2012...When she's dreaming and the other thing...

New Years. A reset. A Do-over. Like rebooting your computer. Fresh as a daisy. 2011 is in the books. What a year! It’s been a year of wars, victories, lies and scandal and that’s just in the SHB! Joke! Actually, once again, I’ve been blessed with an amazing group of people who have made it a year that feels like one big WIN! (No offense Charlie Sheen!) I’m proud of the band and the way we’ve been able to create music and entertain people. Our drummer, Marshal Weaver left the band in August and it was a rough time for me for sure! I never made any official announcements about it, just because it hurt! Marshal and I have been friends and family for a long time. That’s how it is when you’re in a band; you’re family. Forever. Marshal and I have had more of a brotherly relationship that anyone in the band; we both can really piss each other off, but if someone comes between us, God help ‘em! I think that’s where the best music comes from. It has to have an edge. I’ve always said that I hope people love us or hate us but anything in between is apathy and that’s the worst thing in the world. Marshal’s one of the best drummers I’ve ever worked with and certainly one of my favorites. I truly love and respect him. I know whatever he does he’ll be amazing. 

 What a miracle that Tom Larson, former SHB drummer, would be willing and able to step in and fill the gap! I can’t believe the blessing! Tom is an amazing percussionist and also a brother and another favorite musician/drummer. He played in the SHB for several years before leaving to pursue other musical opportunities. The SHB’s like the Mafia; you never really leave...

 Dan Eubanks is leaving now to pursue his solo career. I truly hate to lose him! He’s been a brother on the road and we’ve gone through stuff that you couldn’t imagine. I’ve loved the music that we’ve created and he’s made me a better musician by being here. He’s an incredibly gifted songwriter and singer. If you’ve seen any of the shows in the last few months, you’ve seen Dan opening the gigs with amazing solo sets. You’ve seen the Dio jacket, the Big Nasty perch on top of the bass rig and the sheer rock and roll on the right side of the stage. He’ll be successful and my love and respect for him will remain unabated (I used a football term just for you D!). 

 So what’s next? I’m really not sure. I have a lot of music written, a lot of gigs to play and I’m looking forward to 2012 and creating a new body of work. The videos that I’ve been posting on YouTube are works that we’ve recorded over the last year. They’re slated for recordings that might never see the light of day, (at least until I’m dead and my daughter releases the box set!) I hope you dig the videos and I really hope you dig the songs! I’m very proud of them. You know, there are a lot of free programs out there that allow you to record the audio from YouTube to your computer. I’m just saying that it’s an interesting fact. Sometimes after an artist posts 10 tracks or so, he might even post a running order to let you know how he’d sequence the record. Not that I would ever condone recording the audio from the videos I’m posting! I’m just saying it’s possible and they’re good songs that I’m proud of. 

 In the South, we have a New Years tradition; the tradition is to eat turnip greens, black-eyed peas and hog jowl for New Years Day. It’s supposed to bring good luck for the year. I’ve eaten it every year for the last 35 or so and I have to say, it must be working! Luck or blessing or whatever, I’m so grateful for my wife and daughter, for the family and friends that I have, you all have enriched my life beyond measure. May God bless you as He’s blessed me for the coming year! See you soon!

LOUD IS GOOD!

"I'm giving her all I got captain..."

 I really can’t say enough about the great band of guys I am surrounded with. This weekend was a great example of the talent, focus and determination that these guys are putting forth daily. We’ve been having some kind of mechanical issues with our touring vehicle and thought we’d fixed it by staying in Moscow, ID for 4 extra days a couple of weeks ago. No luck! After an uneventful ride home the problems came back about 250 miles into a weekend run that had us going just north of Chicago and then to Quincy, IL., before getting back home in time for Easter. 

 After an incredibly useless stop at a mechanic on Saturday, we limped through the weekend and made it home in time to celebrate Easter with our families. I couldn’t have done that with any other group of guys! Dan, Marshal, Pappy & Shelton; Thank you all so much for your dedication, energy, talent and belief!

