Stealing the Sun

So at long last I've decided to work seriously towards a recording project. Over the past couple of years, I've cranked out song after song and have been dissatisfied with my own recording engineer ability using protools out of my workshop. Due to his extensive recorded artist list, uncanny engineering ability, musical talent, and all-around "good-guyness", I've chosed to go with Kenny McWilliams at Archer Avenue Studios for the project. The album will be called "Stealing the Sun" from what I anticipate the title track to be.

I'm estimating the disc will have around 12 songs on it, ranging from bare-bones acoustic folk to more emotive and produced pop. Instrumentation will probably be centered on the acoustic, but will have a couple of tunes that are more heavily leaning towards piano. There will be lots of bass, background vocals, harmonica, and maybe even a little drum set to give things a finished sound.

My main hesitation with all of the extra instrumentation is that I still want this project to be something that I could produce the basic spirit of at a live show without tons of extra help.

I've worked on comissioning an artist for the album already and it is now down to collecting funds as the only thing really that stand in between us and the final product.

Check back often over the next few weeks for updates and sample tracks.

climb

A couple of weeks ago, Stephen asked me to take him climbing. We decided on July 12th-14th to set out for Table Rock, NC in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area for some multi-pitch climbing. He had never climbed outdoors or had any experience as a second climber on a sport or trad route. Regardless, we climbed 3 pitches of Jim Dandy (5.5) on Tuesday afternoon followed by 2 pitches of Cave Route (5.4) before heading back to camp. The climbs went REALLY well. Both of them only finish halfway up the east face of Table Rock but, being multi-pitch climbs, were very exhilarating. They also got us extremely pumped for the possibility of reaching the top of Table Rock the next day. As a side note, after we climbed Jim Dandy on Tuesday afternoon, I played the old "see how close to the tip you can catch the rope" game as we pulled our rope down from the last belay station. Usually, a catch within 6 inches of the tip results in the catcher getting a 6 pack of beer from the climbing partner....silly climbers games. I caught it an inch from the tip, but Stephen wasn't aware of the game until I caught the rope....epic fail! no beer! and I doubt I could do that again!



Because of the extreme heat, we decided to start Wednesday off by waking up late and then going to Devil's Cellar for some rappelling. Stephen had never done a long rap like that so it was really fun. It's almost 150 ft from the top of the cliff to the bottom at Devil's Cellar and the last few feet are basically a ranger-styled rappel where you just drop free on the rope without your feet on the rock. 3 other student groups were at the cellar that day rappelling and having a blast too.

We hiked back to the parking lot around 12:30pm to regear for what was supposed to be a Cave Route/My Route combo to the top of Table Rock, NC. After finding a group of 4 at the first pitch belay station of Cave Route, we decided to go back and climb Jim Dandy to get up to Lunch Ledge (the halfway spot on Table Rock I mentioned earlier and the beginning of "My Route" 5.6). We were both tired on the start of Jim Dandy and I got a little psyched out about doing My Route. I felt like my climbing was off on pitch one of Jim Dandy on Wednesday...which should have been an easy pitch. Pitch 2 went really well though, and I was feeling so comfy on the rock that I ran out the entire 3rd pitch...stupid really...but fun as all get-out!





















































At Lunch Ledge, some storms started rolling in to the north. There was a great deal of lightning and we waited about 30-45 min through a short shower before deciding that the weather was favorable enough to make the push up My Route to the top.

Here's the breakdown of difficulty and length of each pitch of the big climb. Total length that we climbed was ~ 435 ft.

Jim Dandy 5.5 = P1 5.5 (90 ft), P2 5.4 (100 ft), P3 5.4 (90 ft)

My Route 5.6 = P1 5.5 (155 ft), P2 5.6 (40 ft), P3 5.5 (50 ft)

I finally got up the nerve and geared up for My Route. The first 40 ft or so is a scramble up sketchy terrain to the first bolt. Pitch one is 155 ft and very intense for the grade of 5.5 because of the great exposure. I feel that I climbed my personal best on this pitch. Stephen seconded like a champ and we took a break at the belay station on the top of pitch1 of My Route (technically the 4th pitch altogether of our push towards the summit). After getting myself pumped, I started out for the crux move on pitch 2. It was a bulge that you have to work out and over with a whole lot of air underneath you! :)

