Road To Recovery
He lives!Late in the afternoon yesterday, as the sedation started wearing off, Dad opened his eyes and looked at me, showing the first signs of truly waking up. You probably could have lifted me off the ground with a fingertip. I was floating on a cloud of glee. Best news we've had yet and even though I wanted to stay in the room and talk to him all night long, I knew he needed much more rest and let him be. Checking-in to my room here at the hospital (they have courtesy rooms for out-of-town families!) I sacked out early, slightly exhausted from the events of the day but elated and eager to face the next.Then, a small feat of victory occurred....I woke up and rushed over to the ICU as fast as possible this morning to check on his status and everyone in the nurses station was smiling at me as I entered the room. Dad's condition had obviously improved and their once sad glances were now huge grins. This is the moment we'd all been waiting for. Assembled like a team of loving angles, the doctors and nurses entered room #9 to look over his vitals once more to make sure he was ready for what was next in his treatment and I made my way to the waiting area in order to give them some space to do what they do best. And without any difficulty, they successfully pulled the ventilator tube out of Dad's throat only minutes later and he instantly responded in the positive, inhaling a huge deep breath.Whew!Our man has come back to us and he's now breathing on his own...100% stable. It's a glorious day!
Of course, as much as we are celebrating having him back among us, the reality of his situation is very much in our minds. He is extremely weak right now and will no doubt be spending a couple of months in a rehab, learning to walk and move around all over again. Of course, he's about as strong as an ox, as we've seen proof of these past two weeks and I have no doubt he'll be doing all the things he loves before too long. The good news too was that as soon as he woke he knew exactly who I was and immediately started joking with me..."Gramma, what's for supper?"Three cheers for Big George!
Much love to my Memphis pal and brilliant photographer, Lisa Bertagna for loaning me this gorgeous image. As soon as I saw it, I felt it captured this moment in time perfectly. Thank you Lisa, you rock!We press on.
Breath of Life
15 days watching Dad struggle for his life and it looks like he's getting better, or at least showing signs of improvement. They're telling us he may be off the ventilator in the next couple of days, so...we hope & we pray.
Proud & Honored
Sitting here in this hospital provides me with a shitload of reflection-time and I was just now reminded that the CRB released a live record last week that sounds fantastic. Check it out, here...
Listen to a sample of Train Robbers... CRB -- Train RobbersI'm super excited to be a part of this great band and definitely looking forward to hitting the road with them again next year. Dig it!
He Gon Fight the Fight
My dad is one tough sumbiscuit and has lived a lot of life in his 67 years on Earth. The oldest of six, a farmhand, auto mechanic and budding musician...whose own father died at the age of 45, making him the "man of the house" at only 15 years old...he grew up very fast. Fresh outta high school, he married my mom then joined the army, becoming a helicopter sergeant and serving for two tours during the Tet Offensive in Viet Nam...some of the very worst fighting our boys saw.Yeah, he made it through that shit but not only that, came home and raised three kids, worked a day job for 20+ years, moonlighted at a few others, taught me how to play music, gigged a good bit with me on the side, divorced Mom, remarried and raised a fourth kid, divorced again then quit his day job, met a woman named Judy, fell in love and moved down to Natchitoches, LA with her and her son and became a very popular radio DJ for a good many years, finally retiring just a few years ago. And he's always been there for me. You could say that my dad and I are about as close as a father and son could be and he is without a doubt one of the sweetest, most humble, generous, kind and loving people I've ever known. My dad is my hero and he's also quite proud of me and of the rest of his kids. He brags about us all the time. Family is the most important thing to him.Of course like most combat veterans, he's had his fair share of hurdles, both mental & physical but he never ceases to amaze us with how much strength he's able to conjure up in that squat 5' 6" stature of his. Just when we've been driven to the very edge of crazy, worrying over kidney stones, back surgery, heart by-pass, cataract's, laparoscopy, dental surgery, lung disease and abdominal surgery...with a huge grimace he somehow manages to pull himself out of it every time, living to tell the tale. Just like Superman.Dad defines badass.Last Tuesday, he went in for a routine operation for a stubborn hernia and came out of it unable to breathe on his own, so they put him on a ventilator, which is feeding him a large amount of oxygen and immediately sedated him. It's been a week now and the family is beginning to worry about the outcome of this one, so as soon as I got the news, I jumped on a plane as fast as I could and made it down here to be with him. The long days are spent watching his vitals and observing numerous nurses scurrying in and out, each one offering a gentle, experienced hand in his fight. It's a trippy thing. Today and for the past three days, I've sat next to him at his hospital bedside, waiting for him to open his eyes, smile and say something funny.
