Uh - but we celebratin' Christmas wrong from the way I look at the matter - shootin' off fireworks, cussin', and dancin', raisin' all other kinds of sand... uh - Death may be your Santa Claus! All of you who are decoratin' your rooms and gettin' ready for an all night dance - Death may be your Santa Claus! Death is on your track and is going to overtake you after awhile - Death may be your Santa Claus! - Reverend J.M. Gates
Hi all, For any of you who might be interested, Stefan Grossman is having a sale at guitarvideos.com on all of the books I have written for him during the month of May, 2023. The price during the sale is 25% off any of my books that you purchase, and I can't match that deal. All books are available in hard copy and downloadable versions. The books pertaining to blues include: * John Miller's Country Blues Guitar Collection * The Guitar of Mississippi John Hurt--The Rediscovery Years * East Coast Fingerstyle Blues Guitar * Texas Fingerstyle Blues Guitar * Mississippi Fingerstyle Blues Guitar * The Guitar of Blind Lemon Jefferson * Hillbilly Fingerstyle Blues Guitar * Memphis Blues Guitar of Furry Lewis
Hi all, I noticed that Stefan Grossman has put all of my video lessons, in both hard copy and downloadable versions, on sale for the month of May, too. You can check out offerings at guitarvideos.com. All best, Johnm
I recently bought John's book of hillbilly blues from Stefan Grossman's website. Tom Paley's version of Sam McGee's Railroad Blues was one of my early favorites. It has been tabbed before by others, but never as accurately as John does here. There are so many great but obscure artists in this collection … the audio tracks are amazing, I cannot stop listening to them: Deb Mays, Hobart Smith, Fields Ward, Lester McFarland….all of them wonderful.
I am grateful to John for his meticulous & definitive tabbing, the biographical info on the artists, and the playing tips (so many instructors ignore the right hand! I love playing with just thumb/index, I am grateful for John's 'permission' to do this). I also have, use & enjoy John’s other books of east coast, Texas, and Mississippi blues, and the Furry Lewis book (this one seems to be a labor of love on John's part).
As much as I appreciate a live lesson or DVD, high quality books like John's offer another great way to expand repertoire and learn new techniques.
Thanks very much for the good words, JoeCigueno. One thing I particularly like about books is that they can feature so many more songs than can be practically covered in a DVD lesson. For this reason I think they are a much better value. I've enjoyed doing all of the books on Country Blues that I've done for Stefan (not that it hasn't been work), and I think the thing that has excited me the most about doing them is featuring great performances by artists who have probably escaped the notice of most fans of the music, even serious ones--performances like Frank Evans' "French Blues", Rosa Lee Hill's "Faro", Debs Mays' "Rabbit Blues" and "Soapbox Blues", and a host of others. Credit to Stefan, too, for letting me choose the songs I wanted to include in the books and not trying to get me to stick with the better-known musicians. I'm really glad you have been enjoying the books, and am glad you find the playing tips helpful. All best, Johnm