Merry Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas Eve and all through the house, Olivia was in bed, I'm at the computer and Buff's asleep on the couch! The guitars are scattered all over the house and no one's stirring or creeping about! Jeff Beck's on my iTunes playing with care and I can't wait until St. Nick gets here!...oh hell, I could go on for ever with my poetic ramblings!...lost cousin of Dr. Seuss! This has been a weird Christmas for me. I'm usually the biggest kid in the room, but for some reason this year has been all about just getting through it...until tonight. I've decided, at the 11 hour, I know, to remember that this is a time for giving and gratitude...for family and friends. Buff, Olivia and I visited with our best friends tonight and then drove around looking at Christmas Lights. We came home and chilled out until everybody fell asleep and I put Olivia to bed and came in the office to write. If you read this, I'm praying for you tonight. I pray that God blesses you and protects you, that he fills your life with love and joy and that you are able to then express that love and joy in turn to others. Tomorrow's Christmas Eve. '07's only got a week or so left. Let's all be good to each other. Better than we have been. As good as our intentions are when we start the day. Love the people around you and then love the one's just outside that circle and try to keep going, one circle at a time. Forgive the person that cut you off on the road today, then forgive the person that flipped you off today when you did the same thing...and the next one that cuts you off, remember the person that you cut off before you respond!!! We don't have to be perfect, or even close, just better. Better than we were yesterday. Better to the people that we share this world with and better to ourselves. When ever I leave a place, somebody always says "take care", we should do just that; take care of each other and take care of ourselves. It sounds so simple and kind of "tree-huggy", but if we all did just that much, that simple thing, think about how different the world we live in would be. When I was in the first grade, I gave my favorite teacher, Mrs. May, a marble with the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) inscribed on it. I can't lie and say that I've always followed that philosophy, I'm real, real human! I've made the kinds of mistakes that they write movies about, but when I think of how simple that idea is and how hard it is for us to put it into practice, I realize that we're our own wall...our own roadblock. We decide whether we'll be better or worse. No one else gets to make that call for us. We make it for ourselves everyday. Sometimes, it's easier for me to lash out at someone who's wronged me than to forgive them and move on. For a split second, when that person cuts me off in traffic, I think I'll feel better if I get on their tail and give them the finger...every single time I've actually done it, I've haven't felt any better afterwards. In fact, I just feel like the universe was giving me a test and I failed again! Every time I write one of these "preachy" blogs, I feel like I should apologise! I don't mean to be heavy, I'm just feeling the season and the end of the year and a chance to, at least psychologically start fresh in '08 with a clean slate, and I, for one, am tired of war, strife, hunger, hatred, bigotry, disrespect, deceit, greed, terrorism and violence in the name of God ( my God, your God, their God). I'm tired of this politician telling me why I shouldn't vote for that politician, etc...If you know me personally, you know that I'm far from some kind of "holier-than-thou" type person, the sacred and the profane show up in me all too often in equal measures. I pray every night and read my bible everyday, then again, I also use the term M**********r as my symbol of supreme affection, but I also love God and pray to him every night for my family and all of you. Not just those of you that I know, but for the entire world. For the peace that most of us desire. For the love that all of us have within us. My bible tells me that we're all created in the image of God. So I take that mean all of us. Whether you believe in God or not. So if I insult you, I'm insulting the image of God. Now, before you get all hot, I know we live in excruciatingly politically correct times that generally preclude someone from invoking the name of any deity, lest you offend someone!...but then again, I'm not telling you to believe what I believe, all I'm saying is that I'm going to try and love you more and that I wish you would try to love others more. My philosophy is based on this simple principle; " I love you because I see you and I as fellow creations of God. If you don't agree with that, go f**k yourself, I love you anyway!" (see I told you, sacred and profane!)
This is the time of year when many religions have special times. The time when most of us have some sort of celebration that involves gift giving or reflection or something. I wish this time of year to be a time of peace and happiness for you and your love ones. My family says "Merry Christmas". If you're Jewish, just read it as Happy Hanukkah. If you celebrate Kwanzaa, read it as Happy Kwanzaa. Whatever you follow or believe, all I'm giving out is love...can you dig it?

Have A Blues Christmas - Episode III / Return of the Christmas Jedi

Well, the 3rd annual Christmas Benefit is in the books and the level of generosity displayed by everyone in the community and by the SHB friends-at-large never ceases to amaze me! First of all the event was a sellout. We had all 300 tickets sold by Thanksgiving and had the extremely unpleasant task of telling people who wanted to come, "no". As usual, my partner in crime, MF Mafia consigliere, Un-official mayor of Columbia and DJ emeritus of the SHB, Keith MF Throneberry had to say no more than me. He is the work horse of the event every year. He spends more time and energy working on, worrying about and just general doing more than anybody else involved. It's not enough for me to say that I couldn't do this without him, it's more like the event wouldn't exist without him. So much props to KMFT!! Every year, Natalie Stovall and her great band have donated their performance for free and this year was no exception. In this business you sometimes see musicians playing based on the "pay scale" in other words, if there's little or no money, they don't break a sweat. This is never the case with Natalie and her group. They bring it every year and it's an honor and a pleasure to share the stage with them. The Xtreme 4X4 club is the engine of the event. They not only donate their time and energy, but they bring a heavy dose of joy and good will into the room. They move every table, chair, (and person if necessary) and they do it in a flawlessly classy way that always amazes me. Describing them as "just" a 4X4 club sells them very short. They are an example of what we should all be; a group of friends who help each other and work together for a common good without any reservations. I'm lucky to know each and every one of them and can't thank them enough for the amazing job they do every year. This list of gratitude isn't in any order, but I have to shout about my boys, cause they flat brung it again this year! Richard and Tyler have been amazing all along and this night was no exception. They played with the same intensity and passion that they display every night and it's an honor and a privilege to be a member of their band. This year, however, we ramped it up some! The SHB was augmented by a mass of doppelgangers! We had 2 bassists, 2 drummers, 2 guitarists, 2 vocalists! It was the year of 2's!! I enlisted my dear friend Davis Mitchell, an extremely talented singer/songwriter/guitarist/entertainer, to play guitar in the SHB Big Banging Band. This was a real dream come true for me and something that we've needed to do for a long time but this was the right time. He played and sang great as always and gave his own individual energy and flair to the show. He is definitely someone who deserves more attention, and we will definitely be doing more stuff in the future. The next person was bassist/producer Keith Kenyon. Keith played bass for a number of years in the SHB and recorded Angels In Exile with me. After retiring from the road, (yeah riiiiight...), he has gone on to co-produce and engineer Revelator, From Lettsworth To Legend and our next record tentatively titled Sex & Violets! I've never been in a band with 2 bassists, but Keith's ability and style made it sound like the best freakin' idea in the world! He is a truly amazing musician and friend and I'm proud to know him. His beautiful and talented wife Janet lent her amazing voice to the proceedings as did Kellie Wolford. Having these 2 amazing women singing behind me for part of the show was daunting to say the least! Kind of like having Tiger Woods for your caddy! Until of course like Tiger, they both in turn stepped to the front of the stage and reminded me that I'm now and forever a singing guitar player, not a guitar playing singer! On percussion and drums was Derrick Wolford. Derrick has been involved in plenty of SHB shenanigans. In the studio, he played all drums and percussion on Revelator. Live, he's been the go to guy on several occasions early on when our drum chair was "revolving" to say the least! He's an amazing drummer as well as a kind and gracious person. I'm grateful to him for continuing to share his talent with me. Of course, what show would be complete without the madness of Bobby? His cowbell solos are now so legendary that people rarely ask what we're going to play, they just want to know if Bobby's coming (right Kempf??) No only did Bobby donate his cowbell expertise, he also donated 5!!! of his original paintings for our silent auction. Which brings me to the auction. Every year we try and add something new to the proceedings so that this years crowd gets something that they didn't get last year. This year we added a silent auction and once again the generosity flowed! Our MF Mafia Don, Chuck MF Lanza, went into his memorabilia vault and sent a care package of stuff to put in the auction. This included not one, but 2 signed guitars, various signed CDs, posters and handbills. He was still getting stuff signed by some of his legendary friends well into November!If you ever get to meet Chuck, you'll understand why when he says' "here man, sign this" you just do it. Just ask Mitch Mitchell!! We also had a jersey from Major League Baseball star Dan Uggla, and a winch that actually sold TWICE!! the same night!As I mentioned before, Bobby Inman is a very talented artist. His paintings of which I'm lucky enough to have 3! Sold for big money despite the fact that the artist was onstage banging a cowbell! Not only did people spend money at the event, but we had some of our longtime SHB friends send money from Canada (Thanks Denis & Lucy Burns!), Iowa (Thanks Duane and Audora Smith!!) and elsewhere! Because of all of you, this event as the best ever and all the encouragement we needed to begin planning next year's event. So the totals go like this; we had approximately 400 people, played music for 5 hours, served 6 kegs of beer, 700 chicken wings, enough ham and small hot dogs to make an entire village of pigs, and raised a total of $15,000.00 for the children of our community. Thanks to all of you.God bless you and I hope that your holidays are as warm as the one you've given me by your continued friendship and support. Peace,Scott

Yule log! Not that I have a log...in the way you think I meant it...

