Blues In Britain '05

Final Thoughts 'n stuff

Well, it's Friday. I have a gig tonight at the Black Forest Brau House in Farmingdale, which is always a great place to play (plus they have incredible beer!)

It's been a little tough adjusting to being back home, and trying to get everything in order. But it's slowly getting worked out, if I can just figure out how to put all the stuff in the suitcases away.

I've added more photos to the blog, since I couldn't do it before while we were on the road. I also added an entry for the wonderful High Cross Inn, which I apparently never posted.

Despite some minor setbacks, this tour was more successful than I imagined it would be. Not only did we have some great gigs, but to be honest, my stage show came together in a way it never would have playing gigs at home. Although I've done literally thousands of gigs in my life, being in this situation for six weeks gave me time to try some different things and experiment a lot.

None of this would have happened if not for Joanne, who got everything rolling. I may write an article about how we've worked it out so far, and see if any music mags are interested. Due to her efforts, we got hold of Cat Anderson who set up the first tour and the northern part of this one, and through him we got to Derek White who set up the southern part of the tour and opened his home to us for four weeks - amazing!

Now, between the three of them, they have to decide when I should go back - one says to wait 18 months and tour Europe in between, the other says wait 12 months and include Europe as part of that tour. A lot has to be worked out to do something of that nature. Despite the CD sales and the gigs, this tour basically broke even - which isn't uncommon for a basically unknown band on tour. In fact, most groups lose money while on tour - which is why you see so many tours these days being sponsored by major corporations ("The Rolling Stones - brought to you by Citibank!")

One thing is definite - I'll need to come out with a new album as soon as possible. Maybe a live one? There's some new material, so it can go either way. We'll see...

In the meantime, thanks for reading the blog and sharing the experience with me. I'll leave this blog up for awhile, in case anyone is interested or needs to reference something for their own tours or whatever.

Final note - remember the rental car? Somebody did a hit and run and dented the side? Well, I brought it back on the way to the airport. Guy looked at it - he couldn't have missed the smashed passenger side mirror or the dents, since they're trained to see that kind of thing. I'm sitting there, waiting for the "What did you do to this car!?!" thing to happen, and the guy hands me a paper and says "Go inside to take care of your credit card."

I go inside, hand the guy behind the desk the paper, and he says "Mr. Alexander, we're crediting your account for the deposit. Here's your receipt."

The receipt said, under the section for damage, "No new damage". £500 saved!!! Yeehah Martha, get out the champagne, or at least some more Mad Dog 20/20!

Not least of all, thanks to Marshall Amps for lending me the wonderful JCM2000 TSL122 - a 100 watt combo powerhouse with enough versatility to satisfy anyone, and that great Marshall sound. It was the perfect amp for this tour, and I got many compliments from other guitarists on its tone and quality. But what else would you expect from Marshall?

Studio One, Glasgow

You didn't really think the last gig would go without a hitch, did you?

Studio One is on the ground floor of the Grosvenor Hilton in Glasgow, and we were under the distinct impression that we would be staying at the hotel. Throughout the whole tour, everyone we met told us what a great time we would have playing at Studio One, the premier blues club in Glasgow. On that count, they were completely right.

We (Joanna, our northern agent Cat, and myself) pulled into Glasgow from Maryport about 2:30 pm. Alan, the agent who booked the club was in a meeting, so we hung around the parking lot for about an hour and then met him inside a beautiful old church that had been converted to a restaurant. He had to leave, but said he'd be back in an hour.

Almost three hours later, he called to say he was stuck in traffic but would be there soon. He had gotten us a room and paid in advance for it - but it wasn't at the Hilton. It was a "four bunk bed room". When we met him, he suggested we not park where the room was reserved as it might not be safe for the car. It would be better, he said, to leave the car at the Hilton and take a cab to the room.

Huh?

He had to return to Carlisle, so we decided to drive to the luxurious digs he'd gotten us. In a seedy part of town, we found the address - it was a youth hostel! We went inside, and were greeted by a guy who was obviously stoned out of his gourd - and he was the proprietor. He knew nothing about our room, and insisted nobody had seen him all afternoon. He said there were no reservations at all, but he'd be glad to set us up in a room for £12.50 each. I got the agent on the phone outside, and he said to check under his name instead of mine. I went back in, and again the guy checked his book and said there were no reservations.

It was now getting close to the time I had to be at the club, so this had to be settled. I got the agent on the phone and handed it to owner, whereupon the stoney said, "Of course I remember you! I was just confused because they walked in and demanded two private rooms, which we don't have here. I'll get it all worked out, don't worry."

Now I was getting pissed, but we went upstairs with his young associate and saw our room - a bunk bed in a tattered room with a broken lock. He handed me the key and said "That will be £10". "For what?!?" I demanded. "It's a deposit for the key".

That was enough. I grabbed our bag, went downstairs, threw the key on the ratty table and said "Thanks but no thanks. We're ouddahere!"

