John took these photographs at Sugarmill last night. It was busy and we even had folks from Seneca, S.C. Thank you Bob and Linda for really going out of your way. Yesterday was hot, around 90 degrees in Atlanta and not much cooler than that up here. This guitar is my Washburn. It is not an expensive guitar but very hardy and almost impervious to the temperature and humidity changes I put it through. 
I really enjoy this place and all the people I meet here. M.T.C.
If all goes well and the quality is good, I'll have to invest in a Neuman U87 microphone to do the vocals with. I just bought a "Radial J48" active direct box for enabling me to plug an acoustic guitar into the Bose "Stick". It should also be fantastic for recording directly into the Roland. If you look in the picture you may notice that the monitors are a pair of JBL100's. I bought those in 1974 and still think they are superior to the new stuff.
There still seems to be a few visitors in town even though almost everything is closed. A few exceptions are Capo's, Mountain Treasures, The Bull, Timbers and Shotgun Willy's.
Hopefully it will be kept under control. Both Red River and Questa Fire Dept. are on the scene and maybe others.
Today I helped Fritz make a demo song about Texans. We recorded it on to my little 2-track digital recorder. I believe it did a great job. More soon.
Is that a green beard I see John? What will you do if it doesn't wash out? 
We had some serious dancers on the floor tonight. I saw a lot of old friends and I was having so much fun I sang for three hours without taking a break.
Glen Ella is one of those very few places where a person can go and completely relax. It feels like you stepped back a 100 years. Nestled by the side of an old country road that leads up to Lake Rabun, yet easily accessible from U.S 441, it always seems to have plenty of guests..
I was just reading my new copy of "five Magazine" and noticed that Cesaria Evora is appearing tonight at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque. She's from Cape Verde and has one of the most soothing voices of anyone I've heard. That's a concert I'm sorry to miss.
Charles and Mary Ellen came with us. They are home on a visit from the U.A.E. What a major contrast to the desert and also from Red River. The ski area is reporting a snowfall of up to 26"in the last 24 hours. Charles was showing us his new camera. His photo's make mine look quite amateurish.
Lake Seed is the little, narrow lake between Burton and Rabun. It is very picturesque and worth a visit. I have hiked and biked the eleven mile loop. About 50% is winding, narrow dirt road.
I still have a lot of exploring to do in this area and there are many hiking trails in the national forest.
The photo show Fritz Davis, me and Jeff Fagan on the deck at Mountain Treasures during the 2005 festival. The deck is the place to be every sunday at 5:00pm during the summer. You will hear some good original music here. Try to make it if you can and join us in the mountains of New Mexico to escape that summer heat.
I had a problem with the pickup, the first and sixth strings were not amplified. I took it back to the technician at the Guitar Centre who worked on it. Still, the first string is not as loud as the rest but I intend using it with a microphone, so maybe that's not so important. The technician told me that the next one they had was plagued with the same problem. Seems like it's endemic.
Fender Stratocaster, American Deluxe.
If you're in the Colorado Springs area try to take this trip. Oh, and try Bon Jon's for breakfast in Colorado City.
What I do have is a photo of Ben taken several years ago. Remember the guy in the hat in a previous posting? This brings home to me just how long I've been at the Primetime. It will be 10 years in may. That's the longest I've ever been in one place. My thanks to Dan, Barbara, Cindy, Chris, Jenny and sister Sarah for making this such a great place to perform. The Primetime is a family owned and operated business and they do a great job. If you hav'nt been already, you owe it to yourself to visit.
This is a guitar I always wanted to own. The first person I saw play one of these was Hank Marvin of the Shadows. That tone always sent shivers down my spine. This is also the model guitar Buddy Holly played. Countless others have used one since then. It's strange that I waited until around 2000 to get my own.
This is the taping of the 
Later on I sang the Chili line
It was quite cold but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm.
Here's another couple I like to watch. That's Ben wearing the hat.
We are spending the holiday at the lakehouse. I took plenty of firewood up there so it will be very cozy. A very Merry Christmas to my friends in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia and also everyone in England and Ireland.
It's what I can only descibe as an irresistable mud puddle. I went all the way across but could'nt climb out, then all the way back and could'nt get out that way either. That's when the winch came in handy. The muddy water came inside the truck and left a "tide mark" at knee level. Such fun!!! I wanted to try it again. There is the hard top and also a soft top for the rover. Most of the time the soft one stays on. It doesn't leak quite so bad as the hard top.
Rita and Melissa are your hosts and when I'm in town I play here almost every saturday night. The crowd is a mix of locals, and campers from just about all over the south. A creek runs right through the middle and there is also a kids playground. Check it out. You can access it from my website. Look in "links".
