RWB Bluesletter

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

2010-12-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

In many respects this year was a challenging one – for us and for many of our friends. If overcoming adversity builds character then I think it’s safe to say there are some real characters roaming around the musical landscape! We hope you'll join us in facing the changing times ahead with an open heart, an open mind and an optimistic attitude. At midnight we will give a heartfelt toast those who are no longer with us but are never to be forgotten. We resolve to show affection and appreciation those we care about and to be kinder and more patient in the coming year, and to never let our dreams die.

Tonight we ring in a new year and a new decade. Looking back, we are filled with gratitude for the encouragement, the energy, and the adventures that you - our friends, family, fans and business associates – have shared with us and have sent our way over the past six years. You have, and always will play a huge role in our musical journey. Without all of you… well, we’d probably be jamming in a basement somewhere instead of sharing our music with people around the globe. We never, ever forget that.

When we started the Rusty Wright Band back in 2004 Rusty and I had been professional musicians for most of our lives. Over the years we’d settled onto the path of least resistance, playing cover tunes for good money, but the thought of filling our years with more of the same was… unappealing. Today there is an unending selection of great original music by independent music artists thanks to innovators like Derek Sivers and websites like CDBaby. Indie artists of all genres can now carve out a musical niche if they are willing to work hard and invest in their music career but in the early part of the decade, the idea was heady, exhilarating, and more than a little scary – especially for a middle aged couple deciding to give the proverbial finger to reigning social attitudes which said we weren’t young enough and pretty enough to be musically relevant. Fast forward six years. Wow. Six very gratifying and challenging years filled with music and new friendships, learning experiences and adventures. We hope you’ll stick with us a while longer because we’re confident the best is yet to be.

From all of us in the Rusty Wright Band to all of you, wishing you and yours all things bright and beautiful in this fine new year we have ahead of us. In the immortal words of Spock, "Live long and prosper." ;-)

Laurie's Travel Blog: RWB's Tour of Italy - Part I

2010-07-23T07:53:00.001-07:00

10:30 a.m. 7-14-10
Rome airport, first impression - very warm temps around 90, typical for this time of year.
picked up guitars and luggage. Rusty was worried about how his Epi would fare but all was fine. We met up with Ado, our tour manager. Young, hip with multiple earrings and piercings in his ears, several rings, tattoo sleeve. His English is excellent. Tells us our first stop is Torre Alfina to the North, about a 3 hour drive . We have a small bus with high back bench seats. The air doesn't work very well, but it's enough to keep us from melting.

Surprised how quickly we left the city for a rural landscape. Huge hay bales, fields of sunflowers, craggy hilltops with ancient villages perched precariously, the houses built to the very edges of the cliffs. I'm sure Ado is amused by our video blogging and me taking photos of every interesting looking building along the way, but he doesn't say anything. We're all exhausted so the guys soon doze off. I can't sleep, can't stand the thought of missing some of the spectacular countryside.

We finally turn off the highway on to more rural roads, twisting and turning upward, past olive groves and small farms. Finally we catch sight of the castle in the distance. A real castle. Crenelated towers Beautiful trees make a canopy over the curving road leading into Torre Alfina. We have arrived in a perfectly preserved medieval village dating back to the 8th century. Picturesque beyond description. Narrow cobblestone streets. Flower boxes hang beneath shuttered windows. Not a neon sign in sight. Nor a scrap of litter anywhere. We quickly find our hotel and the guys almost cry with joy to see a sparkling pool. There is also a restaurant where we will eat dinner. No television in the the restaurant or the bars. People enjoy animated conversations at the tables.

Dinner, 7-14-10
They want us to experience a traditional Italian dinner so they ask us to allow them to make recommendations. We tell them yes, absolutely!
First course
carafes of house red wine, sparkling water and regular water (fizzy or flat) platters of crostini, cheese with fresh tomato, beans, pate, ham/prosciutto and cheese
a platter of antipasto – thinly sliced cured meats
pasta – two kinds homemade noodles
egg noodles with wild boar sauce
thick fetticini with an incredibly fresh tomato chili sauce. Ado informs them I am allergic to eggs so they make sure to point out which dishes are safe for me to eat.
platter of thinly sliced (shaved) prime rib with au jus (they described it as roast beef)
salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sauteed spinach with lemon wedges.
Festival organizer, Carlos, more often than not called El Presidente byt the village residents, sends over a carafe of local specialty wine, lightly sparkling, smooth, wonderful. He explains that this is the wine the locals make. Each town's wine tastes slightly different. If you travel 20 km the local wine will taste different because of the soil the grapes are grown in.

After dinner we walk through the village. Since it is too hot to work during the afternoon hours, the sound and stage crew has worked late into the evening building the stage in the town square in front of the church. Tomorrow they will rig the lights and PA. Its a good solid, large stage. Behind the stage is a picturesque row of stone houses with fine doors, shuttered windows and flower pots and window boxes. There are pots of dazzling flowers and lemon and lime trees everywhere. It is 11 pm and families and children are out in the square, children playing on the church steps.

we walk up a steep street to a bar where alcohol and gelato is served. I try the berry gelato and some chocolate. rich and creamy.
The hotel is a family-owned affair. Everyone in the family seems to work there - day and night
Connie is the lady of the restaurante she and the dark haired gentleman take excellent care of us. In the morning continental breakfast consisting of cappacino, croissants & pastries, fresh yogurt with toppings, fresh orange juice. Have I mentioned Everything is FRESH and natural. Behin the hotel is a small garden with a grape arbor, lemon and lime trees, tomatoes, leeks, lettuce, rosemary, basil, herbs and other vegetables.

Rusty said lunch was a buffet of roasted and fried vegetables - onions dusted with bread crumbs and baked until sweet and soft, carrots, tomatoes brushed with olive oil and herbs and cooked - flavor was intense. Artichokes, beans etc.

Once again we have struck gold with our tour manager. Ado is magnifico - extremely competent, and on top of things. He's a very nice guy to boot. We like him a lot and are grateful for our good fortune. He watches over us carefully and is quick to make sure we have what we need for our performance. At this level, a tour manager often wears many hats. Part babysitter/guardian angel, part translator, part goodwill ambassador and part cheerleader, he works hard to keep us comfortable so we can do our best at the shows. He gets to drive the bus and to sell CDs for us, to boot. Tour managers must be very detail-oriented and knowlegable about a wide range of subjects. Ado's days are very long - he doesn't get any "down" time but he seems to enjoy hanging out with us and is probably relieved we're not a demanding bunch.

We are supposed to be down at the stage at 5:30 for an interview, to be followed by our sound check. Our interviewers are some of my new Facebook friends. The interview takes about 5 minutes then we settle back on the benches to wait for sound check. Evidently it was too hot earlier in the day to finish setting up the stage so things are running a bit behind. Two hours later we get sound check. The crew is very competent and wants very much to get the sound right for us as a film crew is on hand to tape our performance. For Dave, there is a nice Roland keyboard and a pristine 1961 Hammond B3 and Leslie speaker has been provided. For a moment I think he's going to cry with joy. There is a wide selection of amps for Andy, Rusty and I to choose from. A young man named Marco tells us some of the tube amps are hand built by a gentleman standing close by smiling. "they are very good," he tells us. At his suggestion I tell him I will use a small Dumble combo amp. Low, mid, high EQ, volume, input, and standby are hand lettered on the front panel - in Italian of course. Its a basic amp so it doesn't take long to decifer the wording. Its warm and squashy as only a tube amp can sound and my Tele sounds good through it.

Suddenly Dave yelps, grabs his arm and jumps back. Evidently there is a ground problem on one of the keyboard because he has gotten a jolt of 220 up his arm that hurts like hell. The crew swarms to fix the problem and Marco gets a jolt of it as well as they figure out where the problem spots are. Finally they connect a ground wire under a screw on the B3 which solves the problem for Dave but the rest of us are sternly warned not to touch either of his keyboards while holding guitars. We finally finish with sound check about 8 pm. Showtime is 10:30 and we have yet to eat dinner. Most of us skipped lunch because of the large dinner we had the previous night, so we are ravenously hungry. Back to the restaurant we go.

Dinner, day 2 July 15
I can't imagine that our fare will be this spectacular throughout our tour and Ado confirms this. "This is a special place," he says. Indeed it is. A magical, fairytale sort of place. Throughout our stay Rusty and I look at each other in amazement and wonder (wistfully) what it would be like to live in such a place. Less than 400 people inhabit this medieval village. We learn from a visiting Belgian lady that the castle is for sale - only 11 million euros. Hmmmm, need to play the lotto a little more often. An American from Baltimore tells me he has been bringing his family here for a month long visit for the past five years. He says they have tried everything imaginable, including offering the castle caretake a bribe to see the inside of the castle. It didn't work. Evidently the castle was locked up after the last owner lost his fortune funding a sports team. The property sits in limbo because the man fled to Santo Domingo after filing for bankruptcy. Since no one can find him, nothing can move forward.

Carafes of water and red wine appear on the table.
appetizer buffet - salad, more roasted/grilled vegetables, artichokes, beans, a platter of wafer thin beef strips topped with greens and shreds of parmagiano, bowls of polenta - sundried tomato flavor and the other is full of ingredients I can't identify but enjoy greatly. The restaurante is packed so I don't want to bother the staff asking questions. In the corner Michael Burks, his band and tour manager Manolo are having dinner. He has just arrived and looks as jet lagged as we must have the day before.

Three platters of pasta make up the main course. One is a rustic noodle dish with a gorgonzola cheese sauce which is delicious but filling. The second, egg noodles with a mushroom sauce. I love mushrooms. Connie rushes over when she sees me put a dab of mushroom sauce on my plate with a couple of egg noodles clinging to it. I think she feels bad I have only one pasta to try so a few minutes later a third platter of pillowy chunks of pasta in a tomato meat sauce (perhaps wild boar again) is delivered to the table. Tonight we are urged to try dessert, so we each order something. I ask for a recommendation on an egg-free dessert and am served a lovely creamy custard-y dessert topped with rich chocolate. (I think it probably has eggs in it but it is so delicious I don't care. I can live with a night of fibromyalgia for something this good. Ado orders expresso and Limoncella for all of us. Pete chooses to forgo the alcoholic beverages since he has never tasted alcohol and says it seems a shame to break that record now. It should be interesting doing a concert after such a filling meal.

Connie is very warm and likable, and always seems relaxed and unflappable. It appears she is confident in her team and she knows they are great at what they do. She tells us she cannot make it to our show as she will be working still at 10:30 and asks that we sing her a song. No problemo. We will also make sure a set of autographed CDs finds their way into her hands before we leave..

Much to our relief the stage is rigged with state of the art LED lighting - which means no additional heat on stage. By 10:30 the weather is as perfect as you could ever wish for. Too dry for mosquitoes, a balmy 75 degrees with a light breeze.

Torre Alfina Blues Band kicks off the show, playing rock classics and blues tunes. Very tight band. We could hear them from the hotel as we got ready for the show. Dave banged on the in the door - "Did you hear them kick off with Bad Company's Rock Steady?" When Rusty & I arrived they were playing Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion and they finished their set with Sweet Home Alabama.

By comparison, our set was a huge contrast - almost all original music. The show went great and the crowd was very enthusiastic. A film crew videotaped the show - multi-camera shoot & the audio crew was very attentive. They did a wonderful job. Michael Burks sat on the church steps listening to the first 5-6 songs before slipping away. Afterward we talked with people, went back to change clothes and then headed for the jam in a little square up in the village. It was 1 am and the whole town appeared to be there. Torre Alfina Blues Band playing again - more rock covers. People singing along... Rusty, Dave, Pete and I sat off to the side listening and smiling at our new friends, many of whom I'd connected with on Facebook before the start of the trip. Next thing we knew, Dave was asked to sit in on keyboards. He'd had a bit to drink. As they got ready to start the next song he turned to us in dismay and hollered "Oh crap! It's in the key of F#m and its an ORIGINAL tune!" Rusty and I busted out laughing. Rusty waved and shouted back "God be with you," still laughing. Dave did an impressive job of following along. Lots of improv, and even threw his leg up on the keys and did a credible Jerry Lee Lewis impression when El Presidente Carlo strapped on a gold top Gibson Les Paul and took off on Johnny B Good. Dave was still flailing on the keys when Rusty and I headed back to the room about 2:30. Ado promised to make sure he got back safely.

