A Renewable Energy: Woody Biomass

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Chuck Leavell Op/Ed for WSJ, June 10, 2013

In the past two weeks, news reports have covered European Union rules mandating that 20% of energy in EU countries by 2020 must come from “renewable” sources. To meet the requirement, European utilities are increasingly turning toward burning wood instead of coal—with much of the wood coming from the United States in the form of pellets.

Some environmentalists complain that cutting down trees is hardly a “green” solution, and utility-company officials have defended the practice of using woody biomass as a renewable energy source. Yet one point of view hasn’t been much in evidence in the debate. That is the view of independent forest owners like me—my family manages 2,500 acres of forest in Georgia—who can speak directly to practices of the forestry industry and the benefits it provides to local communities.

First, some perspective on the U.S.’s wealth of natural resources: The American South has more than 214 million acres of forest land, according to the Southern Group of State Foresters. About 89% of that land is privately owned, making it the nation’s stronghold for private forest ownership and stewardship.

Although the U.S. has a large amount of forested land, that does not mean the country can afford to cut down trees in a careless, slash-and-burn fashion as in decades past—and that is certainly not what is happening today.

Europe’s increasing use of woody biomass, such as wood pellets, has not resulted in the inappropriate over-harvesting of U.S. forests that some fear will happen. In fact, the demand has created a viable use for woody material from forestry operations that usually goes to waste: the twigs, limbs and other parts of trees that are otherwise unusable—and woody material from thinning operations in which un-merchantable trees are removed to allow other trees to grow stronger and healthier. In both cases, if this material is not used for biomass, it is often piled up to rot or be burned. Using this resource for energy puts it to good use and is a wise thing to do.

There is a common-sense approach to sustainably managing the nation’s forests. Americans have learned the lesson that they need to be good stewards of the land. Forest owners throughout the Southeast can be very proud of their forest management practices. Sustainable methods and best practices have been established, which include replanting trees and ensuring that the harvesting of trees is done so in way that protects wildlife as well as air and water quality.

The forestry industry and thus the forest owners are governed by federal and state laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Healthy Forests Initiative. There are also independent certifications that govern all forestry industries. The type of certification a landowner chooses is up to that owner, but the standards are in place. Individual forest owners also work hand-in-hand with state forestry officials and with experienced licensed foresters for proper forestry management.

Just as musicians are passionate about their craft, independent forest owners are passionate about their craft—the art of land management. Our mantra is to leave the land in better shape than when we found it. Not only do we care from aesthetic and recreational perspectives, but for many, it’s good business to care.

After all, forest owners who sell timber have an incentive to ensure that their forest remains healthy, productive and sustainable—anything else would hurt the bottom line and threaten their investment. Sound practices also create and protect jobs. In Georgia alone, there are 24 million acres of forested land. According to state-government estimates, this translates to roughly 188,000 jobs and $25 billion related to forestry. In the states that produce woody biomass, what was once a declining job market has new hope as the forestry sector puts people back to work in jobs connected to a resource that is natural, organic and renewable.

I am also concerned about what I call “The Invisible Forest Health Crisis”—the loss of natural lands to growth and development. Landowners sometimes have tough choices to make: sell the land so it can become some community’s latest strip mall or other development—or keep the land as a sustainably managed working forest. More demand for forest products increases the likelihood of those forests remaining intact.

As a land and forest owner I recognize that I can’t stop growth. But as a lifelong nature lover and environmentalist, I can guide it. Preserving our forests and fostering the use of wood products, including woody biomass—while also helping Europe meet its admirable goals for renewable-energy sources—is not a bad proposition.

Mr. Leavell is the keyboardist for the Rolling Stones and co-founder of the environmental website, the Mother Nature Network (www.mnn.com). His most recent book is “Growing a Better America: Smart, Strong and Sustainable” (Evergreen Arts, 2011).

MGM Grand Hotel

5/10/13

After settling into the MGM Grand hotel (admittedly not our favorite place in the world), Rose Lane and I decided to walk about the complex just for something to do. We ran into our friend Steve Bing, who was there to come to the gig. Rosie and I had tried to get a table at the famous Crofts Steak House for that evening, but we were told that we couldn’t get a table until late, around 9:45 or so, and we had decided to make a reservation at the Japanese Sushi place ?? for 8pm instead. When I told this to Steve, he said…“What time do you want to go to Crofts”…I told him we had tried for 8, but they couldn’t accommodate us…and he said “Hold on…” and got on the phone. Within a few minutes I get a call from Steve’s office saying we were confirmed for 8pm….whoa, guess it is all in who one knows! Thanks, Steve!

Rosie and I roamed around the MGM stores for a while…we are not gamblers, so we weren’t interested in those kinds of activities…and mainly window shipped for an hour or so before going back to the room where our luggage awaited us to deal with. As we were only going to be there for a couple of days, we didn’t want to unpack everything…and just opened up what we needed, keeping the bags as out of the way as possible.

I killed some time doing emails and computer stuff and we watched a bit of tv until it was time to go to dinner. They had arranged a great table for us…a very spacious and comfortable booth that had a nice private element to it. Croft’s offers some very special selective beef for their steaks. In addition to the usual high quality Angus beef, they have American and Japanese Wagyu (Kobe) beef. Rosie and I decided to splurge on the American Wagyu…which goes for just over $100 per steak…an amount we hardly ever spend on dinner…but less than the Japanese Wagyu that goes for well over $200 per steak.

It was a fantastic meal….and while we would never make a habit of indulging that much, it made for a fine dinner and memorable experience.

As we were finishing up, our friend Mickey Raphael and his girlfriend Brenda came in and made their way over to our table to say hello. I knew he was coming and had arranged passes for him. It was great to see him and to meet Brenda. They were guests of Steve Bing’s and were just getting there to meet Steve’s party. Rosie and I finished up and went to the table where Bing and friends were to say hey…their party included Mickey and Brenda, Matt Clifford, Mick, Steve and some others. We chatted for a minute or two with them and then made our way out, quite satisfied. Back in the room we chilled out with a couple of glasses of wine and a little tv before turning in.

5/11/13

Staying a the MGM meant that we just had to walk down to the arena for the show…so we killed time in our room drinking coffee and doing email and other tasks. Rose Lane and I love our morning coffee…but these hotels charge an arm and a leg for a pot….I’d say an average of $25-30. So we’ve learned to buy us a coffee maker at the beginning of the tour and pack it in our bags, taking it with us. I had bought a $25 unit that works just fine…and when you calculate what one would spend over the course of a tour just to have our daily java fix….it would come to something like $2,000. So we make our own coffee…get the brands we like and have it when we like it…which helps our comfort level as well as our pocketbook! 

About 1pm I had an interview to do in our room with Pulitzer prize winning journalist, Tom Knudson. Tom has written some things on me before, and focuses quite a lot on environmental subject matter. He and his wife, Eileen, came up to the room where we talked, doing the interview and taking some photos. It was good to reunite with him…he loves rock ‘n roll music and is a superb writer.

We walked down to the arena around 2 to settle in. Tonight’s guest would be Katy Perry….and she had requested to do “Beast of Burden”….which was cool as we have not done it on the tour yet. Ironically and to our favor, it was also the choice of the fans for the “By Request” part of the show where we give fans 5 songs to vote for in that slot. That helped me to write up a nice set list. I went to Mick’s dressing room around 4 to do a run through with him and Katy. She had a cold and warned us to give her enough space not to pass it on to us…which was thoughtful of her. She was very professional and had done her homework on the song, so the run through was smooth. She graciously agreed to take a photo of me with her, which was much appreciated. Then it was on to the stage for the sound check. We went over a few tunes, eventually getting to her with “Beast….”. We ran through it twice, and she was comfortable, so we moved on to the rest of the check, all happy and ready.

