Fall Tour, need a band?

Looking ahead, we're hitting the road this fall. We have two dates still to fill, Saturday October 23 and Sunday October 24. Anyone have space for a great band? Anywhere in the UK is great.

Thanks!

Cellar 35, March 20

Hey Gang,

I talked to the band, and I know it's short notice but we're splitting the gig this coming Saturday. I'll play a solo lap steel set starting at 9, and the band will kick off around 10. Best of everything- some mellow blues to get started and get a few drinks in with friends, and then we clear the tables for dancing!

It'll be the full band with the horns! If you haven't heard this line up, well, it's jump and swing blues at it's best! These guys can really play...

Some more youtube finds

Yeah, I know, I love youtube....

Cellar 35, March 20th

As part of the blues nights at Cellar 35, I'll be covering the Saturday, March 20th slot. I had such a great time playing those solo gigs this past weekend that I've got the fire to do more. So I'll have the lap acoustic out, and the national and a couple of other guitars. Cellar 35 is the perfect place for an acoustic performance- it's small and cozy, the acoustics are pretty good and it's the only place in Aberdeen with that underground blues club vibe.

So, please tell your friends, drag them along. Blues on Saturdays at Cellar 35. performance starts at 9.

Alaska, 2010

Hey gang, looks like I'm heading back home for a couple of weeks! Alaska in summertime, great fishing, and some good gigs to play with my old band. Life doesn't get better...

still selling gear

Yeah, raising money to fund a few things, so there's a bunch of gear that's going. Check out my other blog for the details, more gear postings next weekend. Catch it before it goes on Ebay..

Cellar 35

Hey all-

Great gig at Cellar 35 last night! Me and Dick Wardell playing solo, Papa Mojo wrapping up the night. It was the second solo outing in two days for me, nothing like getting right back to work after a long break. Last night was mostly lap slide and fingerpicking. Gave the national a break.

So, long story short, I'll be back there on the 20th as part of the rotating blues nights we're running on Saturdays. I'll probably be there solo again, unless I can talk the trio into a gig. Either way, it'll be fun, and a great place for a night out.

Please spread the word about these blues nights! Aberdeen really needs a regular blues night, and with your support we can make this one stick!

Haiti Benefit, April 10

Well, the Aberdeen musical community is coming together for a night of music spread over two venues on April 10th. Lots of the details still forthcoming, but here's what I know. There's going to be a bunch of electric blues bands at the Blue Lamp, along with great beer and food, and a couple of acoustic players (me included) at Cellar 35.

From what I hear, you can see Gerry Jablonski, Red Dawg, Tupelo Town Assembly, Mr Spider, Dick Wardell, Papa Mojo and probably a few others. One price gets you into both venues.

It'll be a great time, and it's al for a good cause. I'll post more details when I get them.

(oh, and I'm sneaking off later that night to play a wild gig at the Moorings Bar, shhhhh......)

Grouchy old man alert

don't make me open this.....

Rance Allen

Years ago, my friend Big Mitch turned me on to Rance Allen, and to this day he's my favorite vocalist of all times. Check this out, what a great performance, no studio overdubs just a gifted singer and a song he believes.

Ok, this should be obvious....

I ran into a really unpleasant person yesterday at a gig in Dundee who seems to think the world is divided into 'lead' guitar players, and 'rhythm' guitar players. I'm generally nice to everyone, but the unreal level of ignorance he wanted to inflict on my band was so extreme that I was appalled. Horrified. And I fired back. And that, ladies and gents, never happens. Until Yesterday.

Here's the deal. If you're a musician in a band and you play the guitar, you can't get away with being one or the other, you've got to be both. And where most people get lost is that they forget that our most important job is supporting the groove of the tunes. That means you need to play rhythm. And as everyone in my band knows, we're all in the rhythm section. It's the engine room, what gets people dancing. It's what you get paid for. Being able to blow a solo over changes isn't music if that's all you can do. It's self-indulgence, period, the end.

So, while he may break the guitar world into two camps, lead and rhythm, I break the world down differently- into musicians and instrument owners. Just because you own an instrument doesn't mean you're a musician. Anyone can learn to play the guitar fast, that's just muscle memory. But to be able to engage in a meaningful musical conversation on stage with other musicians and hold an audience's attention? That takes a musician.

Gimme musicians to play with any day of the week.

You, sir, are uninformed, misguided and offensive to those of us that work hard at our craft.

Apples and Trees

There's an old saying around here that apples don't fall far from the tree. And it must be true, here's my oldest surviving the worst blizzard in 90 years in Washington DC by hiding out in a recording studio.

Yeah, I know. No blues content. But a proud old man gets to crow a little every so often....

Magic Sam on a borrowed guitar

Not sure what the story was, but that is Earl Hooker's guitar for sure...

And Earl Hooker.....

My favorite youtube video

BB King and T-Bone Walker at the Hollywood Bowl, 1967. Can you imagine? Listen to the lines BB plays while T-Bone is getting set up. That was when he was really playing at the top of his game (it's my favorite vintage of BB). And T-Bone? Damn.

Home and Recovering

Some of you may have heard the news that I was taken ill while on holiday with the family.

Sample vids from the new DVD with T Rogers

Here's a couple of the tunes from the new T Rogers/Son Henry DVD that should be out pretty soon. They're from the Gastroblues festival in Paks this past summer. It was a great performance and although I can still hear the last touches of a sore throat in my singing it's still fun to watch- it's obvious we were having a great time (which we were).


Here's Can't be Satisfied...




And Richer than a Sheik...




And "Let me lay my head down"...



Hope you enjoy them!

Son Henry Live in B'Pest DVD

Coming soon to a bandstand near you! Live from Budapest with T Rogers, it's an hour of live music filmed at the Gastroblues festival. You can probably fget a c

Budapest Pictures....

Sometimes the pictures tell the story, and this is one of those times!

Back on line!

Wow, who'd ever think that it could take 3 months to get an internet connection? But it's there, and I'm back on line again. More later....