Thursday, October 26, 2006

Muddy Waters ‘The Real Folk Blues / More Real Folk Blues’



Ahhhhh… The feeling of sitting down in front of my PC and writing up an entry, it’s very satisfying. Things have been a little hectic as of late and I haven’t had the time for a decent update. So lets see where this puppy takes us…

Last Saturday, I was a one of the five judges at the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society's 2006 competition. I arrived at the Lion’s Lair in High Point right around 6:15pm. I got there early because I only had a slight idea as to where it was. And as it turned out, I found the place quite easily. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time driving around in circles and making frantic calls trying to find the place. I pretty much went straight to it. There was no pulling my hair out. No loud cursing. No crying.

I can’t really recall, but I think that I was the first judge there. I caught up with Casey Hazelman, the new President of the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, and Chris Roulhac, the new Vice President. I also ran into PBPS member and WQFS Blues DJ, Mike Caudle. The former President, John Amberg was there to pass the torch and do what he could for the organization that night.

After making contact with those folks, I saw no one else that I knew and since I was flying solo, I did exactly what I normally do… I found a couch and had a seat alone with my Yuengling.

Jeri Rowe from the Greensboro News & Record came in and as it turned out, he was there for judging duties too. We chatted and chatted and were introduced to the other judges gathered… Wayne Bennett who is getting a doctorate at the UNCG’s Music Academy and Steve “Wachovia” Haines who runs the Miles Davis Jazz Program over at UNCG.

Then in walks a stranger that I haven’t seen for a while… Benjy Johnson from Benjomatic and Earthtones Recording Studios was the last judge to arrive. I can’t remember the last time that I saw Benjy. And of course, he had his ever-present cup of coffee in his hand. That is until I put a fresh Yuengling in its place.

The judges had their own table and with the beer running through our bladders, we had a hard time juggling our bathroom breaks with watching the bands. The bathroom at the Lion’s Lair is a “one-holer”. That’s West Virginia speak for one toilet, so you can see what the hold up was all about. It happened and it’s a rarity… For most of the evening, the line for the men’s room was longer than the ladies. The bands played up to 15 minutes, stopped, tore down, and the next one set up, played for 15 minutes, and tore down. So you can see where we couldn’t exactly spend our free time in line for the “one-holer”.

My thanks out to Jennifer and Bethany, two of the bartenders there at the Lion’s Lair. Those two lovely ladies would come around and check on us, clear our empties, and replace them with fresh cold ‘uns. They took good care of us and they didn’t have to, so again, thank you ladies.

The judges really hit it off Saturday night and we’re making plans to do some “hanging out” again. Steve “Wachovia” Haines plays in an adult hockey league and from what he told us, it sounds like a good time for such “hanging out” activities. Benjy Johnson broke out his Charvel strat and joined the impromptu jam with Casey Hazelman. And much to my surprise, Mike Caudle got up there with his harmonica. I had no idea that he played a musical instrument.

It was a great time and I ended up staying much longer than I anticipated. I had only 4 and a half hours of sleep from getting in late from the Eddie Money show and getting up for my nieces dedication service/christening on Saturday morning.

The Rev. Webb told me that it was good seeing me in church and that I should come more often. I told him that I was surprised that I didn’t burst into flames when I walked through the door… He didn’t laugh. Now I’m a Godfather and legally bound to care for another member of my family if the need arises. I consider it an honor.

I also had the honor of doing the stage announcements at the Eddie Money show at the N Club the night before. I needed some sort of noisy validation after my recent emceeing duties at The Garage for the Fashion Rox show where no one knew who I was.

Well, I got that validation. I stepped up onto the stage and managed to hear folks shouting my name. I could hear no crickets in the building whenever I spoke introducing myself. Adam and myself got LOTS of noise when we were throwing out Rock 92 Hanes Beefy-T T-shirts.

Yeah… I felt better. The Rock 92 P-1’s were in the house!

After the show, Eddie Money took the time to hang out in the lobby to meet folks who came out for the show. I was coming down the stairs when Eddie noticed me… “Hey big guy!” he shouted.

I couldn’t believe it! He remembered me from the Two Guys Named Chris show where he was a guest that morning and he gave me a big sweaty bear hug. Yeah! Eddie Money hugged me!

How cool is that?!

Now for a little racing news… I’m very excited about Robby Gordon switching from Chevrolet to Fords next year!

I’ve been a Ford man since I’ve been driving simply because my father told me that if I purchased something else, I would have to find someone else to work on it. And since I’m not very mechanical, that meant paying someone to work on it, so I took his words to heart and have purchased nothing else over the years.

My first purchase was a 1987 Ford Escort EXP. Then I’ve been buying Ford Rangers ever since. I’m thinking about a car for my next vehicle.

So I’m glad to see that my favorite Nextel Cup driver moving over to the Ford Fusion. I think it’s a good mix… The Ford Fusion and Jim Beam.

I did see it coming, because Robby Gordon was in the press recently about the failure of joining forces with Robert Yates Racing. So I kind of thought something was up… Yates has always had Ford in their stables. The announcement didn’t hit me as a complete surprise.

Well that’s pretty much it for me today and again, I don’t know if I’ll get to make another update before Monday.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:09 PM

    Eugene, this is Glenn, Ricks' friend from way back. Rick would have laughed at your "bursting into flames comment".

    Come on over to Hope if'n when you want. We have fire extinguishers so you'll be safe. Haven't lost one yet!

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  2. Anonymous3:05 PM

    Speaking of Fords, isn't it good to see the best Ford leading the Chase? Mr. Consistency comes through again.


    Oh yeah, congrats on the blog award and the return to the 2GNC show. I think Goat's tyrade was staged, and very funny. Kelly needs to work on his being and ass more. He's not very convincing.

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  3. Glenn,

    I'm sure Rick would get a good laugh out of it and thanks for the invite!

    Every so often I send out a Styx tune in his honor.

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