How Did We Survive Our Childhood?

I was a mean little shit when I was a youngun. Not to people at school or friends, but at home, to my little brothers, I was a mean little shit! Like the time my brother, Derek, and I found our uncle Sammy's BIG treble hooks and I took off running with the twine attached to it just as Derek reached down to pick up the hook. That required 8 stitches and a trip to the emergency room!

Or the time (one week to the day AFTER stitches from the previous incident were removed!) when Derek and I found Sammy's breakdown BB gun, and, after cocking the gun, Derek decides he wants to pretend to put something in the barrel and I decide to go ahead and pull the trigger. The gun barrel closed on his finger, requiring 4 more stitches in the exact same spot! If memory serves, this trip to the ER also required a conference between my parents and local law enforcement officials to be sure this wasn't an abusive situation.

There was also the puppy in the dryer episode, but Mama caught us before we got too far along and the neighbor's puppy was (for the most part) unscathed but never allowed to play with us again.

Speaking of neighbors, there was this one time when our friend, Bryan, from next door was over and we were nosing around in the top drawers of a chest in our room that we had no business being in and found my Dad's knife collection. Bryan had one of the knives in his had (the blade in his hand) and I, at the mature age of 7, realized that we shouldn't be messing with these things and promptly jerked the knife from his hand, requiring a trip to the ER and 14 stitches. As I recall, Bryan wasn't allowed to play with us, either, after that.

I can also remember me and my brothers using our parents' record collection as Frisbees, but this was before I fell in love with music, and, in all fairness, my parents' taste in music wasn't all that hip, a lot of Beach Boys and The Archies. So I launched a 33 1/3 RPM LP into the air, and we were watching it, and, as it descends, it lands across the bridge of Derek's nose, shattering the disc and cutting Derek enough to require a trip to the ER and 5 stitches across the bridge of his nose.

Derek and I wanted to be Indians one time (feather, not dot) and held each other down and with Crayola crayons "painted" our faces with war paint. I'm not sure what hurt worse, the crayon going on or coming off, but I do NOT recommend anyone trying this. It's much easier to use actual paint, as we found out later when we broke into Daddy's tool shed and found the spray paint. You want blue hair, OK, you got it!

I broke both of my arms lifting weights when I was 12 years old. I guess I should say I broke both of my arms TRYING to lift weights, as I never really got them lifted before waking up on the ground with the bar across my chest. 2 and a half months with both arms in casts, and I broke them the end of March, so a lot of my summer was gone. I had also been playing guitar by this time, and the time away made me really miss it. I gave up my thoughts of playing football and focused on guitar. I started getting records from my uncle Steve and hearing Dylan and Hendrix. I heard Albert King and Muddy Waters. I started hangin' out with my grandparents and playing music with the grownups, riding around and meeting all these "sharecropper left-behinds" and hearing the blues, bluegrass, and folk music styles that Mississippi is so famous for. I can still hear my grandma and her brother, Edmond, in sibling harmony:

High up over yonder tell me what do you see?
Bear tracks, bear tracks, lookin' back at me.
Better get the rifles boys, before it's too late
The bear's got a little pig and headed for the gate.

I bet Derek is glad I finally picked up guitar. For some reason, once I started playing, everyone stopped getting hurt. Music made me "normal."

Contest For Week 2 and Other Random Musings

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We maintain a monthly mailing list to keep you informed of the current goings-on of the Project as well as stories from our travels and other perks. Sign up today to stay in the loop.

Contest For Week 2

We're less than a month away from the worldwide release of "Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo" and want to give our true fans a chance to win a free download of the album,AND a pair of passes for the Release Party/Birthday Bash at Woody's Tupelo Steakhouse that night, before its release Friday, August 16!

You can add yourself to the mailing list right here at kevinwaide.com, by going to our Facebook Page, or by texting your name and e-mail address to my Google Phone at (662) 205-8107. One name will be drawn at random for an advance copy of "Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo," including 2 free passes to the CD Release Party/Birthday Bash at Woody's Tupelo Steakhouse. Contest runs until 11:59 PM Thursday night. Winner will be announce Friday Morning.

Random Musings

FYI: The new album has been playing in the dining room at Woody's Tupelo Steakhouse for about 2 weeks now, so go have dinner at Woody's this week and give it a listen!

Gavin McGee, In His Own Words

Gavin McGee

Continuing with the formal introductions of the Project, the next installment is with Gavin McGee. The questions asked were the same:

1. What motivated you to play music, and, more specifically, the blues.

2. How old were you when you started playing music.

3. Who were your biggest influences.

Gavin started playing bass with the Project in April of this year, as well as playing with Hobo Hippie and the John West Band (where I met him). Gavin is fluent in many different playing styles and has proven to be a good fit with Foosh in the Project. You can catch Gavin with the Kevin Waide Project at this year's Prairie Arts Festival in West Point, MS August 31. With that said, I present Gavin McGee, in his own words.

I always wanted to be a Nirvana or Weezer kinda guitar player, but that I, IV, V blues bass structure always stuck out to me. Tommy Shannon always pulled me completely out of the song and into the bass line. That's what made me want to play bass and that's what made me want to play blues! Long live the blues man!

I always played something ever since I can remember. I drove my mom crazy with a drum set, the old upright in the living room that my dad learned to play on when he was 5, and of course the Peavey Raptor I got for Christmas one year! But, bless her heart, I never got to be worth a damn on any of them. I picked up the bass out of necessity for a band we were forming in 2010 named Hobo Hippie. Finally, I found my instrument! When I say I got thrown onto the stage, I'm not exaggerating. I played my first real gig on stage at Rick's Café in Starkville in front of a packed house of about 800 opening for Jamie Davis and Soul Gravy. I was 28 but green as they come! I will never forget that feeling. It was crazy! Still my favorite show to this day!

