Otis Rush

my all-time favorite player? Yeah, could well be-




and

Otis Rush

my all-time favorite player? Yeah, could well be-




and

This should be a blues song....

State Radio

I saw these guys last year as the support act for Anti-Flag, killer band. Well, both great bands actually. Louder than sin, made me seem quiet actually. This one features the guitar player (who's name I don't know), playing a guitar that looks like it's got a paint can for a body.

What would have been next?

A pair of size 10 shoes, next would have been the panties and then it would have been like an Englebert Humperdink concert...

the best guitar video EVER

yeah, Les Paul and Mary Ford....

Last gig of the year

Some of you know that I'm not a big fan of playing a gig between the middle of December and the new year. Superstition? Could be. So, that means that Thursday is the last gig of the year for me. We'll be at Drummond's in Aberdeen on Thursday the 18th. With Mel Ross on Drums, and some other special guests. As much of a party as it is a gig!


Miss this one? Well, then we'll see you next year.....

pictures from home this week...

Yeah, winter, complaints about snow and cold weather here. Here's some photos I got from home this week that prove you can make the best of winter, even if you're a surfer....

reconecting via facebook

This Facebook thing is really pretty cool. In the last week I've reconnected with people that

Johnny Winter's Firebird

These were posted at the Gear Page, a gear-junkie forum. I know most of you don't read that (it's a pretty nerdy guitar dorum after all), but these are worthy of cross-posting....








Click here to see more, it's a link to the gear page

Moorings, Jan 10

Here's a great way to start the new year.....

Need something new?

Go check out my buddy Joey Fender's website....

http://www.joeyfender.com

when things are more important than people

Just finished reading some of the news reports about Walmart. Someone gets trampled, a temp worker, while people try and get to the sale rack to save a little more money on stuff made in China? Walmart calls this an "unfortunate event"?

What a world. Need a good read? Try 'The Walmart Effect'.

Moorings Bar and the future of the blue....

Walk in, hang out, plug in and play. Simple. Use the clubs gear. Just move a couple of guitars and wires. Easy as pie.

What;s good about the place isn't the gear, so much as it is the vibe. Its one of the best rooms for live music around. People digging on punk and metal and ready to go wild for some blues. Yeah, sure, you gotta be in their face about it, but anything with energy goes over well.

For me it's the ultimate court of public opinion- you know you're on the right track when ypu're connecting with that room full of people.

And here's where it gets interesting. Stop here if you don't like philosophical or intellectual tangents. Most blues gigs are packed with people that are post 40 or so. People with heavy jobs, lots on their minds, kids off to Uni soon (or there already). It's an aging demographic. The Moorings is the future, it's the new audience. Different sensitivities and tastes. People at different places in life. And these are the ones that we need to be able to relate to if we're going to keep the music alive.

Does that mean that we play differently? Absolutely. And actually, that spills over into our normal gigs. It all works.

As an FYI, we're back at the Moorings in January. No idea who else is on the bill yet, but odds are it'll be us and a couple of good punk or metal bands. Watch this space, come check out the gig and see if we're on the mark here.

Evolve. Find a niche and thrive. Dance and shout. Play loud and love it. It's a philosophy that works....

Facebook?

Hey, if you're a facebook person link into my page there! My user id is 'Son Henry' no big surprise there.

I like it better than myspace.....

Facebook?

Hey, if you're a facebook person link into my page there! My user id is 'Son Henry' no big surprise there.

I like it better than myspace.....

EFFING MOORINGS BAR!!!!!

Damn, I love everything about the Moorings. It's loud, full of people I can relate to, beautiful women and great beer.

My band is as hot as ever, and fresh from a blinding gig on Thursday. Force of nature. Epic. Don't miss this one...

New in the CD player

Actually took time to rotate things in my cd player. You should give these cds a thought, they're pretty enjoyable!

1. The new Southern Culture on the Skids live CD.
2. The new Amos Lee cd
3. A set of German language records (ok, not for everyone)
4. Dave Arcari's last CD
5. The Black Ace compilation.

The new SCOTS disk deserves the pole position in my CD player. Rick Miller is a great guitar player, Mary Huff is my dream bass player, and the band just rocks. Killer stuff. Worthy of a purchase. The German language tapes are on the edge, I admit. Best intentions, but I skip right over it most days.

