Greetings from Liberty. Live music is returning to public places. It certainly never left here at our home. The guitars and banjos have been picked, plucked and strummed on most days since the middle of March last year. They have helped deliver new songs, tunes and twangs. But much of the homebound music making is about to head back to public places. It’s gonna be sweet.
The last five miles or so was a one lane windy road, slow going. We stopped at a parking area just before we arrived and changed into our wedding clothes. Then it was back in the car and onward to our destination. “There it is.” Nestled in amongst the pines and parking lots, we found the Drive Thru I Do wedding chapel and parking lot.
That night, with the power out, we sat in the basement near the woodstove to stay warm. I decided to crack some of the black walnuts I had gathered last October that were used to make ink. I had about one hundred nuts to crack. They are a bit harder to crack than English walnuts. In fact, they make nut crackers specifically for black walnuts. Since we don’t have one of those I used a hammer, and it worked just fine. It was a crackin’ evening, the fire and the walnuts.
The music is going well with tracking new songs for a new record. I tracked last week with a drummer named Joe Allen and we had a big time. Joe played some great stuff on a song called, “Onions, Old Movies and You,” a song I co-wrote with Geoffrey Himes.
So if you are in need for a gift of song, stories and music, you needn’t look any further. Here on the LifeSaverBridge we are ready to send your holiday bundle of song to you or anyone who is lucky enough to know you. Just send an email to: billykempmusic@gmail.com, let me know how many you would like and where to send them. I will send you an invoice from Paypal and your gift will be on its way. If you don’t use Paypal, we can find another way. I can even gift wrap it if you’d like. The holiday bundle for the three records will be $25 plus shipping and handling, which should’t be more than five dollars or so in the US.
Writing songs has been my favorite go to place since I was fourteen, but I have taken a few artistic detours along the way.
It was an extraordinary evening. A southern night at its finest with good food, good drink and good conversation; a story I have told numerous times. A night to be grateful for. A kairos day. Forever changed.
One of the shows that I really missed getting to do this past spring was a Saturday night House concert in Kansas City for the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio. It was going to celebrate Benton’s birthday and the Saturday night music gatherings he had at his home. Benton played the harmonica as well.
In the spring of 1986, I got a call from Ansley. He was Jeanne’s bandleader, and he asked me if I would be interested in playing rhythm guitar and back-up singing with her band. It had been a dream of mine to play the Opry since 1975 when I first listened to it in my 1960 Rambler on the AM radio. On a good night I could pick up the WSM Grand Ole Opry signal when I parked my car up near the Westchester Community Center in Oella, Maryland near Ellicott City. I told Ansley YES, YES, YES!!!
