Friday, December 17, 2004

Music Report for Dec. 17, 2004 - Holiday Superjam

Hi Friends, if you've been to any of the Tuesday jams at The North End you know how good they have been. Well, they're about to get better! We have a special event coming this Tuesday, Dec. 21st, as our old friend Jimmy Dormire of Confederate Railroad will be back in town. If you don't know Confederate Railroad, you haven't been paying attention to country music - they've earned lots of awards and nominations (including Grammy) and multi-platinum album sales. Jimmy is a scorching guitarist in all styles, and we'll be havin' a big time. Don't miss out!

More about Confederate Railroad: http://www.confederaterailroad.net (read the "About" section) or just Google 'em and see how many hits you get...

Add this talent to the fine house band I'm privileged to work with (drummer Theron Peterson and bassist/keyboardist Gates Nichols, also of Confederate Railroad) and all the talented guests who've become regulars there (Andrew Black and Barry Richman, among many others) and you can see it's gonna be spectacular!

Our soundmeister, Tweak (also of Confederate Railroad) has gotten the stage and the room to sound really good, and has been experimenting with digital recording of the music there. He tells me he has fancy new recording gear on the way. If it arrives in time, this evening may just turn into a live CD, and it'll be a good one.

Now, to my guitar and bass students - I know most of you are still under 21, but I've checked and it's OK for you to come out with your parents and enjoy the show. Some of you may even get a chance to play with us. We're starting this special evening at 8PM, and there's no school the next day. C'mon out, I want you to see this up close, meet the players, and see how we do things.

OH, and be sure to try the food! I'm not kidding, it is WAY above average, and the kitchen stays open late.

The North End Pub & Grill
5970 Atlanta Hwy (Hwy 9 at McFarland Rd.)
Alpharetta, GA 30004 678-867-6750
http://www.thenorthendga.com

Super Easy Directions: From the south, come up 400 to McFarland Rd (exit 12). Turn left across 400 and go until the road Ts into Highway 9 (Atlanta Hwy). You're there. From Gwinnett, come in on Hwy 20, turn south on 400, and go two exits to McFarland and turn right. From other directions, adapt what I just said. Here's a map: http://tinyurl.com/555vg

That's enough for now - I have another very cool jam to tell you about at Kennesaw Billiards on Wednesday nights, but I'll save that for another post.

best holiday wishes,
George Price

Friday, December 03, 2004

Mike Martin goes Bigtime!

Hello Friends,
This is a note about my friend and sometimes mentor Mike Martin. If you haven't heard him, you're about to. Mike is an amazing player in every genre - jazz, classical, rock, whatever - but has somehow been overlooked and underutilized. That appears to be about to change. He's been picked up by some bigtime rockers, and will be getting a lot more exposure for his formidable skills. You'll even have a chance to catch him on TV, so get your blank tape ready. Please check this note out from one of my true guitar heroes.

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Mike's Notes December 2nd, 2004

Hello everyone! There has been much activity going on around here. I apologize for the delay in sending out the newsletter but things have really been just that busy! So without further ado, here's the news:

FOZZY
Over the past couple of months I have been offered the lead guitar post with the heavy metal group known as FOZZY. For those of you who know about the group, not much is needed to be said. For those of you scratching your heads wondering about the words "heavy metal" in a Mike Martin email, let me explain....

FOZZY is a great rock band that is basically comprised of members from Salem Ash and Stuck Mojo. Both groups are old friends of mine from years ago when I first moved to the fair city of Atlanta. The lead singer for the group is the internationally famous wrestler Chris Jericho. (this is about the time I expect many of you to really be wondering if I have lost my mind!)

Fear Not! I actually started my career as a shredder from back in the day. I was a little too young to get a chance to take advantage of the post 80's rock debauchery but my love for all things Jazz, Classical and Jimi Hendrix kept me busy!

For those of you not familiar with heavy rock, Stuck Mojo was, in my humble opinion, one of the BEST modern heavy bands to come out of the
90's. It is my absolute pleasure to get to play guitar with Rich Ward and the guys in this project. I have been blessed to play with some of the finest musicians in my career. No matter what style of music I have been called to perform, I have lucked into playing with the best. FOZZY is no exception to that.

