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happy birthday Derek..
Carol - yes I am still pinching myself - lol
Krishna! Chicago isn't a bad place to be this weekend - if I wasn't going down to 'Roo, I'd probably head over to the Windy City this weekend! The Chicago Blues Fest is this weekend and and the CUBS are in town too.
Safe travels and enjoy!
Peace!
Love and healing vibes to the Brothers and Sisters that gather in Macon this weekend, to honor and lay to rest their dear friend Buffalo...
:birthday: Derek! Stay sweet....
Leah Marie..your post (a few pages back) was awesome! eap, Ca
The golden birthday boy is in the studio today!:D
and a very happy birthday to Derek Trucks - may you live long and prosper!!
TanDan - I hear you and agree and can't wait to hear them again on October 22 at BB Kings!!!
Hey brothers & sisters!!
Hope the week is being kind to y'all so far!!
My week is crawling by....
First off..
Happy 26th B-day to the always amazing,Mr. Derek Trucks!!
I hope that your day brings you as much joy as you bring me & my family,everyday!!(Your music is part of the incredible soundtrack of our lives!!)
Safe travels to all in route to Bonnaroo '05!!!
I can't go this year,unfortunately...work has me going North(Chicago) this weekend for a convention....I'd rather be hittin the beautiful Tennessee country side & hearing fabulous music...but what can ya do!!(It sucks being an adult sometimes!!)
Thanks for the Govt Mule reviews!!!
New covers...tons of energy...the amazing bands on "the Voodoo Caravan"...the Brian Farmer wearing the AHAS t-shirt incident(u guys crack me up!)...Leah's Chuck on stage w/ Robert Randolph...
I've been getting amped up all week reading them!!lol
Only 15 days til I get MY "Mule Voodoo Caravan" back to back!!(June 22nd & 23rd)
GreatScott...we DEFINITELY will put some kind of a gathering/party thing together for before the ABB Cincinnati show!!(7/20)
I don't know if we'll have it at or house or not....but we will get something together!!
We got our Columbus ABB tickets in the mail,already!!
We're in Sec C/row M...I'm not complaining a bit!!
Good vibes to everyone!!
and EAPFP!!!!;)
~Krishna
Williehoward's post gave me a reason to repost this from the forum...
Gadsden memory: On the drive over from Atlanta (Bluedad picked me up on his way west) we talked almost non-stop. I am reminded of something I said to him about the ABB music that we love.
We both agreed that ABB fans represent something strange in the fan department. We KNOW the songs! I can not play anything musical like Bluedad or BigdaveonBass can, but my mind, my fingers, my soul is always moving to the tempo, the notes, the breaks and I know where each note should appear. I mentioned to Bluedad that isn't this weird? "We know what to expect and yet totally invite any direction that the band takes us." That probably sounds like a Grateful Dead statement and yet it fits so well. We climb in for the ride and expect nothing and yet expect everything.
Maybe white-water rafting would be the closest parallel. We know where the quiet parts of the river are and we know where the rocks and keeper hydraulics are, but can only guess at the rivers current crest level. Every trip is a first time run. Those that want to know things 'for certain' are the ones watching us ride the river. They will never enjoy what we enjoy or know the chances that are being taken on stage. They seek the safety of the shore...
Lefty, JP, Pete, and Todd took us down such a river.
Lefty sang and played as if his life depended on it. They played songs from their totally origonal debut CD along with songs you only thought you knew; they made everything their own! Pete singing "I'm No Angel", JP on "Mountain Jam", Todd laying down that backbeat with conviction; a train moving through the Alabama night! I spent much of the evening standing and yelling, I was enjoying it so much. Goliath was sitting there at one point assuming a position that I'd seen him do before when music is coursing through his soul --- leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, head bowed, and eyes closed. A cigarette hangs from his right hand and MissElf is close by, lost in the music. The man doesn't need to see to absorb the groove; he IS the groove! He doesn't need to see what is going on to understand what is going on...
