Wednesday came and went and I got in my night at a jam. My most frequent source for blues on humpnight is Lefty's with Blue Matter hosting. Arty Panico, lead axeman, was in a chillin mood and he gave me what I needed. Ray Wade was blue, Ms. Kelly was dependably solid and Ralph Santiago let his hair down (literally) which was...different. I admit I was a bit intimidated by the abundance of hair on that head.

   Anyway, sometimes things get scary blue and sometimes the weight of my mind sinks me low in my chair as I sit and listen. I cut off the people around me because I need to sometimes.

   Luckily there were some friendly faces out last night and they snapped me out of my funk. Regina, the recent barmaid at Lefty's was genuinely friendly. She was welcome and so was Mary the vocalist who didn't vocalize this Wed. night but who was there to hang...and Ms. Cash who had a glow on.

   The peripheral people and elements saved me from a dark place last night and I'm grateful. That's why I go out there and find the blues...both to share an experience and to get myself out of it. It all worked thankyouverymuch.

   Sometimes I hear people make statements about someone playing somewhere on the island and who is better and who is good and who is bad and blah, blah, blah. I find that anyone trained on an instrument can say something with it and sometimes they do and sometimes I am there to enjoy it and if I  don't try to get out I never will enjoy it.  So, there you go. Whether you feel festive or blue it pays to go out and seek some music to connect with. You will find it. Enjoy.

   I would also like to pass on a contact I found. I have been looking into podcasting or at least video-taping some live performance for some local video entertainment here. I recently ran into someone who is capable but she will only be around for anonther few weeks as she is taking a trip overseas to work in filmaking. She is around for a few weeks and will be available to shoot a live performance if anyone out there would like to take advantage...probably for a fee of some kind but she is hungry and interested in doing this stuff again in the future after her overseas gig.

   You can contact Tracy @ 646 266 3551 or e-mail her at JustJac.studios@gmail.com. Good opportunity.

   Thanks for checking in.

bill

    What little hair I have is kinking up, the air is thick as pea soup and it's sticky outside. Summer's here on Long Island. Ain't it wonderful!? I'll be bummed when it's raining so it isn't all bad but for those with "kinkable" hair it's a tough place to live. I guess that's why God invented hair gel... and air conditioning.

   So I have been buried in work. That means buried in sawdust, which is now stuck to me like dark colored flour at the end of the day(it's a walnut piece for the time being). Nice...

    The work is a blessing of course but it has had me chasing deadlines and unable to indulge in the recent days music events. There were the Sunday and even Monday evening jams I missed. Monday now has a Blue Matter jam at The Venetian Hut in the evening. It sounded so nice and I wanted to bring my daughter but she was at a party (tough life) and I had a deadline I had to meet.

Maybe next week. It sounds nice to be at the beach listening to music in the summer. It reminds me of probably my favorite experience of music "al fresco".

   A few years ago in Vegas the Ms. and I were there for a rare summer visit and as usual she was planted at a card table while I was roaming the streets abd casinos. I enjoy looking for spots to find music and people. Perfect Vegas companions. Unfortunately good music is not easy to find on or near the strip.

   As I was nearing the end of my walking limits I found Margerita-ville! No kidding!! It is right on the strip and it was jumping with midday tourists and a band. People were having lots of fun and there were so many there the "mingling" was inevitable. The HUGE drinks didn't hurt the social aspect either.

   I met a few crazy's who entertained me for the rest of the week and we ended almost every day there at Mr. Buffet's place. It was a wonderfully festive oasis in a screaming hot, crazy place in the middle of the desert and it is my standard for all outside, daylight music venues.

  I know I won't find exactly that here on LI but there are the occasional outside events and venues. Hey, remember the old OBI....on a weekend afternoon?

   Nuff said...enjoy the summer.

   Let me know if I missed anything on my calender and thanks for checking in.

bill

    I took my own advice and went out and hunted down some music last night. My travels took me to Jessie's Lipsmackin Roadhouse in Merrick for some John Judd (and co.).

   Well I got there mid-show apparently and I missed a precious set but I got to hear some Judd guitar and it's some good stuff. He plays really well off the page so-to-speak. His riffs are beautiful little creations, little pearls. Like oysters and clams on the half shell I find myself smackin my lips for more.

