DON'T BE A STRANGER!

It's official. I LOVE singing the blues. Especially with all the great and talented musicians I've met in the last year. 


I first learned about Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee when a good, kind and extremely musical friend Jack Lavin lent me some DVDs. Billy McBeth was in town for an old friend- Vic Delisle's-  memorial and staying with me so we started watching the 1966-1967 edition. Up came the duo playing 'Stranger Blues' Billy's face lit up and recalled how he and Al Foreman used to sing the song with Paul Dean and Brian Newcombe. He wanted to perform it for Vic's celebration of life and away we went. A longing blues shuffle with haunting lyrics touching upon making it home by any means necessary. Billy sang melody, I sang harmony.

Last night I had the pleasure and good fortune to perform with an inspiring bluesman and gentle soul, Wes Mackey at The Harrison Hot Springs Executive Inn. Wes is such a handsome man and a perfect southern gentleman. He's a snappy dresser and feels the Blues he plays right down to his soul which he injects into every note. As a one man band, Wes introduces his bass pedals and drum machine as 'Footsie Brown' and 'Good friend Clicker' best band around cause they don't talk back!

I opted to start with 'Stranger Blues' because it was my first time in the venue and my first time meeting Wes. It's a great tune for new beginnings. Another leg of my journey, another wonderful new friend. Thanks for sharing the blues with me Wes.