Weekly Report from Boulder
I'm sure we're all feeling much safer now seeing the NSA forbid Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, from entering the country. After all, he donated funds to sponsor ORPHANAGES. And that can't be a safe activity.

Last week I was able to play hookey for a few days and go down to the newest National Park. The Great Sand Dunes are the tallest sand dunes in North America. There's something wonderful about playing in the sand minus the kelp and threat of jellyfish. Instead the Sangre de Cristo Mountains rise to 13,000' behind them. Heading back north we paid a quick visit to the UFO watchtower and checked out their ever-evolving panoramas. Afterwards we soaked in hot springs to watch the last of the days light leave the tops of the mountains and the sky to slowly become sprinkled with stars.

I stayed in Salida with Jane Carpenter, a sometime KGNU volunteer, now station manager (aka Mother Hen) at KHEN-LP FM. They've done great things at the station and I was sorry I had taken such a small stack of music their way. I'm sure they'd love to hear from more labels willing to support their eclectic programming, check them out at KHEN.org or email info@khen.org.

Friday I drove slowly back to Boulder, taking detours to see Tiny Town, a village of three foot high buildings built in 1915, and a walk along the river in a Jefferson County park. As I got near Denver I was able to tune KGNU in on 1390 AM for a bit before 88.5 FM came in more clearly. Right away I heard that we were close to our live appearance with Antibalas so of course I came in to the station to catch that. What a great set! I'm sorry I missed the show.

But more music was still ahead! One of my all time favorite bands had gotten the gig to play the Boulder Fall Fest. Well why not Brave Combo? The last time I saw them, they were on the Simpsons! The audience responded well to their deviant polkas and hits like 16 Tons, No No No Cha Cha Cha, and (Do Something Different) Disappear. I saw a lot of smiles as they playfully made their nods to classical, and jazz, whilst including favorites like the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance!

Elaine C. Erb. KGNU Music Director. <º))))><
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