   It makes changing my night of the week (Wed to Thursday for Judds jam) almost seem considerable which it is not due to domestic issues. I guess I'll have to feed on the moresls he/they dish out on weekends...or is there a cd I can buy? I'll look into that.

   Afterwards I ran over to The Viking to hear some Dare Ya Band who I really like. It was pretty much too late there though. I caught  some good tunes by some non-Dare Ya players along with John Dunn and it was good stuff naturally but I basically missed the Dare Ya sets. Oh well, it was a good night and a good weekend.

  For now I have my new music sampler from WFUV 90.7 Radio Station. I re-upped my membership and they send a CD with some of their favorite artists as a gift. It has some good stuff, ostly alternative, folk and rock but the station plays almost everything and it's great listening on weekdays if you're in the car. I check that as well as the Long Island stations because I cannot take commercial radio.

   Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by.

bill  

   So with some geographic limitations I was able to take in some good stuff last night.

   Smiling Dogs were fun and they were at the always scary Players Club. Jeanie on vocals, Poppa G, bass, Henning Stumm on drums and Bill Marino on axe all  made some good music. It's blues/rock fare and done well and Mz. Jeannie is vocalizing nicely. You can check them out tonight at Lefty's...sans Mr. Marino who will be in Patchogue making some Dirty Love. There's another good option with Brickhouse across the street.

   We also got to check out Bobby Sexton who was close by at Giacomo's. It was fortunate that there were shows so close to me and to each other. It was one of those nights I had to stay close to home for domestic reasons.

I had not seen Mr. Sexton in a while and we only caught the last two songs but he rocks nicely and the place is a nice hang out. Josh from Jacks O Diamonds was there to provide the encore and it turned out to be a full night of some of that quality Long Island variety blue, funky, jazzy soulful rock-n-roll ...kinda stuff.

Go get some for yourselves tonight...ya hear? It'll do you good.

  bill

   A week full of angst, joy, news and blues and, thank God, decent weather is done. It's Friday and there's a good choice of entertainment for our recreational pleasure.

   I also heard some good news about the beloved Sam "Bluzman" Taylor. It seems he is conscious and stable and things seemed to be looking up as of last evening. He is in my thoughts and many others I have spoken to recently.

   There are many shows and festivals out there in the coming weeks and months and I have two of the biggies posted here with links.

   There are a few others and one is coming up next Tuesday evening at Mulcahy's, 10pm.  It is the "Paper Bag" (30th Annual...The theme is "The Dirtbag"). It is the worlds only 60 piece rock band and there's quite a cast. I hear it is quite a party and the bill includes The Outpatients or some of the players, Johnny Kola, etc.. I'll get something posted here with more about it. Stay tuned.

  The shows coming up in July both look amazing. The Riverhead Festival is always good and it is about Blues, naturally. Check out the link on the right for the performers and schedules.

   The American Music Festival has a broader range and also a good cast of bands and musicians. Check that out too and why not go to both. The casts are exclusive of each other pretty much and you'll hear all the best Long Island and the surrounding areas have to offer.

   Thanks for stopping by and feel free to let me know of any shows I may have missed.

   Enjoy.

bill

  

   This being a journal or log, as they say (Blog = web-log), I come here to vent as well as entertain and inform...assuming I do that.

   As usual my "ventilations" include the diatribe about being stuck home and unable to get out for music. Last night was symptomatic of what may be a difficult couple of weeks with more of the same.

   I put Mrs. Bilf on a plane to the other side of the planet for a couple of weeks. No, she hasn't been banished for bad behavior. It is a long and gut wrenching episode that hopefully concludes in her being there for this visit. It is "otherworldly" both there in SE asia and here in the private world we co-create but that is too big a lump of drama to knead here and now. On this page I'll keep it to the residual effects and how it pisses me off in a more provincial manner.

   I had a rare miss on a Wednesday night, last night and it hurt for a while. I will soon solve my childcare issues though and I will get some other nights out. This will give me a chance to catch more of the other jams. Maybe I'll get to a John Judd Thursday night thing and maybe I'll get to one of the really good Sunday night jams. One thing pretty certain is that my routine will be busted and I will have more to say both good and bad. Routines need to be broken for the sake of creativity and when one's life is so "cratered" one needs creative thinking to cultivate the difficult landscape.

