Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Dundee Blues Bonanza (phew)
Another one come and gone. Seems like I spend all year in anticipation of thie great festival, and then it's over before I know it. Was it a good one? Nope, it was flat out amazing.
Our involvement started on Thursday with a warm-up party at Cafe Drummonds in Aberdeen. Late night, and a great chance to run through the material we're taking to the festival. Out the door around 1 a.m., and then up early to start getting organized.
4 hours sleep.
Friday night Tim Aves arrived from London. His flight was running late so we dropped his things at the airport and immediately left for a rehearsal. It was a good chance to meet, run through his songs and talk logistics for the weekend. I think we quit around 11, back at my place around 12, and stayed up late talking. New guitar strings on my strat. Up the next day a 6 a.m. to start packing the truck, printing maps and working out the logistics of moving 5 people and a ton of gear.
4 hours sleep again.
OK, now the fun starts. Tim and I hit the road around 11:30 and met the guys we were staying with at our block of self catering flats. Dr. Bendix, the Lyndon Anderson Band and a couple of others were all staying there to. Lots of gear being moved up a narrow flight of stairs. By 1:30 we have the gear shifted, our guitars in the truck, stage clothes on and we were off to the Bond for the first of Tim's gigs, as the Jalepenos.
The Bond is a great room, kinda small and at the south end of the Marketgait area. It was empty, echo empty as we were setting up. Dino, Tim and I ran off to get a quick to-go meal and by the time we were back, it was jammed with bodies. We had to be well over fire-code capacity. Tim kicked it off with a Howlin Wolf tune, 'Riding in the Monlight' and the room was instantly jumping. Tim's a great front person, real energetic and a solid guitarist and harp player (nice guy too, go figure). 45 minutes later, it was 'smoke 'em if ya got em' time to take a break and hang outside with the smokers-in-exile and cool off. Most of the conversation revolved around my snakeskin cowboy boots and how rattlesnake really does taste like chicken.
Our second set was better than the first, and played for an even larger crowd. When we ended with Tim's son 'Wageslave', it was 5 pm, time to break down the gear, pack the truck and run off to the Abode for our solo gigs.
I was supposed to start at 6:30. It wasn't hard to find the club. Parking was miserable. So I double-parked in a taxi rank and we forced our way through a standing-room only crowd to get the guitars up to the small area reserved for the solo performers. Oh, I had to park about 1/2 mile away.
As it turned out I started bang on time. I had my acoustic lap steel with me and played all the new songs on my acoustic CD, and one or two standards on an electric guitar. It's magic playing for an audience that knows you and looks forward to seeing the new material that you bring to a show like this. Intimate isn't really the right word, but it was singing in close quarters for sure, and a wonderful room full of friends, both old and new. Interestingly enough, 12 people asked me where Louise was, why didn't I bring the national with me? Simple, no room in the truck. Next year, I missed that guitar as much as y'all did.
I was done at 8 pm and Tim took over. I could only stay long enough to get him settled and then I had to walk back to the truck and head back to the flat so Dino and I could load up the PA. 3 flights of stairs, I might add. And then we were off to the Old Bank Bar to follow the GrooveCats for a 10 pm show.
The Old Bank Bar is huge, and by the time we started there were easily 500 people there. Easily. Our soundcheck song was 'Love my little baby' a jumping west-coast shuffle. I'd thought to make a quick one just to check levels, but the room just burst into dancing and so we finished the song and went straight into that Bo Diddley-style version of 'Who do you love', slightly Cajun-ized. The rest of the set was a blur. Band was as solid as ever. Great to see Paul from Glasgow, Anna, Eric, Lovat, Marion, Alan and the rest of you trouble-makers!
We were suposed to quit at 12, but by the time we were finished playing encores it was much closer to 1 am. Last song? A really swinging version of 'Reconsider Baby'. What a great time. Phew. Time to shift the gear again, up 3 flights of stairs and finally get something for dinner. Nothing like a late-night Kebab and a beer. Off to bed around 3 am. Dino snores. Dave does too. No curtains on the window, so the sunlight hits early too. Up at 6.
3 hours sleep.
Spent most of the morning watching the news about the Glasgow airport. Puts everything in perspective. At noon we all shuffled off for a breakfast for members of the Blindman's Blues forum. 16 of us in all from all over the world. Great people, all good friends. Known some of them for years and still meeting them for the first time.
Back to the gear shuffle. Tim had another gig at Satchmoes. I know the PA and the Parking situation there so it was much less stressful. Leon Hunter and the gang always take good care of us there. True to form, 5 minutes before we start the room fills up. It's a room full of faces that we've seen at every gig. How great is that? Good gig, by now I'm starting to get a little tired. Slamming Red Bulls in pairs to keep moving. 2 hours later (5 pm) it's time for more gear moving and a quick run over to Alleycats for my last gig.
OK, by now I really am wiped out. It was supposed to be a low-volume acoustic gig with Billy Allardyce and Davey Blair on drums and bass. As it turns out I was in the zone and wantedto play lots of lap steel. So, with Tim sitting in on the harp, we played our first set to a small crowd of folks that had followed us over. Small because we had our start time changed from 7 to 6, so low pressure out of the gate. By 6:45 the room was filling up and by the time I started at 7 it was standing room only. we ran through the solo CD material again, and then I brought Tim, Dave and Billy up for a lap-steel romp through some originals, old blues covers and some odd stuff too.
There's something that happens when you get that tired. It's as though the creative barriers all melt away and you tap into a reservoir of energy and creativity that wasn't there before. It was euphoric, the guys did a great job tagging along, and we took turns pushing each other. Although we were supposed to finish at 8, we played later, much later in fact.
Ok, blah blah blah. More gear to move after cleaning out the flat. Home around midnight, in bed by 1am and then up a 6 to get everyone ready for school and work.
5 hours sleep, finally.
This afternoon I fell asleep on a city bus, and the bus driver woke me up at my stop. I'm still dead on my feet. But I wouldn't trade weekends like that with so many friends for a bag of money. Dundee is how I mark my anniversary of living in Scotland, where I go to recharge my creative batteries and reconnect with all my friends.
See you next year!
Our involvement started on Thursday with a warm-up party at Cafe Drummonds in Aberdeen. Late night, and a great chance to run through the material we're taking to the festival. Out the door around 1 a.m., and then up early to start getting organized.
4 hours sleep.
Friday night Tim Aves arrived from London. His flight was running late so we dropped his things at the airport and immediately left for a rehearsal. It was a good chance to meet, run through his songs and talk logistics for the weekend. I think we quit around 11, back at my place around 12, and stayed up late talking. New guitar strings on my strat. Up the next day a 6 a.m. to start packing the truck, printing maps and working out the logistics of moving 5 people and a ton of gear.
4 hours sleep again.
OK, now the fun starts. Tim and I hit the road around 11:30 and met the guys we were staying with at our block of self catering flats. Dr. Bendix, the Lyndon Anderson Band and a couple of others were all staying there to. Lots of gear being moved up a narrow flight of stairs. By 1:30 we have the gear shifted, our guitars in the truck, stage clothes on and we were off to the Bond for the first of Tim's gigs, as the Jalepenos.
The Bond is a great room, kinda small and at the south end of the Marketgait area. It was empty, echo empty as we were setting up. Dino, Tim and I ran off to get a quick to-go meal and by the time we were back, it was jammed with bodies. We had to be well over fire-code capacity. Tim kicked it off with a Howlin Wolf tune, 'Riding in the Monlight' and the room was instantly jumping. Tim's a great front person, real energetic and a solid guitarist and harp player (nice guy too, go figure). 45 minutes later, it was 'smoke 'em if ya got em' time to take a break and hang outside with the smokers-in-exile and cool off. Most of the conversation revolved around my snakeskin cowboy boots and how rattlesnake really does taste like chicken.
Our second set was better than the first, and played for an even larger crowd. When we ended with Tim's son 'Wageslave', it was 5 pm, time to break down the gear, pack the truck and run off to the Abode for our solo gigs.
I was supposed to start at 6:30. It wasn't hard to find the club. Parking was miserable. So I double-parked in a taxi rank and we forced our way through a standing-room only crowd to get the guitars up to the small area reserved for the solo performers. Oh, I had to park about 1/2 mile away.
As it turned out I started bang on time. I had my acoustic lap steel with me and played all the new songs on my acoustic CD, and one or two standards on an electric guitar. It's magic playing for an audience that knows you and looks forward to seeing the new material that you bring to a show like this. Intimate isn't really the right word, but it was singing in close quarters for sure, and a wonderful room full of friends, both old and new. Interestingly enough, 12 people asked me where Louise was, why didn't I bring the national with me? Simple, no room in the truck. Next year, I missed that guitar as much as y'all did.
I was done at 8 pm and Tim took over. I could only stay long enough to get him settled and then I had to walk back to the truck and head back to the flat so Dino and I could load up the PA. 3 flights of stairs, I might add. And then we were off to the Old Bank Bar to follow the GrooveCats for a 10 pm show.
The Old Bank Bar is huge, and by the time we started there were easily 500 people there. Easily. Our soundcheck song was 'Love my little baby' a jumping west-coast shuffle. I'd thought to make a quick one just to check levels, but the room just burst into dancing and so we finished the song and went straight into that Bo Diddley-style version of 'Who do you love', slightly Cajun-ized. The rest of the set was a blur. Band was as solid as ever. Great to see Paul from Glasgow, Anna, Eric, Lovat, Marion, Alan and the rest of you trouble-makers!
We were suposed to quit at 12, but by the time we were finished playing encores it was much closer to 1 am. Last song? A really swinging version of 'Reconsider Baby'. What a great time. Phew. Time to shift the gear again, up 3 flights of stairs and finally get something for dinner. Nothing like a late-night Kebab and a beer. Off to bed around 3 am. Dino snores. Dave does too. No curtains on the window, so the sunlight hits early too. Up at 6.
3 hours sleep.
Spent most of the morning watching the news about the Glasgow airport. Puts everything in perspective. At noon we all shuffled off for a breakfast for members of the Blindman's Blues forum. 16 of us in all from all over the world. Great people, all good friends. Known some of them for years and still meeting them for the first time.
Back to the gear shuffle. Tim had another gig at Satchmoes. I know the PA and the Parking situation there so it was much less stressful. Leon Hunter and the gang always take good care of us there. True to form, 5 minutes before we start the room fills up. It's a room full of faces that we've seen at every gig. How great is that? Good gig, by now I'm starting to get a little tired. Slamming Red Bulls in pairs to keep moving. 2 hours later (5 pm) it's time for more gear moving and a quick run over to Alleycats for my last gig.
