ON THE PLAYER: People Get Ready by Darrell Mansfield
Check out his MySpace - He's in my Top Friends! "Darrell Mansfield is "the Charlie Parker of the harmonica!" (and a fine singer!)
Check out this great Darrell Mansfield video clip:Darrell Mansfield / Million Dollar Feeling NOT AVAILABLE
I have another Darrell Mansfield video clip called the Power Of Love towards the bottom on the left side of my page. Enjoy!
CLICK THE BANNER FOR BIBLE TEACHING IN AUDIO
I am into God! I love all the wonderful things He has given us, which He has created for us. Music is one of those things! So is Love. As the Doobie Bros sang so many years ago, "Without love... Where would you be without love?" Think about that! When I hear someone play some great song or hot licks on a guitar and I think about what the Bible says that "God gave gifts to men" (and women too!) and it fills my heart with awe and wonder at the talents He gives us. If you're an airplane pilot or a rocket scientist that is a gift from God! He gave us the aptitude, the gift needed to excell, and the gift of learning so we might perfect the gifts He gave.
The thing is this, folks I have but one message to everyone:
GOD IS! GOD LOVES! & GOD PROVIDES!
He does exist! His love of mankind proves it. The many gifts He has given us all is proof of that love and that He IS! The greatest gift God gave us is His Son Jesus who died in our place on a cross bearing the sins of the world past, present and future: Theirs, mine and yours. God loves us so much we can't even fathom the depths of it. Likewise, He takes our sins which were laid on Jesus and at the moment we enact our faith by believing and receiving Jesus as our personal savior and Lord and all of that sin is cast into the depths of the sea and He remembers it no more.
Trust in Jesus today. Today is the day of salvation! Jesus stands at the door of your heart and is knocking. You only have to open your heart and ask Jesus to come inside and He will! He will renew your heart and make you a born again new creation and fill you with His Holy Spirit. Your sins will be forgiven and you will be able to walk in love ie Walk the walk and talk the talk: Tell a friend!
Check out this AWESOME video: Just Stop and Think:
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Music of course, especially guitar oriented material. I like many kinds of music, but Jazz is my fav. Blues in it's many variations, BeBop, Swing, Big Band, Western Swing, Mariachi, old Classic Country, R&B, Classic Rock, 50's, oldies and rockabilly etc.
The list of guitarists I admire could be real lengthy! Too many to count, that's for sure. Maybe someday I will try to make a list... (whew!)
Here are a few that I like!
Here are a few more!
Phil Keaggy is one of my all time favorite guitarists! Here is a great clip of his song "I Will Be There" from his 1993 Crimson & Blue album. Great guitar & singing and the message is wonderful. Phil always uplifts my faith with his songs. His music inspires me! Enjoy!
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Watch & hear my friend Michael O..Dorn play his composition Mom's Melody from the Michael O'Dorn In Concert DVD from Mel Bay, IncI love other instruments particularly swing style mandolin, especially the great virtuosos of the mandolin Dave Appollon, Jethro Burns, Tiny Moore, Johnny Gimble, David Grisman etc. Then there's Jazz and Swing fiddle & violin (what's the diff?) greats Stuff Smith, Stephane Grappelli, Joe Venuti, Svend Asmussen, and the great Texas Playboys fiddlers Joe Holley, Louis Tierney, Jesse Ashlock, Keith Coleman, Johnny Gimble, Bob White etc.
I LOVE sax, especially Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, George Auld, Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, John Coltrane, Gene Ammons etc. Benny Goodman is my man on clarinet, with Hubert Rostaing right behind him on all those great 40's cuts with Django Reinhardt. Tommy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden on trombone, Louis Armstrong, Harry James, Dizzy Gillespe, Miles Davis on trumpet etc. Teddy Wilson is my man on piano! I love steel guitar greats Leon McAuliffe, Noel Boggs, Les Anderson, Herb Remington, Billy Bowman, Bobby Koefer, the great Alvino Ray, etc. Drummers Louie Bellson, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Nick Fatool, John Poole, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, Mick Fleetwood, etc. Bassmen Ray Brown, Slam Stewart, Charles Mingus, Paul Chambers, John Pattitucci, Jaco etc.
I'm not into singers really but I dig the ones who really bring it like Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Charles Brown, Tommy Duncan, Ray Charles, George Strait, Ian Gillan, Darrell Mansfield and Randy Meisner.
Most of all I like SONGS! Great songs are timeless and they have a life of their own. The proof is in the many variations from era to era, style to style. It's UnReal to think of the many versions of some of these great songs and the possibilities with awesome songs such as 'Get Your Kicks On Route 66', 'Sleepwalk' and 'Trouble In Mind' etc just to name three that are worlds apart musically.
Ahhh, yes... music! Check out my videos! I have some real gems here that I found here and there and everywhere.
Nat King Cole Trio with
Irving Ashby on guitar in the late 40's:
Get Your Kicks On Route 66!
Irving Ashby is one of those great Jazz guitarists that many people don't know about. The guy was an awesome player and made the rounds playing with many artists thru his career. Irving took the place of Jazz guitar great Oscar Moore in the King Cole Trio who left to join his brother Johnny Moore whose hot trio The Blue Blazers were making records of their own and backing Charles Brown. I got to know Irv in a very small way not long before he died.
