New Charlie Hunter Trio Record
It is such a joy to able to finally, after nearly four years of waiting, share this music with the world. Charlie Hunter Trio Live At The Memphis Music Mansion was recorded in October of 2017 during a three night run in my hometown, Memphis and came on the heels of two prior tours together, so we were firing on all cylinders that weekend. Unfortunately, the very first night of the shows, Charlie and I contracted food poisoning and were sick as dogs… Michael Blake got it the following day and was also very ill, the record was shelved because we felt like we all played badly. But time has a way of healing the past, somehow and when Charlie called me one afternoon to tell me he'd been listening to the recordings from those gigs and decided they weren't as awful as he'd remembered and that he was going to release an albums worth of songs, I was elated.
My dear friend Chad Anderson was hired to do the cover art and I'd say he did an amazing job of capturing the three of us in action. Thank you, brother!
The album can be found here.
Charlie Hunter - 7 String Guitar
Michael Blake - Tenor, Soprano & Baritone Saxes
George Sluppick - Drums
Stephen Lee Price - Recorded / Mixed
Chad Anderson - Cover Art
Sugar Percussion drums are crazy-good!
The Double Shuffle
The trailer for my riveting new instructional video, The Double Shuffle![wpvideo KdeNHDbS]Full video available at The Double Shuffle
Back In That Memphis Groove
So glad to be home and off the road. The past five months have shown me what's really important in this life and being here, close to my family and friends means everything. My calendar is filling up with local work and I couldn't be happier. Also, I have recently started teaching and I'm having a blast with that...if you're interested you can find out more by clicking on my Lessons page. In the meantime...be good to yourselves!Much love & respect,-G
Europe
Has been a blast. Double-decker bus, plenty of food, great crowds, and lots of laughs with the gang. Couldn't ask for anything more. With two-thirds of the tour behind us and just finishing a brisk 8-day run, the band is super tight but today we've got a day-off in lovely Hamburg, then a handful of shows before we part company again...everyone is happy.
Good times.
New Morgan James Video!
Hey y'all, I was super excited to have been a part of this video shoot and as tired as we all were that morning (it was very early!) in Nashville, I think we did a pretty good job. Hope you like it and many thanks to the nice hard-working folks at OurVinyl for the amazing video. Thank y'all!Morgan James - Call My Name | Our Vinyl Sessions
Charlie Hunter Rules
When Charlie Hunter called to ask if I wanted to do a short, two-week tour with his trio, featuring saxophone badass, Michael Blake, I flipped! We've been friends for many years and I opened for him numerous times in the early 2000's but we've never gotten into a car and toured as a band together, so I was totally psyched outta my mind. He's such a great guy, tremendous musician and just the most wonderful player. I took my girlfriend to see him in Los Angeles last year and we had a great time that night. She knew as well as me what I was up against when I got the call but once he sent the music we'd be playing, I knew there was no need to worry about anything. The tunes from his latest record are superbad and right up my alley. I could not wait.After some emails & texts to one another, the flight was booked and a few weeks later, I jumped on a plane and made my to his home in New Jersey. One day to rehearse then the three of us hit the road, headed for upstate New York. In all honesty, I was nervous at first but once we started playing, those feelings disappeared and there was nothing but the music. Needless to say, we have been having a blast. We've done six shows and the response has been tremendous.I'm writing y'all from the road, currently sitting in the backseat of Charlie's car, on our way to Columbus, Ohio with a day-off. Hopefully, we'll find a laundromat today! There are four more shows left, then we will say goodbye until meeting up again in October and I can't wait for that!Xoxo
They Ain't Hollow
Had a great time in San Diego last weekend, recording with The Holla Pointe, our third time in the studio together. It was a lot of fun and Studio West is top-shelf.
I arrived early to find a beautiful, completely original 70's Rogers kit in lovely green sparkle, all set-up and ready to go...all I had to do was put up my cymbals and snare. There was a 24" Slingy bass drum upstairs in their drum storage, which I placed in front of the 20" Rogers and we picked up a good amount of low-end once we mic'd it up. The tones were amazing and tracking started within an hour of the first day. This studio and the folks who run it are some of the finest I've ever come across and I can't wait to hear the results from this session. We laid down fourteen tunes in just two days. Not too shabby.Before heading back home to Memphis, I took a day to go see some old friends and was really glad I did. It was nice to be back on the west coast for a minute.Xoxo
Memphis Welcomes Home
Yes, it's true...I moved back home to Memphis (just in time for Christmas!) and it's been rather glorious so far, if I must say. Very good things ahead...stay tuned!Xoxo
Macy Gray and the Johannesburg Experience
Sometimes you get called for a gig that sounds too good to be true and even after you've said Yes, you're still not sure whether or not it's going to happen. Recently, I received one of those calls and it took me a second to comprehend exactly what was being asked of me."Hey man, you wanna go to South Africa with Macy in October?" said my friend Tamir Barzilay.Wait, what...why aren't you going?"I've got another gig that's conflicting, so I can't go," he said.Holy crap, I thought and then told him I needed to make sure there was nothing on my schedule that would conflict and that I would get back to him asap. Luckily, there wasn't and after weighing the pros & cons of such a long flight vs. getting to see some of the African continent, I called him back and accepted the gig. I knew it would be a lot of work but I've seen her band before and I know how great they are, plus her bass player is an old friend of mine whom I've wanted to play with for many years, so I had to say Yes.Well, about six weeks later (which included many hours of shed-time, learning a lot of her material), I was boarding a red-eye flight from LA to New York, which only took five hours...then a six-hour layover at JFK airport then onto Johannesburg from there and that flight was fifteen solid hours. OUCH.Now, that was a long trip!We performed at the Delicious Food & Music Festival in Johannesburg, along with some major heavyweights...The Jackson's, Roy Ayers, Louie Vega & the Elements of Life Band, Arrested Development, De La Soul and several others played. It was really great. Macy hadn't been able to rehearse with me before the gig, so I was flying by the seat of my pants as far as knowing how she likes it to feel on stage but we held it together, even when it started pouring down rain. The crowd was at least fifteen thousand strong and everyone was dancing. I've played some big shows before but this one totally blew my mind. It was so much fun. During our last tune, we brought out a special treat, the Memeza African Choir, who performed one of the country's most well-known folk songs, Shosholoza. We had rehearsed with them five hours earlier, so the music was fresh and they were amazing.People were losing their minds and by the end of our set, they were chanting for an encore but we had to go because Arrested Development was up next...they were incredible.
