In the Shuttle

Journal Entry Title:

I thought I'd have time to do a little writing while on the plane. Well, I did have time, but all I did was sleep. We all got together after last night's show and I stayed up too late and then got up really early to say goodbye as the group bound for L.A. got on the busses for the last time.

Last night's show was fueled by adrenaline and by the time we got to 'World Dance' everyone let it all come pouring out.

For those who have been following Denise's story she had a great time at the concert and was doing fine. Charlie gave her a drum stick after his solo and I gave her my hammers at the end of the show. I took more pictures that I'll get posted over the weekend. Right now I'm riding in a shuttle on the way to Chattanooga from Atlanta. ¶ 12:33 PM

Where the music takes me . . .

It's strange how it feels like this tour just began, while at the same time it seems like I've been away from home forever. I pushed open the curtains of my hotel room here in Baltimore this morning and saw a U-Haul truck painted with a big green arrow and large white letters which read H O M E. The shorter six week time span of this tour was a great idea because while we're certainly all tired, we're not completely drained like we were after nearly six months straight on the road last year. Home is calling.


Last night's show in Reading, PA was an emotional high as the house was packed with a fired-up audience. As a performer you can't help but give back all you can when an audience responds like that one did. It was a great show. One of the high points for me was looking out into the crowd and seeing my friend Denise on her feet, dancing and clapping her hands. If you've read my guest book today you'll see a reference about a woman who fell ill after the show last night - that was Denise. She's having a tough battle with the effects of cancer and surgery, but her focus isn't on the pain or the fight, rather it is on drinking every drop of life that is left in her cup. We should all have such a clear vision of what's important.

I had been informed that she wanted to see me after the show for a moment if possible, so I quickly changed and headed out to look for her. I went all the way around the building, signing autographs and posing for photo's on the way and made it all the way back to the busses before deciding I must have missed her. Just as I was giving up she appeared with a group of friends. She told me she had a couple of gifts for me and pulled a floppy stuffed monkey from a plastic bag and said "This one is for your arm." As she finished attaching it to my arm she told me to wait and pulled out another and said "This one is for your head." (if you don't know the significance of these monkeys then you need to read my journal archives and look at the photographs pages)

We all laughed as David and monkey-boy posed for a picture with Denise. I told her it was perfect except I didn't have a monkey screaming in my ear. Denise then belted out her best monkey scream impression. Now it was truly perfect. Friends snapped a few more pictures and I notice Denise's countenance change from joy to disorientation. Almost immediately she collapsed to the ground as we did our best to break her fall. I'm so thankful that I was in a position to get my hand underneath her head before she hit the concrete.

There were a few tense minutes as Denise endured a couple of debilitating seizures before paramedics took her to the hospital. Her friend Debbie Ronning followed the ambulance and let me know this morning that Denise was only there for a little while and plans on seeing our last concert tonight. Wow!

There's another story within this story that is waiting to be told. I don't have enough time to sort it all out right now but its lesson includes the importance of seeking life and finding joy.

Right now I have to turn my attentions toward the myriad of details and pesky necessities that need attention today so I can go home tomorrow. I'll probably get some writing time while on my flight so look for a journal update around midday Friday after we land. I have more pictures to post but they'll have to wait until I get home. Thanks for reading and I'll see some of you tonight for our final show in Baltimore!

¶ 1:17 PM

Buggy connection

I just noticed that there are problems with the pictures I posted earlier. The problem probably occured during transfer due to a buggy internet connection here from my Sprint card. I'll try to update the page again from the venue tonight. In the mean time, you can still see the pictures by clicking on the place where the thumbnails should be.

Dan

¶ 3:25 PM

Waking up in Syracuse

I awoke to the hiss of the air brakes as our bus pulled up to the hotel in Syracuse yesterday morning. The time was around 6am and the haze of being half asleep disappeared quickly as I quickly stepped into bitterly cold wind and falling snow. I keep reminding myself we're almost done and in less than a week I'll be looking at the tulips in my yard in their final stages of blooming.

Judging from audience response and the feeling of a job done well the last few shows have been nearly perfect. Everyone, myself included, is playing with enthusiastic passion and enjoying their solos with confidence.

