It has been too long...

I have severely neglected Ghost of Blind Lemon in the past week or so. Between my real job, long hours at work, and feeling really damn tired, the blog has suffered. There are so many things I should have written about. I’ve missed two fabulous CD release parties: one for The Crash That Took Me at Sons of Hermann Hall, the other for Doug Burr at The Cavern. I am especially excited about Doug Burr’s CD, On Promenade, finally being released. I haven’t gotten the opportunity to listen to the album in its entirety, but what I’ve heard already makes it a strong contender for “Local CD of the Year”. For the time being, you can go to the Spune website and download Burr’s song “In the Garden” absolutely free of charge. In fact, I encourage you to do so… after you’ve finished reading this, of course.

I still haven’t gotten the Macon Greyson CD review finished yet. I make no promises when it will get done, but I’d rather have it delayed than to rush the review. I’ll say this much ahead of time: I’d hate to do a hasty review and rob them of the glory they so deserve. Never fear though, I will get the review done for 20th Century Accidents.

I do not have the time to discuss everything I’ve missed out on during the past week. There is, however, one show I would be remiss if I did not review. Thursday night’s tribute to Carter Albrecht at White Rock Coffee was an intensely emotional evening filled with beautiful music. Jayson Bales kicked off the evening with two songs, one of which was a tribute to Carter. If you would like to purchase his CD, Cruel & Unusual, you can purchase it here through the website of Kate Mackley, the women who booked this fabulous show at White Rock Coffee. All proceeds from the CD go to the Carter Albrecht Memorial Fund.

Rahim Quazi followed and performed his tribute to Carter entitled “The Sparrow Has Landed”. You can hear the song on Rahim's MySpace, plus he will be performing it again this Saturday night at the Granada Theater.

Blue Petal followed, performing what was only their second live show. Lead singer Manya Repnikova was apparently nervous, though I’m not certain of why. She is a very talented singer, with a voice so strong that it cannot be ignored. With a little extra confidence on behalf of their lead singer, the sky would be the limit for this band.

Chris Holt played a handful of songs, both originals as well as covers of songs written by Carter. He even shared with the audience that Carter taught him the proper tunings in order to be able to play some of the songs from his upcoming solo CD. At times, Holt’s voice even sounded eerily like Carter’s. If this is how good the songs sound when played by Chris, I can hardly wait to hear what the album sounds like.

The evening wrapped up with performances by Sorta frontman Trey Johnson, Jenn Nabb, and Eric Neal. Since Jenn rarely performs, this was an extra special treat. There were moments in her set that if her vocal performance was any more intense, I would’ve been in tears. It was a wonderful conclusion to a beautiful night of performances and memories about Carter.