Okay, I can hear the chuckling from here. Foresterbob is exhibiting his questionable birding skills again. The shearwater is an ocean bird, and is not known for paying late night visits to large inland cities.
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Snails, fish, insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located.
Actually, I'm talking about the rock band named after those pelagic birds from the Puffinus and Calonectris genera, not the birds themselves. It's close enough to April Fools Day that I can get by with a bit of trickery. Thanks to the wonders of satellite radio (and the fact I'm on the road so much), I hear music from groups that are ignored by most commercial radio stations. Shearwater is one such group.
But why am I making this a Bucket topic? Shearwater is headed by Jonathan Meiburg, whose interests extend far beyond music. From Wikipedia:
Meiburg has a bachelor's degree in English, with a minor in Religion, from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and received a Thomas J. Watson fellowship to study daily life in remote human communities. After a year spent in such diverse places as the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego, the Aboriginal settlement of Kowanyama in Australia, the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, and the Inuit settlement of Kimmirut in Baffin Island, Canada, he enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a master's degree in Geography and wrote a thesis titled "The Biogeography of Striated Caracaras (Phalcoboenus australis)". He is an avid birder, and his love of birds shows itself in Shearwater's name, and in the titles of several of the band's albums and EPs.
The band's music, videos, and artwork reflect Meiburg's interest in nature and faraway places. Listen closely and you’ll hear birds, ocean waves, wind, and thunderstorms blending with the music. Several years after first learning about Shearwater, I had the opportunity to seen them in Atlanta, the first stop on their tour of eastern North America.
They played at a small venue last Wednesday night. Total attendance was perhaps 100 people. I staked out a location less than 15 feet from where Meiburg stood. Never have I been so close to a group that was so good. The ticket price? A mere 12 dollars!
Here's a somewhat fuzzy pic from my phone. Meiburg is in the center. I told you I was close to the stage!
Here are two videos. The first one is just Meiburg at a home piano. It's interesting to glance at the artwork and knick-knacks around the room. The dude has been to some interesting places.
This video is a "trailer" for one of the group's albums, and it gives a glimpse into the inspirations for Shearwater's music. It features parts of several songs, including Hidden Lakes from the first video.
One of my favorite songs is Black Eyes. Click for audio (song might autoplay, depending on your browser).
Intrigued? Find more music files, videos, and concert dates from the Shearwater website.
Wikipedia entries for Shearwater and Jonathan Meiburg.
My Bucket observations: Shearwater sighted and photographed in Atlanta, March 19 at 11pm. Today's observation: Frosty morning in central Georgia. Perhaps it is the final frost of the season. We shall see.
Okay, it's your turn. The floor is more wide-open than usual. In addition to the everyday observations of the natural world, you can add your musical opinions as well.
"Green Diary Rescue" is Back!
After a hiatus of over 1 1/2 years, Meteor Blades has revived his excellent series. As MB explained, this weekly diary is a "round-up with excerpts and links... of the hard work so many Kossacks put into bringing matters of environmental concern to the community... I'll be starting out with some commentary of my own on an issue related to the environment, a word I take in its broadest meaning."
"Green Diary Rescue" will be posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.