This season of playing out is winding down. We were lucky enough to be playing straight through from May on. It works out that my teaching job starts when my band one is slowing down. There are not many places to play in the north country now. People up here tend to hibernate for the winter. Our favorite club, Middle Earth, was the best place to see a good band, eat, drink, and move around but they had a really difficult time making a go of it and had to close...boo, hooo. I will have fond memories of Chris and Sue and the 12 years of hard work that they put into the place.

We might try the ski areas this winter and have a few foliage gigs left, however. Look for us at the Deerfield Fair in southern New Hampshire and Paddle the Border in Bradford Vermont. We always learn new sons after the playing season so the winters give us plenty of time to practice. That is something that we've done for 30 years without a stop. Also, if any of you local friends like to jam we're into all kinds of music and loooove jamming.

I want to thank all of you who came out to support us at our gigs and to those of you who listened, made comments, and left messages on myspace. Although we've been on here for only a few months we've made many good friends.

Sorry I haven't written for awhile. School leaves me with no time or energy and my cat Jazzy had been very sick for the last month. We had been trying to nurse her. The final verdict was cancer and she had been suffering so much that we had to put her down on Friday. She had a beautiful spirit and was always there for us. She followed and greeted us like a dog. When the band arrived she sat right in the middle of our circle and listened to the whole practice. She was so brave near the end it was heart breaking to see her struggle. We were blessed to have had her as a member of our family for 14 beautiful years. She was memorialized at the Dog Chapel in E. St. J. Vermont. Stephen Huneck has done a beautiful job with his spot on Dog Mountain and gives comfort to all pets and owners, living or not.

The next few months will be busy. We are playing in 2 bands but school is out and it will be fun. Hope to see you along the way.

I just wanted to explain why our dates aren't up on myspace. We all have day jobs. Tom's a judge and Sue's a teacher. We practice all year round but primarily gig in the summers and early fall. We have several jobs for the summer and when it gets closer to those dates they'll be posted on myspace. We will also update our music from time to time so you can hear what we are up to.
Thanks for stopping by. Sue

It was good to have band practice after a month without playing. My shoulder is on the mend. Just the fact that I couldn't play for so long made me enjoy it even more when I finally started picking again. I think I'd go nuts if my injury lasted any longer. I'm now exploring many different styles on the banjo. The only problem is finding the time after putting in a full day.