Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Our ‘day off’ in Jackson Hole was fraught with chill and rain. What else is new? That said, the day of the gig at the Center For The Arts was more than beautiful. Grateful we were!

Foto by Phil Jacobs

At Ned Fest we only had time for a line check. At the Center, with a full soundcheck Steve ‘Tonechaser’ Kimock had time to dial his rig in!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

This is one swell little room. Thanks to our buddy Shannon who used to book us years ago at the Mangy Moose fro bringing us in!

Hot Tuna 22, 2018
The Electric Trio Plus One
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
& Justin Guip
With Steve Kimock
Center For The Arts
Jackson Hole, Wyoming

First Set:
1. I See The Light
2. Candy Man
3. Ode To Billy Dean
4. Talkin’ Bout You
5. Living Just For You
6. Sleep Song with Steve
7. Hesitation Blues with Steve
8. Come Back Baby with Steve
9. Bowlegged Woman with Steve
Second Set:
1. Been So Long
2. Roads and Roads &
3. Watch The North Wind Rise
4. Trial By Fire
5. Sea Child with Steve
6. Good Shepherd with Steve
7. Walkin’ Blues with Steve
8. Hit Single # 1 with Steve
9. Funky # 7 with Steve
10. Encore: Water Song with Steve

Yesterday was the official launch date of my book, Been So Long, and the first of the signing sessions which I jumped into after our show.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

After the signing we saddled up and drove to Missoula which was our mid point on the way to Seattle. We’ll get some day rest here and start driving around midnight for the show in Seattle at the Neptune.

Busy, busy… could be a lot worse.

Onward!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Well, it’s been a week since I left home. Our bus for this run, ‘Fast Times,’ pulled in shortly after sunrise and we loaded up for the journey to Colorado.

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

I put the bird up for a quick flight, and took the moment to admire my new tin roof. Then we finished loading up and headed out.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The new FCC driving regs are too lengthy to list here, but the bottom line was that it took three days to get to Colorado. I could have made it in one in the old days… but I was younger then. Anyway…

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

I gotta say, I love little towns like this. Driving across the Great Plains is majestic in an odd way, but seeing an A & W Drive In brings me way, way back!

We picked up Mr. Casady in Aurora at DIA and drove up to Nederland where we checked into the Sundance Lodge.

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

The Lodge was up the road from Nederland not far from Eldora… and Nedfest was in the offing.

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

There were more panorama shots than Carter has Little Liver pills so I just picked a couple for the blog.

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

I sometimes get asked if I ever bring my bike on the road and the answer is ‘No.’ When I ride, I ride… when I play music, I play music. Focus on the good stuff at hand. Although, on this day I must admit I missed my 110 cubic inch Screaming Eagle Breakout. Oh well… onward.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Steve and I got together in the back of the bus before our set Saturday night at Ned Fest. Steve had more than done his homework, and it was more than good!

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Hot Tuna 21, 2018
The Electric Trio Plus One
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
& Justin Guip
With Steve Kimock
Ned Fest
Nederland, Colorado
Saturday, August 25, 2018

1. Been So Long
2. San Francisco Bay Blues
3. Ode To Billy Dean
4. Talkin’ Bout You
5. Living Just For You
6. Sea Child with Steve
7. Hesitation Blues with Steve
8. Can’t Get Satisfied with Steve
9. Bowlegged Woman with Steve
10. Serpent Of Dreams
11. Watch The North Wind Rise
12. Trial By Fire
13. Sleep Song with Steve
14. Walkin’ Blues with Steve
15. Hit Single # 1 with Steve
16. Funky #7 with Steve

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Up on Sunday morning, I snagged one more picture from the Sundance Lodge.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Then it was back to Nedfest where I was scheduled for a solo set.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

It was still light when I hit the stage.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Jorma Kaukonen 27, 2018
Jorma Solo @ Nedfest
Nederland, Colorado
Sunday, August 26, 2018

