Our teachers and mentors over the years to whom we owe so much: Keith Terry, Ali Jackson, Herbie Hancock, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Louis Prima, Nneenna Freelon, Wynton Marsalis, Carlos Antonio Jobim, Miles Davis, Bobby Darin, Cal Tjader, Gary Burton, and many more.
Our Solutions Tour was a a huge success! The environmental magazine Grist covered our tour and featured us as their "Interactivists" of the week of June 25. See the interview here: http://www.grist.org/comments/interactivist/2007/06/25/inblack/index.html
And on September 4, the Press Democrat ran a feature on the band with a really great picture taken by our friend Tri Tran. See it at: http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070904/NEWS04/709040306/-1/SPECIAL&THEMES=LIFESTYLE.
We played 8
concerts in 8 days, gave out what seemed like thousands of Clif Bars, did
press conferences and interviews, got lots of signatures on the NRDC’s
Move America Beyond Oil petition (thanks to Langston and Carson‘s little
sister, Sawyer, who ran the petition drive), and generally had a great
time sharing ideas with folks about climate change.
We played at the E3 Playhouse in Santa Cruz, (which was trippy because the
only people there were getting wasted at the bar, but at least they were
happy), at the Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo, at Universal CityWalk
(Universal Studios), the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Festival, the
fabulous Jazz Bakery in Culver City (our best performance, that place just
brings out the best in musicians), twice at Disneyland, and the L.A. Zoo.
It was all a blast. Lauren got stung by 2 bees at the Solstice Festival,
and we nearly had to call 911 for Christian because the amps were aimed at
his head and he got blasted the whole concert long, plus is was way hot,
and at the end of the concert he fell off the stage! Fortunately, it was
only a foot off the ground, but it was very rock n’ roll.
Carson blew the keyboard at the Jazz Bakery, because he had been smoking
on the thing the day before at the Solstice Fest, but the Bakery had a
beautiful grand piano that sounded almost as good (!). The brakes went
out in Anaheim, but we didn’t care, because we were at Disneyland: Two
concerts, one at California Adventure and one on the Carnation Stage in
Disneyland, and then we grabbed Lati and hit everything we could for the
next 2 days. We were the last people in Disneyland each night.
We were hot and tired by the time we got to the L.A. Zoo for the last day
of the tour. It was so hot that Lauren’s shoes melted and got stuck in
the asphalt. But the Zoo folks were great, the monkeys thought we rocked,
and we want to go back for Music in the Zoo next summer.
People to thank: All the places that let us perform; the one and only
Clif Bar for the huge donation and all the Clif Bars we ate and gave out
to petition signers; Mark and Tri for letting us stay at their place;
Lati’s uncle for the same; Steve at Amoruso’s Printing in Healdsburg for all the donated printing; Jane and Bill Moore at Camp Rose, and the Camp Rose Players, for EVERYTHING;Pea Soup Anderson’s Best Western in Buellton
for the donated rooms; the Ramada Limited in Lebec for the donated rooms;
Codding Enterprises, KJZY, Blood Bank of the Redwoods, Councilman Mike
McGuire of Healdsburg for generous donations; Climate Protection Campaign, all the folks
who came to our fundraising concerts and bought raffle tickets, and
especially all the people who came to watch us and support us! You’re the
best!
If you want more information about climate change, and all the really cool things people are doing to make a difference, visit these websites:
Yokayo Biofuels (www.ybiofuels.org)donated a tank of biodiesel to the tour. They are a group dedicated to expanding the biofuels industry, especially in Nor Cal. Be sure to check them out: they offer a cheap, clean, and reliable fuel alternative that you could easily upgrade your car with! And, they deliver!
Climateprotectioncampaign.org: The Climate Protection Campaign is based in Sonoma County and is so successful that they were featured on KQED Radio’s California Report on Monday, March 26, 2007. CPC is leading the way in showing businesses and consumers what they can do to help reduce emissions in their own towns and counties. They have had so many successes and effective solutions for our county, they are a model in many ways for other towns and counties.
Nrdcaction.org: The NRDC is one of the oldest and most repected environmental organizations in the United States. We’re helping the NRDC to promote their Move America Beyond Oil petition. Sign on and make yourself heard!
Send us YOUR solutions. Include your name, age, city/state, and
a detailed description to inblack@sonic.net.
