ATTENTION CLUBOWNERS!

This was something I found very much to the point and something that should be shouted out very loud!

Dear Bar/Club/Venue owner,
It is NOT the job of the band you hire to bring in your clientele. It is our job to entertain your clientele and make them wish to stay all night long, reveling whilst buying your food and drinks and swelling the coffers of your fine establishment.
I am so tired of hearing "how many people can you bring in?" The answer is "who knows?". If you hire the Rolling Fucking Stones, and don't promote it, how many of their buddies are going to just happen to fly in from London and New York because they had nothing better to do than to come and hang out with Mick and Keith? Atlanta is a big place, so if I'm playing 40 miles from my area, I can't really expect many of my local fans to drive across town. What have YOU done to inform people in your locality, and who are perhaps familiar with your venue, that you hired a great band that they should come in this Saturday to see and hear them?
It is a grave mistake to hire cheap "garage" bands who are still developing their "talent", but have lots of friends and little girl friends who think it is SO FREAKIN' COOL that their buddies are in a band and will come see them anywhere they go. Yeah, you might get 20 of their friends in for a night, but any regulars you might want to keep will bail after their first out of tune, poorly executed and WAY too loud musical "expression". Are their 20 friends going to be there next weekend when another band plays? No chance.
If you have decided to buy a club and wish to make an income, then you should wisely promote your establishment through advertising, and do everything you can to develop a reputation as having great live music, if that's what you want your location to be known for.
If you want to run a sports bar-great! Buy lots of flatscreens and have team nights, special sports themed events, etc. All the sports fans in your area will come in and have a great time, and will look forward to coming back, dragging along buddies from their place of work and from their neighborhood with them. You don't need a band.
If you'd like to run a restaurant-wonderful! Hire talented kitchen staff and focus on providing great food and atmosphere. You'll get plenty of return business and your satisfied diners will tell all their friends and family about you. You don't need a band.
But if you've decided that you want to run a club where people come to party, dance and listen to great live music, then you'd better get the "live music" part right. Carefully screen and hire GOOD, PROFESSIONAL bands at a fair price, and the folks who wander in (remember, it's not the band's job to bring a built in audience) will have a great time listening to entertaining live music. They will tell their friends about the great band that played at the "XYZ Club" last Saturday, and when you, Mr. Venue Owner, put out some advertising, they'll spot that and think they'd like to go back and have a good time again this Saturday as well. But you'd better have a decent band lined up, or it will be the LAST time they ever come back.
There are many notable clubs around town that are well reputed for providing consistently good music. Any given music lover in their vicinity doesn't need to check to see who's playing; they know that whoever the band is, they'll be GOOD. The music lover will simply hop in their car and go. And, assuming that the band IS good, the music lover will stay all evening, contributing handsomely to the venue owner's retirement fund and pledging to be back the following weekend to do more of the same. Oh, and these clubs ADVERTISE...
If you are a new establishment, then I'm sure that you want to do everything you can to capture and keep a well heeled clientele. Hiring lousy bands because they promise to bring in 20 of their friends is a very short sighted approach. Particularly when their friends all spend a whopping $8.00 each all night. The folks in your area that you'd be better off cultivating might just walk in to check out the "new place", be assaulted by the yowling, out of tune "band" on stage and not only will they hastily depart, they will quickly tell all of their friends about the "new place" and how badly it sucks! Definitely not the most desirable word of mouth promoting.
So, in summary: if you want to run a "music joint" then hire good bands, advertise that you hire good bands, pay the good bands well so that they will want to come back, and lo and behold, pretty soon you'll be on the map as a GREAT music venue.
Oh, and one more thing if I may..."tabs" in lieu of decent pay don't mean jack shit. Your generous "$50.00" bar tab sets you back $7.00 or less. Also: if the band you are considering gets excited about $50.00 worth of "free booze", you are headed for possible trouble my friend. Just give me the $50.00 cash and I'll pay for my own Diet Cokes, thank you verymuch, and as a bonus to you, I won't get drunk on my "tab" and try to dry hump the doorman's girlfriend on stage during the 3rd set.
Thank you for you kind attention, and I'll be stepping down from my soapbox now...