OK, by now I really am wiped out. It was supposed to be a low-volume acoustic gig with Billy Allardyce and Davey Blair on drums and bass. As it turns out I was in the zone and wantedto play lots of lap steel. So, with Tim sitting in on the harp, we played our first set to a small crowd of folks that had followed us over. Small because we had our start time changed from 7 to 6, so low pressure out of the gate. By 6:45 the room was filling up and by the time I started at 7 it was standing room only. we ran through the solo CD material again, and then I brought Tim, Dave and Billy up for a lap-steel romp through some originals, old blues covers and some odd stuff too.
There's something that happens when you get that tired. It's as though the creative barriers all melt away and you tap into a reservoir of energy and creativity that wasn't there before. It was euphoric, the guys did a great job tagging along, and we took turns pushing each other. Although we were supposed to finish at 8, we played later, much later in fact.
Ok, blah blah blah. More gear to move after cleaning out the flat. Home around midnight, in bed by 1am and then up a 6 to get everyone ready for school and work.
5 hours sleep, finally.
This afternoon I fell asleep on a city bus, and the bus driver woke me up at my stop. I'm still dead on my feet. But I wouldn't trade weekends like that with so many friends for a bag of money. Dundee is how I mark my anniversary of living in Scotland, where I go to recharge my creative batteries and reconnect with all my friends.
See you next year!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
On this day in history....
I bowled my life-time highest score today: 193.
I took my little boys bowling and got myself a pair of shoes so I could be out on the lanes to coach them. Wasn't going to bowl at all, in fact, just hang out with them and have a burger. My yongest decided that he didn't want to bowl after a few frames and so I played out the last few of the first game and then bowled his second game with a chipped 14 lb ball and a large group of REALLY obnoxious people in the next lane that kept standing in our lane to take pictures.
What kind of score do you need to go pro? I mean, after years of playing blues in bars I have MORE than enough bowling shirts.....
I took my little boys bowling and got myself a pair of shoes so I could be out on the lanes to coach them. Wasn't going to bowl at all, in fact, just hang out with them and have a burger. My yongest decided that he didn't want to bowl after a few frames and so I played out the last few of the first game and then bowled his second game with a chipped 14 lb ball and a large group of REALLY obnoxious people in the next lane that kept standing in our lane to take pictures.
What kind of score do you need to go pro? I mean, after years of playing blues in bars I have MORE than enough bowling shirts.....
Dundee Schedule!
The official schedule is on the bonanza web site: Click here to go there.
Here's how we fit in:
1. Saturday, 3-5 with Tim Aves at the Bond.
2. Saturday, 6:30-7:30, Son playing solo at the Abode
3. Saturday 10-12, Son Henry Band at the Old Bank Bar, with special guest Tim Aves on harp
4. Sunday 3-5, with Tim Aves at Satchmoes
5. Sunday 6-8, Son playing an electric/acoustic gig at Alleycats.
Also there's a Blind Man's Blues Forum meet-up at Dexters on Sunday at 11:30 for a late breakfast.
So. lots of chances to catch the new lap-steel solo songs, the new band stuff, my buddy Tim Aves and a bizarre new electro-acoustic thing as well. Pretty divers, no? See you somewhere in Dundee next weekend.
Here's how we fit in:
1. Saturday, 3-5 with Tim Aves at the Bond.
2. Saturday, 6:30-7:30, Son playing solo at the Abode
3. Saturday 10-12, Son Henry Band at the Old Bank Bar, with special guest Tim Aves on harp
4. Sunday 3-5, with Tim Aves at Satchmoes
5. Sunday 6-8, Son playing an electric/acoustic gig at Alleycats.
Also there's a Blind Man's Blues Forum meet-up at Dexters on Sunday at 11:30 for a late breakfast.
So. lots of chances to catch the new lap-steel solo songs, the new band stuff, my buddy Tim Aves and a bizarre new electro-acoustic thing as well. Pretty divers, no? See you somewhere in Dundee next weekend.
well that was an odd one.......
Sometimes you just need to roll with it.......
We were asked to play a couple of short sets at the Wellgate Center in Dundee as a part of a promo for the Dundee Blues Bonanza, sponsored by the mall. Hey, the Blues Bonanza folks are always great to us, so no problem at all, we were glad to help. It was an odd gig though. Been a long time since I've played in a food court, in fact this was a first. It was a little off in a way, but if you're at all into performance art, this was really a chance to take art to the people in a surprising environment. The guys, pros that they are, played great as always. So the music was fine, and the people in line at Subway were digging it. Some even dancing. We'll consider that positive feedback!
Also had a chance to hang out with Robin and Hennie and get all caught up. Always good to see those two!
OK, Cafe Drummonds on Thursday and then off to Dundee for the Bonanza next weekend.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Oh, about that new CD
All the guitar parts are done, I'm about half-way through singing it. I'd be finishing it this week, but after the gig friday night I'm going to rest my voice instead, it's trashed from a bad monitor mix and an excessive stage volume. So, instead I'll probably end up finishing the new songs I'm writing.
Which is a good thing, because I've sketched out the next band record as well, or at least I think I have. So many of you have told me how much you like the 'Glenn Highway Blues' disk, that there's something special about the vibe of that CD. I guess I'd be lying if I told you I didn't feel the same way. And, as it turns out, the new songs are much like that disk- open tunings, gritty chord changes and some reral strong thumpy-juke-joint dance grooves. Not sure when I'll get around to finishing this one (or starting it for that matter). But I do need to get the sketches to the guys in the band and start working them up so we can rotate out some of the songs I'm really tired of.
Change is good. I wish there wasa faster way to go from song idea to performable tune. The songs always need time to settle in, both for me to be convinced that they're worth taking to a gig and ultimately recording, and for the guys in the band to get comfortable with the material as well so they get performed with confidence.
The ultimate will be to get rid of this arbitrary boundary between songs that I write for a solo performance and for a gig with the band. One set of songs would be a novelty.
Which is a good thing, because I've sketched out the next band record as well, or at least I think I have. So many of you have told me how much you like the 'Glenn Highway Blues' disk, that there's something special about the vibe of that CD. I guess I'd be lying if I told you I didn't feel the same way. And, as it turns out, the new songs are much like that disk- open tunings, gritty chord changes and some reral strong thumpy-juke-joint dance grooves. Not sure when I'll get around to finishing this one (or starting it for that matter). But I do need to get the sketches to the guys in the band and start working them up so we can rotate out some of the songs I'm really tired of.
Change is good. I wish there wasa faster way to go from song idea to performable tune. The songs always need time to settle in, both for me to be convinced that they're worth taking to a gig and ultimately recording, and for the guys in the band to get comfortable with the material as well so they get performed with confidence.
The ultimate will be to get rid of this arbitrary boundary between songs that I write for a solo performance and for a gig with the band. One set of songs would be a novelty.
New Blues CD's
Seems like my MP3 player has been idle lately, and the CD player in the truck has had the same old Southern Culture on the Skids and Boneshakers CD's in it for a long time now. Time for a change- here's what's come out lately that I've been enjoying-
Seasick Steve and the Level Devils (Cheap)- great CD, my diddley-bow inspiration these days.
Kelly Joe Phelps (Tunesmith Retrofit)- mellow stuff, great acoustic player.
Amos Lee- both his new ones are great, and he's been blessed with a really amazing voice, especially in the upper ranges.
Rance Allen- Big Mitch turned me on to this guy years ago, and he's where I always go to find something for the car to sing along with. Singing with Rance is like taking batting practice with Hank Aaron.
That's it for me. The normal sacred steel and electric blues CD's are staying in the jewel cases these days, seems like there's a lot of material available but not much that's really inspiring or exciting listening these days. Not really much for the blues-rock stuff at all, and the acoustic stuff that I've been finding on line seems to be yet another re-tread of the Robert Johnson catalog.
Anything new and original out there you know about? Let me know about it!
Seasick Steve and the Level Devils (Cheap)- great CD, my diddley-bow inspiration these days.
Kelly Joe Phelps (Tunesmith Retrofit)- mellow stuff, great acoustic player.
Amos Lee- both his new ones are great, and he's been blessed with a really amazing voice, especially in the upper ranges.
Rance Allen- Big Mitch turned me on to this guy years ago, and he's where I always go to find something for the car to sing along with. Singing with Rance is like taking batting practice with Hank Aaron.
That's it for me. The normal sacred steel and electric blues CD's are staying in the jewel cases these days, seems like there's a lot of material available but not much that's really inspiring or exciting listening these days. Not really much for the blues-rock stuff at all, and the acoustic stuff that I've been finding on line seems to be yet another re-tread of the Robert Johnson catalog.
Anything new and original out there you know about? Let me know about it!
High Gas Price Blues?
All I gotta say is that you guys state-side otta try buying gas over here. 3$ a gallon sounds like a deal from here, in the UK it works out to be around 8$ a gallon. Feel better yet? It would cost around 300$ to fill up the gas tank in my old Suburban at that rate. Now that's the blues. Wonder if Chevy will ever make a Suburban Hybrid?
Saturday, June 16, 2007
I'm on a tear about volume
I'm really tired of waking up the morning after a gig with a sore throat. Of having to whisper, drink tea and nurse my voice for a couple of days. Yeah, I know, you're thinking something like "wait, we've seen the rig of doom with the 50 watt Marshall and the old Fender, are you for real?". And the answer is yes.
I have all my amps running on power-soaks so I can control them, reducing the volume to a level that's easier to manage. I've been keeping my stage volume down. Way down in fact. when we started at the Tunnels the other night we had our volume under control and Les was able to use bundle-sticks at a gig for the first time. See? It's possible. It just didn't last the night.
It's the rest of the world that now needs to adapt. Soundguys that won't turn the monitors on, or keep turning my mic off (like Friday night), or stare at you with a puzzled look on their faces when you're cupping your ear because you can't hear otherwise. It's not just sound guys too.
I'm going to be difficult about this. I'm tired of coming home from work injured, which is what this is, plain and simple- a work-related injury that's avoidable. Time for this to change.
I have all my amps running on power-soaks so I can control them, reducing the volume to a level that's easier to manage. I've been keeping my stage volume down. Way down in fact. when we started at the Tunnels the other night we had our volume under control and Les was able to use bundle-sticks at a gig for the first time. See? It's possible. It just didn't last the night.
It's the rest of the world that now needs to adapt. Soundguys that won't turn the monitors on, or keep turning my mic off (like Friday night), or stare at you with a puzzled look on their faces when you're cupping your ear because you can't hear otherwise. It's not just sound guys too.
I'm going to be difficult about this. I'm tired of coming home from work injured, which is what this is, plain and simple- a work-related injury that's avoidable. Time for this to change.
