D. LEE BRUCE REUNION UPDATE

Well, as it turned out, the 2nd annual D. Lee Bruce Reunion was a family reunion for our guitar player's family. There were lots of people there I didn't know, but we all had a great time, anyway.
Because the weather was on-again-off-again drizzle and fog, we set up and played in the garage at the Yachats beach house. We set up around 3 p.m. and finished around 11 p.m.!
We spent two nights at the Beachcomber Motel, just 1/4 mile away.
Below, are some shots of the event, including the house and huge firepit in the back.......

2nd Annual D. Lee Bruce Reunion

Last year around this time, I was getting ready for our 1st Annual D. Lee Bruce band reunion, which was held in Oakridge, Oregon. It was a 2-day music festival and the first time in 30 years that we had played together on stage!
This year, the reunion will be a small get-together with close friends and family in Yahchats (pronounced "Yaw-hots"), Oregon on July 15-17. Special thanks to Kurt's cousin for opening his beach house to us. Looking forward to lots of wonderful friends, great food and playing some classic rock on the deck!
I will be posting pics (and hopefully some video) on my Facebook page throughout the week leading up to the reunion.

Moonrise on Wednesday night. Also visible is the 4-foot loop antenna for my SID monitor.

Hugs and Kisses

These are my two Daschunds, Boone and Sadie.
Boone will be 13 later this year and Sadie will turn 11.
This is one of our favorite times together, right after a big meal.
Boone gets a little upset when he doesn't get ALL the attention, but we work it out....

Kona Dolphins

My best friend and his wife are in Kona, Hawaii for a month. Dwight's favorite activity is snorkeling in the ocean, just in front of their condo.
This video shows some of the "locals" swimming along with him.
You can actually hear them talking, too!
(He and I have the same basic camera, but his is an upgraded version of mine)
This is especially cool for me, because I've been snorkeling with Dwight at this same spot!

Cold Week

It's going to be a cold week here in the northwest. A strong cold front is moving south from British Columbia, and low pressure is moving in from the Pacific. Lots of snow in the mountains.
This video shows my backyard at 7 a.m. Tuesday...a light dusting of snow fell overnight.....

MOONSHADOWS

We just had a few days of very clear (but cold) days and nights here in the northwest.
I took advantage of one clear night, and set up my long-exposure camera, facing north. (This is the camera I use to photograph the northern lights).
This time-lapse video reveals the shadows cast by the Moon as it rises and crosses the sky:

D. LEE BRUCE at Splitz Bar and Grill

I played with my band in Roseburg, Oregon at Splitz Bar and Grill on Saturday January 29.
From the far end: Toby Bates (keyboards), Jeff Durta (guitar), Jim Tegerdine (guitar), Dwight Marburger (drums), Dusty (guitar) and Frank Wambolt (bass guitar). Dusty was filling in for our regular guitarist, Kurt Jarvis, as Kurt lives in Hawaii and wasn't going to make it. Unfortunately, Kurt's stepfather passed away a week earlier, and he was in town for the funeral. So he got up and played a few songs with us later in the night. Good friends, good music, good times!!!!!!

Rock N Roll

Last summer, I went to Roseburg, Oregon for a 30-year reunion with the band that I played in back in the 70's/80's. This week, I'm going back to Roseburg for a gig at Splitz Bar and Grill on Saturday, the 29th. There will be 2 bands playing...a "swamp-rock" band called Etoufee, and us. Etoufee plays a unique style of southern/cajun rock. They will play first, then we will do 2 sets of our classic 70's/80's country rock/southern rock.
It will be extra fun for us, because our guitarist, Kurt will be there from Hawaii. (He wasn't planning to be there, but his step-dad recently passed away and he will be there for his service, anyway). We had another guitarist lined up to fill Kurt's spot, so now we will be a 7-piece band!!!! Drums, bass guitar, keyboards, and 4 guitars. WOO-HOO !!!!! Rock on.

FEEDING BOONE

I have 2 Daschunds... Sadie, who is 10 years old and Boone. He is 12. In January of 2010, Boone was diagnosed with a condition called Mega-esophagus. The muscles in the esophagus don't function properly to push the food and water down into the stomach. As a result, it just sits in the esophagus and he will regurgitate it up. (The esophagus will stretch, and act as a kind of pouch...hence the name, Mega-esophagus) Nothing gets into his little belly. Another serious side effect is that he could actually inhale some food or water into his lungs. Then, it's pneumonia! (That has happened once)

The key to treating this, is to feed him vertically, so that gravity pulls the food down into the stomach. This video shows how I feed my buddy, Boone. We've done this 3 times a day for the past year.......

***Whenever I go out of town for several days, I will board both dogs at my vet. I had to "train" him and his staff on how to feed Boone, as they had never seen it done this way before. I am going to Oregon at the end of this month for 4 days, and they are excited to have him there....chair and all! (I blend up enough food for however long I will be gone).

SPLITZ

Getting excited to go back down to Roseburg, Oregon at the end of the month to play with my band, "D. Lee Bruce" at Splitz Bar and Grill on the 29th. Our drummer, Dwight, plays there on a regular basis with his band. The 29th marks their 1-year anniversary of playing there. Dwight wanted to do something special for that weekend, so he suggested that we get together and play.
All of the other members of the band live down there, so I will be the only one "commuting". It's a 6 1/2 hour drive, but very much worth it.
Our last event was in August of last year. It was our 30 year reunion at the Oakridge "Just Us" music festival. That will be an annual event for us. Can't wait for that one, too...

Update

Had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. My middle daughter, Heather and I spent Christmas with my oldest daughter, Mandy and her family. Her husband, Roosevelt, cooked a fantastic Prime Rib dinner. I enjoyed the time with the kids and Roxy, their 70 lb. Boxer. (She's a hoot to wrestle with)
The New Year was brought in quietly with my Daschunds, Boone and Sadie. We always sit and watch the fireworks around the neighborhood. They do great when they can actually see what is making all the loud noises. We spend July 4th the same way.
I'm getting ready (and psyched) to go to Oregon at the end of the month to play with my band again. This time, it will be at Splitz Bar and Grill in Roseburg. (a different venue than in August at the Oakridge "Just Us" music festival). This time, instead of our guitarist, Kurt coming from Hawaii, we will have a very talented picker named Dusty sitting in with us). Along with Toby on keyboards, Jeff on guitar, Frank on bass, Dwight on drums and myself on guitar, we will have a great time playing 2 hours of classic rock and southern rock.

Honu Blu

I had the opportunity to spend some time in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in 2007 and 2008. This video is dedicated to the love and spirit of Hawaii, and the friends who helped me feel it.
The video was recorded during an afternoon of snorkeling at Kahaluu.
("Honu" is the Hawaiian word for Sea Turtle)