tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49016797844626223752024-03-21T05:53:20.469-05:00Redneck's ReserveBecause sometimes I get tired of trying to save the world.Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.comBlogger616125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-47861007303462210482009-04-20T15:43:00.006-05:002012-09-27T08:31:44.000-05:00Last Friday night in Austin...<span style="color: #ff9900;">I was happy to witness some great music being made. I learned Thursday morning that Jimmie Vaughan was going to be playing a concert Friday night at Antone's, a famous Austin Blues venue.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZflyifMbhRnTuI-Aw9deVUxjJxWjEWwDbNUmip9ciwx9hsQCjk9YQefZCJSAJvycujITNjNqCPzmDaDw_LcnLgdxwJ8x_9x4CoD0TjlFQk8psw65EEUwsLWt9rpxlU5SVnYVCE4Ff/s1600-h/P1150886aa.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326587255671208866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZflyifMbhRnTuI-Aw9deVUxjJxWjEWwDbNUmip9ciwx9hsQCjk9YQefZCJSAJvycujITNjNqCPzmDaDw_LcnLgdxwJ8x_9x4CoD0TjlFQk8psw65EEUwsLWt9rpxlU5SVnYVCE4Ff/s400/P1150886aa.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 230px; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ff9900;">I arranged for two tickets to be ready for my lady and I at the door. The web site said the show began at 8pm, but it turned out they really didn't really start playing till 9PM, and there were two lead up bands scheduled before Vaughan would take the stage.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIcwbROpkXJZk_IQWKBlRhPlYa28o94-EI_ciB9bJxqzLF4vtsqYf4RPM6JH0hWxvpMNYw7OQMxDZTtdPgXQoGgaJbwY7hX7u4J7ljasjrOVVWcebZwcdO96cxqUzbpmtshyphenhyphen8HBrV/s1600-h/m1a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326446006580445506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIcwbROpkXJZk_IQWKBlRhPlYa28o94-EI_ciB9bJxqzLF4vtsqYf4RPM6JH0hWxvpMNYw7OQMxDZTtdPgXQoGgaJbwY7hX7u4J7ljasjrOVVWcebZwcdO96cxqUzbpmtshyphenhyphen8HBrV/s400/m1a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 216px; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ff9900;">So, my girlfriend and I had a lot of </span><span style="color: #ff9900;">standin</span><span style="color: #ff9900;">' around, and some expensive </span><span style="color: #ff9900;">drinkin</span><span style="color: #ff9900;">' to do, </span><span style="color: #ff9900;">waitin</span><span style="color: #ff9900;">' for the show to begin. Good thing about that, we got there early enough that we didn't have to elbow our way up to the front when the show finally got </span><span style="color: #ff9900;">rollin</span><span style="color: #ff9900;">'.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPc2-iPA8-fmGm-XutfvTjdfFgnf3VYquVIlPTJ04KYt06x93psM_XlcUeP20oTiWqJUkL2_Xkzs4-jukia56V5_VNQnkkPVLxfv7vAnmAs8lBuV2DZAsgoakExGBCQltrKA_Lx7L/s1600-h/P1150708a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445847390132610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPc2-iPA8-fmGm-XutfvTjdfFgnf3VYquVIlPTJ04KYt06x93psM_XlcUeP20oTiWqJUkL2_Xkzs4-jukia56V5_VNQnkkPVLxfv7vAnmAs8lBuV2DZAsgoakExGBCQltrKA_Lx7L/s400/P1150708a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 400px; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ff9900;">The first band of the night was a local blues/jazz trio (who's name escapes me now... sorry guys), but this time they were joined by a familiar face. The young man you see there with the red guitar is Gary Clark Jr. You may remember him from the report I did on the Derek Trucks Concert I attended in Dallas a while back. He was fronting his own band that night, playing his own music. This time though, he and the others took us though a short list of classic Blues and Jazz instrumentals, and then he gave voice to a few other old Blues numbers. It was a great gig, and the crowd rewarded their efforts with a loud applause.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNjkyAXUqsfOzF50Q0Iq4X5RG9GgvtOdDA1ZjHjnoHZag-9jviEePvoCEcjyR_WFPB7kUdFS3ere-7-EvWzann7tgFjaAjdAM-yzyz4pPkArlbdur6hZG7IdBpSn3fSSeM-6MS5qF/s1600-h/P1150721a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445763390677602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNjkyAXUqsfOzF50Q0Iq4X5RG9GgvtOdDA1ZjHjnoHZag-9jviEePvoCEcjyR_WFPB7kUdFS3ere-7-EvWzann7tgFjaAjdAM-yzyz4pPkArlbdur6hZG7IdBpSn3fSSeM-6MS5qF/s400/P1150721a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 258px; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ff9900;">The second band on the list is a local group of ladies, calling themselves The Bluebonnets. They were billed as a Blues/Rock band, but to be honest, I kept thinking they were a perfect mix of bands like The Bangles (knock down gorgeous chicks), </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjKgiTzLPMs" style="color: red;">L7</a><span style="color: #ff9900;"><span style="color: red;"> </span>(balls to the wall attitude), and maybe the Pretenders (knock your socks off skills with the instruments). I loved their music, and I wasn't alone. It was loud, almost Punk, and yet the Blues was there too.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ff9900;">Towards the end of their set, the lady in the middle said "We've got one more song to play and then </span><span style="color: #ff9900;">Jimmie'll</span><span style="color: #ff9900;"> be </span><span style="color: #ff9900;">comin</span><span style="color: #ff9900;">' out." Someone in the crowd responded with "Jimmie who?", and the audience cheered. I predict, if they ever get anyone in the industry to pay attention to them, they'll go far. If you get a chance to see them, don't pass it up.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0R6j51FOrUYewk-z_KefrHabK84Wiqid1EZC3pX2d9cwk5kppBlHwouOTpxpcspJ5BQvp8m51MjQR96JqtnqQhJCzC0-EZKJdRqzW-0Knp96zExSOuDWu82llczPcVUNYJu0ONHTZ/s1600-h/P1150788a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445671032616386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0R6j51FOrUYewk-z_KefrHabK84Wiqid1EZC3pX2d9cwk5kppBlHwouOTpxpcspJ5BQvp8m51MjQR96JqtnqQhJCzC0-EZKJdRqzW-0Knp96zExSOuDWu82llczPcVUNYJu0ONHTZ/s400/P1150788a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 300px; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #ff9900;">Just as scheduled, at about 11PM, Jimmie Vaughan came out and the crowd went wild. He took us through several classic tunes, and then, with Fridays crazy thunderstorms in everyone's mind, he busted into a tune his younger brother made famous. You should have heard the crowd cheer when we all heard the opening riffs of "Texas Flood". We all sang along with it. It was awesome! Here's a taste, from an earlier show at the same Austin venue.<br /><br /><object height="344" style="color: #ff9900;" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/twRHRJL5TVA&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/twRHRJL5TVA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="450" width="600"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff9900;">One understands, as Jimmie sings, why his singing has never won him wide acclaim. But there's no faulting his guitar work. He's not his brother, but God knows, no one ever was or will be again. God only lays his hand on a few in that way. And hell, the singing wasn't all that bad anyway. After all, it's a Blues concert, not Top-40!</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBBLC10hJr2Sh6S2Rzh3bQM-WJAEQykSRD-ddF4BWvHIcX9mmowGnx6iinxUxyQUsKBFfl4b58lujnmZQ6yhY1iYtbwtt_vbUXjb1ogUhz9gDX8L1lC6kxJhOCYZDJw8yWCVBYMZo/s1600-h/P1150819a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445540814908738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBBLC10hJr2Sh6S2Rzh3bQM-WJAEQykSRD-ddF4BWvHIcX9mmowGnx6iinxUxyQUsKBFfl4b58lujnmZQ6yhY1iYtbwtt_vbUXjb1ogUhz9gDX8L1lC6kxJhOCYZDJw8yWCVBYMZo/s400/P1150819a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 270px; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff9900;">After about 45 minutes, Vaughan welcomed another local Blues personality onto the stage. Vaughan made a CD with </span><a href="http://www.omarandthehowlers.com/" style="color: red;">Omar Dykes</a><span style="color: #ff9900;"> (of Omar and the Howlers fame) last year, and they announced here that they'd cut another one </span>that'd<span style="color: #ff9900;"> be on sale soon.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOgAraNe0oKVLXXFZDqvj9Kn_pgVC9pSmgm7kXs8IX3oGpG0SaE-DptrzGPSZCLkzLFvGE43QZaUSAP5_RJnL3Wept_-Truvu_FhwCCVMDIDDSGCO5SUnk6XiuKSQKmtNUhjceEpb/s1600-h/P1150865a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445442780173314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOgAraNe0oKVLXXFZDqvj9Kn_pgVC9pSmgm7kXs8IX3oGpG0SaE-DptrzGPSZCLkzLFvGE43QZaUSAP5_RJnL3Wept_-Truvu_FhwCCVMDIDDSGCO5SUnk6XiuKSQKmtNUhjceEpb/s400/P1150865a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 300px; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff9900;">Jimmie was in rare form, at one point tossing the guitar over his head and playing on, unobstructed. I'd seen Omar lurking in the background, his distinctive silhouette in the back of the crowd, so I'd hoped he'd come up. Sure enough, Omar's got the </span>singin<span style="color: #ff9900;">' down, fer sure. His voice is a classic. So the show just got better as we rolled into the second hour.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2TE4XNo0j8T3CylBGqahXdbjd8gEls6tpSzgee734Kokqd9PxvA6pN9tCik0wnAxj7LRo4qWOyRKjw1WxLlozfmtNV8ESqPLu8VUKMOjuC3da57lXRyz-rVVDAaG7ufofVMOtTHs/s1600-h/P1150838a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445314677265778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2TE4XNo0j8T3CylBGqahXdbjd8gEls6tpSzgee734Kokqd9PxvA6pN9tCik0wnAxj7LRo4qWOyRKjw1WxLlozfmtNV8ESqPLu8VUKMOjuC3da57lXRyz-rVVDAaG7ufofVMOtTHs/s400/P1150838a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 292px; width: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff9900;">The guys went through several great tunes from their CD, </span><a href="http://www.jimmyreedhighway.com/" style="color: red;">"The Jimmy Reed Highway"</a><span style="color: #ff9900;">, and then welcomed Lou Ann Barton up on stage to complete the family (it turns out Barton and Gary Clark also appear on the CD, along with Delbert McClinton). It was wonderful. Here's a taste, with Lou Ann doing In The Middle Of The Night", one of the tunes they played late Friday night (or, maybe Saturday morning?).</span><br /><br /><object height="344" style="color: #ff9900;" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CVg8qC0tRbs&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CVg8qC0tRbs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="450" width="600"></embed></object><br /><br />Aaaah<span style="color: #ff9900;">, now there's a Blues voice, for the ages. A local treasure, Lou Anne Has never hit it big, but she's played with many local artists who have, like Jimmie, and Omar, and Jimmie's little brother Stevie and his band Double Trouble.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff9900;">After two hours of playing, the concert ended with a rep from Fender helping Jimmie give a guitar away. They'd sold raffle tickets at the door, the money going to charity. It was a great end to the night. Before leaving though, I stepped over to the desk by the front door and picked up a few souvenirs.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCA0Uc3sALlaL8517abXoHxShCq_tlo_9mV6_7jX0RD2pqFGP2_DznAVfoUu-FGqxikHiKBtPTU_DnkPGxjPt3514B3lZVIlJdEuUkLLzw0yYLW_HtEAQF8784t_OOAwcNjZoG6pb4/s1600-h/P1150884.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445146082501282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCA0Uc3sALlaL8517abXoHxShCq_tlo_9mV6_7jX0RD2pqFGP2_DznAVfoUu-FGqxikHiKBtPTU_DnkPGxjPt3514B3lZVIlJdEuUkLLzw0yYLW_HtEAQF8784t_OOAwcNjZoG6pb4/s400/P1150884.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 400px; width: 300px;" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff9900;">They sell t-shirts and old concert posters. I looked through the stack of old posters and chose two that I thought would look cool on my wall.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBalXZhMQcz8pzw5lJWYH8YiPxMEiC5_GV7rNf6fZonzaWzbyGJ8oBRiJqOSIRJghjF-wlAfCPrbU_RLZLkcwO23x7nkeoGSVzzOkmZZGwdwmJYq_CeK8zkkC6xQk4ihd395ld7Ui/s1600-h/P1150885.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="color: #ff9900;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326445034978754002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBalXZhMQcz8pzw5lJWYH8YiPxMEiC5_GV7rNf6fZonzaWzbyGJ8oBRiJqOSIRJghjF-wlAfCPrbU_RLZLkcwO23x7nkeoGSVzzOkmZZGwdwmJYq_CeK8zkkC6xQk4ihd395ld7Ui/s400/P1150885.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 400px; width: 300px;" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff9900;">They'll both be framed, and hung in a fitting spot. Come over some time and I'll show 'em to ya. later, Cheers!