I arrived in Charleston today, sans Miss Hollis who stayed over in Lexington, checked into the Marriott, got some work done, visited family, and returned to the Marriott. I called my dear friend John Boggess to inquire about meeting for a beer; John instead suggested I head to Teays Valley to play with White Molasses. So head to Teays Valley I did.

I loaded the Box Guitar into the car before we pulled out of Brewtown on Monday to try and get some practice in during this road trip. So, of course, I took it with me tonight. I arrived with the band playing full tilt, quickly tuned up, plugged into Dr. Jeff's brilliant Allen amp, and dove in head first. Now, remembering I've had this quite different instrument for less than two weeks, played it a handful of times, and never played in the signature White Mo blues/rock vein, it was indeed a headfirst dive! But I had a ball, working in the blues form with two-handed chord comps on both sides of the neck. The biggest challenge was the lead work; the tighter string spacing required a little adjustment. The guitar sounded great plugged straight into the amp, just the guitar/cable/amp config. It was very responsive to volume knob adjustments and had tone for days.

It was great to see, and play with, the guys again. I met the latest additions to the White Mo lineup and was pleasantly surprised to see Sandy Cormack of The Dangertones sitting in, as well. Of course the evening was capped with a couple of adult beverages and the usual bull session. Much fun.

Now playing: Electric Gauchos, Blue Orb