“Attention all planets of the solar federation.

WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL.”

Tonight Palladia aired the premiere of the new Rush documentary – Beyond the Lighted Stage and it’s important for me to recognize this documentary as one of the best musical diaries I’ve seen lately.

There’s probably no other band as polarizing as this threesome from the North, but you can’t ignore their success. After watching the video and the lexicon of bands and musicians (UFO, Kiss, Pantera, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Black Label Society, Death Cab, Dream Theater, Primus, Jack Black and others), you gotta give this band the credit it deserves as they continue to build a soundscape that spans close to 40 years.

In the beginning, I didn’t get it either. Awakening in the eighties to rock and roll, the Canadian power trio were way above my head. The voice, the music and the cult following was hard to absorb. Their music, epic, visionary and constantly evolving is enough to revisit the work of Geddy, Alex and Neil.

In the new documentary, there are great performances that date back to their early days in Canada with late John Rutsey, interviews with bands, promoters, managers and fans along with video performances from Snakes and Arrows.

A master of percussion, a bass/vocal legend and one of the most under-rated guitarists in the history of rock, Rush still inspires and I wish there was a performance closer than Atlanta, but I sure hope to catch another tour.

There are plenty of other Rush fans who helped me along my way and they can probably share more than I – Terry McCoy, Bo Bradley, Steve Thompson and Tad Dickens – thanks for helping me see the light and hear the Spirit of the Radio.

By the way – one cool moment in the documentary is when they give props to Johnson City, TN!

The only left for me now is to open the doors to Limewire, cause I’ve gotta have a dose, but I plan on two books this year too. Neil’s Ghost Rider – Travels Along the Healing Road and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead.

Here’s to Rush – the original geek rock band. Long live the mercurial force.

I missed this a few months back when jazz siren Esperanza Spalding performed at the White House honoring Stevie Wonder. Her she performs a terrific version of “Overjoyed.”

I had lunch yesterday with Doug Beatty, festival organizer for “Racks By The Tracks” – a music/barbecue and micro-brew festival now in it’s second year in Downtown Kingsport earlier today.

It was thrilling to hear him announce (PollStar confirms) legendary blues piano-man Pinetop Perkins will be performing as the headliner this year for the ultra-cool festival held outdoors on the ground of the old train station.

As the history of blues legends continues to be written, Pinetop Perkins has plenty of space devoted to his influence. The original side man to Muddy Waters, Pinetop is a 2007 Grammy Award winner and is still traveling the country at the age of 95.

This will be a memorable afternoon to remember as Kingsport welcomes a true-blue legend and I can’t wait to say I listened to Pinetop Perkins downtown. Can’t wait to hear, “Got My Mojo Workin’,” “Caldonia,” “Pinetop Boogie” and other blues standards. This will be the excellent way to kick off what will be an incredible year of live music in our East Tennessee home.

It wasn’t long ago my attention turned to Bettie Page. It wasn’t the first time and it probably won’t be the last either because Bettie was a doll and may be one of the most influential pop-icons to be associated with Kingsport, TN (whether that’s true or not).

Bettie died last Thursday, December 11th from pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital. She was 85 years old.

Born April 12, 1923, Bettie Page was the daughter of Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle. She became famous as a fetish pin-up model in the 1950s.

Her dark raven hair, fair skin, bright red lipstick and curvaceous figure was certainly the fantasy of many a young man at the time too and her posters are still drop-dead sexy. Appearing in over 20,000 photos, one reviewer mentioned she was the fore-runner for every “Suicide Girl” since and even the foundation for fetish fashion.

Facebook has been around for a long time. I remember signing up for this social website when it was first came on the scene as “the college app.” New toys always fascinate me , but lately, this website has grown to something much more than college students. In fact, Facebook is the reunion website for everyone.

For the past several days, several friends have stated, “I’ve connected with so many people on Facebook.”

Seems alot of people are discovering this website now and what they’re finding is that you can reconnect with plenty of high school buds. In many ways, Facebook has become the new Classmates website ( another popular social site geared toward reunions and school alumni.)

It was several years ago when my friend Bobby Woody first introduced me to sushi in a bar somewhere near Stone Mountain, Georgia. His endorsement of fresh raw fish and spicy wasabi just didn’t excite me that much at the time.

At lot has changed since then and I still miss my friend. He was always on the forefront of anything new and that’s one of the things I appreciated about him the most and things have changed for me too – especially with sushi.