</span></span>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-66510260365022673062010-02-07T15:00:00.001-06:002010-02-07T15:25:42.273-06:00My sister's a huge David Gilmore fan.Wants to have his children. Well, it's a bit late in the day, for both of them, but she loves his music. Called me Sunday and told me I had to go to YouTube and find this. Haven't posted anything here in a while so I figured I'd share. Enjoy.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NR8RDo2E98o&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NR8RDo2E98o&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-23015566130506454502010-01-03T20:19:00.004-06:002010-01-03T20:57:48.118-06:00BlackfootRATTLESNAKE ROCK `N ROLLER<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rgPLa32C9x4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rgPLa32C9x4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />TO HOT TO HANDLE<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YBQoHl8iaXc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YBQoHl8iaXc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />On The Run<br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nc-4-DHYLus&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Nc-4-DHYLus&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Highway Song...no video<br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EeI_xlPWfow&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EeI_xlPWfow&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Searching..no video<br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VQ7AkweQ7Zs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VQ7AkweQ7Zs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />LEFT TURN ON A RED LIGHT..no video<br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e0xzT32DBQ8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e0xzT32DBQ8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />GOT TO BE THE BEST DAMN HARP EVER......<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/48K2xf32JBw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/48K2xf32JBw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object>Rob_NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893194291293250768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-46456641060534909962009-12-25T10:43:00.003-06:002009-12-25T12:20:32.092-06:00Some sadness on the holiday.<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">James Gurley, the lead guitar player for Big Brother and the Holding Co. has passed away.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aTFF-BaT0MM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aTFF-BaT0MM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Surviving members of Big Brother said Gurley died Sunday in a Palm Springs hospital after suffering a heart attack.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">One of many prominent guitarists to emerge from San Francisco's psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s — others included the <a href="http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=16073903" class="art">Grateful Dead</a>'s Jerry Garcia, <a href="http://music.msn.com/music/artist/jefferson-airplane/" class="art">Jefferson Airplane</a>'s Jorma Kaukonen and Barry Melton of Country Joe and the Fish — Gurley was hailed by many as the original innovator of the sound.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">"I would say all of my guitar-playing contemporaries strived to have their own sound, but I think James was a huge influence on all of us because he wasn't afraid to break the boundaries of conventional music," Melton said Thursday. "What one thinks of that genre of music is that place that it takes you to where the beat is just assumed and the whole thing is transported to another place, and James is the guy who started that."</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Doing things like using an electric vibrator as a slide on his guitar, and picking up amplifiers and shaking them during performances, Gurley created a loud, esoteric sound that was the driving force behind Joplin's voice on such classic songs as "Ball and Chain," "Piece of My Heart" and "Summertime."</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">"Some of the innovations were the result of the fact he came from kind of a progressive bluegrass school of music where weirdness was encouraged," said Peter Albin, the group's bass player.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">One of the few rock guitarists to use finger picks rather than a flat pick, Gurley had taught himself to play by listening to old Lightnin' Hopkins blues records as a teenager.</p><br /><p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">He was playing acoustic guitar in a coffee house in San Francisco in 1965 when legendary counterculture figure Chet Helms, founder of the Family Dog commune, introduced him to the other band members.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Although Joplin would become the public face of the band when she joined in 1966, Albin recalled Gurley as being the true force of nature who introduced the other members to alternative lifestyles, psychedelic drugs and musical innovation.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">"He was very influential to the whole band early on, and even later, just by being a guy who had strange tastes and played guitar in a very bizarre manner," Albin told The Associated Press.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">When he first met Gurley, Albin said, the guitarist was living in a walk-in closet with his wife and young son and told him that before that he'd lived in a cardboard house along the California coast and with indigenous people in the mountains of Mexico, where he had taken part in hallucinogenic religious ceremonies.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">After Joplin left Big Brother in 1968, the group disbanded but has since reformed and continues to perform to this day. Gurley, however, left for good in the late 1990s after a falling out with the other members.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Born in Detroit in 1939, Gurley was the son of a stunt-car driver and, according to the band's Web site, would sometimes perform as a "human hood ornament" when his father drove a car through a flaming plywood wall.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">After leaving Big Brother, he lived quietly in Palm Desert, occasionally working on solo projects. He released the album "Pipe Dreams" in 2000.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Gurley, who died two days before his 70th birthday, is survived by his wife, Margaret, and sons Hongo and Django.</p> <p style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Band members plan to hold a memorial sometime next month in San Francisco.</p>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-60413050883086038022009-12-24T21:18:00.004-06:002009-12-24T21:56:47.603-06:00ROCKER'S LOVE CHRISTMAS TOO!<div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The "</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Metal God</span><span style="font-size:100%;">" Rob Halford left Judas Priest in 1991, but he has not been idle. Recently published "<a href="http://robhalford.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Halford 3 - Winter Songs</span></a>" is touted as "the best metal Christmas albums in years". On this album is my personal favorite "</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >We Three Kings</span><span style="font-size:100%;">"!<br /><br />This classic Christmas Carol has never sounded so good...to rocker's ears anyway! Give it listen and pay close attention to the guitar licks, but don't forget that Halford has a nearly four octave vocal range, having recorded notes from D2 to C♯6. He is one of the most respected singers of heavy metal and rock music with a quasi-operatic vocal style and high-pitched screams.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);font-family:arial;"><center><span style="font-size:100%;"><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XjzosvIOF0g&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XjzosvIOF0g&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></span></center><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">And, just because I like the song, here is another version with <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ouimette"><span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ouimette"><span>Steve Ouimette</span></a></span><span class="description" style="font-size:100%;">. His version was included in the Guitar Hero III, and you can see why!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></div><center style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AFREWt1x7FE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AFREWt1x7FE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></span></center><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br />Getting back to something closer to tradition, check out this unique version by <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.dantebucci.com/bio.htm"><span class="LinkType2">Dante Bucci!</span></a></span></span><center><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fuYW8GegdWQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fuYW8GegdWQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-75436139429602125472009-11-27T19:16:00.002-06:002009-11-28T20:53:52.600-06:00Still Got The Blues ?<center><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4O_YMLDvvnw&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4O_YMLDvvnw&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6GDIkb5CDUY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6GDIkb5CDUY&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/G-Ke5IM6moc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/G-Ke5IM6moc&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></center>Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-45893049706998297232009-11-28T17:43:00.012-06:002009-11-28T18:53:21.588-06:00GRAND FUNK RAILROADFor eight long years, from 1969 to 1976, Grand Funk Railroad were one of the most popular rock bands in America. They broke attendance records, sold zillions of albums, seemed to be all over the place and even had the luxury of employing such producers as Todd Rundgren and Frank Zappa. They proudly took the slogan of rock music being music for The People and followed it more closely than just about any competition. And they were hated by the critics worldwide. And for good reason...<br /><br />In the late Sixties, with Led Zeppelin heralding the way, groups of brawny young people all over the world were getting together with the single aim of making music that would be heavy, heavy and heavy again. Yet, as it always happens when you're following a trend, in order to really capture the public eye, that heavy music had to have an identity of its own. Deep Purple made themselves stand out by successfully incorporating classical influences into their fire-breathing act. Black Sabbath pushed the doors open for Satanic or mock-Satanic rock. Mark Farner, Mel Schacher, and Don Brewer did not invent any particular style, and in purely technical terms, weren't really original. But they did start up a trend, a trend that would be even more widely followed and imitated in the Seventies than any of the trends set by these other (and better) bands. They created Populist Rock<br />.<br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0x6chChxzV0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0x6chChxzV0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />"Inside Looking Out"<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yk0UUZ52C24&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yk0UUZ52C24&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br />Part 1<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/svEwuuUCDbI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/svEwuuUCDbI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Part 2<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NyuIB1Yvz9U&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NyuIB1Yvz9U&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br />Part 3<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tWYyTtQjdlg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tWYyTtQjdlg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br />Part 4<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZY2aIvsf9-M&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZY2aIvsf9-M&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br />Part 5Rob_NChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02893194291293250768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-14618798062936719132009-11-14T20:36:00.002-06:002009-11-14T20:40:49.833-06:00Casas Rojo<center><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CjOQ9r35uiU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CjOQ9r35uiU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/miLvfZ4DupE&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/miLvfZ4DupE&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XXYjEMTQRm0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XXYjEMTQRm0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Df3BafW0xiE&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Df3BafW0xiE&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /></center>Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-46290801527897425842009-11-07T20:49:00.015-06:002009-11-08T00:27:18.811-06:00Rolling Thunder<blockquote><span style="color:#ffffff;">Things are pretty slow in the DFW Construction marketplace these days, so in order to get leaner, the company I work for "gave" me the title to my company Silverado. They're still buying all my gas and shit, but now I have to pay for the insurance and any future repairs. When / If things pick back up I'll probably get a new one, but that all remains to be determined.