98 days to get ready... today is a research day.

Just 98 days to get ready as of today.  Today is going to be a research day.  While I don't plan to change the way I perform or who I am, I do think I can learn from listening to the music of those that have done well in the past so today I'm going to try to read all I can about who has won in the past and what they did to do so well.  I also have a few fellow artists that I know that have gone but not won so I plan to reach out to them to find out if there's anything they would do differently.

It does seem strange though to be using this high-tech, computerized method to prepare for the event since it's roots go back to days when the computer didn't exist.  My old guitar, my old wooden box drum... yet here I am on a Blog, checking Facebook, and Googling all these artists... well it just seems strange.  But the world is different now... very different now.  

Lynn is telling me that all of this is an "experience" and I agree. Just going to the regional challenge would have been a great experience even without winning it?  The other artists I've met have taught me so much already over the years.  So, while I'd love nothing more than to do really well in Memphis, my ultimate goal is going to be to come away from these 99 days with a better understanding of who I am as an artist and to meet as many other artists and learn enough as possible about what is happening in the blues music world today.

So... I'm off to keep Googling.  See... that wasn't even a term that  W.C. Handy would have never uttered out loud.  Spell check doesn't even know the word really, but what would we do today without this tool.