Well, a lot has happened since my last post! So much that I really don’t know where to begin. I’ll stick to the music highlights. Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order…
This was a good time… record turnout for a Live from Matt’s House event!
The band went to Costa Rica and played 2 gigs!
Well, this is a much longer story, but I produced and played in a Tom Petty Tribute Night in front of 801 people!
We raised $20,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters!
I met a TON of new friends!
Played a bunch of gigs…
And went to a bunch of shows!
It’s been a great year musically, with a lot more to come.
Next up: Mandolin Orange, Pearl Jam, David Byrne, Ziggy Marley and Elton John!
It’s hard to believe that Jimi Hendrix would have been 75 today. I still think of him as a soft spoken 27 year old who influenced the world with his guitar. Even though he’s just one year younger than my father, in my eyes he’s timeless.
I wish I had gotten to know his music early on in my life, as I did with Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Certainly I knew all of his mainstream hits, Purple Haze, All Along The Watchtower, Hey Joe and of course Voodoo Child (Slight Return). There are so many of his 46 recordings that I’ve missed over the years. I heard “Hear My Train a Comin” for the first time last year, sung by Doyle Bramhall II, and I loved it immediately. It was just this week that I realized it was a Jimi Hendrix song. Wow, what a terrible feeling to realize I’ve missed out on all of Jimi’s music all of these years.
No time like the present to change that…
Here’s a rare acoustic version of “Hear My Train a Comin” by Jimi…
Here’s the version that I recorded, performed by Doyle Bramhall II…
This is one of my all time favorite Stevie Ray Vaughan clips –
I recently had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Frank Fotusky at a club in Portland, ME called BLUE, playing songs from his new album, Meet Me In The Bottom. Introduced to me by a new friend of mine, BLUE is an intimate setting with great sound, friendly staff and fantastic music. Frank is an extremely talented acoustic blues singer and songwriter who has appeared with or performed with the likes of Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal and Bonnie Raitt.
Speaking with Frank before the show, I asked if he could play a Robert Johnson song and he was kind enough to play “Me and The Devil Blues”. This song was written and recorded in 1937 by Johnson in Dallas, TX and covered by many over the years, including Eric Clapton (on his record “Me and Mr. Johnson”), who, in an interview in 2014 said he always thought the song was about Robert’s girlfriend. I agree…
Here’s one from his new album, “Trouble In Mind”
My favorite from Meet Me In The Bottom is 39 Ninth St., which is a song that takes him back to times spending at his Grandmothers house. For me, knowing what the artist was thinking when he or she wrote the song gives it a whole new meaning and this one is fantastic.
Take a close look at “Meet Me In The Bottom” by Frank Fotusky.
If you like what you hear, click on the link above to purchase it.
Frank is a regular at BLUE in Portland, ME. If you’d like to reach him, here is his information:
“A wonderful album (Teasin’ the Frets) from a wonderful friend.” JOHN JACKSON (1924-2002)
….offers a sparkling guitar sound on fine Piedmont-style blues and rags….Fotusky’s clean finger draws you in and projects the music-which would be somber in other hands-out. BLUES ACCESS #40 HOME BREW-BILL KISLIUK
This is a player that would be welcomed on any porch, front or back! BIG CITY BLUES- 5 HAT RATING-MARK A. COLE
The release of Frank Fotusky’s second CD, ‘Meet Me In the Bottom,’ only confirms what many of us have known for years: that Frank is one of the premier acoustic blues stylists in the nation. Frank has studied the masters—from Rev. Gary Davis and Blind Willie McTell to Robert Johnson and Bo Carter—but he’s no mere imitator. His inventive arrangements, splendid picking and soulful singing make for the complete blues package. – IAN ZACK, AUTHOR ‘SAY NO TO THE DEVIL-THE LIFE AND MUSICAL GENIUS OF REV.GARY DAVIS’
If like myself you adore the finger-picking of early Larry Johnson, John Jackson with a smattering of Roy Book Binder, Paul Geremia, and Paul Rishell then this CD belongs in your player…. His wooden box resonates with a crispness that though dead-eyed in accuracy never becomes clinically sterile…. Lets get him over here, apart from having a welcome change in the familiar visitors this guy has a lot to offer. BLUES MATTERS (UNITED KINGDOM) ISSUE 19- BILLY HUTCHINSON
Frank Fotusky should be a major name in country blues. Eventually he will be, but for now he has achieved cult status, armed with a great repertoire and fantastic chops and feel. And, like fine whiskey, he takes the blues, plays it smooth and then has that bite that lets you know this is the real deal.–JAMES REAMS (PRODUCER, GOOD COFFEEHOUSE MUSIC PARLOR, BROOKLYN NY
The show takes songs from the 1982 album, “Imperial Bedroom” as a starting point, but as Costello describes it…
“We never intended to recite this book from cover to cover. Listen to our new arrangement of ‘Tears Before Bedtime,’ it gets straight to the real meaning of that song, the way we hear and feel it today. Back in 1982, I might have been a step or two ahead of our crowd in the tragic, romantic stakes but I sense that they’ve all caught up with me now.”