<br /><br />So anyway, seeing how tough times these are, and how uncertain the future is ..... I decided <strong>now</strong> would be a great time to spend a bunch of money upgrading the truck's stereo system to my discriminating standards. ;-) The best excuse I can come up with is that I do spend over 12 hours a week commuting, and listen to more music in my truck than I do at home. <br /><br />I had already upgraded the factory head unit, out of my pocket, years ago.<br /><br /></span><center><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/DEHP47DH.jpg" /></span></a></center><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">At the time, I had 3 criteria that had to be met. It had to play the CD-Rs that I was burning at the time at home, it had to be 1.5 DIN size to exactly match the hole in the Silverado's dash, and it had to be cheap enough, since I was putting it in a company vehicle, that I wouldn't be too upset if I had leave it in there if I got mad and quit one day. That last criteria never really came into play because only one manufacturer met the the first 2 criteria, Pioneer. I wasn't really a big fan of Pioneer products, dating back to my past biases toward the Alpine tuner I had had in my personal truck back in the 80s..... and Pioneer didn't disappoint me ...... the CD player pissed out only a few months after I bought it, and I was too disgusted to pull it out and get it fixed. So I've been driving around the last several years with commercial radio only. I had also replaced the 4 factory speakers with some JBL units.<br /><br />So being out of the car audio loop for the last 20 years I needed to do a little research on whats out there these days. I stopped by several Car Stereo stores on my way home one day. It didn't take me long to figure out that I despise the assholes in that industry even more now that I did back in the 80s. Car Stereo salesmen are like used car salesmen rejects. Every product they are not pushing that day is a piece of shit, and what they do sell is the always the best stuff, according to them. They all tried to pooh pooh my plans for self-design and installation, and there was always some reason at every store I went to why they couldn't connect the items I wanted to hear up and let me listen to it there before I bought it.<br /><br />So since I could not hear what I wanted in a store anyway, I moved my research to the internet, where at least I didn't have to interface directly with the human assholes. Crutchfield is a great place to do research, but it didn't take long to figure out they are also the most expensive place to buy. Any product you find there, google up or ebay the model number, and you can save yourself a bundle on the same exact product.<br /><br />After comparing several different combinations of Amps / Subwoofers, I eventually decided to stick with an all Pioneer system.<br /><br /></span><center><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/amp311.jpg" /></span></a><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/Sub-1.jpg" /></span></a></center><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">I made the speaker box myself. Its a 3-way setup with a pair of dome midranges, Pioneer Tweeters, and a</span><span style="color:#ff0000;"> </span><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/IMG_1416.jpg"><b><span style="color:#ff0000;">Massive Crossover inside each box.</span></b></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"><br /><br /></span><center><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/FinishedBox.jpg" /></span></a></center><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">I've been working on it for the last several weeks, and I have finally got it all installed.<br /><br /></span><center><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/IMG_1440.jpg" /></span></a></center><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">Its sounded pretty good, after I got all it properly setup and equalized. It was a bit too BOOMY until I put the seats and console back in. Its added a lot of detail over the previous gutless sound..... and when you punch it it will jump up and bite you in the ass. Feels like John Bonham is kicking the shit out of the back of your seat, and stays clear as bell on max volume.<br /><br />So that all brings me to the point of this long ass post...... mobile source material.<br /><br />For right now I have Redneck rigged my 1GB Creative Zen MP3 player to the RCA inputs on the back of the Pioneer head unit. Thats about 200 songs at your fingertips, but its become obvious to me, even after I have ordered another identical one, and a car USB charger, off ebay ...... that this is <strong>not</strong> the ideal long-term solution. 200 songs gets repetitive after a week or so, and reloading the player with new tunage every week is going to be a time consuming pain in the ass. I need a bigger one that will hold all my MP3s.<br /><br />So now I have started to research my options. I hear IRiver makes the best sounding MP3 players, but the only one that Car Stereos, including my Pioneer Head Unit, are designed to interface with is an Apple IPOD. To the best of my current knowledge, with any other brand of MP3 player other than an IPOD you control song selection via the MP3 player's controls, whereas if I had a </span><a href="http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Shop/Accessories/Car+CD+Accessories/ci.CD-IB100II.Shop"><b><span style="color:#ffffff;">Pioneer IPOD interface</span></b></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"> I could control everything via the head unit. Which I see now thats the best way to go. You dont have to worry about turning the MP3 player on or off every time you get in or out of the truck.<br /><br />The trouble with IPODs, and the reason I have stayed away from them historically, is that Apple makes more money selling DRM protected music at their I-tunes store than they do on their overpriced hardware. They're business partners with the recording industry, and thus not particularily pirated MP3 friendly. With my Creative Zen I can simply drop and drag tunes from my hard drive directly on it, a playlist is simply a subdirectory you create on its flash memory. IPODs on the other hand can only be loaded via Apple's proprietary I-Tunes software. I understand that they have made more recent versions MP3 freindly, but you still have to use their software.<br /><br />But I read an article this morning that changes everything.<br /><br /></span><blockquote><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/forget-mp3s-steal-music/Story?id=9006850&page=2"><b><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-size:180%;">New Ways To Steal Music</span><br /><br /><em>MP3s Are Being Replaced by Formats With Better Sound Quality</em></span></b></a><span style="color:#ffcc33;"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><br /></span><br />It's good news for audiophiles and networking companies, but more bad news for record labels. MP3s are slowly going away, being gradually replaced by a more sophisticated way of stealing music.<br /><br />If after being away for a while, you return to the Internet locales that are hosts to music piracy--which goes by the euphemism of "file sharing"--you will quickly spot a number of new and unfamiliar kinds of files. These new formats go by names like FLAC and APE. They are "lossless" music formats that don't have to make the acoustic trade-offs associated with MP3s. Their growing popularity is evidence of how networks are getting faster and disk drives are getting bigger.<br /><br />First, some background. The first track on the Beatles' "White Album," "Back in the U.S.S.R.," is 2:43 minutes long. On the recently re-mastered version of that CD, the music is laid out in 28.1 million bytes, aka 28.1 megabytes. When ripped uncompressed onto a computer, this produces what's known as a ".wav" file.<br /><br />Back in the early days of the Internet, when 2400 baud dial-up modems roamed the earth, it would take more than an hour and a half to transmit that much information, assuming you could keep the connection going that long.<br /><br />MP3s, however, were a way of dramatically shrinking music files, so they took up about a tenth as much space and a proportionately shorter download time. Suddenly, it became possible to get songs even by dial-up modems, which is how gained the traction that it did. Thus was born the digital music revolution.<br /><br />MP3s, however, involved a bit of a devil's bargain, in that the process of making the file smaller involved throwing away musical information. Hence, you'll find many music and audio buffs who consider "lossy" formats like MP3s an abomination.<br /><br />Lossless file systems, by contrast, preserve all of the music data associated with the original CD. They take up more space than MP3s, of course, but with network speeds and disk drives what they are today, you'd never notice.<br /><br />These new lossless systems typically reduce a music file to 70% of its uncompressed, raw size. This isn't MP3-style compression, however. Instead, it's what happens with Zip files. Data is packed tightly to be stored on the disk, but gets unpacked on the fly, back to its original .wav length, in the process of being played.<br /><br />All of these lossless music file systems can be played on most computers, though you will likely need to download some extra software. The iPod represents a challenge, though, since it doesn't support non- formats like FLAC, APE or EAC. Instead, iPods play Apple's own lossless format, as well as bigger .wav files.<br /><br />Many computer enthusiasts balk at the Apple format, though, because the company doesn't disclose details of how the system works. By contrast, many of the others are open-source software projects, their internals available for all to see.<br /><br />Worse still, for some, is the fact that Apple appears to be increasingly "locking down" each new generation of iPods to make it harder to use non-Apple files or software on them. A group of programmers have created "Rockbox" that "opens up" the iPod to other uses. You can install the program for free, but still revert your iPod back to its original condition if you don't care for the changes.<br /><br />The one question everyone wants to know involves whether they can hear a difference between any of these formats. You're welcome to do some test listening yourself. Here are my predictions about what you might discover.<br /><br />If your music listening is limited to an iPod and standard issue earbuds, you're unlikely to hear any difference at all among any of these formats, especially if your music taste runs to contemporary pop music, which is increasingly created with an iPod-like experience in mind.<br /><br />If, however, you listen to music on a decent home music system, one with reasonable equipment that is properly laid out, and if you concentrate on what you're hearing, you may well find that a tightly compressed MP3 file, such as one made at 128 kilobits a second, will sound flatter and less "spacious" than one made at a higher rate, say 320 kilobits.<br /><br />If you've got golden ears, you might be able to spot the difference between a high-quality MP3 (such one at 320 kilobits) and a completely lossless version of the same music. Don't be surprised, though, if you can't; in many cases, I haven't been able to tell them apart, even with my perfectly decent home system.<br /><br />(Note to audiophiles, and you know who you are. None of this discussion applies to you.)<br /><br />Not only are network connections faster, but disk drives are much bigger and cheaper. I recently spotted a Web site offering a terabyte external drive for $75, after a $20 rebate. That's enough room to store 35,000 copies of the uncompressed version of "Back in the U.S.S.R.," assuming you had some reason to want to do so.<br /><br />Of course, if tech trends are enabling high quality music swapping, they're doing the same thing to movies. Not long ago, movies on the Web were low-grade formats that could only be watched with satisfaction on a laptop screen. You're beginning to see, though, full-blown Blu-ray movies on piracy sites. A typical one might be a whopping 35 gigabytes big, putting it out of the reach of many Web surfers.