The nausea I feel after being berated by the presidential party conventions has been soothed a bit by my discovery of the following movie on YouTube. John Duffy is one of my musical heroes and if he were alive today, I’d like to have seen him run for president. This country could use a chain smoking, shop teacher with bad pants and a butch cut in charge. In a post-911 world, now more than ever, we need Duffy around. He’s the kind of guy you could (and I did) have a beer with (or 12).

Mr. Duffy… you are sorely missed.

Attendees at this year’s Sugar Maple Festival were treated to a Bluegrass Boy Reunion show featuring Mike Compton on mandolin. Bluegrass Boys Bob Black, Tom Ewing, Mark Hembree were joined by Mike Compton on mandolin, Paul Kienitz on fiddle and Seth Forester on guitar/vocals. Their show was the highlight of the festival and was a fantastic performance by the boys. The tent was rockin’!

Stephen Colbert and his Formidable Opponent show that while the truth may hurt… it can also be damn funny.

I recently bought a Canon VIXIA HV30 HD camera and schlepped it along to our TITSH show this past weekeind. Long story short, the difference in quality compared to my last camera is HUGE. The differences can’t be as easily detected after YouTube butchers them but the QuickTime files tell the tale…

This past Saturday, (This is the) Squirrel Hunters played our second show at the 4th Annual Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival. The 3rd incarnation of the fest had seen heavy rain on Friday night… and so, not to be outdone, the weather this year decided to take it up a notch and include Tornado conditions. The tornado alarm went off during our opening tune! I myself, having been feeling rather funky all week, and apparently not wanting to be outdone by a little silly weather, decided to have a panic attack during the second song of the set, and nearly provide the audience with a face plant from stage.

But the show must go on… or as Sean would say… “What would Duffy do?”. I managed to remain vertical, hit the tenor parts and with hands shaking, bang out a few solos. Actually, it sounds far better than it had seemed from stage… yeesh.

You can find more TITSH clips on YouTube.

Okay, I have been slacking… but only in regards to updating my blog (and buying a dresser for the lump of cloths on by bedroom floor). I’ve actually been quite busy with my new band (This is the) Squirrel Hunters.

For some time I have known that in order to get my playing to the next level, I need more reps and to be forced into sweating every detail. In other words, I need a band. As luck would have it, I have some good friends who’s playing I enjoy and who all have similar interest in improvement. Thus was born (This is the) Squirrel Hunters.

We recently had our debut… our maiden voyage… our, if you will, debutant ball (oh, and I will)…. The event took place at one of my favorite bars, the Roxbury Tavern. Tom, the owner/proprietor of the Roxbury, showed his TITSH colors by cooking up a fantastic squirrel stew in honor of the occasion!

It was a fine time to be sure. There’s work ‘o plenty still to do but it was a fine beginning. You’re welcome to see for yourself. There are a few videos up on YouTube, as well as a photo sideshow on the band site. Our next show is this weekend at the Brooklyn Bluegrass Festival in Brooklyn, WI.

Even if you’re not that into Bluegrass, I would think you’d find the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show DVD pretty cool. If you are even remotely into Bluegrass, then this DVD series is absolutely essential! I don’t think I can hype these DVDs too much… just go buy one and see for yourself. In addition to the many, many great tunes, they also included some of the original Martha White commercials… which are priceless!

My favorite mandolin player on this planet is Mr. Mike Compton. In an odd turn of events, I also consider him a friend. That he can suffer through with my playing and not throw up (not noticeably at least) is the finest musical honor I’ve achieved. This is a clip of he and I playing in Margaret River, Australia. You can find more videos and sundries over on that there YouTube…

Last week, at long last, it was decided… it was time to own a fiddle. A luck would have it, eBay was willing to accommodate my decision and lo and behold, my new German fiddle was dropped off at my door. The timing was especially convenient being that it was just before the temp plunged to -9˚, and two days before I leave for Australia for two weeks.

But after about an hour or so of messing around with it, I was disappointed that I’d still not mastered the instrument. I don’t get it… but I’m not giving up. Maybe I’ll have it all down in another hour or so. This will be helpful as I’m planning on taking up Golf soon and giving Tiger a run for his money this year.

Ten years ago today, the world became less funny.