What was new:

 

October, 14th

Again new tabs. "Lucky World" and "Sam D.T.s", both songs from "Tornado Alley". And, of course, thank again to our friend Thomas Ott.

October, 9th

"Recently while on tour in Spain I had the chance to visit with my friend Diego R.J. who D.J.'s a new radio show on National Spanish Radio called "El Sotano" (The Basement). The show was a one hour interview with me in Spanish/English (he translated my responses/comments from the English) along with some CD cuts AND a good live version of my instrumental song "Ragged Caravan". It's available online HERE.

September, 27th

Basque/Spain/France Tour Diary- 09/09

09/17- Bera, Basqueland. 11:00

I left Paris yesterday late at 10:40 and landed right in the middle of a traffic jam. It took me more then 90 minutes to get from our house to the other side of Paris, which is something, like 20K. Welcome to the glamorous world of tour-by-car. I arrived down here just at 21:00 so it was a long drive. The weather all day was gray and hazy and stayed that way until just before Bordeaux where I finally saw a little sunshine. Lately I have been getting quite good at taking short little rests (naps) when I am tired. I managed to sleep for 20 minutes near Bordeaux and felt a whole lot better afterwards. It was hard staying awake before that. Dangerous. Drives on the French autoroutes are boring and expensive. It cost me more than 50€ to drive here and that is just one car! Imagine.

Anyway, I see blue sky here today and I am happy to be back to one of my favorite corners of the world. I am staying with my friends Joseba and Maria in a small village just near the French/Basqueland, border. A nice Spanish tortilla dinner (most excellently made by Maria!) with some good Spanish wine was my welcome back meal and most heartfelt received. My first show is tomorrow and I am am ready.

09.18- Vitoria, Basqueland. 08:36.

I am in a hotel room now getting ready to go find some coffee. Awoke early this morning to the loud sounds of the city just outside my window. I forgot to ask for a room in the back of the hotel away from the street side. I was tired when I stumbled in around midnight though. Anyway, it is clean here and only about a 15-minute walk to the venue. I left my gear at the club as parking is nonexistent here at the hotel (it's across the street from a mall!). Why they give traveling musicians these kinds of hotels is a question I have never been able to answer. (ok, ok… price is usually the decider). To me it is obvious that parking is essential. I need to spell it out in my contracts though... jeez.

I had a good show last night and a nice crowd. Lot's of young folks, men and woman both, and that was very cool. Kind of noisy at times but they were quiet at the appropriate moments for which I was grateful. Difficult with the sound but Rubin did as good as he could with an all metal and glass room and that fucking Yamaha 01V96VCM digital mixer. In all the years I have been seeing that mixing board I've only known one soundman that knew how to work it properly. Clubs like them though because it an everything-in-one unit. By that, I mean it powers the speakers and has effects (reverbs etc.) but it is slow, clumsy and complicated to use. As far as I have been able to tell, all the engineers hate them as well. However, I digress.

The show was good I think and I played fairly well. It will be better tonight I hope. It is off to Durango and a show with friend Petti. Now I am for a shower and then into the hard rain in search of breakfast.

•  Durango

Singing Basque songwriter and guitarist Petti was up with me tonight. This is a great venue, professionally built, great sound system, lights and technicians to bring it all to focus on a large stage. It is all a bit daunting but anyway, it is always a pleasure to play here and last night was no different. All the crew donates their time and for having live music at a quality venue in this city of 20,000 people. Petti was like a force of nature on this night and the audience responded in kind. I am playing six and 12-string guitars along with the Dobro and it's are nice to have the variety. Each guitar allows me to explore different facets of my music and I love that. It is fun singing new songs as well.