7-16-10
Needless to say, we were tired when we hit the road at 9:30 a.m., a six hour drive ahead of us. We are heading North of Milan to the Traveling Music Fest in San Lorenzo di Rovetta, located in the central Northern region of the country.

With the temp in excess of 100 degrees, the van is hot, hot, hot. The air conditioning doesn't work very well and doesn't reach past the front seat in any case so we opened every window that would open let the hot air blow in. Even the mountain region is experiencing a heat wave. In Italy, you have to have a license for air conditioning and many hotels are equipped with neither air conditioning or heat. Our lodgings for the night is a beautiful, secluded little resort that was once a gristmill. It is very beautiful in a rustic way, and from the window of our room we can hear the rush of water next to the building and see people fishing with cane poles at the well stocked trout pond.

A quick shower, then we head to the venue for sound check. Tonight's show is at a local festival. The stage is large and again, the audio crew is competent and dials in the sound quickly. Our back line for the night is to be provided by our opening act, Dr. Faust & the Traveling Boys, another tight cover band. The guys tease me that the amp I am to play through has more knobs than the space shuttle. Wish I'd taken a photo of it. It sounded good though. tonight Dave has a Nord keyboard rather than a B3. He has never played one and is curious to try it.

Back at the resort we meet downstairs for dinner in the outside dining area. Most of us order thin crust traditional pizzas baked in a wood fired pizza oven. Andy orders steak and Ado a seafood risotto dish.We have time for another shower (to cool off) and we head back to the festival where thousands of people are grooving to the cover band. There are food and drink vendors everywhere and vendors selling arts, crafts, clothing and jewelry - very similar to the community festivals in the US. People seem to enjoy the cover tunes and I can't help but wonder how our original music will go over. I need not have worried. We kicked ass. Major ass, and left the crowd screaming their approval.

The young guys in particular like Rusty's guitar playing. After we leave the stage a young guitar player - early 20s at most - bounds up and kisses me on both cheeks, shouts that he loves me and that he has never seen a woman guitarist who played "with an attitude." How funny. Bless Ado's heart. Our Italian savior politely intercedes when a tall, anorexic, Cleopatra-type woman decides she wouldn't mind sleeping with anyone/everyone in the band. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ciao. Gotta go now. In fact, it is while trying to explain to "Cleo" that Rusty and I are married that I realized my wedding band wasn't on my finger. With some very unladylike words I jumped up from my seat, panicking. There is no way I was going to find it if it had slipped off my finger at the festival. Then I recalled hearing a strange 'ping' on the cobblestones as we were leaving our hotel. I glanced around but since I hadn't dropped any of the items I was carrying in my hands I forgot about it.

Ado agreed to take Rusty and I back to the hotel to look for my ring. On the ride back, Massimo, our tour promoter/agent checks in with Ado to see how the show went. We don't ask Ado exactly what he has reported to Massimo but have no reason to believe anything negative was said. We'd had a really good show and everyone. After dropping us off, Ado headed back to enjoy the festival with Dave, Andy and Pete and to drive them back to the hotel when they are ready. We search for a few minutes but it was too dark to really look for my ring so we decided to get up really early to search some more. I'm happy to report we found it in the morning.

Laurie's Travel Blog: RWB's Tour of Italy - Part II

2010-07-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

7-17-10
Italy is soooooo beautiful. The region we are driving through is very mountainous with quite a few lakes and rivers. Quaint villages and cities line the shores and are tucked into breathtaking valleys. Our drive to the Gompm Alm Music Festival in the alps will take approximately 4 hours. Its another hot ride because an unusual heat wave has even hit the Northern mountain region.

Gompm Alm Fest is a camping event and appears to have more of a jam band vibe than a regular blues fest. We look forward to meeting Massimo, our Italian promoter today. Alligator recording artist Michael Burks is also on the bill and will be following our set. We are looking forward to doing a second show with him the following day at the Liri Blues Fest.

We are still in Italy, but you'd never know it. Most people speak German rather than Italian here in the Italian Alps and the architecture definitely leans more toward the German/Austrian side of things. Its also a bit of a shock to see a type of palm tree growing around the Bavarian-style buildings. All of our accomodations have been very nice. The Koning Haus is sleek and modern. There is no air conditioning as it is rarely HOT here in the mountains as it has been this week. We finally have wi-fi but it costs 4 euros (about $5) per hour. We have a lot of catching up to do so we pay for three hours.

Less than 90 minutes later we are showered and back in the van, on our way to the Gompm Alm Festival. It will take approximately an hour to reach the mountaintop festival site. It has to be close to 100 degrees in town, but we are told to bring jackets with us as it may get quite cold on the mountain after dark.

There is no easy way to get to the top. Miles of twisting hairpin curves and steep inclines. Leading our caravan is a festival staffer who has driven down to guide us up the mountain. Ahead of us is Michael Burks and his band. They are pulling a trailer full of gear. By the time we reach the festival site almost all of us are feeling a bit queasy from being jolted around and the stress of two-way traffic on a road wide enough for only a car and a half. Several times we had to inch our way around vehicles coming the opposite direction - sometimes there is only an inch or two to spare between the van tires and the edge of the cliff. At last the pavement ran out and the road got even narrower as it continued snaking up through the forest. Many festival goers have chosen to park below and take the cable car to the top but a surprising number have driven up, parking their vehicles in the woods and along the road and hiking the rest of the way.

It takes longer than anticipated to get to the festival site so we arrive late - a few minutes after our set is supposed to begin. Andy J. Forest from New Orleans has stretched his set until our arrival. We fling ourselves from the van, grabbing guitar cases and within a few minutes we're checking micrphone levels and tuning up. The crowd is mostly young, diverse and international. Some look like they've been camping there for a while already. Pup tents dot the landscape everywhere. In front of the stage is an awning that stretches out like a huge umbrella, which offers a little protection from the elements. The air is brisk - quite a contrast to the stifling heat at the base of the mountain. From the stage we could look out across the mountains. The wind is whipping and it appeared some black looking clouds were moving in. Massimo, our Italian promoter/agent is here to see us perform. It seems an odd choice, but he has eight separate tours running concurrently and this was his only opportunity to hear us. The crowd really seems to dig what we're playing. People are dancing and moving in close to the stage. It soon becomes apparent that Rusty's hollow-body guitar is not happy with the abrupt climate change. Normally the guitar stays true to pitch but today, he is having trouble, and has to quickly tweak the tuning between each song. While he tunes, a man calls an invitation to me that I am welcome to share his tent tonight. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. From the stage I laugh, thank him for the invitation but point out I don't think the guy with the long hair would appreciate it much if I did that.

Finally, in the middle of Robin Trower's "Day of the Eagle" his high E string snaps. He ends the song and we trade guitars and we finish out our set with me playing rythm on the Epiphone and Rusty playing my Telecaster. Tough for both of us because my strings are much lighter than his and each guitar has a very different feel and sound. I have to watch every note I am playing.

The rain hit as soon as we hit our last note. I feel terrible for Michael Burks and his band. They will have rain in addition to the cold wind blowing at them from the back of the stage. The weather doesn't seem to phase the festival goers though. Some hunker down under the umbrella awning and the rest ignore the rain and continue to guzzle beer in the pub area. We shove our guitars into cases and eventually make our way into the building, where Massimo joins us and starts ordering food and drinks for everyone. (yes, more food!) Outside, lightning and thunder rumble loudly, but inside the cozy two-story hiker's shelter there are platters of strong cheeses and cured meats, an unusual bread and the obligatory bottles of carbonated "fizzy" water, regular spring water (also called flat or naturale water) and of course, red wine in small stoneware pitchers. Massimo orders hamburgers, pizzas (with tuna - probably my least favorite dish thus far) and something sort of like a large dumpling that I can't even begin to describe. It tasted like stuffing, but each bite tastes a little different. They are extremely filling. After we finished eating Massimo orders tiny shots of cherry flavored Grapp for everyone. Grappa is really potent and tastes like moonshine if left unflavored. Somebody quickly grabbed Ado's and drank it. He has been drinking water and coffee. Grappa is the last thing he needs. He has to drive us back down that damn mountain.

Massimo picked up a nylon string guitar from a chair in the corner. It was missing a string but he plays well and soon Rusty and I were singing along as Massimo tore through Grand Funk Railroad's "I'm Your Captain." He said he felt GFR's contribution to rock music had been underrated. We told him our story about Farner performing for Doug Pullen's going away party, and also tell him that Mark and Leesia's son had been in a terrible accident. We haven't been able to get online so we haven't checked for an update on his condition but on the mountaintop I say a little prayer that the Farner family is getting the miracle they are hoping for.

Once business is taken care of, we finally get ready to head back down the mountain. This is one hedonistic bash. Everywhere you look, people are staggering. Many have stayed later than they planned to and have missed the last cable car down the mountain. A number of people beg us for a ride down to their cars. Away from the festival site its pitch black and few are carrying flashlights with them. As we pulled away Ado asked if we would mind giving a ride to a mother and daugher who had approached him for a lift. He felt he couldn't agree before asking us, so they had walked on ahead. Needless to say, they were extremely relieved when we pulled along side and told them to climb aboard. As we made our way back down we are boggled at the number of people (many of them intoxicated) who are trying to hike back down to their cars in the dark. We dropped the mom and her daughter at their car parked near the cable lift. She tells Ado there is an easier way to get back to town. They live not too far from the cable lift but she insists on climbing in her car and leading us down the mountain until we are close to our destination, and then she turned her car around and headed back up the mountain toward home.

The constant altitude changes and long rides have wreaked havoc on my body. My left foot is almost football size. My right foot only slightly smaller. All my joints ache and are swollen, as is my face. No one else seems to be having a problem. I am in constant pain and avoid the video cameras because my face is so swollen.

7-18-10
Our next stop is the Liri Blues Festival in Isola del Liri, one of the only cities on the planet with a waterfall in the center of the city. It is a nine-hour trip. Tonight we're opening for Alligator recording artist Michael Burks. We have less than two hours to rest and shower before we head to our sound check.

From the outside our hotel doesn't look like much. We check in and then a man leads us over to another building where our rooms are. From the outside I fear we've finally gotten a fleabag hotel. Once inside, we are relieved that our rooms are actually pretty nice. The air conditioning works well and there is a real TUB, rather than just a shower. I'm overheated, exhausted and fairly cranky. After a cool bath I laid down, spreading a towel across the pillow so my hair won't soak the pillow. When I wake up about 40 minutes later I have chenille textured stripes across my face. Lovely. Hopefully they'll fade before show time. The nap, air conditioning and bath have worked their magic and I feel 100% better than I did an hour earlier, although I'm still swollen almost beyond recognition. My biggest gripe is that I am out of hairspray. I have been looking for it at the roadside travel centers for tthe past two days. Ado will do anything for us, but somehow he doesn't grasp how much I crave this one hair product. Out of necessity we've been traveling with open car windows so perhaps he thinks my alternating finger-in-a-light-socket, windblown look or the sweaty, plastered-to-my-head look is what I normally look like, but for some reason we never get to a regular store and now there is no time to find any. Uck. Out of our entire tour, I would not have chosen this show to have a bad hair day. That's just the way things shake out sometimes though, and I've just got to roll with it.

The stage is set up about three blocks from the lovely waterfall in a piazza (town square). This is another serious stage, with more LED lighting. We have decent equipment to work with. Rusty has a Fender DeVille and I played through a vintage Fender Super Vibralux. For Dave there is a Kurzweil keyboard and a Hammond B3 - but the Leslie only spins at one speed. Ah well.

Most people stay indoors in the heat of the late afternoon, so there aren't many people roaming around town when we do soundcheck. A few curious passersby stop to listen but we quickly finish sound check and head to a restaurant for dinner. Because of the heat, Italy is a late night country. The cities come alive at 10 pm, and our shows typically start between 10 and 10:30 p.m. Michael Burks, bassist Oscar, drummer Popcorn and Wayne, the keyboard player have already arrived at the restuarant with Manolo, their tour manager.

