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

I just heard that we lost the great Chizmo Charles. Damn....this sucks. For the uninitiated, Chiz was, without a doubt, the Burgh's own King of the Blues. He'd been active in the local music biz for at least 60 years. No one sang like Chiz, nor was anyone that cool. When I moved back here in 1990, I'd hear his name. He was already a well-established legend. One night, down at the old Blue Note, he was fronting The Mystic Knights...and knocking the place dead. The stage was up on the tiny balcony, and Chiz was down on the main floor, walking around with his million foot long mic cable, singing and shmoozing all the women. He was the ultimate entertainer. My buddy Doc was the guitar player in the band at the time, and he invited me up to sit in on a couple of songs. Chiz never noticed me heading up the steps to the stage. When it came time for a solo, I cranked up and blasted out some crazy, doublestop-filled licks. I remember Chiz turning and looking up at the stage wond...

I'll tell you this story as it was told to me, by my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Wise. When I was a kid, our school was right near a cemetery. As the school budget was iffy at best, a lot of our field trips, when we had them, were cost effective , to say the least. This meant that all they cost was time. In all honesty, these were the more memorable ones...at least for me. One day, our 2nd grade teacher took us on a field trip...to the cemetery. This might sound creepy or morbid to some, but really, it was pretty cool. Union Cemetery, was behind the school (and possibly where the really bad kids ended up). As cemeteries go, it's a winner. I read once that it's considered one of the most beautiful in the country. Folks have prom and wedding photos taken there. It's as beautiful as any park. On this field trip to the cemetery, we were taught about different types of trees, plants, customs, and local history. To me, one of the more memorable bits of information was ab...

It's been awhile since I've blogged...mostly because I doubt anyone cares to read about my mundane existence or my less than exciting job. Really, it's boring as hell. Anyhoo, spring has finally sprung and the weather has been decent. We, in the greater Pittsburgh area, were blessed with a beautiful weekend. While I probably should've done some yard work, I just didn't feel like it. I've got a fair bit going on in my private life that has my brain in serious need of distraction, and yard work just wasn't gonna do the trick. So today...I went to the park instead. I tried getting ahold of a few friends to see if anyone wanted to find something interesting to do...but no one wanted to do anything, so having no qualms with flying solo, I grabbed a guitar and headed off to my favorite park. (Pittsburgh has a large number of fantastic parks!) Just as I hoped, there were hardly any people there...just the way I like it. I swear, the older I get the less socia...

I've come to a conclusion: my favorite musical contemporaries truly are legends...just in an alternate universe. Let's face it, so-called mainstream music has pretty much sucked for decades, and it gets worse every year. Luckily, there are brilliant, unknown (to most) legends out there cranking out amazing sounds. One of these is the most amazing CW Stoneking. CW ( which apparently stands for "Stanley Rogers" ), Stoneking first came to my attention over a decade ago, thanks to my friend Kiz. She sent me a link to a video of his, and I've been hooked since. At that time, he was still doing his 'hokum' blues sorta stuff. He sounded like a time traveller from the 1920s, with a voice that just doesn't fit his face. He tends to sound a bit low and croaky and barky to the uninitiated. After a few seconds, you realize that it's perfect for his music. Followers of mainstream crap music will be aghast and confused, no doubt. I don't like to come a...

Weird dreams...we've all had them.  Possibly the most disturbing dream I've ever had was a recurring nightmare that I had throughout my 20s and 30s involving killer, man-eating vampire penguins. I might add, this was also during my better living through chemistry years. Usually, like most, no matter how odd my dreams might seem, they dissipate throughout the day; usually before I've had my 2nd or 3rd cup of coffee. Maybe the caffeine zaps them out of my conscious brain...who knows. But, this morning, I awoke from a particularly weird dream. It wasn't scary...it was just weird. It's been said that we don't dream about strangers. Every face in our dreams is one that we have, at some point, seen in our waking lives. This morning's dream was a veritable Who's Who of faces from my past, present, and faces we've all seen on TV/movies/media. My friends Rob, Gary, and myself were playing a pick up gig. This, unto itself, is not weird. We've done ...

I once lived every working person's worst nightmare. I got snowed in at work. For 3 days. Oh sure, I got paid overtime for it, and was given the rest of the week off...but still, 3 solid days at work with no way to escape. Ugh... I was working in a group home for adults with retardation at the time. It really wasn't too bad. One of the residents was away at the time, so it was just 2 guys, in their 50s. Pretty laid back gents really. The one guy, his life revolved around coffee and cigarettes...so he was pretty much set. We had food, we had coffee, and we had smokes. The never-ending snow never phased him in the slightest. The other guy, he was pretty high functioning and felt that keeping the walk and the driveway clear was his own personal responsibility. No easy feat during a blizzard. Yet, he managed it. Every few hours, he went outside, grabbed his shovel, and dug in. It was pretty hilarious, really. Over 3 feet of snow on the street and in the yard, and ...

I've lost over 40 pounds, and yes, I'm pretty proud of it. None of my clothes fit. I have to force myself, at some point, to go clothes shopping. I hate clothes shopping. But, everyone keeps asking how I've done it. It's pretty simple really. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and took it seriously. I don't want to lose a foot or go blind or anything like that. It's a real motivator for me. Fear is good for that. I've known a lot of folks with diabetes in my life. My great aunt had it...and lost a leg to it. Her mother had it, and went blind from it. A few different friends have lost legs from it. I don't want to join that particular club, thank you very much. So the choices were pretty simple: Feel sorry for myself and risk all of the above, or do something about it. I chose the latter. I had to completely change the way I think about food. An ex girlfriend often pointed out that I'm obsessed with food. You know...she's right. I am. ...