Memorial Day and Music

Today is a day that regardless of politics, regardless of religious beliefs, regardless of race or gender or in fact regardless of anything we should stop for at least a moment and with our whole heart thank everyone who has served or is serving currently in the armed forces.
A great many people have lost their lives in service of this country. There are families everywhere who will never again see the faces of their loved ones, and there are families everywhere whose sons and daughters have fought for and won us the right to post weblogs, have a say in how things in this country are run, or to sit in peace at a lunch counter.
I'm the first to say that I realize that there are many things that could be better, but with hard work and real love and real patience we will get there...we will have all the things that we are desirous of.
First and foremost though we must remember that brave men and women give their all for these rights, and at the end of the day too many of them have been forgotten.
We must look to our military personnel with respect and love. We must also strive to make their jobs obsolete... that is to say that we must always seek peace first.
With my own hand, I stand and salute all veterans, and all military persons...Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart thank you.

I've added a link to a webpage to help all of us understand the history behind the song Taps, which is used at military funerals; may it help us all to remember.

This post is dedicated to Lauren P. McGuinness (my younger Sister) USN, and to Lt. Gregory Hacker, USN. Both are currently serving in the United States Navy.

To all of our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air Force personnel, please be safe and come home soon.
I'm standing in the shadows of music, but I do so on ground that was fought for me domestically and internationally and I am grateful.

The Courage Of Your Conviction

Here's a phrase that I use alot, but have you ever given thought to the meaning behind it?
To me each of the those words express a great deal of emotion...courage and conviction. Let's decipher them to get to the bottom of why this phrase means so much to me.
First, courage: the dictionary defines it as the quality of being brave. It defines conviction as a firm belief or opinion.
Roughly translated this phrase means the bravery to act on one's belief.
One reason you'll hear me say this so much is that I really have admiration for people who are constantly trying something whether it's new or old. They chip away at it until it becomes a diamond or a some great entity.
I can think of dozens of people that I know of or know personally that have this quality.
To be involved in music takes some real courage if you're going to make it a career; why? Mainly because it calls for some true sacrifice, like spending time away from family and friends, subjecting yourself to the ridicule of the occasional drunken heckler, and the ever present request for Freebird, and or Mustang Sally ( don'tcha just wish those songs would go away, or at least wish that someone would open a nightclub especially for people who love those songs... it could be called Mustang Sally's Freebird Utopia.).
I'm not gonna get all philosophical about karaoke, it has it's place, and in reality it's pretty fun, but to play music in circumstances that I've laid out takes real courage.
I can't tell you the amount of times that I've argued about the music that the Carpenter Ants does..."you all are supposed to be a blues band, you all are an R and B band, I hate all this country twang, the gospel stuff is fine up to a point," and on and on.
For those that speak against what we do have you considered breaking out your pad and pencils and writing songs for us? Now don't get me wrong, alot of your imput is warranted and really, even welcomed to some degree but let's look at this another way...
When your favorite band, or singer (fill in the blanks for yourself here) started out they like most of us chose music that appealed to them right? Well what should have happened after they began to grow, should they have continued doing everyone else's music or should they start to find their voice and do their own music?
Another consideration...think about someone like Ray Charles. Brother Ray infused gospel music with some soul and look what came out. Look at Aretha Franklin, you just can't deny what she's done for music, and it was on her own terms. You see, they had the courage of their conviction.
I know that for some people that is a bitter pill to swallow, but like it or not, everyone ( and I do mean everyone) wants their own voice, and they want the chance to grow. The best way to help that come about is not by bemoaning those who are simply trying to make a career, or moreover just simply trying to entertain you. If it really bugs you what we do, what we on this side of the game have to accept is that you won't support it. So shouldn't it be a compromise for everyone involved? Tell us what you like, but pardon our insistance if we chose our own direction.
Truthfully though, if music is like the Internet, out there somewhere is an audience waiting to hear genuine original musicianship; give it time and each will find the other.
Lastly, I think Frank Sinatra said it best..."for what is man, what has he got, if not himself, then he has naught, to say the things he really feels, and not the words of one who kneels, the record shows, I took the blows, and did it my way."

