Guitar Student Recital 2009

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

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

Tres cool homebuilt ukelele, plus great song

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

Getting the new year rollin' (and rockin')

(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!

Customized Google map!

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.

Watta Weekend!

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

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*

WTF?!?

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

Halcyon Way blew me away!

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.

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

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!

Double-barrel Fun!

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.

Feeling GREAT! bzzzzzz

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.

Oh my! Time to book Santa

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 almost open!

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.

Red Salt update

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!

Uh-oh, Troubling News in the Music Business

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.

Correction & Apology

(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

It's All About Geoff

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.