Shop’s Blog

Greetings fellow Blues lovers.                                            

This is the beginning of my blog. How to start? I’m not so sure. Anyway, it’s been an exciting summer for Shuffle Shop. We’re all rapt to have Sean drumming with us, he’s a great asset to the band, and a true Bluesman. The sun is shining, and my dog Starr is enjoying some fresh air. The music shops are patiently waiting for their money, and I’m taking a break from work to start this

6 July 2012

It’s been a while! I must apologize for the lax posting in this blog! So, in the last seven months… There’s been plenty of Blues! In three different bands, as well as loads of solo performances. Several new original songs, some of which, you can download for FREE at http://www.reverbnation.com/shuffleshop  – I really like my songs and I hope you do too!

On a more personal note, my son, Lucius is in the NMIT music course and enjoying it. He’s playing bass this year and I support that, in this topsy turvey music industry, it is really great to go back to basics and realise that the less heroic instrument is often the more important. I too have been playing bass more and more, and, hope to one day be a good enough bass player to put down my guitar and play bass in a great Blues Band.

Gigs around the Top of the South are becoming more scarce as the recession continues, but partially because it’s the middle of winter and Nelson gets pretty quite at this time of year. There are still some gigs around, and along with several other local musicians, I am enjoying giving it all I’ve got. When I’m not gigging, I’m writing and learning new stuff. At age 51, it seems that the older I get, the more I need to learn.

Guitars – Well, my most recent purchase is a South East Asian G&L. What a gem! Huge sustain, great tone, and the Z Coil pickups are hum cancelling! I love it! I also have a 2010 Les Paul Gold Top Traditional, that would be my second favorite guitar at present. I still love my 1991 Custom Strat and my Epiphone Les Paul Custom, and all the others. Even “Eric” The Plank. Eric is a small bodied electric, made from a piece of mahogany and a cheap neck – one pickup (Epiphone LP), tuned to open D and used for slide – Eric (Named after Eric Sykes) is a bit of comedy and lots of fun. I also have the five dollar resonator which is 20 years old and totally stuffed now, but sounds cool and is a blast to pull out for one or two songs (or until it goes out of tune). The pickup is a Fender Telecaster humbucker, and sounds great in open D.

Peace, Blues, and Love my friends

28 December 2011, Christmas is over… It’s Bluestime

September 19, 2011 – Another great night at the Irish on Saturday, this time with Trevor Hunter on bass, and two guest harp players – Scott Hawthorne, and Jason. Absolutely brilliant evening in one of the best little bars in the Top of the South
Trevor, Sam Kuperman, and I are heading down the coast next month for two nights of The Blues and good times – I can’t wait!

Well, the sad news this week is the death of Willie Big Eyes Smith, follow this link for information – http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/grammy-winning-blues-musician-willie-big-eyes-smith-dies-75-09-18-2011

And there’s good news too! The King Biscuit Time Blues Boy, later known as B B King is still playing the Blues, now aged 86! A legend in his own time, and a great inspiration to us all

17 November 2011 – I do apologise to all for not keeping this blog up to date! It’s been an exciting time, with several side projects and general musical mahem! During Labour weekend, Trevor Hunter (bass), Sam Kuperman (blues harp), Lindy Tyrie (my number one supporter, photographer, and coffee maker) and I played in Reefton, a sleepy west-coast town with the distinction of being the first place in New Zealand to produce electricity. Reefton has a thriving mining industry in both coal and gold, as well as agriculture and many diverse small businesses.

We had a great time, playing in total over 8 hours during the weekend at Wilson’s Hotel. The hosts, Jimmy and Helen, were wonderful and the rooms were clean and well appointed. One of the highlights of the trip was the food across the road at The Future Dough Co T/A Broadway Tearooms & Bakery 31 The Broadway, Reefton, Phone 03 732 8497 email thebroadway@paradise.net.nz . The coffee there is amazing! And the local and international food are of a very high standard! I don’t normally rave on about food outlets, but this place is truly great!

August 31, 2011 – Well, my album “Shooting Yard” is finished, and yes, you can buy a copy from me! It’s a collection of 12 new original songs from slow blues to rock, funk, and even a little rock n roll. Rowan plays bass on 11 of the songs, and Sam Kuperman plays harp on 2 of them.

