Crossroads Guitar Festival

When I was younger I spent a lot of time feeling like I missed everything. From Hendrix and Duane, to Charlie Christian and Django, I missed it all. :( Poor pitiful me. Then, every once in a while you get a day like last Saturday. I've met a few famous people and a few of my real heroes over the years but last Saturday had a magical quality about it for me personally. I was already excited about doing Crossroads Guitar Festival but I didn't realize just how much fun it was going to be.

From the start the person who I wanted to meet the most was Mr. B.B. King, our Great Grandfather. If you were to ask every single guitar player on that festival who their guitar heroes are, BB would be in the top five. I had already met the legendary Eric Clapton when he joined us for the Allman Brothers Band's 40th anniversary at the Beacon Theatre in NYC last year. Its always such a surprise to me when people who are that iconic are simultaneously that genuinely gracious and humble. The way people react to Clapton is truly scary sometimes. Its a true test for a man to consistently rise above it and retain the best parts of his soul. And, the man still plays his ass off.

So.. back to Crossroads. Well, we got off to a rough start. Gregg was on a waiting list for a new liver and he got the call a few days before the Festival. It seemed like I might not being going at all. Then Derek called me and said that they had offered him and Susan the slot to do a couple of our songs and jam with all the folks that were going to play with the ABB, if we could get it together in time. Obviously, we got it together! Are you kidding? Now I was going to get to play Crossroads with my brother Kofi??? Talk about making lemonade! Fortunately Gregg is doing well and I'm sure he's happy about getting a new lease on life itself. Speedy recovery bro'!

The night before there was a party for all of the cast and crew at the House of Blues. Los Lobos played that night and I have to say, I felt some real voodoo hanging like a mist in the air. I knew that we were going to get to jam with them during our set the next day so seeing them do their thing full on got us all fired up. I went to get some food and there were two people with their backs to me that I realized was Susan and Chris Layton. I had seen Chris with Stevie Ray many years ago and was psyched to get to talk to him. Susan introduced us and that's how it all started. Chris Layton, aside from being legendary is a really gracious and humble person too. From that point on it seemed like I met one hero after another that was so genuinely glad to be there and glad to take the time to talk with you.

The next day I got up early and went straight to the venue. My friend Doug Belote (a drummer from New Orleans) was playing with the first band, Anders Osborne. Doug was also playing with us on our set because one of our two drummers (JJ Johnson) was out with Boz Scaggs. I guess the drummer vibe was in the air because the first person I met that day that blew me away was drummer Steve Gadd. Although many of you may not have ever heard of him, I can guarantee that there is not one of you that hasn't heard him. He's recorded with Eric Clapton, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Michael McDonald, George Benson, The Bee Gees, Carly Simon, Peter Gabriel, Joe Cocker, Natalie Cole, Rickie Lee Jones, and Peter, Paul & Mary among many others. I bet you all remember the drum beat on Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover! There's an even longer list of jazz guys that I could include, which is how I heard him in the first place. I've played drums since I was five. Bass didn't come along until I was fourteen. This guy was a hero of mine long before I even thought about playing the bass!

Then it was one after another. I ran into bass guitar legend Willie Weeks. He's another person that you've heard whether you knew it or not. He has always been a favorite of mine and one of the nicest men you'll ever meet. David Hidalgo and Cesar Rojas from Los Lobos came down to rehearse with us for our set. All I can say is, the word "cool" is particularly well defined and embodied by these two men. I ran into Chris Layton again but had a camera this time! I met another of my bass heroes, Pino Palladino who was with John Mayer. At one point I turned around and Bill Murray was standing right in front of me! I'm old enough to have seen the original SNL cast so this was pretty monumental for me. I pretty much spent the day having my turn at being the annoying fan with a camera. I have a lot more sympathy for those people now. Who knows if you'll ever get the chance again? Right after our set was over I walked offstage and there was Ron Wood standing next to Sheryl Crow. I had met Sheryl before at the ABB 40th anniversary and she was so easy going. I didn't want to just walk up to Ron Wood but he beat me to the punch! I didn't realize that he was originally a bass player. He had been watching from me and Kofi's side the whole time and really got off on it. What a trip. I was really happy when at one point I saw Clapton walking backstage with a group of people and he actually broke away from them to walk over and shake my hand and welcome me to the festival. I thought, "Hey, he remembered me!" He is ever gracious.

