So, needless to say they had me a bit concerned about wandering in the woods by myself. I did take one walk around the lake and saw some moose droppings (which look like rabbit droppings on steroids) but other than that I got almost no exercise. I was so worried that I was going to become dinner for the wildlife that I stayed in the camp the whole time.
Well as it turned out, just like rain in Seattle, kangaroos in Australia, and bears in Colorado, I never saw a moose. Never saw an eagle. Never saw a bear. Never saw a Palin. I did see some ducks - they hung out at the camp. Very few other birds.
I'm not saying they aren't they but I AM starting to get a little suspicious of what I'm told about certain places... ;-0
 

After the festival, I went with some family to Schwabach where the Hüttlingers have history dating back five hundred years! We toured the city, saw great art, met other Hüttlingers, met with the Bürgermeister, and made lots of new friends. I suppose we all wonder, at some point in our lives, where we come from. And we got the chance to trace more of our history than most folks get to do. The trip to Schwabach was one of the highlights of my life.

Today I am in Anchorage, Alaska. I'm really not one who likes to go to McDonald's or Burger King or Applebee's or any other chain restaurant. When I go somewhere I want to discover some local flavor, culture, people. I can go to those places and I could be anywhere in the world because they are all the same. (Not to mention the food isn't that great and generally not good for you). So I searched high and low this morning for a local breakfast. While driving around I noticed lots of small music stores. I probably saw five different stores where you can rent band instruments, buy guitars, get instruments repaired. It was so great to see Mom and Pop stores still exist. No Guitar Center or other big chains selling dozens and dozens of exactly the same thing... I finally found a little diner/restaurant called Harley's. The food was fresh and made to order. Bacon and eggs... I know, I know - We can buy that stuff anywhere. But I'm in Alaska and I wanted it cooked and served by Alaskans in a local diner. Not a corporate owned place. I ate too much and loved every bite. Read the local paper, chatted with the waitress, watched other locals come and go. It was great... Now if Delta Airlines didn't want so much darned money for baggage ($20 1st bag, $30 2nd bag and a whopping $125 for my 3rd bag [the fishing gear])I'd be going fishing before I start teaching at Acoustic Alaska tomorrow. Instead, I'll take a drive and take some photos. No worries, I'm in Alaska and I'm going to have fun!
 

Want to know why I put up a joke of the day on my web site?

Jokes are like a fine wine - one glass just won't do and neither will one joke.
They are also like good music... you wouldn't say "Beethoven's 9th? Heard it. Let's hear something new." So why should a joke be any different.

I grew up in a family with a very funny mom. She loved jokes of all kinds --- as long as they were clean jokes. She made up many of her own jokes and wrote them down on 3x5 cards (which I still have to this day), kept them in a file and was always ready at a moments notice to pull one out and lift us up if we were having a bad day. She would recite them at dinner, write one down and put it in my lunch box, or tell them to friends on the phone at night. She had books of jokes where she earmarked, highlighted and copied many of her favorites. I love to read through them still.
She like Word Jokes or Situation Jokes, she didn't really discriminate when it came to good humor.
I can still see her with a big glass of coffee (not a cup!) and her pack of Pall Mall non-filter cigarettes sitting in the big Easy Chair (ever heard of a Diffucilt Chair? Me neither.) talking to friends on the phone. She helped lots people through problems in their lives and all the while kept a great sense of humor.

One time, after a particularly tragic death in our family, we were in New York staying the night with family. A few of us were outside lamenting, grieving, crying, telling stories --- just getting through it. Mom came out and sat down on the grass with her pack of Pall Malls and a bunch of 3x5 cards. She started in with jokes and before long we were on the grass with her laughing so hard that we were doubled over and holding our stomachs in pain.

During her final years (she passed away in 2000 from emphysema... Pall Mall non-filter) she and I would speak on the phone on Saturday mornings. "How are you." "Fine." "Oh good, honey. I'm so happy for you." "Are you taking your meds?" Yes dear, I am..." The conversation would always turn to Mom saying --- "Hey, I've got a good one for you. If you've heard this one before, don't stop me." The terrible and terribly funny part is that she had such a hard time breathing and would get herself laughing so hard that we would have to hang up and finish the call (joke) later in the day after Mom had caught her breath.

