Good Evening - this song was one of the songs that  ended my day the other night on my way home from Target.........and it's a better way to start the day!! From The Hillbenders "Highway Gambler"

cross posted at Me, Myself, Music and Mysteries

Monday Read: 1/9/11 – Iraqi Struggles

Monday Read: 1/9/11 – Iraqi Struggles

Free to Breathe - Lung Cancer Awareness 5k

Ok so I haven't made a post here in a long time but I decided to make this cross-post here today to get the word out about Will and Sunday's 5K!

So yesterday was my last tune-up run before the Free to Breathe -for Lung Cancer Awareness  5k Sunday in Philadelphia. The race is special to our family because my son Peter's brother-in-law Will Marris was diagnosed in June of 2010 with Stage IV Lung Cancer. Will is 28 years old and was a classmate of my other son, Andrew. Will was diagnosed with the cancer about a month before Peter and Missy's wedding. When Will was diagnosed with the cancer there were tumors in both lungs but through chemotheropy and radiation treatments the tumors were destroyed and Will since then Will's cancer has been in remission. Recently though the cancer has returned and Will faces another round of treatments. Throught it all, Will and his wife Nicole have bravely fought the disease and Will has raised money for Lung Cancer research through his organization Willpower. You can read his story here.

Will is the second young  person we know to be stricken with cancer. My son Andrew's best friend Jorge  Veguilla was  disgnosed about a year before Will with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Thankfully, Jorge has been cancer free for more than two years now! Will and Jorge met at Peter's wedding and Jorge told Will that if he ever needed someone to talk to he would be there for him. I admired both of these young men for the courage they have displayed fighting this disease!

So if you'd care to make a donation to the Willpower Team here's the link.  The Willpower Teams goal was $1,000 and right now we're at $920.00. Thanks for any support!

Oh, and last nights run was one of the fastest of the year averaging about 9:24 per mile over 4 miles. The soundtrack of the run was the new album Double-Wide Dream from a great young Texas Band The Casey Donahew Band. I like Casey's voice and he's a good songwriter, too.I'll try to write more later about the album.

Here's the title track "Double-Wide Dream"

Me, Myself, Music and Mysteries

I have moved this blog to Wordpress and will be posting aboput books and music at that site.

The address is http:/www.memyselfmusicandmysteries.com

Rich O'Toole

Ok so... i was looking over the Texas Music Charts the other day and I'll say that there are a lot of names that I don't know I guess I haven't been following that scene too much over the last few years I tried several out that were okay but nothing really caught my ear until I heard Rich O'Toole. I downloaded Seventeen and the first time through it was okay then the second time the lead guitar on "Kelly Comes to Town" hooked me and I was a fan!

Then came "Queen of the Misfits" and I can't get that chorus out of my head! and after "Alone" and "Just My Luck" came "Robert E. Lee" probably my favorite track on the CD! oh wait there's "Everything's Legal" and "Texas Blues" - oh the whole CD's just damn good!

So I downloaded his second CD In a Minute or 2 - still listening but already I like a bunch of the songs including the title track "In a Minute or 2" - I listened to the CD yesterday during a five mile run - and my favorite track a live version of "Marijuana and Jalapenos" came on and made mile number five my favorite mile of my run! My only problm now is I don't see NJ on the tour schedule!

Morglbl and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

ok so.... in the last few weekends I've gone out of the acoustic folk genre and gone to some concerts with my son Andrew and have seen one Progressive Metal and one Rock/country act as we went to see Morglbl in Kendall Park, NJ and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at World Cafe Live in Philly. This was my first time at World Cafe Live and it certainly won't be my last a very nice venue!

First up was Morglbl on a Friday night at a little Bistro in a strip shopping center in Kendell Park, NJ. Morglbl is a trio of French musicians - including Christophe Godin (a fantastic guitarist) on guitar obviously, Ivan Rougny on bass and Aurélien Ouzoulias on drums. Andrew had seen them at Nearfest last year and said they were great and received a standing ovation and double encore at 11:00 in the morning on Sunday! Knowing that I like guitar, he knew I'd like them and he was right. I listened to their CD before we went so I was familiar with what the music sounded like but to see it live was totally different. Their music is jazz, funk, rock and just plain good! They played two sets that lasted slightly over two hours and included many tracks from their new CD Jazz for the Deaf, which andrew bought but i haven't listened to yet! So it was a great night with good music and ended with me shaking Christophe's hand and asking what jazz musicians he listened to. When we came home, Andrew told his mom I knew he was going to talk to him!

Next up was Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, again Andrew said that because their music was Americana he thought I would like them and once again he was right. Again, I listened to several of the CDs prior to going to the show so I was familiar with some of the songs, unlike everyone else who was there who knew every word to every song and often took over singing! What a great show and half the fun was the audience response and participation which ended with many women and a few men on the stage during the encore! The youtube video below captures some of the energy that was there!

so I listened to the CD again today and I'll practice

Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people
So meet me at the mission at midnight
Well divvy up there
Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people
So I got the pistol
So I get the pesos

That seems fair

and maybe next time I'll be singing along who knows!

Opening for Roger Clyne was another Americana band from San Diego California, Dead Rock West lead by the vocals of Frank Lee Dressen and Cindy Wasserman they put on a high energy show again with many people singing along. After the show I went out in the hallway and Cindy was at the mech. table. When I came back I said to Andrew " I didn't say anything to her!" maybe next time.... so for now great show Cindy!

Andy Gullahorn

Ok so a couple of weeks ago I was reading the blog of a singer-songwriter that I like Dave Potts and he was giving out his best’s of 2008 and his winner for CD was his friend Andy Gullahorn’s CD Reinventing the Wheel (even though it came out in 2007 Dave hadn’t gotten it until 2008).
So I went to Rhapsody and found it and have been listening to it and the other CDs Room to Breathe and Old Hat and I have found another favorite. If you enjoy simple acoustic guitar with great lyrics and a pleasing voice you’ll like Andy. Reminds me of Dave Potts and maybe a David Wilcox. The songs on Reinventing the Wheel talk about everything from the lack people trying to work at life “Nobody likes to Work” to getting ready and the changes children bring to your life “How Precious Life is” and “More of a Man” to yearning to be able to love like God to love all from suicide bombers to cheating husbands. Room to Breathe has some great songs too the best for me where “If I Were”, “Freedom” and “Hand it Down” and “Burning Bushes” and maybe more after a few more listens!! So check out his web page Andygullahorn.com and his myspace page. And enjoy!