Earlier in the year, we ventured to Edo’s in Kingsport and dabbled with a little tuna and that lead to salmon. From there, we’ve been trying sushi all over town and although I’m not a complete expert about the culinary varieties of sushi and sashimi, we’re making still making our rounds.

Last Friday, we celebrated Dan’s last day of 47 with a toast of single malt scotch and a decision to try out Sushi Blues in Johnson City. This was one of the first sushi bars in the Tri-Cities located in the little strip mall near the movie theatres. Plenty of folks have mentioned the place over the years and we were excited about a new adventure for our taste buds and wrapped up our visit with a couple of glasses of red to toast a friend’s birthday.

It’s rare moment when a songwriter inspires me as much as Darrell Scott did this past weekend at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion. Inside The Paramount Center on Friday night, it was standing room only and I kneeled near the front of the stage to take pictures, but I was overwhelmed with a poet who touched the heart and spirits of all in attendance.

I first heard about Darrell Scott from Reagan Boggs. She still sings his popular song, ‘Never Get Out of Harlan Alive’ and although I still enjoy her voice singing these haunting song lyrics, it wasn’t until I experienced this organic performer behind the words that I discovered what so many have been talking about. Leah Ross, festival director for Rhythm and Roots is in love with him too and now I know why.

Scott is a Grammy nominated songwriter, noted for writing songs for The Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley and many more – but he wasn’t wearing makeup. He didn’t have a black hat or a white hat (required attire for male country artists) and he didn’t have a band competing for attention in the fog and lights.

Instead, he was dressed in a black corduroy jacket, a green shirt, disheveled hair and he channeled a mystical presence through the auditorium last Friday with his native songs that touched the hearts of everyone in the room.

He played an acoustic guitar, a piano and a Weissenborn slide guitar, but what was epecially moving was the rich aura between fans and songwriter. It was a prescence like nothing I’ve experienced in a long time and his attention and humility reminded me of James Taylor, Paul Simon and Sting.

We had planned on taping many of the performances at last week’s festival and captured some great moments at the festival, but when I slipped into a seat in the auditorium, I was startled by Dave Carter from WETS-FM.

Dave and I go way back in time and I am blessed to call him a friend. We’ve shared many musical moments together and he seems to show up at some of my most inspiring moments.

At first, I was still in awe of Scott’s performance, gushing about his soul and Dave interupted my infatuation with an invitation to join him on Studio One the next day. He told me Darrell would be performing a live performance at this popular local radio program and I couldn’t wait.

Matthew Carroll got up early on Saturday and Jared brought all of our cameras to the radio studio on the ETSU campus. We had been there less than a year ago to record Charlie Goodwin and it was great to be back on a beautiful September afternoon.

When we walked in, I was surprised to see Darrell Scott and his father Wayne, seated in the studio.

One of the things that immediately occurred to me was the natural organic talent of this singer/songwriter. He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and looked like they hadn’t been up long. He was playing random melodies on his guitar and seemed completely unconcerned about the cameras and confusing rush of cables, and photographers that moved around the studios. We were scrambling to get out of the way too because we arrived about 20 minutes before air-time and they were all completely understanding and calm despite our interruption.

His dad had drove down from Kentucky and Dave had the terrific idea of having them both perform in the studio.

Wayne Scott is 75 years old and had on flip-flops and a black t-shirt. His ’66 Hummingbird guitar was resting in his lap while he sorted his laminated song lyrics on the music stand in front of him.

We scrambled around the room to setup three video cameras. Matthew and I grabbed our hand-helds and set a stationary HD camera in the middle of the room. The lighting was a little dark, but that didn’t seemed to matter. We just tried to stay out of the way of the artists and Darrell had his two teen-age sons with him whom seemed to have a handle on stashing the cases and remaining music gear out of the way.

It wasn’t long before the 1.00 ‘On The Air’ sign came on and Dave Carter began his weekly introduction to one of the area’s most influential and distinguished live music shows. I still have great respect for the passion that he and engineer Mike Strickland put into this weekly effort and they never seem to lose their passion.

Dave introduced Darrell and Wayne and together they had a splendid volley of Q&A and followed by some of the most down-to-earth original music that I’ve heard in a while.

Wayne began with his song ‘Whiskey” with the lyrics – “It ain’t love, it ain’t money – it’s the whiskey that heals the pain.” We taped every single minute of it.