The sun is out in Nelson, and tomorrow is the first day of spring. Optimism abounds and everyone is smiling. We’re deep in the heart of rugby season, which has a certain effect on the entertainment industry, and it’s going to be interesting to see what effect the Rugby World Cup has over the next two months. Wishing you all well

July 18 2011 – Lots of writing over the past month! several new songs and a few recordings. The recordings are mainly me on guitar and vocals with 3 percussion tracks on the “box” and some have Rowan playing bass. There are 2 with Sam Kuperman, a great friend playing harp. It’s weird trying to write blues or blues bassed music without just regurgitating 12 bar stuff. Much of the new material is not blues at all and will probably not go much further, but the idea is to reinvent Shuffle Shop as an original Blues Band that plays some classics and covers some of the Blues Greats. We hope to produce some quality recordings in the future, as a band rather than as part of the band. Have a look at the video page on this site to hear some of the new material.

21 June 2011 – Well, it’s been a while! Lucius is back living with his mother 950kms away. Kinda sad, but he now has more gear including a small PA system and a new amp, so he’s set up to rock Tapanui, and I’m sure he will!

There are some new you tube links on the Video page, have a look. These are song demos. That is to say that they are new original songs, and they are likely to evolve pretty quickly.

Rowan and I have started a weekly song-writing collaboration so look out for some original New Zealand Blues and Blues/Rock soon!!!

Lately, I’ve had quite a few solo gigs, and I’ve had a lot of fun playing acoustic blues throughout Nelson and Marlborough.  Perhaps the biggest highlight for me was when my son, Lucius came to stay for a week, and played at The Irish in Picton with me. Lucuis returned home to Tapanui with an old amp, and one of my Squire Classic Vibe Stratocasters – so now, my son and I have matching guitars Just a point on the Squire Classic Vibe Strats – When I bought the first one, it was so good that I enjoyed it more than the American Standard that was my main electric guitar until then. Well, being an avid admirer of guitars, I ended up getting a second one, same colour and all (sunburst of course), but at the time, I didn’t realize that I bought it so I could give it away.

Carrying on with the family theme, The Shuffle Brothers played at Squires in Stoke last Saturday night. It’s not far from my mum’s house, so I invited her along. What a blast! My 84 year old mum, Hilda, who’s health and eyesight are both rather poor, partying and dancing and acting half her age!

15/3/11 Man I’m gagging for a hunt! Even thinking about taking my long bow and a few wooden arrows and going bush till I find a deer that wants to become food!

4/2/11 Another gig at the Sprig tomorrow night, with a little luck, Lucius will play some flash guitar during my breaks. Lucius is off to his music course on Monday, and we need to get out for a little bow hunting as soon as we can. We went out with a mate this week but saw no recent sign other than rabbit droppings. We were after something a little larger – maybe next time.

2/12/10 NZAP.co.nz – Go on, take a look! Not much music happening this week, between work and work and family etc. Practice last night with Barry on keyboards was interesting, I have a little solo gig on Saturday and my mate Pete is trying to organize a bow-hunting trip, so… busy busy busy

03/11/10 Once again, getting the time to blog something is probably too low on the priority list. A couple of solo gigs lately, and another one this week. my son, Lucius is coming along to play a few songs and that is just great! He arrived yesterday to live at our place and is planning to teach a little guitar as well as attend the music course he has inrolled in for next year.

Shuffle Shop is on hold at present due to an injury. Rowan injured his elbow during the weekend and is unable to play bass for a couple of weeks. We wish Rowan a swift recovery!