I finalized the set list with Mick and went for a bite to eat in catering…then made my way to VIP to see some guests. Tonight it would be John Lyndon…our good friend from Athens, Ga and the brother of our loyal and loved friend and employee at Charlane, Skoots Lyndon. John had a few friends with him that we met and said hello to. Also in VIP was Tom Knudson and his wife Eileen, and my friend Don Whyte and several of his friends. Don has hunted with us at Charlane and was in charge of a huge environmentally friendly development near Salt Lake City that I wrote about in my book “Growing A Better America” called the Daylight Community in South Jordan, Utah on some land that was owned by the Rio Tinto company. It is a fantastic project where some old mining lands were converted into a sustainable, environmentally sensitive community (see: http://www.daybreakutah.com). I made the rounds, chatting to all of them and taking some pictures. 

Gig time came and all came off without any hitches. The good news about the MGM arena is that it is a really good room for sound, and therefore makes for a pleasant experience for us on stage. We could all hear better than we have so far on the tour. Katy Perry did very well…and interacted nicely with Mick. We all left the stage feeling great about it.

5/12/13

Sunday  the 13th was Mother’s Day. Rose Lane and I phoned her mom, our sister-in-law, Carol White and our daughter, Amy to wish them a happy MD. Rosie’s mom had had a fall recently, injuring her femur that required an operation to put a pin in place to get it to heal properly. She’s done well considering her 90 year age, and she sounded great. Carol and Amy sounded great as well, and our grandsons Miles and Rocco talked to us briefly…it was good to catch up a bit with home. Later in the day our daughter Ashley called Rose Lane to pass on good wishes. After the calls,  it didn’t take us long to zip up our bags and get them ready for the luggage pickup. Then we went down for lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant which was quite good….and had enough time on our hands to take a taxi to The Forum near Ceasar’s Palace to peek in some shops. I wound up buying a tee shirt and jacket in the Guess shop and a Lacie hard drive to back up my computer with. Rosie made some minor purchases and we headed back to the hotel to get ready to fly back to LA.

We boarded the plane about 3pm and lifted off just after 4….landing back at the Oakland airport by 5. On the bus on the way to the Four Seasons, my phone lit up…I had a look at it, and it was John Mayer calling me. I didn’t want to answer with all the folks in the bus with me, so I decided I would wait and call him back when we got to the hotel. But then the phone lit up again with a text from him saying that he was in the studio and had a song he wanted me to play on the next day. I texted back that I’d call him shortly to discuss. When we got settled in the hotel I rang him and we arranged for me to do a session at Village Recording Studios the next day…which thrilled me no end. He had told me that if I wanted to come in that evening, they would be working fairly late…but I had promised to take Rose Lane out to dinner for Mother’s Day and opted for working with him the next day, Monday. 

Rosie and I walked to Ill Cielo for dinner…and were well taken care of there as usual…going there is like going to a good friend’s house for dinner. That wound up the day and we relaxed in the room until bedtime.

5/13/13

Did the workout thing and the pool thing for a while (so nice to be able to have a little time for that!) and had worked it out with John to get to the studio at 3:30. Rosie and I had some lunch at the patio restaurant again before I headed out. Got to Village Recorders. I arrived on time and had a great reunion in the side room of Studio D with the “Mayer Family”….his tech Rene; personal assistant Missy; equipment manager Chris Gott; Chad Franscoviak, his engineer; and of course Sean Hurley, bass, and Aaron Sterling, drums. It was a wonderful thing to see them all and catch up on their lives. John eventually came out of the studio into the room we were hanging in and it was great to see his six foot four frame and his smiling face underneath his now familiar Stetson hat. His manager, Michael McDonald, came in in short order, and it was really good to see him, too.

After some more pleasantries we went into the studio to hear a new song he had written and recorded the track for called “Waiting on the Day”. I took to it straight away and did some piano, Wurly and B-3 on it. I can’t say enough about how great it felt to work with him again…and the tune was another beautiful Mayer piece. The head of Columbia Records, Ashley Newton, arrived after we had work on the track and John played him that song and two others, both of which seemed to impress him. He made some very positive comments and was visibly excited about this new project…and from what I could gather, they want to finish it up fairly soon and get it out in the summer. 

