From what I'm able to gather, Kore Ionz will be the only reggae band performing this year at Bumbershoot. Personally, I enjoy sitting in the grass, feeling the warmth of the sun, breathing clean fresh air, and chilling to the island sounds so I was hoping to see a fuller reggae line-up, with possibly the likes of Slightly Stoopid with Don Carlos or Rebelution.
Local Seattle boys, Kore Ionz, offer up a fairly clean, unblemished and unvarnished form of reggae. They stay fairly true to the genre although the Pacific island influence is quite prominent, which makes sense considering leader and singer-songwriter, Daniel Pak, hails from Hawaii.
It's hard to imagine a reaggae band from Seattle, better know as the rainy city or birthplace of grunge, but believe me, this young group of talented artists really delivers.
Enjoy the band performing Save Me live in the studio at Seattle's KEXP
My next featured artist, Troy Andrews, better know as Trombone Shorty, is an amazing young trombonist who feels as comfortable jamming with the likes of U2 and Lenny Kravitz as he does performing with his unique blend of jazz, funk, rock, hip-hop and rap with own band, Orleans Avenue. Andrews describes his music as "SupaFunkRock". Guitar super-star Jeff Beck has taken quite a fondness for Trombone Shorty and they have played together at several festivals this year. Perhaps we will have the opportunity to experience the rare guest appearance by Mr. Beck? I will certainly keep my eyes peeled and ears alert.
Here's a clip of Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue performing Something Beautiful.
I've discovered scheduling problem number one. It will prove difficult to pull myself away from the Caleb Klauder Country Band to enjoy the heavy metal riffs of Witchburn but somehow I must manage the logistics. The two acts perform within 15 minutes of each other. Although I've been a metal fan for years, I only recently discovered Witchburn, a high volume Seattle based group of heavy rockers, fronted by Jamie Nova, the former lead singer for the world renowned all female AC/DC tribute band, Hells Belles. The band describe themselves as "heavy, down-tuned, southern fried, whiskey soaked sabbra cadabra." I like that!
Before hearing Witchburn, I expected a mosh between Motley Crue, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC but what reached my ears was a revitalized, old school Ozzie and Black Sabbath sound but cleverly embellished by the soaring, chilling pipes of Jamie Nova. Few other voices are better suited to metal than Jamie's. She finds no problem hitting the piercing highs and you can feel the punch from deep down in her gut. This babe rocks!
Although the guitar solos lack the virtuostic flair of Yngwie or Eddie, the riffs are solid, catchy, and fresh. They stick in your head but there's none of the pop familiarity.
Enjoy the following clip of the band performing Stand Up and Be Counted.
I've experienced considerable pleasure exposing myself to the various genres and artists that will be performing this year at Bumbershoot in Seattle. The next act I'd like to feature is the Caleb Klauder Country Band. Caleb stretches himself thin simultaneously working as the mandolinist for the Appalachian style bluegrass infused Foghorn Stringband and the zydeco flavored Cajun Country Revival, as well as serving as the front man for his own band, the Caleb Klauder Country Band. Caleb offers the time honored traditional country sound very reminiscent of Hank Williams or the Louvin Brothers presented with a very fresh and relevant vigor, quite a departure from the reformulated 1970's country rock that serves as the basis for today's modern country. There's a real purist sensibility created featuring mandolin, pedal steel, fiddle, guitar, and the incomparable sound of the upright bass. I close my eyes and envision my grandparents huddled around the radio on Saturday evening or a smoke filled, beer smelling honky-tonk with sawdust on the wooden floors where an occasional fight interupts the celebratious dancing as would be the case when you mix drinking and romance.
You may catch the Caleb Klauder Country Band, Saturday September 3rd, on the Bumbershoot Starbucks stage by the beer garden. If you miss this show you may find Caleb and his band performing all over the Pacific Northwest Labor Day weekend. He will be performing Thursday at Kruger's farm On Sauvie's Island near Portland, Friday at the Spare Room Lounge in Portland, Saturday at Bumbershoot, And Sunday at the Edison in Edison, Washington.