So, it's one hour to start time, our bags aren't even close to being packed for the early flight next morning, and we have no place to stay. Why? Because there was a huge computer convention in town, plus U2 was playing at the sports stadium. We needed a room for Joanna and I, and one for Cat. Plus, I knew that after the gig I had to get the Marshall amp crated up to be sent back to Derek, who would then return it to Marshall.

We drove to the airport, about 8 miles away, and started checking the motels. On the second try, we found a place with two vacancies! No parking spots, but now we had rooms. I dragged all our stuff in, showered, changed, and we went to the club.

Now, with all that was going on, Studio One could have been packed or it could have been empty. But, as usual, it was neither - it was about 1/4 full, and Groovejuice got ready to take the stage. Just before they did, the bar phone rang and the bartender handed it to me.

"Hitman? You don't know me, but I've been reading your blog and I wanted to come see you guys tonight. I can't make it, though. I just wanted to wish you good luck on your last gig."

"Damn, that's nice of you. What's your name, man?"

"My name is Paul. I just wanted you to know I would love to be there, and I hope it goes great."

Not a bad way to start off, right?

Groovejuice went on, and the club was now about 1/3 full. By the time their second song was done, it was 1/2 full. By the fourth song, it was full. By the fifth song, it was packed and the applause was thunderous.

When I got on, the room was hot, loud and rowdy. The stage was as hot as a blast furnace. My head was already spinning from tension and the knowledge that when the show was over at around midnight, I still had a ton of stuff to do. But right from the first song, the crowd was like a bunch of old friends ready to party. We had so much fun that I didn't realize how soaked I was - I was literally dripping wet, and so was everyone else. One enthusiastic girl grabbed me and tried to kiss me in a very personal way - but Joanna (who was right there) resisted the temptation to rearrange her lips, and I politely turned my head. The lady went back to dancing, then turned around and grabbed my glasses right off my face. This time, Joanna jumped up and addressed the situation without causing a problem. The young lass turned her attention to other band members before staggering off.

Oh help! Please save me from the attractive drunken female!

We did two encores, sold CDs, signed autographs, and then I took care of the Marshall business. We got back to the motel and actually managed to pack everything away by 2:30 am. Since we had to get up at 6:30 am to return the car and get to the airport (even though we were right there), we crashed right out.

What a great way to end the tour - the gig was perfect, and everything turned out okay afterwards.

Tomorrow - I'll post the photos I haven't been able to put up, and add some final thoughts about the tour. Plus, an extra surprise (a good one) for me...

The Captain Nelson - Maryport

What a friggin' GREAT gig! Maryport is a small town on the coast, steeped in maritime history. Captain Bligh (Mutiny On The Bounty) is from there, and not far away his nemesis, Fletcher Christian, was born. Great ships were built and sailed from its harbor, and the town hosts a huge blues festival at the end of July.

The gig started at 4pm on Sunday afternoon, and the place was packed. Due to a nasty neighbor who complains about "the noise", they have to keep the doors closed and windows shuttered, which made it hot, smokey and noisy. Perfect blues club.

The crowd was boisterous and not afraid to scream and clap at the end of each number. Groovejuice did the first set, and the applause was deafening. When I went on, we had a blast fooling around the with crowd, trading jokes, and running around stealing drinks. We did two encores when we finally finished around 7, but we probably could have played all night if we weren't so shot (that heat really gets to you.)

Sandra, our host, was very generous with lodging, food, and praise (as was her husband, Eric.) We met a lot of people from the town, and they were all supportive and big fans of the blues. I hope we can come back and do the festival next year - this year they have some amazing names, like Hubert Sumlin and Pinetop Perkins.

I won't be able to write again until we get home, tomorrow night. Tonight we do the last gig, at Studio One in Glasgow (I'm in the Glasgow Library right now.) It's been one hell of a tour, and hopefully tonight will be a great show.

See you back in NY for the last entry.

Eric, Sandra and some old rummy

The High Cross Inn, Broughton In Furness

Almost forgot to post this! The High Cross Inn is in the beautiful town of Broughton-In-Furness, which has to be seen to be appreciated. Chris, the owner, is a happy guy who goes out of his way to make guests welcome (and us too, even though he was paying us instead of the other way around.) The food is top notch, the beers are varied and excellent, and the whole atmosphere is enough to make you want to just stay there for awhile instead of rushing around like a loon.

This was a solo gig, plus I had the pleasure of hearing a local guy named Kevin play some of his soulful originals. I met him during the afternoon and invited him to play in between my sets, and it was a real treat to hear his material. The crowd was very responsive and attentive, and even though it was a "blues crowd" they seemed to enjoy what I played and weren't shy about showing it.

At the High Cross Inn

The two times I've played here, it's been a duo (with Mike from the US band) and now a solo. Next time, I may play with a full band here - they have a great room for full groups and have featured many well known acts.

