Time To Go Home!!!!!!!!!

The day began as many others on this tour, with a brief call from David Hudson, "Hullo Dan, you want to go down to the Starbucks and have a bit of breaky? (short for breakfast)." We talked about the end of the tour, this leg of it anyway, and what we'd do first when we got back home. David was of course anxious to see his family, but he also wanted to get back to painting, making more didges, and riding his motorcycle.

We also talked about the uncertainty of whether or not we'd get back together with the same people. There are no guarantees in the music business. Putting together a show like the Ethnicity Tour is an amazingly large undertaking. Trying to pull all the same elements together a second time will be even harder. It's like snapping a picture of 27 cats. Sure, you caught them all in the perfect pose. Now, try to get them to do it again.

As the day progressed I was conscious of many "last time I'll do this" thoughts. I also caught myself daydreaming, "this time next week I'll be . . ."

Sometimes, living in the moment is anticipating the future.

Kristen, the french horn player, joined us for breakfast and she and David discussed plans for him to paint a turtle on her instrument case after breakfast. His art work is bright and beautiful. If you've ever seen a french horn case you've probably noticed that it already resembles a turtle shell. I snapped a shot of the finished product which he completed in about an hour, but accidentally deleted it from my camera. I'll see if Kristen can't get another picture taken so I can post it here. Quite a few of the musicians bought didgeridoos from David and he's custom painted them all. Check out more of his art on his web site: http://www.davidhudson.com.au

Later, quite a few of us went down to hotel swimming pool. Walter and I staged improvisational races which included such events as hopping to the end of the pool on one foot, one armed swimming, walking on your hands, etc.. It was goofy, but the competition was serious enough that I was sore the next day. We had a blast and before I knew it, we were all boarding the bus "one last time," to head to the venue.

Yanni gave us an emotional, end of tour pep talk at sound check in which he thanked us for helping his dream come true, talked about our success in light of what was happening on the world stage, and assured us that management is hard at work putting together the next phases of this tour.

There were lots of hugs, pictures being snapped, and gifts exchanged at catering. Time accelerated as we awaited the familiar call of "places on stage."

Every song had special meeting in Miami and the audience seemed to sense it. They were supercharged from beginning to end and we responded accordingly, even though it was the same show we'd performed 59 times prior to that night. The only odd thing that happened was at the very end. David is the last person to get introduced, and that happens during the encore. Yanni introduced Walter, Rick and Brad, and then said the usual, "He was the sound of Survivor Australia, on didgeridoo, our Australian friend, David Hudson!" The spotlight searched stage right for a moment and it became apparent that David just wasn't there. After an akward pause Yanni said, "I guess he must have gone on a walkabout!"

I was a little worried, wondering if he'd been hurt backstage. David is a professional and would not miss a call unless something serious had happened. Right? As it turns out he just simply forgot the final call. He won't admit it, but I think, no, I'm sure, he was the culprit who was busy filling everyone's shoes with shaving cream back in the dressing room!

After the show, I hung out down front, signing autographs until I was literally escorted of the floor by security. I changed, and then hung out with fans in the parking lot until time for the rather somber ride back to the hotel. Once back, I said my goodbyes to everyone and got a few hours sleep.

David joined me the next morning for one final cup of coffee. Here's a picture taken just before I boarded the airport shuttle. [this pic is now on the Photographs page]

This post has gone on long enough and there's still a lot more I'd like to tell you. I guess you'll have to come back to learn more about my soon to be released nature DVD, the selling of our bus guitar, the posting of all the fan pics, life back home, and my cd project with Alfreda. Thanks for reading, until next time - Dan ¶ 6:46 PM