Here we are in the midst of the holiday season. The season of giving.When the air's filled with a little more love and brotherhood. Except of course at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving when the ravenous packs of glazed eyed bargain hunting shoppers attack the displays with their sharpened credit cards and reinforced shopping carts. Driving through the parking lot like Jeff Gordon so that they can get that great parking spot before you do! The same Playstation that has been on that shelf for the last year is now worth slashing the throat of the person in front of you to get at! Even the mall Santa looks a little worried as he sits paitienly waiting for the youngsters to reveal their Christmas wishes to him. "Did that mother have a sharpened candy cane in her purse? Why's this kid looking at me like I'm a giant turkey leg? Did he just pee on me?" Ah, Christmas! Whatever this season means to you, do you think that our ancestors had this in mind? "Let's create a holiday to celebrate a season of giving and thanks, but let's really make it an orgy of consumption!" Well...maybe the ancient Romans would've come up with that idea, but they probably would have tied sex into it more somehow. The herd of humanity that storm through the Best Buy's and Circuit City's grabbing that flat screen television as though it were the cure for cancer. You can almost hear them muttering, "must have this...must have this now..." as they paw through the aisles searching for that combination video game/food processor that they saw on 60 minutes that simply everyone's getting this year. If you feel this fever overtaking you this holiday season, just remember, on December 26, while you're taking all the boxes and wrappers to the dump, all sated on turkey and dressing, that the person you cut off in line to get that Disco Elmo, still lives in your town and you'll probably cross paths with them again at the returns counter while taking back the corduroy gaucho pants that your Aunt Eloise got you.

Krazy Glue

I love Krazy Glue. It's one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. Yes kiddies, I come from the 20th century. Before the internet and iPods. Before Guitar Hero and Global warming. For video games we had Pong! Pong! the most boring and lame of all video games, but when it was all you had as a child, you played that motherfucker like there was no tomorrow! We bought our music on an "album", made of vinyl, or at least a "cassette". When digital refered to your fingers. When David Lee Roth singing with Van Halen was just the way life was. VCR's were giant things that only really rich families had. I heard about them, but never actually saw one! The first time I heard of "Home Box Office" I thought the people who had it really had a movie theatre and they were just calling it their "Home Box Office"! My first vehicle (1969 GMC pickup truck, yeah!!!) had an 8-track tape player in it! On 8-track, if you wanted to hear "Hold On Loosely" by .38 Special, you had to wait until the end of track 1 and then hit it again! We were poor. We didn't even have MTV, we had Nighttracks on TBS! I saw Elton John's video for "I'm Still Standing" about 1,000 times! I used to like the video of that guy Taco doing "Putting On The Ritz", although it kind of scared me! I've seen Flock Of Seagulls, Dexy's Midnight Runners and Madness videos way too many times to count! I always liked Adam and The Ants doing "Goody Two Shoes". I had a friend who was really into punk. His name is Will and he doesn't read my blogs so I can talk freely about him. He turned me on to Billy Idol, The Go-Go's, and even Prince! He had The J. Geils Band's Love Stinks album. I thought Will was crazy to like the Dead Kennedys and The Sex Pistols, but I was intrigued by his passion for music even if we didn't have the same taste. I was listening to Elvis, Willie Nelson and Hank Willimas Jr. but we met at AC/DC. Back in Black was a favorite of both of ours. When I found the blues, Will was into hip-hop and rap. He liked Whodini and Run-Dmc. I liked Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, but we always managed to meet at Jimi Hendrix and the Doors. That's the cool thing about friends; no matter what you're in to, with a friend, you can always find some common ground. I don't have a lot of friends,maybe I'm not easy to be friends with. Or maybe I have too many expectations of my friends, but I know that the people I call friends are there for me no matter what. My test is to show up at their house at 3:00am with blood on my hands and ask to borrow a shovel. If they ask any questions, we're just aquaintences, but if they just go to the garage, we're friends forever! That's a joke, by the way, I'd never use a shovel. I'm also old enough to have buried friends and that's one of the hardest things I've ever done. I don't keep track of age. I really believe that you're as old as you feel...or something like that, but I know that when you lose a friend, it wakes you up to the fact that we're not guaranteed the next 5 minutes, much less the next 50 years. Somehow, that's made life and friendship more precious and important to me. I really love my friends...even though I don't tell them...I think they know. Friends are like Krazy Glue. I've used Krazy Glue for years. I fix my guitars with it. I repair my finger nails with it. I fix my daughter's toys with it. It's wonderful stuff.

Mr. Larry Lee - Mar. 7, 1943 - Oct. 30, 2007

I was saddened to learn of the death of Mr. Larry Lee tonight. Mr. Lee was a guitarist. As a backing musician, he worked with The Impressions, as well as being a part of the Gypsy, Sun & Rainbows at Woodstock. A group led by none other than Jimi Hendrix. I learned a very valuable lesson from Mr. Lee and never had an opportunity to tell him about it, so I’ll tell it here publicly. When I played with Buddy Guy, we did a New Year’s Eve concert one year with Al Green and Santana. I was thrilled to be on the show, because I’ve always loved and been influenced by Carlos Santana, and I was excited to be seeing Al Green for the first time. We played first, and after we finished, an older gentleman approached me and said he was with Al Green, but didn’t have a guitar, and could he borrow mine. I had had some bad experiences with people using and abusing my guitars in the past (Mr. Adrian Belew!) and I was very gun-shy about putting my guitar into a strangers hands. I was young and inexperienced, and this man’s story didn’t make sense to me. “You play with Al Green and you don’t have a guitar?!” I told him no and said we were leaving before the end of the gig which was just barely true and left him to borrow someone else’s guitar, (I think he actually ended up with one of Carlos’ guitars, but that doesn’t make it better for me.) I learned the next day that the man was Larry Lee and, being the Hendrix fanatic that I am, I was stunned and wished that I’d loaned him my guitar. Then I stopped and studied my reaction and realized that it wasn’t that I regretted not loaning my guitar so much as I regretted not rubbing elbows with someone who knew Jimi Hendrix. Even a young idiot like me realized what a selfish idea this was! This realization made me rethink my entire approach to life. This one event made me realize that regardless of our particular station or situation, at the end of the day, we are all human beings, riding he same big rock through the universe and not only do we need each other, we are intrinsically connected. I have held a regret ever since that I never had the chance to apologize to Mr. Lee and explain the valuable lesson that I learned from him. I don’t know that he would remember or care, but it was a significant event in my life and if I’m a better person for it now, (I’m not saying that I am, I’m just saying if I am.), he is to thank for teaching me that when your brother asks for help, you help. You don’t turn your back and justify your refusal with a bunch of rationalizations. Now, am I perfect now? No! Do I still make the wrong decisions when it comes to my fellow man? All the time! What I do, however, is what I hope we all do; I try harder, to be better. That’s really the mandate that we have to follow. Just try harder to be better. Thank you Mr. Larry Lee and God Bless You. My heart and prayers go to your family.

A Transformative Measurement of Dynamic Change in the 22nd Century

Well it's starting to get cold here. Not cold like Minnesota or Canada, which is the coldest places I've ever been, but cold like Tennesee. Which, if you've never been here, is cold enough for me! We are rehearsing some new material and working on some new sounds for 2008 (you know this year is almost gone!). I'm looking forward to playing out soon. It's funny to play almost everynight for 6 weeks and then just stop for 2 weeks. I mean, I don't stop playing, I play all the time at home,it's just different when you're sitting on your own couch or when you don't even have to finish the song, or when you just play Van Halen covers all night to try and make your wife laugh! Of course, I also dress a little differently when I'm playing "concerts" for my wife..."Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love...I'm trying to get her to hold a lighter up while I play, but she's not even having any of that. It's also kind of strange having internet so close! No Panera Bread! Not even a Starbucks! My wife's coffee is a thousand times better! Plus I get to sleep with the Barista!

September tour in tha' books!

After having a chance to sleep in my own bed for a couple of nights, I'm ready to sum up the last leg of the tour. What a great time we had! It's been a while since we did a 5 week tour in one stretch and in the past, you usually hit the brick wall of despair/anger/frustration/loneliness about 3 weeks into it. This time was different though for a lot of reasons. For one thing we've been going around the country making friends for the last 7 years and now when we go to Des Moines, we look for Duane. When we go to Steamboat Springs, we know we'll see Arnie. When it's Topeka, it's time to see Jeff and Trina. It's so great to have friends in all these areas that come out and support us and welcome us into their towns with open arms. We are truly blessed to have such great friends across the country. Another big big reason for the tour going so comfortable, is the fact that we had several chances to hang with my MF brothers and even JAM!! NYC was Chuck MF Lanza territory and a great sushi dinner with my old friend Arnie G. When we hit Chicago (as usual) all bets are off! Keith MF and Jen Throneberry made the trip with Tyler's mom, Chuck MF a.k.a. Smoke-on-the-MF'n-water! and Lori flew in from NY for his B'day, Randy Z fed us and made the trip up, Superfan was there, and best of all Buddy was there and hanging out with him is something I never get enough of. Keith and I discovered (well he re-discovered) the hottest hot sauce in the universe. This stuff is what hell tastes like <http://www.insanechicken.com/da-bomb-final-answer-hot-sauce.php> You like hot stuff? I mean really hot stuff? Do you like it when tiny men with torches leap on your tounge wearing spiked shoes? Then you'll love The Final Answer! When we got to Minneapolis, it's time to hang with Tim and Susie Obrien and Pappy and the gang. What a beautiful group of people. I am blessed to know them all. We had an amazing oasis in Wisconsin when our man Dino not only put us up at his house, but his supercool mom cooked us an amazing Italian dinner! Dino's friendship is another blessing in my life that I am so grateful for. He's done so much for us as a band with his inspiration and enthusiasm, but it's his friendship that means the most to me. God blessed me with one wonderful brother, Shane, but he's blessed me again with a bigger family of spiritual brothers than I ever dreamed of. And of course, there's my band family. If it wasn't for Richard and Tyler, I'm sure I would have lost my mind many times on this trip. Richard and I have done this for a lot of years, and we're still loving it as much as we did the first time we went out. Watching Tyler grow into this gig has been one of the really fun things about this trip. For 5 weeks, he's gotten better every night. On many occasions, people have been coming up to us telling us how great it is to see us smiling on stage and having fun! I thought we were always having fun, but I'm glad it's showing! It would have been fun to go back to the first nights gig at the end of the tour and see the change. One thing you can't plan for is how people will respond to adversity. You just have to go through it and see what happens. These guys have met every challenge with a positive attitude and a smile. That allowed me to keep my perspective and stay cool when we lost all my cables and my tool box on the interstate in the middle of the night (if anybody in KC finds my roadcase, I'd appreciate it if you could send it back to me!). Every challenge was just an opportunity to get after it and they made it fun for me. We ended up in Louisville at one of our favorite joints Stevie Ray's. My voice, for the first time in 5 weeks, was completely gone the first night thanks to a nasty cold. I'm not a great singer anyway, but when you open your mouth and don't know what's going to come out, it's a scary thing indeed! We got through it with a lot of guitar playing and Richard stepping up with his "Badboy" self! Second night was a little better vocally, but I didn't really get it back until I got home. And that brings me to the best part of any trip, HOME!! My girls are the most important things in my life and I haven't gotten enough hugs and kisses yet, nor have we played enough games of "Princess Monopoly" or Hi Ho Cherrio. My guitars are all put back together and my amps didn't flinch at all this trip. I've got Keith MF lined up to rebuild the trailer, and tonight he and I will take the two most beautiful women in the world to Papa Boudreaux's where we will eat and drink too much and howl at the moon! Man it's good to be home!

