Hi, y’all.  I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t skip more than one week chatting with you so here I am.  As most of you know, I’m not getting out to as many performances as I use to because of this daggone hip pain; but I manage two or three times a week.  How about you?  Wednesday a week ago I went to Coconuts Beach Bar & Grill to hear Heather Vidal who played at noon.  Being a night owl, I rarely get out that early but this amazing artist is more than worth the effort.  I joined my friend Lauren who, being a singer/songwriter herself, really appreciates the talent of this amazing performer.  Not only does she have a voice that spans several octaves, but she’s an accomplished guitarist as well.  And, she has an extensive catalogue of original material.  We loved her song called “Coconut Rum;” so clever and upbeat.  We stayed for the second act to hear our friend Sarah Robins perform with Neil as Endless Ember.  Sarah is a rare jewel as she is able to partner with several different g... » Click here for the full story.

Hey, y’all.  Teenage Rust played at Coins on Memorial Day Monday and I was there along with so many other faithful friends - and we had a blast!  You should have already viewed some pictures from that day including one of keyboard/singer Crystal Grandel who just radiates joy.  God has certainly blessed her with so much talent.  Her hubby Paul does a lot of the vocals and is the bass player,  while Howard Wimbrow plays lead guitar.  Howard also plays with No Byscuyts and Comfort Zone.  Holding down the bottom is T Lutz on drums, always having a good time back there.  Center stage is the couple we all love to love, Maddy & Billy Carder.  Billy plays guitar, too, and sings a few; he does a great Johnny Cash.  I always call Maddy our ‘Dancing Queen’ because she does just that while providing backup vocals and tambourine.  What a fun show they put on each and every time.  Let’s all get together again to hear them play at M.R. Ducks on Sunday, October 4, at 4p.It’s been a wonderful weeke... » Click here for the full story.

Sometimes I sit down to write and nothing comes to mind, partly because I’ve not been out much; but now, since it’s been three weeks, I think it’s more than that.  Usually I begin with a “Hi, friends” or “Hi, y’all;” but sometimes I don’t know what to say next. Is this truly ‘writer’s block’?  I guess so.  The only word that has come to mind for the past few weeks is ‘sometimes.’  And so I begin.Okay, I’m staring at the screen again.  You know what?  I think I’ve been watching too much TV where I stare at the screen and I’m not required to say anything.  I’m going to break out of that right now.  I recently had a conversation with lovely songbird Sarah Robins of Endless Ember about how her summer has been.  Yeah, can’t believe it’s Labor Day Weekend already ... now there’s where I would normally have begun to write.  Anyway, she has performed at many venues with many different duo partners, including Chris Sajadi who is the regular lead guitarist with Doug Balch in The Mercury Agenda a... » Click here for the full story.