Hello from Durham, England (not NC)

Well, suppose it's time I said "hello" properly to everyone. I post on a couple of other boards, especially the Aynsley Lister one, but friend Curby worked out who I was..."busted". I'd have been one here sooner but had firewall issues that only recently got resolved.

So, for those who don't know me, even though I couldn't even play a kazoo, I love "live" music and have been a regular gig-goer for over 30 years. Styles have changed over those years but my tastes are very broad especially for bands who play with passion, the love of playing and skill. Guess Joe B ticks all those boxes.

How did I "discover" Joe B? Well, I did have a break from gigs for a few years (called a mortgage...) and when I got back into things I found I was seeing the same bands I saw in the 70s and 80s so I resolved to change and look for guys/acts born in the 70s and 80s. At the time, Classic Rock magazine was singing the praises of a hard working American singer/guitarist called Joe Bonamassa, so I checked out an album called "Live From Nowhere In Particular" and I was hooked. Got the rest of the back-catalogue in short order and been keeping up ever since. However, I've only once had the chance to see Joe "live", Newcastle City Hall last year, but boy, he's one of the best guitarists I've seen grace that stage, and believe me, I've seen some names there.

From exposure to Joe, that lead me on to other bands, like Aynsley Lister, Kenny Wayne Shepherd etc. and on to their boards and chatting with guys like Curby and several past and present names from the AL forum that I recognise on here; that's lead me to explore what's a rich vein of incredible music, exciting bands and what has so far proved to be a knowledgeable and friendly community. I hope I can contribute here, in my own idiosyncratic way. I have other interests away from music, see some of them are shared here. Anything more you want to know - drop a line.

Mike