Our server smiles shyly and apologizes for her poor English but she speaks better English than most of the people we have talked to thus far. She is friendly and soon loses her shyness in trying to communicate with us. white wine, water, bread with hummus, cold blanched snap peas, a cold salad made of beans, risotto and seafood. After the appetizers came a 4-cheese risotto, and after that came our "second plate." Rusty ordered veal, Dave a meatloaf dish with chunks of egg, Andy and Pete ordered a puckery lemon chicken, and I enjoyed chicken breast with white wine sauce.

The piazza is filled with people when we take the stage two hours later. The sound crew makes us sound like a million bucks and there are video cameras and photographers everywhere. Ado takes my camera so he can get pictures for us. Our energy level is off the charts and Rusty is having a great time playing and mugging for the audience. He and Dave throw down some seriously badass riffs during the improv sections and my rendition of Voodoo Woman goes over really well with the crowd of several thousand, who roar their approval after each song and press close to the stage. So much fun.

We autograph photos and CDs for at least an hour and try to meet as many people as possible - including more of my new Facebook friends who I have been communicating with for the past several weeks - all the while grooving to Michael Burks and his band, who are taking the people in the jam-packed piazza to another level. There is a frenzy of photo flashes when Michael steps down from the stage and walks through the crowd during an extended solo. I caught a shot of him myself as he made his way back to the stage.

Dave, Rusty and I make our way around the corner to a small bar and grab a drink. We talk with more people and pose for more photos with folks who later become our friends on Facebook. Such warm, friendly people. I wish the language barrier weren't quite so wide, but we manage to communicate on a very basic level - lots of smiles and handshakes and cheek kissing. I give guitar picks to some of the kids milling around backstage. Several teenage boys have volunteered as crew members for the festival.

"Maybe our band will play the Liri Blues Festival next year," one of them tells me. Learning that they are players, I give them the last of the guitar picks I have stashed in my pocket.

"I will use this pick if we play the festival next year," he tells me solemnly.

Standing side stage, Rusty mentions to Manolo that it would be fun to jam with Michael. He is shocked into silence when Manolo dashes off to confer with Michael between songs. Minutes later Rusty is strapping his guitar back on and he and Michael Burks trade licks for 30 minutes or so. At one point, Michael took a turn at the B3 while Rusty played, and then Dave jumped on the keyboard with Wayne. The crowd absolutely loves the two of them playing together and the roar is deafening when the show finally draws to a close.

Late into the night we linger, all of us musicians and the sound crew. Michael, Rusty and I have a long conversation about mutual friends, Southern cooking, promoters, venues and festivals, international touring, guitars, gear - you name it. After Rusty had thanked Michael for at least the third time for being so gracious, the Grammy award nominee tells Rusty he remembers how it felt to be snubbed and shut out by other musicians back when he was starting out. He asks to exchange contact info and tells us to call him if there's ever anything he can do for us. In-freaking-credible. You'd better believe we'll do everything in our power to promote his shows at every opportunity - especially when the band rolls through Michigan.

We have always gone out of our way to be open, cordial and helpful to musicians we have met on the road or on our own home turf. I'm sad to say that most of the time, the response to our friendliness is at best, a smirk and a nod, and at the worst, a chilly look and no response whatsoever. There have been times where we haven't had time to chat because we're under pressure to clear the stage quickly after the set, and I always feel bad afterward. I hope we never act like that. Ah well, like Santa Claus, we remember who's been naughty and who's been nice. And although we don't respond or acknowledge their actions, we always will remember those who have tried to halt or destroy our musical endeavors.

Its really late when we finally roll back to the hotel for a few hours' sleep.

7-19-10
We have the day off from performing but it is still a travel day. We drive to a hotel called Villa Fanini, located near Massimo's home base in Ascoli Picena. It is a nice hotel. The guys go into town to do laundry. I'm feeling pretty ill from the drives so I stay back at the room while the guys head into town to do laundry. After dinner we all try to catch up on our videos, photos and blogging.

New Projects

2009-10-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

I was talking to our AFE Contact (That's the Armed Forces Entertainment people) and he said we got great reviews from the various camps and the soldiers there so he asked, "Well, what do you guys think? Would you do it again?"
I laughed and told him "You need to listen to our first CD. We have a song called Do It Again". Then in the next breath I said, "Hell yes we'd do it again. What you got?".

After that the conversation moved around to various tours and the one he seemed to keep coming back to was the Mediteranean. Two to three weeks in Turkey, Greece and Egypt! I said we'd love it but you got to schedule 1 day off in each country so we can actually go out and SEE it! I will not go to Egypt and not have time to see the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. That would just be cruel.

So who knows. I guess it's good to be wanted at least in this sense.

But back here in the real world it's time to get moving on new product. We will be doing something a bit adventurous. I'm writing a lot of music so we are working on not one but two new CDs. There is a theme behind them and I think it's going to be a strong PR buzz when we reveal the whole thing. For now just say it's a fusion of eras with an emphasis on doing good for those who deserve it. Yea, I know it's a bit cryptic but please bear with me. It's going to be something special.

Right now I'm demoing all the songs at my home studio and sending out discs to the guys. From here we'll rehearse heavily and hit the big studio in a few weeks. I'm hoping to have the CDs in time for our yearly Cabin Fever Show in Davison, MI.

Next big event for us is the PIX Theater in Downtown Lapeer, MI.
This will be the last Band show of the year as we bury ourselves in the studio to prepare for 2010. Laurie & I will still be doing some duo shows so please check the calendar at the RWB website.

See ya at the PIX!
Rusty

2009-09-24T17:28:00.001-07:00

Been a strange couple weeks since we got home. The jet lag was murder but I'm finally sleeping through the night. For nearly a week Laurie and I would be out of gas at 4pm but when we went to bed at 11pm at night we kept waking up at 3am and were wide awake.

The summer tour season has wound down. We have shows for winter but now is the time to start creating new material and start working on next seasons tour.

I've already been writing and recording demos of my ideas to give to the band. Laurie & I have started some brainstorming sessions about music ideals and marketing for next year as well as lyrics for the new songs. We'll spend many hours working on the preparations for the recording sessions. Rehearsals with the guys and I'll have to write charts for any added studio players (I'm thinking of a horn section for a couple of songs.) It's really a monumental task just to put one CD together but this year we have two separate projects to deal with. A new RWB project and a special CD that's still in the hush hush mode. It should be a great musical expression with a twist.
I'll fill everyone in as it develops.

Our body of work has been growing slowly for almost 3 years and the most interesting thing about that is that we sell music all over the world through our site, and others and we generate sales from Downloads in greater and greater numbers every month. The newest surprise came in the mail today. Sadson Music received a check from BMI, our performing rights society for airplay of our music on radio, internet and subscription services including several airlines. It was really fun to see a list of all the outlets that logged our music in the first 3 months of 2009. I always try to be the artist first but part of you MUST be the bean counter if you don't want to deal with a record company and the way the industry is now NOBODY with talent should run around fixating on getting "signed".

All I can say is doing things indie has been a long, hard, difficult road but I feel that it's the most satisfying way to go to keep your artistic vision intact. Sure, other people may have more bling but they always seem to disappear after awhile. I plan on being here giving my music out to the world for as long as I possibly can. Give a listen, it just might make you feel.
www.rustywrightband.com
Rusty

Bluzapalooza IV, Rusty's Wrap-Up

2009-09-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

BLUZAPALOOZA IV Second Leg of tour - Japan

Sorry for the delay. Internet access was a bit spotty at the bases in Japan
and our schedule was very tight so there was little time for writing. so I thought
I'd do a recap of the 3 shows in Japan all in this post.

Day 1 in Japan

September 10, 2009

Our Japan Air flight left Incheon International Airport in Korea and we landed at Narita International Airport just outside Tokyo. We had just really become comfortable in Korea and had made a great friend in our driver, Mr Yi so our departure was a bit sad, but we knew there were more people to play for - and
duty calls.

Mr. Yi was a true Godsend. He went out of his way on many occasions to help us during the tour. He found music stores when we needed parts. He haggled with the shop owners so we didn't get taken advantage of. He drove us around on his own time to get laundry done and helped us find the best deals on shopping and places to eat. He taught us Korean phrases and told us where we could go to sight see
and where NOT to go. When one of the speakers blew a high end driver during a show he took it upon himself to take it to be repaired the next morning.

He wasn't obligated to do any of this. His job was to drive us from point A to point B but he chose to be a friend and we are most definitely friends in return. So much so that on our last day we felt we just had to do something for him so I gave him a Bluzapalooza cap and a tip and Laurie gave him her Bluzapalooza jacket right off her back. He had really liked them when we arrived and asked how he could get one.

Mr. Yi and Laurie

I wanted to give him mine but he's a small guy and Laurie had the only jacket in his size. I felt bad that she should give up hers and told her not to. I would try and get one and send it to him but she was adamant. She likes Mr. Yi a lot too and didn't hesitate to give him the coat off her back...That's my girl :-)
We left Korea and arrived in Japan to meet our POC "Spike" Uchino. Spike is a Japanese national who works for AFE. He does a good job of organizing and our first nice surprise was when we saw a full size tour bus show up, YEA BUDDY! There's nothing better for long haul drives than a big old bus with large plush seats and all the extras.

We arrived at Yakota Air Force Base and got our credentials for base access, after which we were taken to
the Kantos Lodge on base. The lodge is a VERY nice military hotel and the accommodations were suites with full kitchens and living area. It was a very nice place to stay. We had the day free so everyone kind of scattered and did various things. Laurie and I stayed close to the rooms because we had an early interview the next morning at the Armed Forces Radio Network.

Day Two in Japan

September 11, 2009

We headed out at 8:30am for the interview on the morning drive time show. Spike picked us up in the tour bus and we headed out to the station. Armed Forces Radio in Japan boasts a listenership of 800,000 to 1 million listeners! WOW. At the station we were introduced to our AFN Liaison Felix and morning show host Jeff St. Sauveur. Jeff is a friendly guy and we relaxed and enjoyed the 30-minute interview. He played songs from the new CD and talked about our tour and the Bluzapalooza organization. We gave him CDs for giveaways and did a video shout out for his show after the interview.

From there it was time to go get the guys and setup and sound check for the show at the Yakota Officers Club – or the O Club, as they call it. It is a nice place, rather like a country club, with restaurant, banquet facilities and a bar area. We performed on a nice size stage in a ballroom-size room that had been set up for the show. We went on at 7p.m. - right after dinner and did two 50-minute sets, playing for a nice crowd of enlisted men, officers and their wives. (The show was open to all ranks). They loved it and danced and cheered all through the show. Afterwards we ran around meeting everyone, signing photos and handing out more CDs and cards to our website. It was a fine evening and it really made us feel good about what we were doing.

Day 3 in Japan

September 12, 2009

We left the comfort of Kantos Lodge and headed for Yokuska. We arrived and met our POC, Jason and went directly to the O Club there. It was very similar to the club at Yakota so setup and sound check was easy.

The show was open to all ranks and visitors and to our surprise there were quite a few Japanese people in the audience including members of the Mot Oteru Band, a Japanese blues act that performs at the base regularly. They were very excited to hear an American act and the local commander introduced me to
all of them before the show. They were extremely polite and were very interested in seeing
us perform. These folks loved blues style music and have built their entire repertoire around
American blues music. They clapped and cheered and smiled all through the show. There was none of the posturing and testosterone you often run into with bands in the states. By the end of the show we made friends and signed autographs and gave more CDs away. It was another fine evening making music and friends.

Right after the show we packed up and climbed aboard the bus again for a two-and-a-half hour drive to Camp Fuji at the base of Mt. Fuji. We were scheduled to play the Camp Fuji Friendship Festival there on the 13^th (our last show). Since community turnout is quite large for these festivals on the bases our liaisons worried we might get stuck in traffic if we waited until morning to leave.

Day 4 in Japan

September 13, 2009

We rolled in to Camp Fuji about 1a.m. and checked into the Mountainview Inn which is the
on-base billeting. Camp Fuji is a long-established Marine training site, which has been around since WWII. Being a Marine base it is much more Spartan than the other branches. Marines are all about what you need to get the job done not about frou-frou. Our rooms were clean and comfortable but there was no Wi-Fi so we had to go to the club for the enlisted personnel for that. Everything at Camp Fuji is spread out. Nothing is close by. Luckily, our POC Shaun had allocated two vans and drivers to help get us around. Because the base was open to the public while we were there the PX and mess hall were closed. We did get to eat a breakfast of omelettes, bacon, hash browns and toast and coffee/juice with the troops but after 9am there were no more meals.

