tag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:/blogs/news-541415f1-8e67-489b-bdf0-00dac654bc79?p=4News2024-03-16T06:51:08-05:00Alex Whitmorefalsetag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/62372622020-03-04T13:28:20-06:002023-12-10T13:48:51-06:00March 2020 update<p><span class="font_large"><strong>So it has been a while since I have updated. Marti and I continue to perform at the Starlight Theatre a couple of times a month plus I also play on Second Life under "Capos Calderwood" about 4 times a month. I'm still writing occasionally and continue to work on my guitar skills</strong></span>.</p>Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939632018-06-18T19:00:00-05:002024-03-16T06:51:08-05:00Lazy Summer
<p>It is summer again and Marti and I will be traveling a bunch. I continue to do my live shows online in Second Life plus gigs at the Starlight here in Terlingua. Marti is becoming more and more a part of our show.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939622017-02-28T18:00:00-06:002023-12-10T11:32:40-06:00updates
<p>Last week I had the honor to share the stage with Butch Hancock and Chet O'keefe in an intimate acoustic song swap. It was well attended and probably my favorite gig of late. Looking into spring, I have quite a few online shows coming up on Second Life and a couple of real life shows with my wife Marti. This summer watch for tour dates coming soon.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939612016-02-29T18:00:00-06:002022-06-01T20:03:26-05:00March 2016
<p>Spring has sprung in Terlingua. Everyone is gearing up for spring break which starts next week. Marti and I are working on new songs and are looking forward to travel this month to do a show out of town.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939602015-11-12T18:00:00-06:002024-01-17T21:28:29-06:00Terlingua 2015
<p>We have been keeping our shows close to home the last 3 years because we were trying to sell our house in Denton Texas. It is finally sold and now we are free to move about the country and do more shows. Contact us if you are interested in hosting a home concert or you have a venue that you think would be good for our music.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939592015-03-19T19:00:00-05:002022-06-01T20:03:25-05:00Terlingua musings
<p>Well I can't believe it has been so long since I updated. The music is still going along great. We are full time residents of Terlingua now plus we also have a place in the Texas Hill Country near Marble Falls. This place allows us to be close to our daughters <a href="http://themastersonsmusic.com" data-imported="1">Eleanor</a> and <a href="http://bonniewhitmore.com" data-imported="1">Bonnie</a> who perform and live in Austin.</p>
<p>We are regulars every other Wednesday at the Starlight Theatre in Terlingua plus we play about once a month at the Boat House in Terlingua. We are exploring places to play in the Hill Country.</p>
<p>I'm still doing shows on Second Life on the first and third Thursdays each month at 7 pm Central. The shows are streamed live for an hour and can be heard <a href="http://thesongster.serverroom.us:9342" data-imported="1">here</a> at the appropriate date and time.</p>
<p>We are looking for dates this summer near/in Wisconsin or anywhere else the music takes us. Please take time to listen to some of the music and enjoy your visit</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939582013-07-19T19:00:00-05:002022-06-01T20:39:46-05:00Updates
<p>Marti and I have been improving our duo act this year. We perform every Wednesday at the Starlight Theatre in Terlingua Tx from September through April. I have been writing again with 3 new songs in as many months. We continue to look for opportunities to perform together.</p>
<p>I'm still doing my solo one hour live shows each week in the virtual world of Second Life. The shows are posted on the web site with a link to a shoutcast page where you can listen without being in Second Life.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939142012-08-17T19:00:00-05:002024-03-16T06:51:08-05:00Whitmores still at it
<p>It has been a good year for music. Both my songwriter daughters are doing well. Marti and I continue to play as a duo. We made two trips back to Terlingua this summer to play the Starlight burger night. We just returned from a short house concert tour to Ohio and Florida. We had great audiences and cd sales went well. We are looking forward to this fall when we start our weekly Starlight Wednesday night shows. I continue to do my Second Life shows which should be picking up next month.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939132011-12-16T18:00:00-06:002022-06-01T20:03:27-05:00New Video Posted
<p>I finally got to combine my passions for video, music and flying in my new video shot from my piper cub near Terlingua Texas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agb_ULqHg4c</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939122011-09-21T19:00:00-05:002022-05-30T03:31:56-05:00Desert is calling
<p>It is time to be back in Terlingua for the season. We started our regular Wednesday night show last night at the Starlight. We are looking forward to another fun season. Come on down and check out this beautiful country.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939112011-08-14T19:00:00-05:002021-12-21T09:00:46-06:00In the air again
