Welcome. Tonight, 8-19-26, we’re watching Little Feat at the Vilar Performing Arts Center, streaming on Nugs. I’ll be keeping a set list here
Say hey and where you’re from if you’re watching, too.
**** Set 1 *****
Kenny: “There was just all these grooves I was playing, and every time they heard something they’d go write a song… ‘Spanish Moon’, Paul, um, we were jamming. The band and I had the day off, we had to a rehearsal, and Lowell had fired Richie, so Freddie White was playing drums. Freddie White played on the original version. And we were in there doing our little thing, and playing. I was playing a click, and Billy walks in and hit record it. And Lowell walks in and says ‘Don’t stop!’, and puts on his guitar and sings ‘Spanish Moon’ verbatim. Right then and there. Just walked up. Must have had the song in his head. Cause he just walked up to that groove and started the song.”
From about 14:30 into this 2021 interview
I am excited to let you know that all systems are a go for the release of my book. I have a big ask, and this is something I haven’t done since going to everyone many years ago to begin Little Feat’s grassroots movement. I am asking you to please pre-order the book. It is very important.
To pre-order, follow this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Carnival-Ghosts-Bill-Payne/dp/B0H58P4PGC
Thank you!
Let me guide you through some of what is in the book:
I come from a line of storytellers. My book Carnival Ghosts, to be published by Regalo Press, is a rich terrain of stories that weave through my life. Stories that involve a Dickensian cast of characters, situations, mysteries, tragedies, and a path with perseverance and renewal that I could have never scripted. While at times I was in doubt as to where I was going and who I would meet along the way, I was never in doubt that I had something to offer if I could land in the right place long enough. My music teacher Ruth Neuman was critical to my becoming a musician, and I take you through that journey with her. A career as a keyboardist seemed unlikely because I auditioned to play drums, not keyboards, for what would be my first band following Ruth’s death. Those early bands I played in were an education in how musicians interact—I was part of something much bigger than myself.
Later, the saga of what led to meeting Lowell George was a climb up a steep and treacherous mountain. My good fortune was finding him amidst all the confusion. This part of my life is told in the fashion I lived it: full of hope, doubt, and holding on for dear life. In the beginning, Lowell was my mentor, and though that fabric would eventually tear and fray, the bond we forged has never broken because of the legacy of our music.
People view me as a member of a great band, a studio musician, and someone with years and the attendant miles of being a road warrior. I encompass all of those worlds and share the differences and the similarities in the book. At heart, I am a band member with whomever I play with. That philosophy has been a large part of my success.
Little Feat is my family, but I also have the family that brought me into the world. I take you through what was a heartbreaking and unavoidable collision of what ifs with my mother and brother. The trials I’ve been through give depth to who I am as an artist. My responsibility as an artist revolves essentially on what I share. You and I are connected. Carnival Ghosts is the best way to convey how that relationship works. A grassroots movement was the result of that connective spirit.
Photographs of mine and others throughout the book illuminate this eventful journey. The photo on the book cover is one I took in 2007 at a county fair in Illinois.
Many of you have expressed a desire to read my book. I am beyond grateful.
Please share this post and the ones in the future with as many friends and acquaintances as you can. I will be posting more insights and excerpts of
chapters in the weeks and months to come. Thank you again for pre-ordering Carnival Ghosts!
My heartfelt thanks to all.
Bill
To be released on February 16, 2027. Pre-order link in comments
I don't usually share info from Facebook, but this one seems significant. An announcement on Thursday?
What do you make of this review?