Speaking of the second part of the show’s title, Costello added, “You never know who or what you are going to encounter down the corridor to those ‘Other Chambers.'”
Every year, I take my children camping… at least twice. We love it. I’m going to keep doing it until they beg me to stop! The trick is, how do I cook good, healthy meals that all of us like without running water and a stove?
Here are some tips that I’ve learned along the way.
What’s the best way to cook lobsters? I learned this one out on my last trip when the campsite above us was cooking up a feast. Use a disposable foil lasagna pan from the grocery store! Put it on the fold down grill over the firepit, put some water in it, cover with foil and you’re good to go! Way easier than boiling in pots over the portable burners…
Steak on the grill! When I’m camping, I would recommend buying one gallon zip lock bags for the cooler. Typically you’re keeping your food on ice in a cooler, the zip lock bags keep the water out of your food while the ice is melting. They’re also good for marinating meats overnight.
Freshly picked mussels from Somes Sound on Mt. Desert Island. If you’re picking your own, make sure you check the web to see if there’s a Red Tide warning… just saying.
If you’re making homefries for breakfast, make sure to use the left overs from the cooler! Brocoli, onion, tomato, sausage…. basically anything will work.
Eggs and homefries in a skillet, not a bad choice for breakfast. For portable grills, I always recommend the kind where you use the green propane containers, as opposed to the type where you use fuel. They’re much easier to set up, break down and the tanks are very easy to find.
Fresh local steamers are always fantastic.
The perfect marshmellow… Don’t forget s’mores! Please, please, don’t set them on fire!
The song is about events during the American revolution. ‘Franklin’ refers to Benjamin Franklin. The ‘Bell’ in the tower is the Liberty Bell. Casting large metal objects is a complicated process. Casting bells is additonally complicated by the fact that bells must be able to withstand the stress of ringing, and they must produce a good tone. The Liberty Bell was not only very large, but it needed to ring loudly and clearly enough to be heard around the world. This was pushing the limits of 18th century technology.
As you probably know, Benjamin Franklin was not only a philosopher and statesman, he was an inventor. He was involved in the design of the Liberty Bell in the following way:
Franklin postulated that a process which he called “dewing” could be used to improve the production process of large bells. Dewing basically involves exposing the freshly cast bell to large quantities of steam while the bell is still hot. The steam causes a rapid cooling, producing droplet of ‘dew’ on the bell. After the dew is formed, the bell is rolled between large cotton sheets. He described this process as “rolling away the dew”.
Unfortunately, Franklin’s contempories had a very hard time understanding his technology. He showed them sample bells, asking him to simply look at the results without trying to understand the process. This was when he uttered the now famous quote, “if you get confused, listen to the music play.”
In the end, Franklin couldn’t convince the foundry to use his dewing process. Instead they used an alternate process developed by a Frenchman named Simon Legree (who eventually turned out to be a British agent). Simon’s process involved planting small ice crystals (seeds) into the metal while the bell was being cast.
As we all know, the Liberty Bell didn’t last very long. I believe it had one good ring, but you can’t really tell because it was so long ago.
Apparently the one time it was rung was during a storm. After ringing, the famous crack developed in the side of the bell and the wind blew through the crack. They tried ringing the bell again, but the only sound was of the wind blowing through the crack.
Benjamin Franklin was understandably disgusted. When asked later about the incident, his only comment was “They planted ice, so they harvested wind.” The ice refers to an alternate dewing process they used at the suggestion of a rival inventor (I’ll spare you the details, but he turned out to be quite a Tory). The wind, of course, is the lack of sound from subseqent ringings. By Andrew Shalit
In another time’s forgotten space
Your eyes looked through your mother’s face
Wildflower seed on the sand and stone
May the four winds blow you safely home
Roll away, the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
I’ll tell you where the four winds dwell
In Franklin’s tower there hangs a bell
It can ring, turn night to day
It can ring like fire when you lose your way
Roll away, the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
God save the child who rings that bell
I may have one good ring baby, you can’t tell
One watch by night, one watch by day
If you get confused just listen to the music play
Some come to laugh their past away
Some come to make it just one more day
Whichever way your pleasure tends
If you plant ice you’re gonna harvest wind
Roll away, the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
I’ll tell you where the four winds sleep
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep
Wildflower seed in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again
Roll away, the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
Roll away, roll away the dew
What a fantastic show! I’m grateful for Kyle Baker for the tickets!
