Musings

At the intersection of Mendenhall and Poplar Avenue in East Memphis is where Elvis got off the train and walked home to his Audubon Drive house after returning from New York…

The thing that has really changed since the first time I came here are the exhibits. They have some giant buildings now with a lot of stuff I hadn’t seen before.

The Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis is one of the best museums I’ve ever been to.

This Italian restaurant has been in the same location since 1923 and is still remarkably well preserved.

On this day, May 14, 2026, Tom Bukovac sold me Grady Martin’s 1956 Danelectro six-string bass. It is an instrument I’ve been chasing for fifteen years.

I had a great visit at Sam Phillips Recording Service this morning with my friend Scott Bomar, who runs the place now. This is Sam Phillips’s second recording studio, at 639 Madison.

This afternoon I visited the Stax Records Museum in south Memphis, another “holy site” of American music.

Built in 1936, the Overton Park Shell is well known to fans of Memphis music. Virtually everybody has played there at some point.

The Color City box is just an empty shell for a variety of fuzz designs that Brad Davis at Creepy Fingers Effects is releasing.

I spent a little time with my friend Billy Zoom today. We talked about guitars and recording equipment and motor scooters and Ray Manzarek and playing loud…