I’ve known Ben Prestage for several years now and have had the privilege of seeing him perform on many occasions. He is a rare talent and his shows are truly amazing. Here’s a video that features him performing in Huntsville, Alabama.
pat mAcdonald spells his name with only one capital letter. In the 1980s he was half of the duo known as Timbuk3. Now he’s half of the duo known as PurgAtory Hill. The other half is melaniejane which is all one word and all lower case. The group name comes from the Purgatory Hill Harp cigar box guitar made by John Lowe of Memphis, Tennessee.
I just joined the Handmade Music Clubhouse. It’s a Ning.com community founded by Ted Crocker. Ted is the luthier who built the guitar used in the John Sayles film, “Honeydripper” and he’s been making amazing musical instruments for years. He also served as a content consultant for my documentary, “Songs Inside The Box.” Handmade Music Clubhouse is an offshoot of Cigar Box Nation, the cigar box guitar online community founded by Shane Speal, but it has a broader scope to include any sort of fun handmade instrument. Ted has been a friend of mine for many years now and I [...]
I saw the sad announcement on Facebook: After four years of events, the Deep Blues Festival calls it quits. RIP. Long live Deep Blues. – Chris” The announcement was made by Chris Johnson, founder of the Deep Blues Festival, a man with a big heart and a big vision. Chris likes primal roots music. So do I and countless others around the world. The bands that play this type of music travel from small bar to small bar and play to small audiences. Chris traveled long distances to see his favorite bands perform. He’d hop on his motorcycle and drive [...]