It's all broken

Volume pots, string trees, case latches, strings, bridges, cables, an entire amplifier, some really worn and dented frets, a pedal with a broken switch, a steel guitar leg missing a screw (its owner's missing one too). All the wear and tear so far in 2008.

But hey, all part of the game. Next weekend I'll finish fixing my amp and cleaning out the studio so I can get back to work. yeah, solo CD is almost finished. One more weekend worth of singing and then it's off to Buzz in Anchorage to mix! Really, I've even talked to Buzz about it too, so he's expecting it and everything.

So.....

At this rate, it's a two-fer

After such a long drought, I'm kinda FLOORED TO BE IN THIS SITUATION ,BU

Solo CD update

Well, after a long weekend of recording all the instruments are done. It's down to singing a few things and it goes back to Anchorage to mix and master.

Hmmm, like any long project it's a little different than what I'd started. I like it more. Mostly lap-steel acoustic songs, some other stuff that you've heard at solo gigs lately. So far I'm really happy, and excited that this is almost finished.

Going to see Little Feat on Friday!

Enough about the economy and the election. I've got a night off, and so I'm going to see Little Feat this Friday. Cool....

Dollar got the blues

Gatemouth Brown said it best.....

Time to try again...

Some of you may remember that I ran for President of the US in 2004, using a bar called Studio 68 in Anchorage, Alaska as my campaign headquarters. Seeing as I got something like 12 write in votes, and looking at the mess we're in it is clearly time to revisit my write in candidacy. Typically, we're doing this at the last minute. But, if you need someone to vote for and you're confused? I'm you man.

My platform is an unstable one. Veggie burgers in every pot. Renaming the letter 'W' from the english language to sound like what it really sounds like. Re-thinking congressional service to a lottery ticket. Granting Wal-Mart least favored nation status. Really practical stuff like that. See? I've got ideas here people. And I'm a better Sax player than Bill Clinton, have more hair than Hillary, I can out-shoot Sarah, out-talk Barrack, and I'm taller than McCain. Perfect for the job.

And if I win, Southern Culture on the Skids is gonna play the Inaugural Ball, and you're all invited. We're drinking Bud out of the bottle (long necks, of course because they sound better on the lap steel- go to youtube for the evidence there), firing up the grill and closing all the streets. And after the party the real work starts.

Send the bums back home and support the arts all with one vote. A bold political master, no?

Here's some sticker art to get you going....










And, since education is an issue, here's something to keep in mind about this candidate....

The ultimate solo gig

OK, ABSOLUTELY NO BLUES CONTENT. Read on, if you're a purist....


I have no idea who this is, but it's a one-man band doing a great cover of AC/DC. And to make it even better, he's doing my all time favorite "I've been drinking and I'm singing along with the music in the pub even if I don't know the freekin words" song....



OK, back to the blues....

More pictures from Stomness

Dave Amos took these from the back of the Stromness Hotel. An actual set of pictures of the whole band at once!

Tony and Sue's Orkney Photos!

Tony and Sue sent me a link to some photos in Myspace. Tony Winfield, as you may know, is a great photographer! Check them out on Myspace here:

http://www.myspace.com/bluesxx

or on the web here:

www.bluespics.co.uk

So, to business- These photos are linked in from Myspace, so my apologies if the display is slow. Sometimes those myspace photo albums are slow to load. Check out the suit on Dino! Man, sharpest dressed bass player around.....

More Sacred Steel Videos...

Had some some time to kill today, so I spent some of it looking around youtube. Here's my favorite find of the day, a video of the Campbell Brothers laying in Church, Sacred Steel style. Nothing much to say, other than sit back, and try and stay seated through the whole thing....

Lap Steel lessons

A bunch of you have been asking about this....

I've started recording some lap steel guitar lessons that I'll post on YouTube (finally, eh, Paul?) Stay tuned, I'll link them here. Mostly the basics of how to tune and

The Orkney Blues festival (Special Thanks and Mentions)

What a great weekend....

Had a great time hanging out and listening to Blue Rooster, the Bad Liars, Bad Taste, BWB, Last Train, Stevie Hay and the Rayvons and Keith Christmas. Even with all the gigging there was plenty of time to hang out, a minimum of gear to move and all hassle-free.

