As always it's been an interesting couple of weeks...
Willie had his first date:) He was the companion of Katrina at Karina's 15th birthday party. At first we thought it was a simple date but when we got there it turned out that he was there to take part in a ceremonial dance. Luckily it wasn't too complicated. They all lined up with their partners and stood in two lines across from each other, then Karina and here date went from person to person dancing with them. It's hard to describe, but it was very interesting. Anyway, the 15th year is an important event and it was great to be a part of it and check out some local culture.
Mike has been working on his music and has put together a new version of his song "The Wind"
Check it out....
We've been seeing a lot of birds lately, we saw toucans twice last week. We've also seen some woodpeckers and various other birds. And as always there have been some other interested beasties around... Mojo went chasing after something the other night and when Mike went to get him he heard a loud and scary growl coming from the darkness. We think it was a cat of some kind, maybe a jaguar or jaguarundi.
This week has been the end of school, prep for the holiday week. We took Kaileah to a secret santa party on Friday and spent most of the day at an all day graduation party. We finally got a chance to get down with the locals. In the past we've gone to their parties and everyone was standing around, nobody dancing. We discovered last night that if you just stay late enough people start loosening up and dancing. We were also tricked into participating in a dance contest. Carlos came running up to us looking very serious, telling us that we HAD to go dance because they needed one more couple to dance. We didn't really understand why it was so urgent but we went ahead and danced. Everyone else was sitting/standing and watching us dance, but that's usually what happens so we didn't think anything of it. Then when the music stopped we started to walk away and they stopped us and had us line up in front of everyone. Then they started announcing everyone's names and having the audience cheer for everyone. It finally occurred to us that we'd just competed in a contest! The funniest thing about it was that we won the contest. It was definitely a pity win, as we were the worst dancers on the floor. Funny stuff!
Willie and Josh have been really sick for the last several days. They've been feverish and feeling pretty nasty. So, they've missed out on all the fun. Willlie seems to be feeling better so we're hoping he'll be all better ASAP. It stinks that he's missed out on all the events going on.
As always, we're keeping track of the more farm related activities on our other blog http://verdenergiablog.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 22, 2008
Fiesta!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
A harrowing experience....
We've had a fun week.
On Saturday Mike and Yemaya had a gig in Salitrales, a nearby community. By the time we had to leave it was dark and had been raining pretty heavily. It was a harrowing adventure. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream in fear, so I did both:) It was dark, so luckily we couldn't see the scary cliffs or landslide areas, but the road was crazy and we were expecting a hill to fall on us at any moment. At one point there was a waterfall into the road. And to top it off the headlights kept going out. It was like a ride at Disneyland only minus the feeling of security of knowing it's all staged. But we got to the show in one piece and it went great! It's always an adventure out here and we wouldn't trade it for anything, even if it's scary sometimes.
Right now we're house-sitting at our friend Dominic's. He has a nice open air place with a great view. I wanted to do some walking around the property but I don't have safe shoes. I was startled by a small snake while I was walking around and decided to be safe. Supposedly there are a lot of baby Fur de Lances in the area right now, and these snakes are extra dangerous as the babies don't know how to control how much venom they put out when they bite. So, I'm not taking any chances. But it's nice and tranquilo here, Pura Vida.
Other than that we've been up to our usual things, mostly working on the farm, teaching at the school, hanging out with the various folks who stop by, and living our lives. Good stuff!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Good Times
This is the campesino version of a wi-fi cafe, a one room schoolhouse in the jungle...
It's been a very busy couple of weeks. We've been working, brewing, and have done a bit of traveling as well. We had our first English class at the school, which went well, now they want us to teach at both the primary and secondary schools.
Our good friend Brent came to visit, which was totally awesome...... good times!
We have a ton of pictures and a couple of videos, I hope I can get it all posted today, we'll see...
When we went to Alajuela to pic up Brent we ran into our friend (Adian) who we met back in April at an art festival. He's an amazing artist from Cuba as well as a really friendly, cool guy. We went to his apartment to see his art collection. It was very impressive. Here are a few pics, there are tons more.....We can't fit them all on here. 
We had a great time with Brent while he was here..... We hung out at the farm for a few days and then headed off to the beach, Manual Antonio. We decided to combine our anniversary (which was Nov 11) and scouting for music venues for Mike with the trip, justifying the expense of the travel and leaving Willie behind (he'll get a chance to go when his grandparents visit) . It was absolutely beautiful!
