Big Leather Couch

Needed a few days to clear my head...even thought about taking the week, but then things cleared and I had some information to share on a few fronts...

First off, my alma mater, which shut down the football program in 1977, the year after Tom Coughlin (he now of the Giants) left has always been a small school when it comes to sports.

The Hockey team is one exception. They have always fielded a strong team over the years and for a short time, I was even the play-by-play announced for the team on WITR Radio one year.

Well...HECK-A-DOODLE...The RIT men's hockey team is one step closer to a national championship! The RIT Tigers are heading to Detroit to play in the NCAA Frozen Four on April 8 and 10.

The Tigers, Atlantic Hockey Association champions, advance to the Frozen Four after defeating the University of Denver and University of New Hampshire at the NCAA East Regional in Albany.

Now RIT will join college hockey's elite programs at Ford Field in Detroit. The first game of the Frozen Four is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 8 and will feature RIT vs. Wisconsin.

All the games will be on ESPN2...so I say loud and proud GO TIGERS!

The entire CD is tuneage worthy. His fingers tickle the ivories like a born N'awlins-er (and yes I made that up!)

You would never know he is La Jolla, Calif.-born, Kansas City-raised, and New York City-based (except for those two days he lived in New Orleans and then had to get out of town before Katrina hit.

He is getting a ton of ink and will be HUGE real soon. He even got a small article on the web site of Brother Rich's newspaper.

The CD is 10 songs of solid jazz/dixie/rock/blues/soul including a great rendition of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come".

He is backed by Dr. John's Band, who mentored Josh early on. The horn section is as tight as they come and the rhythm section lays down a great bed for Josh's piano playing to walk on.

His voice is really on target with the music he performs and he has a stellar backing chorus who compliment his tone perfectly.

Also on the album, Josh included his song "Healing Time", which he wrote about the rebuilding of New Orleans. If you are inclined, you can go to iTunes and grab the single and ALL money is donated to the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans to assist in the rebuilding of that city.

Continuing his love for the city, Josh is donating a portion of his proceeds to the same cause.

I will stop now, as I am very hopeful that josh will be joining me on Music On The Couch real soon and I want to leave something for you to learn.

I am also hopeful to help bring Josh to Memphis in the near future, working with his agent.

I would share a taste, but the CD is coded to not allow for sharing. But go to Josh's web site HERE and get your taste. I promise you will NOT be disappointed!

I am going to be reviewing a lot of artists coming up here. There will still be other subjects discussed, but I am needing to really focus on all the music I am receiving.

Tomorrow, I will introduce you to a woman who I was turned on to by my Fraternity Brother Greg...her name is Kelley Hunt.

See y'all then....

Mom Joan had an operation to open up the disc in her spine which had crushed when she fell back in December. All went well...She is resting at home.

Love you mom.

So, Wednesday afternoon one of my fraternity brothers, Tim, drove down from St. Louis to spend the night. Tim's wife was back in California this week and Nancy has been on business in Louisiana this week, so the timing was perfect.

Tim lives in California mostly, but his youngest is going to prep school in St. Louis and Tim and Cece decided to rent a house for the school year to be closer to their son.

Tim is a damn good guitarist and I am going to share one of his songs this Monday on Music On The Couch

When he arrived at 4:30, we immediately headed on down to Beale Street and walked up and down the street waiting for the vibe to hit us. In a very short time it did in the form of some tasty blues guitar coming out of the Superior Bar.

We walked in, took a seat, ordered two 32oz glasses of Sam Adams, some food and settled in. What we received was 3 hours of incredible entertainment. The man on the stage played one hell of a guitar and had the voice of an old cotton field bluesman. Only he was a 30-something white guy.

He played without a break the entire time. When he completed his set, we invited him over to the table and bought him a couple of beers and talked.

His story is pretty cool and I am going to let him tell it to y'all sometime in June on Music On The Couch. he and his wife are expecting their second child in the next month and he is putting the finishing touches on his second CD. We exchanged emails and will talk.

His name is Chad Nordhoff and I will share one of the songs from his self titled 2007 CD....this is Got No Prayer