Showing posts with label Kim Wilson interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kim Wilson interview. Show all posts

Friday, May 24, 2024

THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW ALBUM ‘STRUCK DOWN’ ZOOM SPECIAL EVENT WITH FRONTMAN KIM WILSON ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS!

 

 

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Celebrate 50th Anniversary!

 with the Release of First Studio Album in Eight Years

'Struck Down'

Coming June 28th on Stony Plain Records

Listen to the first single 

“Payback Time”

(featuring Billy Gibbons)

Struck Down features

 special guests

 Billy Gibbons, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo,’ 

Mick Fleetwood, Elvin Bishop, Terrance Simien, 

and Canadian blues guitar ace Steve Strongman.

 CLICK BELOW

 TO WATCH THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW! 

Stony Plain Records proudly announces the signing of legendary American band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, who will celebrate their 50th anniversary with the release of their first studio album in eight years, Struck Down, on June 28th. The album’s first single, “Payback Time,” featuring Billy Gibbons, is out now.

Struck Down also features special guests Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’ and Mick Fleetwood on the album’s lone cover song, a scintillating take on Memphis Minnie’s “Nothing in Rambling.” Additional contributions on the new disc come from Elvin Bishop, Terrance Simien and Canadian blues guitar ace Steve Strongman, who co-wrote with Kim Wilson nine of the album’s 10 tracks.

Struck Down was produced by Kim Wilson, Steve Strongman and Glen Parrish; recorded in New Jersey and Hamilton, Ontario; and mixed by acclaimed recording engineer Shelly Yakus (John Lennon/U2/Tom Petty).   In addition to the searing first single, “Payback Time,” other standout tracks include the album’s opener, “Struck Down By The Blues,” featuring Steve Strongman on guitar; the Cajun-flavored “Don’t Make No Sense,” featuring Terrance Simien on accordion; “Watcha Do To Me,” featuring guitar icon Elvin Bishop; and the wistful closing track, “Sideline.”

The catalyst for the recording sessions happened when blues guitarist Steve Strongman hooked up with Kim Wilson on a trial basis to write some songs. Thunderbirds manager Glen Parrish had convinced an at-first hesitant Kim Wilson to give it a try by co-writing with Strongman, who flew down to California from Canada. As a songwriting team, they clicked immediately. For the recording sessions, Wilson called a few friends.  The first single, “Payback Time,” features Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on guitar and backing vocals. “Billy is someone I talk to on a pretty regular basis,” said Wilson. “He is a dear friend, a great musician, and he knows how to make a record.” Regarding the great interplay on the track between Gibbons’ guitar and Wilson’s harmonica, Wilson said, “It was really all him. Being the great musician that he is, he created that conversation.”

The cover of Memphis Minnie’s “Nothing in Rambling” is overflowing with talent.  “All of these people I have the utmost respect for,” said Wilson. “Taj Mahal was one of my very first influences. He is one of the reasons I started playing the harmonica. Bonnie Raitt and I have always been very close. I love what she does. I love her voice. I love Keb’s voice. And Mick was kind enough to put his performance on that track as well.” “I love the material, the performances, and the sound of the album.  It was mixed by Shelly Yakus and mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone. They are the very best there is.”

When talking about the full-time members of the Thunderbirds, Wilson proclaimed, “The strength of this band has inspired me to be more creative. This band really allows me to do anything I want to do: modern, traditional, anything in between. They are masters of it all. And as for what’s next…“I’m far from finished.”

Formed in 1974, The Fabulous Thunderbirds is a familiar name for anyone into contemporary blues and blues rock.  This is the band that created classic albums like T-Bird Rhythm and Tuff Enuff. Powered by hits like the title track and “Wrap It Up,” Tuff Enuff went platinum, selling more than one million copies. Led by founding member Kim Wilson, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been nominated for Grammy Awards six times and for Blues Music Awards more than 20 times.  The Fabulous Thunderbirds continue to tour internationally, selling out venues and headlining festivals with the current line-up of Kim Wilson on vocals and harmonica, Johnny Moeller on guitar, Bob Welsh on keyboards and guitar, Rudy Albin on drums and Steve Kirsty on bass.