Mike had an impromptu jam session at the Bueno Nota with Jonathan, a very talented musician. Eventually we'll post a video (right now we're having technical difficulties with our video compressor).
On our second day we took a walk in the national park. We saw two kinds of monkeys, a sloth, a raccoon, and some Agouti. 
Last night Jose Conde, a talented musician from Cuba, came by for dinner. He, Mike, and Josh joined in on a jam session in the studio. Here are some audio tracks......
http://www.mikemudd.net/moondanceconJose.mp3
http://www.mikemudd.net/obama.mp3
We're still working on various projects at the farm. To see more detail of the projects that have happened over the last couple of weeks at the farm check out our sister blog at http://verdenergiablog.blogspot.com/
Until next time....
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Back in Paradise
Well it's been a while since we've posted anything here. We'd gotten pretty wound up in various projects and work to get back to Costa Rica. In addition to the things we wanted to get going to help the folks down in Lanas we were doing whatever we could to scrape up the cash to get here. Mike did lots of gigs, I got my TEFL certificate to teach English, we worked at OMSI bubble wrapping dinosaur bones and putting up exhibits. In addition to that we did everything from taste tests to TV shows (we went on Family Court with Judge Penny) to avoid getting “real” jobs (working for the man). 
Mike had another awesome going away show at Artichoke on October 30th. You can never go wrong with good music and good company!
And now we're back in paradise..... We left on election night in a flurry of good vibes due to the fact that the US won't have four more years of rule by the organized criminals (we hope). It's nice not being embarrassed to be an American when we travel out of the country. But I think it's important that we not get lazy and assume that the democrats are going to do better.
Anyway, here we are.....back in paradise and loving it, bugs, rain, and all. So far we've been working mostly on construction projects. We are starting a new blog that is specific to the project that are happening here at the farm. Our goal is to document every day, we'll see how that gos..... Check it out and subscribe! Here's a link...
http://verdenergiablog.blogspot.com/
Here is Homar giving Mike a haircut....
These are our rooms, they are new since we were here last.....
Pura Vida!
Friday, July 25, 2008
New Projects
Well, we've been back for a while and have been hard at work on two new projects. During our trip to Central America we fell in love with the Costa Rican community of Lanas and Verdenergia. It is our goal to get back there and do what we can to help the local community as well as promote some great opportunities for musicians, artists, activists, and like minded people.
To do this we've implemented two programs. First of all we are actively seeking donations of musical instruments, laptop computers, school supplies, and money to create educational programs for the local communities in and around Lanas. The people there are living in poverty and do not have access to most of the things we take for granted here. Many children don't even have the means to get an education past the 5th grade. We want to do what we can to enrich these children's lives by offering classes and equipment to teach workshops in music, science, computer, art, and more.
You can find out more about this and what you can do to help at http://www.muddandbones.com/outreach.html
Our second project is a songwriters retreat program. We will be offering a two week retreat in February and March of '09. We will be having guest musicians, workshops, classes, performances, and more. These retreats will be a great opportunity for musicians who want to get away for a bit and focus on songwriting, while learning and interacting with a great group of people. In addition to paid retreats we are giving away at least one, and hopefully two, scholarships to musicians who don't have the resources and money to make it down on their own. These will include free airfare, room & board, and access to all retreat activities.
You can learn about and register for our retreats at http://www.verdenergia.org/retreat.html
You can apply for the retreat scholarship at sonicbids 
or contact us for more information.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Here's a video of a new Mike Mudd tune. He played it for the community we stayed at in Lanas, Costa Rica. They're very friendly and inviting, but maybe the video doesn't show it that well. Of course no one speaks much English there, so they had no idea what he was singing. Too bad the end got cut off, you should have seen the standing ovation he got!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
What the @#$% is This?
This is some kind of moth but with that big of a head it could bite couldn't it? Actually that's all a disguise, its eyes are further back on what looks like its neck. We couldn't figure out where it's real mouth even was.
If you know what this is let us know.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Volcan Poas
We've uploaded tons of pictures from our time in Costa Rica and Panama, but it's so remote out here and our internet time is limited that it's only a small portion of how many we've taken.
Mike's been performing a ton in the area, everything from bars in the middle of the campo (countryside) to sidewalks to Barbershops. Last night he performed at Alex's Bar -it's a treehouse bar with vistas of the Costa Rican Alps on two sides.
