New Bamboo Grand Stick is here!!!

It's bound to be an exciting day when you know a new Stick® is on the way!
Last week, while I was still in California I got the call from Stick Enterprises that my new dark bamboo Grand Stick #5827 was ready for delivery. I asked them to postpone delivery until I was sure I'd be home to receive the package.

I ordered my first stick in 2000, since then Emmett Chapman has continued to tweak and refine the instrument. This new instrument has several new features not on my original one. Most obvious, its extended scale, meaning it's longer than my old Stick and can play some notes I couldn't before. It also has Fret rails whereas my original instrument had fret rods. The difference being that the frets now taper at more of an angle, the old ones are more rounded. Another difference is the flaps, two adjustable plates that act like the nut on a guitar. My other stick has individual set scews for each string. I got it with the ACTV-2 pickup module, which I like for its great sound and simplicity.

This instrument is made from dark laminated bamboo with turquoise linear inlays, and has black tuners. A thing of beauty! I think it is absolutely gorgeous. I like the light weight of the bamboo as well. It has light gauge strings in classic grand stick tuning.

My first impressions?
I think I'm in love! It arrived nearly in perfect tune and I played a couple of hours with it. The extended scale takes a slight mental adjustment, but I was playing tunes in no time. The set up is just the way I like. I'm feeling blessed, lucky and inspired. A huge thank you for everyone at Stick Enterprises, especially Emmett.

Update.. Big Sur, Tide Pools, and more!

Still in CA and having a blast! Sherrie and I have been trying to take advantage of our time here. Today we went to Natural Bridges Sate Park in Santa Cruz. We roamed around exploring tide pools, and chatted with a surfer as those in the water were catching some gnarly waves.

Yesterday we drove down Highway 1 to Big Sur, wow! It was a great day, part sun, partly cloudy, and spectacular views! We stopped and had lunch in Lucia, CA , then made our way back north, stopping in Carmel by the Sea for a nice stroll.

We've also spent some time strolling and window shopping lots of interesting shops and restaurants in Capitola, which is just minutes from where we are staying. On Sunday we spent most of the morning and afternoon in downtown Santa Cruz, time is flying by, so much to see.

I am getting eager to get back home, especially since I got a call just a short while ago from Stick Enterprises. My new Bamboo Grand Stick is done and ready to be shipped! WOOT!!!

California...

Ok, so it has been a while since I last posted anything on this blog, lots of catching up to do. Right now I'm in Soquel, CA (right next to Santa Cruz) with Sherrie. We're house-sitting for some friends for a few weeks. This is the view of some redwoods from the back patio...

We drove here from our home in Salida, CO taking our time and making some stops along the way. The first day we drove to Zion National Park and spent a couple of days staying with friends. Had a great day of hiking in the park and picnicking amongst the hoodoos.


After a wonderful day in Zion we drove to Vegas. Yup, I've had never been there and wanted to experience it for myself. We spent the day walking up and down the strip soaking it all in. I probably don't need to mention that going from the tranquil natural surroundings of Zion National Park to the hustle of Vegas was pretty jarring. We spent the night at the Luxor. I spent an entire two dollars on gambling machines, just for the fun of it. I think 24 hrs was just the right amount of time, very interesting place.


From Vegas we drove to Fresno, CA and then to Santa Cruz the next morning. So now we're starting to explore the area. Sunday morning we walked along the coast at Pleasure Point and watched the sufers.


Sherrie has more pics and stories about our adventure at her blog, check it out here!

The best time of the year...

A couple of days ago, Sherrie and I took a drive up Marshall Pass to check out the colors. I just love that we can be surrounded by such beauty only minutes from home.

The bigger the better!

The bigger the better! Hot Dogs that is!
On our way to Denver last week Sherrie and I stopped at the Coney Island Hot Dog Stand in Bailey, CO. Ever since seeing a PBS special a few years ago about great roadside hot dog stands, I feel it is my civic duty to stop and support them. A bit of Americana.
The dogs were delicious and how often do you get to eat food from a building shaped like the food you are eating?

