John Sr. and Raymond Smith are first cousins. Dad, of course, is my grandfather’s son and Raymond is granddad’s sister Virginia’s son. Raymond was named after Granddad. Kevin, with the big deep voice who you saw play on stage and in the song circle is Raymond’s son. You probably also saw Evan and his buddies running around the woods being tough and cool and young. Dad and Raymond were running around San Antonio like that but in the 1940′s. It takes a Woodzie to get them back together, camping out and being wild. They each went to Taylor at different times and picked out the only two shirts exactly like these…. looks like their tastes are about the same.

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What could a number of pictures of cattle have to do with the inevitable magic of life and death?

Thursday I got a call from the ranch in Medina that my bull Houdini (my Bull) was down in the pasture and needed help. First I need to explain that this is not just an ordinary bull, He is Houdini, my first, my pet, my friend. He is a beef master Longhorn mix I bought from a farm in St Hedrick culling the Longhorn from his stock. It must have been about 1995 and He was about 3 years old then. He soon earned his reputation on

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Our new friends Simon & Rebecca from England, The Rosellys recorded live by Chris Mackenzie from the main stage in the afternoon. He put his little video camera in my hand and I didn’t have a plan, I just walked around that picnic table area shooting, keeping the camera moving. I thought I had done a pretty poor job actually. I had thought about heading over to the other stage and then into the woods where lots of families were setting up their tents… I’m glad I didn’t. Chris took the “walkabout” footage and edited this very nice movie together and mated it up with the audio he recorded on a separate digital audio recorder. You’ll see that it’s live when the video comes up to them on stage. VERY nicely done Chris.

These very fine singer/songwriters will be at the Faust Hotel in New Braunfels playing with us on Thursday, come on out!

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three or four people have already sent photos from their camera…. please get them to me in one form or another soon so I can add them all together to make the slideshow that we’re going to create and then leave up here all year. Here’s some that have come in so far.

Renee in the sunglasses (who drove in from Silver City, New Mexico), Ann/Mom (in the red hair) Grace standing and Deirdre… and their friends around them.

Poppy Lungstuffing from Super Happy Funland in Houston. Lots of us, including me, are major fans of hers and I’m always honored that she comes to play every year. She and Dad played ukes together for a long time out in the woods.

Lots of people are just really, really, really into the spirit of The Woodzie and Robyn is one. It’s not just from a handful of organizers, it’s the energy from hundreds of people that The Woodzie runs on. Everybody adds their excitement to the air, and everybody’s is a little different. Besides the music and friendship and food etc…. she totally gets that part of it is the nature experience. You just feel alive out in the raw Hill Country.

When Taylor said that every shirt has a mate who needs to get to the t-shirt booth early and adopt it….. here’s proof. She came with this tent and was united with her shirt.

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It was truly great. Lots of great talent, lots of food, lots of fun. We had a big crowd, felt to me just about the perfect number of people. The projection screens, the giganormus BBQ pit, the new stage setup: the Whipple Woodzie puts the pic in nic. Song circles went past 4:00 a.m., The Swindles, The Lavens, Thoze Guys, Stephen Inglis… the music all day was great. Actually Stephen Ingles was PHENOMENAL!! Casey did a great job on the stage. The wedding vows thing went perfectly… it was just wonderful. I think it surpassed last year as the best Woodzie yet.

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