Listen to the YouTube link below of The Caleb Klauder Country Band performing New Shoes.
Attempting a level of wisdom that I failed to possess when I attended this incredible music and arts festival in 2009, this weekend I decided to familiarize myself a bit more with the typically avant garde musical line-up. Bumbershoot features a vast array of talented musicians from practically every genre including country, rock, alternative, pop, rap/hip-hop, electronic dance, blues, R&B, world, classical, and reggae. So I must admit that I'm certainly not acquainted with many of the acts that will be performing Labor Day weekend.
So like any devoted music lover, I spent a considerable amount of time on iTunes this weekend and either browsed or downloaded music from over 120 different performers. So prior to departing for the rainy city, I'll attempt to feature as many musicians as possible. With readers this month in 18 different countries, perhaps this blog may help these acts gain exposure that they may not have had otherwise.
Today I'd like to feature Ray LaMontagne, an extremely talented singer/songwriter who is perhaps a little more well known than many of the other musicians performing this year. Ray's Grammy winning raspy vocals and captivating story telling speak for themselves. I've enjoyed listening to Ray while sitting poolside this afternoon. I would describe this music as New England flavored, country tinged, folk music much in the same vein as The Band, who began as Dylan's backup and later evolved into a world renowned act and one of the greatest influences on 1970's style country/blues rock.
Here is a YouTube video of Ray LaMontagne performing the gold album acheiving "Trouble", a video that speaks a million words.
Well, I must admit, it's been quite some time, possibly even years since I've contributed anything at all to this blog. Had I been plaqued by the deepest, darkest of the terribly feared writer's block? No, I think not. Have I lived a life of extreme isolationism experiencing little to write about? Possibly, but still think not. I've enjoyed some journeys, suffered some pains, and encountered many things worth detailing in the written word.
Over the last two years I have experienced an avalanche of misfortunate events, some precipitated by poor behavior or faulty decision making on my part, and others where I have allowed myself to become a victim of my circumstances. All in all, I must accept the consequences for my actions and decisions and basicaly reap that which I have sown.
Will I cry over spilt milk or whine about the cards dealt me? No, I'm accepting my circumstances and suprisingly observing God utilizing the recent brokeness in me and surgically dealing with character flaws that I had previously been too weak to face. Possibly, one day I'll develop the courage to blog about these struggles so that others may benefit but for the time being, I wanted to jump "back in the saddle" and let my readers know that I will soon be decribing more adventurous motorcycle journeys, unheralded political activity, exciting music and art events, unusual and extreme acts of God, benefits of family, and anything else that strikes my fancy.
I departed hot, humid Fort Myers after church on Sunday June 28th astride my trusty 2007 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide bound for the Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell, Illinois. Surprisingly, I was able to pack a tent, sleeping bag, air mattress and air pillow in the right saddlebag and rain gear and leathers in the left. I packed all electronics including laptop, video camera, still camera, ipod and iphone into the tour pack as well as a 9mm Glock, just in case. I initially intended to blog of this adventure at least daily but that's proven to be a bit difficult while travelling several hundred miles per day on motorcyle and encountering slow or nonexistent internet in much of rural America.
Because of the late start, I only travelled about 400 miles that first day and found myself at a Hampton Inn in Tifton, Georgia. After baking in the hot Georgia/Florida sun for the entire afternoon, I figured a nice cold beer would certainly hit the spot so I walked next door to Chili's Restaurant only to find that I had landed in the only Sunday dry county in Georgia. Oh, well the chicken fajita wrap washed down just as well with water and I stayed a bit healthier.
I hit the road very early Monday morning and travelled about 550 miles before the saddle sores prevented me from riding any further. I landed at another Hampton Inn just off of I-24 in the very patriotic Army town of Clarksville, Tennessee. That day I found not only the beer that I had craved the day before but also some of the tastiest ribs that ever crossed my taste buds at the Golden Rule Bar-B-Q , which was located conveniently next to the hotel. The hard riding, ribs and one beer finished me off causing me to drift off to sleep no later than 8:30, which also caused me to rise very early at 4:00 AM. I hit the hotel fitness room, sauna and continental breakfast, then repacked my gear and hit the road again.