The big news from a musical stand-point is that I’ve sold a bunch of guitars, or, I should say, traded them in. I wanted a really good hollow-body electric, and tried out every guitar I could find for a few weeks. Epiphone, Gibson, Crafter, Ibanez, Gretch, and one or two other brands suffered my scrutiny and a few nights at home through the Marshall. After some serious soul-searching, I ended up with a Gibson ES137 Custom. What an awesome guitar! Well, ok, it can’t make cups of tea, but it’s really something! I couldn’t find it on the Gibson site, but here’s a link to the ES137 Classic

7/10/2010 It’s been a while. Sorry folks! Well, with Lucius (my son) up here staying and teaching me some guitar stuff in between playing Bach and Beethoven on his Les Paul, and various more mundane responsibilities, we’ve been having a great time. Lucius (A.K.A. Son of Shop), played a few songs with me at the Irish last week which was really wonderful! Other than that, I turned 50 on the 30th of September, just two days after the birth of my first grandchild, Sadie Olivia Parker, daughter of Laura who is now 24 and lives in Auckland. So, yes, you are correct. I’m truly an old fart now! Not boring though!!!! I could sit here and write all day about music, family, the sunshine, my dog, and ideals, but right now, it’s more important to go shoot a few arrows and get some guitar practice in, so, until next time, keep your strings clean and keep your mind on the job.

6/9/2010 Huge news for New Zealand, there was an earthquake centred (7.1) 60km outside Christchurch early saturday morning! Fortunately, nobody was killed, but there has been catastrophe in the central South Island with many houses being totally ruined, fires, rivers flooding their banks, brick walls of buildings falling over, cracks and holes in the ground, and personal property being destroyed. There are still clean water issues in Christchurch as well as sewerage and communications problems. I’m sure there are numerous other small problems that make life difficult for people as well such as employment – some people just don’t have a place of work any more. The ripple effect will go on for some time throughout New Zealand! All praise to civil emergency staff and emergency services for an amazingly quick response. My heart goes out to those affected.

1/9/2010 We’ve just found out that Paul’s father has passed away unexpectedly. I’ve only met him once, and truthfully, cannot quite remember anything much other than he seemed happy and in good health. It’s quite a shock to Paul, Sonya, and their family! May God grant them the strength to cope in this difficult time!

31/8/2010 Well, I have to change my posters! Acoustic blues – Yes! But, and there is a but. The last two solo gigs I played, I took along my Greg Bennett semi hollow body electric and the Marshall and one quad box! Last Saturday, I actually played electric quite a bit. I still love playing acoustic guitar, but I so enjoyed the variety of 2 resonator guitars, the Washburn acoustic, Crafter Hybrid, and the Greg Bennett. So, why a Greg Bennett (Made by Samick, who also made my long bow and my recurve). Well, to put it simply, it”s very user-friendly, and it’s the smallest body semi-hollow guitar i’ve ever seen, so, why not? The pickups are a little harsh, but I’ll get around to fixing that little problem.

This week, I’m planning to take my Ibanez AR300 to my solo gig in Picton. Playing electric in a solo environment is really different, very nice for the slow blues songs, and well, just a little more punchy for the ZZ Top covers. On Saturday last, I played 8 ZZ Top songs in a row. After all, Billy Gibbons (AKA Reverend Willie G), is The Reverend! It all went down very well with everything from Blue Jean Blues to Under Pressure and La Grange. Damned if I can work out how The Reverend sounds so good playing slide in standard tuning though. I’ve tried it, and always go back to open G and open E tuning for slide guitar.

An other development is that I’ve recently acquired a yearning to buy a Gibson Les Paul.  It’s a bit of a worry because I already have more guitars than I can effectively play, and well, Les Pauls are kind of expensive! so… Do I trade a few in and miss them in the future? Or do I invest in a lottery ticket in the mad hope that I’ll win something like $5000? I’m sure that they don’t cost so much in the USA. After all, it’s only a guitar, right? In my experience, some of the sweetest guitars are not the expensive ones. Certainly, my Ibanez AR300 is pretty special, and I do have a guitar that cost more than twice what the AR300 cost. And well, there’s a Peavey Predator with upgraded electronics and hardware. Initially, it was a really cheap thing, but after a few dollars going into it here and there, it is still a very economical instrument that is fun to play and has a great tone. Having said that, I’m having trouble grasping the concept of spending a small fortune on a guitar that will perform in much the same way as at least two of my Ibanez guitars. Is the reader baffled? The writer certainly is! Perhaps it’s mearly a passion thing? I don’t really know, but I must think on this issue quite a bit more before I tell Darren at Music Planet to get me a Les Paul.

