Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black

Ok, so I guess I'm just "sharing" tonight. Big fan:



Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But still is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

The Thrill is Gone

For all you other blues enthusiasts:

No Time

No time for writing, but wanted to share this nugget of truth:

Glenn Schwartz

I recently read a journal entry by David Byrne where he kind of gives Cleveland a beating. Judging from the experience that he wrote about, maybe we deserve it, but still... You can read the entry here:

David Byrne - 10.23.2008: Cleveland

There were some positive aspects of this article, probably the main one being his review of Glenn Schwartz. Glenn Schwartz is a 60(ish) year old, fret-bending blues player who sounds totally unique. His playing is immense, he sounds like he could move mountains with his chops. And the hell-fire and brimstone preaching in between songs makes for a really, really interesting musical experience.

Glenn started out in the James Gang back in the day. While on tour with the James Gang he came to Jesus through a hippie on sunset strip. You can read all about it here: Glenn Schwartz - Wiki. I won't bother to regurgitate the whole article, but it is an interesting read and I believe it to be one of the more interesting rock n' roll/blues stories I've heard. Once you hear this guys playing you'll understand what I'm saying.


Glenn Schwartz Video






My favorite thing about this video is the dude in the italian leather coat that manages to always be directly in front of the camera at all times, blocking the video taping of Glen. Big fan:

Doyle Bramhall II

Doyle Bramhall II is a great rock guitarist hailing from Austin Texas. He is the son of drummer Doyle Bramhall Sr., who was the drummer for Lightning Hopkins and also played with Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Doyle's playing style is organic and bluesy, combined with unique compositions and great tone. It's no wonder that Clapton chose Doyle to take on tour as a backing guitarist.

Check out the clip below for some insight into Doyle's playing style: