George Price's Blog

Peekaboo!

2011-05-25T12:23:00.002-04:00

Hey, I know I've been a bad boy about posting to this blog. I'll try to do better. I guess I've been mini-blogging on Facebook instead. Hey, come visit me there!

http://www.facebook.com/george.price

Flooded, but alive

2009-09-23T10:29:00.002-04:00

By now you've probably heard about the record-setting rainfalls and flooding here in the Atlanta area. Our house is on a hill, so like nearly all Atlantans our homeowners insurance didn't include flood insurance. This turns out to be a mistake, because as far as the insurance companies are concerned, any water that comes from the outside in is flooding, except if it comes in through a puncture to the house caused by the weather (such as a tree opening up the roof). When there's up to 20 inches of rain (I think we were in an area that only got 15) a house that's dug into a hill becomes a concrete boat. Concrete turns out to be porous under pressure, and unnoticed cracks become large leaks, as in leaks that spew a stream like a little boy peeing. It doesn't take very many of those to sink a concrete boat.

We bailed and vacuumed as hard and fast as we could until 5:30 AM Monday, when we just couldn't go on. I learned I can fill an 8-gallon shop-vac in 9 seconds, but it takes 25 seconds to dump it and resume. Multiply that by all those hours, that's how much water I personally moved. At 9:30 we were awakened by the crash of a huge tree falling outside our bedroom. A big oak had taken two trees down with it, and just barely grazed our house without damaging it. A large branch had broken against a sliding glass door without breaking the glass. We resumed work at that point.

I put an SOS on Facebook for any friends with shopvacs and pumps who were ready to work. Three folks did show up, one friend and a couple I hadn't met yet. They worked hard with us until midnight. I'm touched and forever grateful.

Tuesday was a day of shock and exhaustion. Our whole downstairs, where I do most of my living and working, and store most of our stuff, was up to ankle deep. The drywall and paneling are damaged, and the carpet and parquet floor are ruined.

Today begins the mind-numbing amount of work and financial burden. I will not be online very often in these future weeks except for a daily email check. It will take a lot of gigs and guitar lessons to pay for this, so I do hope you'll keep me in mind. Also please remember that now's the time to book Santa for your parties, home visits, office surprises, etc. http://www.SantaGeorgePrice.com

Guitar Student Recital 2009

2009-05-17T13:24:00.004-04:00

I'll add to this post later. Yesterday was the recital for my students at Music Do-Re-Mi in Norcross. There was much cuteness and intense concentration, supported by enormous pride and love from the audience (and instructor). This photo is my group, click to enlarge.
Do-Re-Mi guitar recital 5/16/2009
Back row: George Price, Stephanie Gibbons.
Front row: Lindsay Norrell, Brett Leal, Patrick Nercessian, Mark Burkett, Phillip Woolever, Bryce Honore, Viveka Mannam

A Fine Time in New Orleans

2009-04-09T11:10:00.007-04:00

I've been having a wonderful time in New Orleans. We started Monday with an hour or so of car touring, just to get our bearings and see what we wanted to see. Found a rare parking spot on Canal St between Sak's and Harrah's, pumped the meter full of quarters and hit the street. Took just the briefest pass up Riverwalk, then a short trolley ride to French Quarter, then the mandatory tourist stop at Cafe du Monde for cafe au lait and begniets. Then a brisk walk through French Quarter back to the car - it had all taken longer than we thought, we had already passed the 2-hour limit on the parking meter. Headed west on I-10, got stuck in heavy delays and took the next available exit, which turned out to be Metarie. Rode that street and it turned into a bridge, but not just any bridge - this was the Causeway, a bridge out over a lake so huge that we could see no land on the other side, like an ocean! Gave up on that after a while and took one of the turnarounds they put in every five miles or so. Came back to Metarie and got a room for the night; I hate sitting in a room when all the fun is outside, but tomorrow would be better.

Tuesday we lucked onto a parking space at Decatur and Iberville, and the parking meter was broken, so we got free parking most of the day! Walked through Harrah's casino (where a standard Starbucks coffee is $2.18 rather than $1.77) and noticed that for some reason the restroom signs were marked in English and Vietnamese. Back to Riverwalk for a browse through the shops this time, then out to the riverside and down to the ferry dock where you can get a ride across to Algiers (pedestrians free, cars $1). Had lunch at Drydock, then walked through a couple blocks of amazing old homes on Algiers point and back to the ferry. Walked back up Canal to Bourbon St and started into the colorful FQ. Just past the Hustler Club was a kind of alleyway beer garden called Bourbon Rocks, and I heard a band soundchecking inside and practicing Layla. Sounded like fun so we went in. I watched them for a few minutes then introduced myself to the guitarist, a good guy named Glen Farley. I told him I'd been advised to hit some jams while in town but hadn't found any yet, he said I could try a song here and use his guitar. He didn't ask what style I played, and all I knew about his band was what I heard of Layla, it was just that simple. The would start playing in ten more minutes, at 3:15. We walked up Bourbon a couple more blocks, and by the time we came back the band was playing some classic rock favorites. We watched them for about a song and a half before Glen called me up. The band was beyond competent, but I decided to keep it simple for a first song and I started "Keep Your Hands To Yourself". That went well, and I was invited to stay and play along for a second song, "One Way Out". Then a third and fourth. Glen came back onstage and played a few, then called me back again! I played a couple, he played a couple, back & forth the rest of the afternoon until they finished at 7:15 without a break. The band was very nice about introducing me often to the audience, and several people came up to Barbara (or me when I was offstage) asking for cards, asking to take my picture (I had my Santa glasses on) or just bringing compliments. Some of them were from Atlanta, wanting to know where else I play. I really felt well received! One very nice audience member was telling me where else to go play, but as a stranger in town I had a hard time keeping up with his directions in my head.

After the band finished, Barbara and I walked out onto Bourbon and went deeper into the party district, where the street is barracaded to allow pedestrians only. There were a half-dozen bands or more on each block, and it was still early Monday evening! We ran into the same guy who was giving me directions earlier, he and his wife were walking back home to the exact area he was recommending (called Frenchman Street, where the locals go for their drinking and music, kind of a Little Five Points vibe). Lucky us, this nice couple (Kent & Michelle Payne) took us under their wings and walked us there, giving lots of local info as we went.

We arrived much earlier than the band, so the four of us ate dinner and chatted a bit before going back and watching the next band, fronted by a guitarist named Wolf. I dropped a tip and asked if he took sit-ins, he said yeah after a few more songs. That stretched out past 11:00, most of the audience had left (oddly, they left in one lump, about 25 of them at once! Turns out they were Tulane students who apparently came in a bus) and I was about ready to give up when he called me up. I hit my funky version of "Gimme One Reason" and that went well, and I was asked to play another so I said let's change it up a lot and I did my slow, smoky "Ain't No Sunshine". Both songs got huge responses, and literally every person in the club including the band, band guests, the remaining dozen or so patrons and club owner came and shook my hand. Make a guy feel good!

By this time it was about midnight, our car was still on the street and we hadn't secured a hotel room yet, so we caught one of the many cabs that patrol Frenchman Street and rode the mile or so back to our car. It was still there, still whole, and no tickets. Relief! Once back in our comfy little cuccoon, we headed back up I-10 to a motel district about 10 miles out, scored a room and fell over. We'd had a great day, but we'd been touring mostly on foot for about 14 hours, and we went to sleep before our heads hit the pillows.

Wednesday we headed home, but we'll be back! Big thanks to Glen Farley, and Kent & Michelle Payne, for really multiplying our fun many times over. Props also to Wolf, and to CJ Solomon, another musician who enthusiastically invited us to a real jam night on Wednesday (remember the other shows weren't even jams) and I'm sorry I didn't stick around long enough. Next time!

I'm still experimenting with all the cool stuff you can do in Google maps, but here's an annotated map of what we're talking about. Click the markers. Zoom in and try the Street views, they're fun!

View G&B's New Orleans Trip in a larger map

Here's one of the street views, the front of Bourbon Rocks. Go fullscreen and take a stroll down Bourbon Street; too bad the photos were apparently taken on a Sunday morning.

View Larger Map

Dangerous new definition of "FREE"

2009-02-20T19:19:00.003-05:00

My friends, there's always someone out there who will lie to you. Because I thought you should know, here's this from BoingBoing:

When is a free credit report not a free credit report? When it's from freecreditreport.com

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, February 20, 2009 1:59 PM | permalink

I wrote an article for PC.com on my idiotic blunder of signing up with freecreditreport.com. In short, don't go there. If you want a truly free credit report use annualcreditreport.com, not freecreditreport.com.

I clicked on the large bright orange button that said "Get your Free Credit Report & Score!" and was presented with a form. I filled it out. I hesitated for a second when the site asked for my credit card number, which it stated was "required to establish your account," but the site assured me that my "credit card will not be charged during the free trial period." Having done this before (or so I thought), I went ahead and entered the information. A shopping cart receipt indicated that the total was $0.00.
I got my credit report, looked it over, and forgot about it. A week later I was looking at my checking account register online and I noticed a $14.95 charge from a company called CIC*Triple Advantage. I didn't recall buying anything from a company with that name, so I entered "CIC*Triple Advantage" into Google. The search results made my eyes bug out of my head. This was the name of the billing entity for freecreditreport.com. The thousands of search results were full of words like "deceptive practices," "scam," "ripoff," "unauthorized billing!" and "beware!" In fact, all the top results were either from people complaining that they'd been conned into signing up for a $14.95 monthly credit monitoring service without their permission, or they were about how to cancel the service.

When is a free credit report not a free credit report? When it's from freecreditreport.com

Disclaimer: I can't verify from personal experience what FCR does, but I do know that entering freecreditreport.com into Google brings up a lot more warnings than accolades. It's smart to learn from your experiences, but wise to learn from someone else's.

Tres cool homebuilt ukelele, plus great song

2009-02-11T14:57:00.004-05:00

Allow me to introduce Shelley Rickey, an artist/performer in Netherlands. She built this little uke (and by the way, it's pronounced OO-kelele), but just wait til you hear her sing! You'll find her cool blog at http://www.shelleyrickey.blogspot.com

Speechless, but not songless

2009-01-14T20:40:00.004-05:00

Here's a really awful commercial for a Microsoft product called Songsmith. The idea is that you can sing a melody (we hope) and the software finds the right chords to go with it. Interesting idea, but the music they chose is awful, and the whole commercial is hilariously bad. Definitely "sub-prime".

On the brighter side, this software may have some merit. If it gets people to sing, that's good, and I have a hunch the computer will be a bit picky about pitch so you'll be encouraged (forced, actually) to learn how to sing in tune (sorry, Kanye). And the music itself will probably develop if anyone buys this, so that future songs won't sound so much like third-world MIDI karaoke. I understand you can download this software here, but that page is not responding for me at the moment (maybe overcrowded). Let me know how it works for you. (ps, am I mistaken or is that an Apple computer the girl is using? One more chuckle at Microsoft.)

Much cooler is this device from Electro-Harmonix called the Voice Box. It picks up where the vocoder leaves off; it doesn't just superimpose your words onto a musical sound, it actually listens to the notes from the voice and the instrument, and creates the appropriate harmony parts! I wish more musicians could do this.

If you get either of these, tell me more.

"Womanizer" - stupid word

2009-01-14T12:03:00.002-05:00

Ever had a word suddenly start sounding strange to you? Neurologists say this is common, a brief glitch in the connections to the language center of the brain. But I think that "womanizer", the title of Britney Spears' current annoyance, stands on its own merit as a really stupid word. (I won't even comment on the waste of Britney's actual singing talent, which her recordings almost never display)

I mean, think about it. According to all other usage, the "izer" suffix means this is something that converts something into a new thing. So a man called "womanizer" would be someone who converts something (probably human females) into a woman. Wow, is he really that good? Or maybe he is a surgeon?

It would be just as stupid to call a female a "manizer", unless she's so talented and instructive that she could truly make a man outta ya. Then again, so could a good drill sergeant, probably in different ways.

Tell me what you think. Who could qualify, and how?

Getting the new year rollin' (and rockin')

2009-01-08T11:53:00.000-05:00

(This is a retropost of an email sent out on Jan 8th. You can always find my updated schedule in the yellow widget on the right of this screen)

Well, by this time the holiday decorations have been put away, the relatives have gone, the hangovers have subsided, and it's time to get things going to the extent your resolutions will allow. I've got just the thing - live music.

This Friday (and the next two) John, Jon and I will be performing with Heaven Davis. Our show together at the Peach Drop went smoothly, if coldly (it was 37F when we were onstage, and a cutting wind). Having about 75,000 watts worth of lights on us helped some (so did two layers of thermal underwear), and that along with about a quarter megawatt of sound gear and a huge stage really brought out the show. After the shock wore off (about two songs in), I felt great and could've done the whole night. I hope some of you were out there - probably so, since the final tally was about 175 thousand attendees.

But back to this weekend. We'll be at Jimmy Mac's in East Cobb, workin' it with hot blues and R&B. This is a good venue for our kind of party, so come out and shake your tailfeathers.

Jimmy Mac's
2940 Johnson Ferry Rd
Marietta, GA 30062 (678) 352-9595
web: http://www.jimmymacs.net

Saturday I'll be performing with Rich Tomanio in support of Laura Simon at the East Atlanta Ice House, as part of a festival she's putting together around her CD release party.

East Atlanta Ice House
543 Flat Shoals Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30316

Enjoy the rest of your week, and I hope to see you soon.

PS, if you're lucky enough to still have a job, again I urge you to get a web-based email account such as Gmail.com or Yahoo mail, and move this and all other personal email to that address. Then, don't access that email from work - you're being watched, and the harder times get the harder you're watched. Remember to keep me updated!

Why Dogs Become Killers

2008-12-22T12:38:00.004-05:00

Some of my friends have a little taste for the gothic and grotesque. But I wonder, are their stomachs strong enough for this?

These women are lucky to still have their trachea. See even more here.

Customized Google map!

2008-12-12T12:39:00.007-05:00

Here's a little test of a relatively obscure feature in Google Maps: you can mark them up yourself, and save them! Just right for when Google doesn't have something placed quite right, or (rare) not at all. You can draw roads, shapes, put placemarks, write descriptions, it's all pretty cool. Then you can embed the live map, not just a static image, right into your email. Helpful for your Christmas parties!

This is a live map showing the correct location and entrance to Elevation Chophouse & Skybar. You can drag the map around right where it is, or click to see a larger version of the map. Click the blue items and see what happens.

View Larger Map
In other news, I've learned that I'm playing two shows with Heaven Davis on New Year's Eve: first is an early slot at the Peach Drop event downtown (around 7pm), then out to Elevation for the main event.

New Santa vid & pix

2008-12-11T13:27:00.004-05:00

Hi friends, I just wanted to share some new things with you.

First, this shot from Alpharetta Athletic Club's annual Santa event, shot by Ellen Nolen of EagleShotz.com event photographers. I had a great time at this shoot, the photo crew was great to work with, the kids were adorable, and I hope to get clearance from the parents to post their photos soon. (click photo to enlarge, as usual)

Then from Elevation comes this cool little video Christmas card: http://tinyurl.com/5utlwq

Also from Elevation is this slide show, mostly taken from an office party on Dec. 4th (which was when the video above was shot). Thanks and Happy Holidays to Vascular Surgical Associates.

Watta Weekend!

2008-12-07T21:05:00.005-05:00

Things started cooking on Thursday afternoon, when I met up with a client at the local Target/Starbucks for briefing on a Santa home visit. She had photos of the key family members, with their names on the back, for me to memorize. She had written detailed staging instructions, schedule, and directions to her house that she says is too new for GPS or Google Maps. She asked if I had a Santa bag, because she had "a few toys" for me to hand out - turned out to be a LOT of bulky stuff that I spent a half-hour trying to find a way to fit into my big bag, popping a few stitches, and almost too heavy for me to carry.

When that was done, I came home and caught a brief nap before heading out to Elevation in Kennesaw where I needed to set up the bandstand early, then go into hiding and become Santa for shmoozing a party of doctors at Elevation at 6:30, followed by the band show at 7:00. Michael, the manager at Elevation, had a videographer shooting me (in HD no less!) partying with and playing for the crowd; by Saturday, he had put together a cute little video montage to use as a Christmas card. I'll post the link as soon as I get it.

Friday, I went to Norcross to teach the students I had to reschedule from Thursday, then back to Elevation for the Friday night show which was monopolized by a company party that makes furnishings for McDonald's (they distinguished themselves by leaving zero in tips).

Saturday I had cleared my day of students; got up way too early and drove down to Newnan for a neighborhood Santa show there. Adorable kids, and an elf who had driven 2 hours from Gainesville to help entertain them. No pro photographer, every parent (and grandparent) had their own camera, so lots of comedy there. Back to Roswell in time for late lunch, then up to Ducktown for the home visit (the one with the big bag and Mission Impossible planning). Hid my car, snuck in through the kitchen, then down the stairs to the family room where everyone was gathered (but only my client and her husband were expecting me). Passed out the gifts, gathered the small kids for a reading of Night Before Christmas, then made my sneaky exit. Got home for a nap and a breather before heading out to Elevation for the evening show. Saw some old friends and their wives, an unexpected pleasure, and my granddaughter Lauren made a rare appearance with her friend Claudia.

The coolest thing (by far!) of the evening for me was the liquid nitrogen margarita, pictured here. Amazing, with the fog erupting up out of the mixing bowl, just like one of Mr. Wizard's most spectacular demonstrations! And dangerously good too; if they make a pina colada like that, you better just call me a cab right now.

Sunday was the Santa show I had been most looking forward to, as I had booked it back around August; a Santa sitting at Alpharetta Country Club, shot by EagleShots Photography. The kids were adorable and some of the photos look good enough for magazines; as soon as we secure rights from the parents, I'll put some up. After that, home for an afternoon nap and a long day of hanging out with Barbara, catching up on TiVo and playing her favorite non-golf activity, Rummicube.

So, it's been a good weekend; tiring, productive, satisfying. I hope I can keep on suffering like this for the rest of the month.

Gigs this weekend 12/4-6, and beyond

2008-12-04T12:32:00.002-05:00

This is a quick one to tell you about a public Santa visit and gig, combined! I'll be appearing as Santa George this Thursday at 6:30 at Elevation Chophouse & Skybar (link below), at McCollum Field (Kennesaw airport). This is a nice place; the food reminds me of Little Alley, but it's much roomier and has a raised stage. They even have this extra spectacular dessert, ice cream made at your table with liquid nitrogen. Showy! Then I'll be playing with my trio from 7 to 10, doing the smooth music early on and getting to the party music as the night progresses. The management and staff are very pleasant, equal to the excellent food & drink; you'll like this place.

Then we're playing most Fridays and Saturdays in December there; Dec. 5-6, 12-13, and 19-20. The hours then will be more like 8:30-11:30.

Elevation is located on Chastain Rd (McCollum Pkwy NW), west of Kennesaw State University (tell your KSU friends there's some live music nearby!) and just east of Hwy 41. Turn in on Cessna Lane and you'll come right to it.
web: http://www.elevationchophouse.com/
map: http://tinyurl.com/6ho83d

I still have a few timeslots available for Santa visits. You can check out my Santa photos at my Santa website, and call or email me anytime.
http://www.SantaGeorgePrice.com

One last thing - if you're getting my emails at your work email address, I urge you to get a personal account and use that instead. I recommend Yahoo mail or Gmail rather than an ISP based account like Charter or Comcast. Especially in this gloomy economy, companies monitor your email and that's one of the first things they'll use against you when they want to get rid of you. Also, I don't make it past some corporate spam filters. And another last thing, I've been having trouble getting emails sent from Bellsouth internet customers, so if you get no response or a bounce from me, leave a message on ReverbNation.

See you soon, and I'll have some funny Santa stories to tell. Here's one right now: last Saturday I did a photo shoot for Roswell Neighbor newspaper. Today the paper came out, and there's a huge color photo of me right on the front page, with a cute little 3-year-old on my lap. She got her name in the paper, I didn't. Who's more famous now? *chuckle*

Bailouts costing more than NASA's lifetime budget, New Deal, Marshall Plan, other wars, COMBINED

2008-11-25T10:32:00.006-05:00

The Internet just keeps amazing me. I'm actually finding posts about books that haven't even been written yet. Here's one I ran across on The Big Picture, about a new book called Bailout Nation by Barry Ritholtz:

"In doing the research for the "Bailout Nation" book, I needed a way to put the dollar amounts into proper historical perspective.

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars! So far.

People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.

Crunching the inflation adjusted numbers, we find the bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion!

"If they are too big to fail, make them smaller."
-former Nixon Treasury Secretary George Shultz, said about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

I like this website in general, explore it for yourself:

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/

WTF?!?

2008-11-24T12:49:00.006-05:00

I've always loved random acts of non sequitur creativity. Here's a good one: someone left a perfectly good piano and bench, ready to play, beside a walking path in the woods. I would so love to be hiking with my sweetie, come across this, and sit down to play "Love Is Where You Find It"... or "Ohhh, sweet mystery of life, at last I've found youuuu..."

"Discovered by a woman who was walking a trail, the Baldwin Acrosonic piano, model number 987, is intact -- and, apparently, in tune.

The piano was at the end of a dirt road, near a walking path to a footbridge in the middle of conservation land near the Cape."

Homeland Security has not yet issued any statement. Read the whole story, including the obligatory bad musical puns. What would you like me to play? I'm taking requests.
CNN.com: Mystery Piano found in woods

How cheap is your life?

2008-11-18T12:28:00.002-05:00

Pretty cheap, as it turns out. This is from an article in TechRepublic.com about the amazing sophistication and depth of computer crime. This part of the article talks about how they're getting so efficient that the price of the product is way down - the Wal-Mart of crime.

Given this level of sophistication, do we have any sense of the value of our information? I do, and it isn't hopeful. In fact, it doesn't make me wonder that there is a growing trend to market infrastructure to harvest this information. While it is precious to you and I, this report from FraudArena tells me how little my personal information is worth. I'll give you a high-level look, but check the site.
$1.50 credit card number, cvv2
$5-$50 stolen medical ID card
$6-$18 basic identity information
$6 British passport number and bank details
$7 hijacked PayPal account with credentials
$14-16 fulls" are a complete set of data identifiers, i.e. name, address social security number, bank account, and mothers maiden name
$30 Passwords and codes to access consumer credit reports
$30-$300 immigration papers with a social security card

Your personal identification is not terribly valuable (except to YOU) and can now be harvested by criminals with an infrastructure as sophisticated as the company you work for — and, in some cases, more sophisticated. This should be at least a wake up call for anyone with a laissez-faire attitude about their personal security.

Halcyon Way blew me away!

2008-11-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

I saw metal band Halcyon Way do a Halloween show (thanx to Reverend Su) in 2007, and was very impressed. Their sound is described on CD Baby as "combining the heaviness of bands like Slayer, the technical prowess of Dream Theater, and with vocal melodies reminding you of Ronnie James Dio's best work", and I think that's pretty accurate. Besides being very competent musicians, they put on a good stage show and were even in costume. Beyond that they were funny - my favorite thing in a live performance, which is part of why I love The Tubes. But the mix was muddy, and though I could see guitarist Jon Bodan's fingers moving I could barely hear him. (Too bad, as the trained eye can clearly see how disciplined and educated his playing is, whether you hear him or not)

Sometime in 2008 I saw them again, opening for Circle II Circle, at the same venue. Again the performance was good, had even improved, but the mix was still muddy. When Circle II Circle came on, they put their own guy on the mixer and it cleaned right up.

Last night I attended their CD Release Party (Nightmare Records) at 3 Bears in Marietta, a much better venue, and the sound was much better. This performance was stunning! I saw what appeared to be an arena-level act, complete with wardrobe and synchronized video, crammed into a local-level stage. I got myself a seat directly on-axis with Jon's amp, near the sound booth, where the sound is always best. And I enjoyed the best show I've seen in ages. The sound was deep and ballsy (they tune to drop-C#) but full spectrum and amazingly good, making the other local acts on the bill sound like a wagonload of pots & pans on a rough road by comparison. I suspect they reinforce their sound with some studio tracks, but because they play so tightly it's not obvious, it's just very very rich.

I highly recommend this band and their new album, "A Manifesto For Domination" which you can preorder now on Amazon.com. Or, apparently cheaper at CD Baby. Or you can go buy a CD, shirt, and other merch at an actual Halcyon Way show which I'm sure you'll enjoy. You can find some sound samples on their MySpace page and probably on the CD sites soon.

Oh, and in the process of interviewing Jon Bodan on my radio show (hear it here), I got to know that he's very into science fiction books, and enjoys all things steampunk. And that, for some reason, he wants to hire midgets, which we learned you can do at HireAMidget.com. Who knew?

uh-oh, Little Alley gig is over.

2008-10-17T12:50:00.001-04:00

Well folks, it's been a good long run but my band is no longer playing at Little Alley. 80 weeks, nearly two years, and there have been some wonderful memories there. Please stay tuned and I'll keep you informed where to find us. That will be made much easier if you'll please click the widget up at the top of the page for ReverbNation, which will put you on my opt-in email list so I can take good care of you. I also maintain a schedule there. Thanks!

Oh, and remember to book me (as Santa, or musician, or both) for your holiday parties ASAP!

Music Report for October 16, 2008

2008-10-16T14:21:00.003-04:00

Welcome back my friends, to the blog that never ends.

This week will see me playing my usual Friday night show at Little Alley, 7:30 to 11:30, with the Chosen Ones (Jon Schwenke, John McKnight). Hey, that's not a bad band name! And to think I was going to go with Persons Of Interest... Anyway, you already know the food is great and the drinks are great and the musicians are great, ya can't lose.

The next morning, I'll have the honor of taking Jon & John, plus Mike LeVasseur on keys, to play for Matt Mason's wedding. Matt is a former bass student of mine, a talented amateur (who ought to be getting gigs) and a gentleman; he also has a good stage name. Congratulations Matt, and best wishes to a happy life with your new bride, you have chosen wisely.

Saturday night I'll be fronting a great team at the Hard Rock Cafe down on Peachtree. Greg High, Spencer Kirkpatrick, and a drummer I haven't met yet but he's got to be good or Greg wouldn't have called him. That show is 10PM to 1AM, and is certain to "kick many buttocks" (in my best Borat accent).

So remember, folks, live people need live music. See you out there!

Wow, I used to be famous!

2008-10-14T00:50:00.005-04:00

This is mildly interesting - I was on the amazing Internet Archive website looking for some of my uploaded tunes, pictures and such to do a bit of reorganizing, when I spotted a song I didn't remember uploading. I clicked it, and it's a recording of "Barney Google" from 1923 - I don't recall doing much studio work in 1923, so I looked further into it and found out that Georgie Price (aka George E. Price, which is even my correct middle initial) was a pretty big star in the '20s. See for yourself, right here - the relevant stuff is about 1/3 the way down. Add that to my resume as National Hero of Belize, a longtime cartoonist at The New Yorker, the very last soldier killed in World War I, a famously inventive locksmith, and a particularly loathesome wife-murderer in the 18th century. (Ironically, also a murder victim with a loving widow and, even stranger, a child also named George). I've been around.

UPDATE: It turns out I also played french horn with Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention. Wish I remembered that.

Thriller!

2008-10-13T03:33:00.004-04:00

I have an idea for you. Read this story, and imagine it as a movie.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/index.html
There are some really, really stunning things in there, along with personal dramas and plot twists. Some key words: plastic explosives, murder, Iran, infiltration... there's plenty here to make a good movie. I'm thinking Billy Bob Thornton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Wilford Brimley, Nick Nolte and of course Tina Fey. Too bad Paul Newman couldn't be in it.

If you know how to write in screenplay format (I don't), this could be your big ticket. If Diablo Cody could do it, so can you. Remember me when you're rich & famous. A lot, please.

Repetition equals truth

2008-10-13T00:17:00.001-04:00

Double-barrel Fun!

2008-10-11T01:25:00.001-04:00

This Friday was extra cool at Little Alley. I had my A-Team of Jon Schwenke and John McKnight, so things are already off to a great start. Then Marlyn Campbell joined us for several songs, that's always a treat. Then Heaven Davis came in and sang with us too, alongside Marlyn, but unfortunately couldn't stay long. Dang I love my job!

Red Salt is still cookin' along too, massively popular and often full. But don't stop trying to get in, you know it's worth it.

"Deregulation" - not working out as promised

2008-10-08T11:52:00.002-04:00

Well, this is joy. My natural gas bill is way up, my investments are way down, and I'm learning that this is because of "deregulation". Eliminate the rules on how to treat customers and how to structure deals, and those wonderful CEOs and corporations will make life wonderful for everyone. Yeah, that's not such a good idea, is it?

As it turns out, voluntary self-regulation is about as effective as voluntary taxes or voluntary speed limits. Most especially for CEOs and other such entities, who are literally required by their job (if not their personality) to make as much profit as possible by any means they can get away with. Remember that key phrase - any means they can get away with. If it isn't explicitly illegal, they consider it OK. If it is illegal, they have to be really careful.

And yet there are still some people who just don't get it, still parroting the party line that deregulation is good. In addition, they actually want to put our Social Security into the stock market! Yeah, the stock market is a great "safety net", isn't it? I've lost about $20,000 in the last week alone, and I'm told it will get much worse.

Remember everything that's happening right now. The next time someone talks about how much we need deregulation, you should immediately realize that either he's an idiot, or he's hoping you are. Or both.

Palin Debate Prep Flowchart

2008-10-07T01:16:00.004-04:00

I know that a lot of you out there have had actual training in Logic, so I present to you this flowchart (minus the usual symbols) representing Palin's "debating" technique (you know, where she ignores the moderator's question and talks about whatever she wants to). It's simple enough for her to understand it, so you can too. Enjoy.
(courtesy of adennak.com)

Feeling GREAT! bzzzzzz

2008-10-02T03:27:00.002-04:00

What a nice surprise - Greg High called today and invited me to come do his gig at Dailey's downtown tonight. Playing with Greg is always treat enough, but we were also joined by Sean O'Rourke and Spencer Kirkpatrick, so this was a night to remember. The song choices went all the way from the usual Van Morrison and SRV covers to much more unusual territory. I used my Variax's tricks to give "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" a banjo (which Spencer ripped up with traditional bluegrass and Nashville guitar chops), and a nice sitar for "Norwegian Wood". We got multiple requests for Jeff Beck (helzyeah!) so we did "Know What I Mean" and "Ended As Lovers". We hit a way uptempo version of "Moondance", and something else we did somehow morphed into Weather Report's "Birdland" except it was a bit confusing because we were in A instead of G at the time. Santana's "Oye Como Va" was a big crowd pleaser - Sean got a whole lotta Latin out of his drums, sounded like a whole barrio full of percussionists and my tone was, to me at least, exactly what I hoped for which brought out the best of my playing. Later, when we also did "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen", Sean did even more - I mean, DA-yum! When I cut him loose on the hogwild percussion section at the end, he was so complex and energetic and amazing that I could only hang on with Greg the best I could on our unison line and hope that I was on the beat I intended, because I was lost and not hearing anything I could pin down. Sean was like some multi-armed Hindu god. I was in way over my head. But when it was time to come out, everyone hit everything hit precisely where it was supposed to be, and sounded massive! Wow!

There was so much more - the "Secret Agent" medley, "Higher Ground", "No Matter What" and other fun & unusual diversions. My absolute favorite though, and I only ever get to do this with Greg, was when he asked me to do Deep Purple's "Highway Star". OK, if you're sure... We started together and, as it had been all night, sounded like a band that had been together for years. My voice felt strong, I liked my tone, and Spencer knew all of his parts too. I had that rascal pegged as a Nashville type, but he knows his rock. DAMN that felt good! If you haven't heard "Highway Star" lately, crank it up and imagine it with modern tones. It rocked the world in 1971, and it sounds even better with today's guitar tones. There were a bunch of Germans there (Dailey's is largely patronized by conventioneers) and they absolutely loved it. (Deep Purple are like gods to the Germans, maybe even more than David Hasselhoff).

Greg has played with me a few dozen times, and knows my material and mannerisms. He's a master on bass, and I think he kicks my ass on guitar too but he denies it. Sean is bigtime (toured with Sugarland for three years, been featured in Modern Drummer Magazine five times). I've only played with Sean a couple other times - a half night I sat in with him and Tak Nakazawa on Kathy Carllile's show at Fuzzy's, and a tasty but sedate New Orleans style jazz brunch with Greg Barrett at Copelands, so this is the first time he's really worked with *me*. And work he did. But the real gem of this show, to me, was Spencer - I'd never heard of him, we barely met, then started playing, and he was stuck to me like glue all night, never missing a thing that I could tell, even on my originals. We will meet again.

All in all, a night to remember. So I'm writing all this not just to share with you, but so that months or years from now I can read back over it and feel like this again. Tired, exhilarated, victorious. It should've been in front of thousands of fans.

Getting Gas

2008-09-24T02:54:00.003-04:00

It's about 3AM, and I just returned from a trip to the gas station. I happen to have the luxury of living a half-mile from a QT, so I took this opportunity to avoid the lines and chaos of the same station during daylight hours. I only got about seven gallons, at these prices I don't want to pay for gas I don't need, and we all know we need to ration ourselves so there'll be enough gas for the buttheads driving Hummers and Suburbans and Escalades who do more than their fair share in the battle of supply and demand.

The herd hysteria has been amazing, even worse than the way Atlantans get when there's a possibility of snow and proceed to mob the grocery stores. (Oddly, they make a run on anything white - milk, eggs, white bread, etc) We're told that the current gas shortage is caused by panic that there might be a gas shortage. So do we drive less? Apparently not. Do we respond to a shortage of gas by sitting in lines, running our engines? Ayup. Does this make sense? *shrug*

I'm reminded of FDR who said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself". The logical responses to this shortage are crowded out of our brains. We should be staying off the roads, making other plans, changing our behavior patterns until we get this under control.

Hmm, something else from those days: the billboards and posters that said "Is this trip really necessary?" would seem to be ripe for a comeback. Above is a shot of the poster version. Here is another, that could easily be updated.

I also noticed this gem of history on the Georgia Secretary of State website while researching voter stuff:

This Week in Georgia History:
On September 22, 1918:

In an effort to save fuel for use in World War I, Atlanta’s city gasoline administrator prohibited driving on Sundays, except for emergency vehicles. There were no criminal penalties, but police officers were asked to keep track of Sunday motorists and newspapers printed the names for public ridicule.

So, just some snacks for thought. Please, everyone, no matter how the rightwingers snicker at you, remember to check your tire pressure, clean junk out of your car, don't drive 80, and most of all don't make trips you don't need. There's a thousand other things you can do too. Our addiction cannot be solved just by throwing more oil at the supply side, we have to trim down on the demand side. Or else.

Shock Doctrine

2008-09-12T12:48:00.005-04:00

My friend Dick Wooley (head of King Mojo Records) sent me a very interesting link to a short film based on the idea that nothing changes without a shock. There are definitely people who use this doctrine to their advantage. One of the best ways to render it ineffective is to understand what's being done to you and why. So, I urge you all to watch this short clip.

Oh my! Time to book Santa

2008-09-11T12:40:00.008-04:00

Just a reminder, the holidays are now comin' atcha at full speed and will be upon you like lobbyists on a senator before you know it. Now is the time to get your bookings in order for Santa and holiday music (and I just happen to provide both). You can see my Santa photos on my website at http://www.SantaGeorgePrice.com Everyone asks me what mall I sit in; I don't have a mall job booked yet, so far, all my bookings this year are private functions such as country clubs and home visits. I probably will, though, and you can see my calendar of public appearances on my website.

I'm also eager to build relationships with photographers, advertisers, event planners and such. I'd greatly appreciate any such referrals, and few things in life are better than a grateful Santa.

Lest we forget, the holidays tend to distract us from booking a band for New Years Eve. By the time you remember, the good bands are already taken. So here's a hint: BOOK US NOW and I can promise you a show you won't forget.

Red Salt finally open

2008-09-11T12:07:00.003-04:00

It's finally here, and the critics and patrons love it. Last Friday, while I was at Little Alley, there were (according to the fabulous Natasha), about 120 to 140 people there, pretty impressive considering it seats 67. Every time I've driven by since then, it's never looked less than half full.

The Sept. 10th issue of North Fulton Neighbor gives a glowing 3/4 page review, with nice color photos of the food. Food critic Joan Durbin used plenty of superlatives to describe the food and her reactions to it. No real surprise there, as I've told you before, Chef Richard rocks the house.

So, my congratulations to Hicham and Fix and the Little Alley family for the arrival of this little bundle of joy. Also, congrats to Roswell for attracting another restaurant good enough to make an evening in Roswell a worthwhile destination. In fact, there are a few B&Bs within walking distance, and I suggest you come make a weekend of it some time.

Red Salt is open for lunch Monday through Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Dinner 5 to 10pm Monday to Thursday, 5 to 11pm Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9pm Sunday. A limited menu is available in between lunch and dinner, and late nights after dinner until closing.

http://www.RedSaltPub.com 770-998-4850

Food testing prohibited?!?

2008-08-31T22:48:00.003-04:00

Barbara told me this, but I didn't believe she heard right. Now that I see it, it's worse than she said.

You may recall that about a year ago, we buried her sister who had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a close cousin of Mad Cow Disease. They both turn your brain into swiss cheese, which is why they are classed as a "transmissable spongiform encephalopathy". We also personally knew a woman in our neighborhood, the mother of Barbara's son's ex-girlfriend, who died some years back from the actual Mad Cow Disease (she picked it up in England). These diseases are caused by inanimate proteins called prions, which never die and cannot be sterilized; once they're in the world, all they do is spread by turning other proteins they touch into more prions. Since then, we've seen the whistleblower videos of cattle too sick to walk being physically dragged into the slaughterhouse to become part of our food supply. As I previously reported, we don't eat beef around here anymore.

So imagine my surprise when Barbara told me the current administration's USDA has decided that beef doesn't have to be inspected. Actually, it's far worse. They actually *blocked* one beef exporter (Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef exporters) who wanted to test all their beef, on the grounds that:

Larger meat packers opposed such testing. If Creekstone Farms Premium Beef began advertising that its cows have all been tested, other companies fear they too will have to conduct the expensive tests.

Creekstone spent about a half-million dollars to build the testing lab, and hired the staff. In 2004, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which controls the sale of testing kits, refused to sell Creekstone enough to test all of its cows. Naturally after all that investment, and with righteous conviction, Creekstone took the USDA to court, but a US federal appeals court ruled that the USDA has the authority to stop meatpackers from testing more than 1% of its cattle. And remember, many other nations around the world refuse to buy American beef because they see our food safety standards about the same way we see China's. Creekstone actually tried to test all their beef before selling it, helping to restore confidence in American exports (not to mention helping safeguard American lives), and rather than being helped, they were blocked.

The president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association told the Washington Post that "If testing is allowed at Creekstone, we think it would become the international standard and the domestic standard, too." Creekstone Farms says tests cost about $20 per animal, increasing the cost of beef by about 10 cents per pound. (a price I'd gladly pay, given the chance)

What possible conclusions can we draw from this disgrace? I've drawn mine, let's hear yours.

Links: AP Reuters Slashdot Google

Red Salt almost open!

2008-08-30T20:37:00.006-04:00

I stopped by Red Salt today to see how they're doing. It's in old Roswell at the corner of Canton St. and Webb St., just a few doors north Fratelli di Napoli and Pastis, just south of what used to be Peachtree Salvage. (click the photo to enlarge)

Here's a map: http://tinyurl.com/2fko
and this is where I got the cool aerial photo, which is rotatable and done from low enough altitude to be usable: http://tinyurl.com/jluze

The paper covering the front windows had been torn away, and there was work going on. A man was painting some details on the outside; I recognized him as a regular (possibly a family member) of Little Alley, and he recognized me, so I stepped in for a look around. There was still power tools and sawdust and such inside, but it looked like most of the lighting and other decor was in place. The design is interesting and beautiful, it's going to be great! My guess (just a guess) is that it'll be open within two weeks, from the look of it.

No Comment

2008-08-14T22:45:00.002-04:00

This was referenced on BoingBoing, so I looked. Laughed my guts out. Other than that, I have no comment, but I'd love to hear yours.

RAND Corp report: To destory al Qa'ida, quit shooting them.

2008-07-30T14:13:00.006-04:00

The RAND Corporation (Research ANd Development) was set up by the United States Army Air Forces in 1946. It is known for rigorous, often-quantitative, and non-partisan analysis and policy recommendations (says Wikipedia). However, not everyone agrees that RAND is politically neutral; they have even been called hawkish to the point of being "America's University of Imperialism". Either way, it is full of very smart people (lots of Nobel laureates) doing very smart research. And they have a new report that concludes military force is a very ineffective way to deal with terror groups. I quote from BoingBoing.net, which includes a link to the actual report.

To destroy Al Qaeda, we must end the war on terror: Rand Corporation

Posted by Cory Doctorow, July 29, 2008 10:33 PM | permalink

A new Rand Corporation report comprehensively surveys the ways that terrorist groups have been disbanded in the past: "Military force was rarely the primary reason a terrorist group ended." Instead, historic wars on terror have been won with policing and settlements. Rand's conclusion? To defeat Al Qaeda, we need to end the war on terror.

A recent RAND research effort sheds light on this issue by investigating how terrorist groups have ended in the past. By analyzing a comprehensive roster of terrorist groups that existed worldwide between 1968 and 2006, the authors found that most groups ended because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they negotiated a settlement with their governments. Military force was rarely the primary reason a terrorist group ended, and few groups within this time frame achieved victory.

Terrorism’s End: Jon Taplin
How Terrorist Groups End: Rand Corporation

And now I quote from RAND's summary:

These findings suggest that the U.S. approach to countering al Qa'ida has focused far too much on the use of military force. Instead, policing and intelligence should be the backbone of U.S. efforts.

So, while we shouldn't just give up, our "war on terror" (is that a contradiction, or just a redundancy?) needs to change from a shooting war to a smart war. I hope someone in Washington begins listening to the smartest people in town.

You can read the actual report yourself right here.

Wow! Check out Seeqpod

2008-07-28T00:49:00.003-04:00

Some of you know I've been having funky fun on Sunday evenings with Beau Hall, John McKnight and Kirk Plunkett (@ Nik's in Marietta, 6-10PM, outdoors, weather permitting).

The other day Beau hipped me to Seeqpod, an impressive website that seeks out music on a variety of websites, and plays it for you. On the left you'll see an apparently random scrolling list of audio & video clips, and if you like something you see there, you can add it to your playlist on the right side. I've plucked some ripe old plums from this random list: Ohio Players, Nina Simone, The Tubes, Brothers Johnson, Robin Trower, Gene Krupa, Clarence Carter (Patches, not tired old Strokin'), Tom Waits, and They Might Be Giants among others. I also discovered some interesting stuff, new to me, such as Beatallica's "And Justice For All My Loving".

Oh, here's a neat trick, I think I can embed the song & player right here!

Hmm, it actually embedded all of what I had in my current play list. OK, cool anyway. I haven't heard much of this yet myself; maybe you'll enjoy. I should warn you that the first track, the Bon Jovi, sounds awful - as if someone recorded it with a cassette recorder in front of a record player (not even a hi-fi) from the 1960s, not that I'd have any reason to know exactly how that sounds *ahem*. But, that's global diversity for ya.

Or, you can type in an artist to search for, and get that artist and some similar artists to try. I just ran a few names through: Ike Stubblefield, Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell, Dave Kilminster, Guthrie Govan, and found interesting hits on all, much of it video. No hits on George Price yet.

Dave Kilminster is Pink Floyd's new guitarist, by the way - a gross underuse of his amazing prowess, as you'll see if you check out the Favorite Licks clip which I recognize from an amazing DVD that came with Guitar Techniques magazine a couple years ago. On the other hand, when you check the clip of him playing onstage with PF doing the "Time" solo, you have to be impressed with how perfectly he nails every note and tiniest nuance of the original recorded solo.

So, there you have it, a new toy for you. Make yourself a playlist for a rainy day, an intimate evening, a party, or just for exploration. Then you can save, or email, or even blog your playlist. Suddenly, you own a radio station!

PickensPlan

2008-07-25T00:34:00.004-04:00

I was intrigued by the ad I've seen on TV lately (see it here), oil man T. Boone Pickens describing the horrible situation our dependence on foreign oil has put America in. Of course, the numbers vary according to who you listen to, but this oil man marks these as the main points:

America has gone from importing 24% of our oil in 1970, to almost 70% today (and rising).
$700 BILLION per year we're paying to foreign nations for oil (four times the cost of the Iraqi war, so far)
He multiplies that out 10 years to get $7 TRILLION, and that doesn't account for growth or price raises at all. (He doesn't say it, but just think about the mostly awful people that money goes to, and how the money gets used then)

The largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. Add in all the money we're borrowing from China, Japan, and other people we have even less reason to trust, and surely you can see what a mess we're buying for ourselves.

It's really hard to believe that my party (Republican, supposedly the party that understands finance) has done so little to mitigate this problem - in fact, has done so much to encourage it and block progress toward getting our addiction under control. The very same people who clamp all sorts of restrictions on our American freedoms, and carve away our rights to privacy and due process of law in the name of Patriotism and Security, are more than happy to keep sending gigabucks to the very nations that funded the terrorist attacks against us (I'm looking at YOU, Dick Cheney). In fact, our government is cutting funding for alternative energy research by about 25% this year. (There's some finger-pointing about who caused the cut, but the bottom line is still a cut) Why the continued reluctance to curb our money flow to troublesome nations? Is it that we can't live without the oil, or is it that so many American businessmen get a fat slice of the outgoing money, which they put into campaign contributions for the politicians who keep this process in place?

So what is his plan? Really, he tells it better than me, see the video. Is his plan workable, will we get as much benefit as he promises? I don't know, but I know it has 0% chance if we don't try, and at the very least it will be steps in the right direction. His plan seems to address more supply, without doing much on the other side of the equation, reducing demand. (Many of us have yet to do our duty on this; I still have friends who haven't even replaced their old tungsten light bulbs with modern CFLs yet. And did you know, the CFL itself was invented in response to the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973?) Anyway, Pickens at least has a plan. It's a grandiose plan, just like going to the moon was. We have only general ideas how to do it, but far more than we had when we committed to the space program. We can do this, or at least something like it. We must.

I've been an oil man my whole life, but this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of. - T. Boone Pickens

(This opinion differs from the one you hear from our President. I suggest you remember that, unlike our President, Pickens was a very successful businessman who knows what he's talking about.)

I urge you to watch the short video above, then go to PickensPlan.com and see the slightly longer one that gets into the specifics. You might be one of the few humans left who has an attention span; if so, you'll find more videos there, including Pickens' congressional testimony, and a former CIA director talking about how important alternative energy is to our national security. If you're not one of those who just sits back and complains, then go ahead and join the group, and let's make things happen. I joined, and will be doing what I can.

Bella Bocca shut down, and other news

2008-07-24T14:32:00.000-04:00

(originally posted at Ellen Hamby's Come On In My Kitchen blues group, Jul 24, 2008 2:30 pm)

To those of you who may have intended to catch my show with Larry Griffith at Bella Bocca, you may want to revisit your plans. Our weekly Thursday shows there have ended - I was notified yesterday that they're shut down. Poor location, tucked away in a blind shopping center, invisible from the street, finally did them in. To those who did come out and party with us, thanks.

At this point I'm down to one regular weekly show, Fridays at Little Alley in Roswell. I highly recommend this music & dining experience. The food is tip-tops, the music is pretty good (my usual band is Jon Schwenke on bass and John McKnight on drums, we all sing), it's a fairly early show (7:30-11:30), and you'll be spruced up at the door with an electric nipple buffer. Best of all, everything but that last part is true.

Oh, a fun experience at Little Alley recently; one of my guitar students, 16 years old, asked if he could bring his date to my show. I called to make sure, and then asked Natasha to arrange the royal treatment for him so he looks really cool for his date. She did, and from the moment he arrived Mr. Ortega and date were well taken care of. It was fun for all involved, and dare I say, "cute". Later I realized his parents were also in the house, staying just out of sight. Perfect.

This Saturday, I'll be at Johnny McCracken's in Mayretta with Larry Griffith Band, 9PM-1AM.

Sunday evenings are, weather permitting, Bike Night at Nik's. If the weather is non-threatening, I'll be doing my best to hang with Beau Hall, John McKnight and Kirk Plunkett out on the front deck. As Beau says, bring your Harley, or Huffy, or Vespa, or whatever, just bring it.

Tuesday I had fun at Montana's open jam (north Alpharetta), then went to Londzell's to catch the last set with Andrew Black, John McKnight, and Dustin Sargent. Got to play with them some too, including a lush version of Purple Rain. That felt great - I think my best musical work was my years with Andrew, especially the duo work, and hearing him cut loose on Prince just... well, it's hard describe the rush you get from being musically moved, but you know the feeling or you
wouldn't be here.

Last night at Nik's was pretty !@#! good - Mike Martin, John McKnight, Kirk Plunkett, Charlie Wooton (yes two bassists), Louie on sax, and Terry Bradley hosted. Our own Polish ambassador Leszek Wawer, a jam scene regular until he moved to Chicago a few years ago, was back in
town and playing well. Other guests included Sid Wolf, Jim, Ken, Jarrod, Lefty (a guitarist who plays very well without benefit of a right hand), Drew Blood (I never remember his real last name), and some others I'd name if I knew. Rat Rod was presented with a new Epiphone Les Paul gold-top by Dirty South TV and Sam Ash Music; I don't know the story behind this, but it was cool. Coulda used more bassists and drummers. I think Martin will be hosting for the next
few weeks, if I overheard correctly.

My radio show guests lately have included Grant Green Jr. and Ike Stubblefield. It's a safe bet that you have some Ike in your record collection from his works with Eric Clapton and The Eagles, among many many others.
http://www.radiosandysprings.com/showpages/musicscene.htm

Remember, live people need live music.
See you out there.

Spooky Alien Goo

2008-07-12T10:01:00.003-04:00

Here's a cool bit of science for you. Cornstarch and water make a paste (called "oobleck") that falls into the class of "non-Newtonian" substances that have unexpected properties. Here's a bit of oobleck in a pizza pan, sitting on a booming subwoofer, doing the funny things that stuff from alternate dimensions should do.

Fuzzy Logic

2008-07-09T13:34:00.003-04:00

I just learned some things from Ted Koppel, who spent a lot of research time in China for his 4-part TV series on Discovery Channel, "The People's Republic of Capitalism". Consider this:

Our current wars are the first in our history that were not paid for with an increase in taxes. Instead, we've taken out mind-blowingly huge loans. We've borrowed between $600B and $1T from China, and even more from Japan. The interest payments alone on this kind of debt could keep a million Paris Hiltons partying in grand style, but what really concerns me is what happens when China and Japan (among others) come to collect, or take their collateral. Our government has decided to spend us into a black hole of debt, while trying to cut accounts receivable. We have, quite literally, been sold out. And in the process, the value of our dollar has been drained down, part of the reason oil costs so much (Clark Howard says without this mismanagement (his words) oil would only cost us about $80/barrel).

Which is why, for some reason, the current tax cuts must be made permanent, because they're obviously working so well.

If this makes sense to you, please contact me about investing in my business ventures, because I can happily work that way too.

You can see Koppel stating all this during his brief visit on The Daily Show, which you can see right here.

Three things you must do

2008-07-06T17:16:00.003-04:00

Hi friends - well, last night at Two Monkies was smokin' goodness, thanx to John McKnight and Steve Mays. Too bad very few saw it due to competition from other holiday events, my mistake for accepting that night instead of one of the other Saturdays.

One of the interesting things I learn from StatCounter.com (which I use to monitor my blog and my Santa website) is the distribution of web browsers people use to visit me. I don't consider it good news that so many of you are still using Internet Explorer. IE is rife with security weaknesses, and way behind the innovation curve. You can be safer, faster, and happier by installing Firefox, which is available FREE right here. And if you're running Linux or Mac, there's a Firefox for you too.

"You might not believe this, little fella, but it'll cure your asthma too." Frank Zappa

After basking in the warm glow of installation (which makes migration from IE painless, and doesn't mess with your IE if you ever want to use it again) for a while, you'll find there's a huge selection of snazzy free add-ons. I highly recommend FoxyTunes, a tool that does so many things for music and video I can't tell you. Get it. Got it? Good.

Now open the FoxyTunes Portal. You'll see their default welcome screen, which pertains to Nirvana, and some similar bands you'd like if you're a Nirvana fan. Now search on Guthrie Govan, and you'll see this. Check out the videos, especially Bullet Blues. I want to play like him when I grow up.

So, there's your three things. Go do them and be happy.

PS, the folks at Mozilla (makers of Firefox) make an equally important replacement to the nasty Outlook Express called Thunderbird. Get it too, and your email will be much safer, run faster, have less spam, and smell minty fresh.

Alerts for This Weekend

2008-07-04T03:02:00.003-04:00

Well folks, a few odd things this weekend.

First, I guess I didn't warn you, but our Wednesday nights at Bella Bocca are now Thursdays (8-11) and my Wednesdays are open. Maybe back at Joel's when the Life University next door comes back in session.

Later this morning (July 4th) I'll be doing a freakin' 5-hour outdoor show (11AM-4PM) with Jon Schwenke, Larry Griffith and Laura Simon at TAP in Buckhead. Bring your sunscreen.

I just learned tonight that although Little Alley didn't warn us, they are closing for the evening of the 4th, so no LA gig this weekend. I'm glad Jon called me tonight to call them and make sure, or we would've gone to a locked club. I'm just a bit steamed about this myself, so believe me I'm sincerely sorry if any of you find your date night derailed tonight.

Saturday night I'll have John McKnight and Steve Mays doing the GP Trio show with me at Two Monkies in Marietta (688 Whitlock, across the street from Nik's) from 9PM to 1AM. This will be a rockin' show, much stronger stuff than what you hear from us in the restaurant gig.

Sundays, I've been working with a great crew at the "Bike Day" events at Nik's. Beau Hall, John McKnight, Kirk Plunkett, and li'l ol' me - hijinx will ensue. 6-10PM on the front deck. Weather permitting, of course - last week we got about two songs into the first set, and a nasty storm blew in hard. Nik decided to scratch the gig, and not pay us. Hopefully this will not happen again this week, or ever again, because the combination of great performers really works well and I'd hate to miss any opportunity to hear more.

That about does it - have a good 4th. Remember how precious your liberties (the ones you still have left) are, and how many lives have been dedicated to gaining and protecting our freedom. Remember that each of us must still be vigilant, and watch for enemies not just outside our borders, but inside as well. For instance, Prescott (Dubya's grandpappy) Bush's failed right-wing coup to overthrow or assassinate FDR in 1933, and turn the USA into a fascist state run in the same style as Hitler (who Bush helped finance) and Mussolini. Here's a link to the BBC documentary about this coup, and here's Prescott Bush in general. It's our duty, not just our right, to be cautious or even skeptical of our elected government. It's also our duty to actively participate in steering our nation to fit our overall needs, or others will steer it to fit theirs. If it ain't of the people and by the people, it sure won't be for the people.

That reminds me of a quote I only partially remember, something to the effect that when the next real threat to American freedom comes along, it will be carrying a cross and wrapped in an American flag (probably not literally). Does anyone have the actual quote?

George Carlin, Dead at 71

2008-06-23T12:18:00.004-04:00

The great, and lately late, comedian and genius George Carlin has left us. He died of heart failure yesterday (June 22) at the age of 71. I could go on and on about how much he influenced modern comedy, even influencing (via his "Seven Words" bit) the legal history of free speech vs. broadcasting in the United States. What matters is that he was a true thinker who made us think, and by making us laugh, kept us thinking.

A few things you rarely hear about: Carlin was present at Lenny Bruce's arrest for obscenity. According to legend the police began attempting to detain members of the audience for questioning, and asked Carlin for his identification. Telling the police he did not believe in government issued IDs, he was arrested and taken to jail with Bruce in the same vehicle. He was the very first host of Saturday Night Live. And oh by the way, he still holds the highest score ever recorded for his exams as an electronic technician at the Air Force Academy in the 1950s.

Of course you'll want to hit his website, which has the best intro I've seen. You might want to read what he has to say about all the "crap" (his word) emails that have been sent around attributed to him (Andy Rooney has the same problem). And really, his whole website, because there are some real gems in there (well duhhh, it's Carlin!).

In some ways, he reminds me of another influential thinker, sci-fi master Robert A. Heinlein. Both were obviously Mensa material. Both made profound impacts on their fields. Both were a bit crusty and cranky, but would've been amazing dinner guests. But dear God, the fireworks that would've ensued if they were both dining together! Politically, socially, quite opposite on a lot of things - then again, quite similar in their views of rugged individualism, and their disregard for the lives of idiots.

(Unrelated side note: did you know there's a half-million-dollar Heinlein Prize for "practical accomplishments in the field of commercial space activities"?)

I'm really sorry to see George go, but I'm sure glad he was here. Generations of sharp-witted observational comics like Lewis Black and Carlos Mencia are his legacy, as are The Daily Show and Colbert Report. He taught (some of) us the nearly forgotten skills of critical thinking, and examination from several angles, and by making us laugh, will keep us thinking for years to come.

"Gay bomb"? You're kidding, right?

2008-06-20T14:13:00.004-04:00

"One thing leads to another" - the Fixx

I was cruising my favorite blog (yes, it's BoingBoing.net) today, and saw a link to the 2008 Emergency Response Guide, the book (and software) that decodes all those hazardous materials numbers you see on various trucks on the road. I spend a fair bit of time on the highways, and I've always been a bit curious about the numbers, placards and symbols, so I went to get a copy. Browsing through it, I ran across a jillion things I never wanted to think might be rolling down the freeway right in front of me. One that puzzled me was #2810, Lewisite. I'd never heard of this, so I googled it. Bad move, now I'm probably on some Homeland Security moron's watchlist, because it is a chemical warfare agent (obsolete, but still nasty). But in reading about that, and other chemical agents, I ran across a reference to "gay bomb". Say what? Those are two words I never saw together. I was already under surveillance anyway, so I clicked.

It was as I suspected, sorta. The U.S. Air Force actually speculated on producing a bomb containing a chemical that turned the enemy irresistably gay, making them too busy doing each other to do much fighting. (Could this be another argument for a mixed-gender military?) There was a problem though, no such chemical existed. I don't see whether money was earmarked for research to find one. And if it was produced, it's interesting to speculate on the consequences. Who would handle the ordinance? What if there was a leak at home base, or on the aircraft carrier (keep your Navy jokes to yourself, please)? How long would it take for someone to steal a bit and play pranks with it? Or, to claim someone else had used it on them, as a legal defense?

Other interesting items were discussed, such as a bomb that gives the enemy bad breath and body odor (demoralizes them, and makes them easy to sniff out). Or, hiding beehives in the combat area, then spraying the enemy with bee pheremones.

This is where your tax money goes, folks. But to help pay for it, we're scheduled for a 27% cut in spending for alternative energy research next year. Or at least so says a very detailed chart called "Death and Taxes" of US incomes and outgoes that you can see here, I have yet to find a confirming source for this (but if I do, I'm gonna raise hell on OpenCongress.org and urge you to do the same).

Sean Costello - it's official

2008-06-17T13:04:00.002-04:00

The officials have released the final ruling on Sean's cause of death, and I'm afraid it is as bad as I had been hearing from his friends. See it here if you like.

My friend Andy Martin is, besides being an outstanding pro bassist, a certified counselor for addiction and substance abuse problems. He invites you to call him if you or someone in your life has issues that need addressing, and I urge you to do so. He'll be happy to chat with you and determine what needs to be done next. Such problems don't usually sort themselves out without help, so make the call. Keep the number in your phone and wallet.
Andy Martin 770-335-5380

This Week in Music

2008-06-05T14:39:00.003-04:00

Quickie post. Wednesdays @ Bella Bocca gig with Larry Griffith is slowly building, thanks to you friends & fans who come out and party with us. Thursdays at Joel's Tavern also coming along nicely - they've built us a much better stage, and hopefully real lights soon. Fridays I'm at Little Alley, and I hope to be at their new Red Salt location soon. This Saturday at 8PM I've got the George Price Trio doing more of a rock show at Two Monkies, which is on Whitlock in Marietta, across the street from Nik's.

McCain will continue illegal wiretaps - would Obama?

2008-06-04T12:12:00.003-04:00

So, the inevitable President Mrs. Clinton has finally come in second. I'm sure glad that's over, and we can get down to comparing and contrasting the two parties' candidates and agendas. Here's one I find disturbing, from BoingBoing.net:

John McCain vows to continue Bush's illegal warrantless wiretapping program

Posted by Cory Doctorow, June 4, 2008 12:06 AM | permalink

John McCain has changed his position on illegal warrantless wiretapping: he used to think that the President had to uphold the nation's laws. Now he says that the Constitution is subordinate to the all-powerful executive order.
My favorite line on this comes from the chickenhawks who say that the Fourth Amendment was written before the All Powerful Threat of Terrorism. Sure thing. Ben Franklin and his pals couldn't possibly have foreseen a world in which the very idea of America was under some kind of military threat. Those candyasses didn't understand what war was about. They were armchair theorists, civilians who'd never anticipated foreign soldiers on American soil -- surely if they'd known that America might some day face an actual existential risk, they would have put a little asterisk next to each clause of the Bill of Rights leading to a footnote that said, "Unless the ~~king~~ president really, really needs to do it."

This is the relevant quote, plus a link to see the real source:

[N]either the Administration nor the telecoms need apologize for actions that most people, except for the ACLU and the trial lawyers, understand were Constitutional and appropriate in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001. [...]
We do not know what lies ahead in our nation’s fight against radical Islamic extremists, but John McCain will do everything he can to protect Americans from such threats, including asking the telecoms for appropriate assistance to collect intelligence against foreign threats to the United States as authorized by Article II of the Constitution.

Link

At this time I don't have a quote from the Obama camp stating his intentions on this matter.

It seems that if you're a terrorist who "hates America because they have freedom", your most efficient action would be to give America one good scare and they'll take their own freedoms away for you, calling themselves patriotic for doing so.

Or maybe, just maybe, the ghost of Prescott Bush is still working his plan, using the (admittedly real) terrorist threats to complete his attempted coup to turn America into a fascist state, but this time without the need to use American military troops against Americans.

Think, the noun

2008-06-02T11:39:00.006-04:00

This morning Clark Howard's website had a tiny video blurb about a Norwegian electric car that Clark thought would be just great, coming to America in 2009. Well, I have an aging car that will need replacing someday, and with gas teetering on $4 a gallon as I write this (and no evidence the oil companies would want to bring their prices & record profits back down anytime soon) this caught my attention. Clark's video didn't give me much to go on, not even a link, but a Google on "norwegian electric car" was all it took.

Most of the hits from that query were dated 2007, but then again they were mostly still news to me. Quick recap: Ford bought a company called Pivco back in 1999, pumped $150M into it and put it up for sale a few years later when it looked like the car companies were going to kill the California legislation that made electric cars so important in California. A Norwegian smart guy named Willums (who made a fortune investing in solar power) bought the whole company, factory and inventory for $15M. The hard part about electric cars has always been the battery pack, and Willums has forged a deal with the Tesla car people to get those. He now has an electric car called Think City ready to go, and has been showing models around.

