tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71138302024-03-06T22:31:31.024-06:00THE WILDERS ON TOURNews, stories and thoughts from on and off the road...brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-68391429118213624752011-02-02T20:12:00.000-06:002011-02-02T20:12:26.018-06:00"In My Girlish Days"<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/E1odDXXHYNM?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" width="425"></iframe><br />Hey y'all,<br />Happy new year. We are back on tour in the UK. Here's a great special moment with Betse singing a great old Memphis Minnie tune. This is the first time in 15+ years that we've had a a clarinet onstage with us. enjoy...brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-39033087455801835302010-09-04T15:53:00.002-05:002010-09-04T15:55:49.362-05:00Has Anybody Seen My Gal?.m4vThis is what happens when you are two weeks into a tour,<br />bored out of your mind, and arrive so early that screwing<br />around is actually encouraged by everyone. It was a classic<br />moment that I was glad to catch.<br /><object style="background-image: url("http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/bZ1FzQcHi6o/hqdefault.jpg");" height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bZ1FzQcHi6o?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bZ1FzQcHi6o?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-84403877616304316572010-08-17T17:23:00.001-05:002010-08-17T18:24:16.788-05:00"Big John"We started doing this old tune from the 1960's several years<br />ago. Never a regular in our sets, its a tune that sort of makes<br />itself known when it needs to be played. This night, we were<br />playing a private show in Scotland. It was a good crowd-<br />really close to us, but we were burned out after two solid<br />weeks on the road. I can't say its the best we've ever played it,<br />but it has a certain feeling that I think translates something<br />beyond what Jimmy Dean originally got across in his version...<object style="background-image: url("http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/IMEbtKbDppU/hqdefault.jpg");" height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMEbtKbDppU?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IMEbtKbDppU?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-69909895787240384822010-06-09T14:47:00.002-05:002010-06-13T01:44:39.674-05:00Honky Tonk BluesA very loose and lusty take on Hank Williams' classic<br />"Honky Tonk Blues" at Ystradgynlais Welfare Hall in<br />Ystradgynlais, Wales UK on May 13th, 2010.<br /><object style="background-image: url("http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/oSIZ4kOA6OY/hqdefault.jpg");" height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oSIZ4kOA6OY&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oSIZ4kOA6OY&hl=en_US&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-46409708760601787892010-06-09T13:24:00.001-05:002010-06-13T01:44:58.669-05:00Buck Creek GirlsBetse and I perform "Buck Creek Girls'" at Ystradgynlais Welfare Hall<br />in Ystradgynlais, Wales UK on May 13th, 2010. "Buck Creek Girls'"<br />is public domain, but we got it from The New Lost City Ramblers.<object style="background-image: url("http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/8DRI8188hwU/hqdefault.jpg");" height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8DRI8188hwU&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8DRI8188hwU&hl=en_US&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-24140754948136637742010-06-09T11:27:00.002-05:002010-06-13T01:45:10.701-05:00New on YouTube "Hey Little Darlin'"Here's the first video from the UK tour.<br />Here we perform "Hey Little Darlin'" at Ystradgynlais Welfare Hall<br />in Ystradgynlais, Wales UK on May 13th, 2010. More to come...<br /><object style="background-image: url("http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/GsYg_2outyk/hqdefault.jpg");" height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GsYg_2outyk&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GsYg_2outyk&hl=en_US&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-91042018004824439662010-05-18T05:52:00.001-05:002010-05-18T05:55:19.344-05:00The Latest...I'm sitting in the bow of a Stenaline ferry to Dublin, Ireland watching with detached interest the activities of the excited and noisy Irish schoolchildren that surround me. Its Monday- a travel day, and we've just finished the Wales portion of our May tour in the United Kingdom. So far, its been quite a ride for a band that hasn't seen much action thus far this year. With the exception of a few midwestern dates in January, and the Seattle, Washington Wintergrass Festival in February, we've basically been off for the entire first quarter. <br /><br />Each Wilder has his or her own way of marking the time between tours. There are now two parents in the band, and time off with our families has been precious to all of us. There's also the matter of money, which without Wilders gigs, necessitates other creative solutions to making ends meet. Now that we are back on the road (or in today's case, back on the water), I find that despite the lengthy break, we fallen back to chugging away like we've always done. <br /><br />But this is shaping up to be a very strange year for the band. Just before Christmas, we began basic tracking for a new album which will be released early in 2011. Why so long? Well there are several reasons: In the past, we've always been in such a rush to record. Although our sessions with Dirk Powell at his studio in Louisiana resulted in two of our finest recordings (2006's "Throw Down" and "2008's "Someone's Got to Pay"), recording with Dirk necessitated that we either live with the recordings we got while we were there ("Throw Down"), or bring the basic tracks to KC to finish them ("Someones's Got to Pay"). Both options had inherent problems. There were compromises made on "Throw Down" that were totally avoidable if we had just had a couple more days to finish. And we also ran into problems when we took the basic recordings for "Somenone's Got to Pay" and tried to add on additional tracks in a new studio with different sonic characteristics, different microphones, etc. So this time, we decided to eliminate these limitations by recording at home in KC, without a time deadline, in a familiar studio with our old friend and great engineer, Chad Meise. As of May 1st, we've completed about 90% of the recording and will return from this UK tour to finish it up. If all goes as planned, our new cd will be released on February 15, 2011. <br /><br />But without a new recording, it is basically pointless to tour in the US. So, this year we've only chosen to do a few large American festivals and will be spending the rest of our time out of the country. And as I sit here typing with the clatter of tiny voices swirling around me, I know that we are already deeply into it. Before we flew across for this tour for example, we knocked the rust off our live performance with two days of shows at Merlefest in Wilkesboro, NC. Our current tour takes us to Wales, Northern Ireland, The Irish Republic and England, and will eat up the entire month of May. Then, in July we'll do a quick Canadian fly-in for our first visit to The Winnipeg Folk Festival. We'll return to The Grey Fox Festival the following weekend in upstate NY, then its back across the pond for another 3 weeks in Scotland. September brings us back home to Winfield, then its another flight across the Atlantic- this time for our first visit to Denmark followed by two more weeks in Germany. By the end of October, we will have been across the Atlantic for a combined total of just over two-and-a-half months. We will most likely take the rest of the year off, conserving our energy until the new record comes out. <br /><br />For those Americans who are missing our presence, we've videotaped all of our shows in the UK. Look for a whole slew of new video from the tour to appear on youTube in a few weeks as soon as I've dug through all the footage. I'm pretty sure I can post video links to the blog, so stay tuned! You'll get a chance to hear us working out much of the material that will be on the new cd. Cheers from the Irish Sea!brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-73634117781319454192009-12-18T16:32:00.007-06:002009-12-18T16:46:07.701-06:00New Wilders 7" CLICK HERE NOW!