Photo/Album: Post 2

Here is the second installment of my Photo/Album series -- where I post a photo from Leech Lake and an album that I find particularly important to the history of music (in my life).

As will be the case in all such posts, let's start with a photo from Leech Lake.

PHOTO


This was taken the on the Saturday afternoon five days before I left Minnesota for California in the Fall of 2009. It's taken from the end of my dock looking south on Sucker Bay toward Goose Island. This was a typical mid-afternoon, late-Autumn day on Leech Lake.

ALBUM


From the first time I heard Frank Zappa's music in 1974, he has been one of my favorite musicians. As I dug deeper into his extremely vast catalog of music (I now own all 80+ titles from Mr. Zappa) I found myself listening to his album Hot Rats more than any other. The cut Peaches en Regalia from the album is generally considered one of the greatest jazz-fusion tunes ever recorded.

It has been covered by numerous musicians ranging from the Dixie Dregs to Phish to Frank's son Dweezil, whose version of the song with former Zappa alumni Steve Vai and Napoleon Murphy Brock won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2009. Check out this clip for the version of Peaches en Regalia from the Baby Snakes video, or this clip for a live version of the song.

Photo/Album: Post 1

Most of my posts to this site happen while I'm actually at Leech Lake. Now that I'm in California, I'm only able to reminisce about being on the water (open or hard) and enjoy the many photos I've taken while at Leech Lake.

Until I make my next visit to Minnesota's third biggest lake I thought I'd occasionally post photos from past visits. In addition, I'm going to post an album that I'm particularly fond of, just 'cause.

So here's the first of my "photo/album" posts.

PHOTO


Here's a photo of our dock, boat lift and boat as seen from the dock at our house. Countless times each open-water season I make my way next door to our cabin, walk down the dock, climb into the boat, lower it into the water and go fishing. Since it's an activity that plays a predominate role in my life while I'm at Leech Lake, it's the first photo in this series.

ALBUM


The Grateful Dead album American Beauty is one of my all-time favorite albums. It contains some of Jerry Garcia's finest songwriting, singing and guitar playing, and it holds a special place in my heart and soul. If you haven't listened to this album, start with this live version of Ripple and move on from there -- "a ripple in still water."