1. Ain’t In No Hurry
2. True Religion
3. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
4. Barbecue King
5. I Am The Light Of This World
6. River Of Time
7. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
8. Things That Might Have Been
9. Keep On Truckin’ Mama
10. How Long Blues
11. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
12. San Francisco Bay Blues
13. Second Chances
14. That’ll Never Happen No More
15. Come Back Baby
16. In My Dreams
17. Candy Man
18. Good Shepherd
19. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
20. Bar Room Crystal Ball
21. Water Song

Foto by Phil Jacobs

It was dark when I finished and we started our drive to Jackson Hole.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

And there you have it. Half the ‘day off’ was riding in the bus, but dinner is starting to sound pretty good about now. There was a sunshower with lightning a moment ago but now the shower is gone and the sun remains.

Done, and onward!

I meant to have this up last week, but Aretha’s passing changed that. Anyway, better late than never.

Last weekend we were so fortunate to not only have the wondrous Dave Revels teaching for us here at the Fur Peace Ranch but on Saturday night last he brought his amazing Shadows Of The 60’s show to the Fur Peace Station. The musical director was Melvin Miller Jr. on guitar. I send you all to this site for all the amazing talent that made this show possible. Dave did not bring the horns on this gig, but he brought everyone else. The stage was really full… and it was truly awesome! Thanks to all of you… so very much!

Shadows Of The Sixties!

This was indeed a night of joy… and funk!

We sure look forward to haing them back again!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

In 1984 as I was weaning my life away from California (It’s in the book) I played a gig at the old Tralfamadore Club up in Buffalo. They were renovating.’Do you want this old hand truck.?’ ‘You bet I do do,’ I said. I took it, threw it in my van and it’s been with me ever since. The other day I was loading copies of ‘Been So Long’ into the Company Store here at the Fur Peace Ranch and I just thought I wished that everything was this useful and lasted this long.

This weekend at the Ranch, I was not teaching but I wasn’t working either so I got to enjoy all the good stuff going on around here. Bryan Sutton was teaching and last night was his concert at the Fur Peace Station. This was yet one more awesome show for us.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

You just can’t say enough about Bryan, his music and his band. They showed us all how it should be done! I also got to play a couple of songs with Bryan and the guys!

That’s pretty much up to date… and as always…

Onward!

I’ve got a longer post waiting in the wings about my dear friend Dave Revels and his amazing Shadows Of The Sixties show that he brought to the Fur Peace Ranch last weekend. This post has been put on hold for a bit by the passing of Aretha Franklin.

I first became aware of Aretha in 1959 when my first roommate at Antioch College, Marshall Jones, turned me onto the sermons of the Rev. C.L.Franklin. As I recall, he was preaching somewhere in northern Kentucky and I purchased two LP’s of his sermons. The one I recall was ‘The Eagle Stirreth Her Nest.’ Marshall talked about Aretha’s singing in Rev. Franklin’s choir. Although not a Christian then or now, those sermons moved me in ways I could not really understand at the time.

When I first heard Aretha’s I Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You I was unaware that it was her eleventh album. That recording enveloped me in its sound and Aretha Franklin and her music would forever be a part of my life. She was such a mature and breathtaking talent that it never occurred to me that she was younger than I was. When I became aware of her fragility earlier this week, it became crystal clear that the time of my generation is resting on a bubble. This is not a bad thing to be aware of and I thank Aretha for bringing it home to me.

She touched so many generations and we will all miss her presence on this earth. She never failed to bring beauty to the garden.

May she rest in everlasting peace…

Foto by Matie Argiropoulos

I found myself at one of those Times Square tourist hotels… the Paramount. With the room just big enough for a bed and a small suitcase, obviously it was designed for sleeping only. Good mattress though. Except for me, I would venture that almost everyone else in the building was there to sample the bright lights of Times Square.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

But this could be Times Square too…

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

I wanted to tell the folks swarming the streets that there was more to America than this, but hey… they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. But I hadn’t come here to be this close to the Deuce just to lollygag around. My mission was to show up at CDM Studios. These folks’ specialty was doing audio books and more and I was there to read my book, Been So Long. Now this was to be a production of Macmillan Audio from St. Martin’s Press.