...when she's dreaming

Just got back from the latest recording sessions in Minneapolis. (Snuck out in 18” of snow before another 12” fell!) We are in the process of recording a new project. Tentatively titled; ...when she’s dreaming. We’re calling it an acoustic record, but hopefully it will be more than that. We did make a rule that the only “electric” instrument would be Truth’s B3, so we’ll see if we’re able to keep it like that! In the process of recording, we actually put down a couple of songs that will be on a later, somewhat larger project, more about that later. I’m really happy with the reception that Kudzu is getting. We’re getting a great response to all the songs every night and it’s really great to see our fans really “getting it” so to speak. Being able to create music is my favorite thing to do (second favorite thing actually...) and suddenly it feels like we have no limits in what kind of music we can make and that feels great! If you haven’t checked out Kudzu yet, what’re ya waiting for?!? Go to iTunes or Amazon and download it right now!...I’ll wait...:)
Buff and Olivia give the new stuff their thumbs up so hopefully we’re on the right track! Look for the new stuff later this year and until then BUY KUDZU!!!

Rock n Roll...

Rolling across Montana on our way to Chicago. I am always awed by the beauty and diversity of our country! I love driving through the mountains and then the plains and crossing the great rivers. For a kid who loved to read about history in school, it’s always a thrill to see these things in person, even if it is often through the windshield of a van doing 80 mph!! We just stopped for lunch in Missoula, MT at a great burger joint called The Missoula Club. Awesome, old school cheeseburgers!! (If you’ve ever been to the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, it’s like that)
The shows have been going great and we’ve really been enjoying the addition of Lightnin’ Joe Peterson on keyboards. Joe is also a great harp player and that’s really added a great dimension to some of the more traditional blues songs that I love to play.
Since my last post, I celebrated my birthday in Chicago with my wife and closest friends. We played Buddy’s club on Friday night and then I got to accompany Buddy to the Crossroads Festival on Saturday and watch Buddy in action with Jonny Lang and Ron Wood. After a quick trip home, we hit the road for Boulder, CO,; Moscow, ID; Salt Lake City, UT (best sushi restaurant Takashi!!); Anacotes, WA & Ritzville WA. At every stop we’ve been welcomed by great crowds and had a blast playing. The new record is almost finished (really!) and should be out in the next few weeks. I’m excited to get it out and see what ya’ll think of it. It’s a different kind of record from anything I’ve done in the past, that’s for sure.
The next couple of weeks will find us in Chicago, Milwaukee, London ONT and Windsor ONT, Baton Rouge, as well as a rare Nashville show early in August. We’re playing material from the new record every night and I’m really excited that people seem to be digging it. Stay tuned!

Who's Dog Is This?

Sitting here listening to the rough mixes for the new record and I wanted to write about some of the times we had creating this thing. First off I should say that I am more proud of this record than anything I’ve done creatively, ever! I went in with the intention of making an old style “album” (remember album’s from your ancient history books kiddies?). 10 songs, a side A and a side B, and you can drop the needle (figuratively of course) on the first track and listen to it all the way through, or you can embrace the iTunes world we live in and sequence it any old way you choose!
We recorded in Minneapolis, at The Terrarium, with my band and co-producer Truth on keys, (anybody remember Machine Gun at Shaw’s that night???). My friend and amp guru Tim O’Brien made up the third member of our production team and with the help of our ninja – engineer Rob Oesterlin, we cut 13 tracks in 6 days, counting all overdubs!! 8 songs the first day alone! Trust me, that’s pretty quick. A friend pointed out that I always say the latest record is my best yet, so while I say that again this time, I really mean it!! I’ve never been involved with a record project that has this much soul in it. Every single person involved with this record gave 110%.
Things I learned and observed while making this record;
1. The human body can exist on a scone and 3 gallons of coffee with a quart of black tea for dessert per day for a period of 6 days!
2. You can haul $100,000.00 worth of really cool vintage amps into the studio and set them all up and if you use O’Brien amps, it will be a waste of time.
3. Start every project with a prayer. Invite God in on the deal and you’re guaranteed to have an environment of positive energy and creative bliss.
4. The following things are nuisance in the studio; sleep, food, chairs.
5. Unusual but necessary items for this record; Big Nasty, Dave Gardner albums, a shotgun, iPhones, WD-40, lighter fluid, a really really (really) nice pen!
6. Making records is supposed to be fun.
7. Truth is the best vocal/acting coach in the world!


