I need to start by thanking everyone for their thoughtful and gentle comments this Memorial Day Weekend. Of all the weekends in the year I didn’t want to have to wade into someone whose presence I took issue with, this was the one. I’m not a vet, but I appreciate all the men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion so that all of us still sharing space in this great country can live free. Words seem so paltry considering their great sacrifice.

It was one of those rare days I was furloughed to just… well, do what I wanted to do. What I wanted to do was to go on a motorcycle ride… grab some gone… whatever. Well, that’s what I did and what a day!

When it is beautiful down here in South East Ohio… it is really beautiful. This was one of those days. I threw my leg over Black Beauty’s saddle, headed to Athens where I met my friend Greg and we embarked on a hundred and fifty some mile over hills and valleys, past lakes and by rivers.

It was awesome!

OK… this was my day off. Nose back to the grindstone tomorrow working on songs for #9 this Saturday. I think I have some goodies waiting to be heard.

I was up at 0530 this morning… this could be an early night. A Roy Rogers used to say:

‘May the good Lord take a likin’ to ya!’

Indeed…

Another more than fulfilling evening for us here at the Fur Peace Ranch. Another Tune with Myron Hart, two with John Hurlbut and we dealt Vanessa in for John’s second song, Feels Like A Long Time.

Jorma Kaukonen 8, 2020

 #8 Of The Quarantine Concert Series

Live From The Fur Peace Ranch

Fur Peace Station

Darwin, Ohio

Saturday May 23, 2020

1. Search My Heart
2. How Long Blues
3. Babe I Want You To Know
4. Broken Highway
5. A Walk With Friends
6. Deep Mine Blues with Myron Hart
7. Keep On Truckin’ Mama
8. Hickory Wind with John Hurlbut
9. Seems Like A Long Time with John Hurlbut & Vanessa Kaukonen
10. Corners Without Exits
11. Walkin’ Blues
12. Roads and Roads &

I’m already thinking about next weeks songs, but I took a couple of hours off this afternoon for a magnificent motorcycle ride in eighty degrees under blue skies. What a change from the past week.

Last but absolutely not least for this entry. Honor Memorial Day… My father Jorma Sr. and his two brothers Tarmo and Pentti… WWII vets all. John Hurlbut’s dad Ray… gone a year now and all the other brave men and women… I honor them all.

So… tonight at Eight PM Eastern Time we’ll be kicking off the Eighth episode of our Quarantine Concert Series. We’ve been holding off the link until late in the day because of some hacking issues we’ve had over the past couple of weeks. Remember, if you hit a paywall, it’s not us. We’re free, and always will be. If you somehow miss getting our link and advance, simply go to Fur Peace TV on YouTube at eight PM on Saturday and join in the fun. OK…

Yeah, so this is a totally new version of WordPress and frankly, I’m struggling, but as always in these trying times, it could be worse.

We’re trying to ready the Fur Peace Ranch for whatever comes next. Of course, like all other businesses large and small. We’re looking forward to opening with as little danger possible to us, our guests and the community.

We hope you have a great day and that you join us tonight at eight.

Stay well

Yeah… so in the process of changing servers, a lot of stuff happened that turned out to be very inconveniencing. That’s modern life, and it could be worse. In the process of getting back on line my WordPress interface updated itself. I’ve been avoiding this for a long time because I know how the older version works but oh well… it was not to be. OK. I’m in the throes of learning the new program and if I can keep from throwing my computer out the window in the process… I’ll be all right. I’m a slow learner…

The rain has been relentless here… a non-stop soaker. The ground everywhere is saturated and we’re expecting flooding. Thank goodness the Fur Peace Ranch is above the flood plain. Grey and more grey… rain and more rain. Again… it could be worse for us. I just recorded a podcast with my blues buddy from Chicago, Dave Specter. His cast, Blues From The Inside Out is awesome. Check it out. When we get to be around people again, I want to get him down to the Ranch.

Well, that’s about it for now. Gotta work on some tunes for #8.

Stay well…

We’ve been having some server issues and as a result I lost almost two weeks of my blog. Yeah, I know… it could be a lot worse. Anyway, doin’ some reconstruction and trying to learn a new program. I’m on it and we’ll see what happens.

