How To Cube A Watermelon In Less Than A Minute!

I love watermelon! Andy Carloss from Mid Town Market in Paducah, KY showed me how to cube an entire wat4ermelon in less than a minute!

Running A Rockn' Company

For those who don't know, in addition to working as a multimedia consultant, I also "moonlight" as a Blues Guitartist and have fronted a Blues Band for almost 20 years!  I started in the early 90s because....it was fun and I enjoyed playing.  It still is and I still do, but it also grew into more than that.  It became a lesson in how to run a small business.  You might be surprised, but running a "conventional business" is just like running a band!

• Be Prepared:  For the band, this means practice, practice, practice until you have your songs down pat. Before the Beatles ever played the Ed Sullivan Show, they had played their songs thousands of times throughout England and Europe, mostly in small clubs. For every other business? It means practice, practice, practice until you have all your employees have all your procedures own pat! 

• Make Your Product or Service Stand Above The Competition:  When I get ready to record our first CD, I was going to record cover songs which we played during club gigs, but  a president of a nearby Blues Society convinced me to ditch that idea and instead write as many original songs as possible for the CD.  That way, we'd stand apart from the thousands of other bands.  He was right.  I also found I had a knack for songwriting which I never knew I had!  In regular business, you have to do something to make you stand apart.  Whether it's a better product, or service, or an aspect of how you do business which stands apart and gives customers a reason to choose YOU over your competition!

• Make Pleasing Your Audience A Top Priority:  For the band, this means playing the material the audience wants, if you can, and if you can't, try to give them something close to what they request!  Treat them with respect and let them know you have a genuine interest in them!  One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was "There are 2 types of musicians: Those who play for the people, and those who play for other musicians!"  Nothing wrong with the latter, but since I'm not that great of a musician myself, I choose to play for the people.  I'll never forget playing at a Festival and seeing a B-list star treating his own fans with distain at times. That's the reason he never became an A-list star, and in fact is now a C-list star! The same goes for any business.  Without customers, you HAVE NO BUSINESS.

• Be A Pro: I once had a club owner tell me he noticed my band never drank a lot and partied when we played there, like so many of the other bands. I told him, "We're not here to get drunk. We're not here to get women.  We're here to do the best show we can for your customers, and then get paid and go home!"  He laughed, nodded his head, and he got it.  We were just like him.  It's important for employees to have a good time at work, but it's also important to keep it professional!

• If They Do The Work, PAY 'EM: Good, dependable musicians are so worth keeping. It's a load off a band leader's mind to know that he doesn't have to worry about his own guys, and can concentrate on other aspects of running the band.  It's the same with regular business. Once you find good workers you want to hang on to them! Good workers are an advantage you can have over your competition!

•  Market Your Service: This means having the best publicity release and marketing plan to get your band noticed and get better shows, along with advertisements.  You'll want to know how best to place ads in conventional media and work your social media to deepen your relationship with your fans.  The same goes for regular business.  You have to treat your marketing just like another employee:  One whose job it is to spread the word about how great your product or service is!

• Take Care Of Business:   Make sure you maximize your profit while charging a fair price, and then add new revenue streams.  In my case, that meant sometimes standing my ground over a fee to perform, and making sure we were registered with performance rights organizations to get as much revenue as possible.  After all, if we didn't claim the money, it would just sit there, or go back to the performance rights organizations.  There are so many bands which don't go after this money, which is just sitting there. Sadly, many times, the best artist, are not the best business persons.  I'm happy to say, I've been able to mentor several to show them how to get this money.  After all, it's money they've ALREADY EARNED!  The same goes for regular business.  You have to maximize your efficiency to maximize profits and constantly look for new ways to increase revenue.

The music business is a fun business, even when it's a small business, but above all, it's just like any other BUSINESS!   When you're doing things right and getting your fair return, it's even MORE FUN!

Superstar, From Bonnie to Sweet Connie to Luther....

One of my favorite songs all time is "Superstar," It's been recorded many times, by several artists, and I always find something to love about every single version!

Originally, the song was called "Groupie" and it was about groupies!  Such as Sweet Connie and Pamela DesBarre.  I have an acquaintance in Paducah, KY who was actually a high school classmate of Connie Hamzy....aka "Sweet Connie."  I remember when a former co-worker of mine came to Paducah from Little Rock, I asked him, "Did you ever met Sweet Connie?" He didn't know who I was talking about, and I thought, "Oh man...that's a part of rock n roll history!"  Then again....that also may have been to his credit.  The song, "Superstar" or "The Groupie" was written by Delaney and Bonnie.   Here's the way it originally sounded...

The song was later recorded by The Carpenters and became a HUGE hit!

Even Sonic Youth has recorded a cover of "Superstar."   Probably my least favorite version, and that's pretty lame if you can't top The Carpenters....just sayin....

Without a doubt my favorite version is Luther Vandross.  I really like Luther's styling and what he did with the song. He may have been the last really great "song stylist" we've had.  The kind of singer who could take ANY song, and make it his own...  (notice how from about halfway on, Luther uses the Echoplex...a VERY powerful tool in live performances today)

57 Years Ago Today, Rosa Parks Said No

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to obey a bus driver's order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled.

Parks' act of defiance and the Montgomery Bus Boycott became important symbols of the modern Civil Rights Movement. She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including Edgar Nixon, president of the local chapter of the NAACP; and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a new minister in town who gained national prominence in the civil rights movement.   Listen to her words:

Country Legends LIVE

If you missed our show at the Carson Center Friday night, you missed a real treat. Country Legends Live featured tribute artists to the greats of country music: Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams S and Johnny Cash.

One of my favorites, Mandy Barnett, performed the music of Patsy Cline.  Barnett was the last singer with whom legendary producer Owen Bradley worked.  When you hear her classic and powerful voice, you know why.

An ADDED treat for me and pickers in the audience, she brought along Andy Reiss from the Time Jumpers as her band leader. One of, if not the top session picker in Nashville!  My goodness, what a treat!

Michael Twitty did a great job playing his dad's songs and as an added reat, brought out Emily Portman as Loretta Lynn to sing a couple of duets!

David Church did a great Hank Williams!

And Shawn Barker closed it out as the man in black, Johnny Cash!   Great performer and cool cat, too!

Great show by all!

Help Make Out Our Setlist Friday Night!

We're doing something fun for BBQ on the River! We'll play Friday night at 5:30 on the main stage.  We want YOU to help make out our set list for our show!  Of course, I haven't used a set list for a show in about 15 years, but I will this time, depending on what you want to hear! 

Just let us know on our facebook page for 61 South or my facebook page or tweet us at @Lew_Jetton or @61_South !  We'll tally up the votes and write down the set list, then play it back Friday Night frmo the main stage at the BBQ on the River!  While you're there be sure to enjoy the BBQ! The sale of the BBQ benefits local charities, and have a cold one in the Beer Garden, directly across from the stage! It benefits the Paducah Symphony! In fact, you can "adopt a keg" for the Paducah Symphony and help them, while getting cool beer glasses and beer tickets! It's all good fun, for VERY good causes!

New FREE MP3 Download-61 South Live

Here's another free download of an MP3 of a live performance.  Raw and uncut. One of our favorites, "Homegrown Tomato" recorded live at the Barbeque on the River in Paducah, Kentucky in 2008.


Click Here to download, and enjoy!