Tuesday morning is rolling in with a high of just 64 today. But…lots of sun comes with it.
YESTERDAY
I wrote online with Tim Stafford yesterday morning and we added another “grassy” song to our catalog. Tim is so danged talented. Great guitar player, singer, author, teacher, and he’s part of the esteemed bluegrass band “Blue Highway” as well.
Tim is getting ready with his band to hit the road a whole bunch this summer playing many of the bluegrass festivals that dot our country side. Here’s a peek at their schedule. If you get a chance to catch an earful of them do so…they’re terrific.
FRANK BROWN SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL UPDATE
I did confirmation yesterday that I’ll be playing at the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival the first week of this two-week affair on the beaches of Gulf Shores. So I’ll be playing multiple shows with our “Hits & Grins” trio with Steve Dean, and Victoria Venier, and I’m sure I’ll also be doing at least one show with my buddy Brent Burns while I’m down there. Venues, and show times will be announced closer to the festival dates of November 9 through 19th. Looking forward to this as always.
SPEAKING OF FESTIVALS
And on the very same day I got an invite to the “Blast on the Bay” songwriters festival in beautiful Port St. Joe, Florida with our “Hits & Grins” trio. This one is more of a boutique festival (not as big as Frank Brown) but it’s one of my favorites to play. And I’ve been a part of it since the second year of this great festival. Some new venues have been added this year, so I’m looking forward to checking those out. This year the Festival runs October 19-22. It’s shaping up to be a busy October and November now.
WILDFLOWERS
I found this little gem yesterday on my Facebook timeline. This is Darin & Brooke Aldridge in North Carolina sitting down singing a verse and a chorus to a new song we wrote about “Wildflowers”. This song is going to be on the new album they’re working on right now and it sounds great stripped back like this with the beautiful mountain scenery behind them. So here’s a little sneak peek at the new tune we wrote. Check it out HERE.
THE BENEFIT
I got word that the benefit I was part of on Sunday night helped raise quite a bit of money for hospital bills for my friend and co-writer Gerald Smith. So glad to hear that. Janelle Arthur kicked off the songwriter show Sunday night…a night full of great songwriters with lots of hits.
All of them were there to support Gerald and it was heartwarming to see that. Such a good and talented guy. He needs a kidney transplant, so we’re all hoping that might happen sooner than later for him.
HEALTH NOTES
Stats show that American males live 5 years less than females. Heart disease is the leading cause killing nearly 1 in every three men.
Doctors and scientists in the UK say they think AI technology will help detect early signs of cancer.
COVID 19 vaccine requirements will end for all federal workers and international travelers on May 11.
BANANAS
This is too funny. A South Korean art student eats a $120,000 piece of art off. What was the art? A banana duct taped to the wall. They actually valued at $120,000. He ate it because he said he was hungry. Good answer kid.
I’m not sure which is funnier to me. The fact that the kid ate the banana, or the fact that the banana duct taped to a wall was valued at $120,000.
SUNDOWN
Man, we lost a great songwriter-artist yesterday when Canadian Gordon Lightfoot passed at the age of 84. I grew up with his music. Sundown, If You Could Read My Mind, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and so many others. I was a particular fan of “Early Morning Rain” that was recorded by a ton of artists through the years. He sang and performed until he could not anymore.
If you’re interested in his career and musical contributions and his life story? There’s a great musical documentary “If You Could Read My Mind” that’s really good. RIP Gordon. And thank you for so much great music.
DID YOU HAVE ONE TOO?
I read an article this morning titled “Pictures That Don’t Make Sense If You’re Too Young”. And they posted some pictures like this one.
I had one! Big old heavy things! If you’ve ever had to move one…you know. But I sat cross legged on a living room floor when I was young and listened many albums on one of these old consoles. In fact I fell in love with Jimmy Buffett music when I was young after a friend gave me his first three vinyl albums to listen to. I dropped the needle on them on this exact kind of console. Now I carry my entire library of music in my pocket, but boy does this picture bring back some great memories.
SAVE UP!
That’s the comedy “hook” line for comedian Killer Beaz. But more of us need to seriously follow his funny advice. That’s because the average American only saves $65,000 for retirement. Doesn’t take much for a medical bill or two to run through that kind of savings. Save up!
EXTRA BASEBALL PAY
Major League Baseball routinely puts a microphone on a player in the field for a half inning or so and the announcers can interview him “live” during the game. It’s pretty cool. I had no idea the player with the mic on is getting paid for it by MLB and the Players Association. They get $10,000 for that half inning. Heck, I’d let them mic me for the ENTIRE game at that rate…and I would promise to TRY to not to scratch spit or cuss.
25 DOLLAH BIDDAH
A guy named James Comisar has collected TV memorabilia for years. And now he’s putting it up for auction in Dallas. Stuff that includes some Batman TV outfits, the entire Johnny Carson TV set, the I Dream of Jeannie outfit AND the bar from the hit TV series “Cheers” with the actors named signed onto the bar. Pretty sure I don’t have any need to bare my belly in the Jeannie get up…but man…I’ll take the Cheers bar. “Norm”! Truly one of my favorite TV series of all time. The show where Norm dropped the funny line, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.”
TODAY
This morning I’m doing a radio interview with a station in West Point, Virginia to promote a “Hits & Grins” show with Steve Dean & Victoria Venier that happens in West Point Saturday evening at 7 pm at the Robinson-Olsson Auditorium.
Then this morning I’m writing with Laura Leigh Jones for the first time in too long awhile. I’ve not seen Laura since she gave birth to her first baby one year ago yesterday! Time flies when you be birthing babies. Laura has also been working on a new bluegrass album that will have a couple of our songs on it produced by the young mandolin superstar Sierra Hull and her equally talented husband Justin Moses. So I can’t wait to catch up on the baby and the song news this morning with her.
Have a great Tuesday!
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