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

I don't like Stratocasters. Never have. Oh sure, Buddy Holly, Dick Dale and Jimi Hendrix made them sound good, but those were flukes. Dave Alvin gets a pretty fair tone from his too...but hell, he made a Mustang sound killer! So, I bought a cheap Strat today. I couldn't resist. It's just so damned ugly...and did I mention cheap? I couldn't say no to the price! But...it's still a Strat. Not for long. This will be an interesting project, turning a Stratocrapper into a Memph-O-caster! Step one, those pickups gotta go! Sweet Jeebus they sound plinky. Luckily, I have some Texas Specials that have been waiting for a forever home. Problem solved! That 5-way switch...gonna be gone! Hate those things! That damned volume knob and those ridiculous dual tone knobs...GONE! Leo proved his lack of guitar playing knowledge when he put that damned volume knob so close to the strings. Hell, a midget with stubby fingers would be hard-pressed not to accidently kill the vo...

For those playing along at home, I haven't been as "active" as usual lately. There's a reason for that. I FEEL LIKE CRAP! A year or so ago, I was diagnosed at diabetic. Then "not". Then probably diabetic. Then, probably not. It's been a roller coaster. It looks like diabetes but doesn't act like it. So, lifestyle changes, lost 70 pounds, eat healthy, check my blood sugar often, worship at the altar of St. Wilfred...and now, for the 1st time since my diagnosis...I feel like crap. I never felt bad before. But lately, my blood sugar has been tanking. It's been too low to be considered a diabetic since day 1. Therein lies the confusion for the docs. But the past few weeks has been a mess. On a good day, if I eat like a pig, I can get my blood sugar near 100. Most days it starts out around 80 and tanks from there. 60s...50s...a few days in the 40s. I've passed out a few times. It ain't fun. I've also been feeling weak, fatigued (...

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 ...