I found the day three ride extremely pleasant since it consisted of no interstate travel and instead rolled through beautiful Kentucky and Indiana farm country. After an abbreviated 200 mile ride, I pulled into the driveway of brother Tom in Robinson, Illinois and spent the evening visiiting with him and his lovely wife, Pat and two wonderful boys, Ethan and Spencer. Pat sent me off the following morning with a belly full of biscuits and gravy and I headed northwest to the festival.
I found day four another easy ride as I rode the back roads to Effingham, caught the interstate to just past Champaign then rural two lane for a hundred miles west to Bushnell, the home of Cornerstone Festival. After slipping and sliding on two miles of gravel road, I arrived at the back gate only to be informed that I must enter through the front, which meant two more miles of gravel and approximately 14 miles through two more rural towns. I finally arrived at the proper entrance and immediately began scouting for a camp site. Thousands of tents already jammed the property but I located a spot next to the HM tent where one of my favorites, The Showdown would be playing later that day. I parked the bike, quickly pitched the tent, and blew up the air mattress and pillow, before setting off on foot to orient myself to the site. I found the shower house, the food stands and was astonished to see at least 30 stages throughout the property with bands jamming away at each. After some type of veggie quesadilla, I caught The Showdown's entire set with video camera in hand.
As The Showdown ended, I raced about 3/4 of mile around the lake to the main stage to catch hard rocking Red, a band that reaches such a broad audience that they will also be at Buffalo Chips Campground in Sturgis next month.
I found sleeping that night extremely difficult, especially after realizing that the HM abbreviation for the tent that I was camping by stood for either Heavy Metal or Hard Music. Rather than fight it, around 1:00AM I stumbled over to C.H.O.P. (Cornerstone House of Prayer), a 24/7 prayer tent, manned during the entire festival with prayer warriors and worship leaders. During the three hours spent there, the Holy Spirit ministered to me in ways that I'd never quite experienced. God dealt with me one on one about unforgiveness in my heart and when I finally made my way back to the tent, I found planted in me a new God given love or agape in Greek, that I knew I must share with others. At 4:00AM, the music at the stages had ceased but my teenaged neighbors managed to find guitars, banjos and drums to serenade me until approximately 5:30. By then the sun began rising over the horizon and I decided to start the new day.
Interestingly enough, God utilized the agape in me almost immediately. I met a new friend, broken from years of abuse, addiction and lack of identity that needed much of that love. That morning, I attended a youth worship time with a very enthusiastic band and attended seminars most of the day on topics ranging from living in community, overseas missions and ministering to the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered) community, a conviction that God layed on me several weeks earlier. Those Holy Spirit moments that seem like coincidences never cease to amaze me.
That night I attended the concert that I most looked forward to, Brian "Head" Welch, former guitarist for multi-platinum selling KoRN who had rededicated his life to Christ a few years ago and left the world of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll to passionately pursue a relationship with Jesus. Head shared freely the struggles he suffered from alcohol and drug addiction, pornography and abusive behavior and gave thanks to the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, while completely rocking the house.
I spent another night wide awake listening to the folksy neighbors and arose early to hit the shower house while every one else still slept. A shower, cup of coffee, and the next thing I knew, I found myself serving breakfast to members of an A.A. meeting. I spent the best part of the day with my new friend Pam, attending four different worship times and many more seminars. No bands I desired to see were playing that night, internet service was non-existant, and this old man was stiff from trying to sleep in a tent for several nights so I packed everything up and headed to the of town of Macomb, where I found a car wash for the filthy bike and another Hampton Inn for my sore body. Thank God, because right after I checked in, the clouds opened and it poured down rain for almost 36 hours straight. Needless to say, I spent July 4th alone in that hotel waiting for the rain to slow enough to find a place for dinner. I did enjoy some excellent chicken wings at Buffalo Wild Wings, another beer, and hours of sound sleep.