3rd Annual Blues Christmas Benefit

It's hard to believe that it's almost Thanksgiving, but this year has flown by! It's time to start planning the 3rd Annual Blues Christmas Benefit. This is our homecoming show and a chance to help our hometown community. The last two years have raised over $13,000.00 for this charity and we're hoping to double that amount this year. As always, the heavy lifting of the planning and prep work goes to Keith MF Throneberry and Xtreme 4X4. In addition to the devastatingly talented Ms. Natale Stovall and her great band, as well as food and drink, we're planning to have a silent auction with memorabilia from various entertainers, sports figures and celebrities. As always, the SHB will be there and we're planning a special show just for this event, with some friends from the extended SHB family. This is our chance to give back to the community that has been so supportive of me throughout my career and the place that will always be my home. If you're coming in from out of town and want info on tickets and accomidations, or If you can't make it to town, but want to contribute (or get a really cool t-shirt or poster), email us at: scottholtband@gmail.com

Day 31 or How to correctly determine the sex of your new sea monkey

Day 31 of the current tour, and here's the kind of day that you're glad you can make it through; We get up on Sunday morning grab a Starbucks and travel 3 hours through a snow storm and over the Rocky Mtns to an afternoon gig in Arvada, just outside of Denver. We load in and play at 2:00 pm to maybe 10 people who are nonetheless appreciative and make it worth it for us. We load out, then we get in the van and drive to a Chipotle for the first meal of the day at 8:00 pm. We then get back in the van and drive 4 hours to a Wal-Mart parking lot where we sleep for about 5 hours wake up in a freezing wind storm and then grab a cup of Starbucks and travel the remaining 5 hours to Kansas City for our gig tomorrow and Wednesday. We resist the urge to get a picture of Tyler sitting on a gorilla (it's just too freakin' cold!) We checked in to our Hotel and then left immediately for a 2:30 pm lunch, (Arthur Bryant's BBQ!! KC's best)returned to find that the hotel we're staying in for 3 days has a broken TV in our room (there's also 2 extremely large Bull Mastiffs inexplicably chained to a small tree just outside our room and no other cars in the parking lot!). We change rooms (far from the deadly canine guardians of hell), get showers (yes we are clean)and head for Panera Bread to get the first Internet we've seen in about 5 days. The connection's too slow to catch up on The Office or any other TV show that we haven't seen in about 4 weeks. I can't even find the Clapton interview from Larry King! (I did just finish his biography a couple of days ago, great book!) I try to respond to some my space messages, but there's a ton of them and I'm always afraid I won't go back far enough! I do appreciate all the messages though and I will get them answered eventually. I did check out footage of the current Van Halen tour (seems to be the exact same show every night which is kind of a bummer, of course that might be the only way they can keep Eddie and Dave from killing each other! they also are keeping Wolfgang in the shadows).Now the goal is get back to room in time to see Curb Your Enthusiasm, do some laundry (we're clean I told ya!) and change some strings on my guitar before hitting the first bed I've seen in 35 hours! Now you want to hear the really crazy part? I wouldn't trade jobs with anybody on the planet! And now for some random thoughts and observations; As I said earlier, I've been keeping up with the current Van Halen tour and listening to a lot of the shows via the Internet. They are sounding better every night, but you just can't go home again. Actually Wolfgang often sounds the best of the lot! It's sad to see how far Eddie has fallen from where he was at his peak.Just found out about this guy Kimbo Slice on You Tube. Holy crap!! this is like the scariest guy I've ever seen! He looks like Mr.T if he'd done real time. He's some kind of backyard fighter that just beats the crap out of people (except for this one fight where the guy uses a choke hold on him). Went and saw 3:10 to Yuma (great film) We Own The Night (...you also own my $10.00 and I want it back for sitting through that slow moving piece of crap that even a nude Eva Mendez couldn't save!) Now I want to see Into The Wild, Eastern Promises and American Gangster. I started an audio diet of nothing but Eric Clapton last Monday, other than Sunday mornings, which I always reserve for Gospel (this past Sunday was Aretha Franklin!!) I haven't really dug into Clapton for a long time and it's really great to revisit some of the old stuff as well as a bunch of "Internet acquired" live stuff that reaffirms my belief in Clapton's greatness. The tree goes like this;
1.Jimi Hendrix

2.Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck

3.Clapton, Earl Hooker, BB King

4.everybody else from here down is constantly fighting it out for position.

Makes me wish I had my Clapton guitar on the road, of course after 5 weeks, at one time or another, I've wished I had every guitar on the road...except in the mornings when I'm loading the van, then I always think I have too many guitars out here already. Especially since I've been playing #1 almost exclusively for the last several shows. I don't know what it is about that guitar, but it just does whatever I ask of it and never complains. I started reading Where God Was Born this morning, great book. Check it out but have your Bible handy to cross reference. Tomorrow should be good, Einstein Bros. Bagels is a block away, we're playing a gig, I'm one day closer to being home with my girls!!!!, Road Food says there's a place that has great fried chicken (gotta love that yardbird) & I get to make music with two of my dear friends. Life's good.

Don't taze me bro!

Today is the start of the countdown to the end of this tour. What a trip we’ve been on so far! Today is day 2 in Topeka KS and we’re looking forward to playing a new club here. We had a blast in the Minneapolis area and saw a bunch of our old friends. It was great to see everybody and hang out and jam with our buddy, amp building genius, Tim Obrien. So what’s an average day on the road like? Well, today is the 3 “L’s”; load-in, laundry & lunch! We also have to find Tyler some new drum sticks. The first night he was with us, I kidded him that there wasn’t any wood chips under his drums at the end of the night, since then he’s been breaking about 4 sticks per night. That’s much more like the SHB! Beat stuff until it breaks!

Sweet Home Chicago

The SHB's gig Sunday night at Buddy Guy's Legends was maybe the best yet. At least it was the most fun we've had there so far! The only thing missing was Buffy, but the MF Mafia was all present and accounted for and the crowd was awesome. Buddy and I got hang out for a little bit before the show and between sets (in fact it almost got me in trouble because we kept starting late because we were having such a good time hanging out and laughing!) The band played great, Tyler's really making big strides an with his mom in the audience, he broke 7 sticks (Vic Firth my ass!)!!! We all play better when our mom's are in the house! Richard won the prize for coolest shirt, and Keith MF Throneberry and Chuck MF Lanza (who both had their beautiful wives with them) tied for best cover song. Chuck jammed on Smoke On The Water and Keith jammed on a medley of Purple Rain / I Just Want To make Love To You. (We all play better when our wives are there!) Randy Z was invaluable in getting the party started with a great bottle of wine and taking care of the guitars that seemed to be breaking all over the place. Rich made sure it was loud enough and Harvey made sure that one really "joyful" gentleman only danced with ladies who wanted to dance with him! Superfan Mike was in the house, and it was great to see him. We had new friends from the UK and France (thanks to Scott Brittingham for giving them a ride!) Like I said, the only two things that would have made it perfect would have been having my beautiful wife there and if Buddy would have jammed with us, but that's just an excuse for us to do it again! Thanks to the Staff at BG's for making every visit feel like coming home. A big thanks to my MF brothers for keeping the show going! Ya'll make me sound so GoooooD!

Cleveland Rocks!

Well it’s been an interesting couple of days! We played at the R&B Grill in Bethel NY on Friday night and had a ball! What a great bunch of people and a tremendously cool environment. Thanks to the great folks at the bed & breakfast that put us up for the night. What a great place to visit. We got up the next morning and went to the site of the Woodstock festival. I stood in the spot where Jimi Hendrix played the Star Spangled Banner! I think I could still hear the notes ringing around the field. On to New London CT where we discovered that the club forgot we were coming and booked another band! (We are freakin’ huge in New London CT!!) They were kind enough to pay us not to play and Richard and I headed for Cleveland early. (Tyler had to go home for his sister’s wedding so Andy Began played with us in NY and we put him on a train in CT and rolled away- thanks again Andy!) Last night was Cleveland where Richard and I played an acoustic show as a duo (first time!) It was a lot of fun and hopefully the people dug it. Tonight’s off so its laundry, internet, etc. tomorrow starts an uninterrupted run for 6 days. Looking forward to getting Tyler back with us, and getting to Chicago on Sunday to see some of our home folks. The MF mafia will be in the house!
By the way, recently I wrote a blog that has garnered some unfortunate attention and led to some misunderstanding, so I want clear it up now, once and for all; I don’t care for Dockers, but if you wear them while cooking barbecue, you instantly leap to the front of the cool line in my book (especially when the ribs are as good as the ones I’m referring to). I think that barbecuing in Dockers makes them okay by default and you overcome the negative ness of their very existence by the spiritual art of cooking. So if you wear Dockers, grab some tongs and fire up the grill! You’ll feel better about yourself, I promise!

