samcrain.com

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! On March 2nd, I had to go to the ER, where they kept me pretty much all night. Sent me home with a catheter stuck in me. Tomorrow will make 2 weeks with this contraption in. I called the Nurse to see when(or if)I could have it taken out, and she's supposed to get back to me. 

I have surgery on April 3rd, which is supposed to fix this whole kidney thing by removing one of them. Worst case scenario is that I have to leave the catheter in until then. But April 3rd is just around the corner.

The thing about the catheter is that it's hard to get it just right as far as fitting. I can walk around with it in, but I have to slow things down considerably. I miss my mobility. 

Well, this too shall pass. Eventually I'll be back to my old self- or at least a better version. Thanks for stopping in and reading. Much love to you! More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! I've been remiss as far as writing in here lately. Gonna try and post something more often than once a month.

I've always thought of March as the actual beginning of the year. January and February are just continuations of last year, as far as I'm concerned. And March is quite often a time of beginnings and/or endings. That remains to be seen this year, but at least it's the end of Winter.

These past couple of years have been spent looking after my brother. His health took a serious nosedive- heart failure and cirrhosis. . At first it was just weekends, then a couple days out of the week. We reached a plateau of sorts in there, where we could run his errands and even get a bite to eat before he ran out of energy. Bittersweet but still as good a time as we could manage. 

Then more nosedives. A couple of emergency 911 calls, two Hospital stays(or was it three?) and then off to the Nursing Home for a couple months. That was the worst phase, due to the noisy atmosphere and unconscionable prices. And I was stressing about how we were going to keep paying them. 

From there, it was another trip to the Hospital, and then to Home Hospice Care. This last phase was also stressful, but not so out-of-control. He died in his sleep on October 24th of last year. 

So in these past couple months, I've been adjusting to the loss. Our Dad passed in 1992, Mom in 2007, and my brother last year, so I'm the last man standing. But it's time to get back to my stuff, working on my own life. 

Music news. Still practicing most every day, and changing some things around. Working on playing more chords in my solos, and defining the form of the tune better than I was doing. The chords tend to round out the sound, give it more depth. So, changing my approach a bit. 

This being my year to get back to my own stuff, I can see getting out to play a gig or two. Or more if it works out. Not back to 6-10 dates a month like I did when I first retired, but a bit more active. We'll see. 

Medical news. Next month I'm going to have an operation. They're taking out a kidney, and fixing some lower GI stuff. I'll be in there for a couple days, something I've never had to do. But it'll make coming home that much nicer.

I'm also getting Dentures a bit later in the year. Another adjustment. 

And that's my news for now.  A longer post than usual, but more stuff. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love to you! More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! I had a LOT of traffic yesterday, at least for my humble page, with 192 hits. And I'd imagine out of that number that some of them read my Blog(s).

My calendar in 2026 looks like my calendar in 2013, only now it's medical appointments rather than gigs. That was the year- actually halfway into it- that I left the world of dayjob. And before the age of 60- a couple months shy of my 59th birthday. For awhile in there, I was playing 6 to 10 times a month.

This was lots of fun for the first couple years, and then it got to be more work. My own group sort of disintegrated about then as well, which was the other nail in the coffin.  Since then, I've done both sideman jobs and gigs where I hire the band- so I still get a few of my bandleader desires fulfilled. 

At this point, I still practice most every day, and maintain a YouTube page with videos I make. I play out a couple times in a year. I've also reached the age where I'm starting to have some health issues, hence all the medical stuff on the calendar. Just a few things that need fixing. So I'm trying to play ball with them. 

It's all about quality of life. So far there's just enough on the schedule to give me the little bit of structure I need. Plus they're supposed to fix these problems down the road. Like my gig calendar of old, I'm trying not to let it get out of hand..

  And that's all I've got to say for the moment. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love to you! More later. 

After about a week of freezing, we get up to a balmy 22 degrees. Tomorrow is supposed to be even a bit warmer, before we go back into the teens. Today was the day to shovel the driveway, and get most all the snow off of my vehicle before heading out for a food run.

 It was also the day to get the hell out of the house. After a week of captivity, I could feel Jack Torrance starting to emerge, just a little nuttiness. This second hibernation will take me until next Monday, at which point I'll be again ready to fly the coop. 

Music news.  These hibernations are good for guitar practice. I've been working up some old new tunes, like Airegin and Waltz for Debby. And Ladybird. 

All these involve a lot more chording than I've been doing lately. This is a good thing, on several fronts. It's good for my soloing to mix it up with some chords(something I often forget to do), rounds things out. Also good to define the form so that people playing with you know where the hell you are. I had a drummer bitch to me about that. He bitched about damn near everything, but at least this once had a valid point. And last but not least, the chords make it more interesting for the listener. 

