The Sun always shines on my Telecaster

HotWire had the opportunity to play at the recent American Cancer Society/Maryland Relay for Life. We donated our good vibes for the cause because that's just how we roll. Feeling good, we came to play and spread the love. Perhaps my overuse of Wah-Wah and Fuzz Pedal angered the Gods of Moderation. Shortly after our first smoking set of rocking hard blues we were rained out by a quickly building violent super-massive Thunderhead (pictured below) rapidly approaching the fairgrounds, seemingly headed straight towards the bandstand and my cranked Blackface Bassman. But, not all was lost, any day you get to play outdoors with your friends is a good day. And, it's most certainly not the first time I have angered the Gods of Moderation.
(click images to enlarge)

Drinks at Mink's

Very few things in this world lift your spirits like walking into some random bar, downing a few shots, grabbing a guitar, and Rocking the House. That's just what Jimmy and I did the other night. On the way back from our friend Chris's Mother's Wake in Hagerstown, feeling a little down, Jimmy (my brother-in-law/attorney) wisely advised we stop in a bar we passed, Mink's Tavern, and have a beer or three. Having never steered me wrong regarding such matters, I have learned to listen closely to my attorney's wise and just counsel. Lucky for us it was open mic night so a few beers/shots later we were spewing forth our brand of entertainment to a cool and appreciative crowd. It was my kind of crowd, a good mix of down home hard partying folks. We walked in feeling low and walked out (several hours later) feeling high. Mink's gets five stars in my guidebook.
Thanks to Roger Ratliff for hosting the open mic and letting us abuse his equipment.
All photos by Roger Ratliff.

A Beautiful Day to Rock

We played another party this past weekend. A good time was had by all, especially since the host provided us with our own personal quarter keg. To ratchet up the jam factor another notch we invited the incomparable Stevie Ray Van Nostrand to participate in the festivities (SRVN in the last photo). My friend Mike Olliver was kind enough to stop by with his very large camera and provide us with some photos. All Photos by Mike Olliver (click images to see larger)