For more info on all things FOZZY and Rich Ward please check out these links:

www.fozzyrock.com
www.thedukerocks.com

Both sites have full bios and pictures so you can get a sense of the history that is here.

The Big News
Playing for FOZZY means some pretty cool stuff
1. MTV music video shot in San Diego a couple of weeks ago soon to be in rotation.
2. World Tour. We will be playing all over the US, Europe, Japan and Australia in 2005 to support the release of "all that remains" due in stores January 18th, 2005
3. Performing on national television

That's right. Live on TV.

This monday, december 6th, on the SPIKE channel, we will be appearing live on the WWE RAW program. The show starts at 9:00pm so tune in and check me out with the FOZ!

We are also doing a run of the southeast over the next two weeks:

"The Fall That Remains Tour 2004"

Monday, November 29
Baltimore, MD
Thunder Dome
3612 Hanover Street
410-354-4700
All Ages
$9.98
Doors - 8:00PM

Friday, December 3
Playground Bar
873 Broad St
Augusta, GA 30901
706-951-6924
$10 - 21+
Support Act - American Devils

Saturday, December 4
The Jinx Nightclub
127 W Congress
Savannah, GA 31401
912-236-2281
10 Adv / 12DOS 21+
Support - Murder Junkies

Monday, December 6
Amos' Southend
1423 South Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28203
704-377-6874
$10
Support - American Devils

Friday, December 10
Soho
5751 Milgen Road
Columbus, GA 31907
706-568-3316
$10 - 21+
Support Act - American Devils

Saturday, December 11
Rivalry's
3986 Northside Drive
Macon, GA 31210
478-474-6684
$12, $10 w/WWE ticket stub
18+
Support - Camelspur

Sunday, December 12
Rhythm and Brews
221 Market Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
423-267-4644
$10 18+
Support - A


If we are coming to a town near you please stop in for a great show!

The Mike Martin Trio will still be performing around Atlanta and the southeast as my schedule permits. We will be recording a cd this winter with a scheduled release for spring of 2005. In between tour responsibilities for FOZZY and Rich Ward I will be touring to support my cd.

www.mikemartin.net will be getting a facelift in the coming weeks too so please check back for updates! In the meantime, here are some sound clips for your enjoyment:
http://www.allrightnow.com/fws/news.htm#Mike_Martin_091904

I hope to see you at the shows and that you enjoy the RAW performance on monday. You can send any and all feedback or comments to me by replying to this email and I promise I will read them all!

Thank you for you continued support!

Peace and Love,
Mike Martin
www.mikemartin.net

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Music Report for Dec. 1, 2004 - New Jam Venue: Kennesaw Billiards

Hi Friends, I told you Larry Griffith would get us a Wednesday gig soon, and sure enough he did. The new venue is Kennesaw Billiards (a.k.a. KBs) and it's located logically enough in Kennesaw.

Kennesaw Billiards 770-514-9900
3600 Cherokee Street Northwest Suite 107
Kennesaw, GA 30144

Take I-75 to Wade Green Rd, exit 273. Turn west (probably your left, unless you're coming from north of there). Go until Wade Green becomes Cherokee St. NW. You should see Kennesaw Billiards at the corner of Cherokee and McCollum Pkwy NW. (This is unverified, I'm using MapQuest.com, but should be OK.)

Also, we still have the jams on Monday nights at Crystal's On The Square in Marietta, and Tuesdays at The North End (Hwy 9 & McFarland Rd.) and both of those jams are drawing major talent and good crowds. The Tuesday jam was EPIC last night, and soundmeister Tweak has begun experimenting with multi-track recordings of the jams. What he got last night was great, I think with a bit of mixdown it could go right to CD. Many thanks to Andrew Black, Barry Richman, Steve Mays, Mike Hinton, and other guests for a stellar show!

Gotta run, more updates later. I've just returned from a great trip to Memphis with the Elvis trio (Harold Shulz & Franklin Bunn) and have cool stories to tell. I also have 21 shows in the next 31 days to tell you about, but I still have a few nights unused so book me while you can.

