Archive for the 'Music' Category

There aren’t many legitimate Southern Rock bands around anymore (Blackberry Smoke is about the only one left).  The old ones are gone: Marshall Tucker Band (all new players), Allman Brothers Band, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Grinderswitch, and so on.

Molly Hatchet was one of the greats of that era and that genre.  This is a great concert.  Blackberry Smoke plays in the same spirit these guys did.

In light of all the heavy things we have to discuss, it’s good to relax a bit and engross yourself in something other than trouble.  This is a Doobie Brothers classic, “Clear as the driven snow.”

It has all the marks of Doobie Brothers music: vocal harmonies, guitar counterpoint and contrapuntal, polyphonic arrangements, roaming bass line, multiple guitars, keyboard, and at least three percussionists.

The video is a bit grainy, but the music is the best of most of the videos of this piece out there.  Enjoy.

Blackberry Smoke covers the Marshall Tucker Band hit “Take the Highway.”

I really like Charlie Starr’s awesome vocals and he hits the nail right on the head.  He gets Doug Gray’s vocals just right.  His guitar work is great too.  The flutist is Marcus Henderson from Brevard, N.C.  He does some different things than Jerry Eubanks does on this tune.  He does a nice job but I think I prefer Eubanks’ solo.

It’s too bad that Toy Caldwell, Doug Gray, George McCorkle, Jerry Eubanks and Paul Riddle are all dead now, but this is a great tribute with very lacy vocals that’s always in tune.

It’s also good to see Capricorn Studios in Macon re-opened where a lot of Southern Rock was produced.

If you want more swamp blues, you can check him out here too.

There’s been a lot of serious water over the dam this week.  It’s time to unwind with one of the best young guitarists in America.  In concert at the Muddy Creek Music Hall in Winston Salem, North Carolina on June 4, 2017.

From the comments, there is this.

I had the luck (and high honor) of meeting Tony Randall and Heather (his wife) at a restaurant in NYC in 1998. I asked him about this particular scene and he told me this story. He and Jack Klugman rehearsed this scene with Roy many times, but Roy would play a different piece every time (but NEVER Bach or Mountain Dew!). When they shot this in front of the studio audience, he and Jack were both simply ‘reacting’, not acting. When he fell back over the sofa, that was not planned (they would have framed the shot differently it it were) and Jack was laughing at Tony’s genuine reaction as he turned away from the audience and Jack mouthed “He got us!”. The audience applauded, as well as most of the crew. It was a ‘true moment’ that was caught forever on tape. A one-take wonder thanks to the legendary Roy Clark. So, it was shot live, the music was unrehearsed, and the reactions were real. Awesome!

It’s good to see anyone express sincere appreciation for the musical genius and talent of Roy Clark.

Enjoy your Saturday!

First up is Alison Krauss, who has a voice like an angel, along with Union Station.  Next up is Bela Fleck, who is the greatest living banjo player.  Finally, at around 45 minutes into the video, Earl Scruggs joins him.

This is a worthy video of some of the travels of Earl Scruggs.  At the end of the video you learn what a fundamentally decent man Earl was.  By the way, I live right down the road from the Earl Scruggs museum, which is located in Shelby, N.C., his childhood stomping grounds.

It was a great concert, and a great playlist.  They were all great charts.  It was nice to have Joshua, Devon, Ashley and Juston with me.  It would have been nice to have Joseph and Daniel too, but they are in Austin, Texas, and Wyoming, respectively.  Perhaps another time.

But the only thing that would make the Dave Matthews Band better would be to hear a trombone with the horn section.  That would allow Jeff Coffin, who is a musical genius, to put down his Bari Sax and pick up his tenor or alto Sax more often.  And I thought I would point out that I have played trombone all of my life.

I’m just sayin’, you know?