We were the closing act at the festival and weren’t scheduled to go on until 7p.m. so we asked our driver take us into town for some provisions. Laurie, Lee and I went to a big supermarket which had fresh seafood as well as everything else you could imagine. We bought some grocery-type stuff since there were
refrigerators and microwaves in the rooms including some big sampler platters of fresh sushi.
We had some on the plane coming over and decided to get more as well as all the other normal munchy-type stuff. OH - and you have not had a real egg roll until you try them here. WOW, are they good!

Dave, Justin, Andy & Pete took the other van into town to eat at a real Sushi restaurant. The kind
where you sit at a table and there's a little trough that runs all the way around the restaurant filled with
flowing water. The various types of sushi come floating by on small decorative plates of various colors.
When you see what you want you pick it up out of the trough and eat. The waitress then tallies up your bill
by the number of plates stacked up and the colors tell her the price of each kind of Sushi.

Showtime came and they drove us to the backstage where we tuned up and prepared for our set.
We went on and kicked off with the instrumental, Hell on My Heels, which lit the marines up right away!
After that we tore through a 60-minute show of our most intense songs and were greeted by
enthusiastic claps and hoots from the people. The Japanese were a little freaked at the intense guitar
but the "Jarheads" ate it up (God bless em'). After the show we were invited to the Roadhouse and the upstairs officer’s club. There we were greeted by the camp commander and many marines who loved the show. We hung out there for almost two hours talking and partying with the guys. I bought beers for many of them and handed out the remaining Bluzapalooza caps as well as photos and cards.

I love playing but we all had as much fun shooting the breeze with these guys as we did doing the show.
Marines are my kind of folks. No BS. Straight up and to the point, with a strong desire to laugh and party -but ready to get the job done - no matter what. Yeah, these guys are definitely cut from a very special cloth.

We left the next day for home, tired but satisfied. This tour was extremely grueling and we were on a
flat run almost all the time but as we all sat in the van on the drive home from the airport we discussed
our experiences and everyone agreed they'd do this again. In fact, a lot of the sentences started out with
"Next time we do this we should..." So I guess we will be "lifers" for the military. Why not? It's the least we can do to express our gratitude to these people who risk their lives so that we might be able to live ours the way we choose.

God speed and good fortune to the noble men and women of the United States Armed Forces. I will gladly play my blues for you until everyone comes home.

This is Rusty Wright signing off for Bluzapalooza IV and Armed Forces Entertainment.
Peace.

Catching up on the tour...

2009-09-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 5 2009
Show #3 BBQ & Blues, Osan Air Force Base
Osan is an extremely nice base, with the officer’s club resembling some of the nicer country clubs Rusty and I have performed at. The BBQ & Blues Festival was just getting into full swing outside the officer’s club when we arrive. As our bus pulled up we were geeked to see our faces plastered on a huge banner strung across the intersection. Too cool. We unloaded our borrowed amps and keyboard and do a quick sound check. Lee went to work with audio crew from the Korean sound company to get our instruments and vocals dialed in and everything seemed fine at that point. Since we still had several hours before our performance we were directed to a private room in the O club that has been set aside for our use. Some of us set up our laptops and go to work on video clips, posting to our tour blogs and sorting the photos we’ve taken so far. The rest of the group heads back outside to hear the first act, a local band.

The first half of our set sent off without a hitch. Great crowd, great response. Then right at the end of the set sparks began spitting outward from the outlet box Dave’s keyboard was plugged into. We quickly yank the keyboard’s transformer cable but the damage was already done. We took a break so the MC could take care of some announcements and we could confer with the sound company folks to try to come up with a solution. Before Dave and I could leave the stage smoke began pouring up out of the Line 6 guitar amp. Another piece of gear fried. The only solution was to change up the set and finish the performance as a four-piece, with Dave watching glumly from side stage. We all felt bad that some equipment got wrecked, even though it wasn’t our fault and there was nothing we could have done to prevent it.

Monday, September 7, 2009
Show #4 Labor Day festivities, Hanson Field House, Camp Casey
No luck in finding a transformer or getting the fried one repaired for Dave’s keyboard. We were disappointed at the possibility that Davey might have to sit out a show or two until we could resolve the equipment issue. Fortunately, Frank --- Our main AFE contact in Hawaii contacted the owner of the equipment rental company and made arrangements for us to borrow a keyboard for the show from a band called USA Express who was scheduled to play earlier before us at the festival.

Lots of families in attendance for the Labor Day activities, which included entertainment, demonstrations, vender booths, and games and contests for both kids and adults, inflatable castles for bouncing – all the normal stuff you see at a community festival.

Dave usually plays a Hammond B3 at our shows but AFE was unable to provide a B3 for the tour so Dave has been hooking a laptop to the keyboard and is using a B3 simulator program to get his B3 sound. It’s not an ideal arrangement for him but sounds pretty darn good, all the same.

It was great being able to perform outdoors. There has been little variation in day/night temperatures since we’ve been here, with only one humid day. We were the final act of the evening and by the time we took the stage it was dark. The only drawback to the outdoor shows here have been the big ass bugs. At Osan, we had to contend with spiders spinning webs in the equipment on stage while we played. At Camp Casey bugs that looked like mayflies started landing on us as soon as we started playing. At one point I looked over at Rusty and saw a half dozen of the mayflies clinging to his shirt and a huge praying mantis making its way up his back at an alarming rate of speed, heading straight for his ear. I got the feisty little interloper off of him but he/it remained up on stage with us through the rest of the show. At the end of our set the camp’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) director presented the band with a gorgeous engraved plaque. Then we were able to spend some time signing autographs and chatting with some enlisted folks who’d hung around to say hi. Everyone has been very friendly and appreciative – we all look forward to the time we spend after our shows talking with the military folks and finding out where they’re from originally, how long they’ve been away from the states, etc.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tommy D’s, Camp Humphreys
Each venue/event has been quite different. Our last Korean show at Tommy D’s was more like a regular club gig than a concert. When we arrived we learned there had been a bit of a snafu with communication. A local band, New Sensations, was also scheduled to perform the same night. Their show was cancelled so we could go ahead with ours. Instead of being irked, the band was very friendly and came out en force to the club in support of our show, which we thought was really, really nice. At Kunsan, JBL Simple Tunes (from the Philippines) had their show pushed back until after we’d done our 2-hour show, They came out early to hang out and talk, and then asked for autographs and chatted for a bit before setting up their gear and performing. We were able to stick around and hear them too, which was nice.

At 9 a.m. we checked out of the Kaya Hotel and boarded the bus to head back to Incheon International Airport. Today we fly to Narita Japan and we’ll be met by Spike, our new AFE contact person. We stop at the warehouse to drop off the equipment we have used for our Korean shows and then our last trip with Mr. Yi.

We were very sad at the prospect of saying goodbye. Mr. Yi has been very gracious and patient with us this past week. Our trip would have been much more stressful and much less successful had he not been so willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. After Pete discovered his borrowed drum kit was lacking parts Mr. Yi located a music store en route to our second show and even helped negotiate the best price for the parts since none of us could speak the language. When the keyboard transformer and a guitar amp fried during our performance at Osan, Mr. Yi found a huge music mall and volunteered to come in to work SIX HOURS EARLY to drop some of us off on base to do laundry while he chauffeured the rest of the group to the mall to get the transformer repaired and find the other gear we needed, and on our last full day in Korea he picked us up several hours early and drove us back to the shopping district just outside Osan Air Force base so we could shop for souvenirs. Bluzapalooza IV stayed on track thanks to Mr. Yi so it felt right to gift him with one of the Bluzapalooza tour jackets he had admired earlier in the week.

Thursday, September 10, 2009
Destination: Tokyo, Japan
I am enthralled with Tokyo – at least from the window of the bus. We have been in Japan for just a couple of hours and already have been seduced by the sophisticated beauty of this megalopolis . According to Wikipedia the greater Tokyo area is home to some 35 million people, making it the most densely populated metropolitan area on Earth. Tokyo and Seoul are the largest cities I have visited to date. Years ago I had the opportunity to perform in European cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne – cities more known for their history and old architecture, but Seoul and Tokyo are a huge contrast - very vibrant and contemporary, while maintaining an exotic air. I don’t know that I would enjoy living in such a huge city, but visiting is certainly exciting.

Saturday, September 10-11, 2009
Yokota AB
Before we can check into the hotel we have to stop at the guard station to get signed in and get our temporary base passes. This takes about an hour. We’re all exhausted and the photos on our temporary passes look fairly demonic. For this leg of the trip we’re being housed on base at the Kantos Lodge where we each have our own suite at the Kantos. We have good coffee, Wi-Fi and the mattress is soft – a huge improvement over the concrete hard beds in Korea. I definitely could linger here a while but we have two short nights here. In the morning we pick up our PA rig from storage and head back over to the guard house for yet another round of paperwork and photographs. It takes well over an hour to process our temporary passes. My second photo isn’t any more flattering than the first.

We walk over to the Officer’s Club to set up. It’s a nice size room with a formal atmosphere and a decent size stage. We go back to the hotel for about 90 minutes then walk back over to the restaurant for an excellent dinner. We eat an embarrassing amount of the wonderful warm, dark bread and honey butter. As we leave the restaurant a lady named Tara Werner walked over to introduce herself to us, saying she’d been to our website and was looking forward to the show. By the end of the evening I felt like I’ve made some new friends and that we definitely will stay in touch.

Farewell Korea, Hello Japan

2009-09-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

We finished our last show at Camp Humphrey and we're packing to leave for the airport at 9am. We fly to Tokyo Japan and do a show at Yokuska. From there it's on to Yakoto and then the Fujifest at Camp Fuji.

Korea has been a great experience. The Country, the people and their culture are truly beautiful. I think we Americans could learn a lot about patience and civility from them.

The many fine US Servicemen and women have also been a real pleasure to meet and play for. We had a fine time at Camp Suwon. The crowd there really made us feel good and want to play even more for them. Kunsan, Chinhae, Camp Casey, Camp Humphrey. We were honored to perform for you. Our deepest respect and appreciation go out to you all.

Well the clock is ticking so time to hit the shower and pack for the next trip.
Talk to you all from Japan!

Rusty

Start of week #2: Today we head for Camp Casey

2009-09-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Now we're back at the Kaya Hotel in Seoul. This will be our base of operations for the next several days. It will be nice not having to lug all the luggage with us every day, and the rest of the shows here in Korea are within 2 hours of Seoul. Today we head for Camp Casey, and we'll be performing inside Hanson Field House. We've seen photos of the field house, which is pretty impressive, sizewise so we should have a fun time there.

Thanks for following along. We'll be posting a lot more shortly.

Chinhae Naval Base and BBQ & Blues at Osan Air Force Base

2009-09-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

Show #2 Chinhae Naval Base

Traveling from Kunsan Air Force Base to Chinhae Naval Base took us through some breathtakingly beautiful mountain scenery. This is a lovely country. No space is wasted. It appears that most people live in the cities - there doesn’t seem to be a lot of urban (and suburban) sprawl like there is in the US. There is a lot of open land and crops are laid out in neat patches where ever there is a flat space. Greenhouses abound. We’ve seen ginseng, rice, grapes, blueberries, fruit trees, even the sloping ditches are planted with crops like hot red peppers.

The show at Chinhae was fun. Most of the bugs have been worked out of the sound system and everyone is settling in with their gear. We had a really good time performing - having Craig Smith sit in on bass was a lot of fun and we had a great time chatting with the navy personnel who came out to see us. We even met several people who hail from Michigan originally. Since this base is small and rarely has access to AFE entertainment, we passed out quite a few of the cds that we brought with us to give away.

Our off base lodgings for the night will become one of the more colorful tales we tell from this trip. The Hole in One Hotel where we stayed after the show has nothing to do with golf, believe me. When we pulled up, our driver Mr Yi told us he refuses to stay at the hotel, which appears to be the kind of place that rents rooms by the hour rather than the night. Our first clue was the bondage rack attached to the wall in our room. Then there was the machine at end of hall which dispensed sex toys rather than sodas. Hot water did not seem to be a necessary amenity. When we arrived back at the hotel after the show there were “business cards” carefully displayed on the entrance steps. Mr. Yi waved and drove off to his alternate lodgings and we reluctantly trudged up the steps to our funky rooms. Fortunately, the rest of the night was blessedly quiet and uneventful.