• Location: Everywhere
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Hosting Pacific Street Blues on SUnday, December 19 at 9AM CT

I'll be guest hosting one segment of Rick Galusha's Pacific Street Blues program on 89.7 The River in Omaha, NE on Sunday, December 19 at 9AM CT. Pacfific Street Blues won the Keeping The Blues Alive Award in Memphis last January during the International Blues Competition. I had the pleasure of hosting while on the road a number of years back, and to get the chance again is a real honor.

http://www.facebook.com/l/59976S_pUg4IosU24xlWKL3SUpQ;www.897theriver.com%20

2010 Nearing Year End

It's been a busy year with the great opportunity of writing, producing, and shooting online guitar instruction videos for Freeguitarvideos.com. I've enjoyed the experience immensley, especially with the release of my new guitar instruction book & DVD combo specializing in Piedmont Blues. We do have a special holiday price on that, so send an email to roger@hurricanewilson.com if you would be interested in checking it out.

The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday will have me performing my annual coffeehouse concert at Charles & Myrtle's Coffeehouse in Chattanooga, TN. Of course, as in all of the other shows for the last year and a half, we will be recording that night and will have CD's available on the spot. The next night will take me to the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville for the Sunday Night Writer's Night. It is an honor to have been accepted into this lineup. The Bluebird is the top songwriter showcase in Nashville, and to be there is very important step in anybody's career. The night consists of 8 to 10 songwriters performing 3 songs, and then the evening is highlighted by an established hit songwriter. I always stay the whole night. While in Nashville, I will be going into the studio at Pitch Perfect Recording to start work on the video for my song, Shame On You Delta. It will further continue my ongoing displeasure with Delta Airlines. Of course, I will be recording a new song about the legendary Andy Rooney, and one on my good friend and award winning BBQ man, Sam Huff, called Sam The Bar B Que Man.

On December 3, I will begin my duo tour with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith for some dates in Chillicothe, IL., Coshocton, OH, Chambersburg, PA., and Hanover, PA. This is our third tour together, and it is the real Blues simplified. Check the schedule at www.hurricanewilson.com for more information.

The coolest thing happening now is the estalishing of my own online radio station, Hurricane Wilson Radio. It is set up under the auspices of Indie Mad MP3 Radio. To listen, go to http://tinyurl.com/2aobmss. You can be come a member, and become a member you should at http://www.indiemadmp3.com. It is truly digital music for a digital world.

I wish you the best for a Happy Thanksgiving holiday. As 2010 comes to a close, there is truly much to be thankful for.

Until next time,

Roger

Another Victory For Musicians

I just appeared in court today in Macon, Georgia in a suit against the club, Rivalry's, for not honoring their booking commitment back in June. We won the judgement! This is truly another victory for musicians everywhere, and my second legal victory. There are many clubowners that I have worked for many years and who are good long time friends. This in no way reflects on them, but only on the ones that fall in the scumbag category!

October, 2010 As Fall Sets In

Well, September went out in style after a great tour to the Sacramento area and some gigs with Dave Channell's Fire & Wheels Band. Then back to Atlanta for some home time. I've been doing quite a bit of renovations to my house that I've been in for 25 years. It's great to travel and play music, but home is like vacation. At this writing, I just landed in Key West, FL. for 5 gigs, 4 at Sloppy Joe's, and 1 at The Green Parrot. I always seem to fell like I'm coming home when I'm here, so that must mean I'm at home everywhere. October looks to be a good month as fall sets in, with some other gigs at home as well, and usually proves to be good inspirationally for writing and such. There are new songs on the horizon, and some recently written that are currently being uploaded to be available for download. Be sure to check out http://www.hurricanewilson.com/music.htm
I'm quite excited about the new material going up, which is kind of a blend of Blues & Americana. One new song that I am excited about is one I just wrote for BBQ1 owner Sam Huff. I play for him at his Marietta, Georgia restaurant, and always have a great time. He has been cooking award winning bar-b que for quite some time. The new song is cazlled, Sam The Bar B Que Man. Already, singles are available from the live performances there. If you are interested in a copy, send an email to roger@hurricanewilson.com. Also, more guitar lessons are going up regularly. You can check those out at http://tinyurl.com/hurricanewilsonguitar Presented by Watch & Learn.
Until next time! Roger

Roger "Hurricane" Wilson Live 2010 CD's Available - Check Out The List Here

Now for some exciting news. Our label, Bluestorm Records has a great new concept we have been working on. It is the ability to record our shows and sell CD's of all of our shows at all of our shows. Those same shows are also available later on CD. The response and success of this has been overwhelming and positive, since folks seem to enjoy taking a CD home with them from a show they were a part of. Our list of 2010 shows is listed below. We are compiling the last half of 2009, when we started this undertaking of recording and logging all of our shows, band electric cand solo acoustic. That list will be available soon. The price is also less than regular CD's, and Bluestorm records pays the postage. Please check out the list below, and Thank You for being with us.