As you can see, it's not exactly a babe magnet, unless you like smart & practical babes (I do). It has a range of over 100 miles, at speeds up to 65MPH, for (according to Clark) about 2 cents per mile, and is expected to sticker-price at $25K. Let's assume the usual manufacturer BS and double that to 4 cents, that's still pretty sweet. But this car has some other cool innovations: it's web and wi-fi enabled, and the company is open to new software from other developers, opening up lots of cool possibilities (Norway is the home of Nokia, remember). The car can feed power back into the electric grid on demand. The batteries might be leased, rather than purchased, with the option to buy. Used batteries have a market, they can go onto the grid or be used in buildings as power backup. Dean Kamen is adding on a Stirling heat engine that will extend the City's capabilities tremendously, and "can tap almost any fuel source, from restaurant grease to cow dung", with exhaust pollution so low it "will meet indoor air-quality standards". That would also make every car a portable generator to feed anything from a small rural village (imagine a few of these used as vehicles or power sources somewhere in India, running on whatever awful stuff is around) to a backwoods kegger. The car is to be made in local factories, from modular parts, and will be ordered online and built to order like Dell computers.

Now, if I can just get this in a shape about like a Chevy HHR or Camry wagon so that I can haul my music gear, I'd be all set. Think has a prototype of a model called Ox that looks like just the thing, especially if I can easily remove the rear seats. I wannit!

Here are a few links to get you into this story, and a lot more:
Think's website
Business 2.0 article I based this on
Engadget article, with comments

Researching this article also brought me to these very interesting links:
Go Green, Get Rich
Google's thinktank

Highly Incompatible

2008-05-27T00:31:00.006-04:00

Today I drove to Fry's to take advantage of what seemed like a deal: a $70 wireless print server for only $20. When I got my AirLink101 model AMPS240W home and carefully followed nearly all the instructions for setup, I couldn't make it connect wirelessly with my good ol' Linksys WRT54G router. (The one instruction I didn't follow was to run another CAT-5 cable line from the wireless router into the printer room to connect to the wireless print server, which seems like a pretty pointless requirement) After doggedly following their "troubleshooting" advice of individually setting the router to each of the 11 possible channels, then unplugging and replugging the print server to see if it would connect (it wouldn't, from 3 feet away) I gave up and called Tech Support.

I joyfully listened to them tell me for about 10 minutes how important my call was to them (not important enough to staff up for it, though) before the phone connection died. So I called again, this time only had to wait about 7 minutes before someone called "Sam" answered. Judging by his accent, he didn't get this name in Cleveland; just call it a hunch that his real name might be Samir. He requires all my personal info before he'll consider my problems, of course. Finally he's got all he wanted, and consents to let me take a turn getting questions answered.

I told him about having tried all the channels. He didn't ask, but I would also have told him I turned off all firewalls and security. He didn't ask because it turns out that he not only considers the cable from my wireless router to the wireless print server to be a necessity (huh?!?), but he also points out that the installation guide says:

Note: ... Make sure that you are able to print, scan, and fax from each with your muti-functional printer directly connected to your computer(s).

So, part of the installation process of this wireless device, according to page 1 of the Quick Installation Guide, is to drag a USB wire from the printer directly to each computer to verify that each combination works. Or, more likely, pick up the printer and carry it into each room of my multi-room network, get all local drivers installed, hook up and test. Imagine my joy. Naturally I had decided not to do any of this until I could see a wireless connection from router to PS.

Suddenly, my brain clicks on something he says about "compatible printer". I ask what printer might be incompatible, if this print server follows the usual USB standards. He says, "What have you got?" I say, "Epson Stylus CX3810" (I hate this printer, it's terribly slow and has a real drinking problem, but that's off the point) and he says, of course, "That printer isn't compatible". After listening to me express my admiration for a bit, he points out that on the bottom edge of the bottom of the box in blazing 5-point type is the following:

Printer server may not support all printers. Please check our website to view the printer compatibility list.

Silly me, since I don't have portable Internet (and had neglected to use my Super Microscopic Vision to scrutinize for disclaiming fine print) I had not checked this while on the store floor. It was obviously all my fault. But after summarizing and triple confirming that this "wireless" unit will not talk unless it is wired (no usable connection on the front door), and will not talk to my Epson, my HP, my Lexmark or my Brother printers (no usable connection on the back door), we closed the support call.

So I got on the web and went hunting for this sacred list of the Blessed Ones. It was not easy to find, but I eventually did find it, and get this: when you do open the list of "compatible printers", that list which tells you what printers this device will actually work with... it's blank! Yup, blank - so, apparently, your chances of success (emphasis on the "suck") are zero. See for yourself!

Okay, to be fair, there was another downloadable version of the list nearby that did actually contain some printers, though none were mine. This was just another example of my whole experience with AirLink101, a company I will highly recommend to anyone I don't like.

So now I get to drive back to Fry's and try to return my "bargain", while absorbing the losses in fuel and time as a lesson to always buy defensively! It also reminded me that I haven't performed my song "Tech Support Blues" in a while.

Amazing Egg Creamer

2008-05-23T03:34:00.002-04:00

Via BoingBoing.net - this incredible bit of engineering you just have to see for yourself, probably more than once. All this to smash those leftover Cadbury Cream Eggs you had laying around. Well worth it!

New gigs, new name, a pretty good night

2008-05-22T14:26:00.003-04:00

Many of you know that a few years ago Larry Griffith got inspired somehow to introduce me onstage as King George, and through repeated use that name has stuck. I wasn't crazy about it at first, after all King George was the main reason we Americans got fed up enough to have a revolution; he was insane with syphilis, and according to some accounts he wasn't even sure where America was on the globe and didn't really care as long as we paid our escalating taxes. But I digress. By now I rather enjoy the regal fun of it all, and Larry has just started billing the band that includes me (he has several lineups) as Larry Griffith and The King's Court. Thanks, Sir Larry, you may rise.

Wednesday nights continue to grow at Bella Bocca in Marietta. It's a sweet little venue, but hard to see from the street. Just go west from the Marietta square about 1.5 miles on Whitlock. When you see Burnt Hickory Road fork off to the right, you'll see the Clock Tower strip mall (no strippers there, for some reason) on the left. Turn in, and Bella Bocca is in the anchor position in the upper corner. We start there at 8PM.

One patron/fan, Matt Chaney (no relation to the Dick) turned out to be a pretty decent bedroom guitarist, but with no stage experience. We talked guitar for a while, and he emailed me his YouTube links of himself playing along with a few popular records. I told him it's easy to get on stage, just bring a guitar and we'll go to Nik's after work at Bella Bocca. This week he did, we did, and Aaron was nice enough to put us onstage together. Matt performed more than adequately, and I consider him ready to start working in bands. I'm just sorry his sweetie Jessica wasn't there quite soon enough to see it, but she did see the backslapping and feel the nearly-sexual buzz that a musician gets from a group performance he's really proud of. Next time we'll time it better, Matt.

Which brings me to this: Folks, if you want to perform onstage, it's not hard to get started. Talk to me, and I'll arrange it. I have years of jam experience, hosting and playing, and I can give you lots of tips, or even private lessons to prepare. One of the best uses of the jams are as a farm system, to bring in new talent and keep our beloved music nourished and refreshed (so we don't just become a world of non-playing non-singing rappers). When it's done right, it's the best drug there is, and with none of the terrible side effects of other addictions. In fact, it can be healthy for you, like sex, as it stimulates many of the same chemical systems and can be quite physical. So, let's play.

The last couple of Thursday nights I've been performing with Larry at Joel's Tavern, and this is a venue I like. Right at the east entrance to Life University (Hwy 41 & Barclay) they draw a young crowd that has really responded well to our blend of classic rock, Motown and classic R&B. They built us a nice new stage, and have capacity for a couple hundred happy people. Thanks to my old pal Heather from Darwin's for hooking us up. South of the 120 Loop about 0.7 miles, turn at the big yellow Waffle House. We start there at 9PM.

I've had some pretty good radio shows lately too - in recent shows I've had Radio Cult (a very fun show band), Barry Richman, Chris Duarte, Gwen Hughes, and more. You can download my shows free here at Radio Sandy Springs.

Red Salt update

2008-05-18T12:45:00.005-04:00

My friends at Little Alley have given me a time frame of 4 to 6 weeks until the opening of their second location, Red Salt, in old Roswell. The location is on the corner next to the old Peachtree Salvage, a few doors north of Pastis. Chef Richard tells me he'll be moving over, having thoroughly trained the Little Alley kitchen. I can't wait!

Darth Feels Blue

2008-05-14T15:37:00.002-04:00

You will click this video! Use the mouse, Luke!

Uh-oh, Troubling News in the Music Business

2008-05-10T03:03:00.006-04:00

A couple quick items I found on tonight's edition of BoingBoing.net

House passes bill that will let the RIAA take away your home for downloading music
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/09/house-passes-bill-th.html

The poster notes:

This isn't a judgment on my part as to whether piracy is good or bad (I think copyright deserves to be protected through reasonable methods), but I am always horrified when civil enforcement morphs into criminal enforcement. Conservatives and liberals should be up in arms alike that local prosecutors and/or police could intervene as they desire in essentially a private affair arranged by the RIAA, and permanently seize thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in private property in addition to any civil penalties.

Oh goody. The RIAA greases the right palms in Washington, and they get to use our cops to bust in our doors. There's more good info at the link.

RIAA says DRM is coming back -- in the future, you won't own music
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/09/riaa-says-drm-is-com.html

Oh, this is nice. The music you "buy" will not actually be yours. There was a recent case with Microsoft that should tell you how this will turn out. Microsoft sold (or licensed, if you prefer - in any case they took money) music that carried a bit of code that checked with Microsoft to be sure it was legal before allowing the music to play. OK, whatever, people paid up and rocked out. Then the decision was made to close down that enterprise, and the server that granted the play permissions was turned off. Now, none of that paid-for music will play. (If you buy iTunes music, it's encrypted to only work on iPods, right? What happens when Apple stops making iPods? When yours dies, what happens to the music you paid for?)

As a non-lawyer, I look at stuff like this and think they can't possibly be serious, that no judge would go along with it, and surely no lawmaker would pass such a law. Are our "representatives" actually under the impression that they are creating good laws? Or am I simply not squinting just the right way to see how good this is?

On a different front, songwriters and composers are urged by ASCAP to sign this "Bill Of Rights":
http://www.ascap.com/rights/billText.aspx

But what will it really mean? I've seen too many examples of people being asked to sign on to something that has vast consequences that were never explained up front. Careful with that pen, Eugene!

One thing that even I can see in this "Bill of Rights" is some declarations of worthless rights, such as the "right to decline participation in business models that require us to relinquish all or part of our creative rights" (which artists already have, but like "right to work" it really means the right to not do business with the music business, which is to say, the right to starve) and "the right to advocate for strong laws" which of course all Americans have had for at least a couple centuries. But item 4 is the real meat of it, basically an authorization (or at least an endorsement) of aggressive legal action against "pirates" which, in America, where ASCAP has any jurisdiction, means downloaders. The real pirate operations are in the other countries like China where ASCAP is nothing but a distant noise. So, coupled with the new HR 4279 mentioned above, it looks like the music industry wants to grind non-buyers into the dust (in fact, music buyers won't even own what they buy), to the point of taking away their computers or even their houses, and they want the artists to say we think that's great. Well I do not. And if you look at the lessons learned when Metallica pissed off (or on) millions of fans over downloading, no sane artist would want anything to do with the image, however improbable, of storm troopers bashing in citizen's doors in search of that kid who's been downloading music. (By the way, rent the video "Some Kind of Monster" to see inside the Metallica organization, and watch Lars lament what a fool he was in this matter)

I, as a songwriter and improvisational performer, want my joyful noises heard and hopefully enjoyed by the largest number of people for the longest time possible. That's why I've granted The Internet Archive, and my listeners, blanket permission to record my shows and post them, exchange them, or wear them as a hat if they want, until further notice. With the stipulation that nobody gets the right to do so for money without my written permission (which I probably will grant for a written check).

It's been said that in recent decades the music industry "has consumed itself". So I wonder, when the last gullible musician has been ripped off by sleazy contracts, and the last shred of creativity has been starved out for not being "commercial", what will we have in the future instead of music? Who will play the music at music's funeral? Fortunately, we won't have to face a world without song because the RIAA's devil is our savior; the Internet will be where new art is found and purchased. Or, not purchased. Help yourself to LOTS of free legitimate media here.

I may be mistaken about parts of this. Oh Lordy, I sure hope I am. If so, please tell me.

UPDATE: It pays to watch your web tracker. I use StatCounter (an excellent freebie) and it spotted a reader in California who had just come from a website called OpenCongress, which looks really impressive! Check out what they show for HR 4278 as discussed above.

Pleasant Surprise Videos!

2008-05-06T00:01:00.002-04:00

Looking over my web stats tonight, I see that I had a visitor come here after looking at a video on YouTube. Oh really? So I checked it out, and was very pleased to see that Ellen Hamby (a diligent fan of the Atlanta music scene who shoots and posts lots of performance videos) had actually captured a three-song performance I did at the final Darwin's Wednesday Jam. Joined by Terry Bradley, Jon Schwenke and John McKnight, we did a short but (I believe) scorching set, which I thought was lost forever, but Ellen's Eyes see all! Ellen, you rock!

This one is my favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSP-VjlNiAA

(Ellen has over 550 videos posted on YouTube so far, covering several years of Atlanta's blues scene, and several other musicians she just likes. She drives a lot and spends a lot to come out and support live music; she's just the kind of fan that musicians hope to have someday. Those who know of her various acts of kindness think very highly of her. And if you call her "Hotlips Hamby" at just the right moment, you can make Bailey's squirt out of her nose.)

A couple of sweet links for you

2008-05-05T13:10:00.005-04:00

Back in the 1960s, during the space race, we were all amazed and fascinated with the space program (me more than most, as a geeky 7-year-old). What most Americans didn't realize, and didn't want to, was that Russia did everything but the moon landing first (and they tried that too). First satellite, first living creature in orbit, first man in space, first man in orbit, etc.

They didn't do the first space shuttle, but theirs was much bigger. You probably didn't know they had one, as information was rare, let alone photos. Those Soviets, always keeping secrets. I have found a collection of amazing photos from the glory days of their huge shuttle craft (the Buran) and the way-past-huge booster (the Energia). Check them out, and click the photos to enlarge.
http://tinyurl.com/2h77yn

Also, Cory Doctorow has a new book out called Little Brother, a "rousing tale of techno-geek rebellion". Some teenagers get accused of being terrorists, and draw heavy heat from Homeland Security. The kids are forced to use their tech skills to outwit and evade, and... well, read the book. Lots of useful tips for those who want their privacy back. The author is giving it away FREE right here:
http://tinyurl.com/4xse5t

Someone in Eugene?

2008-05-04T21:59:00.004-04:00

Some of you may know that I'm an Oregon boy, and lived in Eugene for a few happy years before moving to Seattle and then to Atlanta.

So when I see that this week someone in Eugene spent hours looking over what appears to be my entire blog and its years of archives, I'm intrigued.

Mystery guest, sign in please - are you an old friend? One of my cousins? Use the Comment icon below and let me know.

This reminds me, I've got a lot of great old Eugene stories for you. Like, how I used to play in the actual frat house where Animal House was filmed, right next to University of Oregon (and, I've also played the Dexter Lake Club, and my Aunt Joanne is somewhere in the parade scene). I might tell you about the 3AM phone call I got from my drummer (rooming with Cray's) to come party with them and Belushi. Or how the Blues Brothers were actually a product of a chance meeting during that filming, because Robert Cray and Curtis Salgado and friends were the house band of The Eugene Hotel where Belushi was staying. In fact, if you look you'll see Robert playing bass in The Knights, which also featured local music luminaries (and nice guys) Robert Bailey, Sonny King, Tommy Smith, and Ron Steen. Belushi took that inspiration (some say "stole the act lock stock & barrel") and ran with it, pretty much causing the blues resurgence in the late 70s and early 80s. Or how Kenny Gorlick used to play there with Jeff Lorber, before he became Kenny G.

But there's no time to tell these stories properly right now, maybe later. Meanwhile, who's my mystery guest? Mitch Matthews? Dave Mischak? Monti Amundson? Drix Rixmann? Or do you know them? Speak up!

go Ducks!

Congrats, Geoff Achison

2008-05-03T11:47:00.004-04:00

Big grins to Geoff Achison for being named at the top of Guitar Player Magazine's "Ten Hottest New Guitarists"! (June 2008, pg 64) Guitar Player is the oldest and most respected of the guitar magazines, and they know how to pick 'em. Good on ya!

Correction & Apology

2008-04-28T17:18:00.004-04:00

(The following was composed Friday afternoon, but Charter prevented me from sending it out until I could find a way to bypass them by installing my own SMTP server. This is the first mass test of my new system, I hope it works. My apologies for the delay. The whole affair with Charter has scrambled my mail list too, so if you have opted out of the list and still get my reports, please let me know and I'll fix.)

Having received one outraged response (and many supportive ones) to my posting about Sean Costello, I do see the need to step back a bit from what I reported. I went with the news from very inside sources, friends' internet groups, and the grapevine in general that Sean had passed away from a drug overdose, after hearing and reading over a week's worth of what were nonetheless rumors waiting for an official report. All those rumors could still be wrong, so here is the latest official word I could find via Google and AJC:

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2008/04/19/costello_0420.html

The cause of Costello's death has not been determined; it will be a couple of weeks before toxicology test results are available. The Fulton County medical examiner's office has said there were no signs of foul play in the Cheshire Bridge Road hotel room where the musician was found.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the singer's non-profit, The Sean Costello Foundation for Bi-Polar Research, are requested. To donate, call 678-384-0063 or e-mail tray@bbandt.com

I do apologize for sending an unconfirmed report, that puts me down in Drudge territory. Those of you who've sent me various multi-forwarded emails know that I always Google them and if it's a hoax (and it usually is) I write back that it was false and shouldn't be sent out without checking. As most of you know, I usually insist on including links that confirm what I'm talking about. This time, I did not and should have, because doing so would've forced me to see the cause of death is still officially unknown. I don't know that the results of the toxicology tests will ever be made public, or even that they should be. If the tests do come out negative, and if I am so informed, I will be very happy to have been wrong, and will say so immediately. I will not wait 10 days to collect more info as I did before. I want to make very clear my respect and honor for the man,
and my condolences to his family and friends. If on the other hand the tests confirm what I said, I will say nothing further to draw attention to this unfortunate event, as the people who need to know will already know. I already wish I didn't know as much as I do about the whole sad affair.

But most of all, my lack of realization that mentioning the topic at all would pour salt in fresh emotional wounds was shockingly stupid. I deserved some of what I got. I have promised to never again compose emails after 3AM, I need all my wits and then some.

(fresh material follows)
Now, taking Sean out of the equation, let me add that within the same two week period I'd been made aware of four other drug & alcohol problems within my circle of friends and family. When Sean passed away, that was all just too much for me and I just had to speak up. These matters have to be discussed, embarassment or not, because lives and families are at stake. Silence equals death. So please, if there's someone in your circle that needs talking to, or more, care enough to do what it takes. You don't want to live the rest of your life wondering if you let a friend die. I know.

Unfortunately the gentleman who demanded this apology won't receive it because he also demanded to be removed from my email list, and I obliged as I always promised I would. To the couple dozen of Sean's other friends and insiders who wrote to thank me for what I said and share grief, thank you for taking the time, that was nice of you. For the rest of you, once again I am sorry. Doing the right thing badly is still bad, and I hope you'll forgive my fumbling.

I'm just a poor boy whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

There's a little bit more I should have clarified and supported. I also mentioned that poppy farming in Afghanistan is way up (true, 300% in the last 10 years) and that "the Taliban used to keep a heavy Muslim boot on the poppy fields there" (also true). However, further research muddies the waters quite a bit there. Some believe that the Taliban's restrictions were actually coldly calculated to keep the price of drugs high, to protect their (unproven) profits. The Taliban is allegedly betraying their conservative morality by selling (or at the very least allowing to be sold) opium and all its derivatives. They also supposedly made up to $25 million a year from
a tax on poppy production. But it gets stranger. Osama allegedly "has talked about going after the West by coming up with a new, more potent strain of heroin and getting it into Europe or the United States to undermine them." Oh goody. Also, the Northern Alliance (resistance against the Taliban) funds themselves mostly, you guessed it, by farming and selling opium. And here's the forehead-smacking finale: in 2001, the US Government gave $43 million to the Taliban to "support drug eradication in return for a Taliban pledge to eliminate Afghanistan's massive opium crop." That program is reported to have had "mixed results". I'd say so. For one thing, immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban appeared to be dumping their stockpiles on the market, and the price of heroin in Europe dropped from $746 a kilogram to $95. So, if I seemed to be defending the Taliban (I was not, I am no fan of ultra-conservative totalitarian theocracy) I hope you'll see that I do not care for them one bit. If you want more info, just Google "Afghan poppy" and get all you need.
Old but very relevant article: http://tinyurl.com/yjm65r
Afghan poppy production since then: http://tinyurl.com/6fewjq

That was a lot more than I thought I was going to say, but I felt I needed to clean my messes up. I promise to be more careful. For instance, I will go to bed and re-read this tomorrow before sending it.

Now, while I'm here, a bit of music report: Friday's show at Little Alley was fun as always, but much more so for being Barbara's birthday party. My thanks to her many devoted friends and family who came out to party with us and have an extra good time.

Saturday was one of those busy days: a full slate of students, a drive-through meal, and an outdoor show at a wine-tasting party (as a duo with Mary Langdon, supporting her CD "Lovers and Liars"). Then a dash down to the Emory neighborhood to play what turned out to be a high school graduation party with Rashaan Griffith Band. I fully expected to be hated, to hear comments like "Hey do you geezers know anything from this century?", but that was not the case. The little cuties actually requested nothing modern, they asked for Mustang Sally and Play That Funky Music and other hits of the 60s and 70s, and then danced with joyful abandon. Sometimes I love being wrong. But after 12 hours of either playing guitar or driving, it was good
to be done for the night.

