So I get an email from Nicole, someone I’ve never met who lives in Crested Butte, Colorado. The email said, “Come play here.” Nicole had seen our video for “A Frog Named Sam,” checked out our website and thought her fellow Coloradans would love us. I thought, “Okay, I’ll bite.” After a couple of back and forth emails, weeks of phone calls, another round of phone calls and basically what just has to be considered fortuitous luck, I put together a day of shows for the band in the towns of Loveland and Breckenridge, CO. About six weeks before we were to leave, a couple of shows came in for John and I to play as a duo in Colorado Springs. Now we had an actual Colorado tour!
Ben Rudnick and Friends at The Riverwalk in Breckendridge, CO
I know it was a real tour because I had to book airline reservations, rebook airline reservations with the added shows, choose a rental car that would fit our gear and not cost a fortune, get confirmation numbers for hotel rooms across the state, ship CDs and T-shirts and generally make sure everything was just exactly perfect. I think Dr. McCoy would say, “I’m a musician not a travel agent!” A strong case could be made that the good Doctor would have been wrong in this instance. With the thick itinerary in hand, I surely felt like a travel agent.
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO
So how’d it go you ask? I’m pleased as punch to say the biggest problem we had was a bit of traffic for the New Hampshire “and Friends” getting to Boston’s Logan Airport on Monday morning. Everything else went as smooth as silk. Not a wrinkle. Logistical highlights included:
- Getting the whole band to the airport on time – always a bonus!
- Finding our instruments in Colorado and having them be in one piece – also a bonus!
- Finishing the show in Loveland, CO at 1:45pm and getting to Breckenridge for our 6:30pm start – surely a concern.
With those three small points taken care of everything else was gravy.
Everything Else
This really might be all you want to hear, the logistics just seem so much a part of the effort that it’s hard not to mention it. Maybe this section might be considered the good stuff.
We had a blast! What we found was that the audiences in Colorado were very receptive to our style of music. One of the things we couldn’t help but notice was that they were locked into what we were doing. Solos and musical details were applauded. There was clapping along galore. With the excitement of playing in Colorado, the audience reaction, beautiful theaters, great sound men and general good cheer all around, the shows really couldn’t have gone any better. We were in band-in-a-new-place heaven.
Rocky Mountain National Park and our trusty Chevy Tahoe
Which leads me to the beauty of Colorado. We do have mountains of note here in the Northeast. After years hiking on the Long Trail, I consider Vermont to be my favorite state. Colorado though is a different thing altogether. I’m not saying I’m bailing on Vermont, but the whole Rocky Mountain way thing is worth the trip. The scale is tremendous. The state is like an amusement park for the visual senses. With a couple of days off between shows, John and I had the chance to go through the Rocky Mountain National Park twice. Crossing the boundary into the park I immediately had the impression of a sense of calm. The park felt like a peaceful sanctuary. Beauty unfolded as we wandered through. Another turn, another vista. Names like “The Never Summer Mountains” evoked a chill and sparked the imagination. Huge elk with racks sat by the side of the road. We saw an antelope. We took our time! For two guys who seem to have an endless amount of projects and things to do, we couldn’t have been more slowed down. The park had us and we really couldn’t have been happier about it.
John Zevos and Ben Rudnick in Rocky Mountain National Park
Between park visits we spent one of our off nights at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Opened in 1909 by F.O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer motor carriage, the hotel is renowned for being about six miles from the national park and is listed as one of America’s most haunted hotels. The hotel was the inspiration for Stephen King’s novel The Shining. The movie plays 24x7 on the TV. We saw nary a ghost and I was okay not running into any of the problems Jack Nicholson had in the movie. He didn’t really handle it well and I’m sure I wouldn’t have done any better.
Rocky Mountain National Park
A sure highlight, which I suppose was the most dangerous part of the trip, was getting caught in a storm in the mountains south of Granby, CO. Approaching the mountains, we stopped for gas, merrily ate chocolate and commented on the ruthless bolts of lighting striking the mountains in front of us. “See that one!” BOOM! “Wow!” CRASH! It was all fun and games until we were in the mountains getting pounded. There was walnut sized hail, thunder, lighting and the usual general mayhem of noise that goes along with storms of biblical proportion. Check out the photo below and more on our Facebook page. The best part was the upcoming switchback turn displayed on the GPS. Once over the mountains with the storm behind us, the temperature rose again and the ice on the car from the hail lasted more than a half hour before melting.
HAIL, THUNDER, LIGHTNING and the upcoming switchback turn.
In Colorado Springs we were told to go see the Garden of the Gods, an absolutely breathtaking place. Featured are red rock formations initially (like 300 million years ago) in the earth horizontally but are now pushed-up, vertical and weathered. I won’t even ramble on about it. Check out the photos and go when you can.
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO
Lastly, Pike’s Peak is also not to be missed. At 14,115 feet high, with killer donuts at the top, the view was the inspiration for Katharine Lee Bates poem “America The Beautiful.” Born in Falmouth, MA, educated and teaching English Literature at Wellesley College, Katharine was spending the summer of 1893 in Colorado Springs when she took the three day round trip to and from Pike’s Peak by wagon and mule. Katharine said:
“One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pike’s Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse.”
View from Pike’s Peak, CO
In Hindsight
This was a great trip! We had fun and as traveling musicians there isn’t much that can compare with having new audiences appreciate you. It strengthens the spirit and can provide endless inspiration. For myself, and I think for John too, seeing the beauty of the mountains affirmed what we already knew. We live in a beautiful country and we’re proud to be here witnessing it go by and taking our shot at providing some of the soundtrack. I’m glad we didn’t have to travel by wagon and mule.
Thanks for reading.
Ben.
PS: if you’re ever in Manitou Springs, CO, visit The Dulcimer Shop. Tell Bud Sr. we say “Hello.”
PPS: If you’re ever in Colorado Springs, CO, visit Rudy’s “Country Store” Bar-B-Q every chance you get.
The BR&F coreTet in Breckenridge, Colorado, June 2010