PREORDER

 THE NEW ALBUM

BY

THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS

Entitled

‘STRUCK DOWN’

The Fabulous Thunderbirds Celebrate 50th Anniversary with the Release of First Studio Album in Eight Years, Struck Down, Coming June 28th on Stony Plain Records

Listen to the first single “Payback Time.”

(featuring Billy Gibbons)

Pre-Order/Pre-Save the Album

https://stonyplainrecords.com/fabulousthunderbirds/

“The Very Best Fabulous Thunderbirds album to date! Grammy worthy! This album has it all… legendary guest artists, and every track is a great track! Several may already be considered classics.”

5 stars

… By Music Journalist Ray Shasho


FOR MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT

KIM WILSON

AND

THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS

VISIT

https://fabulousthunderbirds.com/

Official website

https://www.facebook.com/fabulousthunderbirds/

Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/fabuloustbirds/

Instagram

https://twitter.com/ThunderFabulous

Twitter

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfAXkyD5vxFXypN4ZqcF-kQ/featured

YouTube

 

THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS

IN CONCERT

JUL  3 Healdsburg, CA Raven Performing Arts Theater 8:00 PM

JUL  5 Nicasio, CA Rancho Nicasio 4:00 PM

JUL 6 Napa, CA Blue Note Napa 6:30 PM

JUL   6 Napa, CA Blue Note Napa 9:00 PM

JUL   12 Mequon, WI Gathering on the Green 6:30 PM

JUL 12 Mequon, WI Gathering on the Green 8:30 PM

JUL  30 Cologne Luxor 8:00 PM

JUL  29 Nuremberg Hirsch 8:00 PM

 

Discography

With The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Albums

The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1979)

What's the Word (1980)

Butt Rockin' (1981)

T-Bird Rhythm (1982)

Tuff Enuff (1986)

Hot Number (1987)

Powerful Stuff (1989)

Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk (1991)

Roll of the Dice (1995)

High Water (1997)

Painted On (2005)

Thunderbirds! (2009, sold only at shows)

On the Verge (2013)

Strong Like That (2016)

Struck Down (2024)

 

 

Compilation albums

Portfolio (1987)

The Essential... (1991)

Hot Stuff: The Greatest Hits (1992)

Wrap It Up (1993)

The Fabulous Thunderbirds/What's the Word (1993)

Butt Rockin'/T-Bird Rhythm (1993)

Different Tacos (1996)

The Best of the Fabulous Thunderbirds (1997)

Tuff Enuff/Powerful Stuff (1999)

Thunderbirds Tacos Deluxe (2003)

The Best of the Fabulous Thunderbirds: Early Birds Special (2011)

The Bad and Best of... (2013)

 

Live albums

Live from London (1985)

Live [AKA Invitation Only] (2001)

 

Singles

"Tuff Enuff" (1986) No. 10 US, No. 83 AUS[13]

"Wrap It Up" (1986) No. 50 US

"Why Get Up" (1986)

"Stand Back" (1987) No. 76 US

"How Do You Spell Love" (1987)

"Wasted Tears" (1988)

"Powerful Stuff" (1988) No. 65 US

"Knock Yourself Out" (1989)

 

Solo

1993: Tigerman (Antone's)

1994: That's Life (Antone's)

1997: My Blues (Blue Collar)

2001: Smokin' Joint (M.C. Records)

2003: Looking for Trouble (M.C. Records)

2006: My Blues Sessions: Kim's Mix, Volume I (Bluebeat)

2017: Blues and Boogie, Vol. 1 (Severn)

2020: Take Me Back - The Bigtone Sessions (M.C. Records)

 

Guest

Ronnie Earl, Smokin' (1983)

Roomful of Blues, Dressed Up To Get Messed Up (1984)

