So, about 2 months ago now, I went to a party and fell in mad infatuation.  Yes, with a guitar.  It was couple weeks before the Kerrville Folk Festival and I convinced Jeff Cohen, the president of Voyage-Air Guitar, that I needed to take this instrument there.  I got it the day before I left and by the second day of the festival, infatuation became true love.

I’d been wanting to get an OM bodied guitar for a while now and this thing sounded great!  The tone is sweet and balanced.  So much easier to solo on this than my dreadnought.  OM’s just kind of cut-through a little better I always think.

Photo by Susan Roads (susanroads.com).

But the most unique thing about this instrument is that it collapses!  I almost wrote “the coolest thing,” but really the coolest thing is the tone.

HOWEVER, it’s pretty amazing to have an instrument that you can fold in half, stick on in an overhead bin along with your laptop on an airplane, and you can carry it on in a backpack!

Seriously, you can put this thing on your back and people with think you play accordion!  But you open it up, freak ’em out — it’s kind of like seeing a double jointed person bend an arm backwards when you first see it — then you snap it into place.  It’s ready to play right then!  I mean sometimes you have to do a little fine tuning, but really, I’ve sat down in a circle and started improvising mid-song, inspiring jaw drops in the first couple notes!  By the middle of the fest I was becoming known as the “guy with the switchblade guitar.”  It cracked me up.

Here are some more photos from the festival of people checking it out or just being amazed: [nggallery id=26]

You’ve got to get one of these if you travel or just like to show up and jam without carrying a heavy awkward load.  The cool thing is that your hands won’t hurt from carrying that hard shell case through the airport either….  You can get at a lot of mom and pop stores and the major online retailers, plus the big boxes like Guitar Center and Sam Ash.  (voyageairguitar.com)

This is my Miscegenation Blues Player from my blog, theobamanation.com. Go there for some of the stories behind the songs. (It’s a random collection, but interesting!)

California’s infrastructure is shot. People tailgate, pass you on the right as soon as you cross the state line onto the suddenly poorly surfaced highway. At the bank…is she a sex worker? And why does this yuppie jump in the double security door behind me as it closes then tries to charmingly jump ahead of me when the green light flashes?

But then on the corner in front of the school kids spontaneously stop stride to play music for the crossing guard. A cello, a guitar, a violin. I breathe. I smile. Glad I usually do my banking online, work from home when not on tour, often get to stroll my neighborhood on foot, and have the opportunity to share with crossing guards, artists, intellectuals, and hikers pretty much every day.

Hi!

It’s hard to imagine that I’ve been out here for nearly two weeks.  Actually, right now I’m typing from the Thunderbird Coffee Shop in Austin.  I’ve been drawn to this city and now I’m thinking, it’s possible.  A couple friends who moved here last August have a 2 bedroom apartment and pay $660!  That boggles my LA mind!  But I digress…

So, I’m not one really for cutesy word manipulations (KerrVirgins, Kerrverts, Staff RecKerrds), but there’s this concept of KerrTime that people talk about here and it is unique.  I’ve not gone to sleep before 2:30 a.m. the whole time I’ve been out, and it’s more likely that I’ve made it back to my tent around 4:30 or 5.  It’s been just amazing.  Some of the shows have been good, but the highlight of this fest is the post show campfire scene.

And to further indicate the concept of KerrTime.  I wrote that last sentence 9 days after the previous….  I’m going to start over….

Spent last night in Phoenix at my mother’s friend Joan’s house. Really, really sweet. She’d just finished watching the basketball game and we caught up on American Idol and Dancing with the Stars (??). Then we talked about music and I sang her couple songs, hindered a bit by my ham and cheese sandwich. (Yes, veggie friends, I learned to eat everything on the road a few years back, and I kind of like it!) My first experience with Joan was a family trip we took up to Santa Barbara and she sang Barbra Streisand songs with gusto. She’s still got it! She’s a total light. It’s always nice to have a “mom” visit when you driving across country.

I left Tuesday because I had to stay in town Monday to pick up my new guitar!!   It’s that amazing thing I mentioned a couple weeks back: voyageairguitar.com/launch/.  I love it even more than when I tried it out at the party.

And now that I’m getting mobile, I got my first iPhone on Tuesday before I got on the road.  It’s pretty amazing.  I may even tweet regularly.   Follow me:  jasonluckett!  Ha.  I’m so 21st Century!

Just went to a party tonight to launch this new collapsible guitar.  It sounded great which kind of defies logic.  It’s called the Voyage-Air Guitar: voyageairguitar.com.   Check it out.

MMIX is now on iTunes, Amazon, Napster.  Of course my cut’s bigger if you buy from me directly, but if you’re not a fan of PayPal, just love your favorite shop, or want to help me climb the charts, this is where you can find my music.

Buy on iTunes: click here and please rate and review!

Buy on Amazon: click here and please rate and review!

Buy on Napster: click here and please rate and review!

More digital stores to come.

By the way my new favorite digital store is LaLa.com, you can store all your music online and stream it from any browser.

Certainly not spritual.  Sometimes I type too fast for my own good!

Sorry for the mistake in my email message.