Greetings! I hope life is great with you. Here at home we're enjoying the height of summer with the lilies just starting to pop and fantastic, sunny warm days. Our long legged dog Lily (pictured left) is still having fun.
Here's the latest news:
CATFISH IS INDUCTED IN THE IOWA BLUES HALL OF FAME!
I was very surprised and honored to find out that I've been chosen to be an inductee for the 2008 Iowa Blues Hall of Fame. The good folks of the Central Iowa Blues Society, with cooperation from all the Iowa blues societies, honor veteran blues musicians once a year.
To be considered for this, you have to have what I call "grizzled veteran" status; that is, to have been based in Iowa and gigging for 30 years or more. I still feel like a kid at 46 years old, but blues music has been my passion and living since I was a teenager. Man, that went quick. Here's to the next 30 years...
The ceremony and celebration for the 2008 Iowa Blues Hall of Fame Awards will be on a Sunday in September to be announced at Blues on Grand in Des Moines, Iowa. Some other inductees include the super-talented hipster guitar wizard Dennis "Daddy-O" McMurrin, KCCK-FM blues DJ Bob DeForrest and more. A big thanks goes to T-Bone and the gang at the Central Iowa Blues Society. I am tickled!
HIGH WATER EVERYWHERE - THE 500 YEAR FLOODS OF 2008
Over the last month or so, Iowa and the Midwest have been affected by devastating floods. Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes to flooding. There has been billions of dollars worth of damage; cities have been wrecked, live ruined. Roads and bridges have been closed, levees breaking, crops wrecked, all on a massive scale. Most of the state has been declared a Federal Disaster Area.
Very luckily for us, our home town of Washington, Iowa has had no direct damage. In fact, the weather lately has been beautiful; sunny, perfect summer days. But if you go east 15 miles to Columbus Junction, or up to Iowa City or Cedar Rapids, or try to cross the Mississippi River, the damage is apparent. Penny and I have been fine here, but it was challenging if you wanted to drive anywhere. We had gigs last weekend in Illinois and had to drive a couple of hours out of our way just to find a bridge open to get into Illinois. When we crossed back into Iowa at Burlington, the levees broke and that bridge is now closed.
We have been very lucky here at home, but our state will never be the same. We appreciate friends and fans around the world writing and calling, too. We're OK, so far!
NEW ARTICLE & INTERVIEW ONLINE IN PREMIER GUITAR MAGAZINE
Take a look at the new article and interview in Premier Guitar Magazine. Acclaimed guitarist and writer (and good friend!) Gayla Drake Paul wrote this article which reviews my latest CD, If I Could Holler and has a full interview from a guitarist's perspective, called: Stomp, Growl and Twang: Catfish Keith Interview Hope you enjoy.
Also, in the last few months there have been CD reviews of If I Could Holler in Living Blues, Blues Revue, Dirty Linen, Acoustic Guitar and many other worldwide magazines.
NEW GUITAR FROM DAVID FLAMMANG
My favorite luthier and Iowa homey David Flammang has made me a new fabulous guitar. This one is a Parlor guitar, and is beautiful! It's got mahogany back and sides, a spruce top and a stunning sunburst finish with a fine rope binding and slotted headstock. It's small size belies it's big, barking and deep, rich sound. Look for it on tour. Thanks again to David for another true handbuilt beauty!
THE WORLD TOUR; IT TRULY NEVER ENDS
Summer of 2008 takes us to concerts and festivals around the midwest, then this fall we'll return again to the United Kingdom for another giant tour in October and November. We're excited to return to France for the Foyu Blue Festival in Lyon. In January it's off to California for the NAMM Show with National and a whirlwind tour starting in San Diego and working our way up all the way up north to Humboldt County. Then it's off to Mexico for all of February and early March. Check out my Tour Dates page for full details.
BUY YOUR CATFISH DOWNLOADSMusic from all of my albums is available to purchase for downloading on all of the major download sites, including ITunes, Napster, and over 40 other companies. Of course, we encourage you to buy CDs the "old fashioned" way direct from me and Penny right here at this website, or from CD Baby or Amazon. You can now also download MP3's of entire albums through CD Baby.
CATFISH IS AN OFFICIAL NATIONAL RESO-PHONIC GUITAR DEALER
I've always championed the mighty National guitar. Loved the sound since Day One. I've been helping players for years to purchase these puppies, but now I've been extra-honored with Official Dealer status. Thanks to National founders Don Young and McGregor Gaines for everything over these many years. As always, I'm happy to help if you want to buy a new National, just email or call 319-338-3614 anytime. We have their amazing 2-CD-and-trading-cards Catalogues available. I'm still doing lessons and workshops too, please do get in touch for more info. Look at my Why I Love National Guitars page to see what I have in stock and you can order any model and make custom orders too.
Hope to see you at the shows. Please come say Howdy. Feel free to email or call, it’s always great to hear from you.
yours truly, Catfish Keith
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