Ronnie Earl, They Call Me Mr. Earl (1984)

Ron Levy's Wild Kingdon, Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom (1988)

People Get Ready – A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield (1993)

Snuff Johnson, Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Black Magic Records, 1994)

Bonnie Raitt, Road Tested (1995)

Kid Ramos, Kid Ramos (1999)

James Cotton, 35th Anniversary Jam of the James Cotton Blues Band (Telarc, 2001)

Big Jack Johnson, The Memphis Barbecue Sessions (2002)

JW-Jones, Bogart's Bounce (guest, 2002)

JW-Jones, My Kind of Evil (producer and guest, 2004)

Wentus Blues Band, Family Album (Bluelight Records, 2004)

Barrelhouse Chuck, Got My Eyes on You (2007)

Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughan, Jimmy Reed Highway (2007)

Louisiana Red, Back to the Black Bayou (Ruf Records, 2008)

Elvin Bishop, The Blues Rolls On (2008)

Eric Clapton, Clapton (Reprise, 2010)

Mark Knopfler, Privateering (2012)

Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King, Road Dog's Life (Delta Groove Productions, 2013)

Barrelhouse Chuck, Driftin' From Town To Town (2013)

The Robert Cray Band, 4 Nights of 40 Years (2015)

Buddy Guy, Born to Play Guitar (2015)

Thornetta Davis, Honest Woman (2016)

Peter Karp, Blue Flame (2018)

Ash Grunwald, Mojo (2019)

 







KIM WILSON APPEARS
  WEEK OF MAY 24th 2024

ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

WITH RAY SHASHO

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER

 

BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   

Gold Award Winner



MORE BOOKS BY RAY SHASHO




RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY
 
TO BE PART OF MUSIC HISTORY!

CALL 941-567-6193

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Kim Wilson Interview: "We Played Straight Blues And We Were Militant About It"














By Ray Shasho

This Friday, October 28th, The Fabulous Thunderbirds will be performing a free concert on Cleveland Street just outside the doors of the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater highlighting the Blast Friday festival. The event is held every fourth Friday of the month. The street fair kicks off at 5:30 pm with entertainment ending at 10:00 pm. Blast Friday is a production of Ruth Eckerd Hall.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to witness one of the greatest blues harp (harmonica) players in the world. Legendary bluesman Muddy Waters said Kim Wilson was “The greatest harmonica player to come along since Little Walter.” Wilson says, “Muddy Waters was my biggest mentor. He really made my reputation for me, and that was a fantastic time of my life, being associated with that man.”

The Fabulous Thunderbirds began as a straight blues band over thirty years ago in Austin Texas. The original lineup spotlighted Kim Wilson’s blue-eyed soul vocals and proficient harp playing accompanied by the great Jimmie Vaughan (Stevie Ray Vaughan’s brother) on guitar.

Kim Wilson’s soulful vocal styles were prominent on the Fabulous Thunderbirds most commercially successful release Tuff Enuff in 1986. Produced by Welsh rocker Dave Edmonds the album conceived Wilson’s penned “Tuff Enuff” (#10 hit on Billboard’s Hot100) and Sam and Dave’s “Wrap It Up.” The T-Birds undeniably brought the blues back to contemporary radio.

“Tuff Enuff” was featured in the film Tough Guys starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. It was also spotlighted on the Ron Howard comedy film Gung Ho starring Michael Keaton and numerous occasions on the TV sitcom Married with Children.

Co-Founder and guitarist Jimmie Vaughan exited the band in 1989. Vaughan’s brother guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray was killed in a helicopter crash in 1990.
Throughout the 80’s and 90’s the T-Birds toured extensively supporting bands like The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.

The soulful crooning of Kim Wilson and the amazing players of The Fabulous Thunderbirds continue to astound its audiences worldwide. The T-Birds frequent blues festivals and perform over 300 dates consistently year round. Wilson also tours with Kim Wilson’s Blues All-Stars.

