The Science of Abstract Theory Conception as it applies to Earth and Other Planets

Listening to John Coltrane is like eavesdropping on someones prayers. Old people deserve more respect than we give them. Better to be poor and happy than rich and sad. Of course it's probably better to be rich and happy, I'll let you know if I find out! Politicians are not supposed to solve the world's problems, citizens are. Besides many politicians are really old and out of shape, so what the hell could they do for us anyway? It is never okay to hate. It is, however, okay to wish a severe skin rash on someone who has wronged you or disagreed with you in the hope that they will realize that the skin rash is a direct result of their inconsiderate behavior and change their ways. Hot sauce should be on every table. Everything should be open 24 hours a day. Kids are smarter than you think! In the 60's, music unified people and stopped a war, what does music do today except sell cars and electronic toys? If Mozart were alive today, he'd be really, really, really old! I'd still go see him though, if he gigged somewhere close by. I read a book recently about Henry VIII and they had this thing called the "sweating sickness" that historians have yet to be able to definitely identify! That had to suck! You start sweating and if you went to sleep within the first 24 hours, you die! No thanks! Elvis was really cool and that's just a fact, so if you disagree, look out for a skin rash! Guns don't kill people, it's the bullets in them that actually kill you. Aren't "energy bars" really just crappy tasting candy bars? Beverly Hills Cop is a great movie! Good workout music: Motorhead, Sex Pistols, AC/DC, Van Halen, Living Colour, Bad Brains, Billy Idol, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Bad workout music: Mozart, Buck Owens, Annie Lennox, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, The Beatles (sorry Richard). My motto is Don't Try. Music contains the secret to human existence and the molecules that are constantly being rearranged by the movement of various notes cast into the air is the forward motion of time and the expansion of energy and light. Good Loud is good, remember it was a Big Bang not a barely audible sigh. What's Good Loud you ask? Guitars, joyful screaming, Rock and Roll, any good music, fast cars, etc. Bad Loud? hand grenades, angry screaming, bad music of any kind, land mines, Kenny Chesney. How come we have smart people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Stephen Hawking and various scientists and business moguls and we can't stop global warming, our addiction to oil, stop genocide, feed the hungry, cure the sick or come up with a suitable answer to how to keep both sides of the pillow cool all night? I'm just asking...

From Lettsworth To Legend; Part 1

I'm gonna try to post some blogs that deal with the specific songs on the new record. As many of you know, when we're on the road, we don't always get Internet and we stay pretty busy, so this little project might take longer than the actual record, but I think it's a worthy thing to do.

The first song on the new record is simply called "Intro". It's just a small piece of music, but it's very significant in my history of studying the work of Buddy Guy. I first heard this on a record called Folk Festival Of The Blues. it was released on Chess and is a sort of half live/half studio thing with canned audience noise added to make it seem like a real live recording. First of all, find that record and listen to the whole thing! Buddy and his band (Fred Below & Jack Meyers) back up Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf & Sonny Boy Williamson. The MC, Big Bill Hill, a Chicago DJ, refers to Little Walter being there too. Anyway, at a couple of points on the record, sort of as a set up between artists, Buddy and the band play this little riff. Both times, it's so cool because it's so out of context. The song following it is always in a different key! It just sounds raw and cool. Pure Buddy Guy. I next heard the riff on a Jeff Beck record. I then read somewhere that he had copied it from the same record. Good enough for Buddy Guy & Jeff Beck, good enough for me!

Back In The Saddle

After a short (too short) vacation, we're back at it. Last week we played at our favorite stop in Louisville, Stevie Ray's. Good time, great people, fantastic staff. This week we head to Darwin's in Marietta, GA. and the Harley-Davidson shop in Maryville TN. The clock's ticking until the new record drops on June 26 and I can't wait. Thanks to Tim Obrien and Keith Kenyon, we've finally got a guitar tone to be proud of! I literally had trouble stopping while we were recording!
Have you seen Richard's Nature Walk on YouTube yet? It's hilarious. All pine cones should be kicked hard! Thanks to everyone who's been coming out to support us on the road, your faith in what we do makes us work that much harder to entertain you. If you haven't been to see us, what's your problem?

Marching

Today is our first off day after 19 straight days of gigs. We're in Montgomery, Alabama and since this is the first Internet we've had in a week or so, we're all scattered about getting our stacked up work done. We leave for Canada tomorrow night after the gig and the drive is about 20 hours to the border, so we're not complaining about sitting still tonight. Today is all about recharging some seriously depleted batteries.
Our latest guitar tech (our equivalent of Spinal Tap's drummer) bowed out day before yesterday and that brings us up to a grand total of 12 former techs. I don't blame anyone for not wanting the job, because this is something that you have to love with all your heart, or it will eat you up. If you do it for the paycheck, don't bother.
The road is hard. It's no sleep, damn little rest, and 100's of miles in the van everyday with sore muscles and ringing ears. It's sore fingers that are crazy-glued together, bags of dirty clothes, an endless search for Starbucks, laundromats, Internet, decent food, etc. It's spending hours with the cell phone mashed against your ear as if you could will your wife and kids through the lines to be with you.
Like all things in life, there are always blessings mixed with the rain. Being on stage with this band and creating the kind of music we create every night is an incredible feeling. The sonic aurora borealis we get to ride every night is amazing. There's also a great sense of accomplishment when you ride 8 hours, load the gear in and set up with no sleep and are able to pull yourself and each other up and put the show on that you know can, then load out, back to the hotel grab 4 or 5 hours of sleep and do it all over again. We just did 19 shows in 19 days...non stop...no tour bus, no backstage rider, no special treatment, just the burning desire to keep the music going.

Florida Day 4

Today is laundry day. Everyone's going their own way this morning. Last night was an all acoustic show. First one with Richard's new Ibanez acoustic bass. Sounded great. Sun's shining, but when I'm away from the family, there's always clouds.