   Thank God for music and the local scene of those who make it or I would have only the one dimensional aspect of listening to digits on my media rather than the fabric of people performing and all the social dynamics that make us shudder and laugh and cry and talk about each other. Speaking of which...

   I'm hoping Sam Taylor is doing well. If anyone has any news I'd love to hear it. I'll pass on anything I do hear.

   I'm hoping I get out tonight and/or over the weekend and I hope you all get out too.

   Thanks for stoping by and for keeping me posted about all the good gigs this weekend.

bill 

   I woke to some disturbing news this morning that Mr. Sam "Bluzman" Taylor is in the hospital (Good Sam) with pneumonia. I heard that he is stable but serious.

   Sam has been out there a lot lately givin it up and he has seemed good. This is a surprise to hear and hope he gets well soon. He's a joy to see and hear and I suspect that he is strong and will do well.

   I posted the events as I found them for the coming days. Let me know of any serious errors or omissions.

   Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you all soon...like tonight. It's Wednesday...jam night. Everyone has a jam night, right??

bill

  

    It's almost always good when new ideas are pursued. Saturday night I was not disappointed by checking out the Creole Moon gig at Lefty's in Lindenhurst. The band was a clever collabortion of the right type pieces for a creative leap off of a New Orleans platform.

   Rob Lepano (vocals) offered the Nawlin's nuance with surprisingly right-on vocals for the material and some percussion instruments that also lent some Creole flavor. He was joined by Shenole Latimer very capably on sax, Poppa G on bass, Henning Stumm on drums and good guitar and keys.

   We stayed for most of the show and the sound grew tighter as the sets progressed. A characteristic of the music that entertained me was the aspect of separate sounds playing with each other rather than a more typical "harmony" of many instruments playing as one. I could hear the sax playing a piece with the vocals doing his piece as the drums hit a tune and the piano had his own. The guitar was enjoying his own thing as well. They played merrily together and the pieces made some joyful, jazzy, funky soul with a drawl....so to speak.

   I'll look for them again for sure and I may even switch my drink the next time...I feel like something different...maybe a try at some rum. Someone out there tell me how to enjoy rum. I have no idea why but I feel like some.

   Speaking of Lefty's I heard (and posted) yesterday that Blue Matter is jamming on Monday evenings now at The Venetian Hut in Lindenhurst. It sounds early enough and "beachy" enough to maybe bring the child down there on occasion. Hey, maybe some of that New Orleans spice will rub off and they'll have it at the beach with them.

   So I hope ya'll had a nice Fathers Day weekend. My Mets sucked pretty much but it was nice overall and this Long Island weather is quite happy lately, no?

   Thanks for checking in.

bill

   With a not-so-early start time last night I figured I'd catch some Dirty Love at Cherrywood Cafe in Wantagh. It's been a while since I'd had any of that good stuff and Pam Betti and Co. usually keep it going a little for us late nighters.

   Well with summer in swing already the crowds at the "inland" locations have thinned a bit but it was still a nice little crowd at Cherrywood and Ms. Betti is a fun entertainer with some quality players in Dirty Love. They play a good mix of blues and rock and last night Val (of Little Buster fame) was there to spice up the mix on bass. With all the gigging they and others do it always helps to have guest players show up although I admit I'm a fan of Betti and the boys and their fare is entertainment in itself.

   I'll be back soon with some advance info on some good shows coming up. Summer has a lot of those and I'll have all the 411 here. Stop back often for your live music information. I try to keep a good list for you here. I also appreciate help from the musicians and managers in getting the gig info.

Thanks for that and thanks for stopping by.

   Happy Fathers Day weekend!

bill

    Last night, Thursday, was a good one for the Long Island music scene.

   There was the Anniversary Party at Bobbique in Patchogue. For you newcomers, Bobbique's is a great rib restaurant on Main St. in Patchogue across the street from Brickhouse Brewery. They have been serious about hiring good musical talent since they opened about a year ago and it is a place to go for dinner and music on a weekend. They will always have a good show on a weekend night. They also have a good jam on Thursday nights sponsored by the Long Island Blues Society. 

