March Oneth

Another month shot to hell.


I was roused out of my TCB-rut yesterday, when I got a shocking e-mail informing me that a jook-joint I played many moons ago was totally destroyed by the recent tornadoes that hit Missouri,  Tennessee, and Kentucky.  I wrote about my experience playing Stookey's back in 2009 on my MySpace blog, and those memories flooded back to me all during my shift last night.  Not all that many white musicians can claim experience on the "chitlin circuit;" I feel very fortunate indeed to be one of the chosen few.  I learned an awful lot about the craft on the circuit during '89-91, and my education started at Stookey's.  Naturally, my heart goes out to Stookey and his family - the jook was their business for four generations, and bluesmen from Robert Johnson and Son House to Robert Cray and Yours Humbly played there for ninety years, starting in 1922.


The loss of Stookey's is a sharp reminder to me that nothing is forever in this world, and coincides with my slow re-emergence from the malaise of 2009-2011.  My absence from the blog for most of February is testimony to me simply getting down to business with steady work.  New plans are on the horizon too; I've had about enough of this "forced retirement" mess, and with any luck at all I'll be back on the boards sometime this year.  The VERY recent passing of Monkee Davy Jones is the exclamation point, and plenty good incentive as well.  The music is calling again, and I aim to answer.  Had my first serious play of 2012 a couple weeks back, and the chops are still there.


Putting them to good use once again is the main focus now.  In the meantime, the daily grind continues with a heightened sense of awareness, and a strong sense of determination.  As the pieces fall into place, y'all will be kept up to speed here.  One thing that I'm bemused about is the fact that my Drum Mentor Ginger Baker has been out in the thick of it since the middle of last year, despite his arthritis and emphysema.  I do worry for him, but on balance should something awful happen {God forbid}, at least The Guv'nor will go out with his boots on.  His circumstances are yet another sharp reminder to me that my Gifts shouldn't atrophy any more than they already have.  The Good Fight is still there to be fought, in other words - and I'm ready for another tour of duty.  The following is perfectly in tune with my feelings:

And that's pretty much where things stand at present.  Going forward should prove to be interesting as Spring approaches - with a nice payoff down the road a piece, if all goes well.  So lay back and groove for a bit, Fellow Babies. The Fighting 216th Artillery Brigade will be lumbering back up to the front in due course.  

And then the fun will really start.

More shortly.