I know he'll pull through cause he's tough as nails and has gotten himself out of much worse situations than this, so I have to believe his strength will prevail. So far, all of his doctors have been nothing but positive but it's super stressful watching him struggle. Today I decided just for kicks (and to pass the time) to write him a little song...Big Papa, Big Papa He gon be alright Big Papa, Big Papa He gon fight the fight Big Papa, Big Papa He gon be o.k. Big Papa, Big Papa He gonna live another day We gonna watch him raise his head And get up outta that bed He gonna put his feet on'na flo And shake hisself some mo He gonna take a deep 'ol breath And turn his back on death We gonna see him busta move And get into a groove Oh, Big Papa, Big Papa He gon be alright Big Papa, Big Papa He gonna fight the fight Big Papa, Big Papa He gon be o.k. Big Papa, Big Papa He gonna live another dayLet's hope he does.
R. I. P. Craig Zarkos
You were among the first people I met when I moved to San Diego on 1991 and were always good to me. Your level of artistry, whether behind a set of drums or a mixing console was on par with some of the greatest who've ever lived and I'm proud to have known you as my friend. I am so terribly saddened you decided to leave us but hope your journey will be one of peace and comfort. Thanks for everything, buddy.
Happy Halloween!
I'm usually not much for holidays...it's a long story but somewhere along the way growing up, I decided I didn't like them anymore, with the exception of Halloween. HA! As long as I don't have to drive, I can get into it. Maybe it's the massive sweet-tooth in my head, I dunno but it's not a bad holiday. My girlfriend keeps reminding me that I haven't always been such a stinkbug when it comes to things of this nature, so I thought I'd take some time to reminisce a bit.My sisters and I loved dressing up, although my costumes were never as much work as theirs were. I usually went for the rubber mask.
We were pretty cute.Not sure if this was Halloween or not but once I had to dress as a clown for a Cub Scout party and do a dance. That was rather an embarrassing moment.
Mom, of course, was so proud...
Anyway, about 11 or 12 years ago, I dressed up as the Invisible Man on Halloween and played drums in-costume all night long. It was fun and a little warm.
I think I may have been given some kind of prize for best-dressed or something. It's hard to remember. Anyway, we had a good time. Last Year, the CRB dressed up as spooky ghouls and played a show in Athens, Georgia. That was a blast and they even convinced me to sing the Monster Mash. Can you imagine?
- CRB, Halloween 2012 -- Clockwise from the left: Neal Casal, me, Adam MacDougall, Chris Robinson & Mark Dutton
You can check out the entire show, here...CRB -- Halloween 2012, Athens, GABut this year, I'm taking it easy on the wild outfit/makeup routine and just going for something a lot more chill...
So, that's it. Have a good one, everybody and be safe out there!
Xoxo
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!
She Brings Me Coffee (Or, She Used To)
My mornings have been really amazing for the last five or six months and coffee has been a big part of it, especially when it's French pressed! The smell of those beans fills my lungs and heart and makes me happy. What a wonderful, soothing liquid and coupled with a woman's touch...well, that's my kinda livin', folks. She knows what she's doing and the flavor is perfect, every time. But as much as I might enjoy those lovely little black beans, currently they're not agreeing with my stomach, so I've had to put them (and several other tasty pleasures) away for a bit.Ever hear of Candida? Neither have I, until recently. You might wanna read up on it, just in case.About five days ago, I went and visited a local nutritionist here in LA who took a sample of my blood and blew it up onto a big screen for me to see exactly what was/is currently going on inside my body. Holy crap! There were Candida all over the place and things did not look good. I've had a pretty high sugar intake for most of my life and its caused some serious problems with my digestion, so the time has finally come to make a change.This means, no sugar, grains, dairy or caffeine for at least 30 days. Alcohol as well but I no longer drink, so that's not a problem. I will however miss having my dear sweet gal bring me coffee in the morning.