After we had cooled down for a while after our set, I finally broke and asked Susan if she could help me out with meeting BB. She had helped me out with meeting Wille Nelson, who I think is the first person I ever met that had so much grace that he is actually a real Saint. We went to BB's bus and when they opened the door, on the front face of each of the steps has the name of one of BB's hit songs written in blue neon lights! That's when you know you're a star. We got on and waited inside for a while for him to get done with his guests in the back lounge. When they finally came out it was Ron Wood and Jimmy Vaughn. Oh well, if you're going to be kept waiting, you can't really get mad if its those guys. Then it was our turn! Finally the day had come. I didn't miss everything after all. In fact, I got to shake hands, sit with and talk to the man who everyone wanted to pay homage to. Like Willie Nelson, he is the embodiment, the personification of grace and humility. Some of these young stars might take a lesson. BB would have sat there and entertained us for hours if his road manager didn't come get him to go to work. It couldn't have been any better. He is truly a living Saint.

There was a sweet spirit that flowed through that whole event. Maybe its because Mr. Clapton brought all these people together to make all this great music, make a ton of money, and then give it all away to reach down and help pull people out of the bottom of the pit. That's the meaning of grace right there. Thank you Mr. Clapton for inviting us to be a part of it. Thank you for being such a good example as a human. And thanks for making it possible for me to meet St. BB King!

Space Captain: Herbie Hancock, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Oteil and Kofi Burbridge, Mike Mattison

Check it out!

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/herbie-hancock-space-captain-ft-susan-tedeschi-and-derek-trucks/36028816012285930

New Music........

This new project with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi is really out of this world. Getting to play in a band with my brother Kofi after over ten years is better than I can explain with mere words. This week we have TWO sets of brothers in the band. Kofi and his little brother (me), and Derek and his little brother Duane. Too cool. I don't think I've ever done that before!

Sometimes the best things in your life come much later than you would think. we've been rehearsing and writing a ton. Its been really cool because we are pooling resources from friends old and new. Our list of composers includes myself, Kofi, Derek, Susan, Mike Mattison, Tyler Greenwell, Eric Krasno, Adam Deitch, Nigel Hall, Oliver Wood, Doyle Bramhall,............ It goes on and on. How can you go wrong with so many cool people pitching in? The live shows are so much fun (if you haven't caught one yet) and the music keeps getting better and better the more we play. I hear it evolving just in rehearsal. Usually more of that happens live because of the energy from the audience but somehow we're getting that energy even without the crowd!

I have a great sense of anticipation about heading out to California to spread the word on the Left Coast. I'm also excited to see what the fans of the various bands will think of the new stuff. We haven't really preconceived as much of it as you might think. In fact, it has turned out a lot different than what I pictured. But, now that I look back on it, it makes total sense. When you consider all of our influences it all fits perfectly. If you're looking for a rehash of the Allman Brothers Band you're might be a little let down. Every song does not have two long guitar solos in it. I'm really excited that Susan is getting equal time for her guitar solos too. She rips it. If you're expecting all the songs to be short for the radio then you might be a little let down too. We do some jamming! Hey we're all lovers of jazz so that's gonna come out too. If you come to it with no preconceptions though, you're gonna be blown away because you'll get what you want plus a lot more.

What a great group of people to work with and for. Like I said before, sometimes the best things in life come later than you think. How sweet to know that your best days are definitely NOT behind you!

