“There is a work of art each of us was destined to create. That is the central point of our life, and — no matter how we try to deceive ourselves — we know how important it is to our happiness.” ~ Paulo Coelho
It has been a crazy week, and not just with electric and AC stuff. I’ve seen both my peoples (bands) this week and lots of great music was made. The Radical Departures (above) got together for the first time since last year’s John Lennon Tribute. We’re trying to decide what we’ll play for this year’s Stevie Wonder Tribute show. The big news from that camp is Chris, the guitarist/singer/songwriter, is this close to something very, very cool in his songwriting career. I’m not gonna say what it is for fear of jinxing him (and it’s not my story to tell), but suffice it to say, we are really excited for him. Just before we gathered this evening we learned that Dusty Hill of ZZ Top died in his sleep last night. What does that have to do with this post, you ask? The photo of Golden Alert (below) is missing a member – one Pat Francis, also known as Elwood Francis to most folks. We did the photo after rehearsal this past weekend to send Elwood as moral support. He has been the guitar tech for Billy and Dusty of ZZ Top for 20 years, and as this tour was starting (days after our recent gig), Dusty went back to Houston to recuperate from a bad hip. Rather than cancel the tour, they asked Elwood to step into Dusty’s shoes. (you can see him here on the first show) I imagine it was a shock for the band and crew when they heard Dusty had expired, but until today, we were so, so, so excited and pumped for Pat, and super proud of him for rising to the occasion – and shining. The bottom line is this: love your people and be grateful for every laugh, hug, song, smile, and word you share together. And always play in bands with people who cheer you on. It’s the best feeling in the world. I couldn’t be more proud of all of these people. Every one of them is a stellar human being that I’m blessed to call friend.
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