2011 January

Missisippi Shakedown @ The Thedbo Blues Festival

Hi yu' all....

Three gigs, two lectures, great CD sales, a slab of Red Bull - that was a big weekend at Thredbo.

We're not big on cold + snow in the Misipi camp, so Thredbo in the summer is GREAT for us. You get to ride up to the summit for free, have a clear view of all and sundry from up there, a bit of a walk around and no-one freezes... sounds like a good investment of 1/2 Hr to us..!!

Friday...

We arrived early, it's bloody raining - bugger!! Saw the great Christina Crofts - what a killer slide guitar sound.

Saturday...

Big day today - two lectures and a late gig. Good news - weather is fantastic - sun is shining - everyone is smiling. Jeff did a lecture about how to record acoustic guitars. He followed a great lecture by David Churchill of "Churchill Guitars" - a wonderful Luthier,a dedicated guitar maker, musician and all-round nice guy. Then Jeff went on to a surprisingly well attended lecture on recording.!!

There was great interest, around 20 or more folk stayed for the hour lecture that could have gone double that with many questions and opinions offered on this vast topic.

Misipi did a great gig at the Schuss Bar that night, a great spot @ 9pm ... punters were spilling out the doors, hot & steamy - (not what you'd expect in Thredbo) we did you all proud, it really ROCKED.. it's great being able to do a 2 Hr "feature" gig - we normally do 4 Hr Gigs, so we have all the "A" material for a '"swift" 2 Hr Gig...

Saw Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson (drums/percussion/vocals) - it was just a wonderful gig - exactly the sort of act you want to see at a music festival. Fitz & Jeff talked about recording in a month or two at Jeff's studio (you're all invited.. $20 at the door..!!).

Sunday...

Our afternoon gig at the Community Centre was after David Churchill's 2nd workshop which featured Jeff Lang and Ray Beadle, which was absolutely fantastic.

These sorts of gigs in broad daylight with no bar, no back-drop, in a barn that sounds like the Taj Mahal, can go either way to being a disaster or a success. We decided to play two hours straight with no intermission. Much to our delight the crowd stayed for the full 2 hours and enjoyed our antics, drum solos, bad jokes and Jeff harassing punters. Our CD stall was kept busy for a long time after the gig.

Backing up the night at the Keller Bar was great. Loud, brash, wonderful Misipi Rockin' blues ... C.J. Raggatt was on before us and MAN, they sounded absolutely GREAT, they're a great band and the mix was fabulous.. tough band to follow.!!!

As with all Gigs large and small, a Band is at the mercy of the sound-man... the lads from Action Sounds were attentive, efficient and great to work with... t'was a great change to have a crew that cared about the Bands. Goodonya lads..we appreciate it...!!!

If you get the chance to get down to Thredbo next year - do it - it's a GREAT Blues Festival - great vibe - great music all round.