West Coast Memories: Lake Tahoe

Tahoe was always the stop into or our of California tours. We played a few small clubs in those early years. The first one I played was Humpty’s. When we first played there, I was so new to the group that I did not know all the songs. So I would sit out for a few each night. I forgot which tunes, probably "Black Clouds" or bluegrass ones like that. But that was cool with me because I was able to hang out, get a beer, and meet fans. In fact, it was at these shows that I meet a lot of early California cheese fans.

We played a daytime show outside with Leftover Salmon one summer. I remember picking Mark Vann's brain about how to emulate a banjo roll on the keyboard. It was a trip to figure out how to finger all those notes on the piano. And honestly, I never quite got it. But it was always a good time hanging with the Salmon guys.

So many winter stops for skiing and summer stops for mountain biking. I love this area. Looking forward to getting outside again when we are there.

Split Universes

Here I am sitting at home again after a few whirlwind weeks. It’s so wild to go from being a musician on stage in front of lots of people one day, to doing dishes and laundry the next. Quite the dichotomy going on in my life. Honestly though, I really enjoy the split Kyle universes. At times I am able to be home and spend time with the family, but I also get the release of playing music. And for me it's not necessarily just the playing of my instrument, but it's the addiction of performing on stage. I find sometimes I miss the energy I get from being in front of people. Yeah I know, kind of weird, but it's like I was wired to be an entertainer. Even from a young age I was a clown. From performing as a magician at the family dinners, to doing local musicals and TV shows. I always wanted to get up into the lights. And at age nine I decided that I wanted to be a “rock star." I would practice singing in front of the mirror with the brush and even pretend to answer questions from Rolling Stone. But at some point I realized I needed to actually play an instrument to be a rock star and since I was already taking piano lessons at that time, that made the most sense. Certainly not as cool as guitar, and definitely not as rocking, but I enjoyed it. And I got attention…ahh, I guess that’s what it was all about.

So I dig this strange life. And I am able to balance “dad” with “stage guy” pretty well now. Although sometimes I still find myself singing in the mirror with a brush, but at least this time I am doing it with my daughter.

I am heading out to my favorite coast again with my band, KHB. We are hitting Bellingham, Seattle, Portland and Lake Tahoe, this Thursday through Sunday. It’ll be nice to get on the road again and play some club dates (and drink great beer!). See ya in the Northwest this week! Also, I have included a link to a tune, "Rosie," that was played for the first time at the SCI Winter Carnival shows. I did a bit of a remix to it and added some new elements as well. Check it out, I hope you enjoy.

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