It's not enough these days to have health problems or financial issues or relationship trouble. In addition to any number of the above mentioned social ills I often seem to get computer problems. That is a problem for me!

   I not only have the habit of blogging but I have people I need to communicate with, family I stay in touch with, items I need to buy and sell (anyone need a nice handmade desk) and groups I am involved with that require group correspondence and coordination. It is troubling how much I have come to rely on this machine. In fact I am having such trouble that I had better cut this short because I could get cut off before I post and then I'll have nothing new and you'll be checking in (hopefully) and checking out with nothing for your effort.

    I happened to get a virus while on My Space. I got invitations for "friends"...like 4 at once. I went to the first one and checked the profile to see if I knew this person. I got a pop up that said I had to download a viewer in order to see the profile. Like an idiot I clicked on it. I figured My Space would be secure, once in.   WRONG !!!. I got a "backdoor trojan" (does that give you a few good punchlines?) I had to fork out $69 to a Symantec tech chick to get rid of the virus and I now have an ailing computer.

   Know what? I never liked My Space much anyway. That really sucked!

   Before I lose this whole rant I better sign off and think of something more positive for my next post.

   I'll be back as soon as I can and hopefuly I'll have something nicer to discuss but beware of the virus' on My Space.

bill

    Well, I finally got out last night but it was so damn late I caught a fraction of what I had wanted to see/hear this weekend. Cest la vive.

    Around midnight I headed over to The Viking and caught the end of  T-Bone and Franny Mae's set and then hung around for a few hours of some fun jamming by a good assortment of people...a lot of whom I either don't remember names or did not catch them.

   T-Bone worked his young birthday-ass off. I didn't see him take much of any breaks and he was there till the end. He's got some nice licks in that guitar of his and some good vocals. I loved hearing Franny Mae of course and, of course, I wanted to hear more of her. She has such a nice voice I always leave wanting more of her vocals ...as a matter of fact. Grab that mike and go with it Franny!!

   Howie Haber(Breakaway) has some good hands too and it was a night of some good guitar. There was a good cast of players, both guitar and bass. Bill Marino,Johnny Cola, Mike Mann(spelling?), Johnny Dunn...a few others, good ones and it all made for a good night of music. There were good keyboards and drums too and those were more of the names I missed. I hope my 50th (thats many many years from now..lololol) is as festive. That was a nice bunch and I know there were more there before I arrived (damnit). Oh well...

   I heard there was a nice crowd at Port Jazz for O'Zone and Sweet Suzi and John Anderson had a short sweet one. I am so sorry I was not able to see them and Cadillac Moon and the Gathering of the slides. All of it!!! The responsibilities of parenthood make for some slim opportunities sometimes as far as nightlife goes. So,  I look ahead and there's always more.

   Keep me posted, people, and thanks for a fun night at the Birthday bash!

   Greetings live music fans. I hope you are all having a wonderful winter weeekend. I may get out for some music tonight and I'm looking foward to that. There are quite a few good gigs out there so the choice is hard as usual.

   To make it even more difficult (and I suppose thats my purpose here) I just heard of another good cause and benefit show tonight with the always exhuberant Suzi Smith (in this case playing with her axeman John Anderson).

They will be at a JACOB'S LIGHT FOUNDATION benefit at Body Awareness, 101 N Wellwood Ave in Lindenhurst. 8pm. ($10 for a good cause. It seems Jacob Fletcher was the first American to give his life for the cause of freedom in Iraq).

   There is such a good assortment tonight with the Gathering of the Slides, the O'Zone (always funkalicious) show at Port Jazz and the Birthday bash at the Viking and Cadillac Moon and so on and so on. Geez...why must the dimension of time be such a hindrance? I think I need some time to think about that one. wow.

   Anyway, have fun and let me know of any exciting stuff you find out there.

bill

   First of all I got some details about the Birthday bash at the Viking Saturday night.

   There will be food from 8:30 to 9:30 and then Breakaway and T-Bone & Franny Mae will each do a set until about midnight. After that the stage opens up to their friends and musicians but you must contact them if you want to play. Sounds like a good plan and a fun night.

   I also got some gig notes about some out of town acts that I like to mention whenever I can. Nicole Hart and NRG Band are playing The Pine Tavern on Old Bridge, NJ, Rte 34. 8 PM, Friday night. She's a dynamic singer with a tight band. I look forward to catching them someday soon.

   I also see that Andy Aledort is playing Saturday night in Hartford, CT at Black Eyed Sally's. That guy is a great guitar show.