   The show last night included, well, see the list on the right. I heard it was amazing and I was stranded at home unfortunately. I heard Sweet Suzi  showed up with Chris(py chicken) Laybourne (saxman extrordinaire) and stringman Johnny(tsunami) Anderson. Apparently they all shined as did the other headline acts. It was a great cast.

   Also last night was the Thursday night jam at ET Quiggs in Bellmore. That has gotten a reputation for being a great jam every week with John Judd and co.. Last night some of the players from the Bobbique Anniversary show migrated over there and jammed on into the night.

   These are special nights of entertainment and if you stay tuned here and in the local music periodicals and Blues Society sites you can find them and attend. These are open shows and it is great music.

   If you do stop by here and follow this stuff you will also realize that I am often grounded by circumstances and the anxiety that creates motivates me to write about it all-the-more and keep you posted so you can fill me in on the stuff I miss. Okay? See how that works?

   So get out there, have some fun and keep me posted. I'll try to do the same.

bill

    At a recent family gathering an "older" relative stated that she was not sure if she ever knew any blues artists. She being over 75 I mentioned BB King and some female singers like Aretha and I mentioned that Sinatra sang a lot of blues as did a number of his cronies. I figured it was a longshot for her to know the southern blues originals like Robert Johnson and the like. In fact my aunt was not familiar with BB Kings stuff or even much of Ms. Franklin and she never thought of Sinatra as a blues artist.

   I also had a conversation the other night with a local "rock" guitarist who commented that there aren't many good "blues" artists here on Long Island. I took a big gulp anticipating a long and emotional response and started naming all the Long Island performers I have been enjoying for the last few years. He said, "well those are good artists but not really blues artists." We ended up agreeing mostly on how good the artists I mentioned are but not really that they are all "blues".

   So often when I discuss a place or artist with a "lay" person inquiring about where to go some night they say they don't really like blues or jazz. When I tell them the playlists and the influences of some of the local headline acts they respond differently. They say they didn't know that was blues.

    Well the blues songs I enjoy are not always found in the genre "blues".

    Some artists perform a blue tune on a rock album. Some rock artists perform music that comes from blues roots and some folk and alternative singers emote "blue" stories and emotions.

   Blues can come from anyone. Everyone, at some point, goes through some "downs" and other life experiences. Blues is sharing lifes experiences and as a genre it is sort of like America. (a land of immigrants) ... a genre of artists from other "genre's. There are those that proudly own the genre of blues but even they play outside of it with some rock and folk and some jazz.

   There is no question that the music I have heard from the hands and voices of so many local performers has been genuine blues and emotional expression. It has "moved" me and still does. In fact I need it and it is never far or long in finding. There is something in the sharing of the emotion that finds me. Thats  the best way I can describe the attraction. It is music that comes from and goes to emotional origins.

   If anyone asks about who is doing the blues around here feel free to send them here. It may not be Mississippi, Memphis or Chicago blues central but it is an eclectic blues interpretation...like that which I have enjoyed around here. Maybe it's "Long Island" blues..a melting pot of south, east, rural, city, modern, pop, folk, funk and jazz influenced blues....to name a few.

   Thanks for checking in.

bill 

   The introduction of the iPod has created some unusual habits for me. I am not sure when it started and it might as well be a habit because I wear the stupid Nano thing in my ear while I sleep. No kidding. I think there are too many scary things in my head and I need to soothe myself to sleep.

    The problems of day to day life are way too much sometimes and I am hooked on the escape of my tunes. The selection, therefore, of my music is critical. If there is a song that I don't like to hear or that causes me any disturbance I have to delete it the next morning. The effort of putting on my now mandatory reading glasses, finding the iPod somewhere under me and then finding the right button is waaay too taxing during the night. I get up promptly and angrily, head to the computer and get rid of the song-turned-sour first thing in the morn. Is that crazy or what?

   I don't even understand how I can sleep with it in. I listen to Hendrix, Government Mule and some other guitar licks as well as the vocalists I enjoy.

