I would like to thank DivingIn2Memphis.com for providing a forum to display my photography. I have developed my own site and my recent work can be view at musicphotog.com

Every seven seconds on the ESPN ticker we see the Chasing Ruth Barry Bonds update and frankly who gives a rat's ass. Last time I checked Ruth holds SECOND place on the all time list and it's a slap in the face to Hank Aaron's record so quit talking about it. As I read somewhere else (and I can't remember where, but I'd guess it was at baseballprospectus.com) unless the record Bonds is chasing is "the home run record for fat left handed white guys that played before World War II" I don't think this needs to be followed almost at all.

*editor's note - Michael Saba is no longer working with divingin2memphis.com - Please visit musicphotog.com for his latest updates.

It's been three years since I
Last saw your face
In that time I've done well
So it would seem
But we cannot escape
From what we find down deep
And I am still afraid
I pray my soul
To keep
- Michael Houser's Burned Faceless

Michael Houser was a guitar genius, a poet, a friend, a father, and an entertainer. His life was taken much too early by pancreatic cancer on 8/10/2002. His death was grieved not only by his wife and children, but by thousands of fans across the globe.

This Friday (7/29/2005), Eckobase will play with newcomers, Pnuma at The New Daisy. Eckobase is from Fayetteville Arkansas and have been playing groundbreaking live electronica music for several years. They are not the typical bush-league trance-jam band that has flooded the genre. These guys are playing are playing quality original music and gaining respect of fans across the country. Furthermore, they are impressing fellow musicians and have( as I quote from their web site), had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many notable and talented performers including Umphrey's Mcgee, Derek Trucks Band, Green Lemon, Moonshine Still, Brother's Past, Yonder Mountain String Band, Apartment Q-258, Galactic, North Mississippi Allstars, Speakeasy, Bockmans , Martin Fierro, Melvin Seals and the Melting Pot, and others, and has also performed at festivals like Wakarusa, The Great Unknown, Salmonfest, Bockman Campout, and many more.

After their high energy set at Memphis in May, I could not pass up The Black Crowe’s set in Little Rock at the Riverfest. The Crowes have hit the scene running and are reminding fans across the country of that feeling music brings. They played the headlining set on Saturday night (5.28.05) to thousands of fans. A huge mass of people filed in for, and were blown away by the music. The Crowes have been playing smaller venues on this reunion tour, and I’m sure they were feeding off the energy of this crowd. This band is back, and most who have seen it will testify that this is one of the hottest bands in 2005.

First of all I want to apologize for my lack of contributions. The new day job has taken a lot of my free time, but I will be posting more, so please don’t forget about this little corner of the interweb.

On to the music, the Beale Street Music Festival was a great weekend of music. This was my first in five years, and I was not even disappointed that I missed the New Orleans Jazz Festival. All weekend it was a struggle to decide which band was the best, as there were always a couple of good options for each time slot. We tried to arrange a photo pass; however, Memphis in May did not want local coverage. I thought they would appreciate and support our efforts. Ironically, when I showed up on Sunday with my camera gear in hand, they allowed me to shoot all day. Time limited my shooting to three bands. Lack of a photo pass forced me to shoot from the crowd. As I entered the festival, Medeski, Martin, and Wood were playing the stage by the entrance. After their set I inched down to the next stage and thoroughly enjoyed Elvis Costello; Hubert Sumlin sitting in was a definite highlight. However, the best music of the weekend was played to close out the festival. The Black Crowes have reformed and are playing some of the best music of their careers.

The Mule stopped in Memphis, and paid due tribute to this music enriched city. The show sold out weeks in advance and fans traveled from miles away to witness what we all knew would be a great night of music. Although the New Daisy was packed, the environment was great.
As Warren Haynes and crew took the stage, the energy filled the room. Mr. Matt Abts kicked a few beats on his kit, and Warren played the opening lick of Jailhouse rock. Although, he quickly stepped up to the mic and pronounced that he was “just kidding”, we were in store for several real nods to Memphis music. The band quickly busted into the real opener, Thorazine Shuffle, which segued into Game Face. That was enough evidence to know we were in for a treat, and an incredible way to start the show. Next on the plate were a couple of “sing along” covers, Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam into Mississippi Queen (an obvious nod to our Bluff City). Fallen Down with the Other One jam was very powerful, and lead nicely into Al Green’s, I’m a Ram. The Rev. Green helped put Soulsville USA on the map as he was an original artist for Memphis’ Hi Records. Blind Man In the Dark put a nice closer on the set.

Yonder brought their bluegrassish show through the south, playing two great shows to incredibly enthusiastic fans.
Down in Oxford, the boys played to a packed house at the Library. It was an impressive crowd especially since it was their first trip to the state of Mississippi. Oxford is a hard town to play, mostly because people go out to socialize, rather than for the music. Wednesday night was different, and most seemed to be focused on the music and singing along.
Each time Yonder plays Memphis, the numbers grow. I was not living in Memphis when they played their inaugural performance, but have heard that there were very few in attendance. Every show attracted more people, leading to a nearly sold out crowd on Thursday. The energy was high, the band and crowd seemed pleased, and the music was a foot stompin, rump shakin, good time. Midway through the second set the band was forced to go back to their roots. The PA failed and there was no house sound. Without skipping a beat, they gathered at the front of the stage and played completely acoustic. I especially enjoyed it as that was how I saw them play for the first time. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, five years ago, the crowd was small enough that they asked everyone to keep their seat (in the bar) and played the first set acoustic. By the second set no one could resist and everyone was dancing in front of the stage. It’s nice when things come full circle.