I can't believe it, but I nailed it! I had originally felt very shaky on this move in April when I climbed this route as a second climber with Scott leading. The rest of Pitch 2 of My Route was run out all the way to the belay station. The belay station for pitch 2 was a natural belay, meaning that I had to use my cams to create anchors in the rock. I used 2 #1 Camalots and 1 #3 Camalot to make the belay. An equalized cordellette finished the belay setup and Stephen started working the pitch 2 crux. He took one fall at the move, but found the holds and then crushed it. At the top of pitch 2, there was a blueberry bush in full production. It was VERY welcome after all the work getting there! Nom Nom Nom!

Pitch 3 was GREAT! It was balancy at first, then great hands and feet on a flake to the right. This was the most exposed section of the climb. Pulling out onto the flake to the right leaves you hanging over about 385 ft of air and slick rock. It was exhilarating to say the least!

After Stephen met me at the pitch 3 anchors, we were done! We looked around at a perfect summer day in NC as far as the eyes could see, but then we ultimately walked back to the car. We agreed after that the climb is what was meaningful...not the mountaintop itself.

"we are conquerors of the useless" - Yvonne Chouinard


until music or the great outdoors brings us together again....cheers.

- jeff

Sum Sum Summa Time

So the high school job is coming to a close for yet another exciting summer season. I'm trading in my biology, anatomy and environmental studies for sunshine, climbing gear, a surfboard, my straw hat, home-grown veggies, pool-time, and enough time with Kelley and Moira to make up for an entire school season of what feels like absence.

Kelley's taking me to Bonnarroo for our anniversary!

We're spending a week at Fripp Island with Kel's Parents!

We're spending a week in Foscoe, NC with my parents!

The rest of the summer will hopefully remain unplanned.

So here's to you and yours as you work hard to hardly work over the next couple of months.

cheers,
jeff

Rainy Friday at Brixx

Reese Bolte on Bass, Kelley on vocals, and Jeff on guitar and vocals.

So Friday night at Brixx this past week was a BLAST! We had a rainstorm come through and force us to move inside before the first set was even over. That sent some people away and we totally understand, but some very devoted friends and family stayed for some fun times.

Come catch us this coming Saturday night at Stingers in Irmo!

cheers friends,
jeff

Shout out to the party people

So Saturday was a whirl wind for sure.

I got up around 8 and drove to Lugoff to help a good friend with some french drains at his house. He let me drive his tractor around as we brought in dirt or pushed dirt around. Guys and "earth moving" machines are always a winning combination.

After I got back from that, Kel and I had to pack up, get little Moira settled with my parents and then we took off to our first playing engagement.

We played a Kentucky Derby party in Woodlake subdivision. The people were super nice and very enthusiastic...definitely into the more folky tunes we play. Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, etc. were perfect for the event.

After that we went to a slightly more energetic crowd in the same neighborhood for a birthday party. They had us set up on a deck overlooking their patio. Instead "playing a party"....it was more like we crashed a party and turned it into a concert! The people were SO receptive to our music. After our 2 hours, they actually started shouting "encore"...that's a first for us since we mainly play restaurants and parties that never pay that much close attention to the music. It was a big bonus for the night for us.

So...moral of this episode...we REALLY like doing the party scene so far. Keep 'em coming guys!

cheers,
jeff

Older event....new pics....World Grits Festival

Best Host EVER!

Kelley and I played a 50th Birthday Party for Bob (names have been omitted to protect the only-slightly-innocent) in Monks Corner, SC last night. The place was completely decked out when we got there....fire pit...drink coolers EVERYWHERE....Margarita Machine...eats....and to top it all off, the guy had completely assembled a...dang I don't even know what to call it....good thing you can see it! The shelter we were playing under was furnished with legit light cans and everything! As private parties go, it was completely awesome. The people were super cool and we ended up playing for a good 4 hours straight.

Moral of this story...for all those times that a musician experiences bad hosting, small crowds, marginal payment, etc...every now and then something comes along to make it all seem worth it.

We finally hit the road around 12:20am or so and pulled back into the homestead in Elgin by about 2:30am. Long night, but great night.

