Hey hey In Rockers and welcome once again to The Lobby here amongst the fun filled pages of the mighty In Rock ! Another column written to you from 30,000 feet up on my way to Puerto Rico with the band after a couple of private shows in the US, the first is another private show, a birthday party I believe, and the next in Mexico … more about that in a second.

Before I left Buffalo for these shows I was busy getting a project ready for the upcoming Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival which occurs when I get home from this run of shows! The project I've been working on is a collaboration between an original “orchestral” Buffalo band called Sunday Reign and a part of The Japanese Group of Buffalo called The Shibuki Japanese Drum Group. We got to get her in the studio about a week ago and put an arrangement to get her of a song they had written to be performed at The Sakura Matsuri this year. We started out just rehearsing at my studio but before we knew it were in full recording mode and busy for the next few days putting together a pretty epic song we will be releasing later this summer! It's amazing how unique the Taiko drums sound in the recording space and how different it is to mic a group of drummers while we are so used to recording drum sets in our space. The band and the taiko drummers will be performing the song to close out the festival each day so I will be sure to send some pictures along next month so you can check it out along with the beautiful gardens we are so lucky to heave here in Western New York!

The plane has landed since I finished that last sentence and we're now in Puerto Rico getting ready for tomorrow's show here in Dorado … it's so beautiful here, just a quick stop for us, but it really makes me want to come spend a little more time here in the Caribbean! We're playing down on the beach in the afternoon tomorrow but I have to get the column in before bedtime tonight so I've just included a photo of the beach at sunset. It feels a lot like Hawaii here, but it's much closer to the east coasters here in the US, about a 5-6 hour trip rather than a 13-15 hour trip from door to door.

The next day we head to Cancun, Mexico for Hootiefest which is an annual festival thrown by the band Hootie and the Blowfish on the beach at a huge resort on the Mayan Riviera. Bands like Hootie, Barenaked Ladies, Collective Soul, Edwin McCain, Everclear and a bunch more bands of that era all performing over a 3 day weekend in Mexico! We've known so many of these bands for years and years, we're looking forward to seeing some of our old friends and enjoying a day of music, fun and sun on the beach! I'll make sure to include a bunch of pictures next month!

Ok! In the ocean for a swim and off to bed! Take it easy guys and I hope you all are having a great Spring. See you next month with Buffalo Sakura Matsuri coverage, some action from Hootiefest in Mexico and some more fun from the Caribbean!

Peace!
Robby