Hem in june with a little bit of Hank's and Mood Illusion on the side.

Here is a sced of the next couple weeks or so when I am on a short tour with Hem. Check the website for details and make sure you say hello if you come by.










May 30/06 Chicago, IL Double Door
June 01/06 Bloomington, IN Buskirk-Chumley Theater
June 02/06 Nashville, TN Exit In
June 03/06 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
June 05/06 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theater
June 06/06 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle
June 07/06 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
June 08/06 Washington, DC Birchmere
June 12/06 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
June 13/06 Philadelphia, PA Theater of Living Arts
June 14/06 New York, NY Society for Ethical Culture

Also I have some gigs with my own band "The Mood Illusion" sandwiched in there.

June 9 at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn starting at 8:00.
June 10th at Waterfront Alehouse in Brooklyn from 11:00 till 2:00.

The band will be:
Jonathon Haffner: alto
George Rush: String Bass
Bob Hoffnar: pedal steel guitar
Tommy Crane : Drums

Lest we forget:
June 11th is all Hank's with Shotgun Shack from 6:00 to 9:30 and then Sean Kershaw till 1:00.

I'll post the rest of June when the dust settles. The western swing band with Smokey Hormel is turning into something real special. Lots of great music seems to be bubbeling up from everywhere these days.

I bought a pickup making business !

I'll announce this here because nobody reads my blog anyway and it looks like it will take me till mid july to get it together. JIm Pitman makes my favorite pickups for pedal steel. Humbucking but with an open full sound. He doesn't have time to build them now so he sold me the winding machine and spent a couple days training me how to do it his way. There are about a zillion little details and each one is critical so I have my work cut out for me. When i'm ready to go and fully confident of the quality I'll put up a web page and and get things going. I'm not looking to mass produce these things at all. If I can make a pickup or 2 once a week and get them to people who like them I'll be happy.

The rest of May 2006

The picture is of a Hem recording session. Greg Pliska is the arranger and conductor.

5/15 Monday night I'll be in LA at the Knitting Factory with Hem.
5/17 Wednesday night at 9:00 back in Red hook at Sunny's bar (253 Conover St) playing Western Swing with Smokey Hormel on my old Stringmaster. This is a very laid back perfect scene.
5/20 I'll be at The Mercury Lounge with Don Dilego . Well worth checking out.
5/21 Its nothing but Hank's ! from 6:00 to 9:30 with
Shotgun Shack and then on into the abis with Sean Kershaw till 1:00. Free sausages ! Cheap beer ! Drunk dancing people ! Whoo Hooo !
5/23 The Mood Illusion strikes again at The Lakeside Lounge ! My evolving into who knows what little band. Samoa the Joe Walsh of lower east side art music may sing a few with us.
5/24 Another weds playing western swing with Smokey at Sunny's.
5/28 Hank's !
5/29 I'm off on a short tour with Hem.

5/5 to 5/12

5/5 friday Hem at Bowery Ballroom
5/6 sat Shotgun Shack at Rodeo Bar
5/7 Hanks same as last week
5/10 weds Sunny's in Red Hook. Smokey's western swing band rehearsal/gig
5/11 My band "The Mood Illusion" playsThe Living Room at 11:00
5/12 Shotgun Shack at Waterfront Alehouse 11:00 till 2:00