My main influences are Nirvana, SRV, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin,... and of course Vanilla Ice. " Word ta ya mutha!"

Blake Miller, In His Own Words.

Blake Miller

Continuing with the formal introductions of the Project, the next installment is with Blake Miller. The questions asked were the same:

1. What motivated you to play music, and, more specifically, the blues.
2. How old were you when you started playing music.
3. Who were your biggest influences.

Blake is new to the Project, his first gig being the 2013 Tupelo Hog Roast (that became the new album), but don't let that downplay his ability to keep up. His playing is smooth and tasteful, and he locks in with Foosh perfectly. You can hear Blake on the upcoming release, "Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo." And now, Blake Miller, in his own words.

I started playing music at around 15 years old. I got into music to have an outlet that I could go to whenever I started getting sick of everything else. I got into playing blues because I knew it would increase my repertoire beyond what I was limiting it to, previously. My biggest influences starting out were Victor Wooten, Primus, Rush, and Jaco Pastorius.

Elijah and Michael Waide, In Their Own Words

Elijah and Michael Waide

In keeping with the "In Their Own Words" series, this week I want to focus on two guys real close to me, my children Elijah and Michael Waide. Elijah (17) has played numerous shows with the Project on drums and has been playing since the age of 12. He began learning guitar at the age of 14. Michael (13) has been playing guitar since age 8 and drums since 11. Michael has also written a number of songs, one of which will be included on the Project's new album, "Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo." The questions asked were the same, so here it is, Elijah and Michael Waide, in their own words.

What motivated you to play music, and, more specifically, the blues?

Michael: Really, my dad, Kevin. He’s been playing the blues since I was very young. It’s not like I have the blues (yet) but more like I was born into the “creed.”

Elijah: I've always wanted to play music. My parents are/were both musicians (my mom played saxophone and you know about my dad), and they raised me to have an appreciation for music. My dad, Kevin, is a Blues guitarist, and for a while I lived in the Mississippi Delta, so both of those factored into my musical preferences.

How old were you when you started playing music?

Michael: The first time I picked up a guitar with the intention of making music was when I was maybe four or five.  Dad was playing guitar and I said, “Dad, I want to play.” So he gave me a 20-fret acoustic and told me to do the pick scratches in “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” I was atrocious.

Elijah: According to my family, since birth. The story they tell is that I would crawl behind the drummer’s kit every time they took a break and would “play.” Apparently, I impressed everyone, being a three-year-old keeping time as well as I did. I “officially” began playing drums at twelve and guitar at fourteen.

Who are your biggest influences?

Michael: That’s a very broad question.I’d have to think very long and hard to specify which bands, so I’ll just say Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. But that leaves out the Kings (Albert, Freddie, and B.B.). And The Who. And Van Halen… Why must you do this to me?

Elijah: Hendrix, the Kings, Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, and Stevie Ray Vaughan are the people I credit as influences. If something catches my ear, I’ll try it out and put my own spin on it. I’m influenced by all I've ever heard, truthfully.

"Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo" Out 08/13/2013

PRESS RELEASE

9th July, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo"

Worldwide

The Kevin Waide Project is proud to announce the release of "Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo" Tuesday, August 13, 2013 and the CD Release Party, Friday, August 16, 2013.

"Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo" was recorded live at the 41st Annual Tupelo Hog Roast on May 18, 2013 by Jim Staten and Q-Now Audio and Mobile Recordings. Featuring Chris "The Immortal SuperFoosh" Fooshee on drums and debuting newcomer Blake Miller on bass, with a special guest appearance by "The Emfamus" Skip Oliver on harp, the Project winds down the blues highway with nine tracks comprised of new songs as well as your favorites from the debut album "Lost In Mississippi." The album  finishes off with three new studio tracks, adding Jason Carter on lead and slide guitar to the mix, for a total of twelve tracks.

Album release scheduled to coincide with Kevin's 41st Birthday Bash at Woody's Tupelo Steakhouse in Tupelo, MS, on Friday, August 16, 2013. More details about the Release Party/Birthday Bash will be announced in the coming weeks.

Pre-order phase for "Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo" will begin Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at kevinwaide.bandcamp.com and will run through midnight Monday, August 12. All pre-orders will also receive 2 free passes to the Release Party/Birthday Bash show at Woody's on August 16.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, "Booze, Bluez, & BBQ: Live In Tupelo" will be available for purchase worldwide through the usual outlets (iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon, BandCamp, and direct from KevinWaide.com).

The Kevin Waide Project is the brainchild of Kevin Waide and Chris Fooshee and celebrates 6+ years of "preachin' the blues!" 

Chris Fooshee, In His Own Words

The Immortal SuperFoosh
(Photo Ron Dierkes)

Continuing with the formal introductions of the Project, the next installment is with Chris "The Immortal SuperFoosh" Fooshee. The questions asked were the same:

1. What motivated you to play music, and, more specifically, the blues.
2. How old were you when you started playing music.
3. Who were your biggest influences.

Chris has been playing drums with the Project since the beginning and is even the one responsible for the name of the band. Without further adieu, here is Chris Fooshee, in his own words.

I have loved music since I was a kid. I found that I had pretty good rhythm, so I tried the guitar first. The guitar was not my thing, for sure. Drums, however, were my thing, and I got my first drum kit when I was around 20 years old. I have played all different styles of music, but the blues just feel right. I have been influenced by everything I grew up listening to, all the different bands I have seen, and everyone I have had the fortune to jam with.