ROGER “HURRICANE” WILSON
Available Live CD’s Recorded in 2010
Check it out! Maybe you were there!

ELECTRIC SET (with band)

1/9/10 – Scooter’s - Kennesaw, GA
1/28/10 – Chief’s – Greenville, SC
1/29/10 – Chief’s – Greenville, SC
1/30/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
2/13/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
2/25/10 – Chris’s Club – Vallejo, CA
2/26/10 – Tradewinds – Cotati, CA
2/27/10 – Tattoos & Blues - Santa Rosa, CA
3/1/10 – Tradewinds – Cotati, CA
3/13/10 – Frog’s Blues – Hawthorne, FL
3/20/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
4/17/10 – Rivalry’s – Macon, GA
4/24/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
4/25/10 – Taste of Marietta – Marietta, GA
5/1/10 – Darwin’s – Marietta, GA
5/8/10 – Smoke On The Lake – Acw2orth, GA
5/15/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
5/21/10 – Sport Zone – Coshocton, OH
5/22/10 – Brews Too – Granville, OH
5/27/10 –Chief’s – Greenville, SC
5/28/10 – Chief’s – Greenville, SC
6/11/10 – Scooter’s Kennesaw, GA
6/12/10 - Big City Deli – Kennesaw, GA
7/9/10 – Blues in The District - Quincy, IL *
7/10/10 – River Beach Pub – Chillicothe, IL
7/13/10 – Blind Willie’s, Atlanta, GA
7/16/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
7/17/10 – Harbor Club – Greensboro, GA *
7/21/10 – Smoken Joe’s – Boston, MA
7/23/10 – Inn On The Blues – York Beach, ME
7/25/10 – McSeagull’s – Boothbay Harbor, ME
7/26/10 – Time Out Pub – Rockland, ME *
8/6/10 – River Beach Pub – Chillicothe, IL *
8/7/10 – Jellystone Park Preserve – Amboy, IL *
8/9/10 – The Alamo – Springfield, IL
8/10/10 – Slippery Noodle Inn - Indianapolis, IN *
8/11/10 – Brackins Blues Bar – Maryville, TN
8/13/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
8/14/10 – Carolina Landing – Fair Play, SC
8/17/10 – Blind Willie’s – Atlanta, GA
8/20/10 – Pigs & Peaches – Kennesaw, GA *
8/21/10 – Pigs & Peaches – Kennesaw, GA *
9/4/10 – Timothy Lake Presreve – E. Stroudsburg, PA
9/8/10 – Kclinger’s Tavern – Hanover, PA
9/17/10 – Scooter’s – Kennesaw, GA
9/22/10 – Folsom Hotel – Folsom, CA (with Fire & Wheels)
9/23/10 – San Juan Club – Sacramento, CA (with Fire & Wheels)

ACOUSTIC SET (solo)