This post is dedicated to Andy Ridenour, his bravery and belief gave birth to Mountain Stage.
It's also dedicated to Terry James, you should have never given up.
On November 18th 2005, I've added Michael from the blog "A Girl Named Michael..." Michael epitomizes the essence of true love, and standing by your man spirit. Her bravery gave a snub to the devil...he couldn't end her marriage.

Harlem and The Bronx (the making of Charlie Tee) ( # 2)

In this post I will attempt to give you a better understanding of how my parents influenced my music. The choices that I made that they helped with, and how their love of the music fueled a lifelong quest that has taken me to many places.

Throughout most of my life when my Mother was alive, she hammered a point to me that I now feel so strongly about that I've come to repeat it to many people (especially young people). That point is: "learn something every semester of your life." The reason that it is so important is that with an education you have a ticket to the world and pretty much everything in it.
Over the course of a life filled with trying, crying and prying I know for a fact that had I not gotten my education, that world would be a closed book to me. This is not to say that getting that education proved to be the end all be all, but it definitely was better than not having it. It's also not to say that during the crossing of that path that there weren't many many obstacles.
I've had many arguments with people about getting a formal eduaction as opposed to getting a bandstand education which like it or not has definite merit, because sometimes studying with the masters can be as great an education as going to school, although, you have to see this and admit it: only once in a blue moon do you have a Charlie Parker, Steve Ferguson, or a Ray Charles, it just doesn't always happen like that. While there is no denying the absolute talent of people like those that I just mentioned, even they I'm certain would admit their lives could have progressed even farther had they gotten the chance to go to school and structuralize that talent.
One reason for that is that formal education will at least give you some form of disipline, if for nothing other than to get you in a mode to practice regularly to become ultra familiar with your voice or musical instrument among other things.
A case in point: some time ago The Carpenter Ants got together with our producer Don Dixon to record a song that Michael had written. It was decided that it would be fun to add a Tuba part to it, to give it a sort of Polka feel. Our bassist, Ted Harrison also doubles on Tuba; well he went home broke out his Tuba and started practicing really hard to get into shape to play it for the record. When it came time to record not only did Ted completely nail the part, he also played it flawlessly. You can believe this or not but it was so inspiring to me, I was as proud as if I had just witnessed the birth of my child... a testament to his self disipline.
In the TV movie "Roots," Kunte Kinte held up his newborn son to the heavens and proclaimed "behold, the only thing greater than yourself." I feel that way about education.
One of the greatest lessons that I learned from my Father was to be open to multi tasking; in that I should learn about more than the instrument that I chose to play, thereby gaining some perspective on the entire realm of music...it was from that standpoint that I became a singer as well as an instrumentalist. My Dad came from the same place that my Mom did as far as dealing with education. His thing though, was about eloquence. One of his biggest pet peeves was hearing someone who couldn't speak English well. No, not our foreign brothers and sisters, that's dialect, he meant people who refused to try and gain a feel for the language of the country.
He felt that slang was fine when you're with you buddies hanging out at the Yankee game, but when it really counted ( and for African Americans, that's all the time) you need to be able to communicate succinctly at all times.
As I garnered my musical experiences, my parents really helped by showing me how to know the difference between people who were just getting by and people who were truly all about their art. I've been fairly fortunate to be in the presence of musical giants and geniuses, and I have learned a great deal from both, I owe what I have to the fact that I could articulate, demonstrate and aggregate all that I have learned.
In this semester of my life I'm still open to being taught and I'm a willing participant.

Finding My Legs at the River's Edge.

Last night, I made a rare appearance to play music with some other folks ( I sound like some recluse, don't I ?) at the River's Edge Cafe, here in St Albans.
Jupiter Little ( the Carpenter Ants drummer) has an ongoing regular show there with guitarist Jim Snyder, and I must say that I had too much fun.
In the Carpenter Ants, since I am the lead vocalist, I don't get to play my saxophone a whole lot mainly because Michael is our principal soloist, which is fine, although I'd like to play the horn just a little bit more than I get to.
Anyway, I'm certain that when I started playing last night people in the audience were going "where the heck did they find this fool?" I hadn't played like that in so long that it was sounding terrible to me, so I know what the audience was going through.
For quite a while I just couldn't get it together...I was actually extremely nervous. At some point I started to pack my things and go home, but something told me to hang in there.
After I finally woke up, I really started feeling great and boy it was a different story after that.
When I finally found my legs, and got my act together, I cooked... I came alive and I started blowing hard like I do when I'm in my comfort zone. After that I had so much fun, I almost hated for the night to end, but when it did I got a real ego boost; a bunch of people came over and thanked me for coming and wanted to know when I was coming again...one man said, "soon I hope."
It's so nice when people appreciate what you do, not just from the standpoint of your ego, but just as a way of encouragement. Compliments go a long way in my book, and I'm always grateful that people feel comfortable enough to tell me that they like what I do.Thank you so much.