So I've got a fair number of music videos to put on the page. I wish I could upload them here, but YouTube is still alive and swell. Got a whopping 703 subscribers at the moment, maybe someday to get all the way to 1000. As I understand it, that's the point at which you can make money with your page. But then I'm sure there are all kinds of restrictions that go with it. 

That's all that's going on in my little corner of the world. Thanks as ever for stopping in and wading through all this Much love to you! More later.

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! It's a beautiful sunny day out there, even if it is still Winter. The next four--excuse me, five-  days or so, it's supposed to be cold as all getout, so I've made sure today that I have all the necessary items for a 5-day hibernation. 

This is one perk of being an old retired guy. You're able to take breaks when Mother Nature gets in one of Her moods. I feel like I'm entitled, having spent 26 years of my life taking shit from the public. 4 years as a Bank employee and 22 years with the State. I like to think I've helped people in my job, particularly working for the State. But I've definitely taken a lot of their guff in those years. 

So I'm settling in, ready to enjoy a few days hunkered down. Netflix is featuring many if not all of the James Bond movies. Between the ages of 9 and 11--1963-65--I was a huge James Bond fan. Saw all the stuff at a Movie Theatre, which was of course the only way to view it back then. The films are not as good as I remembered them, but there's plenty of action and excitement left over.   

The guitar is getting a good workout these days. I've stepped up the practicing, which is improving my technique, which adds fun to the whole process, since you can play more of what's in your head. And the more fun you have, the more you want to play. Once you get the ball rolling, it feeds on itself. 

I've got a number of videos now for possible inclusion on my YouTube page. That's still Where the Action Is as far as my musical exploits. With my brother ensconced in what's got to be a better place--he passed away last October after a long illness--, I now have more time to devote to music. Still adjusting to his loss, but trying to move forward..

Gigs are something I still enjoy, but on a more occasional basis. That way it's fresher, both for me and the folks I'm playing for. And the folks I'm playing with. Plus I feel like I get better crowds , better than I'd probably get if I played out all the time. So I'll eventually have something to share in the way of a gig. Hoping it ends up being at The Pharmacy. It's my new favorite place to play. 

 I made a reference earlier to a TV show from the 60s which featured the top bands lip syncing their current hits. I remember a lot of shows with Paul Revere and the Raiders playing in the snow. Where the Action Is was the show. If you remember that too, you're pretty old yourself.    

That's pretty much all I had to share for now in the way of news. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading this mess. Much love to you! More later. 

ps The bit about my brother being ensconced in a better place is my view of things, not any kind of pronouncement. One thing I think I know about this life is that it ain't over when the body goes. As far as what follows, I don't know. I just feel that something does.

Greetings, whoever-reads-this!

I'm starting to bounce back after this past year and all its troubles. My brother is in what I surmise to be a better place, and life here is picking back up where it left off. 

Music news. The guitar is getting a more-or-less daily workout these days, and I'm making more videos. Many of them end up on the cutting room floor, so to speak, but there is usually at least one survivor. I'm workin' it..

In July of this year, I'll have been playing guitar for 60 years. I've just about got my picking hand where I want it. 

So far no gigs for 2026, but I'd just as soon get through the Winter first. Something always comes up. 

Old guy news. I've got to have an operation in the next couple months or so to take care of some plumbing problems. Losing a Kidney and the Sigmoid Colon. Nothing life-threatening, just stuff that has to go. They're supposed to keep me for another 2 to 5 days after that. I've never had to stay there before, so this will be a new experience. Maybe not the most pleasant experience, but it's new- and just a couple days. 

The upside to these extra medical appointments is that you get to know your Doctors and Nurses and Techs a little bit better, which makes the whole process smoother. Still a pain in the ass, but easier…

The other adventure for the year is getting Dentures. That all begins in April. Hopefully these are all the things I've gotta go through as far as my health, at least for awhile. 

This is probably too much information, but oh well. Thanks for stopping in and wading through it. Much love to you! More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this!

I found out today that guitarist Rick Haydon has passed away. He taught for many years at SIU Edwardsville. I had the good fortune to take two lessons with him back in 1986. After hearing me play for a bit, he told me I had wimpy technique. 

It didn't hurt my feelings. In fact, I agreed with him. I had the habit of anchoring the pinky of my right hand, which was greatly limiting my range of motion. If you have big hands, that might work to use a finger as an anchor. But with my mitts, it wasn't quite getting there. 

He gave me a scale exercise in major 6ths, which was nice and tricky. I had it pretty well for my second lesson. But the main thing he did for me was to un-anchor my right hand. My  technique was vastly improved. It took a good year before it felt right though. 

