LA, Memphis & El Paso

Just got home to Los Angeles after having been gone for a week and even though it's good to be back, I'm already missing my friends, family and all the crazy food we ate. My Candida Diet suffered a little bit while I was gone and I'm trying really hard to get back on track but it's tough. One or two mistakes here and there is okay but it's a slippery slope, (as my girl put it) especially when all I can think about are those delicious tacos we were eating in El Paso, Texas last week. Man, they were so good. Of course, there's a taco truck just around the corner from my house here and I've been really tempted to go but I have to wait a couple more weeks in order to make sure enough Candida have been killed off. So, it's quinoa salad for a few more days. What a frickin drag! Not really, though. Quinoa is pretty good, although not the same as a bean burrito!Anyhow, it was a fun trip.About a month ago, I received a phone call from my old friend Terry Manning, asking if I'd like to play a gig with him down in El Paso and that the band was gonna be comprised of several of my longtime comrades who would all be rehearsing together in Memphis for several days beforehand and then flying over to El Paso. Man, that sounds great, I said! He wasn't aware that I'd moved out west nearly three years ago but was more than happy to get me back there for this gig. I was jazzed. Terry is a great guy and if you're not aware of him, his credits are way too crazy to go into, so check out the link I've attached to his name and you'll get the picture. A total badass who's produced and/or engineered some of the biggest selling albums of all-time and he has, as they say, Been there, Done that with just about everybody who's anybody in the music biz. A very intense, talented and seemingly ageless man - who enjoys referring to me as, "The Polish Miracle" (my favorite nickname ever!) - Terry Manning gets the job done at whatever the cost. He takes his job very seriously and having worked with him in the past, I knew this would be a lot of fun.So, plans were set, flights were booked and a few weeks later I was back in Memphis…and for the second time this year. What joy to be home again and as expected (Memphis is never disappointing) it was as much fun as it's ever been.  I got to see my mom & my wonderful sister Dawne, play lots of music, hang with some close friends, relax in a luxury condo and eat a little bit of BBQ. Not too shabby for only four days and before I knew it, I was back on a plane headed for Texas.Originally from Oklahoma, the Manning's lived in El Paso for a short time where Terry attended high school, just a few years before they all made the move up to Memphis. He's still pretty well-known among the locals, as everyone seemed to know him and were well-aware of his accomplishments. It was great to meet so many of his childhood friends. His high school band, The Wild Ones, were a very poplar group in the early 60's.Anyhow, the gig was called the Border Legends Concert and featured many name acts from west Texas and the surrounding area. Various members of the Bobby Fuller Four, the great guitarist Rod Crosby and even the one and only Peggy Sue Gerron. Our group performed for nearly an hour and in all honesty, it sounded like we'd been together for years. My good friends Marc Franklin, John Whittemore & Jim Spake, all kicked major butt and my newest friends, Leo Valvassori, Christine Ganglehoff and Jen Harrison were amazing players and a wonderful bonus. Terry was absolutely amazing and of course in typical Manning-fashion...an eight piece band wasn't gonna be enough and he had to take it one step further with the addition of two go-go dancers at either ends of the stage. Dancing nearly the entire time we were playing. Ten people all rocking out together...it was really fun!Thanks Terry and I can't wait till the next round!