Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Music Report for Sept. 21, 2005

I've got goosebumps as I write this. I'm listening to the recording of last night's amazing, stellar, interstellar performances at The North End pub. Jimmy Dormire (of multi-platinum band Confederate Railroad) was in town, and came to play. Play HARD. Atlanta legend John McKnight was also in the house, with serious intent. The lineup for this set was Jimmy, John, myself, Andrew Black, Rich Tomanio, and Gates Nichols. We had just finished an amazing Allman Brothers medley. Now Andrew Black is singing "People Get Ready", with Gates' big lush keyboard intro, and when the band kicks in it gives me chills. This will definitely go onto my media website when I finish editing the recording tonight or tomorrow morning.
Media site: http://www.ourmedia.org/user/40460

Speaking of my media page, "Leave Your Hat On" scored over 500 downloads in the first couple days! And I didn't even do anything to promote it - someone just 'discovered' it, I guess, and spread the word. Considering how relatively unknown OurMedia.com is so far, that ain't bad. Check it out, forward the link to your friends.
Leave Your Hat On: http://www.ourmedia.org/node/57285

John McKnight would like me to remind you that the Wednesday jam at Darwin's is still going strong. That's where I got back into the music business some 5 or 6 years ago, after 17 years offstage, thanks to encouragement from John (and Jon Schwenke, and Miz Kay the owner). I will always have a fondness for Darwin's, one of the only two blues clubs in Georgia that a major blues magazine found worth noting.

Thursday night I'm heading over to Nik's in Marietta for the jams with John Michael Rose, a favorite player & singer of mine. I'll be auditioning for a gig there. Stop on by, have some liquids, groove on the show, make some noise. (links below)

Friday and Saturday I'll be doing a jazz trio with Larry Griffith and Mike LeVasseur at Silk, 8th & Peachtree downtown. That's a very nice place, I highly recommend it.

Sunday I'll be playing at Nik's again, this time in a jazz combo behind Ms. Michael Broderick.

Monday I'll be back in the studio for some more demo work with Andrew Black.

And that brings us up to my favorite part of the week, Tuesday at The North End. You just gotta be there!

Tuesdays:
The North End Pub & Grill
5970 Atlanta Hwy (Hwy 9 at McFarland Rd.)
Alpharetta, GA 30004 678-867-6750
http://www.thenorthendga.com
8:30-12:30 (but sometimes jams on until closing)
GOOD food, kitchen open until 2AM!

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Another great night at The North End

Last night's weekly Tuesday jam at The North End was another winner, though it didn't feel like it to me at first. After a bit of warmup, though, things started to heat up nicely. Andrew Black and Heaven Davis both visited early on, but neither sang this time. Pete Waddell turned in a fine frontman performance, he gets better every week; likewise, newcomer Rich Tomanio has been playing bass with solid authority. A couple guitarist evacuees from New Orleans sat in and did a very nice bluesy set! I wish I had written their names down. They'll be in town another week or so, before they have to return to whatever's left of their lives. Larry Griffith told me we'll get an influx of quality musicians here, it seems he's quite correct. It only makes sense for musicians to choose Atlanta for refuge and possible relocation.

And finally, our Midnight Madness set went a little farther than usual - we had Theron Peterson on drums, Zoom on bass, Terry Bradley on slide and Gates Nichols and Keith Barnhart on dual keyboards. I brought out my redhead (or 'copperhead', depending on mood, just like the real ones) Ibanez hotrod guitar, and that just put me into the Hendrix mood. My pedal system has all the right Hendrix tones, and it was only natural to go into the feedback, spacey sounds and severe whammy-bar abuse that made Jimi famous (think Star-Spangled Foxy Purple Voodoo Banner). We did other things too - a funky, reggae version of "Thrill Is Gone", for instance. And I think I can say with confidence that "Bo Diddley" has never before been morphed into "Smoke On The Water". Another satisfying night.

Monday, September 05, 2005


GP solo show at The Crimson Moon, Dahlonega GA, Sept. 2 2005. Note the rosebud and tabasco bottle. The indian head was hand-carved by someone's husband during a long illness. Posted by Picasa

Rockin' the North End with Andrew Black

Tonight I had a nice little surprise gig - I had the night off from Larry Griffith Band at Kennesaw Billiards, but got invited instead to play with Andrew Black at the North End Pub, much closer to home. Also onstage were Jimmy Mouton on drums, and Jon Schwenke on bass. (I figure I've played about 200 shows with Jon since 2001, he's a great player and great guy.) We did stuff ranging from "People Get Ready" to Robin Trower's "Day Of The Eagle", plus some of Andrew's originals. I must say this was one of the hardest-hitting shows I've done in a very long time.

Tomorrow evening I'll be going into the studio with Andrew and Jimmy, and several other players to record a demo for our upcoming corporate act, Andrew Black and Sound Foundation. That band is aiming high, playing tight intense music from Earth Wind & Fire, Foreigner, David Bowie, and other high-end artists whose music is rarely attempted by most musicians.

Sunday, September 04, 2005


George playing sometime before Nov. 2004 - note that Buddy Guy's autograph has not yet been written below the bridge. Posted by Picasa

First Post

This is my first post. Testing, testing.
Is this thing on?

G