Here's what was said about the night:
"Thanks again Jeff & Kelley...now that my mind is cleared of all signs of Pina Colada, Margarita and Daiquiri juice, I wanted to thank you guys again for the most awesome entertainment. My friends are still talking about you guys...I really enjoyed my party thanks "in big part" to you guys. I will keep my ear out if anyone else is looking for some live entertainment. You guys rock...!

Take Care,

Bob"

Thank you Bob!

- jeff and kelley

Pics from Brixx

back in the game

So, amidst being a husband, daddy, high school teacher, chicken farmer (just a few), and rock climber, I've also been teaching guitar on the side...and Kelley and I have been singing out in public again. It has been SO much fun to get back in the game, and I'd really like to give a big shout out to Brixx Pizza in Sandhills and Stingers in Irmo for helping us get serious about playing in public again.

We are in the middle of a busy month in terms of music for us. We just played Brixx this past Friday and did the World Grits Festival down in St. George, SC today...which was loads of fun for sure.

We'll be at Brixx again this coming Friday night from 8-11pm and at Stingers in Irmo (directions to come) on Saturday night from 8-11pm.

We'd like to try out some new original tunes this Friday, so at some point in the second set, be ready to give a good listen for feedback purposes on some of our own stuff!

Peace and thanks for all the support!

jeff

so gross....so awesome!

Welcome to life back at the Valley! What What!?

So here begins the real adventure in my freshman Forensics class at the Valley...and I'm one-upping myself this time I think!

In the past, we've used rats (quite unethically I must add) to accomplish a Body Farm lab during our unit on Forensic Entomology. We placed the rat off campus and took detailed notes over about a 2 week period as Blow flies, flesh flies, carrion beetles, rove beetles and others infested the carcass. Notes is pretty much where we left it...and some interesting pictures.

I've read up some more though...gotten a little wiser and hopefully more ethically minded and now, we've got an intense Entomology unit underway.

I've spent the last 3 days calling around to animal shelters in the greater Columbia area in search of an euthanized stray dog or cat. If you're not familiar with the controversial stray animal policy in Columbia, it goes like this: Strays picked up by animal control are dropped off at a specific animal shelter based on the county. The shelter has 2 weeks to find homes for the strays. If no home is found, the strays are euthanized and dumped in the county landfill.

So...why waste a perfectly good dead dog or cat in a landfill when my forensics students can learn from it? A couple of the animal shelters wouldn't go along with it, but one finally provided me with a cat!

Here's the issue...Euthanasia is done by a lethal injection of Sodium phenobarbitol. It immmediately shuts down the cerebellum...stopping the heart and diaphragm....no pain, real quick death.

...but it stays in the body as potential poison to scavengers. Typically the landfill workers are supposed to put a new load of trash over the carcasses once they're deposited, but SC has gotten in a little trouble before for a couple of bald eagles dying a the landfills while feeding on these euthanized strays.

That raises an important question with our lab.

Are we going to be harming any scavengers? Technically, Sodium phenobarbitol is not harmful to insects...only birds and mammalian scavengers like foxes, coyotes, etc. To deter these critters from feeding on our lab, and hopefully keep it just between us and the insects, we placed the cat in a cage out in the woods behind campus.

So here's to 2 weeks of observation, insect collection, and life cycle analysis as it relates to the post mortem interval of our cat.

...a moment of silence for the dearly departed...

...now let's collect some bugs!

happy hunting,
jeff

the more the merrier

So this is just awesome!

I'm taking a couple of mental health days away from school for an extended weekend that starts tonight (Wednesday, Sep 22) down in Charleston. Kelley, Erin, Patrick and I are heading to see Jason Mraz! That'll be fun times for sure.

The next two days, though, are going to filled with some much-needed surf sessions and family hang time in Chuck-town with the toddlers (Moira and Noah).

On Thursday, it looks like I'll be hanging out with some old friends I knew in high school (who don't know each other) while we're at Folly beach grabbing some surf. Daniel (the drummer from the band I was a part of in high school) and Phillip are going to join Patrick and me at Folly beach.

"the more the merrier" never sounded so good. Hopefully we'll have some good eats at Taco Boy, then Phillip, Patrick and I will hit the surf on the north end of Folly beach.

surf's up!

