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Originally posted by Aargh
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I've played straight-up blues. I've played blues/rock. I've played jazz/blues. I was invited to play and sing at the creation of the Wichita Blues Hall of Fame.
I played the Allman Brothers version of Stormy Monday and have done that version behind probably half a dozen female singers. I played with a drummer who had played with Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson. That drummer was a white guy.
The race card has already been played in this thread, so it doesn't bother me to say that the two white guys who played at the gig for the creation of the Wichita Blues Hall of Fame were me and the bass player I played with. That bass player was invited to play with most of the people being inducted into the Wichita Blues Hall of Fame. The black guys being placed in the Blues Hall of Fame had no problem asking a white guy to sit in with them. If they had made an album, they would have wanted the white guy on the cover.
Anybody who's followed blues in Wichita from its heyday would remember Johnny Harris and Artie Hicks. Those were good friends of mine and I sat in with them regularly at Bill's Le Gourmet. The memorial for Artie brought Johnny back from San Diego and brought in musicians from Kansas City for one of the best blues/jazz gigs EVER in Wichita at the former Lettuce location.
Now, back to the subject, but this isn't going to be real positive.
Dennis. Left. The. Team.
I really hope "the team" has an understanding of why he left, believes he had legitimate reasons for doing that, and will accept the fact that he got some free time that the rest of them would have loved to have, but gave that up to be a part of "the team".
It can be really difficult for "the team" to accept players who don't have to follow the same rules the rest of them follow. I hope that, if Dex returns, the rest of the players understand his situation and accept that he needed something they would have liked but didn't do.
He hasn't entered the portal, so it's likely he's coming back. Basketball has been (probably) the thing he relied on for placing value on his life and somehow that went away. That's a lot for someone 19 to deal with.
I played the Allman Brothers version of Stormy Monday and have done that version behind probably half a dozen female singers. I played with a drummer who had played with Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson. That drummer was a white guy.
The race card has already been played in this thread, so it doesn't bother me to say that the two white guys who played at the gig for the creation of the Wichita Blues Hall of Fame were me and the bass player I played with. That bass player was invited to play with most of the people being inducted into the Wichita Blues Hall of Fame. The black guys being placed in the Blues Hall of Fame had no problem asking a white guy to sit in with them. If they had made an album, they would have wanted the white guy on the cover.
Anybody who's followed blues in Wichita from its heyday would remember Johnny Harris and Artie Hicks. Those were good friends of mine and I sat in with them regularly at Bill's Le Gourmet. The memorial for Artie brought Johnny back from San Diego and brought in musicians from Kansas City for one of the best blues/jazz gigs EVER in Wichita at the former Lettuce location.
Now, back to the subject, but this isn't going to be real positive.
Dennis. Left. The. Team.
I really hope "the team" has an understanding of why he left, believes he had legitimate reasons for doing that, and will accept the fact that he got some free time that the rest of them would have loved to have, but gave that up to be a part of "the team".
It can be really difficult for "the team" to accept players who don't have to follow the same rules the rest of them follow. I hope that, if Dex returns, the rest of the players understand his situation and accept that he needed something they would have liked but didn't do.
He hasn't entered the portal, so it's likely he's coming back. Basketball has been (probably) the thing he relied on for placing value on his life and somehow that went away. That's a lot for someone 19 to deal with.
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