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIKUr9I65cXvKPlB8NtLYI1KoqWBk7WJ_If7s42Rq0JGHkPS_y1WtXQZ1i2LsPgsToYyTsC4gzOJrgPmIm_p5IA0ELD8Xf36cWl192LYwOeuM2zk6vwRjFkuj4JayuNVAtRB0/s1600-h/DIRT-EP-0059-Acoverlores.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIKUr9I65cXvKPlB8NtLYI1KoqWBk7WJ_If7s42Rq0JGHkPS_y1WtXQZ1i2LsPgsToYyTsC4gzOJrgPmIm_p5IA0ELD8Xf36cWl192LYwOeuM2zk6vwRjFkuj4JayuNVAtRB0/s400/DIRT-EP-0059-Acoverlores.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416707889246677106" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hey everybody! Just wanted to let you know that we have a limited edition 7" vinyl 45 rpm single now available on our web site. The vinyl comes in pink/red or gold/yellow swirls and, like our 10" EP, will have a free mp3 download form included with each copy purchased. On the A side is a great original fiddle tune by Betse called, "Bull Shoals". On the B side is another original song, written by Ike called "God Made Me (a Little Crazy)". Free Dirt has only manufactured 300 copies, so get your's soon ok? Just click on the title of this post to go directly to our website.<br /><br />Happy holidays all y'all...brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-35904691909656424222009-08-17T12:15:00.002-05:002009-08-17T14:47:14.764-05:00Remembering Mike Seeger...It has now been a week since I learned of the death of one of my all-time musical heroes, Mike Seeger. Mr. Seeger succumbed to cancer in his home in Lexington, Virginia on August 7th, 2009. I needn't bother with a biography of the man. Others, who knew him well, have done a much better job of eulogizing him than I ever could. <br /><br />But still, I'm compelled to add a few words in observance of his passing. I first saw Mike play back in 1995, in Winfield, KS at the Walnut Valley Festival. It was my second year at the festival, and being, at the time, a complete lunatic of enthusiasm for all things bluegrass and old time, I took in every workshop I could get my hands on. I attended Mike's "Odd Instrument" workshop accompanied by a young Winfield first-timer named Betse Ellis. I remember thinking, even then, that Mike was something special. Of course, the Seeger name was legendary. But Mike was more than his famous name suggested. He had a quietness, and a regality in his demeanor that spoke volumes about him. I remember how funny he was. While Kansas fiddler/guitarist Kelly Werts demonstrated how to play the spoons, Mike, who sat next to him offered his elbows for Kelly to clack upon. This was the nature of Mike Seeger, I think. He was always willing to do what needed to be done, in order to further the music. I can't remember if Betse and I went over to meet Mike after the workshop or not. At the time, it wouldn't have been out of character whatsoever for Betse to gush all over Mike. But one thing I do know, I walked away from that workshop a huge fan, and I vowed to find out as much as I could about this interesting little man with such a huge presence.<br /><br />Over the next few years, I listened to a lot of Mike's recordings- both solo, and with his old time band, The New Lost City Ramblers. I learned how to play my own instruments with no little help from Mike's instructional materials for banjo, mandolin and guitar. And I fell in love with Mike's field recordings- made available to me via a two-cd Folkways collection, "Close to Home". The more I learned about Mike Seeger, the more I wanted to meet him.<br /><br />I finally got my chance in May of 2008 when Mike Seeger AND The Wilders were scheduled to appear on the "Song of the Mountain" television show in Marion, Virginia. We arrived early in the afternoon, and as we were loading in, I saw Mike carrying an armload of instruments from his car parked in a solitary bit of shade outside the theater. Out of respect, (and out of being a little bit star-struck), I avoided talking to him backstage. There were a lot of other bands on the bill, and there was a rigorous schedule in effect. So I bided my time, and hoped a more casual opportunity to talk to him would present itself. Mike appeared first on the program, and I sat transfixed in the balcony while he quietly performed his set with a calm, self confident air. He demonstrated banjo styles, sang unaccompanied, and played a tune on the quills (a type of pan pipes traditional in some areas of the African-American south). Unfortunately, I had to leave the balcony before Mike was finished in order to put on my stupid suit- our own set was now just a few minutes away... Upstairs in the dressing room, as I finished tying my tie, I saw Mike coming up the stairs carrying a gourd banjo, an old parlor guitar and a small suitcase under his arm. I opened the door for him and ask if I might help. "No," he said with a grin, "I've got it...Boy there sure are a LOT of stairs." He lugged his load into the small room that served as his dressing room, and began putting the instruments away in their cases. I thought to myself, "this is your chance", but then chickened out- rationalizing that the man should be left in peace to stow his gear.<br /><br />Soon after, we were onstage making our usual racket, and I caught Mike in the corner of my eye, watching from the stage left wings. I don't know how long he was there, but I remember being a little freaked out- worried that he might not like what we were doing to "his" music.<br /><br />After the show, both Mike and I were busy with our respective cd tables, and by the time I had finished packing everything up, and had changed back into my street clothes, Mike was gone. Betse called my cell phone, and asked if I wanted to grab something to eat. Since I was starving, I agreed. As we walked up the street, I saw Mike heading into a pizza restaurant with two members of a bluegrass band that had also appeared on the TV show that night. There really wasn't much else open at that hour, and the possibility that I might actually get to pay my respects to Mr. Seeger was too tempting, so we followed him inside, and selected a booth just behind where Mike and the bluegrass guys were sitting. Then Ike and Nate called, wondering where we had gone to. Betse gave them directions. The walls of the booth were quite high, and with Ike and Nate now adding to the volume, I wasn't able to hear what was being said in the booth behind. I imagined the pearls of wisdom that Mike was bestowing to his captive audience in the booth- the history, the music, the stories... Ok, I'll admit it, I was jealous. I wanted to switch booths so badly, but ultimately, I was too cowardly to make a move.