Different Approaches

Hi folks, its me again. I don't have a new Whisky Hill video today but I just thought I would check in with the blog world briefly and say a few things about the music and the band. We had a "regular" practice on Friday night and it was our second in a row when it wasn't actually a real regular practice. By that I mean we didn't go over our material list like we normally do. It turned out to be a sort of jam session. We went over a few songs that we have tried before and put on the back burner, and then it happened again. We were standing around talking mechanics of a song ( I forget which one) and usually at least one of us kinda plucks around a little while we're talking. I started to play the opening notes to Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash and our bass player (who knows ALL those old country songs) just jumped aboard, followed by the drummer and then the rest of the guys. We ended up going through it a couple of times, experimenting along the way like probably all bands do. When you have 2 (or more) guitars you really need them playing something different that still fits. That's kinda how it works in the studio too. You layer your guitars, and or all instruments on different tracks. But that's all for another blog post one day maybe.

So anyway, after going through it, experimenting and getting our parts down to our own satisfaction we played it a couple more times just for the hell of it and practice sake and it sounds BAD ASS the way we do it. We put the Whiskey Hill mojo on that song baby! Our bass player is designated lead singer for this tune and our lead singer is going to sing harmonies on it. I've saw a lot of rock bands cover this tune over the years and I've saw my share of country bands do it too. I can honestly say that to this date I have never heard it done quite like we did it. I'm not going to give it away right now either. Sorry about that but I'd rather just get a video of us doing it and let the music do the talking. As soon as I get a video I will post it here on my blog before posting it anywhere but youtube of course. I'm super excited about it. I know its a genuine oldie that every band and their brother has covered but I think our version is going to have a small unique aspect to it. At least I hope so. Until then I'll leave you good folks a video from one of the great musicians that I am subscribed to on youtue. He goes by "tonedr" there and works hard and regularly at being a great guitar player and teacher. He is in a band called Big River Band, and another by the name Lexington Lab Band, and also does shows with the beautiful and talented Lauren Mink, who was also a contestant on American Idol. If you click on that little youtube button at the bottom right hand side of the video player you can watch it on youtube directly. From there you can check out his channel and find 525 videos and counting. I promise you there's a lot of good music to be found on (tonedr) Dales channel.

Until next time, much love and peace to everyone.

Pride and Joy

Hello good people, I'm back for another blog post. I know its been a long time but nobody reads my blog anyway haha!! No, seriously, I do have one very dear friend that reads my blog. Today started out kinda bad for me and I've been thinking about that dear friend of mine and wishing I had a way to call him and shoot the breeze. Emails just aren't the same, and lately my internet access has been very limited due mostly to financial reasons. The life of a starving musician isn't what its all cracked up to be.

Recently, like last weekend, we played 2 gigs in one day. I'm getting ahead of myself though because you don't know about the departure of our original singer, Tyler. Back several months ago he decided to go to Colorado for 6 months to a year. He does construction/welding type work and has to go where the work is. Unfortunately he didn't tell the band about his decision and we had to find out kinda second hand by way of a comment on facebook by his wife. Well, that was a little devastating to say the least. For some of us, well me anyway, this band is all I have. Fortunately there was a guy in the neighborhood that can sing and wanted a shot at it. He had actually came to a practice session before and was going to sing a few songs with us. None of the rest of the band knew that at the time though. Good ole Tyler never told any of us about that. In hindsight now it makes perfect sense. We since found out all kinds of things about him that, lets just say, the boy has a hard time telling the truth and leave it at that. He's talented at singing but he'll never step foot near this band again. In fact he still hasn't bothered to call any of the band members since he left us high and dry with a gig booked. Enough of him though. Its pissing me off just thinking about it.

We have a new singer now and we're as happy as can we be with him. He actually shows up for practice. When he's not going to be able to make it, and that's rare, he lets us all know well ahead of time. That's how it should be too. He's a talented singer and pretty darn good guitar player too. Rich helped us make up the  gig Tyler left us stuck with. We played another gig the very next day too. It was a benefit for one of our local paramedics who got stung by a wasp and it darn near killed him from the reaction he had from it. He's on the mend now and getting some much needed rehab. This past weekend made four gigs we've played since Rich joined the band.