<p>This message finds us in Port Clinton Oh. We came to do a concert and a private party for friends. We have spent a lovely weekend and got to see my guitar hero Alex Bevan yesterday. Tomorrow we fly to Turner's Falls Ma to meet one of my Second Live friends then on to Maine. We will be missing this cooler weather when we get back to Texas next week.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939572011-05-27T19:00:00-05:002022-01-20T09:15:36-06:00Time for an update
<p>Ok, it has been a while since I updated my journal, but we have been busy. We are in the process of selling our house in North Texas and setting up permanent residence in Terlingua Tx. I've been busy with my music too. I'm still playing a couple of nights a week in <a href="http://www.secondlife.com" data-imported="1">Second Life</a> and we have had a regular weekly show at the Starlight in Terlingua this past season. I'm presently booking concerts starting this summer into the fall of this year. My wife Marti and I have begun to play more as a duo and have dusted off some of our cover songs that we have performed over the years. It seems to be working well for our shows that we do that are not totally songwriter oriented. Please contact me if you are interested in booking me. We travel a lot and most probably will be in a town near you.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939562009-11-19T18:00:00-06:002022-05-12T06:33:32-05:00Looking towards 2010
<p>Ok, things have been busy. If you have kept up with my calendar you know I have been doing my Second Life shows regularly. This time of year we begin spending a lot of time at our place in Terlingua Texas. Last month was the Al Barlow Music Campout. We had friends from Florida and friends from California come and spend a week with us here. We also spent a long weekend at home in Denton attending a Second Life jam in Addison Texas.
I'm working on a gig just before Christmas with both of my girls and of course mom and son in law. It promises to be a good one.
We will be back in Terlingua after Christmas and I will be playing my annual gig at La Kiva on January 1st.
If you haven't heard one of my live shows on Second Life I would like to invite you to tune in any night you see posted on my calendar. Just click on the venue and you should get a shoutcast page where you can listen in.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939552009-08-19T19:00:00-05:002022-04-22T03:34:33-05:00Second Life Convention
<p>I just returned from a long weekend in San Francisco at the Second Life Convention. It was a blast and a chance to see my SL friends and network. I came back with new knowledge of how I can improve my promotion and the attendees got to see me perform live and in person on the music showcase stage.
Soon I will begin doing live video broadcasts frequently with video feeds to Second Life and also available to view on the net through a web site called ustream.com To watch you have to have a login so if you are inclined, go to http://ustream.com and pick a login so you will be ready.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939542009-07-15T19:00:00-05:002022-05-12T00:38:50-05:00July 2009
<p>We just returned from a vacation road trip. Below are links to read my weekly blogs and view video
http://2aw.com/roadtrip1.pdf
http://2aw.com/roadtrip2.pdf
http://2aw.com/roadtrip3.pdf
http://2aw.com/roadtrip4.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Z16vwVsL4 youtube yellowstone video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORL_x0qnFSA youtube road trip 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNJuU0jzuhw youtube road trip 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_J8g7im7NM youtube road trip 4</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939532009-01-01T18:00:00-06:002022-04-21T05:59:14-05:00Welcome 2009
<p>Wow how time flys. I can't believe that I haven't updated this page since last April. When my 31 year old daughter writes a song about how time gets away from you, it is time to reflect.
2008 was a pretty good year for me. I had a couple of high profile gigs and a ton of live shows on Second Life. Second Life continues to provide me with a loyal audience and an avenue to get my music out in cd sales and music downloads.
I look forward to and expect to book more regional shows in the DFW, Houston, and hill country areas. I try to keep my calendar up to date so check it often. Even if you are not a Second Life participant, you can still listen in on the music stream at the appointed time.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939522008-04-16T19:00:00-05:002022-05-29T04:51:18-05:00Rainbow Ranch Kids
<p>When I was in New Zealand both times I played at the local theater in Marton. Marton is a small town of about 3 thousand and they have their own radio station that plays my music. My daughter Bonnie accompanied me on the first tour. Our opener was a group of local kids coached by my friend and producer of the show Anne George. Well they have come a long way and now have been invited to the USA to perform in a festival. I've pledged a large sum to help them. Please watch this video and see if you might want to help. http://2aw.com/rrk.htm</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939512008-03-29T19:00:00-05:002019-12-13T14:45:11-06:00March 2008
<p>I neglected to mention the performance of a lifetime in my last blog. I got a chance to play with my girls, Bonnie, Eleanor and a cameo from mother Marti at the most coveted hill country venue in Texas Gruene Hall. We opened for Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis for their Christmas show back in December. Check out the photo on the photo page.
