It's been said that it is the journey, not the destination; that it is how we travel our path
                                rather than where we might travel on our path that defines a person's life... it's meaning
                                and purpose. I think that must surely be the case.
                               
                                Ultimately, the moment we are in and the path upon which we find ourselves are all that
                                we have and all that we can truly know. One's destination?  Well... isn't that the great
                                mystery? A mystery which we can unravel only by living the life we are given?

                               My gallery contains a few images of and a few thoughts on my own journey; my path and
                               my experiences as I unravel the mysteries of my life.

Tucson, Arizona   June 2007

                                      I've been here just a few months now but, after 15 years in Phoenix, this is a good change for me.
                              It seems to me folks are just a bit more relaxed and friendly... or maybe it's me that feels that way.
                              In any case, Tucson exists on a bit smaller scale than Phoenix and I appreciate that a lot. I figger I'm
                              gonna stay put for a while. In time I will find an audience and venues where I can perform; where I
                              can meet up with the local musicians.

                       

                                       I never tire of appreciating the mountains              These Sonoran desert thunderstorms
                               that surround us on all sides of the city...               are events of great power and beauty.

                                          These dust storms can rise up in a heartbeat....  if you are out driving, have a caution !

                                                  

_________________



May 31 @ The Hut  Tucson, Az. 

                                              This was a great night of music. Blues fans here in Tucson are some of the best
                                                          fans ever! I played the opening set and I was very warmly welcomed & received.

                                                   As I am new in town I am just beginning to get acquainted with the folks that
                                                                inhabit the Tucson music community. Meeting up with a bluesman like Tom
                                                                Walbank was a great pleasure. He's keeping the early electric blues guitar
                                                                traditions alive in a truly authentic way; Tom plays that slide guitar the way I
                                                                like it best... with a lot of fire and exuberance.

_________________________________________________

Songwriter's Showcase   May 2008

   Javalina's   Tucson, Az.   

       
Working the slide guitar;   Midnight Blues... Pony Blues... You Got The Silver...  



  Brian Dean was there with his wife Koko on bass guitar and Ralph kicking it on the drums; playing some fine original electric blues.




Mitzi Cowell, a local Tucson musician, brought some terrific slide guitar to her original work.





Robyn Landis, who was in town from Seattle to play the Tucson Folk Festival, came out for a set.
She brought some fine original folk songs; man o man...what a sweet voice !




Be sure to stop in and say 'hi' to Bonnie... She not only runs a great coffee house she
is a dedicated supporter of  the Tucson music scene. Javalina's provides a terrific
outdoor  venue and books some of the best talent in town on a regular basis.
"... many thanks and much gratitude, Bonnie "

A special thanks to Robert Block for sharing these photos. " ... you got the good eye Bob "



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As always... many thanks to Bonnie Vining of Javalina's. Without her love none of this happens.
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Phoenix, Arizona

1991 - 2006

            

                                  I tell you this for free... I have never seen             Same as in Tucson; the 'monsoon' season with
                           sunsets such as one sees in the Sonoran                thunderstorms and tremendous rain begin about
                           desert. Across the horizon as far as the eye           mid-July and continue on into September. These
                           can see, the evening sky is painted in ever-           storms roll in mid-afternoon and put on a show
                           changing shapes and colors.                                both spectacular and, sometimes, very dangerous .

Me and my pony

                            All the damn sun a person could want here in Arizona. This is my first really good motorcycle
                            and I take every opportunity to get out and ride. Once outside the city it is such a pleasure and
                            a joy. Two hours north of Phoenix one is in what they call the 'high desert'... and it's always a
                            lot cooler than the desert floor. There are so many two-lane highways, one never need ride on
                            a freeway. Across the Mogollon Rim to Pinetop and Snowflake and further north to the Grand
                            Canyon, I never feel more at peace or relaxed, never able to breathe so deeply as I do when I
                            am out in the country this way. My little pony can carry all the gear I need. Whether it's just for
                            a day or for many days at a time, she can handle all the things I might need. And she is so damn
                            dependable! I change the fluids and filters as though it were a religion and she never gives me a
                            bit of trouble. And it's damned economical too. Forty something miles a gallon... I like that !

               

                                 A photograph like this cannot really do justice to the Grand Canyon. It is as awesome
                                 and magnificent as folks say it is but one can't really comprehend this until one is there
                                 and can see it and experience it for oneself. If yer even close to this part of the world,
                                 don't fail to make the trip to see it for yourself.

                               

                               

When I first arrived in Phoenix (1991), I put down my guitars for nearly ten years. That may sound crazy but I had the idea that they were a part of the 'difficulty and turmoil' I was in at that time.  The music seemed a distraction from other things that needed my attention. The time came, however, when the music seemed a part of the solution. So, in 2000, I began to play, write and perform again. My instincts were quite accurate and happily so. I have  subsequently played  many venues in the Phoenix area  And, more importantly, I've met and come to know some truly great musicians and some truly wonderful people.

I met up with Rhonda Freeman in 2002 and  we worked together for about two years. I say worked but it was never a labor. She is a very special talent and I am a much better musician for having known her and worked with her. She is a natural singer; she sings in ways that cannot really be taught. She inspired me to music that I'm sure I would not otherwise have done.

We both love the blues and have a special appreciation for the music of the old days... Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Victoria Spivey and on and on. I was so lucky to have met up with a woman/singer like Rhonda. There were nights when Rhonda sang and I understood clearly that 'it does not get any better than this'. 