Thanks all…

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen Sr. (Dad)

I’ve lost all track of time in this pandemic season. I’m tuned into Saturday nights for the obvious reasons but other than that, the days just seem to run together. Mother’s Day this morning and it suddenly occurred to me that I had missed my Mom’s Jahrzeit which was on May 8th. May 8, 1998 my brother Peter and I drove down into Mill Valley, Calfornia to get her some flowers and when we came back to the house she was gone. The hospice folks told me she would probably wait until we were gone before she took her final journey and that’s how it was. In the Foto above she is ten years younger than I am now, and so it goes.

From the Kol Haneshama

In Many Houses

In many houses
all at once
I see my mother and father
and they are young as they walk in

Why should my
tears come,
to see them laughing

That they cannot
see me
is of no matter:

I was once
their dream:
now
they are mine.

I still miss you and dad, but that’s as it should be.

And also as it should be, all the living moms get a shout out. Izze and I couldn’t do it without Vanessa, and that’s a fact.

Back in the ‘present,’ we just have so much fun with our Quarantine Concerts that it is definitely the highlight of our week. For the first time we had some technical glitches this weekend. I know that poop happens… that’s life but we won’t be partnering with anyone again. Not that I have control issues, but we just do better on our own. At east we know who to blame. Anyway, Andy, our video director, is putting the who up from our recorded files so it will live again… perfectly.

Jorma Kaukonen 6, 2020
#6 Of The Quarantine Concert Series
Live From The Fur Peace Ranch
Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday May 9, 2020

1. Dime For Beer
2. In My Dreams
3. River Of Time
4. Living Just For You
5. Uncle Sam Blues
6. Song For The High Mountain
7. I Am A Traveling Man featuring Myron Hart
8. Kansas City Southern featuring John Hurlbut
9. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door featuring John Hurlbut
10. Trial By Fire
11. That’ll Never Happen No More
12. This Land Is Your Land, Hurl leads a world wide singalong.

Nessa is working on the global singalong… this should be fun.

Monday is coming, things are starting to open and well, we’ll just see what happens.

Good times now, but better on down the road…

Stay safe!

Hey everybody and a good, good morning this chilly but lovely Saturday morning. Tonight… #6 of the Quarantine Series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bok1vPD9y5w&feature=youtu.be

OK… as mentioned last weekend, we’re going to attempt to stitch together a world wide chorus of Woody’s great song, ‘This Land Is Your Land.’ The key word is ‘chorus.’ Tonight Vanessa will reveal the email address your clips should be sent to. Many of you are already excited about this and champing at the bit so here’s the deal. Who knows what key Woody did it in and it doesn’t matter. We do the song in C…. and you will too. You must sing along with us on the chorus only please. Again the participation is intended for a vocal chorus only. NO INSTRUMENTS! If you film yourself playing a guitar, it will languish on the cutting room floor. Make it easy for us to do the edits necessary to pull this off. Yeah, I know… I’m not fond of rules either but considering what we’ve all been going through, this is not too constrictive. 🙂

Needless to say, it will be the last song of the concert. Stay well, and see ya on the small screen.

Hey folks, check this out…

Join me this weekend, Saturday May 9th at 8pm EST for our FREE 6th Quarantine Concert , Live from the Fur Peace Station Concert Hall. I have a great set planned and a part for all of you so I hope you choose to spend some time with us.

And on Sunday, May 10th at 10 pm UK, 5 PM Eastern, 4 PM Central and 2 PM Pacific, join me in a streaming concert along with Billy Bragg, Rosanne Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter,Steve Earle, Shovels & Rope, Rufus Wainwright, Richard Thompson, The Indigo Girls, Todd Snider, KT Tunstall, Loudon Wainwright, Amy Helm, Jospeh Arthur, Stella Donnelly, Andrew Bird, Fink, Joan Osborne, Hamilton Leithauser, Valerie June, The Mountain Goats. With More to be Announced…WFUV’s Rita Houston will host the event. Families around the world will be able to connect virtually through this shared experience, celebrating all mothers everywhere through music while supporting those in need. 100% of net ticket proceeds will be donated to the The United Nations Foundation fund addressing sexual and reproductive health and rights during the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://citywinery.com/newyork/can-t-be-there-today-billy-bragg-and-the-city-winery-all-stars-presents-a-mother-s-day-special.html

And of course to reiterate, those of us still sequestered here in Southeast Ohio at the Fur Peace Ranch will be reaching out to you all again Saturday the 9th of May at 8:00PM Eastern time. Can’t say it too much!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bok1vPD9y5w&feature=youtu.be

Have a great weekend, and stay well!

