LIVE PLAYING ! REPEAT….LIVE PLAYING !

Those of us who make a living touring and playing concerts are being hit especially hard. I never dreamed that something could happen that would shut down the touring world. Never ! But , it did. I personally have dedicated my life to making music on the road. I have been blessed. I play the music that inspires me, with the musicians that inspire me to play it . It is a natural high. I have said more than once to an audience “ we play for free and get paid to travel . “ So true ! Its like food for us. When we don’t have that outlet for our expression , we feel strange, like we’re living in an alternative universe. I am constantly getting news like “ the tour is being moved “ or “ the dates are cancelled again “ or “ US Citizens are not allowed to fly to Europe now “ it feels bazaar. A bad dream. But I keep it in perspective. Its music. So many people lost their lives over the past year due to Covid, that just about anything else is diminished in its importance. So we move ahead and try to be productive and look forward to the future when things can get back to a new “ normal.” Remember….when you wake up in the morning, you have a choice. You can either be positive or negative. Choose positive and challenge yourself to making positive changes in your life that take advantage of these strange times. its sometimes not so easy to do, as I have to work on it all the time myself. Just do small changes if you find it difficult. It all adds up !

As a recap ( nov 21stst today ) ….Japan has been moved to sept 5-8 . The Mike stern / Bill Evans band to October 2021 and May 2022…and Me and Robben ford , Miles, Blues and Beyond will tour for a couple weeks this July in Europe. Fingers crossed this all happens !!

just an FYI. One of the great festivals in the world is the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival located in Playa Del Carmen Mexico. I had the pleasure of playing it with my band a couple years ago. The setting was incredible. The crystal clear blue water, amazing authentic Mexican cuisine, and some of the friendliest people on the planet. Take a look at a small video they made of my band during our show. There was over 20,000 people at the concert. Several awesome bands on the bill.

https://vimeo.com/481020845

Over the past year me and my wife decided to move from upstate New York to Nashville Tennessee. . The vibe here is great. Musicians, Artists, you name it. In my opinion it has now become the center of the recording industry for this country.

Nashville is not just a country music town. Musicians from all over the world who play all kinds of music, live there. I have a lot of friends there as well. Change is good. Life is short. You can't be afraid to change, grow and try new things in different places . I have plans to create another Soulgrass band ( with a different name for the band ) with some new , original and inspiring young musicians. It will kick serious ***. You dig ! There is only one gear. Stay tuned !

I couldn’t be more excited to mention the Live stream of the first gig I did with the “ Bill Evans and the Spykillers ! with Wolfgang haffner. It was recorded in 2018 in Melbourne Australia at the “ Birds Basement “ Club.The show will be aired this Nov 26th at 2 different times so its easy to see in Europe and the States . Here is the info. Some lucky viewer will win a car. ( just kidding )

Robben Ford and I had a big festival tour of Europe booked for this summer, 2020, with Wolfgang Haffner and Gary Grainger ( Blues, Miles and Beyond )… We are shifting our 2020 schedule to 2021 like many other musicians since Covid invaded our planet, so this tour is planned for summer 2021.

Singer Max Mutzke was slated to guest with us on several of our summer shows, so I’m really hoping we can have him on the schedule again for 2021 as well! He rocks and is truly a super talent.