Walk Among the Nations Tour day #3 Tortona, Itlay

As you should know by now… I love guitars! I had a good chance to show off my Carvin guitars at this cool Store. Kristian was a huge help fixing my Roland AC 60. It need a new fuse. I have to get a converter for it tomorrow! I also got a real Italian Suit today! Time to look sharp… Yeah!!!

Walk Among the Nations Tour day #1

We have arrived in Italy. I’m now in the town of Voghera just outside Milan… This is my first European tour. Looking forward to meeting the fans over here and playing some great jazz. My first full band concert is in Rorschach Switzerland on 11-11-11. http://www.jazzclub-rorschach.ch/ Hope to see you there!!

Iron Sharpens Iron #3: (the bass player edtion)

Darryl Williams (Bass Guitar)

I first met Darryl online about 4 years ago. Soon after Around (Again) released I began to see him at the various jazz festivals I was playing. We even played together in a jam session once. In 2010 when I needed a bass player for my set at JazzTrax on Catalina Island, I decided to try Darryl Williams. This was a great move! Since that show Darryl has played bass for me whenever I hit CA. Darryl also introduced me to Carvin. Darryl is a huge supporter of Carvin basses. After the winter NAMM show I started really thinking about playing a Carvin Guitar. Darryl made some key introductions and I’m now off and running. Darryl plays bass with some of the best jazz / pop / R&B artists out there. It’s truly an honor to play with Darryl and call him my friend. Darrly Williams has great CD out too. Check out Darryl Williams here!

Chris Rhodes (Bass Guitar)

Chris Rhodes is part of my east coast band. He lives about 30 minutes from me. So… we play together quite a bit. We first met at the local jam session in Baltimore. Monday nights at Club 347 was the spot! Then we competed against each other in a Guitar Center Blues competition. Chris tuned his guitar like a bass and let her rip! We began to talk in the parking lot of the store and Chris put two and two together. He had been hearing a song called “Astro” on XM Watercolors. Soon he figured out that was my song. It wasn’t long before he became a member of my band. Not only is Chris a very funky bass player, he is a great friend! Chris is one of the rocks that has greatly helped my east coast group to get to the next level. Connect with Chris Rhodes on facebook.

Iron Sharpens Iron

Iron Sarpens Iron - This is a new feature of my newsletter and blog where I pay homage to musical friends and mentors.. Check out Proverbs 27:17

RWG (Richard Walton Group):

The founder, leader and bass player of this group is Richard Walton. Richard plays acoustic guitar and sings as well. For those of you who don’t know, this was the first professional jazz band I ever played in. I remember my Dad liked it when I joined this group. I owe a lot to the Richard Walton Group; they really helped shape my music career. One thing I liked about this band was that they did so many different styles, most of them jazz though.  Pop vocal tunes were in the set as well. This streched  me as a player. I first met Richard in ’93 when I was in college. I got his business card from a sax player. I contacted Richard and he invited me to play on a gig that his regular lead guitar player could not do. At the first rehearsal, I met Eric Robertson, the band’s new drummer and rhythm guitarist David Meer. We all clicked right away. A few years later, Richard contacted me again when he had a tune he wanted me to play guitar on. The album was called, Where Time Stood Still. Richard then asked me to join the band. They even took an idea I had and it became the first of many tunes we would write together. We named that tune, “Strollin.’”

I have many fond memories of playing in RWG. One that stands out was when we played on a parade float. We sent our sax player off the float and into the crowd. The mission was to hand out cards. Oops… he almost got left behind… lol  We were moving at a good clip. I spent 10 good  years in this band and played on several CD’s. Richard and I were quite a writting force. Check Richard Walton out here. http://notlaw.com/pages/

Buddy Jordan bass: 



When I first met Buddy Jordan he was working for Guitar Center. Buddy was part of the Pro-Audio Department. At the time I don’t think I knew he was a bass player. But, I had a good friend from church that would always say, “talk to Buddy when you need gear.” A few years later I discovered that Buddy was in fact also a great bass player. We jammed together in the local club and he soon made it in my phone book! One fond memory I have is this time when I had Buddy on one of my gigs. The club was called Bliss. We played my tune, “Astro,” and he did this amazing bass solo in the center. It was that show I also remember sitting in his car and hearing what would be the premixes of his new CD, Did Somebody Say Bass? This is a very nice CD. I also remember having a great time playing on a cruise out of Baltimore with his band, Beyond Blue. Be sure and get your copy of Buddy’s CD here! http://www.buddyjordan.com

Rodney Kelly Guitar:

Other than Nick Colionne Rodney Kelly is one of the sharpest dressed jazz guitar players. I’m talking suit, hat. and the works. When you see him he almost always has an arch-top in his hand. That would be a big jazz box with f-holes. I first met Rodney Kelly at the Monday night jam session at Club 347 in Baltimore. You will hear me mention this quite a bit in this new feature of my newsletter. It wasn’t long before we became friends exchanging licks and talking about our guitars / toys! Rodney also has a very talented son who plays keys. One fond memory I have is when Rodney invited me to play at Lexington Market with his band, the Rodney Kelly Experience. This was a Friday lunchtime gig. Of course we did a few George Benson numbers together! Rodney is a fine guitar player and working in his debut solo CD. Check him out here! http://www.rodneykelleymus​ ic.com/

Thanks for reading. Have a great August!

Drew