On to the music portion of the show! I had occasion to join in with my band, The Vintage Find this weekend. We played at the Owl Fest in Northern California. The Owl Fest is a homegrown mainstay festival for Sacramento folks and bands, and I’ve played it three times now. They are the finest group of friends I know and the bands are all friends of mine, close and some not as close, but friends never the less.

The venue was perfect for a festival with two stages, one on either side of a great old barn that serves as a green room and load in area for all the equipment and instruments. One band after another on opposite stages so the music is almost non-stop. We played at six PM for a set and I don’t think we have ever played as well, and definitely never more inspired. I am blessed to play with these folks. We make great music and they are all people I love to hang out with. You can check us at thevintagefindband.com.

Besides the beautiful setting, the great music, and all my fabulous friends, I enjoyed a special treat when my daughter, Audrey, and grand-daughter, Xyla elected to join us and attend their second Owl Fest. We arrived around the same time and I saw my daughter waving where she had parked. As I pulled in behind her car, Xyla was waving to me with a big big smile and love in her eyes. It about melted me.

She’s a strong four years old, bright, and by all accounts very beautiful. I think she is a star. We hung out and she followed me around all day. She was interested in everything; the music, the wonderful people camped next to us, and the video guy and his drone. She watched it all, she heard it all, she danced, and she gleamed.

She and her mom walked with me down to the creek. I needed to spend time plunking on my mandolin to warm up my old arthritic wasted fingers before the band’s set, so we went down by the little creek, I played mandolin and they played in the water, skipping rocks and getting their feet wet. Soon Chris, the guitar player, singer/songsmith for our band joined us and we played some tunes for a while.

I noticed Xyla watching us. She was getting into the tunes and soon was banging two rocks together in time with the music. She got the rhythm and even learned to do a fast beat in the appropriate places. I noticed her watching Chris’s foot tapping and she started tapping hers. Chris’s son joined in and we played some of his excellent jams and Xyla played along.

Another friend joined in and let Xyla bang on his bongos. She wasn’t exactly clear about having two different surfaces to hit, but she finally got it all lined up in her mind and got on the beat again. While I love that she has the chops to be a budding drummer, I feel I must convey to her before she dives in head first that the drummer has a truckload of stuff to take to the gig, it all needs to be set up, torn down at the end, and packed away. Mandolins fit in your pocket and rarely does anyone complain that it’s out of tune. It’s a mandolin for Pete’s sake.

I was impressed even more and my eyes filled with stars when I was finally on stage and playing my heart out and seeing Ms. Xyla in the audience dancing around and digging our music. What hadn’t melted before melted then and my eyes filled with gratitude for my success at being a dad to Audrey and seeing it turn out like a beautiful novel of life culminating with a beautiful young soul like my grandbaby.

I drove home soon after our set. I had another gig the next day with my other band, Side-Wheeler. (side-wheeler.com). We played at the Blue Note Brewery in Woodland for three hours in the heat. We played as a trio, our multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter, Liz, was unable to join us. But the magic was there anyway. We play a different brand of music than Vintage Find, but I love the band and my friends in that band are some of my most cherished friends, and incredibly talented. We killed it for three hot hours.

Friends are family for me, some are close, some not so close. We don’t all think the same, we all have opinions, some align with mine, some are polar opposites, but that is the ticket to harmony. Musical friends are in touch to the core, and I couldn’t be happier with all those people in my life that make the music with me. It’s almost indescribable, but I tried right here. Hope it comes across!