The Lemon Tree
I had a chance to try out some of the new material that I've been writing at the Lemon Tree on Friday afternoon. If you've been there you know that the lunch-time audience is really there for lunch with background music. I think they like the music, but it's the food-music combination that works and fills the seats. And you compete with the coffee grinder and lots of ambient noise. On the good end, the acoustics are good, the PA is top-notch, and all my friends seem to cut out of work and sit and listen to me sing over a cup of java. So, there I was on Friday, sick as a dog, and playing new songs.
Something about being down with this horrible cold puts you into an alternatvie head-space. The cold medicine gives me the shakes. Hate that. But, enough complaining. It was a good set of music, and I've heard that from my most honest, insightful and brutal critics. Oh, by the way, they're also good friends, and I love them for their honesty.
I'd warned everyone that this was going to be a little folky, rather than a straight blues set. I stuck to that. The folks there heard me do songs like 'Ball and Chain', 'Hole in my shoe', 'Man in the mirror', 'Sackcloth' and one or two others that have never been performed for an audience before. They all worked. I'll take them with me to Dundee where I'm doing two acoustic sets and planning on recording them both for release on SnoCap, MySpace and as downloads for the people on my email list.
OK, need sleep. Be well, see you soon!
Something about being down with this horrible cold puts you into an alternatvie head-space. The cold medicine gives me the shakes. Hate that. But, enough complaining. It was a good set of music, and I've heard that from my most honest, insightful and brutal critics. Oh, by the way, they're also good friends, and I love them for their honesty.
I'd warned everyone that this was going to be a little folky, rather than a straight blues set. I stuck to that. The folks there heard me do songs like 'Ball and Chain', 'Hole in my shoe', 'Man in the mirror', 'Sackcloth' and one or two others that have never been performed for an audience before. They all worked. I'll take them with me to Dundee where I'm doing two acoustic sets and planning on recording them both for release on SnoCap, MySpace and as downloads for the people on my email list.
OK, need sleep. Be well, see you soon!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Making a Diddley-Bow: Getting Started
Just a shot of good whiskey and a one-string diddley-bow
(Jake Matson)
The one thing I dont have these days is a Diddley-Bow. And today when I was helping my oldest repair his guitar we ended up with a tuning machine to spare. I had an extra guitar pickup so what to do? Well, make a diddley-bow, of course!
My goal was to get to the local DIY store and spend under 10£ for the remaining materials. And so, we bought a bit of framing lumber and some angle-iron and we were out the door for £7.40
Here are the boys holding the wood we'll use for the body.
And in the next picture here's the peghead. I used a hand-saw to cut a large notch that I could use for mounting the tuning peg. It's a little rough, but it'll work.
The bridge, nut and tail piece are made form the ange iron. Drill a couple of mounting holes and cut to length. It's screwed down with some left-over wood screws that came from lord-knows-where. Some old honey-doo probably.
(Jake Matson)
The one thing I dont have these days is a Diddley-Bow. And today when I was helping my oldest repair his guitar we ended up with a tuning machine to spare. I had an extra guitar pickup so what to do? Well, make a diddley-bow, of course!
My goal was to get to the local DIY store and spend under 10£ for the remaining materials. And so, we bought a bit of framing lumber and some angle-iron and we were out the door for £7.40
Here are the boys holding the wood we'll use for the body.
And in the next picture here's the peghead. I used a hand-saw to cut a large notch that I could use for mounting the tuning peg. It's a little rough, but it'll work.
The bridge, nut and tail piece are made form the ange iron. Drill a couple of mounting holes and cut to length. It's screwed down with some left-over wood screws that came from lord-knows-where. Some old honey-doo probably.
Making a Diddley-Bow: Mounting the electronics
I had an old pickup that I wasn't using, and I planned on top-mounting it to the wood. Not really all that hard. To prep the wires I wrapped the part coming out of the pickup in heat-shrink tubing so that it was really strong, as this tends to be a really vulnerable spot on most pickups. No good having a dead one. To mount it, as to can see in the first picture I drilled a small hole with a brace and bit to feed the wire through. It's small enough diameter that the pickup will cover the hole.
To mount the jack, I flipped it over on it's side and drilled four larger holes with the brace and bit again, and used a hand chisel to clean up a bit. My plan wasn't to make a museum piece, rather to finish this before the kids got bored with the project and wandered off to play football. Cavity is large enough, we're finished here.
Ok, this old BIll Lawrence pickup is perfect for this- there are no pole-pieces to worry about, so no concerns about how the string passes over the pickup. And I simply enlarged the holes and screwed it down on to the wood, passing the wires through the hole in the cavity.
And, then finally, scavenged an odd bit of plastic and mounted the jack to the plate. Here's what it looked like when it was finished.
Making a Diddley-Bow: Stringing up
OK, here's a picture of the string running through the tail piece. I drilled an extra hole on a diagonal to run the string through it. Works great.
And here you can see I made a diagonal cut across the peg head to mount the tuner in the middle of the neck, so it pulls the string straight. I also added a small notch in both the bridge and the nut to hold the string in place.
Making a diddley-bow: all done
And here's the final product, with Noah giving it a road test. He's obviously a slide player from the Lowell George and Bonnie Raitt school- he preferes to play with a socket wrench. Me? I'll drain a bottle of Corona and use that.
How's it sound? Totally awesome. Really raunchy. Dog hates it. It's a winner.
Friday, June 08, 2007
In an inspired couple of days...
All the guitar parts to several songs are done. Finished. Re-recorded and perfected. There's a lot of work left to turn this into a finished CD, more singing and mixing. But the foundation is one I'm happy with now. That's what was eating at me with the earlier versions of things, there were just too many little nuances that I didn't like. After obsessing about this and working it to death, we not have a solid base to build up from. The songs that survived are:
Cold Falling Rain
Deeper and Deeper
Man in the Mirror
Sackcloth and Ashes
Stranger Blues
Worrying Stone
Water Rising Blues
Ball and Chain
One foot in front
I know you'll as about the breakdown of the guitars used here, so the official count is:
Regular Guitar? 1, but in an open tuning.
National? 1
Electric Lap Steel? 1
Lap Steel (Acoustic)? 6
Not one guitar in standard tuning anywhere to be found. Not from lack of material, mind you, those songs just have been left behind for a bit while things settle in. The survivors all hang together well. Not to worry, you'll hear all of them in Dundee.
All in all it's been an interesting process thus far, focusing on this with this kind of intensity. Three weeks to get a few guitar parts together seems like a whole lot of effort. But the reality is that I needed to get inside the songs and push them around a bit. Hit back. Songs are bullys, they like to force you in a direction that may not be right. I needed to push back, put some in time-out and reward the cooperative ones.
Phew. It'll be worth it in the end, I'm sure.
Cold Falling Rain
Deeper and Deeper
Man in the Mirror
Sackcloth and Ashes
Stranger Blues
Worrying Stone
Water Rising Blues
Ball and Chain
One foot in front
I know you'll as about the breakdown of the guitars used here, so the official count is:
Regular Guitar? 1, but in an open tuning.
National? 1
Electric Lap Steel? 1
Lap Steel (Acoustic)? 6
Not one guitar in standard tuning anywhere to be found. Not from lack of material, mind you, those songs just have been left behind for a bit while things settle in. The survivors all hang together well. Not to worry, you'll hear all of them in Dundee.
All in all it's been an interesting process thus far, focusing on this with this kind of intensity. Three weeks to get a few guitar parts together seems like a whole lot of effort. But the reality is that I needed to get inside the songs and push them around a bit. Hit back. Songs are bullys, they like to force you in a direction that may not be right. I needed to push back, put some in time-out and reward the cooperative ones.
Phew. It'll be worth it in the end, I'm sure.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Seasick Steve?
TIme for some blues, this one will change your life. Thank the maker for YouTube.
Click here, and thank me later.
No really. This is a blues blog, and we haven't been talking about the music enough lately. So, trust me and head over to youtube and check this link out. I wouldn't waste your time and mine putting this here if it was crap. Come on, do you have any idea how long my honey-do list is? I'm lucky to get time to be on the computer at all, as long as my chore list is around the house these days.
So click the link.
And as an update: My amp is still trashed from the flood, I'm still recording, The band is playing next week at the Tunnels in Aberdeen and the Dundee Blues Bonanza is right around the corner.
Phew. All's well with the world. So see? You can click the link.
Click here, and thank me later.
No really. This is a blues blog, and we haven't been talking about the music enough lately. So, trust me and head over to youtube and check this link out. I wouldn't waste your time and mine putting this here if it was crap. Come on, do you have any idea how long my honey-do list is? I'm lucky to get time to be on the computer at all, as long as my chore list is around the house these days.
So click the link.
And as an update: My amp is still trashed from the flood, I'm still recording, The band is playing next week at the Tunnels in Aberdeen and the Dundee Blues Bonanza is right around the corner.
Phew. All's well with the world. So see? You can click the link.
Air Travel and Security.....
My friend Gene sent me this, I have not a clue where it came from. Only shade for miles, and there's your flight home, ready to depart. Wonder if you could make it?
Kinda puts all those new TSA proceedures in perspective, no?
I google'd my name
And it turns out that I'm either a porn star, or someone using my EXACT name is one. That's a little odd, no? I mean, what are the odds of that. I thought all porn stars were named things like 'Long John' , and 'Thunder' and 'Lace'. This is really, really strange.
I hope my mother doesn't read this. If you do, it's really not me.
I hope my mother doesn't read this. If you do, it's really not me.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Dundee Blues Bonanza!
Hey all, just a couple of weeks till the Dundee Blues Bonanza.
Mark your calendars, we're playing with Time Aves on Saturday the 30th, and again
Mark your calendars, we're playing with Time Aves on Saturday the 30th, and again
Monday, June 04, 2007
This week's special....
Want to book the band? Book us between now and the end of the month of June, and we'll throw in a workshop of your choice! Lap Steel, Slide Guitar- I have several 1 hour prepared workshopes ready to go that you can use as an extra marketing tool, or a chance to raise a little extra money.
But you need to move quickly. Operators are standing by. Email me at info@sonhenry.com
But you need to move quickly. Operators are standing by. Email me at info@sonhenry.com
This is my kind of site
"Isn't it time people stopped fighting and learned to play 12 bar blues shuffles instead?"
That's a quote from the home page for BluesForPeace. Guitar lessons and videos, and a great idea- turning swords into Stratocasters. Bless yer hearts, guys. It's a great idea.
Here's the link-
http://www.bluesforpeace.com/
That's a quote from the home page for BluesForPeace. Guitar lessons and videos, and a great idea- turning swords into Stratocasters. Bless yer hearts, guys. It's a great idea.
