The Day Stevie Ray Vaughn Passed

I was driving down route 236 (Little River Turnpike) in Fairfax, Virginia on my way to college at Geore Mason Unniversity. I was listening to DC101, as I have all my life and still do when visitng the area. A news brief came on the air and said we may very well had just lost Eric Clapton in a helicopter crash. I was in shock...I knew he was a legend...however I had not yet studied Clapton in depth. I had as a matter of fact just gotten his latest release "Journeyman" and absolutely loved it. I was in shock. That may sound silly, but I am a musician and absolutely love music. We just lost a living legend so I thought. How tragic. A short time later after the first announcement, a secon announcement said that Eric Clapton was just fine...I sighed in releif. Then it was stated that Stevie Ray Vaughn had perished in the helicopter that had crashed, along with several others. Talk about a double kick in the guts. Man what a way to hear such tragic news. Needless to say I never got to see Stevie Ray Vayghn perform live, and I did not miss my first chance to see Clapton live. It is times like this when I step back and think...well...thanks God for giving us Stevie and his legendary music. One day I will be at that great concert in the sky and I will play with him there, and for that I can wait. That eases my soul knowing that. So...Thanks Stevie Ray for great tunes. Cmment on what you like, however, if you remember where you were and what was happening when you heard...state that here. It is an idelible impression in my life.

POEM - WTF

It’s Time – emit sti


Perhaps this is babble you say,
He molded us with clay,
Gave us a beautiful day,
Which we chose to give away.

The age of understanding is here,
He makes this abundantly clear,
Babble in the past, we communicate with ease,
Matters not that you speak English or Chinese.

Arizona is lost, Korea to war?,
England and the US are both kind of sore,
BP, well…sux, assholes and liars I say,
The New Orleans Marsh on death’s bed lay.

Chorus:
It is time to come together,
Cut the binds that have us tethered,
Do what’s right and save each other,
In the end all you have is one another.

Did you see the Earth Quakes,
Already old news,
Thousands starving,
What are we to do?

Tornados are coming now,
Hurricanes follow suite,
I heard about a volcano,
Was that a week ago or two?

It time speeding up,
Is that comprehensible,
I know that its happening,
Its just that is not sensible

The Space Shuttle just flew it’s last flight…WHAT ???
How does that make any sense,
Seems kind of odd that we designed this for decades,
And now its simply good riddance?

But either are any of these things coming next,
Words are beautiful things once written with text,
Sentences they make and create fluid thought,
Only love can share what simply can’t be bought

That is all the wisdom we need on this earth
Sin should not have a right to live here
But borders we draw and things we must own
And at each other we curse

Check out my recent news
Google and wikipedia will do,
You ought to take a look,
Hard to take my word for true

This has all already happened,
So open up your eyes,
Perspective places a truer image upon your mind,
So we can all stop living all these lies

An empty Russian ocean,
We needed water instead over there,
Did we not learn anything from Mother Nature,
Act as if we just don’t care.

One day near Cumberland we had some snow,
The next is was gone as it was to warm to stay,
The 60 mile per hour winds just whipped it away,
Then came the sun an it nearly reached 90 the following day.

In Colorado one beautiful evening it was a sunny 55,
The sunset, as we car traveled 50 miles back to Beaver Creek,
Whence, suddenly it was snowing and blustery all over the street.
Only halfway back, a blizzard we were now in, a windy 13 degress.

Clear cut forests and strip mining,
do not a graceful landscape make,
We continue to spread this disease,
Across our Earths so pretty face.

Earth above has no apostrophe,
For one can not own her,
She is free in whimsical flight,
Enjoy, sit back, observe.

Where I am there is no war,
We see rainbows all the time around here,
We live simple lives that are balanced being beautiful and tough,
But what we have, we are not greedy, we share

Sure a personal skirmish may happen,
But we are here to set them straight,
Because when we work together,
We all walk towards Heavens gate

We have lush forests still, even some old growth now rare
We have Appalachia in us because we keep it everywhere,
You cannot take it from us because it’s in our soul
These mountains provide and protect and hold us all so well.

Only chosen people can find us,
But everyone is welcome to come,
Just look for us in the mountains,
We’ll be expecting you , you’ll meet the Son.

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SuperSuckers and Atomic Drops in Pittsburgh, 2009 at the Altar Bar