Now, since the tour is almost done, I had to try all of the six custom ales they have (plus the Becks on tap, and some other stuff like the Navy Rum.) Some of them I had to try two or three times, to be sure. The one I like the best was Pendleton Pride, which had a slight citrus aftertaste. However, such research is not without its risks and dangers.

This morning, I woke up to the sun shining VERY loudly. Somebody had switched my stomach for a blender set on "Destroy", and the world refused to come into focus. I'd better get this fixed up, because we have to be in Maryport this afternoon and it's an important gig. Oh, the dangers I go through for the sake of knowledge...

Lord Ashton

Almost forgot! I did a solo gig at the Lord Ashton in Lancaster on Thursday, the 17th. This is a small pub owned by Hughie, a great guy in his sixties. It felt like I was playing for a hometown crowd - everyone remembered me from last year, and made a point of coming up and saying hello. Hughie's grand-daughter and I did "American Pie", which was fun (and I remembered all the words, pretty much), and I got a chance to do a bunch of the tunes from the CDs as acoustic numbers. Plus - no microphone. I just had to bellow everything out.
Cool place, great crowd, and a lot of fun. I look forward to coming back next time.

Duke of Edinburgh, Barrow-in-Furness

We played here last year, and they've done a lot of updating to the beautiful old hotel that the club is in. It had fallen into disrepair, but it's gradually getting a make over, and will (hopefully) be restored to its former glory in a couple of years.

The gig started off a little shaky, with not many people during the beginning of the first set. Groovejuice played about forty minutes, then took a quick break to re-tune (they play half a step down, a la Stevie Ray Vaughn). By then, the place was filling up. It turns out that there's a bar down the street that has half price beers. People fill up there, then come over to the Duke to hear the music and drink some more!

By the second set, the place was pretty packed and lively. Some people started dancing, and it took off from there. All in all, it was a blast - very responsive crowd and lots of great ambience. We did "I Hear You Knocking" as an encore, and it was a lot of fun.

Some happy party people at The Duke

The beautiful Duke of Edinburgh - you should see the inside!

Too bad I had to drive, so my beer sampling was limited. Only three days left to the tour, so I'd better do some serious research while I can. Tonight we're at the beautiful High Cross Inn at Broughton, and when I say beautiful, I ain't kidding. This town is so pretty that even when kids leave to move to London (or wherever), they almost always move back.

Speak to you as soon as I can find another net connection.

Private Party & VACATION!

It's taken a few days to recover and find an online connection, but here's the windup of the party on Saturday - it was friggin' great!

The host, Chris, decided to have his own blues festival to celebrate his 60th birthday. We got to watch two bands before us, and two more after us, while drinking hand-crafted ales and eating some great food. Oh yeah, and we played!
During the second number, "Raining Up In Harlem", my high E string broke. Okay, after the song I changed it as the band did the intro for the next tune, "I Know That You Love Me". Then, halfway through that, the B string broke! I couldn't get to the spare I had, but fortunately the guitarist for the first group (the Blues Blasters)ran up and lent me his. And, it was a Strat copy, so I felt right at home.

The rain, which was threatening all day, showed up a little as we ended the set, but it didn't stay long and didn't really bother anyone. All in all, it was great - too bad he won't do it again next week...

I'm on a little break for a couple of days, then it's five gigs in a row and back to New York. Time to see a few more castles, I think...

Keeping the rain away at Chris' party

Warrington Blues Club, Warrington

What a great gig! This is the first gig of the northern part of the tour, so I'm playing with Groovejuice now. The Warrington Blues Club gigs are held at the Warrington Rugby Club, which has the biggest pool table I've ever seen.
The place got packed by about 9:00, and Groovejuice kicked butt. The crowd was loud and enthusiastic, so I was looking forward to getting up.
When Groovejuice came off for the intermission, they told me it was very hot on stage because of the lights.
They weren't kidding - I felt like a rotisserie chicken up there. But, the audience was a blast. I walked into the crowd and harrassed some nice women during a cover of Oh Darling!, and we even did two encores. There were some people there who had seen us last year at the Colne festival, so that was great that they came back (one guy let me know he drove 20 miles to get there. With the price of gas here, that's saying something!)
Anyway, we're playing a private party later on today - a lawyer is celebrating his 60th birthday and has hired 5 bands (!) to play 1.5 hours each, all day long. So, free food, hand crafted ales (all free), we get to hear some other groups, and he sounds like a good guy - he's been planning this party for years - too bad I'll have to drive later on to Birkenhead. Oh well, maybe seven or eight pints and a nap in the car. After all, it's a great opportunity to taste some handcrafted ales, and in the name of humanity I should do some thorough research...