<br /><br />Food was served, and eaten, and we were informed that soon, the restaurant would be closing. I could hear Mike and the bluegrass guys settling their bill with the waitress, and hurried to pay ours as well. This was to be my only chance, and I didn't want to miss it. Betse and I followed Mike outside the restaurant, and I made my decisive move. "Mr. Seeger," I said as he walked down the stairs. He turned and gave me a friendly grin. Then it began, "I just wanted to tell you how much your music has always meant to me, " I blurted out. "I don't think I would be playing this music if it hadn't been for you." The embarrassing gush continued, "I just wanted you to know how much it meant to me for us to share the stage tonight." By the way Mike looked at me, you would have thought that I had just spoken to him in Swahili. His eyes darted away. He turned toward Betse and he said, "I like some of them fiddle tunes you played tonight!" Betse was taken aback. "What was the name of that one...something about a mule jumping?" And just as soon as it started, it was over. Mike was no more interested in my praise than he would have been in a tin of moldering tobacco. It was all about the music to him. And I felt bad about it too- immediately. There was so much more I could have said. I wanted to ask him about "Buck Creek Girls"- an old tune his band had recorded back in the mid 60's. I wanted to ask him about Sara and Mother Maybelle Carter. I wanted to know what it was like to hear Roscoe Holcomb singing in the same room as him. These were things I had wanted to ask him for years. I would not get another chance. As we stood on that sidewalk watching Mike walk back to his hotel, Betse tried to console me, "That was nice what you said." But it was too late. I had blown it and I knew it. <br /><br />But now that Mike Seeger is gone, I don't feel quite so stupid for gushing. In my own silly way, I was able to tell him that his music was important to me, regardless of whether he really felt like listening at the time. I take consolation that I at least I took the initiative to say what I said, and that I meant it too- with all my heart.<br /><br />So cheers to the life of Mike Seeger. In a time where words like "Maverick" are hurled about by politicians like so much loose change, I contend that he was a mountain of a man. His impact on me remains, and I will miss him greatly.brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-44161153807711897682009-07-12T04:20:00.005-05:002009-07-12T04:49:48.026-05:00The Wilders SELL OUT!Wilders UK Summer Tour:<br /><br />I'm propped up against the wall in the hotel room in Stirling, Scotland. I have just a few minutes to write before I head out for tonight's gig. I realize it has been a very long time since I last posted, but a lot has happened this year, and my blog writing has unfortunately been shelved to the back of the pantry.<br /><br />Thus far, 2009 has been the year of the overseas tour. We did two weeks in the UK at the end of January, followed by another three-and-a-half-weeker in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Just a few weeks after we returned to the states, Betse came back across the Atlantic for a week-long teaching stint in Belgium, and two more weeks in the UK-touring with multiple artists from the US and Scotland, for her brainchild "Going Across the Sea" project. Now we find ourselves on another month-long overseas odyssey, starting with a week of dates in Ireland (our first time in the Republic), followed by a return to our beloved Scotland (where we now reside). This week, our tour is focused on the middle belt, between Glasgow and Edinburgh. But next week we will be heading north for a festival in Stornaway (a three hour ferry ride to this purportedly breathtaking island). Then we are looking at several punishing days in the van, with 8-9 hour drives each day, taking us south for three dates in England, and our final three dates to Wales. Although this is our 4th tour to the British isles, this time we are covering some very new territory, and thus far, our reception has been very positive.<br /><br />Our first week in the Republic of Ireland was dizzying. On the 26th of June, at 6:55 in the morning, our faithful Scottish driver, Gerald, met us at the Dublin airport and escorted our poor, jet-lagged arses to his motel room to get a few hours of rest before loading us back up for a promotional appearance on RTE Radio One that afternoon. Our gig at the Seamus Ennis Cultural Center that evening was our first in the Republic of Ireland, and our first sellout show of the tour. It was a great way to start. The next day we piled into the van, driving to the south coast for a gig at the Cork Midsummer Festival. The venue was inside a vintage Spiegeltent, similar to the one we've played at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the past three summers. The familiar surroundings made us quite comfortable, and we gave a spirited performance to another near sellout crowd of festival revelers. <br /><br />Then it was out of the van, and into a small uncovered motor boat (which barely contained us and our belongings) for a cross-water trip from the mainland town of Baltimore, to Sherkin Island. The quick boat ride was somewhat sullied by the fact that it had started to rain, and so by the time we arrived at the landing, we were all soaked to the skin. But our Sherkin hosts made us welcome and soon enough we were dried out and rocking the small but enthusiastic crowd at the Sherkin Shindig. The next morning, I took the time to explore the ruins of an old friary near the boat landing, before we had to load our gear back into the boat for the trip back to the van. Luckily, the weather was much better, and Betse was even given the wheel for much of our return voyage.<br /><br />The next two days, we got a real taste of the Irish pub scene, playing a showcase in Milltown Malby, County Clare, followed by a show at the well-known traditional pub in Galway, The Crane Bar. Both of these shows were followed by sessions of traditional Irish music that stretched late into the night. It was an eye opening experience to be sure- and the Guinness on tap in the pubs made it all the tastier.<br /><br />We left Galway the next morning, and headed north for two days of concerts in Wexford, and Manorhamilton, County Leitrim. Both these shows were sellouts. The small twisty roads on the west coast of Ireland left their mark on me particularly, as I encountered my first car sickness in years. But the roads straightened as we got closer to Belfast in Northern Ireland. We played to a near-sellout crowd at a rock club in Belfast, and then headed back down to Letterkenny, County Donegal for our final performance in Ireland (on the 4th of July!), at the Earagail Arts Festival. A trend was now clearly established, as this show, in a very nice performing arts center, was also sold out. Apparently, the combination of us playing our butts off in the past, as well as some pretty deft promotional work by our agent, Loudon Temple, has begun to pay off.<br /><br />On July 5th, we hopped back into the van to bid goodbye to the emerald isle and catch the ferry to Scotland. Gerald estimated that it would take about 2 hours to get to the departure terminal. But unfortunately our satellite navigation unit had other ideas. The route it chose for us was a scenic drive through some of the most beautiful rolling hills I've ever seen. The only problem was that the tiny winding roads were very slow and, by the time Gerald realized that we had been put on the wrong road, it was too late to turn back. So, for the next three hours, our van literally flew up and down the tiny roller coaster roads while I grew greener and greener in the back. Several times, I had to close my eyes and hold on to my seat to put down the urge to hurl my breakfast all over Ike's backpack (which was sitting at my feet). Not soon enough, we finally flattened out and joined the line at the ferry terminal with a few minutes to spare. Gerald breathed a sigh of relief once we were safely parked onboard. I think we were all quite happy to step away from the van for the relaxing three-hour ride across the Irish Sea. As I looked at the green shores of Scotland growing closer through the window of the ship, I felt that I was coming home.