Musings

I was very lucky back in the day to pick up a lot of stuff cheap, before vintage stuff went through the roof. One thing I failed to buy, however, was a blackface Fender Princeton Reverb.

Had a fun visit today with Nathan Hernandez and Fred Stuart—the same Fred Stuart from the early, legendary Fender Custom Shop.

I scrambled to get this song and this video completed before the alien invasion faded from front-page news. I hereby declare “TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER” the official alien invasion song of 2023!

Another great one gone: Huey “Piano” Smith made some of the greatest New Orleans rock ‘n’ roll records ever: “Don’t You Just Know It,” “Rockin’ Pneumonia,” “High Blood Pressure,” the original version of “Sea Cruise,” and a slew of other great, wild-ass, sloppy but tight party favorites.

RIP to my good friend Peter Huggins, aka “Guitarmaniax.” Peter passed away last night after a battle with cancer.

Guitar mystery of the night: Here’s Johnny Fields, left, early 1950s. His Fender Esquire (Telecaster? No Caster? Broadcaster?) has been customized with what looks to be an extra bridge pickup section from another Fender guitar…

The saga continues on the Fender Woody Pro project. I’ve made no less than THREE sets of these metal strips.

RIP to the great Philadelphia DJ personality Jerry Blavat, the legendary “Geator with the Heater.” got turned on to the Geator a million years ago, when I auditioned for a Morells spinoff band when I was in high school in Missouri.

I had fun yesterday recording and cutting a Custom Record project for my friend Jon Nygren in Wisconsin.

RIP Johnny Powers, one of the last original Sun Rockabilly artists. His “Long Blonde Hair” still stands as one of the most goosebumps-inducing rockabilly singles of the 1950s.