•  Gernika

The rain has finally stopped and hopefully it will remain gone. One of the many things that I like about this country is the friendliness and confidence of the people. Ok, I am an outsider and I would imagine that it might be quite difference living here day to day. HOWEVER, I will say that the friendliness is not phony and you can tell by how a person moves if they are confident or not. Not so many speak English here but still they are not afraid of you when approached and in fact try rather hard to get their point across or your questions answered. It might be in Basque or Spanish but hey, that is not their problem right?

120 people last night in a loft space created by an association of young people. Everybody that was working there was donating his or her time and energies and it was great. Lot's of smiling faces and plenty of good cheer.

09.21-Bera

I am playing in a very small bar last night but it is a small little town. A nice, polite and attentive audience of 30 or so people came out early on a rainy Sunday night to sample this American's musical wares. We did well too I think. Most everybody left in good spirits, I sold a few CD's and, for myself, I was happy. After the show, we sat around and drank a few beers and then the owner made us some traditional Basque sandwiches called “talo's” which were great. Just hard, flat bread made with cornmeal and filled with cheese and, on this night some bacon. The whole thing is fried on a grill and served hot. Along with a good strong Basque wine I was satisfied. Tomorrow will be an off day and time to catch up on some much needed sleep. Tuesday it is off to Spain and the big city lights of Madrid.

•  Bera

Celebrated my last night with a fine dinner created by Maria and toasted in good cheer by us all. Friend Joseba has a good selection of music that I do not know too much about and I was quite interested in listening too. Derek Bailey, David Sylvain and even Joseba Irazoki's own projects are quite fascinating. It is good to step outside of ones own musical ‘safe zone' and into the lives of people that think completely differently. It's something I need to do more. It has been a great time here in the Basque country and I am already looking forward to my return. Now though, it is time to get down the road.

September, 17th

New tablatures added, as usual thanks to Dr. Ott. These are three songs from Tornado Alley.

September, 16th

New dates for Germany added. One in Prague too.

 

“Parting The Waters - America in the King Years 1954-63” by Taylor Branch. Published 1989 by Simon & Schuster

Pulitzer Prize Winner, NY Times, Boston Globe, LA Times Best Book Of The Year, National Book Critics Award winner, etc.

This book is an excellently written history about the American civil rights movement. The foundation of the story and, indeed, the book and the movement itself begins in 1867 with the history of Montgomery, Alabama's First Baptist Church. This volumes (one of two) story continues until just after Dr. Martin Luther Kings historic “I have a dream” speech in Washington D.C almost 100 years later. King is the lynch pin that holds it all together but this is not necessarily just about him. It is a fascinating and insightful read about what was “a revolutionary struggle unequaled since the Civil War”. If you are afraid of reading this kind of book because it might be boring you need have no fear. This is a masterfully told story and book is a gripping read.

Taylor Branch takes you inside the halls of the government of four presidents (Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon) and details the lies of J. Edgar Hoover. He also details the lives of some of the most pioneering of those voter registers, marchers, preachers, protesters, sit-inners, and the workingmen and women of the South who risked and gave their lives in the pursuit of freedom. Moreover most all of this movement was achieved by the (mostly) nonviolent protests by some of the most brutally subjugated and oppressed men, women and children of the modern world.

For those folks who seek an understanding of the complexities of American politics as well as of race and its fallout, this book would be a great place to start. A truly important book and one I could not put down. I salute you Taylor Branch!

September, 11th

Spanish and french friends: check out for new tourdates.

August, 22nd

As you can see up here now you can listen and buy Shotgun Pillowcase directly from this site.

August, 13th

Hey everyone-

6 months in:
Seems like I'm always writing these little postcards smack dab in the middle of summer. In Europe anyway, it often feels like NOBODY is home. Certainly trying to do business with venues and promoters is challenging. Life does move forward though but I'm often wondering who is steering the ship.