Many of you remember Leszek Wawer, the Polish guitarist who jammed with us so often at Darwin's and other places. He wrote me from Chicago with the following:

Hi everyone,
My friend Leszek (there's more Leszeks out there, can you believe it?) has a live broadcast on May 1st of the guitar event that has been taking place annually in my beautiful city of Wroclaw over the last several years.

The Thanks Jimi jam with more than 1500 guitar players earned Leszek his entry to the World Guinness Book of Records. And then, it is truly unique event and shows Leszek's amazing organizational skills - especially as the concert is being held in the heart of beautiful city of some 2 million people.

Give it a trial this coming Wednesday - I think it will be really interesting. See the city. Hear the music. We may all want to visit Wroclaw next year. I am taking early reservations...

What: Thanks Jimi Festival
When: Wednesday, May 1, 11AM EST
Where: http://www.wrocek-itv.pl/Live/index.html

Here are some high lights from the previous years of the event clearly showing it is an interesting event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpPzNduP_rI

Leszek (the one you know)

Also, Jon Schwenke writes the following about his Tuesday night gig with Andrew Black and John McKnight:

Thanks so much for the plug @ Londzell's. However it is no longer a jam. Jason Pastras, Luke and I host one @ Bradley's Bar in Marietta on Wed fron 9 to 12 though.

I hope you can come enjoy some music this Wednesday at Bella Bocca in Marietta, or Friday at Little Alley in Roswell. Or one of the other fine groups at a venue near you. Live people need live music. Thank you and good night.

Something fun:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/25/ukulele-blitzkrieg-b.html

Music Report for April 25, 2008

2008-04-25T16:54:00.002-04:00

Hello Friends, it's time to catch you up, and prepare you for the future.

I had a couple interesting gigs over the weekend. One was a sweet fill-in gig with the illustrious Chicago Joe Jones & friends at Killer Creek Steakhouse in Roswell (joined by Dave Hewitt, formerly of Humble Pie, Georgia Satellites, and others). The other was a beautiful outdoor wedding, as a duo with singer Adrienne Reynolds.

Last week I began a new gig with Larry Griffith Band at Bella Bocca in Marietta. This has turned out to be a nice little venue, deserving of good music and your patronage. It's a bit hard to spot, so do this: head west on Hwy 120, past Marietta Square, and keep going west as it becomes Whitlock. One mile past the square, you'll pass Nik's Back Porch on the left (which I'll discuss in a minute). A bit further ahead on the left, as you rise up a hill, you'll see the Clock Tower stripmall, which is mostly hidden. Turn in there, and Bella Bocca has the corner location. There are outdoor tables, so nice this time of year. Our hours are now 8PM to 11PM, so c'mon out. You can sit at the tables, or at the bar.
Bella Bocca Wednesdays 8-11PM
999 Whitlock Avenue
Marietta, Ga 30064 770-795-8984
map: http://tinyurl.com/4lrhml

On the way home, I stopped in at Nik's to visit Aaron Simpson's gig, and found a lively jam in effect. I had taught a full slate of students, then played a gig, so I didn't stick around very long, but I did see Atlanta jam icons John McKnight, Barry Richman and Terry Bradley there, among many other musicians and old friends. I happened to arrive just as Barry was coming onstage with a crew that included (say whut?!?) an electric kalimba player! Also called the
African thumb piano, the kalimba is not as popular here as, say, the bassoon. I've seen exactly two played onstage, the other time being in Earth Wind & Fire in 1975. This guy had it running through more pedals than I own, and an expensive amp. I don't know how many gigs he gets, but I'm glad I saw this one. God I do love jam nights! After you visit our show at Bella Bocca, stop by Nik's to take your musical experience to the logical next level. Say hi to Aaron, a very nice kid and fine young artist.
Nik's Place Restaurant and Bar (aka The Back Porch)
645 Whitlock Ave. (aka Hwy GA-120)
Marietta, GA 30064 770-792-6666
about 1 mile west of Marietta Square
across the street from Waffle House
Free Wi-Fi, good food!
web: http://www.niksplace.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/dhdek

On the way home, I also got a chance to slow way down in Historic Roswell (you can do that in the wee hours) and locate the future home of Red Salt, a new club by the folks at Little Alley. It's just a few doors north of Pastis. So far the plan is to have it open by June, and for me to be playing there at least some Saturdays while holding down the Friday spot at Little Alley. It's an "intimate" venue, so I won't have room for a band, only a duo. It'll have to be with someone small and cute because she'll probably have to sit on my lap. (just kidding, Barbara) Regardless of size, you can bet the food will rock because Chef Richard is amazing and getting better. If
you've eaten at Little Alley you know what I mean.

Speaking of my trophy sweetie Barbara, she and her daughter Tina just returned from Hawaii, just in time to celebrate her birthday at Little Alley tonight (Friday the 25th). By all means, stop by and wish her well, and I'll be there to make sure everyone has some music to dance to (she loves dancing, she MUST dance, that's how I met her). Your presents are not necessary, but your presence is. I will not specify which birthday this is, but it does include a zero. The
music starts at 7:30 and goes to 11:30, family-friendly, smokeless indoors, outdoor tables available.
Little Alley Fridays 7:30-11:30
690 Holcomb Bridge Rd.
(behind the Wolf Camera, at HBR & Grimes Bridge/Old Roswell Rd)
Roswell, GA 30076 770-992-9198
free parking, TOP quality food & service!
web: http://www.littlealley.com
map: http://preview.tinyurl.com/2yjw3f

And finally, a plug for my dear friends and first-call bandmates Andrew Black, Jon Schwenke and John McKnight, who hold court at Londzell's on Tuesday nights. It's another jam night, so go there and make some joyful noise with them (and maybe me).
Londzell's Jazz & Blues Cafe
2300 Holcomb Bridge Road, Suite 309
(Kroger center near Centennial High, east end)
Roswell, GA 30076 678.795.9100
web: http://www.londzellsjazzandblues.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/3aq7pn

In other news, it's been a sad week for Atlanta's music scene. Blues artist Sean Costello, a rising star, the Next Big Thing, died April 15th of a drug overdose. Beloved by everyone who met him and a lot who didn't, he had been privately battling depression and bi-polarity for years, and finally lost, a day before his 29th birthday. You'll find that Google knows him well, there's even a brief Wikipedia article on him. The few times I played with him were pure joy, and he was always happy and polite when we chatted, same as I've heard from everone else I know. Ellen Hamby documents the Atlanta music scene with her camera, and has several good videos of him:
http://tinyurl.com/5p3zxt
A bit of curious clicking will lead you to lots of Ellen's other videos.

Adding another blue note to Sean's dirge is that another, much lower profile, local musician known to many of us has, shall we say, fallen into a giant crack. I'm going to keep his name private, but I wish I could only remember him as a fine human being and artist, rather than
the thieving wreck he has become. My heart goes out to those who tried unsuccessfully to salvage him.

It is wise to learn from your mistakes, but much wiser to learn from someone else's. Learn from these two fine examples: if you need help, get help, there's no shame in that, but stay away from drugs. Modern drugs are not like the relatively cute little drugs of the 1960s, they will make you either die or wish you had. And avoid anyone who has anything to do with them (except pharmacists, of course). If you have been recently involved with such a person, I suggest you increase your personal security by keeping a close eye on your credit (I don't know how hard it is to have your numbers changed), and chatting with your neighbors about keeping an eye on each other's property (they don't need to know why, it's just a good idea). Learn some lessons from that TV show where former professional burglars break into homes as a form of security audit.

Interesting point: 90% of the world's opium and opium derivatives (such as heroin) come from Afghanistan. The Taliban used to keep a heavy Muslim boot on the poppy fields there, but since the Americans came and killed so many of them the farmers are enjoying huge drug harvests, up manyfold from previous years. Oh goody.

Music Report for April 9, 2008

2008-04-09T16:24:00.002-04:00

Hi friends, just a quick note to tell you some late-breaking news. This just in...

One of my heroes, Sarasota Slim, is coming to Atlanta and has asked me to come play with him at Darwin's tonight (Wednesday 4/9). I'm not sure if I'll be playing the whole evening; he's hired me before, but his email said "bring your guitar and pick a few" with no mention of a business arrangement. No matter, I'll make music with him any chance I can get, or just enjoy sitting and listening. Either way is great. I highly recommend this act; great tones from great guitars, masterful playing, and he's always had an amazing band every time I've seen him.
Darwin's 4/9 9PM $8
1598 Roswell Rd. (Hwy 120)
1 mile east of The Big Chicken (El Pollo Grande)
Marietta, GA 30062 (770) 578-6872
web: http://www.darwinsblues.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/2fko

Thursday, I'll be doing a dinner show (6 to 9PM) with Larry Griffith at KC Pit BBQ in Sandy Springs, near The Punchline.
KC Pit BBQ
234 Hilderbrand Rd. NE
Sandy Springs, GA 30328 404-459-6497
map: http://tinyurl.com/2fko

Starting next week, I'll have regular Wednesday night shows with Larry Griffith at Bella Bocca in Marietta (near Nik's on Whitlock).
Bella Bocca (Wednesdays, 9PM)
999 Whitlock Avenue
Marietta, Ga 30064 770-795-8984

As of March 2008, over 6,000 American troops came back from this century's foreign wars (errr, "police actions") only to commit suicide. Various difficulties with family, employment, health, finance, the VA, whatever, drove these incredible men & women to do what Saddam and Osama could not - end their lives. Today at the airport, I passed by some USO volunteers applauding a lone soldier who was coming out of the concourse area. A bit later, a group of male & female soldiers sat down next to me at the Wendy's. When I finished breakfast, I stopped and said "Hey guys, thanks for everything". Did their efforts and sacrifices make America and the world safer and better? The jury's still out, but I sure hope so. If not, it wasn't their fault; even if they didn't believe in their missions (most do) they have to follow orders or they get imprisonment or execution. Think again of the phrase "Support our troops" and remember that whether you agree with their civilian commander-in-chief or not, the well-being of these troops (and their families) is just as much our responsibility as ours is to them. Clearly what our government does for them is not enough (ask any war vet, and remember, over 6,000 suicides!) so the rest is up to us. Do what you can to help and protect the people who protect us. Here's a
good place to start:
http://www.uso.org

Time Capsule

2008-03-26T22:16:00.002-04:00

I've been doing things online for a long time (since 1981, the very early days of modems) and I have a lot of old stuff squirreled away on various media. Anybody need some 8-inch floppy disks? Anyway, here's an article I submitted to TechRepublic.com back in 1999, about ways to improve the Tech Support experience.

(article as sent to Jeff Davis 9/21/99)

I've learned a few things in my (many) years of phone support. For instance, you should never overlook the subconscious mind of the client. Some word or phrase will trigger resentment in an already unhappy listener.

People hate to be "transferred". They equate it with being shuffled, passed off, or punted. When they hear, "I'll transfer you..." that phrase raises their antagonism. But they love to be "connected". Powerful people are connected, and your clients are feeling a need to regain some of the power they lost by having to call for support in the first place. "One moment please, and I'll connect you" works wonders. Same act, different word, big difference. Oh, and they don't like to hear "hold" either, so say "One moment please".

Now that they're connected, be sure to thank them for holding as you make a warm transfer. Never just dump a client into someone's line and run; instead, always thank the client for holding (it's OK to mention holding after the fact), and then introduce the client to the new party. After that little courteous act, you can back out gracefully, knowing you may have erased half the problem simply by connecting the client painlessly to the correct agent.

Never tell a client they "have to" do something. No matter how true it is or how right you are, and they know it, some subconscious part of the client rebels against being commanded to perform. "How dare you tell ME I "have to"?!? Tell them they'll "want to" or even "need to". You could begin with "Would you please....?' or "Are you able to.....?". Sometimes, "Our next step will be to..." makes the caller a partner rather than a subordinate being given an order.

Don't say "I want you to...(click, do, whatever)". Say "Please..." instead. They don't care what you want, and they're not in the best mood even if they did. Use "Please", "Thank you", and "I'm sorry" whenever you get a chance.

If you can remember you are talking to a person with a real problem who has called you, the expert, for help, some of the magic words might be easier to use. The phrase "How can I help you?" as a conversation opener may be trite today, but it does serve to put the situation in the proper perspective: I am here to help you. Your attitude about your role will communicate subtle signals from your subconscious to your client's. Some experts recommend keeping a mirror next to the monitor, claiming it has a strong effect on how you present yourself on the phone.

Use these tips and you'll find the conversation and the instructions go more smoothly. Your client will think so too, and probably won't even be able to figure out just why.

(George Price is a support professional with nearly 20 years experience in the computer field, working with clients such as DEC, IBM, and currently GE Capital. He has A+, Network+ and MCP certifications, is nearly through with his MCSE, and will soon be a Microsoft Certified Trainer.)

Sir Arthur C. Clarke leaves Earth

2008-03-20T14:30:00.005-04:00

One of the greatest science fiction (and fact) authors of all time, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, passed away today at age 90. You've probably seen "2001", widely considered the greatest movie of all time; he wrote that. You've surely used geosynchronous satellites for everything from phone calls to TV (cable or satellite) to weather; he popularized that concept too, and the tiny strip of ultra-prime orbital real estate where those satellites park is still named "the Clarke Belt". He was one of the "Big Three" authors (along with Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov) that hooked me on science fiction from the fourth grade on. He was one of the main proofs of the adage that science informs science fiction, which in return inspires new science. He was truly one of those authors who helped invent our actual future. I hope that his ideas will continue to inspire mankind to reach beyond this little planet, so that the human race may survive when the next inevitable disaster comes.

Clarke insisted that his funeral have no religious content whatsoever.

UPDATE: An enormous astronomical event, so bright that it was visible to the naked eye even though it was halfway across the universe (7.5 billion light-years) was detected just a few hours before his death. The brightest thing ever seen by humans. Some are proposing that this event be permanently named "The Clarke Event". Super-novas are big, but this is estimated at 2.5 million times more luminous than the most luminous supernova ever recorded. We're talking BIG explosion here, folks - if this gamma ray burst had happened in the farthest side of our own galaxy, we'd all be dead. Much of the galaxy itself would be missing. If we were a mere 2700 light-years away, the visible light would be brighter than the sun, but all that visible light is only a teensy side-effect from the real energy, the gamma rays, which would destroy all human life in seconds even from that distance. You like big numbers? ~9*10^45 W of peak apparent power output (that's a 9 followed by 45 zeros! You only need 19 zeros to describe the age of the universe in seconds, and each additional zero is ten times bigger!) So, that's a wall of 9 hundred-watt Marshall amps, times.... uhhh... a whole lot. There are no words for numbers that big. Humans can do the math, but cannot comprehend. So, the Clarke Event? I'm all for it.

Why We're Off Beef

2008-03-19T23:54:00.004-04:00

Barbara & I haven't been eating much beef lately. We're not granola-head hippie vegans, it's just that we've found several good reasons to quit, and an unexpected benefit. First, our reasons:

Barbara's sister Betty was killed last summer by Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a relative of Mad Cow disease. CJD is hard to trace to cows, but then again until relatively recently it was hard to conclusively link global warming to human stupidity, or cancer to cigarettes. And oh by the way, even though Mad Cow deaths are "practically unheard of" and "never happen in USA" according to the news, Barbara and I personally know two people who have died of MCD. What are the odds? We're aware that the beef industry is not to be trusted (click here to see lots of reports, including secret videos, of slaughterhouse workers illegally hauling cattle that were too sick to even stand up in to be prepared as our food) so we're definitely avoiding ground beef, and avoiding other beef when possible.
Bovine flatulence (cow gas) turns out to be a really huge source of global warming; even more than cars, according to some calculations. Methane is chemically 23 times more dangerous as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Catch up on the research here.
Barbara is somewhat lactose-intolerant. We've recently tried soy milk, and find that for most uses we don't detect a difference. Generic house-brand soy milk is even a few cents cheaper than the equivalent milk. Besides, it turns out that adults (and we are definitely past 21) really don't get any good out of real milk, the best thing about it is the calcium which we get in a much more chemically digestable form from cheap calcium pills and Tums. Sorry, Bessie.
Nutritionists seem to routinely come on TV and strongly recommend that we eat far less meat (especially "processed meats", which I'm guessing means Spam) and more vegetables.

I know, by not supporting the American farmer, we're just helping good farm land get irreversably scraped & raped into subdivisions, and we do have mixed emotions about that. We've also started thinking about how much of the American economy is tied up in beef & dairy infrastructure; the farmers, truckers, slaughterhouse workers, inspectors, repackagers and resellers are only part of the picture. Consider also the farm implement makers, geneticists, vets, cattle feed (they don't eat much grass anymore, you know), grain silos, auctioneers, specialized tools and milking machines, cattle drugs (antibiotics, steroids, etc) and a jillion other strange things, right down to electric fenceposts, cattle guns, fly nets, and strong magnets designed to be swallowed & pooped while sweeping up stray metals along the way. Then there's all the secondary industries such as leather, cheese, bone meal and glue. There are a whole lot of people out there who want to keep us all using lots of cows. We think that's why the real dangers of too much beef are being covered up.

Look, I'm from timber and cattle country. I've milked cows, I've fed cattle, I've been to my share of fairs and 4-H events. I even know several uses for Bag Balm. Some beef & dairy are doubtless a good thing, but the vast corporate factory farming systems are way beyond reason, and as the videos show, beyond control.

Oh yeah, the benefit: since we've quit beef, we've found that body odor pretty much disappears. Interesting!

Finally, a reason to like Fox News

2008-03-03T12:08:00.005-05:00

One has to chuckle a bit at blatant hypocrisy, especially when it comes to pandering. Fox knows what the "conservative" audience wants: good ol' T&A to break a sweat over, while putting on the appearance (partially to themselves) that it's all in the name of showing it so they can condemn it. Fair? To whom? Balanced?!? Does that mean, "both cups are D"?

Hey, if Fox is good for showing this stuff, then I guess Larry Flynt is a saint. And a lot more interesting. And, I have to say, a LOT less hypocritical than the slimebags like Newt Gingrich and Larry Craig, who got famous for doing the exact things they publicly condemned. But I wish Fox would grow a pair (show a pair?) and admit that they do what they do for the exact same reason as Flynt, which is "supply and demand". Would it hurt so bad to say "Fox News: because we know what cranky, repressed whites over 50 like"?

Actually, the perfect combination would be to have Flynt report on Fox News, rather than the other way around. Considering the reduction (not total lack) of pretense and pretention, that'd actually be a huge improvement in journalistic integrity. Here's a funny little sample, an ad for O'Reilly's "No-Pants Zone". And since Flynt is "fair and balanced", here's his take on ABC News too.

Anyway, go have some fun. You know you want to, baby.
FoxNewsPorn.com
Larry Flynt's "Free Speech" site
(be sure to check out the "Ad Parodies")
Republican Sexcapades, episode #1
(more here)

PS. I had never been to Flynt's site before, so don't start on me. Never had a reason to until just now. But I must say, he's a guy who has done more to defend our American freedoms, in his tasteless way, than most of Washington. Be fair and balanced - I report, you deride. Hey, I just realized I'm just as "fair and balanced" as Fox News, for the exact same reason: because I said so.

*UPDATE!* Now you can add NY guv'nor Eliot Spitzer to the list of prominent scum like Gingrich and Craig. Yup, when he's not busy "cleaning up the streets", it seems he likes to get something else professionally cleaned. The unusual thing here is that this guy was not the usual repressed, coiled-spring, double-life Republican, but a Democrat with a history of busting white-collar criminals and polluters, and a fairly progressive track record. I wonder what he'll be doing for the rest of his life? Oh, wait, Fox News can use him as the carefully chosen (meaning disgraced, idiotic, or both) Democrat to "balance" their real viewpoint from their new favorite boy, Karl Rove.

You gotta be !@$!in' me...

2008-02-20T15:11:00.003-05:00

More evidence of why national leaders elsewhere are removed from office for being too friendly with the USA, from BoingBoing.net:

Bush administration wants Europeans' family details, the right to put armed officials on European planes, and a pre-approval for European visitors

The demand to put armed air marshals on to the flights is part of a travel clampdown by the Bush administration that officials in Brussels described as "blackmail" and "troublesome", and could see west Europeans and Britons required to have US visas if their governments balk at Washington's requirements.
According to a US document being circulated for signature in European capitals, EU states would also need to supply personal data on all air passengers overflying but not landing in the US in order to gain or retain visa-free travel to America, senior EU officials said.
And within months, the US department of homeland security is to impose a new permit system for Europeans flying to the US, compelling all travellers to apply online for permission to enter the country before booking or buying a ticket, a procedure that will take several days.

The poster (Cory Doctorow) goes on to suggest that by logical extension, we should give Mexico the right to put its Sky Marshals on any American flight that's bound for South America, and Canada could put Mounties on all US flights headed over to Alaska from the mainland. Also: if you're on a US flight headed to, say, Germany, your flight could have gun-toting cops from Canada, Ireland, the UK, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Switzerland on it. Soon there'll be no room for passengers, as if anyone would want to travel... Just imagine the fun of sticking up a lifesize photo of a terrorist-looking guy, and two dozen jumpy skycops popping up and spraying it with bullets from all directions, shouting in their various languages. Fun for the whole cabin!

Or, the EU could think about Bush's idea, think about how all his other ideas have worked out, and after a nanosecond or so shout "Hell no, fool!". In their various languages, of course.

