ANDY HUMMEL. I'm sure by now you've all heard the news of Andy's passing yesterday. There are some links to some good articles on the Ardent FB page. Check them out.

I never met Andy (I had hoped to meet him at the Big Star tribute in Memphis) but even in our relatively time of communication I got the overwhelming feeling that he was a man who really enjoyed life and had no regrets about the path he had chosen. He was incredibly helpful when I started the book and just totally delightful to speak with. Generous, positive, and intelligent with a sense of humor. As we Big Star fans know, he was also a terrific musician. His contributions to Big Star can sometimes be lost in the shadows of Chris and Alex, but in writing about Radio City and listening closely to the tracks over and over I grew to have a deeper appreciation for his contributions. In a way he was George to Chris and Alex's Paul and John: a team player with his own arsenal of special things to add to the musical equation. Just listen to his bass line on Way Out West. Brilliant. And contrary to what Andy (along with many others) thought, India Song is a great track. It just belongs maybe on a different record.

Tonight I'm going to dig through my interview with Andy and pull out some material that didn't make it into the book. In the meantime, remember that words may sometimes fail but prayer never does. Keep Andy's family and the Ardent family (who have had an extremely trying year) in your prayers. Back shortly.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY. Didn't mean to take such an extended leave of absence from the blog. Things just sort of get busy at this time of year. New writing projects. I moved my home office. My son the runner broke his left wrist, requiring a stream of doctor visits to get it healing right (and avoid surgery to put in pins). Which brings me to Fathers Day. My son's name is Alex and you might have good reason to believe that he was named after a certain other Alex. For the record, here's the real scoop. My wife and I were so certain that we were going to have a girl (we didn't do the boy / girl test...it was just a hunch) that for some reason we didn't even have a back-up name for a boy. But after a long and difficult delivery (my wife was 40 at the time), voila!, it's a boy. She asked me what we should name him. I told her that seeing as how she had just done all the hard work that I'd defer to her. And she said, "Alex." It immediately flashed through my mind that I might take endless ribbing from my friends for naming my kid after a rock and roll musician, something I would consider to be pretty bush league (it once crossed my mind that there's probably a kid somewhere named after Don Henley and that was frightening). But I didn't have the heart to protest, especially after a sleepless night, so Alexander Warfield Eaton it was. Thankfully, my paranoia proved to be unwarranted. Very few people conjectured any Chilton connection. We call him Al around the house, Alvin when he's being goofy. A great kid and I'm proud to be his dad. I brought up the name thing with Alex (Chilton) when I booked him at a jazz festival here in the early-90's and he replied in his inimitable soft drawl: "It's a good name. It's always worked well for me."

Okay, now here's something on the music front to look forward to. One of the highlights of my trip to Memphis last month was reconnecting with guitarist Jim Duckworth (Panther Burns, Gun Club, various Memphis bands). I've heard from Jim in recent weeks that he has been rehearsing with a band comprised of Van Duren, John Lightman, Richard Rosebrough, and Jim on guitar. There's something about this line-up that makes me think that it's going to be even better in reality than it looks on paper, which is pretty darn exciting to begin with. Details as they emerge. Enjoy the day.

So where was I? Sorry to leave you all hanging right in the middle of the show. A lot of the show is now popping up on YouTube and various other sites along with some still photography galleries. The Ardent Studios FB page offers a wide-sweeping compilation of these sources so I won't repeat them here.

Take Care. The final highlight of the concert for was Ken and Jon singing Take Care. I'm of the general opinion that Big Star 2.0 was more suited to the material on the first two albums but this performance was heartfelt and poignant to say the least. Most shows like this one end up with everyone on stage for the grand finale – like a teen comedy where everyone ends up in the pool – and this one was no different. But if the concert had ended with Take Care, it would have been fine with me.

The next day I drove down to Clarksdale MS with my friends Parke Puterbaugh (music and travel writer extraordinaire) and Jim Duckworth (guitarist for the Panther Burns and Gun Club) and explored the Delta a bit. That story and a final word on the weekend coming shortly...

Back from Memphis. If you haven't read them yet, there are good summaries of the concert at rollingstone.com and the site for the Memphis Commercial Appeal (if you're on Facebook, sign up for the Ardent Studios page...they post links for significant coverage of Big Star in the media). Amongst the highlights for me were:

Playing Chris Bell's red Gibson 330 (used on #1 Record) for a minute. When I arrived at the venue I ran into Adam Hill of Ardent who was carrying two guitar cases. He said, "Follow me." When we got to the guitar tech area he opened one of the cases and there was Chris's Gibson, loaned for the concert by David Bell. Even more cool was that David had left the contents of the case intact, just as Chris had left them: picks, a capo, and a disposable razor. On the outside was the sticker that came with the Wings album Venus and Mars (which I once had on the case of a Gibson L-6S). Adam was pretty insistent that I play it – something I really prefer not to do as I'm not that good and even worse when put on the spot. But I couldn't pass up the chance and ended up nervously (didn't want to drop the guitar on the concrete floor) playing some James Gang riffs (a favorite of the band before Alex joined) before passing it back. John Auer later used the guitar in the concert as well. The other case held Chris's Gibson acoustic. Adam played I Am The Cosmos on it while getting it ready. Great sounding guitar.

The opening salvo. The concert started with the core trio (Jody, John, Ken) playing Back of A Car and then they were joined by John Davis of Superdrag for great versions of In The Street, Don't Lie To Me, and When My Baby's Beside Me. Davis just nailed it. Right on the money with the vocals, guitar, energy and spirit. He set the bar high for the special guest appearances and no one topped him. This particular line-up could and should continue as a performing unit in some way playing Big Star's music. After John Davis left the stage the trio did I Am The Cosmos. All in all, the first five songs were a strong reminder that Big Star was Chris's band to begin with and represented his artistic vision. The tone was effectively set that the evening was a tribute to Big Star and not just Alex.

For You. The band was joined by Jody Stephen's brother, Jim, who had played bass on the original recordin on Third. Despite the frenzied pace of the day, the band hit a really comfortable relaxed groove and Jody's vocals were spot on. All the band members had incredibly hectic days with rehearsals and the filming going on throughout. I wondered how they were going to catch their breath and relax a bit before they hit the stage. And then it started to rain on top of all that. They were sharp throughout the concert but this was certainly a highlight.

(to be continued)

Getting ready to head down for Saturday's show...full report and hopefully some photos next week. Hope to see you there...

All the way to Memphis...

I'll be in Memphis from 5/14 to 5/17 to attend the Big Star concert, touch base with old and new friends, meet the crew working on the documentary, and maybe squeeze in a trip to Clarksdale.

If you haven't visited the Kickstarter page for the Big Star documentary (see previous post), you should check it out right now. The response has been fantastic so far. As well it should be...Drew and Danielle and company are making sure that it's done right. It's going to be great.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1027989747/nothing-can-hurt-me-the-big-star-story?pos=2&ref=spotlight

BIG STAR ON FILM. I'm sure most of you Big Star fans caught this last night on the various related Big Star pages on Facebook. If not, click on the above link. This film is going to be a great tribute to Big Star and your funding support will help make it happen.

On a related note, I'm most likely going to go to Memphis for the May 15th concert. Just have to clear up some logistics with some commitments on this end. Will keep you all posted as I know many of you will be there. Would be great to see those I know and say hello to all of you I've met over the past year in cyberspace.