I wish I was blogging about some crazy thought in the middle of the night, or some politician I disagree with, or some carpetbagger business moving into town, or my favorite taco..........anything but the death of a friend. But I feel compelled to let the world know about our collective loss.

A week ago Wednesday the undisputed Mayor of South Austin, Danny Young, died of a heart attack. The owner of Texicalli Grill and rub boarder for Cornel Hurd and Ponty Bone among others, his personality still lingers in my mind like an echo of the south Austin I once knew.

I would not say I was in his close circle of friends because his circle was ever expanding. I never saw him that he didn't call me by my name and take a few minutes to sit and ask, "What's going on?".

The last time I saw him was the day he retired from the Texicalli. Even though the store was mobbed with well wishers, Danny was taking time to greet everyone. We shared a drink in toast to him and his next adventure. No glasses, straight from the bottle, like brothers. That toast goes double for me today. Good luck in your next adventure, Danny.

He will be missed.

P.L.

Also, check out the Michael Corchran piece at:

http://www.austin360.com/search/content/music/stories/2008/08/0822youngobit.htmlDanny Young Obit

Well, several weeks ago I was lamenting the fact that I had too many songs in my head and needed a nap.......well, be carefull what you wish for. Last month I had 16 guitar gigs, but this month is a different story......2! That's right, I can take all the naps I want. And to top it all off, I had to miss one of them already because I wrecked my car last night and couldn't make it. (I got a nasty scrape on my head that probably knocked some of those songs right out of my mind anyway) I am alright, but the car is probably history. So, in the immortal words of Jaco Pastorius, "Give me a gig , man"!

I think it's nap time now! My last two weeks have consisted of playing just about every night, sometimes twice a night, for somebody's band. I need a nap! The hard drive in my brain is full of Beth Black, Julieann Banks, The Garden Vandals and Paul LeMond songs, not to mention the four sets of cover songs I had to learn for Julieann's cover band The Activates. Besides that, we started the new Paul LeMond CD this week as well. Now I need to power down and reboot, put on Dire Straits and chill. Perhaps I will be able to defrag tonight as well, because it starts again tomorrow in Marble Falls with the Activates. Whew - it's the glamorous life of show business!

Sometimes you just need a booster shot of mind altering trance like music. Let it flow and bask in the muse-ic. Check out one of my favorite freaky guitar players, Bill Frisell.

Oh Man! I somehow got roped into VH-1 classic for 4 hours or so! Talk about painful, I mean, there are many songs I like from the eighties, they just aren't the songs you would seen on MTV. I have had my fill for another 20 years, thank you!

However, to tip my hat to that decade, I am listening to one of my favorite albums from Dire Straits. I'm so eighties!

This past weekend the Paul LeMond Band played in Fort Smith, Arkansas at a real cool joint called The Rib Room. I can't express fully how much fun we had. The staff was top notch, the owner was really cool, and the food was good. (mmmmm....tamales). If you get a chance, drop in and tell 'em the Paul LeMond Band sent you.

Gotta check out the latest Bettye Lavette record. I'm speechless! (rare)

It's a sad week in Austin. Clifford Antone passed away suddenly tuesday. We will miss his presence in the scene greatly. The only story I really have of him was sitting in the office one night after running sound for my friends in Steamroller, and having Clifford introduce me to one of my heros, Hubert Sumlin, who just happend to drop in on him that night to say "hi". Cool! What can you say except God bless you and goodbye Clifford.

Gerry Rafferty - everyone should spark a fatty and listen to his record "City to City". Takes me to a place in time, that's for sure. "Baker Street" had me jamming air guitar on my tennis racket when I was a kid. I'm still trying to be that cool.