Manitoba Hal added to Walnut Street Music Company roster!

The Walnut Music Street Company is a booking agency that represents Dan Frechette, Steve Schellenberg, Madrigia, Lindsay Jane, Doug and Jess, Don Freed and now Manitoba Hal. The agency was founded by Mitch Podolak and Angela Browne early in 2005 to represent high quality folk acts in Manitoba.

You can visit their website at www.walnutstreetmusic.com

I will be launching a new website at www.manitobahal.com this weekend to correspond with joining their roster. I'm so excited!

Wanted: New Brain - preferably good at spelling

Well the CDs are in my hands and I have found two spelling mistakes. Actually I didn't find them, but the first two people who looked at the CD found them immediately. One is unfortunately in the song titles and the worst part is that I copied one list and pasted it into every other spot so that I wouldn't have to re-type it so the mistake is the same wherever the song list is published. Sheesh.

But other than that they look marvelous and I am glad they are done. One less thing to worry about now as I get ready for the festival run.

The countdown is on

Eight days. Eight days before I head off to the wilds of Ontario for about 5 weeks of folk festivals. The first date is a house concert in Sioux Lookout followed closely by the Live from the Rock folk & blues festival in Red Rock, ON. I always find that part of the country magical at this time of year. I love being on the shores of Lake Superior and breathing the fresh air while great music is playing and being played.

I can't wait!
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In other news, the new CD RESONATOR will be ready today in about 1 hour. I am very excited about getting this out. It feels like I've been doing this for a very long time. Of course that isn't true as you readers know, but I started recording in December for a release and it feels like it just kept going. But in the end it has come to completion with a wonderful 'live' recording that is very exciting and interesting.
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Also if you're in Winnipeg on Aug 3rd and are looking for some fun come out to the Fort Rouge United Church at 7pm. Stephen Johns and the S.J. Louders will be there ripping up the lecturn! The S.J. Louders is made up of Dan Donahue, James Hickerson and myself and we're the crack backing band for Stephen Johns. Stephen has been a co-writer and collaborator of mine for a while and it will be a great show of his tunes and some hits from 'The Band' and the Motown era. It will be a hoot!
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Well that's all for now. Cheers!

Nothing to do now but wait

Well I dropped off the CD at the manufacturing plant this morning. By the end of the week, I'll have 100 copies of RESONATOR for the festival season. Man this has got to be one of the quickest project turnarounds I've ever been involved in!

The total studio time for this project is 18 hours over 5 sessions. We started in December on the Solstice recording some ukulele tunes for the Ukulele Bluesman project. That was completed in 12 hours. Then this last session was 6 hours from start to finish for the seven guitar tracks that kick off this CD.

I decided that the order would be in the style of an old record album with an A side and a B side. The 7 guitar tracks are all together at the top of the CD (on the A side) and the 5 ukulele tracks are all gathered at the back end (on the B side). My friend Greg says that he gets into a vibe with me and I thought this might be easier for folks to program into their playlists.

The Photography on the package was contributed by Donna Wright (the cover), Angela Browne (the Traycard inside photo) and myself for the Traycard backside photography.

All that's left is the waiting and as Tom Petty said..."The waiting is the hardest part."

Resonator takes shape!

Well we finished the mixes last night and I am mighty pleased. The tracks sound wonderful and have that immediate live quality that is so pleasing. We didn't employ any studio tricks on this, rather we worked hard to just capture the ambiance of the room and of a great live venue (minus the expresso machine).

I am still working on the order of songs, as well as the rest of the packaging but I wanted to show you all the cover design. This is a preliminary sketch of the cover. The final design is in layout for the packaging but this shows you where I'm headed. I think it is pretty cool and Donna has approved the use of her photograph now. Thanks Donna!

This will be ready next week for the summer festival runs. I'm real happy about this although I feel like I am just holding onto the train as it careens through the valley. But I realize that I like doing things this way. I mean I say I'd like more time to really consider all angles, but it is when there is little time that the 'real' me rises to the surface and cool things happen. If I had taken my time on this, I might still not be done the recording and I definately wouldn't have a cover design. I'd be out there taking pictures and looking for settings that were evocative. But since there was no time for that I looked at existing images and this one caught my eye. That is, in the words of my friend Martha, a very good thing.

Studio tonight!

Today is the mixdown day for the tracks recorded last week. I've been hard at work on artwork and packaging for the project, and have finally come up with a name for it. The CD will be called RESONATOR.

My friend Donna Wright from Thunder Bay took the photo that will become the cover shot (only she doesn't know it yet). Yes Donna, I want to use one of your shots on the cover. I know you'll love it.

The track list for the album looks like this (order to be determined);

We Lose it All
Poulet Shack
30 Odd Days
Cut Deep
Cost of the Blues
Saint Peter
The Better Man
Atlanta Moan
This Condition
Wake Up Jake
Bonedigger
Paradise

Now if I could only figure out the traycard artwork! Better get back to work....

Jazz singer covers my song

This is Jodie Borle. She is an amazing vocalist who is covering one of my songs on her CD "and then I did..."
The song she is covering is called "The Better Man" and it will be featured on my upcoming acoustic disc as well. You can hear her version by clicking here. Jodie's website is at www.jodieborle.com
Drop by and tell her that I sent ya!

