One of our favorite places to play each summer is Buzzard Rock Resort on Lake Barkley near Kuttawa, KY. Always a nice crowd ready to have a good time and we try to do our part to help! Had a great time lat night, once again!
My pedal board this night. I change it up some from time to time but here's what I used this night: Arion Stage Tuner into Boss Tremolo, Boss Chorus, Boss Digital Delay, old Ibanez Tube Screamer, Box of Rock into amp (Blackstar Club 40). Played both the custom made Tele and the Lower Broad Caster Custom Made Strat tonight.
The weather should be perfect Friday night as we play at Buzzard Rock Resort on beautiful Lake Barkley, near Kuttawa, KY! Buzzard Rock has quickly become one of our favorite places to play because of the laid back atmosphere and the folks there are the best!
We usually play our originals mixed with an eclectic range of songs which the guest request! If you've never caught one of our shows at Buzzard Rock, you've missed a real treat!
Also, want to remind you, you can download our songs on our website! Just click here! You can download by the song, or by the CD. You can also have our CD in hardcopy and mailed to you!
We're so pleased to announce some really cool gigs coming up! Friday, July 26th we return to Buzzard Rock Resort in Kuttawa, KY, and then Sunday, August 11th, we'll return to Jackson, TN to play at the Carl Perkins/ Exchange Club Circles Hope Telethon to benefit the Carl Perkins Center For The Prevention of Child Abuse.
We'll be playing the telethon at 3PM at the Jackson Civic Center and the telethon will be broadcast LIVE on WBBJ-TV, Channel 7 out of Jackson. (Where I worked from 1983-1989) Should be a lot of fun for a GREAT cause! If you can't be there in person, be sure to watch, and pledge your support to Carl's Cener, which was so close to his heart.
We had a great time at Four Rivers Harley Davidson in Paducah, KY Saturday for their Celebrate America Event! They had a huge crowd. Some for us, and some for an arm wrestling tournament they had which proved to be a big hit. A big hit for me was the fan I started using for these outdoor gigs. I don't know why I never got one before. Makes a world of difference.
LOVE looking at all the bikes, even though I don't ride myself anymore.
R to L, Arion Runer, Boss Tremolo, Boss Delay, Ibanez Tube Screamer, and YES, SHOP FAN!
I've known Walt for years. He and his late wife used to come see us every year at the Hot August Blues Festival. He's been riding Harleys since probably before I was born or close to it. He's still riding! Good guy!
I wouldn't try to take on these gals in an arm wrestling contest, that's for sure!
We'll be playing this afternoon at Four Rivers Harley Davidson in Paducah, Kentucky at 2PM. It's part of their 2 day Celebrate America Event. Should be lot's of fun!
In addition to our performance they're going to have an arm wrestling tournament, with the winner getting a Harley Davidson motocycle! There'll be lots of other things to do and see and great food too!
For those who don't know, I also work as a multimedia consultant in addition to working as a Blues Guitartist and fronting a Blues Band for almost 20 years!
I started in the early 90s because....it was fun and I enjoyed
playing. It still is and I still do, but it also grew into more than
that. It became a lesson in how to run a small business. You might be
surprised, but running a "conventional business" is just like running a
band!
Be Prepared: For the band, this means practice, practice,
practice until you have your songs down pat. Before the Beatles ever
played the Ed Sullivan Show, they had played their songs thousands of
times throughout England and Europe, mostly in small clubs. For every
other business? It means practice, practice, practice until you have all
your employees have all your procedures own pat!
Make Your Product or Service Stand Above The Competition:
When I get ready to record our first CD, I was going to record cover
songs which we played during club gigs, but a president of a nearby
Blues Society convinced me to ditch that idea and instead write as many
original songs as possible for the CD. That way, we'd stand apart from
the thousands of other bands. He was right. I also found I had a knack
for songwriting which I never knew I had! In regular business, you
have to do something to make you stand apart. Whether it's a better
product, or service, or an aspect of how you do business which stands
apart and gives customers a reason to choose YOU over your competition!
Make Pleasing Your Audience A Top Priority: For the band,
this means playing the material the audience wants, if you can, and if
you can't, try to give them something close to what they request! Treat
them with respect and let them know you have a genuine interest in
them! One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was "There are 2
types of musicians: Those who play for the people, and those who play
for other musicians!" Nothing wrong with the latter, but since I'm not
that great of a musician myself, I choose to play for the people. I'll
never forget playing at a Festival and seeing a B-list star treating his
own fans with distain at times. That's the reason he never became an
A-list star, and in fact is now a C-list star! The same goes for any
business. Without customers, you HAVE NO BUSINESS.
Be A Pro: I once had a club owner tell me he noticed my band
never drank a lot and partied when we played there, like so many of the
other bands. I told him, "We're not here to get drunk. We're not here to
get women. We're here to do the best show we can for your customers,
and then get paid and go home!" He laughed, nodded his head, and he got
it. We were just like him. It's important for employees to have a
good time at work, but it's also important to keep it professional!
If They Do The Work, PAY 'EM: Good, dependable musicians are
so worth keeping. It's a load off a band leader's mind to know that he
doesn't have to worry about his own guys, and can concentrate on other
aspects of running the band. It's the same with regular business. Once
you find good workers you want to hang on to them! Good workers are an
advantage you can have over your competition!
Market Your Service: This means having the best publicity
release and marketing plan to get your band noticed and get better
shows, along with advertisements. You'll want to know how best to place
ads in conventional media and work your social media to deepen your
relationship with your fans. The same goes for regular business. You
have to treat your marketing just like another employee: One whose job
it is to spread the word about how great your product or service is!
Take Care Of Business: Make sure you maximize your profit
while charging a fair price, and then add new revenue streams. In my
case, that meant sometimes standing my ground over a fee to perform, and
making sure we were registered with performance rights organizations to
get as much revenue as possible. After all, if we didn't claim the
money, it would just sit there, or go back to the performance rights
organizations. There are so many bands which don't go after this money,
which is just sitting there. Sadly, many times, the best artist, are
not the best business persons. I'm happy to say, I've been able to
mentor several to show them how to get this money. After all, it's
money they've ALREADY EARNED! The same goes for regular business. You
have to maximize your efficiency to maximize profits and constantly look
for new ways to increase revenue.
The music business is a fun business, even when it's a small business, but above all, it's just like any other BUSINESS! When you're doing things right and getting your fair return, it's even MORE FUN!
We had a great time at the Shannon Street Music Festival in Jackson, Tennessee. It's the first time I've ever played there although I worked at WBBJ-TV in Jackson from 1983-1989, after working in radio near Jackson from 19-82 to 1983.
The Festival was moved indoors to the Oman Arena because of the threat of storms, but in a way that was kinda cool! I'd been to the arena many times over the years to see concerts and sporting events. I was pleasantly surprised the arena, which used to be called the Jackson Coliseum, was in great shape! Brought back a lot of memories! Wes Henley and the sound crew did an unbelievable job moving everything from the court square to the arena and getting it set up in the time for the show, and the sound was really good!
with John Kilzer
It was great to see so many old friends and catch up, then watch the other acts including Carl Mann, a Sun Records alum, and later Jackson's own John Kilzer, who I'd met years earlier while working a Carl Perkins Center Telethon at WBBJ and seen perform several times years ago.
with old friend Rich Schodel
I think they guys enjoyed taking the little trip down to my neck of the woods, too...here's the video of the trip...