2/3/10 – Sloppy Joe’s – Key West, FL
2/4/10 – Sloppy Joe’s – Key West, FL
2/5/10 – Sloppy Joe’s – Key West, FL
2/6/10 – Sloppy Joe’s – Key West, FL
2/16/10 – Gaines Park – Kennesaw, GA
2/19/10 – Daily Grind – Kennesaw, GA
2/20/10 – Sam Huff’s BBQ1 – Marietta, GA
3/6/10 – Peace River – Wauchula, FL
3/7/10 – Aces Lounge – Bradenton, FL
3/9/10 – Tarpon Lodge – Pine Island, FL
3/10/10 – Rainbow RV Park – Frostproof, FL
3/11/10 – Kojak’s – Palmetto, FL
3/19/10 – Daily Grind – Kennesaw, GA
3/26/10 – Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ
3/27/10 – Verde Valley Preserve – Cottonwood, AZ
4/3/10 – Sam Huff’s BBQ1 – Marietta, GA
4/10/10 – Orlando Preserve – Clermont, FL
4/13/10 – Aces Lounge – Bradenton, FL
4/15/10 – Kojak’s – Palmetto, GA
4/16/10 – Murphy’s – Clearwater, FL
5/12/10 – Wednesdays in Woodruff – Atlanta, GA
5/13/10 – Gaines Park – Kennesaw, GA
5/14/10 – Sam Huff’s BBQ1 – Marietta, GA
5/19/10 – The Lounge – Cincinnati, OH
5/29/10 – Carolina Landing – Fair Play, SC
5/30/10 – Forest Lake Preserve – Advance, NC
6/5/10 – Sam Huff’s BBQ1 – Marietta, GA
6/9/10 – Natchez Trace – Nashville, TN
7/3/10 – Sam Huff’s BBQ1 – Marietta, GA
7/19/10 – Relax Inn – Chambersburg, PA
7/22/10 – Moody Beach Preserve, Wells, ME
7/24/10 – Strurbridge Preserve – Sturbridge, MA
7/29/10 – Relax Inn – Chambersburg, PA
7/31/10 – Sam Huff’s BBQ1 – Marietta, GA
8/12/10 – Harbor Club – Greensboro, GA
8/30/10 – Relax Inn – Chambersburg, PA
9/2/10 – Kclinger’s Tavern – Hanover, PA
9/5/10 – Timothy Lake South – E Stroudsburg, PA
9/9/10 – Blue Note Grill – Durham, NC
9/10/10 – House On Main – Abingdon, VA
9/11/10 – Sam Huff’s BBQ1 – Marietta, GA;


All CD’s are $10.00 Postage Paid
* Double CD’s are $15.00
To Order:
1) Choose Title(s) Desired
2) Total Up Order ($10.00 for each single CD/ $15.00 for double CD)
3) Send Paypal Payment to roger@hurricanewilson.com
4) Be sure to list each CD desired in your order.

Shame On You Delta Soars To New Heights

The Single by Roger “Hurricane” Wilson That Says It All

The title, "Shame On You Delta!" says it all. This airline has taken passenger abuse and mistreatment to a whole new level. They charge ninety bucks if your bag is one pound over the limit, in addition to charging to check any luggage.They have taken away all amenities except for slinging a few stale peanuts at you. Last fall, one ticket counter hag in Ontario, California actually made me take my computer out of the case, then sent the empty case to Atlanta for no reason. I had to then carry my computer on the plane unprotected. She also did this in front of other passengers. I was livid, and reported it online while on the plane. Funny thing was, I was carrying a shoulder guitar case containing two guitars, but that she said nothing of that. Delta called me in Key West from Atlanta the next morning to find out why they had received this empty computer case. When I told her about the Ontario Crazy Lady, who apparently is named Terry, they said they didn’t understand her actions. They promptly sent the bag to me the next day. When the nice girls on the ramp were shocked at what happened, they just rolled their eyes and said there was no reason for that to have happened. The company did try to make an amend with a voucher, but it doesn’t end there. In Memphis, another little, short, fat man on a power trip saw that the pouch on my roller bag wouldn’t clear the breadbox test contraption that no carry-ons ever fit in. He made me check it (for a charge of course). When I got to the gate, I told the gate guy that the bag I had wasn’t any bigger than all of the ones I was seeing there. Again, he rolled his eyes and said, just get online and complain. I did, and had to fight to get a $25.00 voucher. Big deal! But there is a pattern here… many of the employees realize what is going on! They roll their eyes regularly. If Delta was to total up all of the vouchers they give out for screwing up, maybe they wouldn’t be in position to be filing bankruptcy. So, this song says it all. SHAME ON YOU DELTA!

