Orchestral Jethro Tull in America September-October 2006

I had gotten used to being the only girl in the band, and it was treat to do the America tour with an all girl (and one guy) orchestra in tow. We were a big happy family traveling in two tour busses. It was fun to sleep on the moving bus and wake up in a new city every day. My favorite city was Madison, Wisconsin. I bought a big pink hat and some clunky cow-girl boots in their down town stores. I also walked the farmer’s market and ate my body weight in cheese samples.

Boy did we have adventures! I explored a haunted theatre, learned how to salsa dance, dressed up for an early Halloween party, and suffered an embarrassing bowling tumble. I met fashion designer Kenneth Cole, inspired Ian to dance a jig on stage, and went wading through a muddy pond on a dare. I had a drink named after me at the Warner Theater (non-alcoholic of course), learned how to wear a du rag, and made a dictionary of crazy Englishman sayings. I stepped inside my first casino, had a dressing room next to Winton Marsalis’ office, and went jogging in Central Park.

The tour had so many rich moments that I couldn’t possibly list them all in a short blog entry. The rockin’ members of the orchestra truly made the tour special, and I enjoyed every drop of their company. I expect to hear great things about them in the future, and I’m so happy to have met them all.

The picture shows me with some of my friends in the orchestra.