Ready!?...Set!?...ssshhhhhh....Balance.

That time of year is approaching...

...when days move fast

...when the "to do" list is long

...when the evening routine allows for not much more than veggin' out after the mental demands of the day...and whatever physical and mental demands little Moira puts on us.

...when BALANCE is the most crucial thing in contributing to daily joy.


I think I've learned how to say "no" pretty well in the past....I think I even blogged about it before. It's so great to be able to help people out with things they ask for professionally or personally, but at the same time, helping out too much can spread you so thin that you're worth nothing at all in all those places you've committed yourself.

I think my buddy Travis subscribes to the even more conservative "do one thing and do it well" mentality.

This year is going to be busy as monkeys on a bananna farm for me.
With the poor economy, I'm hearing about more and more teachers who are having to teach multiple subjects...that's me too. I'm teaching 3 different subjects and 5 actual classes. That's a LOT of stuff to have ready and prepared each day.

I'm also managing our school's ropes course this year...so I'll be busy on some Friday afternoons and Saturdays with that.

The big thing is that I'll be teaching guitar lessons again this year to try and bring in a little extra money. Around 3 hours a day of guitar lessons after a long day at school is going to leave me pretty taxed...and the big question is: how much of me is going to be left for Kelley and Moira?

I've mentally put a lot of my personal goals aside for this year. The rock climbing can wait, the surfing can wait....I want to make sure that any of my time left after trying to bring home the bacon (so-to-speak) is spent with my two ladies. Weekends are going to be sacred for certain.

So here's to a year of maintaining balance on that precarious edge between sure footing and certain loss of control!

Bookend

As a bit of a "milk-the-summer-for-all-it's-worth" trip, my parents took Kel, Moira, and me to the mountains a week ago.

We ended up in a great cabin/mansion in Foscoe, NC just under the now-closed slopes of Hawksnest Ski Resort.

The week was a truly great time of porch sitting, wine drinking, and quality family time.

Dad and I went up to the Hawksnest Zipline Course and had a blasty blast.




The whole family also went to the Banner Elk Winery and sampled the goods...then took Moira blueberry picking in a field right by the winery. It really turned out to be one of the better times we had on the trip just because she was so into it!




Kel and I went on a few hikes off of the Blueridge Parkway one day as well...and checked out the Ship Rock climbing area that I want to climb at some point...not quite up to that speed of lead trad yet, but hopefully next year!

We also went to a legit sleuce mining place called Doc's Gem Mine in Blowing Rock. It claims to be North Carolina's only educational gem mining experience that is recognized by the NC state department of education. It ROCKED! (sorry...I know the pun was lame) Doc will sit you down after you pan through a bucket of unfilterd ore and tell you what mine in NC each gem comes from as well as how it's formed...even down to how the gems get their color based on the elements.




So now that we're back, I've been at school pretty much every day this week eventhough we don't officially start until tomorrow (Aug 12th).

I've been doing lesson plans, fixing up the room now that I'll probably be in this classroom for a while, and basically just getting mentally prepared for teaching 3 different subjects this term.

I guess I'll go ahead and call the summer DONE....here's to a great year at the Valley!

Summatime

Just to interrupt some blogging silence, I figured I'd give a quick update on what's been happening since school has been out.

The Sunday after school was out, I headed up to Nantahala to get a recertification for my Wilderness First Responder. I stayed at a sweet little 8'X10' cabin on the river and had a little paddling opportunities as well.

I was home in Columbia by Tuesday night just in time to attend a 3 day teaching workshop on 18 facets of what best practices in teaching look like these days. It was a very welcome workshop since my time at UWC resulted in me basically becoming detached from pedagogical theory a good bit. One great thing I have to say about Richland District 2 is that they really put a lot of effort into growing great teachers.

The workshop was over on Friday and since then, we've been bumming around a bit. I went paddling on the Wateree, we saw a great friend from New Mexico for a little while on Saturday, we've done a lot of yard/garden work, and I've had a substantial amount of chill time as well.

This weekend will be the beginning of our annual beach trip with Kelley's parents to Fripp Island. It'll be a sweet week of family, keeping up with toddlers, eating too much, hopefully surfing a lot to work off all the food, and some good old fashion fun-in-the-sun!

peace,
jeff

Closure

Today is graduation for the students out at The United World College - USA...and I can't say that I'm not thinking of them at this cool time in their lives.