Here's the link-
http://www.bluesforpeace.com/
I love the airport. The Anchorage airport is still one of the few airports around where you can get close to the end of the runway and watch the planes land and take-off. Just like when I was a kid. It's a rush watching these big things head out or land with a screech.
Great picture, no? OK, it's not blues. Still cool, though.
Great picture, no? OK, it's not blues. Still cool, though.
Is it true? Starting from scratch?
Sort of.
I cleaned up and mixed down about 6 songs today. They're good, I'm not sure they're something that I want to turn into a formal CD release. So, a little more clean up this evening and I'll wrap them up and give copies to some friends and family.
And then start on the blues CD in the morning.
I suppose I had to get all this out of my system. The songs are good, but a little too autobiographical for comfort. Sorry, we're going back to country blues again. As much as I feel like I'm walking the same ground over and over again, I think I owe it to everyone to take a craftsman-like approach to the next CD, rather than spit them out like watermelon seeds simply because I can.
Sounds like a bad car commercial.....
I cleaned up and mixed down about 6 songs today. They're good, I'm not sure they're something that I want to turn into a formal CD release. So, a little more clean up this evening and I'll wrap them up and give copies to some friends and family.
And then start on the blues CD in the morning.
I suppose I had to get all this out of my system. The songs are good, but a little too autobiographical for comfort. Sorry, we're going back to country blues again. As much as I feel like I'm walking the same ground over and over again, I think I owe it to everyone to take a craftsman-like approach to the next CD, rather than spit them out like watermelon seeds simply because I can.
Sounds like a bad car commercial.....
Sunday, June 03, 2007
I lied about mixing. I'm still recording.
Yeah, I know. I'm picky.
But there's a few songs I'm going to try this week and then mix on Friday. Going to keep working and then take the best of the songs and distill them down into a well-mixed compilation.
It won't be ready by the Blues Bonanza at this rate. Sorry. I'd rather you wait for something good than start thinking that I'm only creating quantity instead of quality. It'll be worth the wait. The votes from here from my sharpest critics are that this is shaping up to be a real solid release that'll open a door or two.
But there's a few songs I'm going to try this week and then mix on Friday. Going to keep working and then take the best of the songs and distill them down into a well-mixed compilation.
It won't be ready by the Blues Bonanza at this rate. Sorry. I'd rather you wait for something good than start thinking that I'm only creating quantity instead of quality. It'll be worth the wait. The votes from here from my sharpest critics are that this is shaping up to be a real solid release that'll open a door or two.
TIme to re-pot the National
Oh....
the pickups in my National Dynamic are microphonic. Time to pot them in wax. Normal wear and tear, these were not meant to be layed this loud, after all.
the pickups in my National Dynamic are microphonic. Time to pot them in wax. Normal wear and tear, these were not meant to be layed this loud, after all.
more rig adjustments.....
Spent more time tweeking the rig this weekend. It's a keeper.
I'm running a Weber 100 watt attenuator on the Marshall, which is one of the ones that works with resistors, and I think it's a good backup but I'm going to swap it for one of the ones that uses the reactive load in the form of an old speaker motor. According to a buddy of mine that has one, they're more natural sounding, and that's really my issue with the one I have, it's fine but it acts like a brick wall. So the upper dynamic range gets squashed.
But it's a minor point.
The reality is that the bulk of the tone is coming from the Pro Reverb, I'm a die-hard fender cat. But it's nice to have that extra something beefy to add to the mix. That Marshall is the thing. I know my blues-purist buddies are cringing. But hey, Jimmy Reed recorded with borrowed gear, so take a cleansing breath and trust me, it sounds like the bees knees.
And it's god because my old 100 watt Super Lead was wiped out in a flood a couple of weeks ago. Did I post about that? I can't remember. Oh, well, we had a plumbing fitting burst in my flat and it ran water into the back of my other amp. It's toasted. It's repairable, I suppose, once it dries out. Actually, I'm in no great hurry to plug it in after bailing almost a litre of water our of it. And in fairness, would you plug it in? We'll leave that for the folks at the Marshall Service Center.
I'm running a Weber 100 watt attenuator on the Marshall, which is one of the ones that works with resistors, and I think it's a good backup but I'm going to swap it for one of the ones that uses the reactive load in the form of an old speaker motor. According to a buddy of mine that has one, they're more natural sounding, and that's really my issue with the one I have, it's fine but it acts like a brick wall. So the upper dynamic range gets squashed.
But it's a minor point.
The reality is that the bulk of the tone is coming from the Pro Reverb, I'm a die-hard fender cat. But it's nice to have that extra something beefy to add to the mix. That Marshall is the thing. I know my blues-purist buddies are cringing. But hey, Jimmy Reed recorded with borrowed gear, so take a cleansing breath and trust me, it sounds like the bees knees.
And it's god because my old 100 watt Super Lead was wiped out in a flood a couple of weeks ago. Did I post about that? I can't remember. Oh, well, we had a plumbing fitting burst in my flat and it ran water into the back of my other amp. It's toasted. It's repairable, I suppose, once it dries out. Actually, I'm in no great hurry to plug it in after bailing almost a litre of water our of it. And in fairness, would you plug it in? We'll leave that for the folks at the Marshall Service Center.
Friday, June 01, 2007
the lap steel rig of doom
I had a chance to road test my new lap steel rig last night at Cafe Drummonds. Here's a photo to show you the new set up. On the right it's my trusty old Fender Pro Reverb, it's one that I've had forever. On the left is a 50 watt Marshall 2x12 combo. It's the old Lead/Bass model, and insane amp in it's own right. Yes, they're both on at the same time, sometimes.
What makes it work is the Radial ABY switcher that I added to my floor board, so I can jump between the two amps.
And, to keep the sound people happy, and keep a lid on the volume, I'm running a Weber (www.tedweber.com) attenuator on the Marshall, and a speaker silencer on the Pro, which knocks the power down to 20-25 watts each.
How's it sound? Like chocolate cake, nice and tasty....
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
For no other reason than we need a photo here for a change. Too many words.
On of my favorite festivals of all time is the Talkeetna Blue Grass festival, a weekend in the mud camping hippy style, with basically non-stop music. About time for this one back home too. And just so we have a photo, here's one I found while cleaning up my computer- this one is me and my buddy John on-stage in Talkeetna at the Bluegrass Festival.
It's a great festival. And the best part is that there's a musicians camping area behind the stage where everyone hangs out (families too) for the weekend. It's a big communal bar-b-que and always a great chance to meet up with old friends, have a jam in the parking lot and a few beers.
Our last time there we closed the festival with a 1 am time slot. From that slot, we hold the record for noise complaints- 11 MILES away. Great combination of athmospheric conditions and a really honkng PA. It wasn't just me.
Ok, here's a shout out to all the friends back home- see you all in November for the benefit, OK?
That Muse again
I'm a real believer in following things to their natural conclusion, letting songs lead the way. And I've been writing and recording like a mad man for the last couple of weeks. What a surprise to hear all the songs together for the first time and realize what a diverse group of songs this collection is. We're covering the roadmap musically, in ways that reflect some of the travelling I've done. There's a tango, some old country blues, some really mellow old country and folk style songs.
Ok, for better or worse we're almost done. A few more things to clean up and we'll be ready to mix this bad boy.
It's funny, but I'm giving this one to some people I trust FIRST, so I can get a read on the range being too broad, or too mellow or too something. Not sure what that might be, but it's different.
I'm not having a crisis, by the way. I love all these songs. So there.
Ok, for better or worse we're almost done. A few more things to clean up and we'll be ready to mix this bad boy.
It's funny, but I'm giving this one to some people I trust FIRST, so I can get a read on the range being too broad, or too mellow or too something. Not sure what that might be, but it's different.
I'm not having a crisis, by the way. I love all these songs. So there.
If life wasn't complicated enough
I bought a new amp today, it arrives on Thursday just in time to check the valves and head off to Cafe Drummonds for a gig.
What can I say? I love the tone of an old National Lap Steel through a Marshall, and now I own an old 50 watt model. Otta be a killa' me thinks, this new wee bit o' kit.
What can I say? I love the tone of an old National Lap Steel through a Marshall, and now I own an old 50 watt model. Otta be a killa' me thinks, this new wee bit o' kit.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Festival Review from Blues in Britian Magazine
19th Burnley National Blues Festival
Easter Weekend, April 7th-9th, 207
Friday night roared to life with the Son Henry Band at the wheel- a prime example of bar band blues with Son's lap steel really ringing out on "Can't be Satisfied", "Anywhere she lays her head (That's my home)", and (deep breath) Voodoo Chile which featured some blistering slide playing with a great distorted tone. What really lingered though was a great version of Sam Cooke's "A change is gonna come" where the rhythm section dropped down a gear to allow more space for the sounds Son coaxed out of his lap steel. His version put me in mind of guitar players usually associated with the British folk tradition, Martin Carthy or John Renborn, say. Bringing it back home, indeed. Go see them, they'll get your motor runnin'.
Easter Weekend, April 7th-9th, 207
Friday night roared to life with the Son Henry Band at the wheel- a prime example of bar band blues with Son's lap steel really ringing out on "Can't be Satisfied", "Anywhere she lays her head (That's my home)", and (deep breath) Voodoo Chile which featured some blistering slide playing with a great distorted tone. What really lingered though was a great version of Sam Cooke's "A change is gonna come" where the rhythm section dropped down a gear to allow more space for the sounds Son coaxed out of his lap steel. His version put me in mind of guitar players usually associated with the British folk tradition, Martin Carthy or John Renborn, say. Bringing it back home, indeed. Go see them, they'll get your motor runnin'.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Some reflections on the Globe Gig.
I've noticed that the more we rock out, the more CD's we sell. Hmmmm, so much for being a 'pure' blues band I guess. That extra bit of energy seems to play well with normal people.
I suppose it could be a bad, if you were a purist-type of guy. I know bands that are stuck in niches like 1955 jump blues, and that's great. After turning this around in my mind for the last few weeks my take on it is this- I'm a songwriter first, a performer second and a guitar player third. I can't force the songs to come out in a certain specific style, they come into this world fully-formed. Since that's what we take to a gig, well, that's what seems to define the sound. And so we're not an archivist or historical preservation society. It's modern blues, roots music if you prefer, that's a reflection of my life and the times we live in.
Sound like I've been thinking about this? I have. Carrying the label of a 'blues' musician means that I feel honor-bound to be playing blues, and as close to the bone as possible. Truth in advertising. With the new material we're headed off to be more like the 'Glenn Highway Blues' version of the band- more slide, more country blues style stuff and a little less of the lumpy shiffles.