Osan Air Force Base is a very nice base, with the officer’s club resembling some of the nicer country clubs Rusty and I have performed at. Rusty has already detailed the equipment meltdown so I won’t go into that again. The weather has been sublime since we've been here and it was a beautiful evening to be outside playing music for folks. We talked with a concert/festival promoter there who is interested in bringing us back to Korea for a regular show tour. We'll see what happens with that.

Chinhae Naval Base Day 2

2009-09-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

Show 2 on our itinerary

We had managed to find a fairly well stocked music store on the way to the base and bought all the necessary parts we needed to fix our technical problems. I was amazed at the way the Koreans conduct business. The ladies who were running the store were dressed in formal attire and looked as though they were ready to go out on the town to a fine restaurant for an evening of dining and dancing. Mr. Yi explained that Koreans take business at all levels very serious and have a strong sense of professionalism even down to their dress. But they still have a market mentality. Haggling over price is considered normal and is expected, so with a little help from Mr. Yi I managed to get the equipment at a very fair price and we were on our way to the show.

Chinhae Naval Base is based on the southern coast of Korea. They are a major support hub for ships and subs in this part of the world but since it's a very rural setting they don't have much for a liberty port.

After a 5 hour bus ride we arrived and set up at Duffy's which is the base club. It's connected to a snack bar and might hold 200 people if you pack them in. The club manager was very kind and did everything in his power to make our show as comfortable as possible.

We met the vice commander who greeted us and gave each member a commemorative coin from Chinhae NB. He apologized in advance about a low turn out. Due to some unscheduled military exercises, most of the base had shipped out a few days earlier. I told him there was no need for apologies, we were there to play blues and spread some smiles and whether there were 2 people or 2000 they all get the same show - our best.

We started around 7pm and there were about 30 people, mostly medical staff and some off-duty security people in attendance at that point. The show went very smooth and Lee (our audio engineer) had a very nice mix going. The intimate setting allowed us all to relax and just enjoy playing. The band was smokin' by the end of the first set, and although the crowd was a bit small, they were VERY enthusiastic! We had a blast and they did too.

At one point I brought up HM1 Craig Smith. He's a Navy EMT who contacted us in advance and asked if we would let him sit in on a song. Our shows are usually mostly original material and are pretty orchestrated so sit ins aren't very practical, but in this circumstance I felt we had to make an exception. I brought him up about mid-show and introduced him. His buddies all stood up and cheered and clapped for him and we kicked into the B.B. King classic "Thrill is Gone."
He was a great player! He settled right in and at one point I threw him a ride with the drummer which got him another big ovation. At the end of the song I gave him a Bluzapalooza cap and CD to remember the night.

After the show I met the base doctor and talked with everyone there. We handied out photos and CDs, and signed autographs. Everyone was extremely nice to us and told us how much they appreciated our coming out. The base is small and is in such a rural area that they don't get a lot of stateside entertainment. Hell, I'd play for these folks any time. Their enthusiasm made us feel good and caused us to push ourselves musically just because we wanted to return the love they were showing us.

After the trucks were packed we stuck around to talk to folks and unwind over Burgers and drinks. The house band came on after us to finish out the night with 3 girls doing vocals out front. They really had great harmonies and Laurie, who loves harmony vocals, enjoyed their show most of all.

We finally called it a night and went back to the hotel around midnight. Feeling good and very glad to be here.

On to Osan Airbase tomorrow,
Rusty
www.rustywrightband.com

2009-09-04T16:44:00.001-07:00

Bluzapalooza IV

First Show at Kunsan Air Base

The day started off with a short walk to the USO at Yongsan Base which was just a few blocks from our hotel. Mr. Yi, our driver and general guardian recommended it. They serve a great breakfast for a very low price and accept American currency so we could save the Korean Won (that's the name of their currency).

After a fine US- style breakfast we gathered up our stuff and loaded out of the Kaya Hotel. We went back to Yongsan Base to get our base passes so we would be authorized to walk around freely. It felt a lot like going to the Secretary of State office back home. You took numbers, sat in the waiting room and then got your picture taken and filled out more paperwork and then they scan your fingerprints. After an hour or so everyone had new ID cards for getting around on the bases.

Our next stop was at the garrison warehouse where we were met by our truck driver, Mr. Ti.
POC Shirley Commander met us and we started loading all the amps, drums, PA gear, cables, keyboards and support gear for the tour all packed in nice brand new steel flight cases. NICE.
I ran around with a gear manifest checking every case and making sure we had all the stuff I requested on the rider then the crew would roll it out to the trucks and Mr. Yi and Mr. Ti would load them. (We learned from Shirley that everyone in Korea address each other by their surname. You never address anyone by their first name until you've known them for a long time AND they give you their permission)

Once the gear was loaded we said goodbye to Shirley and hit the road for a 4-hour drive to Kunsan Airbase. Everyone is still suffering jet lag but we're coming around and the excitement is building.

Korea is a very beautiful country and the scenery is amazing so the drive really didn't seem that long. We rolled past all the barb wire and blast barricades to the guard house at Kunsan where several heavily armed MPs were waiting. I think that's the moment we realized that we were at a very serious place were people are working and living in a world where their lives are at risk.
North Korea, that place that we all laugh about in the states because of the weird dictator who runs it, is just a short drive from this base. The fighter group stationed here has to be ready at a moment's notice to deal with a government that has all kinds of missiles and artillery trained on them. One of the airmen said that if North Korea attacks the south that the life expectancy of everyone on that base is about 20 minutes.... geeez. If that ain't stress, I can't tell you what is.

We loaded the gear in to the Loring Club and started hooking up all the gear. An unfamiliar rig takes a little longer to set up and of course since it was our first show there were technical glitches. Some of the cabling was shorted out so we had to reconfigure things a bit. Then a crucial piece of hardware for the drum kit was missing, uh oh. There was no way to get a replacement but then lady luck smiled. One of the airmen at the base had a small practice kit he played with the camp band. He made a quick run to another building and brought back the piece Pete needed. Whew!

We got set up and made a run to the Alice Hotel outside the base. This place was AMAZING. Glass and stone bathroom with a huge tub next to a shower with giant sprayers, and even a bidet (you know, one of those toilets that shoots water jets at spots I really can't describe :-)
Led lighting with various colors and slippers and silk robes in the armoire and a 42" plasma screen TV with every kind of electronic entertainment device known to man. After a quick shower and change of clothes we ran back to the base where I met with a reporter from Armed Forces Network. She did a video interview about the band and tour and I talked about the reason we wanted to come play and about the Bluzapalooza tours. After that The base Commander, Colonel Malfer did a welcome and introduction. He presented us with a plaque in the shape of a wolfs head that said "To the Rusty Wright Band, 3 September, 2009. From the Men and Women of the Wolf Pack. Thank you for an outstanding performance. Kunsan Airbase, Republic of Korea." It's the finest award we could receive.

We launched into our show and proceeded to give all we had. The crowd was extremely enthusiastic and greeted the end of each song with a roar of approval. At the end of the 2-hour show we did our instrumental called "Hell On My Heels" which is the song podcasters said US military personnel in the Middle East were requesting.

After the show we greeted as many peopleas possible. We signed pictures and passed out CDs, occasionally posing with folks for a picture. These people were just marvelous to us. I met several people who came from Michigan. Two gentleman who walked up and said "Hey, great show man," in a slow drawl that I knew instantly. I said "Alabama?". A bit surprised, they both smiled and one said "Mobile" and the other said "Muscle Shoals". I grinned and said, "Howdy cousins." I told them about my family in Florence and we ended up doing double shots of Southern Comfort to toast "down home."

It was midnight by the time we packed up and loaded the truck and bus and we hadn't had a chance to eat dinner so we all headed over to the commissary for pizza and burgers. We laughed and talked and Andy & Pete were running around taking video. Over all it was a great first show, even with the glitches. We made it back to the Alice Hotel and before Laurie & I crashed I remember thinking how cool the crowd was. They really enjoyed the music because they don't get a lot of it. As far as we're concerned we'll play for these folks anytime.

Next stop, Chinhae Naval Base
Rusty
　

Our arrival and first days in Korea

2009-09-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

When we arrived in Seoul I’d been awake for more than 40 hours. All of us were beyond exhausted but amazingly, everyone is still smiling. I can’t count the number of times I’ve given silent thanks to Angie Sweers from Ataj Salon for giving me a hairstyle that travels so easily. Before I got off the plane I ran my hands through my hair to rumple the spiky top, and away I went.

The sight of all customs workers wearing protective masks across their faces was a bit disconcerting when we went through customs. We were given a form to fill out asking if we’d had any flu symptoms and what countries we had visited in the past 7 days. We couldn’t help but wonder if we had missed breaking news stories about widespread flu outbreaks.

We were met at the airport by Shirley Commander, entertainment director for Morale, Welfare and Recreation Installation Management Command, Korea region. She hails from S. Carolina originally and has been stationed here in Korea for six years. With her was Mr. Yi, a very nice man who has been assigned to be our driver for the Korean leg of the tour. Mr. Yi has been chauffeuring AFE touring bands around for quite a while. He has been a huge help and is very pleasant company to travel with. We piled our luggage into the (short) bus and headed for Kaya Hotel in Seoul – about an hour away.

Seoul is utterly immense. There are thousands upon thousands of high rise apartment buildings for miles in every direction. Approximately 10 million people (almost half of the country’s residents) live in Seoul The Kaya Hotel, where we’ll be staying for a good portion of our trip, is located on a busy street. We were exhausted after the flight but wanted to eat some dinner before going to sleep so Rusty and I walked down to an Outback restaurant down the street. I ordered salmon with mushroom and vegetable sauce and a sweet potato. I learned that a sweet potato is not necessarily a yam, but may be a sweetened potato. Hmmm. The sauce was very good but was very spicy hot.

In the morning, Rusty and Lee walked down the street to the USO for breakfast. I stayed in the room to pack since I’m allergic to eggs and potatoes, which rules out most breakfast foods for me. I brought plenty of protein bars for the trip because I anticipated that it might be difficult finding foods I can eat. I didn’t have allergy problems years ago when I was on the road full time, but a whole slew of them have cropped up in recent years. Common foods like eggs, potatoes and soy cause crippling fibromyalgia pain now, so it’s been a relief to learn I can survive quite well on the road.

Show #1 Kunsan Air Force Base: Home of the 8^th Fighter Wing "Wolf Pack"

The first show of the tour was bound to be a bit stressful since it was our first time setting up and using an unfamiliar sound system, keyboard, guitar amps and drum kit. There were some small parts missing from Pete’s drum kit but fortunately someone kindly loaned him a high hat cymbal and stand to use for the night. And instead of his Hammond B3 organ and full scale Yamaha keyboard, Davey is using a single small keyboard and is running a B3 simulation program through his laptop to give him the B3 sound.

At the start of the show, Colonel Dennis Malfer gave us a very gracious welcome and presented the band with a VERY cool wolf head plaque in appreciation for our performance at the base. Colonel Malfer, whose family resides in Hawaii, told us personnel at Kunsan are usually stationed at the base for a year. Work is underway to “normalize” the base so service men and women can bring their families with them, but it will be a while yet before this is becomes a reality. According to Colonel Malfer's bio , he has served as an instructor pilot, weapons officer, flight commander, operations officer, squadron commander and deputy operations group commander. The colonel also flew as opposing and lead solo for the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team, the Thunderbirds. His staff assignments include Chief of the Standardization and Evaluation Branch and Division Chief, Operational Support at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces.

Prior to his current position, he was the Operational Support Division Chief at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces. He is a command pilot with more than 4,400 flying hours, including more than 100 combat sorties in the F-4, F-15E and F-16.

We really enjoyed talking with the air force personnel who came out for the show and we hope some of them keep in touch with us. It seems we've met a lot of folks who lived near Ann Arbor Michigan at one time or another. It is a very small world, really.

A beautiful morning in Seoul!

