Super Duper Good Time

Just a quick post about the trip to New York for Golden Fest this past weekend. Our set was decent, though they never seem to get the sound correct. And it was tough being sandwiched between two fantastic ensembles—Souren Baronian before us and Amir Vahab after us. Still, lots of people danced and had good things to say about us afterwards. Only Joe and I and Mike our drummer performed. The rest of the band couldn’t make it, but we’re going through a bit of a transition right now. I hope that we’ll perform as a full ensemble for Balkan Night in March.

The other nice thing about Golden Fest is that there is lots of göz lokum around. I had a chance to chat up a beautiful French boy named Clément who, although he was there with his girlfriend (!), was very sweet and made sure to tell me how much he enjoyed our music.

Although the trip was brief, we did manage to squeeze in a great meal at Inwood’s Park Terrace Bistro. Great Moroccan food in a nice, cozy atmosphere. Of course, the highlight of the trip was getting to spend time with our friend Dr. Mike, who was kind enough to host us for the weekend. He is a wicked smart, incredibly witty, amazingly sensitive, dangerously beautiful, and wonderfully caring human being. He’ll get all embarrassed if I go on gushing about how in love with him Joe and I are; but our lives are immeasurably richer because of his friendship. I hope he knows that.