Second Life continues to provide the networking I need to book shows around the country. I'm traveling to Key West Fla at the end of April to participate in a songwriter festival there courtisy of a second life friend.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939502008-01-19T18:00:00-06:002022-03-09T06:43:40-06:00Getting Going in 2008
<p>Well it has been a while since my last update. Things keep progressing with my music. I have written some new songs and am still very much involved with performances in the virtual world of Second Life.
I'm still looking for home concerts around the country. If you could provide a livingroom and a few guests, let me know, I might just be able to work it in to my schedule.
I bought a digital looper that allows me to record during my songs and playback at the rhythm track to my leads. It has taken a lot of practice but I'm starting to master it. Try tuning in to one of my Second Life shows sometime soon. They are posted on the calendar page of the web site.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939492007-07-27T19:00:00-05:002021-10-14T05:56:11-05:00New Video available
<p>I just posted a live video of the Cadillac song on youtube. You can find it here http://youtube.com/watch?v=ihw0uzDhBiY&mode=user&search=
Don't forget to check out the breastman video too and please rate and comment on them
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oqK3CSErsn8&mode=user&search=</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939482007-07-26T19:00:00-05:002022-04-26T12:56:57-05:00New CD available
<p>I've just finished putting together a 2 cd set of a concert I performed on June 29th of last month. I dediced to leave it as was recorded...warts and all. It is the complete performance with no edits or breaks except of course between Set 1 and Set 2. I'm pretty proud of it. It was a great audience and a good performance from me for the most part. It is available now directly from me and will be next month on CD Baby.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939472007-01-29T18:00:00-06:002021-03-31T08:00:31-05:00Second Life (updated april 20)
<p>If you have had a look at my performing calendar lately you will realize that a high percentage of my performances are on the internet these days....particularly on Second Life. When I start talking about it to my friends, my daughters get this smirk on their face and their eyes roll back in their heads. I guess until you experience it first hand, it is hard to grasp the scale and the entertainment value of it. Most of my musician friends don't get it either. "How much money can you make there?" is kind of the standard question. Well I do make Linden dollas (their currency) and it is convertable to real dollars, but by normal standards of pay for music it is pretty minimal. So what is Second Life anyway? It is a 3D virtual world where you can exist in your second life as a life like figure called an "Avitar." I won't go into the extensiveness of the place, but just say it is unimagined by most people. Quite simply, I'm just there to play music for the aviatars (and their owners) and every time I play I am playing to much larger crowds of listeners than I do at my "real life" gigs. Hey, I haven't quit booking those at all, but I quit booking the bar gigs where most of the time no one ever listens to my songs. In Second Life I am performing to a "listening" audience. I know, because I'm selling and delivering my mp3 tracks on the spot at my shows. And my cd sales are better than when I was doing bar gigs in the past. It is getting my music out there a lot faster. You do not have to be in Second Life to listen to the shows. They are streamed in high quality sound to a shoutcast site first and then beamed into the club in Second Life where I play. When you go to my calendar, if you click on the club link, it will take you to that Shoutcast page. From there if the stream is online, you just click on "listen" and it should launch your music player and off you go. Remember when ebay first came on the scene? It just seemed like a novelty....well look at it now. Second Life is well on it's way to becoming that kind of scale. I plan to be there as an established performer....well I already am, but you can be a mover and a shaker quicker when you are on the ground floor of an emerging new world. Check out http://secondlife.com and read some of the news articles that have been written about it. Stop in at one of my live shows sometime either on the net or in Second Life....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939462007-01-19T18:00:00-06:002021-11-23T10:31:31-06:00Happy New Year
<p>Well my internet activity is going strong with a new weekly gig on Second Life at 9 pm Central time on Tuesday each week. These podcasts are piped into the program on Second Life, but anyone with sound on their computer should be able to tune in and listen. Just go to my calendar page at the appointed venue time and click on the venue name. This will take you usually to a "shoutcast" page. If the music stream is up and going it should indicate that on the page. Just click on "listen" and it should launch your music player and start playing. If the stream is down, check back in a few mins. Sometimes it takes a while to get things going. These podcasts have resulted in lots more exposure around the world. It appears that my music downloads have increased and my cd sales also. If you are having trouble or would like more information on "Second Life", email me and I will help you solve the problem. I have become quite and expert on it. Tune in sometime.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939452006-12-02T18:00:00-06:002022-04-14T07:16:44-05:00Blenheim and Christchurch
<p>What an awesome finish to a pefect tour. I played totally acoustic to the Blenheim folk club on Friday night. It was very intimate and fun. I think that was the largest audience I've played to without a PA. None was really needed. The people were attentive and they even laughed at my jokes.