Monday, April 28, 2008
El Parche
El Parche is a duo (in need of a drummer), who make a living in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Here they're performing a Buena Vista Social Club tune at El Ultimo Refugio in Bocas Town.
Calypso
Here is a video of street performers in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.
It's been difficult getting to the internet with every day being so full at the farm. We're building a studio and are going to offer a songwriters' retreat when we are back in February.
Next time we make it to the internet we'll upload a ton of pictures.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
We were in Bocas del Toro last week, which is the party place in Panama. It's a group of islands in the Carribean, we stayed in the town of Bocas for a couple of nights and then went out to Isla Bastimentos for some peace and quiet.
Mike met a couple of musicians who live in Bocas and played a set at a place called El Ultimo Refugio (The Last Refuge). What a blast! We're uploading some videos over the next week or so...stay tuned.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Lost and Found Photos
We've uploaded more photos from The Lost and Found. We're still trying to catch up and will be adding more soon...
Videos From the Road
Here are some videos we managed to upload from the road:
A video of Margarita and Nilka singing while we waited for the bus, and a video of Andrew's kinkaju at Lost and Found.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Calendar February 2008
Some of what was going on during our last month in the states. We´ve been away a few weeks now, but it feels like no time at all. Before we know it we´ll be back in the states, three months goes by fast.
More photos and interesting tales to come, for instance Mike went hunting for camarones the other night -imagine traipsing through the jungle in the middle of the night with things splashing in the water behind you and only a pointed stick for protection...
Monday, March 10, 2008
Moving on..
Our "plan" was to get up really early and catch a bus back to David where we would catch the express bus to San Jose. We figured we could make it by 4pm to meet our friends in town. Hahahaha!
We waited for about 2 1/2 hours for a bus to stop for us (they were full again). We missed the one express bus for the day, so we had to bus it to the Costa Rican border to wait for another bus. We met a nice couple from Arizona on the ride there.
The border crossing was very chaotic, I think it was designed to be confusing. There was a group of kids waiting to direct us to the proper windows to get our passports stamped. They were all over us trying to help us with the forms and everything. A good way to make a buck. The ticketing place for the bus we needed was hidden around the corner from a pile of rubble in a building that looked like it should have been condemned, we never would have found it on our own. There was a friendly guy who helped us figure that out as well. He seemed like a character out of a movie. He looked pretty down and out and we figured that he was an American as he spoke fluent English with no accent, but he was very upbeat and seemed pretty happy and friendly, We wondered what his story was and why he landed at the border.
The next bus to San Jose wasn't scheduled to arrive until 4:30pm so we had to hang at the border for several hours. A concerned grandmotherly woman who we bought some toast and coffee from spent several minutes trying to explain to us the bus station in San Jose (at which we were scheduled to arrive at about 1 AM) was very dangerous. The guidebook said the same thing so we weren't sure what to expect when we got there.
It was another long bus ride (about 8 hours). We didn't get air conditioning or movies this time, but it wasn't too horrible. When we got to the bus station we grabbed a cab and headed to a hotel we found in the Lonely Planet. It was called the Nueve Johnson and the guidebook said "if this is the new Johnson we shudder to think of what the old Johnson was like". This place was nasty. We chose it because it was cheap and close to the bus we needed the next morning. The neighborhood was sketchy, there were prostitutes on the corners and a lot of creepy looking buildings. Not somewhere you'd want to walk around at night. The hotel itself seemed somewhat secure as the entrance was behind a couple of layers of bars (they buzzed you in). The rooms were really dingy, the floors were coated with what looked like a years worth of dirt, and the sheets had some holes in them and didn't look clean, This was the first time we whipped out the clean sheets we brought with us. We waited to shower until morning as we thought we'd need it after a night in this place. luckily the shower was the one place that wasn't too dirty.
The Lost and Found
We went to the bus station in David prepared to hop on a bus and head to "The Lost and Found" a really cool eco-hostel we'd run across on the web. When we got the station we were told that the buses were all full and we would be waiting for hours to get there. A friendly local hooked us up with a ride with a friend of his. We had some trouble communicating to our driver exactly where we were going, which made the ride interesting. At a certain point we weren't sure we were going to make it. I think he thought we had no idea where we were going so he was afraid to follow our directions (which probably didn't make sense to him anyway). But we finally worked it out and made it. Another transportation adventure!
