Charley Groth - Music Man

February Update: Florida

2011-02-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

Hello from the Sunshine State, blog readers! I realize it has been a long time since I posted something here. There has been a LOT going on in my life!!

After my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp in November, I made some life-changing decisions, and so far I'm happy with them. I've decided to stop all the constant touring in the USA, much as I have enjoyed doing it and loved making all the great friends I've made on the music road. From now on I plan to save my travelling for tours to places in this country where I really want to go, and for international touring.

Continuous touring here in this country during worldwide hard times had become at best a break-even proposition financially. Also, as most of the smaller gigs between larger events like festivals vanished or became too low-pay (or no-pay)to do, continuous touring in the USA had come to involve far too much down time in places far from home, where I did not really want to be, while I waited between larger events for which I was booked. Particularly in the southwest and midwest USA, due to distances involved I was spending WAY too much time sitting around waiting and spending money to live because I was too far from home to return there between larger events.

Some of the larger events continued to pay generously, but even some of those events were no longer were able to pay well. In some cases entertainers I was working for paid a fair and generous share of what they got---but they themselves did not receive enough to pay support musicians well.

Bottom line: Continuous touring just wasn't working out anymore, moneywise---and in addition to that I was beating my old van to death making all the very long trips. I'm not prepared to buy a new vehicle at this time. With more normal use I think my present van has many more miles left in it.

So, an end has come, for now at least, to my continuous touring in this country. Onward to new things! For thirty years I have made my home in Largo, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, one of the most gorgeous and pleasant states in which to live in the United States. I've decided to make more music right here, where a sizeable population and visits from a great number of tourists, vacationers, and refugees from snowbound places all over the world make for many opportunities in music. In times to come I'll be working much more here in Florida and in southeastern USA.

I've started a new Florida-based musical group, called Easy Street (named after a theme song I wrote, a swing number called Easy Street). We can function as a duo, a trio, or a larger group. In the core group I'm playing guitar, piano, mandolin, and whatever other instruments I decide to play. Carolyn Dunn, from Venice, Florida, a longtime professional musician, plays bass and sings. Austin Truax, a recent arrival in Florida from the frozen north, plays rhythm guitar and sings. We are doing a wide range of music to please a wide range of audiences. Featured are jazz standards (Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, many more), swing and western swing (Bob Wills, Cindy Walker, more), authentic ragtime (The Entertainer, Dill Pickle Rag, many others), country standards (Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, more), and a wide range of other great numbers. In this group I'm having more chance to play piano and to use my wonderful Gibson Herb Ellis model electric hollowbody jazz guitar. I'm also doing some unusual stuff like playing Duke Ellington and other jazz pieces on Dobro. Love it!!

Here's the new group: Easy Street

I'm also working with friend and ace guitarist Greg (Gonzo) Gove and others on a more "acoustic" act that will focus on Doc Watson-style flattop guitar picking, old blues, mandolin and guitar duets, harmony vocals, and such. That should be fun too. There are many good festivals to play here.

Gonzo has just been down in Belize, scouting out that lovely Central American country where we are thinking of going in December-January-February to escape the cold weather that has started to plague North America during those months in recent years. In Florida we don't have snow and ice of course, but even here there are now too many cold days in January and February to suit me. I'm just not a cold-weather guy at all. Since I won't be travelling to Texas or Arizona or other far places to play in this country in January and February, as I have done in the past, there's no reason not to explore warmer places during those months.

It felt kind of funny not to go to South Texas this year, as I have usually done in February, but that's okay. I'm enjoying being right here in my beautiful Florida. It truly is one of the fabulous places in the country. I live about eight minutes from the Gulf of Mexico, and I love that. There is certainly plenty to do and plenty of music to play. When I'm not making music I'm able to get a lot done around the home place that was not getting done when I was spending my life on the road. And the sun is bright and the weather gorgeous almost every day.

I've started work on a new Festival to happen here on the Gulf Coast in May. The project is having a rocky start due to problems with a partner, but I'm considering going ahead with it alone. More on that as things develop.

Life is good. I'm having fun. I hope you are, too!!

More, as always, to come!!

21st Annual Sunshine State Camp, More

2010-12-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, December 11, I played a benefit show in Gulfport, Florida, to help a friend of my friend, Goody Haines, who has been in an accident, is in the hospital, and who has no money, no job, no health insurance, nothing. We're all going to have to pitch in and help each other more in the future, as Republicans take over in Congress and steer us right back into the ditch poor Obama has been trying to get us out of since he was elected to the presidency in 2008. He's sure not having much luck as President of the United States.

I didn't write this, but it is oh-so-very-true: The homeless go without food. The elderly go without medicine. The mentally ill go without treatment. Veterans go without benefits that were promised them. 60 million men, women and children go without health insurance. 10% go without paychecks. Yet we'll give billions in tax breaks to the wealthiest two percent of our population!

Well... we won't. Republicans and other right-wingers in Congress, representating the rich and the corporations, will. President Obama has done some fine things in his first two years in office, but he has been so obstructed by the Republicans and other right-wingers, and he has bungled the political/cheerleading end of the job so much, that the right-wingers, knowing Americans just don't think things through very well, have pushed voters' fear, frustration, and anger buttons well enough to get them to vote against their own, the nation's, and the world's best interests.

Oh America. Think, people. THINK!!

Onward.

After the Barberville Jamboree that I wrote about last time, I spent a lot of time working on "home" things. Still am, as a matter of fact. I have two rental properties that are vacant and were left trashed by tenants. I rent through a management company that was supposed to be cleaning them up and getting them back on the market, but in reality very little had been done. So I got to work and have just about completed the job as I write.

Those places are for rent now. Interested? Details: Rentals

Back to music. Bet you're glad of that---especially you readers outside the USA who don't really give a rap about American political craziness or my rentals! Okay then: The next major event in my life, after the Barberville Jamboree I wrote about last time, was the 21st Annual Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp held on November 12-14. It was a small camp, because hard times are on the land, but it was a great camp. All of our wonderful instructors did fine jobs teaching the classes. Students all reported having wonderful times. We had one of the very best Saturday evening concerts ever. Many activities were videoed by good friend and professional videographer Elizabeth Neely. We'll be getting some clips from the recording up on YouTube soon. Might add here that I've established a Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp page on Facebook. Call it up and "like" us, won't you? "Friend" me personally on Facebook too, please!

We'd welcome you, one and all, to next year's camp. Have a look at the web site for complete information:

Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp

A highlight of the weekend for me was bringing my niece, Michelle Thedaker, from Los Angeles to the camp. She's a young wife and mother of two growing boys. She'd written that she wanted to come but had the kids to care for, and was without funds for the trip or the camp. So I got her an air ticket and she came out to Florida to spend some time with me and attend the camp. I think she had a wonderful time. I know I did. Her husband, Eric Thedaker, a very fine guy, urged her to accept my offer and took time off work to watch their sons while Michelle came to Florida.

Had a nice Thanksgiving day visiting with my good friend Doug Purcell in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Doug's been ill so we just had a quiet visit and some food in his apartment. Our friend Carl Wade came too. Yes---of course we played some music.

Christmas is coming up, and between now and then I have lots more work to do around the place and the rentals, so I haven't tried to book any music shows. I'm kind of enjoying not doing so much music for a while. Oh, I have picked up my teaching practice. Lesson information here: Lessons.

The clock on the wall says midnight. I say, g'night!! See you next time.

Across the South - Home to Florida

2010-11-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

On October 16 I rolled into Cullman, Alabama, south of Decatur, to play Berkeley Bob's Coffee House. It sure was nice to get back into the south. I'm a southern boy, y'know! I'd been told about Berkeley Bob's by my friends, blues duo Bill and Eli Perras, who played there on their way through Alabama once upon a time. If you get to Cullman, don't miss Berkeley Bob's. Truly a lot of fun, it is a classic coffehouse. I was still fighting my bronchitis and cold when I played there, and so did more croaking than singing. Played some alternate-tuning stuff on guitar, some mandolin numbers, and a standard-tuning guitar instrument or two, or three. The packed house that turned out certainly was enthusiastic, and Bob and everyone else had many kind words to say---so I guess I made it through all right.

The next morning, Sunday, I drove to beautiful Montgomery, Alabama to the lovely peaceful home of Len Daley and Becky Porter. Len and Becky are wonderful friends, and I like to do a house concert at their place when I pass through. Enjoyed doing that this trip. I played a wide range of music. I wasn't feeling too well, but just had a great visit. Stayed over a day or so and rested up. I've invited Len and Becky to my November Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp in Florida, and I hope they can make it.

By October 20 I arrived back at my own rambling old place in Largo, Florida. It was wonderful, wonderful to finally reach home after six months on the road. I pulled into my parking area behind the house, shut off the engine of my van, and just sat looking at my home for a few minutes. Home!! Yes!!! Six months is too long to be away, and I don't think I'm going to spend that long on the road again without a break.

Florida is a surpassingly beautiful place. I live on a quiet oak-shaded street where I'm surrounded by a large number of plants and trees, most of which I've planted in the years I've lived here. I have bougainvillea, cultivated and native hibiscus, gardenias, bleeding heart, sea grape, grapefruit, lemon, silk oak, live oak, Florida holly, loquat, and rubber trees, frangipani, a fern garden, cactus, spanish bayonet, lantana, jasmine, on and on, and I love it all. I live eight minutes from a flawless white sand beach on the Gulf of Mexico. I live about three blocks from a really nice walking/bike trail. People come from all over the world to vacation where I live...so...what do I do? Right: Spend most of my life on the road in other places nowhere close to as gorgeous. I may have to modify that pattern.

My friend and great songwriter Larry Mangum posted a comment on Facebook a while back, saying that he swore the sun got brighter the minute he passed the sign at the Florida borderline, heading south. Thinking about what Larry wrote, I put together a song very recently: Florida Home. It has a call-and-response chorus in which I sing some key words and the audience sings them back to me. Last weekend, at a jam session at the Fall Jamboree in Barberville, one of our very best festivals, I got to sing my new song for Larry and tell him that he had inspired it.

The word "forida" in early Spanish, meant "land of flowers".

Whaddaya think??

FLORIDA HOME
Copyright (c) 2010 by Charley Groth

VERSE:

I was runnin' south through Georgia, just the other day,
Carryin' hopes and dreams and one old road guitar,
When I passed a sign that told me "Wanderin' boy, you've come back home,
Though you've been long gone and you have travelled far.

CHORUS:

FLORIDA HOME (FLORIDA HOME), beautiful home (beautiful home);
It's the finest sight I'll ever want to see!
FLORIDA HOME (FLORIDA HOME), beautiful home (beautiful home);
This land of flowers is home sweet home to me.

VERSE:

I've made music up in Nashville, sung my songs around the world;
I've even bathed in those bright nights out in L.A.;
But I swear it all sounds sweeter under spreading live oak trees,
Where a southern moon sails high above the bay.

CHORUS:

FLORIDA HOME (FLORIDA HOME), beautiful home (beautiful home);
It's the finest sight I'll ever want to see!
FLORIDA HOME (FLORIDA HOME), beautiful home (beautiful home);
This land of flowers is home sweet home to me.

INSTRUMENTAL THEN BRIDGE:

Some folks are made for ramblin', and that's the way with me,
Always chasin' off to try to find a song--

But I only get this feelin'---wanderin' boy you've come back home,
Where the shining Suwannee River rolls along!

CHORUS:

FLORIDA HOME (FLORIDA HOME), beautiful home (beautiful home);
It's the finest sight I'll ever want to see!
FLORIDA HOME (FLORIDA HOME), beautiful home (beautiful home);
This land of flowers is home sweet home to me.

TAG
I've come back home; it's where I love to be!!

People have been liking that one. I hope you do too.

On Saturday, October 23, I played a house concert in Tampa, on the big screened patio of Greg Gove's beautiful waterside home. For the first time I was joined by bass player Carolyn Dunn. She did a terrific job with music not very familiar to her, and I knew we'd be doing plenty of music together down the road. We already have! My loyal friend Carl Wade got there to play guitar, although his truck broke down on the way and had to be towed to a place where Carolyn could go pick him up. Now that's a real friend!! All he said when I thanked him for making it was "Not showing up was never an option." Very very cool.

The following Tuesday, October 26, I played one of my favorite Florida gigs. I was the feature at Kojak's Rib House in Palmetto, Florida. Every Tuesday evening at Kojak's, area musician/radio personality/showman Pete Gallagher and partner Pat Barmore have a special evening of Florida roots music, presenting the best of Florida's roots performers. Pete and Pat play and sing, other opening acts are presented, and then the feature. The place is always packed. Joe, the proprietor, a great guy and a true music lover, serves up WONDERFUL food, including a fish salad that is to die for. I always have that when I play Kojak's. BIG fun. At one point I jumped down off the stage and danced with a lady sitting at ringside, whose husband wouldn't dance with her. Why not??

On the following Friday I did my "big show" of this time in Florida, a concert in the auditorium of the Center for Spiritual Living, on Busch Boulevard in Tampa. Opening were Big Bear and Red, my old friends Doug Travers and Ellie Daulton, who did a really nice set of music. Joining me onstage were Carl Wade, guitar, Doug Travers on bass, harmonica ace and longtime musical cohort Joe Reina, and special guests flatpicking phenomenon and thoughtful songwriter Jesse Sam Owens, and Ellie Daulton bringing her great swing guitar backup to some swing tunes I played on guitar, Dobro, and mandolin. There was a decent baby grand piano on the stage, so I took the opportunity to play some Fats Waller and James P. Johnson ragtime on it. It was a good, good concert, I do believe. The audience certainly seemed to agree.

Went out with some of the show folks for breakfast very late after the concert. I love to do that.

I found myself quite interested in the Center for Spiritual Living, and I plan to go back there. I like the way the folks there think, and I like what they believe. Fits well with my own views.

This past weekend, November 6 and 7, I played one of the very best festivals I play all year, the Jamboree at Barberville, Florida. The 2010 show was the best one ever. It just gets better every year. It is fabulous fun!! Crowd size was about doubled over last year, and that's downright amazing, considering our economic recession.

I played my shows with a good band and am happy to say I was very warmly received by all. I was scheduled with very good times on the stages. Sound was superb. All good. I had Jesse Sam Owens, one of the south's premiere flatpickers, sitting in with me, and Raven Stands Alone, the Indian flute player from Jacksonville, on various sets. Carl Wade played guitar all weekend. He came all the way up from Sarasota to Barberville, around 200 miles, just to play music with me last weekend. Carolyn Dunn played bass (bass fiddle this time) and did her usual fine job. All good.

I would have to say the level of musical talent at Barberville is simply light years beyond what I have seen as usual in most of the festivals I play. There are some **wonderful** musicians in Florida!! (Most of the participant are Floridians, though not all.) I am pleased to call a great many of them my friends.

After the shows Saturday night we jammed in the performer campground until very late! Super fun. One jam included two extremely good songwriters, Joe Waller and Larry Mangum, me, and a couple of others. We traded songs we'd written for quite a long time. A young songwriter, Leah Morris, age 17, of the Morris Family Band, participated, and she did right well with a few good songs she wrote. She was a little bashful and reluctant to offer her work, but we encouraged her, and her mom and sister (both excellent musicians) accompanied her, so she blossomed. It was beautiful to see.

Highlights... Wow, there were so many. The aforementioned Morris Family band was terrific, as always. Larry Mangum fielded a western swing group that REALLY cooked!! Yess!! Wonderful fiddle player. Very fine flatpick guitar soloist. Holy smoke, I knew I had to hustle up if I was going to equal that band with my people. I think we accomplished it, though.

Joe and Katie Waller's band, Jackson Creek, is a very smooth and professional group, often featuring Joe's excellent compositions but able to do much other material as well. Elements of the Morris family often work with Joe and Katie.

Back Porch Revival, Bill and Eli Perras, Jerry Mincey, Chuck Hardwicke, Ron Johnson's band, Jenn Weidley and her powerhouse folk group, Lloyd Baldwin---there were super musicians and entertainers everywhere you looked!

I loved watching zillions of happy young folks, and some older folks too, contra dancing to the music of Jackson Creek and other bands, including among others such dignified aggregations as the Fish Camp Cutups! Not all the kids are out using drugs and vandalizing things. A lot of them, at least at Barberville, are dancing, singing, playing, and doing what good kids do.

On the way home Sunday we (Carl Wade, Carolyn Dunn and her husband, and me) stopped at a Ruby Tuesday in Ocala to chow down---something that has been traditional with my crowd after Barberville for a few years now. Wasn't quite the same without our good friends Rick Kennedy and Denise Adams, who recently moved to Nashville, and Dan and Diana Ost, who moved to Austin, Texas, a few years ago; but we had lots of fun. Doug Purcell hasn't moved but he was unable to make it to Barberville this year for health reasons.

As you can tell I've just had a wonderful weekend. I know I am getting to be an old coot, but I have a WONDERFUL time living my life and I hope to be full of life and able to enjoy my life for many years go come.

Friends everywhere, it is really, really nice for me to be back in Florida for a while. Several nights I've gone out to the beach to watch the sun go down. A couple of times I did my morning walk along the waterline. Went kayaking with a friend one afternoon. I've spent plenty of time riding my bike and playing with my gardening. On November 20 I have to go to Omaha, Nebraska, to finish mixing a CD I'm producing for some artists up there. I love projects like that, but it won't be easy to leave home again so soon.

Enough for now. More next time!! As they always say in Australia... See ya!!

Back in the Midwest, On to the South

2010-10-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

At the very end of September a couple of smooth uneventful United Airlines flights, first from Seattle to Denver, and then from Denver on to Omaha, brought me back to the midwest from the west coast. My good friends Larry and Karen Doran picked me up at the airport and drove me out to their place in McCool Junction, Nebraska, where my van was waiting---sporting a new fuel pump. Expensive, but necessary. Larry Doran had undertaken to get the van fixed while I was on the west coast. Larry and Karen are true blue friends. I love them and appreciate them beyond words!

The morning after I arrived we went out to the Crossroads Cafe in the area to have Crossroads' spectacular omelets. Then I got on the road again.

Didn't waste any time getting back to work in the midwest. On October 1st I played a show with Terry Smith at the HUGE King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha. This is one of the biggest churches I've ever seen! There must be lots of religious people in Omaha! The show went fine. We had John Cox on banjo, Rick Andersen on harmonica and guitar, Harriette Andersen on bass fiddle, and me on guitar and mandolin. And Terry out front, of course.

After the King of Kings show I drove to Fremont, Nebraska, for Bob Everhart's country music festival at Christiansen Fieldhouse in Fremont. It was a pretty good festival, featuring Terry Smith and a number of other acts that are good friends of mine---old friend and musical wizard Jay Kelly, Rick and Harriette Andersen, the Kenastons, Jerry and Gina Stevenson, the Balyeat Family, others. I had a glad reunion with my family-in-love, the Truaxes: Austin, Rebecca, and kids Shane and Makayla. Makayla was carrying a bad cold with her that infected her mom and then, eventually, me. Two weeks later I am still suffering with it...but actually it was worth it to have some hugs and good visiting with the family!! Austin and Rebecca, who perform as Silvertip, did some fine shows. I've been working with them on their stage act, and they made me proud!!

After the festival at Fremont, I left the midwest, driving 500 miles south to the Springfield, Missouri, area, where live my good friends John and Carol Jackson. It was mighty good to get back south!! The weather is warmer, the sunshine is brighter, and the scenery is completely different from that in the midwest. And there are almost NO flies!! Some gnats though. On Friday October 8 we enjoyed a great jam session, and then on Saturday evening, October 9, I did a concert at Northview Music Center in the countryside outside of Springfield. I was suffering severely with my cold, and had what I thought was almost no voice---but I'm told the show was good. Certainly we had a warmly receptive audience. Had a good band too: John Jackson on bass, Don Taylor on rhythm guitar, fiddle, lead guitar. Played mostly country music---the real thing, not the trash currently being dumped on the public by the Nashville corporate music machine. I did a few more on my Dobro than I usually get to do, and I enjoyed that a lot.

I'm really disgusted by the crap music Nashville money boys are pushing these days. They, and some fame- and money-hungry musicians, have truly corrupted and betrayed country music in the world. I recently saw a television broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry which featured fat, sick-looking Ricky Skaggs, gray-haired Marty Stuart, Steve Wariner, Keith Urban, and others, playing rock and roll music on the stage of what was once the "Mother Church" of country music. Wonderful musicians, yes, playing what they played very very well---but selling out. It was NOT country music. It was the sound of cash registers ringing. Greed never sleeps. Hey guys--enjoy it, play it, make millions with it...but DON'T call it country music. We already have country music. Get your own name for your genre.

After Springfield I journeyed east across gorgeous Missouri to Ellsinore, Missouri, in the southeast of the state, where I joined Harold Condray, John Jackson, and Don Taylor in playing for a packed house at a popular area club called The Log Cabin. We did well enough that the owner asked us to come back the next evening and play again! Very cool. Extremely nice of John and Don to drive all the way to Ellsinore to make music with me. I really appreciated that. More true friends! Met a special person named Crystal at The Log Cabin. Just a special lady I enjoyed getting to know.

Harold and Violet Condray are old, old friends. They live on a precipitous, winding gravel road in one of the most beautiful Ozark Mountain settings anyone could ever imagine. I've stayed a few days with them and it has been like a wonderful vacation...except for the cold I continue to fight. I am really tired of it. I usually don't catch colds, but I surely caught this one and it is hanging on and on and on. Walking down the Condrays' beautiful road in the mornings makes me feel better. It sure would be great to live in a place where one could be surrounded by so much natural beauty.

Some other friends of mine, Teresa and Terry Carel, and Teresa's parents, live in a similar sylvan setting outside of Van Buren, Missouri, near the Current River, a National Scenic Waterway, and the beautiful Big Spring. Teresa used to book music for an establishment where I often played in Van Buren---a Mark Twain National Forest tourist center. The music place is long gone but I've kept up my friendship with the Carels. I've visited their home and in fact did a house concert at their place a couple of years ago. On Monday afternoon I met up with Teresa and her parents (Terry was working) for lunch in Van Buren. Enjoyed very much catching up with these good people.

Then there was the float trip--that didn't happen. Harold wanted to take me on a float trip down the Current River, and I was all for that. It really is beautiful. I didn't think having a cold would keep me from enjoying it. Early one morning we set out, Harold in his pickup truck pulling a boat, and me following in my van. The plan was that I would leave my van beside a smaller river, the Spring River, that was still too large for the van to ford. Then we'd ford that stream in Harold's pickup and go on to the place where we'd put in to the much larger Current River. The road to the To get to the place where we were going to put the boat in the water, was long and twisting and unbelievably scenic.

We reached the Spring River. I parked the van, got in Harold's pickup, and we started out to ford the stream. Harold had thought that would be easy, but instead, right in the middle of the river his truck got mired into the bottom and sunk to the axles in back. A tire went flat and the truck was stuck. Uh oh!

After struggling with cables and a come-along for while it become evident that we couldn't get the stuck truck out by ourselves. We drove in my van back the long, long mountain dirt track to where Harold could get a cell phone signal. He called his son, also named Harold, who is about fifty years old and who lives about an hour away. I was very well impressed when Harold's son, a rough tough hillbilly I'd often met before, immediately dropped his work (he has a construction and welding and auto repair business) and came to help his dad. Harold Senior was going to call a tow truck, which would have cost a fortune, but his son would have none of that. Instead he came at once all the way out there with his own grown son in a HUGE four wheel drive monster truck, roared out into the river, pulled Harold's boat and the stuck truck right out, and changed the flat tire. Done thing!!

It was great that the son, instead of being grumpy with Harold, was in good humor about it, whistling as he worked. Didn't make his dad feel badly for a second. Just... no problem, Pop! He wouldn't take a cent or even let us help much. That's a good son and a good friend. In the midst of all the constant news of lying, cheating, lowlife politicians, Wall Street swindlers, and more straightforward ciminals of every stripe, it is always great to run into fine people like Harold's son Harold Lynn. Renews my faith in the essential goodness of humankind.

That happened yesterday. Today I've done an uncommon amount of nothing, and some sleeping, and am feeling MUCH better than I have for the past week or so. I think this cold is finally falling behind. I have stayed here in the bosom of the fantastic Ozarks one more day than I had planned. This afternoon Harold took me on a long ride through the mountains, on winding roads through forests so beautiful it is hard to believe they are real. We stopped to feed some cattle Harold is running on secluded hillside grazing land, visited a little town where we had root beer and ice cream (I know, I know, both nasty forbidden substances), and went to look at an enormous chasm called "The Gulf" by locals, sort of like some of the cenotes I've seen in southern Mexico---a giant hole hundreds of feet across and hundreds of feet deep, surrounded by huge old trees, with water at the bottom and a big cave at the rear. We hiked around it. Amazing to think that in ancient times, long before any Europeans had come to North America, this site existed, hidden in the trees, almost exactly as it exists today.

What a super conclusion this has been to a fine visit with my good friends Harold and Violet Condray here in the Missouri Ozarks.

It won't be easy to leave, but tomorrow morning I'll be up early and off to Jackson, Tennessee.

See you next time!!

From the Pacific Northwest

2010-09-28T07:56:00.001-07:00

The last thing Jim Portillo said to me as he left for work this morning was "let's see that blog sometime!" I'd better get to it!

I've been staying with Jim and with Carl Allen, both fine musicians and good friends. I met Carl in Phoenix, Arizona, last time I was there. Carl lives in Seattle, Washington. He was touring in Arizona with his music partner Bill Murlin, of Portland, Oregon. They are The Wanderers, a Pacific Northwest institution in folk music.

The Wanderers web site: http://www.thewanderersfolk.com

Carl and I hit it off very well, and he invited me to come out to Seattle, where he lives, meet some folks, and play some shows this fall. So I did that.

As I wrote here in an earlier entry, the trip to Seattle from Nebraska was not exactly without incident. The fuel pump on my van died on Interstate 80 just east of Hastings, Nebraska. AAA towed the van to the home of my friends Larry and Karen Doran, in McCool Junction, Nebraska, near York. My friend Bob Raine drove all the way from Logan, Iowa to fetch me and take me to the Omaha airport to catch my flight to the west. Larry Doran undertook getting my van fixed while I was away. That is now done, the Pacific Northwest tour is a done thing, and this afternoon I will journey back to Omaha to continue with my music there. Larry Doran will pick me up at Omaha airport later today. Larry, Karen, Bob... all true friends. I am blessed to have such wonderful friends.

I've made many new friends and I have had a great time in the far northwest of the USA. Carl Allen has been a wonderful host, running me all over the Seattle area to show me the sights and a multitude of interesting places in the more bohemian quarters of Seattle. He also drove us to all of the shows we did up and down the countryside. He's an amazing guy and I have enjoyed our time together immensely. I stayed with Carl during the first half of my visit to the Pacific northwest.

One of the first people Carl introduced me to in Seattle was Jim Portillo, who became a good friend too---one of those people I'll keep in touch with, as I will with Carl. More about Jim later.

On September 15, the Wednesday after I arrived in Seattle, Carl and I picked up Jim and we went out to make music at the Couth Buzzard Bookstore, a classic independent bookstore and an acoustic music mainstay in the area. Carl Allen has a fine smooth voice and a fondness for the folk music of the 1960's, which he performs like the show business veteran he is. Carl plays guitar, tenor guitar, and harmonica. Jim Portillo, I discovered that night at the bookstore, is a strong baritone singer as well, and a talented tickler of his big Santa Cruz guitar.

After hanging out for a couple of days, going to a jam session one evening, running around Seattle, Carl and I boarded a ferry on Saturday, September 18, and crossed rain-swept Puget Sound to Orcas Island. I'd already discovered that natural scenery in the coastal Pacific northwest is stunningly beautiful. A steep, winding park trail near Carl's apartment, where I'd started taking my morning walk, was just gorgeous: huge trees, deep green tangled vegetation. The journey by sea to Orcas Island, though, exceeded all expectations. Words fail to adequately describe the beauty of the scenes of that passage!

On Orcas we were generously hosted by Bill Buchan and his lady, Katherine. Bill had arranged an evening concert for Carl and me at a community hall. Carl opened and I did my show for enthusiastic and appreciative islanders. The next day, Sunday, we boarded another ferry and sailed to smaller Shaw Island, where we did an afternoon concert for a packed house of very appreciative island folks. This one was especially fun. That evening we sailed back to Orcas where we had a great music party at Bill Buchan's place. Met a very good picker, Carl ???. Maybe I'll connect with him again on a future trip out here.

Returning from the islands, we continued to have good fun every day. I was using a fine Huss and Dalton guitar lent to me by Carl Allen. The action on it was high for my style of playing, so we took it to Dusty Strings, an excellent acoustic music store in the very cool Fremont area of Seattle, for adjustments. A tech there fixed it right up. I found some picks I liked. We sampled the pleasures of numerous fine guitars. I met one of the owners of the shop, and we talked about my doing a seminar or two there in the future. Part of the purpose of the trip was to meet and greet such folks, preparing the way for future ventures in the area.

People ask me how I am able to book so many shows in so many places around the world. That's done by meeting folks, like I met Carl Allen, then visiting an area to do a few modest gigs, meet musicians, and so forth, and prepare the way for more ambitious things in the future.

Among the best shows I played in the Pacific northwest was a very fine house concert at the Stewart Hendrickson residence in Seattle. Stewart and his wife were perfect, experienced house concert hosts. The show and the socializing couldn't have gone better! Carl opened the program with his great vintage folk material. I did more of my own songs than I usually do, and they were very well received. My daughter-in-love Rebecca Truax has been after me to do more of my own songs, so I did.

I was delighted that Carl's two beautiful granddaughters, Sophie and Mattea, were in attendance at the Hendrickson concert, with their mother and their aunt. Very cool. Earlier in the week Carl and I had had lunch with the aunt, a delightful lady named Melody, and then one evening we'd visited with the granddaughters at their home, with their parents---Carl's son Casey and the girls' mother Natalie, and some other relatives. Had a big Mexican feast and made some music. Enjoyed the bright, talented, well-behaved kids.

By the time we did Hendrickson show I had discovered that Jim Portillo is a first-rate backup guitarist for "fiddle" tunes, swing instrumentals, and so forth---so I was able to do some hot mandolin pieces and a guitar instrumental or two with Jim backing. We are going to be doing lots more of that kind of thing when I get back here next time.

Jim is a very fine person. During the second half of my time in the Pacific northwest I stayed with him in his Seattle apartment. We enjoyed a number of late-night music sessions and some long talks about many things. Jim has a strong personality and lot of soul, and I highly value having become friends with him.

One night we had a big jam session at Jim's place that was among the highlights of my time here. Lots of good pickers and songwriters attended. Got to meet Jim's talented and outrageously gorgeous music partner Shannon. The two of them make beautiful music together and are embarking on a performing career together.

Did some other shows along the way, and then Carl, Jim, and I wound up the tour the other night at a really nice wine bar called Washington Sips, in the tourist town of LaConner, north of Seattle. We had a very nice performance space and warm attentive audiences all evening. Good pay, too. I'll do that one again!

Everything considered, my short exploratory tour in the Pacific Northwest was quite successful. I had many good times. A city is a city, but overall I am coming away with a good impression of Seattle. There are some very cool areas (notably one called Fremont) where interesting things are going on and interesting people are found. There are lots of bookstores. The Dusty Strings acoustic music shop is great. There are some very nice parks. Good places to eat. Everything is very pricey compared to many other places, and the TEN percent sales tax is inexcusable---but quality seems generally good. Traffic and traffic management are terrible. Not as bad as really bad places like Phoenix, Arizona, but not good.

The natural world surrounding the city is fabulously beautiful. Makes me wish for more time to explore. The mountains, Puget Sound, the islands, all gorgeous. climate is very wet, with rain most days, fog, and so on...but the air bracing and clean-seeming. Not icy cold.

I'm already planning to come back, play more music, see more, meet more people, expand in Oregon and other areas of Washington, next summer.

Thanks Carl, Jim, and everyone else! It was a blast. Now... on to the airport and back to Nebraska!!

Holy smoke...

2010-09-16T20:24:00.001-07:00

I am WAY behind in writing this blog!! Sorry folks. A lot has been happening, and my access to computers and the internet has been occasional at best. I'm in a very busy time right now, so even this entry will have to be briefer than I'd like it could be. Here goes...

After the Garden Grove Festival in Iowa in early August, I spent the next couple of weeks working on producing and performing on a new CD, Where I'm Going, for Austin Truax of Crofton, Nebraska. Austin is a talented young singer-songwriter I've been helping along in his music. We have some fine musicians on the CD, including Austin, his harmony-singing wife Rebecca, Terry Durr (drums), Wayne Longtin (bass), Jay Kelly (fiddle), David Berquist (electric guitar), Curt Shoemaker (pedal steel), and me (guitar, mandolin, piano). We are recording at the Tesco studio (Tom Sharmin) in Omaha, Nebraska. The CD is sounding very good! Final mixing will happen in November. I'll be coming back to the midwest then to work on that.

On Saturday, August 21st, I travelled south to the Homestead National Monument near Beatrice, Nebraska, to do a concert. I've been doing this one annually for quite a few years. I always enjoy doing this show at the site of some of the last of the midwest plains' original tall-grass prairie. We do the show by a campfire under big trees on the lawn behind the Monument's visitor center. The crowd is always receptive, and certainly was this year. This one is a lot of fun.

The next weekend I did the Wisecup Farm Museum Festival at Missouri Valley, Iowa. This small festival is especially fun, and not least because I get to visit during the event with my friend Bob Raine who lives in Logan, Iowa, not far from Missouri Valley. This year's festival was put together and hosted by Nebraska singer and my friend Jackie Shewey. She did a great job! I'll be there next year! Wouldn't miss this fine festival.

After the Wisecup event I returned to work on the Austin Truax CD. Then, the next weekend, September 9-11 I did the Miles of Memories event at Hastings, Nebraska. An indoor concert event, it featured country singer George Hamilton IV; New Zealand singer and yodeller Roger Tibbs, with whom I toured in New Zealand a few years ago; German banjo virtuoso Andy Glandt, with whom I toured in Germany too; and many others. I was very pleased to do my shows with the support of Jay Kelly (fiddle), Larry Dean (guitar), and Mary Bichelmeyer (bass). Thanks, friends!! During the weekend I particularly enjoyed jamming with Jay Kelly and playing my new guitar rag, Sunshine (Makayla's Rag) with Jay and Andy Glandt.

Today I am in Seattle, Washington. Flew here from Omaha, Nebraska after Miles of Memories to do some shows and meet some folks. All is going well on the northwest coast. More about that later. Getting here was not the easiest thing in the world, and not because of air travel. Driving east from Hastings after Miles of Memories, I got only a few miles down I-80 when my van quit running. I coasted it to a stop along the Interstate, and then walked a few miles to an exit and a farm where I used the telephone to call AAA. To make a long story short, I had the van towed to McCool Junction, Nebraska, south of York, Nebraska, where live my good friends Larry and Karen Doran. Larry has been good enough to undertake having the van repaired while I am on this trip to Washington State. We think the culprit is a failed fuel pump. Expensive to replace!! I stayed with Larry and Karen on Sunday (and played in a little gig with them---they are musicians---on Sunday afternoon, actually). Then on Monday morning Bob Raine was good enough to come from Logan, Iowa, to pick me up and get me to the Omaha airport in time to catch my flight to Seattle. Now, those are real, true friends!! I'm very thankful to have such wonderful friends in the world!!

At this point it remains to be seen just what is wrong with the van. Seems very likely it has a dead fuel pump. We shall see. What will be, will be.

In the meantime, I am having a great time on the west coast. Meet me here next time, to read all about that!!

Life is good!!

More Yet From the Midwest

2010-08-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm stopped for a short while at the home of Austin and Rebecca Truax and their kids Shane (14) and Makayla (12), near Crofton, Nebraska, just across the state line from Yankton, South Dakota, USA. Very dear friends. I'm helping Austin, who is a talented songwriter, to produce a CD of his compositions. I've also been helping him for some time to learn songwriting methods and forms to employ to strengthen his excellent melodic concepts and lyrical ideas. Austin's work is truly unique, and very interesting. My enjoyable challenge is in teaching him things that will add power and marketability to what he writes without altering his distinctive style.

I've just finished a couple of weeks of driving a gazillion miles around the midwest doing shows. Since my last writing here I've been as far west as western Nebraska, where I was one of the features in the Burton's Bend Music Festival at Holbrook, Nebraska. I was the person who last year originally suggested to Rod and Chris Whipple of Arapahoe (near Holbrook) that a festival should happen out there. I'm glad they followed through and made it happen. Producer of that festival was Mary Schutz, another old friend of mine, who produces the Miles of Memories Festival I'll be performing in later this year. Also on the bill at Holbrook were Tex and Mary Schutz, Alexa Whipple, yodeler Janet McBride, "Nebraska's Daughter" Pat Boilesen, Jim Barnes, a wonderful act headed by Cindy Boehler that featured close harmony singing, Jay Kelly, and several regional and local entertainers. The Burton's Bend event was fun and very well organized except for the final Saturday evening show, which was cut short due to scheduling problems.

I was exceptionally well pleased to do my sets at Burton's Bend with old friend and fiddle/guitar wizard Jay Kelly, who, though ailing, did his usual terrific job of making music; and Jim Barnes, a rock-solid bassist who also did his own act at the festival. Working with these two fine players is always maximum fun. I think we turned out some fine music for the folks. I was especially happy with my instrumental version of America the Beautiful which I worked out and then performed on a patriotic show at the festival.

Also since we last met here I've been as far east as Mount Pleasant, Iowa, away over near the Illinois border, where I played a Farmer's Market show with old friends and musical cohorts Danny Dee and Donna Lynn. It was great to play with Danny and Donna once again, and to have a good old visit with them too! I did a few tunes on an alternate-tuning guitar that I don't usually do, and they came out well. I was warmly received at the Farmer's Market, and market coordinator Morgan Hoenig was nice enough to make me a special card expressing appreciation for the show. Gestures like that are particularly nice, and they mean a lot to me.

Between Holbrook, Nebraska, and Mount Pleasant, Iowa, I did a goodly number of other shows: In Lincoln, Nebraska, I played a very nice coffeehouse, Mo Java Cafe & Roasting Company, 2649 North 48th Street. In Tekamah, Nebraska, I participated in a benefit concert raising funds for Elaine Peacock, producer of the Heritage Festival at Elk Point, South Dakota. Elaine has cancer and in this land of plenty cannot get health insurance and cannot afford the required treatment. Our politicians here in the USA think we can afford to fund useless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it seems we cannot afford health care for all here in the USA.

After Tekamah I travelled to Des Moines, Iowa, where on July 25 I did a house concert at the home of Scott, Jennifer, Emily, and Anna Erickson. The talented Erickson family opened the show (Scott, guitar; Jennifer, bass fiddle; Emily, guitar; Anna, fiddle) and they made very good music indeed! This house concert was as close to perfect as any I've done. We had an enthusiastic audience of folks from many different walks of life; we had an enormous potluck supper; and after the show, we had a fun jam session which included all the abovementioned musicians and some talented audience members as well! The Erickson girls, Emily and Anna, are both teenagers and both very talented in music. Emily specializes in classical piano, and Anna plays both classical and other fiddle music. Anna is an amazingly talented and skilled fiddler. She's recently released a CD and is making a solid name for herself in festival and other performances around the midwest. While I was at the Erickson home in Des Moines I wrote out some jazz and swing pieces for Anna to learn, and we ran through them. I'm very pleased that she likes and wants to do Georgia On My Mind, among others. I'm hoping she'll have time to work on the pieces so we can play one or two of them at upcoming festivals.

Winding up with the Garden Grove Festival at Garden Grove, Iowa, last weekend, where I played with support by Danny Dee and Donna Lynn, I then made the long, loooong drive back to Crofton to work on the Truax recording. I decided to break the trip into two segments, and all unannounced showed up at my friend Bob Raine's place at Logan, Iowa, sort of halfway to Crofton from where I started, the first evening. Good old Bob welcomed me in as always. What a good friend he is!! The next morning we went out for a good breakfast and then I headed on up the road. Arrived at the Truax manse in midafternoon on Sunday...just in time to load up with them and go to a play, My Fair Lady, staged in Yankton.

