Surf? Really?

When you tell people you like surf music, get ready to explain that you don't mean the Beach Boys. I like the Beach Boys just fine but we're talking about fast pickin', whammy swervin', reverb drippin' excitement! Dramatic guitar instrumentals…

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Music of the heart

We can all name our favorite albums, but some are more favorite than others. Even among your top ten, I bet you could name albums that you played over and over during some period of your life. Maybe it speaks…

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I made a new album!

Hey there people! It's January and I made a new album. It's called Surf Monster and it has 12 original songs. I call the musical style "Surficana", as in Surf-Americana. There's surf-rock, pop vocals in a semi-60s style, and some…

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Don't need no steenkin' songlist!

I saw a band called White Witch in a bar in New Orleans in the 70s (yes, I was under age). They had a smoke machine, a light-show, props, and costume changes. The show was totally choreographed and it was…

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Four ways to have fun with phone scammers

Your phone rings, it's a local area code, so you answer it. Oh bummer, it's some jerk trying to rip you off, sometimes it's not even a human. Yeah, you could get mad and hang up, but why not have…

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13 Words Overused Until They Mean Nothing

I love this. I hate that. Really? Is it necessary to exaggerate? If everything is huge or outrageous or unprecedented, then how will we express things that are truly out of the ordinary? Florid language is the enemy of clear…

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Strong Smoke And A Cat In A Pot

One time after a gig we sat in the bass player's van and smoked some weed. I was a big stoner in my younger days, but over time I kinda lost interest, so I was unprepared for how strong it…

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4 paragraphs of good advice... or not

Outsider art and primitive art share a common trait, they are made with limited resources. These limits may be raw materials, knowledge, or adverse conditions. In spite of these obstacles, these works of art have a spontaneous energy and immediate…

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A Fall In Durango

The story of a gig gone oh-so-very-wrong.

Back in nineteen-eighty-one… or two, I lived in a tourist town in Colorado. I was trying to get some kind of band together. At the time the band was me, my girlfriend and…

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