Like so many of us that struggle to keep our heads above water and find the way that brings us
to peace of mind and peace of heart,  Rhonda is on her own now.  Everything passes and everything changes, I know. But I love her and I miss her...

Saturday Night @ Mama Java's     

thanks, Scott... for coming out and taking these wonderful photographs

and thanks to Mama Java's for having us... everyone there was so kind and supportive






                                                        

                                                                                                 ' Louise '

                                                                                                 ' Do Yer Duty '

                                                                                                 ' I'm So Disgusted '

                                                                                                 ' I Let My Daddy Do That '

                                                               

                                        A few years ago a local Phoenix newspaper did an article on the local music scene and some of
                                        the musicians that inhabit that world. Patrick took some great photographs on that occasion...
                                        I share a few of them with you here.

       

                                                                                                     





Terri Laird, a local Phoenix artist, was kind enough to contribute these wonderful drawings...




                   


thanks Terri !
                                                                                                                        





Sunday nights @



Krystal & Sturgis host a terrific Open Mic.


        

                                           I have a great love and special gratitude for these wonderful young people. Their love, kindness and
                                           support  has been constant and a great gift to me; particularly in the early days of our friendship. It
                                           was a difficult time for me when I first began to perform again after a layoff of ten years; a difficult
                                           time made so much easier & better because of the love they give so freely and generously.

                                           I would be remiss if I did not make mention of what amazing musicians these kids are. Krystal has a
                                           way of  singing that reaches me on a very deep level ( it's very few white female singers  can do that.)
                                          My friend Jane Hilton once remarked  " She sings in a way that makes a me ache."  There is a beauty
                                          and grace that is inherent in that kind of "ache" that is a gift from the gods.  First chance you get...
                                          get to her website and have a listen for yourself. 

                                           From time to time, I have encountered musicians of extraordinary musical intelligence, sensibilities,
                                           sensitivities and talent. Sturgis is one such musician. When he plays, he never fails to deliver me to a
                                           state of gratitude and contentment - gratitude for the gifts and talents he brings to this world ... and a
                                          kind of contentment in knowing there is nothing more I need that he has not given to me musically.
                                          And he is one of the 'good guys' in the bargain.

The Wild Angels Band      

                               

                                                                                             



Stockholm, Sweden
1985 - 1990

                              Apparently there is no distance too great for my feet to carry me. A confluence of events or my guardian angels
                              at work again? Is a person's fate and course in life set in the whole of the cosmos or the result of the thoughts,
                              beliefs and actions of the individual? Whatever the case may be, in 1985 I found myself living and working in
                              Stockholm, Sweden. Looking back on it now I consider my time there to have been a great blessing. The people
                              I came to know, all the events and experiences have made me a richer and wiser man. I don't have words to
                              express my gratitude...
                             

                                                       A bird's eye view of Stockholm. So green and so much water. Of course, during the long
                                                    months of winter it's all white with snow and ice.. but that is another story for another time.
                                       

                  

                                Stockholm is as cold and as beautiful as these                     The winter months are long and dark but then,  how  
                               images indicate. One is well advised to dress warm              boring would it be if everyplace were like every other.
                               and to get on with one's business without delay.                   Summers,  short as they may be, are very very beautiful.

            While living in Stockholm, I had the great good fortune to know and make music with Bjorn Hamrin, Hasse
            Persson and Joakim Tarnstrom. I owe these men a huge debt of gratitude.    Their kindness, generosity and
            support was constant and a source of inspiration and strength. I am so much a better musician and person
            for having been gifted with their friendship.

                            

The Quartet    1988

   

                         Bjorn is a true and dedicated bluesman who was also               Hasse... a musician's musician. I am most reminded of Levon
                         leading his own band...' Grizzly '  at that time. Even so,            Helm when I listen to him.  That Hasse is first a musician and 

                         he was constant in the support & energy he brought to             secondly a drummer was a huge factor in the accomplishments
                         the quartet... not to mention the terrific harmonica and            of the quartet. His vocals were just great; he contributed vocal
                         vocals  he contributed to the Quartet. If ya wanna hear            harmonies where I would have thought there were none. Our
                         a blues growl with some truth, give a listen to Bjorn.                music was so much the better for his presence & participation.    

   

                        Joakim and I remain close friends to this day. I was amazed       Dang !  I wish I had kept this quitar. It's an orchestra model
                        and astonished by his musical instincts and sensibilities... for      archtop made by a swedish company (Levin). At the time I
                        a guy of such a young age... it was a gift to have him along.       was playing flat wound strings and getting a real good sound.
                        I think it was Joakim that most understood what I was try-        A special thanks to Hans Liden for these great photographs.
                        ing to do musically and that was no small thing. Many times      It was his time & money and these photos mean more to me
                        he was able to bring clarity & direction when I could not.           now than ever.

                       Americans all would benefit greatly from such an experience. They might then begin to understand that America is not the
                       only country and culture in this world that has meaning and value. This mantra americans take so much foolish pride in...
                      "we are the greatest country in the world" is both vacuous and ill-informed. It only serves to limit people in terms of the
                       possibilities that might otherwise be available to them and, worse yet, obscures our common humanity and divides us as
                       citizens of this world. More and more we are all just that... citizens of one world, one earth. The sooner we realize that and
                      embrace the implications the better; not just for ourselves & our children but for all who follow in the years & decades to come.