From the looks of things in America, President Obama has his hands very, very full. Certainly since the start of his presidency partisan politics in that country have taken a decided turn for the worse. Now the Republicans and their ilk are not only against the Democrats because the Dems are trying to get the country back on its feet after 8 years of mismanagement (remember Jr.s 1.6 trillion dollar tax cut 6 months into his first term in office?), they are against Obama because they (the Republicans) were ‘faced' in the last election and they are against Obama for nothing else but that. In other words they are against him on principle alone.

The sad thing is that they offer little or nothing in the way of solutions or alternatives to those ideas being put forward by Obama and the Democrats. Apparently it's enough to just be against everything the ‘other' party is trying to accomplish. Most of them would not admit it but this is as much about racial prejudice as it is about their anger at getting kicked away from the feeding trough. It's looking like it's going to be a very, very long and ugly mess in the US of A into the foreseeable future. I can see no way that this is going to come together either. It's really turned into us versus them kind of thing.

There has been a big noise recently in America about the Presidents comments regarding the arrest of a black man in that mans own home for breaking into his own home! Mr. Obama said he thought the "police had handled the matter stupidly" and of course that got that dogs barking. How dare anyone criticize the police, let alone the fact that the one doing the criticizing is a black man. The subject of race has been kept at a fairly low boil since his election but it certainly doesn't take much to bring it to the surface. I like how he is confronting this subject, which is head-on as it needs to be. America is a racist country and, though progress certainly has been made, the only way change this is to have a dialogue, locally as well as nationally, about the different realities that each color lives with. Painful as it may be on all sides of the divides, President Obama is not letting us forget that he is indeed very much an African-American male and that race is and needs to be talked about honestly and openly.

6 months in I still like the guy. I think some of the sparkling shine has come off his image but hey, we know now he's just a man and not the messiah. He has brought forward a very ambitious agenda and has fought hard to get his programs enacted into law. Personally speaking I'm not too happy with how he's gotten the banks back into their billion dollar quarterly profits schedules. Doesn't make sense to me but perhaps things will work out. With all the people out of work everywhere it sure doesn't seem like fixing things for the banks first was the correct thing to do was it? I guess that's why he's the president and I'm sitting here in my little office writing this letter.

I like how President Obama has tried to get his national health coverage program enacted into law. It's tough but I also agree with him that the current state of affairs in regards lack of universal health care for millions of Americans is bankrupting the country. This problem needs to be addressed and it will be.

He's also done well on the world stage I think. Trying to bring America back into the fellowship of the world as an equal member and partner with the rest of the countries has been an important first step and one I applaud. Getting out of Iraq has been a much overdue move. Afghanistan is something now that has to be figured out. Sending more heavily armed robo-troops into a country that has never been conquered in thousands of years? Against the toughest, most dedicated guerrila fighters in the whole world? And thugs, bandits and criminals are running said country? And this is supposed to bring progress and peace "to the people"?? Duh, I don't think so.

Well, I'm not sure what kind of progress report this is but these are some of my thoughts 6 months in. I still don't regret for one second the nations choice that was made last November 5th . America is a better place, neighbor and friend now. I sincerely hope she moves forward in this same positive direction.

Peace,
Terry Lee

Photo: Franck Betermin

July, 7th

New tourdates added. France, early august and Norway, between august and september.

July, 6th

“Shantaram”- Gregory David Roberts

( I was supposed to be contributing more to this page but so far it's been difficult to find the time. Anyway...) 

If you're looking for a ‘true story' novel with grit (so says the cover) then this is your stop. I couldn't put the book down. Supposedly the true-life story of Roberts. I mean the story is so far fetched it's almost fantastical. Something like Robert Ludlum or even Marvel Comics could invent. We got this guy, escapes from a top security prison in Australia (for robbery), flees to India where he settles into the slums and (stealing from the back cover of the novel)”… establishes a health clinic, joins the mafia, works a money launderer, forger and street soldier.” He learns the language, gets caught, ends up back in jail, gets out, acted in Bollywood, fights for the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, writes 3 versions of the book (933 pages!) because prison guards trashed 2 of them and on and on. I'm not sure what to believe but this guy is out there in the world and there's apparently more to the story then ends up in the book. Still, it IS gripping, readable and very well written and quite a life for one little Australian man. I know this book has been translated into your language. Perfect summer reading material! Have fun.

http://www.shantaram.com

July, 1st

All the tablatures are now in pdf format, easier to read....and play! Neverending thanks to Thomas The Doctor.