Darrell Scott shared many of the stories behind his songs. He also mentioned a love of poetry of which he spent time in school studying. He shared with me his own appreciation for Walt Whitman and other contemporary authors.

The most important comment made during the show that meant the most to me was the comment that Wayne shared with Darrell early on. The key to songwriting – “tell the truth.” Now more than ever, that’s certainly a distinguishing characteristic for this minstrel poet and one listen and it’s easy to see this instruction has moved across two generations.

Darrell and Wayne played songs from the “Weary Way” project and “Modern Hymns,” plus several other original tunes Scott is famous for including the touching, “My Father’s House,” “Sunday with My Son” and “Never Leave Harlan Alive” which was spellbinding.

After the show, Dave seemed a bit misty-eyed and he stated, “if he never produced another radio show – he would be satisfied with this one being the last.”

He was right too. The stories Darrell and Wayne told about each other and the shared souls that are still creating great songs made for a tremendous radio show and we’re glad we had another chance to document the moment.

Special thanks to Dave Carter, Mike Strickland and production assistant Dan Sewall for allowing us in the studio. Thank you also to Darrell and Wayne for some very special moments.

It’s not often a new talent completely consumes me, but last Tuesday, Paul Shaffer referred to Esperanza Spalding as the “best thing that has ever been on this stage.” I couldn’t agree more.

As a night owl, I’m a fan of late-night televisions, especially the David Letterman show. This show is a great resource for new bands and music as Letterman and Shaffer know how to pick them out of the new crop of players that continually to surface. This was never more true than Tuesday night when Esperanza performed “Precious” on her network television debut.

Her name, “Espernaza” is the same as the Spanish word for “Hope” and my oh my, this young 23-year old prodigy is a delightful discovery for anyone who loves jazz, salsa and Brazilian forms of music.

It’s a bit strange to watch a young women like this play an upright bass, but she makes it look easy and it’s no prop. This young lady is an incredible jazz player and her backup band is smokin’ and one of the best new jazz sounds to come along in years.

My friends who have heard a few cuts insist her voice sounds like Nora Jones, but I disagree. After listening to her debut album, it’s clear there’s a lot more here than style. Spalding has a versatile voice and the music is way beyond the ordinary too. No three-chord blues here and her lyrics are insightful, well-crafted ideas amid a hot jazz group with players that deserve their own attention too.

The new recording is a rollercoaster of pitch, reeling with improvisational scat and unexpected turns. The music behind her and the song construction is a refreshing shower of joy too.

A native of Oregan and a graduate of Berklee School of Music, Spalding is staged for a meteoric ascent to stardom. She also travels around the world with some of the greatest players on the jazz scene. Most recently she was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, she graced the front cover of Bass Player magazine and happens to be one of the youngest faculty members at Berklee.

She’s got a busy schedule with appearances all over the planet too and it would be a thrill to catch her live, but in the meantime, I’m loving this new album and this shining new star. When people tell me music is not what it used to be – they’re right! It’s better than ever before and Esperanza is truely “hope” for a new generation.

I’m a new citizen in Liberty City. It’s the major cityscape that looks like New York and Chicago. My cousin has been here for a while and he’s helping me move up in crime world as a Russian immigrant named “Niko.”

And so begins the saga of another attention magnet that helps me escape an otherwise world of concern and obligation.

I was one of the first in line for the new Grand Theft Auto IV video game released by Rockstar Games. After a couple of weeks of game play, I’m convinced this is one of the best video games of all time.

The mountains of East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia are home to many legendary musicians. From the Birthplace of Country Music , The Carter Fold and Dollywood, there’s a legacy of memorable players around the region and when it comes to Big Band Music, you might not guess that Kingsport is home to a legend too.

At 78 years of age, Charles Goodwin is a native son of Kingsport – a rarity whose talents include those of an arranger, performer and band leader and who’s still going strong. In the past, he’s performed with the likes of Charlie Spivak, Woody Herman and many others. The years haven’t slowed him down any either – he regularly performs with orchestras, festivals and many of the most prestigious venues and players in the region.

When Dave Carter called me a few weeks ago to tell me that Charles was going to perform live on his radio program Studio One, I immediately made the date to bring our video cameras and record this iconic musician. The thought had crossed my mind several months ago and when Dave said he was going to be bringing a quartet for this intimate setting, it was a dream come true.

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