Great fun at the Warrington Blues Club

Running Horse, Nottingham

I'm updating this from the library in Warrington, so I'll add photos later. In answer to what you're thinking: No, we didn't see the Sheriff of Nottingham, but there are plenty of references to Robin Hood around here!
The Running Horse is a beautiful place, where many well known blues acts have played over the years. The people there were attentive, responsive, and very supportive. We, in turn, went nuts. I walked outside while playing the solo on Green Thing and directed traffic for a few minutes, still playing the solo (can't guarantee how good it sounded, but it was fun.)
Almost got run down by a bus, because I was facing the wrong way.
Anyway, we had a blast, and so did the crowd. Plus - we got another live video recording! Great sound, and the video was actually recorded straight to DVD. I'll be putting some stuff up when we get back to the States, so watch for it.
All in all, it was a great gig. I look forward to coming back on the next tour. And, I learned something important - you shouldn't eat large quantities of kebab with hot sauce and jalepeno peppers within an hour of going to bed. See, this is an educational tour, too.

Sweatin' at the Running Horse

Riga Music Bar, Southend

Great Googly Moogly! What a difference! The sound was incredible - six stage monitors, perfect balance - everything was great. Thanks, Steve & Dave, for making this a very easy gig.
Some folks who saw us at The New Crawdaddy came down, with friends, to help support us. It was a good, boisterous crowd that was out for a good time - we played until almost midnight, which is late for the UK.
Notice that there are no pictures. WE GOT A VIDEO!!! Again, thanks Dave. When I get back to the States, I'll edit it and put up some of it on the website.
It's easy to see why playing at The Riga Music Bar is a favorite of touring musicians from all over - great crowd, very supportive crew, and an all around good atmosphere to play in. Too bad I won't be around to see some of the upcoming acts - they get the best to play here on a regular basis.
Time to relax for a couple of days - there's a brewery around here, not too far. I wonder if they have sleeping accomodations...

The Musician, Leicester

The Musician featured us at their grand re-opening, after major modifications. The place looks beautiful, and is now double the size it was before. The work was done so well that it looked to me as if it was always the way it is now - it was seamless. Due to the new size, they got a big, brand new, mongo sound system.

And that was the problem.

The first group to come on, a rockabilly trio called The Simon Faulks Band sounded very muddy in different parts of the club, pretty good in others. Since the bassist was playing a stand-up (and I've never heard anyone do "Pride & Joy" with a stand-up bass before, but it sounded great!) I thought the boominess was because of that. The vocals were very indistinct, but since I didn't know them, I figured maybe their mike technique wasn't that good. Anyway, they were a very tight group, and this was only their first or second gig together.

Storm Warning came on, and I started to get worried. Still a muddy, boomy sound and the vocals were hard to understand. Even for me, and I've heard them plenty of times before. By the mixing board, it was okay, but in the middle of the rooom where the main bunch of people were (and there were about 100 people) it was tough. On the sides, though, it sounded better, although not nearly as good as I know they sound.

I finally came on about 10:45 and played until about 12:10, including the encore. On stage, it was like screaming into a pillow - no highs, no lows, nothing coming back at you. The audience was pretty responsive and I knew the sound was fuzzy, so I ee-nun-cee-ay-ted each word like a friggin' Shakespearian wanna-be.

When we finished, Stu (from Storm Warning) told me that there was a weird ringing sound throughout most of the set. I can't blame the soundman, Big Bob, because he didn't have time to work with the system before-hand - the club still had workmen there in the afternoon. He did everything a seasoned sound pro should - ringing out the EQ, stage level monitoring, careful mike placement - he obviously knows his stuff. People came up to me as we were packing up to tell us how much they enjoyed the show, but more than a few said there were problems with the sound.

So, a great turn-out, a beautiful club, very supportive people working there (great bar crew and Ken & Paul at the door) - but I felt bad that sound problems plagued the gig. I would love to come back - maybe next tour.

The new Musician - all dressed up & ready to go

BTW - I was walking around (in the rain) looking for a payphone, and on a lonely sidestreet found this plaque, mounted on what seemed to be an anonymous wall, dedicated to Joseph Merrick - better known as John Merrick, The Elephant Man. It seems that it was the site of the Gaeity Theater, where Merrick - born and raised in Leicester - first appeared on stage. It seems his story still touches people, as it damn well should.

Plaque dedicted to Joseph (John) Merrick

The plaque's inscription, in gold lettering, reads: "Joseph Carey Merrick, Son of Leicester, 1862-1890. A true model of bravery & dignity for all peoples, of all generations. Erected by his Friends, worldwide in 2004".

Farnham Maltings

Before I get to Farnham Maltings (which was great), I had a nasty surprise. I came out and saw that somebody had done a hit and run on the side of my car at some point. Okay, at least the credit card company that I rented it with has their own insurance. Good thing I have a *PLATINUM* card!

