Hi Everyone,
I am so
excited about the new CD "Three Kings", and am even more
excited to report that it hit #1 on Amazon's
Contemporary Blues Chart.
(
Buy from Amazon or
Download). Thank you all so
much for your amazing suppot...I really hope you have as
much fun listening to it as we had recording it.
My manager, Bud
Harner, and I co-produced the record in Brooklyn, NY in
February and just had a blast.
It was such a
great hang and I feel so privileged to have been able to
work with such incredible musicians.
We had special
appearances by a couple of my all-time favorite guitar
players, Sonny Landreth and Robben Ford...thanks so much
to both of you guys for adding your talents to the
record.
We
had Josh Dion on drums and vocals; Andy Hess on bass,
and I feel so lucky to have been able to record and hang
with the inimitable Henry Butler...brilliant piano
player and just a truly gifted blues singer and
all-round cool
cat!
While recording the
record I started having a little trouble with my right
eye. I
tried to ignore it, but the condition worsened. Oddly enough, I
was working with Henry, who coincidentally is
blind.
After the recording and trips to several of NY's
top eye specialists, I was diagnosed with a collapse of
the optic nerve in my right eye. It is just some random
thing that can happen to people...no real reason why or
real cause...just a curve ball life throws at you
sometimes.
So, I am
slowly adjusting to this one-eyed life, learning to play
baseball with my 8 year old, and slowly, carefully
driving to the beach to take our crazy 6 month old puppy
for a walk so he will be just a bit less crazy and
traveling to do what I love doing...playing guitar. As I always tell
my kids I am so lucky that the words play and work are
in the same sentence in my life. I love what I
do. It is
the other half of me that completes me...the yin, the
yang...I've got family, friends and I've got amazing
work with wonderful fans that support what I do.
Well,
things are going great...hen last week my "good eye"
started getting a little wacky and unfortunately, as of
this past Monday, 6/27 it appears to be following the
same path that the right eye did. OK, not what I
wished for, but I hopped in a van last night with Henry,
Josh & Andy and played a gig in PA. Was it
scary?
YES!!!! Was it fun? A
BLAST!!!! I have proven to myself three days into "my
new life" that I can go out and do what I do...play
guitar. And
even stranger, getting to spend all this time with Henry
Butler who can give me the inside track on how the heck
one navigates life with severely impaired vision...Just
wanted to let you all know what is going on with me.
I may need
a bit of time to adjust, but God willing, I have every
intention of playing guitar forever and a day.
