To view this email as a web page, click here.

  • Macon Film Festival Screening of Please Call Home!
  • HTN #56 Coming Soon--Subscribe Now!
  • New CDs From Music Matters Entertainment!
  • Give Thanks to Chank On Sale Now!
  • Mountain Jammies Now In Stock!

Over the past few years, Hittin' the Note has kept you up-to-date on Please Call Home, the film project that would be the definitive look at the Big House years of the Allman Brothers Band in Macon, GA. Some of you have seen short clips from Please Call Home at ABB shows, and many people have asked us when the full-length version would be ready for viewing.

Well, thanks to the good folks at the Macon Georgia Film & Video Festival, that day has finally arrived! It's only fitting that the story of the Big House should debut in Macon, back where it all began.

Over the past two years, Macon Georgia Film & Video has become one of the outstanding film festivals in the South. This year is particularly exciting because, in addition to the many fine independent films from all over the country that are being shown, the festival has the pleasure of screening two films that honor two of Macon's musical legends. On opening night, Thursday February 21st, they are screening Dreams to Remember: The Legacy of Otis Redding, with the opportunity to meet some of the Redding family who carry on his memory. Then on Sunday February 24th MAGA has the privilege of debuting Please Call Home: The Big House Years. Following the film there will be a Q&A session with some of the people who lived the life that the film documents.

All films will be shown at the newly renovated Cox Capitol Theater in Macon. Click here for more details!

Hittin' the Note kicks off 2008 with an issue chock-full of jamming good artists, as HTN features three of the major players on the jam scene today – we take an in-depth look at where they've been and where they're going.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have been on a serious roll lately; the quintet released This is Somewhere to great critical acclaim, and tore up the concert circuit in the fall, when they were billed with Gov't Mule. Their sensual, intense lead singer has been compared to Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin; in the last year, the band's music has been featured on Grey's Anatomy, and the group made a memorable appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. HTN's Tony Sclafani caught up with Grace and lead guitarist Scott Tournet, and they relate what it's been like for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a band that definitely is going somewhere good in a big hurry.

Singer/songwriter/slide guitarist Papa Mali is a fixture in the Austin, TX music community, and his ability to mix traditional blues, dub music and psychedelia into a uniquely potent sound can best be appreciated on his latest release, Do Your Thing. As Ian Rice found out, Papa Mali is doing just that, and he is enjoying every minute of it.

moe. is a proven veteran of the jamband world, but, like all great groups, they see the need to shake things up from time to time. Their new CD, Sticks and Stones, was recorded when the band went on a musical retreat in the mountains of Western Massachusetts, living and working together as a unit. As Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey and Rob Derhak shared with HTN's Rob Johnson, the moe. family experience brought out the best in everyone, because after 17 years, there is nothing like getting back to basics. Ebet Roberts has made a name for herself photographing some of the most-renowned artists in music, including Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, and she captured the scene at New York's historic CBGB's wonderfully as well. In our "Photo Session" segment, Ebet shares with Brian Shupe the interesting fact that her career came about almost by accident, but a great accident it turned out to be.

You also will find our usual features within the pages of #56, including Tom Clarke's "Compact Dreams," Jamie Lee's "In Tune," the "HTN 6-Pack" section, and twice the usual number of CD reviews to double your reading pleasure. We also include Chris Doell's fine recap of Live at Piedmont Park, the latest Dave Mathews Band DVD, and book reviewer Todd Prusin offers his take on Grateful Dead Gear, which is Blair Jackson's all-encompassing overview of the equipment and instruments used by the Dead from 1965-95.

We also include a tribute to John "Scooter" Herring, the former Allman Brothers Band and Sea Level road manager who passed away recently at age 67. Scooter, who served the Allmans during some very tumultuous times, is remembered as a stand-up guy by fellow Allman Brothers' road crew members Sid Yochim and Willie Perkins, and by ABB and Sea Level keyboardist Chuck Leavell.

That's it for this one, but down the road, Hittin' the Note is planning features on Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, who are celebrating 50 years of making music together, as well as Chuck Leavell's new live CD release, culled from his recent tour of Germany. We are forever grateful for your support, and we look forward to bringing you more coverage of music that truly matters.

Click here to subscribe! Delivery of issue #56 will be in early March!





Like most companies, here at Hittin' the Note we guard our trademarks zealously. However, when our friend Terry Reeves told us she was thinking of starting a company called Music Matters Entertainment, we knew her taste in music would never tarnish our slogan or make us regret the association.

Terry works with a diverse roster of some of the best rising musicians in the Southeast, and we're proud to carry a full line of MME artists at Hittin' the Note! From the blues-rock of Joe Pitts to the clever songwriting of Lefty Williams to the prog-jazz of Bonobos Convergence, there is something here for every ear.

Besides these tasty titles, look for upcoming releases that range from Cowboy's Tommy Talton to Savannah band Phantom Wingo to soul/blues vocalist Andrew Black. At MME, their motto is "It's all about the music and the musicians," and it shows!

Click here to check out the new Music Matters Entertainment section on our website!

All of us at HTN are striving always to bring good music to you, and we are proud to offer several new CDs! We have written extensively about Col. Bruce Hampton in HTN, and he has been a fundamental part of a lot of the music we cover. From the old Piedmont Park days when the Hampton Grease Band shared the stage with the Allman Brothers Band, to the phenomenal Aquarium Rescue Unit that introduced the world to Oteil Burbridge and Jimmy Herring, to being one of the first to "discover" a young guitarist named Derek Trucks, the Colonel has been there and done that.

Bruce's new band is the Quark Alliance, and once again he has worked his magic and conjured up another incredible group of musicians, resulting in an excellent new CD called Give Thanks to Chank. This edition is more grounded and funky than previous Hampton bands, but still retains that unique spark of divine madness that makes the Colonel so special. Guitarist Jeff Caldwell is Bruce's main partner in crime here, and he contributes tasty guitar licks as well as clever songs like "Hold Me the Best." The title song is a bottom-heavy chunk of funk that features Bruce speaking in tongues as only he can, and other standout tracks include the Susan Tedeschi tribute "Susan T" and the intergalactic guitar freak out, "Threnody to the Victims of Louisiana."

Fun fact - the album's title song is named for Macon's Mayor of Cool, Chank Middleton, an old friend of the Allman Brothers Band, and allegedly draws from a song the Allmans wrote for Chank back in the day!

Click here to buy it, and keep an eye out for our review of Give Thanks to Chank in the next issue of Hittin' the Note!



We just got more of our groovy new Mountain Jammies in stock! These comfy pajamas are decorated with all your favorite Allman Brothers symbols and come in a wide variety of sizes for men and women. Now you don't have to limit your Allmans obsession to your waking hours alone - make it a 24/7 commitment! Click on the picture to the left to see a larger image, and click here to order!

Thank you for your support of Hittin' the Note, and all the wonderful music we bring to you. Keep your eyes and ears open for more new, happening items, and support live music whenever you can.

The Staff at Hittin' the Note magazine and merchandise!
Copyright © 2008 Kid Glove Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
8343 Roswell Road, Suite 345; Sandy Springs, GA 30350; Phone: 888-746-4616
If you would like to be removed from this mailing list: http://htn.doubledown-productions.com/unsubscribe.aspx
Created and maintained by Double Down Productions