Baluvana

Semi Moseley

My wife, Tammy, is the girl of my dreams.  Tammy is from the south, but not the deep south.  Central....as in Arkansas.  Booneville, Arkansas to be exact.  Visiting there on occasion with the family had its perks, such as the great holiday food that Tammy's Mom cooked, family time with Tammy's brother Buddy and his family, and other highlights.  Tammy's brother is also involved in music, and played guitar.  As fate would have it, Semi Moseley had his plant in Booneville that made Mosrite guitars.  Buddy knew Semi, and one day, he suggested we go down and visit the plant, and told Semi that we would stop by.  After greeting the secretary, she sent us on in, and there was Semi, a happy, uplifting fellow with a big personality.  He talked to us for a while, and then suggested we try a couple of his new guitars.  If you have never played a Mosrite guitar before, it is an experience!  Very cool feel, great sound, beautiful craftsmanship...the whole nine yards.  So, we went to a sound-proof room and he brought two guitars right off the assembly line for us to try.  It was incredible, and he gave us a very reasonable, cool price....but we said...."eh, we'll give it some thought."

Then we went on a tour with Semi, and met Nokie Edwards of The Ventures, who just happened to be there, and listened to Semi talk about all of the Japanese artists that were buying his guitars faster than he could make them (such as Boowy, the famous Japanese power pop band)  We left after the visit, and days later, we flew back to Oregon.  Shortly after, Semi died unexpectedly and his daughter took over the plant.  Things went bad, and the plant closed.  We could have bought a piece of history that would have been worth something special, as Semi would have autographed the guitars for us.   To this day, Buddy, Tammy, and I kick ourselves occasionally wishing we would have bought the guitars.  If you ever get a chance to buy a older Mosrite...don't hesitate!  Incidently, Kurt Cobain's Mosrite sold for $135,000.

Here is a list of past and current Mosrite endorsers:

http://www.edroman.com/guitars/mosrite/endorsers.htm

Check out the site and visit Ed Roman's history on the guitars.

Bon Ton Key Club on Facebook

'Give and Take ' by Bon Ton Key Club

Listen to 'Give and Take ' by Bon Ton Key Club

http://bln.kr/SVP/

Moondaze

Mongrooves Productions

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/3000898

Jerry Lee Lewis

It was an interesting day in Fairbanks, Alaska, as I had learned that my gig at the Silver Spur club next door to the Sunset Club would be a quiet one as the "King of Rock and Roll" was coming to town. I discovered that he had ordered for his gig a special white baby grand from Seattle to be shipped and assembled before show time for his performance, which was to be one night only. The club owner had warned us that we would probably be playing to the chairs and tables that night. and not be frustrated. So. I thought, hey, I will just go over between sets and see Jerry Lee rip a few tunes and enjoy this great man of music and showmanship. So, we asked. on the eve of his performance, if we could go sneak a peek. We had arranged to come in through the back entrance through the kitchen. It had been a very slow night, with only a handful of people in our club. On the break between the sets, we hurried over to the club where he was playing. The club was full to capacity. We discovered that It cost $25.00 a plate for two drinks of your choice, dinner, and a chance to see the main man. Everything else was to cost extra for the performance. Upon entering, we found the crowd strangely quiet, listening, and in between songs, yelling for his more popular tunes. Jerry Lee continued his gospel- orientated charts, much to the crowd's displeasure. They wanted " Great Balls of Fire", but Jerry just kept on with his set. Then came the break, and Jerry Lee hopped off the piano, and blasted right by me on his way to the kitchen, and was definitely not happy. I thought about asking him a few questions, but I could tell he wasn't pleased about his time there in Fairbanks. So, we decided to head back and rough the night out playing to no one and just hanging in there with the chairs and tables. We started the next set, and, about half way through the set, the doors opened up, and the people just started pouring in. The next thing we knew, the entire room was full, and we were playing to a packed house with very receptive people who were overjoyed to be entertained by the lesser musicians of the trade! At the end of the set, we went around to all of the tables, as was our custom, to thank the folks for coming in instead of going home, or elsewhere. Seems that Jerry Lee had totally ticked off the people by not playing any of his famous tunes, acting like he was not happy to be in the club he was playing, and pretty much not being very friendly. The club had paid him quite a bit of money to perform there, plus a bought him the baby grand that he took with him when he left Fairbanks. I learned a very valuable lesson that night.....nobody cares who you are or what you have done in your life if you can't be friendly and give people what they ask for as a product. Because we treated people with respect and gratitude, they came back to see us instead of hanging out in a place where no one cared about what they wanted or who they were.

Monty Music Productions

Sticks and Stones! Check out BTKC on this one....

Kim Kehala Music

 Enjoy some fine tracks on this widget as well!

Pangaeas People

Radio Bunker!

Audio Fumes

Mike Cliffe has assembled these excellent tracks! (BTKC is on here as well)

Mongrooves Productions

Tunes from my good friend Carlos!

Free World Radio Telecasting

Excellent tunes!

Blazing Sky

Great artists with BTKC on this label! Check it out....

SkySwim Label!

Belgian 40 Label