Had the distinct pleasure of seeing Levon Helm and his band at the Greek Theater in Hollywood on Sunday evening. I wrote up a complete review for VintageRock.com, but suffice to say the show was very good; one of the best I’ve been to, in fact.

Steve Earle came out and did a few numbers, including “The Mountain” and a killer version of the Stones’ “Sweet Virginia.” Levon doesn’t sing much anymore (he’s recovering from throat cancer), but he still beats a mean drum. Anyway, you can read all about it over at VR. In the meantime, here are a few photos from the evening…

The Levon Helm band, with Jim Keltner sitting in on drums

Helm's drumming chops were in fine order

Just like back at The Barn in Woodstock: Levon jams with Larry Campbell, his daughter Amy Helm, and Jim Keltner

Rock and roll troubador Steve Earle performs "The Mountain"; vocalist Teresa Williams looks on.

Update: The review’s been posted. Mosey on over to VintageRock.com for the whole story.

Another good time at the Cellar in San Clemente on Thursday night. I took Friday off work, so P joined me for the entire evening and had a great meal while we played. The shortribs at the Cellar are fantastic, as are the various cheeses that they have to offer.

The Cellar has an outstanding selection of cheese!

Brought the Tootsie Roll and played through the usual 4 watt VOX amp. It’s perfect for a small venue like the Cellar; you have to turn it up almost all the way, which gives you a fair amount of dirt, when needed. A simple twist of the guitar’s volume control provides the gain. Backing it off a bit cleans it up.

I’ve also been experimenting with using the tone control as a means for varying tone between rhythm and lead. For rhythm parts, I roll the tone back and the guitar blends into the mix, keeping the vocals and Slim’s harp front-and-center. When it’s time take a solo, I roll up the tone and the Tootsie cuts through with more bite than bark. It works especially well with the neck humbucker of the Gibson 335, which is where the pickup selector is pretty much parked during these gigs.

Tools of the trade: Guitar, bass, and harmonicas

We started the night with the Rod Piazza tune “Somebody,” and wrapped up the night with a  Hollywood Fats-inspired “Caldonia”. I did my usual numbers, including the crowd-pleasers “Shake Rattle and Roll” and “Move It On Over” (Hank Williams-style). It was a good crowd. Tips were pretty steady.

No recording for this one. Maybe next time; which could be awhile, as Slim says he’s been having a hard time drumming up gigs. Tough times, these…

At any rate, a great night. Lots of fun, good experience, and a little extra cash in my pocket at nights end.

Catch you next time.

Great time Saturday jamming with the guys at Malone’s. Great to see all the folks from the Orange County Blues Players Meetup Group; always great to get back in touch with such friendly, talented people.

OC Blues Players organizer Richard plays Junior Wells' "Messin' with the Kid" at Malone's in Santa Ana.

My set consisted of a new tune (for me, anyway) and an old standby. I started off with “Jim Dandy,” which recently I gleaned from the excellent Atlantic R&B compilation, and followed up with the Mose Allison tune “Your Mind is On Vacation”. Not so great at singing after several months off, but hey… what can you do?

I had the pleasure of finally getting to share the stage with Jim F, who’s the organizer of the Malone’s event, and slinger of a mean Stratocaster. James Hirsen played harmonica and sang a soulful version of B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.” Ron Gagnon and my buddy Randy Davis made up the battery that was the rhythm section; drums and bass, respectively.  A great lineup, for a bunch of guys who just showed up to have a good time!

As always, a well-run, well-attended event with a bunch of cool people. Volume was good this time, and they finally put some shutters on those blinding windows behind the stage (photographers rejoice!).

Afterwards, P and I headed over to the Orange County Fair for some funnel-cake, chocolate-covered bacon (I can now check that off my bucket list), and… a henna tattoo for P!

P's henna tattoo... courtesy of the OC Fair

Looking forward to Thursday night’s gig at The Cellar in San Clemente with Laguna Slim and Satin Blue. And, as always, looking forward to the next jam…

Related event

• Artist: The Orange County Blues Players
• Date: Saturday, August 7th 2010
• Time: 2:00pm
• City: The Orange County Blues Players in Santa Ana, CA
• Venue: Malone’s
• Address: 604 East Dyer Road
• Venue phone: (714) 979-6000
• Country: United States
• Age restrictions: All Ages
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

The "marquee" outside The Cellar, in San Clemente, CA

I’m playing some gigs again this month with Laguna Slim and Satin Blue. Those shows are always a hoot. Three guys show up, lock in; general revelry ensues. If you’re going to be in the neighborhood, I hope you can stop by and check us out.

I’ll also try to squeeze in an open jam or two. If you’re a blues-lover in or around Orange County, be sure to stop in and participate. I guarantee you’ll have fun!

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The Blue Girl adventure continues. As posted on TDPRI earlier today:

So I contacted the Guitar Shoppe and sent them photos. They’ve told me they can’t fix it, due to the polyurethane finish; the best they can do is seal it and prevent further damage.

They said that the only real “repair” option would be to strip the body and repaint it. Otherwise, I could do some kind of patch, but — to quote Bonasera — “Now she will never be beautiful.”

