Off to Houston in October.

So cool. I'm going to by that set of crocodile boots I've been yearning after.

For my environmentalist friends, they're farm-raised, not wild crocs. They raise them for food and hide, just like a cow. So please, no nasty emails (especially if you're wearing a leather belt while typing)

For my Alaskan buds, no I'm not skinning the croc myself.

For my Scottish friends, well- nevermind. Their cool shoes...

Hey comment spammers, kiss my butt.....

Sorry gang, somehow I got on some spammers list. I don't mind the comments, but I got 12 posts yesterday for medical websites in pakistan, botox, detox, iranian judges with issues, blah blah blah. I'm turning the anonymous comments off for a bit. Sorry. What can I say, spammers are jerks. Go somewhere else.

If you'd like to post comments, let me know by an email. From there I'll get you set up. Frankly, I'd rather just get the email....

When the levee breaks

Holding my breath today, worried about some of my friends in the New Orleans area. A category 5 hurricane, 145 mph winds. If by some miracle you can read this, our prayers are with you all tonight...

FWIW, I still remember Hugo in South Carolina. We lived through that, lived right through the damn middle of the storm. You never forget the sound of the wind when it's moving that fast. We're worried about you all, call or email when you can.

More Ramblings on the new CD

Back in the studio this week for more recording. And truthfully, I'm not really interested in doing a band album at all, the tracks are going to be hard labor. Most of what I'm real excited about is the old-school, pre-war blues. Not the new electric stuff. So, I'm opting for a bit of a left turn- all acoustic instruments (save the lap steel) and no drums. For now.

Oh, I've had an offer to borrow a mandolin. I'm in the market for an old 4-string irish banjo too. Ever heard those old blues guys that played banjo? Oh my gawd what a sound! Get back. Hey, it's got frets and wire, yes? I can play that. Say prayers for my family's patience tonight....

Tommy Johnson

So I've got to buy my 4th copy of the complete recorded works of Tommy Johns. It must be the cursed disk in my cd collection.

Disk 1? Lost somewhere in my truck on a cross-country road trip.
Disk 2? Purchased to replace disk 1.

Disk 1 shows up, so I gave disk 2 to a good friend that also has bad luck with Tommy Johnson cds.

Disk 3? Well, disk #1 went walk-about in my truck again. Disk 3 was a much needed replacement.

Before I can crack the shrink-wrap, disk #1 shows up again. So, I saved disk 3 and used it as a raffle item at Blues For My Brother last year.

Now, why disk #4? Well, when unpacking some stuff from my move over here it managed to fall out of my CD binder and get stepped on. I can play the first 4 tracks, but it's just not making it. So, CD #4 is on order.

So, you might infer that Tommy Johnson is a serious addiction, yes? I should probably buy 2 copies, but I'd probably lose both of them. Oh, being a superstitious guy by nature, I'm not adding these tracks to my MP3 player either.

Damn, I *love* TJ's guitar playing too.

Steve Arvey

Man, what a great time last night at the Globe. Steve Arvey was in town from Chicago. As those of you that were there know, Steve has played with everyone and is a real monster talent- as a blues cat and as a singer-songwriter.

So, throw a couple of blues guys together and then stir- Steve was kind enough to let me sit in last night and play some lap steel and a little Slide guitar as part of his show. It was fun to be a sideman again for a bit, and play some of the old acoustic tunes. Great gig, hopefully the first of many!

Travel safe, Steve and come back soon!

Arbroath, day 2

Well friends, the second day was a little more colourful than the first- bot only because I'm directionally challenged. I was sure I knew where I was going, I studied maps and google earth. I was confident. I'd studied the city, and had a plan. But I was wrong.

To be fair, I got close. Within a city block, in fact. I circled the block several times and drove my truck full of gear past a pair of Police Officers. By the 4th pass they flagged me down. "Lost, are we son?", they asked. Impressed that they new my name, I asked for their help. They pointed me in the right direction and off I went, only to drive by them again 100 feet down the road. More directions and more driving and I passed them a 3rd time. At this point they told me to just keep following them, the club was across the street from the Police Station.

Fortunately there was a parking place in front off the club and the PA went up without issue. It was a fun gog, we ended up playing some impromptu James Brown, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other oddities, as well as a bunch of tunes of the new CD. And then there was "murderer's row"- a bunch of great musicians all hanging out, including Billy Allardyce, Dave Blair, Gerry Jablonski. Intimidating bunch of friendly guys.