There are times when things just come together and you stumble on something that’s really cool… “I’ve Just Seen a Face” by The Beatles is a great song and I just found a version by Doyle Bramhall II and Colin Hay (lead singer for Men at Work) that I think is fantastic. Ted Pecchio plays bass on this version and he’s a class act. If you have a chance to Google him, check out his work with Doyle Bramhall II, Colonel Bruce Hampton, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.
Released in 1965 on Help!, it is one of very few Beatles songs that lacks a bass track. It sounds like there’s one, but that’s Paul walking down on the E string on his acoustic and George playing his solo on only the A and E strings of his acoustic.
Here is the version that I’m talking about, followed by Paul McCartney singing The Beatles version…
I’ve just seen a face, I can’t forget the time or place
Where we just met.
She’s just the girl for me, And I want all the world to see
We’ve met
mm-mm-mm-m’mm-mm
What a great song. If you want to learn it, here’s a guitar lesson from Privetricker.
He gives great YouTube guitar lessons and can now be found under James James.
I have never known the likes of this, I’ve been alone and I have
So I haven’t written in a while…. I guess I was in need of a little inspiration. Things have come up, but for some reason, I haven’t grabbed the computer. As you all know, this site is about food and music. If I can combine a movie about food, staring a musician that I love, that’s close enough!
My friend Dan Walker and I were playing some guitar and Gary Clark, Jr. came up in conversation. He said I should check out “Chef”, a movie that came out a few years ago and is currently on Netflix. Gary Clark, Jr. plays a Blues singer from Austin, TX (which he is) and it’s all about a chef who finds his way opening a food truck, travels from Miami to LA and bonds with his son. How could I not love that? Food, Family and the Blues? Not a bad combo.
I’ve seen Gary Clark, Jr. twice live and he’s nothing short of amazing. I’ll be seeing him later this summer at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. I can’t wait! Here’s a clip from his live record, and the trailer from the movie.
Travis County took my picture…. No, I didn’t smile
Told me I was gonna be here, for a pretty long while
Oh, c’mon! Jon Favreau, Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey, Jr, John Leguizamo, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, and my main man, Gary Clark, Jr.?
Anyway, I had a fun night watching the movie and listening to music. Hope you enjoyed it.
Today, I was inspired by the sound of a steel guitar. I was first exposed to this sound listening to Doyle Bramhall II play with Eric Clapton on Sessions for Robert J, a DVD that was put out in 2004. Since then, I’ve heard that same sound listening to “Henry” by Keb’ Mo and “Diving Duck Blues” by Taj Mahal.
Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time and this weekend, something led me to find this video by Charley Hicks, a London based blues musician, influenced by Charley Patton and my favorite, Robert Johnson. He sings and plays a song written by Charley Patton in 1929, Tom Rushen Blues. Take a moment to watch the video, I think Charley had a unique voice and a fantastic sound. Below is a video from Mule Resonator Guitars (the guitar that Charley Hicks plays in the video above). They’re handmade by Matt Eich out of Saginaw, Michigan (the town where my mother’s family is from).
Charley’s debut album is available on iTunes. If you liked the video, check it out on iTunes, you won’t be disappointed!
Tom Rushen Blues
Charley Patton, Recorded in Richmond, Indiana, June 14, 1929
Laid down last night, hopin’ I would have my peace, eee
I laid down last night, hopin’ I would have my peace, eee
But when I woke up, Tom Rushen1 was shakin’ me
When you get in trouble, it’s no use to screamin’ and cryin’, hmm
When you get in trouble, it’s no use to screamin’ and cryin’, hmm
Tom Rushen will take you, back to the prison house flyin’
It were late one night, Halloway was gone to bed, hmm
It were late one night, Halloway was gone to bed, hmm
Mister Day2 brought whiskey taken from under Halloway’s head
An’ it’s boozy booze, now, Lord, to cure these blues
It takes boozy boo’, Lord, to cure these blues
But each day seems like years in the jailhouse where there is no boo’
I got up this mornin’, Tom Day was standin’ around
I got up this mornin’, Tom Day was standin’ around
If he lose his office now, he’s runnin’ from town to town
Let me tell you folksies just how he treated me
Let me tell you folksies just how he treated me
Aw, he caught me yellin’, I was drunk as I could be
