8/26/07 Tony Perdue, Dennis Kahler and I shared the stage last night. Tony's new band which he has tentatively named the Fogchasers opened with Gravy Train a real upbeat song Tony has done before with the Devastators. They also played the jazzy Alabama Fish Fry, Burning, a song about the devil, Finger Picking, a folksy On The road, Sing the Blues paradoxically an upbeat song, and closed with johnny Cash's Ring of fire. His band consisted of Jason on guitar and trumpet and Price on mouth harp. They had an eclectic sound, a little rough, but they have just formed the band and haven't played together alot. Their next outing will be really good. I played next, my old folk songs and some I wrote and Dennis closed with many of his really great originals. Dennis may be the best songwriter I've known, and I have known many. It was a fun night.

8/24/07 I was asked by Jimmy Simms, the Farmer's Market manager to provide music at the market yesterday from 3-5 PM. They provide live music on Thursdays and Saturday. I couldn't get anyone else to perform with me as I usually do so I had to do the gig solo. It was 103 outside and Jimmy said it was 95 in the market open air hall. I performed for an hour and a half, went through my standard stuff and got into my more obscure stuff that I don't do very often. It was fun for me and there were a few people who were enjoying it, thanks Erin and JD. Then I took a break and walked through the market, bought a peach pie and some blackberry ice cream from a local farmer. When I went back to do my last half hour, I played maybe 3-4 songs and I was whipped, wore slap out, the heat finally hit me. I had to pack up all my gear and head back to the store. When I got there I collapsed into a chair. After 4-5 drinks (We live in a dry county remember, so its not what you think), I had taken water to the gig with me, I began to recover and by Organic Church at 7, I was almost back to normal. Heat hadn't bothered me that much since I used to cruise timber for a living many moons ago, but then it would take all day to wear me down and I recovered much faster.

8/21/07 This was a special open mike, Tom Black a reporter for Southern Living magazine attended it with his wife and will write a story about it for the February 2008 issue. And man did we have a crowd!!! I counted 65 in the store and 10-15 out on the sidewalk. The music was great. James Smith the Autoharp Man and Larry Woelhart from Huntsville showed up and provided some great folk music. Liberty Junction came and wowed them with their bluegrass. Dennis Kahler, Joe Carter, Karry Calvert, Carlo, Susan Vaughn, Josh Brooks, Victoria Nunnelly, Opie, and Seth Richardson helped round out the evening. We even had a jimbe drum and digeredo show up. Thanks to everyone who showed up, it was a great night for everyone, and, unfortunately, the last night that some of the college kids would be here as they leave this week to go back to school.

8/21/07 Yesterday was the Taste Of Cullman a benefit for United Way in which all the local restaurants have a table and provide food to those who buy tickets. We participated serving iced coffee, iced tea, Gerri's great fruited chicken salad, the best chicken salad in Cullman, as well as homemade cookies and key lime pie. And of course three types of hot coffee. It was held in the open air Farmer's Market under the Festhalle Market Plat, the largest timbered structure in Alabama. It was in the hundreds (102?)in the open and probably in the 90's at the festival. Although there was a breeze it was still hot, hot. I don't know why they moved this venue from November to August. They sold over 500 tickets and had a good crowd, but I don't think 500 were there. All in all it was successful, but uncomfortable for most people. The Festhalle is really nice the high roof allows the heat to rise and escape and the open sides and ends catches the breeze. But 95 is still 95, I though Julie and Gerri would melt. I was quoted in the paper today with the only negative comment about the show, but I am sure other felt the same way.

8/13/07 We had a board meeting at Daystar House the local homeless shelter tonight and the benefit folk festival seems to be progressing well. I think this will be a good venue. I need to get a separate page up on it.

