103 finely tuned cubic inches...

Every time I’m in the D.C. metro area, if I have time I pay my respects at the WW I, WW II, Korean War and Vietnam memorials. My father and his two brother were WW II vets. My Uncle Tarmo’s flag resides with honor in our living room. He rests in the National Cemetery in Los Angeles. My Dad and Uncle Pen are both in the Inglewood cemetery in LA next to Mom and Ida and Jaako Kaukonen.

For the first time I will be riding to DC with my buddy Jerry. We’re going to pick up my son Zach after school Friday and we’re going to spend the weekend seeing those sights I mentioned and on Sunday we’ll ride in Rolling Thunder. Whether one served or not, the Vietnam War most definitely defined my generation. Over a third of the vets are gone now and I honor them all.

I will be trying to keep my blog going while away but pictures will have to wait until I get home.

Memorial Day… thanks to all who have served, do serve and will serve!

The good old Boulder Theater

Saturday night the Hot Tuna gang headed out to Boulder to play the Blues And Roots Summit at the Boulder Theater. We were blessed to have our good friend Steve Kimock on board for our whole show. Steve is an honorary Hot Tuna member and he’s welcome to play with us any time he wants to.

Steve and I seen here at sound check

Before our set Ben Manilla did a meet and greet for the Bluesmobile Radio Show. He channeled Elwood as he always does, but that’s another story. Anyway, Ben presented Jack and myself with a lively lifetime achievement award for a life in the blues. Good stuff… really!

Living the Blues...

Here is our set list with Steve!

Hot Tuna 17, 2013
The Acoustic Trio
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
& Barry Mitterhoff
Featuring
Steve Kimock

1. True Religion
2. I See The Light
3. River Of Time
4. Children Of Zion with Steve Kimock
5. Hesitation Blues with Steve Kimock
6. Barbeque King with Steve Kimock
7. Mama Let Lay It On You with Steve Kimock
8. Come Back Baby with Steve Kimock
9. Ten Minutes of Steve
10. Good Shepherd with Steve Kimock
11. Goodbye To the Blues with Steve Kimock
12. 99 Year Blues with Steve Kimock
13. I Am the Light Of This World with Steve Kimock
14. Nine Pound Hammer with Steve Kimock
15. Encore: Embryonic Journey With Steve Kimock

After the show… back to the hotel and up at 0400 for an early flight home. Today I worked on my tractor and mowed for four hours. Good times and clean living…

Last but not least… allow me to present:

Maverick... Dog Of Destiny

We love this dog…

Onward!

Me, Mickey Thomas and the birthday boy... Jack

The boys and I have been playing Wanee for many years now. We love this gig and the folks there have always treated us like gold! The weather was perfect… and there were 10,000 folks there at the Mushroom Stage. Now, I knew that there was a secret plan to celebrate Jack’s 69th birthday on stage. Jack, I think, was clueless. Here is our set list with the birthday events inserted:

Hot Tuna 16, 2013
The Electric Quartet
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
Barry Mitterhoff & Skoota Warner
Wanee Festival
Live Oak, Florida
Thursday, April 18, 2013

1. I See The Light
2. Children of Zion
3. Can’t Get Satisfied
4. Ode To Billy Dean
5. True Religion
6. Hesitation Blues
7. Jack’s Birthday Celebration

The cake...

Myron Hart and a lovely assistant present the cake on stage:

Is that for me?

Wait, there’s more:

Many more brother... many more!

More from the set list:

8. A Little Faster
9. Bowlegged Woman
10. Vicksburg Stomp
11. Rock Me Baby
12. Funky # 7

Yep… good times. After the show we drove Barry Mitterhoff, Jack Casady, Skoota Warner and Phil Jacobs back to the hotel at the Jacksonville Airport and Myron, Daniel The Driver and I headed back north to Ohio. Right now we’re somewhere in South Carolina.

As always, more will be revealed!

Well… this week went by in the blink of an eye. It seems like yesterday we were getting off the plane in Montego Bay. Many thanks to Little Feat for cutting us in on this week in paradise. This afternoon, the boys and I joined by Larry and Teresa had another grand set and here it is:

Hot Tuna 16, 2013
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
And Barry Mitterhoff
With Larry Campbell
And
Teresa Williams
Breezes Resort
Negril, Jamaica
Saturday, March 9, 2013

1. Been So Long
2. There’s A Bright Side Somewhere with Larry C.
3. Big River Blues with Larry C.
4. Red River Blues with Larry C.
5. Candy Man with Larry C.
6. Uncle Sam Blues with Larry C.
7. Waiting For A Train with Larry C.
8. Deep Ellum Blues with Larry C.
9. Smokerise Journey with with Larry C. & Teresa Williams
10. Keep On Truckin’ Mama with Larry C. & Teresa Williams
11. Blues Stay Away From Me with Larry C. & Teresa Williams
12. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning with Larry C. & Teresa Williams

It doesn’t get much better than to be able to play music with your friends… and with this in mind… it’s early to bed and off to the airport before dawn…

Good times indeed….

