8/365 - Blues

8/365 - Blues, originally uploaded by freeloosedirt.

Perhaps my favorite genre of music is that of American blues artists. This record is collection of songs from separate recording sessions done by Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. The Muddy Waters tracks come from a session he did with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Otis Spann from the "Fathers and Sons" sessions. The Howlin' Wolf tracks are from the "London Howlin' Wolf" sessions.

7/365 Me And My Friends

7/365 Me And My Friends, originally uploaded by freeloosedirt.

I went to a second Frank Turner show tonight, and was glad I did. While last night's show was with a full band at the Roxy, tonight Frank played acoustic guitar and accompanied by a second musician who played mandolin at the much smaller Hotel Cafe. I prefer these smaller acoustic shows over those with his full band.

But what made tonight more fun had to do with one of those “small world” moments. While waiting for the doors to the Hotel Cafe, a guy who had been standing in front of me the previous night recognized me and stopped to say Hi. We soon learned that we both lived in the same city, Simi Valley.

When we began discussing how we came to “discover” Frank Turner, the world got even smaller. I shared with him that my friends on the email listserv “postcard” had seen Frank at SxSW before he became well known, and were raving about him. He shared that a friend of his from San Francisco had received a recording of one of Frank's live shows, and became a fan after listening to that recording. As it turns out, that recording was made by another friend of mine from Postcard, and the friend of my new friend is friends with my old friend.

This community around music is one of the reasons I love going to watch live music.

6/365 - We Are What We Believe

6/365 - We Are What We Believe, originally uploaded by freeloosedirt.

Tonight I went to see Frank Turner play the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles. He is an engaging performer and his music is tailor made for involvement and interaction from the audience.

“We are what we believe” is a lyric to a song of his titled “Poetry Of The Deed” and has become a touchstone for me during my sobriety. In recovery we are taught that our thoughts become our beliefs, which become our actions, which, in turn, become our habits. Frank Turner states that more succinctly in his lyric.

Tonight a fan bought some drinks for Frank, and when they offered them to him, he declined, telling the audience that he'd quit drinking. His new record is called “Recovery” so maybe there will be more touchstone lyrics awaiting me when it is released next month.