June, 29th

Not big news, holidays are coming and Terry is Terry is working hard on new songs for the next record.

Here's a new nice picture from our friend Peter Pricken:

May, 11th

Another new tablatures. It's "High Noon" from "Celebration What For". Another hit from The Doctor!

May, 7th

We are currently making new arrangements to sell digital Terry Lee Hale music. If you can wait another month we’ll have some new links for you to go to. If you can’t wait then by all means go ahead and click away at your favorite sites. That money will not reach me though as we’ve discontinued the account with using It’s About Music as our main distributor. For CD sales in Europe you can still buy or order them at one of your favorite retailers. We’ll have a company soon in America that will sell those CD’s as well. Thanks for your patience.

May, 5th

Two new pdf tablatures for your playing pleasure. And a picture of the Master Of Tablatures himself!

April, 28th

Jackson Browne Olympia Paris concert review.  04/27/09
 
Remember Rick Rubin and what he did for the careers of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond?  I couldn't help thinking as I watched Jackson Browne and his band plod through his set at the Olympia tonight that a couple of weeks with M. Rubin was exactly what he needed.  Ok, we all know and respect the fine catalogue of songs the Browne has penned. It's not an easy thing to do and I do tip my hat.  But it's also very telling that the biggest applause he got during the one hour I was there was for when he stopped singing and let his backup singers take over “Doctor My Eyes”. The least applause he got was from his newest song which preceded Doctor My Eyes. I am absolutely confident all of this was not lost on this long time music veteran musician.

Don't me wrong - I DO respect the guy. He's had his musical moments, he cares more than anybody in the world and he has written some fine songs (didn't I already say that?) testifying to that effect. But when I think of Southern Californian rock I prefer to think about The Doors, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, X, Blasters, Los Lobos, Motley Crue, Van Halen, NWA, etc.  I've said this before in my reviews but I do prefer see some blood, sweat and tears with my live music and trust me friends, there was not one drop shed except from the rainy skies on this chilly Parisian evening.  But, to be fair, Paris audiences are tough and I've seen this before.  You REALLY must do more than just play the notes here because if you don't it's polite (for this hit singles) applause at best. I left before the end of the concert but I'm confident I didn't miss anything that playing the records (if I owned them) wouldn't satisfy.
 
PS - One last thing: someone PLEASE do take those fucking cymbals away from his drummer!  Jeez…


Terry Lee

April, 27th

A new page with selected pictures from the Rockpalast concert.

April, 22nd

I sincerely hope Sam doesn't mind my sharing with you some of her writings that I picked off her website at samphillips.com. Lately, as I've been gathering and writing songs in preparation for a new recording, I've been thinking quite a lot about what does and does not constitute a good song. I couldn't help by being struck with her very accurate description of my own feelings regarding songwriting as well the business of music. Her words are wise and I believe probably hard fought for truths.
The do express perfectly my present day feelings. Anyway, if you really want to know what good songs are about then you really need look no further then Sam Phillips. She is a tremendous talent. All of her recorded music is worth owning but her last ("Don't Do Anything"-2008) is my current fave.