Last night, Jack, Barry, Larry, Teresa and I held for about seventy five glorious minutes and here is our set list:

Hot Tuna 15, 2013
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
And Barry Mitterhoff
With Larry Campbell
And
Teresa Williams
Breezes Resort
Negril, Jamaica
Friday, March 8, 2013

1. Serpent Of Dreams
2. I’ll let You Know Before I Leave
3. How Long Blues
4. More Than My Old Guitar
5. Deep Ellum
6. Things That Might Have Been
7. Barbeque King
8. I Know You Rider
9. Preachin’ On The Old Campground
10. Sugaree
11. Bar Room Crystal Ball

Another absolutely great evening for this old picker… and… later in the evening in the middle of Dixie Chicken… Jack and I sat in with our friends in Little Feat. What a night. Today we have an early show at four… and then the banquet.

Nuff for now… gotta hit the beach for the last time before we go home tomorrow!

The view from the stage at Breeze's

OK, so look… I’ve become infused with the ’soon come-ness’ of Jamaica. I came to the lobby of the resort here where the internet is the strongest. I had every intention of posting last night’s set list. When I opened my computer, I realized that I didn’t do the set list here… I did it old school long hand in my lyric book. Well… the book is back in our room… I am here… so I guess the set list will have to wait… maybe until tomorrow. Here’s the important stuff though. There was Jack Casady, Barry Mitterhoff, myself of course… but also Larry Campbell and the ever lovely Teresa Williams. Larry played every song with us except for the first one… True Religion. To play with my usual suspects is always a blessing… to add Larry to the mix is always a treat… when we get Teresa too… well, what more can one say?

We closed our show with Teresa preaching to the tune of Rev. Davis’ Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning. Of course… as always, she brought the house down with this one. As an encore… the boys and I pulled back with a (if you can imagine) reflective version of the great Jelly Roll Morton’s, Whining Boy Blues.

Paul Barrere just stopped by to say hey… big thanks to him and Little Feat for inviting us to the party… Gabe Ford, Little Feat’s drummer just stopped by with his small son and said Hey too… wow… all the stars are here… anyway…

Good times indeed!

Somebody's got to do it!

Well… life here at the Breezes Resort is pretty much perfect… I think I’ll hit the beach for a while…

Tough job, but…

Hey… here it is… the set list from last night:

Hot Tuna 13, 2013
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
And Barry Mitterhoff
With Larry Campbell
And
Teresa Williams
Breezes Resort
Negril, Jamaica
Wednesday, March 5, 13

1. True Religion
2. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out with Larry Campbell
3. Children Of Zion with Larry Campbell and Theresa Williams
4. More Than My Old Guitar with Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams
5. Hesitation Blues with Larry Campbell
6. Barbeque King with Larry Campbell
7. Sea Child with Larry Campbell
8. Second Chances with Larry Campbell
9. Good Shepherd with Larry Campbell
10. 99 Year Blues
11. Mama Let Me Lay It On You with Larry Campbell
12. Goodbye To The Blues with Larry Campbell
13. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning with Larry Campbell and featuring Teresa Williams
14. Encore: Whining Boy Blues with Larry Campbell

Au revoir

Getting ready to pack the car for the airport yesterday

Yep, snowy Sunday as we were getting ready to head to Columbus to fly out to Jamaica for a week. Monday, the usual snafus happened… flights cancelled, flights changed… blah blah blah but it all worked out and here we are and guess what? It’s sunny!

My girls and the beach...

What a difference a day makes. Tonight Hot Tuna has a gig at the Breezes Resort here in Negril. Tough job, but someone’s got to do it.

More later… mon…

Morning mist...

Driving back to Hillside Farm from town the other morning, the mist over the cemetery on the hill looked picture friendly… so I stopped for a moment and snapped a couple. I love this this spot. There is a gravestone there of an American WWII veteran who was killed in the waning days of that war… still in his late teens on that bit of granite, it simply says after his name, ‘Man has no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends…’

Sometimes I’ll stop up here when I’m on a motorcycle ride… kill the engine and just invite the silence. When my Dad was stationed in the Philippines in the late 50’s I used to ride my Lambretta Scooter out to the enormous cemetery outside of Manila… I would park the scooter and sit on the hillside and do my homework. My Uncle Pentti had friends buried there and I would sometimes convey his respects to them. I am also fond of visiting the Arlington National Cemetery when I have a moment in the D.C. area. These hallowed grounds help remind me as an American, who I am and where I came from.

