[BY PETER]
The last few weeks have been especially terrific for music. On January 20, I went with my old college friend Marty, up from Atlanta for the weekend, to see the Harvey Dalton Arnold Blues Band (HDABB) at The Depot. Harvey gives every performance 150% effort, and with Kim Shomaker, Darrell Young, and Tim Carrey, he has found three musicians to not only keep up with him but push him to new heights in playing and singing. In less than 2 years, they're revived old blues material in fresh ways and written new songs that already sound like classics. The Depot crowd loved their last song, "There Goes Another Love Song", made famous by The Outlaws when Harvey was a member ('76 - '80). Check out HDABB at Durham's Casbah Club on Friday night, Feb. 10. You may want to check out an article I wrote about the band for the Burlington, N.C., newspaper:
http://www.thetimesnews.com/
The next night was a blues/funk/rock/jazz jam at the farm. Organized by the always enthusiastic bassist Geoff Hathaway, participants included vocalists Sallie Deaton, Jennifer Evans, Lopaz Evans, Lynne McGhee, and Page Hathaway; guitarists Jay Cunningham and Charlie Ebel; drummers James Norwood and Rodger Tygard; The Mudbone Blues Revue (Sallie's band); saxophonists Rev Ransom and Jay Miller; keyboardist Zina Smith; and flautists Bev Scarlett and Holli Crawford. New to the building was Mike Spivey on trumpet/sax/ trombone. It was the first appearance by a trombone in the building, and Mike's pairings with Rev were really special.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, Red's Rhythm played to an overflow crowd at The Depot, by far our most successful of 7 appearances there. Owner Meleah Gabheart has created a comfortable, attractive venue for folks. A personal goal was for me to get through all 3 sets without having to sit down or leave the stage with some kind of discomfort, which, with the presence of the generous crowd, including many readers of this blog (thank you), worked out OK. Guest musicians included Brett Englund on guitar and Mike Bisdee (guitar), Cliff Cox (drums), and Steve Smith (keys), all former bandmates of mine. Stacey was at her usual high level of fronting the band, especially on Joan Jett's 80's anthem "I Love Rock and Roll," which I've resisted doing. I'm pleased to be proven wrong.
A few weeks ago at the hospital while waiting in the lobby for exams and my last chemo appointmet, a hospital volunteer asked small groups of those waiting if they'd like to hear her play and sing something. She broke into "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. I sang along a soft harmony on the chorus. She looked my way and nodded, which meant either "oh, cool, someone is singing along" or "be quiet, this is my gig." Along with friends Harvey, Janet Stolp, Stacey, and Callie Warner, I've been a similar volunteer at UNC-Hospital with its Door To Door program.
The last few weeks have been especially terrific for music. On January 20, I went with my old college friend Marty, up from Atlanta for the weekend, to see the Harvey Dalton Arnold Blues Band (HDABB) at The Depot. Harvey gives every performance 150% effort, and with Kim Shomaker, Darrell Young, and Tim Carrey, he has found three musicians to not only keep up with him but push him to new heights in playing and singing. In less than 2 years, they're revived old blues material in fresh ways and written new songs that already sound like classics. The Depot crowd loved their last song, "There Goes Another Love Song", made famous by The Outlaws when Harvey was a member ('76 - '80). Check out HDABB at Durham's Casbah Club on Friday night, Feb. 10. You may want to check out an article I wrote about the band for the Burlington, N.C., newspaper:
http://www.thetimesnews.com/
The next night was a blues/funk/rock/jazz jam at the farm. Organized by the always enthusiastic bassist Geoff Hathaway, participants included vocalists Sallie Deaton, Jennifer Evans, Lopaz Evans, Lynne McGhee, and Page Hathaway; guitarists Jay Cunningham and Charlie Ebel; drummers James Norwood and Rodger Tygard; The Mudbone Blues Revue (Sallie's band); saxophonists Rev Ransom and Jay Miller; keyboardist Zina Smith; and flautists Bev Scarlett and Holli Crawford. New to the building was Mike Spivey on trumpet/sax/ trombone. It was the first appearance by a trombone in the building, and Mike's pairings with Rev were really special.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, Red's Rhythm played to an overflow crowd at The Depot, by far our most successful of 7 appearances there. Owner Meleah Gabheart has created a comfortable, attractive venue for folks. A personal goal was for me to get through all 3 sets without having to sit down or leave the stage with some kind of discomfort, which, with the presence of the generous crowd, including many readers of this blog (thank you), worked out OK. Guest musicians included Brett Englund on guitar and Mike Bisdee (guitar), Cliff Cox (drums), and Steve Smith (keys), all former bandmates of mine. Stacey was at her usual high level of fronting the band, especially on Joan Jett's 80's anthem "I Love Rock and Roll," which I've resisted doing. I'm pleased to be proven wrong.
A few weeks ago at the hospital while waiting in the lobby for exams and my last chemo appointmet, a hospital volunteer asked small groups of those waiting if they'd like to hear her play and sing something. She broke into "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. I sang along a soft harmony on the chorus. She looked my way and nodded, which meant either "oh, cool, someone is singing along" or "be quiet, this is my gig." Along with friends Harvey, Janet Stolp, Stacey, and Callie Warner, I've been a similar volunteer at UNC-Hospital with its Door To Door program.
Finally, I received three CD's today from Al Dawson, whose present band is the Billitones
(with Lew Wardell, Toni Stevens, Bill Stevens, and Tim Madigan). I've
listened to Al, a great singer/guitarist, since 1974 in many
configurations, e.g., Weeds and The Claptones. Two Cd's were recent ones
of the Billitones and the third, which I haven't listened to yet, is of
classical guitar by Al. He wrote in a note of his project, Solo Deo Gloria,
"I realize you are going through some tough times right now, and as I
say in the liner notes, maybe you can listen to this music and get some
peaceful or soothing moments from it. For me, it is the work of a
lifetime, and the pieces I chose are really great compostitions in their
own right no matter who plays them." Whether Al is playing the Allman
Brothers "Blue Skies" or anything else, I will be moved by it.
The next music event I'm looking forward to is a jam at the farm organized by Mike Bisdee and other members of Green River, my old band from '98 - '02. The date hasn't been nailed down yet, but you all are invited.
"Let the music keep our spirits high"- an old Jackson Browne line. It's done wonders for mine.- Peter K
The next music event I'm looking forward to is a jam at the farm organized by Mike Bisdee and other members of Green River, my old band from '98 - '02. The date hasn't been nailed down yet, but you all are invited.
"Let the music keep our spirits high"- an old Jackson Browne line. It's done wonders for mine.- Peter K
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