Grooveyard
Feb 20, 2020
It's been raining in Austin for the past couple of days. As a guy who grew up in New England, this is the closest I'm going to get to winter around here, so I'll take it. It reminds me of walking to the bus stop in a slicker and rain boots, of...
The Scratchy Record Hour
Feb 13, 2020
Years ago my friend Matt Weiner played bass in a New York band I'll describe as retro and jazz-oriented, along with our mutual friend and absolutely killer guitar player Matt Munisteri. Both of these Matts were, and are, some of the most musical...
"Boys, Let's Put A Supergroup Together!"
Feb 06, 2020
It's February Album Writing Month again, one of my favorite times of the year. If you're one of those people – Ms. Fretboard comes to mind – who can't wait to be rid of January and all the post-holiday letdown it stands for, let me...
Blind Pig, 0; Acorn, 1
Jan 23, 2020
I've been trying for two days now to write something witty, enlightening and succinct about Bix Beiderbecke, and all I've come up with is a bit of satisfying but slight trivia about the origins of his given name. One of my lesser hobbies consists...
Guitar King
Jan 16, 2020
Maybe the best thing about Guitar King, David Dann's brick-like new biography of Michael Bloomfield, is how it succeeds in putting the guitarist's post-rock-star output into context. I missed the big bang of 1964's The Butterfield Blues...
Captain Trips – Video Now Available
Jan 09, 2020
Clearly, I'm a little rusty. Not only did this morning's Letter not go out to everyone; when it did, the new video was not visible yet on Youtube. Hence this correction. If you missed the earlier message, here it is in its entirety, complete with...
John Freaking Renbourn
Dec 12, 2019
Austin, Texas, where I presently suspend my chapeau, brands itself "The Live Music Capital of the World." Said branding is the subject of much debate among the musicians who actually make that claim possible. Once upon a time, the story goes...
Just the Contrafacts, Ma'am
Dec 05, 2019
The secret to holding insider information is to scrupulously avoid becoming the kind of person who uses it for evil, rather than for awesome. If you've ever watched someone take over a conversation with the opening phrase "actually, it turns...
Spy Vs. Spy
Nov 21, 2019
I'm beginning to think fingerstyle guitar is the great leveler. I touched on this in an earlier post, quoting jazz guitarist Gene Bertoncini's observation that as guitar players, we like just about anything played on the guitar. One of the...
