First Blog In A Long Time

Here it is the end of April and it's been FOREVER since I wrote the last blog. Problem is, it didn't seem like anyone read the thing so it seemed like a waste of time to write it. On the other hand, I have a little time to waste.
We have had some fun gigs; we played at the Old Tucker Fountain, which used to be a soda fountain a million years ago and is now a barbecue restaurant. We must have done okay...or maybe it was that we were free...and have been invited back. The have a pretty regular rotation of bluegrass bands that play Sunday nights, then everyone jams for about an hour, then another band plays.
I got to be a judge of a bluegrass competition at Stone Mountain Village, Georgia, the town's first music festival. I met one of the other judges, Marc Miller, who has a bluegrass radio show in town and invited us to do a live thing on his show, so that's coming up pretty soon. And Hicks With Picks played at the festival that station, WRFG (Radio Free Georgia) put on. As we were wrapping it up, the director asked if we could keep playing because there was a little scheduling mixup. We were glad to and did another half hour we hadn't planned on.
Hicks is the house band at Rock Spring Presbyterian. After a two-year search, we finally have hired a new minister and she started last week. Great sermon, and seems like a real winner! We will play at her installation ceremony, along with the choir, and boy is she in for a surprise when she see her first Bluegrass Sunday when we do all the music for the whole service. We're excited.
I've saved up enough money to buy a new guitar. I don't need one and have more pressing things to spend it on, but I didn't save the money for those other things and they'll have to get paid for some other way. I have heard the Eastman guitar and it seems like a great sound and great value for the money. Anyone have any other suggestions I should check out?
Jeff