First, my thanks to all you folks who came to my Birthday Bash at The North End Pub on August 2nd. The cards and gifts were wonderful but just having you there, in a party mood, made the whole evening. We rocked the place, especially when we did "Leave Your Hat On" and all the ladies were dancing, some even dancing on chairs (especially you,
Special K). Some old friends I haven't seen in far too long came out, too - great to see you folks again. Many thanks to all the players and patrons for a wonderful evening. Please forward this letter to your friends and bring them out next time.
Too bad our friend
Coach Jerry Glanville was out of town (coaching at University of Hawaii - tough gig, huh?). He rarely misses a Tuesday night at The North End if he's in town, and that night would've been just his speed. Best of luck to ya out there Coach, we have your cowbell ready when you return. The rest of you can see what he's up to at
http://www.coachglanville.comI actually got a shiny new guitar for my birthday, a B.C. Rich. I haven't played it yet, as it's only 2 inches long, but I know it's gonna be hot because it's got butane in it. Yes, it's a cigarette lighter but it's a very appropriate gift for a guitarist, even a nonsmoker like me. Thank you,
Dr. Z. The good doctor also plays bass with us at the Tuesday jams, using a wonderful rare Alembic bass.
This week we got by with a little help from our friends
Lara Polangco, Andrew Black, Terry Bradley, Keith Barnhart, Mike Hinton and many others. Lara and Terry's duet, with Lara playing my Variax set as a 12-string acoustic while Terry played his beautiful style of slide guitar, was one of my favorite moments, but there were many more. I recorded much of the evening, but ran out of battery too soon to catch it all. (Where's that !@#! drum-beating rabbit? I'm gonna...) Shouts out to
The Arthurs, a couple new family members we'll probably see a lot more of. Arthur 1 is a guitar student of mine, and he brought his buddy Arthur 2. A2 has a very unique and efficient technique of applauding without setting down his beer, by using his free hand to smack the back of his shaved head. That's usin' the old bean! Both had a great time drinking cheering & dancing, and were greatly enjoyed by the rest of us. Welcome to the family, amigos.
Last Saturday was a road trip with
Elvis (see below), and our usual acoustic bassbeater
Franklin Bunn wasn't able to join us, but he was ably replaced by
Mike Gallo, formerly of Greg Allman Band, Lou's Blues Revue and a jillion other bands. Welcome to the family, Mike. We played the "Who's In Your Cellphone" game all the way back from Columbus, where you compare directories to see who you know in common. That always stimulates a lot of interesting stories, and it seems Mike knows half the music industry.
Earlier that day, I videotaped a few songs with
Larry Griffith at Comcast's TV studio. The songs will be played at random (think early MTV, back when they had music) in a cable-only show about Atlanta musicians. I'll keep you informed when I get more details.
Last night I spent the evening recording a jazz demo with
Mike LeVasseur and
Ms. Michael Broderick. We'll be shopping that demo around town, please let me know about venues that would hire a jazz trio. Private parties would be nice too, book now for the holiday season gigs.
Congrats to friend
Beau Hall on the upcoming release of his new CD, titled "UNH!" Check out http://www.beaurocks.com
UPCOMING STUFF:
This Friday and Saturday, I'll be with Larry Griffith Band at Two Urban Licks, a very nice barbecue restaurant downtown. Please come join us for some fine food and atmosphere. Directions below.
Sunday night, of course, is the Kennesaw Billiards jam with Larry Griffith Band. Directions below.
Tuesday morning, August 16th, is the 28th anniversary of Elvis Presley's passing away. As you know, I work frequently with a professional Elvis impersonator (
Harold Shulz), specializing in the very young Elvis show (1955 Sun Sessions trio). Watch Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta between 6 and 9AM, we'll be doing several live spots spread out across the morning show. Last year we wound up playing a total of 11 songs. Be sure to tape it, if you can get the VCR to stop blinking 12:00.
You can also catch Harold/Elvis on Turner South's original show "200 Cadillacs". The one-hour special explores Presley's love of giving lavish gifts to friends and strangers, including jewelry, mink coats, the entire dog inventory at a pet store, 48 horses and, most notably, 200 Cadillacs. The show will air at the following times:
August 16th 10:30PM
August 20th 10:30AM
August 25th 10:30PM
Read more at TurnerSouth.com: http://tinyurl.com/cpthv
and see some interesting videos there, too.