So I called up and told them what happened. "Oh, we're sorry Mr. Alexander. You're only insured if you rent the car for 15 days or less." In other words, TFB for me. The rental company has a £500 deductible, and this is probably going to be more than that. so I guess I'm shafted. Lots of "gigs for free" coming up now. Let that be a warning - get the extra insurance unless you have it written IN BLOOD that you're covered. It's a ripoff, but it's still less than the deductible in most cases.

On to happier things. The gig at Farnham Maltings was another one of those "Gee, is anyone gonna show up?" things. Man, did they show up! Some people who heard us at other places came, one guy (Carl, and thanks for sitting in on the harp) that I met at a jam session on Tuesday came down, and lots of other friendly folks showed up. The show was run by Monica of Boogaloo Promtions, and she does on hell of a job. She's a great supporter and promoter of the blues, and puts on weekend shows at various castles (that's right - you hang out in a castle all weekend, eat and drink and watch different blues bands, and it's not even expensive.) She's built if up over a couple of years, and does all sorts of great things to promote music.

So, it was all a good experience. Roger, the drummer from Storm Warning, couldn't make it. Instead, we had the pleasure of playing with Sam Kelly, a well known freelancer who plays with just about everyone. He was on Long Island a couple of months ago playing at Paula Jeans with Australian bluesman Geoff Achison, which he said was a lot of fun. We had a great time, and everything fit together without a problem (except that I had to drive, so I couldn't drink more than a half pint of beer...)

Onstage at Farnham Maltings

We're getting ready to leave for the Leicester (pronounced "Lester", no idea why) gig now. They've rebuilt the whole club, and it's going to be the Grand Re-opening. In other words, I've got to try not to smash the equipment into anything, for a change.

Oxford - Blues Bullingdon

This started out as a very "iffy" gig - it was the end of a "Bank Holiday", which is what they call holidays here when you get off work (or at least when most people get off work...) After a weekend of going away, or barbecuing, or hosting guests, would anybody show up?

Plus, it was a Monday night - never the best day for a gig.

On the plus side, the "Famous Monday Blues Party" has been going on for 21 years. The promoter/host, a sixty-something pistol named Phil, had a huge birthday party there last week, and made a point of promoting tonight.

Before we get to that, here's a story. There's a man named Bill Heine who lives in Oxford. He wanted to do something to show his dissatisfaction with the government, nuclear power, the stodgy town council (who had run-ins with him before), and just general cussedness. Now, he wasn't allowed to do a whole bunch of things due to town council rules about not changing the house and upsetting the neighborhood.

What to do? Here's his solution:

The Oxford Shark

Despite the very vocal objection by the Oxford Town Council, it turns out there's no law against a man putting a 25 foot long, 400 pound sculpture of a headless shark through his own roof. Kind of sloppy of the council not to think of that, so it's really their own fault, right? They probably don't have any rules against 50 foot penguins on toolsheds, either.

Back to the gig: Storm Warning came on about 9:30, and the place had around 35 people. As they played the first couple of numbers, groups of two and three started to come in, until there was a nice crowd of about 75 or 80 people. Very responsive, they clapped and shouted and generally had a good time.

Storm Warning in Oxford

Phil gave an enthusiastic intro to bring me on, and the crowd (nicely lubricated by now) was loud and ready for fun. We started with "Green Thing" and the floor filled up with dancers. The set lasted about an hour and a quarter, maybe a little more, and then we did a two song encore. Nice sound (thanks, Tony), great atmosphere, cool people - what a pleasure for us to play there. No wonder it's lasted 21 years...

Doin' the tourist rag

If you look at the schedule you'll see that there were three other gigs in Wales "to be confirmed". Steve Elsdon, the agent for Wales, kept assuring us that he had things lined up. Suddenly, the week before the Blues Dragon gig in Cardiff (which was booked by Cat Anderson, who is a very trustworthy guy), he stopped returning phone calls to our agent in the south, Derek White. Naturally, we were glad to do the gig in Cardiff, but we were counting on the other gigs to offset the travel costs, which are very high here.

We kept hoping Steve would do the right thing, or at least call to let us know the other gigs weren't happening, but he didn't. As of this writing, and despite his lovely wife Dawn's assurances that he would call, nobody has heard from him. He seemed like a nice enough guy last time, but it's too bad he wasn't man enough to call and let us know he screwed up on this one.

Anyway, that left a big gaping hole in the schedule. So, I took off by my lonesome and did some tourist stuff. If you're at all interested (haunted bed & breakfast, couple of castles, etc.) I put up a page here describing my adventure.

But, I want to quickly tell you about a great band I saw during my sojourn, in Southwestern England. The Country Blues Band was an absolute pleasure to hear. Three guys, about ten different instruments, and all tunes are done in traditional country blues style. How traditional? Well, for one thing, the kickdrum is a suitcase.

The Country Blues Band getting down

They played in a place called Temple Cloud, and getting there involved a drive up a very long, very narrow, very winding road. Yet, the place was packed, with people of all ages. It turns out there's also an acoustic jam every Wednesday, also, run by Cathy Judge, a lovely local artist who brings in both local and national acts.