4/8/2010 Last week’s gig was lots of fun. Urgent and Jess at Baby G’s Lounge are always wonderful hosts and it’s a great place to play. Aubrey from the Nelson band Wickid Draw was there, it’s great to have other musicians come to a gig (especially when they stay, even though the Blues is not their preferred genre). We had the full gear set up – both Rowan and I with 2 quad boxes, and Paul playing through his Bassman 50 4×12. We kept the volume down a bit though and got a great sound. Back to Picton this weekend, I might even take a quad over there

5/8/2010 All praise to Darren, Brady, Sahn, and the team at Music Planet Nelson. The tiny little shop with the huge attitude, vast range, and the great deals. A large national retailer set up across the road, and Music Planet stands with it’s head held high, with no effort at all thanks to their friendly service and local knowledge as well as substantial musical knowledge and background. Good on ya mates!

22/7/2010 I’m looking forward to another awesome night at the Irish. Man, it’s a cool place! Alistair and Lizz are the owners, their son Scott works there quite a bit too and has done amazing work lately re-vamping the place. It’s still a traditional Irish pub, and it’s still everything you would expect. I’ve heard comments from patrons like “this is the first Irish pub I’ve found outside Ireland that really is a traditional Irish pub”. I’m amazed at how well the Blues goes down in an Irish pub, but hey, I’m not complaining! It’s an awesome place, the people are wonderful, and the atmosphere is like nothing I’ve experienced before!

Ashdown! Yes, i bought an Ashdown quad box. It’s quite different sounding from my Peavey 5150 quad, not better, not worse, but certainly more economical! I’ve tried it with the 5150 and the Marshall Super Triple Lead head, and I’ve tried it with my Peavey Classic 30. The problem with the Marshall is that 100 watts of Marshall going through 8 speakers can be a little ear-shattering. It sounds great though! With the little Peavey, the Ashdown quad is warm and full – not something I would have credited to the Classic 30 prior to trying it with a quad. And, it’s certainly loud enough for pretty much any situation.  These things are designed in England, but made in Asia. As I’ve said before, the Asians are certainly getting it right! They make great stuff that normal people can afford to buy!

New songs for the gig at baby G’s Lounge next week include Big Boss Man, Waiting for the Bus, Jesus just left Chicago, and I need you tonight. Rowan and I have been working on a bit of Mike Zito material as well so look out for some funky blues in the near future.

15/7/2010 After a weekend with no gigs at all, working in the day is very good – More acoustic Blues at the Sprig&Fern on Saturday night, it’s been a while since I’ve played the Sprig’ and I’m really looking forward to it.  I have a few new songs as well which I’m looking forward to presenting in a public environment. Band practice last night was quite random and we added Big Boss Man by Jimmy Reid. We didn’t intend to add it, it just happened! Well, now to learn it properly! We’ve been working on some ZZ Top songs recently as well as — Wait for it — A Beatles song! Well, ok, if it was good enough for Jimi Hendrix, it’s got to be good enough for us (oh how I wish we were as good as Jimi H).

Right, it’s 5:14 pm and I’m wasting good practice time writing a blog. Time I got on with the real creative work! Have fun and stay safe

30/6/2010 Well, Gort’s charity do went very well, with 4 bands, an auction, and thousands of dollars raised to help a great man out! A great night with some fine music and some wonderful people. Thanks to Rocky for organizing everything!

I’ve done the unthinkable! I’ve got rid of 2 Fenders in favour of a Crafter SA-TMVS! It’s a pretty we thing with a flame maple arch-top. It wasn’t hugely expensive, but the tone and playability are really something! So there you go, Shop is now officially reduced in number of guitars – only 4 acoustics to take to solo gigs now. I’ve still got my Washburn and a Fender Resonator that is used for slide blues in G, a J Turser Resonator that is used for slide blues in E, and the new one, that’s all! Anyway, check out the photo below, this guitar is made in Korea, but don’t hold that against her. The workmanship and the sound are simply amazing! Although I must confess to owning a few other Korean guitars, and I can’t fault any of them! I tried the Crafter through my Peavey Classic 30 as well as through the PA, the Kent Armstrong pickup gives a rich, warm, hollow body electric type tone. I’m planning to try this guitar at a Shuffle Shop gig as well as use her for solo gigs.

