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My First Martin Guitar
A story to share about the new instrumental record, Hogan's House of Music, due to be released August 28th. This receipt was for my first Martin guitar, a used 1969 D-18 I bought from my Dad at his...
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Jerry Douglas Studio Day!
Instrumental record update: Jerry Douglas ruled it today in the studio on the Dobro and Weissenborn. He played on Hogan's House of Boogie, '65 Mustang Blues, Smartville, and two others. We had a blast.
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Stories from the Road (Alton, IL)
It’s a good feeling to get rolling again this summer with Alison Krauss & Union Station.We’ve played two shows of our own before the Willie Nelson tour begins, and had a beautiful time with the...
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Stories from the Road (Rapid City, SD)
Today is a day off again while the drivers sleep, this time in Rapid City. SD, about 40 minutes from Mount Rushmore. Got up, did some reading, made my daily homemade hot chocolate concoction (almond...
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Stories from the Road (Missoula, MT)
It was a long drive last night for Van, the driver, especially since I played banjo (relatively quietly) for the first hour and a half. I climbed into the bunk at about 1am. A bus bunk is a wondrous...
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Stories from the Road (Boise, ID)
Today is a day off. I woke at 6am with an unsettling dream but eventually went back to sleep. Generally at home I get up between 6am and 7:30am, but on the road I often fall into a later schedule....
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Stories from the Road (Nampa, ID)
Last night in the room, after I played guitar and the Tele banjo, I watched Jupiter Ascending, a film by the Wachowski brothers (makers of The Matrix, etcetera). I liked it well enough, but found...
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Stories from the Road (Salt Lake City, UT)
This is one of those days, infrequent on the Willie tour due to the amount of people, where I have my own dressing room. Now, to be clear, my job requires dedication to an instrument, namely the banjo,...
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Stories from the Road (Cupertino, CA)
Last night I watched a bit of one of the Wolverine movies with Jerry, then went to my bunk. Wolverine is the modern sci-fi version of Clint Eastwood, and I always liked Clint Eastwood. I think it was...
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Stories from the Road (Saratoga, CA)
Sleep ended too early for me this morning at the Cupertino hotel, so I read and eventually slept again. Got up a bit later than I’d intended, so dry I drank a bottle of water and a watermelon juice I’d...
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Stories from the Road (Medford, OR)
Today was a rare occurrence, a rafting trip on the day off and a perfect day for it. Willie’s manager John put the whole thing together, and most of our band and crew went on the trip along with some...
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Stories from the Road (Jacksonville, OR)
We pulled up to the Britt Pavilion around 12:30pm. We’ve played here many times before, usually in the summer like this, and today was hot and sleepy. I grabbed some lunch, ate with Van, our driver,...
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Stories from the Road (Bend, OR)
I woke up too early. You know how your mind clicks to “On” sometimes and won’t shut its yammer. I usually focus it on reading until I get sleepy and thinking in one direction instead of ten. I’ve been...
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Stories from the Road (Troutdale, OR)
I woke early and read Chesterton for awhile. He has such a high regard for maintaining a childlike sense of wonder about the world. It’s infectious. I hit catering intent upon not overdoing it today...
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Stories from the Road (Redmond, WA)
I woke up at Marymoor Park in Redmond. Last night I had thought I would go to bed early, but Barry, Jerry, and Kevin (Willie’s bassist) were discussing music, and specifically great bassists, and using...
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Last day at Southern Ground
It was the fourth great day at Southern Ground’s studio, the last session for the new bluegrass instrumental record, "Hogan’s House of Music". Brandon Bell did a great job with the tones. Dan...
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Another incredible addition in the studio
Today Alison Krauss put down twin fiddle parts to Stuart Duncan on two tunes - a traditional old-time tune, and an original called Mooney Flat Road. I’m thankful to have been a part of Alison Krauss...
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Stories from the Road (Lincoln, Smartville, Auburn, Grass Valley)
Yesterday my son Ethan flew with me to California. He’ll be with me on the rest of this tour. Today was a show day but since we were only an hour from Smartville, Grass Valley, and Auburn, I wanted to...
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Stories from the Road (Los Angeles, the Greek Theatre)
In contrast with yesterday’s fortunate series of events, today was much more ordinary. It started with waking up way too early for no reason at all. I read for a bit, hopped out of my top bunk, drank a...
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Stories from the Road (Costa Mesa)
After a sufficient night of rest I woke up on the bus parked at the fairgrounds here in Costa Mesa. I decided to make hot chocolate since I don’t make it very often. I can quit anytime. When Ethan and...
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