The T-Birds played the Sarasota Blues Fest in 1997 with the Bobby “Blue” Bland and the Tampa Bay Blues Fest in 2009.

I recently chatted with Kim Wilson while he made breakfast at his home in Southern California.

Good morning Kim thanks for being on the call today.

“It’s my pleasure Ray.”

The T-Birds are currently on a mini-tour and you’ve recently played a bunch of casino dates. It seems a lot of artists these days enjoy playing those venues. What’s your take on playing casinos?   

“Well they pay good and it’s really just a great situation. I mean the room is usually really nice and all you have to do is walk down from your room to play. And usually it’s a real nice dressing room you know it’s a great situation and people are very comfortable there. They can go out and gamble or do whatever they want. They can get in the day of the show and play some golf or whatever and I love doing them. Those are great gigs it’s basically a form of playing clubs on steroids. The facilities are always great and of course there’s always free food and you get a sort of suite and perks on the golf course.”

The T-Birds are going to be touring Australia in April of 2012.

“I went down to Argentina a few months ago and that was awesome. The harmonica down there is kind of a classical instrument. I mean they have actual Masters that teach the young people how to play. People that are taking lessons actually study the harmonica. It was very interesting they play chromatic down there. I heard about it from my friend Rick Estrin who plays for the Nightcats.”

“But Australia is going to be really nice I haven’t been there for awhile. The Byron Bay Blues Fest is a great festival in a great area it’s just beautiful. You know one nice thing you get to go all over the world and see some great places it’s a pretty good life in that way.”

You’ve got a separate band of musicians that your touring with called Kim Wilson’s Blues All-Stars. How does that band contribute to your musical repertoire?

“It’s real traditional but it rocks out too. It’s a really interesting thing. I would call it less of a hybrid and then the T-Birds. It’s really more straight ahead blues. Although when the T-Birds play blues it’s straight ahead and then can really do it. The Thunderbirds can do a lot of things a lot of different kinds of music they’re very good musicians. You know younger guys and most of the guys in the All-Stars are mostly older guys but don’t tell anybody. (All Laughing) They all had that Cadillac Records movie a few years ago and we all did really well on that and a couple of them got Grammy’s out of it and we all got nominated and that was great. It’s just a very-very good band.”

You’re a pretty athletic guy aren’t you?

“I’m injured man I hurt myself.”

What did you do?

“I injured myself swinging a golf club believe it or not. I play basketball with these young guys you know and I don’t get injured. I go out swinging a golf club and I get injured.

So you play basketball with the younger guys, man that can be brutal.

“I can run with them and that’s hard to do at my age. They have no idea how old I am. They think I’m way younger than what I am.

Did you play a lot of basketball when you were a kid?

“I played football when I was a kid. Yea I played football out here in Southern California. Captain of my high school team and played all three years. I played every play of every game. Yea I played both ways I played offense and defense and I was a punt returner kick returner. The only team I didn’t play on was the field goal and kickoff team. I had scholarships to play ball but you know the writing was on the wall for me and I just started playing music. I mean if I was the size that I am now back in high school I would have been on the line. (All laughing) But I had a lot of fun and it taught me a lot of things. I was an athlete my whole life and I was also a musician and an artist and started playing music when I was about nine years old in Detroit. We had mandatory music a couple times a week in Michigan at that time and a guy would come in and tell you to play your little Tonette and play a little “Sweet Potato.” Can you imagine thirty kids playing that all at once? I can’t even imagine right now.”

“One day the music teacher comes in and he brings in a couple of horns and gets me and this other kid out of the class and hands me a baritone horn and says play it. So I played it. I played it the first time I touched it. I ended up on the trombone and I was successful for a kid. When we moved to California I played for awhile and then I stopped because I wanted to play sports you know. I was a kid!”

“Then I’m in high school and out here in California in the early 60’s and it was incredible what was going on out here. It was nuts! There was nothing like it anywhere people were coming through constantly all the blues guys so many of them and so I just became a pest. I picked up the harmonica and that was another thing that I had an affinity for and I could already sing so basically without practicing very much or at all I’m in a band. I’m the singer in the band and the harmonica player.”