To Jupiter, Jim, Phil and Marcel thanks for a truly wonderful evening.
To the nice folks at the River's Edge Cafe thanks for supporting live music, and thank you for a great dinner.

Lynn, just keep both hands on the wheel...

This is a fairly short but funny story:
I went to pay a visit to my second library job ( at the University of Charleston) today basically to say hi and see how some of my co-workers were doing, I haven't worked there this year because the band's schedule has been so hectic.
Anyway, when I walked through the door my friend and supervisor Lynn Sheehan looked as though she'd seen a ghost. Well it turned out that just this morning while she was driving in her car she glanced up and thought that she'd seen an ant crawling on her visor...after momentary panic she realized that she was looking at a picture of the Carpenter Ants CD cover from the CD entitled "Long Live The Queen."
All of that, then I show up later in the day... does this constitute deja vu ?
You know you've arrived when your fans scream for you and you're not even there!!

Harlem and The Bronx (the making of Charlie Tee)

I decided today that this would be a good time to give a bit of a background, indirectly about me, via my parents. I think it will help you somewhat in understanding me and my music just a little better.
I also realize that it may be fairly lengthy, so I may tell this story in a few parts. It's not a complicated story, but some depth is required to convey it and the relationship to my music.
I truly hope that it is as enjoyable for everyone, as it is cathartic for me...
At another point I plan to write about my Sisters, and their role in my musical life...
OK, so here goes...

My father was James Maxwell Tuitt (aka Big Jim, and/or Nicky). He was born on November 17th, 1921, in Harlem. Dad was by all accounts a very positive person ALWAYS. He was just one of those rare people that come along who truly had the courage of their conviction, and I've been told that he was gorgeous in his younger days (he was to me all my life).
Dad was a Navy vet serving in World War II. When he returned home after his service he became a Firefighter with the greatest Fire Dept in the world, New York City. where he remained for 32 years retiring as a Deputy Commissioner.
During that time he also had second profession: he worked as a councelor at the Boy's and Girls' Club of Mount Vernon, NY until he became the director.
Mr.Tuitt loved music, and everything about it. He loved all kinds of music, but he especially loved the cultural aspects of it and how it affected everyone.
I watched my Dad have get togethers and set a mood with music that would make James Bond envious, and he just seemed to know the right thing to say to keep the vibe mellow. In short he could read people really well and get them energized through his choice of music. He was also an accomplished photographer.
My mother was Carmen Loretta Charles. Her birthday was September 12th,1921. She was also born in Harlem (she in fact grew up directly next door to the world famous Cotton Club, at that time located on 142nd Street and Lenox Ave.).
By every account, my mother I'm told was a brilliant woman, she graduated from Julia Richmann High School at 16, unheard of for a Black woman in those days.
Ma too was into music, in her case though more as a listener than participant but she knew style. Carmen had legs to die for and she could dance her butt off. She was heavy but that didn't stop the fellas from trying to latch on to her (a childhood boyfriend of hers once told me that "she just oozed sexiness.")
At some point in their young lives, they felt the need to return to school to take some courses (it was actually night school) and the enevitable happened, they met fell in love and in short order they married.
Now here's the slightly tricky part; my mother's father, a strict West Indian from Antigua did not initially think that it was good idea for Ma to see Daddy much less entertain the notion of being his wife: "men from Monserrat (my Dad's ancestry) don't work, their women do,"was the lament of my grandfather, but the redeeming quality here was music. Not only did my father work, but he shared his earnings with my Grandfather and his family. On Fridays when Daddy got paid he treated my Mom and her family to ice cream and an occasional Friday night dance held someplace in Harlem. This began to breakdown the barriers that my grandfather put up, and years later was a valid point in my life about how to deal with people.
When my parents divorced in my seventh year, for all intents and purposes I could have become a disengaged child, but that never happened for me because although my parents split apart, somehow the bond of their friendship remained and grew stronger. I mean yes they were on the outs as husband and wife but as two friends if you never knew that they had been married you'd think 'at any time these two are gonna get hitched.' You see the reserve tank of friendship kept their machine running for life. It's the one thing that from all of the harsh realities of them divorcing that made it palatable...they stayed friends, and even forgave.
My Mother was employed at The Bronx District Attorney's Office, and for 16 of 32 years she was the adminstrative assistant to the Bronx DA. and the first African American woman to hold the job, a first for New York City
My parents were at once loving, caring, strong and visionary. They were the kind of people that you didn't ever want to make mad because they were eloquent enough to cut you down like a tree, but plant you and watch you grow all with words.
When I decided in my life that I wanted to be a musician, without any hesitation at all they got behind me and encouraged me. Lessons, recitals, gigs, saxophonist sideman, vocalist, they went through it all with me always pointing out things that needed work or things that were great about what I was doing.
Disappointments were many in my young musician days, tears flowed freely and often, and through it all the Tuitt family used style and grace to help shore me up.
One of the things that I am most grateful for was the exposure to all kinds of people and music.
My Mom never understood opera but she took me to see it because I thought that it would be good for me. My Dad took me to jazz concerts around the city, at one point I even got to spend my entire Summer playing with the Count Basie band and was a featured young saxophone soloist, and I got paid to boot (not bad for a kid from The Bronx, huh!?).

