Music To Write By

I'm interested in the Blues, but mostly I'm a big rock n roll, heavy metal fan. I love a mean guitar, so I listen to all different artists and genres. My Rhapsody library and my hard drive are packed with music. I've got two stacks of CD's on my desk, but that's only because more won't fit. I'd get a tower for them, but no place to put them within reach of my desk. EEK! I'm slowly working my way through Bruce's blue list. It's going to take me awhile. I listened to "As The Years Go Passing By" by Jeff Healey last night and was totally blown away!

I've been a Jeff Beck fan since I heard "Blow by Blow" back in my high school poetry class. That's where I heard "Dark Side of the Moon" for the first time. AMAZING!! I've been a Pink Floyd fan ever since. If I had to pick a favorite band (like my life depended on it) I'd have to pick Pink Floyd. I was a Jimi Hendrix fan earlier, but I like more of PF's music and own a lot more of their albums than I do of Jimi's.

Speaking of Jimi, I came across a vid of Stevie Ray Vaughn playing "Voodoo Chile." It's not often that a 'cover' surpasses the original, but I think SRV sure did it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GSpbuFSr2o
My eleven year old son argues with me on this point. I have to insist, it's better. You are free to support your own opinion.

I dye my hair because my kids make me go gray!

I'm glad you liked "As the Years Go Passing By" ... I still get goosebumps when I hear it (like today!) I have a few CD's to loan you if you show up at Panera on Sunday.

Jeff Beck: I have the LP's of "Truth" and "Beck-ola", from when Rod Stewart was their lead singer. They were more into the blues at that time, and later he got into jazz. Never saw them live, though I came close in NYC the summer of '69. I also missed Big Brother & the Holding Company at Fillmore East that same trip. Damn!

I told you about my Pink Floyd experience. Now I don't want to listen to it if I'm not high (and I don't smoke that stuff anymore, either!) Ah, well ... sweet memories of the Fall of '73.

I saw Hendrix at the Jacksonville Colliseum the summer of '68. He was still fairly new, and when he poured lighter fluid on his guitar and set it on fire, we were freaking out! He was still playing it with his right hand on the frets at the time ... "Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire", of course! He also played with his teeth (the man had some major front teeth!) and behind his back. He was the greatest ever. I like Stevie Ray's version of "Voodoo Chile", but you have to remember that Stevie was just covering it ... Jimi was the innovator. Everyone (yes, even Stevie Ray and the hordes of guitarists to follow) are only building on what he did originally. I could listen to tapes of Hendrix just noodling away on his guitar for hours.

I have a rock story: When I went out west with Pam's family in 1967 (we were only dating at that time) we went into San Francisco with her aunt and uncle. I was a hippie wanna-be, with long hair (in Florida terms, anyway!) and I was all over buying the Haight-Ashbury Tribune, the Berkeley Barb, and a bunch of other 'free press' newspapers (yes, I still have them.) I also hit a record store in the Haight and bought the first Hendrix, Doors, Country Joe & the Fish, Jefferson Airplane, and Quicksilver Messenger Service albums. Brought them back to Florida, where they'd never heard of these groups, and blew all my friends away. My friend Louie worked as an intern at WROD radio in Daytona, and he took my Hendrix album in to show the DJ's, who promptly 'appropriated' it, and played it on their "Midnight Music" show for weeks! When I got it back, it was F&#@%ed up. I was mad at Louie for the longest time, until I was able to buy a copy locally!

Best concert: ask me about Terrible Ted Nugent when you see me...

Okay. Back to the blues. Yes, I agree with our thread starter about Jonny Lang. He's great! I have 3 of his CD's, and I'd buy them without even listening to them first: he's that consistently good.

And now, off to bed...

