A NEW BEGINNING!

I haven’t done any serious musical project since my former band Afroblue broke up at the end of the ‘90’s. After that I played a little bit here and there but then finally threw in the towel around ’04.  In the Summer of 2012 my niece Lora-Faye asked me to sit in with her band at Freddy’s Bar in deepest, darkest Brooklyn and from that night, which went quite well, a cascade of events led to the rebirth of my guitarist identity.  Though admittedly my technical chops aren’t what they were in the ‘90’s, my musical sensibilities are far stronger and so happily and without much effort, my songwriting, singing, guitar playing and band-leading are the best they have ever been.

With the kind of simple and eloquent blues-based music that we’re working with, it’s actually better to not be able to play too much because then, well – you’re playing too much, which is only a good thing if you’re John Coltrane or Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Having to work within my technical limits forces me to trust my bandmates with more creative and expressive responsibility, which is also a very good thing and which forces me to play much better than I thought possible.  “Dog in the Fight” and “Fool’s Gold” are both examples of tunes that were fully re-worked by the band into something new. I was just a long for the ride at on those!

Call it maturity; call it a well-needed rest; call it having found my voice, the truth is that with this project I am 100% happy in my music.  This is something I haven’t experienced since I was in 7th and 8th grade singing madrigals and barbershop quartet classics in tight 4-part harmonies.  That was a long time ago!   So now I am thrilled to introduce to you “Whelan;” a purely artistic endeavor with a rough & ready vintage live sound and timely lyrics that pull no punches.  The first album is entitled “Flood Waters Rising.”  Available now in CD or MP3 download.