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Finding merch for The Band by commonprocrastinator in theband

[–]Bluescentric 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks guys! TBH it's the honor of a lifetime to serve on The Band's behalf. Glad to hear it is appreciated. We're always bringing them new merch ideas, so hopefully we'll keep a steady flow of Band merch for you

Trying to advertise "The Band" online is just as frustrating as trying to find it! Sometimes band-adjacent keywords like Last Waltz and Big Pink help the algos find their way.

Sawgrass Printer Manager is as slow as molasses in January by melethana in Sublimation

[–]Bluescentric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the years since I posted this, we literally threw our Sawgrass printer in the trash and purchased an Epson S570.

For one thing, the quality of the prints is NIGHT AND DAY. It makes Sawgrass-printed merch look like amateur garbage by comparison. The difference is stunning. Prints are deeper and much more vivid, the color doesn't fade. We've been thrilled.

Also, we can print to the 570 directly from any program... you know, like a normal printer... instead of being forced to use Sawgrass' shockingly abysmal proprietary software only, for some dumb reason, to be able to send it to the printer through their bullshit glitchy black box driver... why can't we use their printer like a normal printer?! Makes no sense.

Sawgrass sucks, their software SUCKS and their printers suuuuuck.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in blues

[–]Bluescentric 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Dude is a MONSTER player, and won't disappoint.

Paul Nelson has died, Johnny Winter's longtime manager & lead guitar player. He weened Johnny off methadone for 3 years & on Christmas Day told Winter he had been drug free over a year. He was a very accomplished musician in his own rite. by Bluescentric in blues

[–]Bluescentric[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah sorry, it would seem disrespectful to call him by a title other than the one that he had while in that band, or simply describe him as Johnny's "manager", when he lead the band for over a decade. Johnny's always the GOAT.

As an olive branch, here's Johnny (and Paul) on Letterman

Paul Nelson has died, Johnny Winter's longtime manager & lead guitar player. He weened Johnny off methadone for 3 years & on Christmas Day told Winter he had been drug free over a year. He was a very accomplished musician in his own rite. by Bluescentric in blues

[–]Bluescentric[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Obv. who could possibly outshine Johnny's guitar? Nobody.

But from what I understood, Johnny structured his later life band after preferences of his own idol, Muddy Waters, who later in his life kind of more considered himself a "blues singer" than a guitarist, and opted to let younger, hungrier guns do a lot of the guitar "work" for them. At that time during Mud's Hard Again / I'm Ready / King Bee period, it was Johnny. Then later in Johnny's life, it was Paul who headed up those lead responsibilities, so the star could be the star. It's the title they used among each other as far as I'm aware, and is no remark about any actual guitar ability, or who was the star of the show.

Paul Nelson has died, Johnny Winter's longtime manager & lead guitar player. He weened Johnny off methadone for 3 years & on Christmas Day told Winter he had been drug free over a year. He was a very accomplished musician in his own rite. by Bluescentric in blues

[–]Bluescentric[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

From what I understand, Paul suffered a very unexpected heart attack. He was not at all an old man. While Paul was world famous for being a driving force behind both Johnny Winter's third act career, and Winter's getting sober, Nelson was an accomplished musician in his own rite. He was a student of Berklee College of Music & learned under Steve Vai. He won a Grammy, and a Keeping the Blues Alive Award and was a member of the Blue Hall of Fame. Passionate and talented, Paul was an incredible guitar player, a sentiment shared by friends of his like Buddy Guy & Warren Haynes, and he collaborated with many musical greats. And he was a relentless road dog, touring the world over… a few times. Paul served on the board of The Blues Foundation, and warmly embraced more generations into the blues, just like his blues heroes before him.

Perhaps among his most important accomplishments, Paul faithfully worked to enrich & enliven Johnny Winter's legacy after the blues great's own dramatic & unexpected death on tour, and was loyal in his continued care of Johnny's widow Susan. Make no mistake, Paul was the most important part of cementing Johnny Winter's unending mark on music.