So did you play blues in your first band?

“Yea we played straight blues. We didn’t have a rock and roll background. We played straight blues and we were militant about it. It was 1968. I played with the three Silva brothers. Rob on drums Marcial on bass and George on the alto saxophone. I had this kid named George Reilly on guitar he was sixteen years old and I heard he’s not alive anymore but he was an incredible talent. If he’s alive and playing he’s got to be unbelievable but I don’t think he is according to what I’ve heard. Back then he was a wino when he was sixteen. He had a serious wine abuse problem. Smack was the drug of choice and a lot of people were on it. But there was just so much stuff like that going on it was just incredible.”

What were some of the bands you emulated growing up in Southern California?

“Musselwhite use to come into town all the time he must have been just a kid back then. He was just a kid back then for sure. We’d go down to see Paul Butterfield also and then George “Harmonica” Smith started coming around and all these other people. Within a year after I started playing I was playing with Eddie Taylor, I was playing with Furry Lewis, Johnny Shines, I mean I was playing with all these guys just a year after I started. And then after that I got to know Albert Collins and Pee Wee Crayton. I met John Lee Hooker back then people like Luther Tucker there was a guy named Hi Tide Harris and of course George “Harmonica” Smith and then there were people like Phillip Walker who just passed away recently.”

“There was this guy named Harmonica Frank you remember him? He was a white guy with a crew-cut that played the harmonica in his mouth and sang with the harmonica in his mouth. He had big race record hits and they thought he was black back in the 50’s. Look him up Harmonica Frank Floyd. His race records were blues and “Howlin Tomcat” was one of them and the way he sounded with the harmonica in his mouth he sounded like an old dude from the plantation and he probably was from the plantation actually. Harmonica Frank I don’t know what he did but he was probably a migrant worker. I think he could have been. I knew about this guy because my buddy was his pen pal and he would communicate with this guy like back in the 60’s and he communicated with this guy and his wife would write the letter for him because he couldn’t read or write. But he would sign his name and I’ll never forget it because Frank Floyd the n was backwards. But this guy was incredible he would get up there and do animal calls he was like a vaudevillian guy. In your career when you meet people like that it’s pretty Far Out!”

“So you meet all these people in your career and then you come along and later on in life people start recognizing you and start getting sessions with really cool people like Clapton like Kid Rock and I did Raphael Saadiq that just came out off Austin City Limits and I’m in a couple of those songs. And I’ve got Mark Knopfler coming up at the end of November I had to fly over to England to do it. And of course I’ve been on a couple two or three records with Bonnie Raitt and people like Paul Simon just a lot of different stuff.”

I’m originally from the Washington DC area. Bonnie Raitt was already legendary in DC before she made it big nationally so I’m naturally going to be partial to collaborations with Bonnie. I’d love to see the both of you take it on the road together. 

“I’d love to do it. Maybe once she gets her record out I can do it. It would be great to do that because she’s really a dear friend of mine and I don’t see her very often. And she’s so talented and personable. She’s able to get so connected with people and that’s awesome so many entertainers don’t have that.”

The Fabulous Thunderbirds went through a commercially successful period in the 80’s and cranked out the hits “Tuff Enuff,”“Wrap it Up” and “Look at That.” What made that period so successful for the band?

“Well really when you think about it… it was the times for sure. But people were just ready for it. And there were a lot of key things that happened.  Dave Edmonds producing for one and then the song Tuff Enuff being in a few movies it had a long shelf life. The song was still going a year later after it started going. Just a lot of work putting your face in front of a lot of people which is what we do now. Back then that was like the tail end of the record business and I think the first record or two that we had with them with Columbia Epic Sony became Sony they had a real record savvy staff a bunch of veterans real record people. It was very interesting and no matter what you think of the business you really have to respect them because they really were on top of it. They pushed and knew a lot of people and had personal relationships all over the country and they were salespeople is what they were. They say business is business no business is personal. You could go out and have dinner and a few drinks with everybody it was a pretty cool deal to watch. Then that was done and those people left the business and the record industry painted themselves in a corner musically to where no wonder they’re not in business that’s too bad. I think the Independent label now is the way to go. A friendly relationship and actually hang out a little bit with and that’s how you do it.”