I'm kind of on my own at the Truax place during the day, as Austin has a roofing business he needs to attend to, and Rebecca works in Yankton. These are busy times for them. That's okay! Gives me time to do things like getting ready for my trip to the west coast coming up in September...and writing this blog.

See you here next time!!

More Midwestern Travels

2010-07-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Busy times!! On July 2nd I appeared as half of a double bill with Red Johnson (of Grand Ole Opry Show Playing Somewhere renown), at Bob Everhart's Oak Tree Theater in Anita, Iowa. Rick (guitar, harmonica) and Hariette (bass fiddle) Anderson supported. Met a lovely young fiddle player named Rachael backstage and invited her to play as well. Good fun. There was an enthusiastic capacity crowd in the theater, which is a very cool venue. I've always enjoyed playing there.

On the July 4 holiday I appeared along with a number of other acts at the big Lund July 4 celebration in Iowa. Lots of fun. Amazing amounts and varieties of wonderful midwestern "down home" food were served in a big buffet. Lots of good company and fine conversation enjoyed by all. Rick (guitar, harmonica) and Hariette (bass fiddle) Anderson supported once again. I don't remember what I played, but the show went quite well.

I had to get to the July 2 and July 4 shows in a rented car. To make a long, complicated story fairly short: In Blair, Nebraska, on my way to Iowa on July 2, my Plymouth van quit running. Pushed it into a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Blair, rented a car, and drove to my friend Bob Raine's place in Logan, Iowa, just about 25 miles away from Blair. Made a few hasty arrangements with ever-obliging Bob, and then I drove on to the Oak Tree Theater show. I mentioned my car problems during the show. After the show a man who had been in the audience approached me to say that a relative of his was a good mechanic in... Blair, Nebraska, where my dead van was sitting! This nice man called the Blair mechanic on the spot, late at night, and the mechanic agreed to meet with me in Blair the next morning, July 3, and look at my van! It is downright wonderful that people are so kind and so helpful to a road musician with car trouble.

The mechanic was willing to work on my vehicle on July 3, a day when the shop where he was employed would ordinarily be closed. I kept the rental car to get to the July 4 show in Iowa, and then returned to Blair on July 5 to leave the rental car and pick up my repaired van. Got in a couple of nice visits with Bob Raine and family members (all of whom I knew) who had come in to celebrate the holiday with Bob.

All good! I don't get very fussed up when unexpected hitches occur, because if we just keep cool and stay positive things have a way of working themselves out.

After the hectic weekend, on Thursday, July 8, I played a return engagement at the Madonna Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. This was a single act, and I enjoyed doing it. There was a good piano, so I did lots of ragtime and such. Played guitar and mandolin too, told some jokes, the usual.

The following weekend, Friday through Sunday, was the second annual Riverside Music Festival, in a beautiful park in Crete Nebraska, not far from Lincoln. I am one of the founders of this event, and the director is my good friend Janet Jeffries. The whole thing began when, a couple of years ago, Janet showed me the park, part of the property of the Benne Museum in Crete, of which Janet is director. I said "Janet!! We need to have a festival here!" Janet Jeffries is an amazing, talented, resourceful dynamo of a person, and a host of willing volunteers have joined in the project...so the festival has happened!

I'm really very, very pleased to see how our Riverside festival has developed. We've had an amazing range of acts onstage, from me to close harmony specialists the Kramer Sisters, popular country artists Tex and Mary Schutz, noted fiddler Jay Kelly, great country singer Bill Craven, the Mellow D's (Larry and Karen Doran), Silvertip (Austin and Rebecca Truax), the Blue River Czechs polka band, the Crete town orchestra, gospel singers, country comedy, on and on. We have good food, horse cart rides, an old car show, a (quite popular) jamming area, a guitar workshop which I gave this year, and an enormous amount of fun---all in a gorgeous outdoor setting. We have excellent sound and lights at this festival as well.

After Riverside, I returned to the Truax residence at Crofton, Nebraska, on the South Dakota border near Yankton, to continue rehearsals and other work preparing for the recording of Austin and Rebecca's new CD. I'm producing, and playing rhythm guitar, acoustic lead guitar, and mandolin on the CD. Other musicians include fiddler Jay Kelly, steel guitarist Curt Shoemaker, electric lead guitarist Dave Berquist, bass ace Wayne Longtin, and drummer Terry Durr. Austin will be lead singer and Rebecca will sing harmonies. All selections on the CD have been written by Austin with editorial assistance from me---and these are good songs, a major cut above the usual singer/songwriter efforts.

On Friday, July 16, I made the long drive to Cherokee, Iowa, where I did a very enjoyable show with Nashville artist Terry Smith at a venue called The Gathering Place. The Gathering Place was quite nice, the audience was warmly receptive, and since no other musicians played with us it was fun for me to get to do all sorts of complex support work for Terry that I sometimes don't do in other settings. I did the harmony vocals too, which I don't usually do with Terry's larger bands. Of course Terry did many of his powerful songs. I did a few as well. We did one duet---the old Smiley Burnette classic My Lazy Day. Terry and I first worked that one up on a tour in New Zealand a number of years ago and have been doing it occasionally ever since. I always enjoy working with Terry Smith.

After spending the night near LeMars, Iowa, at the Juhl residence (thanks, friends!) I drove on back to South Dakota on Saturday to perform in the Heritage Country Music Festival at Elk Point. This show was major fun!! My dear friend Perk Washenberger was on the bill. I'd not visited with Perk for a long time, so it was special fun to get together with him. We played some nice sets together. Perk has a new digital accordion that does all sorts of amazing things. I also played my own shows, with support from Perk, Wayne Longtin (bass), and Terry Durr (drums). I did one show that was kind of unusual for me: a show entirely of piano music. Folks at the festival had requested that I play some piano---so I did it. Spun out some ragtime classics like Fats Waller's great Honeysuckle Rose , some western swing, including Bob Wills' famous Deep Water, even a country classic, Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain. Wayne Longtin played some stellar bass on that set. He is a very hot hand on electric bass! Good stuff, Wayne!!

I played more Dobro at this festival than I usually get to do. Played that instrument with country singer Clarence Hayden on his sets, and with Elaine Peacock, the festival organizer, on her set at the end of the event.

Terry Smith was feature artist at the festival, and as always it was fun to play shows with him.

I do love my job!!

On the Saturday of the Heritage Festival, my high school class had a reunion in Ohio. I would have liked to attend, but that would have meant cancelling several of the shows I've written about here to fly to and from Ohio and to attend the reunion. There wasn't time for that, and I sure wouldn't have liked to have missed any of the things I did do instead. Life is a series of choices. It would have been great to visit with the classmates...but my life is on the old music road where I've spent so much of my time for so many of my years.

Okay, enough for now. See you here next time!

On the Road: Midwest

2010-06-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

Time for an update. I'm on a national tour, and many things have happened since I last wrote here. Life continues to be good!

On June 19 I travelled from Crofton, Nebraska, just south of the South Dakota border near Yankton, S.D., where I was working on a CD project I'm producing for an artist who lives there, to Lincoln, the capitol of Nebraska. That evening I met up with some of my finest support musicians, Jay Kelly (fiddle, guitar), Wayne Longtin (bass), and Terry Durr (drums) to do a concert at CGS Music Hall in Lincoln. Although I had not done any shows with Jay, Wayne, and Terry since last summer, we fit together like we'd been playing together constantly. I was able to do anything and everything I wanted to do with them---no problem. We ranged from ancient folk tunes to Gershwin to Bob Wills music to Duke Ellington to country classics to... Well, you get the picture. It was a GREAT evening!! I love my job!! Crowd was enthusiastic. Sound and lights were fine. Saw many familiar faces in the audience and many that were new to me as well. I played the CGS venue successfully last summer too. I think this will be a regular stop on the summer tour.

In the audience at Lincoln were my dear friends Bernice and Janet Jeffries of Crete, Nebraska, widow and daughter, respectively, of my late dear friend Don Jeffries who passed away unexpectedly not very long ago. The next day, June 20, was Father's Day in the United States. I had arranged to do a small Father's Day concert in memory of Don that day at the Benne Museum in Crete. Janet Jeffries, who is director of the museum, had arranged it. What I didn't tell Janet until Saturday night in Lincoln was that I'd asked the band---Jay, Wayne, Terry---to come along and play also! They kindly agreed to do that. Janet was surprised and pleased. The show went very well indeed. Janet's own group, the Kramer Sisters, opened with their sweet close harmonies and good instrumental work. Then I did about an hour of whatever I felt like doing with my band. Good music, good crowd, good sound. Lovely day. Don would have enjoyed it. Maybe he did.

After the Benne Museum show I spent a few quiet, peaceful days off, staying in a country cabin my friend Ted Beauvais is kind enough to let me use from time to time, by a beautiful lake near Crete. I read, hiked, played my music, thought my thoughts, and enjoyed my solitude. Such times are important to me.

Following the quiet lakeside interlude came a very busy and joyful time at Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo, Nebraska! There, on June 24 through 27, I played the 13th Annual Wahoo Country Music Show---one of my favorites of all the festivals I play annually. Produced by my longtime friend Sharon Kenaston and her crew of good folks, it is quite simply fabulous fun and one of the best festivals anywhere. How I wish some of the less well done festivals, like the Florida Folk Festival, could learn from a genius like Sharon Kenaston. It is nothing less than daunting to attempt to describe this grand event.

My personal performance highlights included a really cool early morning all-acoustic set I did, supported by Jay Kelly (guitar, fiddle) and John Jackson (bass), in which I was able to do some nice fingerpicking guitar material and other laid-back material; and a terrific swing set on the main stage on Saturday, in which I was supported by famed pedal steel wizard Curt Shoemaker "The Shoe"; rock-solid drummer Jeanna Stevenson, sizzling bassist Mark Wilson, and Jay Kelly on fiddle. Damn, friends, I'm here to tell you we took no prisoners on that set!! MAJOR, MAJOR FUN.

Of course I enjoyed all of the other playing I did too! Played lead guitar and mandolin with Terry Smith; mandolin with the Johannsen Sisters; guitar and mandolin with Bill Craven; Dobro with Ervin Pickhinke and with Clarence Hayden; guitar with Jay Kelly; and played with others as well. Jammed until WAY late at night, night after night. Danced with a few ladies. Visited with zillions of friends. Lived, loved, laughed, and was happy. That's how life should be, I think!!

Performers I particularly enjoyed hearing and seeing when I was not on stage at Wahoo included Tex and Mary Schutz; Call of the West (western-oriented songs and instrumentals); smooth-voiced Oklahoman Les Gilliam; equally smooth Jerry Stevenson from Missouri; east Texan Margie LeBlanc (Cajun-flavored country); Tommy Buller with his great Telecaster-driven outlaw country sound; a late-night set by a young band from the Lincoln, Nebraska, area. Of course the Kenaston Family Band is always great. Jerry Neeman did a beautiful set playing horns. I always love the Johannsen sisters. Seamless harmonies!! It was heartwarming to see old Smokey Smith still standing up and doing good country music, at well beyond eighty years of age. It is always encouraging to see, at the other end of the age range, young ones like Cory Jeter, Chelsea Beck, Bailey Wilton, Alexa Whipple---all fine kids from various parts of the USA doing super country and folk music.

It was a WONDERFUL week. I'm already booked for it next year. See you there???

The July 4 holiday is coming up, and I have things to do both on July 2 and on July 4 itself, in Iowa. More about those shows and whatever else, next time!!

Thanks for reading the blog!!

Onward on Tour Summer 2010

2010-06-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

Just south of Yankton, South Dakota, in northern Nebraska, is the village of Crofton, Nebraska. A few miles away from that village live my dear friends Rebecca, Austin, Shane, and Makayla Truax. Shane, 13, and Makayla, 12, are Austin and Rebecca's children. I'm staying with this energetic and unconventional family while we prepare to make a CD for Austin, a talented songwriter and singer of his songs. Austin also plays guitar, and I am teaching him to play rhythm guitar to support some of my more complicated guitar, mandolin, and other instrumentals. We have lots of work to do and we are working every day to get it all done!

In Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where I had a nice visit with my cousin and lifelong friend Stan Stough and his wife Jane, I played a fun show at a place called Auburn Creek. I've been playing at Auburn Creek when I come through Cape for some ten years, and it is always an enjoyable experience. Very warm audiences, always.

From Cape I travelled west to the Poplar Bluff area where I played two shows and visited overnight in the remote mountain home of my old friend, great character and good musician Harold Condray. One of the shows with Harold was a nooner at a nutrition center in a small town operated by the sister of someone who sings with Harold; the other was at Our Place, a nice dinner theater-type restaurant in a converted church building in Piedmont, Missouri. This show was especially fun to do, and very warmly received by the audience.

Westward from the Poplar Bluff vicinity, I drove through beautiful mountain country on Highway 60 and then miles and miles off paved roads to another very remote mountain location, the lovely secluded home of friends Teresa and Terry Carel. I met Teresa a number of years ago when she scheduled music shows at a restaurant in Van Buren, Missouri, in the Mark Twain National Forest tourist area. Teresa's parents also live in this hidden forest paradise. Teresa had invited me to do a house concert at her home, so I did it and it was fun. The audience was small but appreciative, and the visit was very nice indeed.

Next morning... onward to the Springfield, Missouri, area, in southwestern Missouri, where my friend and fellow road musician, bass ace John Jackson, lives with his wife Carol. John set up two shows for me, one a kind of a super jam session and show at Don Taylor's Music Barn and Museum (which we did successfully last year too), and one a concert at the Northview Music Hall near Springfield. John put together a really good small band to support me at Northview (John on bass, Donnie Smith on electric lead guitar, Don Taylor on rhythm guitar). The music cooked, the audience was large and very enthusiastic, sound and lights were good, food served at the break for superior, and the whole experience was just first-rate. Very cool experience!

Leaving the Springfield area I spent an entire day driving north and west to the home of my longtime friend Bob Raine in the gorgeous Loess Hills region near Logan, Iowa. Loooooong day on the road---but I did find a way to do it that kept my time on the big interstate highways to a minimum. Skipped the Kansas City area altogether. Yay!! I'm very much a "blue highways" type of traveller. I like to see things as I go, stop for coffee, meet people, swing by to see points of interest, stop at town parks to do my yoga, and so on. Life is very much a journey, not a destination, and I want to enjoy the journey.

I rolled into Bob's place in the evening. Sure was good to see him again! We hung out and caught up with each other. We went to breakfast at the Bunkhouse Cafe in Logan, where proprietor Jackie serves up what are in my experience the very best omelettes on the planet. MMMMM-mmmm...!! Man, are those good omelettes!!! I surely did enjoy my morning walks on narrow gravel roads in the outrageously beautiful Loess Hills near Bob's home. After a good visit with Bob and a couple of fun rides in his bright yellow Mustang sportscar, a trip to a good old-fashioned funky bookstore in nearby Omaha, Nebraska, and making arrangements to provide entertainment for a Democratic Party function in the area later in the year, I hit the road once again, bound northward to my present location on the Nebraska/South Dakota border.

Had a bit of car trouble I had to work on while at Bob's place. While I was at Bob's we learned of the wreck of young Abby Sunderland's boat as the sixteen-year-old adventurer attempted to sail alone around the world. My little episode of car trouble was most certainly no big deal compared to that!! I'm glad to know that Abby was rescued safe and sound by a French fishing ship after a major search and rescue effort by many in the South Pacific. Abby will venture forth again! The rapidly mobilized effort to rescue her goes to show me once again that I'm right in thinking most people of this world are good and want to be good and do good in life. As news of the world flows in, we could sometimes think that the evil monsters who wash up on the shores of politics, horrible mean-spirited radio demagogues like Michael Savage, greedsters like the BP Oil folks, and Christian bigots like Pat Robertson represent a substantial portion of the human race, but I just don't believe that's true. For every Pat Robertson there is a Dalai Lama. I think most of us are actually good people.

This far north it is cool and wet and overcast, making this old Florida boy miss the tropical sunshine of home. Nice to be here, though, with good friends and working on a complex creative project, making Austin Truax's CD.

More as events unfold!!

Florida Folk Festival - Montgomery - Cape Girardeau

2010-06-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

Starting off on another LONG summer tour, I left home last Friday morning and travelled to the 58th annual Florida Folk Festival, one of the United States' oldest folk festivals, held at Stephen Foster park on the banks of the Suwannee River at White Springs, Florida, less than 100 miles south of Valdosta, Georgia.

Twenty-seven years ago I started performing at the Florida Folk Festival!! It has changed a lot over the years I've been participating. Many older friends are no longer attending; many newer friends have come. This year, in spite of a couple of torrential rains, one of which flooded the area of the performer campground where I was staying (high and dry in my old van), I had a wonderful time visiting with friends new and old, jamming with other musicians from all over the world in the performer campground, listening to various performances, and doing some shows myself with good friends Carl Wade (guitar), Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle), Joe Reina (harmonica), and Norm McDonald (percussion) supporting.

Country music star Mel Tillis was the headliner at this year's Florida Folk Festival. He did a very fine, very slick country show which had little or no relationship with Florida or with folk music. It has been the policy of the Florida Folk Festival for some years now to present non-folk performers as headliners at the festival. Strange but true, and not a good idea, seems to me. Almost all of the many other performers at the festival did do music within the general folk genre, and most of it was very good indeed.

In addition to LOTS of music, the festival has interesting displays of Florida folk arts and crafts, a dance stage, down-home style food and commercial food vendors, and other fun things. It is a festival well worth attending. Here's the web site:

Florida Folk Festival

Several ladies with whom I've been close in the past were at this festival, and it was nice to visit with them all. I've remained friends with them although we seldom see each other these days. (These festival visits were separate visits. They don't know each other.)

The evening of Monday, Memorial Day, found me in Montgomery, Alabama, where I did a very successful house concert at the residence of Len Daley and his partner Becky Porter in that beautiful old southern city. My show was warmly received by all. We had a great potluck supper before the show, and much stimulating conversation afterward. I made a solid contact with someone in the audience who has extensive connections in the music community in Montgomery and Alabama. Always good!! Len and Becky are wonderful friends and truly exceptional people. Len's daughter Rita, age thirteen, is a lovely young person in all the ways.

Leaving Montgomery early yesterday (Tuesday) morning, I drove all day--north to Birmingham, Alabama; on northwest to Tupelo, Mississippi, where I stopped for a rest and a good coffee and a couple of magazines at a Barnes and Noble bookstore; onward to Jackson, Tenneesse, then Dyersburg, Tennessee, then across the Mississippi River to to Interstate 55, and north up that highway to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where I stopped at a Panera's cafe I'm familiar with for another coffee and a little reading (a novel, currently--Brad Meltzer's The Book of Fate ). After my refresher at the Panera's I went to my cousin Stan Stough's Cape Girardeau home for a visit with Stan and family. Stan and I have literally known each other since the day he was born (a few months after I was), and we've been good friends all of that time. I'll be here in Cape today and tomorrow, have a little show here tomorrow, and then will be on down the road to other gigs in Missouri.

See you back here after those upcoming Missouri shows are done!

Another Good Florida Weekend

2010-05-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

Just returned home today after a couple of good shows this weekend. Went to Orlando Saturday, about four hours drive from where I live, to do a show at Fodor's Grove. Great venue. Good outdoor stage, good sound, good lights. Good gig in every way!

The Fodor's Grove setting is very pleasant. I must say, though, that I noticed immediately on arrival in Orlando how much muggier and hotter it is there than it is on the Gulf Coast where I have long made my home. When I first came to Florida I did live in central Florida, but don't think I'd move back there now.

Sharon Hartmann and her group, Barnstorm, opened for me in Orlando, with a nice mostly instrumental set. Good to see Sharon out making music again. She sure can fiddle up a storm! I had not heard Sharon play since the passing of her husband and music partner (and one-time instructor at my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp) Bruce Hartmann.

Played my set with my old music cohort, bass fiddle wizard Chris Campbell. Chris was one of the first people I played music with away back when I first arrived in the Sunshine State MANY years ago. Chris remains a great friend and a superb bass man! Thanks Chris! It was big fun to do some of our old stuff together once again...and some new stuff too. I sang and played mostly guitar, and a few playing mandolin and Dobro. Even did one traditional cowboy song, I Ride An Old Paint, without accompaniment. That's the way the real cowboys did most of their songs. With Chris's very strong bass support I was able to spin out some complicated jazz material and a Merle Travis fingerpicking extravaganza I usually don't play out: Farewell My Blue Belle. Chris hadn't played that piece with me in years. He pulled it off without missing a note. That's high-level music making!! Asked for an encore at the end of my show, I did my Florida Blues, from my new CD Roll On.

I had an enthusiastic crowd Saturday evening. There were some folks I knew, like musicians Fred Cantor and Brian Smalley, and many folks I didn't know. My friend Susan Fox showed up, all the way from Tampa, with her new guy---a musician, of course, from Texas. Very cool.

Mark Fodor served a tasty spread of food, some of it brought by audience members. After the show, a group of us, including Chris, stayed up until late jamming---something I love to do. All of the jammers turned out to be good musicians, and some of them had really nice original songs to offer. I did a few of my compositions in the jam that I almost never do in shows, including The Story of My Grandfather's Waltz and Trail of the Lonesome Cowboy: I think I ought to those two more often. I may even put one of them on my next CD.

Sweetwater Farms, a large Tampa organic farm collective, has a market day and concert series weekly, the music part run by Susan Fox, mentioned above, and fine old-time musician Pamela Jo Hatley. I played at Sweetwater today (Sunday). Mark Fodor put me up at his place in Orlando. I rose early this morning and drove back to Tampa. On arrival, I did my morning walk (not nearly as pleasant on the crowded streets of Tampa as it is on the tree-shaded back streets and hiking trails near home in Largo, Florida.) Then I had a coffee at a Borders Bookstore, and went on to Sweetwater.

I do LOVE to play at Sweetwater! What a cool place!! Part of the pay is a gigantic sack of fresh organically grown produce. Love it, love it, my friends!! Not an iota of poison is ever sprayed on that beautiful food; not a toxic chemical is secreted inside it; not one bit of high-fructose corn syrup is applied to it. Yum!!

Sweetwater is a great place and the audiences are always great. Today's was no exception. I love it when people really enjoy what I do. Sound at Sweetwater was good. No lights: We did this one in the early afternoon. My good musical supporters Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle) played this show with me. I sure appreciate those guys doing so many shows with me all over the place when I'm back home. Pamela Hatley was hosting and she did a fine job of it. I played my usual range of things. Opened with Roll On (Nine Pound Hammer) from the new CD. That CD is available, by the way, from my web site, here:

http://www.cgmusicman.com/purchases.htm

Went on to play for an hour or so, and included some I don't often do, including Louise (the Paul Siebel song) on the Dobro, plus The Story of My Grandfather's Waltz and Trail of the Lonesome Cowboy, since both were fresh in my mind after Saturday night. Had a request for Play Something We All Know, also one of mine from the new CD, so did that. Good fun. I think we sounded pretty good today.

After the gig, a crowd of us including Carl Wade, Barbara Shafer, Doug Purcell, Rick Kennedy, and Denise Adams, went out to eat at a new Chinese buffet in Tampa that we had heard about. The food was very good!! I hadn't eaten anything since having a banana and a couple of apples for breakfast, so I was ready to feast! The visiting with old friends was great too.

A nice rain fell late this afternoon, enough to cool everything off and release all the lovely smells of blooming plants here along the Gulf. I've been listening to classical orchestral music on the radio while I've been writing this. Now it's almost time for bed.

See you next time!!

Barberville (Spring) 2010

2010-04-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

Tucked away just east of central Florida's Ocala National Forest is Barberville, Florida---one of those "real Florida" towns usually missed by tourists from all over the world who visit the Sunshine State. In Barberville is the Barberville Pioneer Settlement, a "living history" village depicting the Florida of an earlier age. At the Settlement, twice a year, once in spring (April) and once in autumn (November), Joe and Katie Waller produce big music festivals that I especially enjoy playing. They are always highlights of my touring year.

Just last weekend I played the 2010 spring event. I don't know how in the world I could have had more fun. With five stages of music perking away all day long both Saturday and Sunday, and a dance stage as well; workshops and mentored public jam sessions; a performer campground full of music friends old and new and performer jam sessions lasting until the wee hours; a large craft show; an old car show; and all located only a few hours from my home on the Gulf Coast of Florida, this was a festival I dearly LOVED, my friends!! These Barberville festivals are VERY cool events. Not only are they are attractive and well-organized (thanks, Joe and Katie); there is a down-home, warm and friendly, deep-south ambience in them that is a great joy to experience. I am a Florida person, of course, so naturally they feel like "home" to me.

Here's the festival: http://www.folkfiddle.com/barber.htm

I rolled into the performer campground at about 7 PM Friday evening, and by the time I got there performer jam sessions were already underway. Pulled up and parked next to the campsite of Jay Wood, one of my oldest musical cohorts in Florida, and his wife Valinda McQueen (who perform as Starbird). Connected a few minutes later with a whole crowd of music friends all on the festival bill, including Joe and Katie Waller, the Amundsen family, Jim and Melanie Robertson, and many, many more. Fifteen minutes after I arrived onsite I was playing music in a big jam session. Kept at the music, pretty much, all weekend! One of the first pieces I played on arrival was the great Cindy Walker western swing standard, Sugar Moon. A little girl named Fiona, maybe ten or twelve years old, played it so well on pennywhistle I had her guest on one of my shows Sunday and we did it then! Fiona gets a scholarship to my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp, second weekend of November annually.

Here's the camp: http://www.cgmusicman.com/camp/index.html

If you use the link above, you may be interested to know that the gorgeous young woman playing fiddle on the opening page is sixteen-year-old Gailanne Amundsen, of the aforementioned Amundsen family. Gailanne assists at the camp and has been the camp "poster girl" for years. Beauty, as well as talent, definitely runs in that family! Gailanne's mother, Scarlett, is equally beautiful, as is Gailanne's little sister Mattie, about four or five years old. Oh, all right, dad Roger Amundsen and son Roger Jr. look okay too. I tend to notice the pretty ladies though...

My shows at Barberville were lots of fun. My good and faithful Florida musicians Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle) accompanied me in all of them. Jay Wood guested on one show. Jay is a terrific guitar player (and singer, and songwriter). John Allison guested on a couple of shows, playing mostly mandolin---although he is also a terrific guitarist, and in fact teaches flatpick guitar classes at the Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp. I did lots of my usual wide range of music.

Jacksonville musician Ron Johnson says he thinks every festival has a particular song that stands out as best of the festival, and in his opinion my Play Something We All Know from my new CD Roll On was the one on this Barberville weekend. It was certainly very well received. I consider Ron's comment a great compliment indeed, because Ron Johnson is himself a very fine songwriter who has written a GREAT "Florida" song called Pigs In My Garden---commenting on the tendency of far too many of the enormous number of visitors who come to Florida every year, and corporate polluters as well, to trash our beautiful state. Tis true, sadly. Ron comments on that in his song in a very witty way.

Here are the lyrics:

PIGS IN MY GARDEN (AGAIN)
Copyright (c) By Ron Johnson. All Rights Reserved.
Performance and/or Reproduction in Any Form by Permission of Author Only

I used to have a beautiful garden
A wonder of floral delight.
But my neighbor had some pigs and one day they rooted in,
And my garden was destroyed overnight.

PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN;
PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN;
With their tails and their snouts and their...
Who let the hawgs out?!
PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN!

I was walking along the sand with my baby,
We were taking in some Florida Sunshine,
But the cigarette butts and the cans
And the trash along the sand
Made us both wanna break down and cry.

PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN;
PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN;
With their tails and their snouts and their...
Who let the hawgs out?!
PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN!

Now, we don't mind if you come 'round here and you take a look around,
Please don't leave your garbage on our sacred ground!

Instrumental solo (verse)

Spoken over solo: Whatta ham...I've been bacon to play...
Don't wanna be a hawg about it...sow we change keys?!

Now, the St. Johns River is a grand ol' river,
But they're pouring' poison in it, sad to say,
To be specific its, Georgia Pacific!
With their 30 million gallons everyday!

PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN;
PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN;
With their tails and their snouts and their...
Who let the hawgs out?!
PIGS IN MY GARDEN AGAIN!

Now, I think that's a good one!!

New songs... I did my new one, I May Be Old (and Bald, But I'm Not Dead) , on a show Saturday, because the pretty lady who inspired it was there. I didn't think she'd bring her mother along, but she did---and luckily, mom liked the song as well. It's harmless, I think: just a comment on how although the body ages, most older men don't lose the capacity to admire good looking women.

If you'd like to look at lyrics for some of my songs (but not that new one yet), here they are:

http://www.cgmusicman.com/lyricspage.htm

Let's see... what else?? Oh, yeah---in one of my Sunday shows Carl Wade fell off the stage when a leg of his chair went over the edge. Carl is no spring chicken, but he rolled into the fall smoothly enough and wasn't hurt. Whew!! Little Fiona (the pennywhistle kid) was on the stage with us when that happened. Her eyes got very big as she watched Carl pitch over the edge...

I enjoyed teaching a workshop on music theory at the festival. Had numerous youngsters in the crowd, as well as older folks. It makes me feel good to explain some of the "nuts and bolts" of making music. A number of talented people make music strictly by instinct, without being aware of all there is to know about the craft of music making or of all the doors that are opened by having some knowledge of how music is put together. Joe and Katie Waller make sure to include much worthwhile workshop material in their events. I think that's commendable and important. Only a few other festivals I play have real workshops. The NTCMA festival in Iowa does; so does the Florida Folk Festival, and the Phoenix Folk Festival, and the Will McLean Festival.

Another fun thing I did at Barberville was to host an hour of the mentored jam sessions. It is very rewarding to me to do this---to help people, many of them new to music, to participate, to urge them on and support them as they try their wings leading numbers and playing with others, which many rarely get to do. Round a circle we go, each person in turn leading, each person supporting others when it is not his/her turn to lead. Makes for some big smiles!! More experienced musicians are invited to participate too, and some do. I wish more of the festivals I play would have hosted jam sessions.

A highlight of the festival for me was playing a couple of sets with my old friend, flatpicking guitar wizard Jesse Sam Owens of Daytona. Jesse Sam has not been doing much performing lately, having lost his beloved adult son Thad in a tragic accident in Africa last year. It was very, very good to have Jesse Sam back, and I got a big kick out of playing some fancy flatpicking numbers with him. Hmmm... Red Haired Boy, Arkansas Traveller, Billy in the Low Ground, don't remember what all else. We nailed 'em again, Jesse Sam! I don't get to do a whole lot of fancy flatpicking anymore, so it was a special hoot!! Also enjoyed hearing and accompanying some of Jesse Sam's poetic, meaningful original songs. Playing fiddle with us was our lovely and talented friend Ellie Gans.

In other news... I'm happy to report that I have a solid summer/fall tour booked this year. Much of it is in the midwest--so midwestern readers, have a look at the schedule on my website. I hope to see all of you midwestern friends and supporters somewhere this summer. Be sure to let me know you are followers of the blog!! I'm also producing a CD for Austin Truax and group, Silvertip, of Nebraska, this summer. Just this week I've firmed up my trip to the west coast (Seattle and Washington state area) for September with a number of good bookings--soon to appear on the website schedule. I hope to see all of you west coast friends and supporters out there somewhere in September!

Enough for now. See you next time!!

House Concert in Tampa

2010-04-19T18:33:00.000-07:00

House concerts are among the most enjoyable kinds of shows I get to play. Last Saturday evening in Tampa I did one at the riverside home of Greg "Gonzo" Gove that was a perfect example of what a house concert should be. Along about 4 PM I packed up my gear and drove from my home in Largo, Florida, over the bridge across Tampa Bay to the city. Found Greg's house without a problem and unloaded a couple of guitars, my Peavey piano, a small sound system, and some CDs to sell. We set up a stage area at one end of Greg's spacious screened lanai, overlooking the water. In an hour the equipment was ready to go and chairs for audience seating were in place. There were a couple of nice tables, too, and space at a small bar to display CDs.

Doug Purcell and his group Triad opened for me. At about the time Greg and I finished arranging things, Doug showed up. Shortly thereafter Greg's friend Susan Aungst and friends arrived bringing tons of great food. House concerts usually involve a potluck meal. Close behind Susan and crew came guitarist Carl Wade, Barbara Shafer, and bassist Rick Kennedy. Carl and Rick were my support musicians for this show. We had fun visiting, solved many of the world's pressing problems, and I even ran through a few of the pieces I intended to play with Carl and Rick.

A little later folks who came for the show started arriving. I was happy to see young as well as middle-aged and older people in the audience. I kicked off with I Am A Pilgrim (no surprise, that), and went on through many genres of music (folk, jazz, ragtime, swing, blues, even a little country) singing and playing guitar, alternate-tuning guitar, mandolin, and piano. I did some old songs and tunes, and some new ones. Did several from my new CD, Roll On. I was informed that some young fellows who came (a pair of twins, actually, and a friend of theirs, in their twenties) were fans of and players of acoustic music. One of them played mandolin and another guitar, so I threw in some fancy work on both instruments for them.

After three numbers in my first set, I introduced Triad (Doug Purcell, Carl Wade, Barbra Shafer, Rick Kennedy). They did three or four numbers, including some from their new CD, Hold Back the Waters. Then I came back and finished the set. I call way of doing things "embedding" an opening act. My last number in the first set was a new little song I just wrote last week, called I May Be Old (and Bald, But I Ain't Dead). Everyone seemed to like it: just a lighthearted look at the pleasures of old guys admiring pretty young women. I get to do that from the stage quite often. Song lyrics below.

Following a break for fabulous food and wide-ranging conversation, I did another set to complete the evening's show. I closed with good old reliable Keep On The Sunny Side, as I often do. That song has four really strong characteristics: It is a great song; it expresses a wonderful philosophy of life; it is the theme song of the Carter Family, America's royal family of country music; and it is made for audience singing along. Everyone got right in there on the chorus: Keep on the sunny side; always on the sunny side; keep on the sunny side of life...

Audience response throughout the evening was nothing short of terrific!! People were actually standing up and yelling at the end. (Yes, it was happy yelling...) I always feel very complimented and very invigorated and rewarded when people react to my shows as warmly as the Saturday night audience did. Makes me feel I'm doing something worthwhile.

After the show, I turned to and packed up all of my instruments and equipment while members of the audience who wanted to jam got out their instruments and had at it. I enjoyed listening to them as I did my work, and in fact I joined in at one point. Concert host Greg Gove plays very fine fingerstyle guitar, and I stopped pitching and toting to join him in playing John Hurt's great Creole Belle and a couple of others. Sounded pretty good, I thought.

So... that was the way it was at my house concert in Tampa, Florida, last Saturday night. We had a blast! If you wish you'd been there but couldn't make it, here's another chance: We'll be doing another house concert at the Gove residence on October 23rd. See you there. You folks in Europe and the South Pacific and other far places, better start making plans now!!

Here are the words for my new song. Truer lyrics were never written. Whaddaya think, blog readers?

I MAY BE OLD (AND BALD, BUT I AIN'T DEAD) 4/4 - Lively tempo (G)
Copyright (c) 2010 by Charley Groth

I see you walking down the street, and Lord, you do look fine,
With your pretty eyes and your pretty hair and your little round behind;
Yes, I've collected years and years, yet this must still be said:
I may be old and bald, but I ain't dead!

Now I'd never say a thing to you that wouldn't be polite,
But a man is made to appreciate such a lovely female sight;
And my heart strongly beats today, although my youth has fled:
I may be old and bald, but I ain't dead!

So walk along, you make me smile; just let me window-shop;
I've watched them come and watched them go, and
you're up near the top;

I mean no disrespect to you; please don't bite off my head:
I may be old and bald, but I ain't dead!

==INSTRUMENTAL===

I see you walking down the street; you make my old bells ring,
With your pretty eyes and your pretty hair and your pretty... other things;
I've travelled many miles of road, and many lie ahead;
I may be old and bald, but I ain't dead!

So walk on by; you make me smile; now let me dream along;
You're one of nature's works of art; I
love to sing your song;

I mean no disrespect to you; please don't bite off my head:
I may be old and bald, but I ain't dead!

I've been around for many years; yet this must still be said:
I may be old and bald; may be old and bald,
I may be old and bald, but I ain't dead!

Down the Road - Roll On!!

2010-04-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hello friends... I never cease to be amazed by how many of you, in so many places around this old world, read my blog! Makes me want to keep writing. Thanks for your continued interest!

Life for me continues to be very good indeed. Today I'm writing at a coffeehouse in the Five Points area of Jacksonville, Florida, where I will play tonight on the patio of the Derby House Cafe. That show and one at the Five Points Coffee and Spice coffeehouse tomorrow evening will be the final shows of this loooong tour.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I will drive from Jacksonville to my home under big trees on a quiet street in Largo, Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico.

It will be good to be home... oh, but I surely do enjoy the endless road! Beginning at the end of January I fared away from Largo, across the United States as far as Phoenix, Arizona---travelling out on a southern route and returning in a more northerly route (but of course NOT northerly enough to encounter the terrible winter). In previous entries here I've chronicled travels west through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana; all along the South Texas "Texas Riviera" circuit; on to Austin, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and to several locations in Arizona; to Phoenix.

The centerpiece of my visit to Phoenix this time was the Glendale (Phoenix) Folk Festival, organized by my friend Lon Austin of Phoenix. It was a fun festival. I enjoyed performing, jamming, listening, and visiting with many old and new friends---most of them fellow musicians. I've played the festival before, in other years, and I look forward to playing it again next year. Major fun.

There was a down side. In common with most festivals in the United States, the Phoenix festival had no food fit for human consumption available for sale. There was typical American grossly unhealthful and unattractive greasy, sugar-loaded crap on offer, of course, but nothing I'd want to eat. Seems sad to me that a festival celebrating American roots music would have only the food available that has led us to our current epidemic of obesity and the galaxy of ills attributable to poor nutrition and tragically bad eating habits. Yeeeechhhh.... This not only turned my stomach---it led directly to a traffic accident. I had to leave the festival grounds in search of a grocery where I could buy some food I could eat.

Another serious problem in Phoenix is a combination of terrible traffic---everyone tense, zooming around, driving much too fast for conditions---and horrible traffic management. These two factors together led another vehicle and mine to occupy the same space at the same time, amid a forest of red plastic cones and diverted traffic. The accident was what we call a "fender-bender". Most fortunately there were no injuries involved, as both vehicles were moving slowly. My car, though, being like all modern cars mostly pieces of plastic, sustained considerable damage. I have adequate insurance coverage to take care of another party's damages, but no insurance to cover mine. Since this accident was judged by a local cop to be my fault (what a surprise), it was up to me to fix my vehicle. Fortunately, I was able to do that. My friends Jim and Midori Hall demonstrated their true friendship by allowing me to do the needed repairs in their suburban driveway, and actually Jim Hall did a lot to help me get the job done. He drove me around to various junkyards and auto supply stores to buy parts, and also wasn't a bit hesitant to get his hands dirty as we did the needed work. I got the old buggy back on the road very quickly, a little skinned up but otherwise all better. By skipping a trip I'd planned to make to Flagstaff and on to the south rim of the Grand Canyon for a day of camping, I was able to stay right on schedule.

There are good aspects to every situation, and I like to find them. A really good result of this accident was that in sharing the effort to fix my vehicle, Jim Hall and I were able to deepen our friendship. That's great!! Jim is a truly fine guy.