8/12/07 Philip David Harris put on a great show Saturday night in front of a good and receptive crowd. He brought Shelly Keaton with him, she plays a mean bass behind his guitar. They really have a great sound together, the bass compliments the guitar wonderfully, she has some great licks. Philip plays a really good guitar and is a wonderful songwriter, I think everything he sang was an original.
He started with Blue Sky a really upbeat song about the south and I asked him to finish with it, just a great song. It should be his signature song. His other songs included Kamikazi, Blacktop, Gunfighter, Crazy Love and others all which evoke realistic, sometimes hard, images of life. He wrote a song he calls the Vietnam Song about the VN experiences sof a man he met. It was so realistic I had to leave, it just brought too much of Viet Nam back to me, and emotionally I couldn't have handled it. Very seldom anymore does anything touch me like that. Another song My hands Ronnie about a friend who committed suicide was another one that grabbed you hard. Philip has a good stage presence and introduces his songs well, he tells you why he wrote them which brings you right into the song even before his starts it. It was a great evening and I invited him back on December 8th a Friday night. Dennis Kahler perfomed during the only break Philip took.

8/7/07 What a great open mike last night, we have had a bunch of really great ones over the past couple of months. This follows a period when I was thinking about canceling them for lack of interest. Joseph Carter led it off with several originals, then Carlo did three old Irish "cat drinking songs", drinking songs in his Irish (?) brogue all dealing with the subject of cats. Then I played an old folk tune 'The Greenland Fisheries" maybe my favorite folk song. Kerry Calvert was next with his great stuff followed by Ronnie Knight. Ronnie hadn't been here in a while. He is from the Muscle Shoals area, is a really good picker and singer in a folk blues or folk rock tradition with jazz undertones. He played Taj Mahal's "Corrina" and a tribute to Dave Olney. Dennis Kahlor was next, his originals are always great and he will be making a trip to Nashville to showcase some of his songs (good luck). I was glad to see Josh Brooks, he has turned into a really good beat poet and of course we all like his music. Victoria Nunnely made her first appearance singing a German folk song in German, and then Shea Heatherly and Joseph Eason closed us out. A good night, the kind you really want to be there for.

8/2/07 Bimini Road (Lite- missing Shelly Heard on mandolin and Chad on drums) put on probably the best show I have heard them do, and that is saying a lot as they are always a top notch band. The band consisted of Chuck and Ruthie Puckett and Richard and Daniel Eves. Chuck played lead guitar and was lead singer, Richard played bass, slide and alternate lead on guitar, and Daniel played congas. Ruthie sang solo on several songs as well and she,Richard and Daniel sang background. Both sets were tight and the sound system was perfect, getting the sound right has been a problem in the past. They had a minimalist set up for them and I think it helped, too much sound technology may have been the root of the problem in the past I think. They are a great band, I call them a folk rock jam band in the grateful Dead Tradition and they lived up to it. The band played a very eclectic mix of songs everything from Old Crow Medicine Show (Rock Me Like a Wagon Wheel and others) to George Girshwin (Summertime) and Kris Kristoferson (Me and Bobbi McGee) plus some great originals (Caroline and Old Mac Neal). The guitar play between Chuck and Richard on the jams were wonderful with the conga keeping it all together. Of course then there is Ruthie. I call her vocals a combination of Billy Holliday and Janice Joplin. That girl will be a noted singer sometime in the future. I like her rendition of Summertime better than Lena Horne in the movie Porgie and Bess. This was the first time I had heard her sing Bobbie McGee, not many can pull it off, but she can. And Bobby Gentry's Ode to Billy Joe was written for Ruthie. She did a great job on You Don't Know What It's Like with Chuck). Chuck does a mean job on his vocals too I don't mean to slight him. Some other really good covers were "Stop children what's that sound, everybody look what's going down" (I can't think of the title), Bright Side of the Road, Big Boss Man, Not Fade Away and their closing medley climaxed with the Grateful Dead's "AWBGYN" (And We Bid You Goodnight). A great show with a full balanced sound, excellent vocals and music. I still don't know how Richard made his guitar sound like a Jew's harp!