Gov’t Mule will bring their rock n roll show to Memphis on Friday at the New Daisy. For those unfamiliar with the Mule, they are lead by front man Warren Haynes. Over a decade ago, Warren teamed with Allen Woody and Matt Abts to form this power trio. Warren and Woody were both playing with the Allman Brothers Band at the time and decided to branch out and do their own thing. These three hard hitting musicians hit the road and never looked back. When Woody died an early death on August 26 2000, Warren and Matt kept the Mule spirit alive by adding a rotating bass player to the line up. For a couple of years they had a plethora of great bass players assuming the role, until the birth of the new Mule, when bass player Andy Hess and keyboardist Danny Louis joined the group.

Yonder will cruise through our area this week, providing two great opportunities to see them play. The first will be in Oxford at the Library, Wednesday night. Then they will play the New Daisy on Thursday. I’m considering checking out both shows, and expect each one to be unique.
For those unfamiliar with Yonder Mountain String Band, they fall somewhere between the genres of bluegrass, jamgrass, and rock n roll. The quartet is composed of acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, and upright bass. Everyone writes, everyone sings, and each is a great picker. Although a lot of their catalog is original, they cover a broad range of bands including The Beatles, Ozzy Osborne, Frank Zappa, and The Talking Heads.

Feast or famine seems to be the case in the Bluff City as far as music goes. In which case, this week is the Thanksgiving celebration of music. Three nationally touring, genre leading acts are making stops in Memphis. Garaj Mahal will start off the festivities Tuesday at the Hi Tone. Yonder Mountain String Band is playing the New Daisy on Thrusday, and Friday Gov’t Mule will close it out at the New Daisy.

This weekend Memphis will get two up and coming jam bands. I realize that both of those terms, “up and coming” and “jam bands” are generalized and over used; however, to include both the scope must be broad. Perpetual Groove will play at the Hi Tone on Friday night and Tishamingo will play Saturday at B.B. King's on Beal Street.
Perpetual Groove is a trance jam group out of Savannah. Although, they have been playing together for years, they are now gaining national recognition. Listening to a show I downloaded from the internet archive, I felt like I was in a Super Mario Brothers video game. It’s light and bouncy, but very tight. Their live performance should be interesting.

As New Year’s Eve is quite possibly the biggest holiday for music fans, I can not let it go unmentioned. Memphians have several options to fill their ears with good music while ringing in 2005. Snax Memphis is playing a huge role in providing a couple of these options. The Gamble Brothers Band will be playing at the Young Avenue Deli, and Lucero will play at the historic New Daisy Theater. Both of these bands have rightfully gained national recognition, and either will provide a great sound track as 2004 comes to an end. Please visit the Snax website for more information. Another option for live music will take place at Newby’s and is co sponsored by An Honest Tune. This party will include several up and coming bands including a local favorite, Minivan Blues Band, as well as Delta Grass, and DayBreakDown. You can get more information over at An Honest Tune’s website. FreeWorld will do their gig at Blues City Cafe, and Kenny Brown will play the Glass Onion.

As I have been trying to figure out where I want this blog to go, music has come and gone in the Bluff City. I figured the DivingIn2Memphis Holiday Party can not go unmentioned, especially with the addition of Old Union. First of all, this party has panned out to be a great night for music lovers. With the premier of the Beanland documentary, Rising From the Riverbed, and the weekly performance of Minivan Blues Band, it’s already formulated for success. It is hard to not even mention Rising From the Riverbed, in this blog entry, as Beanland is considered worldwide as one of the greatest bar bands of all time; however, you can find in depth coverage elsewhere on our website. The same applies for Minivan; I think they are one of Memphis’s best local bands, and we will have continuing coverage on them (you can also find them in the newest issue of An Honest Tune magazine). However, I write this blog entry in hopes to inform you about Old Union. These guys will bring their “original coal fired rock and roll” to our holiday party. I was first turned onto them when they opened a couple of shows for Stout. The soulful music of this five piece, has gritty vocals, true lyrics, and mixes up the instrumentation enough to keep you on your toes. They can “jam” with the best of them, but also lay down straight forward rock and roll. They create great buzz wherever they go, including the High Sierra Music Festival this past summer. Surf on over to their web site to see and hear for yourself. And remember, if you don’t support live music, then live music can’t support you.

free sol played at cafe soul on turkey day. this was my first trip to the restaurant/club, and quite an interesting place it is. memphis records was filming a dvd, and they asked me to take some pictures and record the audio. the place was PACKED. it was not the typical thursday minivan type of crowd. i felt a little underdressed. the show was good; they made an announcement that candy fox will be leaving the band. i think that is bad news, as she adds a great dynamic to their sound.
free sol has hit the scene running. their sound is kind of like hip hop meets heavy metal. it is not too far from what the beastie boys have been doing for years; however, this is definitely original music.