Many members of my family like jokes. A few don't. But we've got such a large extended family that it's really like a cross-section of humanity and that means that some folks like 'em and some don't. I can tell a joke at a family event and some of the family will be in tears with laughter and wome will be wondering what is going on.
I remember at one family reunion my Uncle Mike stood up and told a very long and involved joke. There were lots and lots of us sitting around listening to his performance. He can really tell a good one and have you on the edge of your seat the whole time. He hit the punch line and the house erupted with laughter. I've always remembered that day and the feeling of joy at a house full of people laughing.

I've always liked jokes but as I get older I see that part of it is that I'm just basically good-natured and partly that I enjoy laughing. But these days I'm reminded of my youth and that's not such a bad thing... when it comes to the funny parts.

So that's why I put up a Joke Of The Day (Updated weekly!) on the website. They aren't all good but neither is all wine...
 

The Tennessee State Government, in their infinite wisdom, have now passed a law allowing concealed weapons to be carried into restaurants and into bars that serve food. The governor did the right thing and vetoed it. The state legislature quickly overrode the veto and it is now law. My friends who carry guns say they want to right to protect themselves and their families. I said, "From what, a disgruntled hamburger? An errant french fry?" If you think the restaurant or bar is dangerous or could be dangerous, don't take your family in there. If it's in a bad neighborhood, go somewhere else.

In my 48 years I've never felt the need for a gun anywhere, much less in a restaurant or a bar. I do own a shotgun that was given to me as a gift. I shot it a few times and put in my closet. It was fun but I don't feel the need to take it out to dinner with me.

The law states that owners have to take their guns to their cars after 11:00 PM. That's BRILLIANT because all the real problems don't start until 11:01 PM. Nobody hassles anyone until after 11:00 PM - everyone knows that. I think a fair consideration would be for the Tennessee State Legislature to allow citizens to carry guns inside government buildings. It should be fine as long as everyone puts their guns away by 11:00 PM. But no, the Tennessee State Legislature will not allow guns where they work. No way! Why, you ask? Well that's because they are afraid something bad might happen - like someone getting shot. They are right about that. And I think it's just a matter of time before something bad happens in a Tennessee restaurant or bar. However, I really hope I am wrong.

Personally, I have a hard time imagining a more reckless or irresponsible law. Yes, yes, yes I know all about the 2nd Amendment. But I also know a lot about common sense. We limit where people are allowed to smoke cigarettes because we are concerned about the health of all citizens - not just the ones who want a smoke. Why is it so bad to have limits on where guns are allowed?

Guns and alcohol do not mix.

People say that "Guns don't kill people. People do." Well, people pull the triggers and that's enough for me.

I'll be eating out a lot less in Tennessee.
 

And don't forget.... "Soylent Green Is People!..."
 

Here's how it came about: Several months ago Jim Curry had the idea to get John's old symphony charts and see what interest there might be for some concerts. So Jim called Lee Holdridge who was John Denver's orchestrator and arranger for almost all of John's career. When Jim asked about the charts, Lee informed him that, sadly, John's manager threw all the charts and scores in the trash after John died because he didn't want to pay storage fees. (This is nothing short of music sacrilege! 30 years of work thrown away. Many concerts could still have happened, giving joy and memories to thousands, not to mention it's intrinsic value as a part of the American pop culture.)

Lee told Jim that he still had his original pencil scores and that, though time had caused them to fade a little, orchestra parts could still be derived from them. The really big problem would be the expense to have parts copied. It would take two copyists working with Lee quite some time to recreate all the parts needed to put on a symphony concert. Jim was not deterred and said let's do it.

After they got everything finished I flew to L.A. so we could have a rehearsal and make sure that the scores matched all the rhythm section charts. This was sort of a proof reading rehearsal to avoid wasting time in rehearsal with the orchestra. (It's very expensive to work with an orchestra and you don't want to waste.) During the rehearsal we all made our corrections and changes in our parts and then waited for the day...

Yesterday, the rehearsal with the Kansas City Symphony went very well and we were all ready by show time. 2500 seats in a 2600 seat auditorium had been sold. There were large video screens on either side of the stage showing images of nature, John Denver, and some of the slides and videos that John had used to use in his own shows. Jim sang beautifully and the audience was totally into the show.

