EUPHONIOUS EXCURSION, PART 1

okay. we're one week into the trip and have already witnessed some great music. the past few days have been filled with so many little incredible things (too much to type here), so i'll just concentrate on the musical aspects.

on saturday, we stopped in clarksdale, mississippi - birthplace to some of the greatest blues musicians of all time - sam cooke, muddy waters, john lee hooker, ike turner, just to name a few. after dinner at abe's bbq, we drove to the ground zero blues club and listened to big T and the family band for a couple hours whilst drinking miller high life. ah, miller high life – i've missed you so.

on monday, we arrived in austin, texas. we noticed that antone's was hosting "super funk monday" with a band called flyjack. the club, founded by the late great clifford antone, sounds amazing. in regard to flyjack, the rhythm section was outstanding, the guitarist and keyboardist were very tasteful, and the horn section was extremely tight. with great songwriting as well. all in all, it was an extremely entertaining evening of music.

on wednesday, we drove to an old spanish village called mesilla just outside las cruces, new mexico. after some mexican food, we walked over to el patio cantina to hear some jazz from the border jazz quintet. smooth, smooth jazz. anyway, while we were drinking at the bar, we met a guy named justin who kept warning us against going to mexico because the police had just gone on strike. then, as we were about to leave, he told us that we absolutely positively had to go to mexico.

on thursday, we stopped in bisbee, arizona. we decided to stay at the shady dell rv park that rents old 1950s trailers to people passing through town. after walking around town for a while, we noticed that a local bar called the stock exchange saloon was having a jam for local artists. as we sipped on a couple beers and watched the sound man set up the stage, musician after musician came through the door. everyone seemed to know each other and seemed really excited to play some music together. it was really refreshing to see such camaraderie.

tonight, we'll be in los angeles to visit my friend victor. but i've heard it's not really an entertainment type of town, so i'm not sure we'll be able to find any good music. maybe we'll get lucky...