Lake Travis sunset

I have just arrived back in DeSoto after my trip to Lago Vista and Austin. Last night I visited the Elephant Room in Austin. There were some really fine jazz musicians performing and it was very nice to hear other musicians for a change. Tomorrow I will be back at Ruffino's in DeSoto. On Monday I leave for Red River, New Mexico.

Austin, Texas.

I spent most of the day in Austin. From a great tour of the Zilker Botanical Gardens, to a really good evening in The "Dog & Duck" with friends, this is a good visit. Austin is an interesting city and I would like to have more time here to explore. Maybe next time....

Saturday Night

I love coming back to Ruffino's in DeSoto, Texas. Everyone is so friendly It's like coming home. Tomorrow I'm heading on down to Lake Travis near Austin for a couple of days and will be back in Desoto in time for next weekend. After that, Red River, Taos and snow.

Bongo Billy's, Salida, Colorado

Today I booked Bongo Billy's in Salida, Colorado for St. Valentine's Day. That will be a really nice evening and I hope to be joined by friends from Pueblo and Florissant. Also in June, I will be back performing for the Cimarron Historical Society.

In March and April, I will be at Sugarmill Creek on Fridays. On March, 13th (Thursday) I will be at the Basket Peddler in Cornelia, Georgia.

Please look at my website in "upcoming" for a complete list.
More from Texas....

Georgia snow

Yes it does snow in Georgia. In fact we have had two snows in two days. Even so, there was probably no more than about an inch or so. Today was quite cold. When I looked out at 9:15am it was only 18deg. I imagine the low was around 12-15deg.
Tomorrow I will be preparing for my trip to Texas.I leave on Wednesday.
The artwork for the album is underway and hopefully will be finished soon. More later...

Canyon Road

The order of songs on the new album "Canyon Road" has been decided. Now all that has to be done is the mastering and then the printing. I'm expecting this album to be available in mid April.. Songs include Canyon Road, San Cristobal, Hanging out in Taos, The Silver Star Mine, plus eight others, including the instrumental entitled " Chamisa".
If you enjoyed the last one, you'll like this one too. Musicians on the album include
Dennis Wage, Glen Duncan, Wayne Killius, Dow Tomlin, Charlie McCoy, Scotty Sanders and myself on the Pimentel, Gretsch and Gibson Guitars.

Back to Georgia

The photograph shows Nickajack Lake on I-24 in Tennessee. It's a beautiful lake and I always enjoy stopping for a few minutes.
The mixing is done and now the listening starts before it is mastered. There are three mixes of each song so I have to decide which ones to use and also the order in which the songs will be arranged. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend without headphones etc. Nashville's a fine place, but it's nice to be back in the country and away from all the traffic.
Next Friday I will be back at Sugarmill Creek and the week after that, I go to Dallas.

Mixing the album

We are in the middle of mixing and here is a photo of the console. I find all this fascinating, especially the Protools software. It would be nice to have it in my studio, so it would be compatible with Omnisound.
We should be finished in a few days then there is the artwork to be done. That will probably take a few weeks. I think the Cd should be ready sometime in March or April.

The band

Here are more musicians who are helping to make this recording so good. The first is Wayne Killius on percussion (played on A Different place... a different time) Dow Tomlin on bass, mostly upright bass. The third photo shows Dennis Wage on piano, Hammond B-3 and also synthesizer. I don't have a photo of the steel player, but I owe my thanks to Scotty Sanders. Scotty also played on the last CD. A big thanks to everyone involved, including the engineers....

Glen Duncan and Charlie McCoy

The first photo shows Charlie McCoy and me in Studio B at Omnisound. I have been a fan of Charlie for at least 35 years and it was fabulous to have him play on this album.
Another one of my favourite musicians is Glen Duncan, an amazingly talented fiddle player. Both of these guys play a host of other instruments with great skill.

Canyon Road Album.

After three really great days, there are now 12 basic tracks done with most vocals and guitar parts added. This morning Glen Duncan worked his usual magic on banjo, fiddle, and a cross between a banjo and a bassouki Spelling anyone? Scotty Sanders came in this afternoon and recorded steel guitar on several tracks. As some of you know, both Glen and Scotty were on the last album. Charlie McCoy will be in tomorrow morning for some tracks. Now that's really exciting too !!!
More information coming soon...

First day in the studio

Yesterday was a good day. With the help of some awesome musicians, 11 basic tracks were laid down. This is the point where my work really begins. Today I'll be working on my guitar parts, acoustic, Pimentels and electric, (Gretsch) I believe Glen Duncan comes in tomorrow to add fiddle etc. I'm amazed at the number of mics that are used just for the drums, I counted at least 14. The other image shows the control room of studio A. This is all very exciting. Look for the next update...