Blues in the Gardens

Bluestone will be playing in the Dunedin Botanical Gardens this Sunday at noon until 3.00pm.  We're planning to have some special guests.  So far we've got the wonderful Tahu Mackenzie to sing with us.  Stay tuned for more.

Sadly, I just heard that Phoebe Snow just died.  Phoebe had one of my favourite voices.  Check out her fantastic version of Etta James's "At Last" with Donald Fagen et al at the New York Rock & Soul Revue:



I know this Sunday I'll be playing one for Phoebe.

To Teach Or Not To Teach?

Just finished this semester's harmonica class for the Otago University Students Association on Monday night.  I love doing that class; it lets me pass on some of the cool things I've learned, as well as my enormous enthusiasm for the blues.  Hopefully some of my students will form their own bands one day.  It was great to see so many of them at the Dunedin Muso's club the Friday before, so I could show them what it looks like when you bring it all together with a live band.  I always bring my mic and amp setup to the last lesson to give everyone a taste of electricity, but you've really got to see blues in the wild to really get it.

I also have to pass around evaluation forms on the last night, so the Students Association can tell which courses are worth running.  I got a call the other day saying that the feedback was universally good; that it's actually one of their most popular courses, and would I consider running two in a semester?  It's so gratifying to hear that.

But I'll have to think long and hard about it.  If you read my photography blog, you'll know I occasionally need to head out of town to work, sometimes at very short notice, like as soon as the weather comes right for a shoot.  I love to teach, but I love my business as well.

Of course there's one thing I'll definitely try to be in town for: band practices and gigs.  The new Bluestone lineup is smokin'  We're ready to do some serious gig hunting now.  I just have to get a new photoshoot organised!