The road is long and winding...

Day 4 on the road and we’ve got 3 shows under our belt with new drummer Tyler and everything’s going great. Checked out 3:10 To Yuma yesterday, whacking great film! Tomorrow, we get back to work in NYC and then its roll hard until KY. We’ve got a couple of days off sprinkled here and there to do laundry and glue the guitars back together, but the miles start falling hard and fast tomorrow. I hate off days, so I’m glad to get over this hump in the road. Off days are the Wednesdays of the SHB! For those of you in Bethpage and New London, Tyler is flying home to attend the wedding of his sister, so his spot will be filled by the very capable drumming of Mr. Andy Began. Congratulations to the soon to be Mrs. Ashley Johnson (or possibly Mrs. Ashley Crowell – Johnson or maybe even Ms. Ashley Crowell…maybe her new husband will take her name instead…I’m not sure what the current vogue is for newly weds…maybe they take each others name…in which case she’ll be Mrs. Johnson, and he’ll be Mr. Crowell…what a strange thing that would be filling out home loans or job applications…I once knew a woman who not only didn’t take her new husbands name, she made up a new name for the both of them out of a combination of the letters of their respective names. I thought that was pretty cool. They took the first half of her name and the last half of his name. His name was Benson and her’s was Robertson, so they became Mr. & Mrs. Robertson…actually, now that I see that typed, it looks more like they just kept her name…that bitch! She tricked poor old Benson! I guess he should have made her sign some sort of prenuptial agreement concerning the maintenance of his name. Of course, he must be pretty dumb not to see that coming…”Hey honey, let’s just combine our names to make a new name like the ancient Greeks did. Wouldn’t that be fun? You’ll do it for me won’t you?” Oh what a slippery slope! Well, I can’t feel too sorry for him if he’s not any smarter than that. Anyway, congratulations to the happy couple!)
I’m sorry, but I just got distracted by the two guys sitting across from me. (I’m in Panera Bread of course!) They seem to be planning some kind of takeover for the company they both work for. I don’t eavesdrop, but they’re talking really loud. The one guy seems like a real jackass. “You do this, and I’ll do that and we’ll just take over the whole thing…” If I knew what company they worked for, I’d call the CEO right now and alert him that there’s mischief afoot! Then again, as a musician, I am sort of a modern day pirate; so technically, I should be rooting for the mutiny. Still they are wearing Dockers (which always pisses me off!) and they are really annoying. Maybe we should just take their computers and run. I better find Richard. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Tom Larson

We’ve had some big changes in the last few weeks and after getting a lot of questions about it, I decided that I needed to address what’s going on. As many of you have noticed, Tom is no longer with us. This wasn’t an acrimonious split, no invectives were being hurled, and it was simply Tom’s decision to move on his own path. Tom has been the drummer in the SHB for a bunch of years. He was the first drummer after I left Buddy and played on the records Angels in Exile and From Lettsworth to Legend.
Tom and I met through our wives who worked in the same field. Buffy invited Tom and his wife Misty out to see a show and I called him up to jam. I knew from the first note that Tom and I had a tremendous musical connection. He’s that good. We’ve had some amazing musical moments over the past several years and I remember all of them fondly, from opening in Canada for Buddy Guy to opening this past April for Johnny Winter. We played some musically amazing shows and Tom always plays his heart out, never giving less than his all. Tom’s also been with us through some really hard times on the road, just like every band has to endure and he’s always been a great solid friend. As we move on, Tom’s moving on. I know that whatever project he pursues, he’ll be fantastic in it. If you’re in an area where Tom is performing, go out and support him just like you do us, after all he’s still family and we’ve all got to stick together. One thing I’ve learned in this business is that good musicians are easy to find but good people are more rare and precious. Tom is a genuinely good person as well as being a devastatingly good drummer. I thank Tom for all of his help in getting the SHB rolling and helping to push us further down the line. I thank him for his friendship and I look forward to watching him continue to grow, develop and create.

Sail On

So the new chapter starts on Friday. We move forward and keep driving. No matter what. It’s funny, but conviction isn’t something you can just talk about, you have to walk the walk. I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years now. I started with Buddy in 1989. I never stopped. When I left Buddy, the money went to almost nothing, I went from hotels (real nice hotels) to motels (real bad motels), and I went from a tour bus to a van that I drive and pay for and fuel myself. I’ve had dozens of musicians in this band, some for a while, some for a minute. I treated them all with respect and loved them like family. I’ve never thought about giving up, I’ve never let myself get discouraged by some little pieces of trouble that might have been cast in my direction. I never wondered, “is this all there is?”, I understand that I am doing what I was put here to do and if God wants me to move, He’ll move me or make my situation so obvious that I have no choice but to move. I have an amazing support. My wife Buffy is my best friend and has always kept me grounded while simultaneously giving me what I need to fly. She has supported me without fail from the beginning and that makes the difference. She keeps me in check spiritually as well, reminding me that just because we’re in this world, that doesn’t mean that this is all there is. I couldn’t make it without her. She is the love of my life. I’m her biggest fan.
I have amazing friends who are there for me in so many ways that it’s impossible to describe. I have family that supports and loves me and I’m humbled by all of it. I understand when people who don’t have that kind of love and support crack under the stress and strain. My heart goes out to them. There are people around me right now who are floundering and lost and searching. I want to be there for them and I am there for them, but sometimes people don’t see you, they don’t know you’re there no matter how much you shout or how much you do. I hope that the people in my life who are struggling find the peace that they’re looking for and that they can achieve their dreams.

Snare drum pound of 2 & 4, all the party people get on the floor...

Day 1; we storm through From Lettsworth to Legend from start to finish. Hammering the sword so that sparks are flying off of it. “Rocky” style sit-ups with somebody punching you in the stomach every time you rise up. This is where you find yourself. Are you a “lifer” or you just playing at it? Can you play your hardest with no screaming crowds shouting your name? When your pay for the day is a luke-warm bottle of water, is it enough? The rehearsal space is a metal building with no air-conditioning. It’s loud and hot. There’s only 3 of us in there and the mission is simple; work harder, get better, let the music do what the music’s gonna do! Circle the wagons. Time to empty our cup so that we can get some new tea. Cell phones off. No visitors allowed. We’re playing through all 6 albums top to bottom, working on some new stuff and generally getting geared up to finish kicking 2007’s ass. A 2 hour session ends in you standing in a literal pool of sweat. Your guitar, pedal board and clothes soaking wet. Drums are being bashed so hard, they’re jumping across the floor! The bass growling like the voice of doom. Richard’s right, “You’re mother should know!” This is designed to make the hottest sweatiest gig seem like a vacation. After blasting through this furnace for 2 weeks, any 4 hour gig is going to seem like nothing. Like the song says, “Next time you see me, things won’t be the same…”

Dispatch: Deja Voodoo Chile (slight return)

Van Halen’s getting back together. That’s pretty cool. I wish it was the original four, but one thing I’ve learned is you can never go back. Time is a river that only flows one way, and even if you’re treading water, you’re still being carried down stream. My friend Tim (one of the angels I spoke of in an earlier blog) loaned me his personal amp while mine gets tuned up. There’s a chance that Warren Haynes might play it in a couple of days! That would be too cool. I hope he leaves some notes in it for me to steal!
We had a great time playing in Florida last week, it was great to see all of our friends and make some new ones. I had a chance to visit with some friends from the Koko Taylor band that I haven’t seen in some years. Good to see Vino. A fantastic guitarist and a good spirit. Also got to visit with Damon Fowler and his band. Great bunch of guys. We share the same agent, so we are rarely in the same place.
2007’s been a great year, but it sure has taken some funny turns…to quote Mr. Buddy Miles, “Well my mind is going through them changes…”

Dispatch: Scott's day off and I Spy

Some days, you’re on the road and have nothing to do. So how do you fill your time? Well some musicians do drugs or rob banks or race motorcycles. Some date supermodels, form peace rallies or invent new forms of punctuation. We go to malls. Not just any mall, but we look for the largest most diverse monuments to consumerism that we can find. Malls with more than one Starbucks, a Best Buy, a Victoria’s Secret, etc. Today is such a day at the Coconut Point Mall in Fort Myers, FL. After an evening watching The Bourne Ultimatum (great freaking’ movie! He dies at the end!...no, not really…or does he?...I wouldn’t spoil the movie for you…he dies…just kidding…no really…) We returned here today for lunch at Johnny Rockets (first restaurant opened on Melrose Ave in Los Angeles CA on June 6 1986) another tour around Barnes & Noble, and now were posted up at Panera Bread for the free internet, great atmosphere and friendly people…but mostly for the free internet. A strange bald guy was staring at us earlier, but he’s gone now. He had large glasses that reminded me of those “x-ray specs” that they used to advertise in the back of comic books. I think the couple at table in front of me is having an affair…shame on them! Tom seems to be shopping for yard tools online and Richard is expanding his ever growing legion of Myspace friends. His ultimate plan is to gather as many Myspace friends as possible and then mobilize them into an elite fighting force that will aid him in his quest for control of the free world, all to the dulcet tones of the Beatles…but don’t tell anyone! I am the patient observer, neither judging nor condemning, simply noting the comings and goings of the humans. An older couple to my left appear to be in disguise. You know large hats, dark glasses, etc. They’ve also not spoken a word to each other since they sat down. They may be blind. Maybe they’re not aware that the other person is sitting at the same table. The man looks like he might have killed someone at one point, while his companion looks like she might have commanded him to do it as a test of loyalty…or maybe they’re just old people eating lunch. As I said, I neither judge nor condemn. A woman to my immediate right just took an incredibly large bite of something. I think she should eat smaller bites and chew her food more. She’s looking at me now. I think she knows I’m writing about her…oh wait…no it’s okay; I think she has a lazy eye. 2 guys in front of me are chowing down. They seem to have spent more time on their hair than I do changing the oil in the van. I see a woman drinking beer. I didn’t know they served beer at Panera Bread…at 10:00am…on Sunday…lazy eye’s looking at me again…I think she knows the “hair brothers”…another woman is eating with a spoon, but she’s holding the spoon upside down and just licking the back of it over and over…Geez!...the hit man and his boss are reading the paper…probably about his last hit and how the police can’t solve the crime! Diabolical geniuses! Now a guy in front of me is online and looking up travel websites. Maybe he’s planning that surprise getaway for his wife…or girlfriend…or maybe he’s just planning to escape…into the night…with the money that he embezzled from his job at the Apple Store! Lazy eye’s coming this way…I’d better go.

