Bernie Pearl Video

Legendary acoustic blues player Bernie Pearl just uploaded a video of his performance of the Lightnin' Hopkins classic Shinin' Moon (one of my favorite Hopkins' tunes). Here is the link to the video.

I emailed Bernie after I saw this and this is what he sent back:

Thanks for the praise. I met Lightnin' in 1960 and played lots with him. I also studied his recordings and always try to capture the spirit, if not the note-for-note, of his music.

I'm playing a Martin 00-17 (1952) which I have owned since 1956 and used when I played with Lightnin'. No, no pickups at all. Just an acoustic guitar through a decent mic. It makes a great deal of tonal and touch difference when the guitar has an internal pickup or mic. It was a house mic., an SM-57, I think, going directly through the board. The engineer gave me enough monitors to allow me to hear what I was doing and, therefore, enjoy playing.

I'd love to come to Monmouth and play.

Thanks, Bernie

Carolina Chocolate Drops

I had the chance to see the Carolina Chocolate Drops at the MVBS blues festival on July 3rd. They are a self-dubbed African-American String Band, and they play the music that lies, historically, after the field chants and hollers but before the blues proper appeared in the Delta.

Their show was simply amazing, with banjo, fiddle, resonator guitar, kazoo, jug--a wonderful cross section of music from post Civil War up through the 1920s. They even broke out a great old Charlie Patton number: Jellyroll.

If you ever get a chance to see this band, mark your calendar. The show is captivating and Rhiannon Giddens dancing is unforgettable.

The Kelly Richey Band

The June 21st performance of the Kelly Richey Band was simply amazing! The Rivoli was in fine form and we filled the entire main floor with fans for the show. What was the most amazing thing about Kelly's performance was the way she was able to absolutely grab the crowd's attention and hold it throughout all of her amazing solos.

She would sometimes solo five or six minutes straight, and each note seemed to pull the crowd forward on their seats. I've heard some amazing guitarists, but even the most amazing guitarist can make a solo seem to drag on--not so with Kelly--it was mesmerizing and amazing.