Spring Edition

After what seemed like an eternity of grey skies, cold weather and rain, Nashville is now sunny, dry and in the 70s as we step in to spring.  The grass is turning green again and the trees, while still bare, are loaded with leaf buds ready to burst.  We'll no doubt have our share of spring rain to come as well as being right in the middle of tornado alley this time of year, but the first warmth of 2011 couldn't come too soon.

It's been a little slow on the work front though am heading into the studio for another round with Kellie Pickler and will begin a new record with Pieta Brown the top of April.  Those who attended one of our U.S. shows of the 2010 Mark Knopfler tour know how talented and cool Pieta and Bo Ramsey are.  Bo will be on hand to play guitar and produce and I'm really looking forward to seeing them both again to make some music.

My slower schedule over the last few weeks has allowed me much needed time to practise a few new concepts learned in the jazz courses I've been taking.  Mel Deal, my guitar guru, mentioned that all the guys we hold dear were "complete players" of their respective instruments.  I know first hand what he's talking about having listened to so many of their records, seen some of them live and had the very good fortune to have worked shoulder to shoulder with many of the great musicians in Los Angeles in the late 60s forward.  I cannot claim mastery, but I'm a little more complete studying with Mel.

What I really want to bring to your attention is what both of my sons are doing musically.  Many of you are aware of Nick's music, guitar playing, song writing and various band projects which you can listen to here:

http://nudity.bandcamp.com/track/blame-waltz
http://theZutAlors.bandcamp.com

Our son Jeremy, a senior at University of Tennessee, draws from a different textures than either Nick or I.  He's an accomplished DJ, remix artist and has crafted a number of soundscapes from a stable of samples and organic sounds and instruments he's recorded himself.  If you go to this site it will come up as SAURuS -  that's him.  You'll also see an eclectic array of influences.  I really admire what he's done and you can hear some of Jeremy's work at Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/jjjeremy

Hope these next few weeks bring warmth, green and barbecues your way.

Richard​