We played at a benefit concert this past weekend called the Bob O'Palooza. Bob recently found out he has stage 4 lung cancer. Being the small tight knit community this is, a lot of people sprung into action and put on a show. That's just how we roll around here. A local band, The Midnight Hurricanes put all this together and despite the rain, raised over 12K to help Bob out with the medical bills that are racking up for him.

These benefit shows don't pay in dollars, but that's not important to us. Just knowing you helped someone out is worth more than any dollars and cents. And it pays off down the road eventually. Usually in Karma. And hey, we get to play music for people. That's worth everything right there. How can you put a price on applause ? How much is it worth to see people get up and dance to the music you're playing ? That's one of the greatest feelings in the world to me. Its why I do it. I don't have any false illusions of fame and fortune. I'm fully aware that we are just another band among thousands just like us all over this country out there living the dream. If I have any regrets it would be that I didn't do this sooner. Its been a dream of mine for as long as I've been playing music.

We're still working on getting better at this. Its a lot of work too, but we're starting to come around and sound like a real band now. I'm going to leave you with a video from last weekend. Its from a private party we played after the benefit show. There was no way I could get a video from the benefit. Long story there, but in short, the rain had the audience sharing the stage with the bands and it was hard enough just to carve out a big enough spot for yourself and your equipment. We never thought about a video. Maybe someone else got some footage and something will surface later. If so, I'll share it here.

Jammin' with JB and The Moonshine Band

Hello good people, its been a long time since I've posted anything in this blog. I have been pretty busy lately with my band, Whiskey Hill. Back on May 4th I had the opportunity of a lifetime. The way it all went down still baffles me but it really happened and I have the video to prove it haha!

It started out one day when I logged on to my youtube account and discovered a fresh new video from a band called JB and The Moonshine Band who's channel I am subscribed to. The video had just been posted about 30 minutes prior to me seeing it. Get In Where You Fit In was the name of the video and it was basically a contest for a chance to perform with them on stage. It just so happened I had a video of my band doing a cover of one of their songs, Hell To Pay. I'll be the first to admit it wasn't a very good cover, and it was from our first gig, using a cheap 4 channel no name PA head coupled with my old Kustom speakers. One of which was turned toward us for a monitor because it was all we had at the time.

I entered the video into the contest never thinking we would ever win it. It was done in jest really because I'm always pranking my band mates anyway. Within about 20 - 30 minutes I get a "restricted" call coming in on my cell phone. I ignored it because I was in the middle of a text message at the time telling one of my band mates what I had done. Luckily they left a voice mail. When I checked the voice mail it was shocked to find that it was JB Patterson himself asking if I could be in McKinney Texas that Friday to sing Hell To Pay with them on stage. He left his email address and told me to get in touch with him and let him know if I could make it. I emailed him and explained to him that I was not the singer and I was actually one of the guitar players. He answered back and asked if both myself and our singer would be willing to do it. Of course I said yes, and then called my singer to ask him if he could do it. Being the joker that I am, he didn't believe me at first. So he came to my place to listen to the voice mail. He even wanted me to play it again so he could record it on his cell phone. Of course he was shaking when he recorded it because he was a bag of nerves and in need of a pinch or something lol. I could barely believe it myself.

We arrived in McKinney the following Friday afternoon and was greeted by the manager, "Hamburger Dan". Dan asked if we were planning on driving back home after the show and I told him we were. He told us we should stay the night as he had an extra room anyway. Well it didn't take any arm twisting on our part and we agreed to stay. We had a gig the following night in Texarkana opening for Brian Jones and the OzzyCash band. Needless to say we ended up partying with the drummer, Gabe, from JB and The Moonshine Band. We didn't get to sleep until around 5am and had to get up at 8am to head back home and load up for the gig in Texarkana. Playing on stage with JB and The Moonshine Band was the highlight of my musical life so far. I will never forget that night and I hope its a sign of more good times to come. JB and the band are a great group of people. They were all very friendly, kind, and generous, and just good ole down to earth regular guys who happen to play music for a living.

Back In The Saddle Again

Long time ..... no posting from me. I know, I know .. but I've been super busy making music with my band. I love to say that. My band. It's got a great ring to it don't you think ? It's about time this "old geezer" got off his ass and started getting serious again. It's been a lifetime coming and it's finally here. About a year ago I was, and still am, "recovering" from a serious spinal injury as a result of wrecking my Harley Davidson. It's been a little over 3 years now since my accident and I think I'm about as good as I'm going to get.