Leaving behind (not without pangs of regret) my many Arizona friends and friends from everywhere who came to play the Phoenix festival, I headed out to Albuquerque, New Mexico, spent the night there, and then went on to Tye (Abilene), Texas, where I visited with my friend Johnny Warren. Johnny and his wife treated me to dinner in an outstanding catfish place they knew about. Just before I got to Tye I had stopped to call Johnny and tell him I was on my way. While I was in a truckstop making the call, someone broke out one of the taillights on my long-suffering van! Amazingly, after a couple of strikeouts, Johnny and I found exactly the taillight I needed, late on a Friday night at a junkyard operated by a friend of Johnny's whose place would ordinarily have been closed when we got there and would not have opened again until the following Monday. I was able to get up early the next morning, pull the broken taillight and mount the replacement. Sweet!!

Johnny Warren delivers big RV's to purchasers all over the USA. He takes the train from Dallas, Texas, to the midwest, where he picks up the RV's, drives them to their new homes, and then takes train or bus back to Dallas. On my way eastward, I was able to give Johnny a ride the three hours or so from his home to the Amtrak station in Dallas. We had great conversations about many things on the way.

In Dallas I did two things I'd been wanting to do for years and years. The more important one was connecting once again with a friend I had not seen for a number of years, a young woman with whom I once played music and became friends. In the years since we had met, she had been through many personal and family difficulties. I knew she had survived but did not know how well she'd done. It was very, very good to find that she seems to be doing well, is living independently, looks fine, has a nice man in her life, and is possessed of a strong spirit that has not been shattered by what's happened to her. I think she will be okay. I spent the night at her place and went on early next morning, much more at ease about Megan than I had been for years. I hope we'll keep in touch.

The other thing I did in Dallas that I'd wanted to do again for a long time was to play music at Poor David's Pub in the city. This is a legendary folk/acoustic venue I played many years ago when it was in another Dallas location. As it happened, the owner, David Card, was there. We had a nice visit, recalling old days and times.

Here's Poor David's:

http://www.poordavidspub.com/

After Dallas...off across the country: Clinton, Mississippi (near Jackson), where I visited with friend Larry Estest; Birmingham, Alabama, where I did the same, with Richey McKay, who took the time to show me the sights of this fine town...and connect me with a couple of venues where I might play in Birmingham. We ate at a neat backstreet place called the Garage, which I never would have found in Birmingham on my own. Last night, in Montgomery, Alabama, I visited the fascinating Len Daley and members of his family. Unfortunately Len's partner Becky was out of town. Len is a very well educated, well read, wise man. We shared conversations about a wide range of subjects. We made music. I showed Len's bright young daughter, Rita, how to make some guitar chords . She caught on very quickly. I hope she continues with guitar. The next morning I went with Len to see some sights of Montgomery, and also to visit the deeply impressive Rosa Parks Museum and the Civil Rights Memorial. Neither of these are to be missed, when you are in Montgomery. Very, very affecting. We have a long way to go in this country in learning to treat each other fairly and equally...but we have made much progress too, thanks to heroic efforts and great sacrifice, including the ultimate sacrifice, by wonderful, brave, determined people.

Here is the Rosa Parks Museum:

http://montgomery.troy.edu/rosaparks/museum/

Here is the Civil Rights Memorial:

http://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial

As usual when I'm writing these blog updates, at the end of my efforts I think of all the hundreds of things that have happened that I have not mentioned but wish I had time to add. I am blessed to have such a great life, I enjoy it so much, and it is so well populated by wonderful people and events and scenes and experiences that I just can't include them all here.

Many of you know I am pretty much a Taoist, and as I have delved more and more into Taoism my life has become more and more satisfying and rewarding and peaceful. I do my yoga; I meditate; walk; ride my bicycle; read a lot. I open my heart and mind to life and I try to give and to receive joy, with music and otherwise, wherever I go.

Must move on from here, just now, but I'll be back again, before too long.

Be happy.

Arizona Good Times!!

2010-03-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, friends---everything is going GREAT in Arizona!! I've been very busy playing shows, and I'm enjoying much visiting with old friends, as well as the making of new friends! Big fun!!

I've spent the last few months in places where the weather has been primarily cold, wet, and overcast (even in my normally warm and sunny home state of Florida), so I am particularly relishing being in the warm dry climate and sparkling sunshine of Arizona. I bought a new pair of sandals about six weeks ago...and this week finally got into weather in which it is possible to wear them comfortably. I can also do my yoga outside in the mornings here, and that makes it much more fun for me. I am an outdoor kind of person!

Let's see... on Thursday evening I went with friends Dee and John Johnson to play at the famed Fiddler's Dream coffeehouse in Phoenix, where I have often played before. Good to see everyone there once again. Dee Johnson is the person who named Fiddler's Dream when it was first opened years ago. When you get to Phoenix, if you love acoustic music don't miss Fiddler's Dream.

On Friday evening I did a show at Olive Grove Village in Phoenix, where Dee and John Johnson keep an apartment. The Johnsons live in Payson, Arizona, but stay often in Phoenix. I did a show at Olive Grove when I was here last year, so this was a return engagement. They call me "our own troubadour" at Olive Grove. Very cool.

On Saturday afternoon, along with Dee Strickland Johnson, I did a show for a writer's group meeting at a big restaurant in Phoenix. Dee is a very, very talented award-winning singer/songwriter/western poet who has many books and recordings in publication. Had a great time with Dee doing that show, and met new friends right and left.

Dee performs as Buckshot Dot. Here's her web site: http://www.buckshotdot.com

On Saturday evening I travelled to Sun City, Arizona, where my old friend and musical cohort Bill Burkett and his lovely wife Beth have what must be one of the best house concert venues in the world. Bill and Beth have a huge patio at their beautiful home where I've done shows before and will be delighted to do them again. Bill (on mandolin) and Igor Glenn (bass fiddle) joined me in playing the show. Both of them are ace musicians and I had lots of fun making the music with them. We had an enthusiastic crowd. Western singer-songwriter-storyteller Lon Austin emceed. Many folks stayed afterward for jamming and visiting. Burketts have a nice grand piano, so I played some jazz and ragtime on that with Bill, Igor, and others joining in. I love to do that!!

Sunday morning saw me on the road to Gilbert, Arizona (near Mesa), to the home of dear friends Jim and Midori Hall, where I did a house concert Sunday afternoon, accompanied again by bassist Igor Glenn. He's a great player and it was very good of him to come do the show with me. Once again we had an enthusiastic crowd. I love to do house concerts. As usual, I covered a wide range of material. Jim and Midori have a fine piano, and so I did some of my keyboard material, from artists such as Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, Bob Wills, and others. Also played some of my alternate-tuning guitar pieces. After the show I met Bob Grappel and Lynda Cohen from Boston, where Bob is a research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bob and Lynda are fine musicians both. They attended my concert and stayed afterward to jam. Both of them sing and play Autoharp and other instruments. They have a nice CD out. I've invited Bob to come sit in for a few numbers on a show I'm doing tonight.

In these Arizona concerts I am remembering (as I sometimes fail to do) to perform some of the songs and instrumentals I have written. There are so many great pieces of music I like to do that sometimes I just don't remember to do my own. Not good!! My new CD, Roll On, includes some of my recent compositions (So Many Songs, So Little Time) and some old ones too (From Dusk To Dawn), and even some recorded in Europe a few years ago with a good band I worked with there (Janny Bea Rag). Most of my jazz compositions are instrumentals, but on Roll On I have one that is a song (Easy Street).

If you'd like to order Roll On, here's where to do that online:

http://www.cgmusicman.com /purchases.htm

If you don't want to order online, just send me an e-mail at charleygroth@yahoo.com and we'll make arrangements.

On Monday evening I met up with Lon Austin and Rik Palieri for Mexican food on our way to Peoria, Arizona, where I played a concert with Rik, an internationally touring singer/songwriter/entertainer from Vermont, who like me is in town for the Phoenix (Glendale) Folk Festival this coming weekend; and a local act. The concert was staged at the Peoria Library auditorium. This is a nice theater-style venue. We had a standing-room-only audience. Rik opened the show, then I played (with ever accomodating Bill Burkett on mandolin), and the local performers (whose names I am sorry to say I don't have at hand) finished the program.

Here's Rik Palieri's web site: http://www.banjo.net/

After the show a crowd of us, performers and others, went out for coffee and visiting late into the night. I dearly love evenings like that, and stayed until I was almost too tired to drive back to Gilbert to the Hall residence where I am staying now! A highlight of the evening for me was meeting and visiting with an old character who had many great stories to tell of his hobo days riding freight trains across America. I talked with a lady who has to do with the famed hobo convention held annually at Britt, Iowa, where the King of the Hoboes is elected. I played that event one year with the Terry Smith show. The lady I met Monday night wants me to come back again with my own show, the second weekend of August. Maybe I'll be able to do that.

Yesterday was pretty much a day off. In the afternoon I drove out to the Barbara and Chuck Giamalvo residence about fifty miles from where I am staying, where I enjoyed a jam session with some of the festival performers. We'll be camping at the Giamalvo place during the actual festival this coming weekend, so it was good to find it in advance.

That brings us up do date. Midori Hall, a wonderful lady of Japanese extraction, makes very elegant food. She's just called me to lunch, so I must hasten!!

Music, with good musicians; interesting friends; fascinating conversations; tasty food; good books; late nights; early mornings; all good. What in the world is not to like?

Life is good. More as it continues to unfold.

More Good Times Down the Music Road

2010-03-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

Hello from Phoenix, Arizona! As I write this morning, I'm at the home of good friends "Buckshot Dot", western singer/songwriter/poet Dee Strickland Johnson, and her husband John. Arrived in Phoenix yesterday after an enjoyable if loooong trip from Austin, Texas.

After an good visit with Florida friends Dan and Diana Ost, transplanted to the Austin, Texas, area, and an intimate concert in their home, I drove out to Kerrville (Ingram, actually), Texas, where I met up with world-traveller Davy Crockett (his real name), with whom I'm plotting up, hopefully, a trip to Peru next (northern) winter. Davy is a fine guy, and an interesting adventurer I enjoy knowing very much. Next stop was Las Cruces, New Mexico, where I visited and spent a day and night with musician Bob Combs. Had some great Mexican food with Bob and his friend Jane, and Bob and I jammed into the night one night. Mostly blues. Bob's a fine guitarist. He has me interested in doing some of the music of Robert Earl Keene. High quality stuff.

In Las Cruces I also connected with a very longtime friend, Dr. Kathleen (Sue to family) Hales. I've known Sue since she was ten years old. Her dad and mother and I were friends away back. Walt Lashley, her dad, was a genius, a self-educated scientist, visual artist, and writer, and one of those one-in-a-million characters I've been lucky enough to know. I had a multitude of good times, fascinating discussions, and adventures in the wilds of New Mexico with Walt in our younger days. A victim of what proved for him to be an unconquerable cigarette-smoking addiction, Walt passed on much too early to whatever is next after this life, but Sue's mother, Walt's widow, Sheila Lashley, is very much alive and we are friends today. I could only visit with Sue Hales briefly because she was at work seeing patients, but it was fun for both of us to make contact.

I enjoyed poking around in Las Cruces too.

After Las Cruces I drove on to Grant County, New Mexico, where I visited for a couple of days with my old bass player Pete Silman and his wife Nancy, who live in Arenas Valley, New Mexico, not far from Silver City. That was immense fun. Pete and I played some music, of course, and we all reminisced about events in days of old. We were young together, away back when. Visited with several other old friends while I was in Grant County, too, including Sheila Lashley; David Berry, who usually works with the USA's operations in Antarctica but who was at home when I stopped at his place; and great good friend, Dougan Hales, one of the world's true thinkers and scholars, and a fine writer. Dougan teaches at an alternate school in Silver City, and passes on his wisdom on to younger folks both in and out of the school.

Early one morning while I was in southern New Mexico I also visited my ex-wife, Donna Samuels, in the village of Pinos Altos, on the edge of the Gila National Forest, where we once lived together and where she still lives. We had not seen each other in a long time, and in fact have been together only once or twice in all the many years since we were divorced. Like me, Donna never married again. We've been apart for a very long time and most, maybe all, of the pain of our parting, for me at least, has been swept away in the river of time. Donna and I had a nice visit last week. She seems to be doing well. The fact that we could not continue as a married couple does not change the fact that I love her and hold her in my heart always. As I said to Donna last week, I think the most important thing to me about our relationship now is that we have never become enemies, as so many divorced people do.

Leaving New Mexico I drove west on I-10 to Fort Bowie National Historic Site, away back a long, twisting road, first paved and then dirt, south of the town of Fort Bowie. A few miles of hiking took me through beautiful desert hills, the ancient home of the Chiracahua Apaces, to the ruins of Fort Bowie. The hike was interesting and physically stimulating. It was a deep thrill to stand, away out in the desert mountains, and watch water steadily burbling up out of Apache Spring---as it has for millenia untold. I was saddened, though, to think, as I made my way along the trails, of the way European-descended people, without any right to do so and without any compassion or consideration for the rights of others, flooded into that remote area and destroyed the lifestyle of the orginal residents there, whose homeland that had been for millenia.

Pressing on the next day to Benson, Arizona, I arrived at the home of my good friends Charlie and Elaine Reece. Charlie and I are longtime cohorts on the music road. Hailing originally from Nebraska, Charlie plays on many of the same festivals I do in the summer in the midwest. We had a grand time together, as always. Charlie is one busy guy!! He has a huge barn in Benson full of projects he's working on. He cuts and polishes gems, restores old cars, and does a dozen other interesting things. Charlie is in a band in the Benson area with some other good musicians. We all met the second day I was there for a good long jam session. That was major fun.

Heading west again from Benson I arrived night before last in Casa Grande, Arizona, where I jumped off the interstate to camp out on the desert for a night, comfortable in cold temperatures in my sleeping bag under brilliantly glittering stars. The air on the desert was brisk and clean and delightful. I loved doing some yoga pranayama (breathing) exercises in that wonderful air. It was like drinking delicious icy mountain spring water. After passing an exquisitely peaceful night I woke very thoroughly refreshed and revitalized in the morning. I like to do that once in a while!!

Connecting the next day with John and Dee Johnson, I accompanied them to a meeting of a western history club to which they belong last night. There we ate and heard an interesting lecture about the Salt River Project, the water management system developed in Arizona to supply water to the hordes of people living there. I certainly have mixed feelings about that.

Met a lady at the meeting who puts on house concerts at her place in Phoenix, and made an agreement to do one there next year when I am back here for the Phoenix Folk Festival (To perform in the festival is my main reason for being in Phoenix this time.)

Well, dear readers, my first concert in the Phoenix series is tonight, so it is time for me to get to work. It's been fun. See you here next time!

Every day is a cherished gift, and life is good.

2010-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

WHEW... intense times! I am just winding up a good long tour along the "Texas Riviera" with the Terry Smith show, playing acoustic guitar and mandolin leads for the show. We have also just done the big Rio Grande Music Festival, which meant doing many short shows (both Terry Smith's and mine) each day, AND a concert in some Texas town every night. We did two concerts on two of the dates. This has all been a lot of work but has been lots of fun, and comfortable too because this time I got hotel accomodations all the way.

I have to say everything has been going extremely well indeed. Music is cooking, audiences are appreciative, and large, and the new CD is selling well. I am feeling fine. My yoga and weight lifting and aerobic exercise give me considerable stamina. I just absolutely dearly LOVE what I do on the music road. Every day is a wonderful gift, an opportunity to share my music with one and all and a chance for visits with good folks, friends both old and new.

The Rio Grande Music Festival (Mercedes, Texas) was major fun. I play this event every year and so have lots of friends among the producers, promoters, and performers. There are also new performers to enjoy every year. This year my dear old friends the Kenaston family of musicians played the festival, and their hot music was a highlight of the week. Old friends Tex and Mary Schutz were there too, and their music also was a highlight. Great singer Margie LeBlanc was there as well, but for some reason we saw little of each other. She guested on one of the Terry Smith shows, but other than that we were scheduled so we couldn't interact very much.

I enjoyed a family band, the Redhead Express, and asked one of the kids to play mandolin with me on a show I did. Also had the opportunity to make some music with George Rogers on Dobro on that show. I have known George for years and years but we had not had the chance to make music together onstage before. He did a super job!

During the festival I had a great song idea given to me, and a few shows in Missouri in early June materialized. I made some connections that should prove valuable down the road. I visited with friends Bill and Fran Weber in Donna, Texas, and will catch up with other friends in the Rio Grande Valley before I leave tomorrow.

At the end of the tour, today, Terry Smith, in his usual good-natured way, took all of the band, sales personnel, and others who help with his show to lunch. This was quite a crowd of people---at least a dozen of us. I had salmon and catfish, and vegetables.

Now I'm heading tomorrow for San Antonio, then to San Marcos, and then to Austin, Texas, for a visit and a concert with Dan and Diana Ost, old Florida friends who moved to Texas a couple of years ago. Dan has been flatpick guitar instructor at my annual Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp in Florida.

Life is good!!!

On the Road Again...

2010-02-13T18:54:00.001-08:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I updated the blog! I left Florida February 3, bound for Texas and a tour with Terry Smith's show, the Rio Grande Festival at Mercedes away down on the southern border of the state, a concert in Austin, and onward to New Mexico and Arizona. It has been a busy and music-filled trip!

Things got off to a bit of a bumpy start. The first day went smoothly: As always it kind of tugged at my heart to leave home, but a few minutes out I was already in my "on the road" mode and mood. I drove to a point about fifty miles west of Tallahassee on Interstate 10, and spent the night in a truckstop there. Kind of fun, and very comfortable, sleeping in my familiar bed in the old van. I've done that a lot.

The second morning I began to hit torrential rains and by the time I crossed a bit of Alabama and made it to the Mississippi state line I was largely driving blind. I decided to stop overnight with a friend, Brian Asbury, in Gulfport, Mississippi. By the time I reached his house it was raining so hard I got soaked to the skin just going to the door. Whew.

I had planned for the next day's drive to be a short one, because I wanted to stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to visit old friends Jim Adams and wife Cindy and in Milton, Louisiana to visit very dear friend and Jim's sister Ann Guidry, and family. Didn't work out that way. I reached the Adams home in Baton Rouge only to find the whole household sick and doctoring. Got out of there fast. Drove on to Milton, where I found Ann in bed and drastically ill with something that seemed like stomach flu. Got out of there fast too. I certainly regretted not having the opportunity to visit with my friends, but it would have been disastrous for me to come down with illness on the road. I needed to do everything I could to prevent that from happening.

I made the day a long day of driving instead of a short one, continuing on to Beaumont Texas, where I slept in another truck stop. The next day I drove on westward to Martindale, Texas, for a stop with another great friend, banjo wizard and philosopher Dave Seeman. Dave wasn't sick. We had a great time visiting. Dave Seeman is one of those people who really thinks about things that matter, and who has really good things to say. As he often does, Dave had several great books I had not seen before---one on Plato and his teachings; a terrific volume entitled The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga (ISBN 0-9613099-1-1) by Goswami Kriyananda, one of the best books on yoga I've ever read and one I will buy as soon as I can; and another on the practice of pranayama, yogic breathing and breath control. I'd been looking for a book on that subject for some time.

On Sunday we drove to Austin, Texas, about forty miles north, and made music, from bluegrass to folk to jazz to country to swing, at Artz Rib House, a great acoustic music venue, almost all day. Ran into and picked with a number of people I'd met and made music with before, and some who were new to me as well. Great, great fun all day. That evening at Artz I also had a good visit with leading Texas swing musician and good friend Gary Hartman and the members of his Texas Swing Kings band. It was my great good luck to be at Artz on a date when Gary and his band were playing there for a couple of evening hours.

Super visit.

On Wednesday, February 10, I made the long, long drive from San Marcos to Corpus Christi, Texas, where I joined my current tour with the Terry Smith show. I'm doing Terry's acoustic guitar and mandolin lead work in Texas this year, as I have done often in the past. Many times I've written in this blog of how talented and thoroughly professional onstage is Terry Smith, and how much I enjoy working with him.

We did several concerts in the Corpus Christi area. They were a little rough, being the first in the tour. I have a slightly different onstage monitor setup than I've had before with Terry, and so I had to do a considerable amount of adjusting and readjusting to get things working as I want them to work. I think all the bugs are out of the setup now. Hope so.

I stayed with Terry Shamsie and family in Corpus Christi. One of Terry's kids is Katherine, about sixteen, who is a talented piano student. She has been yearning to learn how to improvise at the piano---something about which her academically-oriented teachers do not have a clue. I very much enjoyed teaching Katherine some of the methods of improvising. She caught on fast and seemed thrilled to have learned how to begin improvising. I dearly love to pass on musical knowledge to talented young people. Teaching Katherine made me at least as happy as doing concerts, and maybe more.

Leaving Corpus Christi Friday, I drove to Mercedes, Texas and to the LaCopa Motel there, where I will be staying for the next ten days courtesy of the Rio Grande Music Festival. The Terry Smith tour in this area starts tomorrow.

More as things develop. Have a good one. See you back here in a short while...

More Florida News...

2010-01-16T16:29:00.000-08:00

Here I am again. Life has been strange and stressful in some ways in Florida...and greatly enjoyable and rewarding in others.

Just at the beginning of the year my good young friend, talented songwriter Austin Truax, from northern Nebraska, away up on the border of South Dakota, arrived to spend some time with me. His wife, Rebecca, and kids Shane, 13, and Makayla, 11, remained in the blizzard-blighted midwest so he could come here to find work and prepare the way for them all to leave the midwest permanently. (Rebecca has a job in the midwest that they couldn't give up just yet.) The family moved to Nebraska from the west (Montana) a couple of years ago, but have not found Nebraska a place where they want to stay. Austin has been looking for, and finding, work here so he can move the family to the Sunshine State. We've been baching it here, and getting along fine. I've been giving him a place to live and teaching him about songwriting. He's learned to eat some of my concoctions. He's been helping me out with household maintenance. And firewood hauling and splitting.

The Sunshine State has not been very sunny for a couple of weeks this month! We've experienced nothing close to weather as awful as the blizzards that have afflicted many northern parts of the United States---but we have passed through the longest bitterly cold spell of weather in Florida's recorded history! One day it was actually colder here in the morning than it was in Juneau, Alaska!! I have a good fireplace and plenty of firewood to burn, so Austin and I stayed warm, but I HATE cold weather and so was very glad when it blew out of here a couple of days ago. It is still not quite as warm as it usually gets in January in Florida, but the sun is back out and the temperatures are pleasant. I hope I have no more such cold weather to report while I am here at home.

Music has been going very well. After many long spells of mixing and mastering I have completed my new Roll On CD, and it went off to the manufacturer just yesterday. South Texas readers (and others)---I'll have some copies for sale at my Texas performances coming up, with Terry Smith in the "Texas Riviera" valley, and at the Rio Grande Festival in Mercedes, Texas. Folks, I'm proud of the way this CD came out, and I hope you will all like it a lot. Come and get 'em!

Here is the Texas schedule: http://www.cgmusicman.com/venues.htm#Section%202

The CD will soon be available online (but not yet) on the Purchases page of my web site.

Here: http://www.cgmusicman.com/purchases.htm

The path has been a little rocky for me lately, healthwise. My environmental allergies (pollen, etcetera) have been kicking up seriously here in Florida. I've finally gotten the allergies under control thanks to some sage advice from health counselors at the online Institute for Healthy Living, where I was advised to use Allergy Formula by VitaLogic, an herbal blend, and a good probiotic. These two have done wonders for the allergy problem. It is not gone, but it is greatly reduced.

For some years now I've been having a problem with intermittent numbness, tingling, and some pain in my left shoulder, arm, and hand. This is something that happens to a number of lifelong guitarists. I hadn't worried about it much, but I thought I ought to go see someone about it. I don't go to drug-and-surgery doctors, but a good integrative medical clinic was recommended to me. I went there. Kind of wish I hadn't.

At the clinic the lead doctor directed me to an on-staff chiropractor. I went and had a treatment. Big mistake. After the treatment, I found that the pain and numbness and tingling had escalated from occasional to constant. Against my better judgment, and sort of by mistake (long story) I went to the chiropractor again a few days later...and again his treatment made my problem markedly worse. There has also been enough pain at night since then that I have not been able to sleep at all well. I have not had a full night's sleep since I first visited that chiropractor.

No more chiropractor!! Now I'm seeing the doctor again, a massage therapist, and a physical therapist, all associated with the clinic. I'm feeling a slight slow improvement now. No more chiropractor. It seems I have inflamed nerves caused by overwork, repetitive strain, and some arthritis in my back. Bummer. I'm working on it.

Sometimes I find places I really like to perform, and one I found recently is Kojak's Rib House in Palmetto, Florida. I did a show at the end of last year there, loved it, and did another one on January 12. Once again I had a large and warmly receptive audience. Once again the food was GREAT. Many folks came out especially to hear me. As usual in Florida, Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle) accompanied me. I thought the evening went very well indeed. I did a wide range of material, from vintage jazz to ragtime to country to blues and more, including some of my own compositions. I sang and played only guitar and mandolin. Was glad to find that my troubles with pain and numbness in my left shoulder/arm/hand did not seem to interfere with my playing at all. I have already found ways to deal with the problem a bit. I refuse to be restricted in doing what I was born to do.

Onward!! :=))

I appreciate all of your e-mails of interest in and support of what I do. Makes me feel great. I'm also starting to use Facebook a little bit, so maybe I'll see you there.

More next time!!

Through the Holidays...

2010-01-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone reading this has had happy holidays. Mine were fine. On December 19 my friend Doug Purcell hosted a Christmas party/jam session at his seaside condo, attended by many local area friends. On Christmas Day I worked around the house in the morning, and in the afternoon, along with Doug Purcell, I dropped by the home of friends Ellie Schwartz and Doug Travers for visiting, music, and food. Good fun. On New Year's Eve a crowd of us met up again at Doug Purcell's place. Then on January 1 I attended a big jam session and party at Jim and Peggy Kaufman's house in Pinellas Park, Florida---an event that happens every year. I never miss it if I am in Florida for the holidays. The past few years I have been at the Woolshed Festival away off around the world near Dargaville, New Zealand, when the new year has come in. This year, for a change, I was here at home!

I've written a few Christmas songs. About twenty years ago I wrote one called Christmas In The Country, after stopping at the Little America truckstop at Green River, Wyoming, on a Christmas Day. Just for grins I dug it out this holiday season and have been singing it. Response has been good. I may end up recording the darned thing!

Here are the lyrics for Christmas In The Country:

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY
Copyright (c) 1989 by Charley Groth

Turkey dinner in a truckstop tastes all right;
I guess I'm glad I stopped here in this long Wyoming night;
They've got pretty lights and presents and a big old Christmas tree---
And the waitress says she comes from Tennessee.

Jammin' gears about a thousand miles today,
I've stayed right on the road to drive these holidays away;
But now I'll sit and drift a while back thru the years, I know---
Back to CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY long ago.

[CHORUS]
CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY---in my heart I'm going there,
Where the hills of home lie sleepin' deep in snow;
CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY---with all the love we shared,
At CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY long ago.

Carols playing on the jukebox sound so good;
I can't forget the kids we were, who sang the best we could;
Merry Christmas in my mem'ry: There we are around the tree---
And I'll find one gift that's waiting just for me.

Jammin' gears about two thousand miles away,
I can't go back; I've gone too far, and I'll just have to stay;
But I'll drink my coffee black and drift on back again I know---
Back to CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY long ago.

[CHORUS]
CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY---in my heart I'm going there,
Where the hills of home lie sleepin' deep in snow;
CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY---with all the love we shared,
At CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY long ago.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY---when everybody cared,
At CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY long ago.

I've continued to stay busy. I've been working on both the e-book I'm writing and on my new CD. The good news is that the CD is almost finished. I'm into final mixing and mastering. This one will called Roll On, and it will include a number of my own compositions, both songs and instrumentals, and music from sources as diverse as tradition, Jean Ritchie, Hank Snow, and Duke Ellington.

Here's a list of the contents, for those interested: Roll On Buddy (Nine Pound Hammer); Florida Blues (my song, not the Chubby Wise instrumental); Friendship Waltz (one of my waltzes, written especially for Autoharp); When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again (the great old country standard, in what I hope is a fresh new version with interesting instrumental breaks); Rattlesnake Road Rag (an instrumental rag I wrote years ago when I did a radio show on Rattlesnake Road out near Lake Wales, Florida); Easy Street (one of my rare jazz-style songs); From Dusk To Dawn (an old story song I wrote years ago to tell a true tale, recorded live during an NPR radio show, with just my vocal and guitar); Janny Bea Rag (an instrumental inspired by a very cute picture of Jan Milner as a child, and her story of dancing with her father when she was a little one); The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore (the great Jean Ritchie song); Hazel Eyes (a re-mastered re-issue of a 12-string guitar instrumental I wrote and recorded on an album many years ago, back in the vinyl days); So Many Songs, So Little Time (a recent ballad of mine); Don't Get Around Much Anymore (an instrumental take on the Duke Ellington classic, featuring my beeyoootiful Gibson Herb Ellis electric archtop guitar); Black Range Tales (an impressionistic alternate-tuning guitar instrumental seeking to evoke New Mexico's Black Range mountains); and Play Something We All Know (a country song I wrote about a life lesson I learned as a young man on the music road).

As always, I've tried to do unusual, creative arrangements of all of the CD music. I think I've succeeded in doing things listeners will find interesting. That's the challenge for me: Not just getting another CD out, but doing something people will really enjoy because it isn't just pretty much the same as all the others. Of course, "same as all the others" is exactly what the corporate music lords in Nashville are looking for...never realizing that when the most recent flood of "sound alikes" began, what began that particular flood was something NOT pretty much like all the other releases happening at the time. Okay, griping over. The good things so many people tell me who have enjoyed my recordings through the years is what is truly important to me. Thanks for all the kind words.

I can say this: The cover picture on this new CD will be far and away the most unusual album cover picture I've ever used!! I can hardly believe it myself. You'll have to wait to see it!!

The CD will be onsale both directly, online, and in some stores, soon. I'll announce the date here.

Health notes, negative and positive:

I have continued to have problems with occasional numbness and some pain in my left shoulder, arm, and hand. Finally went to a (non drug-and-surgery) doctor who sent me to a chiropractor. After two visits, I don't think the chiropractor has done me any good and, in fact, has caused the numbness to worsen if anything. So, probably will not go back.

On the other hand (pun intended), I have had great good luck with my battle with environmental allergies (pollen, etctera) here in Florida. In the past few years I have developed increasingly severe allergic reactions. I don't like to take drugs, ever, and so have taken antihistamine drugs VERY reluctantly to get some relief. I listen to an excellent radio health show called Duke and the Doctor. The show's Dr. Jan McBarron, who is both an M.D. and a naturopathic physician, provides solid advice for health maintenance using natural, non-drug and non-surgical methods. The show is associated with a organization called Institute for Healthy Living that also provides some online health counseling. These two sources have lately led me to get on VitaLogic brand's Allergy Formula (herbal supplement) and a good probiotic to boost my immune system. I also was already taking VitaLogic's Daily Extra, a high-quality multiple vitamin supplement, and VitaLogic's Immune Formula, designed to boost the immune system. I am very VERY happy to say that since starting the Allergy Formula and the probiotic (I am using Vitamin Discount Center's Suprema Dophilus) about 90 percent of my allergic symptoms have vanished! It really works!!

Here are Duke and the Doctor:

Duke and the Doctor

Here is Institute for Healty Living:

Institute for Healthy Living

I would enthusiastically recommend these to anyone!

Well, friends, sad to say, it is chilly here in Florida right now. The HIGH today is supposed to be about 50 degrees f. That means, by Florida standards, it is actually DAMNED COLD here. Someone said it has been forty-odd years since it has been this cold here. I have a young house guest right now, Austin Truax, whose wife and kids are WAY up north, in northern Nebraska close to the South Dakota line...where the big blizzards are blowing. Funny, they don't think it is cold here at all. Nevertheless, I'm cold, and I need to go find out where I can buy a half-cord of firewood. I have some wood, and a very nice fireplace to burn it in, but I need more. I know of one wood seller, but he is all sold out today.

Later!!

And Then I Wrote...

2009-12-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

Just as I was ready to post more on the December 7 blog entry, my computer crashed and I lost the text I had prepared for upload. I decided to just quit for the night (it was very late), go to bed, and get back to it when I could. Now, finally, I'm back.

After bidding farewell to my visiting friends Larry and Karen Doran, who headed north and eventually into an enormous blizzard raging where they live, in Nebraska, I returned to my daily life in Florida...which is a pretty darned nice life, I must say! Oh, sure, I've had two more big plumbing bills in the past month, and an outrageously high property tax bill to help fund the wasting and stealing of public money perpetrated by area government. On the other hand, though, the sun is shining, the temperature is warm and getting warmer the past few days, I'm feeling great, and several goals I've been working toward have been reached lately. Also, amazingly, I discovered yesterday a little Largo nature park I never noticed before. I'll be visiting that park again. I have to admit, too, that Largo has recently done some nice beautification on a big street not far from my house. So not ALL of the tax money is wasted...

Here, by the way, is how Larry and Karen Doran's house looks this week:

Brrrrr!!!

When I was a kid I lived in a place (Ohio) where that kind of disaster happened annually. Couldn't wait to get out of there, and left when I was still quite young. I have not lived again anywhere where there is a cold snowy winter.

Of course the weather is balmy in Florida in winter, most of the time. That's one of the reasons my life is good. Another reason is that I believe in and for all of my life I have practiced voluntary simplicity.

Here's a web site: Voluntary simplicity.

I view every day as a gift I am blessed to receive. I'm very happy with what I have and what I do, and I very greatly enjoy simple pleasures. One of my cherished pleasures here at home, for example, is spending time some evenings at a Borders bookstore not too far from where I live. When it is about time for an evening meal, at a grocery near the bookstore I buy a couple of apples, maybe a pear, some broccoli, perhaps a cucumber, or lettuce---to provide a variety of tastes---and whole wheat tortillas, to add a healthful, good-tasting grain. Then I take my food to the Borders coffeeshop, buy a large cup of their decent decaffinated coffee, or green tea, pick out some good books and magazines to read, and sit down in a big comfortable chair to read and eat. This suits me just fine. and in fact when I've decided I'm going to do it, I look forward to it all day. My dad used to say that all of the knowledge mankind has amassed in all of our history is to be found somewhere in books. I was fascinated, and I've been searching out that knowledge all of my life. The search has been FUN!!

I love learning. I read some fiction, but not much, really. I'd much rather immerse myself in philosophy with authors like Deepak Chopra and Ken Wilbur; take trips around the world with writers like Paul Theroux; learn about Buddhist thinking in magazines like Triangle; study yoga with B. K. S. Iyengar; on and on. Last night at Borders I read most of a delightful book by Jack LaLanne, the great American fitness guru who at age 95 is still fit and trim and sharp as a razor. He's learned a lot in nearly a century of life, and I enjoyed discovering more about him and what he knows.

Borders, incidentally, makes out well with me. I buy quite a few of the books I find there.

Another of the simple pleasures I love is riding my bike. I am lucky enough to live just a few blocks from a first-rate hiking and biking trail that extends for many miles through Pinellas Country, where I live. It is one of those rail-to-trail conversions which has been very successful. I spend plenty of time on it. I've also figured out how to get just about everywhere I can possibly go by bike, using quiet back streets with little traffic. That's FAR better than starting my van, fighting city traffic, searching for parking spaces. I find I can usually get to the relatively near places I need to go more quickly and more easily (and with MUCH less stress) on my bike than I can ever get to them by car.

Simple things. I enjoy them.

Onward. In music, I played a nice gig this week at a place called Kojak's, in Palmetto, Florida, a town not far from Bradenton, south of the Tampa Bay area. The venue was nice, the food was good, sound and lights were good, and the audience was very warm and receptive. Several of my friends showed up, including fine musician Harvey Maslowe, who did a few tunes and let me accompany him on mandolin, which I loved doing. Carl Wade and Barbara Shafer played too. Carl backed me as usual when I did my feature set. My good bass player Rick Kennedy was not feeling well and so did not make it to Palmetto, and I definitely missed having him! In the relaxed situation I did quite a variety of music, including some things I don't do very often. I played guitar, alternate-tuning guitar, mandolin, and Autoharp. Music ranged from old Gordon Lightfoot folky tunes to jazz to ragtime to blues to real country (not the garbage Nashville is peddling now). The evening was produced by Pete Gallagher, who loves one of my old compositions called Grandpa Flatpicked. He plays my recording of that one fairly often on his radio show, and is always complimentary about it. I rarely perform Grandpa Flatpicked, but since Pete requested it at Kojak's, I gave it a go. Turned out fine, but I did have to use a "cheat sheet" to make sure I had the right words. I did a few other songs and instrumentals that I've written too. It was a good night, and I'm planning to play Kojak's once more before I go back on the road in February.

Hey, friends, as if I don't have enough to do, I've started a whole new project: I'm hard at work writing my first ebook, The No-Nonsense Guide to Stress Reduction. I've done a lot of thinking about stress and have done a lot of research on it, and how to get rid of it, over the years. I've developed a system I believe can help anyone greatly reduce stress in life, without the use of drugs or other conventional (western) medical treatments. I'm excited about it the project of getting this into ebook form. I love to write and have in fact done a lot of professional writing over the years. I've been learning how to produce and market ebooks, which I think are one of the waves of the future in publishing. When I have The No-Nonsense Guide to Stress Reduction finished and published I'll mention that here and you can order it if you want it!

That's about it for now, good people. See you right back here, next time!

More Sunshine State Days

2009-12-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

Hi friends... It has been some time since I last updated the blog. Busy times. Fun times. Here's what's been happening:

The weekend after my Saturday gig at Mother's Musical Bakery in Sarasota, followed by the Sunday Bilmar festival in Saint Petersburg, I played another show on Sunday, November 29, in a place where I love to play: Sweetwater Farm, in Tampa. Sweetwater is a big organic farming collective. On Sundays Sweetwater hosts a big market day featuring live music. On November 29 I was the feature act, with my faithful musical cohorts Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle) and Carl Wade (guitar) supporting. Triad (Doug Purcell, Rick, Carl, and Barbara Shafer) opened for me.

I have to admit I wasn't feeling very well as I did my Sweetwater show this time. My allergies had been in full cry for several days before, and I was just about exhausted by trying to breathe! I found myself having to make a choice between not being able to inhale and being turned into a zombie by an antihistamine was taking...so I chose zombie-fication. Terrible. I will not make the mistake of taking Aleve again. Somehow I got through the show...and to my surprise, afterward, many people told me they thought my set was very well done---that I did an excellent show. I guess that is the result of my having many, many years of experience onstage. Whatever. I'm glad it went well. Wish I could have been there. :=))

Here's Sweetwater.

After the Sweetwater show a crowd of us repaired to the home of Greg (Gonzo) Gove, not far from Sweetwater. Gonzo and his lady, Susan Aungst, hosted a great gathering with good conversation in Gonzo's pleasant Florida room overlooking a waterway, outrageously good chili along with other tasty treats prepared by Susan, and a healthy dose of music making. Gonzo is a first-rate guitar fingerpicker, banjo picker, singer and songwriter I've met fairly recently when he was in the audience at a show I did. I knew on jamming with him for just a short time that I wanted to do more of that, and we did it last Sunday as Gonzo's place. Almost all of those who gathered at Gonzo's place last Sunday were good musicians. When I got to Gonzo's the allergies seemed to leave me for a while, and I was able to have fun.

A few days after this good Sunday, my longtime friends and supporters (and fine musicians who recently performed on a national television show) Larry and Karen Doran arrived from far Nebraska for a visit. They travelled to the southeast to spend Thanksgiving with family living in Apopka, in central Florida, and then to visit with me and to make a trip with me to Key West, Florida.

(I spent Thanksgiving with music friends in Wesley Chapel, Florida, north of Tampa, where we ate and visited and made plenty of music. Had the pleasure of playing once again for the first time in long time with old music buddy Doug Travers (guitar, Wesley Chapel), and then, in a lengthy session, with excellent swing guitarist Ellie Schwartz, of Wesley Chapel, and Bob Dauhm, harmonica and flute, of Leesburg.)