We started planning this record about a month ago. Truth, Tim and I set up a Skype thing and had several pre-production meetings on line, picking the tunes and getting them into shape. (Our last meeting was supposed to be at 10:00pm on an off night at home for me and I fell asleep and missed the meeting!!). We drove in from our last gig in Vegas to my business partner/manager’s house in St. Paul and spent the next two days rehearsing the songs (and basically destroying his house in the process! Seriously, both toilets, washing machine, garbage compactor…it was pretty amazing considering we were being really careful!) First day in the studio, we cut 8 songs. Our rule was simple; no more than 3 takes. Anything more and the vibe’s in danger of being lost. If we couldn’t get it in 3, we left it. We never had to do more than three takes!
So what did we end up with? A record like nothing I’ve ever done before. The best thing I’ve ever done and a record that I am so proud of that it’s hard to explain. Stay tuned for more info soon! LIG!!

...my kind of town...

Here we are in Las Vegas, getting ready for the last show before we hit the studio! I love Vegas; the Rat Pack, Elvis, Howard Hughes, Liberace, Wayne Newton... My wife finally explained it to me once, when I told her I didn’t know why I loved Vegas so much, she said, “It’s because it’s on ‘11’ all the time.” TRUE!! So how did we get here you ask. We drove straight out here from Nashville and what a trip!! The first day was a good drive and we got to Oklahoma City by 2:00 am and decided to stop for the night. The next day it was a killer lunch at the Cattlemen’s Cafe (16 oz. Porterhouse w/salad and potato and a piece of coconut cream pie the size of my head!) and on to Vegas...or so we thought! Just outside of Albuquerque the weather went from mild and breezy to wild and freezy!! After dodging our share of wrecked vehicles on the interstate, we finally went into a ditch about 17 miles outside of Gallup NM. The only real damage was a flat on the trailer. Gallup NM closes at around 10:00 p.m. and no one was interested in helping the SHB get to Vegas before 6:00 am. Unfortunately, this information didn’t become clear until we had exhausted 3 hours or so trying to find help. Get yet another hotel room, this one for roughly 3 freezing hours of sleep (by the time the room started to warm up it was time to hit the road). We find a tire store to fix the tire, find a roadside service to get the tire on (yes I can change a tire, but it’s too many details to explain why!) and we hit the road at 9:30. Now, here’s the challenge; We have to be in Vegas by 3:00 p.m. local time to go do some local television, it’s 365 miles to Vegas, after getting my MF brother Keith to help me figure out the mathematical formula to determine what our consistent speed should be (yes we really did use an algorithm!) We started rolling at said speed (not the legal limit per se...)which, on dry clear surface, would be no trouble...then it starts to snow...again. Then, it stops snowing, the sun comes out, the roads are clear and we get up to speed. Then it starts to sleet...the roads are solid white, which could be just a covering of snow or something slicker! Then it stops snowing, clears up and we think, “whew!” Then it starts to hail...I’m on the phone with my wife and she mentions that sometimes hail is a precursor to a tornado...Dan, who’s driving, says “look in the rearview mirror”...you know what it is, A TWISTER!!! At this point, we are committed like the proverbial pig at breakfast, so I decide that if the next things falling out of the sky are frogs and locusts, we are NOT gonna be late to Vegas. By this point we’ve called the PR people and assured them we’ll be on time. It is live TV so it’s kind of a big step to be 235 miles away and say, “We will be there for sure.” but if you’ve been following us you know the SHB is not easily dissuaded. I am proud to say that even with a trailer search at the Hoover Dam and more rain and traffic, we pull up to the front of the hotel at 2:58 p.m. local time! We celebrated with dinner and a trip to the strip for a while. Marshal was fortunate, Dan was wise, Milburn was giddy and I was reassured that guitar should remain my focus rather than professional gambler! Tonight, if you’re in Las Vegas, and why wouldn’t you be, I hope you can make it out to see us. Tomorrow we start making our way to Minneapolis to record our next record tentativley titled; “Who’s Dog Is This?” (no that’s not the title, but it would be a mysterious one don’t you think? The phrase comes from one of my favorite movies, that’s your clue...western...John Ford...John Wayne...that’s all I’m saying!!) L.I.G.

