Thursday, May 29, 2008

Yet Another Buffett Casino Property....


philly.com is reporting:

Trump Marina to become Margaritaville


By Suzette Parmley
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Jimmy Buffett and the Jersey Shore - perfect together?

Trump Marina Hotel Casino, beaten down by age and competition in Atlantic City, will be in the hands of a New York gambling company that will rebrand and rename it Margaritaville Casino & Resort.

The new owner, Coastal Marina L.L.C., is buying the casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., the casino company under Donald J. Trump, for $316 million, Trump officials said today.

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/19350379.html

Friday, May 23, 2008

Video of the Moment!!


Pictured are my pals Sheila Chimento of Margaritaville in New Orleans, Billy Peoples from Florida, the Parrot Head web ring dude and all-around nice guy, and Brent Burns of Alabama...For some reason I do not know who the guy is that is seated at the table so someone send me an email and I will correct that...must have been the Corona...or the Key West water...anyway, I took this picture at Meeting of the Minds 2003 in Key West. I dusted it off as I liked it and I wanted to feature what I think is the video of the moment!! "Pain at the Pump" by Brent Burns!!! Brent you rock! Go check this one out!

http://www.youtube.com/user/BrentBurnsSr

http://www.brentburns.com/

http://www.billypeoples.com/index.htm

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Peter Mayer.


Peter just before he played the Beatle classic "Blackbird."
I really enjoyed the guitar work. That is a very challenging song to play but he is a master of the frets. He smoked it.

Marc Torlina


Marc on bass. Nice job on stand-up and electric.

Maggie Estes


Did I mention Maggie Estes? Great talent for such a young player. Go check out her myspace page link. I have it listed in a post below. Expect great things from her in the future, she is already fabulous.

Scott Bryan


Scott on percussion last night. It was good to see him again. Scott tells me he is involved with several projects right now. One is his new cd is in the works and will be released on red pill records. http://www.redpillonline.com
He has a new free song download you can get right now from his next release. The song is called "GET UP." Go to the link above and enter "4GETUP" to download it for free. Be sure to visit the site again soon to get your cd copy. This guy just plain ROCKS. He can play anything from guitar to percussion and his vocals have so much soul they make your mojo twitch. 'Nuff said.

Look for Scott on the road with PM and Mick Fleetwood this Summer.

Very Nice Guitar Work!!!


Peter on slide and Scott Bryan on acoustic guitar. Wow. The sound was perfect, the band was awesome, and these guys are in top form. Like someone said last night, "if you weren't at this show you just plain missed it."
http://www.petermayer.com/
http://www.rscottbryan.com/
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=197965771


I am going to add my thoughts traveling and playing music on the road. From the four band members to the sound guy and support crew, the PM Band has been traveling for several days, and playing for three nights straight. After this gig they were headed to Marion, Virginia for a show on Sunday afternoon, about and hour or so from now as I write this.
For the uninitiated, the road can be tough on your energy level. Well I just didn't feel that vibe from the stage, in fact I felt the opposite. There was so much energy I had trouble with my camera! These guys move so much I need a super-sonic shutter speed! Given I try to be nice not using flash and shoot in low light the blur can be tough! Thanks to all you folks for that energy last night. It did not go unnoticed.

PS. Speaking of great pictures, I saw this link and went to look at the pictures. Very nice stuff for the PM fan.
http://paparazzi.phanfare.com/album/345756#imageID=21644882

There's Gonna be a Conga Line Tonight....


Peter said he was reading some of the local press about this show and there was a line that read "Sometime there's going to be a conga line tonight."
Peter from the stage then asked the three girls on the front row to stand. He asked them if they would start the conga line as the band started to play " Chain of Love." Before the song was over most of the audience had joined the line, even Peter for one circle around the place. I believe that was the longest conga line I have ever seen, and I have seen some conga lines in my day.

The Peter Mayer Band in Eden, North Carolina!


Last night in Eden, North Carolina, the Peter Meyer Band on stage!
First let me say I thought I was dreaming when I turned the corner at the Walmart Superstore in my home town to go to a PM show. Thanks to the efforts of some local folks this was actually happening. They had one months notification and they pulled it off. There were many people to thank for being sponsors but the core group of Tim R. and Tim S., along with Beth Shelton should be thanked for making this happen. Thanks.
This was a fund raiser for the church http://www.1stpreseden.com/ and a spirit raiser for all in attendance. What a show! These guys get better every time I see them.

I also should mention I ran into my pal Sue McCaughey from Lancaster, PA. yesterday at the show. She drove in to catch the Eden show. It was very cool to see people you haven't seen in a little while!
http://www.littleflockmusic.com/
http://www.tropicalsoul.net/

Thursday, May 15, 2008

New Neil Young Spider?


