Category: Uncategorized
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We'll be playing at the Wild Horse Tavern this Sunday, October 18th at 10pm. The joint is located at 1629 Second Ave between 84th and 85th streets. We're performing as a trio, with myself on Guitar/Vocals, Dave Gerstein on Bass, and Christof Knoche on Harmonica. We've been playing a lot of varied material, with new…
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The most memorable theme from Pink Floyd’s profound concept album, Wish You Were Here, makes a practical exercise for beginning guitarists. This lick enters the soundscape of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond" at 3:55, and it’s hard to imagine the rest of the work without it. It sounds simple, it sounds great, but what…
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July 31 – Sometimes, you just get lucky. On our final night in Nashville, and the last night of our trip during which we would really hang out, we walked down to the ‘Honky Tonk’ area of the city, the downtown area situated on Broadway near the Cumberland River. It seems there are a thousand…
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July 30 – With so many live performance options in Nashville, it can be hard to decide who to see. We only had two nights, and the first one had to be decided quickly. My cousin Rae Ellen had driven in all the way from the Smoky Mountains, and we didn’t have a lot of…
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After we returned from Avalon, we stopped off at Hick’s Tamales & Barbeque in Clarksdale, where Bill Clinton was known to feed his prodigious appetite on occasion. The atmosphere was rather dismal but the tamales were indeed excellent. We then checked into the Delta Cotton Company, a lovely pension-style hotel above the Ground Zero Blues…
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July 29 – I was introduced to the music of John Hurt by a wonderful guitar teacher named Terry who I studied with between the ages of thirteen to sixteen. He taught me the technique variously known as ‘double thumbing,’ ‘Travis picking,’ or ‘alternating bass,’ and the main lick for “Spike Driver Blues.” I was…
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A wall of singles inside the Stax Museum of American Soul. July 28 – If you are making a music pilgrimage to the Delta, one place that you don’t want to miss is the Stax Museum of American Soul in Memphis. Everybody who loves the music of this era has heard of the legendary record…
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We played our final show of the summer at the Wild Horse Tavern last Sunday and it was another interesting night with good friends and music. The evening opened with a set of solo blues from Irving Louis Lattin, a fine guitarist and singer from Chicago. Bugs & Crumbs played a tight set but I…
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July 27 – On Monday, we took the Gibson Factory tour, which was sold out. The hollow and semi-hollow body guitars are made at the Memphis factory, and we got to see the luthiers putting together these sought-after instruments. Understandably, we weren’t allowed to get too close or take pictures. It was the first time…
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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…
On Practicing Guitar 