After Larry and Karen Doran and I visited the famous Clearwater Beach, the sponge docks at Tarpon Springs, and a few other points of interest (and ate at the excellent China Buffet in Largo), we had lots of fun travelling to and visiting Key West. None of us had been there before. Florida is a BIG state very long, and a drive from where I live to Key West would be a looong one. Instead of driving all that way, we drove first to Sarasota, where we visited my old friend and Florida folk music grande dame Jean Hewitt. At Jean's place we met an Irish music tour promoter, Tom Pigott, who arranges tours for American performers in Ireland. Needless to say, I found this very interesting and have already started discussing with Tom doing such a tour myself.

Leaving Sarasota, we drove on to Fort Myers Beach, where the big Key West Express high-speed catamaran docks, spent the night in a motel dockside, and then in the morning were off across the Gulf of Mexico to the southernmost point in the United States: Key West. That catamaran really tore up the water. We covered the distance from Fort Myers Beach to Key West in three hours flat! Amazing!! To our surprise the boat travelled far enough out to sea that no land was visible as we progressed. Choppy water made the passage pretty rough, but when we arrived in Key West the weather was great, beautifully sunny and bright. We took the "conch train" tour around the picturesque old town, ate big at an excellent buffet restaurant where Larry and Karen had their first experience of eating loquats, a Florida fruit that looks something like an apricot but is much tastier, and then we wandered around the streets and in general had a fun time. After about six hours in Key West we boarded the catamaran for another high-speed---and yes, pretty choppy--transit, back to Fort Myers Beach.

I enjoyed riding on the upper decks, outside, some of the time, both going to Key West and returning. Seeing dolphins at play during the day on the way south and the Gulf lit by a full moon at night on the way back north were two highlights for me.

Here's Key West Express.

More Good Times in Sunny Florida

2009-11-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

I love coffeehouses. I love to play music in coffeehouses. One I never want to miss playing when I'm at home in Florida is Mother's Musical Bakery in Sarasota. Operated by Dennis and Jennifer Brock at 6517 Superior Avenue in Sarasota, it is just about perfect. Dennis is an intense, talented singer/guitarist/songwriter himself. Jennifer is a serene, pretty, youthful woman who prepares delectable natural food and serves up coffee to the customers. Their kids help out with gusto. Audiences are quiet and attentive. No big crowds, but people who are there to listen.

Last Friday evening I played Mother's once more. Dennis Brock opened the evening. He's good. Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle)---you've read about these two fathful friends and good musicians before in this blog---then accompanied me on a fairly lengthy ramble through many genres of music played on many instruments as I brought back some pieces I had not done in a while (in some cases, a long while) and tried out some new ones. It was a good night.

When we were all through, Dennis and Jennifer's daughter and a friend of hers (girls maybe ten years old or slightly older) got up to sing a song they'd been practicing. They were a bit nervous but they did a good job. It was a highlight of the evening for me!

I'll play Mother's as often as I can. If you are in Sarasota, Florida, don't fail to seek it out.

This afternoon (Sunday) I played a competely different type of event, and it was fun too. This show was Pete Gallagher's Florida Music Festival on Treasure Island (along the Gulf Coast here). Pete is a fabulous Florida character--singer, songwriter, guitarist, poet, radio personality, on and on. The festival was set up away out on a huge white "sugar sand" beach behind the Belmar Resort. The staging, lighting, and sound were all top-drawer. Pete put together a band to back me. The harmonica player and the bass player were excellent, and the bass player sang good harmony. Pete himself played solid rhythm guitar, and that meant a lot to me. We are old friends who go back a long way. I had not had the opportunity to play onstage with Pete Gallagher for many years.

Our music was very warmly received, and I sold a good number of CDs. Food and drinks were offered free to performers in a VIP tent. The Gulf of Mexico was gorgeous, as it is always. A brisk breeze accompanied vigorous waves lapping the shore. I took a long walk along the waterline and picked up a few shells, a perfect one of which will go to a young friend who lives a long, long way from the water. All good, friends. All good.

Meet you here next entry!

20th Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp

2009-11-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

The 20th anniversary production of my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp is history. Advanced-level fiddle instructor, the eminent Elan Chalford, sent me an e-mail after the camp with a subject line that perfectly described this year's event: "A fine camp was had by all". That was it!!

Here's the camp web site, where you can find description, pictures, schedule, instructor list, the works: http://www.cgmusicman.com/camp/index.html

The camp is held in a beautiful nature park in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Mid-November weather could not have been more gorgeous on the camp weekend. It was sunny and warm during the days. Clear blue skies prevailed with puffy white clouds away up high. Very, very comfortable. At night it was just cool enough for comfy sleeping. Of course most folks at the camp did lots of jamming and not too much sleeping at night. One night I went to bed about 1:30 AM after sitting by a fire listening to our great old-time banjo instructor Matthew Sabatella and the lovely and massively talented Gailanne Amundsen making music together. (Gailanne works with kids attending the camp, and some years ago she posed for the picture we use on the introductory page of the web site.) I learned later that they went on playing for hours after I gave out!

Eager students came from as near as the neighborhood where the camp is held in Saint Petersburg and as far as Copenhagen, Denmark; Toronto, Canada; and the northern border of Nebraska.

Erling Rasmussen, from Copenhagen, is a very fine fiddler and a he's a heck of a nice person, as is his wife Kirsten. Naturally we talked of me traveling to Denmark next summer to make music with Erling and his musical cohorts over there. Sounds good to me. I've played in Copenhagen before, and it would be nice to go back again with new friends to visit. That will probably happen.

I met singer/songwriter Austin Truax, his pretty wife Rebecca, and their very cool son Shane and daughter Makayla on the festival circuit in the midwest this summer. They've been living in Nebraska and not loving it a whole lot. They'd not been to Florida before. After staying on at my place for a few days following the camp, visiting the famous Clearwater Beach a couple of times, and the sponge docks at Tarpon Springs, rambling around the Gulf Coast, and jamming with my friends, I think they've decided to become Sunshine Staters themselves. We like them, and we hope so!

One of my very oldest musical cohorts in Florida is Jay Wood, now of Eustis. When I first showed up in central Florida, nearly thirty years ago, Jay and I played lots of festivals and other shows around the state. Jay and his wife Valinda now perform and record as Starbird. They put on a terrific show together. I invited them to the music camp as special guests. They came and added much to the weekend. I like to bring in really fine musicians like Jay and Valinda to inspire the students.

Folks seem to think the Saturday night concert, featuring most of the instructors along with special guests I invite, was the best Saturday night concert we have ever had. The level of musicianship was certainly sky high. It was quite a show!! Professional sound man Mike McNeil who comes out each year to do sound for the big show. He does a wonderful job and it is greatly appreciated!

I think our camp instructors are amazing. I've carefully chosen people who have warm, giving personalities, who are fine teachers, and who are very talented in what they do musically.

Genial Jim Strickland teaches Autoharp. Joe Waller teaches the techniques of accompaniment guitar, and his wife Katie is our entry-level fiddle instructor. Katie attracts huge classes of attentive students. Advanced fiddle instructor Elan Chalford delves into sophisticated fiddle subjects such as shuffle bow, grooving the bow stroke, hokum bowing, vibrato, swing style bowing, the loose wrist, shifting up the neck, on and on. Jim Davis, another longtime musical cohort of mine, teaches bass fiddle. My present Florida bass fiddle player, Rick Kennedy, teaches ukulele. There is a lot of interest in this little instrument these days! The amazing multi-instrumentalist Gail Keel, who routinely plays things on the concertina that most concertina players would consider impossible, teaches that instrument.

The guitar is an immensely popular instrument, and so we have a number of classes in guitar styles. Fingerstyle instructor Barry Brogan plays the twenties and thirties pieces that have been played in dance halls and on front porches (and by a few juke joint jazz bands) for decades, and contemporary pieces descended from those traditions. Award-winning Florida guitarist John Alison, who has worked on the professional music road with famed stars from Percy Sledge to Faron Young, teaches the incendiary art of guitar flatpicking. Fred Cantor is a blues guru who brings classes in group playing (what to play, when, where, and how in a group of musicians) to the camp.

One of the foundations of music, is, of course percussion. Goody Haines is a multi-talented singer/songwriter/musician who also happens to own one of the prettiest smiles around. She is a wizard with percussion instruments and offers her students a wide range of percussion options.

An instructor who has been teaching at the camp for almost all of its life is Joe Reina. Joe is my harmonica player of choice when I'm performing in southeastern USA, and he is one of the best anywhere. He's a master of his instrument, and Joe can truly makes the harmonica walk and talk.

Another of our instructors who has been with the camp for most of its 20 years is Dennis Devine, one of Florida's best acoustic musicians. Dennis joins us year after year to share his encyclopedic knowledge of mandolin. Everyone who takes his classes reports him to be one of the best--a great teacher for folks at any level!

Marg Chauvin is a fine musician who plays and loves the harp. She is a professional teacher who knows how to introduce students to this ancient and beautiful instrument. Marg has performed in a wide variety of events from the Wings & Strings festival, to Scottish Highland Games.

What can I say about Mac Perry? He is one of those deeply and widely talented musicians who plays all sorts of musical instruments. He has been teaching pennywhistle, bodhran, and Irish pub singing at the camp. This year I had requests to add a class in Native American flute. I contacted Mac to see if he knew anyone who could teach that instrument. I should have known he could---and he did, at this years camp, in addition to the other things he teaches.

Bruce Ford is an eminent performer in the lap (Appalachian) dulcimer world. He is also a gifted and encouraging teacher of this traditional American instrument. In 2002, he founded EverythingDulcimer.com, a leading dulcimer website. EverythingDulcimer.com teamed up with Dulcimer Players News and hosted the Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival in June 2008.

Singing! Suzanne Alvarez has a beautiful, powerful, supple voice, and she teaches music camp students how to sing correctly. Her musical interests range from folk to classical to musical theatre to electronic music, to sacred chants from around the world. She also plays a neat old musical instrument called the harmonium. Some of the most beautifully harmonized singing around is found on CDs made by Carl Wade, Barbara Shafer, and group. Carl and Barbara teach how to do it at the camp!!

Someone has to write the songs the singers perform. One of those who does that is Doug Spears, who has been writing songs and performing for more than 30 years. He has been repeatedly recognized for his well developed craft. His song Break Some Stones won first place in the American Songwriter Magazine Lyrics Contest. In January 2006 Songwriter Universe Magazine selected Doug's song This Old House as a top song.

One of our unique classes at the Sunshine State camp is Never Too Late. Originator and teacher Carroll Smith first began playing music when he was over fifty years old. Today he is a wise, witty, and beloved old-time banjo picker and a philosopher with much that is important to teach those who are beginning in music, at whatever age.

Understanding of the systems in which music is designed and created, how they function and why, is of immense help and importance to anyone seeking to learn music. Music theory is a big subject. Most of my time at the camp is taken up in non-teaching pursuits, but every year I do teach as many of the fundamentals of music theory as I can get into an hour of class. This is a starting point.

Bruce Johnson runs the camp tutoring area, which he has done very well indeed every year now for a while. He's there all weekend to help those who need help, or put them in touch with those who can help them as needed. Bruce also puts together the student shows, which take place during the lunch breaks each day and give students a chance to get up in front of real live audiences (the rest of us) to perform. Jenny James does a great job of coordinating and mentoring the jamming circles, which are in almost constant action during the weekend.

I've already put money down to secure the music camp site (Saint Petersburg's Boyd Hill Environmental Studies Area) for next year, and I'm already working on ways to make next year's camp the best ever.

The music camp 2009 was wonderful fun and wonderfully satisfying. Putting on the music camp is one of the most rewarding things I do all year---and I do a lot of very rewarding things each year. I see each day of my life is a precious gift. Everything that comes along is a special adventure in a blessed life.

Barberville 2009

2009-11-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

Hi friends...

Here we are again. The weather has been fantastically beautiful in Florida, and I am enjoying very much being here at home for a while. I'm getting a number of "home" things done. Got the van looked at---preventive maintenance. Needed brakes, but otherwise it was just fine. Good news. One of my tenants finally coughed up part of her overdue rent. Got the little apartment that is part of my own house cleaned up and fixed up and ready to rent. First tenants, for a few days, will be Austin and Rebecca Truax and kids Shane and Makayla, coming to the music camp from South Dakota.

Bought some tickets today for a catamaran boat trip from Fort Myers Beach to Key West Florida, and back, a trip I will be taking with my friends Larry and Karen Doran, coming to visit from Nebraska. Should be big fun. I have lived in Florida for many years but have never been to Key West. Time to fix that.

Late last night I arrived home after another GREAT festival at the Pioneer Settlement at Barberville, Florida. It is always one of the finest we have all year. Got to visit with zillions of my "homies", music friends here. I go back almost thirty years with some of them, like singer-songwriter-guitarist Jay Wood and bass fiddle wizard Chris Campbell. Had my good Florida musicians to support me in my shows. Had not one but two of the best flute players in Florida on my sets. Jenny James plays the big alto flute. She can nail Gershwin's Summertime like no-one else. The other flute player is Raven Stands Alone, the finest blues flute player I have ever known. Outrageously good! I also had the pleasure of having Gail Anne Amundsen, at age fifteen a current US national champion fiddler and her mandolin- and guitar-picking brother Roger, both in my legion of "adopted grandkids", on one set. Gail Keel, too, a wonderful musician on half a dozen instruments. She plays jazz concertina, among them, and routinely plays things on the instrument that are considered impossible by most good players!! Denise Adams guested on a couple of sets, playing Autoharp and singing in her rootsy-ringing Kentucky voice, and Barbara Shafer chimed in with some harmony vocals too. Denise's guy, Rick Kennedy, is my regular bass fiddle player in Florida. Rick and my old friend and longtime music pard, guitarist Carl Wade, supported me on all of my sets. I really, really appreciate their help.

All of these folks have their own musical groups as well.

A good bit of the music at this festival is "ballady" or else "bluegrassy", so I tried as usual to do some different things. Did a few old jazz tunes; swing tunes; both delta-style and Piedmont-style guitar picking; a few blues; and so on. Had not played the Reverend Gary Davis tune Hesitation Blues for a long time. Raven Stands Alone suggested it, so we did it. Good one. I also got out my jazz version of the twenties standard Whispering and we had a go at that during the last set I did on Sunday. I like to play that on the mandolin. I think I did the politically-incorrect Sugar Babe on one of the shows. Did Little Red Wagon on the Dobro on one show. Did Bye Bye Blues on the Dobro too, on another stage. I usually fingerpick that on guitar. Did immortal Summertime with Jenny James making magic on her alto flute. I'm sure I played a dozen other ones too, but I can't remember them now. Oh yeah---Golden Slippers. Maybe Panhandle Rag on guitar.

I was busy during most of the weekend and so was not able to see/hear a great many of the shows presented on the various stages, but some of the best shows I did see and hear were by Joe and Katie Waller and band; the Amundsen family (Jubal's Kin); a group made up of Gail Anne Amundsen, Scarlette Amundsen, and another lady whose name escapes me now; and a particularly fine set on Sunday afternoon by Starbird, my old music cohort Jay Wood and his lady Valinda. That Jay writes some fine songs!!

I thought the musical level of the performances this year was very, very high. A whole lot of really good music was made during the weekend.

Many young musicians and young acts performed, and I love that. Quite a few good ol' boys (like me) and gals still raised pretty fair commotion too. My workshop went well (music theory). Jammed until the wee hours both nights. I especially enjoyed a jazz jam with Jerry Carris and Gail Keel on Saturday night, and a jam with Denise Adams, Carl Wade, Barbara Shafer, Rick Kennedy, Jenny James and her guy Ron, and more, on Sunday. I enjoyed listening to other jams. It is nice to be "audience" once in a while. This was a SUPER fun weekend in Barberville.

The music part of the festival is produced by Joe and Katie Waller of central Florida. Both Joe and Katie are fine musicians. They sing and play (Joe, guitar; Katie, fiddle), and Joe writes great songs. They do a wonderful job of putting together the music part of the event. There is also a large crafts show and there are various Florida historical displays. I particularly enjoy the SWEAT demonstrations: Done by an organization called Southern Workers in Early Arts and Trades, they are all very interesting. I like to watch blacksmithing, and steam-power demonstrations, and wood carving. At some point I sat and watched a square dance for a while too. It lifts my heart to see all the pretty young girls and happy young fellers dancing. I never have square danced but I am a good spectator. The band playing for the dancing was really good.

There's no getting around it: There are a couple of problems with the Barberville event, neither of them having anything to do with the music part of it. The worst of these is AWFUL food. Almost all of the food available at the festival is that kind of greasy carbohydrate-heavy sludge that some folks like to eat in the deep south. Deep-fried breaded lard. Southern home cookin'. Mmmm-hmmm. Yeeeccchhh. I hate to be negative, folks, but there is just no excuse for food that bad. Of course I brought some food with me from home. Jay Wood saved me one day, too, with a plate of ham and beans he had made. On Sunday I survived on some bananas I still had left, and a pound of freshly-roasted peanuts I bought from a vendor. The peanuts were greasy, yes, but not too bad.

Barberville is north of Orlando, in central Florida. After the festival, on Sunday evening, a crowd of us who live south and west of the festival grounds, on the Gulf Coast, always roar out of there as fast as we can go, heading west on Route 40 to Ocala, where we stop at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant. The Ruby Tuesday chain features pretty good salad bars. What a relief to eat some decent food!!

Next weekend will the 20th annual production of my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp. Whew!! Busy time. If you want to come to the camp, it is by no means too late for you to register. Just e-mail me personally at charleygroth@yahoo.com . We have a stellar lineup of instructors offering about a hundred classes in a very wide range of acoustic music and music-related subjects. There's a big instructor concert (about four hours of music) on Saturday night, open to the public.

Camp web site: http://www.cgmusicman.com/camp/index.html

The beautiful young fiddler pictured on the introduction page of the camp web site is the abovementioned Gail Anne Amundsen. The picture was taken a few years ago, she'd like you to know. Gail Anne is much grown up since that shot was taken...but it is the perfect picture for the web site opening page, so I keep it there!

This year I got J. D. Beach, just about the very finest Chet Atkins-style guitarist in the world, from Alabama, to agree to come to the camp. Went directly to his house in Rocky Face, Alabama, to ask him to come. Most of J. D. is eighty years old, so he doesn't travel too much...but his fingers are 25 years old. He is just simply a FANTASTIC guitarist.

Life is good, and I consider it an ongoing blessing. I have a lot of fun.

See you next time!!

Cold, Wet Midwest... to Sunny Florida

2009-10-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! This update is being written in Largo, Florida---my home. I'm not here a lot, so I feel kind of "on vacation" when I am here, although typically I work a lot of shows while in Florida. That's true this time as well, but still the "vacation" feeling persists.

When I left Iowa, not long ago, cold weather was definitely stealing in. Mornings were more than crisp and icy rain was falling. I was sad to have to leave my very good friends Danny and Donna Dee, and Bob Raine, who had come to visit in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where I had been staying for a couple of days with Danny and Donna, but it was time for this southern boy to head south! I had not seen snow yet, as I did in Colorado in September, but winter was in the air.

I departed from the midwest on a long drive southward to Missouri, travelling in gloomy overcast and rain most of the time. With every mile, though, the temperature grew warmer, and by the time I reached Columbia, Missouri, I was not uncomfortable to be outside without a heavy coat. I am an "outside" person, and I don't like cold weather, so that suited me fine. In Columbia I visited overnight and jammed with old friend and music cohort Dale Palmer. Dale lost his wife to cancer in June. It was good to see him coping well and getting on with life. He's taken up pedal steel guitar and with his solid professional-level background in other musical expression, he is already doing well with it. We spent a good evening making music and talking.

Leaving Columbia early next morning, I drove to Springfield, Missouri, to the home of bass ace John Jackson and his wife Carol. It was great to see them again. John often supports me with his first-rate bass work in shows around the country, and he plays also sometimes with the Terry Smith road bands. Our friend Don Taylor has a fantastic country music museum and hall near Springfield. I played there with John and Don and a couple of other pickers, for a very receptive audience, the night I arrived in the area. I did mostly country music (the real country music, not the rock/pop/slop currently ruling in Nashville), with a few excursions into other things.

I want to come back again to Don Taylor's museum when I can spend a whole day exploring the wonderful things in his collection. That museum should be considered a national treasure. I am proud to have my picture on the wall there along with a multitude of other fine musicians and entertainers.

After departing from Springfield, a long day's slog through driving rain brought me to Nashville, Tennessee, where I overnighted with always hospitableTerry Smith. Terry was preparing for a long, long drive the next day to Minnesota where he had a festival booking. I love to play music with Terry, but I must say I was glad not to be going close to a thousand miles north to Minnesota with him this time!

On the road south from Nashville early the next morning, I drove to Rocky Face, Georgia, still in rain all the way, to make music and visit with J. D. Beach and Mary Robinson. The far-too-modest J. D. is a fabulous Chet Atkins/Merle Travis-style guitarist I met years ago when we played the Hank Williams Memorial Festival in Alabama. I love, love, love to make music with J. D. Beach. He is one of the very best I know of, anywhere, at what he does!! Another fabulous Atkins/Travis-style guitarist is my friend Stuie French of Sydney, Australia. These are two of my music friends I wish I could somehow get together. Stuie and J.D. will probably never meet, and that's too bad. They would love to know each other and they would make gorgeous music together.

I think J.D. and Mary are coming to my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp in November, and if so that will be great. What a wonderful example J.D. will be for all the students of fingerpicking guitar at the camp!!

My next stop after Georgia was in the Sunshine State---back home in Florida. Yay!! The weather was warm; the sun was bright. The rain was gone, gone, gone. There's a reason why we call Florida the Sunshine State.

There is a very cool little cafe in Homosassa, Florida (home of the Homosassa Springs manatee sanctuary), called the Museum Cafe, with a nice stage and outdoor seating behind the building, where I often play to begin and/or end my tours around the country and the world. That's just what I did last Saturday, with good Florida musicians Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle) supporting. Doug Purcell and Barbara Shafer joined the others to form Triad, a Florida singing group, to open. It was GREAT to see and make music once again with my Florida "homies". I had a blast playing. I did all kinds of music---folk, jazz, blues, country, on and on. Told my stories and just had a wonderful time. The audience was wonderful too. At this show there were some college students who had an assignment from a professor to attend, interview me, and write essays about the experience. Amazing!! I've had lots of things happen at my shows and as a result of my shows---lots of newspaper articles written, television and radio reports and spots done, and such---but never before, as far as I know, have college students written an essay about me and what I do. One more for the books!

As soon as I arrived at home Saturday evening, the "home" stuff started. I heard rushing water as I unlocked the door to my house, and discovered a huge leak in the plumbing under the (currently vacant) apartment next door which is part of the building. I shut off the water supply at the street and called the management company Monday morning. A plumber is under the house now, as I write, fixing the problem.

Everything else seems cool around home. I'm emptying my van gradually, bringing in the house all the things I've collected in four months on the road. As most of you know, I'm a big book person (I don't even own a television set), and so I had numerous books to bring in that I've collected over the summer. I have lots of reading to do!! I've already pulled my bicycle out of the garage, put air in the tires, and done some riding. I love to ride my bike. As the days go by I'll be getting the van serviced for the next big trip (to Texas in December). I'll be trying to find a naturopathic physician here. I don't go to drug-and-surgery doctors. There are dozens of other things I need to do. I'll be, and in fact already am, working on final preparations for the 20th annual Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp, coming up November 13-14-15, 2009. We expect it to be our best camp yet.

If you are interested in attending the camp, visit the web site here:

http://www.cgmusicman.com/camp/index.html

From the web site menu, you can access the 2009 class schedule, instructor information, registration information, and much more.

We guarantee that you'll have lots of fun! The camp has become a venerable Florida institution, and it makes available a fantastic weekend of musical instruction in a beautiful natural setting in St. Petersburg, Florida. People are coming this year from as far away as Denmark, New York, and South Dakota, and from as near as right down the street by the camp location.

In the deep green shade of giant live oak trees in a secluded but well-equipped nature park in St. Petersburg, instructors and students have been meeting annually for two decades now! People start rolling into the campground Friday afternoon. There's an orientation session and a huge jam session Friday night. Classes begin first thing Saturday morning and run through the day both Saturday and Sunday. There's a big concert Saturday evening, student shows during lunch hours, and more jam sessions, mentored and free-form, all weekend.

There are bunks in bunkhouses, lots of free camping space and free RV and camper parking space, acres of play space for kids, a modern kitchen, outdoor grills and picnic tables, and many restaurants and grocery stores and other stores, just a few blocks away.

Check it out, and come join us this November for the 20th annual Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp!

Well, friends, that's enough for today. I have to get to work preparing for two concerts this coming weekend. One is in Orlando, with wonderful musicians Eddie Kavetskey (guitar) and Chris Campbell (bass fiddle) supporting. Eddie is a hot guitarist who came to live in Florida a number of years ago to get away from the frantic music scene in New York. Chris is the very first bass player I worked with when I came to Florida many years ago---and he remains a great bassist! The other concert is in Tampa, with Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle), also very fine musicians, supporting.

Gotta go!! Thanks to all of you who have kept in touch. I enjoy hearing from all the readers of the blog!!

Fremont and Onward

2009-10-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

Following my concert at CGS Music in Lincoln, Nebraska, I drove to Logan, Iowa, for another short visit with old friend Bob Raine. On Thursday of this past week I travelled with Bob to Omaha, where I played an afternoon show with Terry Smith. John Cox guested on bass. It was one of Terry's usual high-quality shows. The next day I drove out to Fremont, Nebraska, for another weekend at the Rural Roots festival, which had closed for a number of years but was revived a few years ago by Bob Everhart, at Christensen Fieldhouse in Fremont.

Terry Smith headlined the festival this year, with concerts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening. As usual I played his acoustic guitar and mandolin leads, and sang some harmony; Jay Kelly played fiddle; Lee Muller played rhythm guitar and sang harmony; Harriette Andersen played bass fiddle on two shows and Sharon Kenaston played bass fiddle on one (with Sharon also singing her wonderful harmony on the Sunday evening show); Rick Andersen played harmonica on two shows; and Eldon Hardekopff played pedal steel on one show. All of the shows were good, and I thought the finale concert, on Sunday evening, was a particularly strong outing for us. I love it when that happens!

I was quite well satisfied with my own three shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I had Jay Kelly with me every show on rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and fiddle; Harriette Andersen on bass fiddle on two shows, and Sharon Kenaston on bass and singing harmony on one show; and peerless drummer Terry Durr on every show. Strong musicians all, their strength and skill enabled me thrice again to play anything and everything I wanted to play. The audiences were very complimentary. As usual, I tried to present music that was not usual but that fit the format of the festival. I did The One Rose, a little-known, gorgeous Jimmie Rodgers piece. I did Spanish Fandango in a double-g dropped d guitar tuning on one of the shows. Jamming with Jay Kelly one of the days I discovered that he did a terrific job on fiddle playing Gershwin's Summertime, so we did it on the Sunday show---to great response. Not exactly country music, but the audience loved it. I did my fast, complicated instrumental All American Ride, springing it on Sharon Kenaston, who with no rehearsal at all did a great job with it on bass fiddle. She is one talented woman!! My new friend Rebecca Truax joined me to do harmony vocals on one of my compositions that she likes, The Band's Playing Waltz Across Texas. I played Cindy Walker's great Sugar Moon on Dobro...just because I usually play it on mandolin and wanted to do something different. I played lots of other things I like to do, and the audiences received everything very warmly indeed. That's extremely rewarding.

Many of the other acts at the festival were people I've known for years, part of our "music circuit family" in the midwest: Bob and Sheila Everhart, of course; Danny and Donna Dee; Jackie Shewey; Frances Hahn; Lee Muller; the Kenaston family; Jim Hughes and the One on the Mountain crew; Tommy Buller and band; the Kramer Sisters; Ervin Pinkhinke; Bob Keim; Marge Lund; Pat Boilesen, and many more. There were also a number of acts not familiar to me, and it was interesting to hear them. There was a dulcimer band. Standouts were members of the Ballyeat performing family who were at the festival on Friday and Saturday.

My young friends Austin and Rebecca Truax were there and acquitted themselves well. They are just getting into festival performing. I'm helping them when I can with their act and music. Just introduced them to the musical number system this weekend! That will give them something to think about and work on. I like these fine young people. I've taken them on as two more of my "adopted" nieces and nephews and nieces, and their lovely kids Shane and Makayla as grand-nephews and nieces.

The jamming at Fremont was very good this week. I spent a lot of time trading tunes with others in the jamming room. Jay Kelly and I kept at it pretty constantly. Others came and went, most of them pretty darned good. An elderly gentleman let me play his Dobro, a very old one that is, I do believe, the very best Dobro I have ever played. Wow!! It had a beautiful deep warm tone!

I enjoyed playing Dobro leads for Ervin Pickhinke, a solid country singer and entertainer. I don't get to do many purely Dobro jobs, so this was a lot of fun.

It has turned cold as hell in the midwest. I was very glad to have both of my sleeping bags as I slept in my van during the festival. I am glad I'll be heading south to Missouri, east to Nashville, and then on south, back home to Florida, after the Bentonsport Festival in Iowa next weekend.

See you here next time!

Back to the American Midwest: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, to Nebraska

2009-09-27T12:38:00.001-07:00

As I write, friends, I'm sitting in a coffeehouse in Lincoln, Nebraska---back in the midwest once again. Long drive!

My final show in Arizona, a big house concert at the Bill and Beth Burkett residence in Sun City, went extremely well. Bill Burkette (mandolin) and Igor Glenn (bass fiddle) supported me. A good crowd filled the Burkette's large patio, one of the coolest house concert locations imaginable. The music was hot, the food was good, the jamming afterward was fun. I love to do house concerts!

Rising early next morning, as usual, I had breakfast with Bill and Beth, and headed out over the mountains to the ancient city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where lives my friend and host of my next show, Terra Pressler. For many years I lived in New Mexico, so whenever I return there now I have a "coming home" feeling.

I avoid the big interstate highways whenever possible. I was able to get from Phoenix to Santa Fe mostly on "blue highways", surrounded by magnificent southwestern scenery all the way. I stopped at a New Mexico welcome center outside of Santa Fe to do my daily yoga and to chat with Joe Guthrie at the welcome center, who has connections to the New Mexico Arts Commission and other promising connections. Seems there is a huge festival I could play in Albuquerque annually, called Globalquerque. I'll be checking that out!

At the Santa Fe concert we had a good and warmly receptive crowd. One of the great joys of travelling the music road the way I do is meeting good people...and good musicians. In Santa Fe I was supported by Vincent Kelley, a very good mandolinist, guitarist, and singer. Friend of my friend, Terra Pressler. I told Vinnie I am interested in doing more in the American southwest, and in particular in Santa Fe. He's putting me in touch with people. Very cool. That's how I make the majority of my good connections worldwide.

Years ago I wrote a piano instrumental, Camellia, which was inspired by Terra Pressler, who then lived in Florida, looking lovely in a sexy negligee one morning. It took me a long time to finish composing the piece to my satisfaction, and by the time I was done with it Terra had moved to New Mexico! Until the night of the concert I did last week in Santa Fe, she had not heard the completed Camellia. I was greatly pleased to play it for her in the show...and Vicent Kelley showed his skills by adding a really nice mandolin part to this fairly difficult piece of music. Everyone seemed to like Camellia very much, and that is satisfying.

At the Santa Fe concert I met an interesting naturopathic physician named Wendy Van Dilla, with whom I talked late into the night after the show and the jamming. Wendy had much worthwhile advice and many good ideas to share. Before I left Santa Fe I visited her in her home. Cool lady.

Regretfully leaving beautiful Santa Fe behind, I wound up into the mountains to even more beautiful Taos, New Mexico. Had breakfast there at a GREAT traditional restaurant called Michael's Kitchen. Don't miss it when you are in Taos. Taos is loaded with great bookstores and visual arts shops. I visited a few. Whenever I am in Taos I could spend many days there. Talked with several people about making some music in Taos sometime in the future. Then---onward over high mountain passes and on almost-deserted winding roads, into Colorado.

In Colorado I intended to spend a day or two camping in the high Rocky Mountains at about 11,000 feet near the Hoosier Pass (Fairplay, Colorado, vicinity). However... snow was beginning to fall when I arrived at Fairplay. By the time I reached the isolated camping area where I had intended to say, about a foot of snow had fallen and some sixteen more inches were predicted. If I had stayed I would have been completely snowed in---possibly for days. Instead, I drove the winding, twisting, steep road over Hoosier Pass in thickening snow, and on and on to Georgetown, Colorado. I stopped at a welcome center there and telephoned a friend in Laramie, Wyoming, I'd thought I would not have time to visit on this trip. She was at home and open to a visit, so I drove on and on northward, all the way to Cheyenne, Wyoming. The following morning I drove on into Laramie, Wyoming, where my friend and I went hiking in brilliant sunshine and nice cool temperatures in the gorgeous Medicine Bow National Forest.

After that great stop I got back behind the wheel next morning and drove on and on and on eastward, all the way to eastern Nebraska.

Last night, at the CGS Music concert hall in Lincoln, I did one of the most enjoyable and satisfying shows I've done in a long, long time. The hall was nice, sound and lights were fine, and, best of all, I had a really, really good band to support me. Jay Kelly came in from Atkinson, Nebraska, to play his peerless rhythm and lead guitar and fiddle; ace percussionist Terry Durr played drums; and equally fine bassist Wayne Longtin provided the bottom end. We are all lifelong veteran musicians, and since that is so I was able to play anything and everything I wanted to play with no holding back. We played jazz. We played blues. We played ragtime. We played country. We played swing. We played western swing. We played Irish music. We played traditional American fiddle tunes. We played some of my own songs and instrumentals. This show was MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR FUN!!!!!!

There was even a decent piano in the hall. I played some James P. Johnson, some Fats Waller, some Bob Wills on it. With me playing guitar or mandolin, we did some Duke Ellington and some Gershwin and some Hoagy Carmichael music. Some Cindy Walker. Some T-Bone Walker. I got out my alternately-tuned guitar and did some pieces including Spanish Fandango and, for my dear friend Karen Doran, who showed up with husband Larry and brother and sister-in-law Mugs and Nancy, a band version of my composition Black Range Tales. Karen particularly loves that one, which will be on my next CD. I played some of my old standbys on instruments I don't usually play them on. Played Little Red Wagon on Dobro, for example. That went really well, I think, especially for something I don't do too often.

This band I had last night was just great. Just great. We had an outright ball. I love to play with a good band more than I love doing anything else in music. Oh, I don't mind playing alone, but what I really adore is the interaction possible among a group of excellent players. You'll be hearing more from this group of musicians!!

For some reason I have not done many shows in Lincoln, Nebraska. This was an introductory concert. I think we did well and paved the way for lots more to come.

Wish ya could've been there, if you weren't. If you were there---thanks for coming!! :=))

That's about it for now, good people. Meet you here once again later on!!

Music in the Sun: Phoenix

2009-09-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

I'm in Phoenix, Arizona, as I write today. I'll be here for one more day. Tomorrow evening I will do the largest show I have scheduled in Arizona, and then the next morning I will set out for Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Everything has gone really well in Phoenix. I've met some great new friends and enjoyed meeting up once again with old friends here: Many, many super, open, friendly, helpful people. I have not had enough time in this short visit to spend much time as I would like with some of my friends. Wish that were not the case. I'll be back for a longer stay in March, when I am playing the Phoenix Folk Festival here. I already have some other bookings for that time.

In this visit I've done some of my shows alone, and some with the strong support of mandolin wizard Bill Burkette, bassist Igor Glenn, and drummer Eddie Detroit. All good fun. I've made it a point to play some of my music that rarely gets played in the festival environment: Spanish Fandango and Black Range Tales (the latter one of my compositions) in alternate guitar tunings; my sad ballad I Remember You, which is a favorite of my good friend and very talented singer/songwriter/poet Dee "Buckshot Dot" Strickland Johnson; lots of fingerpicking guitar tunes that don't fare too well in the festival settings; some mandolin duets with Bill Burkette (notably Whispering); and more.

One of the places I've played this time in Phoenix was Fiddler's Dream, a wonderful listening room I wouldn't want to miss playing while in Arizona. If you get through Phoenix, be sure to visit Fid's. A couple of years ago, in Fort Worth, Texas, I wrote a ballad called Fiddler's Dream especially to play at the Phoenix venue, about an old fiddler who may have Alzheimer's disease, dreaming of his late wife and resisting going to a nursing home. I always play that a couple of times when I come to Phoenix.

During this week in Phoenix I've stayed most of the time with Jim and Midori Hall, new friends and wonderful people who have warmly welcomed me into their home. Midori is a musician who plays a variety of instruments, and Jim loves music and supports her in her music making. We've had many happy times, lots of good conversation, and lots of laughs while I've been here. The Halls live in a southwestern-style home in a quiet suburb of the city, with a walled back yard very well suited for my early morning yoga practice.

I also enjoyed very much staying one night with John and Dee Strickland Johnson. They are also wonderful people, and we had wonderfully good times together. As "Buckshot Dot" Dee is an amazingly talented singer, songwriter, poet and writer of prose with many books to her credit. She has several CDs out and her compositions are recorded by others in the western music genre.

Here's her web site: http://www.buckshotdot.com/

I'll be staying with Bill and Beth Burkette tomorrow night, after a big concert in Sun City, where they live. Then early next morning I'll hit that endless music road.

Coming here from Walsenburg, Colorado, I took winding mountain roads over the Rockies, stopping at about 11,000 feet in cool rain to look at a waterfall. I collect waterfalls. I had intended to go to Mesa Verde National Park on the to Phoenix, but when I arrived at what would have been the turnoff to reach the park, rain had become torrential. I skipped the park with great regret. Next time!

There are lots of nice things about Phoenix, including the best grilled catfish I ever ate and a host of great western people, but I must say the contrast between all of the negative aspects of the city's urban sprawl and the natural splendor that surrounds it here in the Arizona desert is downright shocking. Traffic is particularly terrible, featuring lot of fast crazy driving on jam-packed clearly inadequate highways, with many drivers showing evidence of road rage as they hurtle through outrageous rush hours and their precious lives. Phoenix is amazingly hot and amazingly dry, even in September, and that causes most people to live sealed up in air conditioning. I suppose Phoenix is no worse than a dozen other metropolitan stress centers, but it sure makes me appreciate my home on Florida's balmier, slower-paced Gulf Coast.

I'm surviving nicely, however. All is well. There are a heck of a lot of worse places to be---and no places where one could find nicer people than the people who are my friends and fellow music makers here!

See ya next time, when I'll let you know how things go in New Mexico!!

Long Time No Post, Again!

2009-09-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

Good grief, friends, it has been a LONG time once again since I have updated this blog. I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Walsenburg, Colorado, right now, about to set off on the long, winding, spectacular US 160 from here, bound west for Cortez, Mesa Verde National Park, and the Four Corners area. Overdue as this update is, I will have to make it fairly brief because I have a long, long way to drive today.

Let's see... when I last wrote here, I was away off in Iowa. I'd just finished the Garden Grove festival and a visit with friends/musical cohorts Danny and Donna Dee in eastern Iowa. I was on my way to Des Moines to attend the Iowa State Fair with friends Scott, Jennifer, Emily, and Anna Erickson.

The Iowa State Fair was fun! I had not attended a state fair in many, many years. Being at the Iowa fair brought back memories of days of old. There is a lot about the Iowa fair that is cool. I think the most impressive experience for me was viewing by far the largest boar hog I have ever seen---a gigantic specimen weighing some 2,000 plus pounds.

After another fine visit with the Ericksons, I travelled to Missouri Valley, on the banks of the Missouri River on Iowa's western border, where I played two shows at the Bluegrass Cafe in Missouri Valley and enjoyed another good visit with my old friend Bob Raine. Bob lives at Logan, Iowa, which is just a few miles from Missouri Valley. Naturally, Bob and I had breakfast at the Bunkhouse Cafe in Logan, where the very best omelettes I have ever consumed are made. Also did a little hiking. I love to walk the hilly dirt roads around Bob's place. The countryside around Logan is stunningly beautiful.