Here's a clip of Jazz guitar greats Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis playing an old standard tune Oh, Lady Be Good:
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I got to know Barney Kessel via snail mail back in the 80's when he lived in Oklahoma City.
Here's one of the greatest young talents around, 17 year old Jazz guitarist Julian Lage playing his tune Relaxin' with George Marsh and Randy Vincent. This young man can PLAY! Go Jules!! Yeah!!!
I was fortunate to hear Julian play in the summer of 2001 at a Jazz Festival at UC San Mateo College when I was living in the San Francisco Bay area. As we pulled into the parking lot I could hear this GREAT Jazz & BeBop guitar coming from one of the staging areas. I was like, "OMG! Who is that?!" I couldn't believe my ears, but I was even more taken aback when we walked around the stage here was this little kid all of 14 years old just whailing the heck out of his guitar with a drummer and bassman, playing better than anyone I'd ever seen or heard in person. After his set I went up to meet him, which was a tremendous honor.
Lee Ritenour - Bumpin' Lee is one of my favorite Jazz guitarists! This tune is from his awesome Wes Montgomery tribute albums, Wes Bound. Lee is a real virtuoso who plays many styles and he does them all with excellence!
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I do have other interests actually: I love to cook. My wife is an awesome cook too, but I get my share of fun in the kitchen when she is too busy. My favorite foods to cook are Cajun dishes like Jambalaya! Mexifeast is a favorite... with homemade Guacamole! Yum! We love foods that have a lot of spice and heat. Music is a lot like food. You can add spice and heat to a song or a food dish and there is a transformation that takes place. It's amazing what a little spice can do, but add too much and it's not always good.
My wife and I are into gourmet coffees! We especially love Cafe Du Monde chickory coffee from New Orleans, Louisiana and San Francisco Bay brand coffees and many other great blends we find. Iced tea is the drink of the day, everyday rain or shine, but coffee gets us going in the AM.
Speaking of getting going, here's a high octane clip with Jimmy Wyble on electric guitar with Benny Goodman and Red Norvo from 1960 The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise - Listen to that tight three part harmony of Goodman's awesome clarinet, Norvo's hot mallet's on the vibes and Jimmy's swinging hot guitar! Jimmy and I have visited on the telephone many times over the years.
Jimmy Wyble played and recorded with Benny Goodman's Orchestra and also with the Red Norvo Trio in the late 50's and early 60's, as well as Frank Sinatra and Anita O'Day! His work with Bob Wills and Spade Cooley is legendary as well. It's too bad a lot of misinformed people reference him from the early western swing bands he worked with, whom they blow off as being 'country' bands and by so doing they fail to acknowledge how Jimmy Wyble along with his partner Cameron Hill brought BeBop Jazz guitar into western swing and country music. So what he played in bands that had fiddles and wore cowboy hats! The fact is Jimmy Wyble is one of the greatest Jazz guitarists who carried the torch lit long ago by Charlie Christian!
I also like to write, which is something I have done in the past for a couple of guitar rags and a few music publications and newsletters. I also contributed to some newspapers and album liner notes.
We are Christians but not religous fanatics... Patriots but not politicians. We love God first, then each other, America, our flag and we support our Troops and honor our Veterans. We are also active in POW-MIA issues, from all wars, but especially the Vietnam era.
We worship God and believe the Bible. We support our Troops and love our country. If you don't like my God, take it up with Him - I didn't invent Him, He created me. You don't like my country, take it up with the United States Marines!
March 17, 2007 - Check it out! The anti-war protestors led by America's token traitor Hanoi Jane and Ms Cindy 'media ho' SheHam got their asses kicked today in Washington D.C. when the turn out for their march at the Vietnam Memorial Wall was out-numbered by well over three to one when Rolling Thunder, Move America Forward, Free Republic, Veterans, servicemen and women in uniform and private citizens showed their support today at the Gathering of Eagles! The Liberal leftist terrorist supporters who give aid and comfort to the enemy only drew between 5000-10000 strong, while hoardes of Veterans, members of our armed forces and civilians that are true patriots who support our Troops, their Commander in Chief and our President and the war on terror we are currently engaged in, showed up with well over 30,000 strong! These true Patriots ALL showed up with zero publicity and absolutely no outside money! The flag burning, burned-out hippie pinko Commie sympathizing, Troop demoralizing, anti-war protestors had planned to desecrate the Wall with their anti-American propaganda but they were not allowed to prevail. Thank God there are still Americans that understand that
Freedom Is Not Free!
Check it out! Watch these two clips:
This lady's sign says:
"Up with the Stars and Stripes - Down with stars with gripes!"
Gathering of Eagles
to protect Vietnam Veterans Wall
From the front page at Gathering of Eagles:
March 17th, 2007 | Category: Briefings
What an outstanding day! The Eagles soared!
"You should be very proud of your fellow veterans, families, and supporters. There’s so much to tell, and we encourage you to post your experiences in the the comments.
