I Survived a Joe Bonamassa Concert

 

Joe Bonamassa 5/16/14 Hampton Beach, NH

 

 

Hi All,



A co-worker and I took yesterday off from work and went on a road trip to Hampton Beach, NH to catch Joe Bonamassa in concert. 

Unfortunately, my camera failed miserably but then again I was third row center and the memories of lasts night show are not going to fade anytime soon.  I think my photos could be labled "An Ode to JJ Abrams" because of the lense flare except mine aren't as pretty.  (If you don't get the joke ask a Star Trek fan).

The photo I put up does have an interesting flare to it but then there's something a little extra.  Do you see what is behind Joe on the left?  If so, leave a comment or send an email. I'm curious if you all see what I see.

It was my first time seeing Joe in concert and as a bonus I met him too!  It was brief but I met the man, shook his hand, had my photo taken with him and spoke a little. He was very nice and humble.

There was some humor in the show too.  Lenny Castro must be the life of the party.  The poor guy broke one of his sticks during a solo, shrugged and kept going! The audience was behind him because he was so non-chalant about it.  We were laughing and so was he.

Gerry O'Connor was so serious at the start of the acoustic set but then he was making faces with the front row which was funny.  Between him and Lenny it was a sight to see and the thing was it didn't detract from show at all.  It was a clear indication of how well these guys get along and what chemistry they have together on stage.  Joe had some lines in the show which had the audience rolling and I loved the fact that he wore a suit with sneakers.  Both the acoustic and electric bands were amazing.  They were a well oiled machine and fed over each other so easily.

I have admitted before that I don't play a guitar and I haven't a clue about chords and a lot of the technical aspects of playing.  I just know what I like when I hear a guitar.  My favorite guitar player list is rather short and Joe is on the list.  All guitar players are not created equal and I think what I enjoy most about Joe is his willingness to explore music and evolve it, whether it's his own or a song by someone else.  Some of the songs in his catalogue have at least four different versions.

Joe's passion for music is very evident if you watch him play. The past comes with him to the present.  Some people don't get that from him but sometimes you need to listen with your soul and not your ears. I think I may have mentioned Joe's foundation before but I'm going to mention the Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation again.  A lot of schools cut music programs which is unfortuante and Joe's Foundation tries to give schools the resources it needs so kids can continue to be enriched by music.  Music is a universal language, it is something we all understand no matter the genre.

Okay, that's it for me.  I'm off to crash a bit as I didn't get any sleep last night.  I swear the concert moved to my hotel.  If you're going to be rowdy then it might as well be due Joe Bonamassa.

Rock on!
~Maynard

The Little Stuff

Hi All,

My full-time job is in super busy mode and I won't see a lull again until about October or November.  It's full throttle for the rest of the year.

I have been trying to craft my book blurb which is proving to be more difficult than writing the book! I've have managed to write 16 different blurbs and none of them quite work.  I may need to take a little from each one to get what I'm after.  It certainly wouldn't be the first time I've had to piece things together.

I'm still stuck on finding a cover for my book.  The issue is that the story I have crafted can be approached from many different avenues.  There is one overall story but focusing on that for the cover in my mind detracts from everything else.  There is a lot going on with my main character  so finding the right cover that represents the journey is important.

While my story lingers in my mind and another edit looms ahead of me my thoughts have been focused on a mini-road trip with a co-worker.  Six days from now I will be sitting in Hampton Beach, NH listening to the amazing guitar sounds of Joe Bonamassa for an evening. I will be watching him share his craft with an audience of blues/rock fans and guitar enthusiasts.

I am not a fan of Blues music. It's not for lack of trying and listening but I can't get into most of it.  Joe blends his love of the blues in a way that appeals to these ears that have grown up listening to Def Leppard and Megadeth for 30 years.  He guitar playing appeals to me too which is why I am a fan.  It's due to Joe that I've delved into Free, early Whitesnake (pre-Tawny Kittan dancing on the car years) and then rediscovered Rory Gallagher, Peter Frampton and Gary Moore. 

Paul Rodgers is an amazing singer but we all knew that, right kids? After listening to the Free album I recently bought I started to think it would be cool to have Paul Rodgers, David Coverdale, Robert Plant and Roger Daltrey sing on an album together or do a concert.  That would be one hell of a show!

So in honor of Mr. Rodgers (won't you be my neighbor?) being an awesome singer, please enjoy him having a good time with Joe Bonamassa, an awesome guitar player doing the Free song "Walk In My Shadow" from the Beacon Theatre in 2012.

