Greetings from Camp Lure …

Autumn comes early in the north woods. The lakes have gone deep green, smooth as glass, veils of mist spiraling up into the morning sky. The mountains, too, are draped in wisps of smoke like a thousand camp fires burning in the notches … or maybe wood gnomes smoking pipes in hidden thickets in the lowlands between the peaks.

No. The campers have all gone home. There’s really no one there. Just an eerie silence. The cold wind blowing down from the north. A rustling in the trees. Some have already gone full red. The maples and birches, lakeside, are suddenly tinged with yellow and orange. To me, this is the most beautiful time in the mountains. And the saddest. Soon it will all be white. Frozen. Deep in sleep. I take my last canoe ride, burn my last camp fire and sleep out under a lean-to, upstream in the wilder country. At about midnight, the moon is dead high and a distant coyote sings. It seems like a dream, but it’s not. What a privilege to be there at that moment. To connect with the power of it all. The power of everything. The power of nothing.

I am humbled and feeling so good. So vulnerable and so strong. There are so many songs in all this. Maybe there is “the” song out there. I don’t think I’d know it if I fell over it. But maybe it will know me. Sometimes, I look at the moon and the stars and say, “Come on, give me a song. Please, give me a song.” They don’t say a damn thing. Then a week later, I’m in a deli in New York City and these phrases start running through my head with a melody hot on their heels. And I’m suddenly back at the lean-to, looking into the sky. Listening to the stars. You can’t rush these things. Sometimes I wonder if I have anything to do with it at all.

Highlights of the summer: I was sitting on a bench outside Kalil’s grocery store in the town of Inlet when a huge black bear came up behind me and ambled down the sidewalk, nearly knocking over a bunch of pedestrians who ran shrieking. Then he broke into the street, causing motorists to slam their brakes. (He could have cared less). Strolling on between pedals and petals (bike/flower shop), he shuffled down a slope into the channel, swam across and climbed into the woods at the opposite shore. He owns this town. I love it.

Anne Labastille, the renowned author of the popular “Woodswoman” book series, came by for dinner and spent the night at our cabin. She is so lovely and a damn interesting person. We talked for hours and had a good time. She was gone at the crack of dawn. Off on the final leg of her book signing tour all around the Adirondack park. She is a true Adirondacker, built her own log cabin way back in the woods on Black Bear Lake. You should read her books. Start out with “Woodswoman” It’s a great read.

Old friends Ron Yanazelli and Rick Balsley stayed for a few days. We had some good conversation, good music, and a great campfire. They also brought gifts of tobacco and wood carvings. I am blessed with friends and am always a sucker for presents of any kind.

I played a concert at Arrowhead Park in Inlet at Fourth Lake. All of my neighbors and some fans from New Jersey were there. It was a beautiful night. Also the “Concert Under the Stars,” in King of Prussia, PA, with Steve Forbert and the concert at “Eagleview” with the Avett Brothers were great nights. My sets at the Borgata in A.C.. were short but very, very sweet. I got to play with one of my favorite musicians in the world – T-Bone Wolk, who also is the producer of my Seventh Lake CD. It was really fun. He is such a great player and a great friend. Larry Broido and Todd Erk weren’t too shabby, either. They are good friends and perform over and above the call of duty on so many occasions. I hope we stick together for a long time.

The other show Ii really enjoyed was a house concert we did in Freehold, N.J. Mark and Elaine Costanzo put it on in a wonderful studio they built behind their home. It seats about 60, has a great P.A. system, and makes a great little music room. It was all so charming and the audience was warm and friendly. It was the first house concert I’ve ever done. It just sent me. It was the ultimate in intimate performing. I felt like I was at a party with friends or sitting around the campfire back in the “dacks.” Can’t wait to do another one. They have them all over the country and you’d be surprised at the “big names” that show up to play at these things.

This month I’ll be doing a taping for the Your Morning show on CN8, the Comcast Network, which should be airing in the coming weeks. We’ll be at the Camp Jam in the Pines in Hammonton, N.J. on September 16, and the Steel City Coffee House in Phoenixville, PA, on September 17th. At this gig, I’ll have the whole band with me, including Ken Bernard on drums, Fred DiTomasso on bass, and Michael Vernaccio on keys. It’s always great to play with a full band. Especially this one. Hope to see you all out there. It means so much to me and the guys when you show up at the gigs. I’d like to make these trips more often. The more you come out to play, the more I’ll come out to play.

I’ll see you on the road.

- Robert Hazard

P.S.: I think it’s time to record a CD. I keep getting asked which CD “She Loves Me Too” or “Lucky Hat,” or “Troubadour” are on. Well, they’ll be on this one! I promise.

Previous Newsletters:
April 2005
January 2005
December 2004
Fall 2004
Summer 2004