Banana Pepper Jam
*grins*
Steve and Drew and Rachel and I got together last night for an impromptu blues jam. It was good. We set up in Roulette's sewing room - Jason's former bedchamber, such as it is - and we had just enough room to comfortably situate ourselves around the room, with the drums eating up less than a quarter of the available space. It was a little noisy, but quite comfortable. And despite the above-ground location, the household seemed largely unaffected.
We jammed through about a half-dozen originals and about as many covers. That's the nice thing about the blues... practiced musicians can just pick up and play the songs with little difficulty, they need only watch for cues and get to know the changes. My fingers were pretty sore after a couple of hours, a little moreso than on Thursday nights when I play a lot more rhythm and foundation parts, but I played fairly well so the pain was... kinda nice, if you imagine that. Proof positive, I suppose.
I slept really well after that.
Oh... and Drew brought everyone banana peppers... little baggies of them. That was cool.
MUSICAL DAILY
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Texas Flood: I don't think this will come as a surprise to anyone, but this is easily one of the most influential music collections of my life. Stevie's 1983 debut album came on the heels of his unusual collaboration with the godfather of glam, David Bowie, who reputedly knew the very first time he heard the man play that great things would inevitably follow. Stevie's career was tragically short, but changed the texture of contemporary blues music with a deep Texas spirituality that touched the lives of millions. Mine was one of them, but sadly not until long after he was gone.
In 1996, I joined the Kansas-based blues outfit Dangerous Dan Kelly and the Blues Junkies. Despite my father's love for the genre and a beloved instructional video by B.B. King, my education in the blues was sadly lacking at this point. But I was a pretty decent bass player, so Dan elected to continue my education. This album was one of the first places he sent me. Tommy Shannon's elegant basswork on the CD's title track gave me a new perspective on the genre and the instrument I was playin', and made me realize that there was a life hidden in the patterned mechanics of formula blues bass that would never lack for new possibilities.
This CD still gets spins in my house, in my car... It never gets old.
Rest In Peace, Stevie.
Notable cuts on the album include the title track, Love Struck Baby, Pride and Joy and Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Steve and Drew and Rachel and I got together last night for an impromptu blues jam. It was good. We set up in Roulette's sewing room - Jason's former bedchamber, such as it is - and we had just enough room to comfortably situate ourselves around the room, with the drums eating up less than a quarter of the available space. It was a little noisy, but quite comfortable. And despite the above-ground location, the household seemed largely unaffected.
We jammed through about a half-dozen originals and about as many covers. That's the nice thing about the blues... practiced musicians can just pick up and play the songs with little difficulty, they need only watch for cues and get to know the changes. My fingers were pretty sore after a couple of hours, a little moreso than on Thursday nights when I play a lot more rhythm and foundation parts, but I played fairly well so the pain was... kinda nice, if you imagine that. Proof positive, I suppose.
I slept really well after that.
Oh... and Drew brought everyone banana peppers... little baggies of them. That was cool.
MUSICAL DAILY
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Texas Flood: I don't think this will come as a surprise to anyone, but this is easily one of the most influential music collections of my life. Stevie's 1983 debut album came on the heels of his unusual collaboration with the godfather of glam, David Bowie, who reputedly knew the very first time he heard the man play that great things would inevitably follow. Stevie's career was tragically short, but changed the texture of contemporary blues music with a deep Texas spirituality that touched the lives of millions. Mine was one of them, but sadly not until long after he was gone.
In 1996, I joined the Kansas-based blues outfit Dangerous Dan Kelly and the Blues Junkies. Despite my father's love for the genre and a beloved instructional video by B.B. King, my education in the blues was sadly lacking at this point. But I was a pretty decent bass player, so Dan elected to continue my education. This album was one of the first places he sent me. Tommy Shannon's elegant basswork on the CD's title track gave me a new perspective on the genre and the instrument I was playin', and made me realize that there was a life hidden in the patterned mechanics of formula blues bass that would never lack for new possibilities.
This CD still gets spins in my house, in my car... It never gets old.
Rest In Peace, Stevie.
Notable cuts on the album include the title track, Love Struck Baby, Pride and Joy and Mary Had a Little Lamb.