You couldn't have asked for a better line-up at a two-day festival...it was a once in a lifetime experience for me and I'm fortunate to have been given the opportunity. Macy took me aside at one point and let me know how happy she was with my performance and that made me feel relieved cause I had been so nervous about doing a good job. I sent a huge thank you to Tamir for recommending me. He's been playing drums with her for more than three years and they've got a natural rapport with one another, so I had some big shoes to fill.The following day, the entire band went on a trip out to the country to visit a lion rescue and an elephant sanctuary. Both were extraordinary and I would encourage anyone to visit there at least once, if you can. The people are extremely friendly.I can now say that I've been to Africa.Xoxo
A Life Lived
Never in a million years did I think I'd be charged with the task of writing my own father's obituary but that's how it goes sometimes and when it was finally finished and sent off into the world, my only thought was that I hope my words honor him in the way he deserves cause I can tell y'all one thing is for sure...Big George LIVED his life!Here it is.Obituary
So Long, Dad
George Thomas Scott Sluppick -- June 7th, 1946 - August 26th, 2016Rest in peace, Dad. You were simply the greatest!
Can You Say, Memphistopheles?
Spent the weekend in the studio working on tunes for a brand new band featuring two dudes from Memphis...Doug Wamble & me. Guitar & drums playing soulful, Memphis groove inspired originals is pretty much the gist of this thing. Oh yeah, Doug is an amazing singer, too and there will be lots of that.
We're calling ourselves, Memphistopheles.
Stay tuned, y'all!Xoxo
Mel Lewis Knew What Time It Was
And this should be required reading (listening) for every drummer, everywhere...http://www.skidmore.edu/~flip/Site/History_of_Jazz_Drums/History_of_Jazz_Drums.html
Long live Mel.
Heavy Heart
Back in '05, I received a phone call from my dear friend Leslie, who (at that time) was working for Craviotto Drum Co., as head of artist relations and such. She's a very sweet person and happened to be a fan of my drumming, as well as the group I was playing with back then. It's always nice hearing from her and on that particular day she seemed very excited and said to me, "Hey man, someone here wants to talk to you..." A few seconds later, I hear this crackly voice on the other end and then these words... "Hi George, it's Johnny Craviotto here. Man, Leslie played me some of your stuff and I really love your drumming. I would like to build you a drum. Is that cool?" Thus began a friendship that lasted to this very day and today I have just learned of his passing and I am oh so sad he's gone. Johnny was an incredible soul and easily one of the finest craftsman I've ever known. Rest in peace, my old friend and Godspeed.
So Long, Dreamy Desert Digs
Well y'all, my favorite spot in the Yucca Valley, Rimrock Ranch, was recently sold, so I might not be posting many more pics of it but we're sending her off to the new owners this weekend and it's sure to be a rockin good time!
Gonna miss this place. Of course, it's not really going anywhere, so...Xoxo
Relax, Regroup, Refresh
Just spent five days on the road with my dear friend and superbad musician, Luther Dickinson, traveling the west coast and playing tunes from his brand new record. It was completely fulfilling in every way...
We were joined by Nashville legend, Jim Lauderdale who opened every show (which Luther and I were invited to participate in, nightly) then joined Luther and I for ours. It was so much fun!
From Portland to Los Angeles, I must have spent a total of 20+ hours behind the wheel of our van and now I need a break. I've got a couple of weeks off before things get crazy again and decided it'd be a good idea to go spend some down-time with Dad. So...
I'll see y'all soon...Xoxo
Johnny Craviotto
Johnny Craviotto is an amazing craftsman and I have owned several of his beautiful solid-shell snare drums. This man just can't be stopped. His drums are unreal and this latest custom snare he made for me is one of the finest instruments I've ever seen, heard or played. It just sings! I feel incredibly fortunate to know him and own his drums. I mean, just take a look at this thing...
Thanks, Johnny.Craviotto Drums. Go check 'em out!Xoxo