Cracks in the Finish
Posts from September 2011
A blog by Jorma Kaukonen
L’Shanah Tovah To All 5772
Vanessa went to New York to celebrate Rosh Hashannah with friends she rarely gets to see. Israel Love and I went the Hillel Of Ohio University. Like all the Jewish kids of the community, Izze was a part of the festivities and I played guitar on three songs with Carole Weiner. We did Shofar Blast, Ahava and our crowd pleaser from last year, The Yom Kippur I’m Sorry Blues.
This was the first time when it was just father and ...
Read More
Freedom Of The Road And Music
Jerry Bayha, my son Zachary and I rode out the route for this year’s Pick ‘n’ Putt… and a beautiful one it was. We headed out towards Glouster, Ohio and over on Rt. 78 towards McConnellsville and then past lock 7 on the Muskingham.
Our next stop was at Lock 5 across from Stockport. It was such a beautiful day, we spent some time just watching the river.
What a fine day for a great ride with friends. When we got ...
Read More
Steel Guitars And Motorcycles
Howdy Folks:
Second Chances rears it’s head again… This time with a fine Rickenbacker Three Legged Steel guitar. What a beauty this instrument is… and here’s the good news for me… I just sold it today before I got a chance to put it up. I thought I’d post a picture anyway:
Sold kids… sold!
Well… tomorrow is our Annual Pick ‘n’ Putt and of course we’re very excited about that. Yesterday me and the gang led by my pal, Jerry Bayha, ...
Read More
Infinity And Home!
The last gig on this little run was The Infinity Music Hall which is is an incomparable venue in Norfolk, Connecticut. I just can’t say enough about this place. It was our first time there and I hope it won’t be our last. The locale is great, the food is great… well, you get the picture. Here is our set list:
Jorma Kaukonen And Barry Mitterhoff 11, 2011
Infinity Music Hall And Bistro
Norfolk, Connecticut
Sunday, September 18, 2011
First Set:
1. What Are They Doing ...
Read More
Safe At The Sanctuary
Last night Barry and I played the Sanctuary in Chatham, New Jersey. This was my first time, but not Barry’s. Conveniently located a couple of miles from the Mitterhoff Family Manse, the Sanctuary is a nifty gig in an impressive Presbyterian Church. Here is our set list from last night:
Jorma Kaukonen And Barry Mitterhoff 10, 2011
The Sanctuary
Chatham, New Jersey
Saturday, September 17, 2011
First Set:
1. True Religion
2. Hesitation Blues
3. Heart Temporary
4. I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave
5. More Than My Old Guitar
6. Bread Line Blues
7. Children Of Zion
Read More
A Note From Salisbury, Massachusetts
First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of Willie ‘Big Eye’ Smith who passed away yesterday. I met Willie a couple of years ago when he played up at the Ridges in Athens, Ohio at the Kennedy Museum. To hear him play in such an intimate setting was truly a blessing. Subsequently, we had his son, Kenny ‘Beady Eye’ Smith, at the Ranch and what a fine drummer and great man ...
Read More
Life Is a Thin Thread
‘Life, is a thin thread
It’s a thin little hand, on a hospital bed
It’s all the things you left unsaid
Life is a thin thread’
(Connie Kaldor)
I was leaving Burlington, Vermont when I heard the announcement that the Challenger had crashed. It is a moment I will never forget. Last night as I was getting ready to go onstage with Barry at the Higher Ground here in Burlington, I got a call from Vanessa telling me that my friend, Donnie Ruben had ...
Read More
Higher Ground, Burlington, Vermont
Set list from last night:
Jorma Kaukonen And Barry Mitterhoff 8, 2011
The Higher Ground
Burlington, Vermont
Thursday, September 15, 2011
First Set:
1. True Religion
2. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
3. Hesitation Blues
4. Goodbye To The Blues
5. Second Chances
6. I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave
7. How Long Blues
8. Children Of Zion
9. Come Back Baby
10. Parchman Farm
11. Parchman Farm
12. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning
Second Set:
1. Too Many Years
2. Been So Long
3. More Than My Old Guitar
4. Things That Might Have Been
5. Bread Line Blues
6. I See The Light
7. Uncle Sam Blues
8. I Am The Light Of This World
9. River Of Time
10. Full Go Round
11. Whining ...
Read More
Mimi The Cat Finds Her Door Into Summer
My Mother, Beatrice Love Kaukonen, passed away on May 8th, 1998… on Mother’s Day sometime around one PM. My brother and I had just gone to town to get her a bouquet of flowers and she picked this moment to slip away. She was fortunate to be able to die at home and I was fortunate to be able to be there with my Brother for her last days. When I returned to Ohio after her passing, I had ...
Read More
A Decade Of 9/11’s
Vanessa and I were in Columbus, Ohio… in Westerville for a doctor’s appointment when I got a call from my old friend, Michael Falzarano. ‘A plane just hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center!’ he said tersely. I was thinking perhaps it was some light plane accident… something tragic on a more trivial level. ‘Let me call you back,’ I said. ‘I’m trying to park.’ Seconds later, the impact of what Michael had just told ...
Read More