The Stars In Their Courses

Well we made it to the great white North for a week of shows in Edmonton @ Blues on Whyte and a couple at Bud's in Saskatoon before heading back to the states to do ND, MN, IL & SC. Yes, by the way, Illinois is quite a drive from South Carolina! Yesterday was one of those adventure days we run into some times. After a late start out of Helena MT, we crossed over into Canada at the Sweetgrass Border crossing without a problem, (really nice border guards there, every time!) and started making our way to Edmonton. The whole way we're trying to decide if we'll stop on the way or make the whole drive. It's not that far, but it is pretty bad weather for a group of guys from the south. Make it to Calgary around 7:30 pm and decide to grab dinner and press on. Extroidinarily sloooooww service makes dinner last 2 hours and we get back on the road and decide to press on. At Red Deer, we stop for coffee and Marshal takes the wheel. I take shotgun and rare back to sleep for the 3 hours or so we have left to drive. I wake from a dead sleep to see nothing but white, the van is spinning and Marshal and I are both yelling, (mine was "we're okay!!, we're okay!!; Marshal's was something to the effect of "shut up!! shut up!!)
Next thing, we're in a ditch, 3 foot snow bank, front of the van about 4 feet from the right hand lane. After assesing the damage and calling for a tow truck to get us out of the ditch, we spent the next threee hours thanking God that we had plenty of gas to run the van and keep the heat on (-11 degrees!! brrrrr!!!), and not letting us get killed of course, and watching as 18 wheelers screamed by 4 feet in front of our grill! Several kind people stopped to check on us, including a Dodge Neon containing one very inebriated giant, (we thought he was going to eat Milburn, but he just wanted to be friends) he offered to push us out of the ditch (with his bare hands from what we could understand) when we told him we'd just wait for the tow, he wished us luck, told us we sounded like Garth Brooks, a slowly drove away with his flashers going and his trunk open. We all said a prayer that he'd get wherever he was going safely.
the tow truck arrived and pulled us out of the snow bank to reveal a flat on the trailer. First we think maybe the wreck just knocked the tire off it's bead and lost air but using Mr.Tow Trucks compressor revealed that there was also a large hole in the tire. We unload the trailer to get to the spare (remember the picture; edge of the highway, -11 degrees, sleeting). When we lift the trailer to change the tire, we realize that the springs on the right side are broken off! After a quick call to my mechanical advisory data base (Uncle Wayne!) we decide that the only choice is to make our way sloooowly to Edmonton and get it fixed on Monday. As we make our way (every knuckle white I promise!) we see a small Dodge Neon in the distance; could it be?, IT IS!! The Drunken Giant!! Flashers still going, trunk still open, pulled over the shoulder of the road! Thank God! the rest of the story is basically the same; get to Edmonton, get lost and drive around the city for 1 hour before we finally find the hotel around 6am. All that aside, God continues to take care of us and I've got a really great gig, great family, great friends and a great life! Sorry if that sounds like bragging, but none of that is my doing!!

Jingle Bells!!