It was a great night of music and Buppalo1 is being too modest when he says that he 'did nothing'...it was your postings on the GB Randy that made us understand that something special was going on in Alabama.
I remarked to WillieHoward how scary it was talking to Johnny Sandlin about Eddie Hinton. I told Bill ( and I mean this is the best of ways ) that it was like talking to the Pope about Jesus. One had better know what one is talking about when talking to Mr. Sandlin about Fame Studio history. Having Goliath and Randy standing there as I talked offered support and a cottonmouth at the same time!
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that magic occurred in Alabama last Saturday night.
Later, watching WillieHoward and Goliath play music together was like watching a tennis match; except that they were in total control of the direction of the game.
Catch Lefty and the band at all costs, folks! Gather at the venue with HTW people. You owe it to yourself to experience this group. Great music isn't dead in America, it is out there and its name is No Mercy!
I'd like a Mule package - lol
"You ain't seen nothin' yet
B-b-b-baby you ain't seen
N-n-n-nothing yet
Here's somethin' you never gonna
forget
Y'know, y'know, y'know
You just ain't seen nothin' yet . . . "
😉
Hemlock,
the bassist for the band was the late Rick Danko.
1st, 2nd album especially & The Last Waltz -- great stuff !!
Happy #26 to Derek! Thank you for re-fueling the flame!
WillieHoward and Bluedad brothers? The resemblance is uncanny! Next time that you two and Goliath are in the same vicintiy, I'd like to bring my own six-string ... maybe catch a few lessons and tips ... I promise not to strum too loud. 🙂
Today is Derek's 26th birthday!:fanfare:
:birthday: Derek Trucks!:D
There is a very interesting read over on the forum about Les Paul :clapping: What an amazing person.
Hi Lamdawg :colors:
:wave: Ahoy oh Great One! 😀
FYI, I was just poking around the Ticketmaster site, and tickets for the July 13 show at the Germain Amphitheater in Columbus are now on sale, in case anyone missed it. Hope to see some of y'all up on the grass with us this summer...$17.50 for a lawn seat! Can't beat that with a stick, man. What a bargain.
:beer:
What Lammie said...it has been a pleasure reading all of the stories and soaking up the vibe lately.
And I also hope that a time of healing will come with Dickey and the others. It doesn't have to be publicized, and I don't even have to know about it if and when it happens. Like Lamdog said, it is none of my business. I just know how good it feels to mend fences with people that you care about, and I believe in my heart that those guys do care about each other despite all that has happened.
Anyway, sorry for the Kodak moment. Now, about that coffee and those donuts...
:homer:
:homer:Mmmmm...donuts! Who's making the coffee this morning? 🙂
This place has been so much fun lately...wow, what a buzz on these pages as of late. Loved the CMT special. Powerful stuff...it's really great hearing stories from the surviving four. It really makes me wish for the day when these guys are at least on speaking terms again. It's none of my business, just speaking as a fan. 🙂
It nice to see the band and Duane especially, recognized for their achievements. The best part is thirty five or so years down the road these guys (ABB, Dickey) are still kicking butt...in a BIG way! 😀
I, like my dear friend Helen, am just a bit late posting my thoughts on this past weekend, but here I go. It started off with a nice dose of Tishamingo, a band I always love to listen to and hear play. They were joined briefly by guitarist Benji Shanks of Capt. Soulercat, a band all of you must go out and hear. All in all, what a way to start what would become one of my best weekends ever.
Saturday saw me taking a blue highway from Mayberryetta over to Buppalo's lovely village of Gadsden, Alabama. Highway 278 is a great road, not much traffic, lots of nice scenery along the way, and what was in store I had no idea about! I met Carl Weaver, owner of Boogie McCain's Blues Club - what a vision he has for not only his club, but for others to join in the synergy (his word) and to bring great music to the people. He has one of the nicest clubs I have ever set foot into, and he spared no expense to make the experience good for those who attend. And even though I rarely if ever drink, the BYOB policy has to be a money-saver for the people! His staff (Allison and Jason) were wonderful and attentive to one and all - thanks to all of you!
