Don't Be Cruel

Was the king a fan of the banjo?  A quick sweep of the internet turned up one photo of Elvis holding a banjo which may or may not be fake and, to be honest, I can't recall hearing banjo on any of his recordings (if I'm wrong about this please let me know).

I thought I might bring Elvis a little closer to the banjo with a 5 string arrangement of one of his early hits.  This is 'Don't Be Cruel' written by Otis Blackwell, an R&B singer and pianist who penned such hits as 'Great Balls of Fire' for Jerry Lee Lewis and 'Fever' for Peggy Lee.   

I try to keep the syncopated bass in there as much as possible and leave spaces where things break down to just the bass line for a measure or two.

Having trouble getting the video to actually show up in blogger but the link is https://youtu.be/o0pv1tAEXBs

Wildwood Fire

Thanks to everyone who came by the online concert yesterday.  Here is a little clip from the show, it is of us playing our epomnymous tune 'Wildwood Fire'...

My Band Wildwood Fire is Playing a Free Online Concert this Saturday (June 27, 2020) at 6:00PST

Anyone feel like watching a concert broadcast from my basement this weekend?

If so then just click on this link at 6:00pm PST this Saturday, June 27 (you should also be able to view a recorded version if you get there late).

The band features Chris Russell on guitar, Russell Sholberg on bass and myself on banjo and dobro.

It should be a fun show for anyone interested, we'll be playing a mixture or original tunes, standards and requests.