It’s been a couple of years since I put the first words of Been So Long on ‘paper.’ In a way, it seems longer than that and in another, the time has passed in the blink of an eye. In any case as my project has unfolded I find myself more than grateful to all the people it takes to make a book happen. The writing was only the tip of the iceberg. The editorial team was more than awesome. My sincerest thanks to you all!

In any case, this reading business was something completely new. Again, this is an industry that until now had been way off my radar. Matie Argiropoulos, the producer and director, was sure I could do it. Me… not so much. What the heck. If you want to run with the Big Dogs, you have to get off the porch, and so off the porch I got!

I had two and a half days to do two hundred and eighty four pages and as I began reading, it looked like two and a half days would not be enough. Slowing down to a moderate tempo has always been a problem for me, in music and in life itself. Matie was a real pro and always pointed me in the right direction whenever I would stray! I found some of the chapters easy to read. When I got to the one where both my Mom and Dad passed… it was more emotional to me than I could have imagined. They’ve been gone for twenty years, and writing about it was nowhere near as hard as reading what I wrote out loud. The little poem from my Grandfather that I close the book with affected me as powerfully as it did the first time I read it. You’ll see, if you read the book. I felt good that after all the work I had done on this project I could still be emotionally touched in a very real way.

Foto by Matie Argiropoulos

After I finished the reading, i got to play a little guitar music to go under the closing credits. The guitar was like an ice cream dessert after the feast that was the reading. I would like to thank Matie Argiropoulos the producer and director of my project. Thanks for the hand holding! It was recorded by Charles de Montebello and Raunak Mukherjee. Post production is by Danny Meltzer and the text copyright 2018 is by me, Jorma Kaukonen. The production copyright 2018 is by Macmillan Audio and of course, all rights are reserved.

I felt more than good as I wrapped this up at noon on Sunday and headed back to the Fur Peace Ranch. The official release date of the book is August 28, 2018. I’d like to think Mom and Dad would have gotten a kick out of this.

i know I did!

Selfie by Matie Argiropoulos

Foto By Suzy Perler

Just killing a little time in New Hope before the show at the new Hope Winery.

Jorma Kaukonen 25, 2018
Jorma Solo
New Hope Winery
New Hope, Pennsylvania
Wednesday, August 1, 2018

First Set:
1. Dime For Beer
2. Hesitation Blues
3. Been So Long
4. River Of Time
5. Barbeque King
6. Full Go Round
7. Sea Child
8. Trial By Fire
9. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
10. Big River Blues
11. How Long Blues
12. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
Second Set:
1. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out
2. Second Chances
3. Ain’t In No Hurry
4. Serpent Of Dreams
5. San Francisco Bay Blues
6. Come Back Baby
7. I Am The Light Of This World
8. Sleep Song
9. Good Shepherd
10. Watch The North Wind Rise
11. Whining Boy Blues
12. I Know You Rider
13. Encore: Water Song

Foto by Dennis Kane

Thursday we were heading out to the end of Long Island for an AISH event and on the way, we stopped to pay our respects at Rev. Gary Davis’ grave not far from Rockville Center.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Jorma Kaukonen 26, 2018
Jorma Solo
Watermill, New York
Thursday, August 2, 2018

1. Ain’t In No Hurry
2. Second Chances
3. Hesitation Blues
4. How Long Blues
5. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
6. Barbeque King
7. Things That Might Have Been
8. I Am The Light Of This World
9. Good Shepherd

Foto by Phil Jacobs

The AISH was awesome… good folks and a good cause.

Thursday the First was Jerry Garcia’s birthday. We all miss that guy. I was reminded of my answer to a question I was asked at the Dear Jerry show in Meriweather Post some years ago. “If you could write a note to Jerry today, what would you say?’

‘I bet you wish you were here!’

Meanwhile… back in Times Square… I’m working on my Audio Book…

Good times…