There is so much that I owe to my parents that this post could never hold it all so I'm gonna end this part here.
If you want to keep up with these particular posts they will be numbered after this along with the same title. I hope that you enjoy them.

I'm Happy to be Here

During the course of writing these blog posts I'm sure that I may come across as a person who sees the world through rose colored glasses, or that I want something so desperately that I've sacrificed alot of things to make it come about, or even worse as a pompous annoying a**hole ( at least that's my take on it !).
I want to say right here and now that this is not my intention, nor is it my desire to annoy anyone. It is my desire to create dialogue among people, but dialogue that is meaningful to all involved.
When my band signed with a record company a few years ago, we were to say the least very hopeful of the outcome...to release our third CD. Like it or not, believe it or not everybody who is trying to make their life's work in music has this same struggle. If you were to look into the career paths of anyone that you like in the music business you'll find that it was filled with struggles; and some far greater than not having their music released to the public.
The concern that I have is more along the lines of frustration that for all the people that we've worked with or for that matter all the people that we know, why is it that no one has picked us up yet. There is really a twofold answer to that question: 1, is that we're in a market that makes it fairly difficult in which to get noticed , and 2, there are still things that we need to do to make ourselves more marketable; but believe me it's not like we aren't trying.
In the meantime, I need for you to know that for me personally, I am very happy to be here. I really am in situations that are meaningful and worthwhile to me. Working for the greatest library system in the state of West Virginia, having a second family in my co-workers, having a caring boss ( and former bosses) who constantly challenge and inspire you to be your best, and to awaken everyday and know that the work that I do matters to people is more gratifying and more satisfying than you can imagine...as much as playing music. In fact it's my alternative music.
There are alot of people in the world with all kinds of dreams...I'm just one of them, but I also am as realistic as possible, I know that for some people it may not be in the cards, although I'm optomistic and hopeful.
I found out today that more people are reading this than I thought, and that too is gratifying for me. As I said, my aim is to get people talking about the music industry and to share success stories as well as not so successful stories. By creating this dialogue maybe, just maybe those of us who are striving in it will have some clear cut ideas or thoughts on how not be standing in the shadows of music.

