The Real Memphis Mike (don't settle for imitations)

(dedicated to my brother & sister noise makers out there!) I love music. I love sound! All sorts of music and all sorts of sounds! This love, coupled with a natural inclination to make music, is most likely what has led me to be a musician. I've also always been creative, so this has led me to create my own music. I prefer this to recreating someone else's sounds. It's been said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...but I just don't get it myself. My favorite sound has always been that of breaking glass. This might sound odd to many...but if you understand the history of my affinity towards this sound, it makes sense. The street I grew up on used to be a race track. From what I've always been told, where our house was is right about where the concession stand used to be. Over the hill, in the woods behind our house, were tons and tons of old, empty bottles. For a kid like me, this was a treasure trove! I could break the bottles on rocks, on...

We just lost George Jones. After the life he lived, the fact that he made it to 81 is almost unbelievable. Booze, pills...an all-around rough life. He always looked like he enjoyed it though. His face was pockmarked and etched with lines and he often looked rode hard and put away wet...but he always seemed to have a twinkle in his eyes. That's a look you can't fake. No matter how you live your life, you SHOULD enjoy it. Lesson learned, I guess. Most folks will probably remember him for the song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", which is an amazing song. "The King Is Gone (And So Are You)" has always been my favorite George Jones song...but one that you should give a listen to, I think, is "It's Been A Good Year For The Roses". Penned by songwriter Jerry Chestnut, only George Jones could ever, in my ears, do this song justice. It's a country heart breaker for grownups . Sure, Elvis Costello had a hit with it too...but as good as his versi...

Meriam-Webster defines privacy as: 1 a: the quality or state of being apart from company or observation : seclusion b: freedom from unauthorized intrusion 2 archaic: a place of seclusion 3 a: secrecy b: a private matter : secret Makes sense, right? We all like our privacy, right? More interesting are the words considered to be synonyms of 'privacy': Synonyms: aloneness, insulation, isolation, secludedness, seclusion, segregation, separateness, sequestration, solitariness, solitude Related Words: loneliness, lonesomeness; vacuum; confinement, incarceration, internment, quarantine; retirement, withdrawal; ghettoization Funny, no one ever wants to be alone. Everyone is always searching for that special someone. Usually, they want to find that special someone so the two of them can go do certain things in private! That's when one really wants privacy! But, it's the 3rd definition of privacy that I think most Americans think of. Secrecy . No one ever wan...

I am currently in my longest relationship ever. 5 years together. I'm 47. I've learned what not to do in a relationship. I think I've finally, after much trial and error, learned what makes a relationship work. Some folks are lucky and find the right one early on. This is a story about 2 such couples. Beth & Ray were high school sweethearts. I was friendly with them both but not extraordinarily close. You could tell they dug each other. After graduation, I didn't think I'd ever see them again and wasn't particularly heartbroken. Nothing against them...they're both great people. Life just took us in different directions. Fast forward nearly 30 years. I heard from Beth online. It's always nice to hear from someone from an earlier part of your life. You play catch up and see where life took that person. Much to my pleasant surprise, Beth and Ray got married, raised a family and have been living the dream, so to speak. I am, honestly, truly happy for...

Don't buy a damned thing unless you absolutely, 100% need it. Want to get this country, hell, this WORLD back on track? Hit the large companies (who in case you didn't realize it, RUN this world!) where it hurts. Buy ONLY what you need. Don't concern yourself with buying union, organic, local, domestic or imported. Buy ONLY what you absolutely need. This planet has turned into a fucking shopping mall. Corporate Big Brother tells you what you want, in the form of media. Do you really need a $300 cell phone? Hell no. You don't. Do you really need expensive shoes? Hell no. Just because something carries a label is no guarantee you're buying what you think you are. Organic? Unless you grew it yourself, you have no real idea. So don't fall for it. Want to know why there are so few record stores and book stores anymore? To take away your freedom of choice. Why read a book when you can watch the latest reality TV show? Why go browsing through a record store whe...

This country has changed over the past 20 years, and definitely NOT for the better. It's been taken over, bit by bit, by the large corporations. It has infiltrated every sector of modern life...from the clothes you wear to the food you eat to where you work to what you do for recreation. The worst part...WE THE PEOPLE allowed it. So, it's time to think about a new pledge of allegiance. Here's what it probably should be. Forget all the patriots who came before us. It's now about the dollar and the bottom line.   I pledge allegiance to the accounts of the Corporate States of America and to the few for which it serves One nation, divided and conquered with slavery, tyranny and hatred for all. Remember kids, I bitch because I care. I want America back. I'm not saying that it should be the 1950s again...I want America back because it used to be great. It's now a sad place well on it's way to becoming a 3rd World nation. And guess what...mos...

I have a foul mouth. Always have. Even as a kid I could let loose a torrent of expletives that could make a truck driver blush. I'm not really sure where it came from. Mom rarely said more than "damn" and Dad's preferred swearing was "God dammit!" (usually aimed at myself, my brothers, or any combination of the 3 of us). My freewheeling use of the "f-bomb" could drive my Aunt Ann into a tizzy. "Do you HAVE to use that word? And so often ????" I always pointed out that it's 'just a word' and likely came from legal terminology for "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge"....although just how true this is is beyond me. Once, in about 6th grade, I let a loud and clear "Shit!" emanate during math class. I probably would've gotten in more trouble except it was one of the few times that I didn't stammer, so I think my teacher was more in shock than anything. In fact, I think she informed my speech therapist t...