I've been spreading the word about the new CD, Ten Tall Tales, because the world needs to know the lessons contained in these true stories, and I need the money.

Online music is the wave of the future, and one great way to discover new music online, absolutely free, is to check out podcasts, which you can listen to on the web, or download to your iPod. Several podcasts have already played some of my choons, including:

Dalecast (http://www.dalecast.co.uk/) - a show from the UK that plays a vast variety of music from around the world. Dale has played no less than 4 songs from the new CD, so I'm assuming he digs it!

Ed's Mixed Bag (http://www.edsmixedbag.podshow.com/) - fellow Floridian Ed plays all kinds of good stuff, including a lot of Blues and Roots Rock. Sometimes he includes my buddy P.W. Fenton's feature, On This Day In Blues History.

TSP Country (http://www.tspcountryradio.com/) is not only a podcast, but a syndicated radio show that features independent Country artists ("no Shania, no Garth"). You know, I used to get uptight when people said I sounded country (I've never listened to mainstream country - never been to a C&W concert or bought a C&W album - though I'm very into bluegrass and Americana), but now it don't bother me a bit, y'all! This feller played Jelly Got Me in a Jam, which I guess does have a bluegrassy flavor (another reviewer thought so as well). Actually, I based the tune on a typical Lightning Hopkins progression - come to think of it, he sounds a little bit country, too.

Podcast Fun Show (http://www.dfsxradio.com/5200.htm) specializes in comedy and humorous songs, and they played Got Greedy. Hmmm - this song was definitely not intended to be funny. It's a rant about the evils of fossil fuels. Nothing funny (to me) about air pollution, suburban sprawl, auto accidents, terrorism, brutal dictators, etc. but different people have different senses of humor. The ironic thing is that this is the only song from the new CD that I thought of as serious (earlier, a tentative title for the CD was More Songs About Getting Drunk and Doing Something Stupid).

I thank these folks for using my stuff, and encourage all my pals to check out their 'casts, all of which are pretty cool.

For more music than you could listen to in 10 lifetimes, go to the Podsafe Music Network (http://music.podshow.com/).

We had another great tour in CH, as always, it was great to be back , playin with my pals! We always have a great time, and we always put on a show!
 
This tour was mostly return gigs (only 1 new one out of 19 dates). Call us boring if you like. But these folks treat us right! Started off at Dublins, one of our favorites, loaded with young lively locals, and the girls can see your willie when you go to the loo! What fun!

Bar de la Ferme in Nyon is another home for us, Denys put on a great Swiss meal, as always, with a great selection of local wine. Had a good crowd, saw a few old friends. Harp player Bonny B (holder of the world record for continuous harp playing) sat in and played a few with us.
 
Next up was the Vully Blues Club, in a new large venue. What can we say, the folks were givin up the energy, dancin, singin along, buyin CDs and all that is proper!
 
Played a week solo at the Hotel Eiger in Grindelwald. Lots of fun as always, tho it snowed the whole time, so I didn't get to ski.

At the Brasserie 17 in Interlaken, we had a crazy crowd, then Pete the crazy bartender took us out for an all-night pub crawl. The next day was pretty rough, but...

...had a really rowdy crowd at the Alte Post in Wangen bei Olten. We thought the encores would never end!

In Bern, the Rolls Royce Bar and Hotel Belle Epoque are nice classy venues, and the intimate setting makes a nice change. When you have to play quietly, neat things happen (like listening to each other).

Three old favorites are the Bierhaus in Sempach, s'Gwölb, and the Dixie Jazz Club in Sargans (you didn't know we played Dixieland too, did you?). Had great times as usual there.

The only new venue of the tour, the Bäckerstübli in Scherzingen was fantastic - cool stage, great crowd, great Thai food!

The Bluus Club Baden is as cool as ever!

Lots of good bluesy stuff coming out, as always. Taj Majal's new one is great, and I'm still digging Solomon Burke's tour de force from a couple years ago.

My favorite new disc at the moment is Elvin Bishop's. I've always dug his smooth and easy style - no need for screamin or wailin, just tasty bluesy licks. On this disc, he's really done it, with a roster of great guest stars. Love how the first tune starts off - just bang into a solid blues groove with Kim Wilson layin down the harp. Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and Elvin Bishop trade off fantastic slide solos.