At the end, it'll be what it will. Always follow the muse. Are we a pure blues band? Well, I'll let you decide what you think about that. With this post, I've officially beaten this one to death here.
I suppose it could be a bad, if you were a purist-type of guy. I know bands that are stuck in niches like 1955 jump blues, and that's great. After turning this around in my mind for the last few weeks my take on it is this- I'm a songwriter first, a performer second and a guitar player third. I can't force the songs to come out in a certain specific style, they come into this world fully-formed. Since that's what we take to a gig, well, that's what seems to define the sound. And so we're not an archivist or historical preservation society. It's modern blues, roots music if you prefer, that's a reflection of my life and the times we live in.
Sound like I've been thinking about this? I have. Carrying the label of a 'blues' musician means that I feel honor-bound to be playing blues, and as close to the bone as possible. Truth in advertising. With the new material we're headed off to be more like the 'Glenn Highway Blues' version of the band- more slide, more country blues style stuff and a little less of the lumpy shiffles.
At the end, it'll be what it will. Always follow the muse. Are we a pure blues band? Well, I'll let you decide what you think about that. With this post, I've officially beaten this one to death here.
The songs keep coming
Lord, help me, I'm never going to finish this disk.....
I've been playing with a latin-blues riff in G minor the last few days, and it turned into a full-blown song yesterday. I really like it, and that's a problem, because I want it on the new solo disk. What's a guy to do? Well, record it I guess. We are working against a deadline, because if I want this done by the Dundee Blues Bonanza I need to finish it up and have it ready to ship by Friday.
It'll be a horse-race.
Four songs are complete and I'm happy with them (Solitary Blues, Sackcloth and Ashes, Ball and Chain, Hole in my shoe). There's still a couple that I need to finish singing once my voice recovers from last night's gig at the Globe. And then there is that new one. All together it's a total of 15 songs, 4 done, and the best of the remaining ones will make it on the disk. We're sitting right at 16 minutes of material, and once we have about 35 solid minutes of music we'll be ina position to call it done. My goal is to finish them all and pick the best, and then make the rest of the songs available to the folks on my email list. I'l put them out on my MySpace page too.
We have 4 days to go at this, full-time, next week. We'll make it.
I've been playing with a latin-blues riff in G minor the last few days, and it turned into a full-blown song yesterday. I really like it, and that's a problem, because I want it on the new solo disk. What's a guy to do? Well, record it I guess. We are working against a deadline, because if I want this done by the Dundee Blues Bonanza I need to finish it up and have it ready to ship by Friday.
It'll be a horse-race.
Four songs are complete and I'm happy with them (Solitary Blues, Sackcloth and Ashes, Ball and Chain, Hole in my shoe). There's still a couple that I need to finish singing once my voice recovers from last night's gig at the Globe. And then there is that new one. All together it's a total of 15 songs, 4 done, and the best of the remaining ones will make it on the disk. We're sitting right at 16 minutes of material, and once we have about 35 solid minutes of music we'll be ina position to call it done. My goal is to finish them all and pick the best, and then make the rest of the songs available to the folks on my email list. I'l put them out on my MySpace page too.
We have 4 days to go at this, full-time, next week. We'll make it.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
I must be mellowing in my old age...
I played some of the rough mixes for my toughest critic, yeah, my wife. She's always honest and usually right. She's a tough one though. Her comments? I'm getting mellower, that the songs I played for her were more folk than blues.
Well, that's ok, I didn't play all of it for her. Heh, heh, heh.
There's lots of blues, no worries. But, the songs in question are the ones I get asked about at my solo gigs these days. You guys like the blues stuff fine, I know. But that's not the ones that get requested at the CD table after the show is over.
It'll all end well. A couple more days of cleaning up the audio and then we'll finish the mixing and it's off to duplication before Dundee. Sleep? Later.
Well, that's ok, I didn't play all of it for her. Heh, heh, heh.
There's lots of blues, no worries. But, the songs in question are the ones I get asked about at my solo gigs these days. You guys like the blues stuff fine, I know. But that's not the ones that get requested at the CD table after the show is over.
It'll all end well. A couple more days of cleaning up the audio and then we'll finish the mixing and it's off to duplication before Dundee. Sleep? Later.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Finishing that solo record this week
Well, I spent the morning working on the final guitar tracks for a couple of the songs that go on the solo record. Tomorrow I'm off to the studio to sing a few parts, play one or two bits on the lap steel and then mix it all down. I'm working to get it ready in time for Dundee. Thought I'd have it by mid-June, but it's looking like it may slide a bit longer.
So, here's my question- would you rather have an EP, say, 20 minutes in length that you could bet cheap (something like 5 pounds), or a full length CD (more like 40-50 minutes) that would run you a full 10 pounds?
Just curious. Email or comments welcome.
So, here's my question- would you rather have an EP, say, 20 minutes in length that you could bet cheap (something like 5 pounds), or a full length CD (more like 40-50 minutes) that would run you a full 10 pounds?
Just curious. Email or comments welcome.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Turning Comments back on
OK, we'll try this again. You can comment on posts again. Please feel free!
Last time it ended badly, people posting links for viagra and Malaysian time-shares, that 'My Dad as an oil minister and I need to move 20 million dollars, can I trust you?" email scam that is an insult to everyone's intelligence. Don't do any of that, you'll spoil it for the others.
And while we're on the subject: Don't run with scissors, never post drunk, don't make that face or it'll freeze like that, what part of 'NO' don't you understand?
There. I think that covers all the bases. Sorry about the rant, I feel better. And now you can comment about it! See? It's all for the best.
Last time it ended badly, people posting links for viagra and Malaysian time-shares, that 'My Dad as an oil minister and I need to move 20 million dollars, can I trust you?" email scam that is an insult to everyone's intelligence. Don't do any of that, you'll spoil it for the others.
And while we're on the subject: Don't run with scissors, never post drunk, don't make that face or it'll freeze like that, what part of 'NO' don't you understand?
There. I think that covers all the bases. Sorry about the rant, I feel better. And now you can comment about it! See? It's all for the best.
On the fine art of band directions
I'm tired, bored and under-challenged. Alienated, disgruntled (was I ever gruntled to begin with?) and feeling underwhelmed with all things music these days. And so I write more songs as a cure.
Had a great rehearsal last week where we started assembling some new songs. It's great to throw things at the guys cold because they either *click* and become band songs or the fall face down on the canvas and become solo-set songs. A couple of tunes took a dive last Wednesday, but one or two kept swinging. And now they're in chute to join the set list. Let's face it, they're not all good, some need to fade out. The keepers are *keepers*.
And hey, as much as I love playing in some of the more rock clubs in town, it's not good for our blues playing. They have a natural gravitational pull that takes us away from roots playing, towards that sticky patch of the road with a blues-rock lay-by. Lots of over-the-top stuff. I miss the hip, understated feel of a good blues gig, with all the space. Yeah, there I said it, the loud guy likes silence. After all, it's the spaces that make the groove.
So, today we're looking for a whole new shows worth of funky, swampy tunes with great grooves and hip changes, and insightful lyrics that tell life like it is. Gotta run, time to get away from the computer and get back to work!
Had a great rehearsal last week where we started assembling some new songs. It's great to throw things at the guys cold because they either *click* and become band songs or the fall face down on the canvas and become solo-set songs. A couple of tunes took a dive last Wednesday, but one or two kept swinging. And now they're in chute to join the set list. Let's face it, they're not all good, some need to fade out. The keepers are *keepers*.
And hey, as much as I love playing in some of the more rock clubs in town, it's not good for our blues playing. They have a natural gravitational pull that takes us away from roots playing, towards that sticky patch of the road with a blues-rock lay-by. Lots of over-the-top stuff. I miss the hip, understated feel of a good blues gig, with all the space. Yeah, there I said it, the loud guy likes silence. After all, it's the spaces that make the groove.
So, today we're looking for a whole new shows worth of funky, swampy tunes with great grooves and hip changes, and insightful lyrics that tell life like it is. Gotta run, time to get away from the computer and get back to work!
New CDs
I ended up with a few new CDs this week. G'vt Mule, Ben Harper, Amos Lee and they're all interesting. But my favorite of the pile is the "Boomer's Story" by Ry Cooder. Monster guitar playing, lots of inspiration on that disk.
They're all good disks, but that Ry Cooder one is insanely good. And I guess I need to face up to the fact that I'm not very good at listening to Blues/Rock music.
They're all good disks, but that Ry Cooder one is insanely good. And I guess I need to face up to the fact that I'm not very good at listening to Blues/Rock music.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Since it's my birthday today.....
Yep, it's today.
I really don't want presents. I have lots of things, so I don't need more things. If you want to get something for me, how about this instead? Just do something nice for someone else, doesn't matter who it is or what you choose to do. That's what I want this year.
It's actually the second time that I've flipped this number on my calendar. I *thought* I had this birthday last year too. As it turned out I did the math wrong last year, and I didn't realize it until about a month ago- I woke up one morning like a shot after realizing that I'd slipped a digit. I broke in on my wife in the shower and asked here "HOW OLD AM I?". She had the number wrong too. So it's like getting a whole year to have over again, and I didn't need to be visited by 3 ghosts to do it either! So, take 2 on this year of my life. How cool is that? See? I really don't need a thing, I get a do-over!
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. To my creator who''s kind enough to allow me to continue being here for another birthday, thanks! To my mother that had the courage to bring me into this world all those years ago, thanks! And to my dog that let me sleep in to almost 6:30 am on my birthday, well, we need to work on that a little.
Now, off to play with my kids.....
I really don't want presents. I have lots of things, so I don't need more things. If you want to get something for me, how about this instead? Just do something nice for someone else, doesn't matter who it is or what you choose to do. That's what I want this year.
It's actually the second time that I've flipped this number on my calendar. I *thought* I had this birthday last year too. As it turned out I did the math wrong last year, and I didn't realize it until about a month ago- I woke up one morning like a shot after realizing that I'd slipped a digit. I broke in on my wife in the shower and asked here "HOW OLD AM I?". She had the number wrong too. So it's like getting a whole year to have over again, and I didn't need to be visited by 3 ghosts to do it either! So, take 2 on this year of my life. How cool is that? See? I really don't need a thing, I get a do-over!
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. To my creator who''s kind enough to allow me to continue being here for another birthday, thanks! To my mother that had the courage to bring me into this world all those years ago, thanks! And to my dog that let me sleep in to almost 6:30 am on my birthday, well, we need to work on that a little.
Now, off to play with my kids.....
