Brian Keiser, my vote is for you to retire early from the "target w/ a badge" business. Its got to be getting difficult to play while wearing all of that Kevlar. That stuff will affect your tone. Besides, I'm tired of getting hit with the pepper spray every time I play a wrong note.
I have heard a rumor that there will be a meeting of the Springfield RGNC'ers sometime between March 7th-14th. Exact times and locations yet to be determined. Perhaps some much anticipated recording may take place.
Jeff Graham told me that he is alive and well and that becoming a new dad has not affected his sleeping habits at all. Said he still gets his workouts in at the club every morning at 5, and then its off to the office for a fast paced day of bidness type stuff. Then, back to the club for beverages and back-slapping til' 9, and home in time to put in a little work on the new album in his home studio whilst answering calls from various clients that he counsels 'round the world. He's able to hit the sack by 3 am and then its right back up at 4 to start a new day.
I have been told recently by an inside source that associate members Distefano and Christakos take to running now for no good reason, without even having anyone chasing them...special shoes and everything.
Mr. Wilson, I listened to one William "Bill" Frisell yesterday, as per your instructions. Way cool. He's got an album called "Nashville" with some of your pals on there with him; Adam Steffey, Ron Block, Jerry Douglas,
etc. He ain't from "The 4", but he does a pretty good job. He'd be a good one to have on the waiting list to fill in when one of us has to go on vacation.

Topic for discussion: What is the "brokest" you've ever been? By that, I mean aside from bills, paper debt, what have you, what is the least amount of spendable $ you have ever been found with (and I'm not talking about between trips to the atm, I mean THATS ALL YOU HAD and it might not get any better for a while). My personal record: 9 cents. The floor is open...

va eiste kala, be well

Hey Howdy Hey! "Been a long time." I have been extremely busy modifyin' the behaviors of many a restless soul in the Ozarks... I believe I have just about emptied my creativity pool of trade tricks, and won't be divin' in them waters again; that is not without sustaining one heck of a head injury.

Hope all of you neighbors have been travelin' through your days to daze effortlessly. Hey Lil' Biggun.....I saw them folks from Colorado which held you captive. They did not say a word.

Mark...Sounds like the spontaneous concert life of Boston with you and the Associates is spreadin' the message to all. Sorry I missed it. I have recently missed alot of Brother Dave's musical stylin' showcases in the region also. Yes. I've become a "SHUT IN". All of those early years sittin' on those hard old OAK TREE pews, and hearin' about such from the pulpit....I now know what a "SHUT IN" is. Hey. How in the world did we ever fall asleep sittin' on those pews anyway?

Well. This is the week I make the big decision whether to stay in the behavior modification business, or venture out into the real world....weekends off, work from SEVEN to FOUR THIRTY....Nights off at the homestead. Looks like it will cost me about $1.90 / hour to make the move. I'll keep all posted. HEY! I forgot another bonus benefit. The men from SWAT will not be able to interrupt the merlot, coffee, and cake / pie, and good ole' hospitality of Mrs. Wilson if I make the move. NO MORE....WHERE IS HE AND WHAT IS HE DOIN?

Hey Mark. I gots an assignment for you. Did "Separation of Church and State" come from the Communist manifesto? If so, did we alter its original intentions? Thanks for any comments "e-mailed" to me. You other neighbors can feel free to field this also, I just was gettin' a fresh student's opinion.

Well. Back to this BLOGGS intentions. MUSIC. 'Bout put my eye out tunin' the mandolin the other night. WHEW DAVE...you did not tell me what happens when them smaller Lil' short guys break. I was even tunin' her down to "D". TWANG / SMACK / DUCK / OUCH....OUCH...OUCH again. Wooooooo it hurt. As you know, I now live in a three story residence. I was on the third floor when I was "fired upon" by the string. I found the string about two days later in the basement while usin' the hoover. That thing must have bounced off of two full floors of my belongings before landing. Needless to say, I now play a "7" string mandolin for fear of recoil and repercussions. There. That is my current music story for fellow neighbors. YEP. It was very scary. Be careful. You never know what can happen. IT HAPPENED TO ME.

Be carefull and mindfull of other Neighbors. Peace to all of my stringed fellow friends.

Last night I had the chance to play again with RGNC associate members Joe Distefano and Greg Christakos up in Boston. It were rather enjoyable, but I have to admit to bending a few of the rules about RGNC performance criteria. First off, we were booked with a couple of other acts at a college in the area and we used their performance hall with maybe 300 seats. The place was a little large and there were more folks than might be optimal for a typical RGNC shindig, but it proved to turn out very well. The pre-show buffet was remarkable, the after show hanging out was relaxed, and all the folks truly listened. My main axe for the night was "Old $12.95", and it rang true and loud. We even did a high and lonesome grassed out cover of...Rocky Mountain High! Complete with extended space jam in F right in the middle of the tune, and a wonderful and indulgently long jam on the outro. Seems like it should be a mellow song, but we put a real scald on it and I plan to work it into the rotation soon. When we went to eat lunch after Church, a cook at the place said they were there last night and that they really enjoyed the show. Cain't do no better'n that.
Joe and Greg were very kind to take time out of incredibly busy schedules to help pull it off. Greg got a little ticked during one song when Joe gave him the "turn down your bass amp" nod; so Greg took his bass off and threw it across the stage (ala Bert Campaneris in the '73 AL playoffs vs. Detroit) and it nailed some kid who was doing the sound. After the paramedics left we were able to clean his bass off and convince each other that we had to go back out and finish the show "for the kids". Good thing we're so close and that we still put the music first, because stuff like that could cause some problems for less committed musicians... ;^)

Dave, was that nice shiraz as good as that can of merlot you gave me at your place at Christmas time? As I recall, you bragged that it was "one of North Dakota's finest wines".

be good.