if you can tell from this photo, that it was just stacks of instrument cases and instruments. Francie decided to join in for the next song that was happening in the living room. PHOTO she was up in the entry way and the rest of them are sunken down in the living room. There was a middle school aged kid asleep in a big arm chair. They said he had come with his dad and he was quite a good guitar player, but by the time I got there, he was out for the count.. school night and all.

Daren welcomed me & gave me the run down. The doors are just closed on these bedrooms to keep the sound separate, but people are in there playing. Be sure to check them all out. Folk, Jazz, bluegrass. In one bedroom – sweltering, I counted 18 people.

That living room jam got over crowded, meaning it would take 20 minutes to get through 1 song when every player has taken a solo, so Slim led us to a part of
the house that has proven to be one of his favorite jam spots over the years – the bathroom! This was no small bathroom. I sat on a bench in a glass shower, Meaux Jeaux & Slim just the other side of the glass. Various people shared the bench with me. How often to you get to let strangers hear how good you sound in the shower?!? Strings, dueling flutes (I think they were dating), banjo. At one point I counted 11 players in our bathroom (and one hanger on drinking wine out of a beer can). Cello, soprano sax, violin, upright bass, 4 guitars, 3 singers. All ages and yet no one trashes the place and no sign of heavy drinking, except that one hanger on. One guy actually came in and peed while we were all playing, but we had turned the lights off by then and he sat down to be polite :)

At one point, I went down to find a glass of wine and there was a rather large Klesmer Jam happening in the kitchen! Meanwhile, Daren was pulling out the 2nd spiral ham of the evening from the oven – Yes, he really serves ham!

As I was leaving, I walked out of the bathroom to find Craig Marshall taking his turn in a bedroom full of what seemed like the new Freshmen class of Momo’s songwriters. Bob Barney, Nathan Hubble, John Johnston, etc. all of them quite good. I sang harmony on Craig’s song, “I like Saturday Night” and was renewed in my desire to see that song in the right hands. It is such a hit waiting to launch some 17 year old girl’s pop/rock career. It would have been perfect on Avril Lavigne’s 1st album, if it was recorded the way I hear it. I stayed for one whole round in that room and was grateful to Slim and Francie, because for once in a jam situation, I got to really sing. In the “songwriter room” I was right back where I usually am at a jam, unable to sing my own material because I don’t play an instrument and so I can’t accompany myself, wishing Buffalo or Sam was there with me. Francie came out of the bathroom at one point and lay face down on the bed like a star fish in between me, the guy who sounded just like Jack Johnson and the guy who sounded just like Ray La Montagne. I thanked her. Still face down, “yes, ma’am, it was fun! so are you hooked now?”

Never had an experience like this. It was so genuine, not a scene. I would venture to bet that not one business card was exchanged, and yet these were true musicians. Live and breathe it kind of people. When I was leaving at 2am, I counted 10 different jams going on. Living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, various spots on the abundant porch and patio spaces. When I got to record at Capitol, the energy was palpable. As if every note that had ever been played there was still fading out, resonating on some sub-audio, energetic level. Same feeling in this house. All of these years – 40 – 50 nights of so many jams happening in literally every room. Good energy. If he ever goes to sell the hose, that’s the biggest selling point!

KGRL Radio just informed me that I'm on their list of Best Albums of 2008.  It's a hefty list and I must say, I enjoy seeing my name among these artists!  

Happy New Year!

Hello there!

Baby Stella was born August 22. She is perfect and her big brother loves having her around. These are happy times in the Sharp household and I'm loving just being present with my babies. I'm not sure what my plan is for re-entry into the music world yet, but I did pick up a show this Saturday that I wanted to tell y'all about. (details in the shows section)

I hope to do a lot more jazz gigs in the near future, as I miss singing all of the time and there's only so much of my own music I can play live each week without touring.

I'm playing on Saturday with Slim Richey and Meaux Jeaux at Romeo's.  I'm really happy that they needed a sub for their regular singer and they thought of me.  I have always thought they would be great fun to play with.  I had the honor of rehearsing with them at 'Camp Peckerwood', their home near Driftwood.  How can I describe it other than to say...only in central Texas.  They have the most beautiful view from a toilet I think I've ever had.

I also want to tell you about The Groundwork Music Project. I really believe in this non-profit, which brings free music classes to underprivileged pre-school children in Austin.  After sponsoring some classes and volunteering a little, I have become a board member.  So you will likely hear more from me about this project from time to time.  One thing I want to point out right away:

THESE COMPANIES ARE COOL.  They are donors to the Groundwork Music Project.
The Whip In - South Austin convenience store with an extensive beer/wine/cigar collection
Nada Moo - Austin's own non-dairy ice cream company

For Alistair's 2nd birthday party, we are putting out a collection jar for the Groundwork Music Project instead of presents and Nada Moo has donated their dairy free ice cream for the kids... good thing with all of the allergies and clean diets these days. I think my kid is the only one of his peers who has ever eaten refined sugar. I'm certain the other mothers would cringe to see our trick for keeping him in his high chair and pleasant in restaurants - a packet of sugar slowly doled out for him to draw his finger through and lick... Hey, I give him the raw sugar when possible and never the pink, yellow, or blue brain tumor powder.

There is a new song up on my myspace page. A demo of 'Above Water' that Kevin Ryan arranged a few years ago and never let me hear until last week. I love it. He makes it look so easy...

NPR Music - Second Stage

July 15th, 2008 .. --> by Sarah Sharp -->