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Shetland Blues Festival
That's me then, all sorted for the Shetland Blues Festival this fall. See you there!
At that fork in the road....
At a fork in the road
just south of Mobile
standing in the shade
by an old cotton field
the signs on the road point east and south
but the signs on the road won't help me out
when I'm standing
standing by that fork in the road
it's not indecision that's holding me back
it's a fear of all the information that I lack
to make a proper choice when the road is unclear
in the absence of knowing I'll just stand right here
standing at the fork in the road
Copyright Son Henry, 2007, all rights reserved
So, obviously someone I know has a hard time with big decisions......
On this day....
It's getting obvious that I'm facing major changes in life this week, I think.
It's interesting that, for me, my self awareness comes from looking back at the music I'm writing. Since I've been focused on the 'solo' record lately and writing and recording like a man posessed, the songs are pretty personal. At a subconscious level that's probably because I don't need to run them through the filter of a band, get the tacit approval of other people that's required when a 'me' song becomes a 'band' song. The band songs tend to be pretty non-specific, impersonal ones about not-quite-true or embellished events.
The solo ones are a mirror.
What's interesting to me is that if I'm not aware of what's going on internally, all I need to do is look at the songs and I can find out. So if you were to ask me things like "Am I stressed out about X?" it's likely that I'd have a hard time giving you an honest answer. But, take a look through the song journal these days and I must be stressed out about change, leaving people behind, about the uncertain world we live in, and be looking for some kind of sense of continuity and security. It's all there in the songs this morning.
In otherwords, I'm my normal, deeply moody self. Except that I'm writing songs, lots of them. Most of them you won't ever hear, they're too personal. But some will escape from this prison of modesty if there's something universal in them.
No, I don't need a shrink. I have two- a black book of lyrics and an old six-string guitar. And so, off we go this week to record a few more songs, one or two of which may also make it onto the new record.
But don't worry. It's not a collection of depressing songs. Some of them are actually in major keys.
It's interesting that, for me, my self awareness comes from looking back at the music I'm writing. Since I've been focused on the 'solo' record lately and writing and recording like a man posessed, the songs are pretty personal. At a subconscious level that's probably because I don't need to run them through the filter of a band, get the tacit approval of other people that's required when a 'me' song becomes a 'band' song. The band songs tend to be pretty non-specific, impersonal ones about not-quite-true or embellished events.
The solo ones are a mirror.
What's interesting to me is that if I'm not aware of what's going on internally, all I need to do is look at the songs and I can find out. So if you were to ask me things like "Am I stressed out about X?" it's likely that I'd have a hard time giving you an honest answer. But, take a look through the song journal these days and I must be stressed out about change, leaving people behind, about the uncertain world we live in, and be looking for some kind of sense of continuity and security. It's all there in the songs this morning.
In otherwords, I'm my normal, deeply moody self. Except that I'm writing songs, lots of them. Most of them you won't ever hear, they're too personal. But some will escape from this prison of modesty if there's something universal in them.
No, I don't need a shrink. I have two- a black book of lyrics and an old six-string guitar. And so, off we go this week to record a few more songs, one or two of which may also make it onto the new record.
But don't worry. It's not a collection of depressing songs. Some of them are actually in major keys.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Hanging with Ray
I had a chance to spend some time with Ray Bonneville this week (www.raybonneville.com). Some of you in Aberdeen remember that Ray blew the roof off the music hall 2 years ago as Robert Cray's opener. He's a solo player with a really killer sense of rhythm- foot board, percussive guitar style, great harmonica playing; he's the whole package.
He's also a great guy and a certified road dog. I helped Ray load gear in to the Lemon Tree on Friday morning and then had a chance to sit and talk music for an hour or so. He was really a great help breaking down his guitar style for me (and it's still Chinese math for me), and some equipment. But it was his insights into songwriting that I really enjoyed. If you've heard his songs, you know that he can really put ideas together in a way that's like a painting, very Dylan-esque.
What can I say? A couple of great shows, and a chance to talk shop with a guy like that? Great weekend. Validates why I do this.
He's also a great guy and a certified road dog. I helped Ray load gear in to the Lemon Tree on Friday morning and then had a chance to sit and talk music for an hour or so. He was really a great help breaking down his guitar style for me (and it's still Chinese math for me), and some equipment. But it was his insights into songwriting that I really enjoyed. If you've heard his songs, you know that he can really put ideas together in a way that's like a painting, very Dylan-esque.
What can I say? A couple of great shows, and a chance to talk shop with a guy like that? Great weekend. Validates why I do this.
Solo CD update
Sang all Thursday morning. 8 songs ready to mix. A couple more to go, and then we're off to duplicate!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Flood waters risin up to my door.....
Arrrgh-
Had a plumber doing some work on the house yesterday for my landlord. He managed to drill a hole through a pipe and it leaked all night and day RIGHT DOWN THE BACK OF MY '73 MARSHALL SUPER LEAD. Its ruined.
It's not a drink-spill caliber flood. I drained 3 cups of water out of the amp this morning. 3 cups, and it was still dripping while I dried it off with a hair dryer. Speakers in the cabinet are soaked too.
Yeah, I know, it's not like I lost a finger, it's a 'thing' and it can be replaced. But I was really attached to that thing.
I need a hug. And a new amp. In that order.
Had a plumber doing some work on the house yesterday for my landlord. He managed to drill a hole through a pipe and it leaked all night and day RIGHT DOWN THE BACK OF MY '73 MARSHALL SUPER LEAD. Its ruined.
It's not a drink-spill caliber flood. I drained 3 cups of water out of the amp this morning. 3 cups, and it was still dripping while I dried it off with a hair dryer. Speakers in the cabinet are soaked too.
Yeah, I know, it's not like I lost a finger, it's a 'thing' and it can be replaced. But I was really attached to that thing.
I need a hug. And a new amp. In that order.
Monday, May 07, 2007
New CD available at CdBaby
Finally, the new CD is available through CDbaby. It's a great place to check out the sound clips. Wann go listen? click here and then let me know what you think!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Spikedrivers at the Blue Lamp last night
Another great gig last night, thanks to Chris Simmonds!
My first time to see the Spikedrivers, and I'll go see them again. Interesting instrumentation, great originals and lots of stage presence. All in all a really enjoyable night. I'll post more later.....
My first time to see the Spikedrivers, and I'll go see them again. Interesting instrumentation, great originals and lots of stage presence. All in all a really enjoyable night. I'll post more later.....
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Campbell Brothers on YouTube!
What can I say, sometimes you get something really great on youtube. Check out the Campbell Brother clip, these guys are awesome (and I'm not saying that case I'm from their neck of the woods)
Click Here!
And Here!
Click Here!
And Here!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
on the fine art of going local
Looks like we'll be here a while longer, so I'm going local.
It's a thing that happens when you've been somewhere long enough that you really start to put down roots. It's different for everyone, this week, for me it's swapping the power transformers in my amplifiers so I can run on 240 volts. As of this evening, I have converted two of them to run from the wall plug here. I'm sending the marshall is back to the marshall factory to get re-wired, and then we're done.
Funny how that works. The big thing for me was not needing a step-down transformer any more. That always seemed like a temporary thing. No longer, I'm a global kinda guy now, because the amp will run anywhere now, and I can go home one day and only re-solder one wire.
Phew.
It's a thing that happens when you've been somewhere long enough that you really start to put down roots. It's different for everyone, this week, for me it's swapping the power transformers in my amplifiers so I can run on 240 volts. As of this evening, I have converted two of them to run from the wall plug here. I'm sending the marshall is back to the marshall factory to get re-wired, and then we're done.
Funny how that works. The big thing for me was not needing a step-down transformer any more. That always seemed like a temporary thing. No longer, I'm a global kinda guy now, because the amp will run anywhere now, and I can go home one day and only re-solder one wire.
Phew.
"why so little music lately?", she asked
Because I always warned people that one day I was going to sit down and write a book. I'm finally doing it, at about the 12,000 word mark. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Drummonds tomorrow as told by Chris Simmonds
Chris Simmonds, Aberdeen Promoter and all-around good blues guy had this to say about our gig tomorrow night at Cafe Drummonds in Aberdeen:
Fresh from their appearance on the main stage at Burnley, the very excellent Son Henry Band play one of their semi-regular Drummonds gigs. On the basis that this band gets better every time I see them they should be phenomenal tonight! The new Long Way Home CD is great and you can play the "How many guitars will Son play tonight" competition as well!! And with a supporting cast of Dean Stewart on bass; Les Taylor on drums it should be a rocking night here as well.
How many guitars? That sounds like a challenge of sorts. There's my new magnatone, and the old national, and my brown maggie. Hmmm. Anyone want to cut me in on the winnings?
Seriously, it'll be a great gig. The band is razor sharp and after a few days off is always ready to wail into the wee hours of the morning. I'm in the middle of repairing my amp (new speakers and a new 240 volt power transformer) and at the rate I'm going I'm going to be dragging my Marshall amp instead. That'll be fun.
See you there!
Fresh from their appearance on the main stage at Burnley, the very excellent Son Henry Band play one of their semi-regular Drummonds gigs. On the basis that this band gets better every time I see them they should be phenomenal tonight! The new Long Way Home CD is great and you can play the "How many guitars will Son play tonight" competition as well!! And with a supporting cast of Dean Stewart on bass; Les Taylor on drums it should be a rocking night here as well.
How many guitars? That sounds like a challenge of sorts. There's my new magnatone, and the old national, and my brown maggie. Hmmm. Anyone want to cut me in on the winnings?
Seriously, it'll be a great gig. The band is razor sharp and after a few days off is always ready to wail into the wee hours of the morning. I'm in the middle of repairing my amp (new speakers and a new 240 volt power transformer) and at the rate I'm going I'm going to be dragging my Marshall amp instead. That'll be fun.
See you there!
To that kid from youtube
Some 18 year old know-it-all on YouTube told me that I "need to take some guitar lessons from Derek Trucks", which makes as much sense as telling a keyboard player they need to take lessons from Paul Butterfield. That, and some other things that just ain't fit to print. On the off-chance you're reading this:
1. I own more than one CD, there are many other slide players in the world other than Derek Trucks. I don't expect you to understand, it requires an open mind.
2. You should post your own work on youtube, rather than illegal bootlegs of other peoples material.
3. Don't drink and type.
The 3rd one is the big one. I have nothing against anyone else that's 18, and any other new guitar players. This guy is an intellectual vomit stain on the world.
1. I own more than one CD, there are many other slide players in the world other than Derek Trucks. I don't expect you to understand, it requires an open mind.