My thanks to Graham, John and the guys from Blue Rooster, the guys from BWB and the Bad Liars, all of whom loaned us gear, and managed to move most of it as well.

And Steve, Walter, Caroline and the other organizers, you all did a superb job, everything ran like clockwork.

So, as always, I love going to Orkney. It's like going home for me, something in the landscape and the relaxed attitude of the Orkadians. The weather was outstanding and the music great too. I'm ready to go back any time.

Thanks again, all! See you soon....

Back from Orkney

Off to grab a little sleep, it was a late night followed by an early ferry and a long drive. All worth it!

Pictures and videos to follow. In the mean time, a million thanks to Walter, Steve, John and Graham(s), Robert, Mike, Caroline, Maureen, Adrian and all the other folks that made it such a great weekend, loaned us gear and made that festival the great time it was.

Crash first, post later. Lots to write about, including Blue Rooster, Bad Liars, BWB, Stevie Hay....

Globalization, a little too far.....

Strange to see these two names on the same sign.....

Globalization, a little too far.....

Strange to see these two names on the same sign.....

And another...

And another video download, this time it is a quick take on Walking Blues, with some improvised lyrics.

Sackcloth and Ashes

Well, I tried out my new Flip Video recorder this weekend at the Bond. It's pretty cool, small and easy to run, audio isn't too bad either. So, here's a clip I've extracted of 'Sackcloth and Ashes', one of the songs from the new CD. I put it out on youtube for grins, take a listen and see what you think!

Some travel photos

Hey, it's the travel season. Here's some travel photos.....

Orkney Blues Festival!!!

Well, it's just a couple of weeks till Orkney. It's always like going home for me, there so much about Orkney that reminds me of rural Alaska.

The band has been working up a whole bunch of new songs that I've written over the last six months. For those of you that haven't seen my band since the big re-shuffle earlier in the year, it's a kicking trio that plays all the hard-edged country blues really, really well. And that's saying something, because it's an odd hybrid of old-school country and hill country blues with a rock-n-roll attitude. Remember that Glenn Highway Blues cd of mine? We're screaming into that pocket and tapping into a major river of attitude. Bring comfortable shoes, you'll likely need them if there's space to dance.

Well, ok, there's still a big obvious influence of Chicago and Texas blues, etc. We've got 3 shows to play and I'd bet my draft card that they'll all be dramatically different.

Here's the website:

http://orkneyblues.co.uk/

See y'all real soon. If you're not making the trip, well, shame on you.

Moorings bar last night

What a great gig....

Alan Cynic sounded like he was having a tough night. I thought it was cool. First time I've heard him, I dug it.

Dave Arcari positively tore the room apart

Les Paul, Mary Ford

Yet another reason why (if Id been born 30 years earlier), that Mary Ford would be my dream woman.....

The Tunnels, Saturday...

Gonna be a great gig!

We've been working on some new songs that we'll be recording soon.

Bellrock Blues images

Just got these from ym friend Chris Simmonds, he took them last weekend at the Bellrock Blues festival in the Newgate Bar (I think). Thanks Chris!

Live at Shetland Blues

Rare footage of me, Sandy Tweedale and Dave Arcari jamming together in Shetland last year. Yeah, that's me playing the lap steel with a long-neck beer bottle....

Bellrock, day 2

So, tired and hungry, I put myself in the car to head back to Arbroath for day 2. A gig and Chinese take-away, through sheets of rain near Lawrencekirk. Easy.

It was a great gig. The Crown Inn has great acoustics, and once the football fans moved next door we had the room to ourselves. The room filled up with friendly faces just shy of downbeat, and it was great to see a bunch of people that I'd last seen a year ago.

Set started with about 30 minutes of lap steel songs, all original stuff, and moved into more delta blues to close. A short break, some talk of loud whistling, and then off to more originals and some covers (as requests from y'all on the floor). Thanks to all of you that created such a warm atmosphere to try out the new material. Lots of keepers.

Off to the next gig, let's see, solo is back at the Bond in dundee on September 6th. See you there?