</span></blockquote><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">California Mike and I were talking about this very subject on an archived thread just the other day. My 2000 song MP3 library fits on a 20GB Hard Drive with plenty of room to grow. His lossless collection, all legally ripped btw, takes up <strong>2 terrabytes</strong>. I told him there that I didn't see myself upgrading to lossless formats until my bandwidth speeds increased, but now I think that day maybe coming sooner than I expected. That would justify me buying an MP3 player with a Hard drive much bigger than I had originally planned.<br /><br />But the key to it all is that</span><span style="color:#ff0000;"> </span><a href="http://www.rockbox.org/manual.shtml"><b><span style="color:#ff0000;">RockBox</span></b></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"> firmware. You can now take any IPOD and replace its proprietary operating system with one that is more non-Apple formatted files friendly...... and I'm assuming it will still interface properly with Car Stereos designed for IPODs.<br /><br /></span><center><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/ipod_rockbox.jpg" /></span></a></center><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">It means basically that you can have every song you like at your fingertips, in perfect quality, via the controls of your Car stereo head unit. Wouldn't that have been cool in the 60s, 70s, and 80s ?</span></blockquote>Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-51552856590454257182009-10-30T14:50:00.003-05:002009-11-07T23:15:04.222-06:00AN EVENING WITH JOE BONAMASSA<div style="text-align: justify;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ww3aJqKJBvU0iKbVN6v6_Mrl0GgMoHkdUtAXqKghDGhshaZkvRNeJCwvRhihqKyZdVxcbwo54DKOBj8HKIzTW-X1WfoNXvHRSd7vYJGvXjV2YBiz3GvAP4tXxEFL5xHzAa78hex-YKA/s1600-h/JoeBonamassaConcert2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ww3aJqKJBvU0iKbVN6v6_Mrl0GgMoHkdUtAXqKghDGhshaZkvRNeJCwvRhihqKyZdVxcbwo54DKOBj8HKIzTW-X1WfoNXvHRSd7vYJGvXjV2YBiz3GvAP4tXxEFL5xHzAa78hex-YKA/s400/JoeBonamassaConcert2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398475669902460850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" > </span><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" >Tuesday was a rainy, foggy, and kind of </span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxN5c6lgY5ALh1z4RqnWJFF3A4IVZm-JzLz7N0w00DVEv1RK_4D_cnMJCXvwUmJkDBQRWXjqDCmhSEbzLFR0AgXEvKy1FlIvz9QMqLiYno_varoVuSyQ55Hh8Ftfj_AyUb5CHM-NnNhw/s1600-h/DSCN1114.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxN5c6lgY5ALh1z4RqnWJFF3A4IVZm-JzLz7N0w00DVEv1RK_4D_cnMJCXvwUmJkDBQRWXjqDCmhSEbzLFR0AgXEvKy1FlIvz9QMqLiYno_varoVuSyQ55Hh8Ftfj_AyUb5CHM-NnNhw/s320/DSCN1114.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398475842110072370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" >chilly evening in </span><st1:city style="font-family: arial;" st="on"><st1:place st="on">Knoxville</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" >, but Corey (</span><i style="font-family: arial;">my son</i><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" >) and I were determined to relieve a week’s worth of worrying about my mom (<span style="font-style: italic;">who's been sickly</span>) by enjoying a good meal, some pale ale and tea, and some great blues.</span><o:p style="font-family: arial;"></o:p></div><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><a href="http://www.myspace.com/jbonamassa">Joe Bonamassa</a></b>, one of the world’s greatest guitarists blew us away!<span style=""> </span>Corey could not believe an acoustic guitar could be played the way Joe delivered it Tuesday night at the <b style="">Bijou Theatre</b>!<span style=""> </span>Awesome and unbelievable were two words that he used over and over to praise Joe’s playing.<span style=""> </span>Check out this audience shot clip of a similar performance:<o:p></o:p></p><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> <center><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jmsGsovV0Bo&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jmsGsovV0Bo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">As one well lubricated guy in the balcony screamed, “<b style=""><i style="">You freakin’ rock, dude!</i></b>”<o:p></o:p></p><div face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Joe Bonamassa got his first guitar at age 5 and by age 7 he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughn tunes note for note. <span style=""> </span>At the age of 11, during a short period of being mentored by Danny Gatton, he learned such styles as country and jazz as well as heavy rock. During this time with Gatton, Bonamassa sat in with Gatton's band whenever they played in <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>. <span style=""> </span>He first opened for B. B. King at 12 years of age. <span style=""> </span>After first hearing him play, King said, “<b style=""><i style="">This kid's potential is unbelievable. <span style=""> </span>He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind.</i></b>”<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QIhWL67WvTaiy_UBXRWMarVSrOAx15T57B4KdFfZH2AdqbACMTdvyv1wYglNIZWb7rkRyZLeW-CIkwm5jTSuqt3Ak5zly-hLsrqsHj83LDBPvt2qxGB8XeUtfs5NG4K5GztswltBfMM/s1600-h/DSCN1092.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QIhWL67WvTaiy_UBXRWMarVSrOAx15T57B4KdFfZH2AdqbACMTdvyv1wYglNIZWb7rkRyZLeW-CIkwm5jTSuqt3Ak5zly-hLsrqsHj83LDBPvt2qxGB8XeUtfs5NG4K5GztswltBfMM/s200/DSCN1092.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398475180851610978" border="0" /></a><o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Corey and I had dinner at the <b style=""><a href="http://www.downtownbrewery.com/">Downtown Grill & Brewery</a></b> on <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Gay Street</st1:address></st1:street> before walking the two blocks to the Bijou.<span style=""> </span>And BTW, if <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VO022uKfk2PjaqHH2mBRMfxDkNENTuAj1NVA1jmStZAaPP0RS24prCpALRk0CrCQQgyd3rdbirr_1MhF6wpUp535JJRqDc9S0m_-iRDoLxTz6R8GE71QFdk53pSqzcMMz1sn0Gu8Rok/s1600-h/DSCN1093.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VO022uKfk2PjaqHH2mBRMfxDkNENTuAj1NVA1jmStZAaPP0RS24prCpALRk0CrCQQgyd3rdbirr_1MhF6wpUp535JJRqDc9S0m_-iRDoLxTz6R8GE71QFdk53pSqzcMMz1sn0Gu8Rok/s200/DSCN1093.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398476740278540578" border="0" /></a>you’ve never attended an event at the Bijou, you’ve missed an intimate little 900 seat venue for music. <o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Corey had his traditional chicken sandwich and fries, soaked down with glass after glass of unsweet-tea, while I enjoyed half a Hawaiian pizza (<i style="">pineapple, bacon, and ham</i>) with added onions, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFHB5MOUSHj-RxVxJWc8HD0ceSXHmign6vBxkJtyG3NcoCzxIUP0lj1tk71r_zmzGt3D6n8izXD6IV11ivK-e_4woSiLJ0uU-33jKEwSkC4ncVk_6-WGyCz6x17YU8DJqNwdZHxE8mh4/s1600-h/DSCN1094.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifFHB5MOUSHj-RxVxJWc8HD0ceSXHmign6vBxkJtyG3NcoCzxIUP0lj1tk71r_zmzGt3D6n8izXD6IV11ivK-e_4woSiLJ0uU-33jKEwSkC4ncVk_6-WGyCz6x17YU8DJqNwdZHxE8mh4/s200/DSCN1094.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398475376635689794" border="0" /></a>marinated in the Brewery’s own <strong>Downtown Blonde Ale. </strong><strong style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:10pt;" ></span></strong><o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Outside the Bijou we stopped to <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0wm0rYBdF24rKetXFUj0jYoNWlp43VzUVFbA1WJ-LJ90dfmDxKO-JR_o7IlcTIiIpgfSv6wgpNBtZF2AiDQ95KZRJ7O1Wci4arTmrUQLfO9_jZvZKOk4VWM-WzwiZQJPAqcPr7dIX4Q/s1600-h/DSCN1097.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0wm0rYBdF24rKetXFUj0jYoNWlp43VzUVFbA1WJ-LJ90dfmDxKO-JR_o7IlcTIiIpgfSv6wgpNBtZF2AiDQ95KZRJ7O1Wci4arTmrUQLfO9_jZvZKOk4VWM-WzwiZQJPAqcPr7dIX4Q/s200/DSCN1097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398475488622491218" border="0" /></a>take a photo of Joe’s equipment trailer, and then went inside out of the drizzle.<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p face="arial" style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I gave Corey a tour of <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03nJ0zpzaZc4ATLMSQxp0GJkilZgSWJo9b2EWWxPiIo0nlsyTkMqQIa0AvZ9T-IDaLTez7WOe0s8DCpxe0fT0OGOPephYsBmbFDAOi-WzKBcjcPCm_Br5TtdteWKF5uiWG1p2VcOMTK8/s1600-h/DSCN1113.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03nJ0zpzaZc4ATLMSQxp0GJkilZgSWJo9b2EWWxPiIo0nlsyTkMqQIa0AvZ9T-IDaLTez7WOe0s8DCpxe0fT0OGOPephYsBmbFDAOi-WzKBcjcPCm_Br5TtdteWKF5uiWG1p2VcOMTK8/s320/DSCN1113.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398476003038716258" border="0" /></a>the theater, since he had never been there.<span style=""> </span>I told him some of the history of the theater, mainly about it once being a brothel, and during my time at the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Tennessee</st1:placename></st1:place>, a porn theater!<span style=""> </span>He was shocked to hear that I had once visited such a place, but I was merely skimming the surface of my colorful past!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvvO85hY91Z5GlX1zx_d-yFGgVej95cZBYOkt8NyYnTjgJXqCvrXLd438Bui9WLUlaDIQAhCDv8BdQ87RmwhLT9eKkL35ZEhZRdrlTMVCrOqOTYSk1sDeSEDAob9SMnXD6fy0jTO4lFs/s1600-h/DSCN1099.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvvO85hY91Z5GlX1zx_d-yFGgVej95cZBYOkt8NyYnTjgJXqCvrXLd438Bui9WLUlaDIQAhCDv8BdQ87RmwhLT9eKkL35ZEhZRdrlTMVCrOqOTYSk1sDeSEDAob9SMnXD6fy0jTO4lFs/s200/DSCN1099.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398476138327685762" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I also mentioned that some say the <b style=""><a href="http://www.yourghoststories.com/ghost-pictures-videos/bijou-theatre-knoxville.php">Bijou is haunted</a></b>! <o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">I got a shot of <b style=""><a href="http://www.thefamousgrouse.com/ls/en/">Famous Grouse</a> </b>blended scotch whiskey over ice and preceded up stairs to our <b style=""><a href="http://www.knoxbijou.com/images/seating_balcony.jpg">loggia seats</a></b>.<span style=""> </span>Our view of the stage was completely unobstructed, situated along the right wall of the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhFr5mq0hJiqVvd7TYHI3_zFlYbALJUzHbkCawJo7IAXDRzWbUij4U55iK-uQw6dFnT_xOPj5HEkvYqbL82lXc8HgnevEjKQIHD7YcNyk_as0Iv9GJ15w22Y2mScHjYTIkkeWwe3JQKs/s1600-h/DSCN1110.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhFr5mq0hJiqVvd7TYHI3_zFlYbALJUzHbkCawJo7IAXDRzWbUij4U55iK-uQw6dFnT_xOPj5HEkvYqbL82lXc8HgnevEjKQIHD7YcNyk_as0Iv9GJ15w22Y2mScHjYTIkkeWwe3JQKs/s320/DSCN1110.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398476309080288514" border="0" /></a>auditorium, just behind the upper level box seats.<span style=""> </span>To our left, the balcony seats began just one level up from our view.<span style=""> </span>We could get up and leave the theater and come back without bothering a soul!<o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Corey had never heard of Joe Bonamassa, but he became a fan Tuesday night.<span style=""> </span>He has always loved “slide” guitar, like his daddy, so I’m sure there will be a couple of CDs of Joe’s in his vehicle soon!<o:p></o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;"> <span style=""> </span>I’m looking forward to more “<i style="">nights on the town</i>” with my son in the coming years.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-8789627231585970422008-11-07T12:30:00.002-06:002009-10-21T19:51:11.388-05:00A PRODIGY PLAYS THE BLUES<div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">Since opening for B. B. King at the ripe old age of 12, <a href="http://www.jbonamassa.com/index2.htm"><strong>Joe Bonamassa</strong></a> has not let up on the blues circuit!<br /><br />Joe has been around guitars since he was born because his father owns a guitar shop. He got his first at age 4 and has since collected of 150!</div><div align="justify"><center style="font-family: arial;"><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TxZS4rMdJN0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TxZS4rMdJN0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">FHB and I swapped some blues on his last visit. After we had listened to some of my favorites out on the deck, over some Yuengling and Macanudos, he just had to have some for the road. “</span><strong style="font-family: arial;">Smoking Joe</strong><span style="font-family:arial;">” was new to FHB and I was happy that I got to introduced the two - I’m sure that will also become a long and enjoyable relationship.