2. You should post your own work on youtube, rather than illegal bootlegs of other peoples material.
3. Don't drink and type.
The 3rd one is the big one. I have nothing against anyone else that's 18, and any other new guitar players. This guy is an intellectual vomit stain on the world.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Solo CD track listing
OK, as of now, all that's left to do is sing everything and mix. I realize that this will mean *bupkis* to those of you that haven't seen a solo show in the last 3 months, but bear with me. All of the guitar and percussion parts are done for these songs:
Deeper and Deeper
Water Risin
Sackcloth and Ashes
Solitary blues
Luke's Black Cloud Blues
Hole in my shoe
Water worrying stone
Fork in the road
Man in the mirror
Ribbon of tar
So, there you go. Artwork is even done for this one too. All we need is a little singing, a little mixing and then it goes out the door to be ready for the June 15 launch, which will be at the Lemon Tree that afternoon and the Tunnels in the evening. There will be no escaping this one.....
Deeper and Deeper
Water Risin
Sackcloth and Ashes
Solitary blues
Luke's Black Cloud Blues
Hole in my shoe
Water worrying stone
Fork in the road
Man in the mirror
Ribbon of tar
So, there you go. Artwork is even done for this one too. All we need is a little singing, a little mixing and then it goes out the door to be ready for the June 15 launch, which will be at the Lemon Tree that afternoon and the Tunnels in the evening. There will be no escaping this one.....
Moorings Bar, Aberdeen tonight!
All-
The band is headlining a show at the Moorings Bar tonight. Our first gig there in fact.
If youre a Moorings regular, don't let the 'blues band' tag scare you away because this ain't your mothers blues band- unless she's a loud, hard living biker with a bad attitude and a larger than life alcohol tolerance. In that case bring her along......
The band is headlining a show at the Moorings Bar tonight. Our first gig there in fact.
If youre a Moorings regular, don't let the 'blues band' tag scare you away because this ain't your mothers blues band- unless she's a loud, hard living biker with a bad attitude and a larger than life alcohol tolerance. In that case bring her along......
About those other lap steels.....
In the last week I've had a bunch of questions abut my steel guitars, so here are some quick photos and some notes.
The first one is an old Magnatone, in mother-of-toiletseat brown. It's my favorite of the lot. These are generally frowned on by Steel players because they have a pretty raw tone. The pickup is more like a stratocaster pickup than a normal steel guitar, which means it not a powerful, but these have a great dynamic range and don't tend to feed back. This one is normally in Open D or Open G.
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This one is a picture of a national dynamic- it looks like mine, I can't find a good picture of mine right now. It's a classic National- brand lap steel with the big pickup. This is a guitar on steroids, very powerful and sensitive enough to play 3 octaves up the neck. Normally tuned to Open E, Open E-minor and Open A. Sometimes tuned to an E-tuning that goes 1-5-6-1-3-5
This one is an old Supro Comet, circa 1950-something. It's the one I normally play on the legs when I have a gig where I can't or don't want to sit down. It's strung so I can tune it to basically anything froma low Open-C to an Open-A. Unreal that the strings don't break more....
Ok, this one you may have seen from time to time, it's an odd one- an Eddie Alkyrie 10-string, probably made by Epiphone in the 50's. It's tuned to an E13-type of tuning that I developed for this one. It gives me the intervals I need to play minor and major chords as well as some hip jazz chords with odd extensions.
And, finally, the one that started it all- this is the National New Yorker that my friend Boo Rody loaned me *years* ago to learn on. After all these years Boo gave me the chance to buy it and I jumped at the chance. It belonged to his mother who was a professional guitarist and steel player in the 1930's and 1940's. This is a really powerful sounding old guitar that shreds amps for breakfast- it's the one you hear on 'Heartache and Trouble', for example. This is the big-block Chevy of the bunch.
Oh, it does go to gigs, but only ones where I can keep my hands on it, so it doesn't tend to travel at all. Gotta see a show in Aberdeen to see this one....
The first one is an old Magnatone, in mother-of-toiletseat brown. It's my favorite of the lot. These are generally frowned on by Steel players because they have a pretty raw tone. The pickup is more like a stratocaster pickup than a normal steel guitar, which means it not a powerful, but these have a great dynamic range and don't tend to feed back. This one is normally in Open D or Open G.
This one is a picture of a national dynamic- it looks like mine, I can't find a good picture of mine right now. It's a classic National- brand lap steel with the big pickup. This is a guitar on steroids, very powerful and sensitive enough to play 3 octaves up the neck. Normally tuned to Open E, Open E-minor and Open A. Sometimes tuned to an E-tuning that goes 1-5-6-1-3-5
This one is an old Supro Comet, circa 1950-something. It's the one I normally play on the legs when I have a gig where I can't or don't want to sit down. It's strung so I can tune it to basically anything froma low Open-C to an Open-A. Unreal that the strings don't break more....
Ok, this one you may have seen from time to time, it's an odd one- an Eddie Alkyrie 10-string, probably made by Epiphone in the 50's. It's tuned to an E13-type of tuning that I developed for this one. It gives me the intervals I need to play minor and major chords as well as some hip jazz chords with odd extensions.
And, finally, the one that started it all- this is the National New Yorker that my friend Boo Rody loaned me *years* ago to learn on. After all these years Boo gave me the chance to buy it and I jumped at the chance. It belonged to his mother who was a professional guitarist and steel player in the 1930's and 1940's. This is a really powerful sounding old guitar that shreds amps for breakfast- it's the one you hear on 'Heartache and Trouble', for example. This is the big-block Chevy of the bunch.
Oh, it does go to gigs, but only ones where I can keep my hands on it, so it doesn't tend to travel at all. Gotta see a show in Aberdeen to see this one....
Friday, April 13, 2007
more blues photos
The Lancashire Telegraph just posted a whole collection of photos from the Burnley Festival. To check them out click here
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Off the subject of the blues
The US Mint is finally getting around to making the Alaska quarter-dollar as part of the series. Designs are good for the most part, but I like the one with the Musher and Denali best.
Sorry, it's an Alaskan thing, humor me.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Burnley Stage Photos!
Tony Winfield sent me some photos that he took at Burnley last weekend, and he's been gracious enough to allow me to share them with y'all. Thanks Tony!
Be sure and check out his web site of blues photographs at http://www.bluespics.co.uk and his myspace page
Be sure and check out his web site of blues photographs at http://www.bluespics.co.uk and his myspace page
The artist with the Magnatone addiction
I'm sure that there is a cure for people with chronic tendencies to acquire instruments, and if there is please don't tell me about it. Yeah, ok, I have an unhealthy addiction to these Magnatone lap steels, they're cheap, lightweight and sound amazing. And they come in such great colors. Like this vomit-green one, for example, that is currently on it's way to me.
Ahh, the good life. It really did need a home where it'll be able to get out and make some noise and not hide behind a glass case in some industrialists home....
Sunday, April 08, 2007
This just in from Burnley
Son Henry Band kicked the fun off at Burnley Mechanics with their raucous set of swing stomp and jazz blues which had the crowds jumping.
Here's the link: http://www.burnleytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=2491049&SectionID=12
Here's the link: http://www.burnleytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=2491049&SectionID=12
Burnley Retrospective
Well, gang, I'm back home from the Burnley Festival. All in all our show went really well and we were well received. Also had a chance to meet HarpDog and JC from the the Blindman's Blues Forum, and saw but couldn't connect up with Houndog, so by my rough count that was 6 members of the forum all together (including me, Delius and Dino from my line up). If you're not a member, you should google the forum and check it out, it's a great 'place'.
We decided to take the train, save on gas. Great idea in principle, but with all the gear and lap steels I needed my suitcase weighed almost 100 lbs. Not very smart. But the ride down was really relaxing and gave us a chance to just hang out (which doesn't happen enough). Most of the way down we talked about the religion thread on the forum. That's odd coincidence number one- we have an ex --divinity student and an ex-religion and philosophy major in the band. I know that's so *not* blues band, we should have been talking abut wiskey and wimmen, but we were on a train so I think that evens things out.
Get to the train station in Burnley. No Taxi to be found. Two mile walk to the venue. Finally flag a cab big enough to get us there and a really nice Pakistani gentleman talks blues with us all the way to the hotel. So, you've got 3 Scots, an Alaskan and a Pakistani talking blues in England. Small world.
Hotel is nice, very English pub and all the other headliners are staying there too.
Quick shower and gear check and we're off to the theatre. Cabbie getting us there is the brother of the first cabbie and so, again, we talk blues all the way to the theatre. Line-check, sound check and off to the green room for some food. Oh, somehow I managed to get *so* much volume out of the Fender Twin they had for us that the sound guy complained he had me totally out of the mains. Arrrgh. Ok. Line check, sound check, turn down, second sound check and then off to the green room where we talked about the creation thread, Epigenetics, grid stability in 6L6 amps and wimmen. Ok, thats a little more blues band- gear and girls. The band is now acting 10 years younger.
Great gig. I love the tone of my old Magnatone lap steel blasting in a big theater and reflecting off the walls. It's a huge woody tone with a really large dynamic range for an electric instrument. We played two encores, and for the second one we played a lap-steel version of 'bring it on home to me' at a slow, teasing tempo. It was one of those soul-cleansing moments that reminds me of why I love to play music, sitting on the edge of the stage and bringing the band volume so low that I sould sing from the edge of the stage without a mic and hear the audience breathing. Any idea on how good a band you need to try that?
Done. Time to sell CDs and talk to folks. Met lots of nice people, business cards go flying out of my hands. We drag our tired selves off to the hotel. Yep, same cabbie, wants to know all about our show and were we staying around for Tommy Castro. Nope, as it turns out, we're recording. Too bad, I like Tommy Castro and haven't seen him in a few years.
It's at the hotel after midnight that things start to get interesting. Johnny Mastro and the band drifted into the hotel bar not long after we did, and we got to talking. Turns out that he's from my hometown in upstate new york 30 years ago. We went to college 10 miles from each other and I went to school with his older brother and sister- she was my ex-girlfriends running buddy. Turns out we know most of the same people. Talked with these guys almost until sun-up about things that Johnny and I had forgotten for years, all the people we'd not kept in touch with after graduation because we were different. A couple of blues-playing misfits in schools of career minded adults. Reassuring to run into someone that had the same experience. All this time I thought it was just me.
Over breakfast, Dave and I talk about the Archetypical journey of the modern hero, Carl Jung, Modern Psychology and the genome project. DIno is immersed in a book. Les is the quiet Beatle this morning. We take turns debating who gets to be Ringo and John. No one wants to be Paul.
Cab ride in the morning to the train station. Different cabbie. Too bad, this guy is grouchy. Lost my phone at the train station, but the guy that found it calls Dino and tells us he'll send it back in the post.