A Wild and Crazy Farewell

If you are a fan of Rockabilly music, then at some point you may have heard the name of Hasil Adkins. The Haze, or the Wildman of Boone County as he was called was a dynamo in every sense of the word. He could get drunk with the best of 'em, and completely tear down a joint with some of the most outrageous music this side of Punk Rock.
There are any number of crazy stories floating around the universe about Hasil.
Unfortunately a few weeks ago the world lost a true ecclectic genius, as Hasil died of an apparent heart attack.
I'm not certain of the details of his personal finances, but for one reason or another tonight there was a benefit concert show dedicated to him. It was held at the Empty Glass, and when I tell you that it was as unorganized as anything could possibly get that's offering a true glimpse into the world that was Hasil.
The event started off with me not knowing any details in terms of the time that the Carpenter Ants were scheduled to play, then finding out that we were to play at 10:50 pm (we were there at 8 pm). First problem for us is that Michael wasn't in town ( He's in Phoenix Arizona, playing with our good friend Joe Rathbone), then our backup guitarist was a no show even for his own part of the show.
Prior to the event a woman walked up to me and asked if I were in the Carpenter Ants? When I informed her that I was indeed, she told me that we were playing her wedding. Well right now we are in the midst of a serious schedule problem. We have a fairly important gig on the day that I thought was her wedding, so I tell her that I was trying to locate her to see if something else can't be done. All of this only to find I was talking to the wrong woman...whew!!! Scared the daylights out of both of us. Poor Joanna almost went into convulsions.
Back to the show...there was one crazy thing after another then we went on with a guitar player named Jamie Adkins who had never played with us before but did a great job on short notice.
Jennifer Lilly, the young lady who was thrust into putting this event together normally is very organized, but this was a bit much even for her, but as I thought about it I thought, wait a minute, Hasil was the most unorthodox, unorganized person I'd ever met... this was perfect !!! The mix of people there was as ecclectic as he was, and I was really taken by just how much people were affected by his passing.
People show their respects in some crazy ways but this tribute to me spoke volumes of how much Hasil was really liked and how much in his own way he gave us all something.
Haze, wherever you are I truly hope that you are resting in peace. This was a wild and crazy farewell and we will miss you...goodnight brother.

Lucky 13

The scene: Friday night, the Vandalia Lounge, Charleston WV, the newest happening in the city. This is Charleston's answer to Cafe Society; all the hip , stylish, suave ( or would be suave) perfectly coiffed, slick back, high heeled and pseudo riche' were in attendance.
Another pretentious night in the city? Oh no, not by a long shot...
Much to the credit of the establishers of the Vandalia Lounge they've raised the bar on entertainment, class and fun. Not only have the Carpenter Ants done well there, but also, we've met some pretty fascinating folks and as they used to say back in the day some "beautiful people."
Over the years that I've been in this band we've made several forays to clubs in the downtown area of Charleston ( now mind you Charleston is not some sprawling metropolis... in other words, it ain't New York), all with the hopes of getting accepted in our hometown dashed by people who just didn't get the point of what we do.
Here's an example: once, we played in the now defunct (thank goodness) club called Mulligans, and a woman there and I got into a heated argument because she was angry that we would have the "audacity to play gospel music in a bar, that we would disgrace the Lord by even eluding to references of HIM in a place where people were having drinks and letting their hair down." Follow me closely here... 3 months later, I was asked to come to Mulligans to be a guest speaker about my religion, Islam; at a series that the club was starting on Tuesdays at the time aimed at bringing the church to all people, everywhere, even in the pub. Well much to my amazement, in attendance that night was the very woman who argued me down when we played there. She completely forgot that just a few weeks before she wanted to kill me for doing what we did, in the same place ( is that not ironic).
It seemed that almost anytime we played anywhere outside of the Empty Glass this is the resistence we'd meet.
If you have a copy of our CD "Picnic With the Lord, " Michael wrote in the liner notes something that has truly stuck with me lo these many years and it's something that anyone who listens openly to music should know, and accept: "Often there is far less distance between the saints and sinners then the sanctimonious would have you believe. Our aim is touch hearts and souls whether they be in the tavern or the church." A very well said line indeed.
Which brings me back to the Vandalia Lounge; these people get it, and I mean they get it on all levels. They have the correct balance we need to be playing music in a situation like this...THEY ARE OPEN MINDED. Yes there are unbeliveably beautiful women there, yes there are ultra successful business people there, yes the bar staff and waitstaff wear uniforms, yes the clientele mostly are dressed to the nines, and yes to some degree it's a meet market, but that's why you have bands like us there; to help it all along. Nothing I know will win a woman's heart more than if you make her feel special and worthwhile. If you're asking your lady to be your wife, don't you want the world to know how much you love her? You tell me, what says it better than music?
Although all of what I said is true, you still have to be in the frame of mind to have some fun and really let your hair down, and that is what you'll find in spades at the Vandalia.
On a day like Friday the 13th, a seemingly unlucky day, by the accounts of the naysayers, it is truly a good feeling for me and for my bandmates to know that we smoked the place, burned down and blurred the barriers holding people's minds, and helped to loosen the shackles of their week.
For this Black cat, lucky 13 is the number, and I won it at the Vandalia Lounge.