2009-09-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

Its a beautiful morning in Seoul! Got a pretty good night's rest. Rusty said I kept chuckling in my sleep throughout the night. Wonder what I was dreaming about?

This morning we pick up our PA gear for our shows in Korea, then head for Kunsan Air Force Base, which is about a 4 hr. drive. After tonight's show we'll pack up, get a few hours' sleep at Kunsan Lodge and in the morning head for Chinhae Air Force Base, which is a 4.5 hour drive. Shirley, our liaison said that of all of the Pacific AFE tours, the Korea tour is the most physically demanding. Ah well, that figures, eh? We're up for it. Time to sign off for now. Looking forward to the day ahead of us.

Thanks for following along!

Safe and Sound in Seoul

2009-09-02T09:21:00.001-07:00

We all arrived in Korea and I'm writing from my hotel room at the Kaya Hotel in Seoul. In Michigan it's 12:25 p.m.on Sept 2nd but it's 1:25 a.m. Sept 3rd here here in Korea.

Here's how things are so far.
We all piled into our touring van at about 6:30a.m. on Tuesday Sept 1st. We were all too geeked to sleep and I'm sure no one got more than a couple of hours the night before but we were all in very high spirits and didn't mind the crush of 7 people and their luggage and musical instruments all crammed into a custom van.

We arrived at Detroit Metro about 7:45a.m. and made our way to the counter to get boarding passes and check our extra baggage. The ladies at the Northwest booth were very helpful, especially when we told them it was our first tour for Armed Forces Entertainment. They got us checked in in record time. When I tried to use our baggage voucher to cover the checked bags the lady in charge said, "Oh, no you don't need that. We're owned by Delta so they are allowing 2 checked bags with no fee per person, plus two carry on bags." COOL! That shaved an hour off. With that all taken care of we had time to grab breakfast before the 10:25 flight to Chicago O'Hare. On the road "FOOD IS SLEEP." If you can't get sleep, make sure you can get a good meal to keep your energy up.

We left for O'Hare on time and made Chicago in 44 minutes. Once there we had a 2-hour layover before leaving on a 747 direct to Incheon, South Korea. Our Korean Air flight left O'Hare at 12:35 p.m. We had a 13-hour non stop flight and I've gotta say the Korean Air folks really did a good job of taking care of us. The courtesy and level of attention to our needs was excellent.

We landed in Incheon at 3:35pm on Sept 2nd. We had to pass through a health department inspection and fill out paperwork. They're very uptight about the swine flu thing that's developing in America so we all had to get a cursory look over before we could move on to customs. After more lines and more paperwork we were all finally in the country and made our way to baggage. My first (and hopefully only) major bummer on the tour awaited me there.

I'm always leery of checking my guitars but most airlines have changed their rules regarding carrying them on board with you. All our instruments arrived and as we looked over them everything seemed fine until I got to the case holding my American Standard Fender Stratocaster. The handle was ripped off on one side - I mean the metal hinge was ripped in two, not the plastic handle. The entire front quarter by the head stock was cracked and broken. This is a hard shell case and the outer shell has been compressed so hard that it popped out of the metal molding that runs all the way around the case. Something extremely heavy was dropped on my guitar!
I threw the case open and expected to find a broken neck but the molded interior held! Thank God.
I don't know if the Detroit guys did this or if the Korean Air guys did but after weighing the time and hassle of trying to file a claim and NOBODY speaking english and me not knowing Korean I sealed it up and stacked it on the dolly cart. *Sigh* I will be buying steel flight cases before we go to Europe next year.

We met our POC (Point of Contact) she was a very friendly lady named Shirley and she motioned for us with a sign saying Armed Forces Entertainment welcomes the Rusty Wright Band. We all made our way outside and began loading our gear and luggage into the back of a small travel bus. It's a 10-seater with a large bay in the back for gear. After a few "short bus" jokes we all settled into the plush seats. The air conditioning was a relief since it was 81 degrees when we arrived and they expect sun and high temps for the whole week. Shirley introduced us to Mr. Yi who will be our bus driver for our tour in Korea. We also have another driver who we meet tomorrow when we pick up the equipment truck and head to Kunsan airbase.

By the time we reached the hotel we were ALL pretty crispy. We had plans of going out to get dinner but once everyone got into their rooms they all just posted a few things on Facebook and fell down and have been sleeping since. Laurie & I managed to get cleaned up and headed out to see what was available for dinner.

Seoul is one of the largest cities in the world so it reminds me of New York City - except the streets are lined with small shops and restaurants with their wares all on display right on the sidewalk. The smells of all these places was incredible. We settled on the Korean version of a steak house and had a Singapore sling and a screwdriver with our dinner to unwind, and then headed back to get some sleep.

Tomorrow or today rather, will be our first show day so we are doing our best to revamp the body clock to be on Korean time.

Time to catch a few more Zzzz's.

Next stop: Kunsan Air Force base.

Rusty

THIS IS IT!!!

2009-09-01T02:34:00.000-07:00

It's 5:30am and I'm waiting on Dave and Justin to head to the airport so I thought I'd drop a quick note on the blog.

Our sunday send off party was a big success. We saw a lot of folks who came out to support us and had a great time playing for them. Mike Jablonski, owner of the Brick Street Bar & Grill MC'd the event and provided a great atmosphere for a fine evening of food & music.

Dave & Justin arrived and BOY are we gonna be stuffed. 7 people in a conversion van and luggage for all. LOL! we are gonna make a sardine can look spacious!
Ah well, "Hi-diddle-dee-dee, A Road Dawgs life for me".

Gotta run, next stop, Incheon South Korea!

Rusty

Sunday Send Off

2009-08-30T05:47:00.001-07:00

It's Sunday the 30th. Just 2 days from our departure to Korea.
Laurie & I had a duo gig at Beale St. Saturday night so we're a little tired buta quick shower and we will be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the send off party at Brick Street in Grand Blanc.

Mike Jablonski, owner of the place was kind enough to offer to do this as a Bon Voyage and fund raiser for our families.

Armed Forces Entertainment is a volunteer organization and although they cover all travel expenses and accomodations they don't pay a lot. ($75 a day)
All of us are self employed so basically 2 weeks on tour means two weeks without income at home to help pay the bills and feed the family.

Brick Street is a marvelous Club/Restaurant and with good weather we will be playing outside on the patio in the rock garden.
I'll put up some pics and video tomorrow.
Not much else to say at the moment. I must admit the excitement and the "nerves" are building up. 2 days till lift off.
I better hit the showers.
Talk to ya'll soon,

Rusty

The Europeans get it!!!

2009-08-27T09:34:00.001-07:00

Just got this review yesterday from BLUES MATTERS. They are the biggest Blues style music magazine in Western Europe. Here's what they had to say...

RUSTY WRIGHT BAND

Playin’ With Fire

Sadson Music

Rarely does one give an unequivocal recommendation on first listening, but I have no hesitation in giving this the “just buy it” seal of approval.

From the start, this brilliant album exhibits all that is great about US blues/rock. From the wonderful guitar solos and smooth vocals of Michigan-based band leader Rusty Wright, through the harmonies and vocals of his wife Laurie LaCross Wright, classic keyboard accompaniment to rock solid rhythms and occasional horns parts, this is simply marvellous. In all styles, whether it is southern rock (‘World Upside Down’), Blues ballads (‘Messin’ Round’ and ‘Make A Liar Out Of Me’), blistering Aerosmith-type rock (‘Last Days Of Whitey Malone’), done-me-wrong Blues (‘You Ain’t Thinkin’ ‘Bout Me’) or the sensational energy of ‘What A Ride’, this band has all the chops.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s influence is plain to see in a ‘A Change In The Weather’, so much so, I half expected to hear Van Zant’s vocals! The blistering rave-up conclusion is the title track of the album. This truly is powerful stuff!

BLUES MATTERS

YEA BUDDY! That really put a smile on my face. I've always thought the Europeans were far more open minded about music. In the late 70s and early 80s they were the first to go nuts for Metal and have been strong lovers of American style music since the early Jazz days.

I guess the old saying "You're never a hero in your home town" is true for the whole country at least in the eyes of the press. We've gotten little love from the American Magazines and been downright snubbed by a lot of the "Blues Snob" crowd. But that's their loss. The people who come to see us and hear the music have become fans and they're the only folks that matter. I and the rest of the band make no apologies for our talent and our desire to fuse blues based music with other genres or to experiment. That's just our way of adding our own soul into the mix. I think it was Muddy Waters who said. Take the blues where you find it and then take it a little farther. I think he was trying to say don't let this music, this expression of the soul stagnate and die.
To be honest I fear that many folks in an effort to "preserve the past" have unknowingly stifled the musical future of the music. They get so intent on the authenticity of the sound that they lose sight of the emotion it should carry. But of course that's not everybody. There are still folks who can see the broad musical spectrum and are cool with it.

I guess we need to go play for the Europeans next. It looks like they and our fan base here really get it.

6 Days till Korea!

Rusty

7 Days and Counting

2009-08-25T05:49:00.001-07:00

It's Tuesday and we're 7 days out from the Armed Forces Tour of South Korea and Japan.
Our preparations are going ok so far but there's still work to do. We are still waiting for a few last minute items we ordered for the tour. Such as memory cards for the video cams and small stuff.

The Bluzapalooza folks sent us all beautiful military grade Tour Jackets with the Bluzapalooza Logo on back. We also got T-shirts and hats as well as these cool minted coins that say Bluzapalooza IV on them. We're going to be giving those out to all the service folks we meet on tour. It's a tradition among the military to give a custom coin to people who distinguish themselves in their duty or as a sign of high regard. Well we hold all the servicemen and women in VERY high regard so we got 500 coins to pass out. LOL! We got a lot a hands to shake.

On a new note, Laurie & I will be doing a radio interview with the online station flinttalkradio.com
The interview is at 1pm today but I think they edit and broadcast it later. I'll let you know when it airs. Check out their website. It's pretty interesting and lots of different subjects and shows on there. If you like Talk Radio you may get a kick out of it.

Quick note, Laurie & I will be at Brick St. on Friday Aug 28 from 6-10 and at Beale St. Smokehouse on Sat. Aug. 29 from 7-10 (BTW Congrats to Beale St. for taking 1st Place in the Chicken BBQ and 2nd in Ribs at the Genesee County Fair last Sat.)

Your last chance to see the FULL RWB will be this Sunday Aug. 30th at Brick St. on Grand Blanc Rd.
We are having a send off party there from 4-9pm Sunday Aug. 30th. The band will play on the patio desk (weather permitting) from 5-8. Come on out and have Dinner & Drinks. The place is awesome.
A donation box will be on site and donations to assist the band are appreciated but not mandatory. Just come on out and say "HEY".

Talk to ya,
Rusty

8 Days & counting

2009-08-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

Only 8 days until we leave for Incheon South Korea as part of our 14 day Armed Forces Entertainment Tour. Everyone is extremely "stoked" about going and we've been getting emails from service men at some of the stops telling us how much they are looking forward to us playing. Looks like many have been listening to us online and watching our youtube videos.

One man even asked if he could sit in at the concert at Chinhae. Well, heck yea you can.
If he's going to put his life in service to our country then the very least I can do is play some music with him. I think it will be a lot of fun.

We played the Genesee County Fair last Saturday and had a smokin set. It's the show we plan on using at the festivals in Korea and Japan and it was a great chance to gauge the impact it will have on the audience. Well if the folks at GCF are willing to give a standing O in a beer tent then the men and women in Korea and Japan are gonna lose their FRIGGIN MINDS!!! LOL!

We were told by several podcasters that they were getting requests for a wild guitar instrumental we do called Hell On My Heels. One Marine company in Fellujia made it their song to ramp up to as they headed out on patrol outside the Green Zone.

Can you imagine? RWB blasting at full volume through the trucks and humvees as these guys going roaring out of the gates. WOW, It's like something out of Apocalypse Now! LOL!

I can't wait to play it live especially at Fujifest in Japan. Evidently the Marines (several thousand of them) Don't have facilities for entertainment and such at the base in Okinawa so they ferry them over to Fuji Japan for the special events. Those "Jarheads" as they are called will just LOVE our kind of in your face, guitar driven music.

