That's Ok,

... I've still got my saxophone...I finally have some video to show you of my new band, the Aces Wild Blues Revue. We've been together all of four weeks, and decided to try out a few tunes on the public at an open mic at McCracken's Pub in Burnsville, MN on Sunday last. Here we are covering Jimi Hendrix's "Red House," broken snare drum and all (we also had a mystery guest keyboard player - he is a jammer, not a member of our band, but we appreciated his efforts). Left to right we've got Jim "The Wizard" Nelson on lead guitar, yours truly on drums, Dana Isaacs on bass, and Doug "Ace" Barton on sax. We hope to play our first full gig at the Ugly Mug in Farmington on 6-25, so stay tuned - this is gonna be a great ride!

It's Alright Now...

… in fact it’s a gas! On this date in rock history, in 1968, The Rolling Stones record "Jumpin' Jack Flash", which will reach #1 in the UK and #3 in the US by next July. Mr. Whoamus and I have some history with this song; back in the day, when we used to jam Sunday afternoons, we’d work on this tune. Don’t know if we ever got it down, but it was fun trying…check out the boys here as they rip through this tune, live in Rio from 2006 or therabouts. Thanks to http://www.classicbands.com/history.html for the info, and keep on rockin’!

Up Against the Wall...

... Redneck Mother! I've always been a big Jerry Jeff Walker fan (ever since I saw him in Ames, IA, in 1978, after he showed up late to the gig after going to Des Moines instead of Ames - hell, all these Iowa towns look alike!), so I'm glad that we're fixin' to play some vintage Jerry Jeff in the new North of Nowhere band. Check him out here with the Gonzo Dog Band from '74, and check out NON at the Windsor Bar near Hayward, WI on 7-17 (and keep on rockin'!)

Kink in the Chain

Saturday last Mr. Whoamus and I made a scouting expedition to a funky little biker bar in the tiny hamlet of Hamel, MN, known as “Inn Kahoots.” My new blues band will likely be booked into that venue this summer, so I wanted to check it out. What we found was an ancient storefront, friendly people, and a crackerjack band of musicians known as “the Retractions” providing the tunes(I kept wondering, though, what are they retracting? I never found out...). They turned out to be an excellent cover band – playing anything and everything from blues to pop, R&B to country. They also played this tune by Mark Selby. Neither Mr. Who nor I had ever heard of this artist or this song, but it just knocked me out, so I just had to find out more about it. According to the blurb on Amazon.com, “although Mark Selby is based in Nashville and has written or co-written songs for major country-pop stars, the earthy, gritty singer/songwriter and guitarist has favored blues-rock and roots rock as a solo artist. Selby isn't from Nashville originally; he was born and raised in Oklahoma and lived in Kansas (where he earned a degree in music composition from Fort Hays State University) before settling in Nashville in the 1990s”…. you get the idea. Check him out here, see what's happenin' at the bar at http://www.innkahootsbar.com/ and check out “The Retractions” at http://www.theretractions.com/fr_home.cfm, and keep on rockin’!