Kelley and I pulled a bit of a "jump ship" back in December while following what we believed (and still believe) was God's plan for us in coming back home to SC. From the outside looking in, it must have seemed so abrupt of a decision and resulting cross-country move.

Looking back now, I miss the important associations with the job but not the job itself. I miss the people. I miss the landscape of northern New Mexico. I miss the small but proud Gallinas river. I miss beer from the Santa Fe Brewing company and climbing in Comales Canyon with our good friends Tim and Hilary. The color of the sky in the evening, the thin nature of the high altitude air, the long hikes with Moira on any given afternoon when class is done...I miss all this.



But then I consider where my family has come...to our small and humble farm house in Elgin, SC. I think of how happy my dogs are again...and how happy Kelley and little Moira are on a daily basis.

To the current graduating second year students at UWC-USA, I wish you all the best and I congratulate you on a job well-started and well-finished. I only wish that our paths could have crossed when my family could have contributed more to the UWC community.

"I raise to you the parting glass....goodnight and joy be with you all" - Irish parting song

The Swell Season

So one of the main reasons that Kelley, Moira and I moved back to SC was to be close to family. We've been back to SC since December and we've yet to make it down to Charleston as a family to hang out with Erin, Patrick, Noah, and Wally (kel's sister, husband, little boy, and dog...in that order!)

This weekend changes our streak of absence.

We are heading down this afternoon to have an incredible family weekend. Watching the kids play and the dogs run around like crazies will be entertaining for sure. On saturday, Patrick and I will be hunting for some sweet swells at Folly beach while the wives hang with the kids and dogs. Kelley will then join us for an outing to see The Swell Season in concert (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova...the Irish/Czech folk duo). On Sunday, I think that everyone is heading to Sullivan's Island for some chill beach time with the kiddies.

And so literally starts the Swell Season for us....a summer of beach, surf breaks, kids, dogs, relaxation, and enough love to put it all into context.

Backyard Boots

The old cliche about how having a kid will change your life really is true. When I used to hear that as a teenager or even in my 20's (yeah...that's right...I'm now one of the 30-something crowd), I would always hear it with negativity. It's almost like the line was strategically delivered to emphasize the parts of you that could no longer exist once you have a kid instead of open your eyes to the new possibilities that non-parenthood doesn't understand or enjoy.

Case-in-point is this picture.

My days as a science teacher have been a bit stressful lately. Nothing serious or anything, just the typical public high school blues that make me really enjoy my homelife. In the afternoons lately, Moira and I will walk down to the garden and "check the specs" on what plants are doing well and which ones are not. We thin out the pear trees together (she loves throwing the premature pears that I pull off of the tree), inspect the squash, marvel at the height of the sunflowers, and get frustrated together at how bad our tomato plants are doing. She doesn't really care about the tomatos, but I like to think of it as a group effort...you know?

She loves to wear her boots when we head to the garden. She'll come up to you and say "boot on?!" and hold out her rubber boots. She'll then say her version of "garden" and...almost like magic...the blues of the school day are gone for good.

Bailed so that I can bail again

Over my spring break, my brother-in-law, Patrick, and I headed up to Linville Gorge for some climbing.

I still have my goal for 2010 of climbing a 5-pitch 5.5 climb in Linville called the Mummy. It's a bit of an introductory climb for people who get more serious about traditional rock climbing, but I feel like I'm still not quite ready for it.

Patrick and I geared up and hit the road early on Wednesday of that week (April 7). We heard that some bad weather was going to roll in on Thursday, so rather than head straight for linville and have a long hike+long climb on Wednesday, we did some climbing at Crowder's Mt. in Gastonia, NC first.

I lead a clean 5.6 sport climb and a nice and easy 5.3 trad climb at Crowders on Red Wall.

After that, we hit the road and headed for Table Rock at Linville Gorge, NC. Before the trip, I called the Grandfather Mountain Ranger District (like I always do) to check on route closure due to peregrine falcon nesting as well as to get any other information that I might need. I found out that the gate to the Table Rock parking lot (1.4 miles away from the parking lot on a steep, switch-backy road) was closed due to a "landslide" according to the ranger service.
When we started our driving approach to Table Rock on the dirt road, we saw what they were talking about. Downed trees were everywhere...most likely due to a really bad wind storm.

