Lindsey managed to capture this song “We’ve All Got Our Marks To Make”, written by Drew and Walt Wilkins, in such a simple and fun way. I hadn’t heard this song before, and I really like it. I don’t get to see Drew play very much. That’s part of the working musician thing, you don’t gee to see your friends play very often. I got forwarded an email with a link to this video. It took me a few days to sit down and watch it. Worth the wait.

It may not be the next “Thriller” video, but it’s fun, creative, it sets a mood for the song that I really dig, and as far as I’m concerned Drew is right; Lindsey is and 11 year old super-genius.

….. that I’m turning into a musician. It wasn’t a compliment and she wasn’t referring to my musical abilities. You know the type. The ones that give us all a reputation for showing up late, leaving early, eating all the food, skipping the bar tab, bad with business, etc. etc. etc.

I’m playing a songwriter show at a lovely little coffee shop in Llano, TX tonight with my friends John Greenberg and WC Jameson. I had a nice drive through the Hill Country, got buzzed up on an iced americano and caught up on some phone calls. (using my hands free of course)
I arrived at Fuel, was greeted warmly and while taking a few minutes to myself in the nice clean restroom I realized…… I brought NO cd’s with me!!! I have a brand new CD out. I’ll be playing songs from it all night long. I’ve become my own worst fear…. an adle brained muso! ARGH!
My only consolation is all the crap I’m about to get from John and WC. At least I won’t have to give myself a hard time. They’re likely to do a fine job. Oh well. I guess I’ll have to wow ‘em enough to make going to my website irresitable.
Just a little note from the road.
Onward.

I was really excited to spend some time in Memphis with Jimmy. Get some of the real stuff. So after a stop at Jimmy’s house, which was wild because he’s like a real person and not just a traveling gypsy sleeping outside and playing shows with no shoes on, we headed out into town. WW suggested a stop at Sun Studios. Yes! A must see. But first, BBQ.

JD took us to Central BBQ. We might have hit the Rendezvous, but it was Sunday and they’re closed, and Central BBQ was no slouch. Love the signage in the front window. Now here’s where I usually take a picture of my food, but I was so hungry and my plate of slow roasted pork with slaw and green beens went so fast that I couldn’t get the camera out in time. You’ll just have to picture it for yourself. Nothing fancy here. A paper lined plastic basket full of pulled and chopped pork that was cooked seemingly forever and topped with a vinegar based spicy ass BBQ sauce. A cup of cole slaw and another of green beans side by side. Fantastic!

Ok, now I’m really full and can’t get enough iced tea in   me as we make our way through the fairly oppressive heat and swampiness to Sun Studios. We took the tour and were treated to a fun time by our tour guide Cora. It was just cool to stand in that space. The cutting room itself hasn’t been changed in 60 years. To think that I was standing in the room where Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters both began their careers. Not to mention Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee and oh yeah….. Elvis. Too freaking cool! After t-shirts and chachkies were purchased we headed to our next stop.

Off to see a band that Jimmy knows and sings with sometimes, The Hookers. I can’t remember the name of the bar right now, but it was, well…. a bar. Dark and cool on a sweltering afternoon. The one thing that really stood out, besides the musicianship of the band which was terrific, was the guy cooking on stage. Yes, “Chef” was cooking up some venison quesadillas for the crown right there in front of the bass rig! Only in Memphis. I was too full to sample the fine cuisine. Maybe next time. The Hookers were solid and Jimmy sat in on a mind blowing version of “Helter Skelter” and off we went to our show.

Murphy’s Bar. I can’t say I walked in to the place and thought, “Wow what a great place to play a show”. It’s a bar, plain and simple. A dive really, but I like dive bars in general and I liked the feel of this one. Jimmy’s old band, The River Bluff Clan, played many a Sunday here and he assured us that people would show and a good time had. He was right. G had flown home for his first Father’s Day so we did a WW, JD, BS song swap with Ray on the drums and Eric Lewis on Steel. Jimmy brought Eric in and WOW, great player. He really made the night. So indeed a good time was had. From WW’s first song to our closing rave up rendition of JD’s “Sanctuary”, the crowd was hoopin, hollering, clapping and happy. I don’t know how they did it since I was having trouble just breathing the heavy air, as was WW, but I guess they’re used to it. It was a blast. As I sat behind the wheel of the van and headed us towards Little rock and then home, I felt like I finally got some real Memphis on me and I’m ready for more.