   I'll be back with some more stuff...Have fun out there.

bill

   Normally I am chomping at the bit to get out for my Wednesday night of music somewhere. This time I am coming off a rare Tuesday night out so I have a little less "umph" driving my night. No matter though. I'll enjoy the music and whatever people I run into. That's pretty much a given for me.

   Last night I  checked out The Courthouse in Massapequa with Blue Matter's Ray Wade hosting a nice jam, sans Arty Panico. There were some talented players on hand. Poppa G (Glen P) was playing not only is typically skillful bass but he was plucking the hell out of a 6-string and I really enjoyed that. There was also the drummer and vocalist, Pearl, barking some really good vocals and a few other good guys(and a gal) on guitar. That was a good little jam in a really (really) lowkey setting. Jackie, the barmaid, was a good one too. That's a good time for ya'll. I recommend it.

   Keep checking in for other jams and stuff and thanks again for checking in...hope to see you soon.

bill

    There are so many little things that can put a smile on my face. I guess that makes me easy. So be it. I'd rather that than be unmoved by anything. See? One can make anything an asset if one has an imagination...and I do. I developed one out of need. Necessity has mothered all kinds of invention in my life. I love necessity. It has been the one constant in my last decade...

Anyway...

   It also helps that I'm all stressed out. Even more things make me happy like the fact that the kids are off from school so I don't have to get up at an ungodly hour in the morning and the fact that my precious child is away for a few days with her cousins!!! The fact that I am cooking for myself only tonight. I can make, like, hot dogs and celery for dinner if I want...and right now that sounds better than a big ordeal and a big clean-up. In fact, I have always had a fondness for celery and I make it a staple in my salads. The good part is that I recently read in an online health site that celery is good for the circulatory system. I thought it was nothing but water and some green cells. Go figure...and is this about the most exciting thing you have read today? Whew!!  Slow news day I guess.

   I do realize there is the Gathering of the Slides this weekend and T-Bone and Franny Mae/ Breakaway's Birthday bash, The O'Zone gig and quite a few other great shows. I usually post that stuff Wed. or Thursday though. I do realize I should post earlier and I will get there soon. Right now I am so enjoying the leisurely pace of blogging on a whim knowing it will get to the point of growth and commercialism at some point. It will have to go there I suppose or I will have to move to a trailor park for lack of funds and time and I don't know if they have cable modems there at those places. Imagine having no lawn to cut though...and no roof to replace and all that other stuff...Ah the good life.

   Okay, it's Tuesday and I may get out somewhere close tonight. I have sort of a freebie night but I do have to get up and work. I really appreciate that you read this long and I think we have something in common if you hung in there to this point. I'm grateful for that..really. Thanks for stopping bye and I'll be back with more details about the great weekend coming up.

bill

   Last night was a weird night. I started out at Lefty's (where Ammunition was playing) just to meet a friend for an exchange of some work notes. I was thinking of checking out Rockslide at Craigs in Copaigue which was close enough. I ended up making a night of it at Lefty's. They have my number there...so to speak.  I guess sometimes good company substitutes for my nightly goal of good blues. Ammunition wasn't really a blues band. Some of the tunes were good but I did "long" for something blusier a few times during the night.

   I ran into some fun people, as usual at Lefty's, and had a fun night. There's always a good crowd there especially on a weekend.

   I heard there were some good things out there that I missed out on. Sam Taylor had to call in a substitute and in stepped Suzi Smith up at Paula Jeans. I would have loved to see that; Suzi with Sam's band...a fun combination I bet. Sounds like it was a good night up there. I have to admit I was not ready for the drive last night or I would have considered Dirty Love at Bobbique's, or Kerry Kearney or Tommy Keys. I still need to check out Bobbique's by the way. Soon enough, I'm sure.

   There's some great stuff coming up next weekend. I'm looking forward to some of that as well as a week off for the kids. I get to sleep in a little which means I may get to catch another jam during the week.

   For anyone who comes here to read my "foolishness" I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I have been overwhelmed with the things of life, work, money, etc. I forget what day it is sometimes. I am so focused on the so many things I have to do right now I don't even have time to think about tomorrow or the "coming weekend". I'm sure you all know what I mean. I'm just bitching about it. How's that for entertainment?!

   So there's some good stuff out there tonight and tomorrow night. I really wanted to check out C&B Blues Revue at Giacomo's but I was not fortunate enough to get out tonight. I'll catch them soon I'm sure. It's been a while and I hear they are getting better and better.

