Album Notes

did you ever meet someone who was so hot that your eyes fogged over?

did you ever have to start all over again? in a new place? with someone new?

did you ever feel like you were in hell? or heaven? or both?

greg hyde plays "cool guys" and "julie, let your hair down"...both tracks were recorded live. greg plays to standing room crowds at "first night" in monterey, and he plays for living room crowds in salinas. he was a featured performer when i ran the open mic at rollick's... he's written hundreds of good songs - and a few great ones, too... if you and/or your significant other enjoy something that sounds a little like cat stevens on coffee - or like harry chapin on something stronger, then pick up a copy of greg's "testing the water"...check out his business at assimilated multimedia/best shot video - aaammm.com

steve dixon plays "kenosha" and "i'm not the one"...he's a brilliant creative multi instrumentalist singer/songwriter/neighbor who has many good and great songs in the vault. maybe he'll let 'em out to play someday...

big rain plays "december night" and "breaking out"...they play all over california, and they recently performed in china. they are an excellent live band, and they are really nice guys. i like them anyway.check 'em out at bigrain.net, and myspace.com.

the blues wizards play "salinas blues" and "tuesday".
both tracks are live recordings. "tuesday" was recorded at at i'm stein studio in sunnyvale in the middle of the 1990s, and "salinas blues" was recorded at the kuumbwa jazz center on july 14 2002...we were featured performers at the 20th annual steinbeck festival, the carmel performing arts festival, thunderbird bookstore, a couple of book fairs, and the border's book store circuit...
you can see/hear them play live on the california peninsula south of san francisco...stay for the blues history lesson...sometimes they perform under the name "swamptown"...

"Can't find my love/back in my day" is part of old uncle geezer's really bad blues. We don't remember where, or when... when your mind goes, you don't miss it.

"wisdom" was recorded live. i'm a man, so i spoke anyway...

shake sanchez's take on "kenosha" closes the set. his track was recorded live at the kuumbwa jazz center on july 14, 2002... he's recorded a dozen songs using my lyrics, including "vision", "senior moment", and "breaking out", and he's written dozens of his own. shake can play anything, any time, anywhere. just try and stop him...please...
shake feeds the homeless and houses the hungry...he can be found playing in tucson arizona until the law finds him again...casasanmiguel.net

shake sanchez, bruce miller, greg hyde, hal laughlin, roy kurano, and i used to appear at book stores and wineries as "the scruffy old men"... we may appear again, if we can remember where, or when...

songs using my lyrics not on this cd include:
"don't ask me"- by roy kurano... you can find him all over the web, including mp3... roy was a fixture at open mics in salinas, monterey, and pacific grove, for more than a decade... he accompanied me/us at most of our concerts...
"wisdom"- is performed live and significantly enhanced by trusting lucy. you can see/hear them at festivals all over the central coast, including the gilroy garlic festival.

my poetry book "salinas blues" can be found on amazon.com...i believe that there are a couple of copies left...

thank you for reading this far.
thank you more for picking up a disc.
thank you even more for advising others to do so.

sincerely,

mark gurley