They recommended I go to a guy up the road a ways (a guy named Bernie Hefner) who does this kind of work. I’ve read good and bad about his work, though. I’m kind of dubious.

Anyway, does anyone have any advice about doing a repair? The wood’s fine. It’s just the paint that has cracked (all the way to the wood).

Advice is appreciated. I fear, however, that I am hosed.

I left a message with Hefner. We’ll see how it goes from here…

So, it’s closing time at the homestead last night. I’ve got my blue-skinned beauty, and a glass of water in each hand; heading for the stairs to put the blue girl to bed, then jump in the sack with the missus. I get two steps away from the carpet and the back of the strap just lets go… Tele meets hardwood, with a bone-chilling crack-and-clatter.

Now, in addition to a chunk out of the floor in our entryway, I’ve got this:

Damage to the finish of my Blue Girl Tele. If looking at car wrecks is your thing, click for a hi-res view...

*Sigh*

It’s just a thing. A possession. At least it didn’t drop on the cat. Or my foot. The ding in the floor’s not that noticeable. But…

BWAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

That kind of damage is totally fixable, right? RIGHT???

Here’s a little track I recorded this morning prior to leaving for work. Something to test out my newly installed FourTrack iPhone app. It works pretty good!

The song was recorded with my little Martin “Size 5″ parlor guitar. A move inspired by the mystery-unidentified-possibly-Carribean-guitar-player photo that @DaveGrossBlues and @rootnotemusic have been inquiring about over on yonder Twitter. I’ll post a picture of it sometime, but, for now, audio will have to suffice:

As for the song it’s gibberish; something I made up off the top of my head. But it gets the point across.

Next, I’ll have to try the multitracking features of the app.

Stay tuned…

The "marquee" outside The Cellar, in San Clemente, CA

Strange gig tonight. Strange, but fun.

We started the evening playing to an empty room. Not one patron. Just Stan, Dave, myself, and the Cellar staff. We had the usual request to keep the volume to an absolute minimum, and in an empty room, that’s a tall order.

I found that my 4 watt VOX is the perfect amp for this place. I think I’m going to save the Blues Jr. for jams and larger venues. The master volume knob on the Blues Jr. is just too sensitive for ultra-low volumes — the difference between “just a hair below 2″ and “2″ is the difference between a whisper and a attention-starved-megaphone-toting four-year-old. So it’s the VOX for the Cellar.

P’ came out tonight with Julie and Gary, which was nice. Always good to have friends providing moral support. Even more surprising was the brief appearance by Dan, a photographer friend of mine from work. He dropped in with his son Ryan, shot some photos, and then took off to do whatever else he had planned for the evening. Thanks for the pics, Dan! I’ll post them shortly.

Played the usual stuff. Stan tried “Third Rate Romance” again; I just didn’t have the rhythm down, but I managed to get the solo. Dave played his two tunes. I was having trouble on the solos tonight: Right-hand technique issues. I’d go to hit a string and miss, or find the pick in the wrong place. I need to practice. Standing up, no less. More on that later, though.

This was my first time playing the Blue Girl with her new pickups (Bill Lawrence Keystones). Sounded great! Especially during the third set of the evening, when the place was full and we were able to turn up a bit. Sparkly! I think I’m going to bring her along to the next one; give the Tootsie Roll a break.

During one of the breaks, I asked Dave how business was. He mentioned that he had a private part gig with Stan on Saturday night, then sort of blanched. “Oops, I guess I shouldn’t be telling you about it.”

C’mon Dave, you don’t have to worry about that political shit. Not with me, anyway. I know where I stand. I’m strictly B-list; the guy you call when the guys you really like can’t make the gig. I’m fine with that. I get to play, get some experience, and get better. And I am getting better. Every night.

Which brings up this weeks goals. Overall I want to focus on three things:

1. Playing solid rhythm while singing: I’m still shaky in this area. My rhythm playing needs to be automatic while singing. I can do this with basic shuffles, but jump numbers, rhumbas, etc. require me to think. If I’m thinking about what my hands are doing, I ain’t singing good. And I’m not playing well either.
2. Improved accuracy with my right-hand technique: Gotta quit missing those notes during leads! There’s no way to address this issue other than practice. And practice. And practice some more.
3. Improved confidence during solos: Hit it, or quit it! I need to be less tentative while playing leads. My goal for next week is to play more from instinct, and think less about what I’m doing. “Make it sound good,” is my mantra. Who cares if I’m targeting the third, or playing in different positions, or starting this solo the same way I started the last one. Turn it up and turn it loose!

We played longer than usual tonight, ’til maybe 10:20 or so. As we were going into our “night’s end” number to wrap up the evening, a classy looking couple got up and started dancing. Better late than never, I guess.

No gig at the Cellar next week. We’ll pick it back up on the 15th.

Hope to see you there!

…

The Gig

Satin Blue @ The Cellar Wine and Cheese Bar
Thursday, October 1, 2009; 7pm-10pm
San Clemente, CA

Gear

Blue Girl, VOX AC4TV, Holy Grail Nano Reverb

Songs of Note

Ain’t That Loving You Baby, Blue Valentine, Good Lover, Wait On Time, Third Rate Romance (Stan singing), Too Late, Move It On Over