Monday I'll be rehearsing with
Andrew Black and the Sound Foundation. That project is coming along very nicely, and if you get a chance to hear us I strongly urge you to do so. You'll hear popular music that is usually too difficult to be attempted (think Earth Wind & Fire, for instance) played by the most kick-ass musicians I know, and all of us sing. You gotta hear this.
Tuesday will of course be North End Pub's jam night, so catch an early nap, make sure the VCR worked right, then come out to dine & party with us. Directions below.
Next Friday & Saturday we'll be at Doc's in Smyrna, just outside the perimeter. Please come party with us. Directions below.
And finally, as you know most Internet chain letters are either lies or traps or both. Here are three things that are absolutely true, with confirmation links:
Put ICE in your cell phone to help emergency workers:
Paramedics will turn to a victim's cell phone for clues to
that person's identity. You can make their job much easier
with a simple idea that they are trying to get everyone to
adopt: ICE.
ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. If you add an entry in
the contacts list in your cell phone under ICE, with the
name and phone no. of the person that the emergency
services should call on your behalf, you can save them a
lot of time and have your loved ones contacted quickly. It
only takes a few moments of your time to do.
Paramedics know what ICE means and they look for it
immediately. ICE your cell phone NOW!
Confirmation:
The Washington Post, 7/18/2005: http://tinyurl.com/dwqc9
Paramedic.org: http://tinyurl.com/buexr
Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/crime/prevent/icephone.asp
"Osama Captured" email is a VIRUSEmails are going around saying Osama has been captured, and offering links to photos and videos. Don't fall for it, they're infected. If you ever do get news of something this big, just go to http://www.cnn.com and see it there (if it's real).
Confirmation:
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/osamacaptured.asp
http://www.internetweek.com/security/164300290
The Social Security bankruptcy is nothing compared to the incredibly sad state of our National Debt, increasing by an average over $2 BILLION per day! See the actual, unspun numbers:
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm
Where are all the people now who were rightly screaming for a balanced budget 10 years ago?
And finally, yesterday (August 10th) was the late Leo Fender's birthday. He and Les Paul were the two most influential men in all guitar history. While Les Paul was the first to pitch his solidbody electric guitar to Gibson, he was laughed out of the building. It was Leo Fender who actually built & sold the solidbody in 1951, and its wild popularity prompted Gibson's exec to say "Find that guy with the stick guitar and get him back in here, fast!" While Les went on to invent the tape echo and multitrack recording, Leo's designs have influenced nearly every other electric guitar and amplifier ever made since; they are the most popular and most copied in the world. He went on to found and design for MusicMan, then G&L. I still play and love my 1981 MusicMan amp, and my 1997 Stratocaster (a guitar which, like me, debuted in 1954 but unlike me was so perfectly designed that it has hardly changed at all since then). Thanks, Leo.
That's plenty for now, friends. I hope to see you soon.
Upcoming public shows:
Sundays - The Club at Kennesaw Billiards (directions below)
Tuesdays - Open Jam at The North End Pub (directions below)
August 12-13,
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
August 16th,
Good Morning Atlanta on Fox 5 TV7AM-9AM
August 19-20 -
Doc's 10PM to 3AM (really!)
2750 Cobb Pkwy SE, Smyrna 30080 (770) 953-9354
web: http://www.docsatlanta.com
map: http://tinyurl.com/ey24n
August 26,
Meehan'sSundays:
The Club at Kennesaw Billiards 770-514-9900
Kennesaw Promenade on Cherokee St. (Wade Green Rd.)
3600 Cherokee Street Northwest Suite 107
Kennesaw, GA 30144
9PM-1AM
Tuesdays:
The North End Pub & Grill5970 Atlanta Hwy (Hwy 9 at McFarland Rd.)
Alpharetta, GA 30004 678-867-6750
http://www.thenorthendga.com
8:30-12:30 (but sometimes jams on until closing)
GOOD food, kitchen open until 2AM!
It's gotta be tough getting a shot as wide-spread as we were, with columns everywhere. I can tell you that playing inside a gazebo is a lot like being inside a satellite dish, the curved roof focused the drums right down on top of us. Our amps and speakers sent sound directly out the sides, so were not affected by the roof. We're told the sound out front was crisp and well balanced, but inside the gazebo - fugeddaboudit! *shrug & grin*
