Come join master harmonica teachers Shane Sager, Annie Raines and Ronnie Shellist along with country blues master Paul Rishell, Gabe Stillman and others for NEHI+RGB - the New England Harmonica Intensive plus Roots of Blues Guitar for a FULLY CATERED weekend of classes, interactive workshops, jams, concerts, and delicious food from favorite local eateries.
Back In the Saddle; September 12, 2023: Welcome to the New Normal. We spent 2020 in shock, 2021 in limbo, and 2022 in musical rehab, working on getting chops back we never knew we had until we lost them. 2023 has brought us to new levels of soul-searching anxiety, at the crossroads of old and new versions of ourselves. The best therapy we've found by far is work. September is bringing us back to what we call reality: driving around, setting up sound, playing, breaking down, rinse, lather, repeat.
June 26, 2023: Greetings, everyone! The past few months have been like a double dose of spring, with leaves unfurling and flowers growing as the world keeps opening up after the long Covid winter. We had a few shows in 2020-22, which we were very grateful to have, but it's been a struggle to feel like ourselves without steady work. Every show this year has been a revelation in that regard, bringing us back to ourselves and stoking us with new ideas.
Paul and I are getting ready for our first tour of the Midwest in many years, with shows in Marietta, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, PA. We are both excited about playing for a festival audience again. My own excitement is mixed with more than a dash of panic as I, uh, dash around making preparations for travel. The plan is to front-load all the drama onto this process, so that the trip will be an uneventful one.
Available now from Mojo Rodeo Records
"Talking Guitar delivers exactly what its title and its creator's reputation promise: lucid translations of prewar records and expert insight into what made them so good. After hearing Paul Rishell's blues, you'll have a hard time denying the power of such bare, organic, and emotive sound."
- Katie Lambert, LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE
In 1960, when I was 10 years old, I returned to the U.S. after living in England. A lot had changed since I had left the country 3 years earlier. My old team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, were no more. We lived in New York, and occasionally I'd go to Yankee Stadium and watch the Yankees play. I never liked the Yankees. It never seemed that they needed me as a fan; they had plenty of fans. The worst team in the league in 1960 was the Baltimore Orioles. I chose them as my team because I felt they needed my support.