Dispatch: Florida and the role of Quantum Physics as it pertains to socio-economic stability and global warming

Today we’re in Matlacha Fl., a beautiful little spot on the Gulf Coast of Florida, with a population of 735. Richard’s gone kayaking and Tom’s practicing his tai-chi. I’m working on developing my own language consisting of hand signals and lyrics from various songs that can convey the secrets to the universe that pertain to the colors of the rainbow. As I write this, CNN is on and Kenny Chesney is apparently going to play for the New Orleans Saints football team. I hope they make him an offensive lineman…because he’s offensive…and I like the song Wichita Lineman.
We played here yesterday, and it was great. Normally, we play at 9 or 10 at night. Occasionally, we’ll play at 7 or 8. So we got here at 1:15 pm and discovered that we were playing at 2:00 pm!!! My fault, I just didn’t look at the contract close enough, but my guys pulled it off. We loaded in, set up and were playing by 2:00! That included setting up the PA and I think Richard even got to smoke a cigarette first!
We play here again tonight and then we have a question mark for the next 2 days as we try to sort out what’s going on with the gigs in Port Charlotte. They were on, and then off and now we just don’t know. We just keep our heads down and keep steaming forward. It’s what we do. Well…we do other things to…like chess, or repairing the van or eating Chinese food.
Today we’ll be filming new installments for the YouTube channel. Richard will be beginning a series of bass lessons for beginners. It should be an entertaining yet challenging bit of film.
Listen to the album Dope Dogs by the P-Funk All Stars. Dog Star (Fly On) is a sonic orgasm. Required listening for all guitar players as well as other travelers down the aural stream of consciousness.
Morning rain snaps out the cadence that heralds the coming of the new dawn. Earth’s children await the call of “all clear” that proclaims the surface safe for the harvest once again. As the horizon glows with pregnant pause, the day to come whispers its promise into the dreams of the sleeping ones. Stars cast across the sky like a fistful of diamonds hurled from God’s own hand upon a robe of the blackest velvet, bid the night a glowing and peaceful farewell. A democracy of souls, a tribe of saints to be. Empty your cup.

It's all about your Angels

Sometimes, I have to stop and thank God for the amazing friends that I/we have. There are people in my life that uplift and inspire me every day. They support me/us in amazing ways that rarely get mentioned. People like our friend Kempf Poole. Kempf comes out and travels with us sometimes and after his last trip with us, he sent us a GPS for the van (I guess he got tired of us getting lost!) but it was a huge, profound act of generosity that, as always, leaves me speechless. People like Keith MF Throneberry, who gives us support on a daily basis, but recently fixed our taillights in the parking lot of the gig. Keith does too many things for me to type them all, but that’s the latest one. People like Chuck MF Lanza who’s been a friend for ever and gives support every time it’s needed. People like Randy Z who feeds us and has been a tremendously generous benefactor to our music from the beginning. People like Dino Corvino who devotes a tremendous amount of time and attention and energy to help us climb this mountain called music. As I type this, I worry that I’m going to forget someone, so let me say that this is by no means a complete list. These are just some of the people lately that have been there in the trenches with us. Uncle Wayne, Mark, Tim, Keith, all the Extreme 4X4 people, Gary, Arnie, Michael, NAPA auto parts, Gateway Tire, GHS, Eminence, Mike, Tommy, Tyler, Bobby, Ryan, the list could literally go on and on. People like Chip and Sara from South Carolina, Cody and Chris from Alabama, all the people that jam with us and share their talent and art with us. We are fed, both spiritually and sometimes literally by these angels that surround us. I thank God for all of you.

I Like Peaches, Chinese Food, Elvis & Bruce Lee

The peach is the greatest of all fruits. It’s sweet. It’s a little fuzzy, but when you peel it, it’s very juicy. In fact, it’s such a great fruit, that they don’t even call the juice "juice". They call it nectar! As in “the nectar of the gods”! Peach cobbler or fried peach pies are 2 of my favorite desserts. They are the kind of desserts that I’m sure they serve in Heaven. The peach tree is native to China, dating back to the 10th century BC. The modern belief is that the Chinese introduced peaches to the rest of the world, starting in the Middle East. I like Chinese food a lot too. My favorite is General Tso’s Chicken. This is, of course, named after Zuǒ Zōngtáng, a gifted Chinese military leader born in Wenjialong, north of Changsha in Hunan province, during the waning of the Qing Dynasty. He served with brilliant distinction during China's most important (and the worlds largest) civil war, the 14-year-long Taiping Rebellion, in which at least 30 million people lost their lives. The Tso in General Tso is sometimes misspelled "Cho" in English, probably due to influence from Cantonese. The correct pronunciation of the name in Mandarin is [tsuɔ tsʊŋtʰɑŋ]. There aren’t any really good Chinese restaurants in Nashville. P.F. Chang’s is not a good Chinese restaurant. It’s a good restaurant, but it has as much to do with Chinese food as McDonald’s McRib sandwich has to do with BBQ. I wish there were, because I would eat at them a lot! I think that Chinese food may be one of my favorite types of food. China is hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. They should give every athlete who competes in the Olympics a small box of peaches so that they will remember that the Chinese introduced the peach to the world. I don’t think the Chinese are so insecure that they feel the need to keep reminding us of their contributions, just like George Washington Carver didn’t go around bragging about his contributions to agricultural extension education, or his work with the peanut, for that matter. Peanuts are another amazing food. I really like them when they’re made into peanut butter. Much like you would find on a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches, especially when they are fried! What an amazing taste experience! They aren’t very good for you, but they taste good. Elvis Presley also loved fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I don’t know if he actually ate them all the time, because there’s been so much speculation about Elvis’ private life that I’m sure many stories are now blown up to legendary proportions. There is photographic evidence that Elvis struggled with is weight at times. This could be a result of unhealthy food like fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches or it could be poor exercise habits, or even some sort of medical condition that caused unusual weight gain. He sure could sing though! He’s one of my favorites. He also knew Karate, which of course is a martial art that developed from a synthesis of indigenous Ryukyuan fighting methods, Chinese kempo and concepts from classical Japanese martial arts. "Karate" originally meant Chinese hand, but was later changed to a homonym meaning "empty hand" in Japanese. It is known primarily as a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes and open handed techniques. However, grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restraints/traps, throws and vital point striking also appear in karate. This is not to be confused with Jeet Kune Do (Chinese: 截拳道 Cantonese: Jitkyùndou Pinyin: Jiéquándào, lit. "Way of the Intercepting Fist"), also Jeet Kun Do or JKD, is a martial arts system developed by martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. I like Bruce Lee a lot. My favorite movie of his is ENTER THE DRAGON from 1973. Elvis was 38 in 1973. Peaches would be about 11,973 years old at that point.

Damn Right I've Got The Blues

I wanted to post some more thoughts about the new record and talk about the song Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues. This song has special memories for me, because it’s one of the first ones that we were playing with Buddy when his first record for the Silvertone label came out. The intro, I think, Buddy copped from Cream’s Strange Brew, which was actually a lick that Eric Clapton borrowed from Albert King. Anyway, let’s just say that the song’s got some deep roots!
When I started trying to decide which songs of Buddy’s to put on the record, Damn Right was kind of a no-brainer. It’s so strongly identified with Buddy that it would almost seem weird not to at least attempt it. I really didn’t know what to do with it, so we just took the intro and then transformed the groove into a minor key and let it rip. I also listened to the lyrics, to make sure that the message of what’s being said can be accompanied and reinforced by the music and not detracted from it. We’ve all heard cover versions of songs that sounded like they just took some music that they had lying around and wrapped other words to it. Luckily, I think we came up with a nice little slant on Buddy’s version. I’ve said it a million times, but my goal in this project was to pay tribute to Buddy and try and reinterpret his work, not make a slavish copy of what he’s already done.
Playing this song live with Buddy, always used to excite me. This was a song that we knew the crowd would go wild on and Buddy always attacked this song full throttle which made you want to really dig in and get it. Looking back, I’m sure there were times when I probably hit it too hard, but fortunately for me Buddy always managed to forgive my excitement! Thanks again Buddy!
For you tech heads, this song (as well as every other song on this record) was recorded using my trusty Obrien 100 watt head through the Marshall 4X12 cabinet that I used when I was with Buddy. That thing’s got some vibe, let me tell you. It’s also heard Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues as many times as I have! If you listen close on the very first part of the intro, you can hear entire room vibrating! That’s how loud we were going on this record!

Lists and Lists

The new Prince record rocks. Currently I’m reading a book about pirates. Pirates are cool. The “Pig Out Inn” http://pigoutinn.com in Natchez MS, is in the top 5 of all-time for my personal experience with BBQ.

TOP 5 BBQ SPOTS:
1. Iron Works - http://www.ironworksbbq.com/ in Austin TX
2. Sam’s BBQ – 2000 E 12th St. / Austin TX / (512) 478 – 0378
3. Brickyard BBQ - http://www.brickyardbbq.com/
4. Pig Out Inn - http://pigoutinn.com
5. Mark Holt / Carl Counce – Lawrenceburg TN

It still wasn’t enough to make me forget that I missed Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Hubert Sumlin and Buddy Guy in Chicago this weekend! At least Chuck was there to give me daily reports. Thanks Brutha! The Vanity Fair interview with Sly Stone is great. Good to know he’s still traveling in our universe. The Sly & the Family Stone box set is awesome, by the way.

