So our posts lately have been lacking... rather, nonexistent, so here's a little update on Summer Retreat.
The road trippers (me, Dee Dee, Keiji, Emma, Mike, David, Tommy, Kate, and Chris) left New Haven for Maine rather late on Tuesday because I (stupidly) locked my keys in the car - a classic start to a road trip, I suppose, and it was a
lovely wait in the pouring rain. After that fiasco, everything went smoothly and we arrived in Hampden in no time.
As it turns out, Maine is even more beautiful than we expected. Anna lives in a pretty little town, and we're loving the time out here before heading back to New Haven. Her house is situated right next to a grassy field with a couple of barns in back where the goats live and, behind that, trees and trees. A few days ago, we spent the evening at the American Folk Festival (not all folk, actually) which is held in Bangor. There were all sorts of different acts going - Irish, Gospel, Merengue... there are some good pictures of Keiji, Anna, Drew, and Chris salsa dancing. Yesterday we rehearsed in a glade
behind the house and then Dee Dee, Chris, Marcelle, Anna, and I went blackberry picking (Robbie, where are you for this stuff?!) I was barefoot, which was quite painful with all the thorns - and because I stepped on a wasp on my way over. But the berries were delicious, so I guess it was worth it to climb into thorn bushes to get them. After gorging ourselves, of course, the most logical thing to do was to use the berries as warpaint. Thus, Chris ended up with a black eye, I had a giant peace sign down my face, Dee Dee was a Native American Princess, and Anna was a bunny. We spent the evening at Anna's friend Bennett's house for a cookout with his friends from Olin College (which sounds completely ridiculous, in a good way.) We had a good time hanging out and trading music - Bennett and Anna's friend Amanda played for us on their guitars (Amanda is apparently going to meet with P. Diddy's producer about recording - amazing) and we sang for them in turn.
Before I write too much, I'll go back a little. We spent the first few days at Anna's cottage on Su
tton Island, off the coast of Maine. I really don't know what I could say that would even approach encompassing the island. It's a tiny island, just about a mile across and blanketed in forest. It is absolutely breathtaking. We took the ferry over on Wednesday, bringing all of our food along with us. When we docked, we set out across the island on foot - the only means of transportation. The Field House (the Wood house, named after one of its previous owners, Rachel Field, author of the Newbury Honor book "The Calico Bush") is at the far end of the island, and peeks out from the woods right
over the rocky shore. I think it was Marcelle who said that Sutton Island is the place she always imagined growing up, and I don't know how to say it better. It was such an escape from the world, and the time we spent there was luxuriously simple, if that makes any sense. We had no computers, no TVs, no phone service, just us and the island. We didn't rehearse there, so we spent most of the time exploring, relaxing, and enjoying the peace. We played a pretty intense game of Capture the Flag, and my team (sadly) lost; true to form, we got in a lot of Mafia time, too. As it turns out, Chris is a
fantastic Mafia player and can get away with anything - blaming movement during the Mafia time on a wedgie when he was in the Mafia, or escaping death by accusing Anna of being in the Mafia after she died the first round. We gave a small concert for some of our island neighbors one night, and we met some really interesting people, and hopefully made some good contacts for future concerts :). I feel like I've presented such a tiny tiny part of the wonder that is Sutton Island, but, for now, I'll just say that it was absolutely the best way to start the year off on the right foot.
Since arriving back on the mainland, we've spent a lot of time rehearsing. I'm really excited about the new direction we're taking with the music. For those of you that know Redhot's repertoire well, we're now using Randy Hostetler's ('85) revision of Just You (which can be found on Live in Concert 1983.) It incorporates some fun new rhythms. We're also bringing back the old intro to Kick, using a quartet to open Sweet B, and so on. Ah!
Anyway, I've monopolized this computer for long enough, I think, so I'll sign off. There will be more from Maine coming soon. We miss our absent Redhotties desperately - here's hoping you're all having a good time wherever this may find you.
love love LOVE,
Brady
behind the house and then Dee Dee, Chris, Marcelle, Anna, and I went blackberry picking (Robbie, where are you for this stuff?!) I was barefoot, which was quite painful with all the thorns - and because I stepped on a wasp on my way over. But the berries were delicious, so I guess it was worth it to climb into thorn bushes to get them. After gorging ourselves, of course, the most logical thing to do was to use the berries as warpaint. Thus, Chris ended up with a black eye, I had a giant peace sign down my face, Dee Dee was a Native American Princess, and Anna was a bunny. We spent the evening at Anna's friend Bennett's house for a cookout with his friends from Olin College (which sounds completely ridiculous, in a good way.) We had a good time hanging out and trading music - Bennett and Anna's friend Amanda played for us on their guitars (Amanda is apparently going to meet with P. Diddy's producer about recording - amazing) and we sang for them in turn.
Before I write too much, I'll go back a little. We spent the first few days at Anna's cottage on Su
tton Island, off the coast of Maine. I really don't know what I could say that would even approach encompassing the island. It's a tiny island, just about a mile across and blanketed in forest. It is absolutely breathtaking. We took the ferry over on Wednesday, bringing all of our food along with us. When we docked, we set out across the island on foot - the only means of transportation. The Field House (the Wood house, named after one of its previous owners, Rachel Field, author of the Newbury Honor book "The Calico Bush") is at the far end of the island, and peeks out from the woods right 
over the rocky shore. I think it was Marcelle who said that Sutton Island is the place she always imagined growing up, and I don't know how to say it better. It was such an escape from the world, and the time we spent there was luxuriously simple, if that makes any sense. We had no computers, no TVs, no phone service, just us and the island. We didn't rehearse there, so we spent most of the time exploring, relaxing, and enjoying the peace. We played a pretty intense game of Capture the Flag, and my team (sadly) lost; true to form, we got in a lot of Mafia time, too. As it turns out, Chris is a fantastic Mafia player and can get away with anything - blaming movement during the Mafia time on a wedgie when he was in the Mafia, or escaping death by accusing Anna of being in the Mafia after she died the first round. We gave a small concert for some of our island neighbors one night, and we met some really interesting people, and hopefully made some good contacts for future concerts :). I feel like I've presented such a tiny tiny part of the wonder that is Sutton Island, but, for now, I'll just say that it was absolutely the best way to start the year off on the right foot.
Since arriving back on the mainland, we've spent a lot of time rehearsing. I'm really excited about the new direction we're taking with the music. For those of you that know Redhot's repertoire well, we're now using Randy Hostetler's ('85) revision of Just You (which can be found on Live in Concert 1983.) It incorporates some fun new rhythms. We're also bringing back the old intro to Kick, using a quartet to open Sweet B, and so on. Ah!
Anyway, I've monopolized this computer for long enough, I think, so I'll sign off. There will be more from Maine coming soon. We miss our absent Redhotties desperately - here's hoping you're all having a good time wherever this may find you.
love love LOVE,
Brady
1 comment:
Sounds amazing. I wish I could be in two places at once!
Also, I actually picked some blackberries today, too. Haitham (a fellow Whiff) and I were searching around the house's tennis court for the balls we had hit over (we're not quite to the professional level yet) and found a couple of bushes. They were quite good.
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