For the rest of the evening we just messed around listening to some other stuff and had a couple of jams that I suppose could potentially turn into songs. John likes to work that way…just get out into the room and start a groove…then fool around with some changes and blurt out some lyrics until there is a form…then later flesh it out into a finished song. He’s quite amazing that way. 

The time passed quickly and before I knew it, it was midnight….it was enough work for the day and we all headed home. I hit the sack a bit tired, but very happy.

May 18...and another day off for us!

Entry 5/18/13

The 14th was an off day for us, and John didn’t ring me for another session, so Rosie and I had it to ourselves. Again, the gym and pool were in order. Almost every day, my pal Matt Clifford has joined us at the pool and we’ve carved out a special spot that we call “Keyboard Corner”. Our mutual friend and fellow keyboardist, Wix Wickens, had returned to LA after doing a couple of shows in Brazil with McCartney. His main reason for returning was not a great one…he had to have a root canal while he was there. He had a couple of days off before that fun procedure and was just hanging. We had a good time together, talking music, our respective “camps” and keyboard gear.

I invited Wix to dinner with Rosie and me later, which he accepted. He told me he had to go to Westwood Music to return some gear and asked me to go along with him, which I accepted. He is good friends with Mark ??, the owner and has done business with them for many years, even before Mark took it over. I was still on the lookout for a mandolin, so figured it would be a good idea to see what Mark might have. As it turned out, he didn’t have anything of interest to me at that moment, but said he would make some calls and see what he could turn up. The next day he texted me with a picture of a 1917 Gibson and looked really good. I told him via text that I would come see it in a few days and check it out, so we’ll see….

Wix and I went back to the hotel and we all had some down time before dinner. The three of us, Rosie, me and Wix, walked down to the Duplex around 7:30. I’ve mentioned it before…we’ve dined there a few times, always enjoying it. Wix remembered it from when it was called something else and said he used to go there all the time when in town.

We had fun talking more about our situations….agreeing how good it is that we still get to do this. It seems that McCartney will be working more than we will…but of course that depends on if the Stones decide to keep this ball rolling after this run. No sense in speculating about that now….and we should know something solid about that in the next month or so.

We wrapped it up and walked back to the hotel, calling it a day.

5/15/13

Time to make the doughnuts again…Rose Lane was leaving early to get to the show and start her process backstage, and departed on the 1pm van. I took the 2pm which gave me some time on the treadmill and in Keyboard Corner before getting ready. John Mayer would be our special guest tonight, and after giving him several choices, he decided on “Champaign and Reefer”, an old Muddy Waters tune. We had done that with Clapton last year in London….but had not done it since, so it was a good choice. I went through my routine of doing the set list and getting a bite to eat in catering before sound check. On the way to catering I heard someone call my name…they were behind me…and jokingly, I said “I didn’t do it!”….and the voice said “Yes, you did!” I turned around to see Ken Helie, Mayer’s tour manager and confidant…and who has become a good friend of mine. We chatted for a bit, both glad to see each other. He had to go look after some things and I told him I’d see him at sound check.

We were to have a “new” choir for this show, so Matt had been working with them for “You Can’t Always Get….”. on the check we went through Rocks Off and Waiting for a Friend, both of which I had suggested…then did “Champaign…” with John. He had a bit of trouble with his gear but he and his tech, Rene, worked it out fairly quickly and he sounded terrific.  I wanted to go over “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”….but I could tell that Mick was getting a bit tired and time was getting short, so after working with the choir we called it off and retreated to our dressing rooms.

The Honda Arena is perhaps not the best room for sound, but we made it work….although I have to say it got really loud at the show….part of that was the room, but part of it is that we were just loud. Anyway, I thought it went quite well other than the volume (I’ll likely be wearing my custom ear plugs starting the next show) and John again tore it up on “Champaign….”. It was great to hear him sing on it as well…when he guested with us last year on the NY shows he was still recovering from his granuloma and opted to play but not sing. Now he’s back feeling good and confident about his voice…and he sounded like John Mayer singing…and playing…and it was tremendous.