How can one describe what it is like to meet a legend, someone I have always admired - Johnny Sandlin. He could not have been kinder, nicer, and more attentive to all of us, and his talents were on display once again as he recorded Lefty Collins and the No Mercy Band with his deft touch and keen ear for the smallest details and nuances in the music. His wife Ann spent some time there earlier in the afternoon as Johnny was getting things set up, and I wish she could have come back for the rest of the evening. Maybe next time...
The gathering of friends around a dinner table is always a great time, and Saturday night at the Gadsden Cultural Arts Center was the happening place to be for sure! With our most gracious host, Randy "Buppalo" Stephens, leading the way, all of the members of Lefty's band, Rusty, Donna (NOT Doris!), Bluedad (my brother), Helen, Ellen, David, Randy, TanDan, and myself sat down to a time of fun, laughter, smiles, and most of all, good old fashioned friendship and fellowship. It truly does not get any better than that. I wonder if the good people at the Cultural Arts Center know what is in store for them come October and the JFD!
Lefty Collins and the No Mercy Band - you guys were amazing. To have traveled so far on such little sleep and then to play such a monstrous show for 4 hours blew me away. I won't rehash all that has been said about how great they cover such songs as "Statesboro Blues" or "Use Me" or any of the others, but it is their original material that stands out equally strong amongst the more familiar strains of tunes we all know. These guys write, play, and present their music with grace, class, passion, and immense talent, and those who had not heard them before walked out as fans. For me personally, it was an honor of the highest magnitude to be invited onstage to play a couple of songs with the band at the end, and to be given my friend Brent Sibley's beautiful 1959 Gibson Les Paul to play on top of that - chill city, my friends. Chill city. Brent and his keyboard prodigy, Stephen McCullough (sp?) were outstanding during their time onstage with the guys, with particular kudos to their otherwordly version of "Mountain Jam" that included a neat little "Blue Sky" in the middle! Lefty, Pete, J.P., and Todd - thank you one and all for bringing your souls to Gadsden and leaving little bits of them with all of us who were fotunate enough to be there.
Back to the hotel, which is literally 2 blocks down the street from Boogie's. Played some blues with David and Bluedad, (and Ellen on her baritone ukulele!), spent some great time there with them and Helen and TanDan, and really wound down the day on a great note. TanDan had perhaps the moment of the weekend when he got to talk to Johnny Sandlin about Eddie Hinton. Have you quit smiling about that one yet, bro? Oh yeah, and that little quote about Hubert Sumlin wishing he was Lefty Collins - I proudly take full credit for that one!
Sunday morning came way too soon, but I had one more stop along my way. The 14th annual Southern Revival was being held at Mike n' Angelo's in Buckhead, and how could I turn my back on the place where Hop, JNB, the Tour Mystic, and I put our heads and our hearts together to start HTN over 13 years ago. There were 4 high schoolers playing ABB music that afternoon, taking the place of the older guys who for various reasons could not make it to the Revival. Let me say right now that playing for 4 hours with these young men, all of them students of the music for sure, was a great honor for me. They knew the music, they could play it well, and what better and cooler way for Brother Duane's legacy to be carried on for future generations than to have the younger folks playing the music he inspired. My dear friend Rick "Darkroom" Garner brought his whistles (harmonicas for those who don't know what a whistle is) and it is always good to play music with him! So, after lots of miles, lots of smiles, and lots of great music, I made it safely home Sunday night to some of the best and fondest memories I have had in a long, long time.
My thanks to one and all - and to all of you for reading this small novelette!
Peace always,
Willie Howard (from Mayberryetta, a suburb of Hot'lanta)