Remember, the last thing I want to do is burden you with unwanted spam, so if you don't want to hear from me I promise I will remove you from my mass mailing list upon request.

best wishes,
George Price

Monday, November 22, 2004

FLASH: New Jam Venue - Crystal's

Hello friends,
Larry Griffith just called with two more jam nights, to replace the one we lost when Fee-Lay Gumbo closed.

Mondays at 9PM at Crystal's On The Square in Marietta. Crystal's is very easy to find, it is on the main square as the name implies. No, they don't serve teensy hamburgers on yeasty buns. They do serve up a good time. We start there tonight, I hope to see you there.

Crystal's
150 Roswell St NE Marietta (770) 792-8840
For map & directions: http://tinyurl.com/6wxt3

He also has one in the works for Wednesdays, but nothing final yet. This being a holiday week we don't know quite yet whether it would start this week anyway. I'll keep you informed.

I mentioned in my previous email, which about 75% of you received, that my trip with Lola to play at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago resulted in her getting a record deal with Alligator Records. If you're interested, and didn't get that story, let me know and I'll send you a copy. I also mentioned that I'm beginning a new method of sending out emails - the method works, but the first program I tried was not so good. I'm now trying WorldCast, let me know if you have any troubles with it, or if you just want to be removed from the email lists (which I'm in the process of refining).

best wishes,
George Price

Music Report for Nov. 22, 2004 - YES! We got a record deal!

Hello Friends, Before the big news, this disclaimer: This is the first time I'm using a new method of emailing. It is supposed to help me consolidate & clean up my email lists, and I will of course remove anyone who tells me they don't want to hear from me. If you get multiple emails (you shouldn't) or see any other rough edges on the process, please let me know so I can make everything right. Thanks!

As many of you know, I went up to Chicago this weekend to play with Lola at Buddy Guy's Legends club on Friday. This was to be a showcase for Legends, for Alligator Records, and for a few other invited dignitaries. Unfortunately, we didn't actually get to play with Buddy as he had an early flight out to Florida for a show there on Saturday, but he was very nice to us and was kind enough to sign our guitars and a couple Legends t-shirts. We were told, however, that he did something very unusual when we played; he left his usual perch at the end of the bar and came around to the showroom to watch, and that we should take that as a great compliment. So, I do. The show felt good, but it was all over much too soon. After we played, we got lots of nice compliments from the patrons & staff, and Bruce Iglauer, president of Alligator Records, asked Lola for a meeting the next day. The next day, we dropped her off and waited. And waited. The tension was thick. When she came back, she told us she had The Deal!

What all this means for Lola and the rest of the band isn't certain yet, and Lola has been reluctant to give us much detail, but I do know I'll be lit up for a week. As new information comes to me, I'll keep you informed. Meanwhile, you better come to our shows while you can still get up close! *chuckle*

Links:
http://www.alligator.com
http://www.lolagulley.biz
http://www.buddyguys.com

Also, a couple reminders about the Atlanta jam scene: our beloved Wednesday nights at Fee-Lay Gumbo are no more, the restaurant closed its doors last week. If you were one of our Wednesday friends, please don't waste a trip out there. I haven't heard from Larry Griffith yet if he has something else in the works for Wednesday, but if he does get another gig lined up I'll sure let you know.

Meanwhile, there is a HOT NEW JAM at The North End in north Alpharetta, at the corner of McFarland Rd and Hwy 9. It's supposed to be a bluesy jam, but as you know, "things happen" when musicians follow their muse. The host band consists of me, Theron Peterson on drums, vocals and harmonica, and Gates Nichols (of Confederate Railroad) on bass and keys. The sound is kept sweet by Tweek (also of Confederate Railroad) who makes the stage a joy to play on, and to listen to.

Recent guests have included Andrew Black, Barry Richman, Greg High, John McKnight, Terry Bradford, Mike Hinton, Brad Jeter, Lara Polangco, Leszek Wawer and more. The performances have been epic! They will be back, and more players are coming out as word spreads.

Oh, and the FOOD! Everything I've tried so far has been way too good, and quite filling. Come hungry and enjoy. Lots of nice beverages too.