So, tonight (Turesday) I'm off to Drummmonds to hear Gerry Jablonski with Chris Simmonds and Steve Arvey. More gigs about to hit the calendar. Stay tuned. And thanks for hannging out with me and the band this weekend!

How you know you're gigging in Scotland

On my way home I had one of those profound experiences while driving, the realization that after years of planning we're actually here, playing gigs.

That may sound odd, I mean we've been here since April. So at that level I totally understand. But at well past midnight I was driving the coast road home. It was a beautiful night, clear but everything was black, not a hint of blue in the sky. I hit this one length of road where I was driving along the edge of a cliff along a large secluded bay and I just had to stop. Sliver ribbon of monlight on the water, just a hint of fog and the North Sea surf, huge breakers. Absolutely beautiful. I've loved along the ocean most of my life and never seen something so stunning.

If my ears hadn't been still ringing from my gig it would have been perfect. Someone to share it with might have been nice too.....

Arbroath, Saturday (part one)

Hi gang- We're halfway through the Arbroath Blues Festival, two gigs down one to go!

Had a great set with the band at the Inverpark Hotel in the afternoon. It's really a pub with a hotel attached and for once it was a real easy load in. In fact it was almost too easy- the club (unbeknownst to us) had hired a PA for the day, so I didn't need to move anything but my guitar amp and a few odd 6-strings. Place was empty as a church on monday as we set up, but by the time we kicked it off there wasn't a seat to be had. Which is really pretty amazing seeing as it was a spectacular day outside. A bunch of my music buddies were there too- Sandy Mathers, Chris Simmonds and the cats from uGli, and of course excellent folks like Anna. Steve Arvey from Chicago stuck his head in to say hi too. And, of course, a typical Son Henry Band set- 2 hours, no break and no set list.

Saturday night I had a solo gig at the Station Bar, a little hole-in-the-wall across from the train station. This place was *really* tiny, gang. About as wide as an average kitchen and about as long as Blues Central in Anchorage. I got my gear all set up, was ready to go and then *BOOM* went the power. We re-set the breaker and then blew it again. Once we unplugged the cigarette machine, the ice maker, the dishwasher and the jukebox the fuse stayed lit. So, off I went. Once again the place was jammed with people, I mean crazy jammed. It was so full that in order for people to get to the toilets in the back I needed to stop playing to let them get by, so I'd start scatting and dry strumming to keep time and they'd be able to answer nature's call. Oh, it was supposed to be an hour gig, but by the 45 minute mark there were a bunch of people dancing and we were having so much fun that I ended up playing about a 90 minute show. Thanks guys, I had as much fun as y'all did.

So, today it's off to the Burns Bar in Arbroath for a closer. One more electric set and I can crash. What a great weekend so far....

Check us out here too!

Hey all-

Check us out here too, we're on the Fat Blues Cat site too, thanks to my buddy Steve.
Click here to see the page. It's got a bunch of pictures so it takes a bit to load, but I promise you that it's worth the wait!

Sidewalk Poet

I've got to get warmed up for the Arbroath Blues Festival this coming weekend, so I'll be playing on the street Thursday Night around the corner of Union and Belmont. Not so much to make bus fare, but to run down a few new tunes in front of real people. If you're around stop by and say hi. Probably be there around 9 or so.

The Bourach Brothers

Had a chance to sit in with the Bourach Brothers (Sandy Mathers and Paul Tasker) at the Queen Vic. Great duo, excellent guys, great music. Didn't know they did live music there, but it's a great venue too.

We're in CDBABY

It may take a few days to get everything set up, but we're going to be listed in CDbaby which means you can order CD's on the web. Or get stuff from Napster, or whatever. Kinda cool, all this technology stuff, bringing alaska blues to your door....

It'll be here once they're done setting us up:

www.cdbaby.com

Some CD's to check out

Heard through the grapevine that there are some new CD's coming out that are worth knowing about-

One of them is by a young cat named Mark Lemhouse. It's traditional blues with a nice modern feel, not quite so 'out there' as the North Mississippi Allstars. I've got his first CD called Big Lonesome Radio, and I'm looking forward to his next one. Here's more information from his label:

http://yellowdogrecords.com

Also heard that there's a new Corey Harris CD and a new Alvin Youngblood Hart cd as well. Damn, gotta spend some money this week.

Oh, but the one that's been in my CD player all week is the new one by Junior Watson (www.juniorwatson.com). If you like west coast blues, Junior is king.

Blue Lamp last night

Thanks to all of you that came out to see us last night. I love the acoustics in the Blue Lamp- there's something about a long room with a slate floor that really seems to enhacne the sound of the band. A bit of natural reverb perhaps. Whatever it is, I love playng there.

I'd been posting on Billy Allardyce's forum (http://blindman.forumhoster.com/) right before leaving about those old pawnshop and ebay guitars. I was joking about how much I love the old silvertone and harmony guitars, old danelectro's and those other really cheap student models. Well, ok, so I favor an old strat too. But if you're reading this from the blindman forum, I was thinking of you guys as I set up- an old magnatone, and old silvertone, a national lap steel. Nice looking backline.

We'd intended to play 2 1-hour sets, but we started at a little after 9 and took our first break around 11:30. What can I say, we were in the zone. I just felt good to play. For a late second set we had local harp ace Spider McKenzie sitting in as well. Great to see Sandy Mathers, Dave Blair, Chris Simmonds, Eric-the-Social-Worker and Dave Inness, and get at least a few minutes to catch up with everyone. And the crowd from BP- welcome to the family!

So, a couple of people commented that we weren't playing enough slide tunes, and looking back on it I have to agree. Not sure why the muses took us in the direction that they did, perhaps we just needed to dust off the old west coast catalog, or some Lazy Lester, or Otis Rush. We'll try and play more slide tunes in Arbroath.

It's great how close some of you pay attention to what we do. A couple of people commented on the difference in tone between the magnatone and national lap steels- you could have knocked me over with a feather, you guys are really astute! My favorite comment though was

"That sounded like a cross between David Lindley and Stevie Ray Vaughan"

(David Lindley was the guy that played steel guitar for Jackson Browne by the way- remember 'Running on Empty'?) I should have my 10-string repaired by the Arbroath Festival next weekend- then we'll really have something to talk about!

So, here's a little prod to all my friends- don't be shy about making a tune request! I remember songs like I remember jokes- one leads to another, all being linked in some strange interconnected way that I don't understand. But chances are if you ask for Magic Sam, you'll get that plus a bunch of other stuff that'll make you smile. And since we never work with a set list who's going to know?

Thanks again to all of you that made it out last night. Be sure to tell all your friends that stayed home to watch re-runs on video that it's a proven medical fact that socializing will extend your life-span. Why not do it with a blues soundtrack.....

Peace

Son

BFMB House Band Line-up

Well here's the latest for the Blues for My Brother House Band, it's so cool.

Stu Schulman (guitar)
Patti Greene (bass and vocals)
Trish Hamm (bass and vocals)
Melissa Bledsoe Fisher (key's and vocals)
John Clarke (Drums)
Me (guitar, steel guitar and vocals)

There'll be a bunch of other players rotating in too. Man what can I say, look at the line-up, do you have any idea what it's gonna be like to be in the middle of this? Damn, I can't wait.

Links

Some Favorite Links:

Musicians:

Joey Fender, Alaskan Rockabilly King

Cool Blues Links:

Blackcat Bones Blues Emporium
Independent bluesartist network and magazine
(fatbluescat.com)


Festivals and such:

Blues Festival Guide Online
Blues Festivals Around the World!
www.BluesFestivalGuide.com

Friends:

The Blind Man's Blues Forum
Wild Blue Models, my Brother Pigs model shop



Want to be on my list? I'll trade ya.....

Johnshaven

Thanks Sandy for getting me on the schedule!

Johnshaven Fish Festival, Saturday August 6th. I can honestly say that in all my years I've never followed a pipe (as in bagpipes) band. But there you go, everyday is something new.

The festival was fun, they blocked off the streets and set up a small fair along the waterfront on a beautiful saturday morning. Blue skys and sea breezes. Great fish and chips. All in all a great way to spend a day. Oh, and I got to play 45 minutes of old stomp-down delta blues with special guest Sandy Mathers sitting in on Harp.

Set list went somthing like:

Glenn Highway Blues
You got to move
That same thing
Hummingbird
She's my Home
Voodoo Doll (one of the new songs I promised)
I'll always be in love with you
Preachin Blues, Jitterbug Swing, Fixing to die medley
Future Blues

Probably some others thrown in there too. Oh, here's a picture to prove I was really there: