(29 September 2012) AUBURN, AL and WAVERLY, AL — When I did the Jazz Or Bust Tour this summer, a big part of the tour was finding places where people had created their own scenes. Today in Waverly, Alabama, I found another one.
The Fall Boogie is a companion to the Old 280 Boogie, which happens earlier in the year. This is the first year the folks at Standard Deluxe, a screen-printing shop in Waverly, have tried a Boogie in the fall. Judging by the success of today’s event, I’m guessing it won’t be the last.
The idea of the Boogie is simple — put a bunch of good music, food and people in a gorgeous country spot and let the party happen. The Fall Boogie featured nine bands, plus food, drink, desserts, pottery, jewelry, graphic art and more. I went there with Patrick. We arrived around 2 p.m., in time to see Katie Martin, who we also saw last night at a taco truck in Auburn. Martin has a great voice and a real talent for songwriting. She was joined by a bassist for a few songs. I would have loved to hear her music with a drummer, too. She has only a MySpace page, and you know how I feel about those, but here it is.
The food on offer included chicken and waffles, beet sliders and fried Snickers bars. Here’s a photo of the latter two:
I’m not a fan of beets, but I did try a bite of Patrick’s fried Snickers bar. It was possibly the sweetest, most calorie-laden thing I’d ever put in my mouth. One bite was more than enough.
After Katie’s set, the sound engineer, Mark, put on Youssou N’Dour’s 1990 album Set. This is one of the most important records of my life. It’s what got me into West African music and started me on a much wider musical journey. I bought the album in a record store in Sendai, Japan, when I was an exchange student, and I played it multiple times a day for months. Hearing it ringing out over a field in Waverly, Alabama, was a pretty magical experience.
Up next was a great, four-on-the-floor electric blues set from the Tony Brook Band. I really liked their tough, take-no-prisoners sound.
Patrick and I had to split after Tony’s set, so we missed a lot of music. But what we saw was fun and the whole vibe was so welcoming. Kudos to everyone at Standard Deluxe for making it happen.
When I arrived back at The Sharpesonian, there was a package for me containing my new samue (sam-oo-ay), which I bought to wear at Upaya Zen Center.
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