More Irony Than I Can Stomach

My friend Tyler, who plays drums in a band with me, took a cab with me at about 4am one morning to catch a really early flight back home to Atlanta. Our cab driver was a black man from the Bahamas. An earthquake had just devastated Haiti and in our casual conversation we brought it up. He proceeded to tell us that islanders were used to hurricanes but not really earthquakes and he thought it was strange. At one point Tyler mentioned what a bonehead he thought Pat Robertson was for saying that God caused the earthquake to punish Haiti for something that they supposedly did over a hundred years ago.

The driver then stated that he agreed with Pat Robertson and that he had always admired him for having the courage to speak his mind. Tyler and I were in shock. A black cab driver from the Islands siding with Pat Robertson? He said that Haitians did worship the devil back then, and that God was in fact punishing them. I was wide awake all of a sudden. The next exchange went something like this.

Me: Was New Orleans was punished by God too?

Him: Absolutely.

Me: Then explain to me why the strip clubs and whore houses in the French Quarter were spared and so many churches in New Orleans were destroyed.

Him: Many times God kills non-believers in the Bible. I think we should do the same. We should go to Afghanistan and offer them Christianity and whoever doesn't accept Christ should be immediately executed. I'm tired of the US wasting so much time and energy on it.

Me: Where did Jesus say that??? He said "Thou shalt not kill" and "Forgive your enemies"!

Him: The bible says you shall not shed "innocent blood".

Me: Jesus said no one is innocent. Remember "He who is without sin cast the first stone."?

Him: You are a good debater.

Me: I'm just trying to figure out what Bible you're reading! I thought you said you followed Jesus for Christ's sake!

Isn't it ironic that Jesus' own words are the strongest argument against so many Christian's beliefs? I guess I really need to cut Bill Maher and Christopher Hitchens some slack, as much as I am loathe to.

The Divine Parent

After 45 years one thing that I have figured out is that I have a very Jewish view of God. I've checked out other religions and they are just fine but what helps me connect, pulls me out of despair, inspires, and lifts my spirit, is this Jewish idea of God as a divine parent. A good parent of course. Most questions that I had about God I answered by putting myself in God's place as a good parent.

Why would God create us knowing that we have this frightening power to do evil?
Would I decide not to have children because they might turn out to be murderers?

Doesn't that make it His fault that evil continues?
Does that make it my fault if I have children and they do evil?

Why doesn't he stop us?
Why don't we stop our children?

Should I be afraid of God?
Should my kids be afraid of me?

How about if I put myself in the place of the child? Does my parent really forgive me? Can I really trust my parent? Does my parent really love me? Should I feel guilty about asking my parent for what I need or want? Should I really be pissed off if my parent refuses to give it to me? Am I grateful for what my parent has already given me? Do I let my parent know that I am grateful?

God seems to talk to us in the Tanakh and the Message (New Testament) exactly the way our parents talked to us; "Why do you do exactly what I told you not to? Didn't I tell you it was going to turn out badly if you did that? You can't understand why yet, you just have to trust me. I know you really want that, but believe me, I'm doing you a favor by not giving it to you. This is really gonna hurt for a while but its the only way. Its ok I forgive you, but for my sake, yours, and everyone else's, please don't do it again. Don't make me have to spank you! You'll be back."

One of the few questions that can't be answered this way is, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Personally, I believe the answer is twofold. If it is a result of nature, then its just random and is just one of the things about earth that is a drag. The Bible says this pretty explicitly in Ecclesiastes 9:11-12:" I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift 
or the battle to the strong, 
nor does food come to the wise 
or wealth to the brilliant 
or favor to the learned; 
but time and chance happen to them all. Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: 
As fish are caught in a cruel net, 
or birds are taken in a snare, 
so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them."