Guess I'll have to settle for herbal tea.Oh, and in case you'd like to read up on this crazy diet...http://www.thecandidadiet.com/
Simply Badass
Jaki Liebezeit is a badass, plain & simple. His drumming with Can was (and IS) nothing short of inspiring, fierce, precise. A beautiful player. This solo totally fired me up today.Give a listen.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a_XVM7LGnk
A Blast From the Past
Back in the early 70's, fresh home from two tours of combat duty in Viet Nam, my dad decided he'd get back into the music business and wanted to make a professional recording of some of his songs in an effort to land some local gigs in Memphis. This may have been the first time he’d ever ventured into the recording side of things, as much of his experience playing music had taken place on the road and on the bandstand. I think it’s safe to say that Dad was excited about the possibilities, as I’m sure his day-job was driving him nuts and music had always brought him joy. So, he looked around town and found this cat named B.B. Cunningham who agreed to record a demo for him and the session was booked in a studio called, Stairway.He had a notebook full of wonderful songs he’d been working on, including this great little country number called, Please Daddy, Please…a tune about a man struggling with alcoholism where I sang the chorus with him (a child’s voice is always a nice touch). We’d been rehearsing this song together at home and it was sounding pretty good, so he brought me along with him in hopes that we'd get that one down, as well. To be honest, I really don't remember much about that day…I was only three or four at the time… this would’ve been 1971 or '72 but I’m pretty sure I was there with him because the one thing Dad remembers is the studio folks taking a liking to me. He even laughs when telling the story of how B.B. Cunningham & Knox Phillips both joked with him afterward, saying they thought I had a good little voice. Funny.But this is all we’ve ever had. Memories and stories. Nothing to listen to or hold in our hands or share with others. Throughout the years, whenever I've asked Dad about the session, he says he doesn't remember anything ever getting recorded, which is very sad. Maybe they had a problem with one of the tape machines, or perhaps the studio closed down before he could get a copy of the tape, or maybe the money got weird. No one knows for sure and for the past 40+ years, all anyone has ever been certain of, was that there is absolutely no record of him having been there, except for one single photo…
Well…about a month ago, my good friend, Joe Restivo called me from Memphis, saying he'd just been on a recording session in a studio where they'd found an old dusty 1/4" reel of tape at the bottom of a closet with "George Sluppick" written on the front of it (but no other info at all) and they wanted to know if Dad had the same name as me. One of the engineers there, Adam Woodard, was in possession of it and wanted to talk with me about what might possibly be on this reel. I just about dropped the dang phone! How could this be?Now Adam is a real sweet cat but told me he was super busy with session work and would give it a listen just as soon as he could. He said that if anything was on it, then he would get me a copy of it right away but that I would need to be patient. Mind you, this is a virtue that doesn’t come easy for most Sluppicks, as we’re not known for having a great deal of patience and given the possible contents of this long lost reel… Well, let me just say that the poor guy suffered through a barrage of emails, phone calls, Facebook messages and texts from yours truly, fussin’ & cussin’ up a storm but he remained cool through it all and although I nearly lost my mind waiting, I somehow managed to keep it together, as I knew the end result would be sweet. It took more than a month to get a digital copy of the master transferred and the process wasn’t easy for him, as the tape itself was more than 40 years old and required some gentle handling. Analog tape has a shelf life of roughly 30 years and tends to break down if it’s in storage any longer than that, so if you are getting nervous just reading this, then imagine how I felt. Yes, it was stressful! However, once the work was finished, they uploaded the entire file to a website with a nice letter to me, telling the story of how the leader tape (which is the nonmagnetic plastic tape that you see at the beginning and end of the tape, that acts as a protector) accidentally broke during play-back, which was frightening to hear but he assured me that everything on the original tape survived.The only bad news was that, Please Daddy, Please was nowhere to be found and after speaking with Dad about it, he said that I had the story a little bit wrong and that that particular tune had been cut in an entirely different session and there's no recording of it anywhere. The good news of course, was that now we have an entire session of Big George, all by himself to enjoy forever…roughly 25 minutes worth.Hallelujah!I have to tell y’all it was rather emotional as I sat there listening to my then 25-year old father singing his heart out, sometimes a little flat, with a slightly out-of-tune acoustic guitar, and some shaky rhythm. But I’ve never heard a more honest and true performance from anyone. As an added bonus, I’d also never heard most of the tunes and was taken by surprise at the diversity in his songwriting. You can clearly hear his influences, ranging from country to blues to folk to some straight-up rock-n-roll. I remember when we would play shows together, many years after this recording and the set list always included a little something for everyone. But that’s just the kind of guy he is.And that's the story. Pretty unbelievable, right? My gal and I edited everything, titled all the songs and put a nice little homemade CD booklet together for Dad and the rest of the family. I've been getting phone calls and letters from everyone, telling me how touched they were and that it's an amazing stroke of luck that some analog tape survived at the bottom of a closet for 40 years. I am grateful.