</span><br /><center style="font-family: arial;"><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cyEdUajXBsI"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cyEdUajXBsI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Not too long after his last visit, FHB actually got to hear Joe live and in person in </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://rednecksreserve.blogspot.com/2008/10/austin-city-limits-music-festival-act-2.html">Austin</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">From his latest album, "From Nowhere in Particular" is "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spike Driver Blues</span>":</span><br /><center style="font-family: arial;"><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o9eeRiyjoLw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o9eeRiyjoLw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Joe was born in Utica, NY on May 8, 1977, which just happened to be Robert Johnson’s 66th birthday! Joe Bonamassa’s own musical experience began with playing guitar at age four on a guitar given to him by his father, who was a guitar dealer and player himself. By the time he was seven, he had mastered Stevie Ray Vaughan licks. At ten, he came to the legendary B.B. King’s attention. After initially hearing Bonamassa play, King – who personally asked Joe to open for his landmark 2005 80th birthday celebration tour – said, “<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This kid's potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind.</span>” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">By the time he was twelve, Joe was touring with King, which led to opening slots for many other stars including Buddy Guy, Foreigner, George Thorogood, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker and Gregg Allman. Storied producer Phil Ramone once said of him, “<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">prodigies come few and far between. I saw him take an audience apart</span>.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The blues-rock guitar virtuoso kicked off 2007 with the honor of being named <span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Blues Guitarist </span>by <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Guitar Player Magazine</span>’s readership in their annual Reader’s Choice Awards.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This one is added just for the fun of it…some great licks from a gifted player:</span><br /><center><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hXCZtuIoqaI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hXCZtuIoqaI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-35373196309017125202009-10-20T09:37:00.003-05:002009-10-20T09:50:49.092-05:00STAND BY ME<div style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">The song by Ben E. King, "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Stand by Me</span>", was ranked number 121 on Rolling Stone's list of the <span class="mw-redirect">500 Greatest Songs of All Time</span>. In 1999, BMI named it as the fourth most-performed song of the 20th century, with about 7 million performances.<br /><br />This is one of those performances is this one <span class="description">from the award-winning documentary, "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Playing For Change: Peace Through Music</span>", it is one of many "<span style="font-style: italic;">songs around the world</span>" being released independently.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="description"><span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><center><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Us-TVg40ExM&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Us-TVg40ExM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center></span></span><br /><span class="description"><span style="font-family: arial;">Visit the "</span><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;" href="http://playingforchange.com/">Playing for Change</a><span style="font-family: arial;">" website to hear more music and learn more about the organization.</span></span><br /></div><span class="description"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-67199722357804242082009-10-15T22:43:00.000-05:002009-10-15T22:52:01.797-05:00Saw these folks again last Tuesday night in Austin, at Stubb's BBQ.<a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbJgV6eTirxKDq1Jx_ybQN5xyX_knJ_k7XSQIdfOuRIoxQX-xfJPc14utX6YCKXlBnfFfi75sr3uYUo9KG6txLW9Bbia1SgcSHF2Xhv2VZYifaPI0aX40_ElmyXXcNMgs463-I2omY97c/s1600-h/P1200405a.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbJgV6eTirxKDq1Jx_ybQN5xyX_knJ_k7XSQIdfOuRIoxQX-xfJPc14utX6YCKXlBnfFfi75sr3uYUo9KG6txLW9Bbia1SgcSHF2Xhv2VZYifaPI0aX40_ElmyXXcNMgs463-I2omY97c/s400/P1200405a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392801127941046066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The Black Crowes. I've seen them three times now. Each time was great, even if they tend to play a little louder than they need to. The subtleties of the music can be lost when they do that, but this time the sound was better in the small outdoor venue there at Stubb's. The core of the fans there were long term fans, like a tribe, and we all agreed that the Georgia born Robinson brothers here are only gettin' better with age.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQG9oQrEh7qKJeE8nkiCaRieJeO6kaHgqc0wn6ZTsJdOkHC-Hr6gQKcMIX8caP7Jzs85KqZE3piwFUZHe_eQNyRvY5K2lNUeL8iqkJiANECBfta3W42UDUDtDT-6bbC8hh4gCK6QmCf4k/s1600-h/P1200446a.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQG9oQrEh7qKJeE8nkiCaRieJeO6kaHgqc0wn6ZTsJdOkHC-Hr6gQKcMIX8caP7Jzs85KqZE3piwFUZHe_eQNyRvY5K2lNUeL8iqkJiANECBfta3W42UDUDtDT-6bbC8hh4gCK6QmCf4k/s400/P1200446a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392801017691832082" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Rich Robinson plays the guitar in the band. Or, I should say, he plays one of the guitars in the band. He also sings and I think he comes up with most of the music. He's also got his own side projects going, which has to decrease the sibling issues that the band's been notorious for in the last decade or so. Those issues led to a break up a while back, but thankfully they've healed whatever rift existed and they're back makin' wonderful music.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNPe7JgY18RRSBbYhYwkSa5Ol0urGLPNrP8Nd0T7h54at1rFqBflHRyAerICzGqhaTarQMNSGzFWIzR7go7EbNtgD6CzAKJfM1mHwi2h2LkiTvDEDPmdvRsRL3lpOM0ybLYHgV7rbIroE/s1600-h/P1200454a.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNPe7JgY18RRSBbYhYwkSa5Ol0urGLPNrP8Nd0T7h54at1rFqBflHRyAerICzGqhaTarQMNSGzFWIzR7go7EbNtgD6CzAKJfM1mHwi2h2LkiTvDEDPmdvRsRL3lpOM0ybLYHgV7rbIroE/s400/P1200454a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392800911763084770" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Chris Robinson sings, plays the guitar, harmonica, and basically fronts the band. I think he comes up with most of the lyrics, and like his brother, he has side projects going here and there too.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7godoOpkFAXoHFGUe25T52B3NC2Fqa79FPk9EOtO-oOwuTdxs2pVT6GXP5PPg4xbpeRcwGWvbHl5MnPhw-OrClSVj8SN0MSGnR49Gbr6VgM2DVloW1Id5TZYD8LLNCgHTHcMX5ijJaLZ/s1600-h/P1200464a.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7godoOpkFAXoHFGUe25T52B3NC2Fqa79FPk9EOtO-oOwuTdxs2pVT6GXP5PPg4xbpeRcwGWvbHl5MnPhw-OrClSVj8SN0MSGnR49Gbr6VgM2DVloW1Id5TZYD8LLNCgHTHcMX5ijJaLZ/s400/P1200464a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392800775281433586" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The only other member of the band still there from the early days is the drummer, Steve Gorman. He's the guy in the black t-shirt on the left. They've had different guitar players, bass players, and keyboard guys each time I've seen them. But the music is always awesome to behold.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Here's a taste. This first one has Rich playing a beautiful solo on his own. It's called Answers. I think it easily displays his amazing skill with the instrument, which is one of the rocks the band has built it's success on.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jn_f-IYxIVk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jn_f-IYxIVk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">It also shows why his brother does most of the singin'. But God bless him for goin' out there and givin' it a try. I love it anyway.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">This next one is one of my favorites. It's called Ballad In Urgency.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/koDDdeMHhpE&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/koDDdeMHhpE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">At the end there the video bleeds into the beginning of another tune from the same album, Armorica. It's called Wiser Time. It was their magnum opus at the time (1995, the year I saw them for the first time), and still brings loud cheers from concert crowds today. I love it. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">For some reason it just sends me into genuine bliss, particularly when I've got it cranked up in my car and I'm zippin' down the road with the sunroof open, singin' at the top of my lungs with a cigar in my hand. The guitar part at the end gives me chills, but then I'm a charter member of the tribe. Here's a slower, groovier version of Wiser Time.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wtTqeauWQmw&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wtTqeauWQmw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">If you get the chance, check them out. You can check tour dates at </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.blackcrowes.com/">their web site</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">. Cheers!</span>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-18584136602955614872009-09-25T11:40:00.002-05:002009-09-30T22:15:57.693-05:00Gonna go see this guy this Saturday night in Waco.<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The dudes name is Larry Carlton. From his years with the jazz band The Crusaders to his Grammy Award-winning theme to television’s “Hill Street Blues,” from more than 3,000 studio sessions for Hollywood and television soundtracks to collaboration with such performers as Lee Ritenour, Stanley Clark and Steely Dan, Carlton has threaded his smooth licks through an impressive amount of jazz and pop music. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The jazz guitarist comes to McLennan Community College’s Bosque River Stage for an 8 p.m. Saturday performance with the Austin-based, Americana group Carolyn Wonderland and the Band of Unusual Suspects opening for Carlton and his trio.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">From his years with the jazz band The Crusaders to his Grammy Award-winning theme to television’s “Hill Street Blues,” from more than 3,000 studio sessions for Hollywood and television soundtracks to collaboration with such performers as Lee Ritenour, Stanley Clark and Steely Dan, Carlton has threaded his smooth licks through an impressive amount of jazz and pop music. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The jazz guitarist comes to McLennan Community College’s Bosque River Stage for an 8 p.m. Saturday performance with the Austin-based, Americana group Carolyn Wonderland and the Band of Unusual Suspects opening for Carlton and his trio.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Room 335.</span><br /><br /><embed style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/47ysdThtXgw&hl=" fs="1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="400"></embed><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Carlton’s trio — himself, his 27-year-old son Travis on bass and 25-year-old drummer Glenn Coye — brings music in a blues-jazz vein. It’s smaller than the eight-piece band he traveled with in 2004 and ’05 and his more recent five-piece combo, which performed more of a smooth jazz repertory, he said.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">The blues-jazz trio, he noted, offers a lot of personal satisfaction and not just because it has his son Travis. “I’ve always been an improviser. Almost all the things I enjoy have involved some improvisation, although I do enjoy a melody before the guys take off on their own,” he said in a recent phone interview.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Carlton, 61, says the continual improvisation found in jazz music has held his interest throughout his five-decade career. The Californian started in jazz, enticed by the music of bluesman B.B. King, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass and John Coltrane. After his first album in 1968, he quickly branched out, recording for television shows, radio and commercials.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Layla.</span><br /><br /><embed style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kqie9Q1qAuE&hl=" fs="1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="400"></embed><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">During the 1970s and 1980s, Carlton’s guitar sweetened albums by such performers as Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Joan Baez, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, as the session artist played on up to 500 albums annually.