This blog post is dedicated to the staff, management and patrons of the Vandalia Lounge, congratulations, you got it right...continued success.

Sometimes The Bear Gets You...

Wednesday turned out to be one of those blah, blase' days. For some reason we were just petered out...no energy anywhere, although it wasn't as bad as this post might make it seem.
Days like this make me realize how well we have it, because there are times when we play sooo much that I feel like the man who meets himself in the door of his home on the way in; he becomes a split personality.
Knowing my bandmates like I do I know that in the back of their minds they worry a bit because it seems as though things at the Empty Glass are just fizzling out, hardly anyone comes out for the Wednesday show anymore.
Michael was saying that he thinks it's just the time of year...it's not quite Summer, yet it's not quite Spring either. I think it's just a sign of the economy, people have to hold on to their money a little tighter right now, and in West Virginia the economy is far behind the rest of the country. Everybody's belt has to be tightened right now so entertainment/ recreation is far down the list of must haves unless of course your name is Trump/ Hilton/ Schwartzenidiot or one of those names other than mine.
There's an old saying that comes to mind here, and I think this may sum up the evening pretty well...sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. The reason I think this might fit is that when things are going great and everything is working in your favor it's easy to forget that people everywhere are doing the best that they can with little, so even if you can take their minds off their troubles for a short while you're ahead of the game, and I do know that we as a group do that.
The music industry might not necessarily be forthright in checking us out but a whole lot of people have and it's just a matter of time before things in the country will turn around and the world will get to hear us. Until then, we can can hold on... we're patient like that.

Ruth, Esther, Carmen and Virginia

I'm in my fifties now, and my Mother has been gone from my life for a few years, but everything about her is in my memory.
My Mom was a very strong woman who loved to laugh and loved life and all of its endless possiblity, first and foremost though she believed strongly in education."Learn something every semester of your life" was her constant battle cry throughout my life.
With the exception of Ted Harrison's Mother, Virginia, I wasn't fortunate enough to get to know Ruth Lipton (Michael's Mother) or Esther Little (Jupiter's Mother) but I can see the type of ladies they were in their sons. I can tell that they were also strong beautiful ladies, who were the biggest fans of their sons.
In Michael's playing I can hear the sensitive nature of his Mom and the dignity that she must have excuded. In Jupie's playing and his constant wit, I know that his Mom must have been hilariously uproarious but on her game all the time, especially when it counted most.
I did get to know and love Virginia Harrison, and I know that she raised one of the finest human beings that God ever created, for everything about Ted reflects that, his strong personality, his very sensitive nature and his absolute decency.
As you listen to our band one of the things that comes across about us is that we genuinely love to be together making music, we're fiercely independent, but we move forward in one body as we weave our way through our tunes. I like to think that pretty much all that we are as artists we owe to our first and biggest fans/ critics...our Moms, and I wanted to take this day, their day, and let the four of them know that we do remember and honor them, and even though that they are not physically with us they will always have front row seats to wherever we are, because without them there would be no music.
The thing that I've learned the most from being my Mother's son was about caring for others.
Thank you for all of our lessons,and thank you for your unconditional love.

To all Mothers everywhere thank you for all that you are to your children...

This blog is dedicated to Mrs. Ruth Lipton, to Mrs. Esther Little, to Mrs.Carmen L. Tuitt, and to Mrs.Virginia Harrison...
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Do the Right Thing (Parkersburg)

