Me and Bothners... musical legacy in South Africa

We're back!! Or will be very, very soon. I'm very happy to announce that my partnership in South Africa with Paul Bothner Music continues now into a sixth year. That went by in a hurry! Here I am in Cape Town with Bothners promo honcho Wayne Shelver and one of the company's infamous stage banners. It's always a good feeling when all the gear is loaded into the Merc and I'm heading out to the first show of a tour.

As an independent touring artist, sound on the ground is always a great concern to me. On a typical tour I'll be rolling overland across South Africa: perhaps 60 or 80 shows in all manner of venues. I haul a couple of guitars and a PA system across mountains and deserts into all manner of dorpies and cities and into the little places in between them. I'm not a high-tech kind of guy. It's pretty old school. Heck, I live the dream: I only wish I'd also dreamed of a couple of roadies and a light show... At some point in my day I'm probably lugging a PA up onto a stage, plugging in, dialling up, and delivering a show. It's all gotta work -and work well- every day.

I've mentioned in the past how Bothners is a family business that has been around for over 50 years. As the largest music retailer in South Africa they have a network of outlets across the country that I can count on for all of my basic touring needs. It's like Canada's Long & McQuade, only it's in Africa. I enjoy visiting their well stocked stores- staffed by people who seem to love their jobs. These are the kinds of places where a high school kid can buy his first instrument, and never look back. Catch a dream. Make it happen. I told him to buy the SM58, can't go wrong with that, son.

Record Release Announcement: "Son House Died at Detroit"

Well, here's the new e-single, "Son House Died at Detroit." Released on September 18, 2024.

Contemporary, resonator driven blues with a band. From the delta to the American rust belt cities, to Africa, and back again. I knew bluesman Son House when I was a teenager, and I've often thought of him in my travels across Africa. Indeed, he was on my mind the night this was recorded in a small, desert studio in Namibia. Subsequent parts were recorded in Canada, where the track was also edited and mixed. Mastering was done in Nashville.

You can hear this on any of the streaming services, but I'm sending you to Bandcamp, where you can also choose to support the artist and the recording. I like it when people do that!

Meanwhile, I'm in Canada. It is starting to get cooler. I've got one more show to play in Ontario and then I'm back to springtime in South Africa. Shows across the Western Cape in November, then on into Eastern Cape and Free State for December...