If its a result of one human's actions against another then maybe it is allowed so it can teach us about the nature of Love and the cost and consequences of our freedom. Even though we tell our children not to stick their hand in the flame, we've got to let them do it to really learn. And certainly we can admit that Love is not true unless it is freely given. If God made us robots then its not real love is it? He has to give us the freedom to reject him. (And I use the term "him" out of convenience.)

I often hear what a bad thing anthropomorphism is in the Bible, and it certainly has had some very bad consequences in history when certain groups of people have taken the imagery so literally. But I think image of the Divine Parent can also be a great idea that can help us understand the nature of Love. And I believe that God is Love.

Charity

The Hunger Site and its sister sites provide a way for you to give to charity by simply clicking on an icon. It costs you nothing. When you click on the icon a corporation that is partnered with the website has agreed to donate the money. You can only do it once a day but I try to start my day by clicking on each of the sites. Its an easy way to give everyday and it costs you nothing but the time it took to do it. One site gives provides food for the hungry, another medical treatment for children, another is buying up rainforest, another provides books for underprivileged kids, etc.

It couldn't be easier.

Shalom,

ob

Out of the frying pan and into the fire!

I have a strong suspicion that Jesus was a disciple of a Rabbi named Hillel. A man approached Hillel and challenged him to sum up the Torah while standing on one foot. He balanced himself on one foot and said,"What is hateful to you, do not do to your brother, all the rest is commentary. Now go and study." Then he returned his foot to the floor. One day while researching Hillel in more depth, I came across a Jewish tradition that says "when a person repents, all his sins are forgiven and he becomes like a newborn child." Sound familiar? Hillel was born about 80 years before Jesus' commonly accepted birthday. This was my first clue that Jesus might have been in his academy at one time.

The interesting part is that Hillel was a Pharisee. Not only that, he was the leader of the Pharisees. Him and his opponent. You see the other really interesting part is that Hillel, as with Jewish leaders before him, always had a theological opponent with whom he sparred throughout his tenure. There were always TWO leaders. Hillel's opponent was Shammai. (Before Hillel and Shammai were Avtalyon and Shemaya and after them, Akiva and Ishmael.) Hillel was known as the one to judge mercifully and Shammai was said to be stricter, more harsh and less forgiving. I guess you could say that Hillel was the liberal and Shammai was the conservative. Hillel was said to have prevailed on most counts. Imagine that, respectful disagreement was not only allowed in Judaism, it was and is a cornerstone of the faith tradition. Wow! Can we get some of that over here on the Christian side? The Talmud is actually a record of these debates, disagreements, agreements, and interpretations over hundreds of years.

The point is that Jesus' debate with the Pharisees was a debate that they were already having with themselves. This makes me think that there's a chance Jesus could have even been one of the Pharisees, like the Apostle Paul! Now wouldn't that change the way we see things? If you read the Tanakh (I don't like to call it the Old Testament because it is disrespectful to my Jewish brothers) and the Talmud (The Jewish commentary on the Tanakh) you will find the context out of which Jesus' thinking and teaching came. I really think most Christians believe that by 6 years old Jesus already knew everything and developed this "new" teaching all on his own.

Amy Jill Levine, a practicing Jew who is a professor of New Testament at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN has written an amazing book called, Jesus The Misunderstood Jew. Fortunately I have some basic knowledge of Judaism thanks to Abraham Joshua Heschel and William Barclay. However, her book is written for those who don't. Her thorough knowledge of Judaism helps her understand the New Testament in ways unknown to most of us. There are things in the Bible that seem to mean one thing to us (non-Jews) on the face of it, but actually mean something quite different. That, coupled with her sense of humor and irony make for a fascinating, funny, and very enlightening book. Abraham Joshua Heschel has a great book called, God In Search Of Man for a Jewish perspective of the Tanakh. If you're really nuts like I am then try his other book, Heavenly Torah As Refracted Through The Generations for a walk through the Talmud. Any of William Barclay's commentaries will give you a great background in 1st century Jewish, Greek and Roman history and customs.

I think there's more to the story than what we're commonly told.