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9/22/04
And furthermore...
Here's what the San Jose Mercury news printed today about the band's job at last weekend's Monterey Jazz Fest:
"Young blues: Jackie Greene stole the blues afternoon from established stars Guy and Charlie Musselwhite."
Yesterday I got an email containing the festival CD sales stats which showed JG at #1, #2, and #6for "Sweet Somewhere Bound", "Gone Wanderin'", and "Rusty Nails", respectively.
9/20/04
Down in Monterey
Had a great time at the 47th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. We played 2 shows Saturday afternoon and they both received standing ovations. In fact, the Montery Herald seems to think the afternoon belonged to Jackie Greene. I like to think music ain't a horse race.
But we appreciate their enthusiasm.
Jackie played a real Hammond B-3 organ onstage for the first time. Both the main stage and the garden stage had a set up with organ on one side and baby grand piano on the other at the keyboard area so he played part of a song on piano and then switched to organ in mid tune.
Had a funny moment during soundcheck on the big stage. J was getting comfy on the organ, Ben setting the drums up for his lefty approach, and I was fiddling with the settings on the bass amp when the stage manager gal came over to me and asked, "Will Jackie be coming out onstage for the soundcheck?"
She must've felt kinda awkward when I said, "That's him on the organ."
Yes dear, strangely enough, that slight young man with the unassuming manner is THE Jackie Greene. ; - }
9/17/04
Things to do this morning
1. Wake up
2. Eat breakfast
3. Drive to Monterey Jazz Festival to have the time of my life
Is it all sweet or is it just me?
9/9/04
Jackie and Marty's excellent adventure
This morning's Sacramento Bee has a front page article on Jackie which frees me up to discuss the trip J and manager Marty DeAnda just took to meet with Atlantic Records in NYC yesterday.
All I know so far is that Marty says it went well and that they got to meet and play for that label's founder, a giant in the music business,Ahmet Ertegun himself.
Too cool.
9/6/04
Strawberry Fields Forevah!
Just got back from Camp Mather, CA, near Yosemite where we played for the Fall version of the Strawberry Music Festival. This was our second year in a row (last year we played the Spring fest) which is a rare honor, I am told. No other festival I have seen so far compares to Strawberry. This time we weren't in a hurry to get somewhere else to play another show like we were last year when I missed Steve Earle, much to my chagrin.
Friday afternoon we pulled in to the area at around 5-ish in time to catch the last part of Patrice Pike's show on the main stage on Hog Ranch Radio which is a low power station set up every fest to broadcast events to the folks in and around the camp. Every act that plays on the main stage is what I would call "pretty derned good" at minimum but Patrice and her band were on the higher end of the scale for my taste. Turns our their cabin was near ours and I got to jam with some of her band on the first foray out as they had become friends with my friend Bodhi Busick who was in the next cabin over from us. Every one of 'em is a smoking multi-instrumentalist. The level of talent at your average Strawberry jam session is high and it was a real pleasure to experience some of the best without even walking a hundred feet!
As our porch pickin' was a bit distracting to Bodhi's sweetheart who was trying to study inside he and I headed out to look for a late night jam that lasted 'till 3:30 in the morning for me and until sunrise for him. We brought along our "Fairly Godmother", Mindy Giles, who knows how to party and appreciates music like no one else I know. I had been a bit short for space in my car for a guitar as my family came along to camp so he loaned me his spare, a nylon string, which made me sort of a rebel among the slew of steel-stringers. Earlier Friday evening I had the pleasure of meeting and yakking at length with Mark O'Connor who had been surprised to find as we spoke that Barbara Lamb, who gave him his first fiddle lessons when he was 11 and she was 13, was playing with the Laura Love band on the main stage. Mark's Hot Swing Trio was the headliner Saturday night but he was there to listen to the music Friday night. Turns out one of his proteges, 17 year old fiddler Britany Haas, plays with our friends The Websters who were on just before us Saturday afternoon. So, Mark and his wonderful bassist John Burr both caught our set and gave me some nice compliments afterwards which was the best kind of "peer validation" I could ever hope for...except that I could not ever call myself a peer of those boys with a straight face...these are players' players if ever there were such a thing. I think their approval speaks to the nature of Jackie's gift more than anything else but it still made me feel really good to hear it.