Christchurch was a fitting finish for the tour. My hosts Vicky and John were wonderful and put on a listing venue to die for. I will be back here and I'll start planning it as soon as I get home. I just have a few tasks to tidy up before I return to Texas tomorrow. See ya back in Texas</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939442006-11-28T18:00:00-06:002019-12-13T14:45:11-06:00The Mussel Inn
<p>Monday I left the North Island on the ferry. The South island is just a visual overload. There are so many beautiful coastlines, mountains and rivers I can't begin to describe it. I will set up a web page for photos when I get home and post lots of photos. After driving around for 3 days I played my first gig on the South Island at the Mussel Inn http://www.musselinn.co.nz/ What a great place. As restaurant/bars go I've been in many, but this one is unique in the world. If you are ever on the South Island this place is a must.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939432006-11-24T18:00:00-06:002019-12-13T14:45:11-06:00The Ceilidh
<p>We spent last night with our musician friends Tom and Chris. They took us to their gig at a local hall which was a Scotish Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee) It was really fun. Tom and Chris are brilliant and put on a great show. Every dance was a different dance simular to square dancing in the US. They forced us to participate and look goofy on the dance floor, but I must admit...we weren't the only ones. It was great fun and I look forward to doing it again sometime. I put Marti on a plane back home today and I will be on the ferry to the South Island tomorrow.....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939422006-11-23T18:00:00-06:002021-08-09T18:21:13-05:00Back in Marton
<p>It has been another exceptional week. We left Auckland monday and drove down to Rotarua in the central part of the island. There are several large lakes there and quite a bit of tourist interest. We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast there and continued to Taupo and Napier the next day. Napier is on the East coast and is the center of the wine country. We did a show at the local RSA and it was great. After Napier we drove to Woodville to the South and stayed with my musician friends Dianna and Doug Watson. Friday we continued on to Marton where we played back in April. A wonderful lady by the name of Anne George put another theater show on for us there (see photos) It was another awesome show. The people here are the greatest. Last night was our last duo show. Wife Marti leaves Sunday to return to Texas. My next show is in Takaka on the Northwest side of the South Island next Wednesday. I plan to do some driving around and see the country. I have 10 more days to enjoy it.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939412006-11-18T18:00:00-06:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00Devonport
<p>I have been hearing about the Devonport Folk Club since before we left on our New Zealand tour last spring. I suppose it would be considered by most here as the ulimate folk venue. Well I must agree. I would consider it one of the best anywhere in the world. We had an incredible time there last night. It was a great audience, with great atmosphere. It is located in a bunker used in WWII to protect the Auckland harbor. The view from there either day or night is the best in the city. I hope to post some photos as soon as I get to a computer where I can upload them. We leave Auckland today for points South. The next gig will be at the RSA in Napier on Wednesday....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939402006-11-12T18:00:00-06:002021-07-21T18:59:13-05:00Tourists in New Zealand
<p>After our wonderful time in Wellsford we headed North to the North East coast of New Zealand. We followed our friends Walley and Kathy to Walley's brother's place right on the coast. It is simply beautiful. Walley's brother has a wooden sailboat that is over 100 years old. We went for a sail yesterday and it was awesome. The scenery here is wonderful. It was a good day and a good time was had by all. Tomorrow we continue another 50 miles to Kaitaia to visit some friends and have a jam session with musicians we met last tour. Check out the photo of "Queenie" the 100 year old wood sailboat.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939392006-11-10T18:00:00-06:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00First Gig in New Zealand
<p>It feels really good to be performing in New Zealand again. We played a dinner show last night to a sold out hall (about 50). We were paired with a local dance band which took a lot of pressure off of us to have to play cover tunes. It was wonderful. I sold a few cds and met some awesome people. This was in a local meeting hall and up againt two very popular events the same night in town. It really made me feel good that in spite of that, the show sold out. It looks like next time we will be looking for a bigger venue....wooohooo.