Foto by jorma Kaukonen

33 degrees here at the homestead but clear. Given some of the alternatives a lovely if chilly spring day. Just finishing my second cup of Jorma Kaukonen’s Campfire Blend Coffee. I actually had a dentist appointment yesterday and today a scheduled checkup. I’ve been pretty much existing in my own bubble with Vanessa insisting on being my liaison with the world. With gloves and mask I even stopped by Krogers and picked up some stuff. Interesting to say the least. Now I live in a rural somewhat sparsely populated area so our daily normal is nothing like the reality my friends in the Northeast endure. That said, I don’t want people standing close to me and I consider people who have chosen not to wear masks in public utterly inconsiderate and there are such people. Take risks with your own life… don’t threaten mine.

The touring concert business is utterly gone at least for the rest of the year. Obviously we must wait to see what happens. I suspect the ‘new normal’ will be new and anything but normal as we know it today. Like so many, I and my colleagues are out of work. And so that goes. That we are able to bring you all our weekly Quarantine Concert live from the Fur Peace Ranch means the world to us!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bok1vPD9y5w&feature=youtu.be

This is truly our connection to the world and we are grateful for it.

From my not so lofty peak we are alive and still well. It could be worse for us and with that in mind, I try to minimize my complaining as hard as that is sometimes. Thinking positively and believing that at some point the Fur Peace Ranch will be open again, we are able to continue not only the upkeep of the infrastructure but also but also the making of improvements. Our very own Smiles is a busy beaver and some new walkways are under way. I have been spending more time in a true practice environment with my music than I have in years. Working gigs is not practice. The challenge of keeping the repertoire fresh for the streaming shows each week is more than stimulating. I’ll take the win.

The current situation robs us of time which can never be replaced. As a 79 year old I feel this loss more profoundly than I imagine my kids do, and that is as it should be. This is their time to be young and thank goodness they cannot walk in an old man’s shoes. My grandparents were born in the late 1800’s. When they were our kid’s age they were fleeing the pogroms of Czarist Russia and the bleakness of Finland when it was a Grand Duchy of Russia. Yeah, it could be worse.

The cold snap today is, well… cold, but at least the sun is shining. Time to walk the dogs, feed the other critters, empty the dehumidifiers, get some breakfast, play some guitar and suit up for my doctor’s appointment. Oh yeah, spend a little more time on the set list for Saturday.

There may be better times down the road, but I’ll take what I’ve got for today!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Now here’s two being who know how to iive!

So with this time at home, I’ve been listening to the old stereo… tubes and everything:

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The pre is a great place to start for vintage stuff… Here’s the next stop on the signal path:

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The Austin and Michaelson TVA-1 by Tim Paravicini… Check it out. 75 watts a side… 80 pounds… NIve.

Last but not least, the old JBL 4312’s.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

And… even after 30 years, one of the best high end D to A converter CD players ever made.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The new Rega turntable does the job quite nicely… nice way to spend stay at home time.

Last Saturday was #5 for us, and here it is:

Jorma Kaukonen 5, 2020
#5 Of The Quarantine Concert Series
Live From The Fur Peace Ranch
Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday, May 3, 2020

1. True Religion
2. Whining Boy Blues
3. Letter To The North Star
4. Another Man Done Gone
5. Do Not Go Gentle for Mark & Christine
6. Hesitation Blues
7. Land Of Heroes
8. Mind Your Own Business with Myron Hart
9. The Borderline with John Hurlbut
10. All Along The Watchtower with John Hurlbut
11. Mann’s Fate
12. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out

A quick entry… time to spend some outdoor with the dog.

Coming this Saturday at eight PM Eastern… Quarantine Concert #6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bok1vPD9y5w&feature=youtu.be

Be there or… you know…

And stay well.