It's on the train that the beers, red bull and talk about women starts. And while we're waiting for a train I catch a reflection of the band in a window, and it hits me how much we look like a band. We're tired and unshaven. We're wearing a mix of stage clothes and street clothes, sunglasses and we're standing in a tight huddle on the platform talking in low voices, even though there is ample room to spread out. Strangers give us our space, but we can catch the stray eye puzzling over who exactly these guys are, what band is this anyway? But we're still taking about metaphysics, gear and women, though, and realizing we'll be able to include Dino in the conversation when he finishes his book in the next 5 minutes. He's lost in some fantasy world, different from ours. No matter, we've other long excursions coming up. This was an easy trip, by comparison.
But the trip was a reminder of how much I love playing music with these guys, and hey- I'd travel with these guys anywhere.
We decided to take the train, save on gas. Great idea in principle, but with all the gear and lap steels I needed my suitcase weighed almost 100 lbs. Not very smart. But the ride down was really relaxing and gave us a chance to just hang out (which doesn't happen enough). Most of the way down we talked about the religion thread on the forum. That's odd coincidence number one- we have an ex --divinity student and an ex-religion and philosophy major in the band. I know that's so *not* blues band, we should have been talking abut wiskey and wimmen, but we were on a train so I think that evens things out.
Get to the train station in Burnley. No Taxi to be found. Two mile walk to the venue. Finally flag a cab big enough to get us there and a really nice Pakistani gentleman talks blues with us all the way to the hotel. So, you've got 3 Scots, an Alaskan and a Pakistani talking blues in England. Small world.
Hotel is nice, very English pub and all the other headliners are staying there too.
Quick shower and gear check and we're off to the theatre. Cabbie getting us there is the brother of the first cabbie and so, again, we talk blues all the way to the theatre. Line-check, sound check and off to the green room for some food. Oh, somehow I managed to get *so* much volume out of the Fender Twin they had for us that the sound guy complained he had me totally out of the mains. Arrrgh. Ok. Line check, sound check, turn down, second sound check and then off to the green room where we talked about the creation thread, Epigenetics, grid stability in 6L6 amps and wimmen. Ok, thats a little more blues band- gear and girls. The band is now acting 10 years younger.
Great gig. I love the tone of my old Magnatone lap steel blasting in a big theater and reflecting off the walls. It's a huge woody tone with a really large dynamic range for an electric instrument. We played two encores, and for the second one we played a lap-steel version of 'bring it on home to me' at a slow, teasing tempo. It was one of those soul-cleansing moments that reminds me of why I love to play music, sitting on the edge of the stage and bringing the band volume so low that I sould sing from the edge of the stage without a mic and hear the audience breathing. Any idea on how good a band you need to try that?
Done. Time to sell CDs and talk to folks. Met lots of nice people, business cards go flying out of my hands. We drag our tired selves off to the hotel. Yep, same cabbie, wants to know all about our show and were we staying around for Tommy Castro. Nope, as it turns out, we're recording. Too bad, I like Tommy Castro and haven't seen him in a few years.
It's at the hotel after midnight that things start to get interesting. Johnny Mastro and the band drifted into the hotel bar not long after we did, and we got to talking. Turns out that he's from my hometown in upstate new york 30 years ago. We went to college 10 miles from each other and I went to school with his older brother and sister- she was my ex-girlfriends running buddy. Turns out we know most of the same people. Talked with these guys almost until sun-up about things that Johnny and I had forgotten for years, all the people we'd not kept in touch with after graduation because we were different. A couple of blues-playing misfits in schools of career minded adults. Reassuring to run into someone that had the same experience. All this time I thought it was just me.
Over breakfast, Dave and I talk about the Archetypical journey of the modern hero, Carl Jung, Modern Psychology and the genome project. DIno is immersed in a book. Les is the quiet Beatle this morning. We take turns debating who gets to be Ringo and John. No one wants to be Paul.
Cab ride in the morning to the train station. Different cabbie. Too bad, this guy is grouchy. Lost my phone at the train station, but the guy that found it calls Dino and tells us he'll send it back in the post.
It's on the train that the beers, red bull and talk about women starts. And while we're waiting for a train I catch a reflection of the band in a window, and it hits me how much we look like a band. We're tired and unshaven. We're wearing a mix of stage clothes and street clothes, sunglasses and we're standing in a tight huddle on the platform talking in low voices, even though there is ample room to spread out. Strangers give us our space, but we can catch the stray eye puzzling over who exactly these guys are, what band is this anyway? But we're still taking about metaphysics, gear and women, though, and realizing we'll be able to include Dino in the conversation when he finishes his book in the next 5 minutes. He's lost in some fantasy world, different from ours. No matter, we've other long excursions coming up. This was an easy trip, by comparison.
But the trip was a reminder of how much I love playing music with these guys, and hey- I'd travel with these guys anywhere.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Burnley, ready or not!
Brace yourself, the band is on it's way to the Burnley National Blues Festival for our Friday night appearance. If you're going to the festival, expect a high-energy set for sure.
And, I always enjoy hanging out afterwards and talking shop, so look for me by the band's merchandise stall because that's where I'll be once we're finished. I usually bring my steel guitars along if you're curious about how they actually work- they are an odd breed of guitar.
And, if you're planning on staying home, well, you're going to miss all the fireworks! Off to pack, over and out for now. Hopefully we'll get some drummer-cam pictures for you to see the show from our perspective!
And, I always enjoy hanging out afterwards and talking shop, so look for me by the band's merchandise stall because that's where I'll be once we're finished. I usually bring my steel guitars along if you're curious about how they actually work- they are an odd breed of guitar.
And, if you're planning on staying home, well, you're going to miss all the fireworks! Off to pack, over and out for now. Hopefully we'll get some drummer-cam pictures for you to see the show from our perspective!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Solo CD release party, June 15
Talk about putting the cart before the horse. I know some of you think that waiting for my solo CD is like waiting for an Elvis sighting. So, to put my money where my mouth is, I schedled the release party at the Lemon Tree, Friday june 15 over lunch. I'll see if I can get an evening slot at a place like the Blue Lamp the same day.
Should get the recording finished the week after the Burnley Blues Festival, I have all the studio time booked- a solid week of recording. That should get it done. It's shaping up to be an interesting disk, with mostly lap acoustic. despite what I told Dave last week I think I am going to dust off my piano. Hmmm, some national steel too. arrgh- too much material. What a curse.
So, mark your calendars! And trust me, it'll be in the Lemon Tree Brochure (http://www.lemontree.org)
Should get the recording finished the week after the Burnley Blues Festival, I have all the studio time booked- a solid week of recording. That should get it done. It's shaping up to be an interesting disk, with mostly lap acoustic. despite what I told Dave last week I think I am going to dust off my piano. Hmmm, some national steel too. arrgh- too much material. What a curse.
So, mark your calendars! And trust me, it'll be in the Lemon Tree Brochure (http://www.lemontree.org)
Monday, April 02, 2007
New CD Review on BluesMatters website
Scottish Music Reviewer Eric Scott had this to say about the new live CD:
This is the record of the annual benefit concert Son plays at in Anchorage, Alaska and it demonstrates that, like a good baseball pitcher, he has some truly ‘nasty stuff’ coming out of his lap steel guitar. Dark, mysterious and dirty in the lower registers, wicked and cutting up high, Mr. Henry remains a modern master of tone and shape- an unstoppable force at next weekend’s Burnley Blues Festival, for those of you within driving distance.
read the complete review here
This is the record of the annual benefit concert Son plays at in Anchorage, Alaska and it demonstrates that, like a good baseball pitcher, he has some truly ‘nasty stuff’ coming out of his lap steel guitar. Dark, mysterious and dirty in the lower registers, wicked and cutting up high, Mr. Henry remains a modern master of tone and shape- an unstoppable force at next weekend’s Burnley Blues Festival, for those of you within driving distance.
read the complete review here
From my buddy Bob Parsons
My friend Bob Parsons has been writing down road and gig stories, and sent this to me a few weeks ago. I'd forgotten most of this and had a good laugh reading this......
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I have been very privileged to play with some real ballsy players. Let me just embarrass a dude right here and now.
I played 3 years with Son Henry. He never missed a gig, although he was sick a couple of times. here's a side note — don't hang with that guy when he's doin Dayquil! As I lug my stuff to the gig, still keeping it to one trip, I look back on all the stuff Son packed into his Suburban to get him through the night. Tremendous committment to a certain sound that he needed. Sometimes he'd bring 400 pounds of gear. And the guy was so road-tested. He broke a string on his lap steel at Blues on the Green, kept talking to the crowd the whole time he found a new string and replaced the broken one. The bnd is vamping through all this and I got so caught up in watching this lesson in multi-tasking, I totally forgot to play anything to help him out. Then he looks back and says "Play something will ya, and help me out here!". Duh, oh yeah, that's right, I'm a musician...
Besides, being sick, playing, playing through crappy electricity, microphones emitting blue sparks (come on, how do you go back and put your lips back on a mic that just hit you so hard it burnt your pickups off your strat?) Son calls me from the hospital the day we are to cap off Ocean Fest. He's strapped to a gurny, can't move his head, because some kid smucked Son in the backside with an S-10 pickup going 50mph — and he's talking about MAYBE needing help with his gear that night!!! Geez Louise... what's your excuse!
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I have been very privileged to play with some real ballsy players. Let me just embarrass a dude right here and now.
I played 3 years with Son Henry. He never missed a gig, although he was sick a couple of times. here's a side note — don't hang with that guy when he's doin Dayquil! As I lug my stuff to the gig, still keeping it to one trip, I look back on all the stuff Son packed into his Suburban to get him through the night. Tremendous committment to a certain sound that he needed. Sometimes he'd bring 400 pounds of gear. And the guy was so road-tested. He broke a string on his lap steel at Blues on the Green, kept talking to the crowd the whole time he found a new string and replaced the broken one. The bnd is vamping through all this and I got so caught up in watching this lesson in multi-tasking, I totally forgot to play anything to help him out. Then he looks back and says "Play something will ya, and help me out here!". Duh, oh yeah, that's right, I'm a musician...
Besides, being sick, playing, playing through crappy electricity, microphones emitting blue sparks (come on, how do you go back and put your lips back on a mic that just hit you so hard it burnt your pickups off your strat?) Son calls me from the hospital the day we are to cap off Ocean Fest. He's strapped to a gurny, can't move his head, because some kid smucked Son in the backside with an S-10 pickup going 50mph — and he's talking about MAYBE needing help with his gear that night!!! Geez Louise... what's your excuse!
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