The rest of this week we will be tourists and drive around the North part of the North Island. We will sail on a friends sailboat for a couple of days and basicly just goof off. The next gig is coming up next weekend with two shows on Saturday the 19th. Check out the new photo on the photo page.....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939382006-11-08T18:00:00-06:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00Chiggers is the feature
<p>Please check out the following link http://www.thetexasmusicstore.com My song chiggers is featured and the CD BarFarcist is also.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939372006-11-08T18:00:00-06:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00Wet Weather
<p>Well our first two full days in New Zealand were pretty wet. A major storm moved across the area leaving downed trees and lots of wind. Things have cleared up today and the weekend promises better weather. We leave today for our first gig in Wellsford, about 2 hours North of Auckland. We will be driving our newly purchased Honda Shuttle...a real bargain at 1000 NZ (about $700.00 US) If you want to see it take a look in the photo section. The car is in excellent condition and will be good cheap transportation while we are here....stay tuned</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939362006-11-06T18:00:00-06:002021-10-30T03:51:23-05:00Back in New Zealand...Woooohooo
<p>Well we arrived in style with guitars in one piece. Air New Zealand is a great airline to fly on. Even in coach they treat you quite well. We have a couple of days to chill out and purchase our car then we are off to our first gig on Saturday the 11th. The weather is clearing and we are looking forward to seeing friends and catching up.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939352006-09-28T19:00:00-05:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00Second Life
<p>Well these posts are arranged from newest to oldest, but you really should read the next post to get the background for this one. The latest thing amongst the independent artists is a virtual world called "Second Life" It is a place on the net that you interact as you would with your game figure in real time with others. Unlike some other chat services, there is a visual world you can interact with. The really cool thing is that artists can come in the different "sims" simulated rooms complete with stages and lighting and perform live with a high quality stream of music into the room from their own home. It may sound bizarre but once you have experienced it, it is really fun. The audiences are made up of just about every kind of listener.
I've been playing there about once a week for a couple of months and have developed a good following. The software is available no charge from www.secondlife.com but it is not for the computer faint of heart. It requires a Pentium 4 or better processor, lots of ram and a high speed connection. Finally the internet is living up to its promise of interacting directly with the fans and performing live with high quality sound. Look for a photo of my Second Life "avitar" Capos Calderwood coming soon.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939342006-09-04T19:00:00-05:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00How to Listen on the internet
<p>With upcoming and continuing shows scheduled on the net I thought I would give a little info to make sure you can listen. When you click on the link on the calendar page it will take you to a "shoutcast" page for that internet station. If the page loads and says that the "server" is up, then click on "listen" at the top on the menu. At this point if you have a player with "shoutcast" enabled on the preferences it will launch the player and begin to play. If you get your standard box that asks do you want to "open" or "download" click "open" if you have a player capable of playing the show it will launch. If you get an error or can't launch a player then you need to download one. Players I recommend are available free from musicmatch.com, winamp.com, itunes.com and many others. Go there and download a player...if not for me you will need it eventually. When the player installs it may give you a chance to enable "shoutcast" if so check it. If you have any problems getting a player or knowing what to do with it I will be glad to help. Please email me through the contact page on this web site. Thanks, Alex</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939332006-09-04T19:00:00-05:002021-08-22T03:35:35-05:00The guest book
<p>I'm pretty sure that I have a lot of traffic here on this site but not many people feel comfortable about leaving comments in the guest book. Please note that when you put your email into the field, it is only visible to me when I log on to edit. I hope that makes you feel more comfortable about it.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939322006-09-04T19:00:00-05:002022-02-17T11:41:44-06:00Rain...Finally
<p>For those of you outside of Texas it has been a tough summer here. Lakes are down 20 feet. We finally got enough rain this weekend to make the grass turn green but still a long way from filling the reservoirs. You may note on my calendar I have published shows I'm doing on the internet. The internet is finally living up to its potential. The show from "the Songster" on the 17th is a live show with an audience that will be broadcast live on the internet and also into a program called Second Life. In all I may have about 70 listeners. The following two nights 18 and 19 are also scheduled for live performances. The internet seems to offer me and my music a lot more exposure than I am getting playing in local clubs. You can listen with your Windows media player, but most people use a dedicated mp3 player such as "Music Match" from musicmatch.com. Many other players will work, but music match seems to always work. Another thing that has made the idea of listening live on the internet a reality is the proliferation of broadband connections. This and improved speakers for computers has made the quality of the sound worth listening to. You will have three nights this month to check it out. I hope to see you on the counter.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939312006-08-08T19:00:00-05:002021-05-18T02:10:44-05:00Dog Days of Summer
<p>I've been back home in Texas for the last week with a short jaunt to Little Rock Ar and Tulsa Ok to play some music. There is a new video on the music/video page...check it out.
