Bleu went out for a big time last night. His evening started by stopping in at the Big Kmart in Corbin, KY, and he bought a new fishing lure; a Glass Shad Rattlin' Rap. This will help him put the whoop-ass on some of these lazy Kentucky bass. Then he and his darlin' went to dinner at a nice restaurant in town called The Depot on Main St. They actually sat down and were served! No buffet! They had a great dinner in a swanky atmosphere and then drove back towards the Cumberland Gap tunnel. Bleu was told that on Thursday nights there is a bluegrass jam session at the BP Station on HWY 25 in Flat Lick so as they rolled down the hill he pulled right on in. It's a gas station that also sells hunting and fishing supplies - pretty cool. Bleu walked in and recognized Ron from the jam session that he attended last Saturday night. They swapped casual observances and Ron said that they were about to start pickin'. He asked if Bleu brought his guitar and he said, "No. I'm just here to listen and experience the experience. I am definitely not a bluegrass picker." But Ron and the boys would not have any of it and they pulled out a guitar from a back room and told me to tune up and play. "OK! Man," Bleu thought laughingly, "these Tuckians sure are demanding!"
There were a BUNCH of pickers there; they had a standup bass, 2 mandolins, a banjo and the rest were guitars.

They kept calling for Bleu to sing so he ran down the couple of bluegrass songs that he knew and they jammed for hours. They eventually, literally, closed the gas station down and the boys had to leave. 
Bleu also mentioned that they were sitting in a little room inside the building he could look out the doorway and see the store counter about 20 feet away. There was a steady stream of dirty coal miners coming in to purchase things, some even stopped to poke their heads in and listen. There was another regular flow of kids, some dressed in their pajamas coming in to buy candy and junk. Just a cool slice of Americana. 
On a related note, I spoke to my buddy that's working up in Hazard, KY and told me that there is a bar there called the Dukes of Hazard. I guess there is a jam night there, so I told him to get he details. How cool would that be? Not many people can say they played that venue! Stay tuned...

Bleu managed to get himself invited to a jam session. So he got cleaned up and slicked down and had some dinner; a PB&J in his hotel room. Then he grabbed his ol' flattop and drove to meet his new buddy Jerry at a gas station. Bleu pulled up to the side of the building and slipped the car into park. He watched the local Kentuckians roll in and out of the service station. This particular station had a full service island and a young man with a blonde crewcut and a company shirt stood at the pump and waited for cars to pull up for service. Four dudes with motorcycles stood near Bleu's car chatting and checking out the girls driving by. Jerry pulled up shortly thereafter and walked over to Bleu's car in his sleeveless t-shirt. He asked if he wanted to buy some drinks while they were there since he wasn't sure that there would be much where they were headed. Bleu took him up on the offer. Knox County is a dry county so they picked up some Mountain Dew for the road. Then it was back to their vehicles and Bleu followed Jerry up the holler to the house. They pulled up into the drive and navigated between the pickup trucks and parked. There was a little white house tucked neatly into the trees and a detached garage up in front of where they had parked. Bleu climbed out of the car and followed Jerry up the path and into the garage.

When they walked in Bleu felt like a turd in the punch bowl. All eyes were on him, "Stranger alert!" But after a little while, like dogs allowing a new dog to join the pack, they warmed up to him and took to their instruments. The homeowner/host's name was Ron and he was a good ol' boy. He was slender with slicked back silver hair and a rather bulbous proboscis. He had a welcoming, friendly personality and was never too far from a cigarette. Ron had an awesome man cave there in his garage that had a bar a big wooden table and chairs and his whole "band" set up at one end. These boys were serious and had amps and a PA system! Bleu was there just to sit in but they immediately demanded that he play and sing something. He had to do a couple songs and then they seemed to be cool with that and accept him is an OK dude. As an aside, he noticed that he was the only feller in the place that had brown eyes. Every other person there was blue eyed. Bleu has noticed a lot of these Kentuckians have blue eyes.

They then proceeded to jam for 3 straight hours. There were 5 guitars a banjo player and a bass. They were real tight on singing 4 part harmonies, which something you don't hear much in popular music anymore; and that's a cryin' shame. Bleu didn't know most of the songs they played but he was able to hang with them all night long. They kept looking for Jerry to sing some songs but like a bee to honey, he was much more intent on keeping a pretty young lady company. He finally got up and sang at the end of the night. By the time they quit it was handshakes all around and they told him to come back next week. To Bleu, that was the most awesome compliment. Once again music has opened a door and added a richness to his life that he never could have imagined when he was a young punk.

Bleu Voodoo is traveling from Florida to Kentucky. The stint there will cover bluegrass festivals and jams in the hollers. Bleu has been practicing his fiddle and is looking forward to getting into the spirit of those ol' Kentucky Hills. Stay tuned for from the road.

Bleu Voodoo has suffered a long dry spell. The mojo was missing along with the love. This is life as a musician; it is like jumping on a train before knowing its destination. Often, just when the train gets rolling, at least one member losses their ever lovin' mind and there goes one of the wheels, just rolling off of the tracks. The Bleu Voodoo band had a great 6 year run and then the changes in personnel began. Over the years the core has remained the same: Bleu. He is a one man band, able to perform a show on his own with a guitar and a mic. This has been the essence of Bleu Voodoo lately and in Bleu's words, "It is what it is." He has to play; it's in his blood. To quote the immortal Hinson, "The future is unknown." The vibe lives on and the music still rises out of the mist. Good times!