Signifcant Events..and the Ed Sullivan Show

We survived our first News Year's Eve in New Orleans..loud..these people here love their fireworks!!!. went off all night,starting at about 9 pm and lasting till about 3 am. Allison and I stayed home and cooked veal t-bones(something I never saw or had back in AK) with this really sweet corn. I find it not a little significant that our move here to NOLA would occur on my 54th birthday,at the dawn of a new decade and to top all that off,last night was a once in like 80 year event...a "blue moon". If I were superstitious I'd call this a sign of things to come. I think God decided to make it special and meaningful. I took a walk down my street yesterday to go check out a local bar,see what kind of lave music they have and who to talk with about a gig. Right now there isn't much I can do because my gear is still in transit. We live in Mid-City off a beautiful tree lined street called "Bank Street" I had wanted just to take a walk to get a feel and yesterday was a beautiful clear sunny day to do so. Driving the streets and walking the side walks of NOLA can be a challenge for some less agile. The side walks have to compete with huge tree roots. Sometimes the concrete is totally buckled and pushed upward. Walking down the street I was struck by the beauty of some of the homes yet there was across the street a Katrina trailer parked in a yard. There are still houses on this block that have the spray painted numbers form the aftermath. Once I got to the bar I felt right at home. Funky little dive,smallish stage in the back,lots of art work,typical neighborhood club. Even had some guy they called 'Pork Chop" getting loud and being asked to leave. Met some of the locals, the bartender was from AK..The club features an eclectic cross section of music. That night the band playing did "Dixie land heavy metal"? The nice thing about being in a city like NOLA you can get away with something that wouldn't fly anywhere else and actually find a club that will let you play it under their roof. Still it's nice to know there is a club right around the corner where I can gig from time to time.

Another thing I've noticed about this town is the profusion of Daiquiri's places. They got daiquiri drive threws jazz daiquiri clubs..it's like...sea food,churches,and daiquiris..everywhere,weird. Later today we hook up with our landlord to pay the rent. I'm bringing them some cd's of my music. She asked to bring her something when she had found out I had just released 3 projects on itunes. Aside from being our landlords her husband is a working musician here and they operate an independent record label. There is quite a recording scene here and if anything I may be able to snag some session work. I've decided to include another episode from "Me and my Guitar"..another significant event that took place when I was 8.

Ya Ya Ya

In the early 60's the family and I lived in San Francisco. We lived several blocks up from Market street in a side by side house with an unfinished basement and a long back yard.My brother Glenn and I had many adventures walking around the city I grew up very close to my brother and sister Ellen,

I had had the biggest scare of my young life when a few years earlier Glenn, while pinning some stuff to a board at school, had breathed in some straight pins he was holding in his teeth.The pins punctured one of his lungs and this led to 3 surgeries. Glenn nearly died because on the third surgery he contracted staph.

I learned from my older brother,anything deep fried tastes better,that the best part of a baked potato is the skins smothered in butter and sour cream. My brother taught me the joy of reading, the joy of sci-fi. Glenn has grown to become a very successful businessman and a world class dog breeder with a room full awards including several from the world class Westminster Dog show. As well as being an expert historian and collector of civil war memorabilia.Glenn can discuss at length guns and has a huge collection of guns/artifacts that date back as far as the 1400's. On top of all this Glenn is one of the funniest guys you can meet. I grantee you he will put you in stitches.

Glenn and I would go to the movies every Saturday down on Market Street. We would eat snow cones,pizza by the slice and see horror movies(none of which I ever saw spending the whole time between the seats,see I liked going to movies but hated getting scared) Glenn was always making things being good with his hands. We built a cross bow out of a beam we found in the basement and a piece of trim.We used to shoot at stray cats in the back yard.We walked around town picking up pop cycle sticks for weeks when we were done Glenn took some glue and a zacto knife and made a farm house with a silo all from scratch.

The city was a tuff place to live as a kid...he and I had to face a lot of youth gangs and bullies. But there was a calm in the storm. every Sunday night the family would hunker down in front of our black and white TV and watch "The Ed Sulli-van Show" my Dad had a big easy chair and after dinner it was show time.

This Sunday would be far different than the usual fare of dancers,bears riding bikes and guys spinning plates on sticks...."Ladies and Gentlemen ....The Beatles.....My sister Ellen comes running out of her room all excited oohing and auhing over the band...me and Glenn are looking on with utter shock having never seen nor heard anything like this before(country music being the only thing we heard growing up)...then from the throne of the big easy chair we hear this...."What the hell is this noise!...Look at these assholes...they look like a bunch of GIRLS with all that hair, what a bunch of clowns...then Ellen turns around and starts squabbling with Dad over the boys,he starts hollering at her,she starts to cry and runs out the room in the mean time mom comes out of the bedroom and starts yelling at Dad for upsetting Ellen this sparks a shouting match between the two of them(my nice Irish family)all over some long hair rock and roll!!...I look over and Glenn is leaning against the wall trying to stay out of the fray.....meantime I am utterly transfixed by what I hear and what I see...that beat, the music, look at all that hair,those outfits,them shoes and most of all THOSE GUITARS!!!..I don't know what this is but I GOT TO GET ME ONE!!!from that point on my life was ruined..and there would be a life long struggle between me and my red neck Dad over the length of my hair....WE LOVED THEM BEATLES YA YA YA ...