I was in the hospital a little over a month altogether being pieced back together little by little. I had to have my jaw fixed too as a result of trying to eat my speedometer and tachometer. I also have some titanium hardware in my back attached to my spine. I don't recommend this path to anyone either. It can really put a hamper on your guitar playing abilities. Especially when you are in pain 24/7/365 ...

It can be downright depressing when you can't do things that used to be simple to you. Things you always took for granted before. To be honest about it, I really thought my music days were all over with, and any aspirations I might have had about being a performing musician flew right out the window at first. I was, and still am to some degree, and old crippled ass fart. But I can still sit in a chair and play a guitar. I can even stand up and play now with my new 4 inch wide soft leather strap. My collar bone is pretty messed up and the doctors didn't bother to try fixing it unfortunately..

An old friend of mine came to see me one day not long after I had gotten out of the hospital following my big crash in 2009. Everyone, myself included was and is amazed that I lived through that crash. It was pretty bad, and to this day I still have almost zero recollection of it happening. I just woke up one day and realized I was in a hospital between 3 and 4 weeks after I ran my Harley Davidson off the road. I ended up having "Harrington Rods" placed between T-4 and T-11 in my spine because I had blown to bits and pieces 2 of my vertebrates. Needless to say it was a long road to recovery after that.

I was, and still, am in a great deal of pain from my injuries. I broke my jaw too and had to have a plate put in to hold the bones together so it could grow back. There's a lot of depression that come with all of this and I was looking for a way to help kick it's ass. I thought maybe if I got back into my guitar playing it would possibly help me beat the funk.. That's when I decided to give my old friend a call and have a good long talk with him about guitar playing. We had both played music together somewhere in the 25 years ago neighborhood and we even took it so far as to get a drummer (we both play guitar) and try building a band. The band thing quickly fizzled and we all kinda drifted apart doing the "raising a family" thing when the kids started coming along.

After this good long talk, we agreed to get together and have us a little jam session. Just myself and my guitar playing friend. It only took a couple of times of us getting back together before we started talking about giving a band another try just for the hell of it. We started getting together 3 or 4 times a week at first. Right away we started making leaps and bounds. We decided we needed a drummer right off, so my buddy went out and bought 2 drum kits (one Ludwig, one Tama) from a local "swap shop" type of group on facebook. Neither set was complete but a few pieces from musicians friend changed that real quick. It just so happened that my buddy has a son who was interested in playing drums so we put him behind the killer Ludwig kit and the rest is history with him. Our drummer started mentioning a guy he knew of that could sing. The more we heard, (my friend and I) the less we thought he would fit. One thing was his age, 22, and another was that he was a "cowboy" type of guy.. And here we were 2 old hippy type older farts. I'm 48 and my buddy is 45. It didn't even sound good on paper. Especially considering the age of our drummer (12 years old). But we were determined this time to go for it. Both of us are "All In" on this project so we decided to contact this guy. The next weekend rolled around and this singer came over and sang a few songs for us. Then he did a couple of his own songs and we were sold on him.

Two weeks later our singer brought a bass player to practice with him. A 19 year old guy that works with him building trailers for 18 wheelers. OMG this guy can sing ... and the bass player is a natural at playing music. He's also pretty good with a 6 string and backing vocals too. So here we are now 3 practice sessions deep as a full 5 piece band. Session number 4 is today, October 13th and I can hardly wait to get set up and start playing.

It's getting a little late for me (almost 2am) so I'm going to sign off for now. I will come back soon and let everyone know how tonight's jam session goes. I'm anxious about using my new toy. It's a tc electronics brand "polytune" tuner of the "stomp box" variety. It is GREAT so far and I still haven't used all of it's features. More on that in my next blog post. Take care people, and don't forget to put a little music in your ears. It's a beautiful thing. Until next time .... Namaste'

Blues Legend Robben Ford to appear at a Guitar Clinic in Southern California March 11th 4pm

If you've never heard Robben Ford play, your missing out on a great axe grinder. The latest from our youtube friend and guitar teacher Marty Schwartz talks about it in this video.