In the meantime, two items of business: 1) we have a gallery open for you to upload your digital photos to the website. That way you can share your photos with others. See the tab in the top right corner of the site. 2) the first unofficial estimate of the Eagle turn-out today…
30,000!
That figure may be adjusted upward as more figure are tallied during the week. Fox News reported today that the anti-war protesters had significantly less than they expected. However, they are erroneously reporting that the Eagles were there in “equal numbersâ€. The truth is that we outnumbered them by at least three to one!
Consider…ANSWER had a year to plan their well-publicized event and were hoping for around 100,000. They actually drew about 5,000-10,000, according to various news reports today. The Gathering of Eagles, on the other hand, had about six weeks to plan an unprecedented response - and with no advertising, no publicity, no celebrity or political endorsement, no news coverage, and no big money, we had about 30,000 boots on the ground!
The volunteers poured themselves into this historic event, and all of you who attended gave so much to be there. I’ll stop here and let your words speak for themselves."
-H
Rolling Thunder, Move America Forward, Free Republic, Veterans, Servicemen & women and TRUE patriots from across America on showed up at the Gathering of Eagles on March 17th, 2007 to defend The Wall in Washington D.C.
Yes, I am proud to be an American and I love living in a country where there are the freedoms we have. Freedom of religion, freedom of press and speech and all the rest. Those freedoms aren't free and those who take them for granted do not realize that someone bled and died so they can piss these freedoms away. I am proud to live in a country where I can stand up and be counted as a Christian. I have the freedom to play the kind of music I want without censorship or fear of the Govt coming down on me because I like Jazz or whatever. Just think, about 4 years ago Saddam was still in power and the Iraqi people had NO FREEDOM of ANY KIND! Now they have the freedom to do things that nobody in their geograpical region has been able to do freely since there was a country there! Women can vote, work, go to school, get divorced or marry whom they choose. The men can change jobs when they wish. They can change trades or not work at all if they so choose. Iraqi children can now go to school and learn. Iraqi familes have freedom of choice to relocate or change religions or vote for whom they please. What's wrong with these things? Shouldn't the whole world be free to do these things?
My wife and I have cats. We have a few indoor cats: Inky, Spunkie, Spike, CM, Hutch, T-2, Miracle, Ski and Snowbie.
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Here is a cool vid about a 38 yr old cat named Baby in MN. Enjoy! NOTE: Sad to report Baby passed away March 28th - RIP Baby, you were a good boy and there's a Heaven for you too. We'll see you again! God bless you and of course Al & Mary Palusky to whom we extend our thoughts and prayers.
We also look after a few outdoor cats and kitties who have adopted us in the neighborhood that are feral and semi-feral. We try to provide food, water, shelter and meds etc for them as best we can. We also try to get as many of them fixed as we can so they don't continue breeding and adding to the feral cat problem. Wifey and I feel that it's our duty as Christians to try to look after these little friends who are God's creations too. Afterall cats are angels with fur.
In Memory of Tigger
Here's a clip of Santo & Johnny playing their 50's classic ultra-cool steel guitar instrumental tune Sleep Walk from 1959. The Farina Bros, what a team they were!
I'd like to meet:
Hmmmm.... Great musicians who can jam! I've met a LOT of celebrities and famous people from the entertainment world over the years. Most are not people I would consider heroes or role models even though they are gifted in music and entertainment. Here's short list of people who I'd like to meet: Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Clint Eastwood, Stephen King, Gary Sinese, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Col Wayne Louis Bolte...
There are a lot of great guitarists I would love to see have a MySpace. A few I can think of at the moment are: Grant Geissman, Johnny Smith, Jimmy Wyble, Herb Ellis, and Clint Strong. Hope to see a tribute MySpace page for these past guitar greats who left their mark: Lonnie Johnson, Eddie Durham, George Barnes, Tiny Grimes, Eldon Shamblin, Tal Farlow, Tony Rizzi, Charlie Bird, and Emily Remler etc, ALL of whom the Jazz world is especially endebted - not to mention the whole world in regards to the guitar! Also missing is two of the most influencial musicians in all of Country and Western Music, guitarists Merle Travis (there is a new fan space, but I am waiting for his son Thom Bresh or someone to put up an Artist space for Merle!) and Roy Nichols! That's a LOT of missing GREATS who aren't properly represented here at MySpace. I'd definitely want to be included in ALL of their friends lists and would be honored to have them on mine!
Here's a clip with that GREAT UnSung Hero of the Electric Blues guitar Junior Barnard who played with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys in the 40's. This clip was from Frontier Frolic a Hollywood movie shot in 1946. The tune is Goodbye Liza Jane and the music is Western Swing which means it is a Duke's Mixture of styles including Jazz, Swing, Western and Country (remember when we had BOTH styles that were separate?) and of course the Blues as is readilly evident here as Junior plays his cranked up 1943 Epiphone Emperor guitar with a D'Armond pickup. Check it out!
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Here is a clip of the late and great Jazz guitarist Emily Remler playing her on the spot composition called A Blues which demonstrates the heavy influences from Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass. It's the opening tune from her Hot Licks teaching video called BeBop and Swing Guitar - She was probably the greatest female Jazz guitarist ever and she left us way too soon. Enjoy!
