| Journal: |
| 14 April 2008: I'm playing in the newly formed "Frank French Band", with Ronnie Brown, Joe McKinney, Kinsey Ledford & my wife Jeanne. That occupies a few days a week. Spencer Cooper & I have begun work on a new King Jesus Bluesbreakers album. I meet with Les Scarborough once a week as we casually play guitar & let our minds wander freely and see where those wanderings take us. Kind of like exploring walking trails with curious pets, but in this case, the curious pets are our fingers in contact with steel strings & wood--form & function in the shape of guitars. And I am exploring new paths with Mikel K and his words. I love working at the church. My office there is a peaceful place. And I just got one of my HiWatt amps back from servicing @ Bailey Soundworks. I played my new Les Paul (Christmas gift from Jeanne) through that HiWatt & one of my Marshalls while I tried out my various "slides" & figured out which processors & signal paths I want to use on the current slate of gigs coming up. A great guitar, a great pair of amps, a noise gate, a 31 band graphic EQ & a "thickener" is what I've selected as the base sound. Then the volume pedal, the overdrive, and the analog delay for different "icings" once in a while, along with a porcelain slide & a thick glass slide. Ginger gives me curious looks as the noise from my lifework trickles out of the studios into our home. 23 April: In my church office again this morning, listening to the birds singing just outside my windows--beautiful! The gig last weekend was fun. A lot of friends turned out. I saw Tommy Wails, the Zorzis, the Martins, and we made some new acquaintances (Jeanne is a very friendly lady). We did a hot version of Gimme Shelter, with Jeanne singing her lungs out while Ronnie & I delivered scorching guitar duets. Joe's doing a great job of playing bass & harp simultaneously, and Kinsey sounds great too. That was @ Bogey's in Woodstock. This weekend we are @ Jimmy Mac's in Marietta. 3 May: At home this morning, soft Georgia rain outside my office window. Dave Hewitt recorded bass tracks for the 2nd King Jesus Bluesbreakers album, with Spencer Cooper observing & playing Hammond organ licks here & there. It was great being able to introduce my favorite organist to my favorite bassist. This new album has the potential to be even greater than the 1st one, less filler more meat. Jeanne is recovering from her fall from the stage while dancing last week. Every one of us has a "fell from the stage" story in our lives as performers. Next week we are @ Montana's in Marietta. I am loving the Les Paul & pushing the envelope on slide. My psychedelic Strat is on "back-up" now. |