Saturday night’s Christmas Benefit was an awesome time, (if you were there, you know this of course). For the last 5 years, Keith MF Throneberry, Xtreme 4X4, Natalie Stovall and an army of volunteers and friends have put this thing together and raised over $40,000.00 for a local charity that benefits underprivileged kids at Christmas time to insure that they receive toys for Christmas. This year, over 350 people attended the event! The money is raised and given to our local paper; they in turn purchase and distribute vouchers to people in the community that have registered for this program. All of the money goes to the charity; all of our people are volunteers. My band, Natalie’s band and all of the Xtreme folks work this thing for free.
This year we were joined by the Knoxville based band Dishwater Blonde, an incredibly funky group led by my friend, Davis Mitchell. They also, donated their time and effort making the 6 hour round trip just to play! The venue, Sports Page was donated by its owner Cliff. This year we also were blessed to have one of our local Nashville news anchor men Neil Orne from WKRN donate his time as our MC. For the last couple of years we’ve had an auction during the event to try and raise as much money as we can. This year we had a football autographed by Kyle Vanden Bosch of the Tennessee Titans and a guitar signed by George Thorogood. The guitar and other items were donated by mine and Keith’s friend Chuck MF Lanza. Not only did Chuck donate and ship us a ton of memorabilia from his personal collection, he and his lovely wife flew in from New York to surprise us and make the weekend even better! For the first time in history, the MF mafia, (Keith MF Throneberry, Chuck MF Lanza, Kempf MF Poole and me) was in full effect, and nobody even got injured!
All the bands sounded amazing and I have to say that my guys blew the roof off the joint! For the last couple of years we’ve been joined by my old friend Hodge Cook on keyboards. Hodge is one of the best musicians I’ve ever known and having him donate his time and talent just amazes me. For me this gig is too much fun! It’s usually one of the last gigs we play before the end of the year and it’s always too much fun. This year we ended up opening the whole “mental jukebox” and playing everything from Christmas songs to Rock and Roll All-night, and Party Everyday by KISS! The show closing jam, with a rotating mix of players from all three bands and special guests clocked in at close to 2 hours on its own and was a blast to be a part of.
Once again, it is impossible to fully explain the workload that Keith MF Throneberry is under for this event. ALL of the heavy lifting is his; ticket sales, organization, venue, etc. From the minute planning starts in June, Keith is on it every minute. If you bought a ticket, Keith handed it to you, if you bought a t-shirt, Keith signed off on the design. He arranged the food, the drinks, and the sound, the …everything! Keith never gets enough credit for the hard work he puts into this thing, so BIG Ups to him!!
Thank you to everyone who attended contributed or just sent up positive prayers for us. It is all appreciated and needed! If you missed it this year, start planning now to see us in 2010!!! Happy Holidays!

How to create special glasses to look at the sun.

A snapshot of life on the road finds us all piled up in a single motel room, watching a General George S Patton Jr. marathon on the History Channel. Since I’m currently reading a book about Patton, I am neglecting to tell the guys that we’ve already seen this episode earlier today…I don’t think they really care. For a guy who hates off days, this tour has had more than it’s fair share (7!!) Even Marshal commented today at sound check that it felt weird to actually be playing! At least we do 5 shows in a row starting today and then home! Lunch today at the diner in Tilton was surreal. I bet Buffy $100.00 that she couldn’t guess what I had for lunch and she guessed it immediately (hotdogs). I now owe her $100.00. How could she have known?!!?
Random thoughts from today that lead nowhere; I changed the working title of the new record today, I’m curious to hear how my friend Chris Duarte’s gig at the Tugboat in Steamboat Springs goes considering we got yelled at for 2 days about volume at that same gig and Chris plays pretty loud, I just read a face book entry from a popular guitarist who was complaining about his 18 hour BUS ride and how it just sucks the life out of him, I then read that entry to my band who are no strangers to 20 hour VAN rides (playing a gig first then driving 20 hours and then playing another gig before finding a bed) they thought he was very funny and very sad. I seem to have plenty of clean clothes left in my suitcase, but I wonder if I have enough to finish the tour without doing laundry? It’s a really beautiful day outside and I am thankful for that. I feel sorry for people who are pissed off and negative all the time, I have bouts of that from time to time and when it’s over I’m ashamed and embarrassed to be so blessed and manage to forget it to feel sorry for myself. I doubt if the people that I’m referring to will read that and realize that I’m referring to them! For 3 days we were frequenting an independent coffee shop in Rockland ME. They offered a different organic coffee each day. One day the coffee of the day was called Organic Mexican…I was required to order a large Mexican. The next day, it was Organic Ethiopian… I was required to order a large Ethiopian. I felt very international but very uncomfortable. At least at Starbucks you are ordering a Grande Pike or a Grande Komodo Dragon which sounds very exotic and not quite so “18th century slave trader”! Yes, I could have ordered a small Mexican or a small Ethiopian but I find them less stimulating or satisfying. They also had great cookies. So far on this tour, I’ve read On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Unforgivable Blackness by Geoffrey C. Ward and now I’m reading Gen. Patton by Stanley P. Hirshson. I bought a hard back copy of Alana Nash’s book about Colonel Tom Parker yesterday for $3.00 so that will probably be next. Colonel Parker was never in the military, he wasn’t an American citizen, he WAS supposedly an illegal alien, he enjoyed elephants and he managed the entire career of Elvis Presley which, by the way, was only really 20 years long! That might be an interesting argument for immigration; If Colonel Parker had been deported before guiding Elvis’ career, might we have never had rock and roll?