The next morning, I wiped the rain off the bike, loaded my gear, and headed back toward my brothers house in Robinson. I enjoyed another night with his family then headed to Cary, North Carolina for a short visit with my sister, Mary Beth and her amazing family. I arrived approximately 3:00 in the afternoon, just in time to kick back with Mary Beth and sons Connor and Zach at the community pool. Husband Rob arrived late from work and we dined on shredded chicken barbecue and ice cream with fruit. The following morning, Rob took me for a brisk walk through the neighborhood "greenway" and I again packed my gear and hit the road.
After ten days, I seriously missed my lovely wife, Renee and the grandkids, Jada, Sariye, and Ryley so that day I won the "iron butt" award after logging 800 miles! I arrived home around 11:00 that night, greeted by the wife in a most wonderful way that I certainly should not decribe in my PG-rated blog.
Cornerstone 2009 will be forever etched in my memory as one of my life's truly unique experiences! God Bless!
My young friend Marlon and I attended and extremely special motorcycle ride today to raise money for the family of Damien Garcia, a Cape Coral motorcycle policeman, hit by a car while in the line of duty, and now lying in a coma at Lee Memorial Hospital.
Registration began at 9:00 am at Victory Lane Cafe on Hancock Bridge Parkway and the 200 bike ride started promptly at 11:00, winding through the majority of Cape Coral, past the police and fire stations, where we were cheered with numerous screaming sirens and ended at Geo's Italian Restaurant on Pine Island Road. Christian rock band "A Matter of Faith" entertained the crowd of approximately 350 while they enjoyed free pizza, courtesy of the folks at Geo's.
Please keep Officer Garcia and his family in your prayers and anyone wishing to donate, please contact the Cape Coral Police Department.
Not long ago, I obsessed over blogging, yet for the last several months, especially after the presidential election, I've felt little desire for publishing my thoughts to the world. But recently, after experiencing some life altering negative consequences, God found me broken, exactly as He desired, and utilized my position to minister to me in a way that I've never experienced.
According to James 1:2-4, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Although no theologian, I assume that once "mature and complete, not lacking anything" that one becomes whole or in other words, holy! In my broken condition, I feel God reaching out to me, desirous to see me whole, or more like Him.
James 1:27 claims, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
I spent today ministering to an orphan and in an attempt to keep myself from being polluted by the world and to eradicate sin in my life, I feel called to temporarily exit the corporate "rat race" and embark on a spiritual journey of undetermined length.
Therefore, I feel a need to resurrect the blog and chronicle this experience. God Bless!
The architect who so carefully designed the much feared Tampa Bay Buccaneer defense will grace Raymond James Stadium with his presence one last time this Sunday as the Raiders travel to Tampa to face the Bucs. Monte Kiffin will leave the Bucs after this season to join the staff at the University of Tennessee where his son Lane was recently named head coach. During his thirteen year tenure as the Buc's defensive coordinator, no other team in the NFL has allowed fewer points.
Monte will pass the torch to defensive backs coach Raheem Morris who, at 32 years of age, is younger than players Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber. Although young and with big shoes to fill, Morris' high energy attitude will fit nicely into the Tampa defensive scheme, especially if he continues with Kiffin's legendary Tampa 2 defense.
The Bucs will honor Kiffin during half time of Sunday's game in a bittersweet ceremony. Good luck Monte, you will be sorely missed, and SEC quarterbacks and running backs, beware!
From what I'm able to gather, Kore Ionz will be the only reggae band performing this year at Bumbershoot. Personally, I enjoy sitting in the grass, feeling the warmth of the sun, breathing clean fresh air, and chilling to the island sounds so I was hoping to see a fuller reggae line-up, with possibly the likes of Slightly Stoopid with Don Carlos or Rebelution.