It was quite a long ride down to Anaheim and of course again going back. About an hour and a half….so it was quite late when we got to our room. But Rosie and I decided we’d have a peek in the bar and to our surprise, it was unusually quiet instead of the crazy bustling that we usually see down there. So being pleasantly sedate an atmosphere  we decided to stay for a couple of drinks. Matt Clifford and Tim Ries were there and we had a nice time shooting the breeze for a while….then it was off to bed.

5/16/13

Although it was technically a day off for the band, it was not for me. I had an interview to do for USA Today’s technology writer, Jeff Graham. We had arranged to do it at Center Staging out in Burbank, where we had rehearsed. Paul Reed Smith (a guitar company) has a room in the complex and the gentleman that runs it, Winn Krozack, let us use it. Jeff wanted to film the interview for their website, so he had everything set up when I arrived there at 2:30. 

Since the subject matter was tech, he asked me about the difference in touring these days as opposed to the early 70s with the Allman Brothers and the earlier tours with the Stones. I talked about how back there there were no cell phones….no computers and the technology we were using would be considered very antiquated now. Then we got into all the apps I have for my iPhone….programs to store set lists and tempos for songs, apps like Yelp and Zagot to find good restaurants and other stores…Gas Buddy to find the cheapest gas in whatever area you are in….Shazam, which is an app you can sing into and it will tell you what song it is…and so on. It wound up being a fun interview and I hope it turns out well.

I headed back to the Four Seasons to meet back up with Rose Lane. Our friends Herren and Susan Hickingbotham had come in that day and we were going to dinner with them that evening. We killed some time kicking back until our appointed hour to get together came. We met them in the lobby at 8…Herren’s family owns several car dealerships, one of them being in Orange County that sells Bentleys, Rolls Royces and other exotic brands. He had picked up a Bentley to use during his stay and we rode in that to the Sunset Tower Hotel where we had made reservations. The Maitre d' is a really nice Russian guy named Demitri ….we had been there a couple of other times and he had taken good care of us. So he showed us to our table and we had a fine meal together.

Herren and Susan came up to our room for a half hour after we returned to the hotel…we talked for a while…then said good night….all of us off to bed.

5/17/13

John had hit me the day before about doing another session for him today, and of course I had agreed. But before that, I had an appointment in Buena Park to see the Yamaha folks who had requested I come see some new instruments they were making. My friend Avery Burdette had come to the show in Anaheim and had suggested the meeting. I thought it would be good to have some company along and invited Matt Clifford to go with me. He was happy to agree, so the two of us headed out at noon for the one hour ride. My tech, Mike Klvana, was also to join us there. Yamaha has a huge complex in Buena Park, and I had been there once before. We arrived and Avery greeted us in the lobby. I was somewhat surprised and very pleased that my old friend Athan Billius was there as well. Athen is pretty much the top man at Yamaha in this division. I’ve known him from 1990 when he was living in Japan and was working for the KORG company. He started at Yamaha in the late 90s and worked his way up. He’s a great guy and good friend…and has a brilliant mind. When he was living in Japan he picked up the language in a very short time…most impressive.

So we looked at some new keyboards that Yamaha has designed…talked about the technologies involved and about when they would be released. Matt and I were both very impressed as was Mike. We also were led to a special room where they had some acoustic pianos….the flagship CFX concert grand, some Bosendorfers (Yamaha bought the company a few years ago) as well as some “digital acoustic” instruments. We had a grand time going from one to the other to the other. They could have left Matt and me in there for days!

Athan and Avery promised to send me one of the new C4 digital pianos before they are released and asked me to do a short video for it…which of course I agreed to do. We wound up the meeting and headed back to LA.

I dropped Matt off at the Four Seasons and drove to Village Recorders to meet John and Co. It was again a fantastic session, and I put keys on two different tunes as well as bashing out another couple of jams with Sean, Aaron and John. Soooo much fun.One of the songs I had already recorded some on, but added some B3 and Wurly to it. It’s called ???. The other is one is a tune with John playing acoustic guitars and doing the vocals on….very stripped down, to which I put a B3 pad on. That one is called “Badge and Gun”. John asked me about getting in touch with Lisa Fischer to ask her to sing on a tune or two while we’re in town, and I accommodated a contact between them. I wound up that session a bit earlier than the one several days ago and left by 10pm. Got back to the room and settled in for the night.

