What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

Today in Rock History, in 1941, Robert Hunter, lyricist for the Grateful Dead, is born in Arroyo Grande, California (my brother’s current address). The first lyrics he wrote for the Grateful Dead were composed while on LSD, and mailed to the band from Arizona: a suite that would later become "China Cat Sunflower"/"The Eleven" (these were originally performed together for a short time). "China Cat Sunflower" would later find a partner in "I Know You Rider". And it continues… Since the dissolution of the Grateful Dead in 1995 Hunter has successfully continued his writing career, working on new songs with Jim Lauderdale, Steve Kimock, David Nelson, and Rob Barraco, among others. He also is seen occasionally playing solo acoustic guitar and performing his classic works, as well as newer songs. In 2004 he opened most of The Dead's summer tour. Hunter co-wrote all but one of the songs on the 2009 Bob Dylan album Together Through Life. Happy 70th, Bob, and keep on truckin’! Thanks to http://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/today-in-rock/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hunter_(lyricist) for the info, and keep on rockin’!

The Best Things in Life Are Free...

... but not this organ. As many of my constant readers know, I'm a big fan of that vintage Hammond organ sound. To that end, in the past I acquired two vintage organs for free I've been playing around on. The problem is getting that great sound out to the gig without getting a hernia in the process - these beasts weight 250# and up. To remedy that issue, I bought a "chopped" Hammond M2 from Ed, the keyboard player in local blues band Curtis and the Kicks (www.curtisbluz.com), for the princely sum of $100. A chopped organ has had most of its cabinet removed to save weight and space. As you'll see from the pics, this organ has been kicked around some. Ed told me this organ (the first one he ever owned) has been dropped down a flight of stairs, had beer poured on it, knocked off the stage, etc., and still keeps on working; it's living proof of the engineering that went in to these organs and that these old Hammonds are bullet-proof. I'd like to think that each nick, scratch and ruined corner has a story to tell (it has the chords to "Smoke on the Water" scratched into the cabinet, for God's sake!), so I'm not gonna pretty it up too much. It's just a basic spinet, 44 keys and 17 drawbars to color the tone - no power amp, vibrato, percussion, etc, but it still puts out great sound. And the sound I'm talking about is raw, bass heavy, overdriven - kind of like the Hammond sound in this Kingsmen record. It's a good thing they're lip-syncing to the original recording, as in concert they tended to use a Vox Continental, which is a poor substitute for the Hammond C3 shown in this video. Thanks again to Ed for the organ, and keep on rockin'!



Not too much "under the hood" here...



Been kicked around some...



... Still plays great (home made "Leslie" speaker switch shown at left)!

The Pride of Ohio

Friday last I was killin' time at my favorite St Paul blues club, Wilebski's (www.wilebskisblues.com), waiting to pick up my son from a "rave" in Minneapolis. On stage was the Eric Jerardi Band (www.ericjerardi.com), fronted by Eric, a blues-rock guitarist and vocalist from Dayton, Ohio. I wasn't prepared to blown away by Eric's gritty guitar work and vocals. A hard workin' bluesman with 6 CD's to his credit, he and his band epitomizes what it's like to be in a mid-level combo, workin' for a livin' and surviving in a traveling band (the next day they needed to be in Quincy, Il, so they were going to be driving all night). While his original tunes were excellent, it was his covers that blew me away - he out-Paged Jimmy Page on "Good Times, Bad Times," out-Santana'd Santana on "Black Magic Woman," and out-Trowered Robin Trower on "Too Rolling Stoned." And I gotta give a shout-out to his drummer for the fantastic solo he did on "Manic Depression." So, along with Crissie Hynde, he is truly one of Ohio's finest. Keep on rockin', and be sure to see them when they come to your town...

I Went Down to the Crossroads...

... fell down on my knees...Today in rock history, in 1937, was Robert Johnson's second and final recording session. If you were a fly on the wall, you might have heard this tune...spooky stuff! Keep on rockin'!