On Practicing Guitar

Riding Shotgun With Bassist Mike Muller

 

I hit the Red Lion Blues Jam on Bleecker Street on maybe the second coldest night of the year about ten days ago on Monday, January 21^st aka Martin Luther King Day. Due to the weather there weren’t as many jammers as usual but the place eventually filled up with an appreciative crowd.

Mike Muller on the world stage somewhere...

I was lucky to get up on stage with my friend Mike Muller, who is a dynamite bass player and a great singer and performer. He brought out two interesting tunes, “I Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In," by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition and “Every Night of the Week,” by Tracy Nelson.

 

Please note the Irish sweater worn by the guitarist on the left. I forgot to take it off it was so cold.

The band included Nick Mancuso on drums, Mike on bass and vocals, an unnamed newcomer on guitar who played some very nice licks – stage right and lefthanded – there’s a song in there somewhere - myself with the gorgeous blue Strat, and Mark Mancini on keys, who played some nice Hammond-styled backing and solos. I also played and sang one of my favorite songs, “The Things I Used To Do” by Guitar Slim (not included).

Thanks to Big Ed and his band for making the night happen all these years and to Sylvie Yannello for the highly watchable video. -Christian Botta

Saints and Sinners Getting Busy in 2019

Hello and Happy New Year! Saints and Sinners has some good stuff planned for the beginning of the year and we thought we would share it with you. First of all, we have a residency at The Shrine, one of our favorite venues. We’re playing every other Tuesday in January and February, that is Jan 15, Jan 29, Feb 12 and Feb 26, from 10:30 to midnight. Ah yes! The wee wee hours as Frank Sinatra once sang. Well not quite, that’s even later. It’s a relaxed, night owl sort of scene that gives way to freestyle dancing and other shenanigans after midnight. The Shrine is located at 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd – that’s 7^the Ave and 133^rd St. in Harlem. It’s free. We will of course be hitting all these gigs with the ever dangerous Dave Gerstein on bass, Mike Rodbard from, ahem, Chicago on drums and vocals, and yours truly, Christian Botta on guitar and vocals.

The second big thing is that we have this terrific gig at The Bitter End on Friday, February 15 at 9pm. Yes, we busted right into the big time, it seems. We hope you can make it to that one. We are under the threat of house arrest if we don’t bring in a good crowd and we sure would love to play there on a regular basis. Come on! Join us. We know it’s the day after Valentine’s Day. So, if he or she breaks your heart, just come on out and party to some blues and rock and roll with us. Otherwise, just storm out of the house on Friday like a regular homewrecker would. It feels great, let me tell you! We will be playing our new album, natch...

In case you’re unaware, The Bitter End once hosted Curtis Mayfield and his super fly band, no not the Impressions, but a kind of post-Impressionist line up, yes – The "Freddie’s Dead" crew. So, Curtis made an album of that run, twelve nights in a row. I highly recommend listening to it. It is FABULOUS! But we’ve only got one night so, I hope you can be there. The Bitter End is located at 147 Bleecker St. in The Village. It costs ten bucks. Thank you for your patience! Watch the closing doors!