To listen, go to www.myspace.com/rogerhurricanewilsontheacousticside

To download, go to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rogerhurricanewilson13

Bluestorm Records

Roger “Hurricane” Wilson

www.hurricanewilson.com

In Memory of My Friend, Bill "Troll" Tullis

Bill Tullis: In Memory of “Troll”

By Roger Wilson

Part 1

Let’s begin with some brief background. I entered Woodward Academy in College Park, GA on August 28, 1967 at age 14. Although my mother had been an Atlanta native, and I had many close relatives in the Atlanta area, I had been born in New Jersey. My Mom had moved there for her job, met my Dad, and there I was. I had grown up in an environment in which everyone talked like The Sopranos, and if you ever made eye contact with a stranger, their response was usually, “what the f*k are you looking at!” I wanted to go to school in Georgia since I did have close relatives there, and I had found that when eye contact with a stranger was made, he or she would actually say “Hi”. This was pleasantly shocking to me. Anyway, after I entered W.A., somebody informed the band director that I played trumpet. At that moment, I was immediately recruited to close to the last chair, if not the last chair. I really sucked at trumpet, which is the reason I now make my living playing guitar. During the first few days of band rehearsals, I remember this funny looking guy sitting behind me in the last chair section of the trombone section. He was about as bad at trombone as I was at trumpet. His name was Bill Tullis, and seemed like a jolly fun-loving chap. I then remember that Major Hays, the band director, would either direct a comment to Tullis or me to straighten up and get with the program. He and I would look at each other, and he would laugh and make a hilarious face. The expressions were so funny, that after the band finished a song, I would turn around to see what kind of funny face he would come up with next. This guy was a riot! Later, we would talk and he told me that he was working at, WATV, the closed circuit school TV station. I was immediately interested, since TV and radio to me, as a kid, were just voices and pictures coming from somewhere in the great beyond. It had held a great fascination for me since I had spent my childhood in a small town, and was infatuated with the two forms of electronic media.

Bill Tullis and I became good friends. We hung out regularly, tolerated band practice, and actually made it through the Friday night football halftime shows marching on the field, hoping and praying that we would walk to the proper place in our formations. Bill was obsessed with radio, TV, and electronics. He already had an extensive collection of current 45 RPM singles, along with his department store turntable that his Mom bought him to bring to school. On the weekends, I would tag along with Bill to downtown Atlanta on the bus to visit TV and radio stations. He had a knowledge and interest in something like I had never seen exhibited by anyone. There is one Saturday afternoon I can remember well. We rode the bus from College Park to the downtown Atlanta Rich’s store, and would walk up Forsythe Street to Peachtree Street. Our first stop for these two fourteen year-old kids in prep school blazers and uniforms would be the World Electronics store at the Peachtree and West Peachtree split. It was there that Bill would pi ck up toggle switches, capacitors, transistors, switch boxes, and who knows what else. After grabbing some lunch at the Regency (for around 5 bucks then which seemed like a fortune), we headed into the Peachtree Center building to radio station WGKA. Bill, who resembled a gentle troll-like character then, knew exactly where he was going, and he his contact was.

Bill and the man operating the station that day engaged in radio talk that I could barely understand, but was wanting to so badly. They spoke of wattage, warm transmitters, and other terminology that I would later hear more of in my career. It may be that I saw all of this stuff again in the next two Third Class Radio license tests that I would fail, finally to pass it on the third try in 1973. It seemed that not too long after that, tests were no longer required by the FCC, and anybody could obtain a radio broadcast license if they could sign their name. On this beautiful Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, the gentleman at the radio station decided he wouldn’t mind showing us the actual WGKA transmitter… a top the 30 story Peachtree Center skyscraper! He escorted us to an open floor just beneath the roof, and we walked over to this huge piece of equipment. Tullis and this guy were still talking technical talk about this transmitter, while all the time I was trying to figure out what the hell I was looking at. I might add that it took me longer to reach the equipment since I am deathly afraid of heights. Although we were in the middle of this unfinished skyscraper floor, there were no windows. The wind was blowing so fiercely through the 30^th or so story, that I was hugging each column as I slowly made my way across. Once I had my bearings, it was a beautiful clear view of the city, along with Stone Mountain in the distance. I still carry that view in my mind to this day. That Saturday evening back at school, I told my folks about the experience during my weekly long distance collect call. Whether I knew it or not, Troll was setting me up for what I would later do in life. There were more cool experiences and excursions like this that I will touch on later. TO BE CONTINUED...

