From: BuffHa~ol.com Return-path: Subject: My state of the Buffalo address for 1999 Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 06:19:29 EST Mime-Version: 1.0
Hey there folks! Its been a wierd year so far .... lots of very high highs ...as well as a few serious lows .... I'll start at the bottom and work my way up ... I was sick as a dog through all of January with a bad case of vertigo (dizzy, dizzy, dizzy) ... it was followed immediately by a serious bout with asmatic bronchitis .... steroids and antibiotics finally arrested the funk .... and then I felt healthy for about a week .... then ... Monday February 1, my mother passed away after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease ... very sad ... however, after watching her struggle for so long, the whole family was prepared to let her go .... her spirit is now free to soar! I have to thank my mother for the the love she gave me throughout my life and for the musical legacy she passed down to me ... for always believing in me and supporting me throughout my musical career. Many folks don't know that my mother sang in clubs in San Francisco and the Bay area back during WWII ... back in 1939 her uncle, Herbert Stothart, who composed, scored and conducted close to a hundred films from the late twenties to the late forties (mostly for MGM), won an Academy Award for the music to The Wizard Of Oz .... I have always honored that legacy and thank my mother for all of these gifts including the gift of good voice, that she gave to me. I grieve her loss yet am relieved that she has now over her long and difficult illness. Wednesday Feb. 3, I had major sinus surgery .... major, when you consider the size of my schnozz and how much it affects my job .... The docs have hopefully fixed it up to repair the damage from the couple times it had been broken in the past ..... {{Ouch!!}} ..... I have since learned how to duck and weave much better .... It had gotten to the point where I was not breathing good .... not sleeping well and was always goin' round snifflin' and havin to keep that bandana coming out for a honk .... (rather annoying as a performer) .... also linking frequent colds and such to this, my doctors figured it was time to fix what they thought was the source of the problem ..... So my eyes are lookin at the computer screen through two purple and black slits and I'm wearing my Groucho Marx glasses (nose and mustache) whenever I go out. My next shows on the Feb 20th in Sebastopol and the 21st in Sonoma, will be the unveiling of my new improved beak .... please ... no wild dancing near the stage those nights ... or I might have to wear a hockey mask. OK!!! .... enough of the gloomy side of life!!! ........
On the positive and happy side of events ... I am engaged to be married this June to my most wonderful, beautiful and dearest friend, Cindy Knutson. From Spokane, Washington, Cindy and I had just been close friends for several years until a few inspirational days together last fall caused us both to choose to be in relationship with each other. We have since decided to make a lifetime committment each other ... to join ouselves and our families together in love and joy ... and marriage! ... and to bring to all of our combined family, an envionment of love, happiness, compassion, inspiration, fairness, values, individuality, fun and music in our home. Cindy brings her two daughters, Taylor (11) and Madison (8) to wrangle with my two sons, Aisah (15) and Elias (14). ... Ain't life grand! ...... Ya hoo!!!!! .... There is so much cooking on the Buffalo stove this year!!! .... My CD is in the hands of several record companies both here and in Europe ...and I am hoping that soon the deals will come in so that we can finally set a date for the release of "King of The Highway". I have also been in the studio working on a totally wonderful sounding project with a new acoustic group that so far includes members of the Knockouts, as well as Nina Gerber on guitar, Tommy Thomsen on guitar and vocals, and James Henry on percussion ... I am having a lot of fun with the music on this project ..... It sounds great!!! ... Y'all gonna like it!! ... In March I will be home in the valley and performing shows with both the Knockouts and with the Acoustic Knocouts ...which will include shows at Henslings Tavern in Ben Lomand 3/16 and The Freight and Salvage in Berkeley 3/18. Other shows will be posted on my website: www.norton-buffalo.com . .... March 29 begins the touring year for the Steve Miller Band. This tour of smaller venues, beginning in Fresno, will keep us on the road till late April. During May and June I will again be based at home doing shows with both my new acoustic group as well as The Knockouts .... I will again keep you posted on the website about these dates. In June I will celebrate my marriage with Cindy ..... Yipee!!!! .... ...... Then in the second week of July, I will head out for the Steve Miller summer tour, which will feature George Thorogood as our opening act.
So as we begin the last year of this incredible millenium, I feel that 1999 holds the potential of incredible progress both in my business and my personal life. I am one happy guy!! ... and when I'm happy a lot of great music comes forth ... So as I scour the Valley of the Moon for a pasture big enough to handle the greater size of my herd .... and dive headfirst into this great year I want to wish the best to all of you my friends, fans and business associates. I am sending out my prayers and thoughts for each of you that you may have happiness and prosperity in all that you do. .... and as we step closer to a new century and a new mellenium, remember to consider, pray for, and and do the work it will take, to keep this earth healthy for the generations and milleniums to come. Do all that you can to preserve and and heal the enviornment ..... like so many things ... it starts at home ...each one of us doiing our best to leave a better cleaner planet for our future generations. I pray for peace throughout the world .... for the end to the horrors of war and death that continue to plague this beautiful globe of ours. We have the potential to end all of these tragedies if we, the people of this planet, bond together in the realization that we are a world comprised of ordinary folks that all have the same goals ... freedom, peace, happiness, love and prosperity that will only come to all when we bring an end to the sadness and pain that has spread like a plague across this world of ours by war and terrorism, instigated and promoted by those who put power, selfishness, greed, prejudices and financial interests above the cost of human life. Our own nation is guilty of these crimes. We must each do all that we can as individuals through prayers education and civil action, to put an end to this insanity!! My prayers go out to those that suffer from the lack of the basic human needs of food and shelter even here in this great land of plenty. We should each do all we can to reach out and offer help to those who are in need within our own communities. Let us put our resources into education instead of incarceration so that we may bring forth children filled with inspiration rather than indignation.
Let music be the balm that soothes your soul ... Let love be the blanket that warms your heart ... Let charity and compassion be the gift your spirit offers in return for life's bounty. Harmonically, Norton Buffalo