Email Hoaxes

2008-02-12T03:56:00.000-05:00

As I predicted earlier, hoax emails (barely true, partly untrue, or total lies) about Clinton and Obama are currently among the top 25 email hoaxes tracked by the top anti-hoax site, Snopes.com

Here's the Top 25 Hoaxes list: http://www.snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp

However, just as most of us rarely see hoax emails from the political center or leftwing, there are zero hoax emails being reported about Republican candidates, or even any Republicans in general. It's certainly not for lack of material to talk about. Say what you will about Democrats, they don't seem to play as dirty as the other side. Or maybe, they're just not as gullible about forwarding emails. Either way, I respect that.

TSA searches & detains 5 year old because his name was on no-fly list

2008-01-09T21:11:00.001-05:00

Say whaat?!? From my beloved BoingBoing.net :

Posted by Cory Doctorow, January 9, 2008 1:25 PM | permalink

A five-year-old boy was taken into custody and thoroughly searched at Sea-Tac because his name is similar to a possible terrorist alias. As the Consumerist reports, "When his mother went to pick him up and hug him and comfort him during the proceedings, she was told not to touch him because he was a national security risk. They also had to frisk her again to make sure the little Dillinger hadn't passed anything dangerous weapons or materials to his mother when she hugged him."

It's a case of a mistaken identity for a 5-year-old boy from Normandy Park. He had trouble boarding a plane because someone with the same name is wanted by the federal government. Mimi Jung reports from Sea-Tac Airport.

You know, if you wanted to systematically discredit the idea of a Department of Homeland Security, if you wanted to make an utter mockery of aviation safety, you could not do a better job than this. Link (via Consumerist)

Forgotten Masterpiece

2008-01-07T14:24:00.000-05:00

I'm listening to an old favorite of mine, "Remote Control" by The Tubes. Produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1979, it's a bit too poppy-dancy for some, but I always loved it. I know a lot more about music theory and composition now than I did back in the 70s, and now I see how rich and layered it really is. In fact, I double-dog-dare my most educated friends to try and transcribe these songs. You'll learn a whole lot about polychords and harmony, I guarantee. Yet, even for non-musicians, the songs shine on their brilliant funny lyrics and compelling beats.

The whole album is a concept story about a "couch potato", a guy who has been so glued to his TV that he only knows the outside world from what he's seen on the tube. The opening song is "Turn Me On", about the joy his TV brings him. "TV Is King" further illustrates how much he loves his TV, and in "Prime Time" it sings seductively back to him with punny lyrics like "I give you my prime time" and "I have had my eye on you", a cute reference to the CBS logo (or maybe the Neilson ratings). At some point he starts to wonder about the outside world, and in "I Want It All Now" he begins to realize he's got to get up and get out somehow to that wonderful world he's seen on TV. "No Way Out" is tinged with desperation as he realizes the depths of his TV addiction. In a brilliant and perfect move, side 1 of the vinyl ends there; side 2 picks up with "Getoverture", an instrumental intermission that picks up the major themes of the songs in the album and prepares the listener for our hero's introduction to the brutal outside world in the song "No Mercy". Then in "Only The Strong Survive", someone else (possibly a co-worker) sings back to him in hard-bitten tones that he'd better get used to it, real life ain't easy. In "Be Mine Tonight", he sees a girl and is smitten by love at first sight. He makes a sweet clumsy plea for her affection, but we see in the next song that it didn't go well. "Love's a Mystery" is so plaintive and sweet - the poor guy was totally unprepared for the devastation of love gone bad (if it ever came together at all is unclear). He couldn't handle it, as shown in the frantic and cynical "Telecide", the last song on the album. The news anchor sings with an apparent leer, "This one is so juicy, we've pre-empted Lucy". A female voice, possibly his love interest, says "I used to know him, he seemed like a regular guy". The final moments are a glorious anthem with angelic choir as he apparently rises to heaven (maybe to watch TV).

Even the cover art shows great wit - a baby in a seat that molds smoothly into a TV just inches from his face. The TV is in a case roughly like a human head, and on the front of the screen is a big rubber nipple. What's on the screen? "Hollywood Squares". The back cover was a photo of all eight Tubes members sitting in the Hollywood Squares set.

It's hard to write one good coherent song, but to put a whole album together with a story, a cast (knowing The Tubes, I can only imagine how theatrical the stage show must have been) and all that great music... well, it's just a masterpiece. Check it out.

New Scam on Musicians

2007-12-18T14:19:00.000-05:00

I got an email the other day that was so specifically tailored and semi-believable that I actually responded. Someone (allegedly a priest, currently in England) claimed that they liked my music and wanted to hire me to play an anniversary event at a specific address in Conyers. Very nice, I responded, but since I'm a variety artist, what kind of group did you want, and what size? What did you see of mine that you liked, and I'll play that. The response came back in a totally different writing style from the original letter, using classic teenspeak (all lower case, "u" and "4" as abbreviations for "you" and "for", no real sentence construction, etc.) saying essentially that he didn't remember what he'd heard, on "some talent site". Hmmm, spidey senses tingling. Still wanted a quote.

I sent a quote for a nice party act, four players and a female singer. He responded, in a much more adult writing style this time, that the price was agreeable, and that he'd send me $200 more than I was asking so that I could advance some money to his associate here before his (the "priest") arrival. Whoa, big red flag! Not only not enough money for any caterer or florist that I know of, but I've never heard of the band being involved in money handoffs to others.

So I inquired further about the local phone number and contact name at the venue in question, so I could nail down the load-in times and electrical availability. I declined his generous offer for extra money, and said I'd be happy with just the amount I'd quoted but didn't want to handle his other business for him, that his "associate" should do that. I said that PayPal or certified cashier's check would be just fine, and as soon as my bank was happy with the transfer we could proceed. I never heard from him again.

Since then, I've learned more about this type of scam. A fake check arrives, with orders to redistribute parts of the money to other parties. The bank takes a while to figure out that the check is fake, but the victim has already given out the real money. Beware!

The Top 25 Lies

2007-12-18T14:01:00.000-05:00

My well-meaning friends keep sending on all those rubbish hoax emails about a variety of things, from the Invitation torch virus to the Clinton Circle of Death to rants attributed to Andy Rooney, George Carlin and others. One of those stories I got recently was about Australian Santas being ordered to say "Ha ha ha" instead of "Ho ho ho", apparently composed by one of those guys who hates political correctness so much that he actually makes up lies about it. Look, if I wanted to hear crap like this, I'd listen to AM radio. I keep asking my friends to please use Google to check this stuff before remailing it, but noooo...

So, here's the deal. You can stay ahead of the crap curve by reading Snopes.com's Hottest 25 Urban Legends , a daily updated list of the fecal flood you're most likely to be sent. What the heck, make it your browser's start page. If (make that when) someone sends you yet another email about Obama being a radical muslim, or H.Clinton being a baby-eater, you can just direct them to this page for starters, and the specific page pertaining to their spam du jour. Keep yourself even further ahead of the foolish forwarders by reading the very latest reports on the What's New page.

It's like a condom to protect your brain...

My Santa Website is UP!

2007-11-16T12:44:00.000-05:00

Last night (this morning, technically) I went to GoDaddy.com and bought the domain name SantaGeorgePrice.com for my new Santa site. I also bought hosting there, and the Website Tonight package, and within a couple hours, had the bare bones of a new website open to the public. Please come check me out at http://www.SantaGeorgePrice.com and let me know what you think. Notice that under Info & Contact, you'll find my calendar of public Santa appearances (private shows aren't listed, of course). I do hope you'll come visit me, bring the young'uns, and let's have some fun.

I have nothing but nice to say about GoDaddy in general, and Dino the support guy in particular. I've owned the domains GeorgePrice.biz and GeorgePriceBand.com via GoDaddy for a couple years now and haven't done anything with them, but my experience last night could change that pretty soon.

Secret Oil-grab Revealed

2007-11-07T11:44:00.000-05:00

Here's a little gem from http://www.JimHightower.com revealing a (deliberately) little-known maneuver by our (deservedly) unpopular White House.

PS, some of you may remember me saying in 2003 that Iraq was not "all about oil", any more than it being all about WMDs (which other, more dangerous nations definitely had) or oppressive regime (which other, easier-to-conquer nations also definitely had and have). Of course, the oil and its machinery is of huge interest to Bush's employers (major campaign contributors in the oil and oil equipment industries) and puppetmasters (let's see, who owns a lot of stock in Halliburton?) who apparently still write a lot of our foreign policy, but it's obviously oversimplifying to say the war is "all about oil".

I still believe, and I'm believing it more each day, that Iraq was intended to be a forward base for American military power to keep a thumb on Iran if not invade them directly. That would be an absolutely idiotic and nationally suicidal move that I sincerely pray Dubya will not be persuaded to attempt. But then, it was idiotic and nearly-suicidal to pull troops out of Afghanistan to start a fight in Iraq to begin with, and he doesn't seem to be a fast learner... This could all get much worse, much more easily than getting better.

Santa Transformer

2007-11-02T16:15:00.000-04:00

The transformation is complete! As those who've seen me over the last year know, I've been growing hair and beard (at an alarming rate, according to some - maybe because I'm so full of fertilizer) to prepare for a role as Santa Claus. On Nov. 1st I got the final bleach-out, removing the last of my dark hairs. So, diggest thou this poor-quality home snapshot, and imagine how great it really looks (pro photos coming soon). Please mentally add the fat pad and white gloves I forgot to put on.

Now I've got the top-shelf Santa outfit, I've been educated at the intense Santa Claus Academy, I've gotten my shots, and now sport the very best natural hair & beard money can buy. I'm good to go for Christmas, and I'm eager to accept bookings.

Today's Favorite Links

2007-10-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

Hi, I know I've been a slacker about updating the blog, but here are a few links to keep you occupied:

How to untangle headphones:
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1080956&fr=yvmtf

Much Cooler Online (check out the stars!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GcVnhNjWV0
Check the related videos too.

NOW you tell us!
http://tinyurl.com/2o7ta9

and of course, my beloved BoingBoing:
http://boingboing.net/
New wonderful stuff every day. Check out also their Gadget and TV sub-sites.

JFK Killers Revealed!

2007-05-01T21:01:00.000-04:00

I didn't hear about this in the news, did you? CIA man E. Howard Hunt, one of Nixon's Watergate burglars, lays out in a near-deathbed confession the actual people behind JFK's assassination.

"He was the ultimate keeper of secrets, lurking in the shadows of American history. He toppled banana republics, planned the Bay of Pigs invasion and led the Watergate break-in. Now he would reveal what he'd always kept hidden: who killed JFK."

I highly recommend this story as one of the most amazing pieces of writing I've seen in a long time. Go read it!

The Last Confessions of E. Howard Hunt

A Good Month for Radio

2007-04-27T21:34:00.000-04:00

I've had some great guests on my radio show recently - in the last few weeks I've interviewed TGZ guitarists Dan Toler (Allman Brothers, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts & Great Southern) and Ed Zinner (Southern Legend); Australian guitarist/singer Geoff Achison; soul singer Al Strozier (Sam Cooke, The Houserockers); and Jeff Carlisi (founding member of .38 Special, founder of Camp Jam music education camps). Whew! More good stuff to come, too. You can download these shows and listen to them on your computer or MP3 player:
http://www.radiosandysprings.com/MusicScene/index.html

Jeff took the extra step of having a follow-up lunch with me two days after the interview, and we had a really enjoyable rapid-fire discussion of all sorts of music industry topics including downloading, crooked management, the family stresses of road life, copyright law issues (keep an eye here for more on "reclaiming" your copyrights), Creative Commons' novel new alternative copyright protections, and Jeff's induction into the Krystal Hall Of Fame (he's even on the side of the Krystal box now!) We hope to start recording our own little podcasts where a few veteran musicians (no more than 4) gather around a table and a few drinks and tell our road stories. Sorta like what I do on the radio, but without commercials or any fear of what the sponsors might say if we speak freely. There are a LOT of great stories that need to be collected, this will be good. One idea that brought a grin - calling the series "Chats With Jack" because we'll be gathered around a bottle of Jack Daniels. Hmm, maybe we could have a sponsor after all...

My thanks to ALL the great guests I've had on my show since it began on Jan. 31, 2006.

Not Quite, thank you

2007-04-20T12:38:00.000-04:00

I just saw a video that's really got me tickled. Pull up your support hose, here we go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfFrCUrEbY
I don't think I'm quite ready for this group, but when I am I bet they're ready for me.

It's All About Geoff

2007-04-05T21:35:00.000-04:00

Several coincidences over the last couple weeks have led me to feel like I'm in some wierd version of "Seven Degrees of Geoff Achison". Which is cool, I really admire his music (he has been labeled as Australia's finest blues guitarist, and I don't doubt it), but dang it's creepy how the world seems to suddenly revolve around this one guy!

First, I get a broadcast email from Nancy Lewis-Pegel that Geoff is coming to town. Better than that, he's actually moving here! Great, I'm a fan (see previous review), so I write back that I'm glad he's coming, and by the way, I have a radio show, would he mind stopping by? She makes the arrangements, and he'll be on my show Tuesday April 10th. (go here to listen to that show live, or here to hear it archived after it airs)

Then this week, I went to Baltimore to visit my sister in the hospital. (Get well Leigh! Luv ya!) During her physical therapy, I got to know the very nice folks in the PT gym (shouts to Lauren, Milan, Melissa, & Paula!) and while showing them how to access the thousands of legal, free concerts on the Internet Archive, there's Geoff again with several great sets, his set with Donna Hopkins recorded at Eddie's Attic listed as a Staff Pick. Hey Geoff, you now have repetitive airplay by your new fans in Johns Hopkins.

Later that same day, I was contacted by Andy Shaughnessy at Gophertunes.com, asking me if I'd be interested in writing live music reviews for their website. Andy thinks that my actually being a musician, trained in theory, might give a different slant to my reviews. Sure, when I have time, sounds like fun. When I checked my email tonight during the trip back to Atlanta, my first assignment is to review - take a wild guess - Geoff's set at Fuzzy's this Saturday! (looking around for Rod Serling...)

Anyway, I strongly suggest you get to know Geoff's music at the links above, and if you read his calendar you'll see he's too in-demand to play in Atlanta very often, so you better catch him while you can this weekend at Fuzzy's.

And to you, Geoff, welcome to your new home. Australia has our condolences.

UPDATE: Went there, saw that. Geoff rocked! Keep an eye on Gophertunes.com for my review of the show.

Gig Reminder: Fridays at Little Alley

2007-03-23T15:49:00.000-04:00

Did I forget to mention here? I have a weekly Friday show, beginning at 7:30PM, at Little Alley in Roswell. This is a sweet little tapas bar and grill, with a good wine list and full bar. I'm there with my trio (Jon Schwenke and Bill Shirk) and you know those guys are good so come check it out.

Little Alley
690 Holcomb Bridge Rd.
at HBR & Grimes Bridge Rd.
behind Wolf Camera
Roswell, GA 30076
770-992-9198

And speaking of trio gigs, I've been doing some jazz sets with Darren Ginn (piano) and Dr. Jackie Pickett (double bass), Wednesdays at Houston's on Peachtree (near Peidmont Hospital). These two push me to my musical limits just to hang with them - come see me suffer, and hear some really impressive music.

Houston's
2166 Peachtree Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30309
View Map
(404) 351-2442

Moonie Terrorists

2007-02-13T11:24:00.000-05:00

By now everyone's heard about how Boston completely wet themselves over a few Lite Brite renditions of a cartoon character. Here's a funny video depicting exactly what they must've been thinking: (click it)
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1741589

I've been naughty

2007-02-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

I know, I should've posted updates long ago. I will do better, I promise, and I will backfill the stuff I should've written about since September. Meanwhile, here's what's up:

I'm still doing my radio show on Radio Sandy Springs, and you can still download the previous two weeks' shows.

Monday, Feb. 5th, I was the *Special Guest* (ooo!) on the Music Pro Show, an extremely well-done podcast by Brian Stephens. He wanted the inside story on being a pro, the good bad & ugly, and I obliged. Some bits of music too. You can download the show from his website, http://www.musicproshow.com

Starting Friday, Feb. 16th, I'll be doing a regular Friday night gig as the George Price Trio at Little Alley in Roswell.

More later...

Random thought: The ferocity of a dog's name is often inversely proportional to the ferocity of the dog. (a trembling chihuahua named Shredder, or a 200 lb. pitbull named Fifi...)

Guns Into Guitars

2006-09-29T01:42:00.000-04:00

Promoting peace, Colombian crafts guns into guitars
Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:07pm ET
By Patrick Markey

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Polished rosewood and an artist's deft touch are all Colombian craftsman Luis Alberto Paredes needs to turn tools of death into symbols of hope.

One of Colombia's top musical instrument makers, Paredes has branched out from traditional methods to fashion electric guitars from shotguns and AK47 rifles once used by fighters caught up in the country's lingering guerilla conflict.

"This used to hit a target at 800 meters (yards)," Paredes said holding up one of the guitars which still has a Kalashnikov rifle's distinctive, banana-shaped magazine. "Now the target will just depend on the concert stage."

In a workshop above his modest family home in Bogota, Paredes has created the "escopetarras" -- shotgun guitars in Spanish -- since he was approached by local musician Cesar Lopez with the idea about three years ago.

After stripping the soldering and gutting the trigger mechanism, he crafts a polished wooden handle over the barrel and his son installs microphones in the stock. The process takes a week to ten days.

(for full story, see http://tinyurl.com/zrr52 )

Blues in Trinidad, CO

2006-09-01T23:18:00.000-04:00

I had an interesting weekend. A grueling, fascinating, sleep-deprived, wonderful weekend. Heaven Davis called Thursday needing me to fly out the next morning to Colorado with her to play the Trinidaddio Blues Fest VIII. There was to be a pre-party Friday night, then Saturday morning I'd rehearse our band (borrowed from Erica Brown of Denver). The band would then hustle out to the festival and play around 2, and we'd go on at 4.

As planned, we rented a car in Denver and got to Trinidad (about 3 hours from Denver, just inside the border from New Mexico) about 5PM. Our limo was to pick us up at 6. (Yes, there really was a limo, they took us back and forth as necessary all weekend) They did, and took us down to the Lucky Monkey, which seemed to be a century-old community hall with maybe 8-foot stamped-tin ceilings, packed with merrymakers. We were given a fistfull of drink coupons and directed to the buffet in back. From there, I saw that the back parking lot had also been roped into a party area, with lots of tables, a couple bars, and speakers fed from the stage inside.

Shortly after we arrived, a one-man-band act (I think he was John-Alex Mason) kicked in, playing a variety of guitars while singing and stomping out rhythms barefooted on a cluster of pedals linked to drums, tambourines, etc. One of his instruments was made from a cigar box, a couple broomsticks forming two parallel necks an inch apart, and two strings on each neck (one of them a bass string), with some odd black circular magnetic pickups about the size of a quarter each. Sounded good! He kept up this very physical act for two hours! Then Bernard Allison (son & student of the late Luther Allison) brought his band on, and things really heated up. I rocked along as long as I could, but it had been a long day, I was still on Atlanta time, and I had to go back to the hotel.

The next morning saw the band arrive on time for rehearsal. We rehearsed for maybe an hour in Heaven's room, and it was apparent we'd have no trouble on stage with this crew. They scurried out to prepare for their show, and we did the same. We didn't arrive in time to catch their (Erica Brown Band's) set, but we did get to hear part of Albuquerque Blues Connection's smokin' set, and they & the crowd showed their appreciation for Erica so she must've been good. Then it was our turn.

Due to my well-earned distrust of airlines, and the well-meaning silliness of the Fatherland Security people, it didn't seem smart to try and bring any equipment. After all, three times in my life I've checked my baggage, and two of those times the airlines lost it. So, arrangements were made for me to have a guitar & amplifier waiting there; I literally arrived with nothing but one guitar pick. The backline crew set me up with a nice maple-neck Strat that seemed identical to my own, except for being cream-white and having .009-gauge strings instead of the .010 I'm used to. The amp was a Fender Deluxe. No effects except a wah pedal that I used for maybe 10 seconds - simple, elegant, effective. I may consider going that route again at some point, rather than the all-digital command center I currently run. It was all rockin' along great.

Then the storm came.

Weather happens quickly at high altitude. While we were onstage, a lightning storm came in. The people didn't mind the rain, they had clear tarps and umbrellas and there wasn't really that much rain, but the lightning was worthy of respect and we had to get offstage a couple songs early. Within 30 minutes it was all gone, and the next band was on time. There were 3 more quickie storms that evening, but they didn't pack so much lightning and didn't interfere with the shows. Elsewhere in the area, Pueblo picked up a whopping 3.5" of rain, and I think there was a tornado somewhere. Remember, this is practically Road Runner country, and somewhere around 5,000 feet high, and to have anything over an inch of rain is really something. Trinidad fortunately got very little of all that.