One evening while I was staying with Bob Raine I went into Missouri Valley to play as a guest at a wedding anniversary surprise party for my friends Charlie and Julie Wisecup. It was fun to see how amazed the Wisecups were to see me there. I played I Would Do It All Again, among others, for them, and gave them a copy of the I Would Do It All Again CD as a gift. A good evening.

Turning west toward Nebraska after the Missouri Valley weekend, I journeyed to Homestead National Monument near Beatrice, Nebraska, where a section of the original tallgrass prairie that once covered the entire state has been recreated. I orginally went to Homestead years ago to hike trails through the preserve. One thing led to another, and I've been doing an annual concert there ever since! This year's show was a particularly fine success. We had a campfire (which I pretty much had to teach the young female park rangers to build). We had some music. We had some laughs. The audience was very warm and receptive. I stayed after the show and helped gather up folding chairs on which the audience sat. The place where we took the chairs was up a fairly long hill from the concert site. I had not had much exercise that day other than hiking a couple of the Homestead trails, so the workout was welcome.

On the Sunday after the Homestead concert I drove north and west to Crete, Nebraska, where I spent another magical day at the beautiful cabin Ted Beauvais and Janet Jeffries let me use, down a network of gravel roads near the Blue River Lodge. Wonderful!! Thanks Ted and Janet. :=))

In Lincoln, Nebraska, on Monday, I entertained an audience of senior citizens at a rest home in Lincoln, a show arranged for me by Deb Oates, a music fan and friend who works there. It was a fun gig, and I think the old folks enjoyed the show.

The next weekend found me doing a show at Charlie Wisecup's Farm Museum, back in Missouri Valley, Iowa. I seem to get through that town a lot! The Wisecup museum is really very cool, and he has a good crowd for his annual show. There were a number of entertainers on hand, some of whom I knew, and some who were new to me. I did my show, of course, supported by Lee Muller on guitar and Jimmy Pearce on bass. Both fine players. I had the pleasure of joining Lee and Jimmy in supporting Terry Smith later on. Standouts among the other performers were a band of folks doing sort of old-timey bluegrass music. There were lots of my friends and fans from far and wide in the audience. It was fun, as always, looking over the old farm equipment on display.

The next week, August 31 through September 6, I spent in LeMars, Iowa, in the far northwestern corner of the state, performing at the HUGE and WONDERFUL National Traditional Country Music Association festival. I can't possibly describe to you briefly the amazing variety of experiences and performances that make up this event. There are many stages, and music on every stage from early morning until late night. The audiences are big and very enthusiastic. I had terrific support from people like fiddle and guitar ace Jay Kelly (Nebraska), bass fiddle and accordion wizard Perk Washenberger (South Dakota), Mike Mitchell (Alabama), Anna Erickson (Iowa), Lee Muller (Kansas), Jake Simpson (Oklahoma), Janet Jeffries (Nebraska), on and on and on. I had fun supporting lots of musicians all weekend. I love to do that. I played more Dobro this festival than I have done in some past ones. More piano too, I think. Terry Smith was the festival headliner, and as always it was a pleasure to do the guitar and mandolin lead playing in his shows. We had the whole Terry Smith band for most of the festival. We are a pretty darned good group, I think.

As always I enjoyed working with young people just getting into the music. There was a lovely family named Kooi (a Dutch name), featuring beautiful talented kids; there were Austin and Rebekah Truax, a great young couple on the bill; Alexa Whipple, a powerhouse singer and yodeller aged fourteen; Emily and Anna Erickson, and more. Great fun. I received a nice note from one of the kids who couldn't make it to this festival, Jesie Frisbe, and Rebekah Truax made me an apple pie! All good!!

Whew... Friends, I could easily write another couple of thousand words about the NTCMA festival, but I'm just out of time. Have to get on the road.

I do want to note that one of my stops on the way to where I am now, from Iowa, was at Arapahoe, Nebraska, a town nestled in a beeeyoootiful natural setting, where I am promoting a new festival next year. It will be called the Cottonwood Festival. We have a great, large, air conditioned building in which to have the shows. We have hookups for RVs. We have motels. We have food. We have horseback riding, fishing, a hayride probably, potluck around the campfire. All of this will be on the weekend of August 13-15, 2010. I will be performing with my musicians, of course. Many more acts TBA. Keep in touch. For additional information send me an e-mail: charleygroth@yahoo.com

Gotta go!!

Long Time...No Post

2009-08-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Time and long past time for another post! Several of you have e-mailed me lately asking why I haven't updated the blog. Answer: Busy days, busy nights, lots of fun, not a lot of fast computer access, and probably some other reasons I can't think of right now.

Let's see... After I left South Dakota I travelled to Bob Raine's place in Logan, Iowa, for another good few days' visit, and then went on to play a show with Terry Smith at the Oak Tree Theater in Iowa. Friends Rick and Harriette Anderson, Marge Lund, Jackie Shewey and Lee Muller were on the bill. There was plenty of good visiting as well as good music! The house was packed and Terry put on his usual solid professional show.

I was off the rest of the weekend, and I spent it in Nebraska. I drove west a couple of hundred miles, back out to Ted Beauvais' beautiful cabin. On Saturday and Sunday I went to a GREAT Czech festival at Wilber, Nebraska, the Czech capitol of the USA. I did not perform in this event, but I had a ball. Polka music filled the air. There were costumes, parades, old cars, dancing, and other fun. A Czech queen of the USA was elected and crowned. I enjoyed very much visiting with lots of folks, many of them---most of them, actually---of Czech ancestry. Met Ted's dad and mother, folks in their eighties, and sat with them on the porch of daughter Sue Underwood's lovely old home on the main street of Wilber. Ted's dad Gunner had a band on the road for many years, and had lots of stories to tell. My friends the Kramer Sisters (Janet Jeffries, Sue Underwood, Dawn Mundt) performed in the final show of the festival. They sounded great, with beautiful harmonies, and did an very entertaining show. A highlight of the festival for me was traditional Czech dancing by children coached by older folks as part of an effort to preserve Czech heritage.

Have a look: http://www.ci.wilber.ne.us/festival_events.asp

After a few more days in my quiet cabin hideout, with some time to work on my yoga and meditation, and to read a book or two, I drove out to Des Moines, Iowa, for a visit with friends Scott, Jennifer, and daughters Emily and Anna Erickson---good folks I met on the festival circuit and enjoy knowing. We visited and made plenty of music. I was able to pass on some musical tips to all of them. I do enjoy helping others with music, always hoping to transmit with the tips some of the joy I've found in music.

That weekend I drove to Garden Grove, Iowa, an hour or two south of Des Moines, for the Garden Grove Festival. It was fun as always. Garden Grove is a quiet town populated by friendly caring people. Danny and Donna Dee are the organizers of the festival, with assistance by John and Marge Duttweiler, and others. Attendance was down a bit this year, but the audiences were warm and receptive. Once again this year, lights and sound were good.

My friends Jim Hughes, Shirley McCord, Richard and Lee Carr came to Garden Grove with their One on the Mountain Show. Good to see them all. Also met a fine fingerstyle guitarist, Paul Philbrook, of Des Moines. We played one set together with Danny Dee and a bass player (maybe it was Jim Hughes), and I thought that set cooked! We did western swing and a couple of my fast-moving mandolin pieces. I will be seeing Paul Philbrook again. I have his address tucked away. Later Danny Dee, John Duttweiler, Donna Lynn, and I played a set that I thought went especially well.

All good!

After Garden Grove I drove to southeastern Iowa to spend a couple of days with Danny and Donna Dee. Always fun to visit with them at their beautiful country home. We go back a long way, and they treat me like family. Once when I was coming through their part of the country I e-mailed them to say I might be able to come by for a visit. Donna e-mailed me back, writing "Come on home, your room is waiting". That touched me deeply. That's really very cool. I am fortunate to have some wonderful, special friends in the midwest: Bob Raine welcomes me into his home too. We always have good times. Larry and Karen Doran are always welcoming and encouraging. I like to visit with Ted Beauvais and Janet Jeffries when I'm in their neck of the woods. Fact is, I have special friends all over the world. You know who you are! As I've often noted here, I consider my friends to be far and away my life's greatest blessing.

Today I drove back to Des Moines. The Ericksons have invited me to attend the famous Iowa State Fair with them tomorrow! Tonight the girls, Emily and Anna, went on a creek walk with a church group. Scott, Jennifer, and I (and their dog Daisy) went on a long walk around a lake while the girls were splashing through the creek. Earlier this afternoon I stopped in Ottumwa, Iowa to do my yoga in a small park there. While I was doing that I looked across the street and saw a little book shop. I never pass up a book shop, so I visited the place when I was done with yoga. There in the tiny shop, in a small town in Iowa, were not one, not two, but three books (two by philosopher Gary Zukav) I had been seeking for some time! It has been a good day.

That's it for now. Meet you here, next time.

Correctionville, Iowa, South Dakota

2009-07-19T09:14:00.001-07:00

Friends... I am sitting as I write in a coffee shop in Sioux City, Iowa, having come here to work on the internet en route south from the Heritage Music Festival in South Dakota. Leaving Crete, Nebraska, last Wednesday, I drove to Dorchester, Nebraska, for lunch with my friend Ted Beauvais---an electrician who was working in Dorchester wiring an addition to a restaurant there. Had an interesting conversation with one of the proprietors of the restaurant, an enterprising guy, about doing some music there in the future. The place is the kind of rustic, cool place where I enjoy playing. Maybe something will come of that contact.

Leaving Nebraska, I made my way to Logan, Iowa, for an overnight with my always hospitable friend Bob Raine. We had some good conversation and one of the world's best omelets, at the Bunkhouse Restaurant (don't miss it!!) in Logan. I drove north the next morning, to the vicinity of Correctionville, Iowa, to connect with Terry Smith and support him, along with Lee Muller, in a small concert there. We had an enthusiastic audience and a fine time entertaining. There was a pretty blonde lady right down front with six or eight pretty little children, ranging in age from teenagers to almost-newborns. They were fun to watch as we made our music. The smaller munchkins got a bit squirmy as we went along, but Mom was patient and the kids all actually did very well at sitting through the show!

There was another show in another part of Iowa Terry Smith would have hired me to do, on Friday evening, but I needed to go on to South Dakota, where I was booked along with Perk Washenburger, Terry Durr, Wayne Longtin, and others, to play the Friday evening at an American Legion club in Elk Point, South Dakota.

Early on Friday afternoon I rolled into a campground at Elk Point. The first thing I saw when I pulled in was Perk Washenburger, my great and immensely talented musician friend from Aberdeen, South Dakota, playing his accordion outdoors in front of his camp trailer. It sure was good to see Perk again. I could hardly wait to get out of the van to shake his hand. Perk and his wife Joan are wonderful folks. Perk is a wizard with the accordion and with the bass fiddle. He knows zillions of songs and tunes and he can play some of the hard stuff. I love to make music with Perk. Love to talk with him too. Perk is on the right, politically, and I am on the left in some ways (and not in some others), so we have some vigorous discussions---all with greatest respect for each other. Nice to live in a country where we can have divergent views and talk them over freely without one or both of us being hauled off to a concentration camp over it.

At the American Legion that evening Perk played accordion; Wayne, bass; Terry, drums; and I played my various instruments. Perk was good enough to furnish a nice little sound system. The evening was FUN. All of the aforementioned musicians are really fine players and so we just sailed along, playing anything and everything that came to mind, from vintage jazz tunes like Exactly Like You to country standards like Willie's Funny How Time Slips Away to accordion polkas to "fiddle" instrumentals, and on and on. The little Erikson girls, Anna and Emily, were there with parents, already sitting at a table when I walked in. The girls would participate in the festival next day. They are both real sweeties, and their dad and mom are lovely folks too. I got Anna and Emily up to play some with us at the Legion, and took the opportunity to start teaching the talented fiddle-playing sister, Anna, how to play instrumental lead splits in songs (fours and eights). Anna soaked up the technique right away and soon was doing a creditable job of playing her parts! At only 11 years old, she is already able to ride the changes fairly well. I love to teach talented kids.

Also appearing on the show at the Legion were Clarence Hayden, a fine singer and songwriter who now lives in Missouri but who has Oklahoma, from whence he came, all over him; and Elaine Peacock, producer of the festival we came to South Dakota to play. Elaine does some very nice Patsy Cline material.

It was a cool evening. I always have fun playing when I can play with good musicians.

On Saturday morning, after I did my yoga, a short aerobic walk/run I am starting to do each morning, and after having a good breakfast with Perk, I drove to the school gym where the Heritage Music Festival was held. On the bill were Terry Smith, from Nashville; singer/songwriter/guitarist/banjo picker Lee Muller; Erv Pickhinke, a solid singer of farm-oriented and country songs; some Scandinavian dancers; Elaine Peacock and her husband, talented singer Paul Peacock; Rick and Harriette Andersen; Wayne, Perk, Terry, me, and numerous others.

I played my own shows, with Terry, Wayne, and Perk supporting, and I supported all of them, Erv Pickhinke, Clarence Hayden, and others. Did quite a bit of Dobro playing during this festival, and even got in a few piano numbers. The piano provided was not in good tune and was way out of adjustment, but it at least was up to standard pitch (well, approximately, anyway). I am so used to playing bad pianos that they don't slow me down much! This one was a Yamaha, so it was a good quality instrument, but it had been severely abused and not well-maintained at all. Whenever I work with a piano like that I remember my tours in Central Europe, where every piano at every venue was invariably in perfect tune and adjustment. In New Zealand, once, though, I played a tour that involved nine venues with pianos. Not one of them was even playable at all. Some actually had keys and/or pedals entirely missing!

An unscheduled but treasured highlight of this festival for me was a visit from Jack Langley, and his (adult) son Mike Langley, both of Sioux City, Iowa. Jack and Mike are both first-rate, top-of-the-line musicians. Jack is a great singer and songwriter. Mike is a fine songwriter too, and a superlative guitarist. Sings well too. I learned that these two travelled to Elk Point especially to sit down and jam with me. That's quite a compliment! We got 'er done, too---with Perk Washenburger joining in on bass fiddle. That jam was fun, fun, FUN!! We went down a deserted hallway in the school where the festival was held, sat on some chairs we liberated from the festival, and just had at it. Jack and I each did a number of songs we've written, and we did some other ones too. What a high time!

The festival concluded fairly late in the evening with a set by Terry Smith, supported by me, Lee Muller, Rick and Harriette. Terry is the consummate professional onstage, and although we were all tired we cranked off a good show.

Then we tore down, packed up, shook hands, and headed off down the music roads to our various destinations. Perk and I had breakfast again this morning. He and Joan headed north to visit relatives. I headed south to Sioux City.

And that's it for another blog entry!! Meet me here, next time!

Iowa and Nebraska Update

2009-07-13T11:13:00.001-07:00

Quick one today, friends. I'm using a computer at a public library and my online time is very limited.

On July 3 I travelled from Nebraska to Iowa to appear in a holiday show at Bob Everhart's Oak Tree Theater. It was a fun show, featuring Bob and Sheila Everhart; Rick and Harriette Andersen; Francis Hahn (who brought along an American flag he had rescued when his military unit evacuated from Vietnam at the end of the conflict there); the Erikson girls, Emily and Anna (guitar, fiddle); Lee Muller; Marge Lund; Jackie Shewy (whose wonderful song Look At Old Glory was a highlight of the evening); me (supported by Rick and Harriette); and others. It is always fun to play the Oak Tree.

On July 4 I was part of the show at a huge private party in Iowa, hosted by Arlyn and Marge Lund. It was a potluck, and the food was absolutely outrageously great! Entertaining, along with me, were Bob and Sheila Everhart, Rick and Harriette Andersen, Lee Muller, Jackie Shewy, and others. This was a great party, a true celebration of July 4 in the classic American way. I was very happy to be a part of it.

The next weekend, July 11 and 12, I was back in central Nebraska working on and performing in the Riverside Festival in Crete, Nebraska. This was the first annual Riverside Festival. I've been one of the people involved in creating this festival, but the person who did a great amount of the hard work of putting it together was festival director Janet Jeffries, who is also director of the Benne Museum at Crete. Janet is a talented organizer, a talented musician, a real character, and a good friend. Jackie Shewy booked the entertainment. She's my good friend too. A wonderful crew of volunteers, including Janet Jeffries' guy and my friend, electrician Ted Beauvais, helped in a million ways. Held on the expansive grounds of the museum, the Riverside Festival was a HUGE success. An amazingly large crowd for a first year turned out. Everything went VERY smoothly, start to finish: We had country music, classic jazz, blues, folk music, Czech music, the Crete community band (a very good band), good food, interesting museum displays, lovely shady site, beautiful weather, good jamming. Sound and lights were better than good. They were great---done by a crew from Lincoln. This event is a KEEPER, and I am proud to have been a part of getting this one underway! Acts presented included the Kramer Sisters; Marge Lund; the Urbauer Family; George and Marian Beyer; Bob Keim (my good friend and ace piano tickler from Ainsworth, Nebraska); the Blue River Czech Accordion Combo; singer and songwriter Pat Boilesen, "Nebraska's Daughter"; wonderful traditional country singer Bill Craven (one of the world's best in my opinion); Silver Tip, a good young group; Rick and Harriette Andersen, guitar and fiddle virtuoso Jay Kelly; the Erikson sisters, and many others. It was a great, great festival. There was a wonderful spirit of co-operation and mutual support among the performers that is a joy to experience. The sort of competiveness and antagonism, backbiting and bitterness, that plagues the atmosphere in many festivals in other countries just doesn't exist in most American festivals, and certainly did not in this one. That's a good thing.

Next stop: The Peacock Festival in South Dakota.

As they say in Australia: See ya!!

Onward to Wahoo

2009-06-30T10:57:00.001-07:00

After visiting with Larry and Karen Doran (and Mugs and Nancy) in McCool Junction, Nebraska, I backtracked a little way to Crete, Nebraska, south of Lincoln, to do a Sunday afternoon concert at the Benne Museum there; to visit with my friends Janet Jeffries (who is director of the museum and a fine singer and guitarist), and husband Ted; and to spend a couple of days at a rustic cabin Janet and Ted have and where they are kind enough to let me stay when I'm in the area, by a small lake in the deep green countryside outside of Crete. I love that cabin and the sylvan surroundings in which it sits!! The peace and quiet there is balm for the soul. Honey in the heart. I can walk, do my yoga, read, think, meditate, play my guitar. It is absolutely wonderful.

The concert was a big success. We had a full house. Janet and her group, the Kramer Sisters, opened. They do lots of cool music, with Andrews-sisters-like harmonies and a variety of instruments. Love it! Janet then accompanied me on guitar so I could do some mandolin and guitar instrumentals as well as songs on my show. I introduced my new song Okay, a country honky-tonk style number (lyrics at the bottom of this entry) commenting on how you feel after you have been through as many relationships with women as I have been through. You're okay. This was the first time I had sung it for an audience. It was well received. Karen Doran's brother Mugs and his wife Nancy came over from McCool Junction for the show.

After a couple additional great days at Janet and Ted's cabin, I departed on Thursday for Wahoo, Nebraska, and the Wahoo Country Music Show---one of my favorite festivals. Produced by Sharon Kenaston of the famed Kenaston family of musicians, it is a truly magic weekend. There is a joyful atmosphere at the Wahoo festival that can't be beat. For me, Wahoo has everything: great music, great jamming, lots of young people participating, a loving family atmosphere among the performers, and a nice fairgrounds festival site as well.

The 12th annual Wahoo Country Music Show, June 25-28, at the Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo, Nebraska, in the green hills of southeast Nebraska not too far from Lincoln, was a great one! Weather was warm, music was hot, friends and fans and music lovers were everywhere!

I rolled into the fairgrounds on Thursday afternoon. All of the folks in the admissions kiosk came tumbling out with cries of "Hi Charley!!" and "We're glad you're back!!" and "When's your first show?". That makes an old road dog feel good. I picked up my performer's pass, had a performer sticker slapped on my van windshield, and headed into the large fairgrounds. Managed to park under the same tree where I've camped every year for perhaps the past five years. Felt just like home! It took me a while to get to my spot. By the time I reached it I had stopped to visit with at least a dozen other performers and festival-goers I knew.

We roared all weekend and just had a HELL of a good time!! With my own shows, and shows with Terry Smith Nashville Showcase, with Margie LeBlanc, and other shows counted, I played nine shows Saturday. Didn't play quite as many on Friday and Sunday, but I didn't do much sitting idle either. I sold a goodly number of CDs and found plenty of opportunities to promote both the new Riverside Festival in Nebraska, of which I am one of the organizers, and my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp in Florida, celebrating 20 years this year.

A certain crazy type of musician, when he or she has time off from work, goes and plays music until the wee hours with others of the type, just for the joy of it. I'm one of those. We're called "jammers". At Wahoo, we jammed until 1:30 AM or later every night. It is just wonderful fun to make many kinds of music with many combinations of musicians, both other performers and folks who do not perform but who do play, offstage after the shows. In addition to the "come-all-ye" jams, we did have a jam featuring a number of excellent guitar pickers only on Friday night. That was BIG fun.

Wahoo is not a festival devoted to big-time celebrities from Nashville or Austin or New York. This festival features the real thing: working musicians who do it to it, and do it right. I think the only entertainers at Wahoo this year who are actually from Nashville and could be called "big-timers" were Claude Gray (Family Bible, Sweet Caroline, more) and Terry Smith (Farside Banks of Jordan, Lord I've Been Ready for Years, many more). I have played acoustic guitar and mandolin lead instruments for Terry for many years. It is fun to play his big shows for the big audiences, of course, but I enjoy all of the shows very much. I love to perform today just as much as I did when I was a kid in Arcadia, Ohio.

I did some shows with powerhouse Texas country singer and very good friend Margie LeBlanc (of whom we say "if she can't sing 'em, can't NOBODY sing 'em"), and numerous others. And my own shows, of course. Great fiddler and guitarist Jay Kelly, Noel Hollaway on bass, Bill Lear on bass, Harold Condray on Dobro and harmonica, Danny Dee on fingerpicked guitar, and peerless drummer Mike Mitchell supported me all weekend. I played all my usual instruments and various kinds of music. I also did some western swing and ragtime piano on the main stage on one show.

Something that I think is important is working with talented kids to help them make their first steps into show business. At Wahoo this year I had the opportunity to help several youngsters. Among them were the Erikson girls, Anna (fiddle) and Emily (guitar) of Des Moines, Iowa. I had them on one of my shows. They are cute sweet little girls. I think they may have been a bit nervous on the big stage, but in any case they did very well playing a traditional instrumental rag from East Texas called Raggedy Ann with me. Rick (harmonica) and Harriette (bass) Anderson, and Charlie Reece (Dobro) supported. The girls' mother, Jennifer, took a nice picture of them onstage with us. Link below.

Here are the Erikson girls with me onstage: Ericksons

I also did some music with other kids---talented young singers Alexa Whipple (from Nebraska) and Bailey Wilton (from Kansas).

The Wahoo festival is produced by Sharon Kenaston, of the well-known Kenaston family of musicians. Sharon is an amazing woman, highly talented in a number of ways (music, writing, festival organization, on and on), and a sweetheart too. Sharon plays bass fiddle and guitar and sings with the Kenaston family's Green River Band, without a doubt the very finest traditional country music band in the American heartland. The Green River Band tours nationally and has a number of very fine recordings out. It has been my pleasure to be friends with the Kenastons for more than thirty years. The first time I played on a stage with Vanessa Kenaston (vocals, bass fiddle, guitar, mandolin), she was twelve years old. She is forty-some now, although she still looks much younger and is just as pretty in a grown-up way as she was as a little golden-haired pixie in childhood. Her dad, Bob (Pop) Kenaston, is still a good fiddler, and he is now about eighty years of age. Roger, Vanessa's brother and Sharon's husband, continues to be one of America's premiere lead guitarists. He plays a mean Dobro and fiddle also. Roger's adult daughter Bobbie plays drums and bass and sings (all very well). Seems like only yesterday when I first came to know this talented family. Time does hurtle by when you are having as much fun as I have with life!

When the Kenaston band plays a dance, I am there if I am anywhere in the area. Country dance music just doesn't get any better than the country dance music of the Kenastons. Annually on Saturday night at Wahoo they present "the danciest dance in the west" in a big building on the fairgrounds. I had a big day Saturday this year playing shows, but I wasn't too tired to go have a few dances with the ladies late on Saturday night. As I tell folks, I am old and I am bald---but I ain't dead yet! Some of us did a little dancing at one of the jam sessions too. I think that was Sunday night. Maybe.

I think the gem of the festival, for me, was the last show I did Saturday night, just before I headed for the dance. That show started at 10:30 PM. With Danny Dee, Jay Kelly, and Harold Condray supporting and a small but enthusiastic audience I just played whatever I wanted to play: I Would Do It All Again, Whispering as a mandolin instrumental, some guitar fingerpicking numbers, a couple of Duke Ellington tunes, Georgia On My Mind, on and on. It was a really good show, if I do say so myself, and the listeners seemed to agree. One of those who was in the audience said "I feel sorry for all the people at this festival who did not get to this show". I take that as a great compliment.

While that set, I think, was special, my bunch did several other sets at the festival that also drew good response from audiences. I am happy to be able to present music and entertainment that lots of folks enjoy, and I'm honored to have many fine musicians ready, willing, and able to support me in doing so.

Sunday evening many busses and campers pulled out, bound for the next show. Me, I stayed around. Monday found the grounds deserted, except for two other performers, Kansas City's Larry Inman (guitar, vocals, songwriting) and his wife Rosie (bass) and me. Larry and Rosie went to the zoo in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Monday. I just hung out at the fairgrounds, reading, doing my yoga, and playing my guitar. Late in the afternoon I walked up to the town center a couple of miles away for something else to do. After the hurricane of activity that is a big music festival, it is kind of eerie to be on the deserted festival site on the day after the show is over. I may write a song about that someday.

I'm fascinated by a new book I'm reading right now, entitled Encounters With Power, Authority, and Mystery: Truth or Dare, a brilliant examination of the nature of power, offering alternatives for positive change in our personal lives, communities, and in the world. The author is Starhawk, a peace and ecology activist whose writings I have long admired. She is also the author of Spiral Dance and Dreaming In The Dark, which I have read.

When Larry and Rosie got back from the zoo, we cooked up some chicken and sat around playing music until sundown. I got to bed fairly early and got on the road early the next morning. Now I'm sitting in a coffeehouse in Fremont, Nebraska, on my way to a July 4 show at the Oak Tree Theater in Anita, Iowa.

Enough for now. See ya right here, next time!

Oh, by the way...I am on Facebook now, if you'd like to have a look at that.

Here are the lyrics to Okay---the newest song I've written---a honky tonker for sure!

-----
OKAY
Copyright (c) 2009 By Charley Groth

There's a broken bleeding heart that's needing surgery today,
But so far my old heart still feels OKAY;
Somewhere someone's gone insane and must be put away,
But I think my way of thinking's all OKAY.

I tried my best to please you, but you say you have to go;
That all I have to know is---you can't stay;
Somewhere someone's crying now, and having one bad day...
But I see I'll see it through, and I'm OKAY.

I used to curse and tear my hair and swear I couldn't smile,
And crawl inside a bottle, or some bimbo, for a while;

Somewhere someone's shattered by this game that people play---
But I'll help you pack your suitcase; I'm OKAY.

(Instrumentals)

There's a broken bleeding heart that's feeling terminal today,
But my old calloused heart remains OKAY;
Somewhere someone's lost it now, but that's just not my way,
It may be good or bad, but I'm OKAY.

I used to curse and tear my hair and swear I couldn't smile,
And crawl inside a bottle, or some bimbo, for a while;

Somewhere someone's gone insane and must be put away,
But I'm doing all right this evening: I'm OKAY.
-----

I told you it is a honky-tonker!! :=)

Westward Bound

2009-06-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Many miles have passed under the wheels since I last wrote here! Leaving Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, I journeyed straight west to Ohio (where I grew up). Had a very good visit with my cousin Bill Pruitt in Mansfield, Ohio. Knowing how interested I am in "all the sights to see", Bill took me to visit Malabar Farm State Park, a gorgeous old-fashioned farm established by the famed author Louis Bromfield, and we also visited Mohican State Park, another beautiful place. I want to get back to both of these places when I have more time to spend in them.

Malabar Farm: http://ohiodnr.com/?TabId=762

Mohican Park: http://ohiodnr.com/parks/mohican/tabid/769/Default.aspx

My cousin Bill is a thinker and a reader (as well as a first-class cabinet-maker), and I love to visit with him. We have some outstanding conversations! This time he turned me on to a wonderful author whose writings I must pursue: Ken Wilber. I can't imagine how, with my interest in philosophy and psychology I could have managed to miss him until now. Thanks Bill!!

Ken Wilber: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber

Cousin Bill also took me to visit his mother, Ruth Pruitt, 93, the youngest and last surviving member of my dad's immediate family. My father was born just 100 years ago this year. I found Aunt Ruth perky and getting around very well for a lady almost a century old. She still lives on her own in a nice apartment in Shelby, Ohio.

My cousin Connie Pruitt Strine, Bill's sister, also lives in Shelby, but she was out the day I was there. No problem---we had a visit later.

Travelling west from Mansfield, I went to the village of Arcadia, Ohio, where I went to school, and visited in Arcadia and vicinity with old friends. One of them was Faye Pressler Taggart. When we were kids Faye was the first girl I was ever sweet on; the first girl I ever danced with; and that's enough about that. She's a widow and a grandma now, but Faye retains the sparkling personality and keen intelligence that attracted me to her waaaay back then. I always try to see Faye when I get into the area. Also visited with Nancy Cole Diebley and her husband Bill Diebley, both good friend from days long gone by. Unfortunately, a third person I tried to connect with in Arcadia was not at home although I stopped by the house several times.

After Arcadia, I went to nearby Findlay, Ohio, where I had a very nice visit with Sue Snyder, my ex-wife's sister, her husband Clarence, and a number of Sue's kids and spouses and grandkids. Although my ex-wife and I have been divorced for a quarter of a century I've maintained a warm friendship all down the years with her sister and family. I'm still and always will be "Uncle Charley" to her children.

Also in Findlay, Ohio, the next day, I rendezvoused with another favorite cousin of mine, Stan Stough, and his wife Jane, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Stan and Jane drove all the way from Missouri to Findlay to have a visit with me, and I think that speaks very well of the strength of our friendship, which has endured to this day ever since Stan was born. (He is a few months younger.) That evening we got together with more cousins and other relatives at a restaurant. It was great to visit with them all. One little fellow who was there was the son of another Charley Groth (who is my cousin Jim Groth's son). When his dad told the little guy that I had the same name as his father, the kid cried "oh, you mean his name is Daddy??"

Cousin Jim and wife Diane were kind enough to offer me a guest room while I was in Findlay. Know they have a very busy work schedule I had planned to camp out, so as not to bother them with that---but since torrential rain was falling that whole weekend (typical Ohio weather) I took them up on it.

The next night featured a great get-together with friends I had not seen since college days MANY years ago. We ate and told stories of the old days. I played some music. It was a splendid evening.

The following day was a long one. I headed out of Ohio early in the morning with the goal of reaching Burlington, Iowa, by the end of the day. Almost made it. I decided to stop in Galesburg, Illinois, where I spent a pleasant evening reading and doing computer work at a Panera Bakery just off the interstate. Slept in my van in a Walmart parking lot, got up the next morning, and drove on to the home of my very good friends and musicians Danny Dee (vocals, guitar, bass, songwriting) and Donna Lynn (vocals, bass) in the beautiful southeastern Iowa countryside near Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Danny and Donna are like family to me. We had a good old visit with lots of music involved! We worked on some music we plan to do at festival shows coming up.

I also enjoyed listening to recordings of piano music made by Danny's late mother, who was a professional musician. I never had the honor of meeting the lady, but I can tell you that I am not surprised to know that she made music with the likes of Frank Sinatra and other top names of her day. She was good!!

In Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is one of the very finest museums of farming and life on the farm that you could ever want to visit. I didn't get there this trip, but I have in the past. Check it out!!

Old Thresher's Museum: http://www.oldthreshers.org/

Leaving Danny and Donna after a day's stopover, I made another long drive, across Iowa to the home of my good friend Bob Raine at Logan, hard by the eastern border of Nebraska. Managed to make the entire trip without travelling on an interstate highway! If you follow this blog, you've read about Bob before. He is one of those great guys, and I like him a lot. We always have good visits, running around the countryside in his bright yellow Mustang, going out to eat, attending music events, and so on. Like me, Bob has a lot of interests. This visit we didn't do anything spectacular, but we had a good time. Went to Omaha, Nebraska, in search of some guitar strings; went to a Ruby Tuesday restaurant for the good salad bar and also to a favorite little breakfast place in Logan; went to a great bookstore in Council Bluffs---one of those old-style bookstores in which fascinating volumes are stacked to the ceiling and piled on dusty, dilapidated shelves all over the place, along with records and other things. Yes, of course I found a couple of books I needed to buy!

After a couple of days with Bob, I headed out once again, westward into Nebraska and on to York and then to McCool Junction north of York, where reside more good friends and musicians Larry (vocals, guitar) and Karen (vocals) Doran. Larry and Karen sing the most beautifully perfect harmonies this side of the pearly gates. They have a delightfully eclectic repertoire. Don't miss their shows!! Visited, went out to eat with Karen's brother Mugs and his wife Nancy, who are celebrating their 50th year together this year. Since I had visited Larry and Karen they had bought a large garage and had it placed in their back yard. Strange to come out the rear door of their house and see a garage where none had been before!

I'm written out for now, folks, and I haven't even mentioned Janet and Ted and the little cabin by the lake---or the Wahoo festival...

More later!!

The Road North and West

2009-06-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

I've been travelling and horsing around with Facebook at the expense of my time for updating this blog. Not good, I know. Time for an update.

I left Florida a while back and since then have made music, visited friends, and had my usual great time making my way north and west through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, D.C., Pennsylvania, and now Ohio. I'll be leaving the Buckeye State soon bound for Iowa, Nebraska, then Arizona.

Among my non-musical adventures have been lots of hiking, tramping all over Civil War battlefields at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, Virginia, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a day on the National Mall in Washington D.C. exploring several gigantic museums. Major fun!!

I left my car in city parking in Fredericksburg, Virginia, took a commuter train into Washington D.C. in the morning, and returned to Fredericksburg in the evening. Took about an hour and a half for the ride, each way. Total cost: Ten bucks! No parking hassle, no traffic hassle, all fun. I am in good shape so I just walked all over in Washington.

As most of you know, friends mean a lot to me. I had the pleasure of visiting with old friend Martin Locklear, stage named Tampa Blue, a world-class blues musician who lives with wife Catherine in Southern Pines, North Carolina, not too far from Raleigh. Martin's youngest chick, Deidre, one of my "adopted grandkids" is 18 years old and just about to flee the nest to go live in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she'll try her wings. I was very glad to have visited before she left. She's a smart and pretty young one, so much like her dad in many ways that the two of them strike sparks from each other fairly often. The deep love between them is obvious. Good to see Martin and Catherine having a good relationship too.

Martin and I played a good bit of music together. Great to do that again. I am planning to see if we can make a tour in Europe, where I think his authentic blues would go down very well indeed. Martin, Catherine, Deidre and I also went out to hear some first-rate old-time music at an area club. Deidre called her boyfriend and asked him to join us. Nice young man.

Leaving Southern Pines, I drove to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. I had not seen this restoration of old Williamsburg, and unfortunately did not find it as interesting as I thought I might. It was a bit too Disneyesque for me---everything too clean and tidy, portly fellows waddling around in colonial costumes, and so on. Fun though.

Much more fun was my visit to the archaeological site where the remains of the real Jamestown settlement, the very first permanent English settlement in North America, is being excavated. Work was in progress. The site is administered by the National Park Service. An excellent guide, an attractive young lady, took a small group of us around the site and did a first-rate job of interpreting it for us. After the tour I just wandered around enjoying it all. Several of the lead archaelogists were there and very approachable. Talking with them was fascinating.

Have a look: http://www.preservationvirginia.org/rediscovery/page.php?page_id=1

There is a "Ye Olde Recreated Jamestowne Village" too, somewhere close by. I skipped that. I'm sure it has a "Gifte Shoppe", as did Colonial Williamsburg.

In Gainesville, Virginia, later in the week, I have the pleasure of visiting with another good friend and super musician, Alan Mager, and his wife Janice. Alan and I recorded an album together, Hear the Colors, with Jan Milner and other musicians a few years ago. We had a good evening of music in Gainesville.

After visiting with Alan and Janice I left my car in protected parking at Gainesville and was picked up there for a couple of days visiting with a very old friend, Don Kirkendall, who lives at Fairfax, Virginia, just down the road a few miles. Don and I are high school classmates who have kept up our acquaintance, often by e-mail, over the years. Don's wife Tyna was out of town, so we spent most of our time together running around the city just enjoying being together. Don has a boat, which we took out on the Potomac River. From the boat I saw George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. I had visited Mount Vernon in other years. It was interesting to see the old dwelling from the water.

It was also interesting to see a couple of Civil War battle sites very close to Don's home.

Monday morning Don took me back to Gainesville, Virginia, where I picked up my van and headed northeast to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where I spent a day touring the battlefields and historical sites. I have enjoyed visiting all of the battlefields, but am always deeply saddened by them. War is an expression of the inability of humans to resolve their differences in mature ways. More Americans (by far) died in the American Civil War, in which almost all combatants on both sides were Americans, than in any other war in which Americans have been involved. Regardless of what anyone says, that war was all about ending slavery. Slavery had to be stopped, because it was wrong. I am convinced that almost everyone, on both sides of the American conflict, knew it was wrong---but in the south greed blinded white people and seemed to make it impossible for them to see the immorality of the positions they took. How very, very sad it is that people could not find ways to sit down together and work out the end slavery in the United States without sacrificing over 600,000 lives to get that done.

From Gettysburg I have a long journey to make to Nebraska. The route passes through Ohio, where I was born and raised and where I am today. Yesterday I drove a long, long way and reached Arcadia, Ohio, my childhood home. I visited with two of my classmates. Faye Pressler, my very first little girlfriend, is a grandma now, and a widow. We've stayed acquainted all through the years. I wouldn't like to pass through Arcadia without having a visit with Faye, who has the same sparkle in her personality that attracted me when we were in elementary school. I also visited with Nancy Cole Diebley, one of my favorite friends in high school. She and husband Bill are great people. Unfortunately another high school classmate, Sharon Hengstellar Craig, was out when I called at her country home.

Later in the day I went on to visit my ex-wife's sister Sue, husband Clarence, and several of their children and friends in Findlay, Ohio. We had fun, lots of laughs, ate, played some music. All good!

On the road, all is well. I am feeling great---the best I have felt in many years; maybe not as good as I felt at age thirty, when I was in fantastic shape and doing things like cliff climbing and mountain hiking and such, but really, really good. I lift light weights three times a week. I do my yoga every day, and it benefits me ENORMOUSLY. I definitely think everyone should try it. Like a lot of natural things, it takes time for the benefits to become evident...but they do become evident. I hadn't had a chance to do my yoga yesterday, until I left Findlay late at night, bound for Mansfield, Ohio. At a rest area along the way, I stopped and did my yoga in the cool darkness. Very invigorating!

Here is a web site that will get you started with yoga: http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/

Tina Turner, who at over seventy years of age has recently been touring with a full-evening show involving lots of strenuous dancing and singing, said it best: "Exercise is the fountain of youth." I couldn't agree more.

Well, friends, I need to wind this up. It is about noon. I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Mansfield, Ohio, and I'm getting restless and ready for the highway. Many miles and many friends and many adventures and a whole lot of music await.

Florida Folk Festival

2009-05-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here's one more blog entry before I head north and then west for more adventures on the road!