Django Reinhardt! Live footage with Stephane Grappelli. This is an awesome documentary on Django which includes the best known footage of his playing known to have survived. The guy was a GENIUS!
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Charlie Christian documentary! Unfortunately, no known live footage is known to exist! This presentation is a great profile of one of the most influencial guitarists who ever lived.
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Here is the great BeBop Jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell playing the Miles Davis classic standard tune All Blues! I love the way he starts out playing a fingerstyle chord melody approach and then during the drum solo he switches to his Gibson ES-175 and comes out like gangbusters blazing sixguns, err six strings. He plays the correct hormonies to this song while playing the right melody and the chords all at the same time with no tricks or effect. This man is an AWESOME guitarist!
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Jazz guitar great Grant Geissman with Chuck Mangione LIVE - Feels So Good with his original band! Grant's exciting solo is busting out on this track and his rhythm comps are awesome as well.
This video is finally available!
Here is Chuck Mangione's Give It All You Got video with Grant Geissman on guitar. He doesn't get a real solo but his comps are nice and there's a good shot of him and his 175!
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Here is my favorite Chet Atkins performance: Vincent by Don McLean!
My friend Johnny Gimble introduced me to Chet back in Nov 1985 when they were on the road with Garrison Keillor and the Prairie Home Companion cast when they performed at Claremont College in So CA.
Here is a clip of the late Danny Gatton, the World's Greatest Unknown Guitar Player playing his balls out version of Sleep Walk! Check out that right hand action! Danny was a virtuoso on the banjo and steel guitar as well as the guitar. He was a walking encyclopedia of licks, riffs, styles and songs.
Danny could play anyone's licks but nobody can play his!
Here's
Danny Gatton playing
Funky Mama!
Danny Gatton - Funky Mama
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Check out Larry Carlton playing Steely Dan's tune Josie at Eric Clapton's 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival at the Cotton Bown in Dallas, TX!
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Sorry for the video quality... until I find a better copy!
Eric Johnson is a favorite of mine. Here he is at Clapton's 2004 Guitar Festival playing Desert Rose:
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Some people think he made mistakes here but I don't think so. I think he just played a more improvisational interpretation of his song. Love the shirt! LOL!
Here's another Eric Johnson tune Cliffs Of Dover live at the House of Blues! This guy shreddzzz!!!
I have always loved The Eagles and as far as I concerned they are by far the greatest American Rock and Roll band EVER! I love all their albums and even though they aren't Jazz they are awesome. Here is a live clip of Hotel California from 1976 with the Seven Bridges Road backstage warmup intro. Enjoy!
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BTW - Contrary to popular opinion Hotel California is NOT a satanic song. What a bunch of rubbish!
I love Jimmy Buffett! My wonderful wife and I are Parrotheads. Jimmy has a neat outlook on life. There is a BIG world out there and many of us take it for granted. I believe God meant for us to enjoy the world He created for us, not to destroy it and destroy ourselves in the process.
I don't know if I could put the Buffett view of life in a single sentance or even two, but perhaps it could be summed up by saying something like this: "Go and climb that mountain, go run that river and sail that sea. Dive down deep, explore that reef; fly sky high and soar thru the clouds." That's two sentances and I still didn't nail it. Perhaps it could be best said this way: "Live your life and enjoy it." I dunno... listen to his songs and you'll get the idea.
Being a Parrothead aint about being a party animal or hurting others around you, or even yourself. It's really about love. If we'd all just love a little more maybe we'd love life a lot more and then maybe we'd understand what it means to live to love and then really love to live. It's kind of an anti-paradox because it is just too simple!
I know this much: Parrotheads are colorful! They love exotic sounds from around the world and exotic flavors and tastes as well from every direction. Bubba's music always brings a smile to my face and takes me away via his artfull lyrics to places in the world I'll probably never see. He brings music styles and genres together in a single setting like a modern day Bob Wills did back in the 30's when he began playing Western Swing music which incorporated all that was great in American music and made his own special blend. Now here's Buffett doing the same thing with World music sounds and music from the Islands mixed with all that's gone before and still happenin'! This video kinda touches on all of those things. Enjoy!
Jimmy Buffett - The Far Side Of The World
This is my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn tune and it's a great live performance of Riviera Paradise a song he wrote which proves without a shadow of a doubt that he could not only play great blues, but he was also a wonderful Jazz guitarist! This song is full of finesse and is downright classy. I love SRV's blues, the guy is just awesome and he does one of the best Jimi Hendrix covers ever on Voodoo Child (Slight Return) but this tune proves he wasn't some out there blues guitarist with no head for form, structure and meaningful improvisation as some people have wrongly accused him of being. Usually these same so-called 'experts' flame Jimi for the same kinda thing. When I hear crap like that I just wanna slap those people upside the head with a Stratocaster! SRV was absolutely from another planet. Anyone who can't appreciate him just doesn't understand the blues and they don't know jack spit about guitar! Enjoy!