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">From 1971 to 1976, he also performed with jazz fusion ensemble The Crusaders. He wrote the theme song for the 1980s television drama “Hill Street Blues,” winning a Grammy Award, but opted to stick with performing rather than composing. “I kept realizing I’m a guitar player,” he noted. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Josie.</span><br /><br /><embed style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jhbETnpuFx0&hl=" fs="1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="400"></embed><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">His loopy, dazzling guitar work on Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne" from their 1976 LP The Royal Scam has been listed as the third best guitar solo on record by Rolling Stone Magazine.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Kid Charlemagne.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d23Z-_ki_Dc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d23Z-_ki_Dc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">In 1988, some stupid kid shot him in the throat outside his Room 335 studio, temporarily sidelining his performing and recording. Within a year, however, Carlton was back in a busy performance schedule, something he maintained throughout the 1990s and the 2000s.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Larry's Blues.</span><br /><br /><embed style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kMvsqGBHiEc&hl=" fs="1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="600" height="400"></embed><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">He’s still active, playing about 150 dates a year. Among his many honors: three Grammy Awards, 18 Grammy nominations, a Lifetime Achievement award from Guitar Player and Rolling Stone named his solo on Steely Dan’s Kid Charlemagne as one of the Top 100 Guitar Songs of All Time.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">He reprised that solo this summer in several reunion shows with Steely Dan. Initially, Carlton thought about not performing that song, but decided to brush it off — “I had to go back and rehearse it,” he recalled — and add it to the set list. His preparation paid off when he launched into the first bars of his solo and the audience gave him a standing ovation. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Carlton won’t rest on his laurels as one of the leading guitarists of recent history, however. He has major tours of Europe and Japan scheduled for the fall and is working on a collaboration with a Japanese guitarist. “I’m always discovering new approaches as a player,” he explained.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">It should be a fun evening. Cheers!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">(Credit for much of this info goes to Carl Hoover, Waco Tribune-Herald)</span>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-18178210923092819312009-09-30T21:13:00.010-05:002009-09-30T22:14:14.790-05:00Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live in Japan 1985<blockquote><span style="color:#ffcc66;">Stevie journeyed to Japan for the first time that month, and to his pleasant surprise, the Japanese audiences went crazy over Double Trouble. Plans were made for a film company, called Black Box, Inc., to document the Tokyo concert, but the video was never released in the states. SRV came on "Scuttle Buttin'," with his Albert King corncob pipe smoking awsy. He bent over his guitar, concentrating hard on the notes whirling out from his fingers. He swung his axe, punctuating the puncy intro to "Say What!" with his wah-wah whirring away, and found the highest bend possible, pinching the strings with a mighty force while his right hand danced effortlessly over the pickguard.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g-0gqxnVKY8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g-0gqxnVKY8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bTWRYLWWdkU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bTWRYLWWdkU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Tommy was smiling more than usual tonight, looking buzzed and happy (actually they were all tanked) as he nervously paced with his tobacco-sunburst Fender Precision bass. Stevie bowed his head, finished the song in a reckless flurry, then addressed the crowd: "Hello, Tokyo! Ya'll ready to get it? Let's Go to Texas - yeah, you got it - real nice and personal, uh, is what we call it ... by way of Seattle." The band ran head-on into "Voodoo Chile" to wild Japanese screams that sounded about as American as Amarillo on a Saturday night. He rocked his torso, hitting a stingingly high B note, then tossed his head back, allowing the piercing sound to ring out over the beat. His legs were quivering beneath him. He'd gotten the guitar singing, wiggling it in front of his pelvis like Hendrix did - and, sure enough, the girls lost it. He fell out of the sky for the next verse, Whipper broke it down, and the guitar scratch started again. Shaking his wet hair and panting a little from the workout, Stevie was supposed to be singing but opted for another solo because it felt so good.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fgRLE2FM1c8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fgRLE2FM1c8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bMAB5DtNePk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bMAB5DtNePk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Later on, during "Cold Shot," the overtly heavy chorus effect was eating his tone up, and he paused before the solo, waiting for just the right scream to set him off. Someone yelled and he was gone, his left leg wagging like a rubberband. Seguing into "Couldn't Stand the Weather," Stevie worked that pile-driving funk groove. He flubbed the lyrics, thinking only of his guitar, taking too many extended rides when one or two would do. These were common (and understandable) criticisms of Stevie's shows from this period. He was too excessive a guitarist, lacking the material and the voice to stand the test of time - or so people said.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2S3lQHp3C2o&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2S3lQHp3C2o&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/88NfVy0Cxt8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/88NfVy0Cxt8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />To prove more with less, he picked up the white Strat (Charley) for "Tin Pan Alley", laid back and closed in on the groove, talking from his heart with tasty, light little blue notes. Voices cried out after every twelfth bar, encouraging him to take another turn. The blue lights turned his red velvet suit a deep voilet, and he took on a princely appearance. His vocals were smooth and coy; if the guitar histrionics were too much, he'd sure as hell have gotten the audience's attention when he sang "I heard a pistol shoot." A woman screamed wildly. He was telling it like he knew this place, and man, he'd been there. Stepping back, he whispered "It's like this..." howling on the high e-string. Suddenly his blue-lit face was in terrible pain; he was crying silently to himself as his guitar heaved sobs. His eyes closed tight, his teeth clenched, his lips were saying "no, no no". He stung a high note hard and quick, opening his mouth to let a big sigh rush out, audible over his vocal mike two feet away. Then another note, another sigh and he was all played out.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YES3mmnbkh4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YES3mmnbkh4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nwZHrNT4C14&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nwZHrNT4C14&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />He called a stop and growled at the crowd jumping into "Love Struck Baby", the old Rome Inn barnburner. He snarled through the solo, tossing his hat onto the mike stand, ducking under his guitar strap, and playing the thing behind his head. The cameras revealed the unpleasant truth: Stevie Ray, barely thirty, was mostly bald. He busted a string on Charley, switching over to Number One for "Texas Flood", and his tone was blasting. The mojo bag that hung from his belt was most definitely working. He slipped into T-Bone's shoes, and they fit. He swung around, unplugged the instrument in mid-solo, and replugged it behind his back, playing the rest with both eyes closed. He finished the entire last verse behind his back, flipping the guitar back and forth, never missing a note. Then he introduced the band; Tommy kissed his bass and winked, Whipper waved. "Domo Arrigato - to you!" Stevie bid the<br />audience. A thick cloud of pot smoke hovered over the arena. Stevie took a deep whiff, a maniacal grin on his lips.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E6gqBW67O2M&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E6gqBW67O2M&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y4PJVfIrQTY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y4PJVfIrQTY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s9YBGaozZW0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s9YBGaozZW0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />He returned for an encore of "Lenny." Stevie was sutting alone with her center stage, thinking of his woman back home, gently tugging her whammy bar, and making her quiver in his hands. He sat relaxed, smoking a pipe that he soon ditched, coughing. The song was his masterpiece for the night. This old girl was his companion when times were hardl he faded paint job and smoke-yellowed crusty pickups had seen it all. He hunched over, touching her neck softly. His head was buried deep in her body, close enough to kiss her fretboard. He threw in some Wes Montgomery, lost in the cool jazz and memories. Dueling bass lines with Tommy, his amp buzzed low as he turned the low E string down as far as it would go until it just died out. After all the whang-barring and de-tuning he was horribly clangy, but<br />finished up with a beautiful precursor to "Riviera Paradise."<br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AnA5X4B1WVY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AnA5X4B1WVY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K6ia0tPZOx4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K6ia0tPZOx4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Jumping up out of the blues, he launched into "Testify". Here he went holding it like a violin, again tuning down the already appaling cacaphony and wailing like crazy. Finally, the sound just became too awful, and he reached to Number One for some serious trickery; he played it backwards, forwards, upside-down and sideways, one-handed, back-handed, and no-handed - he could do it with both hands tied behind his back. He was reciting "Third Stone", and the rhythm section was rocking hard. While they went on, Stevie yanked off Number One and threw her to the floor, lunging after her as if he was going to rape the poor thing. Nect he was humping it, whanging it to death, shsking it, throwing the controls past ten, making her whistle like a train and whinny like a horse. Stevie hunched over her, flipped her over by the whammy bar, jumped on top and rolled around the stage with her. Leaping to his feet, he tossed her into the air and caught her just in time to hammer the last ... excruciating ... note, and it was "Goodnight Tokyo!"<br /></span><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VVvKzIFtNGM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VVvKzIFtNGM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object></blockquote>Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-40375184687441373532009-09-16T19:38:00.004-05:002009-09-16T21:08:28.689-05:001976<center><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rp6feZ2zWdo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rp6feZ2zWdo&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_IgH2M02xek&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_IgH2M02xek&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rvlh6XMw3OM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rvlh6XMw3OM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iLehqkX-gkk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iLehqkX-gkk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CB17uWuBrL0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CB17uWuBrL0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lnZoC5numfU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lnZoC5numfU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zN1_3zHjhW8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zN1_3zHjhW8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d23Z-_ki_Dc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d23Z-_ki_Dc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7JUfOIglaSc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7JUfOIglaSc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UvL3a5tnSW0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UvL3a5tnSW0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/31aETl1BESU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/31aETl1BESU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></center>Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-46624358740572786502009-09-04T16:25:00.002-05:002009-09-16T20:51:43.517-05:00One of the jailbirds in San Saba turned me on to this. See what ya think.