Hey, I was on Hungarian TV, with some great live audio and video of me playing with the T Rogers band. They killed that night, absolutely spot-on playing, great live show, fantastic sound. Here's the link....
CLICK HERE
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The East Side Kings, Cellar 35, Thursday July 23
So, there's a new band that will be playing at Cellar 35 starting on Thursday the 23rd as part of the rotation of bands, it's called 'The East Side Kings'- it's me, Spider McKenzie, Mike Oxley, Duncan Stewart. It''s an old-school blues band- Old Muddy, Jump, Swing. No lap steel, no blues-rock, totally different than my normal band. It's a blues gig. We'll be calling standards and some new songs. We'll also be rotating other players in periodically to keep it different. This isn't a new version of the Son Henry band, it's a different style, a different set of tunes. Different.
My band isn't going away, btw. We're too loud for this room. As an alternative we'll try something a little different. So, this is a players night out thing to get together with some friends and play. I have a feeling it'll be a great gig! See you there, only at Cellar 35.
My band isn't going away, btw. We're too loud for this room. As an alternative we'll try something a little different. So, this is a players night out thing to get together with some friends and play. I have a feeling it'll be a great gig! See you there, only at Cellar 35.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Happy 4th!
So, Happy Independence Day to all!
Between 1927 and 1929 my grandparents fled poverty in Germany after living through the horror of World War one, which included one grandfather losing all his brothers in France, and my other grandmother being left an orphan reduced to scrubbing floors to survive as a 12 year old.
They came to the US with a one-way ticket and the promise of a better life. They had to work, but they found it. In actual fact they never rose very far above what we might consider poverty today, but eventually they owned a house (one that housed 3 families most of the time) and always had to share the things they had to make ends meet. At one point my grandparents lived in a house made from sod cuttings in North Dakota.
It was that promise of a better life for their kids that drove them on. My father's father died young from the years of painting other people's houses with lead-based paint. My uncles all died or were injured fighting for their new country in Europe or the Pacific. I don't think I ever heard them complain- it was the reward of seeing my father and his sister succeed; scholarships to university, having middle class jobs, raising their children in clean housing, escaping the horror of war.
I'm sure they did have their own heartbreak- they never saw the friends and relatives that they left behind again.
But they did send what little they had back to those in need. They sent tickets for passage to brothers and sisters, let them sleep on the sofa while they got started. And, in my fathers-fathers case, returning for a visit in the early 1930's and reading the handwriting on the wall with National Socialism and refusing to be part- returning instead to work on the other side and bear arms against the country of his birth to fight for what was right.
By my fathers account, it was a happy life, hard but meaningful. They were all working together towards a better lot in life.
So here's an offer of grateful thanks to those brave enough to leave everything behind, to make a better life for their familes. Of being unafraid of hard work and hunger, of lonelieness and want to reach a goal.
And here's to our new home that made all of this possible.
Today I'm not going to a flag waving parade. There won't be any celebrations like that in Europe today. Instead, I'll pray for all our safety in a crazy world, that that others will find the freedom and safe haven that my family found 80 years ago. And to the first thing they saw at Ellis Island.....
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
Between 1927 and 1929 my grandparents fled poverty in Germany after living through the horror of World War one, which included one grandfather losing all his brothers in France, and my other grandmother being left an orphan reduced to scrubbing floors to survive as a 12 year old.
They came to the US with a one-way ticket and the promise of a better life. They had to work, but they found it. In actual fact they never rose very far above what we might consider poverty today, but eventually they owned a house (one that housed 3 families most of the time) and always had to share the things they had to make ends meet. At one point my grandparents lived in a house made from sod cuttings in North Dakota.
It was that promise of a better life for their kids that drove them on. My father's father died young from the years of painting other people's houses with lead-based paint. My uncles all died or were injured fighting for their new country in Europe or the Pacific. I don't think I ever heard them complain- it was the reward of seeing my father and his sister succeed; scholarships to university, having middle class jobs, raising their children in clean housing, escaping the horror of war.
I'm sure they did have their own heartbreak- they never saw the friends and relatives that they left behind again.
But they did send what little they had back to those in need. They sent tickets for passage to brothers and sisters, let them sleep on the sofa while they got started. And, in my fathers-fathers case, returning for a visit in the early 1930's and reading the handwriting on the wall with National Socialism and refusing to be part- returning instead to work on the other side and bear arms against the country of his birth to fight for what was right.
By my fathers account, it was a happy life, hard but meaningful. They were all working together towards a better lot in life.
So here's an offer of grateful thanks to those brave enough to leave everything behind, to make a better life for their familes. Of being unafraid of hard work and hunger, of lonelieness and want to reach a goal.
And here's to our new home that made all of this possible.
Today I'm not going to a flag waving parade. There won't be any celebrations like that in Europe today. Instead, I'll pray for all our safety in a crazy world, that that others will find the freedom and safe haven that my family found 80 years ago. And to the first thing they saw at Ellis Island.....
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
Friday, July 03, 2009
Budapest, Paks Gastroblues, day 1
Well, off to a great start. There were supposed to be weather delays yesterday, thunderstorms in Budapest. We had none of it, buthe Danube is really at a very high flood stage from all the rain that they've been having. ű
So, spent the day in Budapest with Ferci and the gand from T. Rogers Blues band. Great rehearsal yesterday, too much to drink, and spicy cabbage and sausage for breakfast! It doesn't get any better than this! the best part of this trip (so far) has been hanging out at the Fregatt Blues Bar and getting caught up with these guys. That, and getting a chance to wander around Budapest some more, last trip I really didn't have time. We have tomorrow off, so I actually get to be a tourist for a chance.
But first things first. This afternoon we're off to Paks for the festival. Stay tuned for photos and details. But tell you what, we need to bring this band to Scotland for the blues bonanza, they're really that good. Funky, in a Robben Ford kind of vibe.
Video too, I think. Video for sure.
Oh, yeah, my voice is coming back fine. Singing today should be no problem. after a week of mumbling and whispering, I am ready to throw down tonight.
So, spent the day in Budapest with Ferci and the gand from T. Rogers Blues band. Great rehearsal yesterday, too much to drink, and spicy cabbage and sausage for breakfast! It doesn't get any better than this! the best part of this trip (so far) has been hanging out at the Fregatt Blues Bar and getting caught up with these guys. That, and getting a chance to wander around Budapest some more, last trip I really didn't have time. We have tomorrow off, so I actually get to be a tourist for a chance.
But first things first. This afternoon we're off to Paks for the festival. Stay tuned for photos and details. But tell you what, we need to bring this band to Scotland for the blues bonanza, they're really that good. Funky, in a Robben Ford kind of vibe.
Video too, I think. Video for sure.
Oh, yeah, my voice is coming back fine. Singing today should be no problem. after a week of mumbling and whispering, I am ready to throw down tonight.
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