<br /><br />So as to not belabor this post, I will condense our continuing tour dates in Scotland as thus:<br /><br />Sunday July 5th- Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine SOLD OUT!<br />Tuesday July 7th- Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline SOLD OUT!<br />Wednesday July 8th- The Byre Theater, St. Andrews SOLD OUT!<br />Thursday July 9th- Eastgate Theatre, Peebles SOLD OUT!<br />Friday July 10th- Howden Park Centre, Livingston SOLD OUT!<br /><br />That's pretty much the start of the tour in a nutshell. I will make an effort to give another report soon. But please stay tuned as there is a possibility that we may have a guest blog coming soon. Right now I've got to get to our sound check for tonight's gig at The Tollbooth Gallery in Stirling. I wasn't surprised to hear from Gerald that tonight's show is sold out too. <br /><br />Cheers from the UK y'all!brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-50117996886676500022009-05-14T06:22:00.013-05:002009-05-17T11:06:29.590-05:00Smoke break at the Wall...Berlin, Germany- February 2009.<br /><br />It had been a hectic day already, and Ike and I needed a break- a smoke break that is. We're not proud of it, but we both seem to have a weakness for cigarettes whenever we are in Germany. The band was in town to play a showcase at the Berlin Country Music Messe and both of us needed a break from the completely weird scene. The Messe (Festival), is unlike anything you can imagine. Don't get me wrong, Germans LOVE their country music! And, for the most part, they've got their image right too- with gigantic Stetson hats, expensive (previously) cold-blooded reptile boots, and huge rodeo belt buckles in spades. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvowKUnbI66GCxIgySJuFCijBpxuDb-bXrHkL089wmVNTUgIkcZbIbryuqgU0PXN41MY1ANftT66BEPfoqqOibs9Z5USnIrSl5kYqgrtq3xGGU66HFXV9cFYdQdZZ2O9vsPSat/s1600-h/messeaudience.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvowKUnbI66GCxIgySJuFCijBpxuDb-bXrHkL089wmVNTUgIkcZbIbryuqgU0PXN41MY1ANftT66BEPfoqqOibs9Z5USnIrSl5kYqgrtq3xGGU66HFXV9cFYdQdZZ2O9vsPSat/s400/messeaudience.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336491835125767618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But something gets a little warped in the translation. Its like Americana in overdrive and tipped just slightly off center. Along with the sea of cowboys, there are mothers and teenage girls wearing matching Little House on the Prairie dresses. There are the omnipresent rock-a-billy cats in full leathers. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfCx9CqKZA1MqFmIJZ-v2o14j_MzJ2RUMbpWxb3EaimG8-PnLtNREchjk6I58bh97iEJjTfT_pm0VKEjVeK3QT4Joc4pOK2pigC5R7zwu07Eyt6xD4pPKQNDRFRCwoOal9F7U/s1600-h/rockabilly.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfCx9CqKZA1MqFmIJZ-v2o14j_MzJ2RUMbpWxb3EaimG8-PnLtNREchjk6I58bh97iEJjTfT_pm0VKEjVeK3QT4Joc4pOK2pigC5R7zwu07Eyt6xD4pPKQNDRFRCwoOal9F7U/s400/rockabilly.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336824446628024754" /></a><br /><br />Then there are the mountain men in buckskins, and, strangest of all, the indians. Maybe I'm just oversensitive, but seeing white people dressed up in loin clothes and war paint speaking German totally freaks me out. Anyway, we'd both had enough of it, and pushed outside into the chilly Berlin air to roll up a couple of fine tobacco cigarettes. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfEa-SlC223QwfMEgEam-aoMHV1SzCPqtRxR6g8OH2XzcWnqN-835xDztzEH2OD8O7ODVH3m07UPphK0SPN2lrNIcRdC2tOMDJI9mFqy7ZjzvdYzlmiHWUxTtACigeptPRMTS_/s1600-h/mountainman.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfEa-SlC223QwfMEgEam-aoMHV1SzCPqtRxR6g8OH2XzcWnqN-835xDztzEH2OD8O7ODVH3m07UPphK0SPN2lrNIcRdC2tOMDJI9mFqy7ZjzvdYzlmiHWUxTtACigeptPRMTS_/s400/mountainman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336492037537641138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There were still a lot of people milling around outside, so I said, "Hey, let's go over and have a smoke by the Wall." I pointed to a stretch of the Berlin Wall still standing as a monument to the cold war 100 yards from the entrance to the Messe. Ike said, "Why the hell not? Yeah let's go." We strolled out the gate over to the remains of the wall. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5orOZlGsR89bF9mNf2jMFxoHD_6O5D8ucNC4Jyf_lsB9J2jaRvfevD55U7iiWtB8hGrSjQ0NxtPcJK7hH4O9mztkd_aB1HtJ03IFTwBBsKx5w1hXrSTurYeMPTfWVzHXiRyfy/s1600-h/BerlinWall.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5orOZlGsR89bF9mNf2jMFxoHD_6O5D8ucNC4Jyf_lsB9J2jaRvfevD55U7iiWtB8hGrSjQ0NxtPcJK7hH4O9mztkd_aB1HtJ03IFTwBBsKx5w1hXrSTurYeMPTfWVzHXiRyfy/s400/BerlinWall.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336555255439581970" /></a><br /><br />Looking at it up close, we were both surprised to see how thin it was...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6CJ7oBPTafiUyVqmLAFcaljFYz2tMmMr4xRStdKt7O5juRiO4uxl1hIv1OxZ9qwn1Mt3LseB65ZahAj80ZA1QcGZnery2jECN67E4hTcTxs0u83OUPuf8ME6BsZ27FyvC0hm/s1600-h/BerlinWall2.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6CJ7oBPTafiUyVqmLAFcaljFYz2tMmMr4xRStdKt7O5juRiO4uxl1hIv1OxZ9qwn1Mt3LseB65ZahAj80ZA1QcGZnery2jECN67E4hTcTxs0u83OUPuf8ME6BsZ27FyvC0hm/s400/BerlinWall2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336493318844784370" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLN0ZlKsUxBsu6vQqybMKnLfwWjxuGio0J5fmvA9PQFUN5y1UwJfExui4vLEn_c2D9Ok1lNGLhLTAJpMzJ1cItTJkhmMVyRPEbqZDqe2BZa9cJFkXCTWHqg4TPnNp2LN4SN8A/s1600-h/BerlinWall3.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLN0ZlKsUxBsu6vQqybMKnLfwWjxuGio0J5fmvA9PQFUN5y1UwJfExui4vLEn_c2D9Ok1lNGLhLTAJpMzJ1cItTJkhmMVyRPEbqZDqe2BZa9cJFkXCTWHqg4TPnNp2LN4SN8A/s400/BerlinWall3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336555338654310978" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIBcoBOz4703Fvnf9DDDBRQCJ1SaJbDXAD_duVQdhO5gCyx3V8j0dM3gOYV6Qm_jL8kMi7KtYu4EmHeilnp44dYDCg-vEMPKHIxnDaONHKzK785LJzQoKSd6M9Len8Ma0C5xz/s1600-h/BerlinWall4.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFIBcoBOz4703Fvnf9DDDBRQCJ1SaJbDXAD_duVQdhO5gCyx3V8j0dM3gOYV6Qm_jL8kMi7KtYu4EmHeilnp44dYDCg-vEMPKHIxnDaONHKzK785LJzQoKSd6M9Len8Ma0C5xz/s400/BerlinWall4.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336555433243681106" /></a>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-81666688289175541402009-03-10T08:44:00.014-05:002009-03-11T21:41:14.211-05:00Craaaack! - The Sequel...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoyrUNiFoVouiTjb_mcqj3pWKQ2aMW0KLzW6slAZwHnRQyQaq4qcTAQ9U4iOoXj2vlxnSroFPTbbGlRP76KuM4E3svIPFdjQc4Gz3xOYIUb8j_dtL5YBSM8w0Hx4QGHQNEVEX/s1600-h/Ike's_guitar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoyrUNiFoVouiTjb_mcqj3pWKQ2aMW0KLzW6slAZwHnRQyQaq4qcTAQ9U4iOoXj2vlxnSroFPTbbGlRP76KuM4E3svIPFdjQc4Gz3xOYIUb8j_dtL5YBSM8w0Hx4QGHQNEVEX/s400/Ike's_guitar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311556324292667314" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">January 26th, 2009<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Maverick Night at The Zebra Bar- Maidstone, Kent England</span>...<br /><br />I had just finished singing a solo tune on the banjo, and was waiting for Ike and Nate to come back to the stage. Betse came up the stairs and sheepishly said, "Uh, I guess I'm going to do a solo now..."