Been gone for 10 days or so, and thought I'd try to catch up:

* Chas. Takes a hell of a player to post some Monk and Chas is one who can pull it off. This is just one reason why, almost daily, I'm blown away by a humble combination of depth, humanity, ability and intelligence. I'm so glad to know him!

* Favorite solo: Agree with Nigel on the guitar from the Chuck Mangione piece. Also, the B-3 from "Out in the Country" (Three Dog Night), "Overjoyed" by Victor Wooten, both players; all solos from the Jimmy Smith/Wes Montgomery album, "Dynamic Duo", George Benson; Affirmation, Gato; Europa and so many others.

GOOD TOPIC!

* Capo's; Used by acoustic players and singers who do a solo who require lots of full open bass notes in keys other than E. A, D, G; usually in a country or folk style. Also used by inexperienced players, with limited chord knowledge. Rarely used by experienced electric players; NEVER by jazzers. You'd be laughed off the bandstand.

* Tommy Emmanuel. Someone talked about his Martin guitar. Met him and played one of his small bodied instruments. It's a small steel stringed non cut-a-way guitar made in Australia, not a Martin, although it looks a lot like one.

Don and Gary....thought about you guys every day.

FINALLY....musicians and women. Believe it or not, at my age, I STILL have LOTS of female fans. Problem is, they're all under 8 and over 80, so when the underwear comes flying towards the bandstand, it's depends and Huggies or pull-ups...NOT PRETTY OR particularly pleasant.

Came back into town Sunday; right into the studio for a Ford production; 22 straight hours. Finished two hours ago.

Going home to rest. Job tonight at 6:00 PM.

I MISSED YOU FOLKS!

Russ

missed you too cap'n ... welcome back ...

Welcome home young man - glad to see you back.

Gary

where ever you were didnt they have computers?

Maybe RUSS just needed a REST !!!

Donnie, I was in Dubai. In the compound I was at, they watch everything. My host also does not talk to me, since I am an infidel.

I'll make 4 trips this year, and two trips to Australia for the same people.

It is not safe for Americans unescorted to roam some areas.

Really, a different part of the world. This is my third trip.
These folks are big-time international thoroughbred folks. They have several large operations in Lexington and other parts of the world.


Russ

Tony was right. I just needed a little break for awhile.

Glad to see you back safe and sound, Russ. Now come on down to Atlanta where you only have to worry about getting mugged (whether you're an infidel or not ).

chas

Russ, must be a ton of money involved. Why would anyone want to go where they are not liked and considered an infidel is beyond my imagination. I say screw em all. Give em a bunch of guns and let them kill each other and good residence to the A-Holes.

Because he makes more in those 3 or 4 trips than the rest of us do in a year.

I do 40 playing jobs in the US us at the property. A dinner gig pays $250.00 an hour. I play 10 dances which bill out at $5.000-10,000, depending on the ensemble. I did one film on the operation that billed at over $150,000.00. The trips overseas pay more than the film. Three more films and a hard-bound book are in the works.

The management folks of the US operation are great. The danger overseas has nothing to do with the client.

And I enjoy a little quiet time. I play for lunch and dinner, and two cocktail parties. That gives me lots of time to work on other "brain" projects. I have a large apartment and a Jeep to drive; again, with the suggestion that I avoid several areas and stay on the property most of the time.

Traveling overseas is often pretty scary, if you're not part of a well organized tour.

Interesting part of the world.


Russ