~Bruce
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2006 winner ~ "Drew Copes" (still being refined)
2007 finisher ~ "So, These Three Murderers are Drinking in a Bar"

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2006 winner ~ "Drew Copes" (still being refined)
2007 finisher ~ "So, These Three Murderers are Drinking in a Bar"

My best concert (don't laugh) was Willie Nelson. I know for a hard rocker like me, it blew me away. I got rooked into going because my friend Christin was supposed to take her mom, but her mother got sick at the last minute. She wanted a T-shirt from the concert, so Christin had to go and she refused to go alone. I got the dubious honor of going with her. We got there late - because she was late everywhere she went and she was driving. So we parked way off in "Eastabouchie" and hiked in, so there weren't any seats left. The folks who sold the tickets didn't realize that four seats had to be left open by each of the huge follow spots because they were so big. Four seats times six follow spots.... so we were hunting without any luck until we came to one of the lights. Our friends were working the light and told us we could sit there if we'd duck when they moved the light.

I should explain about the follow spots. These are the ENORMOUS carbon arc theatrical lights that are roughly ten feet long and weigh as much as a baby elephant. It takes two people to run them, one to guide it and one to change out the rods when they burn out. I guarantee they don't feel good if you get smacked on top of the head with them! We didn't get hit, but the guy next to us did. Luckily, he was wearing a hat, so it didn't break the skin.

Willie's warmup band was really good. Can't for the life of me remember who it was, but they went on to bigger and better things. They played a set that lasted about an hour, then Willie came out and played with them before he started his own. After about thirty minutes, he played his own stuff with Waylon Jennings and someone else. I can't remember now, it's been right at 30 years ago.... But I was totally blown away. I've never been a fan of "country" music per se, but Outlaw Country is different and much better!

Willie stood at the front of the stage before he started his set and said, "If you're here for fancy light shows and special effects, there's the door! If you're here to listen to us play, then you came to the right place!" He played over an hour set of his own, took a break and played another hour and a half.

Of course all this time, we were ducking the lights, scooting down in our seats when the spots came low, or dancing on the steps. It was great!

I dye my hair because my kids make me go gray!

I've made my way through the Guitar Blues mix and have started on Anthony Wild. Pretty good so far! I'm mostly sitting here listening to good music and blowing my nose -- which is no reflection on the music. My sinuses are a disaster! Anyway, I'm enjoying the listening experience. Not sure my boys appreciate it, but I don't really care. They can go in another room.

Thank you, Bruce, for the new tunes! I will make copies and get them back to you next week.

I dye my hair because my kids make me go gray!

Did you know that Jeff Healey is not only an amazing guitarist, but he was also in a movie? I kept thinking he looked really familiar, so I went on www.imdb.com and looked him up. That's another great time waster website, by the way. But I digress. Jeff Healey was in a movie with Patrick Swazie and Sam Elliot back in the 80's where he played a blind guitarist! Big surprise, right? The movie was "Roadhouse." Not Swazie's best, but at least we get to hear Jeff Healey play!

I dye my hair because my kids make me go gray!

This is procrastination in action. I don't want to deal with Christmas in any form, so I've been doing some writing and listening to good music. I'm totally hooked on "As the Years Go Passing By" so I decided to see 1. how many versions of it I could find (dozens) and 2. who wrote it in the first place. It's been covered by so many people, I wanted to know. I have an inquiring mind.

So, what I found out was that it was written by a man named Harrison Nelson who also went by the name of Peppermint Harris. Here is a link to his biography. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/NN/fne45.html

I thought you might be interested in the origin of the man and the song. Even if you aren't I've managed to put off dealing with all the million and one details for another five minutes.

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

I dye my hair because my kids make me go gray!

I find music in some of the most random ways. Usually it's from watching a TV show (or more likely a DVD of it), or a movie. I found a beautiful song by Coldplay in "The Wedding Crashers". Great song by Jeff Beck in "Shallow Hal". Watching a DVD of "Lost", I heard an old gospel song that really was a tear jerker. It's called "I Shall Not Walk Alone" by a group called The Five Blind Boys of Alabama" Absolutely beautiful song! And yes, I admit, there are songs that make me cry like crazy. In fact, I have a section on my Rhapsody list that's called "Songs That Make Me Cry".

Also on that list: (to name only a very few)
Gorecki - Lamb
Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
Once Upon A Time in the West - Ennio Morricone
Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain - Willie Nelson
You Will Be My Ain True Love - Allison Krauss
Purple Rain - Prince
(Yes, I like Prince. Okay! I always feel like I have to defend that for some reason.)

I dye my hair because my kids make me go gray!