Nomad

Last night Sherrie and I attended the CD release party for local Master Polyrhythmist Bones' latest release Nomad. What a party! Bones is known for putting on extravagant performances, but last night he outdid himself. The Steamplant ballroom was packed as Bones and a revolving cast of local musicians took the stage and got people hitting the dance floor.
I added some Chapman Stick to a couple of tracks on the CD, which snagged me the honor of getting a VIP pass. This meant, a free CD, free food and drink and the option of watching a video feed of the performance from backstage. Not bad, eh?

Green's Creek Revisited

Sherrie and I spent some time this morning hiking up along Green's Creek. It's always nice to get out and enjoy the outdoors. We hiked this trail last year shortly after I arrived from Cleveland, it was a nice feeling to revisit it and to realize how much this place now feels like home.

Catching up...

Wow! This summer is flying by. Here are a few of the things I've been up to...
This past weekend I had the pleasure of playing at The Salida Riverside Art Festival. Above I'm accompanying singer/songwriter Chris Nasca on Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the morning I played a solo set on my Chapman Stick. On Saturday afternoon I played bass with "Your Surrogate Cousin" (pic below). It was a great weekend, the festival was a great time.

The week before Sherrie and I headed up to Denver where I got to visit with my darling niece Lily visiting from Cleveland.

This coming weekend I'll be providing some dinner music for a benefit for Salida Backyard CSA. A great organization run by my surrogate cousin, Eric Belsey.

Weekend update....

Once again another great weekend here in Salida, Colorado. Friday evening Sherrie and I hosted a informal get together at our place. We have such great friends! It was a fun evening, then early Saturday (me, still very blurry from too much wine the night before) we setup at the Salida farmers market. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny morning. Sherrie sold some of her gorgeous art and I played my Chapman Stick and sold some CDs.

Speaking of the CD, "Residue" is now the featured CD at Stick Enterprises. World renowned Stickist Greg Howard posted a great review. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited!

Sunday morning Sherrie and I went to the County Fair. Mutton Busting (small children riding sheep) was quite entertaining! We also saw an impressive display of antique steam powered tractors, since both of us are closet steampunks we found it fascinating.
Back at home, our street was closed down for the day for the Salida Omnium bike race. All day long cyclists went whizzing by the house, watching them fly by was making me dizzy!

Another Great Weekend!

Sherrie whisked me away for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. We went to Boulder, CO and wandered around the Art Fair. Internationally acclaimed Stick player Bob Culbertson had a booth there, we ran into him moments after arriving on Saturday afternoon. I've attended several seminars with Bob over the years, and I'm always floored to hear him perform live, a wonderful musician. I gave him a copy of my new Stick CD "Residue", I'm eager to know what he thinks :)

Great Weekend!

Some images from the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival. I made the trek from Salida to Crested Butte on Friday to join Sherrie as she finished teaching workshops. We had a wonderful meal at the "Ginger Cafe". As some of you may know, we're serious ginger junkies, so this was nirvana for us!

We had lots of fun, it was a great little getaway. Now it's time to play catch-up. Gotta run...

Residue Video

Hi all! I've posted a video for the tune "Residue" from the new CD. It features photos taken by Sherrie here in Salida one foggy morning. Enjoy!

Wild Turkeys

You may not be able to see them very well in the photo, but there were over 25 wild turkeys hanging out as we returned from a hike this morning. Sherrie and I took a trail along Bear Creek just outside of town. It has been a great 4th of July weekend. Last night we walked down to the park, Chase N the Dream had everyone dancing, including Sherrie and myself. Then we watched fireworks as they were launched from the top of "S" Mountain.