On Friday, May 22, I rolled out of bed early and headed north up the road to the 57th Annual Florida Folk Festival. I've participated in 25 of these over the past 26 years. Missed one year because I was halfway around the world playing at a festival on a South Pacific island. (Hey, it's hard work but someone has to do it!)

Here's the FFF: http://www.floridafolkfestival.com/

I had planned to ride up the the festival on Thursday with my friend Doug Purcell, taking my little dome tent and camping out. Weather in Florida has been very wet of late, however. When I saw how much rain was forecast for this past weekend I decided I had better drive up to the festival myself, in my nice water-tight van. Torrential rains struck several times during the weekend, and I was very glad I decided to take the van.

It is a LONG drive from my place in Largo, Florida, halfway down the Florida penninsula, to Stephen Foster Park on the Suwannee River, just south of the the Florida/Georgia border. On Friday I arrived about 30 minutes before my first festival duty, which was to present my annual workshop of music theory. It was a super workshop, I think, and I believe those who attended learned a lot. I love to explain the nuts and bolts of music to people. It's a thrill to see knowledge lighting them up.

Later in the day I did a main stage performance at the festival's amphitheater. Carl Wade (guitar), Jim Davis (bass fiddle), Joe Reina (harmonica) supported. Good musicians all. Norm McDonald (percussion) couldn't make it to the festival this year, and I really missed his fine work. I think Carl, Jim, Joe, and I did a fine set. Don't remember what we played, frankly. One thing that was different from many other years at the main stage was good sound. Really good sound. Amazing! We loved it!! Saw some familiar faces in the audience. Sold a goodly number of CD's. All good!!

My show on Saturday was on the Old Marble Stage, where the Florida Folk Festival began almost sixty years ago. This was the site of my proudest moment at the FFF. In the 50th anniversary year, I had the honor to open for the legendary Doc Watson on the Old Marble Stage. At that time I experienced the thrill of hearing Doc Watson applauding for me as I played some lead guitar in my song Florida Moon. Amazing! It doesn't get any better than that!!

On the Old Marble Stage this year, once again I had Carl Wade (guitar), Jim Davis (bass fiddle), Joe Reina (harmonica) supporting, and we added Fran Mitchell (fiddle), who I had just met on Friday. Dynamite fiddler!! This may have been the best set we did at the festival. Amazingly, there was a decent piano on the stage, and it was even in tune---so I did a Fats Waller instrumental (Honeysuckle Rose) and the Bob Wills classic New San Antonio Rose. Two very different roses! On this show I also played a version of Texas Playboy Rag, the Noel Boggs composition, on Dobro. Monitors on this stage were non-existent, but we pulled the set off well. Great crowd. I actually sold out of one of my CDs that I brought to this show and had to go to the van to get more.

I did two shows on Sunday, one on the main stage and one on the Oaks Stage. Same group of players supported me, bless 'em. On the second show I unlimbered the Dobro again, which I'd brought but had not played much during the weekend. Played the Paul Seibel song Louise, which I think sounds really nice on the Dobro.

One thing I very much look forward to at the Florida Folk Festival is a high-level jam session featuring swing and western swing and trad jazz (and some other kinds of music occasionally), hosted by guitar wizard Jerry Carris. The jam started Friday night and went on almost non-stop right on through until Sunday night! Man, oh, MAN do I love to play music on that level. Doesn't happen all that often, my friends!! We had Jerry Carris, an outrageous guitarist; we had Gail Keel, another wizard musician, playing all kinds of things on the concertina that are impossible to play on the concertina; we had Fran Mitchell on fiddle; we had several excellent bass fiddle players through the weekend; we had a guy who could play a little jazz on Dobro; we had Ed Cotton on guitar; on and on and on. Ron Bowman brought his fiddle by once in a while. So did Barbara, whose last name eludes me now but who is a good fiddler. Carl Wade came by too. On Sunday we had Landon Walker on accordion. From Duke Ellington to Fats Waller to George Barnes to Cindy Walker to Bob Wills to you-name-it, we played it. BIG fun. To me the kind of communing really good musicians can do sitting around in a circle, circling the universe, is what the music life is really all about. I've met some people who play well, but will only play if there is money coming to them for it. Those folks may be good technicians, but they are not real musicians.

Something else I deeply appreciate and enjoy at the Florida Folk Festival is the opportunity to camp with and hang out with my friends---and in particular, my "home folks". This year Doug Purcell, Rick Kennedy, Denise Austin, Ron and Jenny James, Carl Wade, Barbara Shafer, Goody Haines, and Mike Haines made up our core group. Mike Haines is a really good cook, and he made big pots of spaghetti one night. Ron made some Cajun jambalaya another night. We talked and laughed and did some jamming together too.

Of course I visited with and jammed with a host of others. The Florida Folk Festival is a big one, with, I am told, some 600 performers participating. I know a lot of them. Art Crummer, of Gainesville, always hosts a jam. I spent some time in that jam this year. Did lots of visiting with folks I don't see nearly often enough. Made some new friends too. My longtime friend Tara gave me some photos she had taken years and years ago in Orlando, of a birthday party thrown for me when my mother was with us. It was interesting to see those pictures! I had a nice visit, too, with my friend Leslie Wasson, a college professor lately moved back to Florida from California.

Well, friends, tomorrow morning comes early, so for now, goodnight!

Another Good One !

2009-05-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

As I've written before in this blog, dear readers, sometimes I am just simply amazed at how many wonderful times my life includes. I have a firm policy of expecting good times and trying to create good times, but sometimes I'm so abundantly rewarded with good times that it really is amazing.

This was a GREAT week. I finished several "home maintenance" projects I wanted to finish before I set out on another long tour. I had lunch with an old friend at a little restaurant where we like to go. I returned to the same place (and was served by the same waitress with the same pretty smile) a couple of days later, when I had a fine breakfast omelette while waiting for a car repair shop to do some minor work on my van---which turned out to cost less than I expected it to cost. I did my usual bike riding and walking for fun. I'm finding acupuncture treatments more and more effective in reducing some nerve malfunction in my left shoulder. I started doing a couple of new yoga poses and am beginning with an asana I found in the magazine Yoga +. I like to meditate, and some things I have been reading have helped me get better at it. This week I feel I'm verging on getting into a whole new level of meditation. It really feels good. I keep exploring! :-)

I'm also continuing to get a great deal of satisfaction from experiencing the turnaround we are having today in high-level American politics and government. I like it. A lot. Government for the common good, government for the enhancement of the lives of the governed, is government as it ought to be, in my view. Some of the grossest advantage-takers in our society are being curbed (credit card companies, banks, others). Some of our nation's farthest out-of-whack priorities are being changed. The economy, wrecked by decades of mismanagement and lack of strict regulation, "Reaganomics" made worse by Bush and his accomplices, is slowly recovering. Barack Obama continues to do a great job. He's not perfect, of course. There are problems, of course. I wish they'd go ahead and close the concentration camp at Guantanamo. I wish we had the courage to prosecute and jail those politicians in the Bush administration ( including Bush himself if it were to be found appropriate) who were responsible for war crimes so we could feel we actually have a government of laws and not of men. I do think we're turned around and heading now in some good directions, though. It's interesting to hear the right-wingers squall as the ship of state slowly but surely makes its turn toward the sunshine. For me, it feels great to feel good again about being an American.

I am a constant reader. This week I've continued reading, and I do recommend, the book Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I'm also still revisiting the Duane Elgin classic Voluntary Simplicity. I was tickled during the week to introduce my musician friend Norm McDonald to some of the concepts in this wonderful book. Norm is a thinker, and I'm glad I could get him started on some of what Voluntary Simplicity has to say. Check it out, folks! Every American should read Voluntary Simplicity! Lately I've also read Natural Cures They Don't Want You To Know About, by Kevin Trudeau. Trudeau is a little bit "over the top", I think, in some ways, but a lot of what he says makes very good sense and I think is very true.

Musically, this has been a super week too, with three shows I feel all went very well, in three different Florida towns. On Friday evening I journeyed to Sarasota, Florida, a couple of hours south of where I live, to do another evening gig at Mother's Musical Bakery, a great coffeehouse run by Dennis Brock, himself a musician and songwriter, and his lovely wife Jennifer. Faithful friend Carl Wade (guitar) and Charlie Holbrook (bass fiddle) accompanied me. The group Triad (Doug Purcell, Carl Wade, Barbara Shafer) opened, with Rick Kennedy supporting on bass fiddle. Good musicians, good audience, good sound, good lights, good food: I could not have asked for a better time.

Here is Mother's Musical Bakery: http://www.mothersmusicalbakery.com/

Saturday I drove to Eustis, Florida, a few hours northeast of my home, to play Olivia's, another very, very nice coffeehouse. This show was especially fun because two of my oldest Florida musical compadres came to make music with me: Jay Wood (guitar) and Chris Campbell (bass fiddle). Jay and Chris are both among the very first musicians I did anything with when I came to Florida more than twenty years ago. I don't think the two of them have played together before, though. Both of them are excellent musicians. I had not made any music with Jay in many years, and had not made any with Chris recently, but without any rehearsal at all I felt we sailed through the evening like we had been playing music together every night.

Here is Olivia's: http://www.oliviascoffeehouse.com/

After the Eustis show I spent the night at the home of Jay Wood and his partner Valinda McQueen (who together are the musical duo Starbird). They are a happy and positive couple. We had a great gab-fest and found that we have many areas of common interest. It was nice for me to get to know Valinda better than I had previously. She's a morning person, as am I, while Jay is a night-owl. Valinda and I got up early Sunday morning and went out for breakfast and more conversation. I had another fine omelette, at the Eustis Grill.

Here are Jay and Valinda: http://www.starbirdfolkmusic.sampa.com/

On Sunday I travelled to Casselberry, Florida (part of the Orlando metropolitan area), where I did a concert at a venue called The Music Shack, with my friend Fred Cantor of that area. Fred is a man of many talents and many interests. He teaches music, makes recordings, and is a world traveller. He teaches blues guitar at my Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp the second weekend of November annually. I hung out at Fred's place during the afternoon, reading a book that has caught my interest, Soul Stories by Gary Zukav, and then we did the show in the evening. Fred did a set, featuring many of his compositions, his guitars, and a kalimba (thumb piano) that sounded very mellow. He had a couple of ladies singing backup. I did a set. We closed with a few tunes together. I was VERY pleased that Chris Campbell came along to support me in my set of this show too, playing bass fiddle. We had big fun! Once again there was a decent piano onstage, so I was able to ramble through some Bob Wills music, a Fats Waller tune, and so on. Did some jazz, some fingerpicking guitar material, a few mandolin pieces, told a few stories, got the crowd to sing. All good.

After the show Fred, his sister Ann, who was visiting from Sarasota on her birthday, Chris Campbell, his wife Mary Beth (a talented songwriter and singer), and I went out for Chinese food. Then we repaired to Fred's place for a good long jam session. Major fun.

Here is Fred Cantor: http://www.fredzilla.com/

I stayed over at Fred's place the night. Always an early riser, I rolled out of bed Monday morning long before anyone else was up and drove back home, a trip of about three and one-half hours.

What a great week! May they keep coming for a long, long time!!

Life Goes On; So Do I

2009-05-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Readers, it has been a while since we've met here. I've just finished a busy, busy weekend that included two concerts, one at Cocoa Beach on the east coast of Florida on Saturday and one at Spring Hill on the west coast on Sunday. There was lots of driving involved, but that's nothing new for me.

The weekend before that was a rarity for me---a weekend at home with no shows booked. I did get together with friends on Saturday evening for a few tunes, but otherwise didn't make music on the weekend. I've spent my time these last couple of weeks working on a wide variety of "home" projects, like cleaning out my garage (really a small barn I use for a variety of things but not to store my van), cutting grass, sprucing up shrubs, washing the van, you name it. I've decided to camp at the Florida Folk Festival at the end of this month, so I've pulled out my tent and other camping gear and made sure all is in good shape. I enjoy doing all of these things, really. It is important to live in the moment, in the "now", and to do our best to enjoy each experience that comes into our lives.

I've also continued on the great project of getting all of my own compositions together in one place in an organized notebook. There are hundreds of pieces involved, so this is quite a task. Some of you have been after me for years to get this job done, so you should be happy that it is happening! :-)

Oh yes, I've been getting in my usual bike riding and walking, and of course have kept my yoga going as well. I'm reading the book Flow, which I mentioned in an earlier post, and the Duane Elgin classic Voluntary Simplicity, a book I've owned for many years and which merits periodic re-reading. I think everyone should read Voluntary Simplicity, and every American, in particular, should read it and give the message it conveys serious thought. This is a GOOD one.

Both of the shows I did this weekend were quite successful and lots of fun. The east coast show, in Cocoa Beach, was in a big, almost cavernous venue, very fancy. People were seated at tables in the big room, and some were dining. They were, however, a warm, receptive, and attentive audience. My ace percussionist Norm McDonald was on board, and Norm hired a very capable bassist, Ken Parker, to work with us.

Sharon Osuna, who set up the gig, a singer-songwriter brimming with talent and energy, opened the show with a range of her Florida-oriented songs. Good stuff.

Sound was good. Lights were good. There was even a piano on the stage that functioned well enough and was well enough in tune (sort of) for me to play some western swing, Fats Waller's Honeysuckle Rose, and a James P. Johnson rag. (James P. was the great New York king of ragtime when Fats Waller was still a little boy, and James P. wrote many wonderful pieces, including the great Charleston that many people around the world still know.) I played a wide range of other material, and since the bass man was good and Norm McDonald is always good on percussion I did some jazz, including my Duke Ellington favorite Don't Get Around Much Anymore, a jazz piece I dearly love to play on guitar.

I found out something very surprising about Ken Parker. Amazingly, it turns out that both he and I were born and raised in a small rural backwater of northwestern Ohio known as the Black Swamp, near the town of Fostoria, Ohio. He had his beginnings in music in that area about ten years after I did, and he knew and worked with many of the same musicians I knew and worked with when I was there. Ken played in at least one of the bands I played in, away back then. It truly is a small, small world.

When I went to Cocoa Beach from home, on the west coast, I made the drastic mistake of taking Florida Route 50 across the state. This caused me to pass through Orlando, which in my view is physically a VERY unattractive city. It is also plagued by never-ending road construction. This time Route 50 within the city was so much "under construction" that I thought the devastation through which I had to drive similar to the devastation found in some German cities at the end of World War II. Traffic, and the mismanagement of it, was incredible. Just incredible. Disney World is located near Orlando. I've always thought it a shame that many people who come to Florida to visit Disney World probably leave Florida with an impression that much of our state might be like Orlando. Happily, that is not true at all.

I returned to the west coast yesterday via a pleasant northern route passing through lovely towns like Mt. Dora and Sanford. MUCH better.

There weren't any people from Ohio at the Mother's Day show in Spring Hill, but my good friends and musical cohorts Carl Wade (guitar) and Rick Kennedy (bass fiddle) were there once again to add their excellent support to the music I presented. Once again, with strong support I was able to do a wide range of music. Lynn Brainard and Jeff Miller opened the show with some good country singing, guitaring, and fiddling. I saw some familar faces among those attending---including my dear old friend, fabulously talented songwriter E. T. Morris, who brought his mother, 85 years old and very lively, to this Mother's Day show. What a pleasure it was to meet this fine lady! It was my distinct pleasure to bring E.T. on in the second set to favor the crowd with a few of his inventive songs.

The concert couldn't have been held in more pleasant surroundings: We were set up outdoors, in a big stone patio area surrounded by trees, with lovely tropical breezes wafting through.

Life is good. All good, as usual? Weeeellll... not quite. Some sort of stomach crap afflicted me all weekend, which made necessary multiple visits, some on an emergency basis, to toilets across Florida. I was not a well man on Saturday. On Sunday I felt lots better. I am a professional, and so I think I did good shows on both days---but there's no doubt I was more scintillating company on Sunday. Today I'm better yet, but still not entirely out of the woods... er, toilet.

Till next time...

More Life, Music at Home

2009-04-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Time for a quick update. Life is good around home. Most of the week was spent with my ongoing HUGE project of organizing all of my compositions, and other less exciting (but fun) things like hosing off and cleaning up my big screened front porch so I can sit in my comfortable bentwood chair and enjoy the evening breezes, raking leaves, cleaning up the yard of my rental property across the street from my house, watering plants, researching ground covers to plant because grass will not survive without excessive watering in Florida's diminishing amounts of rainfall. I don't have much grass, because I've planted my yard in planting areas instead...and everything in my yard is either native to Florida or the deep south (or, in the case of a couple of trees and a frangipani, of regions even farther south). What grass I do/did have is about shot, though. Global warming, I think, is the culprit. (At least only the far right-wing lunatic fringe in this country continues to deny global warming is happening. Sheesh!!) I found two ground covers that may work: a variety of mimosa, and a plant called perennial peanut.

Yes...I've been doing lots of early morning bike riding, evening walking, and other enjoying of the beautiful Florida weather and the very nice places to enjoy it in my area. This morning, after I did my yoga (which I'm having to modify some, but not stop doing, to favor a wrist painful due to repetitive strain), I got on my bike and rode out a few miles to the shores of Tampa Bay, where I practiced some new yoga moves and some deep breathing exercises described in one of my yoga books. Now of course I am no good at all at yoga compared to experts, but I have a lot of fun doing it and it is wonderfully beneficial to me. Makes me feel great. I'm pretty darned limber for my age, I think! I'm starting to try a little Tai Chi too. And I continue lifting light weights (about 30 pounds) every other day. I want to live a long time, and I want to be healthy enough to enjoy every possible moment of that time. Making that happen is entirely up to me. Since medical treatment in the United States is horrible, dehumanizing, and criminally expensive, and since our country has no health care system at all, only a poorly functioning disease treatment system based almost entirely on drugs and surgery and a strictly mechanistic view of the human organism, I'm working in every way I know how to keep myself from becoming ill, and more than that, to keep myself in the best possible health.

I have to do a lot of planning to make my life in music work out... but I also try whenever possible to live in the "now"---to enjoy each moment as it passes, to experience the moments and not just pass through them on the way to whatever are my goals down the road. There is a world of difference between riding my bike from my favorite coffee shop to home while thinking about what I'm going to do next, and next week, and a month from now; and making the same ride while paying attention to the trip, immersing myself in enjoyment of the balmy Florida breezes, the huge overarching trees along the streets, the sun, the clouds, kids playing, other people doing their things, on and on and on. The Buddhists call the latter way of experiencing life living mindfully.

Music this week included a Saturday trip to San Antonio, Florida, a town around a hundred miles from where I live, where I played a show supported by Carl Wade on guitar and Rick Ferriss on bass, in support of an American Cancer Society fundraising effort. Onstage sound was very bad, but everyone, including the organizer of the music portion of the event and the organizer of the entire shebang, was very complimentary about our show, so I guess we did well. The audience certainly was warmly receptive. My new little Mackie stand monitor worked superbly, and so I was able to clearly hear every note of music I played---which most definitely would not have been the case had I relied on the floor monitors provided by the sound company. As usual with small sound companies, reasonably good sound was achieved for the audience but sound for the performers was atrocious. Asking performers to do good work without good onstage sound is like asking a painter to create a beautiful painting in a dark room. Painters are never expected to do that. Musicians are VERY often asked to make beautiful music without being able to hear it.

The show was a freebie, to help support the Cancer Society, but I sold a number of CDs, so that was good. When people line up to buy CDs, then you know you did a good job of presenting music.

Carl Wade, Barbara Shafer, and I stopped at a Perkins restaurant to eat on the way home from the show, and that was fun too. I'm not keen on restaurant food, because it is usually quite unhealthful sludge, but Perkins has good salads.

This afternoon included more music at a great party thrown by Mike and Goody Haines of Gulfport, Florida, for the music folks of the area. I've been invited to this annual party every year for years, but until this year have always been somewhere out of town on the music road when it was happening. Not this time! The party was a large potluck feast featuring Mike Haines' deer and wild hog burgers made from animals Mike hunted and processed himself. There was a wide variety of other food available, including quite a few things I could eat. I liked that, and I ate too much. Various musicians attending played for the crowd on a stage and using a sound system provided by Mike and Goody. Jac Kelly's set was outstanding. Ken and Tricia Brooks did a fine set. Goody Haines sang beyootifully. Goody's parents did a turn onstage as well, and they sounded good! There were lots of other good 'uns too!

Ken and Tricia Brooks have an interesting music website:

http://www.strumhollow.com/index.html

I played with mandolin with Rick Kennedy and Denise Adams on their set, and also with Carl Wade and group. Then I put together an impromptu band for my set---Carl on guitar, Rick Kennedy on bass fiddle, Harvey Maslowe on fiddle. I played some swing on Dobro, one of my songs, I Wish I Didn't Know, and finished with good old Keep On The Sunny Side, with the audience singing along on the chorus of the old Carter Family theme song. All good fun. It was a great day.

Goody Haines is one of those active, energetic, and generous people who does a lot for her music community here in Florida. She operates a very fine music website you'll enjoy:

http://www.mellowmelodies.com/

See ya next time---I'll be right here.

Another Great Week

2009-04-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

This has been another great week. I did a small concert in St. Petersburg, Florida, this past weekend, with musical support by my very good friend Carl Wade. Did something quite unusual for me: I played two sets, and the first of those was made up entirely of music I've composed. The audience was warmly receptive, and, I felt, really got into the music. I did a few I have not done in a show for years and years: Hauling Down the Highway, a "road" song, Wahoo, a fast instrumental, and Green Apple Rag, a mandolin instrumental I wrote away back when I was playing some music with the late, great Louisiana fiddler Doc Guidry.

My friend Doug Purcell, who likes my music a lot and is always urging me to perform more of my own compositions, and who, in fact, helped me arrange this concert, was present and smiling the whole time. The concert was hosted by Rick Kennedy and Denise Adams. Fun evening!

One man in the audience was someone I didn't know, but he looked familiar to me. I couldn't figure out why until he came up after the show and reminded me that he had taken a guitar lesson from me once, a long time ago! He said he enjoyed the show and proved it by buying one of my Grandpa Flatpicked CDs to take home. Very cool.

Also in the audience were my friends Dave and Charlene Frankenfield. Dave was looking good. When I had last seen him, he was looking terrible. He was feeling terrible. He was having a great deal of health trouble. He had been seeing conventional drug-and-surgery doctors, and not doing anything else to help himself. As some of you know, I am VERY doubtful about the value of much of what these conventional doctors do and what they really understand about health care and healthful lifestyles. 3.8 BILLION drug prescriptions were issued in America in 2008. A great many of those drugs were not needed by the people who were convinced to buy them. An enormous number of needless, useless, and even harmful operations were performed. We don't have a health care system in the United States, and our disease treatment system is badly broken.

I believe in holistic, natural, complimentary and integrative approaches to health. I believe in taking personal responsibility for one's own health. I believe in prevention (an ounce of which is actually worth TONS and TONS of cure). Now, don't get me wrong. In my view, conventional doctors do great things when treating trauma. When we break legs or arms they know what to do and do it well. (Of course they charge ENORMOUS sums of money for doing it, too. The medical-drug manufacturer-insurance company triumvirate causes that, and it is an evil thing.) In their attempts to treat many other types of illness, conventional, mechanistic, assembly-line doctors just don't do very well. They are into reducing the symptoms of disease instead of doing what they should be doing---finding and treating the underlying causes of the symptoms and promoting good health.

I was able to direct Dave Frankenfield to some resources to help him help himself in some ways his conventional medical doctor could not. The transformation in Dave is amazing! He is doing much, MUCH better. I'm really happy that I was able to help. Good on ya, Dave!!

End of sermon. Onward.

As I spend some time here in Florida I'm more and more conscious of why I have kept my residence here in the Sunshine State for over twenty years. Florida is a great place to be. The weather lately has been absolutely gorgeous---lots of sunshine, balmy breezes, warm but not too warm temperatures, lovely beaches, sparkling waters. Today is Easter Sunday. I'm not associated with an organized religion, so I spent the day working on the great song-and-instrumental notebook project. At about noon I biked down to Largo Central Park, just a couple of miles from where I live, where I ate a picnic lunch I'd packed and read a book for a while. (The book? A fascinating work entitled Flow---The Psychology of Optimal Experience by an author with a truly challenging name: Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi. Probably not of Irish ancestry.)

As the sun began to set this evening I took myself away from another lengthy session of notebook-making, got on the bike again and took a long ride out to Belleaire to the bay and then on around to the green tunnel of the Pinellas hiking and biking trail and via the trail on home just at dark. The experience was so cool and so much fun I just wanted to keep on going and going! I live in an urban area, but I've figured out ways to get just about anywhere I feel like going on my bike or on foot without going near the big streets and heavy traffic much at all.

Life continues to be very, VERY good.

Oh yeah... I can't resist mentioning the egg all over the faces of America's right-wingers, who until today had been raging on about how President Obama wasn't doing anything to save Captain Richard Phillips from the pirates who attacked his ship off the horn of Africa and held Captain Phillips hostage. The right-wingers raged until they discovered that Navy snipers had shot several of the pirates and rescued Captain Phillips; until it became known that Barack Obama, instead of shooting off his mouth, had quietly handled the situation in a wholly mature and responsible way, without saying a word in public about what he was doing. He did no grandstanding, he rattled no sabers, he just did his job and did it very, very well. I do like that guy! Funny...today the right-wingers are notably silent about all this, and seem to be doing their raging about other Obama activities. Strange, huh... I'm listening to one of the nutzier radio right-wingers right now, a Dennis Praeger, and ol' Dennis doesn't have a word to say about the pirate situation...

Here's a good article on the subject:

www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/12/analysis-obama-beats-firs_n_186028.html

Until next time...

Home and WillFest

2009-04-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Had a good week at home this week, doing all sorts of things that probably don't merit much mention here: Saw a guy about annuities. Worked with my hibiscus plants and gardenias and raked leaves (we do that in the spring in Florida). Worked on future trips, to the east coast states, California, France and New Zealand. Did washing, cleaned my porch. Exciting stuff.

I did go down to Fort DeSoto beach one day (the same day I went to St. Petersburg to see the annuities guy) and went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. The annuities guy was okay. The Gulf of Mexico was BIG fun. Fort DeSoto Beach is said by many to be one of the most beautiful beaches in North America. That could well be true. Now, I've seen some fabulous beaches---and it cannot compare with, say, just about any beach on the Tasman Sea side of New Zealand; or Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. There is no beach I've seen in Europe, though, that I think is superior to Fort DeSoto Beach. Never mind. Fort DeSoto Beach was beautiful, the water was fine, the sun was warm, and the exercise was invigorating. All good.

At the end of the week I travelled to Withlacoochee Campground near Dunellon, Florida, to participate in the Will McLean Festival (WillFest, as they sometimes call it). This annual folk festival was founded many years ago by Margaret Longhill, of that area, to honor the memory of Will McLean, who was a Woody Guthrie-esque Florida folksinger and songwriter. Here is a link to information about Will McLean:

http://www.willmclean.com/about/wills_music.html

I knew Will, who has been gone for about twenty years, quite well, so it is my pleasure to participate in the festival. I've been in every one of them since the beginning. Of course I enjoy performing. Did a main stage turn on Saturday supported by Carl Wade, guitar; Jim Davis, bass fiddle; and Norm McDonald, percussion. That was a good set, I thought. Did a few of my own songs, some swing (one playing Dobro), some fingerpicking tunes. The usual mixture. Years and years ago I wrote a country blues called Florida Blues (not the famous Chubby Wise fiddle tune, of course). Since this was a Florida festival commemorating a Florida musician, we did that one and got a few hot licks in. On Sunday I had the same musicians with me and did a similar mixture of music. In that show I did do a song I wrote centuries ago (or so it seems) and have not performed in many years, a sad ballad, and true story, called Smokey Dark Corners. Everyone seemed to like it a lot, and that pleases me.

I've decided I need to do more of my own compositions in these shows, and so far reaction to them has been excellent.

Guesting on the Sunday show was Jan Milner, a lovely lady, good friend, and good singer. We used to work as a duo, and we did a couple of our old duo tunes: A Dallas Blues called Deep Ellum Blues ("deep" Elm street used to be a red-light district in Dallas), and my old standby Florida Moon. It was fun to sing with Jan again. We not only used to sing together, we used to live together and be a couple. It's nice that years after all that is over we can still be friends and musical cohorts.

What I enjoyed most about the festival was camping with, socializing with, and jamming with my friends. Carl Wade and Barbara Shafer, Doug Purcell, Rick and Denise Kennedy, and Mike and Goody Haines all camped together. We visited, ate, did a lot of great jamming, and just had an outstandingly good time all weekend. A number of folks came by to jam and chat and all. I love times like that.

I do not as much love times that involve working on cars. If you've been following the blog, you may recall that at Sweetwater Farm, last weekend, my van sustained a flat tire requiring assistance from AAA because I could not get the lug nuts loosened to change the tire myself. I went to a tire place near home where I've traded for years, last Monday, and got the tire patched. All good, I thought. WRONG. The Withlacoochee Campground (called that because it is on the banks of the Withlacoochee River) is on a dirt road. I had almost arrived at the campground when I realized the same tire I'd had patched on Monday had gone flat again. This time I was able to change it myself, and get the temporary "donut" tire mounted---though I had many offers of help from various friends arriving for the festival. No big deal. I assumed that the patch I'd had done had not held...but when I went back to the tire place this morning we discovered I had in fact run over something on the dirt road and cut a big hole in the tire.

This time I bought a new tire.

That's it for this entry. More next week.

Homosassa and Tampa and Home

2009-03-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Maybe if I make weekly updates while I'm at home, things won't get out of hand.

I've had a great week (mostly great, anyway) this week. On the weekdays I did a variety of home chores, went out for lunch with friends, played music with two groups of other friends, rode my bike, and enjoyed the gorgeous Florida spring weather. This is one of the best times of year to be outdoors in Florida, and I'm taking full advantage of it.

The great project of organizing the songs and instrumentals I've written goes on as well. I'm making progress, creating a notebook I can consult easily and quickly when I need it. Lots of folks have been asking me to perform my own compositions more often, and I've decided to do that.

On Saturday I journeyed north to Homosassa, Florida, a beautiful town on the west coast of our state, to do an afternoon outdoor concert at the Museum Cafe in Homosassa, which is home to a printing museum as well as the cafe. I had played there before and enjoyed it immensely, as I did this time as well. In the absence of Susan Mitchell, who does the music booking, this show was arranged by an old friend, Lynx Haydon, a Canadian lady originally from Quebec, who lives here in the Sunshine State. She did a good job of putting things together and was nice enough to invite me to her home for supper after the show. Supporting musicians were Carl Wade on guitar and Jim Davis on bass fiddle. Doug Purcell and his group Triad (Doug, Carl, and Barbara Shafer) did a few songs each set. They are sounding really good. Doug has written a super song commenting on current troubles in our country and how, a hundred years in the future, nobody will give a damn about what was happening here, now. That's absolutely right, but hard to keep in mind sometimes!

I did do some of my own songs in Homosassa, probably more than I usually do, and I included a couple I have not performed in years: Florida Home, and the unfortunately true story of (The Girl Who Sang) Smokey Dark Corners. Both of those were very well received and that makes me enthused about doing more of my original pieces. Fun to do them again! Loyal fans Rick and Denise Kennedy were there, so I did Count Your Blessings , one of Denise's favorites, and a couple others I've written that I often do, as well.

Museum Cafe: http://www.florida-secrets.com/Restaurants/WC/MuseumCafe.htm

On Sunday I went to Tampa to play another afternoon concert, this one in the music series at Sweetwater Farm, a large organic farm providing healthy food, educational programs, and community building opportunities. The farm has a market day on Sunday, with live music. I LOVE to play at Sweetwater. The people there are all really nice folks, the atmosphere is great, and the food excellent. In fact, when I'm at home in Florida I like to go to the Sweetwater concerts on Sunday afternoons just to relax. The music organizer there is the energetic Susan Fox, also a good friend. Part of the pay is a huge amount of freshly-picked garden vegetables! Supporting musicians on this show included, again, faithful friend Carl Wade on guitar and this time, stellar electric bassist Rick Ferriss. Rick is an outstanding musician.

I did a few more of my lesser-known compositions, both songs and instrumentals, at Sweetwater too.

Here is Sweetwater: http://www.sweetwater-organic.org/

After the Sweetwater show a group of us planned to go out for Chinese food, and we did---but not before we had to struggle with a flat tire on my van. After toiling for about an hour we found ourselves unable to get the flat tire off the vehicle because the lug nuts were just frozen into place...so I called AAA, of which organization I have been a member for many years. (I should explain to readers in countries other than the United States that this is the American Automobile Association, which offers roadside service assistance for a yearly subscription fee.) AAA sent a nice young man in a big truck out and we got the old tire off and another one on the vehicle in just a few minutes. Should have just called AAA in the first place.

THEN we went to a good Chinese place Doug Purcell knew about in Largo. Excellent food, excellent companionship, cute Chinese waitress. All good!

Hmmmm... When I started this entry I had a rant in mind, about something that has annoyed me over the years...but thinking of all the fun described above has put me right out of the mood for ranting. What lucky readers you are! You don't need to learn anything at all about what is annoying me currently, because it seems so insignificant when compared with all that is good about my life that I've decided to not even mention it.

I've lately read some newspaper editorials that I think are really good and tell it like it is. Instead of quoting, I'll include some links.

Cynthia Tucker, in the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, on capitalism:

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/tucker/

David Brooks, in the New York Times, on Afghanistan:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/opinion/27brooks.html?_r=1

David Ignatius, in the Washington Post, on terrorism:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032702505.html

Good stuff.

Once again this week I've had e-mail from readers I had no idea were out there reading this blog. People in France. People in the American midwest. That's very cool. I hope what I have to say continues to be interesting enough to make it worth your while to check the blog out from time to time.

Onward!

Florida Performance Schedule

2009-03-25T10:28:00.001-07:00

I don't get to make music in Florida too often, but from now until the end of May I will be home. I have a nice schedule of shows set. More may be added, but below is the schedule as of now. I've tried to get the word out the best I can about my "home" schedule...but still a number of people have inquired. I've decided to post what I'm doing here on the blog for everyone's convenience.

I hope you'll be able to make it to some of the shows! Performing with me at various gigs will be many good friends and sterling musicians including Carl Wade, Jim Davis, Rick Ferriss, Barbara Shafer, Doug Purcell, Fred Cantor, Rick Kennedy, Eric Alvar, Norm McDonald, Ish Katz, and more. I plan to do my usual wide range of music, from blues to folk to country to jazz to whatever I'd like to do! I know I will be doing some jazz using my sweet Gibson Herb Ellis archtop guitar and my gorgeous old 1930 New York Epiphone archtop (guitars that do not go on the long road trips). I may do some fingerstyle guitar picking on my mother's old Martin 0-18, a little guitar with a splendife rous voice that is much too fragile for extensive travelling. I'll also be doing more piano than I get to do on the festival circuit. There's lots of ragtime and jazz and more that I don't get to play because when venues do have pianos, which is not often, most of them are in such bad shape they are unplayable.

Here's the schedule:

3/28/2009---Saturday. The Meuseum Cafe, Homosassa, Florida. Info: Susan Mitchell at sukelo@tampabay.rr.com
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03/29/2009---Sunday. Concert, Sweetwater Farm music series, Tampa, Florida, USA. Info: contact Susan Fox at susanfox@flappeal.com
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04/03-05/2009---Weekend. Will McLean Festival, Withlaoochee Backwaters Campground near Dunnellon, Florida.
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04/11/2009---Saturday. Concert, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. Info: contact Doug Purcell at dpurcell49@aol.com, Rick Kennedy at scooteremail@yahoo.com
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04/18/2009---Saturday. American Cancer Society's Relay For Life fundraising event, 8 PM San Antonio Florida. Info: Stan Sanford at shsanford@att.net
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04/19/2009---Sunday. 4th Annual BBQ and Jam, Goody's, Gulfport, Florida, USA. Info: contact Goody at goodysmusic@yahoo.com
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04/25-26/2009---Saturday and Sunday. Barberville Spring Frolic, Barberville, Florida, USA. Info contact Joe Waller at gitfiddle2@yahoo.com
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04/25/2009---Saturday. Abigail's Cafe, West Pennsylvania Avenue, Dunellon, Florida, USA. 6 PM. With Jim Davis, bass. Info: abigailscafe@bellsouth.net
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05/09/2009---Saturday. Cafe Unique, 607 Florida Avenue, Cocoa Village, Florida USA 8 PM Info: Telephone 321-504-0823 or Sharon Osuna at sharon.osuna@yahoo.com
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05/15/2009---Friday. Concert, Mother's Musical Bakery. Near Gulf Gate Mall, Sarasota, Florida. With Carl Wade, others. Info: Carl at SumSpec4@aol
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05/16/2009---Saturday. Concert, Olivia's Coffeehouse. 113 Bay Street, Eustis, Florida. Info: Olivia at oliviascoffeehouse@yahoo.com
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05/17/2009---Sunday. Concert, with Fred Cantor. Orlando, Florida. Info: Fred at fredly1@gmail.com
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05/22-24/2008---Florida Folk Festival, White Springs, Florida. Info: Telephone 1-877-6FLFOLK
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Home... Thoughts...

2009-03-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Interesting to be at home. I'm not used to it! This morning I rose at my usual early hour, but instead of being on the road I was here in Largo, Florida, where I live. Cool. I did my yoga, got on my bike, and rode out to a coffeehouse I favor for breakfast. Rode back home, went to the bank, and now I'm watering parched plants in my yard. Florida has been afflicted with a long-lasting drought this year, and every growing thing has suffered. Later today I plan to take some cuttings from my thriving, very drought-resistant sea grape plant, and transplant those in place of things that have dried up and blown away.

Many of the "home" things have a warm, familiar feel to them. Other things about home, the USA, are getting to seem all too chillingly familiar to me. I have retained some measure of faith in the system of government we have here in the United States, but as bad news keeps on piling in it is getting very difficult for me to continue having faith.

I remember that I was reassured about our system working when we were able to force Nixon, a politician I joined a great many others in feeling was at the time the worst president we had ever had in the modern era, out of office. Of course Gerald Ford betrayed all of us by immediately pardoning Nixon when Ford took over, so that Nixon never had to stand trial for his crimes. In pardoning Nixon, I think Ford established a terrible precedent---that presidents can do whatever they wish to do, illegal or not, and never have to pay the price for their actions. Very bad move in this country where the rule of law is supposed to reign supreme. People like Richard Nixon, and like Gerald Ford (who may have just been grossly misguided in making his big mistake), do monumental damage. The United States has never been the same since Nixon disgraced himself. But we did get rid of him.

We were able to pressure Lyndon Johnson into not running for a second term when it was time for him to go, too.

It is beginning to look to me like we were not able to remove George W. Bush and his accomplices until too late. The damage he and his right-wingers did goes on and on and on. We couldn't pressure him, because he was clueless. We couldn't pressure the powers behind him, like Dick Cheney, because they are evil. Check out: http://www.apfn.org/apfn/dcheney.htm

I hope it isn't true, but as time passes it appears to me more and more likely that we may have gone over an edge, into an abyss out of which we may not be able to climb---at least, not for a long, long time. I am beginning to be very worried. The rot that infests government, politics, and the upper levels of big business, in this country, may have reached a fatal stage. I'm certainly not happy to be seeing more and more of what our American system of government has degenerated into over the years.

Barack Obama is a mighty slick politician. I have not seen any reason to doubt that he is also a good man, a sincere man. He is definitely a very smart man. I think he is trying hard to be the president we need in this troubled time. There are some good people helping him...but more and more it is appearing to me that he cannot find enough good people among the high flying muckety-mucks he feels he has to choose from, to help him succeed at the job. One after another of those he would like to have help him have been exposed as jerks like Tom Daschle, who don't deserve any public office: tax cheats, people in bed with big business, gross incompetents, on and on and on. Hillary Clinton (no surprise for me) is an exception, doing a great job as Secretary of State. I thought she would.