The Lost and Found was up the side of a mountain. It was exhausting dragging our packs up the steep switchbacks, but it was worth the trip. The place was absolutely awesome as were the people we met there. Our host, Andrew is a great guy, and his family was there. It was a lot of fun hanging our and getting to know everyone. Willie had someone his age to play with too. Even with the language barrier they were able to play fussball, dominos, and uno. When it got dark several animals came out and ate fruit that Andrew put out for them. There were Kinkajus, and other animals, and beatles with glowing spots on their backs. Andrew also has a pet Kinkaju (rescued from someone) named Rocky that we all got to play around with.
The next day we hiked to the river and to a viewpoint where you could see all the way to the ocean. It was a steep hike, the trees came in handy to pull ourselves up with. It was nice to end the workout at the river where we swam and hung out for hours. We also met several interesting folks at the hostel, they were all on trips similar to ours. They were traveling for months. One guy had ridden his motorcycle all the way from Canada. After three days we were ready to head to Costa Rica where we would meet our friends at Verdenergia.
To David via Panama City
Getting out of El Valle was a challenge. We spent five hours waiting at the bus stop watching buses passing us by. Apparently it was the weekend after payday and the last week of summer vacation for the kids, so all the buses were full. It's funny, in Portland people get really mad when they wait an extra 10 minutes for the bus, but people in Panama don't seem to know the concept of "impatience". There were a bunch of people patiently waiting for hours. I was happy that we were able to roll with it as well. We were with our new friends, Margarite & Nilka who entertained us with some songs.
We ended up taking a bus all the way back to Panama City to take a bus to David. Margarite and Nilka took good care of us, they were very helpful and we could tell it made them feel good to help the clueless gringos get through the chaotic bus station and on our way. We had an 8 hour bus ride to David. The air conditioning was broken but there were bootleg movies to watch on the ride. We finally made it to David at about 1:30AM. We checked into a cheap hotel, complete with the TV's already on and set to a porn station. The room could have been worse (see our San Jose experience) and we were able to get a few hours of sleep.
El Valle II
El Valle was a beautiful little town. We stayed with relatives of one of our Portland friends. They were very hospitable and made us feel right at home. We checked out some local sights; a small zoo and gardens, thermal baths, and went on a nice hike up the mountain. There were all kinds of tropical plants that we hadn't seen before. We also saw our first leaf-cutter ants which were fun to watch. At one point we were up really high with scary drop-offs on either side with the wind beating us hard. We'd already heard a story about a man who fell and ended up stuck in a tree for days near there so we chickened out and turned back.
We also met two very sweet local girls (Margarita & Nilka) who John and Sharon (our hosts) had met while setting up a medical clinic in the Chiriqui Frontera of Panama. They didn't speak English but Mike was able to communicate all right. We all got along and they felt like friends even if we didn't understand each other most of the time. We ended up traveling with them out of El Valle to David.
Friday, February 29, 2008
El Valle
El Valle from Gaitel Mountain. It was a great jungle hike and an amazing view once we got there. The town is in a huge volcanic cauldron, long extinct.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Panama City
Casco Viejo
This is what Casco Viejo in Panama City looks like. Though the photo doesn't capture the ambiance of the old colonial area.
Panama City
We made it to Panama City! The flight was long and exhausting and getting to our hotel was a little chaotic but after about 12 hours of sleep we were feeling up to some exploration. It turns out that our hotel isn't in the best part of town. After taking this photo a police officer stopped and told us "muy peligroso" and gestured that we shouldn't be taking pictures or someone might grab our camera. Later another person told us to be careful in this part of town. It does seem a bit dodgey, bars on most windows and a lot of crumbling buildings, but it doesn't feel any more dangerous than some areas of Portland, though there was actually a fire burning away in one old building.
We did see some really interesting stuff in the area of Casco Viejo. There was a mix of old colonial buildings, packed markets, and a lot of crumbling buildings. It was amazing!
There was a little park where people put out cat food and there were several cats all lounging around watching the birds and napping. They looked pretty content, although the birds were eating more cat food than the cats were (they probably would have preferred eating the birds).
We are excited to get out of the city and see some wildlife, enjoy a slower pace of life, and some fresh air, the pollution in Panama City is pretty bad!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Dos Dias -Two Days!
We've got a few places in Panama lined up, we can't wait! We're starting out by spending a couple of nights in Panama city (Hotel Marparaiso), then we're moving on to El Valle. It's a small town in the crater of an extinct volcano. It looks like we'll be visiting the family of one of our Portland friends there. And we found a really fun looking hostel near Boquete and David called "The Lost and Found". Then we'll be moving on to Costa Rica to visit our friends at Verdenergia.
We'll be trying to get a couple more posts up before we go. We'll see...
Epic Night
Our going away party was an epic night.
There were a ton of our friends and Artichoke family there to see us off. There were so many surprises including Jim Morris premiering his first ever performance of his first original tune, Mike's 10 year old guitar student Maya Vigil and her dad Ken performing a Latin American tune together. Frank Stovall brought a spread and played some fiddle. A jam session happened at the end of the night, so it went pretty late. We brought some homebrew, we made some new friends, it was phenomenal.
Thanks to everyone who made it such an amazing experience, we love you all.
We've got some more videos posted to the web, and have some more on the way when we get some more free time.
Dos dias
Only two days to go! Our apartment is almost empty, we dropped off an entire truckload of stuff off at Goodwill yesterday, and a bunch of stuff in storage today (Thank you Elizabeth, you rock!). We've still got a lot of tedious work to cram into the next two days, but I think we'll make it... Stay tuned to find out...
We've got a few places in Panama lined up, we can't wait! We're starting out by spending a couple of nights in Panama city (Hotel Marparaiso), then we're moving on to El Valle. It's a small town in the crater of an extinct volcano. It looks like we'll be visiting the family of one of our Portland friends there. And we found a really fun looking hostel near Boquete and David called "The Lost and Found". Then we'll be moving on to Costa Rica to visit our friends at Verdenergia.
We'll be trying to get a couple more posts up before we go. We'll see...
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Artichoke Music Sendoff Party
The send-off party at artichoke music was amazing! There were great performances by a bunch of talented musicians. And many of our best friends were there to share the fun. We'll miss our Portland "family" so much while we're gone!
More to come on that epic evening!
Good Times
The send off party at artichoke music was awesome! There were great performances by a bunch of talented musicians. And many of our best friends were there to share the fun. We'll miss our Portland "family" so much while we're gone!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Dos Semanas -Two Weeks!
Dos Semanas -Two Weeks
Two weeks?! We've been sooo busy. We've got our passports and are almost done with immunizations.
Mike did his last Science Museum set up, which was putting together dinosaurs.
Check out our new Flickr account where we'll be posting photos of our adventures. Right now there are a few dozen pictures of the dinosaur setup.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Goin' South
We're packing our bags and heading South. We'll be on our way to Central America in three weeks! We'll be traveling by bus across Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize (Give or take a couple of countries). There are a several awesome places we'll be visiting along the way. We'll be blogging the trip as we go. We should be compiling some great video and pictures as well as some interesting stories.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Siete Semanas -7 Weeks
7 weeks before The Mudds' Central American Adventure begins. 5 chances to hear me play in Portland before I leave. Matt Meighan hooked me up with a couple of shows at Albina Green. ~8pm or so 'till whenever.
I also got some more videos cut and on the web, I think I'll be able to get 8 or 9 total. There have been a few audio difficulties so I'm having to re-upload a couple things, but I'm not complaining, this stuff isn't meant for prime time...
Saturday, January 05, 2008
New Year's House Concert -Mr. Sun
Here's the first of several tunes from my house concert at Mom's on the 1st. -Mr. Sun.
Click the picture to play it.
The show was great fun, and I thank everyone who made it happen.
I managed to get a descent mix with the audio from my little recorder and the a/v that my step-dad George captured. But I've had to work for about 20 hours to work out all the bugs and actually get it online. What a freakin' pain...
We met up with Joshua in Puriscal where we picked up some groceries for the farm. The town of Puriscal is a cool little town. It reminds me of a Latino version of Jerome, a town in Arizona. Small, scenic, and crumbling a bit. The trip to the farm was about an hour and a half on some rural dirt roads. The place is pretty secluded and in the middle of the jungle. It was a fun ride. When we got to the farm it took about 5 minutes before everyone was in the swimming pool. There's nothing like a nice cool pool in the warm tropical environment.
The farm is totally awesome! The house is sweet, there's a garden, a couple of streams/rivers, and lots to see and do. There are several projects going on and we've been spending the first few days doing miscellaneous work around the place, chilling out, walking, and getting to know the people here. It's been great and I think we could get used to living in a tropical paradise.