Things are coming togther for my next tour to New Zealand in November. Although nothing is showing on the calendar between now and then, I will be busy with my music. I'm going to a small festival in Iowa the weekend of the 18th, back to the Kerrville Wine and Music get together over Labor day weekend then private showcases at Broadhead Wi, Columbus Oh, Wayne Me, and Paso Robles Ca. Then it is the Regional Folk Alliance in Austin the first of Oct, more music festivals in Ozark Ar, Terlingua Tx and then off to New Zealand. Right now I only have the last weekend in Oct open. Watch the calendar...something may pop up.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939302006-05-16T19:00:00-05:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00New Guitar!!!!!
<p>It has been a good week. I recieved my brand new 12 string Papoose from Tacoma. I feel like I was influential in convincing them to go into production on it. After I high strung my 6 string Papoose I sent them a copy of a song I wrote for the guitar. They wanted to see it for themselves so I went to the factory and played it for them. I told them it would make a great 12 string since most the strings on a 12 string are high strings it would make sense that a small body guitar would sound better. I was right. You my download the song I have now recorded on the 12 string for free by clicking here http://www.2aw.com/mp3/wind12.mp3</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939292006-05-01T19:00:00-05:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00Back home in Texas
<p>It was a tearful departure with friends we had made driving to the airport to catch us as we changed planes for the flight back to the US. We are back, we are tired, but still on an incredable high from the trip. The last two gigs did not loose any momentum. It looks like we may be going back in November for more...stay tuned</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939282006-04-28T19:00:00-05:002022-05-27T04:54:24-05:00Installmet 14 Paraparaumu Wellington Suburb
<p>The last two nights have been fantastic. We actually played an afternoon gig today after a wonderful tour of the Southward Museum nearby. In addition to some of the most rare automobiles in the world they have a Whurlitzer (sp) Pipe Organ that was built in 1927. We got a special performance from Len Fifield who plays for special events including many silent movies. Check him out http://www.lafmusic.net The entire theater is like a transformer model. It transforms from a flat dinner floor for weddings to a tilted theater floor with theater seating and a movie screen. The organ disappears into the floor. If you are ever near Wellington in New Zealand this is a must see place.