17/6/2010 This Saturday, Shuffle Shop play Baby G’s Lounge again. This is a great , friendly, venue where everyone feels at home. But wait, there’s more (sorry, no free steak knives). Next Week, Saturday night, at Fairweathers, 36 Scott St, Blenheim.

Save Gort Vintners! This will be a real festival of Wine and Blues! Headlining the event is BULLFROG RATA AND THE UNDERGRADUATES. THE BOOGIE TRAIN who have been the most successful blues band in Nelson for several years now, will be there as well as SHOP and a couple of the notorious Nelson Liquid Jammers (Wayne and Dave) playing some Low-down Dirty Blues and maybe some Cream and ZZ Top. There’s also a local Blenheim band who play hard rock and a bit of heavy metal (just to throw the Blues into sharp relief). GORT will be there, and as usual, he’ll be packing a bunch of Harps, and Scotty from the Irish has said he’ll be there as well. A lot of people are getting behind this event, travelling at their own cost, and giving of themselves to support a true and great friend. We’d love to see you there, and we’re all sure you’ll be blown away by the quality and quantity of fine musicians and good times

Tickets are $25 at the door, it’s a good cause, and Gort is an excellent bloke. We’re all very proud to be able to help him out! Oh, and thanks, and the deepest respect to Rocky (fellow lover of Italian Motorcycles, and great friend of Gort and Sally) for making it all possible.

A good mate of mine, Gort – Winemaker, Bluesman, Moto Guzzi rider, husband to Sally, and owner of a great little dog, Jimmy (who is best friends with my dog Starr), has been burgled. Gort Vintners of Marlborough are famous for Gort’s award winning Temptress Merlot, Love Bite Rose’, and Gewürztraminer as well as other varieties from time to time.

Gort is a good mate to Marcus from The Boogie Train, Ralph Bennett-Eades, Myself, and other bluesmen from New Zealand as well as international performers. We are all shocked by this. Gort is a good, no, great man! How can such a terrible thing happen to such a wonderful individual?

All of Gort’s funds were invested in his wine, and well, now that that’s been stolen from him, things are far less than they should be for this gentle, honourable, and hospitable man and his family. The police have made one arrest and enquiries are on-going. below are some links to websites that have further information.

Marlborough Express and Marlborough Express 2 and TV3 News and ODT

09/06/2010 A brief respite from work (or the lack of work). Just to confuse people, I’ve changed from writing new entries at the end of the page, to adding new entries right here.

We had a frosty morning during which, i stayed in bed. The sun is out and it’s a crisp winter’s day. Starr is lying in the sun looking at me through the window, and I need more work! It’s a tough job bringing the Blues to the Nelson crowd, we are a relaxed bunch! And during the winter, most of us prefer to stay inside at night. I guess technology has given us the choice of big-screen tvs, home theatre systems, heat pumps, and the all-important off-licence liquor outlet. I remember a time – not so long ago, when hail and snow couldn’t keep people from going out to see a live performance. To be fair, the faithful still turn up, but if you drive for an hour and do a gig in a different town, it seems that half the town is there to soak up some gritty blues. And next time, they’ll get some more ZZ Top songs as well as a little funky blues. Winter is a great time to sit in your room with a guitar for hours on end, and somehow, the weather is inspirational.

This week in Nelson, John Mayall is playing! It’s rare for any overseas performer to play Nelson, and I’d love to see this legendary bluesman. Sadly, that is not possible at present. Still, John Mayall in Nelson! Amazing!

21/4/10 Wednesday – getting ready for band practice. Excellent We have some Blues Brothers stuff to work on for a special gig next month. Well, I should be working (at work) but have run out of things to do. Not very profitable, I guess I better do some marketing and get on with making music!

22/4/10 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” The above speech by Nelson Mandela was orignally written by Marianne Williamson who is the author of other similar material.”

23/4/10 A good mate of mine, Gort – Winemaker, Bluesman, Moto Guzzi rider, husband to Sally, and owner of a great little dog, Jimmy (who is best friends with my dog Starr), has been burgled. Gort Vintners of Marlborough are famous for Gort’s award winning Temptress Merlot, Love Bite Rose’, and Gewürztraminer as well as other varieties from time to time.

