The blues is a mighty long road. Or it could be a river, one that twists and turns and flows into a sea of limitless musical potential.

Experience is definitely the high road once driven. It actually enhances the songwriting and song sourcing process.

Lightnin' Hopkins was something of a fixture on the Houston coffee house scene so we were witness to eccentric blues brilliance close up. Then, believe it or not, along came the wave of the English cats like John Mayall, Eric Clapton and the Stones embracing the great American art form - the blues.

A blown-out tube ripped some of the grind from the amplifier, throwing us into a momentary tizzy. The unusual sound led me to play unusually, and the recorded take turned out to be a keeper. Insriration can come from the most unlikely places ... keep your head on and your ears open.

Sounds like the blues are composed of feeling, finesse, and fear.

They prospect of seeing oneself in the mirror clean-shaven is too close to a Vincent Price film... a prospect not to be contemplated, no matter the compensation.

Until you learn to play what you want to hear, you're barking up the wrong tree.