Roger “Hurricane” Wilson

www.hurricanewilson.com

Online Guitar Instruction Available Below
http://tinyurl.com/hurricanewilsonguitar
Presented by Watch & Learn

Roger "Hurricane" Wilson
Bluestorm Records
P O Box 1212
Kennesaw, GA 30156

Tel: 678-296-9850
E-mail: roger@hurricanewilson.com
Web Site: www.hurricanewilson.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rogerhurricanewilson
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RogerHurricaneW
Myspace: www.myspace.com/rogerhurricane
www.myspace.com/rogerhurricanewilsontheacousticside
www.myspace.com/rogerwilsonguitarstudioest1973
www.myspace.com/bluestormrecords
www.myspace.com/rogerhurricanewilson1000trails

Blog: www.roger-hurricane-wilson.blogspot.com

July, 2010 New England Tour Wrapup

Picking up from last time, the gig at The Time Out Pub in Rockland, ME was a great time. A packed house aof folks dancing and having a wonderful time, especially on a Monday night. Paul Benjamin has built this wonderful event up to where the fol,ks coming in always know they are going top have great time and hear some great music. Tuesday, July 27 was my 57th birthday, and it was a well needed day off. I hung out with my friends in Boothbay, ME and had a nice lobster dinner. Wednesday 28 had me traveling again back down to Sturbridge, MA to pick up the trailer. Then on to NJ to meet the new owners of the Stanhope House, which will thankfully reopen in September. After visitng for a day with my chidhood buddy, Rick Mombert, I headed back to Chambersburg, PA for the last gig at the Relax Inn before heading home. I got homwe on Friday night, in time for my solo gig at Sam Huff''s BBQ1. I always enjoy this place. Now I am rccording each show and have CD's available for each one. Technology has really stepped in to make many past impossible feats now possible fast. That rounds out July, and now we look to August as we head out for dates in Illinois, Indiana, and Ttennessee. Be sure to check the schedule at www.hurricanewilson.com

New England Summer Tour 2010

The tours are a little shorter these days. No more 4 months out at at time as in the past. As I posted earlier, other endeavors such as the online guitar lessons I am giving are taking up some good quality time. http://tinyurl.com/hurricanewilsonguitar Presented by Watch & Learn.

The tour began with a great close to home at The Harbor Club on Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA. My good friend and very successful restaurant entrepreneur, and owner of the wonderful Troutdale Dining Room in Bristol, TN brought us in for that gig. The next day, I headed out for my first stop in Chambersburg, PA at the Relax Inn at The Orchards Restaurant. Mike and Nick are the greatest there, with their wonderful welcoming hospitality. I usually stop there to play solo on their Wing Night while coming and going to and from the Northeast. While driving there, I actually stopped in Bristol and met Ben and his family for dinner, and to spend the night. Upon leaving Chambersburg, I stopped in Mahwah, NJ to have lunch and a nice visit with my good friend, Rusty Paul, son of the late Les Paul. We had a hard time believing that it is only month away from a year that Les has been gone. I then moved on to Pearl River, NY to visit with my friend Bob and Ann Lyons for dinner and another rest stop for the night.

Wednesday, July 21 brought me to Smoken Joe's in Boston for a date peforming with bassist Ed Spargo, Alizon Lissance, and Ed Scheer of the Love Dog's. It was a magical musical night, with some great recordings as a result. I then drove on to Moody Beach RV Resort in Wells, ME to perform solo on Thursday. My "Pennsylvania Railroad Band ", Harry Werner and Scott Stump from PA met me at Inn On The Blues in York Beach, ME. The crowd there is always great and the place was rockin'. The next morning on Saturday, I headed out for Sturbridge, MA for a solo acoustic date that night. That resort is a beautiful place, and I was able to hook the trailer up to a nice pond overlook site for a few days while heading back to Maine.

There's no rest for the weary just yet. Back to Boothbay, ME for a show with the band at McSeagull's. Fortunately, I get to stay with my friends, Mike and Dee Kennedyt that own the beautiful Five Gables Inn in East Boothbay, ME. If you ever want the true Maine experience, you MUST stay here. www.fivegablesinn.com
The show at McSeagull's last night was fun. We met some good folks there. Today, the band and I head to Rockland, ME for a show there tonight at the Time Out Pub. We'll report back later on the rest of the tour.






