On Practicing Guitar

Photos in the main recording room at Sun Studios. Note the acoustic tile and ceiling.

July 24-26 – One of the first things that you notice upon disembarking at Memphis International Airport is the groovy soundtrack that’s playing in the background. You know you’ll hear many cool sounds throughout your stay in Memphis, and in Mississippi and Nashville as well, as it were on our trip to these southern music meccas. But the airport music is a kind of distillation – Elvis, Stax, and other soul giants like Motown are part of the inclusive yet top quality aural tapestry – and it lets you know that you have arrived in an unforgettably musical place.

After checking out the Peabody Hotel and unwinding with some delicious barbeque on Saturday at the Rendezvous, we began our musical pilgrimage with a visit to the legendary Sun Studios on Union Avenue in Downtown Memphis. There are three basic areas that visitors are allowed into: The ‘diner area,’ or what was formerly a diner next door now owned by the studio. It includes a tiny ‘record store’; The upstairs, which serves as a museum and a place to hear the first half of the Sun Studios story; And the studio proper, where all the great hits were cut and then later U2’s Rattle & Hum, an event that brought the studio back into the limelight.

A radio station exhibit in the upstairs area of Sun.

The story is amazing, of course, and was well told by our guide. There are Ike Turner, Elvis, The Killer, and more. An astonishing revelation was the story about how Sun artist Rosco Gordon helped invent Reggae. But the overriding feeling was one of contentment, happiness and wonder. It was great to be close to Scotty Moore’s Gibson guitar and Ike’s blown out amp that was used on “Rocket 88.” From walking in the door to leaving the free parking lot, it was nifty all the way. One interesting fact – the studio was moved down the block for a couple of decades, and more recently re-created with all the original components, right down to the acoustic tiling, back in its original location. Not to be missed!

The jam at Rum Boogie Cafe with yours truly in the center. 

That evening, we headed down to Beale Street and the Memphis Blues Society’s Sunday night open jam at the Rum Boogie Café. We settled in with more decadent barbeque and it wasn’t long before I was called up to the stage. The house band, led by Elmo Lee Thomas, was top notch, but for my turn it was a lineup fully composed of jammers. I was in luck – no one wanted to sing! I had a few tunes in mind and ended up starting with “Going Down to Main Street,” by Muddy Waters, an up-tempo shuffle that I’ve played a million times, including in Amsterdam under similar circumstances, and “Door to Door Blues,” an original slow blues of my own.

Low Society work the stage.

The reception was very good, the sound was beautiful, and my fellow musicians were in fine form. It was a treat to play with an impromptu band of talented musicians in such a great sounding room with an appreciative audience. We struck up a conversation with Elmo afterwards, and he advised me on the best place to buy a hat (Schwab’s, among others). Afterwards, we went next door to see a band called Low Society playing in what I can only describe as the auxiliary room of the Rum Boogie Café. They are a wild, ‘punk-blues’ outfit who aggressively push the limits of the form. During one song, I didn’t realize what they were playing until the final line, “Baby What You Want Me To Do?” One of my favorite songs and artists, Jimmy Reed. It was a great night.