<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/StV9lElcvAY&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/StV9lElcvAY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mSfVc0Xorhk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mSfVc0Xorhk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-25532027981166949672009-08-28T20:12:00.002-05:002009-08-28T20:16:20.365-05:00WIDESPREAD PANIC<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The band was named from the frequent panic attacks <span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Houser </span>once had. Houser and <span style="font-weight: bold;">John Bell</span> meet in 1981 and made music together until 2002.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The band still plays today, but has been through several lead guitarist since Houser died, including the current <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jimmie Herring</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The band allows the taping, distribution, and trading of their shows among fans at their shows, similar to the Grateful Dead. They also have a show-to-show ritual of selecting their set lists. They are never the same.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Just a few of my favorites…please post yours!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">“<span style="font-weight: bold;">Travelin’ Light</span>”, performed at the Fairgrounds in Atlanta in 1989.</span><br /><center><object style="font-family: arial;" width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/52C1pOYDD7w&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/52C1pOYDD7w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">“<span style="font-weight: bold;">Driving Song</span>”, performed on the front porch! This is special because Michael Houser, jamming with John Bell singing, died of pancreatic cancer in 2002. He and Bell had been together since 1981. I’m sure this jam still means a lot to Bell.</span><br /><center><object style="font-family: arial;" width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/W3Pjr4Ab40c&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/W3Pjr4Ab40c&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">“<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ribs and Whiskey</span>”, performed in Atlanta in 2006.</span><br /><center><object style="font-family: arial;" width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tsn9G79CqyY&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tsn9G79CqyY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">“<span style="font-weight: bold;">Love Tractor</span>”, performed at Rothbury in 2008.</span><br /><center><object style="font-family: arial;" width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Ilvy1tT-HI&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9Ilvy1tT-HI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-60132492401677972262009-08-13T19:27:00.001-05:002009-08-13T19:32:08.110-05:00LESTER WILLIAM POLSFUSS DIED TODAY<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Who, you say? Oh, Les Paul, and I should not have to say more, but he deserves so much more praise.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">He wanted to be remembered simply as a “guitar player” he often said, and so he is, but let’s not forget the contribution to all music – the invention of the electric guitar. He will always be known as the “<span style="font-weight: bold;">Father of the Electric Guitar</span>”, but Les Paul didn’t stop there. He also refined the technology of sound recording, developing revolutionary engineering techniques such as close miking, echo delay, overdubbing and multitracking. For these accomplishments, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, but the National Inventors Hall of Fame did not honor him until 2005. As a matter of fact, Les became the only individual to ever share memberships in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In 1928, at the age of 13, he rigged up a microphone from telephone parts to get a bigger sound from his acoustic Sears Roebuck guitar. Then he took the needle from his family phonograph, put it under the guitar strings and wired the contraption into two carefully spaced radio speakers, thus getting not only amplification but also a crude stereo effect.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">He was 94 years old when he died today, but for the past twelve years, the Les Paul Trio, played every Monday night at <a href="http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/talent.php?talent=1"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Iridium Jazz Club</span></a> in New York City, where a literal whos who of the entertainment world paid him homage.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Listen to this early clip as he shared the stage with Chet Atkins:</span><br /><center style="font-family: arial;"><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ByGsHTlKmWk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ByGsHTlKmWk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Les loved life and had a great sense of humor. He was a hard working man who loved music, especially music that included a <a href="http://www2.gibson.com/Gibson.aspx"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar</span></a>!</span><br /></div><center><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AP7qI5RVtxw&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AP7qI5RVtxw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-80497296215576493442009-08-13T18:41:00.002-05:002009-08-13T18:47:28.272-05:00HEAR WOODSTOCK ORIGINAL MUSIC ON SIRIUS STARTING TOMORROW<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">THE WOODSTOCK CHANNEL TO TAKE OVER DEEP TRACKS<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.sirius.com/deeptracks"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Woodstock Channel</span></a>, celebrating the <span style="font-weight: bold;">40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair</span> held at Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York in 1969, will launch Friday, August 14 at12:00 pm ET and air through Sunday August 16. The channel will be devoted to the historic music festival featuring music, interviews and memories from the artists who were there, including Graham Nash, Leslie West, Arlo Guthrie, members of The Band, members of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Joe Cocker. SIRIUS XM listeners will hear music from artists in the exact order that they performed at the festival each day—beginning with Richie Havens and ending with Jimi Hendrix.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Woodstock Channel will also feature complete performances from Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly & The Family Stone, Johnny Winter and Jefferson Airplane as they happened at the original 1969 festival.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-5580829482572530962009-08-10T19:45:00.003-05:002009-08-11T09:08:33.784-05:00HAPPY BIRTHDAY WOODSTOCK<blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;">There are a few familiar names that spark an instant memory of the l969 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Woodstock Music & Art Fair </span>(<span style="font-style: italic;">simply known as Woodstock</span>), some are well known, like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, and Sly Stone. However, there are others hidden behind the band name and little known today outside a cult following. One of those names was/is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Levon Helm</span>, drummer (<span style="font-style: italic;">drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, vocals</span>) for the band known as “<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Band</span>”!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Woodstock?</span> Why was it called Woodstock? Here’s a little history, and my favorite tune from the event:<br /><center><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LaGIlBDfzos&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LaGIlBDfzos&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br />“<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Band</span>” is what the local citizens of the Woodstock area called “the band” that played music inside the pink house in the West Saugerties community. Dylan also often referred to “the band” that played behind him in the late 60’s. In 1968 “<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Band</span>”, now playing their own music, produced an album titled “<span style="font-weight: bold;">Music from Big Pink</span>” which referenced the big pink house where “<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Band</span>” rehearsed.<br /><br />One of the songs from that album, “<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Weight</span>” (<span style="font-style: italic;">#41 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list</span>), was included on the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Easy Rider Soundtrack</span>, but was performed by the band Smith because of contractual problems preventing use of The Band's version. The Band's version is the one that appears in the movie.<br /><br />It was due to the popularity of this movie, and the song, that “T<span style="font-weight: bold;">he Band</span>” was invited to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Woodstock</span>. The song, featuring Levon Helm as lead singer, is the one song I have always attributed the concert that I regret not attending. At the time I was deeply into my first summer quarter at the University of Tennessee, and the first year of my first marriage. There was just simply no way I could cut loose and go on a pilgrimage to “up state” New York!<br /><br />That would have been one time, had I been able to see the future that I would have pulled on one of my old fatigue shirts over my bell-bottom jeans, and “<span style="font-style: italic;">flew the coop</span>”!<br /><br />I’m not sure if I get misty-eyed when I watch reruns of the concert because of missing it, or that fact that those kids were so damn free of the course of those three days. I guess it is a little of both…man, what I’d give for a “<span style="font-style: italic;">do over</span>”! I dare say, the 400,000 or so there, would have had a hard time hearing Levon over me singing:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Take a load off Fannie, take a load for free;</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Take a load off Fannie, And (and) (and) you can put the load right on me.</span><br /><br />Now, let’s end with “<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Weight</span>” as it’s done today:<br /><center><object width="475" height="394"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xVvlNJ4Kspc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xVvlNJ4Kspc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="475" height="394"></embed></object></center><br />By the way, if you have never gone to see a show at the old <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ryman</span> in downtown Nashville, you need to make that pilgrimage soon. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Life should not be filled with regrets…it’s too damn short!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Happy Birthday Woodstock Nation!</span><br /></span></div></div></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-52460464454556262112009-08-08T17:15:00.003-05:002009-08-08T17:36:39.415-05:00There's A Protest Singer, He's Singin' A Protest Song<center><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wgECKj9LSH4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wgECKj9LSH4&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i0-kuRWzDM8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i0-kuRWzDM8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NRqtKLskPQs&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NRqtKLskPQs&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /></center>Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-61053713130866663222009-08-05T08:00:00.004-05:002009-08-05T08:00:07.460-05:00Journeyman.