Wednesday

Summer NAMM Show in Nashville

The show wrapped up today, and while this summer show has become smaller, it was still a great opportunity to network with folks who are fast becoming friends. I made my regular trip brought in by Q Lighting and Burris Amplifiers, with the opportunity to showcase these wonderful amps.

The Friday night show gave me the opportunity to open for John Sebastian and Jimmy Vivino (Conan O'Brien), as well as sitting in with them for a tune. Doing a great job on bass for me was Steve Goodie, who owns and operates Pitch Perfect Recording, where I am currently recording my projects. Steve also MC's the Sunday Night Writers' Nights Studio and the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. Other BA endorsers performing were Audrey Auld and Will Kimbrough. I always enjoy attending the seminars at NAMM, most notably the ones given by George Hines of George's Music. I've had the pleasure in the past of conducting Blues In The Schools sessions for him, as well as performing at George's Springing The Blues Festival in Jacksonville for several years.

It was great to hang out with my friends and colleagues, the owners of the company that I now teach online guitar lessons for, Watch & Learn, Inc. Bert Casey and Geoff Hohwald made the trip, so scoping out some new opportunites with them was nice.

Taylor Guitars has been great to me as far as keeping my axes up and running. It was a treat to go to lunch with Artist Relations Director, Bob Borbonus, along with legendary Nashville picker Doyle Dykes, and Dillon from the Nashville based Dillon Dixon Band. I also attended a seminar on seeking endorsements by Bob, as well as artist relations guys from Mapex, Yamaha, and Martin Guitars. It was a great trip, but now back to the regular job playing, writing, and recording more music. Until next time. Roger

Looking For Summer 2010

May has been a welcome month for all of us weather-wise, and it's hard to believe that it's almost over. It has been a busy month for me. Some cool gigs such as Darwin's, Sam Huff''s BBQ1, Scooter's Pub, and Wednesdays in Woodfuff Park in Atlanta, which are nice close to home gigs. The Smoke on The Lake Festival in Acworth, GA turned out well for it's furst annual event.
An excursion to attend the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, and a performance at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville were some great highlights.

A brief Ohio tour took me to The Lounge in Cincinnati, The Sport Zone in Coshocton, OH, and The Brews Too in Granville, OH for a fundraiser for the Columbus Blues Alliance. That tour was rounded off by a wonderful visit with Jorma Kaukonen and his wife Vanessa at their Fur Peace Ranch in Pomeroy, OH. There I was able to observe the group guitar lessons while participating a little in the operation. Meeting and making friends with the students there was also extra special. I hope to get back there again soon.

The online guitar lessons I am currently giving are also keeping me very busy in a good way. If you haven't checked them out yet, you can do that by going to www.tinyurl.com/hurricanewilsonguitar.

This writing over the Memorial Day Weekend has me in Greenville, SC at Chief's, a place I have been performing at for 20 years. A couple of solo shows at a couple of RV parks in both Carolinas will top off the weekend.

June will be fairly busy with some home and away gigs, along with attending the Summer NAMM in Nashville representing Q Lighting and Burris Amps. I hope your Memorial Day is a pleasant one. Please catch me on the road or at home to say hello.

Roger

Haven't posted much lately but thought I'd try to catch up. There's a lot of great
things happening in my world this year. Since I joined up with an
international music publishing and video company, I just recorded my 20th
online guitar instruction video. I'm writing about 1 or 2 lessons a week
which has really brought everything around full circle, since teaching was
what I did right out of high school in 72 for 15 years, in addiiton to
broadcasting and touring. I've met many new friends all over the world
through this latest endeavor, and it is a wonderful experience. Although I
am still going out on some tours, this opportunity has made it possible to
look at a lot lower number of orange barrels. Also, I don't have to see as
many orange signs that say End Roadwork, which is just a blatant lie anyway.
This week I will fly to Memphis to attend the Blues Awards, and then return
home to play the Smoke On The Lake Festival.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108899799142425 I do hope to catch up
with some zellers there. Then on Sunday, I'll be heading to Nashville to
play the Bluebird Cafe. Several festivals across the U.S.and Canada, and
more at home than usual are booked this year, so that's a comforting
thought. In July, I'll be touring New England and will shoot a DVD produced
by Paul Benjamin in Rockland, Maine. My "Pennsylvania Railroad Band", Harry
Werner and Scott Stump will join me on bass and drums for that project. The
many solo dates at RV resorts across the U.S. have been like a breath of
fresh air, and are still coming in. Later in December, Willie "Big Eyes"
Smith and I will be heading out on our third duo tour. We're already filling
in dates for that, so any venues interested in jumping in on that, please
let me know. We had some great sold out shows on the last tour. I've been
been recording every gig for the last 6 months, so there will be some live
projects surfacing here and there. I'm also hoping everyone out there
affected by the natural and ecological disasters currently looming over us
will recover unscathed.