The artists aren’t being promoted at all and I think we need to go back to radio basics.

“They need to be opening up the airwaves to everyone and get deejays back get the personality’s back in radio. You listened in for the personality as much as you did for the music.”
“I just got a feeling that this country is going to go back to the basics because we have no choice. This whole country has been pumped up on nothing but a bunch of air and now it’s all deflated and we’re back down to reality. No sense on being greedy you’ve got nothing to be greedy with. And don’t depend on the politicians to do anything it’s really up to you. You’re in control. I’ve got a song coming out called “Do you know who I am?” and it’s all about that.”

When will it be released?

“Something should be coming out in the beginning of next year sometime. I haven’t signed a deal yet but I am signing with a new label and it’s an Independent label and I like the people over there. You know we’ve been in the studio for a couple of years now in and out and we have a lot of different tracks that we can go with.”

You know when “Tuff Enuff” first hit the airwaves I really thought it was Tom Jones.

“Hey I tell you what that’s high praise. Tom Jones is a great singer.”

That song would have been a great cover song for him.

“You know what you’re right and he could do the s**t out of that song.”
 Who are some artists you would collaborate with today?

“The Black Keys… I would love to get involved with those guys and do something with them that would be a fun thing.”

Mick Jagger didn’t call you to work on his new SuperHeavy band?

“He plays harmonica in that anyway… probably.”  But The Stones were my favorite band when I was a kid.”

Is Mick a good harp player?

“He’s got his style and I would say he’s recognizable. Robert Plant also and he’s been very generous with me and I’ve heard people say he’s talking about me and stuff. He’s a really nice guy and just a really- really cool guy. Robert Plant is one of those guys he knows how to make himself and make his music timeless. Him and Clapton too you’ve got to hand it to Clapton he knows how to legitimize what he’s doing in modern times and pushing the envelope as far as musical styles and stuff in that same way. But it’s all based on the blues though and that’s a cool thing.”

Final thoughts Kim?

“Go see Raphael Saadiq with myself on Austin City Limits on PBS. Raphael Saadiq and Black Joe Louis is the show. We’ll have the latest Fabulous Thunderbirds at the show on Friday and then look for something around springtime maybe look for us to be breaking out.”

Additional collaborations with Bonnie Raitt and Robert Plant maybe?

“Have gun will travel.”

Kim, I’ll see you on Cleveland Street in Clearwater for Blast Friday on October 28th.

“Thanks Ray see you there brother.”

FREE concert this Friday October 28th Starring Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds!

It’s Blast Friday on Cleveland Street outside the doors of the Capitol Theatre.   
The Street Fair begins at 5:30 pm.


COMING NEXT Ray’s interview with Todd Rundgren and the Utopia reunion.

Special thanks to Anne Leighton Media for this interview.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds official website http://www.fabulousthunderbirds.com/
Ruth Eckerd Hall official website http://www.rutheckerdhall.com/
Anne Leighton Media http://www.anneleighton.com/


Don’t forget to order columnist and author Ray Shasho’s great new book Check the GsThe True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business available now at amazon.com, iuniverse.com, barnesandnoble.com and borders.com.

“Normalcy is a myth and anyone who tells you differently isn't very normal. "Check the Gs" is a memoir from Ray Shasho who tells of his own offbeat upbringing working in the family business art gallery, from a young age. Of Cuban and Syrian descent, he tells a very American story of coming from everything, seeing everything, walking the line of the law and much more. A fun and fast paced memoir, "Check the Gs" is a worthwhile addition to many a memoir collection.” ~~ MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

Contact Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com