It was the bands 20th Anniversary ! They rokked ...of course. Atomic Drops opened the show and absolutely blew my socks off...what energy and cohesiveness while still sustaining a raw hard core feel that gives you a gut check. Mike, the owner of the Altar Bar, had an incredible laser lighting systemn in place. He overheard me commenting on it to my fiance Rhonda and came right over and introduced himself...what a treat, he even bought us a few beers and let the bartender know they were on him. ( After he introduced himself...I asked Rhonda who that was because it was hard to hear him (bad hearing for me from loud music) she told me he was the owner and bought us a few rounds). I was taking a break before the show and was needing to use the facilities so Rhonda and I headed to the basement.. I was suppose to wait just outside the entrance to the Men's room and forgot...I was upstairs when, to my surprise, in walks a guy that looks like Eddie Spaghetti. Well I had never seen them live before and was not sure if it was he or not, but then I just new it was most definitely him. I asked him if he was ready to rock this fucking place, and he just casually said...HELL YEAH. I begged him to stay so Rhonda could meet him...he kindly obliged. What a cool dude...very very laid back. Rhonda was in shock when I jokingly said let me introduce you to a good friend of mine...she looked at him and said hello sir...I said he was in the band...she shockingly asked him what he did in the band...he said he sang and played bass...I then told her it was eddie Spaghetti...she was AWE STRUCK...STAR STRUCK...she knew who it was...so pumped to finally see her favorite band she was in shock to be actually meeting him...what a trip...well they rokked...i do not know how else to say it...EXCEPT TO SAY GO SEE THEM LIVE. In life there are studio bands and live bands. Some bands are great at each, biut that is the rarest situation. Supersuckers is INCREDIBLE live...and not bad out of the studio ! I have since seen them in Baltimore, Maryland and Fort Collins, Colorado as well. The second and third show were in 2010, the first in 2009. The new guitarist was on board with the band in the second and third show. He was absolutely stellar. He can shred a Les Paul and make it scream the blues like no other guitar knows how to scream. He is smooth, fast, technical and has a great sound. We had a few PBR's at the first show...not the best beer but suitable for a hardcore concert...the brews, The Atomic Drops, and The Supersuckers made the feeling in Pittsburgh, Pensylvania in the Altar Bar (a reconditioned Church)downtown a rocking place to be. On the way there that day we saw a beautiful rainbow that landed in a field and passed right through a windmill. That was an answer I needed that day, as I was at a juxtaposition in life where I did not know if I thought the windmills would be good on Dan's Mountain in Maryland...that was a huge sign that it was just fine. We drove a different way to Pitt that day and no doubt it was pure destiny to see that after the massive storm we drove through. We then stayed at our home in Pitt and drank a few more beers and did what a couple does after a great concert and a few beers. That was most certainly a day in my life where everything was as it was suppose to be. Well, except the following days headache...Thanks baby for turning me on to such a rokkin band...I know we will see them as often as possible. Eddie...if you read this...see you one day in Barcelona, Spain.

Robert Rowe (RIP) and The Ricky Funkhouser Band

We were not the best band...more like a band of friend with a mutual desire for music that we did our best to play. Well, Robert died on May 15, 2010. Our hearts are saddened with tyhe loss of our friend. The band consisted of Robert Rowe (bass), Kurt Thornburg (drums), Ricky Funkhouser (guitar), Steve Swygert (vocals) ...so many many memories...wow...I am over run with all of them. I will do my best to capture many here...mostly light hearted, as with death's cruelty , I feel that we should have some good laughs and celebrate life. My first memory is we are jamming in the basement at Kurt's house (practice) (and thanks Kurt for being the responsible one with a home for us to practice in and keep our equipment safe)...well I am trying my best to sing and all of a sudden I start laughing uncontrollably. Robert looks at me like WTF is wrong with Steve...I was never one to drink a couple of beers...more like lets start with a 12 pack...well I was well on my way laughing in the middle of our practice set when Robert sees me and realizes I cannot stop laughing, I was laughing so hard that Robert started laughing. It was a totally contagious laughter. Robert proceeded to fall backwards, bass in hand, against the wall, now laughing too. He slumped slowly down the wall until his butt was on the floor...but being the consumate musician that he was, he played the bass all the way through the slump and even after his landing on the ground...and even after his laughter. Now Ricky and Kurt are looking at us wondering what is going on and they just bust out laughing too...It was time for a break and we all just laughed and laughed...great times when friends are together and all laughing...and you ask what were we laughing for...I do not remember what made me start it all, it's just the point that laughter is contagious. Tell a joke today with friends and watch it lighten the day and make everyone smile. Nothing ever wrong with that. That was my first memory when I heard of Robert's passing and I want that fresh in my mind. WE DID CELEBRATE LIFE AND MUSIC TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY. Robert was a friend like no other. We were always friends, be it playing at my house, a park, recording at his home at the lake, talking about instruments, etc and ad infinitum. I loved Robert for his unconformity, like myself and most of our friends, we are truly the rare breed today. We were drawn to peaceful lives with no violence and celebrated with music. We are all still friends, as those are bonds that cannot be broken. Today, with robert passing, I am closer to all of those friends, and they are closer to me. That is how this thing works. We stick like glue to support one another with love and friendship. You all know who you are and when you read this I expect you to post something up under comments. This is a tribute to our friend, so let's record all the fun stories and memories like IceMan, the 55 Chevy, 5 guys burgers back in the day, Robert loved us as his family because we gave him what family could not...unconditional love and acceptance. We all thrived together through out music. I want you to know that I love you all and I am here for anyone that reads this posting on Robert. Let us celebrate his life and our lives that we shared with him so that he does not die in vain, which he most definitely di not. If you have a pictur of Robert, or any or all of us, please email it to me so I may post it up. rokkinroll@yahoo.com c/o Steve swygert...I will be making a memorial site for Robert so we can visit often. Love to all and God Speed, Steve


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The day I met Steve Morse

The day I met Steve Morse is certainly a day I will never forget.