On Monday I'll be playing in Oxford. Finally - I'm gettin' some edyookayshun!

Blues Dragon in Cardiff, Wales

The Blues Dragon was a great gig last summer, and this year was just as good. Aside from the pleasure of being back in Wales, it also gave me the chance to play with Groovejuice, who backed me up for most of the gigs on the last tour. It was like putting on your denim jacket in the spring after storing it for the winter - just fits right on, feels great, and everything is where you want it. Dave, their drummer, knew the tunes better than I did!

The crowd was enthusiastic and VERY attentive - they really love the blues there. If it was up to me, we would have played at least another hour, but the bar closed pretty early (10:50), so we could only do one encore.

Groovejuice boogies at the Blues Dragon

Not an insult about your intelligence - Brains is the main brewery in the area

Eel Pie Club

The Eel Pie Club was one of our favorite places to play last time, and it was even better now. Despite a major soccer game (in the same vein as our major league playoffs, but bigger) we had a great turnout. One lovely lady had me sign a CD to her husband, saying "You missed a great gig - see you next time!"
Storm Warning did their usual great set, getting the crowd warmed up and showing off tunes from their new CD. There was a new house PA, and it fit the room by being loud but not overbearing.
We came on and did a set for an hour and fifteen minutes, then an encore of two tunes: Catch-22 (which I started off wrong, with a feel like "Drinking My Blues Away", but it all worked out) and then CCR's "Green River". Man, it's too bad Fogerty won't sing blues!
During the set, we had Pete Sargent sit in on harp and vocals, doing Howling Wolf's "Backdoor Man" (okay, it's Willie Dixon's "Backdoor Man", but everyone knows Howling Wolf's version). Later, Tom Nolan played guitar and sang "Don't You Lie To Me", which is a straight out rock and roll standard. Bob from Storm Warning played the set with us, which was damn lucky for me.
On "Busted", right during the first verse, I broke my B string. Okay, I'll work around it. Two measures later, I broke the high E string. Now, I may be good at improvising, but that was tough. When we got to the first break, Bob took it, Pete leaped on stage and helped out, while I grabbed Bob's spare guitar.
He wears his guitar pretty high, and I couldn't adjust it, so I felt like Leslie West with my arms up around chest level. But it was nice of him to let me use his axe, and it sounded really good through the Marshall.
Well, four hours sleep and I'm up now, taking Joanne to the airport. She's going home for two weeks, then meeting me back here to finish the rest of the tour with me. I'm off to Wales today, to play at the Blues Dragon in Cardiff.
Good thing there's Red Bull...

The Eel Pie audience, and jamming with Tom Nolan

Jagz at the Station, Ascot

Jagz (sort of a corruption of "jazz") is a beautiful place with great beer, a good menu, and very well set up. Sarah, the sound person, did a great job of miking everything and making sure the stage volume was right.

Storm Warning did their set, including a new tune called "New York City" which I hadn't heard before. I tried to resist, but Jagz had some Guiness advertised as "extra cold", so even though I don't usually drink until after I've finished, I ended up drinking a pint during their set.

We got on (and Bob, guitarist from Storm Warning, was gracious enough to stay on stage with us) and had a pretty good time. We added "Whiskey Bottom Road", which we hadn't tried yet (came out fine), and although my voice was kind of ratty it held out for the whole gig. There's some sort of cold going around here, like back in New York, and people are sneezing and coughing everywhere. I'm sucking down Vitamin C, echinacea, and hot tea, plus I'm using a gargle I read about that you make yourself out of corn syrup, baking soda, salt and warm water. Tastes pretty bad, but it soothes your throat.

My cousin Phil came down with his lovely wife Sylvia, their sons Mark & Clive and their daughter Claire, plus (added bonus) my cousin Lorraine, Phil's sister. We did some family catchup and made fun of Phil's advancing years. I, of course, don't grow old. I just mature. About the fourth song, I invited Clive up to play drums, and we had some fun with "Move It On Over".

Having some fun with Clive Singer at Jagz

All in all, it was a good time at a great place. Ascot, where Jagz is located, has a famous racetrack where the Queen is known to go. I don't know if she goes for the Exacta or just bets to win.

Grand Junction Arms

Well, the Grand Junction Arms was sort of a taste of gigs at home: we were pretty much background noise. Most people were just hanging out, talking and drinking, trying to get ready for another week of work. I was supposed to do the gig as a solo, but Ian from Storm Warning very graciously sat in for the whole gig, which made it a lot easier!
We had some people who saw us at Aylesbury come down, and that was great to see. Plus, there were some very responsive people hanging out on the side and in front of us - and then, it happened...

"Hey! Do you guys play:

Mustang Sally?"

Now, I didn't really think I could get away with a whole tour and not play Mustang Sally somewhere, sometime. But I didn't think I would do it at a solo (okay, duo) gig. So I answered, "Sure, but you gotta sing it."