Gort is a good mate to Marcus from The Boogie Train, Ralph Bennett-Eades, Myself, and other bluesmen from New Zealand as well as international performers. We are all shocked by this. Gort is a good, no, great man! How can such a terrible thing happen to such a wonderful individual?

All of Gort’s funds were invested in his wine, and well, now that that’s been stolen from him, things are far less than they should be for this gentle, honourable, and hospitable man and his family. The police have made one arrest and enquiries are on-going. below are some links to websites that have further information.

Marlborough Express and Marlborough Express 2 and TV3 News and ODT

I encourage all to read these news items, and if you feel able to give support in some way, please contact me or Gort.

30/4/2010. Well, the rain is falling, winter’s on it’s way and Nelson is getting quiet. This week’s band practice was excellent with a little ZZ Top as well as some old blues songs re-worked. We’re all very excited about busting the new material out at the next few gigs. I woke up with a new song this morning, Whiskey, Wine, and Gin. It’s sounding great and I can’t wait to play it to the guys

20/5/2010. Great gig at Baby G’s last week! We’re in Havelock this coming saturday night, we’re all looking forward to another night of pumping blues! So if you’re in Marlborough, make the effort to come along, but please remember that if you’re drinking, you’ll need a sober driver – unless you dance so much that driving is just not the thing! Anyway, see you all at the Havelock Hotel on Saturday Night

24/5/2010 Havelock ROCKS! What a great night! There was a vast range of age-groups at the gig, and various types of people as well – some great and memorable characters
No stage, no ceremony, just set up on the carpet and go for it! It was great! can I say that again? It was GREAT! Thanks to everyone there! I had a slightly embarrasing moment though – I was almost half way to Havelock, when I thought “Oh no! I forgot the microphones. Well, U-turn, drive for 40 minutes back to Nelson, grab the mics, and off again. I arrived at Havelock Hotel 35 minutes before kick-off, and we started just 5 minutes late. Shameful to miss out on the meal that the crew at Havelock had put on for us, but there you have it! I must make a check-list!

1/6/2010 – Well, a new month – following a bunch of cool Shuffle Shop gigs ending with a Blues Brother’s show last weekend where almost everyone arrived in full costume. We had many, many Jake’s and Elwood’s, along with nuns, preachers, and all manner of blues people. One of the requirements of this gig was that we play relatively quietly, so we rocked up with a 30W Peavey Classic 30 guitar amp, and a Fender 65W Bass amp. We all had fun and even the octogenarians in the audience stayed. This week, I’m back at my favourite haunt – Seumuss’s Irish Bar, Picton, doing solo acoustic blues. A visit to Gort and Sally in Blenheim is mandatory, as does a trip out to the Playhouse Cafe on Friday night to see the fabulous Boogie Train doing their blues-rock show.

4/6/2010 Well, I was mistaken about the Boogie Train, they’re playing Saturday night, so I’ll miss them – hope to catch them next week at the Vic though.

One sad thing about the Internet is spam. As if it’s not enough to be presented with email spam regularly, people keep trying to spam our website by means of making comments. Well, most are pretty obvious and make no mention of the content they are referring to. I imagine they have some macro to do this, or merely copy and paste to thousands of sites hoping that bloggers etc. will simply approve the comments just because of the warm fuzzies they get when someone writes something nice about them (even though said comment has more than likely passed through thousands of other people’s mail boxes). It really is an aberration! Further more, such activity is so far outside the Blues mind-set that I fail to understand the appeal of such activity. I thank the Gods of Firefox and WordPress that these items are so easy to spot, and deal with.

If you are interested in The Blues, or you’ve seen Shuffle Shop, or me play somewhere, or you have something that you’d like to say about our website, then I’d love to hear from you. Otherwise, I ask, with all due respect, that spammers go ply their wears some place else.

Right, the day is over, the working week is done, the dog is more than ready to get in the car and go home (as am I), and tomorrow is PlayDay I’m looking forward to another great night at the Irish, and it’ll be good to catch up with many of the people over there. Have a brilliant weekend and remember that if you drink, catch a taxi home!