TOP 5 RECORDS I’M DIGGING:
Prince – Planet Earth
Elvis Presley – I Sing All Kinds
Sly & The Family Stone – There’s A Riot Goin’ On
White Stripes – Icky Thump
Funkadelic – By The Way Of The Drum

TOP 5 GUITARS I OWN:
#1 Fender Custom Shop Strat (signed by Eric Clapton)
White Gary Brinkley custom Strat
Paul Reed Smith Custom 24
White Fender Strat Pro Custom
Fender Tele Plus

TOP 5 GUITARISTS…PERIOD:
Jimi Hendrix
Jeff Beck
Buddy Guy
Earl Hooker
B.B. King


TOP 5 BANDS I DON’T LIKE…AT ALL…EVER…I MEAN IT…EVER!
Steely Dan
Kenny Chesney
Montgomery Gentry
Jethro Tull
Rascal Flatts
If I misspelled any of the names, it’s probably my subconscious emphasizing the fact that I really don’t like these bands.


TOP 5 THINGS I WOULD RATHER LISTEN TO THAN THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED BANDS:
Jack Hammers
Bagpipes
Pan Flutes
Esteban
A clothes dryer full of gravel and marbles (and the CDs of the aforementioned artists)

TOP 5 HOTTEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD
My wife
Buffy Holt
my wife Buffy Holt
my baby’s mama
my hot, hot, hot wife

Dispatch: Portland and the way things go

So the July run to Canada is now officially in the books, (thank you Canadian fans! You guys are awesome!!) But not without one last gasp of drama and intrigue. I usually don’t like to show the downside of what we do, but this story is an example of what musicians sometimes have to go through to do what they love. In short, this is what we get paid for. The last date of the tour was to be a charity event, benefiting battered women. As a side note it was to pay us a fairly substantial amount of money, not big money, but in the course of the way this particular tour was laid out, the money was going to be needed to get us home. Not that someone needs to pay me to be against hurting women, but it’s just how the business end of this particular show worked out. Anyway, the gig was in Portland ME. Stop reading this now, open another window, go to Rand-McNally.com and type in the distance from Nashville to Portland. Figure time and fuel and you’ll see that a gig has to be fairly lucrative to justify that kind of distance. Granted, we were in Addison NY (awesome gig!!) the night before the Portland gig, but it was a 20 hour drive home staring us in the face, with all that that entails.
To continue, unbeknownst to us, the “money man” for the Portland gig disappears about 2 weeks before the show. Why we weren’t notified of this earlier is just one of the many mysteries that fall into place in this narrative. We are under contract to perform and we are warriors, so not showing up isn’t really an option, but the knowledge that suddenly the financial bottom is falling out of the gig does give one pause. From Addison to Portland was a 9 hour drive, so we played Addison and then drove overnight to Portland arriving sometime around 10:00 am. The hotel has rooms for us under the “money man’s” name, but since they haven’t been paid for, we have to pay for the rooms if we want to get into them. We’ve been in constant contact with a nice lady who we’ll call “the coordinator” who after many calls in which she stresses her non-liability and the fact the she’s just “the coordinator” (even though her name and signature are on the contract, but we’ll get to that in a minute), agrees to call the hotel for us. After her call, we then call her back (which we did most of the day as no one seemed to want to call us first!) whereupon she tells us that under advice of LEGAL COUNSEL, she’s not going to put any money out of her own pocket lest she appear liable. The fact that “the coordinator” has sought legal counsel, doesn’t escape me on the warning meter.
Let’s pause for a moment and sum up; We are 9 hours further from home (20 hours total), with no money, no hotel, an uncertain gig (scheduled for 11:00 pm) and no one wanting to take responsibility for this fast sinking ship that only the SHB seems to be riding on. It’s pointed out to me by various people involved that if we don’t play, we void the contract and have no recourse to pursue legal action to get our money back. As I said before, we never really think of not playing because we are warriors and we don’t bend or back-up. Nevertheless, it’s quite a quandary when you think about it, which is really all I’m able to do since I, a) Have no hotel room to sleep or shower in, b) can’t start for home.
So it falls like this. “The coordinator” and a companion meet us and lead us to the gig for load-in at 1:00pm. She then agrees (I suppose against the advice of legal counsel) to pay for our hotel rooms so we can at least have a place to shower and sleep. She does also arrange with the folks at Chili’s to give us a discount for a meal. (Thanks to Chili’s!)We show up at 9:30 as we would for any other gig. We’re 5th on the bill and headlining. One act, a friend of “the money man” is a no show…hmmmm. We play a great set. My boys are bad no matter what the circumstances. We pack up and leave. No one thanks us for being professional and keeping up our end of the deal. No one commiserates our plight, offers us a hand loading out, or throws us some gas money, just the old after show disappearing act. They do, however, record our show (without permission) play it back over the loud speakers while we pack up and then tell us that they can’t give us a copy because they have to leave the venue and don’t have time, but we’re welcome to track them down and they’ll send us a copy when they have a chance.
So what have I learned? I remain staunchly against any form of abuse and I still think that anyone who would hurt a woman is a punkass bitch. I think that our life will go on much as before (albeit, with more conversations with attorneys in my near future.) I’m sorry for what we went through but I’m glad we played. We were professionals. We dedicated a song to Tammy Faye Baker who passed away the previous night. I would love to come back to Portland and play a regular gig. We had some great fans that came out to support us and it was awesome to see some friendly faces in the middle of the siege. “Moneyman” if you read this, I don’t hate you or bear you ill will. I am, however, going to hunt you down and you should pray that the only thing I do is sue the shit out of you.

Dispatch: Buffalo

Buffalo last night, night off tonight and then two more shows and home! Gigs have been going great. The band sounds ferocious (when they’re allowed to…hmmmm). Our gear still limps along battered and bruised but refusing to bow. Much like the SHB. We won’t stop. I’m so excited about the new record. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. Some of our friends have heard it and they say they like it. These are people that I trust to tell me the truth. It’s much like the time I spent in the Congo working with the Peace Corps. Once I woke before the rest of the team and in the still quiet of the morning in the rain forest, I looked out of my tent and saw a huge silver back gorilla just feet from the campsite. We looked at each other for what felt like an eternity before he stood to his full height and beat his chest. He then disappeared back into the jungle and it was then that I realized what true silence sounded like. Even the birds were still. I smelled something. I was standing in a large pile of gorilla feces. I forgave the gorilla immediately, but I’ll never stand barefoot near one again!
William Shatner is brilliant!

Dispatch #2: London

Last night was London. Great town, great crowd. Very understanding considering the problems we had. My amp decided that she wanted to give me the silent treatment and in the short amount of time we had before we went on, I couldn’t convince her otherwise. Guitar tech #16 (a.k.a. Cedric) is just learning the ropes and has truly been thrown into the fire head first, but he made his way through and I hope someday he looks back on this time and realizes that he maybe learned something from the crazy bald guitar player!
The Canadian audiences that we’ve had the privilege of playing for are some of the most gracious and kind people I’ve ever had the joy to meet. I look forward to every visit to their country and hope that no matter what, we’ll always be able to entertain them.
Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer CD is amazing.
Angels surround us all…

Dispatch #1: Windsor

So you play guitar. Or you work in a store, or you make shoes. Your work should be your art. It is your art whether you know it or not. Do what you love. Do what you love and let the rest take care of itself. Tonight we played in front of 2 or 3 thousand people, and it was great. The band played up. They played at that pro level that they live at. We attacked the people who don’t realize sometimes that you don’t play those kinds of gigs every night. Some nights are hard. Some nights you’re playing for folks who don’t really want to receive what you have to offer. Some nights God places you in a town or in a situation where you’re purpose isn’t clear. Maybe you’re not the key ingredient in the mix on that moment, but you better believe that if God’s got you there, it’s for a reason. At the end of the night, people tell you how much they enjoyed you, and they have no idea how much you need to hear that. How quiet it is some nights. How you doubt and worry and wonder. I love to play music. I love Buffy and Olivia much more, so if I didn’t love playing music, there’s no way I’d leave home for weeks at a time to do what I do. Tonight, as I write this, listening to Wayne Shorter, waiting on the pizza that Tom ordered (bad idea though it be), missing my love, my heart is full of the joy that people gave to me tonight. The light on Richard and Tom’s faces as they felt the love of their audience and knew that what they were doing was good, and well received. Good night.

The First Time I Met The Blues

I first heard FIRST TIME I MET THE BLUES on a Chess album called I Was Walking through the Woods. I thought that it sounded so cool. I was just starting to get into the blues and this track had a rough raw quality that I would forever associate with Buddy. Even though his tone on this track, and most all of the early stuff he did for Chess and Cobra, was thinner and had less sustain and distortion, his aggressive playing just sunk the hook deeper in me and made me want to play this music more than ever. Fred Below on drums (or maybe Al Duncan) and Jack Myers on bass, was the quintessential early Buddy Guy sound.
The only time I can remember playing this song on stage with Buddy, was once at Legend’s when David Bowie was in the audience and Buddy got him on stage. Bowie didn’t want to sing and said his voice was almost gone, so he asked Buddy to play an A and he sang the first verse and walked off. We probably jammed the song for a few minutes after that until Bowie asked Buddy to call up his guitar player Adrian Belew. I had only been with Buddy for a short time and only owned 2 guitars. When Belew came up, he took my backup guitar, an ESP strat-type guitar, and rammed it off the mic-stand and said “I can’t play the blues, I’m Adrian Belew!” He then started bending the neck and just generally banging my guitar around like it was a piece of junk. For a guy with no money to replace the guitar that he was molesting, all I could do was stand there and think to myself, “What a complete D**K!” If Adrian Belew reads this, I hope remembers that when he comes on someone else’s stage, they might not be making rock star money to pay for crap if you break it…jackass.
Anyway, this was one of the first songs we did on the session and we just counted it off and went for it. I think this is the first take and we never even thought about taking it again. As with all of the songs on this record, I didn’t try to imitate Buddy’s licks, just the energy and excitement in his music. When I hear Buddy, there a sound of joy and complete abandon to the music that is something I’ll probably strive for forever.