There is no question in my mind that some who are Republicans are Republicans for reasons that seem good and right to them; and there is no question in my mind that many of them are honest fiscal conservatives who don't agree with Democratic policies now being put into place. In Congress, and across the country, Republicans seem to me to be far too often demonstrating that they just truly do not get it, period, when it comes to working for the common good to get through the multi-faceted crisis in which the world finds itself. Sometimes selfishness and self-interest must sometimes take a back seat to more important considerations. On and on the Republicans go, playing politics as usual it appears to me, showing little comprehension of or concern for the misery in which people everywhere are finding themselves now.

The extreme right-wingers can be fun to watch and listen to, but it is disturbing that they take themselves and their zany ideas seriously. One of the radio nutters is Dennis Praeger. I just heard a fellow say on his show that he thinks people on the left of politics in this country want the terrorists of the world to win. This guy seriously thinks that! This was not one of the garden-variety kooks who call in to these shows. This was the "special guest", David Horowitz, author of some right-wing book about American education. He went on to say that he thinks "a deranged religious cult has taken over our classrooms". Mmm-hmmm. Yup, Dave, that's probably it...

From time to time I tend to feel sorry for most of the far-righties as they grope in confusion and anger, like Rush Limbaugh does, to get a grip on what is going on. Poor Rush is utterly bumfuzzled about the spirited rejection of most of his notions by the American people. So are Praeger, Hannity, Ingraham, Coulter, Savage, all those small-minded, mean-spirited folks. Some of them are worse than Limbaugh!

Today the stench arising from the AIG scandal continues to rise in our country. The scum who run AIG accepted the government's bailout money (which of course came from every American taxpayer, against the will of most of us) with one hand, and with the other hand passed out millions of dollars in bonuses to the very people who precipitated the current financial crisis. AIG got caught, and will be forced to pay the money back, probably through being taxed...but they tried it. Looks like people in the Treasury Department made it possible for them to try it.

Here is something Ariana Huffington, of the Huffington Post web site (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/) had to say about the AIG mess, and with which I completely agree:

The mystery over who killed a provision in the stimulus package that would have curtailed bonuses at bailed out companies is a disturbing D.C. whodunit. But even more disturbing is what it reveals about how our government is run. "It is the ultimate indictment of what Washington has become," Sen. Ron Wyden, co-sponsor of the eliminated provision told me. "It's a place where, again and again, the public interest is deep-sixed without any fingerprints." Wyden has no idea who killed the provision. And, so far, no one in the administration of a president who promised that transparency would be a "touchstone" of his presidency has demanded that whoever is responsible own up to it. We deserve better.

It is looking like the government (again, against the will of most of us) will bail out the Detroit car companies, too. The government (yes, against the will of most of us) will let the same managers who ran those companies into the ground continue to manage the companies, which of course will result in disaster. The bailout money will be wasted. Who will be amazed? Not me.

Friends, I really hope what I'm afraid is coming really isn't coming. It could be very, very bad. I usually leave politics out of this blog, and maybe I should have done so today---but this AIG situation, and the car-company bailout, have me really REALLY annoyed just now. Not to mention what's happening with the banks, and Wall Street in general. Or...

Other subjects next time.

ADDENDUM: A FEW HOURS LATER...

It is about 8 PM. I've just arrived home after doing something I love to do. Took a sunset bike ride around the neighborhood. Just as the sun is setting, these quiet streets are beautiful. They are lined with giant live oak trees that often form a canopy overhead, as the trees do in front of and across the street from my house. Modest homes shelter under the trees, with lights newly lit. Kids play in the streets. Neighbors chat, leaf rakes and newspapers in hand. Other bicyclists and evening walkers float silently by. This is not suburbia. Here in this old neighborhood, every house is different, and they are settled differently on each lot. This is a community grown comfortable in the fullness of time, not a manufactured one.

In the cool of gathering twilight the crippled souls in Congress and the boardrooms of AIG and Goldman Sachs seem far away. One cannot imagine a bigtime tax cheat like Tom Daschle living here. No-one on these streets will have to return an enormous bonus given to him for gambling his neighborhood into disaster. Bernard Madoof would not be comfortable in these comfortable old houses. He would, however, probably like them better than his prison cell.

I stopped at a grocery along the way and bought big Fuji apples and strawberries grown a few miles east of here, in Plant City, Florida. Just ate one of the apples, and it was great.

A beautiful tropical evening on the streets of home has put things back in perspective for me. I'll be all right. So will you. We are better people, almost all of us, than those people making headlines because of all the horrible things they have done. I'm in very good health. I have enough to eat, a stout old house in which to sleep, and good friends all around the world. I've got my old guitar, as my song says, and I'll get by.

Life for me, I see, now that I have my head on straight, is good. I hope your life is good too.

Onward and Home

2009-03-17T14:52:00.001-07:00

In my last post I mentioned a long day of driving through torrential rainstorms. Add another day and a half to that! Wheeeeoooo!! All done now. I am in Largo, Florida, my town, where I arrived just about 30 minutes ago. I'm sitting in a coffeehouse as I write, posting a final blog entry for this trip. It was a long one: Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, California, New Zealand, Australia, California, Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, home.

I'll be ready to go again soon. Now, however, I'm looking forward to doing some home things.

On the way south I stopped yesterday afternoon at Tallahassee to visit my friends Ken and Virginia Miller. Ken is a maker of wonderful guitars and mandolins. Good musicians, both of them. The Millers were bound for a rehearsal of their band, so I didn't stay long.

Last night I made it to Chiefland, Florida, on good ol' US 19, where I stayed in the luxury Wal-Mart Hilton for the night. The rain dried up overnight---at last. This morning I drove on to the home of my Florida bass fiddle player Jim Davis, where Jim and I rehearsed some things we'll be doing in upcoming shows. Great to see Jim and Nadia again. Jim is a kayaker, and we started making plans to do some kayaking together while I am in the Sunshine State this time.

Departing from Jim's place in midafternoon, I crossed the state to visit my friends Doug Travers and Ellie Schwartz in Wesley Chapel (Tampa). Found them just leaving for a rehearsal too! That's what I get for knowing so many musicians.

Got back in the car and headed home. And here I am.

More next time!

Austin and Onward

2009-03-14T15:11:00.001-07:00

After a long day of driving eastward yesterday, I am writing from the home of my friends Paul and Margie LeBlanc near Onalaska, Texas, a little less than half the way from Austin to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Paul and Margie are great people. Margie is a dynamite singer of country songs, and someone I love to make music with on the American festival circuit. Both LeBlancs are Cajuns, (as one could guess from the name). They're Louisiana natives transplanted to Texas. I have a wonderful time visiting with them.

My visit to the Austin area was good. I had three goals for the Austin sojourn, and accomplished all three.

First, I wanted to do a house concert at the Ost home in Round Rock on Saturday evening, and did that on a Saturday evening. It was a solid success. The audience was warmly receptive. Dan Ost backed me on guitar and mandolin, and it is always a pleasure to make music with him. Diana contributed some of her outstanding harmonica to some of what I did. All good! Dan and Diana did some of their own Flatlander Folk material in guest appearances within both of my sets.

Second, I wanted to get started putting together a new Lone Star Acoustic Music Camp for the area, the first to take place on October 23-25 at McKinney State Park near Austin. Things are underway. There is plenty of enthusiasm for the new event in the area. The Austin Friends of Traditional Music are supportive. Many musicians have volunteered to be instructors. If the director(s) of McKinney State Park approve of everything, we're good to go!

Third, I wanted to decide if I am really interested in the possibility of coming to live in the Austin area. I'm not interested in Austin, itself. Some of the area around about the city is interesting, and some other areas of Texas as well. More on that down the line.

Went to a good jam at Artz Rib House in Austin on a Sunday afternoon when I was in the area. Always fun. That night Dave Seeman's band, 512, played at Artz, and I stayed to listen. As I expected to find, Dave's band is a damned good one. I also struck up an acquaintance with a Canadian couple at the next table during the evening. We discussed politics, writing, and a host of other subjects.

One evening I went to downtown Austin to hear my old friend Slim Richey's band, playing in an Austin wateringhole. Good band. Slim played some outstanding jazz guitar lines as he always does. He had a young singer with him who did some nice jazz standards. Fun night.

The Osts were good enough to put me up while I was in the area, and took me out to eat at an interesting, very "Texas" eatery on my last night with them. It's always good to spend time with them. Leaving their home, I travelled on back out to San Marcos day before yesterday and spent another enjoyable evening visiting with old friend Dave Seeman at his country place near Martindale.

The next morning I drove out to Paul and Margie LeBlanc's place. It was a long day of slow driving in the icy, torrential rain that has cascaded down upon Texas for the past few days. Nevertheless, when I got to the LeBlanc's house last night we jammed for hours! Today has been an easy day, with more jamming and some running around the area, a visit with Margie's brother and his wife (and the brother's fabulous old Fender Jazzmaster solid body guitar. I want it!! We're having fun visiting, eating, planning music for the summer festivals, and just hanging out.

Tomorrow I had planned to visit friends near Lafayette, Louisiana...but they've let me know they will be out of town, dealing with problems caused by a malfunctioning granddaughter they have been unfairly put into the position of raising by the teenager's parents, who have not taken responsibility for their children. That seems to happen all too often in our modern society.

I'll try to get an early start tomorrow, rain notwithstanding. I may stop to see other friends in Lafayette, or I may just drive on eastward to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

More later...

On to Austin Area

2009-03-01T08:07:00.001-08:00

This morning I am at the home of my good longtime friends Dan and Diana Ost, in Round Rock, Texas, part of the Austin, Texas metropolitan area. Arrived here yesterday afternoon. It's great to see D and D again. They are musicians. We already jammed a little last night, and we're going out to jam again today at Artz Rib House in Austin---where there is a regular acoustic jam on Sundays.

My friend Dave Seaman, banjo wizard and philosopher, will be at Artz as well. I spent a couple of days with Dave on the way north from the Rio Grande Valley. He lives in a beautiful rural area near Martindale, Texas, which is near the very cool city of San Marcos. I really, really like San Marcos. Always good to visit and talk with Dave, who is one of those people who has substantial things to say.

I stayed in the Rio Grande Valley a day longer than I thought I would, in order to get dental work done in Mexico completed. That went well, and cost about one-tenth what it would have cost if the theives in the dental business in the USA had done it. I find Mexican dental and medical treatment to be first-rate.

Also enjoyed a breakfast at Restaurante Rene, across the street from the dentist's office. I go to that eatery whenever I am in Progreso, Mexico. In addition to having good food, they feature an excellent mariachi group playing live.

The long, long, LONG drive north to Dave's place from extreme south Texas (about six hours) was uneventful. There's not much of interest along the road.

More is things develop in the Austin area. I'm here to play a little, meet some people, make some connections...and, importantly, to find and secure a site for my upcoming new Texas music camp.

Rio Grande Valley, Texas

2009-02-16T16:29:00.000-08:00

The Rio Grande Valley, called by some the "Texas Riviera" is far south away down in the point of Texas---one of the southernmost areas in the United States. Sounds like it might be kind of nice, doesn't it? Not so, in my opinion. For the most part, the place is sleazy, shabby, dusty, dirty, infested by ten zillion fast food joints and low-end tourist attractions, and is home to some of the worst driving on some of the worst roads in the United States. The use of turn signals in the Valley is completely unknown, as is staying anywhere close to within the speed limits. Traffic is bumper-to-bumper, everywhere you look. I'm sure the area is deserted in the searing heat of summer, but in this season it is just jam-packed with people escaping from the snow up north. Not a good scene.

So why do I come here? Music, of course. I come annually to play guitar and mandolin leads and sing a few songs with Nashville's great songwriter and entertainer Terry Smith, and to play the Rio Grande Music Festival at Mercedes, Texas.

I love to make music with Terry Smith. Terry tours here every year, and he is a great favorite of the "Winter Texans" who come from midwestern USA to populate the Valley in their hundreds of thousands at this time---escaping from the horrendous cold and snowy weather in the states where they live the rest of the year.

Terry is one of the really, really good ones, perhaps best known for writing the huge Johnny Cash/June Carter hit Farside Banks of Jordan, the Oak Ridge Boys' Lord I've Been Ready for Years, and many more. He should be much more famous than he is, and his songs should be much more often recorded by the big name country stars than they are in these days when Nash-trash (rock and pop flavored slop) reigns supreme in commercial country music. I admire Terry for his great talent, for his consummate professionalism onstage, and for his determination to do his music his way. Whenever I can make it, anywhere in the world, I am happy to perform with Terry. He is the real deal!

I enjoy the audiences Terry draws here, and they've shown lots of appreciation for me and my music as well. Terry, generous person that he is, asks me to sing and play a few on most of his shows to help me market my own CDs. I've made lots of friends among the Winter Texans and they are great people.

I'm having a chance with the Terry Smith show band to use the new mic-stand mounted personal monitor I bought just before leaving for New Zealand last trip. I didn't take it to New Zealand and so only got to use it a few times before I left. Last night I used it with the Terry Smith show, and I loved the results. With the little personal monitor aimed directly at my ear, I can actually hear what I'm playing some of the time (what a novelty!), and that allows me to play things I can never play in the usual situation---when I'm having to play by braille. Of course we have floor monitors (foldbacks) onstage, but in a band situation when acoustic guitar and mandolin leads are presented through those as part of a whole-band mix (especially when I'm using a microphone, as I like best to do, and not electronic pickups), it is usually impossible for me to hear much of what I'm playing. I think that would have been the case last night, had I not had my new equipment!! I like to put in intricate little feather-light fills with my acoustic instruments when Terry sings, and to do a lot of various strums and such to enliven the music. Just can't do those kinds of subtle things when I'm having to hammer on the instrument to hear it at all. Also, the hammering makes my right thumb sore, which is a serious matter for a good guitarist. Monitors (foldbacks) are fine for basic rhythm strumming...but that's not what I do. Of course I had (and still do have) a much larger onstage amplifier setup for big shows---but this little feller sets up and tears down in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the hassle involved in using the big outfit.

I was able to hear well enough through the foldbacks last night to relocate myself at the vocal mic and do a successful "hot" picking version of the Bob Wills classic, songwriter Cindy Walker's great Sugar Moon, which I have on my Remember Me CD. I recorded that some years ago with excellent fiddler Juri "Fiddle George" Kralik and the Rowdy Rascals band, in Europe. Of course I did not have that band with me last night, but Terry's band cranked it off in very good style, too! Onstage last night were Harold Condray, Dobro; John Jackson, bass; Don Grubb, harmonica; Terry Smith, rhythm guitar (Terry is a rock-solid rhythm guitarist) and vocals; and me. We could have used drums and an ace drummer, Mike Mitchell of Alabama, was with us...but did not have a drum kit with him. Why not? Now there's a mystery...

The Rio Grande Music Festival is lots of fun, too. A several-stage, several-day event, it has had some hard times with changing management and such but things are smoothing out and getting better now each year. Again, I've made many friends among the performers and audiences and have enjoyed knowing them all. I play my own shows at the festival, play with Terry on his shows, and play some other things too.

Oh yeah; there's one other reason I come here. I go down to Progreso, Mexico, just across the border from Weslaco, Texas, to see my dentist. He does great work at prices about one-tenth the prices extorted by USA dentists, who are part of our country's health care/insurance company/drug manufacturer cabal. The United States of America is the only highly developed country in the world providing no public health care system for citizens. And that is truly disgraceful. The Clintons tried to do something about that when Bill was president. Obama promises to try to do something about it. I hope he can succeed.

My Rio Grande Valley experience in sum, then: The music is good. Wonderful to play it. The audiences and other friends are fine. Wonderful to be with them. The place doesn't please me at all. Not wonderful.

Enough 'til next time.

Whoops! Almost forgot: I am putting together a group tour for musicians and others to travel to New Zealand next January to attend the Marton Music Festival, New Zealand's best festival, and see the sights in what is definitely one of the most beautiful countries in the entire world. If you'd like to go, or want more information as things develop, just e-mail me at charleygroth@yahoo.com and let me know of your interest.

Phoenix, Arizona

2009-02-11T23:13:00.001-08:00

Quick update before I hit the road for Texas tomorrow morning. I've had a good time in Phoenix, and concluded it with an especially nice gig at the Beaded Lizard Gathering here.

I spent the day after I arrived in Phoenix just hanging out with my great Quaker friends, who are really like family to me; getting things reorganized; and getting myself back in USA mode. There's a considerable cultural adjustment to be made when one returns to the United States from the rest of the world. I did a few small jobs, like reconnecting the battery of the van. I was delighted when it started right up on first crank. No problems there.

The next day, Tuesday, I connected in the morning with my friend Wyllow Ravenscroft in Tempe, Arizona. We had lunch and discussed Wyllow doing some show booking for me. I think she'll be very good at it and I'm looking forward to working with her. Wyllow is an excellent singer and songwriter as well. She and husband Kevin (an excellent percussionist) are good old friends.

Tuesday evening I drove out to the beautiful Sun City home of my friend and music partner Bill Berkett and his lovely wife Beth, where ace mandolinist Bill and I rehearsed a few numbers for the show in which Bill and drummer Eddie Detroit joined me in playing tonight. Okay, okay---of course Bill and I also played a few zillion pieces that were not in the show! Bill is one of those fine, fine musicians with whom I love to play. He can get 'er done! We've done shows together before, a number of times.

If I were rich I'd be able to take Bill on the road with me, if I could get him to go, along with other strong musicians like Jay Kelly of Nebraska, Gary Frost of New Zealand, Mauricio Ahumada of Sydney, Australia, Carl Wade of Florida, Dan Ost of Texas... Well, you get the idea. What a band I'd have, if I could have all the good ones along!! The days when that could be afforded are long gone.

Since much of my IRA has been lost by the Wall Street criminals (who will never spend a day in jail for their crimes), banks are failing right, left, and center, real estate prices are in the basement, and so on, I am lucky to be able to keep myself on the road!! I guess, though, that I can still afford (along with millions of others) to bail out the USA automobile companies while keeping in command of them the same management fools who ran the companies into the ground in the first place. What's wrong with that picture?

Onward. Doesn't do any good to dwell upon negatives.

Today was consumed with business: dozens of e-mails sent to the ends of the earth; errands run all over Phoenix; directions acquired to Curt Hill's place where I will be staying in McAllen, Texas, next week; oil put in the van; directions to tonight's gig location found; groceries for the trip bought; and on and on.

This evening, supported by Bill Burkett on mandolin and Eddie Detroit on drums I played for a large and enthusiastic audience at the Beaded Lizard Gathering in Phoenix. It was just simply a terrific gig. I felt I was in very good form, and so were Bill and Eddie. We ranged from jazz to blues to Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard country to some open-tuning guitar pieces to ragtime fingerpicking, a fingerpicked rag version of Bye Bye Blues, some of my own compositions, and more. Everything cooked right along. Jokes went over well, stories went over well. Many CDs were sold. Perfect evening. It does my heart good when I feel I've done my job really well. I love it when that happens!

A good local opening act did traditional instrumentals and some songs.

Now I've come back to my Quaker friends' place, where I've been staying. Went to the grocery again for more apples and some chewing gum for the long LONG drive that will consume the next TWO days. When I wrap up this blog entry, I'm going to bed.

Right now.

On My Long Journey Home...

2009-02-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

Twenty-five hours. My good friend and Brisbane host Murray Plunkett delivered me to the Brisbane airport this Sunday morning. Joy and Murray Plunkett gifted me with a kangaroo wallet to replace my battered one, and with their much valued and greatly appreciated good wishes and prayers, before I left. They are more of those amazingly good friends I've been blessed to have.

From the time when my Air New Zealand flight took off from Brisbane, Australia, until my Southwest Airlines flight touched down at Phoenix, Arizona, USA this evening, I was en route around the world for twenty-five hours. That included a two-hour layover at Auckland, New Zealand, and a somewhat longer layover in Los Angeles---during which I had a good visit with my brother, David Groth, who lives there. It was great to have some time with Dave again. We had lunch, went to McCabes wonderful music store in Santa Monica, California to try out fabulous guitars we can't afford, and generally had a good time reminiscing. I like my brother. We are friends.

All of the flights, all the way around the world, were flawless---miracles of modern technology for which I am thoroughly grateful. It really is amazing to be flying eight miles high over the Pacific Ocean with a cup of coffee on a tray table that does not even tremble as we streak along. I found two good books to read on the flight, Wayne Dyer's Living Wisdom of the Tao, his translation of the Tao Te Ching written more than 2,500 years ago by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. Great, great wisdom in 81 verses; and The Power of Now, one of philosopher Eckhart Tolle's books on consciousness and spiritual enlightenment. I was already on my way through Dark Star Safari, a travel book by one of my favorite authors, Paul Theroux, about a trip he made overland (and on rivers) from Cairo, Egypt to Capetown, South Africa. I love to read!!

My newish friend Carolyn Smith picked me up at the Phoenix airport with her friend, Carol, and they drove me out to the home of my Quaker friends Jason Odhner and crew, where I'll be staying for a few days while I make some music in Phoenix. I'd e-mailed Jay to let them know I was coming again. I was warmly welcomed in their home as always, and Jason hastened to make me a beautiful cup of good coffee. Thought I was back in the coffee paradises of New Zealand or Australia for a minute! :-)

After sitting around talking and playing guitar and singing and eating homegrown salad and drinking more coffee with the Quaker bunch, I'm ready for bed. I travel so much I usually don't get jet lag, but I will admit to being a bit tuckered out right now.

G'night.

Brisbane, Australia

2009-02-05T04:19:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, February 1, I travelled by ferry and train to the home of friends Stuie French and Camille Te Nahu in the Sutherland district of Sydney, Australia. Stuie and Camille are wonderful musicians, and Stuie is a fabulous Chet Atkins-style guitarist. We had dinner and good conversation. Stuie and I made music Sunday evening while Camille was on a "girls night out" with friends. Great fun to play with someone on Stuie's level!! We got off a couple of good licks!!

On Monday we all visited more and listened to music DVDs. In the afternoon Stuie drove me to Sydney airport and I flew out of Sydney on Virgin Blue, Australia's good budget airline, north to Brisbane for a look around and a visit with friends Murray and Joy Plunkett. I'd met Murray and Joy on Norfolk Island last year and we had kept in touch.

Murray was waiting for me at the Brisbane airport. It was great to see his smiling face again. We went off to Murray and Joy's house and then later that day to visit their daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter. The son-in-law is involved in recording and producing and songwriting. The granddaughter is a singer. We are getting together with them again tomorrow evening.

I had told Murray earlier of my interest in visiting the Australia Zoo, which was operated until his death by the late Steve Irwin and his wife. Irwin had taken over the facility from his father, had expanded it greatly, and was on the point of doing more when he was killed by a giant sting ray in waters off Australia. In the United States Steve Irwin had just been getting to be well known when he died, much too young. He was a major celebrity in Australia and other parts of the world. Murray, Joy, and I went to the Australia Zoo on Tuesday. It was very, very interesting. Most of the unique Australian animals, reptiles, and fish were on display---with the exception of the platypus. Would have liked to see one of those. There was a show featuring one of the giant Australian crocidiles, and also a profusion of extremely colorful birds.

Yesterday I mostly hung out with Murray, travelling around the Brisbane area with him as he worked making estimates and doing other things connected with his roofing business. Took a long walk to a big shopping area just looking at everything along the way. Australian society is quite similar to that of the USA---more so than the society of New Zealand---with some engaging differences. Very cool.

Murray and I went to a quite unusual three- (or maybe four-) story pub today, where we had good coffee and looked over a vast collection of photographs of early Australia and collections of artifacts from the early European times (after the days of the convict colonies). Then this evening Murray and Joy and I went to the Australian Outback Spectacular near Brisbane. This is a large and excellently presented arena show kind of like a modern-day Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show. Dinner was included. A highlight for me was a pre-show performance by Glen Jones, a honey-voiced singer and guitarist presenting authentic Australian folk/country music. Glen was first-rate. He was a good entertainer, a pleasant guy to visit with, and he certainly looked the part of an Aussie bush balladeer.

The Australian Outback Spectacular truly is spectacular, and should be a don't miss for folks visiting the Brisbane area.

Murray, Joy, and I just got back from the Spectacular. It is late and I am tired...so that's all from Brisbane tonight.

Sydney, Australia

2009-01-29T21:01:00.000-08:00

Update from "down under": I'm in Sydney, Australia as I write. Here in Sydney we are having a summer heat wave. This is the top of the summer and it is very hot---over 100 f. most days---and humid. Made music last night with an excellent Chilean guitarist, Mauricio Ahumada, who is married to Michelle, daughter of my excellent New Zealand bass player Gary Frost and his wife Wendy. Mauricio and Michelle are "Sydneysiders", and they have welcomed me into their home in the Manly district.

Connections, connections. Mauricio thinks my stuff would go well in Chile and is putting me in touch with people there. That's how my world touring usually develops. I got some contacts in Paris, France from people I met here recently.

On my last day in New Zealand a friend of Gary Frost kindly drove me from Waikanae to the home of old friends Barry and Gail Anset in Wellington, the national capitol of New Zealand. We all had a good old visit. Barry and I played and sang country music in the evening, with Gail joining in on vocals on some of the numbers. Sounded pretty good, I thought!

Gail, one of those hero friends I just couldn't function without, rose with me at about 4 AM the next morning to deliver me to Wellington airport for my entirely-too-early flight to Australia. Thanks Gail!! You are definitely a good one!! :-)

I had been warned that Australian customs people often hassled Americans who enter the country carrying guitars...and that's exactly what happened. I was pulled out of line and taken off to an isolated area where my backpack was thoroughly searched, and a million questions were asked. I had some nasal decongestant pills along, and they didn't like that. In the end they gave up on me and passed me through--but the delay was so long that Kevin Sullivan, who was waiting for me in the arrival lounge, almost gave up on me.

I stayed with Kevin and his wife Lynne for my first two days in Sydney, and they more than made up for the hostility at customs. They are really, really cool people. Kevin spent the entire two days running me around all over the Sydney area to see the sights! Lynne fed me royally each evening. We shared lots of good conversation. The Sullivans have four Chinese people staying with them currently, in Australia to study how to teach English in their schools. There was an older supervisor and three young (college aged) students. It was interesting to talk with these Chinese people, whose experience of life is in some ways so different from that of Americans and Australians---and in some ways the same as the experience of life of every human being the world over. There really are no them and us. We are all us. That seems to be very tough for some people to realize. Fortunately, Barack Obama clearly gets it.

Genial Kevin Sullivan and I travelled from the suburb where the Sullivans live to downtown Sydney on the excellent train system serving the area, and we walked all over the old quarter of Sydney. I got to see many historical buildings, the famous Harbour Bridge and the equally famous Opera House. Visited Bondi Beach, reputed to be among the world's best, plus many other gorgeous beaches and other points of interest. Played a piano at the Opera House (no audience though). Oh well.

The day I left the Sullivans to go visit Mauricio and Michelle, Lynne Sullivan, knowing that I was very interested in seeing some of Australia's unique flora and fauna closeup, rearranged her work schedule to take me that morning to the wonderful Featherdale Wildlife Park, where I saw a great many of them. That was typical of the kindness of these good people. Do I have some good friends? Yes, indeed I do!!

Mauricio and Michelle Ahumada are great people too. I'm having fun visiting with them. They are at work today and I'm on my own. Spent part of the day on Manly Beach, a beautiful beach not far from where I'm staying. Did a lot of hiking around just enjoying the city and people. Life is good in Australia!

I did notice that Australians are more like Americans than are New Zealanders in one way that is not good: There was litter everywhere in Australia, even in the most beautiful places, just like there is in the USA. Maybe the littering in Australia is even a little worse than it is in the United States. After spending a considerable amount of time in almost litter-free New Zealand, it was a bit shocking to see beer bottles and plastic bags defacing the landscape here just as they do where I live. Sad.

Waikanae

2009-01-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Next Tuesday I'll be flying out of New Zealand to Sydney, Australia. Don't know exactly what I'll be doing or what my access to internet will be when I get there, so here's a quick update.

I'm a long, long way from my native country---but I've been following USA politics closely via the internet. I couldn't be happier with what I have seen so far of Barack Obama and his activities since his election to the presidency. Looks to me like Obama is the real deal. Of course he will be fighting to repair a staggeringly enormous amount of damage done to our nation and our people, and other nations and peoples of the world, by George W. Bush, the right-wing Republicans, and other right-wingers, over the past couple of decades. We must not expect Obama and his team, or the Congress, or anyone, to be able to fix things quickly. Some of it, actually, won't be fixable at all. Still, Obama is obviously moving in the right direction(s) and rolling strongly. I like that!!

The inauguration celebration was amazing! It was a great outpouring of the joy most Americans feel as our nation begins a long return from where it has been to an America more like the one it was originally intended to be and has been through most of it's history. It was also an expression of the intense relief most of us feel to see George Bush and his accomplices at last removed from the seats of power. Now, many of us feel, we can get back on track after a long dark detour into weirdness and paranoia.

Barack Obama is America's first black president. That's important, and I know it is---but actually the color of someone's skin has never seemed to me to have much at all to do with the quality of the person inside the skin. Barack's racial background has never had much at all to do with what I think of him. He is a very cool dude and I think he would be a very cool dude if his skin were green.

I originally supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, though I always thought both Clinton and Obama were good candidates. I have cheerfully supported Obama since he received the nomination. While I think Clinton would have made a very good president, I'm glad now that Obama was elected. It speaks very, very well of him that he has made Hillary Clinton his Secretary of State.

George Bush is gone. I thought his policies were all wrong, and I'm glad he and his crowd are history. He did the right thing, though, in leaving peacefully and surrendering power as he was supposed to do. That would not have happened in many countries, and that it did here once again speaks extremely well of the strength of our democracy. That part of the American system still works as it should.

Here's a quote I like, from the German newspaper Der Speigel:

They celebrated on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, and so did the black kids in the city's suburbs. There were parties in cities on all continents, and they even celebrated in the Gaza Strip where, normally, the only good Americans are considered to be dead Americans. Obama is the world's president, at least for a few days, weeks, months of euphoria and idealism and belief in decency that President George W. Bush had almost beaten out of the world.

Onward.

After the Marton Festival, my friends, music partner Gary Frost and his wife Wendy, of Waikanae, picked me up and drove me south to where they live on the beautiful Kapiti Coast of the North Island. This is near to turbulent Cook Strait which lies between the North Island and the South Island. Waikanae is not far from Wellington, the capitol city of New Zealand. The Frosts didn't have to come and get me. I could have ridden a bus to Waikanae. They are just very nice people and volunteered to come. Very cool.

Gary Frost is a first-class bassist and a genial, interesting, thoughtful guy. We like to do swing, vintage jazz, blues, and such together. Gary plays with passion and sensitivity, so it is a great pleasure to make music with him. Last night we performed at a big restaurant and pub in Petone, NZ, The Jetty, run by a smiling lady named Sue Jenkins. We had a warmly receptive crowd and we both enjoyed the gig very much. Had a good meal too! Tonight we will play at the Traffic Cafe in Otaki, also in the area. Tomorrow we'll be playing a private party in Lower Hutt. I expect all the gigs to go well.

I've very much been enjoying my visit with Gary and Wendy Frost and Wendy's sister Ann. Fine people, and more of those good friends with whom my life is blessed.

Gary and Wendy's daughter Michelle and her husband live in Sydney, Australia, where I'm bound soon. Michelle's husband is a fine musician, and I've arranged to meet them and visit for a couple of days while in Sydney. I'll also be connecting with a number of other people, some musicians and some not, in Sydney. It will be fun to see the sights in that famous Australian city. I'm also hoping to make a visit to the Blue Mountains while in that area.

I've been doing my usual walking around Waikanae since I've arrived, enjoying the seacoast and the sunshine. Wendy rounded up a pair of shorts for me to wear so I could do a little swimming in the warm ocean waters between the mainland and Kapiti Island. Wendy is one of those great, interesting, helpful people I love to meet. Smart lady!

Gary and Wendy have also been filling me full of expertly prepared food. I feel thoroughly pampered. The return to real life and my usual bachelor fare of whatever is handy at the grocery may be a little traumatic! :-)

Okay... the sunshine and the beachside trails are calling my name. There is time for a good long walk before we go out to do the gig tonight.

Catch you next time!!

Fine Times at Marton

2009-01-18T01:33:00.000-08:00

Marton, New Zealand: On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday many musicians and music lovers gathered for one of the larger and most successful music festivals in New Zealand, the Marton Festival, held in the town of Marton in the south-central part of the North Island, New Zealand. Producer Anne George and her team put on a great show. The quality of the music was very high this year. Sound and lights were good. Audiences were large and enthusiastic.

Joining me on the festival bill were New Zealanders the Rainbow Ranch Kids, Ann Pascoe, Kylie Austin, Trevor Stevens, Annette Hawkins and Kim Copedo, the band Shotgun, and Roger Tibbs. From the USA came Call of the West (Jerome Campbell and Jeanie Cahill, music friends of mine from Oklahoma), Tex and Mary Schutz (very old friends of mine from Texas), Danny Dee and Donna Lynn (very good friends, too, from Iowa), and Nashville singer Skip Towne.

Of course I love the Rainbow Ranch Kids, with whom I've often done shows in New Zealand and in the USA. Other Kiwi standouts were Annette Hawkins and Kim Copedo, whose solid musicality and seamless harmonies are a joy to hear; Kylie Austin, a strong singer and performer; and the great Roger Tibbs, who is always a joy to hear. Americans Jerome and Jeanie are always fine, as are Tex and Mary Schutz. Danny and Donna backed me with Danny's fingerpicked guitar and Donna's bass, and did their own act as well. Good stuff.

My little tribe of "adopted grandkids", mentioned in the last blog entry, Mary-Anne Illston's daughters, of Marton, came to the show Saturday night. The kids love Little Red Wagon and Freight Train. I played both for them from the main stage. Annette Hawkins and I did Hank Thompson's famous Wild Side of Life and wove into it the Kitty Wells answer song, I Didn't Know God Made Honky-Tonk Angels. That came off well. In a later set I did, among others, I Wish I Didn't Know, one of my songs I don't perform too often.

I did one of my Five Secrets guitar workshops at the festival on Saturday, and that went very well indeed. I love to show people some of what I have learned about how to play guitar well.

On Sunday it rained, but we put on a morning gospel show anyway, under a big tent (marquee, the New Zealanders call them). It was quite a successful show. I really don't do gospel music, but I gave the audience I Am A Pilgrim; my song about my mother, Count Your Blessings (something she always used to say); and Keep on the Sunny Side. Took the opportunity to tell my preacher/lost bicycle joke, and it was a bit hit!

Of course I met dozens of people I knew at the Marton Festival: Bob Dyer and Barry and Gail Anset were among those I hadn't seen for a good while. I didn't expect Barry and Gail to show up at this event, and so was pleasantly surprised to see them.

During our time together staying at Janet's, a big old bed-and-breakfast in Marton, where I always stay while I'm in town, I had a grand time visiting with Janet and her large, happy family, Danny Dee, Donna Lynn, Tex Schutz, Mary Schutz, Jerome Campbell, Annette Hawkins, and Kim Copedo. It was a pleasure to get to know Annette and Kim better. They perform together and are friends, not personal partners. In addition to being talented musicians, they are both people of substance otherwise as well. I talked with Kylie Austin during the weekend about getting her to the States for some work, too. I would like to connect her with another "adopted grandkid", Amanda Watkins, who has a successful band in Los Angeles.

On Sunday evening after the show many of the festival performers departed for various destinations down the music road, but some of us stayed on. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Danny, Donna, Skip Towne, Kylie Austin, and I joined Anne and Len George, Ron Bush, and other festival folks for dinner and a jam session at a local restaurant. I enjoyed playing some country songs and some of my more challenging instrumentals (Farewell My Blue Belle, Cactus Stomp) with Danny Dee. Onstage sound is usually so unbalanced I can't play those in the shows. After dinner, a few of us went by Ron Bush's house for even more jamming and conversation.

Now it is late on Sunday evening. I've finished updating this blog and am bound for bed.

More as life rolls along...

More Kiwi News

2009-01-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

More good times in New Zealand!

At the end of a GREAT visit to Kaitaia and the Northlands, which included a trip to the lighthouse-bearing point at the very top end of New Zealand (where I had been before but not for years, and from where one can see the fascinating phenomenon of the confluence of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean), I journeyed by bus back to Whanagrei for the Waterfall Festival. This new festival, produced by Lois Pratt, was a fine success.

The festival was staged in two venues in Whangarei, the Butter Factory and the Butter Barn. I was featured on the bill along with powerhouse award-winning country singer Annette Hawkins and her performing partner Kim Copedo; fingerpicking/blues wizard Ian Goodsman; a wonderful group of fiddle and guitar instrumentalists called Fiddlelore doing mostly Celtic and related material plus some extremely appealing original material; Roslyn Gilmour, who played and sang and blew harmonica with great strength and appeal, and her good group of musicians; and a number of other acts. Backing me were Roslyn on bass, harmonica, and vocals; my old friend Ian Anderson of Auckland on lead electric guitar; Bruce Walker on rhythm guitar; and Ian Goodsman sitting in on one set. Good fun!!

Annette Hawkins/Kim Copedo: http://www.annetteandkim.co.nz/index.html

Fiddlelore: http://www.fiddlelore.com/

Monday after the festival I left Whangarei on Intercity bus, spent the night at a hostel in Auckland, and spent eight hours Tuesday on the bus travelling south to Palmerston North. Spent a couple of peaceful pleasant days with a friend in Palmerston (Palmy, they call it), chatting, visiting coffeehouses, bookstores, and hiking one day along a gorgeous Manawatu Gorge track. The hike was not an easy one, but the scenery and the solitude were certainly rewarding.

Here: http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/wanganui/palmerston-north-area/manawatu-gorge-track/

At mid-day Thursday I boarded yet another bus and made the short trip to Marton, NZ, where the big Marton Music Festival, produced by my good friend Anne George, will be held this weekend. Thursday evening a number of us featured in the festival played an introductory show in Marton, for a large appreciative audience.

When in Marton, as I have often been over the years, I stay with friends whose tribe of children/grandchildren are more of my large family of "adopted" grandkids around this world. They are lovely, healthy, happy New Zealand country kids, the oldest ten years old. I love to visit with them and they love to visit with me. This morning we all sat around the kitchen table and sang their favorites, Freight Train and Little Red Wagon together. Later I went swimming with the kids. Life doesn't get any better than that.

Several of my American music friends---Danny Dee and Donna Lynn, Tex and Mary Schutz, Jeannie Cahill, and Jerome Campbell are on the show. It was good to get together with all of them, so far from our native land. Jerome Campbell is a first-class guitar picker. I don't get to sit down and play music with him nearly as often as I would like. Today we had a good long session, playing classic jazz and swing tunes we both love. What a treat!! Thanks, Jerome!!

Tonight the festival began. It was a good start. I ran into many many people I knew, both musicians and music lovers. Great to connect with them all. I did a set with Danny Dee and Donna Lynn backing, and I in turn backed them with some lead guitar. I played swing and I Would Do It All Again. Highlights of the evening for me were listening to Annette Hawkins and Kim Copedo; to Kylie Austin, a superb young country singer I first met on Norfolk Island a while back; and to Roger Tibbs. I had a nice conversation with the little Rainbow Girls singers too. Very nice and talented Kiwi kids.

After the festival we adjourned to our lodgings, and in the big lounge of the place where I am staying Jerome Campbell, Jeanie Cahill, Danny Dee, Tex Schutz, Annette Hawkins, Kim Copedo and I had a good jam session. We played some challenging material and some good old country tunes. Major fun.

Now it is late, and I'm off to bed. More later...

The Road In New Zealand Continues

2009-01-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

An eventful week has passed since I last posted an update here. On January 2, Friday, I travelled with Roslyn and Stan Gilmour to Aranga, New Zealand, and Phil and Dot Godfrey's Woolshed Festival. I last performed at the Woolshed a couple of years ago, when I met Phil and Dot and we became friends. Phil Godfrey is an Australian transplanted to New Zealand, a great guy, a performer of Australian bush ballads and poetry, and a popular country music radio broadcaster. Phil is also a biodynamic farmer whose amazingly handsome crops, sheep, and cattle testify to the effectiveness of his organic farming and gardening methods. It was good to see Phil and Dot, daughter Sonya, and Sonya's little girl Kalisha once again.

