Played the coolest "little" guitar today

Played the coolest "little" guitar today. My buddy Gray Burchette, of Burchetteguitars.com, brought his new invention, a 12-string octave guitar by.

This thing is, as Gray would say, feeaking awesome! I just bought a cool Burchette Grand Arena that was made from the same wood as Zac's guitar, but I have to say this Gray Mini Me is about the coolest guit I've ever played.

Gray and I went over to Merlefest to help our friend Jonathon Byrd get his sales area ready for selling a ton of guitars this week. After we got everything ready we took turns playing the little guy. It was awesome. If you're going to Merlefest later today on Thursday I'd encourage you to go by and play it. Don't wait until Friday... it will probably sell tomorrow.

Here's a little clip of me playing it today. Man I love this little guitar!

Some folks just know how to live life

Some folks just know how to live life to it's fullest. Last night I had the pleasure of playing for Judy and Sonny Walker's 50th wedding anniversary celebration in Hudson, NC. I dont know how many folks live in Hudson, but most of them had to be at this party last night. I have to say Judy and Sonny are two of the most loving, caring, down to earth, fun people I've had the pleasure to meet and perform for. The setting was so cool... tables around the pool, my old friends from Woodland's BBQ in Blowing Rock catering and me setup in the gazebo. When it comes to playing for these events you just never know what to expect, especially when there's no alcohol involved... for some reason I always sound better when folks are drinking. :-) But last night that didn't matter... these folks, especially Sonny and Judy, had a blast. Dinner was laid back with me strumming pretty songs on my new Burchette. But afterwards they moved tables and chairs and started dancing. And they danced the night away, literally. I have a feeling that Sonny always enjoys life but recently he has had surgery and planned this celebration around going back in for some very serious surgery, but he never stopped smiling, laughing and dancing. He danced with his wife... he danced with his daughter and granddaughter... he danced with friends... he even danced with his grandsons. In the coming days I'm striving to be more like Sonny... put the stresses and worries of life aside and when life gives me music... dance! I encourage each of you to do the same thing. Thank you Tammy and the whole Walker family for choosing me to be part of this special event in your family's life. And thank you Sonny and Judy for teaching me that life is too short to sit and listen to music when you can get up and be part of it.  

Update: I wanted to post an update. Only the sauce came from Woodlands. Tammy cooked forever to get this ready. It was great and I'm amazed that she did all this work. Tammy I had a great time.

Another great show at Pinetree last night

I have to be the first to admit it... sometimes I get carried away but last night I about had to be carried away literally. Playing drums with my feet and putting on a high energy show is quite a workout. But, I do it so much I'm in pretty good shape, for the shape I'm in. But last night at Pinetree Bar and Grille in Winston Salem was one of those extra energy shows. Performers will tell you that we all pull from the energy of the crowd and it's that feeling most of us are addicted to. The crowd last night was high energy and in concert mode. All the love pushed me to new limits. I finished my first set ending song but just kept going and ended up doing a 3 1/2 hour show with no break or even slowing down. In fact I only remember taking a sip of something to drink just once. Counting the medleys it looks like I did 48 songs. Wow!

So when I got off the drum to start doing what I get paid for, tearing down, my left leg was cramping and hurting like a mutha. This morning it's a little better but still sore. Lynn did most of the teardown last night and has told me several times, you need to take breaks you dummy. Kay said the same thing last night too. Maybe I need to listen. I have another 3-hour show tonight so I'll try to stick to 80 minutes and then a break, but we'll see.

 

Very busy but great few days

This past weekend our granddaughter fell and broke her arm in 2 places and the days before leaving for this last trip we spent worrying and trying to see her. She's a trooper and is doing as good as one can when you lose the use of your primary hand/arm.

Then Thursday we set out for Charlotte to play in the Charlotte Music Awards Americana Showcase at Puckett's Farm Equipment. It was such a great crowd and venue. My 30 minutes of fame just flew by. In fact when I finished my last song I remember thinking I must have skipped a song. I was honored to be selected and man, the bands that were there were all pros and sounded great. I don't know why I'm crazy enough to keep competing against bands, it I do. It worked great in Roanoke but usually doesn't. I keep telling folks that a single great musician can't put out as much quality music as 4 really good musicians. And the last few competitions I've entered has really proven that point. We were packed up and ready to leave by 11:30 and hit the road, literally to drive to Myrtle Beach that night. Got in and got in bed around 3:45 and slept in on Friday morning.

Then Friday night we drove to Holden Beach to play at The Provision Company for a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner/Party for Daniel and Jamie, who are now Daniel and Jamie Hurley. Many of those in attendance had seen me at other events like this as many as 6 times. This one was a PARTY! I mean a PARTY! We were out on the deck and there were so many people dancing and packed in that space that it was literally rocking and swaying. My 4-hour show turned into a 6 1/2 hour sing-along, dance-along party and I'm just now today starting to feel normal again. I was totally worn out by the time we crawled in bed early Saturday morning, again around 3:00.

So now we have a few days of R&R at the beach before heading back to play shows closer to home next weekend. Jake, our 4-legged-son is happy we're now in vacation mode. Here he is bouncing his beach ball. It's his favorite thing in the world and we are always amazed at how good he is at bouncing his ball.

 

Choosing the right songs for the CMA Americana Showcase...

Man, it's hard to select songs for a competition. Thursday I am honored to be taking part in the Charlotte Music Awards best Americana Artist of the year.

 

I have it nailed down to 30~ songs that I think will fit nicely. But... I have to narrow it down to 6-7 songs. Crap, how do you do that? It's like impossible to pick my favorite songs. Finding the right 1st song is the hardest part. Got that nailed down... I'll be starting out with Paul Thorn's "Long Way From Tupelo".

Then 6 more of my songs, ending with my song about our famous Wilkes citizen, Tom Dula... or as some call him Tom Dooley.

We have a great sound man there at Puckett's on Thursday and I'm looking forward to great a great sound man makes you... sound. There were 3 other great groups nominated for the award and I can't wait to hear all the cool music.

2nd Place in Fox Icon

It seems to me music recently has been a competition, which just doesn't make sense. Music is so subjective... what is good for me, like a little Bonnie Raitt or John Mayer, might be no good at all for someone else. Over the last few months I have been competing in the ongoing Fox Icon in Winston Salem. 2 weeks ago I made it to the finals and then last week I gave it my all and came in 2nd place overall. As my sweet granddaughter said in a way only a 7-yr-old can, a least you didn't come in 3rd, 4th or 5th. :-)

But, man each band there was great in their own way. Unlike the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, this competition allowed any type of music and that was reflected in the finals. It had a young duo singer songwriter group, a trio acoustic group, an electric trio in the likes of Led Zepplin, a local party/funk band... and me. :-). 2nd place got me some free studio time, a few gift cards and a few gigs. Thanks to all that came out and supported me. I appreciate it greatly.

But back to my main point, I think all the singing competition shows are good... but is music meant to be a competition medium? I can remember being in battle of the bands competitions back in high school, so they've been around forever. So, was I better than the guys that finished 3rd? At my style and music, yes, but not at their style. Same goes for the acoustic trio and the Zepplin-like all-original band. I love music and I love performing. Competitions force me to practice, practice, practice and I'm better for it. The pressure you feel when it's your time has to make you better prepared to entertain when it's just you. I have two more major competitions this year in Charlotte, so these gut-wrenching moments are not over yet this year.

Location:Winston Salem, NC