The highlight of the drive was when Patrick spotted a nice black bear in a tree not 20 feet from the dirt road. Awesome!

We parked at the gate, geared up, and hiked in to Devil's Cellar on Wednesay night.

By 10 am the next morning, we were at the base of Jim Dandy 5.4 on the eastern face of Table Rock. It is a 3 pitch climb that is almost 300 in length but, due to the traversing nature of the route only puts you up around 210ft above the route base. I was stoked about this climb as it would have been my first multipitch mixed route. I climed the first pitch really clean and enjoyed my placement choices in between bolts. I skipped the last bolt on the first pitch before the anchors because I found a cam placement opportunity that would have been more on line with the route I was climbing.

After I set up the anchor at the top of the first pitch (by a lovely pine tree growing out of the rock), Patrick climbed and cleaned the route and joined me 90 ft later. Right at this time, we saw the storm clouds rolling in and we both did that "I think we can make it" look at each other before realizing that we'd only gone 1/3 of the way and the liklihood of us climbing on wet rock...or...worse, getting hit by lightning was probably better than use finishing the route safely. So...we bailed.

I can't wait to go back and finish the route!

following the white rabbit...

...like any good addiction, it's the times in between abuse that leave you with a huge hole in your being that aches for the next fix...

...and so I have discovered traditional climbing.

My folks gave me a huge pile of gear for my 30th birthday this year because of my increased climbing efforts over the past couple of years and my goals of doing a multipitch climb in Linville Gorge by the end of this next year. Since Kelley, Moira and I moved back from New Mexico, however, I've had no time to get outdoors. I finally had that opportunity this past Saturday and I called up my old buddy Scott to head up to North Carolina for a little day trip. I've heard that the Red Wall at Crowder's Mountain takes traditional gear pretty well and that the rock is trust worthy. I picked the easiest route I could find in the guidebook (a long but super easy 5.3). The route was pretty uneventful except that it was super dirty. Literally while I was climbing and placing gear in the rock, I had to clear out dirt or move fallen branches. I set up a multipoint anchor at the top and belayed Scott as he cleaned the route. We walked off the top for our first successful traditional climb!



We were in desperate need for some of Scott's PB&J afterwards and then Scott proceeded to tick out his first sport lead ever. It was a real crimpy 40 ft 5.7 climb at the end of Red Wall at Crowder's and he nailed it. I cleaned it afterwards and then we went to David's Castle wall to do some top roping for the end of our day. We climbed Overhang Direct 5.8 and we both enjoyed pulling the sweet little overhang crux that's halfway up that route.



On our short hike back to the parking lot from the crag, we both agreed that the whole "trad" climbing thing is much more than it's cracked up to be. We're both addicted and will continue following that white rabbit as far as it takes us. Hopefully the next adventure will put us on some moderate routes in Linville Gorge!

Wednesday Afternoon Fly Fishing at UWC

So this fall term has been a very busy one for sure at the UWC. I'm involved in residential life for the first time, which means doing dorm check at 9:30pm two nights a week. I'm also running 3 club activities: Tai Chi, Fly Fishing, and Medical Club.

My classes have been pretty active this term and I've been busy grading, teaching, doing field work, and improving (I think) at the art of teaching IB biology.

Wednesday afternoons are a much-needed escape for me. Fly Fishing meets from 3-5:30pm. We bus about 20min. west on the Gallinas river to some private property and have a go at catching trout with lures that we tie ourselves. There are a couple of ponds there in addition to the river where students can practice catching some monster trout. River fishing is much more delicate and technical. There are big fish there, but they are picky eaters for sure.

Yesterday, I fished with:

Prince Nymph - caught the biggest Rainbow trout of my life in the river (~2.5 lbs)
Wire Caddis Nymph - caught a big Rainbow in the pond
Hot Butt Caddis Dry Fly - caught 2 brown trout in the river...good size, but not big. Caught them both on casts that were about 50 feet in length.


Some thoughts from the river:

Wind blows through the grass
Mountains rise in strong circumference around the gentle Gallinas
I become the fish I seek.