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Speaking of Jimi Hendrix here is a clip of my favorite song of his that he wrote, Little Wing which is from a live concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969. A lot of ignatz's out there criticize Jimi for being sloppy live and accuse him of going off course in his playing. Be that as it may, here is proof that he could indeed play with excellence in a concert setting. I love the chord structure to this song and the melody is so cool. Jimi's playing throughout is superb. Enjoy!
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My favorite George Harrison song and video says it all: This Is Love - Love is what this life is all about. If we don't have love we have nothing. Love is the one thing we can take with us when we leave this world and it's the only thing of value that we can leave behind.
Here's Phil Keaggy in 1972 with his band Glass Harp performing Song Of Hope - Enjoy!
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Here's a clip of Phil Keaggy playing some blazing hot guitar with the 2nd Chapter of Acts on their song Yahweh sung by Matthew Ward:
Here is guitar great
Phil Keaggy playing another one of his awesome electric instrumental tunes
March of the Clouds where he is using a lot of
Allan Holdsworth influenced licks here. He is an able stylist in his own right on electric guitar and his acoustic material is breathtaking. Check him out!
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Here is
Phil Keaggy playing some awesome acoustic guitar on
The Reunion from the
Wind and the Wheat album:
Music:
Of course I like music. Typically we listen to The Eagles and Jimmy Buffett on the cd changer in the car, which is really great to drive by. Yes, we are Parrotheads, which is about enjoying life and the world God gave us. Thank you Bubba, you may try to pretend to be an agnostic but you've got a handle on some faith and love issues I wish more so called preachers had!
Here's electric Blues guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker in 1964 from the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts playing his great classic Blues song Stormy Monday Blues!
Of course there's Eric Clapton, Phil Keaggy, Darrell Mansfield, Peter Frampton ("Frampton Comes Alive!" is awesome!), Pink Floyd and a lot more! Sure I like Bob Wills and most of what passes for Western Swing. Also love Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and most of the Big Band and Swing era music. Love the early Delta Blues artists as well as Chicago Blues... BB King, SRV, etc. Classic rock bands Led Zeppelin, Cream, Derek & Dominos, Skynyrd (RVZ!) and a 100 other bands! Old country like Jimmie Rodgers who really invented Western Swing before Bob Wills and Milton Browne started playing together. Hank Williams! (Hank Sr.) Guitar greats Merle Travis, Chet, Marcel Dadi, and a bazillion others from every direction. Just check my friends and blogs for more info.
Here's the late and great Tal Farlow playing Erroll Garner's classic tune Misty! Check out the size of his hands! How about that over the neck thumb position of his chords!
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While cooking I like to listen to jazz guitarists especially Django Reinhardt or Charlie Christian OR whomever else is in the queue which could be anyone from George Van Eps to Michael O'Dorn. Lee Ritenour is a favorite when I am doing my culinary chores. SRV and Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman find their way on the player in the kitchen as well. Lately some of the Jazz Guitar compilations box sets have been particularly enlightening too. Check my blogs for details.
Speaking of cooking, check out the "Chord Meister" the late and great Mr. George Van Eps who did more with chords on the guitar than ANY man who ever lived!
..Music dvd's are a neat way to jump the rut of TV blues after our fav shows close for the season, and a way to beat movie burnout. We have Clapton, Buffett, The Eagles, Phil Keaggy, The Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cream, Stephane Grappelli and lots of others! Just acquired Pink Floyd 'Pulse' a must have! Also some of the Classic Album DVD's: Deep Purple 'Machine Head', Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours', The Band 'Music From Big Pink', Steely Dan 'Aja', Jimi Hendrix, Cream 'Disraeli Gears' etc. Love Clapton! Have his UnPlugged, One More Car One More Rider, Cream Royal Albert Hall 1968 & the 2006 Reunion dvds. Bob Dylan 'No Road Home', and a bunch more!
On the PC it's a hodgepodge of music from every direction. I hate rap, hip-hop, and most anything that's selling these days! The radio is something for my cat to sit on! I can't stand this new wave of 'country' music! Like I asked Garth Brooks, "What country is it from?" Sometimes I like no music at all and often go days without listening to anything. Sometimes I am quiet and brooding. Just pensive and introspective I guess. Bless my Wife, she understands... better than anyone ever has.
Here's a short vid of my friend Clint Strong doing what he does best: Playin' that BeBop Guitar!! (Click on his name for his website!)
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This is an excerpt from his REH Instructional video Mastering Jazz Licks available at JK Lutherie
I got to know Clint back in the 80's. He has always been a great guy to hang with and he is a super picker! Thanx for always being a friend, Clint! And for introducing me to Roy Nichols!
Here is a clip of Jazz and Swing guitar great
Eldon Shamblin with mandolin masters
Jethro Burns, Tiny Moore and Johnny Gimble playing
Dizzy Gillespe's great BeBop Jazz standards
Groovin' High -
Par excellance mandolin virtuoso David Grisman was also there that night and performed with his own band and sat in on a tune with these men he calls his heroes. He announced the show as
Eldon Shamblin and his Magic Mandolins! Eldon plays his superb unmistakable rhythm guitar style as usual backing this all star cast of mandolin royalty. Listen to those chords!