If you are going to eat corned beef in NYC, you are going to pay...oh yes, you are going to pay!

So it’s no secret that my major musical influence is Jimi Hendrix. He’s my “Big Bang”. My Elvis…actually, Elvis is my Elvis, but you get the idea. So we’re in New York City to play a gig at The Ace of Clubs. What’s that you say? Never heard of it? Don’t feel bad, apparently no one else has either! Anyway, we get through playing the gig and we’re hanging out with Chuck MF Lanza, the MF Mafia’s prime minister of our Northeastern Operations. We decide to go over to Electric Lady Studios to touch the door. Yes I am that “fan boy” about Jimi!) Just in case you don’t know, (and if you do, just bear with me or feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph!)In 1970, Jimi Hendrix wanted to build a night club in NYC as a place to hang out and jam with his musician friends. This turned into deciding to put a small studio in the back of the club and then finally deciding to build the most state of the art studio in the world. 13 months of construction later, the grand opening of the studio was held on August 26, 1970. Hendrix recorded his last studio recording there and left the country fro his final European tour. He died on September 18, 1970. Given his transient lifestyle for most of his career, Electric Lady was as much of a home as he ever had and as such it’s the Hendrix version of Graceland!
We get to the studio, in the pouring rain at midnight. I mean pouring rain! Biblical rain! The front door is actually a false front and then the original door in just inside (the one I wanted to touch!) We open the door and start shooting pictures when a voice comes over the intercom; “Can I help you?” Someone’s inside! Richard answers, “We just want to come in a get a photo.” No dice. “You can take all the pictures you want…from outside.” Once I realize that someone’s home, I decide that the only acceptable end to the evening is a look inside. After 30 futile minutes of begging and cajoling and shameless name dropping (most of it accurate…most of it…) we decide to call it a night and go to the hotel. Those of you that know me well know that giving up isn’t something I’m particularly good at, so my night was spent formulating my strategy for getting in! I asked CMFL to use his contacts (he has many) and I would hit mine and between the two of us we should be able to find some kind of way inside. Yes I realize in the grand scheme of things this seems like a lot of effort for something so …so…ehh! Anyway, it’s a challenge and as I said before, I don’t do ‘give up’ very well. I won’t name drop in this part of the narrative, but CMFL reached out to the likable manager of a very famous guitarist. A person who has spent a lot of time recording in Electric Lady and should be able to pull off a private tour. “Good luck” was the response from this person (who’s identity I cannot reveal!) “You won’t get in.” Now the gauntlet has been dropped! Telling me I can’t do something is like calling Marty McFly a chicken! (You know what movie I’m referring to!). I call a record label owner in Nashville that I’ve worked with in the past (name withheld to treat all participants equally…even though HE was able to come through better than the manager for the famous guitarist, from the 1970’s rock band…I can’t tell!!!) Lo and behold, we get an invitation from the studio manager (super nice guy! From Tennessee!! Lee Foster! His name is on the website, so figure it’ ok to say his name since he was so gracious.) We go back to the studio with CMFL and the SHB in full force and get to see studio A, the wall mural in the hallway and both restrooms, all still in the original condition from when Jimi was here! Because of a recording session, we couldn’t do more than just peek our heads into the studio, but it was enough for me…for now! The original plaque bearing the name of the studio, the VIBE!!! The list of musicians that have recorded in this place is endless. Billy Idol, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, even famous 1970’s rock band KISS, whose original guitarist was ACE FREHLEY! It's an endless list to be sure. I was so awestruck by finally getting the chance to check out a place that I’ve always wanted to see. I just wish Buff had been with me (of course, I know my baby, she would have been looking at me going, “yeah babe, that’s nice.” and thinking, “How much longer are we going to have to be here?”) Now I’ve got to figure out how to record there…hmmmmm.

Why you always pack long pants.

