Becky Reyes: Home
May is here - spring has sprung…
Greetings everyone! Spring is here and I have to admit, when spring arrives, it brings me as much joy as it did when I was Gilbert’s age (10). Seeing buds on the trees and spring flowers, oak leaves turning brown and falling to make way for new growth, swallows building their little mud nests, bright pink and coral penstemon and golden California poppies, AAAAHHHH, I LOVE spring in Arizona! I love SPRING! I know so many of you live in the northern states, and you’re all returning to your homes. Todd and Susan must be back in the Finger Lakes by now (…oh wouldn’t I just love to see the Finger Lakes in the spring). I’ll see you all when you get back in the fall.
We are playing at Stables Restaurant at Tubac Golf Resort from 5 to 9 pm every Saturday this month. For those of you who haven’t been by in a while, the menu has gone a la carte. You know, I didn’t think I was going to like this change much, but last week, I had a craving for asparagus. Weird I know, but I couldn’t shake it. Instead of ordering a huge meal, I ordered a side of asparagus. It came on a nice, large oval dish, and there was a very generous portion cooked to perfection with a portion of hollandaise on the side. And that was my dinner, and it was just what I wanted. I’ve decided that a la carte is truly the way to go. Oh, and I had the crème brûlée for dessert. I honestly don’t know how it made its way to my table. I didn’t want to be rude, so I ordered a short shot of cognac to go with it and I just want to say, on the record, that it was about as perfect a way to end the day as I have ever encountered.
We’re also playing at Old Presidio Traders in Tubac every Saturday afternoon between noon and 4pm. Tubac really is the perfect “walkaround” town. We have so many galleries, shops, and specialty stores here. And I love busking. There’s just something about it that has always appealed to me. I think it’s catching someone in mid-stride on the way to a gallery or shop and they slow down or stop walking altogether, and you can see the recognition on their faces as they listen to whatever song it was that caught ‘em. So often I’ll hear, “I haven’t heard that song since…”
Scott and I have been invited to perform on the telethon to benefit the Bisbee Boys and Girls Club on Sunday, May 4. I don’t know all the details and I’m only marginally sure that we are going on twice – 2:15 and 2:45 – and that it will be televised. If you live in or around the Bisbee area, you can come to the Bisbee Boys and Girls Club at 405 Arizona Street in Warren, or you can watch it live on channel 2. If you’re out of town, you can watch a video stream on the ‘net! They say that TV ads an extra 10, uh, 40 pounds to your frame, right?
Scott and I will also be playing with our jazz and blues band Hideaway on Wednesday, May 7, at Tubac Golf Resort for the annual Benchmark Tournament to benefit St. Andrews Children's Clinic and other youth programs in the area. For those of you who just signed on to my monthly newsletter list, St. Andrews is “…a nondenominational, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide free medical treatment for disabled children of impoverished parents from Mexico, using medical and lay volunteers from both sides of the border. It is a unique international expression of compassion and caring and brings health, healing and hope to the children and their families”. Please visit the St. Andrews website for more information. It’s a wonderful organization.
We are playing Friday, May 16 at Turquoise Valley Golf Club in Naco Their calendar says that the fish fry starts at 4 and I start at 5 but my actual start time is 4pm. Come out and see us. Last time we had a bunch of Pueblo del Sol friends come down. It sure was great seeing you. Martha Conklin came up and sang a few songs with me and we did an a capella version of Shenandoah that gave me and everyone in the joint goose bumps. And if she’s free, I sure would like her to come up and join me again… Whaddaya say, Martha my dear?
Our CD of original music is coming along nicely. We recorded some scratch tracks so that Sean Trachtman, our producer at Bisbee Sound Studios could familiarize himself with my music. We recorded every single song I’ve written with the exception of the few songs that have already been recorded. Well, most of you know how much I dislike the whole studio recording process. I’ve never hidden that fact. But I’ve got to give Sean a lot of credit here. The atmosphere is so laid-back, Sean fills me with confidence and gives me the nod and I’m doing it, and I’m smiling, and getting into it and feeling like I feel when I’m playing my songs for you. I just closed my eyes and sing them like I’m at Stables on Saturday night. The recordings came out so spontaneous and so good and they’re just the scratch tracks! Anyway, we put together a CD of some of the best takes and we wanted to offer them to you for a donation of any size to help finance the real CD. Just know that this little bundle of tracks is only a taste of things to come, a kind of behind-the-scenes CD. The new song, We Are Always Evolving is on the CD, as well as Threads of Steel, As Long As You Are Willing, and Hollywood Sign. There are 10 songs altogether. You can get one if you come to see us play or e-mail me and I’ll send you one, or you can listen to them right now on my Music & Lyrics page. And feel free to pass my web page or demo CD to any venue owner who might want to have a girl (OK, I’m gonna be 50 in July, but don’t tell anybody!), her guitar and her harp-man come entertain their guests. You know, we’re going to Whidbey Island this August. It sure would be nice to gig all the way out there and back. And it sure would be nice to see some of you northerners in your summer digs. See you all soon! -Becky