New Year's Eve 2008

Dr. Blues and Mac Arnold backstage at the Handlebar – New Year’s Eve Greenville, SC

Mac is demonstrating how to play his famous gas can guitar. It is a really neat little instrument with three strings. Mac is a lefty, so the lesson was wierd cause he plays kinda upside down and backwards to what I am used to. Oh well, he is a very creative man and I am proud to be able to call him friend.

News
•	Look for the Collard Green Festival later this year.Mac Arnold & Plate Full O' Blues presents Mac Arnold's Corn Bread and Collard Greens Blues Festival May 8th though May 10th Greenville, SC

Mac Arnold and Chuck Beattie
2006 Artisphere Festival Greenville, SC

Friends From The Start

I first met Mac Arnold I fist met Mac while we both were playing Artisphere 2006 Greenville, SC. We hit it off famously and have been friends every since. In the great blues tradition of respect for mentors we lovingly refer to each other as father and son. I have learned a lot from being with him. His family is so very supportive of his career and they not only support him in his efforts they are actively involved in his career.

In addtion to his wife, Vonda being there, his brothers Isaac and Leroy are both with him at his shows. I have attended family gatherings, "Mac's July 4th celebration is off the hook". I look forward to working with Mac in the future. We both love this music and want to see that it is preserved and cared for so that it might survive for generations to come.

I got a chance to play with the great Mac Arnold on New Year’s Eve 2008. It was quite an honor to play with him, he is a great player. Former bass player for Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters, he also worked as a sound tech on Soul Train.

My role was as a guitar player (maybe 5 songs into the set he asked me if I would sing a song or two).

I am getting ready to sing my first song on stage at the Handlebar – New Year’s Eve Greenville, SC

Left to right: Wolfman(guitar), Dr. Blues, Danny(bass), Mac Arnold, Leroy Arnold(Mac’s brother --white suit)

The crowd loved the energy and Mac has a very loyal personal fan base. Almost everyone had a personal story about Mac bringing them collards when he harvested or other goodies from his garden. Oh by the way, this is not a garden by city folk standards. He and his wife Vonda live in a rural area south of Greenville, Pelzer S.C., so his garden is quite substantial.

If you want to learn more about Mac Arnold please visit his website Mac Arnold Website.

for now,

chuck

Developing my first Podcast

2006 Artisphere Festival Downtown Greenville, SC


I have learned a lot about podcasts, rss feeds, ATOM etc. I am trying to leverage what I am learning "on the day job" so that it also benefits my career. I realize I have a long way to go with this new technology but I am giving it a try.

My first foray into the world of podcasting is a test of a radio station. BluesCast Radio is an information, interview, music channel that I am developing for the local music scene here in Asheville, NC. I am primarily interested in blues, roots (including gospel and oldtime music) and pre-Motown R&B.

I hope to introduce an episode every two weeks (biweekly). Those plans may change but for now that is the plan.

The Thrill Is Gone(reprise)

Subscribe to : Podcast BluesCast Radio

until next time,

chuck

Update on Mama Blues

Saturday January 19, 2008

Things are looking up. Mom reached her 85th Birthday on Jan 1, 2008. She is in relatively good health but more importantly she is happy. We had some hard decisions to make. No car, no home -- the house is up for sale; and she has a new address. Mom is now living in an assisted-living facility in my hometown Rocky Mount, North Carolina. She reads with the help of a magnifying lens and glasses. She works word search and Suduko daily. She has quite a reputation as an agile and sly bingo player, ladies lock up your quarters mom is on a winning streak. She loves to hear from friends and keeps up with the news.

It saddened me to no longer have a home to go to in Rocky Mount but considering the circumstances this was the best move for everyone concerned, especially Mom. I am looking forward to spring when I will have some time to spend down east with Mom and our family and friends.

for now,

chuck

Saturday, September 02, 2006

As many of you know my mother, Mrs. Rosalie Beattie (aka Mama Blues ) had heart surgery on August 21, in Raleigh at the Wake Medical Center. Although the surgery wasn't as successful as we had hoped, it did improve her functioning and after a week of complications with her kidneys she now is pretty stable and is ready for Rehab. On Friday she was moved to Durham, NC where she will remain in a skilled care facility that will supervise her recovery and rehabilitation. I am praying that she will be able to stand and walk on her own again real soon. Thank you all for your prayers.

If you would like to send expressions you can do so at the address below:

Mrs. Rosalie Beattie

c/o

NASH REHABILITATION & NURSING CENTER
7369 HUNTER HILL ROAD BOX 8495
Rocky Mt. , NC 27804
Main (252) 443-0867
Moms Phone: 252.443.0104

USA

until next time,

Chuck Beattie

Dr. Blues

posted by Chuck Beattie, Dr. Blues at 10:58 AM 0 comments

September 2006

WNCEntertainment.com

Learning The Banjo

One of the greatest gifts, I believe, is the ability to constantly learn new things. As a result of my experiences as an actor in summer theater productions, I have been exposed to opportunities for growth beyond my wildest expectation. Summer before last, 2006, I played the part of Tee Tot in a production of Lost Highway, the story of the life of Hank Williams, with SART, the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater. For that role I was asked if I played slide guitar , bottleneck slide. My answer to Bill Greg, artistic director of SART for many years, was "no, not yet". I then began my journey into alternate tunings and damping techniques. Carefully picking out the melodic content while making quiet the noise, rattle and overtones that are sometime desirable but most times not. To make a long story short, I had a great run with the play and learned to play a new instrument. The above photo was taken last summer 2007 while I was at a festival in Black Mountain, North Carolina. At that point, I had a pretty good grasp on the the techniques of slide.

In 2007 as luck would have it, I was to appear in a play about the life of Bascom Lamar Lunsford, the great balladeer and song catcher from the mountains of western North Carolina. The play, The Memory Collection: The Legend of Bascom Lamar Lunsford, was written by my good friend and fellow thespian, Randy Noojin of New York City. My role in that play was that of Huddie Ledbetter aka "Leadbelly". During this production I met Rev. Bucky Hanks, Hillary Dirlam and John Herman. These three wonderful musicians encouraged me to learn the banjo. Bucky pointed out that it was an instrument that was invented by slaves in America and that there was a long tradition of black banjo players as well as many other string instruments other than guitar. I discovered a rich tradition of black string bands and that many of my early blues heroes played the banjo in addition to or before learning the guitar.

Hillary agreed to teach me the clawhammer style and began with teaching me some of the oldtime music. This has enriched my life beyond my wildest expectations. I am hooked on banjo.

chuck