I thought this was a rather bizarre story when I saw it a few moments ago. I was sitting here listening to Tom Petty on his "Buried Treasure Show" on XM radio. A bit of a ritual for me on Thursday nights I can never get enough of the Buried Treasure Show... Any way, I am trolling the net for some interesting reading and I see this story on my lap top! I had to pass this one on...thanks for the link - KWD in Florida.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Iconic singer and songwriter Neil Young has had an honor bestowed upon him that is not received by many musicians -- his own spider.

An East Carolina University biologist, Jason Bond, discovered a new species of trapdoor spider and opted to call the arachnid after his favorite musician, Canadian Neil Young, naming it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.

"There are rather strict rules about how you name new species," Bond said in a statement.

"As long as these rules are followed you can give a new species just about any name you please. With regards to Neil Young, I really enjoy his music and have had a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice."

Young, 62, is a veteran rock musician who rose to fame in the 1960s with the band Buffalo Springfield and later became a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, whose 1970 release "Deja Vu" has become a classic rock album.

The singer/songwriter, whose solo work ranges from older albums such as "Harvest" to newer CDs like "Living with War," has long been an activist for social and anti-war causes.

Bond discovered the new spider species in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007. He said spiders in the trapdoor genus, who tend to live in burrows and build trap doors to seal off their living quarters, are distinguished from one species to the next on the basis of differences in genitalia.

He confirmed through the spider's DNA that the Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi is an identifiable, separate species of spider within the trapdoor genus.

Young is not the first musician to have a creature named after him. A species of beetle that looks as if it is wearing a tuxedo -- the whirligig beetle, or Orectochilus orbisonorum -- was named earlier this year after the late rock 'n' roll legend Roy Orbison and his widow Barbara.

Reuters/Nielsen.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Over Married?


Steve and Allison play together on stage at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro. When I heard about this show I did not hestitate. I bought tickets as fast as I could log on to the web site. http://www.carolinatheatre.com/ Luckily I was able to get tickets on the second row. I wasn't able to take a decent telephoto lens...too big.. so I was stuck with my small pocket digital. Better than no pictures at all I always say.

The show was awesome. I am a big fan of the cd "The Revolution Starts Now" but Steve new cd has some stellar tracks as well. "Washington Square Serenade" is a gem. "City of Immigrants" and "Satellite Radio" are worth the price of the whole cd. "Steve's Hammer" (for Pete Seger) is very cool and he had us all singing it with him at the show. http://www.steveearle.com/music/

Somewhere towards the end of the night I heard Steve mention he was "way over-married." I thought this was a funny comment and it stuck in my mind for a while. I thought "No, for a great artist only the best will do." 'Nuff said. You want to go see an awesome show? Steve Earle is not to be missed.

The Revolution Starts....Now!!



I have been waiting to see Steve Earle play a show in my area for a long time. Finally he came back. Steve used to play constantly in North Carolina and Texas. Those were his hot spots in the early days of touring. http://www.steveearle.com/

Steve is now living in New York City and tours from time to time. His show was awesome. He took the stage and had a different instrument in his hand almost every song. Most of the show was acoustic until his dj friend came out and played some backing drum tracks for several songs. That was a very interesting approach for a live performance but it worked very well.

Here is a link to a story in Acoustic Guitar magazine. I subscribe to this periodical and enjoy many of the stories they publish, especially the ones that focus on the artists and their "tools of the trade." http://www.acousticguitar.com/issues/ag78/CoverStory.shtml

Allison Moorer


Allison Moorer performs at the Carolina Theater. http://www.allisonmoorer.com/

A bonus of going to see Steve Earle is seeing his wife play a show. She has a new cd called 'Mockingbird." Great stuff.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Soap Box Moment


After several decades of attending live performances I have always been aware of those shows where the music is just "way too loud." I have been caught without hearing protection and yes at my age I am suffering from the dreaded "ringing in my ears." Also known as tinnitus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus
this is not the thing you want to have happen to you.

I went to a hearing specialist back in February and told him about how I woke up two days before Christmas with a bad virus and ringing in my ears. He proceeded to look at my ears with a microscope, attach all of these test instruments, and finally test my hearing in a booth. After all that was though he told me I had normal hearing until I got to 4000 Hz. Then you could see a drop on the laptop display and the print outs. He said maybe the virus caused part of the problem but the exposure to loud noise can put you to the edge of where you are in danger of having hearing loss and the constant ringing that occurs after you have damaged the tiny nerves in your ears.
I guess the point of all of this is....don't let this happen to you. Be aware of exposure to any loud noise and use hearing protection! I have for many years and I am sure that helped me avoid a problem that is worse than what I have now.
Here is a link to a site where you can purchase some really nice hearing protection. I use their products and I highly recommend them.
http://www.etymotic.com/?crcat=ppc&crsource=google&crkw=magnificentmusic&gclid=CIPC2oqRnJMCFQHBsgodsGGPxA