5/18/13

Another show in Anaheim tonight at the Honda Center. Left on the 2pm van and got there around 3:30. Set my mind to the business at hand and did the set list, getting in a bit of practice on my own as well. Tonight we would have Dave Grohl as a guest. I have played with him once before…back in 2011 at the House of Blues when I was touring with Gov’t Mule. It was good to see him again. He told me a story that I did not know about that time. It was soon after 9/11…and Dave’s mom lives in the DC area. Since the Pentagon was a target and everyone was on edge, he wanted his mom to leave and come out to California…but of course all the airports were shut down and there were no planes flying. So he called around to see if there were any tour buses heading out that way from the area and found out that Warren Haynes was leaving NY in one to go west for some Mule shows. He didn’t really know Warren, but asked him if his mom could ride…and of course Warren was happy to help. So they take this multi-day ride together winding up in LA. They got to know each other very well and became friends. So Warren asked Dave to come play with us at the HOB…and when they got there Dave said no one paid much attention to him but they all rushed over to his mom falling all over her! Fun….

 Dave did well for the show….he brought an amazing amount of energy to the stage on “Bitch”. I liked it because as we played the song he went around the stage to every musician to give a nod and acknowledge us. Very cool.

5/19/13

A Sunday, and a day off. Hit the gym and then the pool…Caroline Clements, our makeup girl, came down to join us and sun a bit…she had been really sick with a bad cold and had missed the last couple of shows as she didn’t want to pass it on to any of us. Whatever the bug was, it was making its way around…Bobby Keys had also had it. But today she was better and wanted badly to get out of her room…saying she really wanted to go to the beach. So Rose Lane and I agreed to take her. We left the hotel about 2 and made the drive. We decided to go to a place called Gladstone’s that she had been to before. We took the Interstate going, and the traffic was pretty heavy…taking us just over an hour to get there. But there was pleasant scenery on the way, looking out at the Pacific Ocean and watching the waves come in. Gladstone’s is on Sunset Beach, a bit south of Malibu. They had valet parking, which was good as it would have been next to impossible to park the car ourselves. It was very crowded, and the restaurant told us it would be at least an hour wait…so we left them our name and decided to take a walk along the beach. That was good for all of us…hearing the ocean waves, people watching and walking barefoot on the sands. There were a fair amount of folks hanging out, but it wasn’t so crowded as to make it unpleasant. It was a great feeling to breath in the salty air, which did all of us good. The tide was coming in and we had to dodge the water several times to keep getting our clothes wet, so we were dancing our way along. We reached the end of the beach and turned around, heading back to Gladstone’s.

Rose Lane found a few treasures along the way…a little toy car that we knew our grandson Rocco would like, a couple of rocks (she loves rocks), a small and interesting piece of driftwood, a bottle opener and two gull feathers. On the way back, I noticed a Latino couple sort of staring at me…and when we reached them, the girl said…“Are you that famous country singer?”…meaning Kenny Rogers. It’s funny, but that happens to me from time to time.

Getting back to Gladstone’s, we didn’t have to wait long before they seated us…outside at a nice semi private table. I didn’t want to eat much as I knew Rosie and I would go to dinner later…and ordered the crab cakes. Rosie had a salad with shrimp and scallops, another seafood salad….and I have to say that while the place looks a bit like a tourist trap, the food was amazing. All really fresh and tasty. We wound it up and decided to return via Sunset Blvd….Gladstone’s is literally where Sunset dead ends into the beach, so we just had to cross the street to catch it. It is a very cool drive…through some interesting neighborhoods with lovely yards and houses to look at. It winds round quite a bit, so I drove fairly slowly to try and keep us comfortable. We arrived back around 6pm, having enjoyed the little getaway.

Rosie and I took a bit of down time before walking over to Il Cielo for cocktails and  a light dinner.

