A Blog about recording and performing musician Randy Granger told in his words. His life as a songwriter, performer, educator, serious Foodie and full-time musician with all the triumphs, lessons, life on the road observations told with humor, irreverence and reflection. An award-winning composer and songwriter Granger blends Native American flutes, the Hang, voice and world percussion into a completely unique contemporary Southwest World sound.
Randy Granger
In the Chihuahuan Desert near the Organ Mountains, New Mexico
I’m back from a road trip to the Zion Canyon Art and Music Festival in Springdale, Utah. Though the weather was amazingly hot, dry and breezy—kind of like living in a huge blow dryer set on low—overall some really excellent music took place and loads of fun.
On my drive up, which is a 13 hour drive from my home in New Mexico, I camped out in Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Reservation of northeast Arizona. Canyon de Chelly is a deep, red-walled canyon with a small river running through it. The Anasazi and later the Navajo have made this verdant canyon home. Driving into ZionCanyon is always stunning and stirs every part of my being. Seeing the friends I’ve made again always makes me happy. This time I met several new people as we gathered around the campground across from the entrance to the festival. Rick Dunlap and his family on Djembe, the Tank Tongue Drum which sounded like a Hang and son Ricky on didgeridoo and all the others who were jamming up a storm made for a raucous good time. I volunteered to MC the open mic stage on Saturday and Sunday. I loved hearing the flute players from all over the country. Some really nice and original music was made.
Probably because I had a Hang drum with me several people asked me to sit in with them. Kiriel from Phoenix, Stephen DeRuby, the Dunlap Clan and others that I played with were all just really open and we all shared a passion for the Native American flute and its possibilities. Joe Young, a musician from Boise, Idaho did a fantastic job with sound and played an amazing set of music. He was nice and asked me to sit in on Hang and Cornell Kinderknecht on Bansuri played so beautifully both in his solo set and with us.
Will Hoshal asked me and California musician Vince Chaffin to sit in during his concert and it was just an hours worth of smiling on both sides of the stage. Thanks Bill. Can’t wait to do it again. Being able to do what is your passion is truly a privilege. All the dehydration, sunburn, egos, too little sleep and extremely long drive was worth it. On the return trip I camped below Sunset Volcano Crater north of Flagstaff, Arizona. Very serene.
I lusted after so many flutes this year and really wanted one of John Kulias’ ceramic flutes and several of Michael Allen’s flutes but since gas is over $4.00 a gallon so the choice was pretty clear. Buy flutes or walk home….ha ha
Here is a video/photo montage of Canyon de Chelly and ZionCanyon set to a song from my new CD “A Place Called Peace.” The song is “Apache Tears.”The CD is ready and available but I’ll post a note soon about a special MySpace offer….stay tuned.
Well as I sometimes do I like to start by saying it is so hot here. It has been in the low 100’s for the past week with a steady wind and at sometimes a downright gust accompanied by so much dust and grit it could sand blast a tree bare.People say well at least it’s a dry heat to which I respond—you mean like an oven or a blow dryer?I was driving outside of El Paso yesterday when the hugest Dust Devil I’ve ever seen picked up a road sign and slammed it into a car which swerved causing all sorts of craziness.
So in the midst of this heat I’m off to the Zion Canyon Art and Flute Festival again this year in Springdale, Utah.It is a 12-hour drive so I’m going to camp halfway in Canyon de Chelly, pronounced (Canyon de Shay) an ancient Anasazi dwelling site on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona.I’m looking forward to being surrounded by silence, stars and such spiritually significant land.The other night I was playing at a party in the Gila national forest in a funky town called Kingston. When it got dark the number of visible stars was just breathtaking. The moon was a thumbnail but so bright like someone cut a slit in the curtain. I was playing my Hang while a friend played her didgeridoo then another guest read a poem and some others sang on guitar. It was quite magical….or was it the homemade beer? Of course people went crazy over the Hang and scheduled a few concerts for me in the fall so it was a great time.
Zion canyon is really beautiful but I do wish the festival would return to the original October dates. It is really hot there and I couldn’t find a room nor tent site so am staying 45 minutes away in St. George. That is almost two gallons of gas and at over $4.00 a gallon it is getting a little tough to tour. I’m playing and MCing the open mic stage on Sat. and Sun. I love hearing what flute players are doing. On my return trip I’ll camp in the mountains or something near Flagstaff, AZ. It should be slightly cooler.I’ll take pictures especially for my fans in Europe, Japan and Eastern Europe. Thanks.
My new album “A Place Called Peace” is scheduled for release next week though I don’t know if it will be back in time to take to Zion. Oh well I have others…I’ve uploaded a song from the CD called “Double-Barrel Train Wreck” which you can download for free. Woo hoo.It is a solo song on a double barrel, or drone, Native American flute which imitates a train in motion. When I perform it live I say it is like a Native American flute met an electric guitar and collided with a locomotive. Listen for the Bluesy riff at the end—my nod to Hendrix! I always welcome your comments!
