More On Hunter

Here is a very interesting and touching story about Hunter S. Thompson as told by his widow.

It really is a shame to lose Hunter but he always did things his own way.

Hunter S. Thompson

I was shocked to read the news that Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide on Sunday at his home in Aspen. I have been a fan of his books since I started reading them when I was in college. I didn't always agree with everything he wrote, but it was certainly entertaining. His crazy antics on Conan O'Brien will be missed.

Concert for Asia

In an effort to be involved in the music scene here in Nashville, I volunteered to work at the Concert for Asia tonight. I was excited about it because it was for a good cause (tsunami relief), there was potential for networking and I'd get to see Ben Folds again.

The concert was very different than I expected though. I thought that all of the performers would each play a few of their songs but it was quite a different concept. The artists (with the help of a great backing band) each took turns performing songs from the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh that George Harrison organized as relief for a similar crisis.

The performances were all so great and featured some very talented people doing very good covers of Beatles, Bob Dylan and other great songs of the '60's. The setlist was as follows:

Wah-Wah
My Sweet Lord
Awaiting On You All
That's The Way God Planned It
It Don't Come Easy
Beware of Darkness
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Here Comes The Sun
A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall
It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
Blowin' In The Wind
Mr. Tambourine Man
Just Like A Woman
Something
Oh Darling
Come Together

I had only heard of Ben Folds and David Mead out of all the artists, but was very impressed with most of them. Ben played "My Sweet Lord" and "Something" which were both good but the highlights of the night for me were Phil Keaggy, David Mead and Jason White. Phil did amazing and energetic renditions of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Oh Darling" while David did a beautiful cover of "Just Like A Woman." They both teamed up for a great duet of "Here Comes The Sun." Jason did a spot on Dylan impression in his cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man." These guys are some great singers.

It was a night that I really didn't know what to expect of it, but was very glad that I took part in the event.

Venice Is Sinking

I had the opportunity to see a band from Athens, GA last night called Venice Is Sinking. My good friend and drummer for the Hek-Atomic Cherries plays bass in the band. It's always nice to see Steve who I usually only get to see about once a year or twice at most. Plus the band is very, very good. They play a very laid back, melodic indie rock that is peppered with aggressive hooks. You can hear samples of their music at their official website as well as their MySpace Music site and their Pure Volume site.


Venice Is Sinking

They will be playing another show tonight here in Nashville at the Springwater Supper Club and Lounge that I plan on recording for the ages. Anyone who is within reasonable driving distance of Nashville will not be disappointed.

Fat Tuesday

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!" It's Mardi Gras 2005!

The Big Game

So Super Sunday is here and I don't feel that different. There was a time that I used to get really excited about the Super Bowl, but that has certainly waned over the years.

I don't think that I have cared about a Super Bowl since the Rams played the Titans in 2000. That was only exciting because I was rooting for the Oilers (Titans). Since then I have been pretty much unconcerned about the game because I'm not much of a professional football fan.

Remember when the commercials were creative and funny? I do. We'd talk about the commercials all day on the Monday after. Now they are all dumbed down and about as funny as surgery. The commercials over the past two years have been downright dreadful.

So what am I looking forward to if anything? Getting to spend time with good friends and drink some beers. That's really what the game is really about for most people anyway...or so I'd like to believe.

The Cornhusker State

I've been so busy with school and work that I completely forgot that National Signing Day came and went this past week. My alma mater, Texas A&M, landed what could be a great class that has been ranked in the top 25 by many recruiting services. As far as our conference goes, College Football News says that A&M has the number four recruiting class in the Big XII. It also says that Nebraska has the best class in the Big XII.

Some people don't understand how a team that just came off a poor season can haul in such a great class. There are several factors that go into a highly ranked recruiting class and a winning season is not high on the list. A winning tradition seems to be more important. A team coming off of a rough season is enticing because of the likelihood of early playing time. A new recruit will likely get a better chance to play sooner if the team is in a flux trying to figure out the best way to implement the system with the players that they have. On top of that, Nebraska is coming off of it's first year with head coach Bill Callahan and he is in fact trying to implement a new system and coaching philosophy to the Huskers.

Personally, as much of a tradition that Nebraska football has, I don't know if I would have chosen it over other schools in the Big XII like A&M. Say what you will about how small College Station is but at least there are no two month old manure fires in Texas.

Dean Wormer, We Will Miss You

John Vernon, the wonderful actor who portrayed Dean Wormer in the classic "Animal House" has died. Although he has appeared in movies as many great characters, I will always remember him as the man who was always at odds with Delta House and even went as far as to put them on Double Secret Probation. John Vernon, R.I.P.

Carter Little

I just got home from a singer/songwriter show featuring one of my teachers at SAE. Carter Little just finished teaching a class I was in a few weeks ago and this week told me and some other students about the show tonight. He showed us a video he made for one of his songs and I really liked it so I thought I'd check it out. It was a good showcase of some great songwriters. Check out Carter's website and give his songs a listen. I think my favorite is still "Kill My Darling" but judge for yourself. Look for his album at the end of April.


Carter Little

Groundhog Day

Phil has spoken and apparently it is for six more weeks of winter.

The chubby critter delivered the prediction after he was pulled from his burrow in an oak stump at 7:31 a.m. by a top-hatted handler, and his prediction was greeted by boos from the thousands in attendance.

"He's only the messenger!" one of the members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club - the volunteer group in charge of Phil and the town's Groundhog Day festivities - reminded the crowd braving the frigid weather.

In this world where only good news is created by conflict, another article tells of the behavior of other animals around the world and their use in predicting the weather. Personally, I don't care one way or the other and figure that by March 20, the Vernal Equinox, nature will pretty much take it's usual course and Spring will start.

If nothing else, "Groundhog Day" is a classic movie and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't already seen it and to anyone who already has, watch it again to remember just how funny Bill Murray is.

Rhythm Nation

My good friend Lauren from Chicago emailed me today asking why I haven't written anything about what has been happening with the Nashville Rhythm, an ABA team. Honestly, until tonight, like most citizens of this fair city, I didn't understand what was going on with the situation.

On Monday, I was reading the Nashville City Paper and read an article on the rather confusing events that had transpired over the weekend. But I really didn't follow the story that well. I was confused and didn't think much of it. But then later in the day on a local news broadcast, I saw that the story was making major headlines on the likes of ESPN.

Until tonight, I really didn't get all that had transpired but thankfully Lauren supplied me with a link that has cleared it up for me. That being said, I heard more tonight (before reading the above link) about an apology from the organization. Checking back at the City Paper, I found this further confusing article.

So I don't know if I will be able keep up with this bizarre story, but I suppose as a Nashvillian, I should at least try to be the "man on the street" for the information superhighway.