This is not only a great honor but the adventure of a lifetime for a group of musicians from Michigan. I can't wait to "spread the love".
Stay tuned to the RWB Blog for info, daily reports from the field and pics and video of our travels.
8 days and counting...

Rusty

After the Bricks

2009-08-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Up early this morning updating some client sites. Yes, I have clients who I do Web design and monthly maintenance for. It pays the bills and for the most part I enjoy it.

Music is starting to be a close second in the income department but I'm still a long way from quitting the "day job". But the great thing about my occupation is that they let me work from anywhere there is an internet connection. No 9-5, no office to go to and as long as I make my deadlines no boss to chew my ear off. It's definitely the best way to work for someone in my position. I'll be working even when we are in Korea and Japan. At least I will be working when there is a break in the day.

The tour itinerary came in yesterday and WOW are we gonna be BUSY.
Photo Ops, Meet n Greets with CO's and local politicians and radio interviews, dinners with the troops, autograph sessions and miles and miles of travel by day. This is a full blown well orchestrated machine and we will be on the go 10-12 hours a day.

I STILL can't wait! :-) 17 days and counting.

But back to the point of this blog. We played the Back to the Bricks Event in our hometown of Flint, MI last night. It's a Car show with music and food and Hundreds of incredible cars. Flint's downtown has been doing a slow metamorphosis into a nice and viable area.

It's great to see all the people and new businesses such as Raspberries and Blackstones coming into the area.

My only regret is that most of the acts which play for the people all day do so for free. I guess it's a growing pain thing. This event started small and so didn't have a lot of money to pay the bands. I can understand that. But now there are 10,000 or more folks down there and everybody on the strip is taking in a good return... except the bands. We were fortunate enough to be sponsored by a company which sells parts and has a large booth at the event as well as some beautiful cars so we were compensated very well for our concert but we were one of the few.

I know it takes time for an event that started from the ground up to get all the details worked out but I hope they remember the musicians when all is said and done. Everybody who works hard should get paid is my philosophy.

I take care of my people even if it means it comes out of my own pocket because they are trusting me to be the boss and to look out for them. They don't have to do that. They can just as easily do there own thing so I view it as my obligation to live up to that trust by guaranteeing them a certain minimum amount for every show.
It's just the right thing to do and in return I have a hard working group of the finest players in the country. Come see us live if you doubt me.

Being a professional musician is HARD work. Preparing the show, rehearsing for hours and hours a week, marketing the event, then packing the vehicles, moving heavy gear, playing your heart out for 90 minutes in the blazing sun or under hot lights at night then running to the booth to meet with fans and friends then packing it all up and driving to the next show to do it again.

We always joke with promoters that "we get paid to move the gear, the music is free". but that IS a joke. Good music is hard work and those who work hard should be taken care of in my opinion.
Later,
Rusty

RWB To Tour The Pacific in September!

2009-08-10T15:51:00.001-07:00

We were pretty proud to be accepted by Armed Forces Entertainment to entertain the Troops and families overseas but we never dreamed we'd get a tour so fast.
We've accepted a 14 day tour of South Korea and Japan September 1 through the 14th.
We'll do 6 shows in 6 cities in South Korea then fly to Tokyo Japan for 3 shows ending with the "Fujifest" at Camp Fuji in front of thousands of Marines from Okinawa!

But then on top of that we were offered the endorsement of the BLUZAPALOOZA folks so we are officially listed as BLUZAPALOOZA IV! LOL!
It's an incredible honor to play for the folks who put their lives on the line and it's also an honor to be associated with the Bluzapalooza organization.

We intend on taking lots of pics, video and blogging daily through the Bluzapalooza site and our own.
Sign up for our email list as well to get all the info on our big adventure. We can't wait!
Rusty

Summer Season

2009-07-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, our summer season is well under way and so far it's been a blast as always. Some of the coolest festivals so far have been St. Louis Bluesfest and The Bluesfest Internationale in Windsor, Canada. We played with Devon Allman and Johnny Winter to about 10,000 people and man what a rush!
I met Devon briefly backstage. He seems a pretty decent sort. He watched our set from side stage and came up later and remarked that he thought we were "kickin some ass up there". LOL! Yea, well it's kinda what we do. ;-)

Honeytribe came on and after a slow start due to the rain that started they really ramped things up. They are more a Rock/Jamband than blues but still a very cool act. The Bass player uses a lot of effects to do interesting space sound stuff while Devon sings and plays guitar.

Johnny Winter is 71 years old and still can play like a SOB! He IS the original Guitar Hero, even pre dating Hendrix by a couple years.
He made his way out on his own to a chair at center stage where he sat down and strapped on his guitar to a thunderous round of applause. He then counted off the 1...2..., 1234 and proceeded to just KILL the place. I learned a lot of licks from JW records and it was really cool to see him still able to throw down at that age. I hope I get to live that long and still be playing the big stage.

We stayed till the end with a bus load of friends and fans who came with us. It was our first "Blues Bus" trip and it definitley won't be the last. Everybody was so cool and had such a good time.
Jim, a friend and fan from way back brought a huge bottle of Nassau Royale which is a tasty carmel flavored Rum.
He passed it around the bus watching as people took a shot and were surprised to find how smooth and tasty it was. These were a really cool group of folks and we got em VIP tickets so they could be right down front as we did our thing.

Next few days we started seeing the buzz of people from our performance. Lots of pics and reviews that said we really ripped it up. We made a big impression and I gotta admit the band was having some fun.
Keyboard man Dave was especially impressive on some of the tunes. We like to throw back an forth on a few songs to just see what happens and I gotta admit he was especially hot at Windsor and the crowd about lost their minds. Yea Dave!

But my favorite review was from a gent they call "Lippo". He was down front all through the show taking pics and came up to us afterwards and said hi. Next day I get a message that he's posted pics and wrote a small blurb about the show on his Flickr page so I go to look and check out the pics when I came across this in his review...
"It's Sunday night at Bluesfest and Rusty Wright was probably the smokin'-est guitar player there this night. Devon Allman and Johnny Winter were pretty cool too.... "
I about fell out a my chair and shot coffee out my nose, LOL!
The nicest compliment you can get as a musician is when a complete stranger is impressed enough with your performance that they would say something like that and post it to the world.
I would never presume to say it but it's nice that he felt that way and all I can say is "Thanks, I'm honored".

I'll keep doing my best to keep making that kind of impression, not for the sake of ego but for the sake of the music and the love I have for it. All I ever wanted from life was a chance to show folks that I got a lot of musical love and I want to give it to them...and I ain't stoppin now.
Talk to ya,
Rusty

Bluestage Review

2009-05-20T04:34:00.000-07:00

We had the very great pleasure of playing the Bluestage Club in Napolean, MI last Sat.
Napolean is a small town outside of Jackson, MI. TC Delisle is the owner and a musician who started this marvelous venue as a desire to put together a club that was laid out from the perspective of the artists and the patrons and he succeeded!

The venue is attached to his other business, TC's Garage. Yup, he's a mechanic who works on everything from cars to commercial vehicles like heavy trucks, diesels etc.
The Bluestage is setup with a full stage, with flown sound and lighting. They have padded and acoustically modeled the room so it sounds great in there. Front bass fills and overhead monitors make it really comfortable for a player to hear on stage but since the boxes are in the air the sight lines are totally unobstructed.
On top of that they have multi-level seating so you can see well everywhere in the house and not many venues offer lounge chairs and couches in them!

We played to a sold out house and did 2 long concert sets with an intermission so people could order food and enjoy the vibe. The crowd was from various parts of the state but there were even some folks from Indianapolis who drove up for the show. They had seen us at the St. John Bluesfest in the Virgin Islands and had joined the mailing list.

The crowd was great and danced and cheered all night, even granting us an encore at the end.

If you get the chance to see a show there you will really be glad you did. Here's a link for more info
www.bluestageclub.com

Here's a few live shots taken by Joe Oliver. He has a site where he shoots all manner of shows. You can see more pics HERE

Next Show the GEM THEATER in St. Louis, MI Sat. May 30th, 2009. Check the calendar for details.

Rusty

Rusty & Laurie live at the Bluestage

Dave Brahce live at the Bluestage

Radio Kudos

2009-03-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long since I last posted. Just not enough hours in a day.

Well, as you may or may not know the CD "Playin' with Fire" was released Jan. 30th at our Cabin Fever Musicfest with us and Nick Moss. The show was a rousing success with approximately 500 people showing up to party and support the bands.

We sold so well in that initial push that the CD made the local soundscan charts for the mid-michigan area. There we were at #10 right on the same chart with Bruce Sprindsteen, Taylor Swift and Pink! I laughed hard at that. Ok, so it only means that in Genesee county we sold as well as the majors so I'm not buying a tux for the Grammy's or anything but it did show that we have the right idea and the public will get fired up about what we do.

So after that we began the long arduous job of radio promotion. Laurie & I have spent almost 2 years researching and compiling data on radio stations all over the world to figure out how the big guys get "air" for their artists. Most radio promoters who can do a national campaign are very expensive. 2500 to as much as 20,000 to do major commercial rock stations so we knew as an indie label it was pretty much up to us to figure it out and pull it off.

We got our list to 278 blues friendly stations around the world. We had to research each station through websites, online directories and of course emailing and phone calling the stations to ask questions.
Then the mail out. 278 CDs with product sheets describing us and our music and cover letters to each Music Director and Show host. You can imagine how much that cost...ugh.

Then 278 emails and phone calls asking if they got it and, "what do you think", "will you play it?", "can you send me a playlist when it airs?"

Then the knuckle biting and worry as we waited for the first radio chart we had targeted to come out and......POW! We debuted on Roots Music Reports national blues radio chart at #34!

We were elated. Sure, it's not #1 but we're just starting this campaign and we broke into the top 50 blues CDs being spun in the country. We're on the same chart with Shemekia Copeland who was recently on David Letterman and Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks etc. so we are elated at the chance to be in such good company.
There are other charts to make yet and hopefully wer can move up a bit as the weeks progress. We'll see.

But the biggest pleasure is all the people from around the country and all over the world who are hearing our stuff and coming to our website to sign up for the mailing list or drop us a message.

One of the coolest messages came from a radio DJ in Spokane, WA. He wrote us to say...

"Please let me set the scene: I went in to KPBX studios here in Spokane WA to pre-record my weekly show, "Down Home Blues", and, just like every week, there were 4 or 5 CD's in my mailbox for airplay consideration.
I looked at this one with great artwork, and saw that it was a cd by the Rusty Wright Band.
Now I have been doing radio for many years, and hear a lot of cd's by artists I haven't heard of before, and truthfully, A LOT OF THEM SUCK! Well, I put on the RWB cd and was immediately blown away! What a great sounding band-I knew right away that this band was going to be one of my new "push" bands. I like to turn people on to great music that doesn't get played regularly in our area, and I plan to play the hell out of this band on my show!
On the website I watched the live videos, and I am truly impressed! Hopefully someday the band will make it up here to the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. I will be playing music from the CD "Playin' With Fire" on my show for some time to come!"

Now that's the reason to make music. If you can put a fire in a complete strangers heart then you know it's what you're meant to do. All the other stuff is nice but the fire is the real reason to do it. That fire is passion, love, joy... and if you can spread it to others it's the best feeling in the world.

Wish us luck and help us spread the love by contacting your favorite radio station and saying "HEY" play some fire from the Rusty Wright Band!

See ya soon,
Rusty

Blue Monday Monthly review of "Playin' with Fire"

2009-01-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

The Rusty Wright Band'Playin' With Fire'This is simply scorchin' southern rockin' blues from the heart of the rust belt, Flint Michigan. Folks, this CD can be very useful as a test to see if there is any life left in yer bones. If it don't get you up and dancing; call the morgue 'cause you MUST be dead! It is a rockin' tour d'force from beginning to end.

World Upside Down features a great duet between Rusty and Laurie.

Pretty Little Lies features stellar blend of sax/ piano/ guitar for real good time.

Lost Souls is as powerful as a steamroller.

Messin 'Round Laurie's beautiful vocals weaves this cautionary tale around your heart; Rusty's guitar tightens that ribbon.

Make A Liar Out of Me A beautiful ballad that captures your soul with sweet melody and haunting lyrics.

Last Days of Whitey Malone A Molly Hatchet-esque start on steroids with full, rich and textured ambiance with dead on stops and flourishes that drive this heavy bottom smoker.