   Once I dreamed I was with Patty Griffin and she had this attitude with me. It disturbed me because her voice is like an angel to me. I guess it was an iNightmare. I am sure I was listening to her song in my sleep and the next song took me somewhere else. I must have tried to take her with me and she wanted no part of it. Hmmm, maybe she doesn't like to travel. This gets confusing but if you need a life, and apparently I do, it is like a virtual life with my favorite artists. Maybe thats why I like live music...and why I like sleeping with my iPod. Geez, now I'm getting confused. Imagine what will happen when I dream with a local artist in my ear...yikes!

   In any case I do get my sleep. The iPod does seem to help and I feel like I know Patty Griffin intimately. There you go. Try that and let me know who you sleep with.

   Thanks for following this...assuming you did. Let me know who's music makes for some deep sleep or some good dreams... and thanks for stopping by. Please keep me posted of any gigs I missed here or changes for the coming weekend.

bill

   This has to be a quickie. I'm heading to Joisey today for a graduation thang. I wanted to post about a great night last night and about a gig I forgot to post yesterday for T-Bone and Franny. The velvety duo are going to be at Anchors in Mastic today 3-7. Check em out.

   As for last night I caught MISbHAVIN at Bobbique and was lucky enough to get to Andy Aledort at The Viking afterwards.

   I know the drama surrounding the MISbHAVIN gang has been sort of "thick" but I had told Pat H a while back that I was going to catch a full show of theirs soon and last night worked out. I was also happy to support Donnie Celenza whom I admire tremendously. They had a nice turnout and they made beautiful music...all of them. They bring some sharp edges with their music and some city style. It's a fun show. They can lead with at least three different people and that keeps it interesting. Pat Hunter brings that wild range of emotion to her music and thats pretty entertaining. Danny Keane of course can vocalize and play so many things and Donnie C's guitar never disappoints me. They were enjoyable!

   Andy Aledort also never disappoints. He had a full stage of players and they rocked me last night. I didn't want the night to end. I'm going to get some of his (and MISbHAVIN'S) stuff and play it here because I don't have the time now nor the words that are any better than the sounds I heard last night.

   Gotta run but thanks to them for a great night of music and thanks for stopping by.

bill

   I have conflicted feelings about My Space, the website. I also have conflicted feelings about my space, the life. Thats a long story obviously and bits and pieces of those issues are pretty much what I pick at here on "this space".

   For the time being I'd like to discuss "My Space" the site where everyone can (and does apparently) create a page for themselves.

   Some of the pages have so much content and entertainment that I can spend blocks of time reading and watching the video clips. The media available for us to express ourselves now is daunting. It is all the more challenging to do something with it now that we can all use it. Pictures, videos, music words, publication. What shall we say? What shall we explore? What shall we do with the stage? That is the interesting thing!

   One of the issues I have with "My Space" is the fact that I have been creating this site, my blog, for about two years now. I spent time and effort making a "space" for my site on the world wide web. I spent a lot of time (believe it or not) finding the graphics I could use with the limited software building tools that I have. I had to find a name that was available and somehow both trivial enough and non-confining enough. With all that I eventually ran into the issues of traffic and linking, etc.

   Soon after I started hearing about My Space and how I HAD to get a place there. Well, I made one ("green olive blues".  At the time I didn't think I had to create a place for Billfoolery). My Space is a good "marketplace" for the music and pop culture biz. Big biz for sure. The "rub" lies in the fact that it is not exactly navigable as part of the world wide web. It is sort of separate and I am trying to figure out how to navigate that "barrier". Thats one of my challenges.  

   So one of the things that brought me to the subject of My Space today is a recent request to become a "friend" of one of my favorite artists, Warren Haynes. I see that many people have world famous artists as friends and I figured that if I was going to have one I would want it to be Warren...among a few others.

   I sent the request and I got a response in the form of a question. I liked that. I was asked why I wanted to be a friend of  Mr. WH. It gave me a chance to tell the person (Warren perhaps?) why I felt this desire. How often do we get to tell a person like that why we feel that way about them.

   I understand that this can and probably will fall on tired ears. I am sure they get many requests and my words may not even be read that carefully. That's fine but I liked that fact that I was asked. It matters that my "friends" are people who I either know and like, want to like or just respect as artists (and may not even want to know).

