Excavation Slim and the Ruins was a (very!) amateur Blues band formed during a sabbatical year at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford in 2007-08. We had a few well lubricated rehearsals, played two concerts for the fellows, and had a lot of fun trying to make some music. The drum was an electronic version played with Wii wands that was invented by Finnish musicologist Petri Toiviainen (aka "Helsinki Pete"), who also played bass and guitar in the band. "Excavation Slim" is a moniker given to MD by the great harmonica bluesman Billy Branch on a memorable delayed flight from Paris to Chicago that we shared by accident. One of the band came up with the fitting name "The Ruins," although I can no longer remember whom. The polydisciplinary band was composed of two anthropologists, a musicologist, a political scientist and his son, and an educator/dancer. This gallery is meant to share a bit of nostalgia with the band and other fellows. Most of theses photos are courtesy of Gail Herschatter.