Roger

Care to take guitar lessons? Click below.
presented by Watch & Learn
http://tinyurl.com/hurricanewilsonguitar

Roger "Hurricane" Wilson
Bluestorm Records
P O Box 1212
Kennesaw, GA 30156

E-mail: roger@hurricanewilson.com
Web Site: www.hurricanewilson.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/rogerhurricane
www.myspace.com/rogerhurricanewilsontheacousticside
www.myspace.com/rogerwilsonguitarstudioest1973
www.myspace.com/bluestormrecords
www.myspace.com/rogerhurricanewilson1000trails
www.roger-hurricane-wilson.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/rogerhurricanewilson

The Year 2010

Now 2010 is well underway and so many great things seem to be in store. After celebrating a quiet New Year's Eve at home, I made my way early on New Year's Day down to Montgomery for the annual service at Hank Williams' grave. Hank passed away on new Year's Day in 1953, and after 57 years, his music and legacy are still as strong as ever. My good friend, Jay Johnson, brought an entourage from Cleveland, Ohio on a tour bus labeling themselves, The Honky Tonk Hank Tour. Playing a set with Gary Gentry, songwriter of "The Ride", and talking to Charles Carr, while 17 at the time, was driving Hank to his next booking the night he passed away, were truly highlights. It seemed like a shame to have that day end. It would just be great to be able to freeze time now and then.

January 4 and 5 are always special days, since 4 is my wife's Jolie's birthday, and 5 is my Mom's birthday. Jolie and I went to dinner on her birthday, we had dinner with Mom to celebrate her 92nd on hers. She now lives in a wonderful assisted living home and is doing great. January 7 usually has me reflecting on the anniversary of my first guitar lesson in 1963 that Mom took me to. I was only 9 at the time, and I guess the only reason I remember that date is that my muisc teacher wrote it down in the front of ny first book. January 9 & 10 usually have me thinking of my Dad, who would have been 81 on 9, and his mother's (my grandmother) birthday on 10. My band worked one night on 9 at Scooter's Pub in Kennesaw, GA. After months on the road, it is nice to spend some time at home and have a cool place to play with great people in attendance.

A new and exciting venture for me is that of teaching online guitar lessons for a Georgia Company called Watch & Learn. From all of the music experience I've had from teaching and performing, as well as many years of broadcast experience, this is an opportunity that brings everything together for me. It allows me to teach guitar styles that I love to folks that have an interest in those styles. Unlike the early days of private guitar lessons at a limited location, this now makes the material accessible to people all over the world. You can check out what I'm doing at http://tinyurl.com/hurricanewilsonguitar
If you have a problem with that link, send me an email to roger@hurricanewilson.com, and we'll get it to you.

On January 13, I flew to Orange County, CA. to attend the NAMM (National Association of Musical Merchandisers) Show. It is a massive trade show where the whole music industry comes together for 4 days via manufacturers, retailers, musicans, and industry professionals alike. It is a wonderful and exausting time to network with folks you associate with long distance, but in person for a little while. Highlights for me were hanging with my friends at Taylor Guitars, National Guitars, Olympus Audio, and other companies that I work with. Some seminars with folks such as Quincy Jones, Yoko Ono, and other industry notables set the pace, along with folks I hung with such as Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and acoustic blues artist, Doug McCleod. It will take a number of days to digest all of the information I had gathered, but some great friendships were made. At this writing, I will shortly head to the airport for the trip back to Atlanta, and then in 2 days, will shoot another online guitar lesson, and then head directly to Memphis, TN to judge the International Blues Competition. I'll write about that then. If you would like to correspond, be sure to visit www.hurricanewilson.com.