It was a real trip down memory lane. Here was Lee Holdridge, John Denver's conductor, orchestrator and arranger of 30 years conducting the orchestra, I was playing guitar, Richie Garcia (who also played for John Denver) was playing drums and percussion and Jim Curry was over there sounding like John Denver. A couple of times I closed my eyes and went back 15 years. It was strange and cool at the same time.

The real highlight for me was when I got to do one of my own pieces. I have a tune called McGuire's Landing that John was going to write lyrics for. He passed away before he got a chance to write those lyrics. It's a beautiful tune that sounds very old and Irish. (A friend told me once that it sounds like it was written by 'Anonymous') Don Hart from Nashville had done a string quintet arrangement for it a few years ago and we performed that arrangement last night. I was totally floored to receive a standing ovation at the end of the piece!

Thanks Jim, for getting all that music together! And for a night of memories. I hope we can do it again.
 

There was a buzz all around the terminal as people realized Little Richard was there. He was wearing a bright lime green outfit and gold-rimmed sunglasses so it would have been harder to miss him that to spot him. It turned out that he was to be on our plane and since he's in a wheel chair now so he got on the plane first.

He greeted everyone with a smile and a handshake and spoke a few words to each person who stopped to talk to him. All the passengers and crew on the plane were sort of awe-struck by him and he put everyone at ease by just being a regular guy (As much as a bona-fide Superstar can be!).

One of the guys traveling with him gave me a book and an autographed photo of Little Richard. It was a Christian book telling the story of Christ. So I spoke with Little Richard on the plane and we chatted about his gigs and where he was headed. Then I thanked him for the book. He said, "You're welcome and God bless you." I said, "God bless you too." I started to walk on down the aisle and my wife was directly behind me. Little Richard looked up at her a split second after saying "God bless you" to me, saw my wife and said, in a low sultry voice, "Hey, how you doin', baby?" Now THAT was funny!
He gave everyone on the plane some time and attention and we smiled all day because of it. Thanks Little Richard...
 

Cheers!
 

You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and get out of your warm bed, you put your feet down on to the floor and it's colder than you expected - then you realize that that is all it takes to set off an allergy attack so you try to hold back a sneeze and, as your nose starts running, you, too, start running to the bathroom to get your allergy meds but on the way there you trip over your suitcase that has been sitting in the middle of the floor for the previous three days full of dirty clothes from your last out-of-town trip (your intentions were good, you were just busy and couldn't get to it) and then, as you are falling face first to the cold hard floor, you realize that you don't have a cold hard floor - you actually have carpet in your bedroom - and now you remember that you were so distraught over the outcome of the Super Bowl that you drank way more beer than usual and met a "nice" girl who offered her condolences and a ride home - but it turned out to be "her" home where you woke up? Well, that's how I felt when I saw the bus hit you and I'm sorry. You are in my thoughts and prayers. PS - Sometimes the allergies go away and the thing with the girl works out. I think that really says something. ;-)
 

Ever have a problem with your thumb pick slipping off? Sometimes when my hands perspire my thumb pick will get loose on my thumb and I feel like I can't quite hold on well enough to the pick. So recently I found some new picks that I like a lot. National Medium Gauge Tortiose thumb picks. But they get loose quickly. So I got a sheet of very fine sand paper (800 grit). Then I cut some very, very small pieces and glued them on the inside of the pick with a little Krazy Glue. It works perfectly! Then it don't slip at all.

By the way, the National is my new thumb pick of choice. I get a much better bass response because it has a larger and thicker tip.
 

My cousin Nancy Walker Hadley is one of the hosts/designers on Trading Spaces. (She used to be a designer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition)She's the best you'll ever see on the show (Am I a little biased? I don't think so). We are all very excited for her and you can catch her first four episodes. They air on 10/18, 11/15, 12/6, and 12/20. The show is on the TLC network. I hope you can get a chance to see her.

And now... of to the airport. Opening for BJ Thomas tonight and playing with Baillie And The Boys on Saturday. Kathie Baillie is an incredible singer!
 

Okay... so I have a confession to make. Recently I was taking steroids for an illness. They were prescribed by my doctor (who, for now, we'll call "Doctor X"). I had a bad case of bronchitis and it took three weeks before I felt like I was back to my old self. During this time I played a couple of gigs and did two workshops. Now, though I had stopped taking steroids, I was probably still feeling the effects. My playing was faster and cleaner than it had been in years. I would like to say that it was because I had been working harder and practicing longer but I think in all honesty it was because of the steroids.

Doctor X has prescribed steroids for me in the past. Once when I had pneumonia and two other times for bronchitis. On each of these occasions I did gigs while still under the effects of the steroids. The time that I had pneumonia, I received a mega-dose shot as well as pills. All of the other times I only took the pills.

Congress has not yet called me to testify but I feel it is only a matter of time before I get the call. Months of investigation and millions and millions of dollars will be wasted looking into all the gigs I've ever done to determine which ones REALLY involved steroids and which did not. Pictures and video will be analyzed to check the size of my fingers. They will want to see if they are larger during the times when I was on steroids, thus giving me an unfair advantage over other players doing gigs on those same nights.

I fear there will be an asterisk next to my name in the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship record books. I can deal with that. My record stands and I'm telling you today that I was never using steroids during any guitar competition. Ever. Doctor X will testify and say the same things I'm saying today. So let's save the millions of tax payer dollars and call it a draw. ;-p

THIS JUST IN FROM SOMEONE WHO READ THE BLOG ABOUT MY STEROID USE.

The Top 10 Spin Off's from Pete and his Steroid Abuse...

10. Will probably never make the Baseball Hall of Fame.

9. Having to deal with his name being thrown around by Jose Conseco during Oprah show while pushing his new tell all book.

8. All gold medals from any past Olympic wins will be taken away.

7. California Governor Schwarzenegger will claim he never knew Pete.

6. Erin Morris has released a statement saying this explains Pete's constant whining to run down to the co-op for a bite. She's trying to get him into rehab.

5. With the secret out, this will end Pete's second career as an actor in adult films.

4. Pete is already receiving invitations to play golf with Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens though Roger feels like the odd man out (not being a user if you will).

3. No longer in the running to be on the cover of Acoustic Bodybuilder Magazine.

2. One good thing Pete can now run like O.J. Simpson through crowded airports, hurdling over gates with the best steeple jumpers of all time.

And the number one spin off from Pete and his steroid abuse (drum roll please Anton)

1. Received a gift certificate and a lovely card from former New York Governor Spitzer for distracting the national media attention from him.
 

It's been a great year so far. I played Carnegie Hall in NYC last March. I came home and floated 10 feet off the ground for a week. Needless to say it was a big deal.

England and Switzerland were also recent highlights. Chris Nole, Mack Bailey and I went over and did two concerts in each country, several pub crawls and played lots of darts. I stayed a few extra days to fish in Switzerland. I wanted to go fly fishing in the Alps. The fish were very cooperative. I think the total was 18 brown trout in an afternoon of fishing. Much better than my normal day of fishing.

I head to Chicago this coming weekend to play at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. That should prove to be a blast. I'll be sure to add lots of photos when I return.
 

The band Third Day was also on the show. They are a really good Christian Rock band and a bunch of super nice guys. I enjoyed their performance and the lead singer is pretty incredible.

Then on Friday and Saturday I played in Nashville with Wynonna, Donna Summer, the NCO (Nashville Chamber Orchestra) and a 100-voice choir. I was completely knocked out by Donna Summer when she sang Smile. What a performance. Of course when we did MacArthur Park and Last Dance - she brought the house down. What a week it was!
 

So we've kept in touch loosely over the years. She tells me about her kids and husband and travels to Costa Rica and I tell her where I'm traveling and doing concerts. (I think she has the more interesting life.)

Well, imagine my surprise yesterday in Lake Tahoe when I walked up do to a gig and there was Mary Ann and her husband, Dan, sitting there. Their kids are out of the house and they decided to make the trek to Tahoe and say, "Hi!"

I have a great life. I get to see the world, play with great musicians, meet interesting people but when old friends will make a long trek to come and listen and hang out for an evening, that's when I'm reminded how truly blessed I really am.

Mary Ann and Dan, thanks for the reminder...
 