Anyway, the festival grooved on. The artist's area behind the stage offered us all we could eat and drink, which I and the other artists happily did, as the evening went along. Some of the very best BBQ that I have ever tasted! The final act was Little Charlie & The Nightcats. They put on a really good show, with Charlie Baty showing some serious swing guitar chops worthy of Brian Setzer. While they were wrapping up, Heaven & Erica & I rode back to the hotel with Bernard and his crew to change for the afterparty. Charlie and his harp player Rick Estrin caught up with us there, and we all piled into the limo to ride back to town (about 5 minutes, gotta love a small town) to the old saloon that was hosting the final jam. Charlie got his hands on a borrowed guitar and played a couple cool songs with the band, then I did, along with Heaven and Erica. Finally it was time to fall over again, and I got myself out to the limo to find the rest of the crew had already done just that and I was barely in time to ride back with them. (Wouldn't matter much, the limo would've been right back to wait for me)

Nothing much happened after that - packed my bag and slept a couple hours before we had to drive out at 3AM to catch the morning flight from Denver. Not much sleep for me that weekend, but I loved every second of being awake. I highly recommend the Trinidaddio festival to anyone looking for a good time, the best I've been to.

Evil Genius strikes!

2006-08-18T12:58:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to installing a computer game I acquired last year. I shouldn't have waited so long. Evil Genius is a bucket of fun, kinda like The Sims doing an Austin Powers movie. Lots of humor, a great soundtrack, great art, good game design, reliable operation. No wonder it won "Best of E3" and a bunch of other awards. My old vice, MechWarrior 4 (at which I excel, by the way) has been retired for a while.

Incidentally, try putting "Evil Genius" (use the quotes) into Google for a whole lot of interesting stuff.

Blues Camp 2006 a success!

2006-08-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

This was a good birthday weekend for me, beginning Friday with the George Benson & Raul Midon concert at Chastain Park (along with my sweetie Barbara, and our friends Rich & Liz). Then I had to get up in the middle of the night Saturday morning (6:30 AM!) to drive up to Blue Ridge, GA for the first annual Blues Camp.

The setting for the "camp" is a beautiful house tucked away in the north GA mountains. The students had gathered Friday night and jammed, watched guitar videos, etc. I got there about 09:30, set up my gear and started classes about 11:30. Late afternoon, I took a break while Ms. Michael Broderick taught the segment on vocal techniques. We learned hard and played hard and ate very well and learned & played some more until about 02:30, then got up the next morning and did some more until mid-afternoon. The students were attentive and dedicated, and all said they got what they were looking for (and a few things they didn't know they needed).

Topics covered: Basic music theory (linear scale, numbering the notes, melodies as numbers, chord construction, chord sequences as numbers), what makes 12-bar blues so special, variations on 12-bars, basic scales, harmonized scales, modes, new chords, going beyond 12-bars (intro to jazz blues), how to read music, and a walk-through of the software, videos and other goodies on the DVDs that I had burned for them. The lectures were well supported by labs (meaning we played a lot of songs).

A few photos are saved at:
http://musicians.meetup.com/266/photos/90441/575352/

All in all, a successful first run for Blues Camp and we hope to do it again soon. Please let me know if you're interested. My thanks to Mike "Cathead" Nunn for organizing this, and to the students for your faith and hard work.

Tuesday Jam going away?

2006-07-27T16:27:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends, it's been a while.

First, the bad news: the lovely Wanda has informed me that Tuesday, August 1st will be our last Tuesday Jam at Nik's Place. For whatever reason, not enough people have been coming out and spending on Tuesdays in recent weeks, so she has to try something else. She's bringing in Johnny Knox (the best rockabilly guitarist I know next to Brian Setzer) and I'm not sure if it will be a jam. I don't have a Tuesday gig nailed down for us yet, I'm asking around. Let me know if you have possibilities for us to investigate.

This is not an evil act on Wanda or Nik's part, so be nice to them; it's just a part of the business. They have bills to pay, and need to draw a spending crowd. To a venue owner, a band is only as good as the dollars they bring in. Venue owners rarely care much how good a band is, the bottom line is "how many people will you bring me, and are they spenders?" The real strength of Kiss was the Kiss Army; the Grateful Dead stayed alive so long because they had legions of devoted Deadheads. When you hear musicians say "Keep the blues alive" or "Thank you for supporting live music", remember that we really do need you and your business in order to keep doing what we do. I really do thank all of you who've come out, even just once, for helping to keep music (and musicians) alive. You regulars, who come out often, you totally rock.

So, to recap: ONE LAST HOO-HAA at Nik's Place, Tuesday August 1st
Nik's Place
645 Whitlock Av. (aka Hwy GA-120)
about 1 mile west of Marietta Square
Marietta GA 30064 770-792-6666
web: http://www.niksplace.com/
map: http://tinyurl.com/b3gql

Moving on: Those of you who came out to Tavern On The Bridge last week noticed that my usual partner, Andrew Black, had apparently been to Sweden for a very successful operation. Not really, that was the lovely & talented Marlyn Campbell, and we had a great time. Why didn't I tell you she'd be there? Because Andrew was going away on vacation, and it's a bad policy to spread the word that someone will be away from their home for several days. But he's back now, and last night the three of us turned out some good music. Good enough that we'll be back as a trio next week, and who knows after that. Don't miss out.
Tavern On The Bridge
9775 Medlock Bridge Rd., Suite A.
Duluth, 30097 770-232-1210
Nice room, good food.
S.E. corner of State Bridge Rd. & Medlock Bridge (Hwy 141)
One door south of Stony River.
web: http://www.tavernonthebridge.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/8lp8g

This Friday, my friend Brian Stephens' new band Ocean Street will be throwing a "pre-CD-release-party-party" at a new venue in Roswell called The Saloon. The band will be there at 8PM to meet, greet & hand out swag, then will play at 10PM. Todd Smalley (of Derek Trucks Band) will be on bass. Brian says the response & buzz from their 3-song demo was great, getting a fair amount of airplay on Dave FM and others, and "tons of podcast plays" out to a huge global audience.

Then on Saturday, Gophertunes.com is throwing their first Subscriber Party which will feature a great free show with Barry Richman Band, and opening band Lyric, at The Langford. This is free to their newsletter subscribers, and all that requires is that you go here:
http://www.gophertunes.com/info/index.php?id=7
and sign up for a weekly newsletter. (Or, you can subscribe at the party). They will not overspam you, nor sell or rent you to spammers; they aren't collecting too much info, they don't even want to know your name. Then you get the free beverages, free t-shirt or tank top, and maybe other goodies.
The doors open at 7:30 pm
(Lyric, 8 - 9 pm; The Barry Richman Band, 9:15 pm - 12 am)
See the details on the front page at http://www.gophertunes.com
Langford Sound & Stage
633 Holcomb Bridge Road
in the corner of the Roswell Village Shopping Center
Roswell, GA 30076 770-518-9151
web: http://www.LangfordSoundAndStage.com

PS, this party is free and open to all ages. I encourage my students to attend. Bring the whole family, tell friends. Forward this email.

And finally, here's a list of lost souls from whom I've been getting email bounces. If you know these folks, please help us reconnect.

Bob Augestad	Kate Mullin
Jonathan Mock	Marcus Petruska
Lara Polangco	Paul Garrett
Toby Huffner	J Shelley (or Stelley?)
Gaylon Nelson	Tom Regeski
Seth Watters	Melina Birdsong
Kerry Creasy	Ruthie Smith
Jerry Hendricks	Lance Tilton
Bryan & Kim Hutton	Samantha Hart
Sarah Malkin	Sheila Ledford
Shawn Harris	Tammie King
Rod Kelly	Morris Borenstein
Christopher Afful	Cindi Carbone
Brad Haddad	Debra Fedorchak

Just a suggestion: Get a web-based email account. Jobs change, ISPs change, people move. And some companies really get nasty about what goes through your email; all companies monitor, and when they want to "downsize" you, your email is the first place they look for excuses. You're much better off getting your email through a free web-based system; Yahoo Mail is usually the top award winner among those. (Then, remember NOT to access your private email account while at work!) You can access your email from anywhere in the world that has Internet, from public libraries to Amsterdam coffeehouses. Stability is great; I've had at least a half-dozen ISPs since 1985, but when I got my Rocketmail address (now owned by Yahoo) in 1997, that has been unchanged for nearly a decade. If you have a non-work email address, I strongly suggest you update me so I don't send my emails through your employer.
Yahoo Mail: http://mail.yahoo.com
Google Gmail: http://www.gmail.com

Welcome, Gophertunes.com

2006-07-07T11:50:00.000-04:00

Gophertunes, brainchild of guitarist/singer Pete Waddell, has finally popped its furry little head into the world. This website is an online guide to live music in the Atlanta area. It lets you search by zip code, type of music, date, venue or artist. Want to know where I'll be playing? If I have a public show under my own name, it'll be posted there. (Shows where I'm a member of someone else's band are up to them to post, for a variety of reasons) You can also find (if posted) individual artist bios and contact info, or venue info. Gophertunes also writes their own stories, artist interviews and reviews, and they've published one of my instructional articles. Owned & operated by & for musicians, the emphasis is simple: music. You won't have to wade through lots of "community calendar" announcements for dramatic readings, quilting clubs, or other stuff that can be found on existing sites. Gophertunes has great potential and I will try to make the most of it. I strongly suggest you should too.
http://www.gophertunes.com
PS, the furry mascot's name is Mojo.

Moving on: Jesse Smith, 1968 - 2006

2006-07-07T04:34:00.001-04:00

My nephew-in-law Jesse has gone away, after a long struggle with Hodgkin's disease. One of the nicest people I ever knew, and one of the giants of the ballroom dance world, Jesse was beloved by everyone who met him. He and his wife Lynda (my niece) were undefeated dance champions, competing and teaching all over the world. Jesse was also featured in an episode of HGTV's "TIPical Mary Ellen". Here's his obituary from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Smith, Jesse E. age 37, of Minneapolis. Professional ballroom dancer and owner of Arthur Murray Dance Studio of Minneapolis/ Edina, MN. Survived by wife, Lynda; children, Dayton and Elyse; mother, Mary Louise Bodinski; father, Jesse Smith; siblings, Therese Larson, Stephen Clausen and Nejla Smith; grandmother, Alice Smith; many loving family members and friends. Jesse was born and raised in Sioux Falls, SD and moved to Minneapolis in 1988 where he began his professional dance career. He began dancing competitively with Lynda in 1990 and went on to achieve four U.S. American Style ballroom titles. After retiring from competition, Jesse continued to achieve excellence in the international dance world and was highly sought after as a teacher, choreographer, coach, judge and performer. He was a member of the Arthur Murray World Dance Board and an area Chairman for Arthur Murray International. Although Jesse's professional accomplishments were many, being a loving and devoted husband and father gave him the most joy. Memorials may be directed to the Jesse Smith Miracle Gift Fund. Interment service 9 AM Monday, July 10 at Lakewood Cemetery Chapel, 36th & Hennepin Ave S. Service will follow at 11 AM at Hope Presbyterian Church, 7132 Portland Ave S., Richfield. Washburn-McReavy Edina Chapel 952-920-3996

The obit doesn't mention his loving in-laws (my brother Gary Price and his wife Joyce, also of Minneapolis) who are also deeply greiving. My heartfelt condolences go out to the whole family, and to his worldwide family of friends, students and fans.

Marietta Square show a Major Success!

2006-07-03T11:04:00.000-04:00

Friday June 30th at the Marietta Square was flippin' amazing! I had no idea that it would be such a major event or I would've made a lot more noise about it in my newsletters. My guess is 5,000 people packed into the square for a Chastain-like experience, complete with a row of reserved tables, candles, flowers in glass vases, etc. When I got there for 4:45 soundcheck, the grassy parts had already filled with lawn chairs. The city even blocks the street behind the stage, and that fills with audience watching us from behind (making it interesting to play in both directions). Most of you haven't seen the full Andrew Black & The Naturals show, and I must say it's a big'un. We had Andrew, Jon Schwenke on bass, Ben Taylor on drums, myself, female vocalists Kim & Bobbi, and Marcus & Adam (of King Johnson) on sax & trombone. The northwest sky looked threatening, so we started 15 minutes early, rocked the joint until about 9, took a short break and hit 'em again until the storm finally did arrive, ending the show exactly 15 minutes early with very theatrical lightning and wind effects. There was a moment at the ending of the next to last song, I was flailing my guitar on the final chord, holding it up high, facing the rear audience, the furious gust front of the coming storm blowing in my face, the lightning, the thunder, the shouting applause... it was like being Charlton Heston as Moses in "The Ten Commandments". What a rush! Then we ended on "Sweet Home Marietta", complete with a reference to The Big Chicken, and finished just as the fat raindrops started pelting the crowd. For us, the storm wasn't bad - the storm came in from behind us so we pulled our gear downstage a few feet and started packing - by the time things were in cases, the storm had blown through, so we weren't trapped long. I know that some of you were there taking pictures, and I sure would love to have copies, please. I'll post the best ones in my blog as soon as I get them.

Saturday I did a new venue (for me anyway), Rafters at Jones Bridge and State Bridge, with Jon Schwenke and Jack Jones. I like that place, the staff is extremely nice and the room is laid out in a way that makes sense for live music; the stage area is on one end, pointed out an open sliding door so a lot of sound vents outward, not at the bar area. There's a dance floor, low tables, and the bar is above and somewhat behind the stage. Then the restaurant area is on the other side, kept airtight to seal out any smoke and noise from the bar. The whole venue works very well, and I like & recommend Rafters.

William and Ricky, you're not forgotten.

Remember to celebrate the 4th; stick up for sticking up. Nothing is more American than the ability to think for yourself and speak your mind. Your "country" mostly boils down to your rights & freedoms, so guard them all (especially free speech) and don't let anyone whittle them down while telling you it's to preserve them. Some of our founding fathers, especially Ben Franklin, warned against exactly that. This is the week when we especially remember and celebrate our ancestors' struggle, and just as we don't want to dishonor our current troops we sure don't want to dishonor those who fought directly for THIS soil, THESE people, making sacrifices and efforts you can barely imagine. Remember their work with pride, maintain it with determination. That's being a Patriot.

I support Free Press

2006-06-28T14:23:00.000-04:00

The General Manager at Radio Sandy Springs is, like most GMs, pretty conservative. At least that's my impression, and he's well within his rights to be so. He sent this email to publicize this letter: (click to enlarge)
http://www.radiosandysprings.com/images/RBMLetter.jpg

I too agree with RBM. We aren't torturers on par with Al-Qaida. We're Americans. We outsource most work like that. (see here for examples)

I also agree that RBM has the right to complain, and to withhold their dollars. But I agree much more with the rights of the press to examine and publish as they please, and I sincerely hope that no amount of complaints will sway any paper from publishing whatever they honestly believe - that would amount to censorship by whoever had the dollars to afford choosing what we get to read. Our founding fathers protected the press for good reasons. Sure, it means that everyone will eventually see something they object to, it'd be like trying to shoot straight though a forest without hitting any trees. But, straight shooting is important; "flavored" news like Pacifica on the left or Fox on the right don't do us any favors.

I further agree that our troops do need all our support, from us and from our government (ask any vet about that one). They are in a tough spot, they have to follow orders "or else". We must keep a close eye on those orders and who gives them, and that's one of the main jobs of the press, as long as it doesn't compromise actions that both need an element of surprise and fall within legal & moral limits of war.

On another topic, I'm proud of my country too, and agree that "together we stand" is a great phrase, but one that's often misused. It does not mean "we're standing together", it means that excessive dissent can be, well, divisive. Standing itself is a constant balancing act, correcting to the left and right and all other directions. In political form those corrections come in the form of vigilance, careful thinking, debating, and voting. Anything that threatens any part of that process is bad for America, and threatens the future of freedom itself.

Those are my opinions. Yours probably vary. I'm pretty sure my friend David Moxley doesn't completely see things as I do, and that's fine. As requested, I'm forwarding to a friend.

--- David Moxley wrote:

> From: "David Moxley" (address deleted)
> To: "David Moxley" (address deleted)
> Subject: We Salute RBM of Atlanta
> Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 06:46:25 -0400
>
> and their stand against the Atlanta Journal Constitution!
>
> Tune in this morning www.radiosandsprings.com
> and hear more!
>
> Please forward to a friend!

What a week!

2006-06-26T23:31:00.000-04:00

Well, it has NOT been a quiet week at Lake Jamalong... it has been one of those weeks you should be careful about wishing for. But I love it! Monday started with a long drive (the second half of my trip home to Roswell from family reunion in Baltimore) then a nap, then driving to downtown Atlanta for a rehearsal, and finally home. Thank God no lessons that day; I love 'em, but I needed the nap instead. Tuesday was my usual slammer; up early to catch up on email and research for my radio show, then drive to the Radio Sandy Springs studio, do the show, grab a quick lunch to eat on the way back to Roswell, then a full slate of lessons until 8PM. Then over to Marietta for the Tuesday jams at Nik's Place (which happened to be totally supernova that week, see my previous blog post from that night titled "Hoolawd!"), and finally home by about 03:30. Wednesday was another mostly full slate of lessons, then over to Tavern On The Bridge for my duo show with the fabulous Andrew Black. Thursday was a morning of errands & minor chores, followed by a day of lessons, then home to pack for a road trip. Friday, drove to downtown Atlanta again to join a band (the leader of which has asked not to be named in my email reports) for a road trip to a gig in south GA. Gig went great, packed up & sound asleep by 02:00, only to get up at 05:30 for the trip home (no complaint there, I wanted to be back early). Back in time for Saturday lessons at 11:30, mostly full until 5. Home, change clothes, drive to Decatur for a brief show with Unnamed Artist at Maddy's 3rd birthday party. Caught the last of a hot set by Chicago Joe Jones, then Barry Richman Band, then our turn, and finally got blown away by the headliner, Francine Reed with Java Monkey. (Marvin Taylor has joined Barry Richman, Mike Martin, and a few others as one of my guitar heroes!) Home, nearly immediate sleep, then up Sunday morning for a jazz gig downtown with Will Scruggs, Zak Pride and Ben Taylor. Home, a quick nap, and down to The Langford for the Sunday evening jams, where a burst of climactic energy brought my unusually busy week to a loud happy close.

Don't misunderstand, I have no complaints about any of this blessed basketful of work. Well, maybe a chuckling grumble here & there, who'd be human without one or two, but nothing that even I could take seriously after saying it. To be a musician entrusted with a workload like this is nothing short of deeply gratifying, and I thank every single one of you who makes it possible. It's such a cliche' to say "I'm not worthy", but... well, thanks. Really. While driving, I listen to lots of books (hardly ever music, you figure out why) and I'm almost to the end of a really good biography of Mark Twain. I'm sure he has written something somewhere about being tired and happy; he was, after all, the equivalent of a rock star in his day and went on exhausting tours for weeks at a time. Find what he said, and I'll second it.

And now, believe it or not, I'm off to bed before midnight. Tomorrow is another of my infamous Tuesdays. I hope to see you at the Tuesday jams, and the Wednesday duo. You know the details. G'nite!

PS, it's mathematically probable that someone will get some wrong impression from something I've written. Simple arithmetic, coupled with my less-than-perfect writing skills. Let me just cover this by saying I'm sorry for whatever you thought I meant. And don't think that I'm far too busy for whatever project you were considering me for, let's talk about it first.

Hoolawd!

2006-06-21T03:57:00.000-04:00

Tonight at Nik's Place was incredible! We played the first set as a trio (Jon Schwenke, Charlie Bailey & myself), then brought up some special guests we were expecting: Willie Green (drummer for Neville Brothers), Sal Padillo (percussionist for Sal's Soulful Sinners and Francine Reed), and Charlie Wooton (bass for Zydefunk). With them we had Keith Barnhart (keys for Chaka Khan and many others) and slide guitar wizard Terry Bradley. I mean, HOT damn! Willy Green happens to be in town because he'll be playing tomorrow at Chastain with BB King, Dr. John, and his band the Neville Brothers. After cookin' that for an hour or so, Andrew Black joined in, then Lola Gully. After that, other jammers including The Soul Shakers, Pete Waddell, Scott Phillips, Barry Richman, and more. This was one smokin' night! I still have to let the buzz chill down for a while before I can go to bed. Ya shoulda been there!

New jam venue: The Langford, Sundays at 7

2006-06-11T13:55:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends,
Sorry to have been silent so long. A hard drive crash didn't exactly catch me unprepared, but some of my programs (such as WorldCast, my emailer) had to be re-registered, address lists had to be retrieved from backup, etc. Anyway, I'm mostly back in the saddle.

So, you've heard me talking about Langford Sound & Stage in Roswell. It's two doors to the left of Ken Stanton Music, in the corner of the shopping center between Eckerd and Dollar Tree. The map websites don't show it very well at all, but here's the best. If you have Google Earth (and you should) just copy & paste these coordinates:
34.03363372008272,-84.34430625917679
and you'll fly right down to a hi-res rooftop view. (I know, I could just include the .kmz placemark file in this email, but many among you won't even open emails with attachments)

Anyway, The Langford is hosting jam sessions every Sunday at 7PM. What makes this jam special? Many things!
1. It's at a real stage venue, not a corner of some bar's floor.
2. Family-friendly: no smoke, no alcohol, early hours.
3. Pro sound, and some audio & video recording abilities. I wouldn't be surprised to see them offer CDs and DVDs of performances at some point in the future. And if you musicians want to do real audio/video recordings, they're not just a nice stage, they have a full studio next door.

Since they're not a full-service bar/restaurant (except at catered events), they do need to charge $2 admission but most of us can afford that.

In addition, I ran into jazz guitarist Skip Runte the other day, and when he mentioned how our mutual jazz mentor Howard Roberts started the Monday night jazz jams in Hollywood, I whipped out my phone and introduced him to Tony Langford. We may have a nice Monday jazz jam of our own soon.

Anyway, things are just getting started up on the jam front there. If you're a player or singer, c'mon down tonight and let's make music!