<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Thomas Mason was born May 10, 1946 in Worchester, in the West Midlands of England. He first found fame with the rock band Traffic, which he co-founded in 1967. Mason's best known song with Traffic is "Feelin' Alright?", recorded by the band in 1968 and covered by dozens of artists, including Joe Cocker, who had a major hit with the song in 1969.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1W2MO916b-U&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1W2MO916b-U&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">The classic break-up song, "We Just Disagree", Mason's big solo hit, was written by band member, guitarist Jim Krueger. It got all the way to #12 on the Billboard charts in 1977, and it's become a staple of Oldies and Adult Contemporary radio playlists.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p8_FOQ7-P30&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p8_FOQ7-P30&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Mason was a good friend of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix, whose career was launched in England in 1967. Hendrix first heard the song "All Along the Watchtower", by Bob Dylan, at a party he was invited to by Mason, and promptly decided to record his own version. That night he recorded the song at Olympic Studios, South West London, with Mason playing acoustic guitar. It was released on the Electric Ladyland album in September 1968. Mason later recorded his own version of the song on his self-titled 1974 album, Dave Mason with Bob Glaub on bass.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fjzbX4vjXhA&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fjzbX4vjXhA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">The Dave Mason Band is still touring, performing about 100 gigs a year. Mason is also a proponent of music education for children. In 2005, he signed on as an official supporter of </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Kids_Rock" title="Little Kids Rock">Little Kids Rock</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and lessons to children in public schools throughout the U.S. He sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member. He is also involved in the program Work Vessels for Veterans, which provides veterans transitioning to civilian work with tools that have ranged from computers to boats to tractors.</span>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-22881566824923164512009-07-31T17:12:00.019-05:002009-08-01T20:45:51.755-05:00Gettin' Ready For Some Football<blockquote><span style="color:#ffffff;">Ahh, yes...... its that time of year.<br /><br />Its been just long enough for the memory of the Cowboy's last game, an embarrassing 44-6 asswhippin' loss to the dreaded and feared Eagles, to become a little fuzzy.<br /><br />Hope springs eternal once again. Romo has dumped the Hot, but Clingy Blond and got his head right with ball. Wade understands that anything short of an appearance in the Conference Finals this year will result in Bill Cowher standing on our sideline next year, with about 12 million dollars in his pocket. The emotional Roller Coaster has engaged the mechanical elevator, and its on it way up to the first peak.<br /><br />..... But I had some unfinished business from last year ..... actually the last couple of years. And thats that I promised myself I would never have to listen to those irritating clowns in the announcer booths, on both the ESPN and NFL Network broadcasted Cowboys games, again.<br /><br />It used to be a simple matter to turn down the TV and listen to the local homers on the radio ..... back in the days when I got the game over the air. But it was never easy to get the game, out of Dallas TV stations broadcasting from Cedar Hill (South of Dallas), out here in Eastern Hunt County. Even though the world is relatively flat round here compared to where some of you may live, Dallas is in the Trinity River Valley and I am in the Sabine River Valley, and there's a pretty good rise in elevation between them. Enough to make the signal skip off the ground and cause interference. And there was also the Defense Contractor E-System's signals testing complex directly in the path, and they seemed to enjoy testing their shit on Sunday afternoons. So I had to have a huge Channelmaster aerial 60' in the air, with an amplifier and rotator to get an acceptable picture.<br /><br />Nowadays I get the game in perfect digital quality via DirecTV.<br /><br />Problem is, the DirecTV signal, having to be digitally processed and bounced off a satellite in high geosynchronous orbit, is delayed like 10 seconds relative to the local radio broadcast. It really wasn't very enjoyable watching a play when you knew how it was going to end before it started.<br /><br />If it were the other way around, and the video was ahead of the audio, I could have gotten me a DVR and delayed the video to match the audio. But because the audio was ahead I had to find a way to delay the radio broadcast about 10 seconds to sync up with the video.<br /><br />They sell a hardware device called </span><a href="http://www.scannermaster.com/DelayPlay_p/01-561344.htm"><b><span style="color:#ffcc00;">DelayPlay Radio</span></b></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"> that does just that for $199.<br /><br /></span><center><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="Delay Play" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/dpradio-sm.jpg" /></span></center><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">But being a low tech Redneck on a budget I searched for, and found, a free software solution called</span><span style="color:#ffcc00;"> </span><a href="http://www.daansystems.com/radiodelay/"><b><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Radio Delay</span></b></a><span style="color:#ffffff;">. It would let me pipe the radio broadcast to the input terminal on my computer's sound card, and delay the signal by a user variable amount up to 20 seconds, before sending it off to my AV receiver.<br /><br /></span><center><span style="color:#ffffff;"><img border="0" alt="RadioDelay" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/rednecktexan/2008/Radiodelay.gif" /></span></center><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">But my first problem was that I didn't have a decent FM receiver to pick up the radio broadcast with. I couldn't use my main AV receiver to pick up the game because I needed it for the amplified delayed output. <span style="color:#99ffff;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Well maybe I could have used the monitor output of the AV receiver to send the line level audio to my Computer for processing and delaying, then back to the receiver, but for the sake of this post lets just say I didn't want to get into the wiring jungle back there.</span> </em><br /></span><br />At any rate, most portable radios dont pick up much beyond the local Hunt County stations here, for the same reasons the over the air TV broadcasts out of Dallas sucked, so I needed a better than average radio. I ended up getting a fairly cheap </span><a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze20h45/radio/superadio/gesr_faq.html"><b><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Thomson Super Radio</span></b></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"> off the internet, as its supposed to have somewhat superior reception.<br /><br />Then I made a </span><a href="http://www.kgnu.org/ht/helpfm.html#makeantenna"><b><span style="color:#ffcc00;">simple dipole antenna</span></b></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"> in my attic with 300 ohm wire<span style="font-size:85%;color:#66ffff;">..... <em>4' 5 1/4" long to optimize the 105.3 Mhz FM station.</em> </span>I figured I would try that before I put the old Channelmaster aerial back in the air. Turns out it works pretty good.<br /><br />But then when I connected it up and tested it on the Ranger's baseball game, I was getting a terrible echo effect out of the computer processed signal. After experimenting with the windows volume controls I noticed that the quality was much better when the line level input mixer was turned down to almost zero. Thats because the radio didn't have line out and I was using the headphone out jack, and that voltage was too high for the line level inputs. So I bought a headphone extension cord with an in-line volume control to act as a variable attenuator, essentially converting the headphone signal down to line in voltage, then compensating with volume on the digital side.<br /><br />Now it sounds pretty good really.... and just in time as I hear that asshole Collinsworth has left the NFL Network to fill John Madden's spot on NBC's Sunday Night game, which the Boys will be on 3 times this season. I think I'm ready to roll.</span></blockquote>Redneck Texanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313318243009102759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901679784462622375.post-44182685963829154612009-07-29T08:00:00.001-05:002009-07-31T18:38:27.831-05:00Journeyman.<blockquote><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">John Welden Cale was born on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician, Cale is best known for writing two songs that Eric Clapton made famous, "After Midnight" and "Cocaine", as well as the Lynyrd Skynyrd hits "Call Me the Breeze" and " I Got the Same Old Blues".</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WGnPxJl-DlM&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WGnPxJl-DlM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean Jacques Cale". In fact, a Sunset Strip nightclub owner employing Cale in the mid-1960s came up with the "J.J." moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fm-euFpRLMg&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fm-euFpRLMg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a very loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has often been described as "laid back", and is characterized by shuffle rhythms, simple chord changes, understated vocals, and clever, incisive lyrics. Cale is also a very distinctive and idiosyncratic guitarist, incorporating both fingerpicking and gentle, meandering electric solos. His recordings also reflect his stripped-down, laid-back ethos.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9D2nuzhIfHY&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9D2nuzhIfHY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">His album versions are usually quite succinct and often recorded entirely by Cale alone, using drum machines for rhythm accompaniment. Live, however, as evidenced on his 2001 Live album and 2006 To Tulsa And Back film, he and his band regularly stretch the songs out and improvise heavily.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Artists including Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young and Bryan Ferry, have noted Cale's influence on their music; several artists in addition to Clapton have made hits of Cale songs, and many more have covered them. His most covered songs include "Call Me the Breeze", "Sensitive Kind", "After Midnight", and "Cocaine".</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qSzU4zP74ng&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qSzU4zP74ng&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Cale is also well known for his longstanding aversion to stardom, extensive touring, and even continual recording. He has happily remained a relatively obscure cult artist for the last 35 years.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uR3dHNavMYc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uR3dHNavMYc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">The release of his album, To Tulsa and Back in 2004, his appearance at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, and the 2006 release of the film documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale, have brought his understated discography and songwriting to a new audience.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l8uk7vlk0sE&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/l8uk7vlk0sE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">This mainstream exposure continued into late 2006 with the release of a collaborative album with Eric Clapton, The Road to Escondido, which won Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008. February 2009 saw the release of his 23rd album, Roll On, including the previously unreleased title track recorded with Eric Clapton.</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VRfdO2gsqt0&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VRfdO2gsqt0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="600" height="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Here's hopin' the story of J.J. Cale (and Eric Clapton) continues to play itself out with beautiful music for years to come. Cheers.</span></blockquote>FHBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04261425729050948728noreply@blogger.com0