See More @ http://www.robbenford.com/clinics.html

Check out the buttery sweet tone of Robben Ford below and check out some more of his videos/music at Youtube.com

The Grammy Awards of 2012

Every year at this time the music industry has an awards show to recognize outstanding achievements in the music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a widely viewed televised ceremony. It is the music equivalent to the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Award for stage and the Academy Awards for film.

The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, to honor musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. Following the 2011 ceremony, NARAS overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 54th Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Thanks to Wikipedia for the hyper links above.

As a self proclaimed musician and music connoisseur I must say we are scraping the bottom of the barrel these days. If this is how you spell success in the music industry, I want no part of it. Not that I will ever win a Grammy anyway. The music industry has always consisted of a pack of hungry wolves exploiting people for a buck. It doesn't matter one bit that they destroy the lives of so many artist's along the way. They chew 'em up and spit 'em out like yesterdays garbage. They don't give a rats ass about the well being of them either. As long as they are bringing in money everything's hunky dory. The minute a problem comes up and keeps the artist from making a few shows it "toodles toots" and "Hit the Road Jack." A lot of them end up in an early grave when it's all said and done. Whitney Houston was the music industries latest casualty. I won't even go into it since the internet is already about to blow up with it already.

Imagine (if you can) the weight that is put on your shoulders if you are a "signed artist" in the music industry. I doubt most people realize what a demanding and fast paced world they live in. They are literally ran ragged by the record companies traveling all over doing interviews, photo shoots, sponsor obligations, you name it. I think the idea is to keep 'em hot after they "arrive" on the scene. I'm reminded of a scene from the 1976 farewell concert for "The Band" and something Robbie Robertson said during the documentary "The Last Waltz". When asked the reason for their departure from the road and music he replied (paraphrasing) ... "16 years is a long time to be on the road. We started out in little clubs and after 8 years of that we finally hit the big time and done stadiums and large venues. The road is an impossible lifestyle. It's taken many of the great ones like Jimi (Hendrix) and Janice etc .. if you keep it up it's bound to get you too. Unfortunately he didn't know he was speaking prophetic words back then as Richard Manuel , a member of "The Band" ended up being taken by the road.

Personally I didn't care a lot for Whitney Houston's music, but damn .... the lady could sing her ass off, and for that I give her much respect. Rest in peace Ms. Houston. A lot of people are going to miss you greatly. Hopefully people will remember you for the voice and not the other things you ended up getting so much publicity for in your final years on this earth.

Guitar Slinger

It really is all about the music for me. Music can sometimes be the best medicine for what ails the soul. It can take you high, it can take you low, it all depends on where you want to go. I've been thinking for a long time about starting a music related blog. It's what I like more than anything else in this world. I couldn't imagine a day of life without music in it. Welcome to my new blog. I've been playing a 6 string since I was about 12 years old. I have a lot of relatives on my mothers side of the family that play, so I guess it's in my genes. I've never had any "formal" musical training except for the normal music classes in grade school. Do they even have music class anymore ? When I was in grade school it was required of everyone to take a semester of music. We all had to purchase a recorder and lean a few basic songs on it. I think the idea was to find out who had the natural talent so they could be recruited to play for the school band. I was never interested in band music in school. I wanted to play the guitar and there was no such thing in a marching band, so I ended up going it alone with a Mel Bay instruction book. Mel has been teaching the world to play since 1947 and his work is still going strong today.

Reading music was something that never interested me. After 35 years I still have a hard time making heads or tails from it. I'm a self taught player aside from those old Mel Bay song books and chord charts. I was told that if I learned my chords and scales I could eventually play anything I wanted to play. That's pretty much the truth too. You can also learn to play things you may not necessarily want to play, but playing what you like is a lot more interesting. If you get stuck having to learn things you don't like to hear, music will never be fun for you. Chances are, you'll put your instrument down and quit playing after a while. It has to be interesting and fun if you want to play well. At least that's the way I see it.

I'll be writing about a little bit of everything in this blog. As long as it's about music, it's all fair game to me. I'll be writing about music from a guitar players perspective. I might write reviews of songs, or instruments, amplifiers, effects, you name it. If it has to do with music and playing it, I'll be writing about it. So sit back and enjoy the journey with me as I take you through the music world from my point of view.