We had our last day off in the tour here in Syracuse yesterday and everyone had a laundry list of things they wanted to accomplish - only most of it included computer stuff and not laundry. At one point there were seven people, all with their computers, hanging out in my suite yesterday. We were teaching each other what we new about different aspects of programs like "Ableton Live," "Garage Band," "Galerie," "Blogger," "Digital Performer" and others. It was funny to see just about everyone from our bus hanging out together on our day off. I took a couple of pictures that I'll post after I finish this journal entry.

We had a tour party to attend in downtown Syracuse last night which was a bit loud and smoky for me. Quite a few of us left early (all solidly non-partier types) and came back to my suite to play a little music. We ended up putting together a makeshift recording studio and building some grooves with Walter playing tabla, Hussain playing bass and keyboards, David on didgiridoo of course and I still have to drop some hammer dulcimer into the project. I took a couple of photos of that session too.

Tonight we play the first of our last three shows in a row. Friday morning I board a plane and head back to Chattanooga.

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping my guestbook busy. I enjoy reading the guestbook just as much as some of you say you enjoy checking out the journal updates. Some of you asked a few questions via the guestbook recently and I've been remiss in not answering so I'll try to catch up on a few now.

Ricky wanted to know if Karen is coming to Chattanooga. I asked her about it last night and she said her manager had mentioned the possibility of getting that gig but she was surprised to hear about it through my web site! Yes she's coming to town and hopefully going to stop by my house for dinner as well.

Donna from Reading asked how can she get a copy of my music other than using a credit card on my web site. It is really easy. Just email me your mailing address and we'll send the CD(s) right out to you. You can send a check at your convenience.

Pam - thanks for the migraine advice.

Alli - I'll update the picture when I get a chance - send me you address and I'll send you my CD(s). Thanks for looking for me after the show.

Arlene - there are definitely more concert dates to come but I'm not at liberty to disclose them yet.

Trish - if you are even half way serious about buying a hammer dulcimer please write me. I sell both Dusty Strings and James Jones instruments. I'd love to help you with your purchase.

To anyone - are you still having trouble seeing the picture of David and Angie in the Laundromat?

Ray - tell your relative to keep an eye on my calendar on this web site. I'll be at the Tennessee Aquarium a bunch of weekends this summer. I'll post the dates when they're confirmed.

OK, I've got to get a few pictures posted in time to be ready for luggage pull and I've only gone back a few days through the guestbook. I'll catch up more later - in the mean time - keep writing! Dan ¶ 1:18 PM

Pedro on the Today Show

I just learned that my friend and fellow band mate Pedro Eustache will appear on television Thursday morning. I mentioned at the beginning of this tour that Pedro played most of the cool sounding wind instruments you hear in the recent movie "Passion of the Christ". As soon as we finish our Wednesday night show, he's heading to New York to appear with the Passion of the Christ Ensemble, Thursday morning on NBC's Today Show. Tune in! Hopefully he'll get a nap later in the day because we play our last show of this leg of the Ethnicity tour Thursday night in Baltimore. ¶ 7:11 PM

One week to go!

We're nearing the end of our spring Yanni Ethnicity Tour and I'm ready to head back home. I'll of course miss all my friends from the tour but we'll all be back together soon enough. All the band members are a little tired from the constant travel but still give 100% each night.

I've been busy with visiting friends and family so I've neglected my journal more than I should. I've also been hit by a couple more migraine attacks, both of which occurred on "off" days. Grrrr. Quite a few band members are suffering from colds too. I think it's normal to be a little more susceptible to ailments as the effects of weeks little or no quality sleep accumulates.

Enough whining. I'm still having a great time and feel blessed to have this career opportunity. I'm bringing a few cool souveniers home from the road, including a hand dug crystal from Arkansas, an engraved Yanni Message Board wine glass, our bus guitar with even more signatures, lots of fond memories, and best of all a painting that David Hudson completed for me today! (check it out on my photographs page)

The picture is done in the traditional Aborigonal style with great imagery including roads that head off in four directions representing our travels, a crocodile and kangaroo representing David's trip from down under, a dragonfly - from one of my tunes, my handprints along with David's handprints, three dolphins that represent the other members of my family, eleven figures representing everyone on our bus, and if you look closely you'll see a staff and music with the notes for Rocky Top! How cool is that. David is an incredibly talented person and I'll proudly display this painting when I get back home. Check out his website for more of his artwork. http://www.davidhudson.com.au He'll gladly do a custom painting for you too!

¶ 2:58 PM