Dear Mom - Letters to Heaven

Monday, February 26, 2007

Guitar Shorty (Double Holy Smokes)

I just happened to check our local blues club and stopped in to see Guitar Shorty over the weekend.

Holy smokes!!! Either I was ready to cut loose or this was the best freakin’ show I’ve seen or heard in a long, long time – holy smokes – we completely lost track of time
. A little research on the links provided reveal a true road warrior and living legend. Guitar Shorty (David Kearney) is a lights out awesome, righteous guitar player. What a show!

I love being surprised when checking out acts for the first time. I had no idea what to expect and truth be told I was pretty played out by the end of the week. We could have used the night off. But we rallied late and got there just before show time. I know I'm in for a good show when just walking into the venue I almost knock over the headliner. He was on his way out to change before the show. Well I'm happy to say we had a complete blast as David Guitar Shorty strutted his stuff and worked the audience. We were laughing and crackin’ with him all night. It was a real event and the place was packed! By the end of the night he had us dancing in the aisles. I woke up the next morning with a slight twisted knee from playing air guitar all night looooonngggg!!!!! (LOL)! Here's a section lifted from his web site(s) to give you an idea of his pedigree:

"Right out of high school at the age of 16 Shorty joined Ray Charles and his band for a year. At the age of 17 he recorded a single under the direction of Willie Dixon on the Cobra label. When Shorty was lured away to play with Guitar Slim he moved to New Orleans. He gigged steadily through the late 1950s and 1960s, working with Little Milton, B.B. King, Lowell Fulson, Sam Cooke, Otis Rush, Johnny Copeland and T-Bone Walker. Shorty lived and worked in both Los Angeles and Canada until in 1961 he met his wife, Marcia, in Seattle. When Shorty married Marcia he also got Jimi Hendrix, Marcia’s (step)brother for a younger brother-in-law. The young Jimi Hendrix came to see Shorty play often..."

Okay, enough said the man's the real deal! Here's a great interview from two years ago "Guitar Shorty Interview " that tells a great story. It's a quick read. After all this time Shorty is finally reaping the benefits of his decades long pursuit of music and hard work.

One other thing the man is a class act. He spent all night with his fans until the last one straggled out the door. His band was rock solid and it was just a great fun night for all. Do not miss this American Treasure when he comes to your town. Here's his current schedule.

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