A New Year's Resolution for 2023

Wishing all the folkies out there a wonderful 2023. My resolution is to create some new content here. Please stay tuned...

A new Molly Tuttle album '...but i'd rather be with you'

I've been a Molly Tuttle fan since I first saw her on Youtube demoing a Waterloo guitar for her local music store. Yesterday I was pleased to discover that her new album is ready to ship to stores. It was recorded during the pandemic with all of the musicians working in their home studios. The official videos are edgy and timely. Highly recommended. Here are a couple of links to get you started.

Great job Molly! Thanks for the tunes :)

Forgotten but not gone...

Hi folks. Just want to say that I'll be back to writing in a bit. In the meantime I'm staying home and staying safe because I'm old (but not as old as the songs I sing).

I'm busy building and modding tube amps and telecasters so that I'll have some new sounds to play with in my home studio. I don't care what Pete Seeger says––Fender electric guitars are folk instruments!

All y'all stay healthy too. Keep on playing your music and make time listen to some great music. This morning I listened to Leadbelly on red vinyl. What a performer! Been listening to Bob Wills and T-Bone Walker a lot too in recent months.

When the new Dylan album, Rough and Rowdy Ways  is available in a few days I plan to buy it so check back here and there just might be a record review for you Dylan fans. Thanks for dropping in. 

Waterloo guitar, Anthem pickup, and AER amp equals acoustic nirvana

Part of growing older gracefully as a musician is downsizing your gear. Reasons range from a sore back to more serious stuff. Whatever your reason, if you're looking to downsize your acoustic rig and lighten your load I have good news for you. You can do it without sacrificing sound quality.

Partly through trial and error and partly through research I have assembled a lightweight and small system that sounds natural and acoustic and has enough power to play in a noisy bar. These days I rarely review gear on this blog but each component in this rig gets my enthusiastic recommendation.

In the past when weight was less of a concern I used a mixer, power amp, and speakers. It was a lot of stuff to haul and it was heavy and bulky but that was part of the price you paid to get good sound in those days.

My new compact rig includes a Waterloo guitar equipped with an LR Baggs Anthem SL pickup system. This goes directly into an AER Tommy Emmanuel amplifier. Simple!

This small, lightwight guitar and powerful little amp combine to produce a sound which exceeds my expectations. It sounds lovely! Better in fact than any of the heavy and overly complicated component PA systems that I hauled around back in the day.

When I first decided to downsize I thought I would have to sacrifice sound quality. Instead I found the most natural and musical amplified acoustic guitar sound I've ever experienced outside of a recording studio. Bonus! I'm looking forward to getting out and playing music with this rig.

Even if you're not shopping for "geezer gear" you'll appreciate the sound quality you get out of a small, simple rig like this and you'll love how easy it is to carry and set up. It just works and that frees you from tweaking sound and let's you focus more on your music.

The Waterloo, Anthem and AER amp make setting up quick and simple and the sound is awesome. I wholeheartedly recommend these products with the caveat that you should always let your ear (and budget) be your guide. Adopt a less is more philosophy and I think you'll discover as I have that you don't need a van full of gear to sound your best in 2017.

Disclaimer: I purchased this gear retail and use it by choice. I received no special consideration and these are not specially selected "review samples". 

Apologies for the long silence

1949 Gibson J45 Guitar

Hi Friends,

Sorry I haven't updated my content here for a while. Three years ago I was struck inexpectedly by a catstrophic illness. While moving into my house I suffered an aortic dissection.

Fortunately before I blacked out I made an emergency call. Thanks to quick response from the EMTs, the helicopter team, and the open heart surgery team at UNM hospital I survived.

That's why I've been out of the music biz for so long. I'll to start playing out again soon by visiting some open mics in Taos and Albuquerque before I attempt a real gig. If you readers are interested in seeing reviews of the northern New Mexico open mic nights here in the future please let me know.

In the meantime check out this 1949 Gibson J45 that turned up in a small Albuquerque shop last year. It's been broken and patched up a few times (like me) but it still sounds great and––after some fret work and an ace setup by George at Langston Guitar and Amp Works––it plays great too.

Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll by Peter Guralnick

Back in the 1970s while spending time in rural Arkansas I had the good fortune to meet folklorist Mike Luster. Mike was working on a doctorate in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. He convinced me that rockabilly music is a legitemate form of American folk music. We spent hours listening to records from his collection as educated me. Of course a lot of his 45s were from Sun Records.

For those of you who love Rock 'n' Roll and the sound of Fender guitars twanging through vacuum tube amplifiers Peter Guralnick's book is a must read. I'm near the end of the first chapter and I'm hooked.

For a complete review see the article in the New York Times. I just wanted to give folks a heads-up here. You can get Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll from your favorite bookstore and also from Sun Records in Memphis. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying it.

Ramblin' Jack and a mighty wind arrive in Albuquerque at the same time

After a long Santa Fe winter I was really looking forward to seeing Ramblin' Jack Elliott perform at the Albuquerque Folk Festival this spring.  Unfortunately mother nature had other plans. The tent covering the main stage violently collapsed from a powerful gust of winds that hit it just minutes before Ramblin' Jack was scheduled to appear. The concert had to be cancelled. Fortunately the tent was evacuated just prior to it's collapse. No one was injured. I've heard a rumor that there will be a makeup concert this fall. When I have more info about that I'll post it.

The good news is that Friday, the night before the folk festival, a few folks met up at our friend John's home to visit with Jack. Afterwards everyone adjourned to Sadie's for Mexican food.

Ramblin' Jack is in fine form these days. Albuquerque was  the New Mexico leg of a successful spring tour which included Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona. He was touring by auto with his friend and opening act, Rick Robbins. If the boys come to a town near you don't miss the fun.

And Jack... us folks here in New Mexico are hoping that the folk festival folks will bring you back here for another concert soon.  It was great to visit with you. I hope next time I see you we can continue our conversation about pocket knife lore. It was just getting interesting.