Lately I’ve been fighting a craving for a banjo, I see the wonderful rendition of a Dock Boggs song (below) and I’m almost out the door to buy one….
Or should I get a mandolin?
Making a long story longer
I'm kind enough not to bore you with this stuff in person.
Lately I’ve been fighting a craving for a banjo, I see the wonderful rendition of a Dock Boggs song (below) and I’m almost out the door to buy one….
Or should I get a mandolin?
Yesterday marked the first of what will hopefully be many Freedom House sessions, this time with Rocksploitation. Recordings will be available soon.
Check out the new Rocksploitation site – designed and built by me.
In this case, Blind Willies in the Highlands on Sunday night. Judging the reaction of the small but appreciative crowd, it sounded good.
It seems that the impromptu pairing of myself and a bass player has resulted in a gig of sorts, which means we need a name.
Any thoughts anyone?
From the quite talented (both technically and in performance) Keith Lokey last night
“Your voice isn’t very good, but it is appropriate”.
In northern Virginia, Teresita Jacinto said she feels less welcome today than when she first arrived 30 years ago, when she was one of few Hispanics in the area.
“Not only are we feeling less welcome, we are feeling threatened,” said Jacinto, a teacher in Woodbridge, Virginia, about 20 miles southwest of Washington.
…
“I think across the board all of us feel like we’re not welcome,” said Jacinto, who was born in the U.S. and volunteers for an advocacy group called Mexicans Without Borders.
Perhaps it’s because she’s feeling unwelcome because she’s advocating an unpopular cause?
I came across this interview with Ann Coulter on JamBands.com, evidently she’s quite the fan. Favorite Quote:
Moreover, I really like Deadheads and the whole Dead concert scene: the tailgating, the tie-dye uniforms, the camaraderie – it was like NASCAR for potheads
Most interesting fact
My collection of Dead tapes, by the way, was the reason I heard one of the Linda Tripp tapes before Ken Starr did. Tripp’s lawyer obviously needed to hear the tape before turning it over to the prosecutor, but he only had an old 1950’s tape player and couldn’t get it to work and Ken Starr wanted the tape the next morning. He was terrified he’d hit the wrong button and erase the evidence. In the wee hours of the morning, it occurred him, a Deadhead himself, that he knew one person in D.C. who definitely had a tape machine. So, at around 2 AM, he called me and asked to come over to use my tape deck.
I was in Chicago last week so I didn’t get a chance to do the in appreciation post, but here is this week’s.
This week’s in appreciation is the Grateful Dead. While I’m not a huge fan of the music (I love Old and in the Way, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band is quite good) they stand out as true American icons, especially for artists. Not only did they commit to a style of music and a style of life, they created it first. And seemingly with the attitude that it’s better to have a small achievement than a great excuse (to paraphrase Hoffer). They spend 30 years doing what they wanted to do without asking favors or permission. Contrast that to the Live 8 and the Live Earth crowd and they become a marvel.
So, Grateful Dead, you get this week’s In Appreciation.
My first ever gig at Limerick Junction was a success. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The songs “I Miss Ronald Reagan” (written by Tommy Womack) and my song “Heroin and Cheetos” seemed to go over particularly well. My would-be guitar showcase of Bonaparte’s retreat fell a bit flat. The room sounds noticeably different when full than when half full and that threw me off a bit as the set progressed.
On the whole a good night. The A-Sides rocked as usual. The photo was taken by my brother, who also recorded the show.