Life can be really beautiful.
Three Weeks
Memphis.
I have missed my hometown something awful but this trip back was incredible. No sooner did I get my feet planted on home turf, I was off to the races and didn't slow down for nearly two weeks straight. No shit. Five gigs, four rehearsals, three recording sessions, one jam session and one house party. But that's just the musical side of my trip cause there were tons of family & friends to see and all of 'em wanted to EAT.
It was a good time.
Never A Dull Moment
Whenever I can manage to find time to get back home to Memphis, things can sometimes get pretty crazy, pretty quick and this most recent trip has been no exception. But who needs sleep, right? In order to fly cheap, you must always make a sacrifice and in this case it meant leaving late at night and since it was direct, I went for it. Delta's red-eye out of LAX landed at 6:56AM this past Monday and by 3PM that afternoon, I was already on my way to Music & Arts Recording Studios for a session with Amy Lavere. Good times. My dear friend Luther Dickinson is producing Amy's new record and brought me in for three tunes. I was stoked and we had a blast.The very next morning and following three days...rehearsals with my favorite trio, The City Champs. Old songs, new songs, the band flowed together like we'd never had a break from one another. It was pure magic. We were scheduled to play at the Levitt Shell on Saturday but the rain kept everyone indoors that night, so we threw a house party instead. Yep, haven't played one of those since I was a little kid and what an amazing time. 50-60 people crammed into our organ player's home and luckily the friendly neighbors of midtown never called the cops. Fortunately, the fine folks at the Shell were making sure those rehearsals meant something and kindly rescheduled us for this Wednesday (tomorrow!) night, which will make my family very happy since they've all been planning to see me for several weeks. Let's hope the rain clouds stay far away from us this time.
Yesterday, I loaded-in to Scott Bomar's Electraphonic Studios for a session with the Champs and couldn't be more excited to be recording with these cats again. The energy is great and we are getting some gorgeous tones in this room, so I feel like it's gonna good, whatever it is.
Stay tuned...
Use Me Groove
Here's some 16th note funk for ya.Yesterday I got the chance to get a lesson from James Gadson and the first groove we worked on was this one right here. Bill Withers' Use Me.It ain't like Gadson's feel but nothing is. Enjoy!Use Me Groove
Gadson!
"Just relax man!" ... "Are you relaxed?"I heard these things a few times yesterday during my first drum lesson with a man whom I consider to be one of the funkiest cats on the planet, James Gadson. You might remember him on hits like, Use Me or Ain't No Sunshine...tunes by the great Bill Withers that James laid down the grooves to. Some of my favorite drumming, as a matter of fact. And he could very well be the nicest person I've ever met...certainly the nicest musician. That's the truth. Anyway, he kept telling me, "The key to it is to relax". What he meant was in reference to the grooves he was showing me but I also interpreted it as a reference to life itself because James is the epitome of cool and just about as relaxed a drummer there ever was. Just check him out in this video and tell me if I'm wrong...Bill Withers -- Ain't No SunshineHow did I get so lucky?A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine called to let me know he had a gig over in Hollywood and that I was invited. A fantastic instrumental soul group called The Gimme 5's that seldom play in town but are a treat to see and hear. The musicians in the band are all very well-respected local heroes, especially their guitarist, Rick Holmstrom, who has the honor of being the guitarist for the lovely, Mavis Staples. I definitely wanted to go. My friend mentioned their regular drummer wasn't gonna be playing that night but that James was gonna be filling-in. Double bonus! In order to catch James in Los Angeles, (if you're not psychic) you have to either be his friend or know some folks who are that will let you know when and where he's playing because as busy a studio musician as he is (James has made more than 300 recordings in his lifetime) he stays somewhat under the radar...there's no website or calendar of his gigs listed anywhere. You just have to be in-the-know.Elated, I jumped in my car and raced over to see the band. When I got to the venue, there was no parking available in front, so I had to drive around a bit to find a spot. I had the windows rolled down and could hear them playing their first set and the sound of his drums was filling up the street all around me. I was finally able to see and hear one of my drumming heroes up close and the groove was already deep. Parking the car, I sauntered in, grabbed a club soda at the bar and tried to find a good place to see the master at work, as the place quickly began filling up with local folk who were probably as excited as me that he was there.The show was great. Solid, tight band and James was smokin'. For a 73 yr old man, he hasn't lost a thing and still plays that 16th note funk like it was 1975 all over again. He was tremendous. During set break, I went over to shake his hand and he immediately started talking to me as if we'd known each other forever. A relaxed, gentle vibe. I asked him about his drum set...a gorgeous DW kit with a rather exotic wood-grain finish. "They're Olive wood", he said. 'Took me about seven years to get 'em to sound good too but they sound great now! 'Go on over there and hit 'em man." No, sir! As nice of an offer as it was, I left them sitting right where they were and let him know there'd be no way in hell that I was gonna go play his drums right there in front of him. He laughed at me, of course. But I thanked him and said goodbye, got in my car and drove home on a soulful cloud. A couple days later, I emailed him to ask for his contact information, which he gave me right away, so I called and setup a lesson.