In other news, literally, Marlyn Campbell and I were shown briefly on Fox 5's news yesterday as part of a story about how merchants on Decatur's square are nearly bankrupted by all the MARTA construction there. It seems people aren't drawn to a neighborhood blighted with dirt piles and cyclone fence, as opposed to the park/plaza atmosphere that area normally had, and business is waaay down. Marlyn & I were playing a benefit "battle of the bands" at Birdi's when the camera guy came in. His camera seemed close enough to be checking out her earwax, but her looks withstand scrutiny. He also took various shots of the packed audience, the warzone construction site, etc. After all that we were only onscreen for a couple seconds. It's amazing how much stuff gets tossed out at a news shoot; he was probably onsite for 90 minutes to get 60 seconds of story. Anyway, I urge you to patronize Birdi's and the other merchants in that area, or they might not be there when the construction's done.
Birdi's On The Square
115 Sycamore St. Decatur 30030 404-371-9906
web: http://www.birdisonthesquare.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/dvcg6

The Tuesday jams at Nik's Place are still rockin', and in this summer weather the deck outside has been heavenly. Come check out the good music and nearly-full moon this week, try a nice meal & drink under the stars.
Nik's Place (10PM-2AM)
645 Whitlock Av. (aka Hwy GA-120)
about 1 mile west of Marietta Square
across the street from Waffle House
Marietta GA 30064 770-792-6666
free wi-fi, good food
web: http://www.niksplace.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/b3gql

Wednesdays, Andrew Black and I are doing a duo act at Tavern On The Bridge. With Andrew's versatility and vast song library, and my digital guitar system's ability to imitate any guitar & amp, it's a pretty impressive show.
Tavern On The Bridge
9775 Medlock Bridge Rd., Suite A.
Duluth, 30097 770-232-1210
Nice room, good food.
Southeast corner of State Bridge Rd. and Medlock Bridge (Hwy 141)
One door south of Stony River.
web: http://www.tavernonthebridge.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/8lp8g

That's it for now. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or write me.

Remember that Twilight Zone movie where the guy says "Wanna see something REALLY scary?" Check this out:
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm
How the !@#! do you run up $70 BILLION in debt last week alone?
Who's to blame, and what should we do?

Great music coming to Roswell May 5th

2006-05-05T00:05:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends, I know I just updated you a few days ago but there's a great show, a world-class show, coming to Roswell tomorrow (Friday the 5th). I know, it's Cinco de Mayo (spanish for "help, I'm sinking in mayonaise") but there's more to life than waiting for hours in an overcrowded Mexican restaurant.

Steven King (not the author, this one is scarier) is one amazing guitarist. In fact, he's the National Fingerstyle Champion. He has earned quotes such as "And I thought Joe Pass had chops!" (L.A. Times jazz critic), and "King knocked us silly" (Guitar Player magazine), and this one:

"From 1968-1982 I wrote 33 articles for 'Guitar Player.' I have more than 8,800 jazz guitar recordings and nearly 2000 jazz guitar videos. I feel qualified in saying Steven King is the greatest solo guitarist I've ever seen or heard!" - Robert Yellin, music professor & Guitar Player Magazine columnist

Sound like someone you'd like to experience first hand? You can. I just checked, there are still some tickets available. I bought some, but I left some for you, my friends.

Check out some clips:
http://www.guitarbystevenking.net/King_CD_sound_clips.html

Steven King In Concert at The Forum @ Langford Sound & Stage
633 Holcomb Bridgde Road
Roswell, GA 30075
SW Corner of Holcomb Bridge & Hwy 9
(2 doors down from Ken Stanton Music)
Friday, 8-10PM
Advance tickets $22, or $25 day of show
See the info here: http://tinyurl.com/hm9qw
Buy the tickets here: http://tinyurl.com/fgy64

The Langford Sound & Stage complex is a great new venue, making use of an old movie theater much like Variety Playhouse, but with TWO stages, decent facilities for the talent, and a recording studio. I am excited to have all this in my own backyard, and I want you all to check it out and help make it the success it deserves to be. Roswell has been a musical black hole for far too long.

The Tuesday jam at Nik's Place went very well; having Rich "Nooch" Ianucci on Hammond organ does tend to liven up an evening. Tony Langford and Doug Easterly were on hand; Doug, an accomplished solo singer/guitarist, sat in for some blues, while Tony took in the vibe. Then Big Robert T (Atlanta's winner of the International Blues Competition) did an electrifying set. Tony & Doug looked like the guy in the old Maxell ads, the one in the chair with his hair and necktie blowing straight back. I'm guessing Tony didn't see much like that back in the UK. Doug said the next day he "got schooled", but I told him that's OK, the jams are where we all go to school. I will definitely have Nooch back. Tony loved the whole evening, and wants me to set up a Sunday night jam along the same lines at Langford; we're working on that.

And speaking of Sunday night jams, Sundays have been "soundcheck" nights at Langford. Open at 6PM, all ages, free admission.

In other news, belated congrats to Rashaan Griffith on the birth of his son Miles. Congrats also to Grandpa Larry Griffith, who recently emailed me that he's got new management and is working on a record deal.

There's a slim hint of a whiff of a possibility that I'll be doing some duo work with Andrew Black. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, Andrew does a mean solo set at Tavern On The Bridge on Wednesdays.

Reminder: I'll be playing with the lovely & talented Marlyn Campbell at Birdi's this Sunday afternoon, 4-6PM. The food is good, and the vibe is pure party.
Birdi's On The Square
115 Sycamore St. Decatur 30030 404-371-9906
web: http://www.birdisonthesquare.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/dvcg6

Tuesdays:
George Price Band open jam & Meetup
Nik's Place (The Back Porch)
645 Whitlock Av. (aka Hwy GA-120)
about 1 mile west of Marietta Square, across from Waffle House
good food, free parking, free Wi-Fi, nice patios
Marietta GA 30064 770-792-6666

web: http://www.niksplace.com/
map: http://tinyurl.com/b3gql

That's it for now. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or write me.

Final thought: If you're gonna drink too much tequila on Friday, bear in mind that a hangover is largely dehydration. Drink some Gatorade before and after the party, and some the next morning, and you'll feel much better. Works for me, anyway.

Browse my new photos, vote for best shots

2006-04-30T17:14:00.000-04:00

I had a rare & wonderful opportunity a couple weeks ago. Valerie Smith of Wild Side Portraits contacted me regarding my public query to photographers on how to take good live band photos. After chatting a bit via email, she offered to take some pictures of me in exchange for exposure and some guitar lessons for her son. I've rarely sat for portrait photos since high school, and this sounded like a lot of fun so I eagerly agreed. Then I called Sandy Smith (no relation), a Marietta hair designer who frequents the jams at Nik's Place, and made arrangements to get spruced up the morning of the shoot. While at Sandy's, I asked if she wasn't busy would she like to come along to the photo shoot; she wasn't and did. So, for a couple hours that afternoon I was getting snapped, primped, and posed just like a star. Or at least I assume. When that was all done, I sat down with Valerie's son Aaron and got him started on guitar. He was a good learner, so the hour went by quickly. When we were finished, Valerie had already gotten her camera hooked up to the TV and was running through the pictures. They all looked great, I couldn't decide on any.

So, I invite you to look them over and tell me which ones you like best. Go to http://www.wildsideportraits.photosite.com/gprice and write the numbers of your favorites, then reply to me here with the results.

Music Report for April 4th, 2006

2006-04-04T01:43:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends, time for another update.

The out-of-town gigs with Heaven Davis have been interesting. Y'know that song "Love Shack" that describes a party shack in the woods? Bradfordville Blues Club, somewhere outside Tallahassee, fits that pretty closely. Just turn onto the dirt road where you see the sign with the two burning tiki torches, pass the derelict trailer homes, take the left fork, and when you get to the big field, you'll see a cinderblock building with some Christmas lights. Inside, the walls are lined with portraits of blues royalty, from Charlie Musselwhite to Bobby Rush, many signed by the musicians themselves. The tabletops are also painted & signed. Yup, this is a serious blues club. Get a beer and walk outside, where they're frying up fish. Walk a few paces down the hill and there's a bonfire with a ring of folding chairs. Sit down, swig your beer, look up and you see an enormous oak tree with lots of spanish moss - beyond that, stars, lots of stars, just like you don't see in Atlanta. The bonfire has been a regular feature there for more than 40 years, longer than the club. The large field was one of the old Negro League baseball fields, and it's easy to imagine the crowd and players coming over after a game for some beer & fish by the fireside.
http://www.yodaslair.com/bradfordvilleblues/about.htm

Then there's Sassy Ann's in Knoxville TN. Take a huge old Victorian house, gut the second story, then cut the floor out of the third story so that it forms a balcony. Put little tables into every little nook & cranny for lots of hideaways. Make the band lug all their stuff up the narrow old stairs, but then treat 'em real nice so they don't mind after all. Throw in a manic-dancing drunk couple from Scotland. That's an interesting evening.
http://www.sassyanns.com

The weekly Tuesday jam at Nik's Place is going well, and with the new springtime weather the patio is a real treat. Be sure to come out for that. Tuesdays are also the meeting & jam night for the North Atlanta Musician's Meetup Group (104 members and growing).
Nik's Place Restaurant and Bar (aka The Back Porch) 10PM-2AM
645 Whitlock Ave. (aka Hwy GA-120)
Marietta, GA 30064 770-792-6666
about 1 mile west of Marietta Square
across the street from Waffle House
Free Wi-Fi, GREAT food!
web: http://www.niksplace.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/dhdek

Wednesday, April 5th, is the final show at Tavern On The Bridge as a 4-piece (Andrew Black, Jon Schwenke, Ricky Fargo and myself). Andrew will be continuing Wednesdays as a solo artist. This is a fine venue, and a fine band, and I really hope you'll come see us off. Directions below.
Tavern On The Bridge 8:30-12:30
9775 Medlock Bridge Rd., Suite A.
Duluth, 30097 770-232-1210
Nice room, big floor & stage, pro sound, good food.
Southeast corner of State Bridge Rd. and Medlock Bridge (Hwy 141)
One door south of Stony River.
web: http://www.tavernonthebridge.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/8lp8g

Thursday, April 6th, I'll be with Andrew, Ricky & Jon at Wild Wings in Suwanee. That too is a nice venue, hope to see you there.
Wild Wing Cafe, Suwanee
3265 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road
Suwanee, GA 30024 (770) 945-9090
web: http://www.wildwingcafe.com/suwanee.html
map: http://tinyurl.com/gtngo

Sunday, April 9th, I'll be playing a duo with Marlyn Campbell at Birdi's in Decatur. That's pretty different from what I usually do, always a good time, c'mon down.
Birdi's On The Square, 5PM - 7PM
115 Sycamore St. Decatur 30030 404-371-9906
web: http://www.birdisonthesquare.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/dvcg6

Every Thursday in April (13, 20 and 27) I'll be playing with my own trio at Two Urban Licks, a very popular restaurant down by the Carter Library.
Two Urban Licks, downtown Atlanta
820 Ralph McGill Blvd. Atlanta 30306
For reservations, phone 404-522-4622 or reserve online:
http://www.opentable.com/single.aspx?rid=3431&restref=3431
web: http://www.twourbanlicks.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/dj3kr

On the radio front, the Music Scene radio show is coming along nicely. While I'm far from being as smooth at interviewing as I hope to become, I do have fun with interesting guests. Ed Wier, usually known for his fine classical and latin-jazz guitar work, brought by some of his comedy radio theatre. This week my guest will be drummer & singer John McKnight. Future guests will include Sean Costello, Andrew Black, Doug Easterly & Rick Laser, and many more. The shows are broadcast on 1620 AM and streamed live from the Radio Sandy Springs website. The shows are also available as files for free download at the website, and thankfully no longer require iTunes.
The Music Scene Tuesdays 1-2PM
Radio Sandy Springs, 1620 AM
stream: http://nick8.surfernetwork.com/Media/SandySprings.asx
downloads: http://www.radiosandysprings.com/musicscene.htm

Speaking of that show, I'm still working on assembling a live music calendar. Tell me about your gigs. And, the station manager has asked me to put together a Saturday show of local music; if you've got some tunes you'd like played, please submit a CD or email an MP3 along with a bio and your upcoming shows.

And finally, Sunday was my sweet granddaughter Lauren's 21st birthday party. Her little sister Kristen will be graduating high school this year, too, and will be going away to college. A double dose of pride & loss. My best wishes to both of them.

That's it for now. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or write me.

Music report for 2-8-2006

2006-02-16T12:28:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends, it's been a while since I updated you.

The George Price Trio shows at Nik's Place and Woodstock Live (aka Firehouse) went very well, thank you. And thanks for all the kind words from those of you who came out and made the show better by being there.

Last Saturday with Heaven Davis at Jake's was interesting. It was a four-band show, headlined by Randall Bramblett (formerly of Sea Level, Greg Allman, Steve Winwood, Traffic reunion tour, and much more). The first band was a competent acoustic (bluegrass?) group that reminded some of us of "O Brother Where Art Thou" (in a good way). The second band, Goddess Rocks, was also competent in general but most memorable (also in a good way) for its inclusion of a striking 6-foot redhead ballerina, wearing a tutu with tall boots, and playing flute. Turns out she's a ballet instructor too. Then came our set, which we were all pleased with, and then Randall's. Let me make this real simple: if you learn that Randall Bramblett is playing somewhere, GO! I bought the latest CD, and it hasn't left my player since (except briefly, when I needed it while interviewing him on my radio show). Randall did great keyboard work (mostly juicy Hammond/Leslie tones) as well as electronified sax and guitar, and all the vocals. There were technical troubles galore, but the only thing that was obvious to the crowd was a bad mic cable that kept making huge pops, making the band jump as if shot - they were wearing in-ear monitors, and the pops were about like a shotgun blast to them. The band carried on like troopers through the smaller problems (most of us didn't even notice) and delivered a fascinating show. Randall will be opening for Bonnie Raitt later this month and doing one leg of the tour with her.
Check em' out: http://www.randallbramblett.com

Those who read my blog, or are members of the Musicians Meetup Group, already know I have a new radio show. It's called The Music Scene, and it's Tuesdays at 1PM on Radio Sandy Springs, 1620 AM. Chances are you won't be able to pick it up, unless you live in Sandy Springs, because they transmit on a matrix of 1-watt transmitters scattered around the town (in order to be a micropower station so they don't have to deal with the FCC). However, the station streams on the web at http://www.RadioSandySprings.com I play music and interview interesting musicians such as Randall Bramblett, Keith Barnhart (of Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Janet Jackson), and Heaven Davis so far. Upcoming guests will include Davy Hewitt (Peter Frampton, Humble Pie), Beau Hall, and more as I can get them lined up. Fun! The shows are being recorded for future podcasts, as we get that service organized.

The Musicians Meetup Group is doing very well - in fact, just a few members away from being among the top five such groups in the WORLD. You know I've recommended this group, mostly on optomism and faith at first, but it really has become a powerful force for good. Last night's jam at Nik's got two "industrial" musicians (heavyweight film/TV production composers/producers) together. One of the jammers was an actual bigtime Hollywood guy (former producer of Hollywood Squares, among other projects). Working pros, basement studio musicians, fun-loving amateurs, all getting together, having fun and making valuable connections. Check it out at: http://musicians.meetup.com/266

Speaking of last night's jam, it was VERY active and well-attended. I don't know what made everyone decide to come out at once, but it was great. Every Tuesday, Nik's Place is THE place.

Tonight, Wednesday, is your chance to come hear Andrew Black & The Believers (Andrew, me, Jon Schwenke, Ricky Fargo). Very nice spacious venue, nice sound (professionally run by the fabulous Tweak), excellent food & drink. We'll also be there Saturday, which will be a very busy night, so if you prefer good music in a less crowded scene you should come tonight.

I got a radio show!

2006-01-27T01:03:00.000-05:00

Well, it's a micropower radio show, but one step at a time. Starting next Tuesday at 1PM, I'll be hosting a 1-hour show on Radio Sandy Springs, 1620 AM. If you're not lucky enough to live in fabulous Sandy Springs, you can still theoretically hear the stream with this link:

http://nick8.surfernetwo rk.com/Media/SandySprings.asx

I say theoretically because I couldn't get it to work for me. Try the link and tell me if it works. If it does, then I'm bad, I'm planetwide.

Anyway, back to the show. By coincidence, I used to do some radio work at a student FM station at Oregon Tech (and, I'm pretty sure I did it badly). No doubt my license from those days has expired, but I do still maintain an Advanced-class ham radio license. I was contacted because I supposedly know all about the northside music scene (not even close!), but in reality I'll be talking about whatever comes up - funny gig stories, artist interviews (live or by phone), recordings I've made at jams, performance reviews, topics of interest to musicians, whatever. I'll definitely have some live studio performances. I'll have my own engineer, and he seems to be a pretty good one, so I'll be free to be a wild & crazy guy!

I'll be wanting to talk to whoever might be interesting. Do you have a project you want plugged? Funny stories? Wanna play or sing? Let me know.

Radio Sandy Springs website:
http://www.radiosandysprings.com

Wilson Pickett dead at 64

2006-01-20T00:49:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,
Just as I was about to send this out, I got word that Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Wilson Pickett passed away. We have him to thank for great old songs like "In The Midnight Hour", "Mustang Sally", "Land Of 1000 Dances" and many more. Just consider how many calories have been burned to his music, how many dollars (or yen, or pounds) have changed hands for his undying hits - not just in record sales, but every musician who's ever been paid or tipped to play them. It's safe to say he's bought me dinner many times. No performer can take his place, but I sure wish someone would come close. He'll be missed.
News: http://tinyurl.com/92epp
Profile: http://tinyurl.com/awabc
Discography: http://tinyurl.com/dyasn
ArtistDirect: http://tinyurl.com/7fqah

The Tuesday jam nights at Nik's Place have been drawing fine talent, too much to list, on average 20 participating players per night. I highly recommend you come out for this, there's always something interesting to see & hear. The magic of music being created from scratch, on the spot, by artists who may never have met... I lack the eloquence. Ya just gotta be there. Here's a few photos: http://musicians.meetup.com/266/photos/
Come on out, and bring friends.

I continue to be impressed by the Tavern On The Bridge gig in general. Andrew Black & The Believers consist of Andrew, Jon Schwenke, Ricky Fargo and myself. The level of musicianship & harmony, the venue itself, and the pro sound management by Tweak make this gig a treat. Last night at TOTB, we were visited by singer Doug Easterly, who sat in for a couple songs and did a great job. Doug is half of the duo Cover To Cover, who I highly recommend. Barry Richman and Kelly Thomas stopped in too, always nice. But here's the discovery: Richard Porter and Ellen Hamby came by and shot video of the last set. Ellen has been taking videos of various musicians around town for quite some time, and has posted about 150 of them online on a new service I didn't know about, Video Google. This is something I've always wanted to do, to archive some of the brilliant talent we have in this area before it either gets too big for us (like John Mayer) or gets away entirely (like Tim "Kokomo" Gunther). I wish more people would do it. You can see Ellen's works here: http://tinyurl.com/9mgp3

I've been getting more calls from Heaven Davis, a great entertainer I heartily recommend. Did a fine show with her at Chip's recently. There was some early, preliminary, vague possibility of overseas gigs. I've done my homework (having seen both "European Vacation" and "Eurotrip"), and I'm ready to go. I can say "where's the bathroom?" in 5 languages. And just this evening I got word that I've also been recommended to Mitch Ryder (yes, the famous one) for a slot in his band too; there again, nothing but the vaguest preliminary possibility at this point but cool to imagine anyway. (back in my computer days, this is what we called "vaporware")

The North Atlanta Musicians Meetup group is up to 60 members now. 80 will make us one of the five largest in the world. I invite you to come by the website, check us out, and if it looks like fun join up. No dues, no hassles, nothing but fun and maybe some profitable connections. We're using the Tuesday jams at Nik's Place as our weekly meetup and jam. http://musicians.meetup.com/266

My shows for this weekend are:

Friday, Jan. 20, 10PM-2AM
The George Price Band
Nik's Place Restaurant and Bar (aka The Back Porch)
645 Whitlock Ave. (aka Hwy GA-120)
Marietta, GA 30064 770-792-6666
about 1 mile west of Marietta Square
across the street from Waffle House
Free Wi-Fi, GREAT food!
web: http://www.niksplace.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/dhdek

Sunday, Jan. 22, 7PM-??
The George Price Band OPEN JAM
Woodstock Live (formerly The Fire House)
12195 Hwy 92
Woodstock, GA 30188 770-924-5594
In the Publix Shopping Center at Hwy 92 and Trickum Rd.
web: http://www.firehouselive.com/sunday.htm
map: http://tinyurl.com/ann4f

Regular shows:

Tuesdays:
George Price Band open jam & Meetup
Nik's Place
645 Whitlock Av. (aka Hwy GA-120)
about 1 mile west of Marietta Square
Marietta GA 30064 770-792-6666
web: http://www.niksplace.com/
map: http://tinyurl.com/b3gql

Wednesdays:
Andrew Black & The Believers
Tavern On The Bridge
9775 Medlock Bridge Rd., Suite A.
Duluth, 30097 770-232-1210
Nice room, big floor & stage, pro sound, good food.
Southeast corner of State Bridge Rd. and Medlock Bridge (Hwy 141)
One door south of Stony River.
web: http://www.tavernonthebridge.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/8lp8g