The show today was sold out again. We are going to do another show again tomorrow night for the folks that were turned away....what a way to end a tour. See ya'll back in Texas later this week.....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939272006-04-28T19:00:00-05:002022-03-23T06:20:09-05:00Installment 13 Marton
<p>Wow..what a surprise. 140 seat theater sold out. What an awesome night. Marton is a small town about 3 hours North up the west coast from Wellington. Someone did above and beyond to promote this show. It was a great audience and we put on our best show to date. boo hoo we have our last show in New Zealand tomorrow (Sunday here) then it is back on the airplane on Tuesday to go home. I guess well be seeing everyone back in Texas soon. It is going to be hard to come down from this high....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939262006-04-26T19:00:00-05:002021-12-15T09:01:28-06:00Installment 12 Napier
<p>It has been a couple of days since we have had computer access and much has happened. We played to the largest number of people Wednesday night at Taurunui (not sure about the spelling or pronounciation of this one)..about 90 paying. It was really fun. We spent the next day driving around the Lake Taupo area and seeing increadable breathtaking sites. Check your map for this one, it is the large lake in the center of the North Island...about like lake Tahoe with beautiful mountains and clear rivers. The photos will eventually be up on the photo link (below) sometime next week. We have a show in Napier tonight and it is expected to be well attended. This is the one town where the radio station covers the whole town. Dang it, there is less than a week to go and I'm not ready to go back.....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939252006-04-24T19:00:00-05:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00Installment 11 Putaruru
<p>We are heading south now. Our show last night went very well. It seems like the smaller towns go best for us because they don't have as much exposure to live music. It is getting cooler, but still comfortable when the sun is out. Today we are doing touristy things again. We went to see living Kiwi birds and learn about their vanishing habitat. We are on the the Waitomo Caves and then a regular club gig tonight. Less than one week left on the tour...boo hooo.....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939242006-04-22T19:00:00-05:002022-05-11T11:23:29-05:00Installment 10 Auckland
<p>This is our last day in the Auckland area. We played to a pretty full house last night at the East coast RSA. The show is getting smoother and tighter. The weather is still surprisingly warm, even the locals are saying this is unusual for this time of the year. We leave Auckland tomorrow for shows further South. If you want to look at the schedule to come it can be found at http://www.countrymusic.net.nz</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939232006-04-21T19:00:00-05:002022-05-21T09:36:32-05:00Installment 9 Puhoi Pub North of Auckland
<p>Well last night some friends put together a music jam and party with lots of other musicians. We got to hear some great local musicians. Today we did an outdoor show at Puhoi about an hour north of Auckland. It went well and I sold out of coozies. Still having a ton of fun...</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939222006-04-19T19:00:00-05:002022-02-23T01:52:20-06:00Installment 8
<p>We have been staying with some lovely folks here in Auckland. Last night we went to dinner with friends and listened to a very talented musician by the name of Kip Tipuna. He graciously let all of us get up and do a couple of songs. Today we climbed the Rangitoto volcano across the bay. It was good exercise and greatly needed after the way we have been pigging out of food here. Tonight we will be jamming with local musicians at a neighbors house. We have shows tomorrow and Sunday then we will be southbound for gigs enroute to Wellington. The Weather is still awesome with mostly clear skys and temps hovering in the low 70's.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939212006-04-18T19:00:00-05:002019-12-13T14:45:10-06:00photos photos photos
<p>Ok, finally I've uploaded a couple of photos here, but there are lots more on the web at this link https://www.flickr.com/photos/pshaw/</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939202006-04-18T19:00:00-05:002022-05-04T08:23:37-05:00Installment 7 Titirangi (Auckland)
<p>Last night we played a concert. Wow, what a thrill. After the country clubs and a couple of bar gigs it was very special. Tickets were sold, promotion in the paper etc. We had quite a respectable turnout for a mid week gig. We have another one on Saturday and in the mean time we will be just shopping and relaxing around here with a couple of jam sessions with local musicians. The people we are staying with this week are both musicians and the husband is an outstanding finger style guitar player...we have bonded :-)........</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939192006-04-17T19:00:00-05:002022-05-18T08:18:51-05:00Installment 6 Back in Auckland
<p>After two really wonderful days and a house concert provided by Kevin and Melissa Wallace in Wellsford, we returned to Auckland to do a couple of promo things for our concert tonight. We busked in the local mall and handed out flyers and then did a short show for the local country music club in Drury...finally, a name I can pronounce. Tonight we will be doing a concert at a theater in Titarangi (Auckland suberb) We are hoping it will be well attended of course. I did not understand before I came to New Zealand what a country music club really is here. They are clubs that form around the common interest in the music. They have a band that is made up of members plus nearly everyone in the club either sings or plays something. They meet once a month as a social get together with the familys...usually in a local RSA club (equivilant to our local VFW halls) or some community building. Everyone either sings something that the band knows by heart or they have charts for the band. They also pay an admission to cover the food expenses and guest artist they pay periodically to come and perform. It is really a great idea and I don't understand why we have nothing like it in the US. It is a built in audience that is very receptive to our songwriter material. Most have been doing the same "oldies" for years. It is quite refreshing for most of them to hear some new songs. They still like a few old standards thrown in and will gladly sing along with us. Tonight's show is one that we have promoted on our own, so we don't know if it will sell out or if we will be entertaining a handful of people....more on that tomorrow.</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939182006-04-15T19:00:00-05:002022-03-29T02:39:41-05:00Installment 5 Wellsford
<p>The hospitality of these people is incredible. We have just finished 3 nights with our "billets" people we stayed with in Kaitia. They fed us, ran us around to our rehearsals/radio interviews etc and gave us a place to sleep. We had a great gig to boot. Today we returned to our good friends we met on the way up to the Northland. They will put us up for 2 nights and have a house concert for us tomorrow. It doesn't get much better than this. The weather is still wonderful...so no complaints....</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939172006-04-12T19:00:00-05:002022-01-24T00:04:39-06:00Installment 4 Kaitaia
<p>The last two days have been days off and we have done some really fun touristy things. We took a boat ride out to Hole in the rock. It is an island that actually has a hole not only through it but deep enough to take a rather large cruise boat through it. It was breathtakingly beautiful complete with large fish and plenty of dolphins jumping around the ship.
