February 18:There are people we meet in our lifetime that touch our hearts.  I had the opportunity to break bread with a older gentleman.  A musician. He had gone through hell in his lifetime but still had a twinkle in his eyes like a young boy.  David Edmead, or Mousie as his friends call him. I cannot go into details of the day as it rests heavy on my heart. Mousie left us today at 3:25pm.  Rest in peace, Mousie. All troubles are now far, far away and can be forgotten.

If you are so inclined, a collection page has been set up to gather funds to help with Mousie's expenses. Please give. http://www.plumfund.com/pf/davidedmead

February 13: "Be Careful when you blindly follow the masses.  Sometimes the M is silent."  I’ve been seeing this posted on quite a few of my FB connections’ pages.  In theory, this saying should be true. But, in my humble opinion, when confronted with something different or new that takes people out of their comfort zone (e.g.: a new sound, a new taste, a new point of view, a new way of doing things, etc.) the tendency is to avoid without proper evaluation; blindly judge and then go back to the comfort zone (you know, "herd behavior"). Rather than make the effort to get out of the comfort zone, human nature has always been comfortable with the masses. That's kind of sad, isn't it? It brings me back to a rant that I posted a long time ago (click on the link). As time rolls on, the more I see how the band has been able to change some of our critics' and audiences' points of views.  I remember a review of Original Sin where the critic ripped the band a "new one", if you know what I mean, claiming that the songs weren't blues; that the voice was weak and that the work was indecipherable.  Funny enough, shortly after that review came out, Original Sin won the award for Best Blues and Associated Styles Album of 2012; hit top 10 on quite a few charts with numerous special (positive) mentions from our fans and the media.  That same reviewer did a 180 turn around and gave Bad Taboo an excellent review. His review came in as one of the later ones - after the more established reviewers has already posted their critique. Hmmmmm....don't get me wrong....I am quite proud of our latest effort and so are quite a few of our fans and reviewers. I get it when someone does not give us a positive review and it's ok. But for that particular reviewer, I believe he finally got out of his comfort zone. He sent me an email stating that the first time he listened to Original Sin, he wasn't quite sure what to think of the work aside from the fact that it was "different in a familiar kind of way" but he couldn't categorize it (in my humble opinion, "herd mentality": the need for categorization under the guise of " point of reference"). When he listened to it again, he said that he finally understood what the band was doing specially when listening to the three albums in chronological order.  He apologized for the critique he had initially made on Original Sin and thanked me and the band for pushing his envelope with our music and the Blues genre. WOW!  Although there is no retraction of the not-so-hot review he did, I took his email as the ultimate compliment that someone finally took a chance and really listened.  I will take it as my Valentine's eve gift. Just like what Oisin (our bassist) says of our song, "...what blues band ever did a tune like Redemption (click on the link)?!"  We love you, be loved, give love and stay loved.  Happy Valentine's Day!