Eldon Shamblin and
George Van Eps are neck and neck with the mastery of chords, both in great company of other great chord masters and rhythm guitar stylists
Tony Romano and
Marty Grosz. Wow! Mandolin BeBop Jazz!! Yeah!!!
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I am proud to say that I knew Eldon, Tiny, Jethro for many years since the early 80's and they were always real friends! Johnny Gimble and Bobby Koefer have both been friends of mine all those years too. They are about the last of the remaining Texas Playboys who were with Bob Wills back in the day when he was riding the crest.
Movies:
The Left Behind trilogy all 3 of them. Jesus is coming and you do not want to be left behind! Here is a couple of vids:
The Left Behind Movie - 1st 10 minutes!
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Finally, this video is available again!
Brian Duncan with Shine - Don't Be Left Behind (music video):
Left Behind (montage video) - Bryan Duncan with Shine - Don't Be Left Behind:
Here is a video someone put together called I Need You - The song and the story line in the clips and photos say it all: Jesus, we need YOU!!
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I love The Outlaw Josie Wales and most of Clint Eastwood's films. Here's a clip:
Tombstone is probably my favorite western of all time. Enjoy the clip!
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The Stand and most of Stephen King's stories turned film!
Best line in the movie:
Ralph: "Nick says he don't believe in God." Mother Abigail: "Hahaha! It don't matter. He believes in YOU!!"
Here are some video clips from The Stand with some music Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House and Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. This is NOT how the world ends by the way. But in any event God is in control even though we see a world gone crazy everytime we turn on our TV and here in these clips we can see a world gone mad in the mind of Stephen King. But don't forget the God factor is alive and well in his works and there's nearly always a redemption factor in his tales. King is not an atheist, nor is he an evil person. Enjoy!
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Casablanca... I love Bogie movies and Ingrid Bergman was great in it too, not to mention Dooley Wilson the guy at the piano who sang As Time Goes By in it. What a GREAT song, and a great singer! Wonderful story... yeah, I am a hopeless romantic, and a patriot.
As Time Goes By sang by Dooley Wilson:
The Porky's movie trilogy is a favorite too! I know they are silly, adolescent and rediculous and that's why I like 'em. They remind me to lighten up and have fun, smile and laugh. Everybody should lighten up and chill out once in awhile!
Television:
Well, I spend most of my TV time watching the Weather Channel and have for a couple of decades.
Current shows:24, all three CSI shows (Las Vegas, Miami and NY) The Unit is awesome too! I love Dennis Haysbert! Old shows: The Pretender, The X Files (before Mulder departed!), old VH1 & MTV when they actually showed great music specials and played great classic vidz... they both suck now! For the most part TV sucks! All those lame reality shows and wannabe a star programs and talk tv etc are all so high on the ick factor!
Books:
I like books. I like the feel of them, the smell and even the way they look scattered about in shelves and on the coffee table. Reading is something I hope that I always do. It's very satisfying.
The Left Behind series is great. Jesus is coming and you don't wanna be left behind!
Stephen King is awesome! Most of his work is brilliant. There's a lot being said between the lines. The back story is the thing... nevermind the front story. To them that has ears to hear let them take heed.
Books about music the artists I am into. Books on God... The Bible. JFK assassination books. The Shroud of Turin... Ancient Egypt...
President John F Kennedy - The President who did not want the US involved in Vietnam! He inherited that situation which was one of Truman's leftovers from WWII, and a loose end that Eisenhower never took care of after Korea. Jack Kennedy was in the process of pulling out all US military personel in November 1963 when he was killed on a Dallas, Texas street. Within hours of taking the oath as President, Johnson sat down with Secy of Defense Robert McNamara while Kennedy's body lay in state at the Rotunda in the Capitol Building in Washington DC and reversed JFK's orders to vacate SE Asia and implemented the 'action' we know as the Vietnam War. There were airplanes in the air the hour that JFK died with American GI's aboard enroute from SE Asia headed back home to American soil. Those planes were ordered to turn back before they entered US airspace! Kennedy died for his stand against US involvement in what he called a "no win war" and instead issued orders to begin to "clean up our own backyard" beginning with demolishing organized crime and the restructuring and or demolishion of several federal agencies including the FBI, the CIA, the IRS and the Federal Reserve. These people along with Johnson, who was the largest stockholder in war munitions manufacturing and defense plants in the US stood to lose a lot of $! The record shows that these people all benefitted from JFK's murder. It isn't hard to connect the dots. Just follow the money, honey as they say and there you will find the roots of the conspiracy to assassinate our most beloved President in American history. He wasn't a perfect man, nor was he a perfect President, but he wanted equality and higher education for all American citizens as well as civil rights for everyone regardless of race, creed, gender, religion or culture. He was a global visionary and one who saw no benefit to anyone for the US to go to war in Vietnam. Those who spin the truth and blame JFK for Vietnam are lying. The facts prove otherwise. We lost a great man when JFK died!
I love to study about the Pyramids and ancient Egypt!
Heroes:
My wife! She is my biggest hero this side of Heaven! She is also my best friend!