August 23rd, the Tunnels

last minute gig-

I'll have the band at the Tunnels on Saturday, August 23. It's 4£ at the door, and I think it's doors at 8pm. There will be a couple of young solo performers and then us. It'll be a great night of music and a chance for us to share some of the new songs from the new CD we've started, as we clear up the backlog of tunes that I've got.

See you there, tell your friends....

Arbroath/Dundee take 1...

OK, the Saturday is behind us. One more day to go- the Crown Inn at 5 pm.

Yesterday was a managable day only because I have 3 great friends that are willing to move their body weight in gear, navigating crowds and city streets with speaker cabinets and guitars. Eat sandwiches from a gas station. And drink beer.

Eric, Alan and Marion, you guys are aces. Thanks a bunch.

Here's what we survived:

Started with a 2pm gig at the Newgate bar. A great room with fantastic acoustics. I was there from 2-4. And then had to race down south for a gig at the Bond. As always the Bond is a great time, lots of great people, smiling, drinking and dancing. A 7:30 finish and then a race back to Arbroath for an 8pm gig at the Station Bar (new and improved since the last time, bigger and better) for an 8-10 pm show there.

My fingers are pretty sore. I have no voice left. Once more gig to go.

Oh, in addition to Eric's company all day as navigator and wrangler, we made it to one of my favorite cheap places to eat- the 123 Chinese Takeaway by the train station. It's so good I'm going back today and bringing food home for the tribe. And eating there today as well.

OK, all. Gotta go pack the van. It'll be guitars with fairly light strings today. No prisoners, though.

random thoughts

The Master of the triple header....

It's true!

Look for me in Arbroath for the blues festival on Saturday afternoon, at the Bond in Dundee over dinner, then *back* to the Station Bar in Arbroath for a 3rd gig. All solo, but it's gonna be a horse race.

thanks to Lenny at the Bond for helping me make this work out!

What's up with the low post count lately?

Yeah, sorry all, it's been a crazy couple of weeks. So where are we?

Well, the band is hard at work on new tunes for the next CD. We've got around 20 or so new songs that we're filtering our way through, for a November release.

Drummonds double-header

Yes, it's a double header, my band and Kent Duchain at Drummonds on Thursday.

If rumors are correct, it'll be one of the last sessions there too, sounds like Drummonds may be closing.....

See you there.

More new tunes

So, in the about time category, I finally got off my backside and gave the guys in the band a bunch (like 20) new tunes to work on. All original, all blues/R&B/lap steel. All the songs fit well together. So, a little bit of work and off to the studio to do some more recording.

Yeah, I know, promises promises. But we're booking a Saturday night at the Blue Lamp for a CD release party. And that'll mail it down for sure.

Heroes and Martyrs

Check them out on myspace. They're really not a blues band, but this is what happens to kids that grow up with guitar geeks for parents. That's Mike Oxley's daughter Anna singing and my oldest Zakk on the guitar. They rawk, they don't play 'Freebird'. Great taste in music and pretty good songwriting.

OK, myspace. They're on myspace.

Bell Rock Blues?

Anyone reading this associated with the Bell Rock Blues festival? Please call or email.

The schedule is up on the web site, but emails from me to the organizers don't seem to go through. I need to confirm the details in the next couple of weeks, ok?

Lemon Tree on Friday!

How cool is this, to be going back to the Lemon Tree after so long. After all, it's been closed and is now back in business!. Phew, Aberdeen's best live music venue open again.

So, I'll be there friday the 11th at 1 pm for a lunch time show. It'll be a solo show that goes somewhere different than yu might be used to, I'll be bringing my two acoustic guitars and playing stuff that's more folk-blues than anything else. Lots of lap steel on an acoustic guitar, some new fingerstyle stuff. I think you'll like it.

See you there? No idea about the new lunch menu. I'm sure it'll be good. See you there!

Dundee in retrospect

It was great to catch up with a whole bunch of old friends, people that I hadn't seen since the year before (or perhaps our last Dexter's gig). All in all the band played great, and for Kevin's first full fledged outing with band I think it went really well.

The proof of this new lineup is the inspiration to write new material, and there's 3 new songs since Dundee that we need to work up. All heading in a nice retro direction. If you haven't seen this line up, it's a great dance band, greasy grooves, serious dynamics and a great attitude. These guys love to play. It's fun again, which for me is a real plus.

