I will detail the history & progress of my knee replacement in the "Blog" section of this site. I'm calling it "What's a Joint Like You Doing in a Girl Like This?" Stepping back from political commentary for awhile as I recuperate from surgery: I'll "pick my fights" in small doses on Facebook and channel political emotions into donating and volunteering (especially as I recover). I need to be as calm as possible so I can dedicate myself to regaining range-of-motion in my knee, adapting to my temporary physical constraints on performing (sit vs. stand, optimal sitting position for instrument placement and vocal support), booking fall and winter, and getting lighter and more fit. That'll speed my rehab, as well as take some of the strain off my left knee so that my unloader brace and stronger muscles can delay replacing it as well.
Musically, the spring was marvelous! Played nearly as much in the near-southeast/mid-Atlantic region as here in the western Great Lakes. It was a wrenching decision to forgo FAI this year, especially as it was the last time it was based in Memphis, but a wise decision. We're Memphised-out, and doing plenty of driving downstate to Sparta as it is. Until we have the new album(s) out to promote (or face a conference in a market we've yet to tap, as with FARM's upcoming move to St. Louis), it really makes no sense to do a gazillion guerrillas and marathon stints in the Exhibit Hall. Since we're both off the FARM Board, we had no regional-leadership duties to fulfill; and since Local 1000 chose Highlander as the site of our 2012 annual gathering, both those responsibilities requiring FAI attendance were out of the picture. Besides, we got some good recording and rehearsals in during the time we'd otherwise have been barreling down the freeways, talking, sleeping in motels, eating insalubrious food and obsessing over winter driving hazards.
Got to take three trips to the DC area: in early April for Bob's cardiology symposium and my sister's birthday (dinner at Citronelle was worth both the megabucks and the calories); then down to Fredericksburg, VA for the Songwriter Showcase. Bob and Lou Gramann are delightful hosts, and we had a blast swapping songs in the round with the marvelous Ellen Bukstel and Nick Annis. We had a good sized crowd, marvelous acoustics, terrific volunteers and great hospitality from the Gramanns before and after the show. Steve drove back while I spent the weekend with my family, flying home in order to optimize the time I needed to devote to a case I was handling. (I am a "recovering" attorney, but flunking the 11th & 12th steps of recovery from law-practice, namely, refusing new cases and relinquishing the law license). Did some solo gigs at Pillars (had to back out of the Apr. 3 one when my tooth broke that morning and the novocaine didn't wear off in time to sing without drooling and slurring) and the Songsalive! Chicago showcase at the Heartland (a great gig marred only by having my car towed, despite handicap placard and no restrictions other than "handicap permit only" displayed at the parking space, and the cab missing the address three times before I had to call Bob to get me to Lincoln Towing to ransom Baby Blue). Dave Hawkins came in from Cincinnati and stayed with me for his own Pillars gig and our appearances at the Woodstock Folk Festival's Woody Guthrie Birthday Benefit. Played Mighty Joe's open mic at Katie O'Connor's in Plainfield and earned an invitation to return as a paid featured performer. Knee school and pre-op tests went well. Unfortunately, the night before that gig and two days before a long-ago-scheduled (and impossible-to-reschedule-within-this-year) Two Way Street Andina & Rich gig, I developed a nasty case of laryngitis. Had I gone and done the Plainfield show, and fully lost my voice for the next night, I'd have let down not only Steve but Two Way Street and the fans who came out to see us. My college best buddy Lisa (now a member of the Grammy-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir) suggested hot & sour soup--which did the trick better than prednisone would have. The gig went very well. And the next week found us out in Shepherdstown, WV for the season-closing concert at the Trinity Orchard House series. Steve Warner was a great host, we had a nearly-full house despite floods and a tornado warning, made lots of new fans and sold some CDs. After my GPS had several near-nervous breakdowns due to sudden road closures and detours, we arrived late into the night at our hotel at Dulles, from which Steve had a flight to Phoenix a couple of hours later for his nephew's wedding. Spent another great weekend with my sister & niece (and a magnificent yet affordable dinner at Vidalia), capped off with a concert for Arlington, VA's Nottingham Elementary School Koalas (kindergarten). These kids were delightful and a lot smarter and more sophisticated than I remember we were at that age. (At age 6, I'd never seen a dulcimer, heard of a digeridoo or known it was an instrument and not an animal, much less have been able to imitate it).
Arrived home to two unpleasant surprises: due to schedule conflicts my surgery was moved back to June 22; and I was to report straightaway to the Sleep Lab at Northwestern Hospital for evaluation for sleep apnea. (The portable unit I was to have used to test myself at home was never shipped). The Sleep Lab turned out to be the most luxurious hotel room I've ever had (in the same hotel that houses Tru Restaurant): teak-paneled walls and built-in cabinetry, flat-screen TV, down pillows & duvets, and an all-granite bathroom with a glassed-in shower that had water pressure I'd kill for. And I slept soundly despite being wired-up six ways from Sunday. What an irony: seventeen hundred bucks ($23 to park), with a check-in time of 9 pm and checkout no later than 7 am. Dang. And then I had to go buy my own coffee. Result was that I do snore (duh), but rather than stopping my breathing, the snoring wakes me up momentarily many times during the night, often during the deepest parts of sleep. No wonder I never wake up refreshed no matter how long I sleep. But rather than a CPAP machine, my peri-op doc prescribed a dental mouthpiece that repositions the jaw to open up throat passages. My dentist fitted me for one and we're waiting for it to come back from the lab and me to be in shape to climb up & down the stairs to his office to try it out and have the fitting tweaked.
The People's Church gig went very well--again, bigger crowd than expected given the brutally hot weather--but the pain in my knee took its toll. As soon as the adrenaline of performing wore off, I began to see stars. I promptly sat down and hydrated like crazy. My guardian angels got my instruments down to the car so I could recuperate enough to drive home safely. Only after I popped a cough drop and perked up did I realize I'd had nothing to eat since breakfast. But the Elijah's gig fell victim to the P.R.O. goons again. Sigh.
The surgery's postponement enabled me to spend Father's Day with Bob and see Gordy's show at Studio Be, as well as get some more ducks in a row. Surgery went well, but as I said, that story's in my Blog from now on. And I returned to gigging last night in the Four Women Showcase at Katerina's: the temporarily insurmountable height of the stage (no step or rail) necessitated my sitting in front of it; despite the chair being too low and the mic too high to effectively see my instruments as I sang, I did pretty well, all things considered. And Gordy was an angel--carrying my instruments, sticking around all evening and gallantly hailing the cab for the ride home.
Next performances: a cameo in Julie Jurgens' bimonthly tribute showcase at the Gallery Cabaret (had to miss the June 1 Bowie tribute because I was gigging in WV), "Rubber Pet Soul Sounds" Fri. Aug. 3; the Blue Island Rush Hour Farmers' Market scheduled for Aug. 7 (BYO chairs, sound and shelter--we'll see if I can handle two hours out in the hot sun either sitting in an uncomfortable position or standing); and a Fox Valley Folk Festival doubleheader: one morning with the Dulcimer Society of Northern IL and one with the Chicago Songwriters' Collective. (FVFF is disabled-friendly, so I'm not worried). And then comes Bob's & my European river cruise vacation: two weeks, from Budapest to Amsterdam.
More later, as I'm sure additional gigs and developments will pop up in the interim.