<br /><br />I looked over at Ike, who was now peering at me from the backstage door behind the bar . "Hey dude, we need you back here- and bring that roll of gaff tape". Then he whispered loudly, "I broke my guitar...again." I quickly fished into my banjo case for the tape and hurried backstage to find Ike, Nate and Gerald (our UK driver/roadie extraordinaire) hovering over Ike's guitar like field medics hovering over a soldier who has fallen on the battlefield. Turns out that Ike had inadvertently run into the corner of the bar while he rushed offstage to change a broken string. Unfortunately, his guitar had been between him and the bar at the moment of impact. Now, I know what everybody will immediatly think, "what was he drinking and how much?", but I swear to you folks, this particular bar charged us for water, so alcohol absolutely did not play a part in the breakage. And we weren't screwing around this time either<blogitemurl> (see "Hark the Herald Angels Craaaack! September, 2006)<a href="http://wildersontour.blogspot.com/2006/09/hark-herald-angels-craaaack.html"> Link</a><br /></blogitemurl><br />This time, the guitar was broke and you had to chalk it up to simple dumb luck.<br /><br />I looked over the situation. The bottom side of his guitar was split from just below where the neck joins the body, almost all they way around to the strap button. At the point of impact, there were shards of wood missing- which Ike had pulled from the guitar, and was now carefully placing inside a small Ziploc bag. I grabbed the gaff tape (the very-expensive theatrical equivalent of duct tape, but with a much less-damaging adhesive side), and started pulling off strips. It was slow and calculating work, as I tried to tape the guitar so that the seams met as cleanly as possible. Gerald, who had our, now-stalled show, and Betse's soon-to-be-finished solo foremost on his mind, grabbed the tape out of my hand, and went to work at 3 times my speed. We heard the applause for Betse, and knew it was time to get back. Gerald finished. It wasn't pretty, but we all agreed that it was officially "fixed", and Ike gave it a strum...the old boy was still perfectly in tune- although it was a little quieter, due mostly to the dampening effect of the tape. We moved back on stage and made it through the rest of the show without a hitch. In fact, we toured almost another three weeks before I heard anything about his guitar again.<br /><br />Fast forward to The Haus Der Kultur in Waldkraiburg, Germany. I was changing my mandolin strings in one of the empty audience chairs before our sound check. I heard Ike call to me from the stage, "Hey dude, do you have any more of that gaff tape? I broke my guitar...again." This time he explained that he had caught the toe of his boot on a stair while climbing to the stage. As he fell, the guitar, which he had been carrying by the neck, caught his full body weight right on the strap button as he stumbled up the stairs. The previous UK crack now continued around the rest of the waist of his guitar. I believe that if it weren't for the tape and the neck joint, we could have actually lifted the top of the guitar off to have a look inside. The only problem was that the remainder of my gaff was now in short supply. We only had about a yard or so left to fix the whole top side of the guitar. We were in serious trouble. Ike held the seams together, while I carefully ran a single strip along the crack to complete a temporary suture. We finished off the roll of tape by applying some additional structural reinforcements, and then Ike picked it up and gave it a strum... It was about half again as quiet, but still almost perfectly in tune.<br /><br />A lot of people ask why we care so much about this damned old fragile guitar from Sears and Roebuck. I guess its just that our whole sound was founded on this particular "snare drum with strings". But we are starting to think that maybe, (once the old boy is glued back together that is), it might be time to have a little retirement party. Anybody out there have an archtop with no low-end tone? Does it have absolutely no sustain whatsoever? Want to sell it? We're interested! We can't guarantee that we will always give it much in the way of tender loving care, but it WILL get played... Fast and Loud and Hard, man. And we'd gladly pay as much as $80.00 if its the right one...brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-62826394766765888412009-03-08T11:02:00.004-05:002009-03-08T11:31:36.419-05:00Tarmac Photos are the Best.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1PBdA2TB8xi9xJsd_GPU1FyJFnpDHuwJMFQkSQKthWOBCzzfZPn45syEmST4ndHjogYmoajB3Ww5lri4ISa77mbyOKfDNCaJz5jRmyFVvNjCOC94A8d51R1bhNr-3cT60QGiD/s1600-h/P1000041.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1PBdA2TB8xi9xJsd_GPU1FyJFnpDHuwJMFQkSQKthWOBCzzfZPn45syEmST4ndHjogYmoajB3Ww5lri4ISa77mbyOKfDNCaJz5jRmyFVvNjCOC94A8d51R1bhNr-3cT60QGiD/s400/P1000041.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310854887062410882" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0WtSI3pt2VtdaBh3VjafY4CmEg85JDLlML6P31iDVwAyJn7JniMpuybl_G8EntNp97F-ykRoSg4ewTupztBIdv_gbTDbVkzvLndSsxU6X8M-F90ggWOQn2jD9QnT0bkXHX2H/s1600-h/P1000042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0WtSI3pt2VtdaBh3VjafY4CmEg85JDLlML6P31iDVwAyJn7JniMpuybl_G8EntNp97F-ykRoSg4ewTupztBIdv_gbTDbVkzvLndSsxU6X8M-F90ggWOQn2jD9QnT0bkXHX2H/s400/P1000042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310854555556781794" border="0" /></a>Nothing is cooler to me than seeing a photo taken from the tarmac of an airport. I remember watching newsreel footage of The Beatles touching back down in London after their triumphant first US tour. There were throngs of fans waving at John, Paul, George and Ringo. They all look a little freaked out by the commotion, but wave to the crowd before they are whisked away in their waiting limosine.<br /><br /><br />Here Ike is stepping off the plane into the cold German night. There's precious little in the way of a single fan, much less a throng. I guess the guy standing next to the plane counts for something...brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-8686212100999351662009-03-05T13:23:00.005-06:002009-03-05T13:36:59.938-06:00Random Photo from Germany<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9I4GsXr6aroQ1TgkxBdrRAze6Xbf1uMXO2Qr27dSh8BvCdhjSxsybewiRBEqVfEmzbkekqf1evQTbPw2q8Q_DPB9t_C_o8yRFnQoF6U6UBYko6XafRNicYHQKaU9MdE2pgwN/s1600-h/WWI+Flying+Ace.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9I4GsXr6aroQ1TgkxBdrRAze6Xbf1uMXO2Qr27dSh8BvCdhjSxsybewiRBEqVfEmzbkekqf1evQTbPw2q8Q_DPB9t_C_o8yRFnQoF6U6UBYko6XafRNicYHQKaU9MdE2pgwN/s400/WWI+Flying+Ace.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309786864664393234" border="0" /></a>Ike in Illerberg, Germany. <br /><br />Style is difficult to achieve on the road. Most of the time, you look like warmed-over dog shit. If you want to look good, you need accessories. The moth-eaten orange and black scarf was later seriously fouled at Nate's birthday party in Switzerland, then it went missing for about a week, and then returned via German Post at the end of our tour in a tidy ziplock bag. Sadly, the stylish white glasses broke a few minutes after this photo was taken. But at least Ike will always have this photo to remind himself how cool they were.brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-75958790615321711952009-03-02T18:17:00.004-06:002009-03-02T18:41:06.593-06:00Fleeting Friends of the Road: A Tribute to Walker Wilder<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcUd28hQ6L-P6jqOD6SButcN6CmW8jkQLsvFsKMypod5pYMzpGjZNh_lTczVwlf5iT7IzecHq6BBFUWn0JEBWJAJ2W8CUHS9vOWLsBdxcaRFSf52vuvUSFh8fzaNfF9mQ6CJr/s1600-h/Walker.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcUd28hQ6L-P6jqOD6SButcN6CmW8jkQLsvFsKMypod5pYMzpGjZNh_lTczVwlf5iT7IzecHq6BBFUWn0JEBWJAJ2W8CUHS9vOWLsBdxcaRFSf52vuvUSFh8fzaNfF9mQ6CJr/s400/Walker.