Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Happy Birthday Carlos Santana

Celebrating Santana's birthday! No death, no politics, just celebrating music!

Something back from Woodstock...


Fast forward 30 years and it is till "Smooth" with Rob Thomas...


One of favorite Santana songs..


What's your favorite Santana song? Feel free to share in the comments as we celebrate his birthday!

Sunday, July 17, 2016

A Little Fishing



Some how June slipped away without me getting any fishing in. July I went to a couple of house parties on the bay. It was the Holiday weekend. I brought my fishing pole with me. Is that poor party adequate?

It was very cool. Swimming, jet skis, cooking out during the day. Then wandering down the pier about sunset. The sunsets were amazing! A great place to watch fireworks as well. Nice breeze felt good after sizzling July days.

Catching a dozen saltwater hardhead catfish each night. Always fun to catch consistently. Though they got in a few good slices.

Then last night I went fishing at night on a pier close to the beach. A hot summer night with a refreshing sea breeze. Interesting mix of people throughout the night. Someone appeared to get busted on the road by the pier. Watching the strobe lights of the sirens, watching as the tow truck towed the card, and everyone on the pier appeared relieved it wasn't them.


I wasn't fishing for anything big. Ended up catching a half dozen fish including catfish, croaker and ground mullets. Just a good way to spend a night for an insomnia suffering person.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Latest Milestone: 100,000 pageviews

Somewhere between last night and early this morning my blog went over the 100,000 pageview mark.

Neat how that follows a celebration of two years of participating in the Battle of the Bands bloghop thing. Constants are getting harder to find in my writing life.

I don't know where this blog is going. At this point the blog has outlived whatever purpose or design it had. I thank my viewers for stopping in.

This post is becoming more of a eulogy. The blog is not coming to an end. It is just starting another chapter. I hope you stick around and come discover what's next as the blog moves forward.


Friday, July 15, 2016

Battle of the Bands: The Song Remains the Same

Perhaps my anniversary post is a fitting time to tip my hat to Far Away Eyes (FAE). She started this with Stephen and is credited for having the first Battle of the Bands. She's moved on, she's missed, and the Battles continue. Interestingly, she left the first comment on my first Battle of the Bands. However, as I reflect back to where I started with the Battle of the Bands she deserves at least a Thank You!



My first Battle of the Bands was two year ago, you can see it here. Jeffrey Scott started my wheels turning on what to do to mark my two year anniversary with one of his questions he adds to his Battles. I think only one of my contenders got a vote and the rest went for the original.

I started with "Dead Flowers"by the Rolling Stones. My original thought was to just redo the Battle. But that Battle had it's season. I'm looking back but moving forward as well. So the contenders have changed but the song remains the same.

Contender One:  The Cowboy Junkies


Contender Two: The New Riders of the Purple Sage



Not putting the original on this one. Vote in the comments and I'll announce the winner around the 21st. Also please visit the other Battles a list can be found here! Tune in again on the 1st and I will have a brand new battle!




Thursday, July 7, 2016

Battle of the Bands: Lauren O'Connell wins Death Match



Lauren O'Connell ran away with my Battle of the Bands battle for July 1, 2016. She bested Jen Titus 8 to 1. Titus had her version used on the show Supernatural.

Here is Lauren O'Connell with an original song "The Daylight Here"...



Here she is with Ryan Lerman with another original song..."I Belong to You"


I'll leave with a cover..


If you want to find out more about Lauren O'Connell you can visit her website.

I'll be back on the 15th with another battle. It will be a Battle of the Bands Anniversary, so in some ways it will be just like starting over.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

R.I.P Rob Wasserman

Rob Wasserman passed away on Jun 29, 2016. The bassist was 64. The Grammy Award winning worked with a bunch of musicians including Bob Weir, Lou Reed and David Grisman to highlight a few.

Here is his Grammy Award winning song with Bobby McFerrin...


"Easy Answers" Bob Weir, Neil Young, and Rob Wasserman..


Here is an all bass version of "Satisfaction"..


Ratdog with "Lucky Enough"...


Rob Wasserman was an incredible talent on the bass, his music will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Friday, July 1, 2016

Battle of the Bands: O Death R.I.P Ralph Stanley


Picking songs and ideas for the Battle of the Bands can get tough when you get distracted by other songs you find.


Here are the rules: You pick the one you like best by casting your vote in the comments. I tally them up and I will announce the winner on the 7th. I encourage you to check out the other mighty Battles and if you want to join up details can be found here!

Ralph Stanley a bluegrass legend passed away on June 23. He is the inspiration for this Battle. Bluegrass and Americana make appearances on my Battles once in a while. I'll try to keep the twang to a minimum.

The song I choose is "O Death." A traditional song dating back to the 1920's. Perhaps penned by Lloyd Chandler. Where ever the roots of this song come from Dr. Stanley turned it into a Grammy. I think the song s fitting..

Ralph singing it...


Vote for one of the contenders. Not Ralph Stanley. He already won a Grammy.

Contender One: Lauren O'Connell


Contender Two: Jen Titus



It should be an interesting battle. I look forward to seeing who wins. The winner is decided by your votes in the comments so vote away!