Players, bring your instrument (except drums, of course). We have a couple amps, but you can bring your own if you like. Listeners, just relax and have fun with us. No cover charge. We start playing about 8:30, and bringing the guest artists up after the first set.

Super Easy Directions: From the south, come up 400 to McFarland Rd (exit 12 I think). Turn left across 400 and go until the road Ts into Highway 9. You're there. From Gwinnett, come in on Hwy 20, turn south on 400, and go two exits to McFarland and turn right. From other directions, adapt what I just said. Here's a map: http://tinyurl.com/6nxtc

That's all the news for now. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might enjoy a good time.

best wishes,
George Price

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Music Report for Nov. 17, 2004 - Fee-Lay Gumbo CLOSED

It is my sad duty to report that Fee-Lay Gumbo has closed, so no jams there tonight. To all those who came out and played with us, or just hung out with us there, thanks for the good times. Now stay tuned, I'll be letting you know about any new jam gigs.

I'm still doing the Tuesday jams at The North End (corner of Hwy 9 and McFarland Rd in north Alpharetta), and those jams have been EPIC! Just ask Andrew Black, Barry Richman or Greg High what we did after midnight last night.
*chuckle*

I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

George Price

PS, please forward this to other jamgoers promptly to save them a trip tonight.

Monday, November 15, 2004

Music Report for Nov. 15, 2004 - New Venue

Hi Friends,

There's finally something cool going on in the Alpharetta-Cumming area.

I'm hosting a new jam at The North End in north Alpharetta, at the corner of McFarland Rd and Atlanta Hwy (Hwy 9). It's supposed to be a bluesy jam, but as you know, "things happen" when musicians follow their muse. The host band consists of me, Theron Peterson on drums, vocals and harmonica, and Gates Nichols (of Confederate Railroad) on bass. The sound is kept sweet by Tweek (also of Confederate Railroad) who makes the stage a joy to play on, and to listen to.

Recent guests have included Andrew Black, Barry Richman, Greg High, Terry Bradford, Mike Hinton, Brad Jeter, Lara Polangco, Leszek Wawer and more. The performances have been epic! They will be back, and more players are coming out as word spreads.

Oh, and the FOOD! Everything I've tried so far has been way too good, and quite filling. Come hungry and enjoy. Lots of nice beverages too.

Players, bring your instrument (except drums, of course). We have a couple amps, but you can bring your own if you like. Listeners, just relax and have fun with us. No cover charge. We start playing about 8:30, and bringing the guest artists up after the first set.

Super Easy Directions: From the south, come up 400 to McFarland Rd (exit 12 I think). Turn left across 400 and go until the road Ts into Highway 9. You're there. From Gwinett, come in on Hwy 20, turn south on 400, and go two exits to McFarland. From other directions, adapt what I just said. Here's a map:
http://tinyurl.com/6nxtc

Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might enjoy a good time.

best wishes,
George Price

PS, as for my other gigs, I'm still also playing Wednesday jams with Larry Griffith at Fee-Lay Gumbo (near Town Center Mall on I-75, see http://www.feelaygumbo.com). This weekend I'll be doing some Chicago gigs with Lola, including opening for (and possibly playing with) Buddy Guy. Last night we (Lola) took 2nd in the Atlanta qualifiers for the International Blues Challenge. So close! Next weekend, I'll be with the Elvis trio (http://www.webspawner.com/users/convertible) doing a few shows in Memphis on the Memphis Queen riverboat. Other gigs come & go, I'll keep you notified if something extra cool comes up. I hope to see you all soon!

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"Force without wisdom falls of its own weight."
-- Horace, Roman poet and satirist
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Amazing fact: CNN reported on 7/27/04 that the "peaceful transition" in Iraq is going so well that the USA is running out of bullets, and is buying them from Britain and Israel.
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Remember, the 9/11 attackers weren't Afghani, nor Iraqi. They were Saudi. If you want to fight terror, buy less petroleum.

Thursday, April 01, 2004

New Jam Venue: Blackjack Grill

Dear Friends, I'll be opening a new open mic jam night with Larry Griffith at Blackjack Grill on Thursdays at 8PM, starting this week on April Fool's day. We'd love to have you come out and enjoy the evening with us. The Blackjack Grill is between Roswell and Marietta on East Piedmont Road at Hwy 120 (Roswell Rd. NE), in the Publix shopping center.

Blackjack Grill
1050 E. Piedmont Rd. Marietta 30062
770-971-4222

So, I'm hosting jams at Blue Moon Pizza on Mondays with Larry Griffith, Wednesdays at Darwin's with Lola, and Thursdays with Larry again at Blackjack. I also have various weekend bookings, usually with South River Band. Plenty of chances to come out & party. The Monday and Thursday jams are in restaurants, so they're family friendly, relatively smokeless and early.

After the April 1st show, I'll be taking a week off for spring break. You may see me frolic on the beach in the upcoming video, "Grumpy Old Men Gone Wild" (not sold to minors). No lessons or shows that week.

Best wishes, George

(Please feel free to forward this to anyone who might enjoy a good time. And about that video... April Fool!)

Sunday, February 29, 2004

Cool Links & General Update

Here are a few diverse and interesting links, taken from the W2K techie news. Enjoy!
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This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff.

Homeland Protection: Bomb Vest and Briefcase Bomb Training http://www.sftt.org/article12092002b.html

Change the face of this lady with this face filter. You'll question photos from now on.
http://www.reallusion.com/facefilter/reference.asp

What is ID Theft and how to file a complaint. US Govt Site: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/consumertopics_bk.html

In Search of the Perfect Pork Martini. Repulsive and funny. http://www.echonyc.com/~jkarpf/home/martini.html

"Haiku is all about nature. True haiku all contain a "seasoning word" indicating the time of year, to put the reader in the proper frame of mind. It's not just the number of syllables per line that makes a poem haiku." Here are a bunch of true haiku which all seem to support that idea. http://www.takase.com/Haiku/Haiku.htm

Good-Bye Old-fashioned Mouse Pads... get the GopherCentral Mouse Pad. http://www2.pulsetv.com/st/prodinfo.asp?number=1833

Aerial Photos From World War II Online. Taken from the air, often at low altitude now available on the Net. 5,000,000 shots are being posted, covering every facet of the war. Give it a try at: http://www.evidenceincamera.co.uk/

For Techies. Cool network calculators! http://www.telusplanet.net/public/sparkman/netcalc.htm

Here is a list of known but unpatched IE holes. http://www.safecenter.net/UMBRELLAWEBV4/ie_unpatched/index.html

The latest, unique addition to your cubicle warfare arsenal: http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/681f/?cpg=edm6T

And finally, last night I went to see my friend Sarasota Slim at Darwin's. The article in Creative Loafing was right; as promised, he delivered a really enjoyable show as usual. The special bonus treat this time was that his Hammond B3 player couldn't make it, so Slim brought a phenomenal 16-year-old guitarist named Rick Lollar from Tallahassee. This kid knocked my socks off! His playing was perfect in every way - perfect tone, dynamics, phrasing, articulation and taste, with amazing speed when sparingly and artfully used. With my eyes closed I'd have sworn he was Larry Carlton. Then he started singing, and that was pretty good too. Keep an eye on this one!
http://www.sarasotaslim.com
http://www.ricklollar.com

Best wishes, I hope to see you all again soon.

This week's schedule:

Monday - Open Jam at Blue Moon Pizza with Larry Griffith
8PM-12 2359 Windy Hill Rd Se Marietta, GA 770-446-5219

Wednesday - Blues Jam at Darwin's with Lola Gulley
9PM-1AM 1598 Roswell Rd. Marietta, GA (770) 578-6872 Voted 2003 "Best Of Atlanta" - Creative Loafing On Hwy 120, 1 mile east of The Big Chicken.
http://www.darwinsblues.com

Friday & Saturday - Country & rock with South River Band
(includes former members of Barry Richman Band) Mickey Dee's, Covington GA 770-385-9880 Just off I-20 exit 90, in Save-Rite shopping center, behind Waffle House

Remember to vote, see you soon! George

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I notice that "rights management" never favors MY rights.
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One easy page to validate virus & chain-letter hoaxes:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
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Support our troops. Bring them home alive.
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