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308749429642883026" border="0" /></a><br />Sometimes the miles we travel bore us into silliness of epic proportions. We were somewhere in the Scottish highlands, sleepy but restless, when I looked at the pile of blankets, kindly loaned to us by our booking agent, Loudon's wife. To make space in the overloaded van, Ike had hung the blankets from a headrest facing us. In our haze, the pile sort of looked like a friendly frog staring back at us. I took Ike's hat and set it atop the blankets. Ike took off his sunglasses and then the stage was set. We worked for a few more minutes, Ike adding a stray guitar string for a mouth, me wrapping Ike's jacket around his backpack for the body, then Ike's gloves became his hands. Then, as a final detail, a pack of Walkers potato crisps gave our new friend his namesake, "Walker", good old Walker Wilder.<br /><br />Oh Walker, how we miss you. You were our quiet friend for a few days. We grew to love you, then you were gone. Your crisps were eaten right from your hand, your body was removed due to pressing need for the warmth and clean clothes they contained. God speed you dear Walker, in your celestial travels...brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-78981587893535671732009-02-26T13:48:00.001-06:002009-02-27T10:07:37.766-06:00Back in the USA!So...we are back (finally!) from our long tour overseas. We flew to Glasgow, Scotland on January 15th, and flew back from Stuttgart, Germany on February 22nd. Over that time, we played something like 31 shows in 33 days. The trip was quite successful. We sold a lot of cd's and made a lot of new fans. And a lot of stuff happened. There are a lot of stories. But right now, I'm just too damn tired to write about any of it. I know you are hungry for more after such a long break. Thankfully, I took some pictures and shot a little video too. In the meantime, here is my footage of the last song of the night, performed with the crowd's help at The Tin Hut, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It seems as if everyone in the UK knows this song...<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='281' height='234' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwm1PBsyltSLGG67cdkooFo78346sVWMw06EvURdxFAeH4dQeRblslyfKjQhbGIP4__LFKCh9YmCZ8' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />There's much more to show and tell. Look for many new posts in the next few weeks. Thanks, as always for your continuing interest in our endeavors...<br /><br />ps: Hope you like the new look. I was sick of the old one. I VOTED FOR CHANGE!<br />brotherphilbrotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-66065325746256002882008-12-26T23:03:00.000-06:002008-12-27T00:07:44.702-06:00The List...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfiBRsYLQCxGi10x1dq0iYSqcRPX5vwSFL56EaAqz7hyphenhyphenn8wEZKoaiFw82824O7LD_umAxVeLTTGbfvaG1zg3_E0bLRBV8BMoL96YkVCFSgh9LHrGy2aTLZAtZxDrdyI3BERsS/s1600-h/Image008.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfiBRsYLQCxGi10x1dq0iYSqcRPX5vwSFL56EaAqz7hyphenhyphenn8wEZKoaiFw82824O7LD_umAxVeLTTGbfvaG1zg3_E0bLRBV8BMoL96YkVCFSgh9LHrGy2aTLZAtZxDrdyI3BERsS/s400/Image008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284343858516584786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Does this ever happen to you? You're driving in you car, listening to the radio, your iPod, a mixtape- whatever, and you hear a song from an album that you absolutely love. I mean LOVE. An album that you can THINK your way through the entire running order, start-to-finish. An album that's as warm to you as a pair of faded jeans straight out of the dryer. An album that, for some ridiculous reason, if you ended up stranded on a desert island, you would want to have with you. An album you would NEED to have with you if you were going to survive. Whenever this happens to me, I always unconsciously blurt out to whoever is riding alongside, "THIS album... is on THE LIST".<br /><br />Now, I don't want to get too heavy into the logistics of why the desert island scenario is flawed from the get go. If you just consider it for a moment, with the lack of electricity, the limited life of batteries, the destructive effects of salt water on electronics, or, for that matter, the reality of any audio player actually working for more than a few years anyway, the idea is doomed. But I guess if you are like me, and you watched a lot of Gilligan's Island reruns as a kid, you can at least muster up the possibility that perpetual music, albeit limited to a carefully chosen list of 10 albums, might be possible. So, if you were lucky enough to be stranded on a desert island with a smart professor, who could design and build a bamboo bicycle that could generate electricity, AND you had a bomb-proof playback device for cd's, vinyl, whatever, you would want to be prepared wouldn't you?<br />Thus, the list.<br /><br />I've been working on my list since early adolescence. I vividly remember my first 8-track tape. It was "Elvis's Golden Records" and I bought it with my own allowance money at K-Mart. I couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 years old, but I completely remember rushing home, ripping it out of it's big over-sized box, then gently pushing it into the stereo 8-track deck. Over the next few weeks I literally memorized that music. Coincidentally, I have only one Elvis cd in my collection now, and it's "Elvis's Golden Records"... As the years passed, other 8-tracks entered and retreated from my life, followed by piles of vinyl records, 45's and 33's, mountains of cassette tapes, and then, much later, compact discs. When I was just a kid, my dad used to take me to swap meets at the long-ago-demolished Twin Drive-INN in Riverside, MO . I developed a behavior pattern then, which has remained in me to this very day. Whenever I see an old box of records, cassettes, cd's, or whatever lying underneath a table at a flea market or a garage sale, I MUST go through the entire box. Its an obsession that has yielded me some real treasures over the years. One of them was an 8-track of The Beatles "White Album". Actually, it was only the first half of the 2-album set, and the running order was different, due to the time constraints of the 8-track format. But I memorized it nonetheless- track breaks and all. It took me years to get used the new order when I finally bought it on vinyl. But the music contained on that 8-track destroyed me, and it still destroys me today (although in a completely different way). That's why "The White Album" is on the list. I assure you that I'll need a copy if I end up on that lonely desert island... I WILL.<br /><br />My 10-album list is constant, yet ever-changing. There are albums on my list that have been on it for most of my life, and albums that are are much more recent additions. After 30 or so some-odd years of collecting, I've grown pretty skeptical. For this reason, I am, by nature, suspicious when I hear something that really knocks me out. New albums that hit me this way generally get put on a probationary sub-list and remain there for quite some time. Then, if they truly have staying power, I will move them up to the actual list. Of course, when this happens, another worthy list occupant must be demoted. I'm not sure why the list must be limited to 10 albums, but it has always has been this way, and I don't dare shake up the rules at this point.