   I'll be growing into My Space over time I'm sure and, hopefully, I'll be growing in to the WWW at least as fast. I like the open-ended potential better on the WWW and the more varied readers I may find. I hope others stay with the broader world of the web too. And I also hope I get approved as a friend of Warren Haynes.

   Thanks for stopping by.

bill

     

   Right here on our island of Long we have so much in the way of  humanity.

While following the world of blues via personal experience, online groups, word of mouth, and e-mails I have been lucky enough to be a fly-on-the-wall for various forms of drama. I think I like it better being a "journalist" and listener of music though. The performing artists are a volatile bunch and quite colorful of late.

   Given the chance to "vent" they take full advantage and it is not for the meek. There is little in this life I like more than honest,unadulterated communication and when creative people get confrontational feathers fly. All this was recently sparked by the episode at Chesterfields when Mr. Donnie Celenza was disrespected by the clubs management (to put it mildly) during a gig.

   Mr. C is obviously a pivotal figure around here because all groups converged for a hearty discussion. The consensus seems to be that not many experienced musicians will be seen there anytime soon...justifiably. It was a crude occurance and Donnie Celenza happens to be a kindly, peaceful and very talented guy...not deserving of such treatment. Nice to see the community gathering in support...however "wayward" the process.

   Emerging from the cloud of dust in the last day or so was some news that an independent film-maker will be shooting something about our local world of blues music. It seems they contacted Pamela Betti and Dirty Love about using a few of their original pieces for the film. It also seems that PB&DL pushed for the use of other local artist's stuff and hopefully there will be exposure for lots of our talented and colorful local musicians.  

   It's a group worthy of a film or two...for sure. I can imagine a few amusing scenarios now......nahhh. Better not. LOL

   I know, I need to get a life.

   I happen to respect and enjoy all the local artists I have met and I appreciate all of them for their variety and conviction.

   If anyone wants to put together a film of our own about the local "color" let me know...I'm all over the idea.

   Thanks again for stopping by.

bill

   First of all I heard (read) about Amy Winehouse from London. It was a good read in Rolling Stone, recent issue. The lady has it in her. She's an original and I hope she stays that way. I'm sure she will. As for the magazine, I can't resist reading it even though they are relentlessly politically one-sided.

   One thing I have to repeat, and I will do it often, is that if someone is consistently one-sided in their opinion and consistently one sided in their criticism then they are not seeing or thinking clearly or truthfully. Fact is we should not be sold a package of political goods by either party and I get hysterically bothered by people who are self-rightous in their one-sidedness. Is either party always right or always wrong? They want us to believe that so we vote for one party all the time...so we don't think about the other party or issue, so we vote without thinking. Sorry but I don't buy in bulk...especially ideas. If I am going to quote or reference Rolling Stone Magazine I have to cite them for their blindness.

   Another thing I heard is that Mr. Donnie Celenza was treated abusively and maliciously by management at Chesterfields over the weekend. It seems that during a gig a disagreement ensued between Donnie C and the manager, Cliff. The manager got abusive and physical. I understand Donnie C was quite calm and professional in response to such treatment and that the manager of Chesterfields was not. I heard this from more than one source by the way.

   I only mention this here because I have promoted the place here a number of times. I also promote Donnie Celenza. I now feel it is within my "subject matter" to mention. As one musician put it "..you will know what to do with this information...". There is a certain "tension" between artist and business owner but the line should be respected by both. It should also be noted that the artist is more rare and, yes, more valuable a commodity. Sorry to hear this and I will do my best to support Donnie C and others out there trying to maintain an existence as an artist.

   Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the gig and other information that I find in my mailbox.

bill

    Frustration can be a wonderful thing. It can expand ones boundaries of tolerance. It can heal ones liver. It can grow the bonds with ones family. It can provide time for things that don't always have a place in my calender (maybe theres a reason for that).

   News Flash! Frustration can cause ogida, general pain and depression!

   So I didn't get to ANY music shows this weekend. I did get to Pirates of the Caribbean with the fam on Friday night and that was sensory overload. Truthfully, it was hard to take so much pirate lore and fighting and Hollywood noise.

