It’s been a busy Spring ‘13 – I’m re-assembling Chateau Daveaux, getting her ready for mixing and a certain amount of tracking. The place has 13-foot ceilings like most of the grand old Louisiana colonial-style homes, and with enough knickknacks on shelves & oriental rugs I should get a decent amount of sound diffusion & reflection control & still take advantage of a good-sized space.  I’m still on the fence about ProTools I/O options – since I’m not trying to track more than four people at a time here or get into big drum situations it doesn’t make sense to drop thousands on an HD rig but it would be nice to have a good neutral-sounding “8 in/8 out” box with a/d-d/a conversion. Call it option anxiety, there’s just too much shit from which to choose.
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I finally had my old ’60’s Gretsch (Maxine) re-wired and given a little TLC from Jerome Garbutt here in NOLA. I forgot how much I loved that sound, there’s no guitar that sounds like her. Not a versatile instrument but when you need THAT SOUND, there it is. Here’s the test track:

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Been doing some shows with my friend and fellow Algerian Terry McDermott, which are fun & totally rock, although I suspect some of his core audence was expecting more balladry (he’s a rock artist in sheep’s clothing). This weekend we’ll do an opener for the mighty Terry Reid here in New Orleans, and I believe I’ll be sitting in with Mr. Reid’s band on guitar. A bit intimidating, that man is the master.

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(’To Be Treated Right’, from Terry Reid’s masterpiece Seed Of Memory)

No Comments | In: Life, New Orleans, Terry McDermott, gear, guitar, music, random shit, studio stuff, technology | | #

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Wow, it went from a sleepy year to a frenzy of cool for me in about two weeks flat – while out with Mark Lanegan supporting Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds in Australia, I got the call to go from Sydney immediately to Austin to spend a couple of days rehearsing for the Afghan Whigs’ show Friday March 15 at The Fader Fort. If you can’t make it in person you can stream it on The Fade website – it’ll be worth it.

So, no sleep for me means your week in musical entertainment and possible enlightened thrills.  Plus, I get to go guitar gizmo shopping.

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Been doing a ton of this-and-that since the beginning of the year; gigs with friends, demoing songs with Greg, playing with my trio some in the French Quarter and working on the Daveaux album joint… but mainly been enjoying New Orleans and the anti-winter we generally have here.

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I’m going to be playing with Mark Lanegan (as a duo) again, this time we’re going to Australia for a couple of weeks with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Probably a lot like opening for Elvis in Graceland.  That two-man dynamic is fun as hell and so satisfying in a way that’s completely different from melting faces off in a band situation. The quieter you play, the harder people listen, and the message seems more deeply transmitted.

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Hopefully Moreton Bay bugs are in season, I’ve yet to get a proper education on that stuff but DAMN they are one of my favorite seafoods. And as far as i know there’s only ONE place to get ‘em, and it’s a 19-hour flight from here.

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Oh hell yes.  Then, home to finish assembling tracks for my thing & hopefully some work with Terry.

You can get his new track here:

1 Comment | In: Life, Mark Lanegan, Terry McDermott, musicians, travel | | #

Standard operation procedure

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Well, The Afhgan Whigs 2012 “End Times” tour is done, culminating in an extremely satisfying and emotional show on New Year’s Eve in Cincinnati, the city where the whole thing started. We came together last year, already an extended family of sorts, from different projects and different cities, a collection of intersecting Venn diagrams, all of us with a “Dulli number” of 1 (note to slef: investigate people’s Dulli Numbers. Must be relevant?), to really gel into more than just a band. ‘Twas somewhere between ensemble and pirate ship.
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The Afghan Whigs at Antone's in Austin

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I’ve since begun work on my record, started working on music with some other friends (some more familiar to you than others) and generally getting productive.

Every year I try to take stock, reflect and count my blessings. When I think of how frustrated and insecure I was as a kid, how low my self esteem was, how many dates I never had and how many hours I filled sitting in my lonely teen room playing guitar out of an intense need to fill the space in my heart, I have to say it was the best schooling I could have had, and my life is so full of color because of it.
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Backing Terry McDermott at the NFC playoffs in Houston

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My musical life is rich and diverse, and what started out as a career intent on being a “gun for hire guitarist” has turned into parterships and friendships in ART that transcend business or pleasure, the whole thing mixed together in a satisfying roux. In the last few months I’ve toured the world, done gigs as varied as matinees in tiny clubs in the French Quarter, studio guitar and engineering work for hire, played to 70,000 NFL fans at a halftime show, played in a live karaoke band, power trio gigs for fun with friends, and writing and arranging. Mostly withnFRIENDS… Schizoid, but satisfying. I can’t believe it actually worked out this way.
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NOLA's own Eric Bolivar smearing bacon grease on my songs at Rick Nelson's studio, 12/12

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So, I guess the moral is, make good friends with good people, and say ‘yes’ to good things and ‘no’ to bad things. For the most part it’ll all work out (knock on Mayan wood). And you can’t do it all yourself. People need people, and the friends you make in life are the ones that see you through the times when your Mom can’t be there. Which is most of the time.
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Thanks to everyone who came to see me, offered support, traveled with me and shared the stage last year  - it ain’t the parties in yer life, it’s the life in yer parties!

6 Comments | In: Afghan Whigs, Greg Dulli, Life, Terry McDermott | | #

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This week I begin the arduous process of sifting through 10+ years of sketches, themes and sound recordings to culminate in an album (name? open to suggestions). I had NO IDEA I had generated so much stuff, it’s quite a pile.
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Wednesday Rick G. Nelson and I will start the actual recording process. I plan on having some friends help out along the way – anything you’ve heard me do on my own has generally been all me, which can get boring (face it, Todd Rundgren is a genius but you can’t replace the energy of real people reacting to one another).

Into the breach!

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I’ve been listening to this influential music showcase ever since streaming radio became accessible to the masses. Yesterday we got to do a set before our Los Angeles shows, which can be streamed here:

KCRW Music Stream

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OK, NFL Ref situation back to normal, Whigs back in the States, bum knee healing nicely, got a shiny haircut, dog behaving temporarily, loving my new Pigtronnix PolySaturator, digging watching my friend Terry McDermott kicking ass on TV, having a good time on tour.

here’s a photo to hold you till i can do a proper post:

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????!!!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

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The festival shows in Europe (and the UK if you’re picky) are done and I’m home in Louisiana eating red beans & rice and prepping for a possible evacuation, like ya do every year at the end of August. Tropical Storm Isaac is bearing down on the Florida keys right now and most models predict landfall Mon/Tues near here. Ahh, good times. Fortunately Miss Betty & I were driving down the Gulf highway from Florida last night and passed by the Coleman camping supply outlet, so I can damn sure make a fire with twigs if necessary, I got the tools.

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If all hell breaks loose, this is going to put a damper (no pun intended) on finishing the Christmas record I’m about to produce with Twilight Singers/Afghan Whigs family member Rick G. Nelson at Marigny Recording Studios for our dear NOLA friend Amy Trail.

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In New York, my friend Joseph Arthur has this news:
“NYC towed my van and sold it with amps and equipment and so much art in it. It’s a white 2003 dodge ram. Sold yesterday. Please help recover. Anyone with any knowledge or help (lawyers) into how to deal with a city taking and selling your stuff would be greatly appreciated. I just found out about this and cant think straight but so much priceless (to me) was inside. Over 40 large scale paintings rolled in canvas. I’m gutted.

The van wasn’t towed and sold the same day. It was towed from a place where it was getting repaired and sold when i was in Mexico under the impression that it was back at the shop.”

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If you want to help out in any way, full details HERE.

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