Captain's Blues (feat. Charles Baty)

#96 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Captain's Blues, features the beautifully soulful talent of the late Charles Baty a/k/a Little Charlie a/k/a The Captain. Although it was a great experience hanging and recording Charles for a few hours in August of 2019, I thought it would be more meaningful to have Charles' friend and the mixer/masterer on this track, Kid Andersen, write a little something. So, here it is: “What a treat it was for me to have this track suddenly unearthed. When my Nightcat predecessor, idol and friend, Little Charlie Baty passed away suddenly last year, it left a tremendous void in the blues, jazz and swing guitar world. He was one of a kind, incredible, inimitable, irreplaceable and most of all, always innovate and interesting. This track is a real gem, and to hear Charlie in this setting really proves that he indeed was a true master.“ - Kid Andersen

Thank you Kid and thank you Charles Baty, may you rest in the eternal groove.

If you'd like a little history on Charles and some very loving tributes check out this article from Blues Matters Magazine.

The backing band on this track is Rich Kirch (John Lee Hooker 1984-2001) on rhythm guitar, Alvino Bennett (Dave Mason, Stevie Wonder) on drums and myself on bass. The track was recorded at Skunkworks in Capitola CA. Mixing and Mastering duties performed by the Grand Wizard of Greaseland, Christoffer "Kid" Andersen.

The Redd Planet (feat. Redd Volkaert)

#95 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, The Redd Planet, features the Telecaster legend, Mr. Redd Volkaert. I remember when I first starting working in Nashville and I would hear the name Redd Volkaert spoken in reverential tones. The Cats would speak of him as THE Cat. By that time he had already left a trail of dust behind him, joining Merle Haggard's band and moving to Austin TX. I could write a little blurb/bio at this point but Redd is not only a master of the telecaster, he is also an extremely entertaining writer. So, I highly recommend you read his autobiography on his website: https://www.reddvolkaert.com/default.html
I will say, it is an honor and a pleasure to have Redd play on a track, never mind allowing me to run him through my pedalboard ; ) Thank you Redd! 

The backing band on this track is my Bay Area neighbor, Scott Amendola, (Nels Cline, Charlie Hunter) swinging the shit out of the drums and myself on rhythm guitar and bass. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.