I don't consider most people who are from the music or entertainment world heroes. I admire many from various eras, types and styles for their creative gifts and art that they have shared with the world via the medium of public perfomance, radio, recordings, films and television. I do not look to entertainers for spiritual enlightenment or intellectual stimuli. I also do not look to them for philosophy or political information. The people I consider true heroes are people who have gave great sacrifice of their time, energy, blood, sweat and tears making a stand against wrong doing and standing up for what is right. Those that have put their lives on the line for someone else are those who truly understand how freedom is accomplished and maintained. The cop on the beat who protects and serves, the fireman who puts his life on the line as he faces an inferno to save someone or their home or rescues a kitten in a tree. The soldier who answers the call of his country to go serve to protect America and preserve freedom and democracy in our nation! These brave soldiers are true HEROES!
All of our Troops and Veterans and the POW-MIA's & KIA's that didn't come home... those are real heroes!
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The following is a tribute to my adopted POW-MIA Col Wayne Louis Bolte USAF pilot whom I adopted thru Operation Just Cause . OJC is a great organization that not only strives to bring public awareness about the cause of missing military personel, but they also work with survivors and various Govt agencies to secure information about a lost soldier's whereabouts and put forth great effort to bring them home and secure closure to their survivors and loved ones. Wayne Bolte was a Major at the time of his disappearance on April 2, 1972 when he flew the aircraft in the Bat-21 mission in Vietnam. His rank was booted up to Col in 1978 after the DOD reclassified him KIA upon presumptive finding of death. He remains unaccounted for to this day. His remains have never been found, if indeed he has died. There is no more evidence to support that presumptive finding than there is to support the notion that he is still alive. He may very well be alive. He may still be a POW. In any event until he is found one way or the other he is still considered MIA and should never be forgotten! He and his survivors, family, friends and fellow service men and women deserve closure in this matter. I will not let this matter go as long as I have breath! I will never forget! Until they all come home! For as long as it takes!
Bat-21 Mission Synopsis:
On 2 April 1972 Maj Wayne Louis Bolte was the pilot of a EB66C "Destroyer" aircraft which he flew in the Bat-21 mission that departed Korat Royal Thai Airbase at 1337 hours as the lead aircraft in a flight of two supporting a flight of three B-52s. The men aboard Bat-21 were as follows: Major Wayne Bolte, pilot; Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton, navigator; and electronic warfare officers (EWOs) then Major Henry Serex, Lt. Col. Charles Levis, 1st Lt. Robin Gatwood, and Lt. Col. Anthony Giannangeli; These men comprised the crew of an EB-66C aircraft, whose call sign was "Bat-21." The men aboard Bat-21 comprised no ordinary crew. Five were field grade officers, who had access to sensitive information in their previous assignments, and four were highly trained electronic warfare specialists.
At approximately 1700 hours Bat-21 was hit by a SAM (surface to air missle) at about 26,000 feet. The aircraft broke into two major pieces and 2 smaller pieces at approximately 18,000 feet. None of the crew of Bat-21 were observed ejecting the crippled aircraft to safety. However a crewmember aboard an F105 reported hearing an intermittent beeper on guard channel. Personnel aboard Bat-22 (the other support flight behind Bat-21) also reported hearing a short beeper and heard the pilot establish voice contact with Lt. Col. Hambleton. He reported he was "okay and in good spirits."
Because this was no ordinary flight crew, and its members would be prize catches for the enemy because of the military knowledge and experience each possessed, it became critical to the US to locate and recover any survivors before the Vietnamese could. An extensive search and rescue (SAR) operation was immediately initiated and continued throughout the night, but these efforts were severely hampered by heavy enemy ground fire and poor weather conditions. At the time of shootdown, there were broken to overcast clouds with tops at 8,000 to 10,000 feet. In was further hampered by the massive invasion force of NVA troops and tanks pouring across the DMZ in what later became known as the communist's "Easter Offensive."
Voice contact continued with Hambleton throughout the SAR effort, and he was successfully rescued on 13 April 1972 - a process that took 12 days to accomplish with unparalleled cooperation from all branches of the service and with rescue and support personnel coming from many different bases. During this time no voice contact was established with any other member of Bat-21. For this reason, the US intelligence personnel believed that Iceal Hambleton was probably the sole survivor. At the time formal SAR operations were terminated, Wayne Bolte, Henry Serex, Robin Gatwood, Anthony Giannangeli and Charles Levis were listed Missing in Action (MIA). Their remains have never been repatriated. The location of loss was in a populated and hotly contested generally flat jungle approximately 1 mile north of Firebase Vandergrift, 2 miles north of Highway 9 and 5 miles west of Highway 1 with rugged mountains 4 miles to the west and open fields 2 miles to the east. It also placed the downed aircraft 6 miles northwest of Dong Ha, 12 miles south of the DMZ, 14 miles northwest of Quang Tri City and 20 miles northeast of Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. - Thanks to Task Force Omega, Inc.
