*Someone just wrote me and said “this could’ve been a C-flat”. Ouch, that’s bad!*
I finally got to ride the elephants! That was one of the things I wanted to do while visiting Thailand. This was my first full vacation since relocating to China with Cirque Du Soleil. We spent three days in Bangkok and four days in Phuket, Thailand.
In the picture above I am getting a massage from a baby elephant. Believe it or not – he actually cracked my back for me and it felt great. A true Thai massage!
Before leaving for vacation we had a great Cirque bachelor party for a certain artist. I’ll tell you that when you get high energy artists together for a party – it’s a PARTY! What a great crew. Pic up top is myself and Tom, one of our clowns.
One of my former piano students posted this on Facebook. I think this was around 1990. Here I am at one of my students’ yearly piano recitals, probably around 1990. I taught piano to many students from around 1989 to 2004. At one point I had over 40 students. I loved teaching.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPx9EsvGqxs
Video when I played with Freddy Fender on ABC at the 2002 ALMA awards (American Latin Music Awards). He was starting to be very ill in 2002 and had a kidney transplant the same year (and a liver transplant in 2004). Freddy passed away on October 14, 2006. Vaya Con Dios Freddy!
FREDDY FENDER RECIEVING PIONEER AWARD ON NATIONAL BROADCAST ON ABC. BAND MEMBERS CHRIS JURADO (BASS) AUGIE MEYERS (PIANO) CONRAD ASKLAND (DIGITAL KEYS) RHYS CLARK (DRUMS) MARK TATE (LEAD GUITAR)VERN MONNETT (STEEL)Â
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fQpOZGMct4
Thanks to Deb for sending this too me – another video from when I played with Freddy Fender (I’m the keyboardist on the right). Before The Next Teardrop Falls is often unwittingly called “Before The LAST Teardrop Falls” and Freddy Fender is often spelled as “Freddie Fender”, as they are in this video title. My best guess is this video is from Laughlin, Nevada sometime between 2003-2004, probably 2004.
Continue reading “Video – Freddy Fender – Before the Next Teardrop Falls”
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=DiMuAXCPbgo
New video of Freddy Fender posted on YouTube. I think this might have been around 2004 in Laughlin, Nevada. Freddy does band introductions and an intro song. You’ll notice he calls me “El Blanco”, or “The White”. In the video I’m playing synth and Augie Meyers is playing piano.
SHOW RECORDED LIVE IN LAUGHLIN,NEVADA CHRIS JURADO ON BASS,RHYS CLARK ON DRUMS,VERN MONNETT ON STEEL,MARK TATE ON LEAD AND CONRAD ASKLAND ON KEYBOARDS (AUGIE MEYERS ON PIANO BUT NOT SEEN)
Opening night (soft opening) and monstrously fun party for Cirque Du Soleil’s ZAIA at the Venetian July 26, 2008.
Our first public show went very smooth – no apparent tech glitches or problems – and we had an incredibly enthusiastic audience – so we’re all very happy. Here little snippets of my opening night and the great party afterwards for my friends back home.
The Zaia Bunch – This is a photo of the artists, crew and support staff for Cirque Du Soleil’s production ZAIA at the Sands Venetian, Macau (SAR) China. I think this was taken in May 2008. I’m on the left hand side in the green shirt (thank you to Rachael for making the scary faces and hands behind me…hehe)
And just for the archives, here’s a full resolution photo you can click on if interested:
Getting in the zone inside the Cirque musician booth and ready to open ZAIA…
If you visit Macau be sure to check out Hac Sa Beach on Coloane. It’s a favorite with locals and tourists. Not quite as nice Huntington Beach, CA but it sure is relaxing. Many of my friends live on Coloane Island and have great views with daily access to Hac Sa. I went there the other day when work was getting stressful and it really did the trick. Also check out the famous institution of Fernando’s Restaurant – great Portuguese food right off the beach.
Continue reading “Hac Sa Beach – Coloane Island (SAR) China”