David Bromberg made a rare west coast appearance as the headliner Friday night and his Large Band was not a disappointment to hear. One of my favorite lines from him was "when water isn't wet and George Bush pays off the national debt I'll take you back."
The Greencards from Austin, TX opened the show Saturday afternoon with a very fine bluegrass set.
Our show went well except that the neck on Jackie'e new Gibson SG got accidentally snapped just below the headstock when someone onstage knocked its stand over. Stuff happens and I think I convinced J that Gibson will take care of him even though he bought that one (they recently gave him a Nick Lucas acoustic guitar worth five thousand bucks).
After our show I got to meet and hang out with Rodney Crowell's band as they waited for him to arrive from New York where he has just been on the Today Show. I joked with them about playing without him if necessary but found out later that night as Rodney did the late night show in the dinning hall called Amy's Cafe with Guy Clark that Rodney's lead guitar man Will Kimbrough would've done just fine as a front man in a pinch. At Amy's he sang one of his songs that had a line in it that knocked me out:
"I wouldn't know a spark plug from The Duke of Earl
but when l'm in my baby's arms I'm the champion of the world"
Rodney did show up in time though and did a fine set including a version of "Like A Rolling Stone" that he had the crowd singing along with at the end of the line like... DIDN'T YOU!!!
I didn't pick up a copy of his new record, Fate's Right Hand, yet but I plan to. A song from it about the current administration called "Don't Get Me Started" would be worth the price alone.
The Seldom Scene were up next and delivered some lovely tight bluegrass like it was meant to be played.
Mark O'Connor and his band then showed us all the proper way to do superb gypsy swing.
The Sunday morning revival at Birch Lake was beautiful. Chris Webster made my day with her song "Angel Choir." Chris and her sister Cassie sing together like I would imagine angels do. Their guitarist Scott Nygaard is an acquaintance of mine from the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop in 1980. Always great to hear him play. Their fiddler, Brittany Haas, is a marvel of musical poise and grace at age 17. I picked up Chris's record "Drive" for the ride home and I think it's top notch. Darrell Scott delivered some gospel music with spirit and conviction.
Sarah Lee Guthrie was the last act I caught on the main stage. Her encore was a song by her grandpa Woody, "Peace Call", which she and bandmate/husband Johnny led the audience to sing along with in what I thought was a very stirring rendition which started out folkie but ended with a rave-up ala Chuck Berry meets The Stones. She told us that Woody wrote 3000 songs and only recorded 100 so there's a lot of words lying around with no knowledge of the intended tunes.
My son and I took a delightful raft ride together on the lake later and we all came home tired but happy.
There's more to tell, I guess, but I feel I've blabbed on enough. One more thing though...I was happy to meet up with me and Jackie's pal Carrie the photographer, a.k.a. Pixel Pixie.Below is a picture of her and my kids, Zoe and Dylan. I thought it would be nice to picture the picturer for a change.
8/31/04
Thoughts on Las Vegas, upon returning from my first trip there
Somehow, they managed to ruin some perfectly good barren wasteland.
8/17/04
Are you with me, Baby?
Last weekend we played two dates with Paul Thorn. His new CD, Are You With Me? is a really good listen. I love the gospel element to his music, of course. I realize that is a turn-off to some people but, hey, you can't please everybody.
One band's set at the Fire On The Mountain festival in Sonora, CA, was interrupted by an announcement that a certain couple's neighbors called to say their home was in danger from a wildfire. The announcer was a bit of a wag 'cause he couldn't help adding, "Now THAT'S the blues!"
The monitor engineer at that event was a peculiarly surly and unhelpful guy. Fortunately, meeting that kind of person has been a real rarity so far in my travels with Jackie. Let's hope it continues to be.
I need you to be with me, Baby.
| Peace, | ||
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