You Ain't Thinkin' 'Bout Me A Born on the Bad side beat with slice and dice B-3 and dizzying change ups.

A Change In The Weather Infectious southern tinged Lynyrd Skynyrd-ish romp that will inspire you to get up and dance.

What A Ride WOW it ended way to quickly, I was into it!

Playin' With Fire I was leaning into this one and it will hold you up! Powerful runner!

The band consists of Rusty Wright (lead guitar/vocals); Laurie Wright (guitar/vocals); Dave Brahce (keyboards); Andy Barancik ( bass); Pete Haist (drums ); and Eddie Lester ( Sax).

As I listen closely it has elements that remind me of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet,Pat Travers and The Allman Bros., only with much more texture and depth to the melodies. Rusty's guitar work is impeccable demonstrating a style that is honed by years and years of 'playin' his dues' while still embodying the exuberance and playfulness of a fearless youngster. Rusty's voice is as smooth as molten molasses as he weaves his way thru the heartfelt stories of life on this offering. Laurie's vocals are angel sweet and dead on. They complement each other in beautiful harmonic perfection. But it ain't just about the front side of this band. The boys 'in the back' are tighter than a tutu on a sumo. The hooks and embellishments they thread throughout this project will cause yer jaw to drop and spread a ten inch smile 'cross yer eight inch face. I didn't realize I was leanin' into it until I pitched forward after the last note. For you Bluesers that are closet Rockers, this is one CD that will SATISFY!I guar-on-tee! You can pick this up directly from Rusty and Laurie at rustywrightband.com

~ Review by 'Blueshammer' of Blue Monday Monthly

Get in, sit down, Hang on. (From our friends at Wildeboomerz)

2009-01-24T23:14:00.000-08:00

http://wildeboomerz.blogspot.com/2009/01/get-in-sit-down-hang-on.html

Climb the mountain

2009-01-22T02:51:00.001-08:00

It's 5;45am and I'm preparing to start another day of work which normally doesn't thrill me. I think most people dislike the routine of a day job but we've all been conditioned to think that's just the way it is.
I'm lucky in many respects but there are times when this musical journey is not entirely a bunch of fun. To be honest there's an immense amount of tedious work in the background between each opportunity to play live.
Rehearsals, recording sessions, graphics to design, packages to be made up and mailed out (hundreds of them) then emails and phone calls to follow up. Then the same tired conversation when trying to break into a new area.

"Who? oh, yea I got the press kit. No, I haven't looked at it yet, call me in a week."

And what the heck is it about being from the same state as a festival that makes a promoter suddenly think you're of less value than some guy from 500 miles away?
I've been told by a few people who book events "Oh you're from Michigan, well locals play for free to do my festival" what?!
Our act can keep up with any national out there, which I think our videos show quite well but because I live within driving distance I'm suddenly supposed to grovel for a slot.
Of course to be fair I have to make clear that all the festivals we have done in MI have been extremely good to us but if you ever wonder why you haven't seen us on the bill for some of the others it's a good bet that the "locals are cheap" mentality plays a part.

It's a perception problem I guess.

Our radio promotion starts in Feb. right after the Cabin Fever Musicfest We will be shipping product to 278 stations in the US, Europe and Australia. Then spend the next 8 weeks emailing and calling the Music Directors to see if they've added the disc to rotation or a specialty show. If our efforts go well and they like the disc then those stations will report the plays to various radio charts like Roots Music Report, Living Blues, CMJ etc.

If we chart well then I can take those charts and put them under the nose of the promoters and say "We ain't local, we're WORLDWIDE!" LOL! ...at least that's my hope and hope is what I have as I face this huge mountain of opposition and indifference.

I have hope and faith that my efforts will come to fruition and tomorrow will be just a little better than today and the next month will be a little better than the one before and so on. I plan on working hard and I hope it will be a positive year.

The inauguration was a source of inspiration.

I wish the new President all the luck and goodwill in the world. He's got an even greater mountain of trouble and indifference to combat but I honestly feel that he's up to it and I think the majority of the people in the US are ready to pitch in and help out.
It will be a tough job and will probably be much harder than we think but as long as there's hope for a better tomorrow I think we can all persevere.

That's what I do with my music. I persevere, because as long as I see people in that audience smile and take pleasure from what we do I know I have something that needs to be heard.

I always loved this Jim Croce lyric.
"I got a song, I got a song, an I carry it with me and I sing it loud. If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud."

yea...
Everyday I climb a little farther up the mountain.

Thankfulness and gratitude

2009-01-18T23:45:00.000-08:00

At the start of each year I look back over the previous one and realize how much we have to be thankful for. For more than four years now we've been pouring every ounce of energy and every penny we have into developing the band and our Sadson Music record label. We are thankful for the opportunities that have come our way and are very grateful to the many people and organizations who have helped us make it a little further down the road. Listing everyone individually would take days - but if you're reading this and you have attended one of our shows, sent a kindly-worded email, shared advice and expertise, worked with us, offered to forward promotional materials or helped us out in some other way, please know your support, generosity and many acts of kindness both large and small are much appreciated.

We're pleased with the progress we've made and are optimistic that 2009 will be a banner year for the Rusty Wright Band. We are really, really geeked about our new CD and we can't wait to hear your feedback on the new songs. We originally hoped to complete the album last March but, as the saying goes, "sh$% happens." It was a year of transition for both the band and for us personally. It seemed like a roller coaster ride at times, but it definitely was never boring. We're learning to accept that everything happens for a reason and that having things turn out differently than we had hoped is often better in the long run.

An update for those of you who braved the nasty, nasty weather to participate in the filming of our concert back in September - the concert dvd is still being edited since mixing and mastering the new cd took precedence over the video project, but it will get done. Video clips from the show have been posted to YouTube and our website, and now that the cd is done hopefully we can work on getting the dvd finished too.

I don't think anyone remains unaffected by the financial crisis our nation is facing. Particularly here in Michigan. Not a week goes by where we don't hear from someone we know telling us about a job loss. It's heartbreaking. We are also hearing whispers that some long-established music festivals may not be back in 2009. I hope these events find a way to forge ahead. I think people are going to need to healing power of music more than ever.

Financially, Rusty and I have always walked a bit of a tightrope. Probably always will. It kind of comes with the territory when you choose to immerse yourself in the music business, but I don't think either of us would trade the life we've chosen for guaranteed financial security if it meant we couldn't continue making music. I'm grateful for what we have, and what we have is... enough. We have enough work to keep a modest roof over our heads, enough to eat and usually enough to share - but not so much that we take any of it for granted. We have enough good humor to balance our perspective when things don't go right, and misfortune and sadness touches our lives just often enough to remind us to appreciate any good fortune that comes our way, and to cherish the good people who are part of our lives.

May you also have... enough.

A day at the office

2009-01-08T04:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was off to a good start. I finished the full page ad for the IBC booklet. That's the International Blues Challenge in Memphis Tennessee. It's a yearly competition sponsored by the Blues Foundation.

Blues bands from all over the world compete in local competitions sponsored by area Blues Societies (There are hundreds of them) then the winner from each local competition sponsored by their society goes to Memphis to spend 3 days cuttin' heads until they get down to the final winner.

It's a fantastic time and Laurie & I have been down twice. We competed the first time and were judges the second time.

This year our agent will be there pitching and schmoozing for the band. Every promoter and blues genre radio and press guy in the world will be there. It's really a great time to network and connect with people in the business.

I'm hoping the full page ad in the IBC program will be another seed in their minds as we start pushing the "Playin' with Fire" CD. The booklet is given out to thousands of people during the event and it really makes a big impact.
Today will be spent on the phone pitching the act to our Michigan festival and Theater promoters then rehearsal with the band tonight in preperation for the Jan. 30th show.

Ah the glamorous life of a musician! LOL Ah well, as long as it gets me on the stage to play for you it's fine by me. Have a good one!
Rusty

FEAR Attracts

2009-01-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

Rusty couldn't be more right when it comes to the "Doom and Gloom" media prophets and their "Fear Gospel." News is judged according to ratings and bad news will get the highest. Keep that in mind when you are watching any news station. How many stories of success and good do you hear versus the stories of failure and evil! I for one have chosen to not participate in the FEAR and BAD ECONOMY hype. Using wisdom in your financial expenditures is one thing, but living in an atmosphere of worry and anxiety will bring chaos, emotional decision making and ultimately bad results in your life. FEAR only attracts bad mojo! Don't get caught up in the fear machine!!!

Stress is

2009-01-06T05:54:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning and I've been at it since 5am. I don't sleep a lot anyway but with the new CD coming out and the preparations for the radio and press push plus the Cabin Fever Musicfest show with Nick Moss and booking the summer tour season I'm not sleeping much at all.

Working on a summer tour to support the new CD but the economy has started to creep into the equation in a way that I find weird.

All the tv and print news as well as the online guys are talking about the world coming to an end because a bunch of Bankers on Wall Street are not making OBSCENE PROFITS so of course that means you and I must prepare for the worst. Sometimes I wonder if the "fear" of bad times doesn't actually "cause" them?

I mean these promoters are telling me "we may not get as big a crowd due to the economy so everybody has to play for less or even free". But they don't know they won't get the crowd and if they do as well or better than the year before do you think they'll suddenly hand out the extra money? Not likely.

So the big corporations watch the news and they say "Oh no, the bankers won't give out credit and the public will stop spending soon so we better cut costs by laying off 50% of our employees now BEFORE it happens!" HUH!?!?

Meanwhile the public didn't stop spending squat yet but they see the news that this big corporation just laid off 20,000 people and all their competitors start doing the same because they don't want to have higher costs than the other guy and suddenly John Q Public says, "I might lose my job and end up on a bread line if we don't cut back!" and POW! everybody stops spending because of the fear of what MIGHT happen. Not what actually IS happening. It's some kind of self fulfilling prophecy and it just seems weird to me.

It sounds oversimplified but I can't help but wonder if the news guys shouldn't just shut up about some things.

I've believed that prices for stuff have been WAY out of control for a long time but nobody is lowering their prices and profit margins yet they expect everyone to take a pay cut while working harder?
I say if you want people to work for 1960's wages then how about cutting our mortgage and gas and food prices to those same levels?
Once the labor unions get whacked and all the new hires are working for 8-10 an hour will GM start making $2000-$3000 cars again? I'd really like to see that.

"sigh" I'm hoping calmer heads will prevail but it sure will be a tough time booking with promoters expecting the worst. But all you can do is ride it out and hope the attitudes swing to the positive.
I guess that's just the blues :-)

A new year and a new vibe

2009-01-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

The new Rusty Wright Band website is officially up and running. Well ok, it's about 90% up. Still got a few more things to add but the cool stuff is up. I'm real proud of all the stuff on there. From the graphics and coding to all the text that Laurie wrote and the video stuff that Andy edited and our friend Jim Dudek shot to all the music that everybody has worked so hard on I think it's a MAJOR upgrade from the previous site.

It should be a lot of fun to visit and watch video or check out info about the band or listen to the tunes. I'm working on a page of freebies for people to download like wallpaper and screensavers with RWB blues themes. If you join the email list you can be notified when those are up.

That's all for the moment. We'll be blogging way more regularly now so keep an eye on us in 2009.

A Very Merry Xmas

2008-12-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

It's almost Christmas. We have an incredible work load right now with our new CD in the mastering and pressing stage and a radio and press campaign to follow plus promoting the Cabin Fever Musicfest on Jan. 30th. I'll be running around buying gifts all the way up to the 25th!
Ah well, it's a marvelous time and we are happy to be so busy. Also working on LOTS of shows for the new year so keep your eye on the calendar.
Merry Xmas
Rusty

New Day

2008-11-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the NEW Rusty Wright Band Blog. This will be a whole new and much improved version which was originally started on mlive.com as "The Wrightstuff". Laurie, Rusty and the band will keep you up to date on the workings and happenings surrounding our music and our endeavors.
We're finishing the new CD "Playin' with Fire" which will be released for 2009 and doing a complete rebuild of our website rustywrightband.com
The new site will have this blog plus music, merchandise, photos and LIVE video.
Sign up for the mailing list to be notified when it all goes live.

Talk to ya soon!

Rusty