If you’re a Rush fan you’ve probably been asked a couple of questions. One: “Why do you love them so much?” Two: “Is that a girl singing?” But that goes with the territory of being a Rush fan, because being a fan is a badge of honor, of sorts, with the humor not being lost on its members: Geddy Lee (vocals/bass/keyboard), Alex Lifeson (lead guitars), and with his passing last week, the late Neil Peart (drums/percussion/lyrics). You need to be a bit of a music nerd to love and appreciate Rush. It’s not every day you help a band sell 40 million records, fill out countless concert halls, … [Read more...]
One of My Favorite CD’s: Joe Beck’s Relaxin’
What’s great about CDs is they’re a package of songs that can bring you back in time—who said time travel wasn’t possible?—where you can feel how an artist was creating at that point in their career. Here’s one of my favorites. If you’re interested in just taking a deep breath and thinking about life for a while, then there’s no better medication than Joe Beck’s Relaxin’. Featuring Beck on guitar, Jay Leonhart on bass, and Grady Tate on drums, this trio plays inspired rhythms and solos in, as the title implies, a cool relaxed feel. Check it out here: Listen at Minute 6:00 to "Secret … [Read more...]
RIP Little Feat Guitarist, Paul Barrere
Paul Barrere, guitarist of the band Little Feat, has passed away at 71. Rolling Stone's Daniel Kreps reports on Barrere's talented life, writing: Barrere joined the Lowell George-led Little Feat prior the recording of the band’s breakthrough 1973 album Dixie Chicken; on the LP, Barrere co-wrote the song “Walkin’ All Night,” which the Rolling Stone review at the time called “the album’s purest rock & roll song.” The guitarist also contributed “Skin It Back” and helped co-write the title track for the 1974 album Feats Don’t Fail Me Now. Barrere’s Little Feat songwriting credits also … [Read more...]
Top Gun 2, Key West, Florida, and You
Originally posted November 29, 2018. Top Gun 2 is expected to be released in the Summer of 2020. Kelly McGillis—Top Gun flight instructor Charlie—after the original Top Gun, opened a restaurant in Key West in the old Pan Am building. And as Dick Young has told me, she was there from the beginning working hard while pregnant overseeing its opening. Always a popular spot, it has since been sold, and, although the Top Gun memorabilia (her leather jacket) may be gone, it’s still a neat spot to have a beer. You have two winters, until the release of Top Gun 2, to Escape to Margaritaville—from … [Read more...]
Jimmy Buffett’s: A Pirate Looks at 40
Originally posted on April 26, 2019. Make sure you have a chance to appreciate where you’re going and where you’ve been. Jimmy Buffett put on a pop-up show Monday in Austin, TX in preparation for his summer tour “I Don’t Know”. A client of mine is driving up to Nashville, TN for tonight’s sold-out show at the Ascend Amphitheatre. Here’s a great video of Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker. Walker (Mr. Bojangles) was the person who gave Buffett refuge in Coconut Grove, FL after he fled Nashville. It was in Walker’s Packard that they drove to Key West for Buffett’s first visit. It was there … [Read more...]
Music That Will Make You Feel the Tropics
Wishing for some tropical weather like I am? Then let Jimmy Buffett’s Tin Cup Chalice bring you there. Hard to beat Doyle Grisham’s pedal steel play at minute 2:07. OFFICIAL CORAL REEFER LINER NOTES A1A IS THE BEACH ACCESS ROAD THAT RUNS OCCASIONALLY ON AND OFF U.S. 1. IT CAN TAKE YOU TO SOME OF THE PRETTIEST BEACHES IN FLORIDA EAST OF SAINT AUGUSTINE, RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF “WRINKLE CITY” BETTER KNOWN AS MIAMI BEACH AND ENDING SUDDENLY 90 MILES NORTH OF HAVANA AND FOUR BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE. PETER WHORF CAME TO KEY WEST TO TALK ABOUT MY IDEAS FOR THE COVER. AFTER SEVERAL HARD SKULL … [Read more...]
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
If you enjoyed Ken Burns’ wonderful Country Music and are feeling like you want more, don’t despair because there’s another music documentary for us to look forward to. “How do you sum up the life and career of Miles Davis in just under two hours?” asks JazzTimes. “That was the challenge that noted documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson Jr. face with his latest project, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, (named after the 1957 LP collection of recordings from 1949 and 1950) which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and later screened at the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore in … [Read more...]
Rush’s “La Villa Strangiato”: It’s OK to Die Twice
If you’re a fan of the band Rush, then you know the beginning of the song “YYZ” hits you like a dog whistle. The same rings true for “La Villa Strangiato” on Exit Stage Left, perhaps the band’s best live recorded album and guitar intro by Alex Lifeson. I remember Lifeson explaining not too long ago that he can no longer play the beginning of “La Villa Strangiato” like he once could, and how hard it was for him to learn it, never mind create it. Repeating genius is near impossible. It’s why being the best at what you do can be painful. You die twice. But it doesn’t mean what you … [Read more...]
Song of the Day: New Birth in New England
From the album C’est la Vie by Phosphorescent performing this summer at the Newport Folk Festival on Sunday, July 28th. … [Read more...]
Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing: Part III
“If the phone doesn’t ring it’s me” -- Jimmy Buffett It’s funny how time heals temporary temptations and laps of reason. I wrote the piece below on October 16, 2014. Then the Dow was down from a recent peak and investors were scared. But those who followed their long-term investment plan and didn't panic, made it through. Yesterday the Dow closed at 26,157.16. Investors who panicked and sold missed all that. Tomorrow markets could drop again, but if you prepare yourself with a diversified, income focused portfolio and the determination to stick to an investment plan that avoids risk whenever … [Read more...]