Saturday Morning Blues Jam

Weekend morning mix of the best the blues has to offer from the old masters to the contemporaries with a measure of blues rock thrown in. Every once in a while to offset the mix, you may hear a jazz rock or a blues fusion track. Great way to start your weekend.

Get to Know Your WMSE DJ Profile

How do you spend your days and nights when not hosting your radio show?

I’m getting pretty boring as I get older…I get up early in the morning and read the paper, watch the news, shower, eat breakfast and go to work. After work I may have a couple beers, eat, watch sports or read or listen to some music and then go to bed, usually before 9 p.m.

On the weekends, we let it rip a bit. Fridays, I go out with my wife Paula and some friends after work, have a good time and come home to listen to Jerry or Dewey and some of Pete Rohde before going to bed so as to be somewhat alert for my show on Saturday morning. Saturday after my show, we may go golfing or watch sports with friends or just go hang out at one of our favorite spots. Sometimes we have a gig with my band, and they are usually early starts, 4 or 5 p.m. in the afternoon. (I’m not a late night person anymore and most of the people that come to see us play aren’t either.)

Sundays, I listen to the jazz show, then watch the news and get back to Dewey’s Big Band show while I make breakfast. Then it’s chores, sports, a little partying, dinner and bed.

Like I said, I lead a pretty boring life if you look at it from the eyes of someone in their 30′s or even 40′s. I do always have WMSE on in my car throughout the day though.

Do you remember what band, album or song took you from being a casual music listener to a passionate music lover? Is there a memory associated with that experience?

Hard to pinpoint, I always liked music and was intrigued by the guitar even when I was 7 or 8 years old. When I got into high school, a friend had a lot of albums and we’d hang out on weekends and listen to what he bought. Another friend’s older brother turned me on to Beaker Street on KAAY, Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a great show every night and heard a lot of music that would influence me like The Allman Brothers Band and so much more. I’d have to say that when I first heard Live at Fillmore East I was blown away. Then came listening to Eric Clapton, Derek and the Dominoes, Jeff Beck and so much more.

Then I had to get into all the original blues artists like BB King, Albert & Freddie King, Muddy, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed etc. I really got into jazz & fusion, so I was all over the place! I could go on, but if you listen to my show, you know.

What band have you heard or discovered in the past six months that reminded you why you want to continue being a WMSE DJ?

There is always something new in the library that catches my eye/ears. It’s hard to single out anything in particular. That’s the amazing thing about having the opportunity to be a part of WMSE. There is so much music out there that the average person would never hear, but we have the privilege to hear all kinds of music, new music every week.

Who is your favorite non-you WMSE DJ and why?

It’s hard to say, I have so many DJ’s that I really enjoy. Sonia, Jonny Z, Dietrich, Jerry Glocka, Dewey (both shows), Good John (when he’s on), Andre, Mark (Sunday morning jazz). I hate to start naming them because I’ll leave out some that I also really enjoy. Like I said, WMSE is always on in my car and before I go to work in the morning.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I hope to retire from the working world in about seven years and then spend a lot more time as a musician playing music in my band or whoever I’ll be associated with at that time. Hopefully I’ll still be around here with my WMSE radio show if we’re all still going strong.