2. Taj Mahal at Gathering of the Vibes playing "Loving in My Baby's Eyes."
3. Getting our drummer James (Cohen) back after a stint on the DL with a blood clot. We were a band again!
4. Getting to do shows with Zach Deputy a bunch this year. He is a musical freak of nature and draws from a DEEP well. The more you see‚ the more you're just in awe.
5. Opening for Ani DiFranco at the Chicago Theater. She had Mike Dillon on vibes and just killed it‚ as always.
6. Looking around for a spot to play a renegade late night set at UpNorth. We were about to start setting up under a bare street lamp by the vendors because it had power outlets. Then we spotted a lit up gazebo with a spinning disco ball from a distance. Gazebo set!!!
7. Stalking‚ and hence‚ meeting the Black Crowes backstage at Gathering of the Vibes. They're so nice!
8. Diving through the mud at Camp Creek.
9. Touring with Martin Sexton. (These are not necessarily in order)
10. Passing the guitar around the family room at my girlfriend's family's house after Thanksgiving dinner. Someone would pick a tune‚ then we'd talk‚ tell a story‚ listen to a record‚ even read a poem. Then play another song. It was all so fun and unforced.
Read our Winter 08 interview with Ryan.


Alex Toth -- trumpeter/composer‚ Rubblebucket Orchestra‚ John Brown's Body
 

photo by Della Clark
I didn't get to actually see that much live music this year since I was so busy playing it! I think I had 2 weekends off all effing year! But anyway...
July -- A solo improvisation on tenor sax by this cat named David Boykin with simultaneous videographic improvisation by a couple videographers brought me straight to tears. I was in this small‚ humble bar in Chicago and he was improvising; first on drums then on sax. The owner of the place was there too. He was a ninety year old AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) avant-garde sax player. I could feel the pulse and history of Chicago's music -- the human suffering and creation of years and years unto the present -- coming through the bell of Boykin's horn‚ coursing through the space in the form of sound and light. It was just stunning.
November -- Ecstatic cries and wails and screams over a massive drone against intense polyrhythms during a Rubblebucket group improvisation at our Johnny D's show. The process of bringing original music to fruition in 2008 was deeply satisfying.
March -- When I was on tour in Colorado‚ the singer or drummer from Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad (they're brothers and I can't remember which one) told me about a live Björk show he saw where she had little mirrors placed intentionally all over the relatively small venue reflecting light rays. The art of her show was all encompassing. He said she had everyone at the show's complete and utter attention; all eyes and ears quietly focused on her and that it was the best live music show he'd ever seen. Imagining that and knowing what Björk's about just blew me away.
September -- The show in San Francisco with John Brown's Body at the Great American Music Hall and the bike ride I took through Haight-Ashbury and surrounding neighborhoods the next day made me feel really lucky to have the job I have. That whole time filled me with a really spiritual sense about playing music; a heavy inspiration.
Read our review of Rubblebucket's debut album,Rose's Dream.