<br /><br />The following is my current list (in no particular order) with supporting evidence:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">1. <span style="font-style: italic;">"The White Album"</span> - The Beatles</span> - As a huge Beatles fan, its really hard to choose which album goes on my list. Generally, as one becomes my favorite, it will replace another. With only 10 songs, I can't really afford to have more than one Beatles album on there. But my love for this one dates way back to that original 8-track. I just love the raggedness of the whole thing. Individually, the four Beatles were never more creative. But at the same time, they were in the process of destroying each other. Its a big, overwrought, fleshy thing full of attitude and ego-mania.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">2. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Ram"</span> - Paul McCartney</span> - Sir Paul's 2nd post-Beatle solo record has been on the list since my childhood. I used to sit for hours looking at the gatefold cover on the floor of my sister's room. It was her copy and she wouldn't loan it to me. If I wanted to hear it, I had to come into her room. The music was both friendly and, at the same time, sort of edgy. I had no idea that the lyrics were nonsensical and that Linda McCartney's voice was horrifyingly bad. Upon repeated listens as an adult, I cannot divorce these childhood experiences from the music. It has always been on the list and it always will be. I just absolutely love it and can't musically justify why. To paraphrase Descartes, "Its on the list, therefore the list is.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">3. <span style="font-style: italic;">"#1 Record/Radio City"</span> - Big Star</span> - I can't believe that I spent nearly 35 years of my life before hearing Big Star. Although I had always "heard about" Alex Chilton's seminal Memphis, TN attempt to pitch some good old USA into the british invasion, I had never had the inclination, or determination to actually seek out a record by them. Ike Sheldon brought this amazing, near perfect, rock and roll nugget into my life several years ago. I can't remember what it bumped off when it crashed onto the list, but whatever it was, good riddance...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">4. <span style="font-style: italic;">"King of the Delta Blues Singers"</span> - Robert Johnson</span> - When I was 13 and just starting to play the guitar, I checked this out from our local library. I had read interviews with Keith Richards and Eric Clapton and they talked about what a huge influence Robert Johnson had been on their playing. I got it home and put the record on my turntable and thought it must be on the wrong speed. The guitar was sort of harsh and metallic. and the Johnson's voice sounded like he was singing through a tin can. Needless to say, I was way too young to appreciate the unbelievably haunting songs, the amazing guitar rhythm and his vocal control. These 16 songs would later have a profound influence on me as a musician. It will always be a reference point for how good you can get if you just keep at it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">5. <span style="font-style: italic;">"The Basement Tapes"</span> - Bob Dylan and The Band</span>- Just like The Beatles, picking a single Dylan record is nearly impossible. I choose this one because I just love how loose it is. The boys were just screwing around in the basement. Sometimes, it is amazing what you can create when you don't think anyone is listening. Dylan sneers and croons his way through a thicket of material here. And you get the more bang-for-your-buck with the additional tunes The Band were working up by themselves. I personally think The Band never recorded anything in the studio even close to as good as the stuff in the basement of Big Pink.<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /><br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Jazz Impressions of New York"</span> - Dave Brubeck Quartet</span> - I discovered this record my sophomore year in college at the University of Missouri. I used to be what they called a "suitcaser"- meaning, I packed my dirty laundry and books into my car and headed home to the comfort of mom and dad's house every weekend. This album made that lonesome 2-hour drive from Columbia bearable weekend after weekend. Many a jazz purist will discount the Brubeck Quartet as a product of the pure commercial saccharin-jazz rampant in the naive 1950's . But I defy anyone to listen to Paul Desmond's aching saxophone on "Autumn on Washington Square" and not feel a cold chill of melancholy settling into their bones.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br />7. <span style="font-style: italic;">"In an Aeroplane Over the Sea"</span> - Neutral Milk Hotel</span> - This was one that came to me in the 90's while I was still working at the Kansas City Art Institute. Oftentimes my student workers would come into my office, heralding the latest "coolest band EVER" to me. Most of what they played me is now forgotten, but I heard this record and loved it from the first listen. Regardless of my skepticism, it only remained on my sub-list for a short time. I moved it up to full residency on the permanent list before Y2K and never looked back... By the way, I LOVE the sound of a 7th grade brass band playing Sousa marches they've only rehearsed a few times. I guess its just the chaos of it all.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Odyssey and Oracle"</span> - The Zombies</span> - This is one that could drop off the list at any time in favor of a more worthy record. Yet, for the last 3 years or so, every time I hear it, I mutter to myself, "this is still, really...on the list". Its a crazy melange of a record- the Zombies last, that speaks so much to what could have happened if they could have just got past their petty differences and made more beautiful music together...I love the drama of "Butchers Tale (Western Front 1914) and the sweet loneliness of "A Rose for Emily". I don't see it on very many other top 10 lists. So I'll hang on to it for now, in hopes that others may discover it's beauty.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br />9. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Tattoo You"</span> - The Rolling Stones</span> - Ok, I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of negative response to this one. But here's the deal: I got "Tattoo You" as a Christmas present from my high school buddy, Mark McNally, after we played touch football with about 22 other half drunk dudes in the December Missouri mud, on some Christmas vacation Saturday afternoon. We went to my Chevy Vega during half time, to sample a room temperature 12 pack of Old Milwaukee Light, when he just busted it out from behind his back. He told me, "dude, I know you don't really like The Stones, but just listen to side two. It's the sexiest album side EVER." I went home and listened. Its been on the list ever since.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br />10. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Final Fade"</span> - Howard Iceberg</span> - The newest addition to the list, but maybe the most worthy ever. I've been a fan of Howard's since the early 90's. He's a Kansas City institution. Hell, I even played slide guitar on his "Hindu Equations" cd. But I'll never forget when Howard gave me a copy of "Final Fade" at one of our local KC shows. He handed it to me and had a funny look on his face. I read the liner notes, and realized that this might be the last Howard Iceberg record. It appeared that he was intending to retire from the music game once and for all. I took it home and realized immediately, the loss this retirement would bring. Luckily, Howard has decided to forgo his retirement a little longer. That's a bonus for everyone who can get their hands on one of his records, or, better yet. see him perform his amazing songs live.