The only drawback was playing in a room with a low ceiling that ramped up the feedback a bit. That big old guitar of mine is a great sound, but more sensitive to the room acoustics than a strat would be. So, the volume comes down a bit, and next gig out comes my old silvertone and some other odd bits of wood to get the old tones.

Stay in touch, might see some of you at the Bond on Saturday from 5:30-9? Solo gig?

Ready for Dundee?

Yep, it's that time again, and here's what you need to know!

We're having a warm up gig on Thursday at Cafe Drummonds in Aberdeen. It's a party- it's Kevin's first gig with us. I'll be bringing the resonator too, play some solo stuff early on, then through the band set. If you can't make it to the Bonanza, this is a good one to see.

From there, we're off to Saturday where we're playing at the Lowdown early in the evening. I've got a solo gig later at the Abode, and then we're done with free time to hang out and listen to some of the other bands. Sunday afternoon is the BBF jam at Dexters after the Blindman's Blue Forum breakfast.

Going to be a good weekend. See you there!

Yeah, old friends can be the best friends. I had a chance to catch up with some old friends last weekend and things just naturally evolved from life stories to blues songs. Old Allman brothers covers, some Blind Willie Johnson. We're older, sure. But our taste in music is pretty highly evolved, and the groove was comfortable.

More images to follow. See you for Lightnin Willie on Friday where I'll break out some of these old songs.

Lightnin Willie

Don't miss this one-

Lightnin Willie & the Poorboys
Culter Mills Sports & Rec Club
Cairn Road, Peterculter

When: June 6th
Doors at 7:15, bar open till 1am

The support act is some guy names Son, who's from Alaska.

The gig finishes at 11:30 or so, so you can grab the last bus back into town with me. See you there, email me if you need to reserve some tickets and I'll get you in touch with Dave, ok?

Some images from Germany

Some images from the tour of Germany....

From Braunschweig and Helmstedt

Here's some graphics from the gigs at Barnaby's and Helmstedt. The one that's not a gig flyer is from our meeting with the Helmstedt Fire marshall, when we parked the car in a fire lane. Who knew?

Back from Germany.....

It was a great trip!

4 Days in Germany, a couple of gigs with friends and a gathering of great

Yeah, we're looking for a drummer

Long story. If you know someone that might fit well with this band, shoot me an email....

Yeah, we're looking for a drummer

Long story. If you know someone that might fit well with this band, shoot me an email....

Saying goodbye to Lucy

Last night we said goodbye to dear friend and family member. She left us in the early hours of the morning, peacefully in her sleep surrounded by a small group of family members who love her. What a day, explaining this to a seven year and an eight year old.

No flowers. Just call someone you care about today and tell them that.

yeah, class of '83.

Yup, you found me.

At least they're playing Fenders....

Remember these guys?

Cupar blues and beyond...

Played a solo set in front of Wolftrain last night at the Cupar Blues and Beyond club last night. Great to get back across the Tay bridge and see some old friends, and try out some new songs.

Wolftrain was great, as always.

I had my ES-125 plus a lap steel and an acoustic guitar that I never touched. Seemed the music felt right on an electric guitar, rather than that acoustic. And the lap steel always sounds great in that big room.

New songs, from the new CD- "Toss and Turn", "Sackcloth and Ashes", "Ball and Chain", "Nothing out of place", and "Long way to fall". Some Old faves, like "Goodnight Irene". The rest is a blur.

A million thanks to those of you that warned me about the traffic, and to Wolftrain for letting me plug into their gear. And of course to Charlie and the gang at the blues and beyond club. It's a great gig, and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

What is the deal with my schedule?

Yeah, I've been distracted. I'll update my website and my blog schedule this weekend.

what was that guitar?

I've been asked enough about this lately that I thought I'd just clear it up for y'all. The guitar I've been playing lately is this one in the Tony Whitfield picture below (ok, it's from Orkney last year but it's the only picture I have of the guitar). It's an old Gibson ES-125T. 'T' for the thin body, one very hot P-90 pickup and off you go.

The best part? Outside of the fact that it sounds amazing? It weighs less than 5 pounds.

