During last night's open mic at B.B. Rovers, I blew harp for David True. Also not pictured, but accompanying True on stage were Paul Teneyuque, Carlos Rumbaut, and Mel Mason. David Patrick Dunn was the host.

This capped off a great four days of music:

Mar 26 - I played at Paul's OMN at Sunset Bar & Grill in Cedar Park, and sat in with him on four songs off his new CD (three on cuatro, one on harmonica). Later, he and I joined David True and Jovi on stage for a really fun impromptu jam session at the end of the evening. Paul played bass, and I blew harp.

Mar 27 - Paul and I did our monthly gig at The Watercrest in Bryan. It was possibly our best gig there to date, thanks in no small part to the previous night's "live rehearsal."

Mar 28 - Went to BBR to hear Jack Pledge perform. He's a very gifted guitarist and songwriter. For his second set, Paul sat in with him, and they were fantastic together.

Mar 29 - Open mic at BBR with David P. Dunn hosting. Jack and Paul were back, along with several other regulars and a couple of new acts, too. Great fun!

Saturday, March 21: Will added trombone tracks to "The Happy Christmas Song" at Tommy's studio.

Sunday, March 22: Saw Gal Dangit! at the One-2-One Club on South Lamar. Went to Paul's CD release show at Starland Live (formerly Anderson Mill Tavern) and saw The Rafikis open for him. Paul had a nine-piece band performing with him on stage. It was great.

Great NXNW. I performed with Paul Teneyuque and Patty Finney on Friday, and I attended all but two of the rest of the acts:

Wed. 3/18
6:30-7:05 Tracy Weinberg
7:15 to 8:45 Song-swap: Penny Ney, Tom Corbett , Dana McBride
9:00 The Better Halves (with Tom Corbett on mandolin)

Thu. 3/19
6:30- 7:05 Stefanie Fix & DC Bloom
7:15- 8:05 Johnny Blue
8:15-8:50 Paula Held
9:00 : Joe Gee & Judith Miller and David P. Dunn as Buster Gutbucket

Fri. 3/20
6:00 -7:15 Song-swap: Paul Teneyuque, THE John Davenport, Patty Finney
7:30-8:15 Steve Brooks
8:30-9:05 Bourland
9:15 Song-swap: Jack Pledge, Avg Joe, Nancy Scott

Sat. 3/21
6:30 - 8:15 Song-swap: Chris Beirne, David Patrick Dunn, and Billy Goerdt.
8:30 - Clyde ( Douglas Clyde Martin, Jay Dee Hicks, Lisa Fancher, Eddie Block, Josh Ribakove ) Porch Stomp at its finest!

Great open mic last night at B.B. Rovers. Performers included: Overdue Bill, Kaye Reznick, Cyndi Samford, Paul Teneyuque, Yona someone from Oklahoma, Steve Syx, Heather Scarlett Rose, Gabe Venegas, Yoav (a.k.a. "Yovi"), Bourland, and of course, yours truly.

I also backed up Paul for a couple of songs: one on the cuatro and one on harmonica. Great fun.

Spent Thursday evening watching Gal Dangit perform at Stinson's Coffee, shown above, L - R: Jay Dee Hicks (cajón), Eddie Block (bass behind Joann), Gal Dangit regulars: Joann (accordion), Wendy Hale Davis (guitar), Lisa Fancher (guitar, mandolin), and friend Beth (flute, sax, fiddle).

Went to Waco on Friday to rehearse with Thickety Creek (David Harbaugh, Richard Leslie and myself). Worked on new songs "Brazos de Dios" from Richard, "Guilty Pleasure" from me, and three new ones from David: a finalized version of "I Want to be Your Harmony Tonight," plus "A Little Ukulele" and "When Austin Was Cool."

Played at The Edge of Town Saloon in Pflugerville last night. Up there, they still allow smoking inside the bar, and let me tell you: They smoke a lot!

When I got home, my clothes, hair, hat, and guitar case all smelled like an ashtray. Had to leave my clothes in the laundry room, guitar case and hat in the garage to air out. I would have taken a shower right away, but I had offered Jack Pledge and his girlfriend Jenifer a room for the night. We talked and sang until 3 A.M. It was a fun night, but it would have been so much more fun sans smoke.

Jimmy Joe Natoli added his guitar magic to "Hot Pepper Tamale" today. He also redid the lead break in "All Hat and No Cattle."

Began recording "Hot Pepper Tamale" at the studio today. Carlos Rumbaut added conga.

My favorite porch-stomp group, Clyde hosted the open mic show last night at Twin Creeks Hall. The place was packed, and the crowd was wonderfully responsive. When they make fun illegal, nights like this could get you life without parole.

Worked with the wonderful and talented Mollie Fischer yesterday. She added cello to my "Eulogy" and Kuf's "New Year," and she replaced the keyboard cello Tommy and I had used on "The Blue Boat."

In other CD news updates, acclaimed New Orleans artist Betsy Williamson is designing the CD cover. With all that's happening, I'm really looking forward to the final product now.