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Papa’s Got the Blues

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As our daughters grew up, I wanted them to appreciate all kinds of art and music. My own musical tastes run the gamut and I’ve found that every genre has a place in the soundtrack of my life journey, if even for a moment. I wanted that for them, as well.

As the girls grew I started making compilation CDs for them. I wanted to pass on a few of the things I learned and appreciated about my favorite genres of music, expose them to a few of the classic artists and songs, as well as share with them a few of my favorite tunes and how they connect to my life. It’s still an unfinished project. I have two or three CDs still on my task list to compile for them.

Most of the time I simply wrote out some liner notes for the CD in which I shared a paragraph or two about every cut on the CD. When it came to my Blues compilation, I had been playing around with learning an eBook publishing app, so I thought it would be fun to experiment and turn my liner notes for the CD into a graphic eBook.

A few weeks ago Wendy and I were in Mexico for the wedding of her sister, Suzanna. Suzanna lived with Wendy and me for a few years as she finished high school. During her time with us, I had shared my blues compilation, Papa’s Got the Blues with her, as well. The night before her wedding she went out of her way to tell me she still had the CD and loved it.

So, that got me thinking that it might be a fun thing to post that others might also enjoy. So, Merry Christmas! Here you go. Be sure to download the eBook and follow along. If you have Spotify, you should be able to find the playlist and add it to your own set of playlists, if you so desire.

Happy listening! Cheers!

Papas Got the Blues (eBook)Download
Music, Video, Wayfarer's Journal

Jonny Lang & Buddy Guy

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Wendy and I don’t have an official bucket list. Nevertheless, there are a few things that we’ve agreed we want to do at some point along the journey. One of those items was to see Jonny Lang in concert. Lang is not a well known artist in the main stream sense. A soft spoken white kid from America’s northern plains, God reached down and touched the boy with an unmistakable gift. Lang was born to play the blues. I’ve always been a fan, but after Wendy and I saw Lang in concert on DirecTV a year or so ago, we knew that we had to see him perform live.

It just happened that I knew Wendy and I would need a little treat after a long couple of months planning for USP’s 25th Anniversary Gala. So, a month or so ago I began looking for something that she and I could do together on this “week after” at the lake. That’s when I found that Jonny Lang was going to be performing with blues legend Buddy Guy outside of St. Louis.

I surprised Wendy and whisked her away yesterday. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner together then, settled in for a great evening of blues. Anthony Gomes, a local St. Louis artists, was the first act. Gomes’ music was aweseome, but the guy looked and acted like a cross between Wierd Al Yankovic and Wormtongue. Next came a pleasant surprise in the form of ZZ Ward, a wonderful young lady we’d not heard before but with whom we fell in love. Wendy downloaded her album from iTunes during the concert. Next came Jonny Lang. The concert was everything we’d expected. I only wish he’d have played for another hour or so. Finally, it was Buddy Guy who was nothing less than a master bluesman practicing his craft perfectly. They guy has been making records since before I was born (back when they were vinyl records). There’s a reason for his longevity and we saw it on display last night.

I’ve attached the pics I took at the concert in the slideshow above. The worst part of the night was the wee hours drive back to the lake, but it was well worth it! If you’re unfamiliar, here’s a sample of what you missed 😉 :