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to play their annual show at their old high school in Worcester, Mass. During the show one of the roadies went into the audience and threw what looked to be a joint on the stage in front of Bassist Danny Klein. At the end of the song, Danny bent down and picked it up, and lit it before the next song started. Suddenly a roadie dressed in a police uniform rushed onto the stage, stopped the music and started dragging Danny off stage. The crowd went wild. It was quite an exciting moment as the crowd thought he was being arrested, and they cheered loudly when he came back on stage to finish the set. Taj Mahal has been one of my favorite


artists since the early 70s, and my favorite ex- perience in music happened in early March 1978, when LeBlanc-Carr opened six shows over three nights at The Paradise Club in Cambridge, Mass. LeBlanc-Carr had been hired to open, because Don Law thought they were a duo. When we showed up with a six piece rock band it was difficult. Taj had a seven piece band, and the Paradise is a rela- tively small club with limited backstage area for gear. The saving grace was that everyone in our band was a big Taj Mahal fan. Soon all the problems were resolved, including the two necessary set changes each night. Everyone joined in for the set changes, both bands’ roadies and all the band members, moved gear, which was piled high in every inch of free space backstage. The music was unbe- lievable. Taj began his first set the second night by sitting alone on the front of the stage with only a kalimba, making music as only Taj can. I've never enjoyed any performance more.


How has the music business changed over the years? Do you believe in the existence of real Blues-Rock nowa- days? The business has changed greatly since the


70s when I started. It is much easier to get your music heard. It is much easier to create, and is more forgiving for those of us with lit- tle talent. The Internet has made it possible for the average musician to promote his music without the need of a record company, publicity machine, radio promoters or even hard copies of the music. In most ways this has been good for the music creator. I'm not really sure exactly what you mean


by real blues rock. We still have Gary Ross- ington playing his heart out. Younger groups like Skinny Molly and Derek Trucks kicking ass, as well as various 70s groups reuniting like Jackson Highway. I really don't see that style of music going away. At least not in the South.


Which incident in music history would you like to see captured and illustrated in a painting with you in it? Road weary Drive-By Truckers in the Dodge van we traveled 72,000 miles in during the “Southern Rock Opera” tour. The five band members and I with all our equipment, lug- gage, hopes and dreams, driving through Monument Valley, or the Pacific coast high- way, or just parked in Wes Freed’s yard.


What has made you laugh lately and what has touched you emotionally from the music world? My grandson. He is 20 months old, and at my party at the end of the W.C. Handy Music Festival he was sitting in front of Guitarist Will McFarlane who was making eye contact with him while he was ripping up a song. Michael was bobbing on 2 and 4, and was re- ally into it. He got distracted for a moment by someone taking his picture, then turned back to the band and continued bobbing, but was now on the 1 and 3. It only took him four or five seconds to realize he was doing it wrong, and he hesitated a moment an came back in


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