I've read in recent years about the George Benson picking style. It's supposed to be greatly liberating as far as fingerboard fluency. But I don't want to go through another adjustment year. So far so good as far as what I've already got going. 

RIP Rick Haydon. I'm sure you've helped many student guitarists over the years. Even this one. 

A moment of jocularity at Arlington's. Don't remember when this was taken, but we were clearly having a good time. Mark Russillo, Lou Humphrey, Frank Parker, Ben Taylor and me. 

Arlington's, if it still exists, is on Broadway. In New York, Broadway  covers all of Manhattan and then some. In Springfield IL, it's one of the shortest streets in the city. Just  2 or 3 blocks. More of a cubbyhole than anything. 

I used to do a gig on the 31st, with Mark(see picture)at Springfield High School. It was a Harmonica Masterclass. I played chords for him, and his girlfriend held up the signs. She was the spokesmodel. It was a total cacophony, a high school full of kids, but a good hour's fun.

Some of the nicest New Year's Eve gigs were through the Arts Council. You're done nice and early, and there usually aren't that many drunks in the audience. Well, if they're quiet I don't really care if they're drunk, just as long as they're quiet. But that's usually not the case if you're good and pickled. 

Well somebody will be playing at all the main bars in town, plus a lot of private parties. I'm going to watch the Twilight Zone Marathon on TV and quietly ring in the new year. This is Cold and Flu Season, and I got some of that, so I'll also be continuing to mend. 

Happy New Year! Much love! More later. 

It's Winter. We've had a couple of Arctic days, and now we get a couple warmer ones. And then more snow. And on it goes.. Hibernation punctuated by trips to the store for food. 

We usually don't get prolonged periods of extreme cold. Just a couple days at a time. Winter is a pain in the ass, but it toughens you up a bit. You build up a callous, so to speak. After temperatures in the single digits, 30 degrees--even the upper twenties--feels balmy. Still, I don't think I could live anywhere north of here..

Music news. There is a new post on my YouTube page . Check it out if you'd like. Using my Gretsch guitar, one I love playing but never seem to get around to. Many of my guitars these days are Epiphones. Quality instruments at a reasonable price. Ibanez is another brand I used to favor. 

I'm still practicing most every day. Scales and arpeggios, with mean old mister Metronome, and then playing a few tunes. No gigs on the calendar, but sooner or later something will come up. I still like to keep a little bit of activity there if I can. The Pharmacy has become my favorite place to play on those occasions. 

December used to be a busy month, musically speaking. As well as the standard bar gigs, there used to be some opportunities on New Year's Eve downtown, through the Arts Council. First Night Springfield. I loved doing those gigs. Early hours, no drunks. 

So I'm still working on my playing, still trying to get better. I think that's what it's about, the continual growth. Even though it may seem like you're not getting anywhere..

I guess this is a pretty skimpy blog. More sizzle than steak. In one of the few instances where I bring the news into my blogs, I was saddened to read about the death of Rob Reiner and his wife. I'm a huge fan of Spinal Tap(can't wait to see the sequel), and enjoyed some of his other movies as well. 

Okay then. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love to you! More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! I just got this picture a few hours ago, along with other memorabilia. One of my Dad's old law partners was cleaning out his office and bestowed it on me. This is a picture of me and my brother, the only one I have. We were maybe 6 and 10 in this one. 

Dad passed away in 1992, Mom in 2007, and my brother on October 24th of this year. Except for a nephew up in Wisconsin, I'm the last Crain. The last man standing. Actually, come to think of it, there would still be some Crains in southern Illinois- specifically Golconda, where Dad was born- and Mayfield Kentucky. And maybe Paducah. 

Mom, who was also from a rural community, described Golconda as a God-forsaken place. I was 10 years old at the time and didn't know what God-forsaken even meant. “It's a place that God just sorta gave up on," she explained. I also remember that it was the first--and last-- time I ever tried to eat grits. 

Anyway! This was a nice gesture. The box also included Dad's diploma from University of Illinois and some other pix of us boys. Josh lasted 4 months past his 67th birthday, and I'm still holding on at 71. 

I'm still adjusting to my brother being gone. It's gonna take awhile. I keep wanting to tell him this or that, and then realizing he's not here. He's probably thrilled- or at least greatly relieved- to have his mobility back. And probably catching his breath after the ordeal of these past couple years. 

But now it's time to concentrate on my own problems. And goals. I put all that on the back burner, especially these last 4 months or so. Getting more regular again with the guitar, and got back on the track with exercise, after two and a half months off. 

So life goes on. Wanted to share this pic with whoever reads these blogs. Thanks for stopping in and reading. Much love! More later.