<br /><br />So that's my top 10 desert island disks as of 12/26/08. As is the nature of the list, it might change somewhat tomorrow, or next week. Its my list and I make no bones about it. What I choose is a deeply personal list based on my own particular criteria. You might think I'm crazy, but I'm the one who has to live with my choices on that lonely island right?<br /><br />So what are your choices? I'd like to see the lists of some others out there. Who knows...Maybe one of your top 10's will eventually creep onto my own? Of course, as a musician, I think that I know EVERYTHING about music. But there's always the possibility of something interesting creeping on to my list at any time. I'll be waiting for your own lists in the comments section of this blog entry. Feel free to expand upon your reasoning, or just provide your basic top 10. I think we will all benefit from the experience...<br /><br />Happy New Year!brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-59674659079988275322008-12-25T21:13:00.000-06:002008-12-25T19:13:43.548-06:00Random Photo Moment 8...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNt3-18DLqnl8m03dyuvTT0Pq-OU0fxJ5bEFOcI4JsrlUwm9xiMxWKx3XZoa3cQnugkaJ3uGDw6FoKAMcErd1bblCwLuj9ic_1JLXrh2f_QTZ8ABnLU2yy5MrUidpNa9TKrZHU/s1600-h/Ikearmwrasslin.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNt3-18DLqnl8m03dyuvTT0Pq-OU0fxJ5bEFOcI4JsrlUwm9xiMxWKx3XZoa3cQnugkaJ3uGDw6FoKAMcErd1bblCwLuj9ic_1JLXrh2f_QTZ8ABnLU2yy5MrUidpNa9TKrZHU/s400/Ikearmwrasslin.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281639076106832658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"Strength does not come from winning.<br />Your struggles develop your strengths.<br />When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender,<br />that is strength."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Arnold Schwarzenegger</span>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-8729361975640252992008-12-24T18:05:00.001-06:002008-12-24T18:11:47.992-06:00Random Photo Moment 7...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhtrJVGr7a_ifP6zs25YO8Ko1fGQ6fpOPwhBOVoCG4ELMZFsjLVte5U0V4qnR5alWQqR6RTSLDD8F8zZidzq6YjMsYaTd2JtGxClw9fGJwBxVbJ4RvDY4sWYpB9hWmD383YQW/s1600-h/bgrndcany.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhtrJVGr7a_ifP6zs25YO8Ko1fGQ6fpOPwhBOVoCG4ELMZFsjLVte5U0V4qnR5alWQqR6RTSLDD8F8zZidzq6YjMsYaTd2JtGxClw9fGJwBxVbJ4RvDY4sWYpB9hWmD383YQW/s400/bgrndcany.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283512144055669986" border="0" /></a>"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said,<br />but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Robert McCloskey</span>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-58210943444310222462008-12-22T15:02:00.001-06:002008-12-24T18:16:54.978-06:00Random Photo Moment 6...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFgOUHQSrs57yxCgSs4YlmpgfGnkzkrIf1JJB4wyeGqkQu92nikPxHOrSCyoyW97rXxTMp4pxC4noejgPZh_hoEmm7r3QztVTy8Urorn7LKDbsaSg6l4zaG-FRDhSrsLfysF0/s1600-h/IkeNate.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFgOUHQSrs57yxCgSs4YlmpgfGnkzkrIf1JJB4wyeGqkQu92nikPxHOrSCyoyW97rXxTMp4pxC4noejgPZh_hoEmm7r3QztVTy8Urorn7LKDbsaSg6l4zaG-FRDhSrsLfysF0/s400/IkeNate.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282725881472283378" border="0" /></a>"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">unknown</span><br /><i></i>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-22868325741426695302008-12-21T23:32:00.001-06:002008-12-24T18:17:59.373-06:00Random Photo Moment 5...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPACrycLhIlcvnKL1Oc7avYOqzNpQoTj0gkBOf3TI9UPuKKmdjywKH-vdgY7j206WN5I-JMYQf9nwVXV9sLBkRpw_sy6iYN2w-0bzjVX7GRxUNAZ1yS5_TKnv_KCnFStXIQU_5/s1600-h/Wilder+boys.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPACrycLhIlcvnKL1Oc7avYOqzNpQoTj0gkBOf3TI9UPuKKmdjywKH-vdgY7j206WN5I-JMYQf9nwVXV9sLBkRpw_sy6iYN2w-0bzjVX7GRxUNAZ1yS5_TKnv_KCnFStXIQU_5/s400/Wilder+boys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282483380600387522" border="0" /></a>"I never drink water. I'm afraid it might become habit forming..."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">W.C. Fields</span>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-49688769151706010522008-12-19T17:01:00.001-06:002008-12-24T18:21:10.778-06:00Random Photo Moment 4...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcGhkdhofN6Q9P5MWMifT8SsjwHX6rd-Wpwscnfyh-rFEjVE8j2fLdRpV46Btdo4r5zOWEn44MLwIBLIi50QfEvW5N5zMzMeGoezAy3hN2oh6i2jVDaaSVW788eYUfiAiziTZ/s1600-h/Image006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcGhkdhofN6Q9P5MWMifT8SsjwHX6rd-Wpwscnfyh-rFEjVE8j2fLdRpV46Btdo4r5zOWEn44MLwIBLIi50QfEvW5N5zMzMeGoezAy3hN2oh6i2jVDaaSVW788eYUfiAiziTZ/s400/Image006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281640300527562354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" ><br />"Sometimes its more important to be human,<br /> than to have good taste."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" >Brecht</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-5499184283052293032008-12-18T17:37:00.000-06:002008-12-18T17:46:56.341-06:00Random Photo Moment 3...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadbBiDTyKktV9xRAhPrSUzT4Vf7ogzTLQ2KH0E1Cu3jegpa5KiTAGDXjaISSMst5z2MZVYvpRWHAkAYZ0ePfjUSe-kdpDpUY0A7meZEdIXd38svWjLBlFQ6YINXQvhGqnauw8/s1600-h/Photo+17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadbBiDTyKktV9xRAhPrSUzT4Vf7ogzTLQ2KH0E1Cu3jegpa5KiTAGDXjaISSMst5z2MZVYvpRWHAkAYZ0ePfjUSe-kdpDpUY0A7meZEdIXd38svWjLBlFQ6YINXQvhGqnauw8/s400/Photo+17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281279057742925234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"Do not take life too seriously,<br />you'll never get out of it alive."<br /><br />Elbert Hubbardbrotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-83163565007564121982008-12-16T19:24:00.001-06:002008-12-16T19:30:36.578-06:00Random Photo Moment 2...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJQdCyb9-6Ovoh4o_wHuH4uTQh_PzGhPja9vmMQjwZa8mlozjmcLD5IG_Ew7Ba0uTAVZ6JGm2A4lqbFDRV_ulNiXrHSJIaageN0XAAEIe_2XZPEGxlkj_lmw_kMuBGwsfdKuA/s1600-h/Image017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJQdCyb9-6Ovoh4o_wHuH4uTQh_PzGhPja9vmMQjwZa8mlozjmcLD5IG_Ew7Ba0uTAVZ6JGm2A4lqbFDRV_ulNiXrHSJIaageN0XAAEIe_2XZPEGxlkj_lmw_kMuBGwsfdKuA/s400/Image017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280563859450162338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"A fight is not won by one punch or kick.<br />Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard."<br /><br />Bruce Leebrotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7113830.post-481588351266283092008-12-11T02:16:00.000-06:002008-12-11T02:31:13.301-06:00Random Photo Moment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMoD-nEmqGMEyksW8E6-vxjI-z6z0K_-2CL0GAB511k6w5qoselstWtH5ezQPNRJolzySIecSKVBeG2eX6Fu9ggvmMM6By8sikZG_KfEKMUpI0KNPtt-hGEy7M_jPflg5E6wZ/s1600-h/Image016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMoD-nEmqGMEyksW8E6-vxjI-z6z0K_-2CL0GAB511k6w5qoselstWtH5ezQPNRJolzySIecSKVBeG2eX6Fu9ggvmMM6By8sikZG_KfEKMUpI0KNPtt-hGEy7M_jPflg5E6wZ/s400/Image016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278443982434614034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span class="title"><a href="http://www.wisdomquotes.com/002658.html"></a></span> <p>"Now there is one outstandingly important fact regarding Spaceship Earth, and that is that no instruction book came with it."</p><p>Buckminster Fuller<br /></p>brotherphilwilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18166711809581940790noreply@blogger.com6