I’m Going to Jackson (Wyoming, that is)

Rehearsing, Recording and Running at Altitude

By Bobby McCullough

Despite being home for only five weeks following a two-month tour, I was already leaving NYC again.  

I woke up to see the Challenger space shuttle being ferried by a 747 in the sky over NYC, an event I had been looking forward to all week.  

I, too, had my own flight to make that day, as I would be heading to Jackson for a two-week recording session with Benyaro.

My travels got off to a shaky start after having a heated conversation with a cab driver.  When I arrived at the airport and boarded my plane, the girl next to me got sick multiple times before we even took off!  That only marked the beginning of what would be a very turbulent flight. 

After I landed in Denver for my layover, however, I met and chatted with singer/songwriter Brett Dennen, and since then things have been going better.  

Our recording session is for a new record of cover songs.  This week will be spent arranging, rehearsing and making demos of the songs in preparation for the recording session.  Next week, my good friend Sonny will fly in to be the sound engineer on the project. He and I will move into a house in the nearby ski resort village where the recording will also take place.  

One of the best parts about coming to Jackson is getting to enjoy the Grand Teton Mountains and the surrounding landscape. And what better way to cover some ground than by putting some running shoes on!  

Ben lives close to a community pathway where I usually run—the view is perfect:  the snowy mountains on one side and beautiful plains on the other.  Though I haven’t seen any moose yet on this trip, I did run into some deer on Saturday while on the path.

With Jackson Hole’s elevation being 6200+ ft., it was initially a little more difficult to keep up my usual running pace.  After a few days, however, I didn’t notice too much of a difference.  Also, I have to drink lots more water before and after I run to stay hydrated because of how dry it is.  

With that said, I am excited to be running here in the final weeks before my very first half marathon race!  I know that the more I train in these conditions, the stronger I will feel running on the East Coast, closer to sea level. 

Next week the house we are staying in will be right at the foot of the mountains so I hope to get in some good trail runs and mountain hikes.  Cross your fingers that I get to show Sonny his first Moose!

Bobby McCullough is a touring musician living in NYC, who has recently refocused much of his energy on healthy and happy living. For more information about Benyaro, go to http://benyaro.com.   

Guest Blog—My current recipe for exercise success:

Variation and Rewards

By Bobby McCullough

It was a little over a year ago that I decided to get proactive about my health and integrate exercise into my daily life. As someone who was aiming to be mentally healthier, I recognized that improving my physical health would be a crucial part of the solution.

  

With all the traveling that I do, I initially had concerns about whether I would be able to maintain any kind of exercise schedule.  As it turns out, I found that the inconsistencies in my whereabouts and schedule could actually help keep things interesting!  

First and foremost, I have had some of the most amazingly scenic runs while on the road: on the trails of Redwood National Forest, in the mountains of Colorado and through the urban landscapes of cities like San Francisco and Seattle.  

When I toured last summer, I also used running as a way to explore the small towns that we tour through.  I would wake up early on Saturdays to shop at the local farmers markets or I would find some interesting local stores I wanted to visit and base my run around them.  I also get to visit so many different gyms and yoga studios, the change of atmosphere is something I now look forward to.  

On this past tour with Benyaro, I went to about 15-20 different yoga studios, took a variety of types of classes and practiced with all kinds of people.  With all these variables, exercising on the road becomes more fun and interesting.  Also, between meeting people after the band’s performances and meeting people the next day at markets, stores and yoga classes, I feel like I haven’t just seen a town but have been able to get small sense of the community there.

The other focus that has kept me going for the last year is creating rewards for myself.  The first thing I focused on was how great it felt after exercising in the morning and feeling like I had earned my breakfast.  

When I first started, my goal was just to “do something” before breakfast—simple.  Whether it was a short jog, some weightlifting or a yoga class, I would find something to do before I ate breakfast.  

I love feeling like I have earned my food that day and also enjoy the feeling of actually being hungry, not just eating out of habit. Also, if I exercise at some point during the day, I feel like I can go out and not have to be as cautious about how much I eat or if I have too much dessert, because I have earned it.  I’ve found that it’s amazing how much you can eat when you exercise regularly!  

Focusing on rewarding myself enjoying the rewards that naturally come from exercising are what fuel my motivation to keep moving.

Bobby McCullough is a touring musician living in NYC, who has recently refocused much of his energy on healthy and happy living.

Guest Blog—Goodbye West, Hello Bagels

By Bobby McCullough

It feels great to be back home in New York City after being on tour since mid-January.  I had been touring with the band Benyaro, traveling through 10 states, performing 47 times in about 60 days.  

Although I did not miss the loud horns and sirens, the crowded subways or the lack of interaction between people in public, I do enjoy not having to unpack my things every night only to pack them up again in the morning.  Now in the same place for a while, I’ve been able to spend the last week recharging, seeing friends and stuffing my face with bagels.

The tour started mid-January in Utah, where we performed at the Sundance Film Festival and saw people like Andy Samberg (SNL) and Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation).  The second day at the festival was our first encounter with heavy snowfall, which we would end up dealing with again the second half of the trip.  

Next we went through California, starting with San Francisco and working our way north through the beautiful wine country, playing some good concerts accompanied by good weather.  From there we moved north through the coasts of Oregon and Washington where I saw some breathtaking shorelines and one amazing sunset.


        

In eastern Washington, we had the pleasure of staying with a local high school football coach in Colfax, and I managed to pull my back out while working out alongside his football team.  We then headed east through Idaho and Montana, playing college towns such as Moscow (University of Idaho) and Bozeman (Montana State University).  This is where our second bout with snowstorms began.  

We left Montana for even more snow in Wyoming where we spent a few days off around the Grand Teton Mountains.  From here we played some more shows in Idaho and Wyoming, at one point dealing with some serious road closures in which roads were closed for days, causing us to have improv some dangerous alternative routes in order to get to our concerts. 
        

We headed south to do a long string of shows in Colorado, one of my favorite states to both perform in and see.  This year, along with performing in our usual towns such as Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, we also saw a few new places, such as Lyons and Eagle.  

After Colorado we played a couple of shows in New Mexico and got to stay two nights in a small town called Cerrillos, which used to be a mining town and now is home to only a few hundred people. I went on one of my favorite runs here in the local state park, and explored the gorgeous, mountainous desert landscape. 

We finished the tour in Austin at the SXSW Festival.  I have never been so overwhelmed with great music before.  It was almost stressful trying to decide which acts to see because there were hundreds to chose from.  It was also crazy to be in 80-degree weather when only two weeks earlier I had gone running one morning in Jackson, WY, and it was only 5 degrees.

Keep an eye out for my next blog, as I share more stories from my journey in music and wellness.  

Bobby McCullough is a touring musician living in NYC, who has recently refocused much of his energy on healthy and happy living.