This is going to be a busy week, Sherrie heads to Crested Butte to teach during the Wildflower Festival. I'll be playing bass guitar Wednesday evening with the new and expanded version of "Your Surrogate Cousin" at Mother's Bistro in Buena Vista. We'll have Chris Nasca on guitar and vocals, Eric Belsey on guitar, vocals and harmonica, and Brian Pence on drums, should be fun for all.
I've been getting a lot of nice comments on my new CD: Residue. I've made myself a Myspace page to help get out the word. Next, Facebook seems inevitable, friends have been asking if I'm on, I'm feeling the peer pressure. I just can't bring myself to thinking about Twitter!

Sunday evening...

Whew, what a weekend! Salida Artwalk took place this weekend. I had three gigs playing my Chapman Stick, one on Friday evening, and two on Saturday. I had the new CD with me and was very pleased to actually sell a respectable quantity of them. I've been even more pleased with all the kind comments I've been getting from people about my music. I know this kind of music isn't everyones cup of tea, it means a great deal to me when someone expresses how much they enjoy it.
Today, I've been doing my best to keep it low key and take it easy, but unfortunately I encountered this when I stopped home between gigs on Saturday....


That's our guestroom ceiling. It had been hastily patched before we had a new roof installed last summer. Good thing our potential weekend guests decided to go camping!
I got things cleaned up, in time we'll get it fixed up properly. Despite that, all in all, it was a good weekend!

The CD is now available from CD Baby for purchase or for download. Click here to go there.

Buy the new CD!

I've just updated the website so that you can purchase the new CD directly from me. Go to my website to hear 30 sec samples and for ordering info.
Soon it will be available through CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon where you'll have the option of buying a downloadable version.

It's Here!

The new CD arrived today! I'm very pleased with the way they turned out. I'll be adding a section to my website so it can be purchased via Paypal soon. I'll also be selling them through CD Baby and other online sources, very exciting! If you can't wait to get one, drop me a line and I'll let you know how to get it ASAP!
The CD features 14 original solo compositions performed on Chapman Stick, great music to sip wine or just kick back with.

Take a Hike!

This morning Sherrie and I got up early and hiked up the Rainbow Trail here in Salida. T'was a great day.
I'm still waiting for the completed CD's to arrive, late this week at the earliest. In the meanwhile our summer schedules are quickly filling up. Lots of activities coming up, FibArk, Salida ArtWalk, I'll do my best to keep the blog updated.

Getting In Tune...

A couple of nice shots taken by photographer Suzanne Shaff during the Colorado Art Ranch Artposium in Trinidad, CO.

Whew! CD News....

I shipped the finished CD off to the duplicators today! It'll still be a couple of weeks before I get the finished product, but it feels good to know it's done on this end. The CD is called Residue and features 14 original compositions performed by yours truly on solo Chapman Stick. Expect more info when I have the actual copies. Keep your eyes on www.tiptonstick.com for info on upcoming gigs and CD news as well.
Part of the reason I was able to finish and get it sent off today is that it is raining out, so no window washing for me today. It's been raining the last several days here, which is actually unusual according to most people I've spoken to. It almost reminds me of Cleveland ; )

Feeling Froggy!

I've been asked to play at the Salida Riverside Fine Arts Festival in August. I'm looking forward to this, lots of good music and art at Riverside park here in Salida. One of my favorite places to hang out.
Yesterday, I finished the final tweaks on the new CD, I'm hoping to have the graphics and packaging all set to go by Monday. Then it's off to the duplicators, I'll be making an announcement to all my friends and family when it's available.

Friday evening I had the privilege to play at an Art Reception for local artist Jon MacManus. Despite being a rainy evening the turnout was great. Besides being a talented artist Jon keeps me busy during the week washing windows and doing odd jobs. Had a great time playing, but realized I need to print out a card explaining the Chapman Stick. Everytime I'd start a song someone would walk up an ask me to explain the instrument to them! Got lots of nice comments about the music too!

Had a wonderful surprise this past week. The wonderful French artist Jean-Louis Verdier sent Sherrie and I a copy of his latest project, a Nature Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians. Jean-Louis is an amazing illustrator, imagine my surprise when I opened the cover and found he had drawn a frog jamming on the Chapman Stick! Many,many thanks Jean-Louis!