One week into the North East leg of the tour and things are going good. Except of course that no one here got the memo that winter is over!!! 41 degrees today and rain! We’ve had some really great shows, especially in some of the new areas like Mount Airy NC (birthplace of the Andy Griffith Show & home of Snappy Lunch and the greatest pork chop sandwich in the world!)). I could do without the land of toll booths. In DC, we went (at 11:00pm) to see the White House. My first time ever in 20 years of touring! We walked around the entire perimeter and Milburn got yelled at by the White House police for his “street gymnastics”, apparently not a welcome addition to the stately environs of our nation’s capitol! We also, earlier in the day visited the graveside of Roy Buchanan, one of the best guitarists I’ve ever heard (no you can’t find his grave without asking, so don’t bother trying.). Really enjoyed the gig at Bangkok Blues and hope we get invited back! This is a great job to have, I highly recommend it! Our needs are simple; electricity (to power Tim Obrien’s monstrous red beauty of course), room to set up and just stand back! Tonight is Red Bank NJ and it’s Cinco de Mayo so, even though it’s an acoustic show (…shhhhh…), gird your collective loins Jersey! Special thanks to Andy Jones for a stellar new fret job on #1! (I will call you soon to brag Andy, I promise!)
Tour Fuel (so far): Jeff Beck @ Ronnie Scott’s DVD, Motley Crue (Shout at the Devil and Dr. Feelgood), Aerosmith’s first record, Miles Davis’ Tribute To Jack Johnson (the boxer not the surfer), Jane’s Addiction DVD, Frank’s Pizza, Doyle Bramhall II live at the Great Wall Of China, Pearl Jam’s Ten, Krazy Glue, always Jimi, and the ‘bucks of course (yeah caffeine!!!) I am living on Starbuck’s oatmeal and dreams at the moment!

The sword and the saucer

This tour has been like a screaming rollercoaster! One of those rollercoaster’s that they have in horror movies, with flaming skulls painted on the sides of the cars and barbed wire for seat belts and the operator is an old disfigured man with a maniacal laugh that haunts you in your nightmares for years after you’ve escaped…sorry, I got carried away. I haven’t time to really sit still, much less blog, so I’ve got a lot to tell. We started in Rogers AR about 30 years ago…(or at least 2 weeks ago). Great shows in Rogers, we saw Jeff and Trina and got our traditional post show photo in front of the van (different drummer every time!). Then we drove 19 hours to Salt Lake City UT. As a side note, did you know that the Starbucks in Rock Springs WY closes at 6:00pm!?! Great shows at The Sun & Moon Café, always a pleasure to play there. We visited Steamboat Springs and discovered that sometimes we’re just too loud…sometimes…nah! Paonia CO was another unexpected surprise. Great Mexican food and the gig, while a small turnout, proved to be a real fun experience. So much so that, since we were off the next day, they invited us to play the next night also. We went for a hike in the hills during the day and tried to kill the band with thin air and long climbs! Jake’s Roadhouse in Arvada was the best time we’ve EVER had there. A couple of days hanging out in Boulder CO, and then it was off to The Buckhorn Bar in Laramie WY, another favorite place of the SHB. Cunningham Journal in Kearney NE was a blast, Blues on Grand in Des Moines is always a fantastic place to play, thanks Jeff! Sioux City and Davenport IA were a couple of wonderful stops. On our way to Minneapolis, we stopped of in Clearlake IA and paid our respects at the crash site of Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly. 40 mile an hour winds and really cold temperature made it a short visit, but we decided to drive by the Surf Ballroom, where the last gig of the Winter Dance Party was played, and get a picture. We got there and discovered that the place was open and we got to go in and look around. Checked out the dressing room, the stage and all the memorabilia. Richard ran into a really nice guy named Wayne that worked there and after explaining who we were, he gave us a great tour that included a piano played by Duke Ellington, the Pepsi machine that Waylon Jennings used and the phone booth that Buddy used on that fateful night to call his wife. An awesome stop and a great treat.
So now we’re in Minneapolis. Last night we went to Shaw’s, Bunker’s and Nick & Eddie. Some of our favorite places to hang and listen to music. So to sum up the trip so far, it’s been play music, Mexican food, drive, play music, Mexican food, drive, play music, breakfast at Starbucks, drive, play music, pizza, drive, sleep, play music, record store, Mexican food, play music, drive. Seems easy when you say it like that…

American Idol cancels season!