   The plan was to spend Friday night with wife and child and because Mrs. bilf had to work Sat. night I would have to make that my nigiht for blues. My schedule was also defined by the fact that I could not score tix for the Bonamassa show Friday night. I should have known weeks ago that it was going to sell out. Anyway, my lovely daughter ended up with a fever Sat. night and I was sunk like a pirates ship in the Caribbean. I did end up with an opportunity around 1am when the Mrs. came waltzing in from work.  I did skulk over to Da Funky Phish for an olive or two and an outside chance for some live music. Even the late nighters in Bay Shore were packing it in and Mr. Kingfish had some real blather playing on his system. I couldn't take the pain.

   Also painful were the e-mail bulletins Sunday morning of all the shows I missed. Oh well, my child is feeling better today, I got some much needed housework done last night (doing laundry can be sooo... creatively void. And I mean that in a bad way).

   I'll be raging this week for some real blues content. I will be looking for some pain and frustration and I mean heartfelt, blood draining stuff.

   In the "sliver-lining" department, I was able to listen to some of the CD's that have been kicking aorund in my car for the last few weeks. I enjoyed the hell out of a Franny Mae disc and I also enjoyed my new Sam Taylor CD. I also was somewhat impressed by a Dave Drew piece or two.

   I'll be getting that stuff burned and up-and-playing here soon...not to mention some Bonamassa which I have yet to purchase....all in a lost weekend night. Coming soon I'm sure.

   Thanks so much for tolerating my pain today. Maybe, hopefuly others that are nightlife challenged can relate and will become sufficiently motivated to break out and go find some satisfaction soon, as the level of frustration reaches the "blue point temperature". Mine has.

bill

   So I am really challenged to figure out how to get out more on Thursday nights. The issues are tough to overcome but the music is pretty rich.

   My friend and fearless reporter, Audrey C, was so moved by her night at ET Quiggs that she dropped me some lines about it. Truth be told I have been bugging her to do that. She always has so much to tell and in such rich detail that I have been nudging her to write it down. I need more eyes and ears and shes a real fan of this stuff...as am I. Thanks Cash. You da bomb!

 

"The blue moon reaaally delivered last night at ET Quiggs in Bellmore! You missed a good one Bill, even I was dancing!.......Durand Daniels, your affable and capable host, along with Nick de Pinto on bass, and Ralphie Santiago on drums always attract an eclectic crowd on Thursday nights. By the way, a little birdie told me that Durand was cheating on us Wednesday night @ Reflections….rockin’ out with Donnie Celenza and Dave Patrick ! Patrick, Dr. Dan, Anthony Steele, Billy Wagner, Jim Kolman, Geo Blaze, Bruce, Charley T, Mark from Rockslide, Bill Post, Charley Howard on bass so Nick could get a break, and Mark and Freddie on keys were just some of the gunslingers that strolled up to the shooting match.....Johnny Cola and the Outpatients got up and represented in the name of surf, then introduced a girl guitar player named Ronnie Lake from Minnesota and her drummer Scott Howe who proceeded to surf all over Johnny...trading licks in the name of girl power.......! But Johnny held on tight and wouldn’t let go till the tide ran out…or was it the reverb? She’ll be at Otto’s Shrunken Head Saturday night, or check out ronnielake.com. John Judd showed up for his close up, and rocked out “She’s into Something” by Robert Cray, and “Problem Child” with the house band plus a few…. The line up shape shifted again, with Charley T, Jim Kolman and Dr. Dan and Bruce on drums behind Judd while they ripped up the room on “Elizabeth Reed”, and you could smell the gunpowder while John solo’d on “Sissy Strut”. Mark Mancini, of the Kerry Kearny Band and Soul Be It dragged his piece in and things got even funkier... backing up “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys”…Freddie slipped behind the keys for a full out rendition of “Superstition” that would’ve made Stevie proud……..Junior behind the bar kept us in libations all evening. If I had a fantasy blues bar he would be at the helm, being the great supporter of live music that he is…..! by this time of the evening…(don’t ask I can’t remember) my head was spinning from all the great sounds and camaraderie at my favorite Thursday night open mic…..so it was sleepytime time for me…..and a fun time had by all!"

Thanks for stopping by.

bill