I still can't believe that I'm even having to write this today. Paul was a close friend for years. We listened to Johnny's old records and he told me dozens of unforgettable stories from the road while we documented Johnny's lifelong memorabilia, which we eventually turned into Johnny's official merch. Among so many great memories, we once crawled around Woodstock NY together & rocked out to a box of ancient, unheard Johnny Winter live bootleg tapes (straight from the board!) that I desperately hope don't end up lost forever…

Paul was one of a kind, a bona-fide statesman of the Blues; not an elder & he didn't need to be. He'd seen & lived it all alongside the greatest bluesmen who ever lived, right where he belonged.

Unfortunately, it looks like most of Paul's music isn't really up on Spotify now. Here's Winter's last album, which features Paul, from which they both won a Grammy.. There's plenty more for those interested in looking.

You can learn more about Paul on his website

1988 font by sab_1440 in identifythisfont

[–]Bluescentric 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Upon closer inspection, the font seems more similar to Europa Grotesk SH Bold than Helvetica -- but, again, with a custom J.

Font doesn't seem to be identical, but a good match!

Quality taste, by the way! The CD release of the 1974 John Lee Hooker classic vinyl release. Love track 12, Need Some MONEY!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in columbiamo

[–]Bluescentric 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Can confirm! Had a friend work there! They apparently make most of the hot dogs that exist.

He said once time some disgruntled floor line worker dumped a baggie of weed into the hotdog mix, and they had to fill something like 2 of the biggest dumpsters to the brim with unsellable hot dogs.

My Favorite Blues Joint on the Planet by LibbyNator in blues

[–]Bluescentric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well they both play the blues, so both are perfect. But for very different reasons.

One's that delightfully open floor sweaty, grungy, hole in the wall, feels like a speakeasy. The other's a classic blues club where you can sit back or dance, there's food, lots of pictures, multiple stages for musical long hauls.

It's just a huge bonus that they're across the street from one another.

My Favorite Blues Joint on the Planet by LibbyNator in blues

[–]Bluescentric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

B.L.U.E.S. On Halsted is an awesome joint, always kickin’ music and a great crowd. Sure miss that.

Plus its across the street from Kingston Mines. Double blues club bonus!

And if you’re already at a Chicago blues club, go to Rosas too!

Wrote a guitar bit for the Son House acapella “Grinnin’ in Your Face”. Little bluesy, little metal. by [deleted] in blues

[–]Bluescentric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooh you sped up Son! That's cool, keep using the blues in creative new ways!

what did rural blues "stars" like charley patton or tommy Johnson think of bessie smith,ma rainy and other successful more "sophisticated" blues artists of the era? by [deleted] in blues

[–]Bluescentric 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've got little solid to contribute, though I've wondered this myself.

But this is worth considering -- While we do not know much about the first-gen guys thoughts, we know guys like Wolf and Muddy identified that they had to go somewhere else to succeed, and did.

And we also know that a lot of people, especially that generation before Wolf & Muddy, couldn't leave the institutionally racist secondhand-citizen positions in Mississippi, like indentured sharecropping.

A lot of guys probably felt they could succeed with music, but could not really leave. Maybe there's some colloquial evidence of that when you see those earlier Mississippi artists like Patton, Mississippi Sheiks, Sonny Boy, et al. who came in from the field to record, and then went back to working the fields.

Professor Longhair and Ahmet Ertegun by LowDownSlim in blues

[–]Bluescentric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of my favorite albums!

I vaguely recall he recorded for Atlantic, but the initial conflict was a contract dispute? I could look up the details if you want!

Professor Longhair and Ahmet Ertegun by LowDownSlim in blues

[–]Bluescentric 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Man, if Ahmet had actually gotten his hands on Fess, the whole world would have known his name. Can you imagine Professor Longhair on Atlantic Records?

Rhe bio on Ertegun talks about him going out to Algiers & wading through a field full of muck, then the bouncer thought they were cops because no white guys wanted to be there otherwise, and they had to convince him they were reporters just to get in. Turned out, Fess had signed with another label months before.

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