Moving right along. From the mists of February and the past… I am getting ready for a musical week with Acoustic Hot Tuna in Jamaica. Needless to say, if things are internet friendly down there, I will be posting words and pictures.

Onward…

PS It’s snowing here at the Farm this morning…. Hmmm…

Last night my buds and I showed up at the Barrymore Theater in Madison, Wisconsin… We have played this lovely venue off and on for… well, over two decades. I liked it then… i love it now! It’s chilly up here in the North Country… of course, it is still winter. That said, it was hot on stage as Jack and Barry and I had a simply wonderful night. I could go on with the superlatives, but I think I’ll just lay the set list on you:

Hot Tuna 11, 2013
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
And Barry Mitterhoff
The Barrymore Theater
Madison, Wisconsin
Friday, February 22, 2013

First Set:
1. Too Many Years
2. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
3. Children Of Zion
4. I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave
5. Waiting For A Train
6. The Terrible Operation
7. Let Us Get Together right Down Here
8. Sea Child
9. Come Back Baby
10. 99 Year Blues
11. Nine Pound Hammer
Second Set:
1. I See The Light
2. Re-Enlistment Blues
3. Second Chances
4. Goodbye To The Blues
5. Hesitation Blues
6. How Long Blues
7. Prohibition Blues
8. Good Shepherd
9. I Am The Light Of This World
10. Barbeque King
11. I Know You Rider
12. Encore: Death Don’t Have No Mercy

Tonight we are at the Old Town School Of Folk Music in Chicago. I notice in their blurb that they flatteringly refer to Jack and myself as ‘teenagers,’ when we were in the Jefferson Airplane. Yeah… it seems that way when you look back, but I was actually in my mid 20’s. Man, that was a long time ago.

And speaking of a long time ago… I have really been digging all the crosstalk spawned by my ‘I’m ready to go home’ blog. Good stuff all. We have all come so far together and our little time on this earth is so precious… and if I do say so myself… so special! As Pete Seeger would say, ‘Wasn’t that a time!’

Well… two shows in Chicago tonight at the Old Town… drop the guys off at the airport and then Myron and I drive home to Southeast Ohio. Like everyone else on this planet, my life has not been pain free… nor would I have it so. For today at least, I am able to accept blessings and hurdles with equanimity. We’ll see how long that lasts… anyway, I’ll take it.

Off to Chicago…

Rockin' the State in Salt Lake City

Yeah folks, night before last we were at the State theater in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a sold out show… and well, of course we had a heck of a good time.

Yep... sold out...

Our set list follows:

Hot Tuna 7, 2013
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
And Barry Mitterhoff
The State Room
Salt Lake City, Utah
February 16, 2013

First Set:
1. Too Many Years
2. Children Of Zion
3. Been So Long
4. Heart Temporary
5. Hesitation Blues
6. Waiting For A Train
7. Barbeque King
8. Second Chances
9. 99 Year Blues
10. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
11. Nine Pound Hammer
Second Set:
1. I See The Light
2. I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave
3. How Long Blues
4. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
5. Come Back Baby
6. The Terrible Operation
7. Goodbye To The Blues
8. Whinin’ Boy Blues
9. Good Shepherd
10. I Am The Light Of This World
11. I Know You Rider
12. Encore: Water Song

After the show no hotel… we packed up and started driving to Denver where we played the Oriental.

A lovely warm winter day in Denver

Denver… always fun for us with friends and family there. Here is our set list:

Hot Tuna 8, 2013
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
And Barry Mitterhoff
The Oriental Theater
Denver, Colorado
Sunday, February 17, 2013

First Set:
1. True Religion
2. Children Of Zion
3. Things That Might Have Been
4. Hesitation Blues
5. More Than My Old Guitar
6. Come Back BAby
7. Sea Child
8. 99 Year Blues
9. River Of Time
10. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning
Second Set:
1. Serpent Of Dreams
2. Second Chances
3. I’ll Be All Right Some Day
4. Barbeque King
5. Goodbye To The Blues
6. Vicksburg Stomp
7. How Long Blues
8. The Terrible Operation
9. Good Shepherd
10. Let Us Gt Together Right Down Here
11. Nine Pound Hammer
12. Encore: Death Don’t have No Mercy

Finally… a nice sleep in a hotel bed… up this morning and a fine long drive to Omaha, Nebraska… Tomorrow, it’s off to Green Bay, Wisconsin and a gig at the Meyer Theater. Onward…

The road to Omaha