Here's a first...
Friday night in Parkersburg turned out to be one of the most negative evenings we've had in years.
I have to say though, it all started innocently, the night was like any other road trip for us; loads of laughs, a nice relaxing ride with great friends, dinner at a fine restaurant with superb food. That (seemingly) may have been the end of it all, because after we got to the club (The Front Row) things took a little turn south. First, during our sound check I noticed that the main speaker system shorted out and cut off a few times...no problem, a few adjustments and we're back in business, right !! We start playing, and it's going along pretty well, I come off the stage and down front to sing to the audience which is usually my custom to get them into the vibe of the night and to help them to relax and have fun...it's really going well. I tease a gentleman in the audience who seemed out of place but even he now is having fun telling me " how can I feel bad, I'm surrounded by all these beautiful women," and that he was.
Then the second disaster, the main speakers go out again during a crucial point in one of our songs , and the people can only see mouths moving, no sound at all; so we stop, take a break while the crew is trying to work out all the kinks. We go back, and it happens again, then again so now the evening is slowly sliding away from us, people are leaving (thankfully though, not in anger or disgust), the bartenders and waitstaff seemed a bit on edge, because their evening is shot as well, but we're all trying to make the best of it.
We make one last attempt, go back on stage and in short order the sound is gone, so that was that...the end of an uphill battle.
Although the night was shot we still hung around for awhile and chit chatted with some of the patrons who hung in there and refused to be thwarted by it all ( that's a nice feeling).
So it's really late now and we started to load our equipment in the van not even suspecting that there was real trouble right in front of us. We start to load the last pieces into the van when Michael noticed that his personal CD's were missing...that's right, someone broke into his vehicle and stole all his CD's. What's worse is that he had just gotten them and didn't know all that he had.
In an age of having a place "where eveybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came," it's a definite blow to have something like this happen.
Bill Poole who owns and manages the Front Row, is a really really nice and hard working man trying to give some nice to the city of Parkersburg that they might not have otherwise.
It's a slap in the face to him and his staff to have something like that tarnish the good reputation that they have created.
This is the kind of thing that can create a completely bad vibe for a place. I know that I would be very leary of someplace if I feel that while I'm busy inside entertaining them, these same people are outside ripping me off.
Parkersburg, do the right thing; you're a really nice town, don't let the actions of a few idiots ruin it for everyone. Return Michael's things to him.
For all those who read my blog, if you get nothing else out of this, know that it's hard enough to do what we do, we work our butts off for a mere pittance, don't steal from us, we're the very ones on your side, when you rob us you only rob yourself.

Health and Music

I can say this with definite surety...
If you don't take some measure of control of your health, not only will you not be around to play music, but also it's a safe bet that you won't even get to listen to it either. It's important to know this and to hear it from someone who knows first hand.
I'm sad to say that I once lived a drug filled life, in that I became a user (although I'm not going to futher damage myself by telling you what drugs I did) . Suffice it to say that living that exsistence did not increase my sensitivity to being a musician as I was told, but it did make for some weird forays into some strange lands ( trust me, it wasn't good...).
Today, I'm proud to say that I've been drug free for going on 30 years and during that time I've learned alot about me, and what I will and won't do for love or music or anything.
I've come to realize that nothing is more important than me living as abundant a life that I can.
Now, my biggest battle is with Diabetes which I found out I had a few years ago; but the fight is still the same... to be healthy and strong. This can be tough because I love food so I'm having to learn control and to use insulin correctly and wisely.
So many of us with dreams do crazy things in the hope that something will get us where we want to go; but as Stevie Wonder pointed out "if you believe in things that you don't understand then you suffer... superstition ain't the way."
Another thing that gives me concern is all of the abuse that people endure at the hands of other people. I'm talking about bullying, harassment, and verbal abuse. It seems to me that more so than physical health issues we are suffering grave mental health issues.
It's almost impossible any more to turn on the TV and not hear of someone, celebrity or just a regular joe who hasn't been abused, molested or just plainly treated bad.
It scares me to think that abuse is the new drug of choice for Americans, and we're scoffing it up at alarming rates, it's a bigger epidemic than crack cocaine could ever hope to be, and what's worse is that as a result it's wiping out people in untold numbers ( think about the Columbine shootings and you'll get the direction I'm going).
If ever I'm fortunate enough to become a celebrity, the things that I would like to address the most are issues of learning to be more tolerant and respectful of each other.
Yes, I'm a Black man, but don't kill me for it, I'm Muslim, but don't think me a terrorist, I'm married to a White woman, but don't think I dislike Black women, I'm fat but don't think I can't do what a thin person does.
If we learn to accept and respect, what we'll gain is the same perspective that allows us to appreciate music...people listen to music for what it suggests to their mind. The elements that make for great music are rhythm and harmony and as with anything worthwhile the way to fully comprehend is to be healthy enough to digest it...one note at a time.