   I want to thank the people who e-mail me with gig stuff. I so need reminders and it makes me feel useful. Sad but true. Keep them coming and if you see something wrong or outdated here let me know that too. As you can see I can't get everywhere, in fact I can't get to that many things lately. Information is appreciated.

   Have fun out there...hope to see you soon.

bill

   It's Valentine's Day and it's Wednesday...scary combination for me. Lucky I have a tolerant wife...we'll see how tolerant.  Lol.  Kidding!

   Given the  frigid weather situation I am not expecting to see a lot of people tonight but I will be taking a crack at going somewhere...probably Lefty's...unless someone comes up with a jam even closer to Bay Shore than that and with blues...which ain't gonna happen tonight. We're doing a nice dinner out somewhere and then the wife has to crash early for an early day so...no guilt, thank god. Wonderful woman!

   So give it a shot. Warm up the car early, dress warm and come on out. It'll be fun. Blues on Valentine's Day. Tell me you never felt a little of that. You/we can all reminisce about the loves of our past. Scary I know but there will be alcohol...and blues....and some company.

   Thanks for stopping bye and I hope to see you soon.

bill

   So the work week is upon us and isn't it fun! I am grateful for the abundance of work I have but I have to admit that a good weekend of music takes a good week to get out of my system and by then I'm back for more...a vicious cycle.

   Well, we get through it and I happen to use music, via the amazing iPod, to do that. I love getting CD's both to find goodies for playing on my site and for "meditative" blues content on my iPod. Nothing like a true blue s sentiment to keep my self company on sleepless nights and long drives on stressful days.

   Anyway, I got some excellent news today.

   First of all, T-Bone & Franny Mae will be celebrating a birthday on February 24th, the same night and same bill with Breakaway's Howie Haber. They will all be at The Viking (do you love this place or what?) and after a few sets among themselves they are opening the stage up to a night of playing among friends and jammers. I love that stuff. I'll post it during the week before as a reminder.

   I also heard O'Zone, a good funk band that I have enjoyed in the past is playing Port Jazz that night. I'll have to arrange for my clone to handle one of these. That is also the night of the Gathering of the Slides. Do I hear clone, clone?

   And there's more...I heard from my friend Nicole Hart with NRG Band. Nicole was one of the 4 Divas on the LI Blues Warehouse show a month or two ago and I got a CD of theirs to play. I had been wanting to do that since I heard Nicole for the first time on that show. I hope we can convince her and NRG to come out to the island of Long for a show or two. They frequent New Jersey these days...among other places.

    So stay tuned for more good stuff. Thanks so much for stopping by.

bill

   Hey local music fans...I really hate to brag, But, I hope you were as lucky as I was this weekend.  It's rare, okay, that I get two events in a weekend but it just worked out that way.

   I caught Andy Aledort at The Viking last night. I had heard that he had played a lot of professional events with some of my favorite bands like Double Trouble and some Hendrix cronies. Well that was all I had to hear so I had to go to at least check it out. The guy can play!  He sustained really good riffs over and over. He played Hendrix with the most fluent hands I may have heard. I was at a Jimi Hendrix birthday event at BB Kings a few months ago (Nov 27 to be exact) and I don't think I heard anyone there better on a Hendrix tune than Aledort. That is not that surprising because they were mostly other styles there that had played with Jimi and they did their own thing, wisely.

   Anyway, Aledort and some really good bass and drums and rythm also did some SRV which makes me an easy target. So I was pretty much toast there last night. I got sucked into a strong current of blues guitar and didn't leave until my wits were pretty much gone at least to anyone unawares... Nuff said there. Aledort will be followed when he is anywhere close to Long Island or any other city I know how to navigate.

   Speaking of navigating other cities...I was the luckiest man on Long Island today because I got to go to the Leukemia Society/ LI Blues Society Benefit Blues function at Palmers in Farmingdale. It was a blast.

   I got there for Jacks of Diamonds and those boys are growing some chops.

I caught Hooch and his Bluesicians (his brother in this case) and they have a uniqueness and a talent and Hooch's vocals were actually as smooth as his harp. A real treat.

   Next was Mac and the Rocket and that was a different flavor of blues and it lent a nice new dimension with the use of an eclectic strumming/ percussion type instrument. Is there a name for that? Anyway, I appreciated the originality and variety of the bill.

