How I Spent My Summer Vacation, 2014

I've been sitting in with the Joe Meyer Finesse Band for a few gigs this summer. Having a great time - thanks to Joe, Beeta, Tom, Jill, Bruce and Bobby for letting me play. Here's a sample of some of Joe's music here: Come see us at Como Park, St Paul, on 8-17, from 3 to 4:30, and then at the MN State Fair on 8-29, DNR stage. And, as always, keep on rockin'!

Safe as Milk...

Ok, a little, well, weirdness, for your Friday. Here is a high-quality upload of 4 songs recorded by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band on German TV back in '72. Note Roy Estrada and Art Tripp on bass and drums, from the Mothers of Invention, holdin' down the rhythm section spot. Note also the Captain's tasty blues harmonica solo starting approximately at 6:00. Finally, I gotta get me a monocle!

"Live at the Fillmore"

... no more. On this date in rock history, Bill Graham declares his intention to close down the East and West Coast versions of his "rock ballroom," the Fillmore. So a couple of iconic rock halls close down. Let's take a look at the last concert at the Fillmore East, presented on 6-27-71, with a lineup that included The Allman Brothers, Albert King, J.Geils Band, Edgar Winter's White Trash, Mountain, the Beach Boys and Country Joe MacDonald. What a lineup that was! Here's the set where the Beach Boys meet the Grateful Dead...try to get your head around that combination! Thanks to http://www.oldiesabout.com/od/oldieshistory/a/april29.htm and http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fillmore_East for the info, and keep on rockin'!

Unearthed Treasure

Lately I've started the gargantuan task of copying several hundred of my CD's to an external hard drive - I'm moving my stuff from my old house to a small apartment, and just don't have room for them any more. While digging through the dusty covers, I came upon "Garth Brooks in the Life of Chris Gaines - Chris Gaines' Greatest Hits," a now-14-year old recording of Garth pretending to be fictional pop star Chris Gaines, complete with pix and fictional back story. When I bought the CD, it was my understanding that it was the start of several Chris Gaines projects, but for some reason Garth abandoned it. Well, no matter the reason for its existence, it's still good music even today and shows very clearly Garth's pop music roots. Here's "Driftin' Away" from this recording. A little blue-eyed soul, some counter melody background vocals, and a pretty lyric. Enjoy, and keep on rockin'!

Austin City Limits...

... now I can say, "Been There, Done That!" I recently took a trip to Austin to escape the winter blahs here in MN. And I decided to go in style - took a "Dog" (That's a greyhound bus to you uninformed), only took 30 hours to get to Austin, what a long strange trip! While I was there I rented a bike, rode around City Lake, paid homage to the SRV statute, took a dip in Barton Springs, visited clubs on 6th Street and South Congress, toured the Texas Museum, the University of Texas, and watched the city shut down after an ice storm that wouldn't even have fazed us here in MN. Oh well...Let's "Keep Austin Weird" and check out a vid by Austin's own Dale Watson, I guy I wish I would have seen down there. Can't do the embedding thing, but you can click on the link. He kind of embodies the whole Austin music experience - "Whiskey or God," what a choice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwJz-QM51uU

Trim My Tree, Baby!

It's time for my annual holiday blog, and this year I'm giving you some more Rock and Roll Xmas Spectacular, from Slip Twister out of St Cloud. Nice vocal, guitar and harp on this one. Merry Christmas, and keepn on rockin'!

It's Festival time...

... if you're in California, that is... On this day in rock history, in 1968, the San Francisco International Pop Festival gets underway. The weekend event features, Johnny Rivers, Eric Burdon & The Animals and the Iron Butterfly. And, of course, Canned Heat, a truly under rated blues band. Check out "Same All Over," (Bob Hite with his shirt off is pretty exciting too) Thanks to http://www.rockintown.com/today-in-rock.html for the info, and keep on rockin'!