Guest Book

Transcendent magic. Wild magic. A stage come alive with magic. Donna Hopkins can touch me with her music and make my heart sing. And it wasn't just me, as the crowd at Eddie's Attic roared time and time again. Aussie blues master Geoff Achison joined the Donna Hopkins Band for three amazing sets last night. Geoff has won the Albert King Award for best blues guitarist and teaches at the Fur Peace Ranch with Jorma Kaukonen every year -- he can play a lick or two. In fact, this Wednesday he'll be performing with Jimmy Herring, Bobby Lee Rodgers, and Jeff Sipe at the Georgia Theater in Athens. Three years ago to the day, Donna and Geoff played a gig at Eddie's and local Atlanta music magazine Stomp & Stammer called it one of the top ten shows of the year. The recording even became a featured show on the Live Music Archive and was downloaded thousands of times. Last night was even better. To top it off, long lost B-3 player Kevin Thomas was back in town from his job in the Caribbean, where he manages 200 construction workers, and flat tore it up! I just can't say enough about Donna -- many in the famABBly saw her for the first time last weekend in Gadsden. She is the real deal, the complete package. Donna is a charismatic performer, a gifted songwriter, a gutsy blues vocalist, and an astonishingly good guitarist. Not to mention that she is sweet, humble, and is a true survivor. The first set was acoustic with Geoff starting it off, as they alternated songs throughout the night in round robin style. Of course I know Donna's tunes and expect her to shine, but particularly striking was the absolute ,joy l felt as she just NAILED her solos in Geoff's songs. Donna's voice will give you chills -- but it is her guitar that makes your jaw drop. Drummer Richie Jones and bassist Brian Ashley Jones had done their homework and charted as many of Geoff's songs as they could so they'd be ready for anything he called. It was especially rewarding to see these professionals working together to get the music right. Thanks to MissTerry for joining me at Eddie's-- she can verify every word I've written! And of course I taped this wonderful show. I'll try to get it mastered in the next few days. Have a great weekend everyone -- I started mine early by going out last night.