I’ve been working to kickstart my songwriting engine lately. Which is no mean feat for me. When I go for awhile without writing, and I do, it get’s difficult to engage in the process again. My mind goes blank. Everything I’ve learned about it the craft goes out the window. But, one thing I’ve always done, even back in the days before my macbook,  (remember paper?) was to go back through my various fits and song starts to look for inspiration or something to work on. It can be a great way to get me writing, even if all I do is go through a bunch of stuff that seems like crap to me.

Over the past few years, I’ve been in the habit of recording little snigglets of songs. Musical ideas, lyrical starts, etc. The mac has this wonderful thing called Garage Band and it’s so easy to just launch the software and throw down an idea. Can you see what’s coming here? I lost 3 or 4 years worth of songs and song ideas on that freaking hard drive!!! Mostly I’ve been very zen about the whole thing. It’s good to clean out and not hold on to stuff, but damn it! There was some good stuff in there!!! Or maybe it was all crap. I don’t know. But I want the option to check it out and decide. As my New England friends would say, “It’s a pisser”.

Every now and then I run across some vestige of my lost files. I found this video on the Boundless Living Challenge website this week. I forgot it was there. It’s just a verse and a chorus of a song I started writing at my friend and Boundless Living creator Bob Doyle’s house in Atlanta in 2008. I may finish it. I may not. Mostly it just reminded me of all the other recordings and videos I lost. So the least I can do is share it with you. It feels a bit like I’m hanging my ass out in the breeze ‘cause I don’t like to put unfinished work out in the world, but what the heck.

Is there a point to this? A moral to the story? That’s for you to decide. (back up your drive) I’m just venting my frustration. (back up your drive)Thanks for listening. (back up your drive) I’m not here to preach. (back up your drive) I’m just sharing my personal experience. (back up your drive)
Enjoy the video…….

and p.s. Back Up Your Drive

Find more videos like this on The Boundless Living Challenge

I ran into Nick a lot in those days. We didn’t play together regularly, but he was a bit of a blues scene advisor for me. He’d moved from the east coast as well and we shared some kinship in our love of music, Austin and yankee roots. He introduced me to a lot of folks and occasionally let me know when my Jersey boy attitude got to be a little much for my new Texas neighbors. Over the years we lost touch as people do. Especially musicians who are moving around a lot. I left Austin for awhile, came back and don’t spend a lot of time with the blues anymore. That once vibrant scene is gone too. Sixth Street is for shot bars and dance clubs, not blues joints and dives.

I think I ran into Nick once last year at the Saxon Pub but neither one of us remembered that very well the last time we spoke, which was at the opening day festival at the Backyard. There were quite a few faces from the old days at that show and I should have known that Nick would be among them. I interrupted him eating some backstage grub and we caught up for a bit. We reminisced about the old days a little, but mostly talked about what projects we were working on now and the trials of aging musicians. I was very hesitant to tell him that I play bass now, but he was as generous and encouraging with me as ever and we joked about it some too. After seeing him lay down the groove with John Garr that day I was reminded of what a fantastic player he was. Exactly what you need a bass player to be. I left that day, as I imagine he did, figuring that we’d run into each other again soon.

Idly passing time on the computer yesterday, looking at other people’s Facebook posts, I found out that Nick passed away on Monday, May 24th. I don’t have all the details yet and it doesn’t matter really. He’s gone. As long as I have a memory there will still be a Nick Travis for me. He left a lasting impression on my life. I’m grateful to have seen Nick and heard him play again so recently and I’m reminded of the importance of friends. Of staying in touch, keeping them close. Old friends and new. It’s something I’ve not always been good at. Maybe I’ll be better about that, maybe not, but no regrets. Not when it comes to Nick. I know he’s laying down the groove somewhere.
Miss ya brother…….