This is my friend Donna Wright from the Thunder Bay Blues Festival. We met at the festival last weekend and spent a bit of time getting to know one another. Her husband Ken is also a sweet man but since the only pics I have show one or the other, I chose Donna. She is a sweet woman with the good sense to appreciate my playing. Say hello everybody....one...two....three....HI DONNA!

Of Thunder and Rain

Blow wind, blow
Blow through me and take me away to some distant land
where the sun shines and the bugs don't bite

Lightning flash and Thunder roar
wake me up at night
tear through the town and uproot
trees and mailboxes

The storm finds me in my bed wishing
I could be anywhere but here.
Anywhere but where the wind blows,
the lightning flashes and the Thunder Roars.

Here is a recent sketch of me made by an artist at the Thunder Bay Blues Festival. Brian Nieminen did sketches of most of the acts at the festival (as he does every year), but I think he pulled out all the stops on this one. I think he did a great job, but do you think this drawing makes my head look big?

Song Selection

Well the studio session has come and gone. The songs we recorded were as follows;

Poulet Shack
We Lose It All
30 Odd Days
Cut Deep
Cost of the Blues
St Peter
The Better Man

I will include in the recording some tracks (or maybe all) from Ukulele Bluesman to make the CD a real full length recording (something that Ukulele Bluesman can't boast).

One really cool thing about this recording is that the entire Bob & Louise saga is on the same CD. This will allow folks who want the story line to get it one bundle. Also the porch worked amazingly well! It sounded so great and it is just the right size to carry around to shows. I expect I'll do more with it now.

New Day...New Brain needed!

Somedays I could use a new brain. It turns out the studio was expecting me last night and I had arranged everything for tonight. Fortunately Dan can still accomodate me and my pals.

Last night I made the porch board for the percussion element and I practiced a whole bunch. I'm still not 100% sure of the songs or of the arrangement of those songs. But with any luck it will all make sense as we are doing the recording.

I have arranaged the duplication and packaging for a reasonable price with a one day turn around. It looks like I'm really going to do this.

Deck Woes & New Recording

The deck project will be put on hold for the moment due to some scheduling difficulties as well as an opportunity I don't want to pass up.

This past weekend, as you know, I played at the Thunder Bay Blues fest. Well it went really well and I sold most of my inventory for the summer. That is great news, but it also means that I have no inventory for the next few festivals. I thought about just re-ordering the most popular CDs, but they might not make it back in time. So I had the brain storm (don't I always?) that I should go in the studio and do a dirt floor album of just me and my resonator guitar playing slide. Then I'll combine those recordings with the best stuff from Ukulele Bluesman and create the summer album which I'll then order a bunch of.

I'm hoping to come up with 12 to 15 songs on this recording. I'll keep you advised of the success of this idea. Studio tommorow!

Here is the crowd at my concert this past weekend at the Thunder Bay Blues Festival. I took this shot to show folks what I get to see when I play.

The weather was perfect...30ish in the sun with a breeze blowing off Lake Superior (which is off to the right of the pic).

The crowd on Sunday night topped 9000 people. I think there was about 1000 when I played. My biggest crowd yet!

Blues Party!

Blues Party! Yeee Haw! Yeah! I am so excited. These fine gentlemen are from left David Wilcox, Phil Guy, Manitoba Hal Brolund and the night crawler himself Dr John. These are just four of the great acts appearing at the Thunder Bay Blues festival this weekend.

Of course there are many more and I invite you to visit the website at www.tbayblues.ca.

For me this is a gig I have been waiting for since December last year. I'm finding it hard to believe that tommorow I start driving to the gig. Pinch me!

Hal

To Cedar or not to Cedar that is the question!

I'm back at it again. I have begun planning the first of two decks for my backyard. What I'm trying to decide is whether or not to use cedar for the decking or spruce. I know that I can finish spruce to look like I want and it will be great, but cedar I can leave unfinished and it looks great.

So if you scroll down through this blog and find the photo with the table and umbrella, then you'll know where I'm putting the deck. I want to put a small deck in that corner that will define the space and be big enough for a small bistro set. Imagine a rectagle 8' x 6' with one corner cut off and you'll probalby have a good idea what I'm going to build. This deck will also serve as a stage for the first yard concert which I'm certain will happen in September.

Replaying the past

I've been thinking about my past catalogue of recordings lately. I think maybe I've been too hard on myself over the years with regard to this early product. I have been replaying the old songs for people and finding that they still translate really well to folks.

This is good news because I have about 30 songs I haven't been playing lately that can now be added to the roster. So if you're one of the old faithful who misses Nick's Cafe or The Better Man, you can take comfort that they will be played again.

I will start selectively selling my old catalogue again as well. The first re-release will be Railroad Bill & Other Folk Blues. This album was recorded in 1999 and released by my old label at a time when I wasn't touring anymore. As a result alot of folks haven't heard it. It will be available beginning with the Thunder Bay Blues Festival this coming weekend. If you want to order it you can send me as much money as you can and I'll send it to you. Seriously though, for $10.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling you can have this old gem.

Guitar-B-Que!

My first Guitar-B-Que went off yesterday without a hitch! There was some summer showers in the early afternoon, but by evening it had cleared out and was a wonderful night.

On the menu were BBQ Pork skewers, Chicken Souvlaki, Greek Salad, Potatoe Salad and Deviled Eggs. Of course there was also lots of chips and even some chocolate cake.

The real highlight for me was hearing all the great songs. We played until the wee hours of the evening and only broke to watch the fireworks that filled the night sky over the forks.

I know I'll be doing it again!