| END OF THE YEAR CONCERT SCHEDULE
We have had a fabulous year. We went all the way from California to Ireland! And we had quite a few stops in between. What better way to end the year than to visit our old stompin grounds. After Orlando and Carabelle, Florida, we’re headed up north for our annual Holiday Tour. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Sharon, Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo, New York! We’ve been playing these places for sixteen years. I love the way the folks up north come out of the woodwork in the wintertime for a little indoor sports. We’ll be bringing the Liquid Summer Hot Sauce and our new FLORIDA BLUES CD to warm y’all up.
FLORIDA BLUES IS GETTING SOME GREAT AIRPLAY ON THE RADIO. Call your local blues DJ and request it. Also you can hear three of the tunes from Florida Blues on My Space. You can order a copy right here. AND…while yer there, you can order a case of Liquid Summer Hot Sauce for the holidays.
THREE DAYS IN VENICE MADE ME AN EXPERT
While strolling through the spaghetti fields of Italy, I had a crazy thought. I thought to myself, “I could make spaghetti in the privacy of my own home”. Now, I’ve bought the good sauce before, and doctored it up to my specifications, but I’ve never made it from scratch. I figured the recipe was some mafia secret, or some kind of ancient scroll hidden in the Vatican, and only shared with large, doting, Italian mothers. So I went on a quest to see what made good spaghetti good. You know how the good sauce clings to the noodles, so when you’re done, you don’t have a puddle of watery sauce in your plate? And the heavy flavor without being heavy in your stomach? That’s what I was looking for. So after a few days spent in Venice on a strict spaghetti diet, I was ready to give it a try. I was delighted with the results. Here they are.
SAUCE BOSS SPAGHETTI
2medium onions chopped
1 head of garlic minced
1 large jalapeno pepper minced
2 large carrots grated
2 tbs oregano
2 tbs basil
2 tbs honey
2-28 oz. cans of Italian tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 2 oz. can anchovies
Liquid Summer Hot Sauce to taste
Olive oil
Sauté onion and pepper in olive oil. Add carrots and continue till carrots are al dente. Add remaining ingredients and simmer reducing till the water is gone and the sauce is thick. Take your time. Make your fresh yeast bread from scratch, feed the dog, cat, or fish, read the paper, day dream, wash the dishes, whatever…but stay close and stir it frequently. To this you can add, mushrooms, zucchini, steamed seafood, (save the water for the pasta), or ground beef if you are a carnivore.
But do NOT forget the Liquid Summer Hot Sauce--a couple of tablespoons or more if you’re so inclined. This will make enough for you to freeze a quart for later as well as have plenty for four people. It’s always better the second or third day after you make it.
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PLANET GUMBO COLLIDES WITH THE BIG EASY!
What a gas! The perfect gig. Spend a couple of days in NOLA with friends and family, all helping to cook gumbo and set up shows for Katrina survivors and volunteer workers in the 9 th Ward and in coastal Buras, Louisiana. Both of the settings were amazing. St. Mary’s Church of the Angels School Auditorium is where the Common Ground Collective and area residents come to eat after long days of gutting homes to save them from the bulldozers. We got them back up on their feet, dancin' to the gumbo beat. Gotta hand it to the Rainbow kids who are there working for free day after dy. On the way to the gig we visited the area on the eastern side of the canal that was hit the worst by the flooding. Street after street of total devastation. We encourage you to visit New Orleans and see it all for yourselves. The French Quarter and Downtown and Garden District are all jumping and need more tourism to help them get back. And if you have time to volunteer, these groups could use your help.
The trip to Buras was intense. Almost no structures were left, just slabs. Hundreds of FEMA trailers. A refrigerator in a tree. We played at Emergency Communities Y-Café, built in what was left of a YMCA. It was an amazing place with a big kitchen, feeding folks as they try to rebuild their lives. There’s a clinic there with massages and herbal remedies and bandages--the only thing close to medical care in the area. They also offer hot showers, an internet café, washing machines, a library and a kid play area—all in domes constructed of PVC pipe wired together with tarps covering them. Another spot run by the hippie kids who are putting establishment organizations to shame. It was a joy to spend a couple of evenings with some folks who know how to appreciate the gumbo love we shared with them. It was a life-changing experience for the band and for the whole crew we brought with us.
SAUCE BOSS IS ON MY SPACE
Join us there, get added to our growing friends list, and listen to some tunes. We've had nearly 5,000 plays of our tunes there since July and it's all free. Tell your friends about it too. And if you haven't checked out the Sauce Boss Podcasts, be sure to do that when you get that I-pod for Christmas (and you know you can hear them anytime on your computer).
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Thank you all for coming to the gigs, listening to my CDs and podcasts, eating my hot sauce AND my gumbo too, and reading this little newsletter. Bless every last one of ya.
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