"what you wait'n for boy"...my good friend mr frank brown spoke those words to me after i finally got around to playing a couple songs for him...i can still see the sparkle in his tired old eyes as he spoke...frank drove a bus for mr bb king back in the day...we took in lots of shows together but i only played for frank that once...he was staying with me...it was a while back now and becoming painfully obvious that he wouldn't be able to take care of himself much longer...anyway, after playing a couple originals for him....there was a long pause... he was sitting on the couch...with a quiet glimmer in his eyes and that sweet stern look he'd give you when he wanted to be taken seriously...making certain you were really paying attention... the silence lingered even after we made eye contact...his gaze was filled with sincerity...wonder...and a loving touch of angry listen up boy... looking deep into my soul... he slowly spoke in a pitch rising with tender firmness..."what you wait'n for boy"...more nudge than question...those words are frank's parting gift to me...along with the fire his passing put in my belly...
now those songs are on a cd called "what you wait'n for boy" along with a tune by the same title and a studio CD called "never the same way twice" released Spring 2008...and a trail of them have been left while performing from maine to mobile and back via memphis and nashville to honor our friendship and pay a proper last respects to my good friend mr frank brown... with gratitude to him for inspiring me to make changes and answer the call to honor my gift and live a genuine life...doing the work necessary to earn a living loving what i do....writing, performing and dreaming true...dale
2011 promises to be a big year...in addition to my normal performance schedule...i'm headed back into the studio with a full batch of new songs and special guests... establishing new open mikes for local and regional performers in support of locally owned community engaged businesses...and raising funds so i can take advantage of an invitaton from john carter cash to record in the cabin...imagine that!..recording in the very same studio johnny cash built and recorded in....talk about dreaming true!