My Mind goes boom, boom, boom

The new Amy Winehouse record is great. I’m a Tennessee Titans fan, but Pacman Jones should be fired. If you pay me millions and millions of dollars and say all you have to do is stay out of strip clubs, I’d say…okay. Contracts are always scary. 90 Minutes in Heaven is a fantastically powerful book. Global Warming exists. The world is not a static place. Youth has energy, age has wisdom, we should work to combine to two and use that energy to guide our path. Paris Hilton is famous for nothing…and
Yet…we…can’t…look…away! Why are men in our culture always portrayed as idiots? Every sit-com has a husband who’s basically a moron…and that’s the joke! Every commercial is some guy who can’t function on his own being guided by his wife who looks after him like he’s a simple child. I think everything should be open 24 hours a day. If it’s good enough for Wal-Mart and Waffle House, it’s good enough for Starbucks and Barnes & Noble! Do you think our cell phones are already being used by the government to track our movements?
Right now, from where I’m writing this, here’s what I can see; B.B. King, My grandfather and my cousins, my daughter, a monkey holding a skull, most of my CDs, 5 different statues of Elvis, some of my books, a bible, my daughter and her horse, guitars, more guitars, and still more guitars, a Merle Haggard album cover that my uncle Carlton gave me, me and James Burton, more magazines than a doctor’s office, 2 phones, a Jimi Hendrix statue, a cobra skin guitar strap, candles, art from my friend Bobby, some of my DVDs, Scott Holt stickers, Aquafina bottles, 2 porcelain figurines from my grandparents house, a monkey pulling a cart, my dad, water from the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee, more phone numbers written down than I know who they go to!

Legend's (last time?)

Just got back from playing at Buddy Guy’s in Chicago. Since the club is supposed to move this year, it might be the last time we get a chance to play there. I’ve had a lot of great times at that place, (I actually slept there on a couple of nights!) met a lot of cool people, got to play with some amazing musicians and spent a lot of time learning. It was great to be surrounded by our friends and play loud! Our best friends from back home Keith & Jen were there, Randy Z (official gourmet chef of the SHB) was there, Tim O’Brien came in from Minneapolis to jam, even Superfan Mike was there in the front row, (thanks Mike!). If Buffy had been there, it would have been perfect. Chicago is one of our favorite cities, and I can’t wait to get back there soon and see our friends. Thanks to Harvey, Rich and everybody at the club for making it so special to be there.

My Band

I have a great band. I’m not saying that lightly, or trying to create truth out of nothing. I have a great band. Richard and Tom are truly two of the finest musicians I have ever played with. Being in a great band, however, doesn’t stop at talent. While they are great, creative, fluid musicians, who have devoted much of their lives to their craft, they are amazing human beings. They love their wives, they are loyal, and they genuinely care for others. They are truly good people. We’re not very different from any other band. We work hard. Sometimes we drive hundreds or thousands of miles to play to empty houses, people that don’t know us and don’t care, we play with all kinds of variables that should distract us and at times make us throw in the towel, but the mark of committed professional musicians doesn’t allow for giving up. To quote one of my favorite songs, “the show must go on”. We’re never too sick; the equipment is never too broken, there are never too few people or too little money. I see these things for what they are. I live under the philosophy that ‘that which does not kill us, make us stronger.’ and we are strong! But I’m just one guy. Just the guitar player. By myself, it isn’t much of a show. Tom and Richard are my brothers. They go through everything I go through. They make every mile of every drive. They eat all the same food, sleep (or don’t sleep) in the same motels, deal with the same problems and they do it all with the same positive, never say die attitude that I have. More so than me, they put their faith in me. They trust me. They protect me and look out for me. They hold me up. They take the music that I try to make and they create a beautiful foundation to put it on. I stand in front of them and I feel like we are the best band in the world. I stand in front of them night after night and I’m continually amazed and surprised at their endless talent, their endless enthusiasm, their constant ability to rise to the occasion, to never give in, show weakness or appear less than what I know them to be, which is to say they carry themselves as the excellent human beings that they are.
So why am I saying all of this now, in this forum? Many reasons. We’ve been rolling hard for the last 8 weeks. In that time, we’ve dealt with equipment issues that threatened to derail the entire show, personnel issues that threatened our sanity, business issues that threatened our livelihood, and through it all, I see Richard and Tom right there, not giving in, not collapsing under the strain, not allowing whatever clouds are around us to get in the way of what we have to do. I see them not only surviving, but getting stronger, and it makes me stronger. We have a new record coming out and it’s the first record that we’ve ever done, that will be toured and supported by the musicians that played on it. It’s right because these are the guys that are supposed to be here. I’m blessed. As a Christian, I believe that God guides and has a plan for my life. Music is ingrained in my life and these are the people that I feel closest to when I am creating that gift that God has given me. I’m also a part of their gift, because as God has seen fit to put me here, now, he’s placed me in their lives as well, and I am honored beyond description. In the van, it’s the 3 of us. Sometimes, we have others in the circle, but at the end of the day, I consider myself blessed and honored to be part of this trio and a member of what I truly believe to be the absolute greatest band in the world. Thank you Richard, my friend, for allowing me to share the stage and the studio with you. Thank you Tom, my friend, for allowing me to share the stage and the studio with you. I am better for knowing both of you. I am better for what I’ve learned from each of you. The world is better for every person who comes in contact with either of you.

I'm gonna try to post some blogs that deal with the specific songs on the new record. As many of you know, when we're on the road, we don't always get Internet and we stay pretty busy, so this little project might take longer than the actual record, but I think it's a worthy thing to do.
The first song on the new record is simply called "Intro". It's just a small piece of music, but it's very significant in my history of studying the work of Buddy Guy. I first heard this on a record called Folk Festival Of The Blues. it was released on Chess and is a sort of half live/half studio thing with canned audience noise added to make it seem like a real live recording. First of all, find that record and listen to the whole thing! Buddy and his band (Fred Below & Jack Meyers) back up Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf & Sonny Boy Williamson. The MC, Big Bill Hill, a Chicago DJ, refers to Little Walter being there too. Anyway, at a couple of points on the record, sort of as a set up between artists, Buddy and the band play this little riff. Both times, it's so cool because it's so out of context. The song following it is always in a different key! It just sounds raw and cool. Pure Buddy Guy. I next heard the riff on a Jeff Beck record. I then read somewhere that he had copied it from the same record. Good enough for Buddy Guy & Jeff Beck, good enough for me!

The Science of Abstract Theory Conception as it applies to earth and other planets

Listening to John Coltrane is like eavesdropping on someones prayers. Old people deserve more respect than we give them. Better to be poor and happy than rich and sad. Of course it's probably better to be rich and happy, I'll let you know if I find out! Politicians are not supposed to solve the world's problems, citizens are. Besides many politicians are really old and out of shape, so what the hell could they do for us anyway? It is never okay to hate. It is, however, okay to wish a severe skin rash on someone who has wronged you or disagreed with you in the hope that they will realize that the skin rash is a direct result of their inconsiderate behavior and change their ways. Hot sauce should be on every table. Everything should be open 24 hours a day. Kids are smarter than you think! In the 60's, music unified people and stopped a war, what does music do today except sell cars and electronic toys? If Mozart were alive today, he'd be really, really, really old! I'd still go see him though, if he gigged somewhere close by. I read a book recently about Henry VIII and they had this thing called the "sweating sickness" that historians have yet to be able to definitely identify! That had to suck! You start sweating and if you went to sleep within the first 24 hours, you die! No thanks! Elvis was really cool and that's just a fact, so if you disagree, look out for a skin rash! Guns don't kill people, it's the bullets in them that actually kill you. Aren't "energy bars" really just crappy tasting candy bars? Beverly Hills Cop is a great movie! Good workout music: Motorhead, Sex Pistols, AC/DC, Van Halen, Living Colour, Bad Brains, Billy Idol, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Bad workout music: Mozart, Buck Owens, Annie Lennox, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, The Beatles (sorry Richard). My motto is Don't Try. Music contains the secret to human existence and the molecules that are constantly being rearranged by the movement of various notes cast into the air is the forward motion of time and the expansion of energy and light. Good Loud is good, remember it was a Big Bang not a barely audible sigh. What's Good Loud you ask? Guitars, joyful screaming, Rock and Roll, any good music, fast cars, etc. Bad Loud? hand grenades, angry screaming, bad music of any kind, land mines, Kenny Chesney. How come we have smart people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Stephen Hawking and various scientists and business moguls and we can't stop global warming, our addiction to oil, stop genocide, feed the hungry, cure the sick or come up with a suitable answer to how to keep both sides of the pillow cool all night? I'm just asking...

¡Se hace el viaje de la costa oeste!