Apparently, that was what Tom was waiting for. He bounced right on up, and proceeded to do a pretty good job of belting it out. He even knew what key he sang it in!

Tom, Hitman & Ian doing an obscure tune called Mustang something-or-other

We asked him to do another one, so he went into Sweet Home Chicago. All in all, it was a pretty good time and a beautiful pub, right on a canal.

BTW - Clive, webmaster of The Red Lion added photos of the solo gig I did there last Tuesday ( Click here to see them ), plus a really nice review, too. Thanks, Clive!

Other than that, we had Monday off so we went to the Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels, and realized that Henry the VIII was a man obsessed (see photo of his armor, below. Note the extra protection, which nobody else seemed to feel was necessary.)

Playing at Jagz tonight, and my cousin is supposed to come down and sit in! He's a little nervous, so I'm thinking about doing something mellow - maybe Zappa's "Black Page" or ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery".

The Limelight, Aylesbury

Okay, I goofed off today (it's my day off!). Joanne & I visited my cousins, went to a restaurant (the Gastrodome, which was as filling as it sounds), and my side view mirror had a disagreement with a parked car.
The parked car won.
Driving a manual on the other side of the road can be challenging, especially when cars are coming the other way - fast. Plus, the roads are about 3/4 the size of the roads at home.

On to other matters - we played at the Limelight Theater in Aylesbury last night. This is a place that supports all kinds of arts - photography, crafts (some REALLY cool pottery), music, dance, literature - and it's housed in an old school. Tickets are mainly bought in advance, with a few walk-ins, and they have a bar (yay!) which had a good variety of stuff.

Storm Warning opened up, and the crowd was very enthusiastic and receptive to them. During the set, Ian (the keyboardist) lost one of his two amps, but he had a spare. Let me repeat that - he uses 2 amps, and brought a spare. Most guys don't even bring a spare fuse, never mind an amp. That includes me, by the way.

Anyway. As you know, the drummer, bassist, and keyboardist from Storm Warning are my backup band. After their set, their guitarist (Bob) and singer/harpist (Stu) asked if they could sit in on our set. Now, my philosophy is that if I get enough people on stage, I can go to the bar where I belong while they do the actual work.

We opened up with "Green Thing", followed by "Raining Up In Harlem" and then I featured Roger (drums) doing the New Orleans groove for "I Know That You Love Me". The audience was great, with lots of yelling and whistling.

And we didn't even take our clothes off.

After doing "Busted", we brought up a special guest: a 13 year old guitarist named Krissy Matthews. I didn't know how well he played, but I had heard he was pretty good. We went into "I'm Ready", and from the first note I was amazed. This kid was the real deal! He not only had the riffs, but he knew how to use them.

Krissy Matthews, Hitman, Bob, and Roger

After he finished, the crowd went nuts. This kid is definitely someone to watch...

We did about five or six more tunes, with ample help from Stu and Bob. It was a pleasure to hear them stretch out on our set, and the audience was into it, too. After we finished, we did an encore and then had to go off so the house could sell a few more drinks before 11, when they have to close up the bar.

Lots of nice compliments, and we sold a bunch of CDs and some tee shirts. Afterwards, Derek, Joanne and I went to a place called "The Best Kebab and Fish & Chips". Now, if they say they're the best, they must be, right? Not like they can say it if it isn't true. So, we toddled home and slept late for a change, waking up to a gentle monsoon-like rain that marks an English spring morning.

The New Crawdaddy

I should mention that my wife, Joanne, has been stoically dealing with me during all the stuff going on. She's also been manning the CDs and tee-shirt table, and we've been doing pretty well with that. Not that I'm anything but calm and relaxed at all times, being the mellow guy that I am.

My hosts, Derek and his lovely wife Ali, took us out for lunch to celebrate my birthday. I had a traditional English style lunch (various sausages, mashed potatoes, and a couple of beers (alright, a few beers.)
We took off for the club around five, and spent the next couple of hours crawling along the M25. So, the Long Island Expressway has a sister road here in the London area - they both crawl along as soon as it gets anywhere near rush hour.

The New Crawdaddy has a great house band called The Heaters, who opened up for us. They did a variety of blues, ranging from Robert Johnson (updated versions, very good) to a cover of Muddy Waters' "Baby Please Don't Go" using the groove from "Radar Love". One of the guitarist played through a Fender Bluesman amp, which is only 15 watts. It sounded GREAT. Gotta get one, although I'm more than happy with the amp Marshall supplied me with for the tour.

We played for about an hour and a quarter, then did two encores to a very enthusiastic crowd. The band sounded very tight, and it was only the second time we'd done a gig together.

Afterwards, I celebrated being older (as opposed to the alternative) with Joanne, Derek and Ali - and some beer and scotch.