Biodynamic agriculture interests me greatly. Here's something about it:

http://www.biodynamics.com/biodynamics.html

The Woolshed Festival was big fun, and not least because I met up there with other American musicians on tour in New Zealand---old friends Tex and Mary Schutz and newer friends Jerome Campbell and Jeannie Cahill, Call of the West. We had a good time catching up with each other, and, as always, I enjoyed their onstage acts.

Tex and Mary: http://www.texandmary.com/

Call of the West: http://www.callofthewest.net/

My music was very warmly received at the Woolshed Festival, and as I greeted more and more people I knew in the audiences and on the shows I realized that I'm getting very well connected in New Zealand. Roslyn Gilmour supported me in my show with her outstanding bass playing, harmonica playing, and singing. She is a terrific musician and a talented entertainer, and I love having her on my shows.

After the show I took a long walk across Phil Godfey's beautiful fields (paddocks, New Zealanders call them) to a favorite stand of trees I remembered from last visit, where I sat much enjoying meditating for a while. Continuing on, I arrived back at the Godfrey home just as everyone was sitting down to dinner. Good timing!! Yes, I helped do the dishes!

The next day, January 3, was a day off. The American contingent fared forth to view Tani Mahutu, the giant Khauri tree which is the biggest living thing in New Zealand---not as big as a Redwood or a Sequoia, but a VERY big tree. I'd seen it before and was glad I remembered how to find it this time!

Roslyn and Stan and I organized a visit for the other Americans to the Gilmour home later that day, for music, a visit to the beach, lots of good food, and good conversation. Big fun. I enjoyed introducing my American friends to Roslyn and Stan, and I deeply appreciated the warm way they welcomed my American friends into their home and their world. Good, good people.

Late in the evening Tex, Mary, Jerome, Jeannie, and I returned to the Godfrey home for sleep.

I met more people who know me, and made some good friends, the next day, January 4, Sunday, at another festival in nearby Kaipara. Tex, Mary, Jerome, Jeannie, Roslyn Gilmour, and I performed there along with numerous local and area acts. That show went well too. The festival organizers have asked me back next year, so I must have done something right!

From the festival the other Americans headed out by borrowed car for sightseeing on New Zealand's South Island. I returned with Phil to the Godfrey home, where Phil and Dot and I visited and Phil and I jammed for a good while, both of us singing, Phil playing guitar and me playing piano. I helped Phil tear down the tent that had sheltered the performers at the Woolshed Festival, and looked at Phil's extensive collection of Southern Hemisphere show business posters on the walls inside the Woolshed.

Early next morning, January 5, Monday, Phil drove me to Whangarei where I caught a bus to Paihia and another bus onward to Kaitaia in the warm far north of New Zealand, where I was met at the bus station by old friend Trevor Curreen. After dropping off my backpack at the Curreen home, we headed out to the shore of the Tasman Sea where Trevor's wife and very cool lady Beryl was working at the Curreen beach house (called a bach in New Zealand). We visited and I went wading in the warm surf. Later we returned to Kaitaia where we ate and Trevor and I jammed for a long time. He plays pedal steel and Strat guitar. He's good. Good old country music. Major fun.

This morning, Tuesday January 6, Tuesday, Trevor, Beryl, and I headed out fairly early in the morning for a long, long loop drive through stunningly beautiful countryside (there may not be any countryside in New Zealand that is NOT stunningly beautiful) to the remote rural area where both Trevor and Beryl grew up---most of which tourists would never get to see. The roads were narrow and winding ("pig tracks", says Beryl). We soon left pavement behind. On and on we went, round and round, up and down, past the scenes of the Curreens' childhood, past the homes of Beryl's sister and brother, past the house where Beryl grew up, past a place where romance bloomed between Trevor and Beryl. Stopped for coffee in a seaside village. Stopped for refreshments in a little country store. Stopped to explore the seacoast. Told stories, laughed, soaked up summer sun. The Curreens are more of those wonderful friends who bless my life by being in it. I am a lucky man.

Okay, enough for now. The sun is just going down, and I love to walk at this time of day. I'm going to walk into Kaitaia to a grocery and buy some crisp New Zealand apples.

Later, folks...

Happy New Year - Paradise Edition

2009-01-01T00:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, my friends! I'm sitting in the country home of Roslyn and Stan Gilmour, on a long winding rural road in beautiful sun-drenched hills near Dargaville, New Zealand. Last night Roslyn and I played a New Year's Eve show at Whananaki, not too far from Whangarei, New Zealand. Stan ran sound. Lois Pratt, who booked the job for me, and husband Phil came along too.

It was a fun, relaxed evening entertaining family folks in a summertime campground. I didn't make a plan, really---just sat and sang and played whatever I felt like singing and playing. Roslyn Gilmour is a terrific bassist, harmonica player, and singer (and a special person otherwise, too). Making music with her is always a great pleasure. We were very well received by the audience, and our listeners ranged in age from about two years old upward. We started at 9 PM, and until they had to go to bed about an hour later the front row of the crowd consisted of lovely happy little ones. They smiled and laughed and danced around and toddled up to the stage to hand us gifts: a seashell, sticks, a stone or two, plant seed pods. It was great. The kids were a highlight of the evening for me. They are the hope of the future.

In the audience was a lady who had recently lost her husband. I was able to play his favorite song for her, Jim Reeves' Four Walls. Being able to do that was another deeply satisfying evening's highlight.

I enjoyed chatting with folks in the audience between sets. There were New Zealanders, Aussies, folks from Europe, others. None, I think, from the USA. In a most enjoyable way we ushered in the new year in. Good one.

I came to Whananaki with the Pratts, and left at 1:00 AM January 1st with Ros and Stan Gilmour. They are good friends, and I'd wanted to have a visit with them on this trip to New Zealand. Today we've had that visit. Major fun! Tomorrow we'll go on to play a festival together---but today we just hung out, visiting, eating, and having good times. I took a long walk up the steep road that passes the Gilmour home, and we all rode quadbikes to Omanari Beach on the Tasman Sea.

I'm pretty handy with words, but words simply fail me when I attempt to describe the beauty of Omanari Beach and the Tasman Sea rolling in.

Fantastic. Beyond words. Mine anyway.

Have a look at this picture of Roslyn and me on the beach, taken by Stan this afternoon:

http://www.cgmusicman.com/IMG_0435S.jpg

See what I mean?

More after the next round of shows!

Christmas Is Over, the Calendar States...

2008-12-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

The title above is a quote from a Christmas song I wrote long, long ago...

It's time for a post-Christmas update!

As I write I'm at the home of friends Phil and Lois Pratt, in the countryside north of Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand. I've had a fine, fine Christmas with the Pratts and big family, who warmly included me in everything. I hope all of you had a great holiday too.

Christmas is a summer holiday here. At the Pratt's hillside home, which features a sensational view from the big front windows that a million dollars wouldn't buy in the USA, we had the usual big crowd of folks, many of whom are old and dear friends I had not seen since last time here. How good it was to see them all again! We shared lots of lively talk and laughter, made lots of music, took walks on winding gravel and dirt tracks through sunwashed countryside, watched the kids open gifts and caper all over the place the whole time. There were mountains of turkey, ham, and all the trimmings. Christmas. Yep!

I enjoyed everyone, and all of it. It was very fine to get together again with Graeme and Diane Duffy, Lois Pratt's daughter and son-in-law, and Diane's kids Liam, Tynan, and Ceara Burkhardt, of Auckland. I've known them for years. Diane is a delightful person, a noted designer of clothing. Graeme's a very fine guy. All the kids are musically talented. I always love to make music with Tynan, a teenaged classical guitar prodigy who also plays other music as well. Brother Liam is a pianist. Ceara sings, and she has a lovely voice. The kids are bound soon for the country of Dubai, where their father is currently working, for a holiday visit.

The day after Christmas we had a big jam session here, and a rehearsal for upcoming festival shows. Highlights included getting together again with bass ace Roslyn Gilmour. I'd not seen or made music with Roslyn since we did shows in the States last (northern) summer. I like Ros a lot. She brought her very talented musician son Joe along. Good young fellow.

I had a GREAT tour on the South Island!! Super fine, actually. Lots of shows, good sound, good lights, audiences, CD sales. In fact I am almost sold out of CDs and still have three festivals and other gigs to go!! Yikes!!

I had the opportunity to do some really fun hiking on the South Island. Did the Queenstown Track, a fabulously beautiful mountain trail, one day. It is so gorgeous it almost doesn't seem real. When I got up north I did some hiking here too. Later today I'm going for more.

I flew to Whangarei, North Island, from Queenstown, South Island, a few days ago, and spent a couple of days with another wonderful musician friend of mine, Ian Goodsman, an internationally-touring fingerstyle guitar wizard who lives in Whangarei. We missed each other by only a few days last time I was here, and lately discovered we are only going to be at the place at the same time this year for a few days (he left on tour the day after Christmas), so we made time to get together.

Here's Ian: http://www.iangoodsman.com/

After visiting with Ian, I came out to Phil and Lois Pratt's home for the holiday.

We are having a quiet day around the Pratt domicile today. All the kids and their parents and dogs and cats have left. We've cleaned up the debris and folded the tent where some of the visitors slept. Phil and Lois and I have been sitting around in the quiet, listening to jazz recordings, eating tasty New Zealand sausages, taking it easy, and (in my case) writing this epistle.

Busy times coming up:

In a few days I will be playing the Woolshed Muster festival near Dargaville. Then I go to another one in that general area; then to Kaitaia in the far north of New Zealand, and following that on back to Whangarei for our festival there. After that, the Marton festival, the biggest one, down-island. My friends Danny Dee and Donna Lynn from Nebraska will join me to play that one. We look forward to giving the New Zealanders a dose of our new group, the Philharmoic Orchestral Society. We are playing swing, jazz, ragtime, and a little country...since the festival is billed as a country festival. Some other Americans I know will be there too, and there will be performers from all over Australasia.

More on that, and what comes after, in subsequent updates!

That's it from the Southern Hemisphere for now.

Keep in touch and so will I.

More From New Zealand

2008-12-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

Hello all..

I'm ever amazed to hear from so many of you around this old world who read my blog. Thanks for being in touch. I'm pleased that you're interested in my doings, and I hope my writing about them continues to be entertaining.

I don't have as much computer access just now as I would like to have, so I'm trying to take every opportunity to add updates here. Lots has happened for me, here on New Zealand's fabulously beautiful South Island, since the last update.

Returning to Cromwell, New Zealand, by way of Invercargill, with Dusty and Fay Spittle, after a concert I did in Dunedin, I spent a few days working on future bookings, working on some promotional material for Dusty, meeting Fay's lovely daughters who live in/near Cromwell, and seeing a few sights. Cody, the Spittle's Jack Russell terrier, and I took a long walk to Old Cromwell Town, a recreation of the historical Cromwell. Drove around the area looking at beautiful scenes, which on on every hand in New Zealand. Took more long walks too.

Later in the week I returned to Queenstown, NZ, to stay with Wesley and Barbara Kerr for a few more days. As I guess most of you know, I love to hike and camp. Those are both cherished passtimes for New Zealanders, so there are many very well maintained and stunningly scenic trails available. I hiked the fabulous Queenstown Track, high in mountain wilderness above the city---so beautiful it seems almost unreal. Amazing that this beautiful track is located just above a city! At the summit of the steep, winding track I felt on top of the world, with mountains spread out at my feet in every direction. Huge old trees shaded the track in some areas, and in some areas the way wound through sun-washed rocky terrain. I found a perfect walking stick lying by the track, just waiting for me to use it!

New Zealand is a prime destination for outdoors-oriented tourists from all over the world...but I noticed that at NO point along the entire length of the Queenstown Track were any bottles, cans, papers, plastic bags, or even cigarette butts to be seen. None. No evidence of vandalism, either.

After walking the track I decided to hike on down into Queenstown and have a look. It is a bustling city, with lots of stores and a vibrant European-style street life. I had a coffee, visited an internet cafe, sat around the harbor people-watching. Very cool.

Wesley and Barbara, wonderful hosts, took me on some mind-boggling scenic drives---one far into the mountains to a lovely small village called Glenorchy and then farther, on gravel roads, deep into an area aptly named Paradise. Hard to imagine how anything could be more beautiful than what we experienced on this trip. Endless mountain vistas; brisk clean air and water; sunshine and shadow; deer in high meadows. We visited places far, far off the tourist track---the kind of places I would never get to know about or see if I didn't know people who live near them.

Wesley, Barbara, and I also took a suspension tram (little cars big enough for four people, dangling over the vastness) way up to a restaurant and viewing area high above Queenstown, for dinner one evening. Very cool!!

Dusty and Fay hosted a party for me at their home in Cromwell on Thursday. Met lots of their friends. Dusty and I played music. Everything Fay Spittle cooks is delicious. She made a GREAT meatloaf for the party, and I loved it!

I played a pub, called simply "The Pub" in Cromwell, with Dusty, on Friday evening. That went very well. Had a fine crowd with lots of enthusiasm. Many of the friends who were at the party Thursday showed up at the pub. There was a piano on the stage, but it wasn't very good. I tried a few ragtime tunes on it, and Dusty and I played Faded Love, the old Bob Wills standard, using it, but mostly I stuck with my guitar.

On Saturday Dusty, Fay, and I travelled to Gore, the country music capitol of New Zealand, where I did a concert. Dusty had put together a good band for the show. Sound was very good too, done by friend Bernie Sheilds of Invercargill. Bernie and his wife Barbara are very nice folks. Bernie has some really nice sound equipment (gear, as they call it in NZ). Doing a show in the country music center of the country was a great pleasure for me. We had 'em up and dancing! A good time was had by all---and that's what it's all about.

One of the opening acts was a tall, skinny guy who sang Johnny Cash songs and folk songs---one with his pretty little daughter who was perhaps ten years old. I love to see parents and kids making music together. These two were obviously having fun singing with each other. The father told me he had a pair of twins also who sang with him sometimes.

At a festival in Paihia, New Zealand, on the North Island, a while back, I ran into an excellent musician named Reg McTaggart. Frustratingly, I didn't get to make much music with Reg at the festival. We were too busy to get together during the event, and at a party afterward we were kept from jamming much by one of those egocentric musicians who kept interfering and showboating to dominate the session. I decided that when I got to the South Island, where I knew Reg lived, we'd make some music.

That happend last night, Sunday night, in Arrowtown, New Zealand. I was the feature at a Christmas show put on there by Reg and his group. It was good fun. Reg has a good band. He is himself a fine singer and guitarist. Sound and lights were good too. It was the kind of evening in which numerous folks came onstage to offer Christmas numbers, Reg and group played, and then at the end I did my show with Reg and band supporting. There was a big crowd. We all ate and visited afterward.

Now as I write it is Monday morning, a few minutes after 8 AM. I've risen early, as usual, done my exercises, repacked my backpack, had some coffee, and in a couple of hours will head out to Queenstown airport to catch a flight north to Whangarei on the North Island for a couple of days of visiting and making music with my friend Ian Goodsman, a blues and fingerstyle guitar wizard who lives in that city. Ian also tours internationally, and we have discovered that there are only two days when we will both be in New Zealand and able to get together. So we'll do it!!

Onward. More later, my friends. Thanks for listening!!

Across the Wide Pacific

2008-12-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hello all...

As I write this morning, I'm in Cromwell, on the South Island of New Zealand. I've had a great trip working my way across the USA and now across the wide Pacific Ocean to the beautiful "land of the long white cloud". After a great visit with my brother and my niece Michelle and her husband and kids in Los Angeles, I flew out of California on a big Air New Zealand aircraft in the winter, and after a change in Auckland arrived in Queenstown in the spring, with long bright days and crisp nights under the Southern Cross. That's magical!

To board an Air New Zealand jet is to step back into wonderful, efficient, cheerful service, away from the rude, stress-ridden, careless service of American airlines such as United. What a difference!! Arriving at Auckland airport, a true international crossroads, is to be surrounded by smiling, helpful, engaged and interested people. Oh... what a difference from what I generally find in US airports. I truly do believe that we in large part find what we expect to find, and I know our realities are what we perceive them to be, so I make every effort to find the good and the good people in every situation. That's often easier to accomplish in places like New Zealand, though, than in the good old USA.

The Cromwell area, where I'm basing on the South Island, with my friend and New Zealand country music legend Dusty Spittle and his wife Fay, is beautiful. There are soaring rugged mountains everywhere, and lush green rolling hills. Dusty is of course a fabulous character, a singer, songwriter, and raconteur. He has a million stories to tell, of his travels on the endless music road around this world. Fay keeps him organized and helps in countless ways. They've been wonderful in helping me make this tour. I have some terrific friends. Have I mentioned that before?

Dusty: http://www.nzcountrymusic.com/dustyspittle.jpg

Before I came to Cromwell I spent some time in the Queenstown area with other friends, Wesley and Barbara Kerr. Also great folks. Wesley took me on a sightseeing round, and at once point we drove way up into the mountains to watch and talk with young people parasailing off a high crag. Very, very cool. I may try it. My friends here know an 88-year-old man who does parasailing. Of course he has been at it for many years. I love outdoor activities and spend lots of time enjoying them, so the idea is quite attractive to me!

I'm making my way through a solid schedule of shows on the South Island, some with Dusty and some others. Did a neat pub job with Dusty in a country pub associated with a famous story of a serviceman in World War II who had to leave for the battles of Europe before he could finish his final beer at the pub. He left the beer, unopened, telling the bartender (publicans, they are called in New Zealand) to just save the beer and he would drink it when he returned. The serviceman died in Europe. Today, all these decades later, the beer still waits on a special shelf behind the bar. Had my picture taken with it. Very interesting.

In the city of Oamaru, New Zealand, I played a VERY cool coffeehouse gig at a place called The Penguin, run by a fine couple, Pat Trembeth, a veteran London musician resettled in New Zealand, and Kathryn Ramsey. Had a great crowd, and Pat did a very good job with sound and lights. Always a pleasure to play in a place where people know what they are doing. I just love doing intimate shows like I was able to do at The Penguin. I had a second guitar onstage and so was able to do some of my alternate-tuning music, Spanish Fandango and others. There was also a good piano, so I was able to do some Fats Waller tunes and some western swing. Finished the evening with one of my marathon medleys of country classics. The whole thing was just simply great fun. Good coffee too!!

The Penguin Club: http://www.thepenguinclub.co.nz/

I had been connected with the gig by my friends Ginny and Errol Peters of Pegasus Music, a New Zealand music publishing firm. It was fun to catch up with Ginny and Errol. I'd last seen them a year or so ago in the United States. Stayed at their home while I was in Oamuru. Ginny and Errol have the most spendiforous seacoast view anyone could imagine or desire, from the enormous front windows of their living room (Kiwis call that room a lounge).

In a big beautiful theater in Dunedin, New Zealand, I did a concert this week with beautiful rising young New Zealand star Melissa Partridge, band, and guests. Melissa is about to begin an extended tour in Australia, and this was her farewell concert in New Zealand. I was touched that this young (22 years old) singer would ask me to come and be a feature in her show. In addition to my own sets in the show, which I'm happy to say were extremely well received, I sang and played the gorgeous old traditional ballad I'll Be All Smiles Tonight with Melissa. I think it is important for older musicians to help and support young ones like Melissa, and it was my great pleasure to be able to do that in Dunedin. Melissa is one youthful entertainer who has by no means forgotten the roots. Along with the pop/country and rock tunes you'd expect to hear from one in her age group, she includes lots of traditional country, bluegrass, and folk selections in her shows. Very, very nice. Her band, led by Gordon Jones, is excellent. On pedal steel was Red McKelvie, a veteran Kiwi musician I'd run into at a gig I did at the Bunker, Auckland, on another tour "down under", but had not had the pleasure of performing with before. When we met we said we'd have to do something together one day. Now we have. Red is a super musician.

I met Melissa Partridge and her family in the States a while back, when Melissa and I were on the same bill at a midwestern festival. I immediately took to Melissa and the rest of the Partridges---parents Graeme and Frances, and Melissa's equally lovely sister Tania, who was then living in California. When I walked into Graeme and Frances' house in Dunedin before the show this week, the first person I saw was Tania, who had returned from California to live in Queenstown, NZ. I loved seeing her and all the family again. We just had a huge visit, plus a party after the concert. All good.

Melissa: http://www.odt.co.nz/files/story/2008/05/melissa_Medium.JPG

I have a number of shows to do yet on the South Island, and then will be going to the North Island just before Christmas. I'll be visiting my friend Ian Goodsman, a British blues and fingerstyle guitar wizard who tours internationally as "L'il Ian", and wife Lynn in Whangarei---one of the most European-seeming towns in New Zealand. I LOVE to pick the good stuff with Ian. Then I'll be sharing Christmas with friends in Keri Keri, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean near Paihia, and a post-Christmas big jam session that will include good friends Ros Gilmour and husband Stan from Dargaville. Ros is a world-class bassist and a good singer. After the holidays I have three festivals (Woolshed Muster, Waterfall Festival, Marton Festival) and a number of other shows to do on the North Island. I'll also have time for some visiting with good friend and music crony (guitar, lead guitar, pedal steel) Trevor Curreen and wife Beryl, in the lush and almost semi-tropical far north of New Zealand, at Kaitaia. Beryl is a very cool lady and, I think, the best natural foods cook in the entire world. Has to be.

The North Island tour will end with a gig at Howick (Auckland) with music friends Lynn Walters and Ian Anderson of Auckland. Then I go to Sydney and Brisbane, Australia. Then back to South Texas for a tour with Terry Smith, and on to Austin for shows in March.

Keeps me out of trouble. :-) I love my life on the music road.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, my friends!!

More later...

Texas to Arizona to California

2008-12-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

Hi friends... Final update before I leave the USA.

Leaving Round Rock, Texas, a few days ago, I drove a loooooong way, all the way across the midsection of Texas to El Paso, and then up to Anthony, New Mexico, near Las Cruces. Don't know how many miles that was, but I was on the road, not always in motion but not stopping for too long anywhere, for fourteen hours. Portioning out my weight-lifting and yoga exercises between three-hour driving sessions kept me cranked up, so I managed to stay alert and feeling good throughout the trip.

In Las Cruces the next day I attempted to connect with old friend, a doctor who teaches at the medical school at New Mexico State University there. Could not connect with her, darn it, so I drove on to Silver City, New Mexico, a couple of hours up the road and up into the mountains, where I connected with another old friend, Sheila Lashley (mother, incidentally, of the person I couldn't find in Las Cruces). It was great to find Sheila looking trim and feeling good in her 77th year! We connected with my ex-wife, Donna Samuels, who lives in the area, and all went to lunch together at a Mexican place. I had not seen Donna in years.

After lunch Sheila and I decided to take a drive in the Gila National Forest, which begins just north of Silver City. We drove up Pinos Altos Mountain to the village of Pinos Altos, where I lived for a number of years up until twenty-five years ago. From there we drove on around a long loop through the Gila, stopping to view beautiful scenes along the way. At one stop, the Ben Lilly Monument, we walked back a forest trail and I climbed a rocky outcrop to a high flat spot overlooking a fabulous, fabulous wilderness. Silence enveloped me there in the sunshine of a brisk winter day. The situation was so perfect I felt like staying for hours! Sheila was patient with me, waiting below.

We made more stops to bask in gorgeous views of the vast wild Gila, and returned to Silver City late in the afternoon.

One of my dear old friends in Silver City is Dougan Hales, an erudite and talented man with whom I love to visit. He's one of those people who can speak of substantive things, and he always makes thoughtful observations about life and the world. Visiting with him was a highlight of my time in New Mexico.

Later in the evening we connected once again with my ex-wife Donna, and went to dinner in a New Mexico version of a Chinese buffet. It was a little strange but not bad for such an isolated area.

The next day I stopped to visit several more old friends before leaving Silver City. Eric and Sue Patterson, operators of the Unicorn Press, were two. Susan Berry, director of a museum and wife of another old friend, David Berry, was a third. Susan is as petite and pretty as ever, defying the passing of years. Couldn't visit with David. He's a true adventurer. He and their son, Andy, were in Antarctica!

I drove out of Silver City through Lordsburg, New Mexico, over the rugged Chiracahua Mountains, and down, down, down to Interstate 10 westbound. Arriving in Benson, Arizona, I looked up friends Charlie and Elaine Reece. Charlie plays an eight-string Dobro in E6 tuning. He's a mighty fine musician and someone who often backs me in festival shows around the country. I like Charlie and Elaine a lot. They offered to put me up for the night, but I was in a mood to get some miles eaten up, so I went on through Tucson and up to Phoenix before hanging it up for the night.

Everything went very, very well in the Phoenix area. I located my Quaker friends at their meetinghouse in Glendale. We had a happy reunion and some good visiting. Great folks. I stayed with them two nights. We laughed and talked and played music. I am blessed to have many, many wonderful friends. On the first night in Phoenix one of the guys and I went and played some banjo/mandolin/guitar tunes at Fiddler's Dream, an acoustic music hall near the Quaker meetinghouse. Since Fidz has a good piano, I also did a Fats Waller tune, Honeysuckle Rose, for them. The audience was VERY appreciative.

The next day I connected with more good friends, Wyllow Ravenscroft (vocals, guitar, other instruments, songwriter, and world-touring adventurer) and her guy Kevin Brushes (percussion, outstanding conversation). Took a spin in Wyllow's nifty jeep. Went to dinner together and then on to my gig at Mama Java, on Indian School Road in Phoenix.

Mama Java is a leading acoustic music venue in Phoenix. I always enjoy playing there. Had a fine responsive attentive crowd this time, including some of the folks who had been in the audience at Fiddler's Dream the evening before. Ace musician Bill Burkett, of Phoenix, joined me with his terrific mandolin playing. I had last played with Bill several years before at the Phoenix Folk Festival. We were very pleased to get to do a gig together again, and we just had a big old time. A musician on the level of Bill Burkett makes everything sound good. We knocked out some tasty tunes, if I do say so myself. :-)

Carolyn Smith, a lovely lady I met and with whom danced a couple of turns at a festival in Nebraska last summer, came to the gig. She lives in Phoenix and was visiting her sisters in Nebraska when we met. After Mama Java, Carolyn and I went out for a while. Good fun!! Carolyn was nice enough to run me to the Greyhound Bus station the next morning.

I rode the hound to Los Angeles yesterday, and it was quite a fun trip. The desert scenery was beautiful, especially as the sun set. Chatted with some folks from around the country, and one lady from Belize, who invited me to visit when I am in that country (where I do plan to be before long). My brother Dave Groth picked me up at the bus station. He lives on the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and the bus station is right downtown. For Dave the trip from his home to the bus station and back was a long grind through horrendous Los Angeles traffic. I appreciated his making the journey very much indeed. He also changed plans in order to have time to visit with me on my way through, and that was very very nice of him too. Good guy!

I'm at my brother's home in Los Angeles as I write today. Later I will be visiting with his daughter, daughter's husband, and kids. I'm looking forward to that. I don't see them very often and they are the only family I do see. This morning I was also able to connect with close friend Carmel France, a photographer of museum antiquities, who lives here. Carmel and I go back a long, long way. She is a sweetie. We went out for breakfast this morning to a really nice little place she had taken the trouble to find. I'm happy to say she seems to be doing just fine.

Here's a poem I wrote years ago, about Carmel visiting me at home in Florida. My gardenias always seem to be blooming when she visits.

WHEN GARDENIAS BLOOM
Copyright (c) 2001 by Charles C. Groth.

She comes when gardenias bloom,
Long lithe woman,
Beautiful and confident.
Her tumbling black hair, and
Other faint echoes, remain
To remind him of a confused young girl once known.

They laugh, in a rare visit,
His tendency to dote imperfectly controlled.
He listens as she tells her tales,
Proud of her and of her pathfinding,
Knowing she has flown afar,
Complimented that she still takes time to call.

She comes when gardenias bloom,
A different one,
Recognized the moment they met.
As the stream of years becomes a torrent
He grows old. He holds her dear, and
She blooms, like the white gardenias.

Onward. Tomorrow I fly out across the wide Pacific Ocean and around the world to New Zealand. More as things develop!

Life is good.

On The Road Again...

2008-11-29T17:38:00.000-08:00

Quick update today. A lot has happened in a short time. With a pang of regret, but excited about good times to come, I closed up my old house in Largo, Florida, on Saturday, November 22nd, and piloted my van/home on the road north up US 19 to Homosassa, Florida, where I played a very successful concert that evening at the Museum Cafe. The place was packed and everyone was warmly appreciative. Good folks run the place. My faithful friend Carl Wade came all the way from Sarasota to Homosassa just to play the show with me. Doug Purcell drove and Barbara Shafer came too. I have some great friends! Actually, Doug, Carl, and Barbara make up the trio Triad. They've opened for me other places, and this evening at the Museum Cafe I brought them on to do a couple of short sets during the evening. They were very well received, as I knew they would be.

Following the show and dinner with Doug, Carl, and Barbara, I set off for Gainesville, Florida, about halfway to my next gig, where I spent the night in a WalMart Hilton and then sat in a nice internet coffee shop through the morning, catching up on work. In the afternoon I drove to Jacksonville, Florida, and the home of Raven Stands Alone and his lady Tisa, hosts of a house concert I did, arranged with the help of Ron Johnson. Ron is a Jacksonville friend and songwriter I met because he wrote a popular song called Florida Moon---same title as my Florida Moon, but an entirely different song. Ron is also the writer of Pigs In My Garden, a song I think is one of the very best "Florida" songs ever written.

Ron, his lady Mary, and Raven (a talented flute player) opened the show, and I held forth solo for the rest of the evening except for Raven sitting in to great effect on Saint James Infirmary Blues and some other blues. I just rambled through a lot of music, from swing to Piedmont fingerpicking guitar to alternate-tuning instrumentals to mandolin to you-name-it. Even did some of the less-often-performed songs I've written.

We had a great potluck supper, with fabulous contributions by Tisa and many others, visited late, and just had a fine time all around. I love to do house concerts.

On Monday morning I headed west, on the long, long drive to Louisiana. The first night I got just past Mobile, Alabama, and after an hour in fog and torrential rain pulled into a truck stop to spend the night. No point in trying death-defying feats of bad-weather driving.

On Tuesday I rose early, and fighting the onset of a bad cold, drove on to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where I visited with old friends Jim and Cindy Adams for a few hours and then drove on to Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun country, to the home of more old friends, Ann and Glenn Guidry. They had invited me to share an evening of music performed by another old friend, Jimmy Duhon, and his band, at a wonderfully authentic Acadian venue, the Cafe Des Amis in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. I was feeling more than a little rough (the cold), but perked up as the evening progressed.

Cafe Des Amis: http://www.cafedesamis.com/

At Cafe Des Amis I also enjoyed visiting through the evening with Ann and Glenn Guidry's daughter Shay and meeting her new husband Chad. Shay is a ravishingly beautiful southern charmer, and a smart sweet girl. Her husband a fine young Cajun gent. I had not had a chance to visit at length with Shay for several years, so I especially enjoyed doing so at Cafe Des Amis.

After Cafe Des Amis, Ann, Glenn, and I adjourned to the Blue Moon in Lafayette, where we heard and danced to Zydeco music, the black version of Cajun music. It was great!! I loved every minute of it. It heartened me to notice that not only was one member of the band onstage white, but many black dancers danced with white partners. No-one seemed to think anything of it. A few years ago that would not have been the case in south Louisiana. Makes me feel like we may be able to grow up in this country eventually, and forget the racism, after all. I hope so.

Blue Moon: http://www.bluemoonpresents.com/

Next day, Thanksgiving, Cajun style. Guidry-style, at least. I've been attending Guidry Thanksgiving bashes for many years. They are almost beyond description. Such food! Such a tribe!! Kids everywhere! Jokes flying! Music blasting! It was my great pleasure to make music at the party with ace guitar picker and old music pal Wayne Boudreaux... but we could hardly hear ourselves playing over the tumult of the celebration!! It was a grand time, folks, a grand time. I caught up with a host of people I had not seen for a while, and they with me.

Exhausted on Thanksgiving night, I fell into bed, and woke early the next morning to hit the road, blessedly almost free from the cold that had been annoying me. West I drove, out of Louisiana and across Texas to Round Rock, very near Austin. That's a long, long drive. This was "Black Friday", the day many Americans spend shopping, supposedly for Christmas, in a frenzy of materialism that totally escapes me. I just don't get it. I heard on National Public Radio that people in New Jersey actually trampled a WalMart employee to death in the madness of their desire to buy. Maybe we will not be able to grow up in this country. Terrorists attacked in Mumbai, India, also, killing hundreds of innocent people before they were themselves destroyed. Maybe we won't be able ever to grow up in this world.

We can hope, though. Here's a web site that offers hope, and much else that is positive. I consult this site often.

Pearls of Wisdom: http://www.sapphyr.net/index.htm

In Round Rock I landed on Friday evening at the home of my dear friends Dan and Diana Ost, who recently moved to Texas from Florida. Diana and I had a good visit that evening (Dan, a chef, was working). Then the next day we all sallied forth into the beautiful Texas Hill Country to look at possible sites for a Texas version of my annual Florida music camp. I intend to produce a camp in Texas in 2009. Dan teaches flatpicking guitar at the Florida camp, and will teach that subject at the Texas camp. Dan and Diana are the kind of helpful and supportive people anyone needs to be able to carry out such projects. You just can't accomplish this type of thing without lots of help. They are also two more of the wonderful friends with which my life is blessed. Fine musicians too.

Dan and Diana: http://www.flatlanderfolk.com/

Tomorrow morning I will leave Round Rock, westward bound.

19th Music Camp and More

2008-11-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like I ought to have more bad news to relate in this blog, because not everything in my life, or any life, is positive. Fact is, though, that once again today I just don't have much to tell you that is negative. Life is good.

This past weekend I produced the 19th annual Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp in the beautiful surroundings of the Boyd Hill Environmental Studies Area (there's a "government" name for ya), a nature park in St. Petersburg, Florida. This was our first weekend of having the camp in November instead of in October, and the date change worked out very well. It was a superfine weekend in every way. Oh, let's see...we had a few rain showers on the Saturday, so all the classes had to be under roofs instead of under the trees for a session or two. Temperatures were a bit cool part of the day on Sunday. Were those negative things? Hmmm... well, okay, maybe.

No matter what comes into our lives, we have two choices when we react: We can deal with it, or not. At the music camp we dealt with a little rain and a little chill very handily.

We had a great group of instructors at the camp this year, as we do every year, teaching a wonderful range of classes related to making acoustic music. From singing to various styles of guitar playing to banjo to pennywhistle to lap dulcimer, on and on, we had 'em. We had instructors who have been with the camp almost from the beginning, like harmonica wizard Joe Reina, and instructors with us for the first time, like Mac Perry teaching a range of percussion and other instruments, and Jim Strickland teaching Autoharp. We had an amazing variety of musicians teaching. All kinds of folks. Every one of the instructors is a good, creative, interesting, warmhearted person.

The Saturday night concert was awesome: four hours of gorgeous music and entertainment by the instructors and some special guests. There were lots of kids at the camp this year, and that was especially nice. The student shows, under big trees in front of the main hall during lunch break each day, were terrific. I love watching students get up and have the experience of entertaining a crowd. No audiences could be more welcoming and receptive than the student show audiences.

Putting on that camp is a lot of work and a fabulously rewarding experience for me. I have an enormous amount of help---people jockeying chairs, Mike McNeil providing great professional sound reinforcement for the Saturday concert, people who know various things helping people who don't know those things, Bruce Johnson organizing the student shows and helping with individual tutoring, Jenny James running the mentored jam sessions, on and on and on. Mentioning names is hazardous, because I have so much help from so many people it is almost inevitable that I will forget to mention someone. Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone. Couldn't do it without you.

Next year will be the 20th anniversary Sunshine State Acoustic Music Camp. We'll be having a special camp then. How do I know? Every single one of the music camps is really, really special.

In 2009 there will also be one of my music camps in Texas! Yes!! More on that later. Working on it now.

Check out the music camp at:

http://www.cgmusicman.com/camp/index.html/

Onward.

Next weekend I will be pointing the van north and heading out on a long, long, long tour that will lead me from home all the way around the world to Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, by way of Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, California, and New Zealand (both North and South Islands). There will be music all the way. There will be visiting with friends old and new (and I'm blessed to have and to have opportunities to make great friends in many, many places). There will be interesting sights to see, and cool experiences to enjoy, all along the way. There will be Thanksgiving holidays with people very dear to me in Cajun country, Lafayette, Louisiana. There will be Christmas holidays with good friends in Keri Keri, New Zealand. In California I'll have a visit with my brother, a good guy I enjoy knowing, and his kids and his daughter's kids and husband. Hope to see some other friends in Los Angeles, too.

I'm eager to get started, down the music road again...but...this morning I rose at my usual early hour and by a few minutes after seven o'clock was on my bike riding a few miles out to the Gulf shore for coffee at my favorite coffee shop out there. Riding back an hour or so later in the embracing sunshine of a Florida winter morning, down the green tunnel of the Pinellas Trail, a hiking/biking trail that runs, most fortunately for me, very near my house, I realized that I really love this semi-tropical paradise where I live, and will be kind of sad to leave once more. Oh well... in life the journey is the destination. I've had big fun here at home. There has been music. There has been lots of visiting with friends old and new. There have been interesting sights to see, and cool experiences to enjoy, all along the way. Hmmm... does that sound familiar? Right. Does to me too, and I'm very glad it does.

As I'm writing this blog this morning, I'm listening to the ravings of one of the right-wing extremist broadcasters, Glen Beck, on the radio. Seems to me that's a good thing to do once in a while, in order to stay aware of what these crazies are saying and thinking. It's sort of fun in a strange (what weirdness will they come up with next) way. Anyway, Beck just shouted that "darkness is coming; evil is taking over the world..." etcetera. Boy am I glad I don't live in whatever universe that fellow inhabits. He is so mean-spirited, so pessimistic, so insecure, so very deeply afraid...

There's a great book written by Dr. Wayne Dyer, a wonderfully wise man, entitled The Sky's the Limit. It is one of those books I've owned for many years and have read many times. The Sky's the Limit was written a long time ago, but everything in it applies perfectly to life today. Dyer writes eloquently about the authoritarianism and dichotomous thinking that are at the root of the problems of right-wing extremists in our world. All of Wayne Dyer's books are excellent, and I hope you'll read them.

Life on this old planet is not about conflicts between "them" and "us", no matter how fervently the right-wingers wish it were. In reality, there are no "them". We are all in this boat together.

I supppose if I could do a little more dichotomous thinking myself, I could hope that gullible and poorly-informed Republicans would continue to listen to and believe loonies like Rush Limbaugh and all of his colleagues on far right-wing radio. That would insure the maginalizing of the Republic party on into the future. I can't hope for that though. I have to hope, instead, that we can come together in the realization that we are all citizens of the same world. Viscious fools like Rush Limbaugh make that less possible with every word they speak.

There's a great Buddhist philospher/activist/author I admire---Thich Nhat Hanh. Thay, folks call him. I just sent a collection of quotes from him to a right-winger. What Nhat Hanh has to say is so wise and so eloquent I thought I would just share those quotes with you.

When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable.

In order to rally people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we will rally behind them. And if they do not have a real enemy, they will invent one in order to mobilize us.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is. Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.

Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.

Live your daily life in a way that you never lose yourself. When you are carried away with your worries, fears, cravings, anger, and desire, you run away from yourself and you lose yourself. The practice is always to go back to oneself.

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy.

The source of a true smile is an awakened mind. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.

Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.

Great stuff. Here is Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village organization, based in France:

http://www.plumvillage.org/

Okay. Gotta go get busy packing for departure this weekend, and enjoying a beautiful sun-drenched Florida winter day.

Have a good one!!