5/20/13

Our last show in California, and the second one at the Staples Center. As usual, I took one of the early vans and settled in to do the set list and prepare for sound check. No guest on board tonight…the first time on the tour that has happened…and I have to say, kind of nice to have a break from it and have it be just us. Of course Mick Taylor would guest as usual, and I took advantage of that to suggest he be on more tunes. We had a “By Request” for the first time in a couple of shows, and “Sway” had won that position. That would serve as one tune for Taylor to play on, and as I had been stressing to get “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” in and finally convinced Mick J to do it, that would be another…and we kept “Midnight Rambler”, so that was the third. Actually, of late he has been coming out for the final encore and playing on “Satisfaction”, so it was actually four tunes he would play on. I suggested “Far Away Eyes”, which had the reference to Bakersfield…and “…sending $20 to the church of the Bleedin’ Hearts somewhere in Los An…” for fun. It turned out to be a very special show, and the hard cores lit up the Internet and YouTube with positive comments and snippets. Mick thought it was one “…unusual song” too many, but I personally disagreed and thought it was great. Not that he thought the set as a whole didn’t work…he liked it, too and of course liked the fact that the fans were chattering about it. He commented to me later…rightfully…that we didn’t quite get the reaction on “Far Away Eyes” that we thought we would…they liked it, but it didn’t seem to bowl them over like we anticipated. Still, ya gotta take some chances, and we both agree on that.

5/21/13

A red letter day for Chuck. I had an interview for “Good Day LA” on KTLA television, and they sent a car for me at 8:30am to pick me up. It was a bit early, but worth getting up for. I arrived and did the live interview with Steve ?? and Maria ??. I also got to meet Ramona ??, a person that I had written a short song for years before. At the time she was just leaving CNBC as an anchor, and the folks there had asked me if I could do something for her. It was a fun little ditty and I can’t even remember much of it, but the theme was something along the lines of not wanting her to go. It had gone over well, and now all this time later she has taken a position at KTLA and we got to meet. She’s a very sweet girl and we had a nice chat reminiscing about that and just talking about our lives. They had some great b-roll that they included on the piece…me on my tractor, on stage with the Stones and with the Allman Brothers. I got to talk a good bit about MNN, which was really what I was after, so it was a success all the way around. I was back at the hotel by 10:30.

Earlier in our stay, I had met Mark Bookin at Westwood Music  when I went there with Wix Wickens, Paul McCartney’s keyboard player and a good friend. I had told Mark that I was looking for a vintage mandolin…preferably a Gibson F5 Fern. He had told me he would make some calls to see what he could find, and had contacted me a day or so later to tell me he had found an F4…1917 model. The pictures he sent looked good, and I had told him that I would get by to have a look at it as soon as I could. Today was the day…so after some sun time at the pool I showered and prepared to head out to see it. I invited Matt Clifford to go with me to have some company, and he had agreed. Westwood is not that far from the hotel…maybe 3 miles or so. We arrived and Mark greeted us with a couple of glasses of his “new favorite lemonade”….mixed with some mango juice. Nice and refreshing. After some pleasantries, he brought out the instrument in its original case. I knew I wanted her the minute I set eyes on her…and she wanted me. She played beautifully…and the intonation was perfect all up and down the neck. While it showed minor wear, it was in pristine condition…no repairs, nicks or problems. It didn’t take me long to tell Mark that he had a deal. While the cost was not what I would call an extraordinary bargain, it was more than fair, and after looking on the Internet for similar instruments, what I paid was probably 10-20% less for instruments that were not in as good condition, so I felt great about the purchase. The hard part was not being able to take her with me. Mark preferred a check to a credit card, which was understandable…and I didn’t have enough cash with me, so I told him I would have a check cut from home and wold send it to him, and he could ship it back to Charlane after it cleared. The deal was done and Matt and I left, me beaming about this wonderful rare mandolin that I could now claim for my own.

Matt wanted to go to another music store to purchase some proper ear plugs, which Mark didn’t have at Westwood…so we drove to Guitar Center, which was not far away, and browsed around there, Matt finding what he wanted. We headed back to the Four Seasons ending a special afternoon.