Blog 4: Kunming

Today we travelled from Beijing to Kunming in the Yunnan Province, a very different feeling city. It's still awfully hot, but there's a lot more trees and the air seems much cleaner. I'm still shocked that the beautiful canals running through Kunming and most of the cities it seems, are loaded with trash and effluvia...but they look pretty at night. I just wouldn't want to take a romantic gondola ride down one! (You know the saying, "....without a paddle"?)

Our new guide/translator is Fran. She's a very accomplished young woman, a former power plant engineer who I swear must be legally blind. She had us cross the street with two busses coming from both directions. I had to stand tiptoe on the middle line and clench my butt cheeks to avoid being logrolled between them. We figured out she was Mrs. Magoo soon afterward at the restaurant when she had to put her nose right on the menu to read it! Now I lead her and the gang through any and all street crossings. Oh, and she learned all her English from watching "Friends." She really likes the "Chandler" character and pronounces "reeeealy" just like him. (Think the millionaire on Gilligan's Island). It's reeealy funny coming out of her mouth.

So...this restaurant used to be a railroad station way back around 100 years ago. They served some really "special" items including two kinds of insect larvae. Denis & Eric really dug into the ones with the eyes! Myself, I was able to choke down one small one...just to say I did it. O.K.- I did it. Yeccchhh!

Tomorrow we are slated to go to "The Stone Forest" and play a little improv amongst the incredible rock formations.

RL

Blog 3: Beijing

Welll...having recorded all that I need for the updated China arrangement last evening, we packed our rucksacks and headed off for the Great Wall of China. Now, I don't really like crowded touristy places...and this confirms it! I mean, there was a street vender (wall vendor?) with a waving Mao watch at every turn...and Denis bought eight of them! Even this did not keep them at bay. But the best part was pulling my new four piece TFO fly rod outfit out of it's velour and running through a bunch of false casts on top of the wall. I had plenty of stares and more than a few eager participants willing to let me guide their first attempts to toss a line...over the Great Wall. Relating to this, quite a lot of nationals came up wishing to have their picture taken with me. It was explained to me later that I had a "big nose"...something apparently enviable to have here in China. My nice BIG NOSE is now part of many family photo albums!

Tomorrow morning we head to Kunming in south China where the unexpected awaits us. I hear that a major road trip into the mountains is in the works. The region is known for a wide range of ancient music from a variety of ethnic groups. I'm really looking forward to recording it!

RL

P.S. The name of the ladies choir I recorded last night translates to "Spring Art".

Blog 2: Beijing

We were met at the airport (at 5am) by a most amazing and talented woman, Joy! She is a former pop background singer and knows everybody! By 3PM, she translated my lyrics, found me a choir and taught me the most beautiful ancient Chinese folk song. I'm recording the choir tonight.

Meanwhile, Beijing has got the dirtiest air I've ever had to breathe. It's like I've got my mouth taped to an exhaust pipe while sitting in a dirty ashtray. Two hours out on the street (by Tiananmen Square) was all I could handle.

I'm really excited about the new arrangement of Ancient Voices. It's totally chill factor the way the two ancient folk melodies, one Russian and one Chinese fit together. Already on day one, I feel I've justified the jet lag!

Night- Just got back from recording all the Ancient Voices chinese lyrics. Awesome! We set up and recorded in a rehearsal room at a "Children's Palace", a converted Ming Dynasty monarch's estate that now houses after school programs for kids. We walked down a seedy alley with street vendors and lots of cooking smoke (as opposed to the ubiquitous smog) until we were led through a beautiful 300 year old stone arch. Crossing the threshold was like when the Wizard of Oz goes to color. It was stunning...as were the singers.

Tomorrow I jump a skateboard over the Great Wall! ;-)

Blog 1: Leaving Los Angeles

LAX is particularly humid and dense tonight. Denis is trying out his lapsed Chinese on a polylingual waif on her way to Minnesota. She happily pretends to comprehend. Eric, our camera crew is already a fish out of water…but that’s how he rolls. Boarding now, as we set foot on our red eye our adventure officially begins. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. I elaborated on the lyrics from the Ancient Voices track and came up with some good contemporary lines that are the essence of the ancient Russian circle dance, “Hey Lolee Lolee.” Now I have to have those lyrics put into Mandarin in a way that makes sense culturally, historically, literally, and rhythmically.