Today we went on a tour up to the very North tip of the country and returned by way of 90 mile beach. Visualize Datona beach when it was first discovered by the Spaniards (absolutely no development) and then make it twice as wide and more flat and then be able to drive down it at 90 miles an hour....pretty impressive.
Tonight we are being treated to a BBQ by the local Country Club...should be fun. Tomorrow we have a show here and a radio spot...we are really having a great time...</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939162006-04-11T19:00:00-05:002022-01-08T04:07:06-06:00Installment 3 Whangerie pronounced "Faneray"
<p>Probably the only down side on this tour is the lack of access to the internet. It is not very common to find "wifi" here. We have been able to log on a few times through the goodness of the folks we have stayed with. The shows are going great, but photos will probably have to wait until we can get high speed access next week when we are back in Auckland. Whats most impressive about this country is the unspoiled look of the land. Almost eveything we have seen has been breathtaking. I've been surprised at how mild the weather has been for their "october." We haven't had to have a jacket yet during the day.
The shows have been fun. People here in the outlying smaller towns don't get to see live music as a rule....so when they do, it is a big deal. Our friend who is driving us has a tour business and we are riding in the tour bus...I'm talking tourist tour...Its been awesome...we haven't missed any point of interest, but we had to put our foot down yesterday in order to get to the gig in time to set up. You can look for major updates after Easter Sunday when we get back to high speed access. Until then......</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939152006-04-09T19:00:00-05:002022-05-17T04:06:14-05:00Installment 2 Wellsford
<p>Well, after our second day and third gig I can say I'm ready to move here. The people are the best! The shows are thrilling for us. Most people out here just don't have any access to live music other than the local Karyoke at the RSAs. They are just so engaging and have a wonderful sense of humor...fertile ground for me. I can see why the movie companies spend enormous amounts of money to come here to film. When skys are clear it is unbelievable, when it rains, there are the most beautiful rainbows....so far we have been treated to one each day....more tomorrow</p>
Alex Whitmoretag:alexwhitmore.com,2005:Post/61939102006-04-08T19:00:00-05:002022-05-31T02:10:37-05:00New Zealand Blog Installment one.
<p>Well things are going pretty well for us. The flight to LA and then on to Auckland went smoothly and we got a little sleep on the plane (12 hours in the air from LA to NZ) Fortunately, the load was light and we had room to stretch out. We arrived here on Saturday morning with Peter Shaw and Robert Dew to meet us. Peter is the driving force that made this trip happen for us and Robert is the tour director....literaly. Robert has a tour company that hires out to visitors to New Zealand in his 10 passenger van. He takes them to all the sights. Both men are very commited to the music and doing this for us out of the goodness of their hearts. All the people we have met so far has been awesome.
Saturday we spent driving around Auckland and practicing with our artist companion and headliner Charley Groth. Our first show was Sunday the 9th in the afternoon at a local community center. It was a real sit down concert and it went suprisingly well concidering the jet lag and the minimal rehearsal. We went from there to our evening gig at the local RSA (equivalent to our VFWs) It wasn't exactly a concert, but the people there really enjoyed the show.
I'm totally impressed with this place. It reminds me of the pacific northwest with frequent showers followed by periods of bright sunlight. Everything is super green and the trees are very large and stately.
Today we start traveling North from Auckland and will be gone a week doing shows North of here. Our show tonight is sold out....a concept that is new to my music experience.
I brought the software to install in the local computer, but so far we haven't been able to upload any photos. I hope to remedy that soon.....stay tuned, Alex</p>
Alex Whitmore