Sugaree

Shake it, shake it, Sugaree
Just don’t tell them that you know me.

This post is coming to you all the way from the land down under. I’m finishing up a short run of shows here in New Zealand and Australia with Zucchero before heading back to the US for a quick regroup to leave the country again for four months. I can’t believe how fortunate I am to be able to go to the Dead and Company shows in the 5 days I’ll actually be back in my own hood. Grateful Dead have always had a special place in my heart. It literally seems like yesterday I was 13 discovering ‘Workingman’s Dead’ for the first time and put that cd on repeat in my discman. Little did I know all the solos that I could hum to a T for the past 20 years would be the inspiration for me learning my secondary instrument, pedal steel guitar. I had no idea what instrument made those sounds on ‘Dire Wolf” or ‘Sugar Magnolia’, I just knew it to be the sound of the Dead. When I purchased my first steel almost four years ago, I was determined to learn Jerry Garcia’s solo over ‘Dire Wolf.’ That’s what started everything. That’s the very instrument I’ve been obsessing over (and not leaving my house much) the past four years of my life. That’s the reason I’m writing this post in Australia, and that’s why I owe the Grateful Dead many thanks for inspiration to help me carve my own musical path.