I was simply going to my friend's music store where I wanted to look at some guitars and buy some string. Well, there was a guy setting some equipment up and I asked my friend what was going on. He said that Steve Morse was performing a clinic for D'Addario string, and he insisted I stick around, it should be pretty awesome.

I stuck around, and boy was he right. I did not know of Steve Morse, and a short time later I was blown away and convinced I may have seen one of the greatest guitarists ever. You can google him and check him out if you do not know of him.

He is a humble man and not one to toot his own horn. The guitar does that for him. He has had a solo career as well as played with Kansas and is currently the guitarist for Deep Purple.

After the clinic he entertained questions and then after that session we all got to hang out and meet him if we liked. What a pleasure to talk to such a wonderful guy. He was never in a hurry, he was encouraging to the other artists present, and was just a laid back very nice and humble man.

I arrived at the Birchmere (Arlington, Virginia), ordered a beer, and Steve eventual;ly came out to the stage...he is not flashy, other then when he plays, because let's face it...his guitar does all the talking for him. What a virtuoso!


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Music Review: Chuck Carpenter's debut album,"can't keep this bird down"...Local CUMBERLAND, MD Artist

Well, this will be my first review of a local artist. This man is not only an artist of music but of drawing as well. Rhonda and I met him one day as we were going to the Post Office. We observed a man with a huge sign around his neck and a small table built into the front. We were a little taken back honestly. I have not seen this type of street vending in a long long while. Made me think of times when there were guilds and the artists wre the merchants too and they would peddle there wares. Well, we drove up to him after a quick run into the Post Office on Park Street here at home and said a loud hardy, "Hello"...what ya selling...we had read his sign best we could and it looked like he was selling his debut album...and we read right. It was May of 2010, and this entrpenuerial artist was peddling his very own debut album which he sold us for $ 1.00 You just cannot be more honest then that. he hand drew the album covers artwork. He did that for each individual cassette. yes you heard me right cassette. he honestly looked as though he felt a little bit guilty that he was charging an entire $ 1.oo...of course I just had to have one and would have payed $ 10.00 just to get my hands on it...I proceeded with a five minute interview with Mr. Chuck Carpenter and asked what was his music like before I got to listen to it...He stated it was a melding of Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols, and some Deep Purple...more or less. I then said..." and I bet you played all the instruments on the tape too...right?"...He had...we left with a hearty thanks and he said with the $ 1.00 he could now go buy a Soda that he had been thirsting for...made my heart melt for real...because this was...REAL...he said I hope you all like it and if not at least you will have a good laugh...he even said that with pure sincerety. So when we got home we opened the tape...brought it to the cassette player...yes we still have one...well, several...and that in itself is another story as well...anywho...as the silly expression goes...we listened...what a different fusion we had in our hands and ears. I was speechless it was as original as he had stated...I quickly called it circus music...and not in a demeaning way...it is the keyboards...they are up beat, cheerful, and frantic all at once like a rabid sheep trying to escape from a burlap sack that was not there. The songs definently had a feel and a vibe and Rhonda and i got our groove on...we even shared it with our amazing neighbor Charles...he will be featured soon...if he lets me write about him...a truly fascinating man with both smarts and, as he put it, "MAD SKILLS"...and anyway again...that is another story...quickly becoming my favorite line! Well Charles was as floored as we were ...what had we found. Well I will post some tunes or links to the tunes soon, if Chuck the artist let's me digitize his cassette and upload it. I hope you will all give it an in depth listen. Mr. Carpenter states in the back cover of the groovy album art work that if you listen to his tape for an entire week...7 day...and listen to absoluely nothing else it may very well be your favorite cassette. Honestly, it may be your only cassette! I absolutely admire the drive and ambition that it took to individually make the album art work...again for each individual cassette, by hand none the less...no photo copies here...this was fly it in your face marketing at it's finest. Then to sell it on the streets alone with a sign worn like armor showed he was a true warrior with a message. he was determined that he would produce an album, and he was not letting anyone stop him!...The name of the album is"you can't keep this bird down."...lower case, very non chalaunt, and the TRUTH...in my book he did it. he made an album, he marketed it, and it sold ! Eurekea ! Success ! My hat is off to you Mr. Carpenter. I have my geat...guitars and a bass, a keyboard, rhythm instruments and my voice, but in nearly 30 years I have produced ZERO albums and only a handful of unpolished songs...and quite honestly I like them unpolished. You are more notorious in town as a musician then I ever will be. My hat is off to you sir. If anyone nows Chuck carpenter...tell him to get ahold of me here so I can post up his songs. Thanks...did you read the story here about the burning bush in my hand...it is a must read. Peace all !

Dayyyumm...almost for got the best part...Mr Carpenter gives a highly critical review of his self that includes his influences, artictic musical examples, and his musical philosophy. This is an album NOT TO BE MISSED.

He is the Beck of Cumberland, Maryland with a mean keyboard.


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