   I had missed Tommy Keys set by being late. As a consolation I figured he was going to play with Dirty Love . Maybe I could catch him later.

   The last to come up was none other than Pam Betti with Dirty Love. They are fresh off of their trip to Memphis where they took part in the International Blues Challenge (as did Hooch and co. Hooch won recognition down there I heard.) and they sounded great. They had a nice bounce for Betti's, Love Me Like a Man. That can be heard on their new CD. (Go to their and the other bands sites and get some CD.s) Rumor has it they may have recordings from their trip to Memphis and it may be on a CD. I'll be sniffing around for that. Stay tuned.

   Thanks for stopping by...Tell me about the other shows this weekend. I bet  they were all great. Damn.

I'll be back.

bill

   Sorry about the monster poster shown on the right but with my limited graphics options this was the smallest I could show the poster and still be able to read the words.

   Like I said it is a worthy cause, so I'm glad to post it for anyone with the opportunity to go see some rockin blues on a Sunday. Have fun !!!

I almost forgot...Little Cliff & The Cliffhangers are playing Lefty's tonight! That's a good one and I am just now posting it.  Sorry boys..that's an oversight and it is a big one to overlook. At least I got it in before showtime.

   Thanks for stopping by.

bill

   It would be nice to be able to go to shows every night... a man can dream, can't he? And as long as I'm dreaming I'd love to be able to go to two or three shows on most weekend nights.This weekend for instance. A few tonight look good and tomorrow night, fuggetaboutit. It's tough to choose, really. There is a lot to enjoy here on Long Island...no bull.

  Another dilemna is Sunday. Pamela Betti is involved in the benefit show in Farmingdale. It looks like a good show with good bands...see the poster on the right side of the page here. It is a dilemna because it is Sunday and for me thats a problem this week. It's too boring to discuss my scheduling issues but if I get there it will be for half a show and thats even too bad.

   The benefit happens to be for cancer research. That's important to me. I lost a loved one to cancer. It changed my life. I happen to know Pam Betti lost a loved one too. I'm sure a lot of you have had a loss to cancer. It is a sad fact of humanity and imagine how many peoples lives will be changed when a cure for cancer is found. Actually it will be a big step toward insuring a long life for most of the population there-after. Imagine.

    Good for Pam and the other artists and event producers for working such an event!! I just felt like mentioning that especially since I will feel bad if I don't get to much of it.

    Have a blast this weekend...and every chance you get. Life is short. Enjoy!!!

 

      It was a busy night at the Lefty's jam last night (Wednesday). It has been that way a lot lately. This is good. It is fun to see so many faces and it's fun to hear so many players. All that activity brings lots to talk about and some interesting themes from week to week. The only down side is I hear a little less of Blue Matter. I guess they need to play more weekend gigs. I'll start busting some chops about that...better yet maybe I can start peddling the idea myself.

   Anyhoo (wait, I hate that word)...I enjoy seeing musicians expanding their range and expression and some just growing "balls" over time. That is what jams are for I imagine...all of that.

   Last night there was a performance by a couple of players I have seen there over the last few months and they have put together a nice sound and some good music. The group calls themselves "The Outpatients Band". Gotta love the name...and I assume that means they have all been give a clean bill of health to be out among us...the apparently healthy and sane music patrons of Long Island. Thats a relief.

   Anyway they play a brand of rock-a-billy they call "surf-a-billy". I got the reference. The sound has some "-a-billy" roots and some beachy influence. I also heard some David Lynch influence...if you know who he is...By the way, they can be found at www.outpatientsband.com.

   Thats a good reason why jams are so valuable...people practice, play, meet other players, try out new sounds and create new sounds. Jams also give me a place to go for live music during the week. It's all good.

   Now that the weekend is here I am pondering where to go and how I can get out for as many of the good shows that are out there.

   Feel free to let me know what else is out there Thanks for stopping by.

bill

    I'm still getting used to putting a date reference of some kind on my posts. It is both challenging and useful... I think.

   Anyway, there are a few odds and ends I'd like to mention.

   First of all there are a few CD's coming out by some local artists and I anxiously await both.

   One is by Giovanni Von Essen, EssenTIALLY Me. That one is out and I will be getting one soon to play here. Giovanni is going to be setting up a new residence abroad (Paris I believe). That is disturbing to some degree but I was reassured that she will be bi-continental and will be here often to gig with her friends and collaborators, Poppa G and Shenole Latimer, Tim Dorsey on occasion to mention a few. I do wish her the best over there, however..and everywhere.