So far the tour’s going good, we’ve done 5 shows so far and the first one, in Rogers AR, seems like a million years ago. That’s one thing about the road; time just absolutely stops making any kind of sense. One day feels like a year and a week can seem like 20 minutes. We did a radio show a little while ago. Check it out at www.kvnf.org I’m in a really nice room right now, with internet for only the second time on the whole trip and I’m looking at a fake mustache. It was here when we got here, but it’s disturbing nonetheless.
What’s the deal with fake mustaches anyway? Does anyone ever really wear them with the intention of trying to make you think that they’ve actually grown a mustache? I think most actors these days actually grow whatever facial hair is required for the role. I bet that was really Kurt Russell’s mustache in Tombstone. I was in a major motion picture once and I didn’t wear a fake mustache. Of course, my character was; “Scott Holt, guitarist with Buddy Guy” and in my research for the role, I learned that “Scott Holt” didn’t have a mustache; just an unfortunate shaggy haircut that I thought looked fine at the time. I don’t know for sure, but this particular fake mustache doesn’t look real. Of course it’s not in its natural habitat (on some guy’s lip…or unfortunate woman’s lip for that matter); it’s just lying on the table. Mocking me with its faux importance. As if to say, “I am a fake mustache! I might have come here from Hollywood for all you know!” What if the last person who stayed in this room was a spy of some sort and the mustache was part of their disguise? Maybe this was the room for their stakeout and when the mission was over, they forgot to pack the fake mustache away in its special spy carrying case. Usually when you see someone in a movie using a fake mustache, they have a case with all sorts of fake facial hair pieces. I think a good disguise would be to completely cover your whole head in fake hair. Then no matter who you came in contact with, they wouldn’t be able to tell it was you! Like cousin It on The Addams Family. I once saw a guy wearing a Darth Vader helmet and it was impossible to tell who it was. No, before you ask yourself out loud, that wasn’t all he was wearing, he had clothes on but he was wearing the Darth Vader helmet…on his head. It could have been anybody! Jerry Lewis, Elvis, Barbara Stanwick, the guy that plays Benjamin Linus on Lost, Pat Sajak or Nipsey Russell, (I’m not sure if Nipsey Russell is still alive or not, but he was always great on game shows with Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly). Match Game, Cross Wits, What’s My Line. I’m not to sure that The Darth Vader helmet would be a good disguise though, unless you were at a Star Wars convention. The only one in my band that doesn’t have facial hair is Marshal. I think I’m going to ask him to try on the fake mustache and see if I can still recognize him. I bet I can.

If you'll suck my soul, I'll lick your funky emotions

So Saturday night, we’re driving back from Gulf Port Mississippi. The temp there is 65 degrees. Buff keeps telling me that there are winter storm warnings for our area (about 7 hours north) and a 30 degree difference in temperature. We get to Tuscaloosa AL and there’s no precipitation or anything, just really cold. Tuscaloosa is about 3 ½ hours from home so I figure we have this ride just about licked. Marshal takes over driving and I’m in the front seat riding shotgun. I fall asleep around 2:00 am and wake up at about 4:00. When I open my eyes, I see what looks like low hanging limbs coming over the side of the road and it looks like we’re drifting into them! My mind, which is still pretty groggy, thinks that Marshal’s fallen asleep and we’re about to wreck. I don’t even turn to check if this is the case, I just grab his shoulder and start yelling, “AAAHHHHHHH!!!” Marshal, who is NOT asleep, starts yelling back “AAHHHH! Shut Up! Shut Up! Shut Up!” For a good 5 or 10 seconds, we’re both yelling at the same time “AAAHHHHH!”
What I didn’t realize in my groggy condition was that it had been snowing HARD for about the last 2 hours and the road was invisible. The snow was coming down so hard that if you looked straight out the windshield you’d become disoriented from the golf ball sized snowflakes coming directly at you. Marshal had been driving in this crap for 2 hours with a death grip on the steering wheel with everyone in the van asleep. Then out of nowhere, I wake up, grab his arm and start yelling “AAAAHHHHHHH!” While it wasn’t funny at the time, I’m cracking up right now as I type this! It was like a scene from Planes, Trains & Automobiles or something.