And that's how it happened that I got to study with one of the greatest r&b and soul drummer's of all-time. I won't bore you with the rest of it but I will say that it was most definitely the best lesson I've ever had. His sage-like advice will stay with me forever, as will these three grooves he gifted as my homework. He recommended I work on them for at least 30 minutes a day "...until they're boring" and reminded me to stay relaxed. He said if I concentrate on what I'm doing, the grooves will become ingrained into my playing and will open up a whole new thing. He said that it was going to surprise me. Then he added, "When you come back next time, I'll give you some more."Long live King James.
Patty & Me
A few weeks ago, my buddy Dave Palmer called to ask if I'd like to join him on the Tonight Show to play a song with the great Patty Griffin from her upcoming new release, American Kid. I nearly dropped the phone. Would I? Well gosh, I'd be honored! Dave is an incredible piano player and local LA session guru, whom I've only known for a short while, so I was extremely flattered to get this call from him. The date was set, emails and info were exchanged back & forth between the parties involved, and the rest is (or will soon be) history. Wow.Once again, I sit in my room pinching myself.But here's the fun part...her new album was recorded down in North Mississippi at Jim Dickinson's world famous Zebra Ranch Studios, along with my very good friends and amazing musicians, Luther & Cody Dickinson So it's got this nasty, dirty, down home, delta swamp funk feel on it like only these Mississippi guys can do and I couldn't be more excited about it. I've been listening to this song every day and the groove is so ingrained into my bloodstream that I'm having dreams about it at night. Her voice is irresistible...
Oh, lucky me! Tune-in, May 7th to see us.
Build It!
That was a favorite phrase of my dad's, whenever we were on-stage together and he wanted a certain section to get louder or grow with intensity, like during a guitar solo. "BUILD IT!", he'd yell. So, I would play a big roll or something and come crashing down on the cymbals and the crowd would go nuts. It was a good lesson in dynamics and Dad was (is) such a pro when it comes to putting on a show. "It's all about the people", he'd tell me and he was right on. "Son, you look out there into the crowd and if they're shaking their butts and tapping their feet, then you know you're doing you're job." I'm so lucky I've had him around to show me what's really important in life. His words have had me thinking a lot lately, about where I'm at...in music, in life and living out here in Los Angeles.This place gets a bad rap sometimes cause it's so big and there are so many millions of folks out here, all trying to get a piece of the same pie and I've listened to a good many complaints. Of course, some of them have a point. It is definitely crowded, there are too many cars, it's very expensive and so spread out that it's hard to get around town. There's the crazy traffic, the smog, crime and on and on and on. Well, I can see all of that but I also see a place where folks are working really hard at their craft and trying to make something of themselves. Full of hope and passion and there are a lot of inspiring people here who are more than willing to share their art with you. I actually am beginning to love it here and I've realized that no matter where you live, you're going to find lots of things you wish were different but the good things are probably there too, just a little more tucked away. It's worth it to look around and seek them out. Or, just sit back, relax and be true to what you believe. The people will find you.Like this kid for example, whom I did one gig with and made an instant friendship... Trevor Menear ...a baddass young guitar player from Chicago. We're doing a residency at a small club in downtown LA, every Friday night this month. Me, him and a bass player. There are some originals and a few covers but also a lot of ideas that we're gonna try out on the crowd and on each other. Hopefully, we'll get some of it right and as long as everyone is having a good time, then they'll let us keep playing there. I'm looking forward to it and will be ready for those sections that need a little more intensity. When we get to them, I'll keep my dad's words close to me and when the time is right, I will build it!If you're reading this and you live in LA, check us out at The Escondite, 410 Boyd Street, every Friday in April. We play from 9 till 11PM.