Rock On!
~Maynard

Back to Normal

Hi All,

Sorry for the silence but things have been busy!

My book has been in the hands of an acquaintance who has finally gone through it. I am still on the hunt for a decent photo for the cover and have little things to do yet and at least one more major rewrite and tweak.

I am currently wrapping up a very intense class on software testing (it's for work) which is why no updates for while on here.  My brain has been getting used a lot!

I have a road trip coming up next month to Hampton Beach, NH with a friend and co-worker.  If all goes well *knock on wood* I will hopefully meet Joe Bonamassa.  We're attending his concert - a first for both of us.  I've been a fan since 2006 and my co-worker is just getting into him.  Should be fun and I do hope I get the chance to meet the man face to face. 

As someone pointed out to me recently, for all my creativity, I tend to grab other creative people to help me with my creative projects.  The number of people I have reached out to regarding my book are all creative in their own ways whether they are into photography, editing, design, etc. 

Honestly, it seems only right to have other creative people help you with your creative project.  It becomes more like a group thing and each individuals creative spark is represented. It may be my book,  my words, my story but to have my ideas for a cover and how a page design should be well, that comes from other people.  The help me get my creative vision out there.  Music is a big part of that too.  There are certain chapters that probably would not have come out the way they did had I not been listening to Joe Bonamassa or Richie Sambora or any number of other people that put me in the right frame of mind.

To all the creative people out there - DON'T STOP!

With that, I leave you all to your creative endeavors and the video of a song that has been stuck in my heads for days.  Now it can be stuck in yours too!

 Rock On!
~Maynard

Mix Tape Track Listing

Here is the track listing for the mix tape I put together today. I hope you find something interesting as there is a bit of everything - blues, jazz, rock, pop, country, folk and alternative.  I am a classic rock/metal listener the majority of the time so I'm sure if anyone came looking at my music collection they'd wonder how any of these ended up in my collection.  All I can say is - GUITARS! 

 

India/Mountain Time - Joe Bonamassa

Give Me One Reason - Lee Ritenour feat. R. Cray & J. Bonamassa

Given More Time - Vince Gill

Nothing - Dwight Yoakam

I'll Admit You're Gone - Rory Gallagher

Weathering the Storm - Richie Sambora

Bent - Matt Nathanson

Collide (Acoustic) - Howie Day

He Got Away - Noah Gunderson

An Ordinary Son - Black Country Communion

The Lost Boy - Greg Holden

Utopia - Within Temptation feat. Chris Jones

The Unclouded Day - Audra Mae

That River - Jim Byrnes

Slow Train (Acoustic) - Joe Bonamassa

 

Feel free to comment about making mix tapes.  I'm open to music recommendations too!

 

Rock on!

 

~Maynard

 



Book Crisis Averted

If you are working on a document, save it and save it again!  I had recently finished my story and thankfully saved it onto a CD.  A horrible thing happened ladies and gentleman, the version that was on my laptop disappeared!

My laptop was fine when I was logging off and noticed a Windows update was happening before my computer turned off.  Panic set in when I returned to my laptop, turned it on and found EVERYTHING gone!

No pictures, no music, my favorites, new Internet browser, six years worth of stories, notes and research related to them and other pieces of information relating to my stories were gone.  This is the worst feeling in the world when all of your hard work just vanishes.

Thankfully I was able to do a restore but my book did not return.  The very first version of it returned but not the copy that I had just finished.  I had two versions of it - a main version and the original version.  I would always work in the main version and make a copy of it because Word goes a little wonky on me now and then.

The restore brought me to the version I started two years ago and not the version I had finished at the end of December.  I am so thankful that I had a copy on CD as it would have been huge set back. 

So crisis averted and I feel better although I am a bit sad that some documents relating to a friend of mine who passed several years ago did not return.  It's a hard lesson to learn and thankfully the stories that I had on my laptop had been backed up so even if they had not returned I would have been okay. WHEW!

On the lighter side of things, a former co-worker sent me a CD as a Christmas gift.  I haven't received a mix tape in awhile from anyone so it was a welcome surprise. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed making mix tapes in college and making covers.  I have a rather large music collection and so I went digging through and playing CD's I haven't touched in some time.  As a thank you I decided to put a mix tape together to send them.

I rediscovered this gem from my music collection.  It's from Vince Gill's High Lonesome Sound CD.  Enjoy! - Maynard