Hey Dreamwalkers Friends and Family,

Summertime, band life in Florida. . . people are coming and going, it's a bit difficult to get strong rehearsal time with the entire band, So, we've been getting together when we can with whomever is around and hopefully in a few weeks, everyone will be ready to dive in again. Today, I had the opportunity to spend several hours with Tony Sheppard, trying out a few guitars and working on different sounds for different songs. Tony' has been using a 12 string electric Fender with his other band, Big Night Out and is getting very acclimated to the different sound. The key guitars today were the 12 string Rickenbackers, favored by people like George Harrison, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds and Tom Petty. The Rics are a challenge because the neck is smaller than on a standard guitar, so it takes a bit of getting used to and a different technique to make them ring. . . and ring they do. The Rickenbacker chime is famous on songs from the Beatles, Byrds, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. We worked on using them for covers like "Boys of Summer," "Wooden Ships," and "Take It Easy." We also experimented with "Suite, Judy Blue Eyes," from Crosby, Stills, and Nash and the Youngbloods "Get Together.". These songs are enormous fun to play and people will love them. Tony is a genius not just at playing, but at squeezing incredible tones out of the instruments using pedals and effects on the amp. The sounds I heard were magic and I'm sure we're going to bring them out by the end of summer. Lots of harmonies, chimey, beautiful guitars, great rhythm and bass. Sounds like the 1969 again fifty years later. Dreamwalkers. . . the dream is manifesting.

Peace,

Dr Dreamwalker