I don't know how they found me and I have no clue why I started receiving new issues. I haven't read Rolling Stone magazine in more than 20 years. I was once an avid fan of the music and culture monthly but let my subscription lapse sometime after we started our family. They began arriving early this year. At first I didn't care, but now that I've ( Read more... )

At 50 something I don't have too many nights like I did 30 years ago, few of us do, but we had a great time last weekend at the all day Blues Blast festival and after party at the Rhythm Room. Blues Blast is one of my favorite events in the valley, I post about it every year, with pics.

This years BB was moved back two weeks and changed venues, a ( Read more... )

Damn LJ won't space my paragraphs properly.
Yesterday our friend's Tom & Sue drove up from Tucson for an evening blues show, late dinner, and then drove back. That's a lot of road for a night out on the town, more than 200 miles round trip, but the act was worth it. Cheryl and I took the light rail from Tempe to central PHX. T&S picked us up at the ( Read more... )

I'm not a hillbilly and I'm certainly no punk. I have no neck tattoos, I'm inkless. I'm not into nihilism or anarchy. I don't have a hot rod and slicked back hair. I don't play guitar. I just love the cousin genres. Always have.

Over the years music I once loved but lost touch with has reentered my ears. I'm often in awe of my ability to recall ( Read more... )

Not long ago after reading an article about the demise of the record store I felt a little sad. Ever since I was a teenager I've enjoyed browsing and hunting in music stores. I don't consider shopping a hobby. I won't enter a mall unless I have a specific need. Music is the only exception.

I thought the article focused too much on vinyl but the ( Read more... )

This is my favorite time of year in our corner of Arizona. The weather is about to get fabulous, except for this weekend. Every day is sunny until I have an outdoor date. Rain is in the forecast.

Today is the 20th annual Phoenix Blues Society Blues Blast Festival at the Mesa Amphitheatre. The BB festival marks the end of our harsh Sonoran winter. It ( Read more... )

A few weeks back we bought one of those CD/DVD organizing units at Ikea. We had a hodge-podge of CD racks and towers, and one for DVDs. We we're trying to get a handle on the mess.

After Euro-assembly I unpacked the music. We have hundreds, maybe five, in our combined but segregated collection. This is no chore, it's a Labour of Love. Like a ( Read more... )

John Mayall is an English bluesman, if you don't already know, one of many Brits credited with introducing black American music to white America. Back in the 50's and 60's white radio did not play the blues. The music in our backyard had to cross an ocean before we heard it, another subtle reminder of the systemic racism of that era.

As a young ( Read more... )

I don't hoard. I can let go. The great purges of my past are proof. From 8-track to LP to cassette, CD to mp3. The yard sales are a purge. When I buy new stuff the old is sold off.

It's hardly work packing my CDs for moving. I took the opportunity to organize. Since I loaded most of them into Itunes I haven't done much with them. I have them in a ( Read more... )

Grab a coffee and smoke Dee. If anyone needs to pee, this would be the time. I'll wait for you to get back.

Jeopardy music plays in the background.

Okay, here we go..... the final vampire shift blog post. I've been working on it since I got home Friday morning. I hope I don't lose you in the aimlessness of my writing.

I'm looking forward to breathing ( Read more... )