   Pamela Betti & Dirty Love are also cranking one out very soon. I'll be asking to buy one (or use my "Certificate" for one) at the upcoming charity event on Feb 11 assuming I can get there (see poster to the right).

   I am looking forward to some stories from Memphis from some of the lucky bastards who played down there last weekend. Talk to me, people. I live vicariously through you...among so many others.

   I also want to mention an excellent site, Mary4Music (linked on my additional links page). I go there often when I am looking for new sounds, people, blues things and I am proud to say that I got my little site here linked on their Blues on the Web list. Thanks Mary. I look forward to meeting when I get to Maryland...and I go to Maryland fairly often.

   As usual there are a number of interesting shows this coming weekend. I'll post them in a day or so. Tomorrow, being Wednesday, I am out getting my music fix and also hunting for information and leads to new stuff. For instance, I have heard a bit recently about Andy Aledort and sure enough, I see that he is playing at The Viking this weekend. That place is sort of serendepitious...if you know what I mean. I hear a new name and that name shows up at The Viking...it is not the first time....could also be the magic of Bay Shore ? !

   Like they say in California...whatever....

   Thanks for hangin.. keep me posted.

bill

   I had high hopes for the weekend. There were a few good shows and I wanted to get to a few. So, it goes. I ended up working most of the weekend, hanging at home in need of some child care at night and having a super-bowl of a Sunday. So much for a weekend of blues.

    I did get to one set of Bobby Sexton and Highway 49 at Lefty's on Saturday night. It is close enough that I can catch a set, last minute.

   Bobby Sexton can entertain. They played some Stevie Ray Vaughn and some blues rock stuff and I liked it all. There was good vocals by Bobby S and some very able guitar and the band held their own. They were good. I would like to hear more though, and since I liked what I heard I will. Lefty's was good as usual. A good crowd, a nice crowd and really good people work there. I must plan my time better so I can see entire shows and enjoy an entire night.

   I heard T-Bone & Franny Mae packed the house at Painters and had a hot night. That was where I wanted to go until my night turned...suburban.

   I also got some news about Memphis!! I saw a player online who was down there and I got some 411.

   It turns out the bands and entertainers from Long Island all had an amazing time meeting and playing with the top notch blues acts from around the country and taking in Memphis and the amazing talent there. Apparently, there were no finals winners from Long Island but I heard they placed well in their respective groups. 

   I'm sure there will be repeat winners as well as new faces going down there in the coming years and I swear I am going to go myself...to check it out ...probably to next years event if not sooner. I would love to hear all that blues and in such a fun enviornment.

   Congratulations to Sweet Suzi & The Blues Experience, Pamela Betti & Dirty Love and Bennett Harris on their accomplishment and I can't wait for the CD's coming out soon (from Pam Betti & Dirty Love) and hopefully of some stuff from the others and ...some stuff from the weekend.

  

    A friend asked me to put dates on my posts. Frankly I am resisting the idea because I prefer a title of some kind. Well, tonight I have no title so...I like her idea. Sometimes it may work. I love input though...even if I don't use it as requested.

   Is anyone else wondering how our Long Island representatives are doing down in Memphis? Sweet Suzi and The Blues Exxperience, Pamela Betti and Dirty Love, Bennett Harris are all jammin down on Beale Street. Bless their big old hearts and I wish them all the best. I sent a text down there. If I hear anything I'll say so here when I do.

   In the meantime. I hope to hear some ass-kicking music this weekend up here on freaking Long Island. I see T-Bone & Franny Mae...as well as Kerry Kearney are gigging tomorrow night. The fact that they are pretty close to each other may make it possible to see some of both. That would be a treat.

I'm dreaming probably but...never know.

    I have to say thanks to Dawn of Naked Body Guitars. Either she sees my plea's for music and is sympathetic or she hears the stuff I play here and she's...well sympathetic because she recently gave me a few CD'S to hear. She does that sometimes. She is one thoughtful lady and she has great taste. One is a Robert Cray CD and its a good one. Sin & A Shame (I think is the name).

 I'll get some of that posted here as soon as I get it digitized. That is one way to get some new sounds and I am always looking for new sounds. I also got a cd from Breakaway and I am just finishing that one up. There are some good R&R blues tunes on that. Thank you guys for that too.

   If anyone knows any good shows in Nassau or Suffolk that I missed feel free to contact me. I'll post it fer ya.

   Thanks for stopping bye. I'll be back real soon.

bill