Maj Wayne Louis Bolte USAF Pilot Bat-21
I never knew Col Wayne Bolte but in 1974, approximately 2 years after his aircraft went down in a jungle in South Vietnam and he was listed MIA, his family moved near my neighborhood. My family and the Bolte's became friends. People have asked me, "Why do you care about someone who was lost in a war? Can't you just get over it?" The answer is simple. I saw what a family endured back then not knowing the disposition of the man of the house, an American soldier. He was an excellent pilot who had been a member of the elite Thunderbirds precision flight squadron. He was from Oklahoma and he loved country music. More than that he was a father and a husband! A family man that loved his wife and children and they loved him. He served his country proudly and no matter what anyone thought of the war, he served with true patriotism and honor to the American flag. I personally witnessed some of what his survivors went thru not knowing if he had died or had been captured or if someday he would walk thru the door. The heartbreak they endured and still do to this day is unimaginable unless you have walked in their shoes. In the early 80's I met a retired Lt Col that was a pilot in the USAF who served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He who knew Wayne Bolte personally, both flown with him and their respective familes had socialized. He was in an Air Sea Rescue squadron and flew in the SAR efforts to locate the crewmen of Bat-21. He indicated that a top priority and immediate response occured in the SAR with an all out effort to locate the other members of the Bat-21 crew. No, I can't let it go and I will not just get over it! One of my dearest teachers from high school was a POW in Japan during WWII. I remember the stories he told of the torture and treatment that is beyond human dignity which this man and untold others endured as American soldiers in Japanese POW camps. He escaped and was rescued to tell his story to his students, but the majority did not. I won't forget men like Mr. Newton and I won't forget Col Wayne Bolte.
There is a Hollywood film adaptation of the Bat-21 rescue story of Lt Col Hambleton starring actor Gene Hackman. Sadly the film doesn't mention Col Bolte or any of the other Bat-21 crewmen's names. Something else the film doesn't reveal was the heroic efforts of Bat-21 pilot Maj Wayne Bolte who upon realizing the aircraft was going down he used his flying skills to make sure that airplane ditched in an area where Lt Col Hambleton could find cover. This was Hambleton's story and he contended many times, "Wayne Bolte was the true hero of Bat-21, not me. Without his superior flying skills I would have never made it."
Over the years I lost contact with the Bolte family. My prayer for Col Bolte and his family is that they along with the other missing crewmen aboard Bat-21 and all soldiers who are unaccounted for and their respective families and survivors will finally have closure someday, one way or the other. I will never forget! Until they all come home! For as long as it takes!
Here is a news item from Dec 3, 2006 regarding the search for POW's & MIA's from the Vietnam War. USAF Command Sgt Thomas Moore has been missing for 41 years. He was known to have been captured by the North Vietnamese and was imprisoned in a POW camp. It was reported that his captors executed him but it is not known where he was buried and his body has never been found. The US Govt declared him officially deceased but his name has been reactivated to the active MIA search status list. His daughter Diane Moore continues to be hopeful that her father will be located and then either brought home to his family or his remains will be repatriated to American soil. This story gets right down to the heart of the matter for those whose loved one served in a war and for whatever reason never made it home. There are still over 1800 servicemen who did not return home from their tour of duty in Vietnam. Check out the following video. Be advised you may need a box of Kleenex! Carry on.
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The POW-MIA MemorialRiverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CA near March Field AFB
My Dad was my childhood hero. He still is and he always will be! He was my first influence as a guitarist and musician and my most important. He didn't teach me how to play but he taught me how to learn. If not for him I would no doubt be banging away on an instrument making hideous noise and being a nuisance. From 1943-45 Dad served in the Army during WWII as a radio operator in the 7th Armored Division in Patton's 3rd Army all over Europe. (I miss ya Pops!) Here are some photos:
Dad playing a lute in Rosenburg, Germany 1945
Dad's 7th Armored Division shoulder patch
Here's Dad in the mid-70's playing his 1949 Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Regent guitar. Now, that's a real Jazz and BeBop guitar!!
Of course, The Good Lord up above most of all! Without Jesus I couldn't face another day. He is not a religion; He's the Saviour! He is not a church or some organization; He is Lord of ALL and He wants to live in the hearts of men, women and children everywhere regardless of who or what they are. Jesus saves and He promised whomsover would call upon His name He would in no wise cast out.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that WHOMSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life! I'm a Whomsoever how about you?
Here is a clip of Keith Green singing Your Love Broke Thru which is a great song he wrote with Randy Stonehill and Todd Fishkind. This song is so powerful, it just says it all as it lays out the fact that God's love broke thru to us. We didn't do anything to break thru to Him. He's been there all along with His hand stretched out from Heaven, reaching down to any that will grab ahold of His hand and hang on. When we make that choice to reach up to Him and catch His hand, then and only then will we know the power of His love. The song has great chords and a wonderful melody too! Keith really belts this song out! You can hear the conviction in his voice as he plays that sweet piano of his. Enjoy!
The Power of Love by Darrell Mansfield Band in 1984 with Eric Turner guitar, Jeff Nicholson bass, Bill Lordan drums.
Darrell Mansfield has been a good friend since I met him back in 1971 when he was in a band with my cousin. Keep on rockin' for Jesus, Darrell!
Check out Eric Clapton great UnPlugged version of his song Broken Hearted - a very spiritual song!
Somewhere over the rainbow...BeBop Jazz Guitar's profile edited with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
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