Lot of wonderful slide on this CD, with a variety of great slide tones, from snarlin rock to glassy goodness.

John Nemeth adds some fantastic vocals to one tune, and of course BB King and James Cotton are beyond praise (frankly, I like BB's tune on this disc better than most of the stuff on his own new CD, but that's just me).

Ah, it depends on many things, including your own temperament. I myself indulge in both.

One thing's for sure, CDs are on their way out. I sell CDs at gigs, but other than that, the action's online these days. So what're you waiting for? Get online and start buyin my stuff!

There are two different models for buying music online. With the pay-per-download model, you pay a buck or so and download an individual song. iTunes is the most popular example. With the unlimited streaming model, you pay a monthly fee to listen to as many tunes as you want (and you also have the option of paying to download tracks). Napster and several other outfits offer this type of deal.

Which is better? Depends on your listening habits. I love my Napster, because it lets me check out scads of music without paying extra. For the 12 bucks a month, it's a bargain for me, because I listen to hundreds of new tunes every month. I seldom listen to one more than once or twice. When I hear about a new CD that's out, I pop on over to Napster and listen to it. If I'm learning a song, I call up every version of it I can find and check 'em all out. Sometimes it's amazing how many artists have covered a tune, and how far out some of them are. This tends to lead to other tunes and artists...I can spend hours doing this.

For others, downloading tunes makes more sense. Some people like to burn CDs for the car, or (much better) bring the iPod in the car (I still haven't gotten an iPod). And there are some people who simply must own their tunes.

Now, how about for me, as an artist? Does it matter whether you, o loyal fans, stream or download? Yes, it does indeed! I get paid about fitty cent when someone downloads a tune, about two cent when somebody streams a tune. So, if you're asking me, go on over to iTunes or Amazon and download all my songs, or better yet, whole albums. I'll get more dough than if you stream 'em.

On the other hand, if you subscribe to Napster (or Rhapsody or other unlimited monthly deals), then you can choose to download or stream my masterpieces. It costs you nothing to stream 'em, so even if you only like a couple of my songs, but you listen to 'em again and again, then I get dough for every play. Wheee!!!

Election night was even more exciting than the World Series (and better, because my Tampa Bay Rays fell short of the big prize, but our man Obama made it all the way).

This was one of the most historic moments I've witnessed in my life, along with the fall of the USSR and September 11. While the election of a Black man (and the nomination of two women) was historic, I'm hoping that this event will be remembered as something even more important - the end of an era of misrule and betrayal of our national values.

King George the W and his controllers ran the USA the way third-world dictators run their countries, under a philosophy in which the role of government is to protect the power of the elites, suppress dissent and enrich themselves, not to provide services to the people.

John McCain is a strong leader and a true hero, and I admired him very much before this campaign. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, he chose to abandon some of his former principles and pander to his party's radical wing, and he made an appalingly bad choice of a running mate. I believe these errors turned what would have been a very close race into a landslide for Obama.

I haven't drunk any Kool-aid lately, and I don't think Obama is a miracle man. The problems our country faces - a rotten political system, a life-threatening addiction to old-fashioned energy sources, deep cultural divides - are massive. There are flaws in our national culture, a culture which too often glorifies excess, waste, materialism and violence, that cannot be fixed by passing a few laws or tinkering with the tax code. But in the long term, fixed they can be. We've taken a big step down the right road.

Got back to town after 5 months away, and had a great weekend of local gigs. Despite hearing some doom n gloom from my musician buddies about the local scene, we had a great turnout at the Ka-Tiki, and a packed house at the Dunedin Brewery.

It was a keyboard-player tickle-off, as our 3 gigs featured 3 of the finest ticklers in the area, all from different backgrounds. Tim Hedding, who played at the Ka-Tiki, is a stone blues player (James Brown, Greg Allman, Delaney and Bonnie) with a Hammond XB-2. Kevin Wilder, who joined us at the Saturday Morning Market, is a jazz master (Gumbi Ortiz et al). Tommy Zvonchek, who took the chair at the Dunedin Brewery, has a rock pedigree (Blue Oyster Cult, John Anderson of Yes).

Which was the best? We'll never tell, but all are top-notch musicians and great guys, and we'll be seein em all again before long.

PS Go Rays!