The West Coast tour is finally in the history books, and after everybody has a chance to take a little vacation, we get right back at it in Louisville on June 1 & 2. What a trip the last month has been! My Uncle Wayne is always kidding me about the fact that we take out 3 guitar amps with us when we tour. I finally had a chance to call him and tell him that, this time, 3 wasn't enough! I got my guitar back from the repair shop yesterday (Thanks Mike Lennon @ The Apprentice Shop!!) and Tim (Obrien) tells me that my red amp is fixed and ready to go. Still have to fix the 100 watt Obrien and my emergency back up amp. Maybe I should start taking 4 amps out with me! The new record is ready to come out on June 26 and we are playing the songs live every night in the show, so come check 'em out live! The June 17 gig at Buddy Guy's will be a special night for us since the record will be out a few days later. We are trying to figure out if we'll be able to sell copies of the record at the show or not. (fingers crossed!)
A lot of people asked me after everything that happened on the last leg of the tour, how I'm staying so up and positive? Even though I'm not really a negative person to begin with, I really think it's because I believe that 2007 is going to be the biggest, most amazing year yet for the SHB. We are sitting on the best record we've ever made, we have an amazing group of people supporting us and musically this band is the best I've ever been in. Just watch what happens!

When The Deal Is Done (or how to fight a fish)

Four lonely, haggard figures moved slowly across the desert floor. "Water...water", Chris moaned weakly. Richard took a long drag from his last cigarette and said, through a cloud of blue smoke, "Does anybody else have cell phone service out here?" Tom winced with pain as the strap from his Djembe dug deeper into his shoulder, "we've got to find some shelter, and get out of this heat,". "Yeah," said Scott, riding his Segway in circles around the group, "it's hot out here and I need to get down this idea I have for a new song. Plus, I'm really getting hungry." Scott whistled a jaunty tune and rolled out of sight over the next dune. Chris dropped to his knees, "I can't...go...on..." Richard reached down and placed a hand gently on the back of Chris' neck, and yanked the short hairs there as hard as he could, "You're on my bass case son."
Suddenly Scott came back over the horizon drinking a Starbucks, "I've got great news!" he shouted, "I found a cave that we can shelter in." Everyone cheered with relief. "There's only one problem, only three of us may enter."...

TO BE CONTINUED

The SHB and The Legend of the Lost Chord (or How Richard got online)

A harsh desert wind blew across the horizon in front of the group, burning their skin and robbing their vision. The trail curved first one way and then another. "This is worse than a pig trail!", said Tom. The equipment wagon rocked to and fro from the rocky terrain as Chris tried valiantly to hold the reins and steer. In the cloud of dust that surrounded the boys, only Tom, Richard and Chris could be seen. "Where's Scott?" Richard wondered, "Did he fall off a cliff? Was he lay ed upon by highwaymen? Did he find a record store?" Just then Tom noticed that the whine of the wind was growing louder and more pronounced. "What the hell is that?" wondered Tom, "It sounds like...like...FEEDBACK!"
Suddenly, right in front of the boys, a large silver ship descended from the sky. As it landed in the middle of the trail, 2 O'Brien 4X12 cabinets extended from either side of the craft and Scott's voice came booming out at 120db, "HEY GUYS! I FOUND THIS SPACESHIP IN THE DESERT BACK THERE. IT'S GOT ROOM FOR OUR HORSES AND A JACK TO PLUG MY GUITAR INTO!" With that, the air was filled with a flurry of notes that crashed into a whammy bar dive and the door to the ship opened. There was Scott, sitting on a large sofa playing his guitar. As the boys led their horses and the equipment onto the ship, Tom was struck in the back of the head by a cellphone. "Let's get out of here!", exclaimed Tom, "it's agents trying to change dates on our tour and they've got club owners and old people who just want to have dinner and not have to listen to music with them!"
"I'm trying to get us out of here, but the door's stuck!", said Richard, as another cellphone and a rock with a request for Sweet Home Alabama tied to it struck him in the forehead. Chris began to sob uncontrollably, "We're doomed! Doomed!" Scott grabbed his guitar and said, "Don't fret little bear, I have an idea."...

TO BE CONTINUED

The SHB rides again (or how Chris found the light)

The coals from the campfire were glowing with the last heat as Richard emptied the last of his coffee cup and swung into the saddle, saying, "Let's ride boys, we're burning daylight." The dust from the trail was held close with the morning dew as our four intrepid riders of the purple sage headed off into the violet dawn. With Tom riding point and Scott riding drag, they were sure that the equipment wagon would be safe from road agents. The first arrow caught Chris in the shoulder blade. "Injuns!" he cried. "No", said Tom, "it's worse...it's...clubowners!" With a bloodcurdling war cry of "TURN DOWN!" the pack of rouge club owner warriors swarmed our faithful little troop and tried to do them in. The air around the boys was filled with bar tabs and song requests. "Let's get out of here." said Scott, "We can out run them!" Suddenly Richard exclaimed, "Look! Up ahead!" It was a canyon rim, and the boys were headed straight for it...

To Be Continued

Western Tour '07 / Our story so far...

Blew up amp #1. Blew up amp#2. Blew up amp #3. Broke the headstock on my #1 guitar. Broke headlight dimmer switch. Broke trailer taillight. Lost 3 socks. Tom has dysentery. Have only 2 high "E" strings left. Can't find parts to fix amps. Paid amp repair man in Seattle to fix amps...didn't fix amps...Tom yelled at them and got half our money back. Tom threw up. It was very cold, now it's very hot. Motel 6 doesn't have Internet...they do have a Denney's in the parking lot...I hate Denney's. Borrowed amp (thanks Kyle). Richard says he's having a glorious day...I agree.

From Lettsworth To Legend

Get ready kiddies, here we go. The new record from the SHB drops June 26 (my birthday). It is called From Lettsworth To Legend - A Tribute To Buddy Guy. I am so proud of this record. It not only represents the music of my biggest guitar influence, Mr. Buddy Guy, but it also represents what I feel to be the best representation yet of the SHB as it sounds live. Like most of our records, we record them fast and live, no overdubs, and try to catch that elusive live edge that seems so hard to capture in the studio. I really think this time we got it.

Here's what you'll find:

1. Intro


2. First Time I Met The Blues


3. Damn Right I've Got The Blues


4. My Time After Awhile


5. Nice And Clean


6. I Dig Your Wig


7. She Suits Me To A T


8. Ten Years Ago


9. Nobody Understands Me (But My Guitar)


10. When My Left Eye Jumps


11. My Mother


12. Too Many Ways


13. One Room Country Shack


14. You've Been Gone Too Long


15. Outro

The songs were chosen by the following criteria; Buddy Guy wrote it or Buddy Guy recorded it and as a result owned it musically. Some of these songs, such as Damn Right I've Got The Blues, are songs that I played with Buddy while I was in his band. Others, such as You've Been Gone Too Long, are the songs that I learned when I first discovered Buddy's music. One Room Country Shack was the first Buddy Guy song I ever heard.

None of the songs were approached with the intention of imitating Buddy. That's not possible when you're talking about someone as distinctive as BG. We took each song, stripped it down to the lyrics and meaning and then built them back up like the SHB would do them. Richard and Tom are both at the peak of their powers on this record and I think it's the best recorded work for any of the 3 of us individually or collectively.

I really want this record to be heard. I was very disappointed by the way our last record got treated. The distributing label folded almost immediately after it's release, making it almost non-existent except at our shows. It deserved better. This record deserves a better fate also, and I hope it gets one. We're working with a new label this time around, Audio Fidelity, and they seem very excited about the project. I just want all of our fans to get a chance to hear it. Let me know what you think.

Dear God in Heaven

Dispatches / Pirates of Destiny in the Twin Cities

Day 7 Minneapolis. Look to the west, for the stars are in our favour. Watch YouTube and learn about Richard and his passions. Volume, both size and sound, cleanse the spirit and excite the mind. From Lettsworth to Legend / The Music of Buddy Guy. Track 9 played backwards is the secret to the universe.

Project X / Part Deux

So today, I met with my co-producer, Keith Kenyon, who I feel is one of the brightest stars in the recording field, and we listened to the final, mastered mixes of Project X. I can say that this record represents the very best recorded work that I have ever done. I don't say this lightly, or without considerable thought, but I really feel that this record, more than any other that I have done, represents the sound of the SHB live and un-adulterated. Once the ink is dry on our distribution deal, and a release date has been set, I'll go into greater detail about the project. I promise to describe every track, and give all the gearheads a veritable feast of tech type scoop. Until then, all I can say is that this is the very best record I have ever done. I am so proud of Richard, Tom and Keith for trusting me and traveling on this amazing journey. I am so proud of all of the support that all of you have shown us and I promise to make bigger waves this year to validate your faith in us.

Project X / F.L.T.L.

So after 4 months of hard work, the new record is about to see the light of day. At least it's closer than it's been. The final mastering should happen on Saturday (4/7) and then we get it to you in about 2 months. We are close to inking a deal with a label to distribute the record for us in the US and Canada, Europe to follow (fingers crossed!)
Wanna know what it is? I gotta wait at least one more week before I can tell you! It's a special project that is very important and personal to me. I can tell you that it is a raw, raw, raw record. Exposed soul, bare knuckles, naked emotions. Me, Richard and Tom, no overdubs, loud guitar, in fact, my O'Brien amps sounded so good that it was really hard to not play! On most songs, I just kept going and going! Thanks Tim for building the best amplifiers in the world!
I'm so excited about this year. I really feel like we're going to have an amazing year and I really hope and pray that all of you can be a part of it. I look forward to getting out on the road and seeing all of you and making incredible music with my band mates. I hope we bring you a different sound this year. We are working on some things that will completely blow up the idea of a trio, or as we like to call it; a 3peace band!
I shaved my head recently and a lot of friends and fans have been asking why. I'm not sick, I simply wanted to completely clean the slate spiritually and start fresh and new, with a new, energised spirit towards my work and my art. I want to approach the music this year in the spirit in which I first discovered it and understand it, as a gift from God and an opportunity to express the greatness and magnitude of His blessings.
This is going to be a great year for the SHB, let's make it a great year for everyone. Let's all work harder at creating a force of love and understanding. We'll do it through music, you do it through your individual art whatever it is. Remember, your art is what you do that is true to you and your expression. Music, painting, graphic design, selling shoes, auto mechanic, truck driver, do what you love and what you were put here to do.