Storm Warning's rhythm section: Ian Salisbury (keys), Derek White (bass), Roger Willis (drums)

Tomorrow we're at the Limelight Theater in Aylesbury, so I'm looking forward to that. It's a place that supports the arts, has it's own membership, and puts on shows pretty often. Hopefully, there'll be a good turnout since it'll be Storm Warning opening up, and then we go on for around an hour. Man, am I getting spoiled by these short gigs!

The Malt Shovel Tavern

OH MY GOD! Not to be fixated on this, but they had thirteen different tap beers all around the bar. And I couldn't drink, because I was driving.
Po' pitiful me! I had one anyway, called Bete Noire, which was like Guiness but even better (and Guiness is one of my favorites.)

Notice the Long Island Blues Society tee-shirt - a bit of home...

We got there about 7, and I didn't go on until 10 (Storm Warning went on at 9:00) so I had lots of time to sober up.
Storm Warning played stuff from their upcoming release, which was great and got the crowd going. Their lead vocalist/harpist, Stu, has a voice a lot like Rory Gallagher at times. His style is similar to Magic Dick with some Sonny Terry and Big Walter Horton added in. Bob, the guitarist, has a great tone and some very soulful licks. Of course, Ian (keys), Roger (drums) and Derek (bass) are great, but I already knew that.

Storm Warning

After their set, I got up and we ran through a one hour set, starting with Green Thing and then tunes from both CDs. We did a new song called "I Know About The Blues", which will be on the next album. It's the first time I tried it with a band (other than once at a jam session a month ago, but that doesn't really count since it was all confusion). It came out fine, so I think I'll keep it in as a regular tune.
Some people who saw me at The Stables came down, and heard a whole different sound with the band. We ended up doing an encore - we could have done two encores, but the club put up the house lights and basically said "Show's over, we're going home now. Get out and thank you."

Playing at The Malt Shovel

Great place to play, so I hope we can come back again next time. Tomorrow is my birthday, so we'll see how it goes. We're playing at the New Crawdaddy Club, with The Heaters opening up. Looking forward to hearing them, they're supposed to be a lot of fun.

The Red Lion

My second gig, also a solo one - this time, two sets. This was a VERY friendly place, and a pretty good turnout for a Tuesday night. The first set was almost all originals from the two CDs, plus a couple of new tunes. On the second set, I played some covers - ain't nobody's business, big boss man, and a Stuff Smith tune about getting high called "When You're A Viper" (a viper was what they called people who smoked pot in the 1930's).
I almost NEVER get a chance to do that kind of stuff! It was fun, and they all seemed to like it.

Since I wasn't driving, I got to drink a few beers. I like bitter ale, so there are some good ones - London Pride, Fullers, Old Speckled Hen, and John Brown, to name a few. All are served from the tap, and there's no carbon dioxide to force 'em out - just a lot of pumping.
Tomorrow is the first gig with a full band, so I'm looking forward to that. Storm Warning will be opening up, then the rhythm section (drums, bass & keys) will stay on and back me up.

The Stables (and 104.4 FM)

Just got back from doing a radio interview with Pete Sargeant on Resonance 104.4 FM, in Central London. Great show - Gina and Warren from the Eel Pie Club were there, talking about the club. Pete and I played a couple of live tunes - Two Minute Warning and Miss Catherine (him on harp, me on guitar), That's What It's Like To Be A Man with Pete on slide and me on unamplified guitar. It was a lot of fun, and Pete did a great job. He's going to send a mini-disk of the show, and I'll put the interview online when we get back.

I'm about to leave to do a solo gig at The Stables, opening up for Joe Louis Walker. Trying to decide what to open with, since it's going to be all original stuff and these people have no idea who I am. Hope it goes off okay...

I'm back, and all's well. The set was over so quickly (40 minutes) that I didn't even have time to play half the stuff I wanted to. The second song was Whiskey Bottom Road, off of the Blooztown album. I gave it a nice build-up, the audience was into it, and right at the first chorus my effects unit died (the battery did, anyway) and all the sound went off from the guitar.

I switched the wires and bypassed the unit, and started playing again where I left off. Nobody seemed to mind, and we sold 6 CDs. So, everything worked out in the end. Plus, the main act (Joe Louis Walker) put on a great show, and that was fun to watch.

They're pretty strict about drunk driving here, so I only had one pint of beer at the club. Tomorrow I rehearse with Storm Warning, the group that's going to back me up in the southern UK. Then I plan on doing an exhaustive research project in the local bar.

Somebody has figure out which English beers are the best, and I'm willing to make that sacrifice. Plus, it's my only day off until Saturday. I'll let you know what I find out.

Getting ready

Well, one and a half weeks to go. Tee shirts aren't printed, new copies of Blooztown aren't ready, nothing packed, solo gig set not practiced, electric set not practiced, and haven't ordered a new hat yet.

Right on schedule.

Time to get it together, as soon as this show is over...