You've probably all read about my horrible experience with Delta Airlines last summer and their policy of not gate checking guitars. Other luggage is okay. Tubas are apparently okay. Banjos are okay. Ukeleles are fine too but guitars are specifically listed as not okay to gate check. Well my friend Jon Pousette-Dart was on an America West flight recently. He checked in one guitar and carried another on board in a soft gig bag. Before the plane left an America West employee boarded the plane and told Jon that the guitar would have to go underneath or Jon would have to get off the plane. Jon asked what the problem was and the guy told him that terrorists could use the guitar strings as weapons! The guy was not exactly nice about the situation when Jon tried to plead with him... "The instrument is expensive, it could get damaged down below, please - isn't there something we can do?" The answer was simple "The guitar goes underneath or you get off the plane." With no other options, Jon gave them the guitar. When he got off the plane they handed him a soft gig bag with very expensive toothpicks. They absolutely ruined his guitar! It is beyond repair.

I believe the airlines have gone too far with this. How is the working musician supposed to get from one place to another? If airline employees are having a bad day they can become bullies and if we stand up and ask questions we are terrorists. What interesting times we live in.
 

The Jim Croce DVD lesson is out as of the 3rd of this month and it appears that it is a hit! We've had so many, many great comments about it and I just want to say thank you all for the support and give you a little background into making the DVD lessons.

First I got a call from Happy Traum of Homespun Tapes, INC and he asked if I would be interested in this project. He had the blessings of Jim's family and the publishing company was ready to grant the rights to the songs we wanted to use. I had to think about it for.... oh... about a minute before I said yes. I do have to say though that it takes quite a while to prepare for the lessons. But for this one I didn't care. I wanted to do it and I wanted to do it right. The same way I feel about all the things I do.

We set a date of early May and I got to work learning the parts to the songs we had chosen and writing them all out. (Yup, I write out every note that I teach). Everything was set and then a couple of days before we were to tape the lesson I got sick. I mean I got really sick. I had to head to the emergency room in the middle of the night and they thought I was having heart failure because of a pre-existing heart condition so they transfered me, by ambulance, to a better hospital. After a bunch of tests, 10 days in bed and a couple of months on pills they finally decided I had pneumonia. --- You've never seen someone so happy to have pneumonia. A friend and I split a bottle of wine in celebration of the fact that I did not have heart failure.

So we set a new date for early September. I usually get to Woodstock, NY - where we film the lessons - the night before. I don't do much the night before. Hang out in a hotel room, order room service and watch a bad movie. (I rarely watch tv or movies - just can't see wasting all that time watching someone else's life go by on screen). Then the next day we get into the studio. We spend few minutes (literally) saying hello then I get out my guitar and start playing while everyone in the studio gets everything set. Make up, lights, sound and cameras. I have to have a fairly bland shirt. (I have shown up with some wild shirts in the past only to be told "Nice try, got anything else.") I have to remember that the lesson is really about the lesson and not about my new shirt.

Well, after an hour and a half or so we get started filming. Usually there is a glitch of some kind at the beginning. Bad make up, or lighting or microphone. Whatever it is, they always fix it within minutes. Then the real work for me begins. I sit in a studio and talk to 3 cameras for about three hours until the lesson is done. I try to imagine a person and not a camera so that I can speak freely as if you, the student, were sitting in my living room - or as if I were sitting in your living room.

After we finish filming, we head out to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Woodstock - The Bear - and chitchat for a few hours. The restaurant is great! Right on the river, great food and great wine.

So my work is pretty much done at this point. I've spent at least a month preparing. Transcribing all the parts meticulously and practicing them so that I know them so well that I can teach them. I've tried to get inside the parts and figure out the patterns that come up over and over again, learn where JC puts a fill and more importantly, where he doesn't; The things that create a style.

But now Homespun has to really get to work... They have to do all the editing. Take out a cough, cut out my talking when I ramble too much, put in all the markers for all the points in the lesson where a student might want to get to quickly. It takes them at least as long to do their job as it did for me to prepare for mine. Then after a few months they send me a disc to look at and review and I call them with notes. In the meantime they have to design the cover, decide on the sequence of songs (though I do try to plan the lesson from easiest to most difficult to help them with editing) and plan for the overall layout of the package.

Somewhere in there I send the music that I have transcribed to the person who does the layout for the booklet. (Ever notice how the booklets are all laid out the same? Well, it's not by accident) I e-mail all the files that I have created to their guy, John. John checks every note I play on the finished DVD with the music I have sent to him. He then e-mails me with notes and questions to clarify what I have sent. We send lots of e-mail back and forth working together to make sure everything is correct. John puts the book of music together and gets it off the the printer.

Then I get a DVD about the same time it is availabe to the public. There you go. The making of a DVD lesson.