Fire on a United flight from Rio

So, I found this on youtube- it's a before and after video of a recent United Airlines flight out of Rio. The plane was stuck on the ground because of air traffic control and in the early part of the video the passengers are a little unruly. Understandable, they spent 3 hours on the ground in the plane and stuck in their seats. The front part of this video is a passenger rebellion that almost ended the flight. The Brazillian police were called and several passengers arrested.

So, the plane takes off, it's a Boeing 777 fully loaded with gas on the way to New York. And at about 3 minutes into the flight the cockpit fills with smoke. The pilots switch over to oxygen masks and turn the plane around, setting it back down on the ground. Because they're so heavy with gas (and have no time to dump it) they land heavy and fast, scrub the fires and burn out the brakes (that's why the fire trucks are hosing down the tires, to keep them from catching fire and the plane exploding.

Everyone walks away, a little scared, but safe and alive to fly another day. How do I know all this? That voice you hear at 3:02 in the video is my baby brother, who landed that plane.


Oh, here's the video.....

CLICK HERE


Way to go Pete! You're a hero in my book...

Dexters tomorrow

And it's an afternoon gig. We'll start around 3:30, send you on your way for a curry and a pint with friends.

Seriously, these afternoon slots at Dexters are a great time, great place to hang out. Bring some friends! Lots of new music to hear, stories to tell, and a chance to catch up before the blues bonanza this summer.

Prepping for Germany!

Yeah, short German tour coming up real soon, and I'm pretty jazzed. Bunch of new songs to perform and a killer band to play with. If you're in the area be sure and say hi! Details posted over on the right side of the screen here. As I get more venue details I'll post them too.

3 Amigos

What can I say? I like this picture, surrounded by 2 great guys and good friends to boot.

Aberdeen Homeless Benefit

Phew, I'm wiped out.

Last night was the BBF/Aberdeen/Scots Blues Alliance benefit for the homeless at the Blue Lamp in Aberdeen. Lots of pictures and some video to follow.

It was a 4-band line up, Sandy Mathers band 'the Juke Joint Rollers', PapaMojo, my band and Tim 'dillo' Aves. Doors at 7, and by 7:30 all of the seats were full, by 7:45 it was SRO, and stayed that way for the rest of the night.

The Rollers kicked it off early with a great seat of harmonic-driven blues. Bright Lights, Big City was my personal fave, I'm a sucker for Jimmy Reed. Sandy did a great job throughout leading the band, playing harp and chatting up every woman of legal age in the room. And they all seemed to know him too, there must be a story here.

PapaMojo really fits well in this room, the acoustics are warm and live and at 9 they took over and drove everyone to the dance floor. It's great to hear country blues played well. Stef is a great guitar player with a really dry gravel voice, and Billy and Dave are the most under-rated rhythm section in Scotland. Perfect minimalism, not a not or a hit out of place. And I've got some video to prove it.

Tim and I had the luxury of going next and taking over a room that was red-hot. Having to follow these guys is a great challenge. And the complication was that in the middle of the PapaMojo set I got a call from my drummer who was snowed in and wasn't going to make it. PANIC?. naw, we had a great drumer in the room to sub in! So, with Billy behind the kid we blew through an hour of old raunchy hill country style blues, some old Elmore James and all the raw stuff that seems to connect with the 20-somethings as well as the 40-somethings. Tim is a great harp player who can hold his own on the guitar too, and we traded tunes back and forth. It was a fun set.

From there it was jam time, and the 90 minute jam that mixed up all the bands plus a few ringers from the audience kept the dance floor shakin. Fox stayed in place for most of the jam, he's a great guitar player, and the combination of Fox and Dillo was a good one. I even got a change to play a little harp and remind everyone that, well, as far as harp players go, I'm a pretty good guitar player


Gigs like this are always over too fast. But what I love about them is the chance to hang out with some great people and really good friends. It's too bad we didn't have a chance for a forum photo, but I think the count was (Dillo, Blindman, Barrelhouse, Fox, Dino, OldBones, FishFeathers, me) was 8. Did I miss anyone?

By the time Tim and I had the gear put away and discovered that there wasn't a lick of food in the house it was around 3 am. Long day.

By my count we had around 150 people on the heels of a snow storm. Next stop Dundee for the next UK BBF meet-up and breakfast. Any of y'all that want to crash the party, get in touch with us.....

Oh, yeah, video to follow. Watch this space!