It's my birthday... I've decided to declare that it is also National Hammered Mbira Day. I keep hearing lately that I don't tell people about what I do nearly enough. So today I am posting one of the tracks from the CD I am [very, very slowly] recording!

The hammered mbira is a cool instrument that is a cross between a hammered dulcimer and an african thumb piano. (Don MacLane in Portland, Oregon has made only about 30 of these custom-designed instruments and I am honored to own one!) It is laid out exactly like a hammered dulcimer, but doesn't need tuning every day like most dulcimers.

If you are curious about what it looks like, this is me playing in 2009 during a sound check at the Northeast Dulcimer Symposium, accompanied by Ken Lovelett on percussion and Tom White doing the mic adjustment dance.

And here are a couple of pics I took this week during Dulcimer Week at the Swannanoa Gathering:

In case you can't tell (ha), that's Mark Grobner, who has a new CD called SunRise (I designed the CD art) in pic #1, and Sue Wilson, who just published an article in this month's Dulcimer Player's News in pic #2

is tomorrow! Friday, June 24.

Most of the dogs I see day to day do not actually realize that EVERY day is not take your dog to work day!
( Huey, Bryn, Chagall, Jack and Rose)

More from Chagall

and not quite equal time for cats! (Arthur and Miss Pickles)

It feels a little like August in Asheville...hot and thundery. I stopped in at Nourish & Flourish, just down the block from my new studio and played with this glass of refreshing tea (and it was quite tasty too!)