From Sam Philips web site: "I try to keep from wearing everyone out with confessional singer/songwriter dribble. (It's not interesting just because it's in a song) Having written that, there are times when real life breaks into my songs like a wrecking ball and I do some confessing. The break up of my marriage made it's way into my last record and is not completely absent on this new one. It was a big painful thing. I hope you never have to go through it. During the worst of it, I came across a little passage in the I Ching that talked about trying to be (pardon my very lame reduction here) king of the dirt pile. Fighting for something that isn't worth it, something you don't really need or want, just to be the king. I am thinking about this because my record comes out in June. I would love for people to hear my music and like it, but then there's that big dirt pile of selling, being popular. I have always wanted to make popular music without being popular.
Writing good songs, making good records, doing good shows. Let someone else be king of the dirt.. . hoping this will make sense and come in handy sometime, Sam"

April, 20th

The tablatures page has been update. Yes, again!
"Tornado Alley", "I Remember" and "Forget About Love" are completerly new and "Texas Rose" and "I Still Want You" now are in pdf format. As usual thanks to The Doctor!

April, 16th

The tablatures page has been update. Two new songs (Withered Bouquet and Postscript) and a new pdf format for easier and cleaner viewing...and playing!
Pdf tablatures will come as standard in the future, thanks again to our friend Dr. Thomas Ott!

Terry's tips.

“The Great War For Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East”- Robert Fisk (2005) (translated)

If you've been looking for one book that might give you some insight about the Middle East then this is the one to read. For more then 30 year's Fisk has lived in and reported (The London Times, The Independent) from Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Algeria and other places. Although this dense book (at 1200+ pages) is nonfiction, it is a fascinating and compelling read. It is essentially a book about war. That the region and its history of unrelieved violence and broken promises are written in such a competent and straightforward manner is needful and timely. There is not one nation or government and very few politicians escape his critical eye or fiery condemnations. He does not quibble or hesitate to name names, present the facts or make conclusions. This is not pretty story nor does he make any attempt to lessen his precise and quite graphic detailing of the land, it's problems, it's peoples and the costs being paid by the those majority of decent men and women who live there.

But hey, if you have already picked a side then perhaps you should stay away from this read as I guarantee you won't like this book. If on the other hand you can approach this information with a questing mind and openness you will find much there to learn. You will be educated and come away with a much clearer understanding of what Fisk's main point is: “that war is about the total failure of the human spirit”.

April, 14th

Gran Torino - 2008

Written by Dave Johannson, Nick Schenk. Directed by Clint Eastwood

Starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her and Christopher Carley

Mr. Eastwood as the icon again but this time with funny lines. I wish the guy would get off the cross though but still the movie is ultimatly serious stuff and very entertaining. Short on script, a bit awkward at times but I still liked it. I suspect the movie was written for the lowest common denominator but maybe it will cause folks to think. The movie is rickety and warm.

Photo of the week:

Photographer: Martina A. Stanek

 

March, 18th

Terry's Tips -

I've wanted to do this page for a while now but have held off for a few reasons. I do like the idea of having a page that is more mobile and changing . Although I enjoy writing the more in depth articles they do take a long time. Plus once they are posted and folks read them they probably don't get visited again. Anyway, with this new window I'd like to have it be a kind of movable feast of ideas and suggestions of things I'm hearing, seeing, tasting, doing or whatever. Some few words or a paragraph to perhaps turn you on to something if you're in the mood. Books, movies, some personal photo's, show's, whatever. I'll try and make it more then just topical (like just stuff here in Paris or books that can't be bought in other languages) but that might not always be possible of course. Anyway, this is to be just things I like and would like to share with you.

One must remember though that where we live (just outside Paris), it's not how shall we say, any kind of cultural hotspot. Movies arrive here a month or so after their stateside release. Books I buy ((mostly) at a good used bookstore in Paris and what I read is totally dependent on the best finds I get there. Music comes to me from various sources but I get a lot of it at Amazon. I try and stay abreast of what's current but, again, I'm a bit out of the loop. I do try though and life itself is rich with surprises.

Anyway, we'll see how this works. If you've suggestions please send them along. And as always, I hope you enjoy the pages.

Special thanks here to the great webmaster Stefano who is taking more of his time to keep this page loaded!!

 

Movies : “Lars and The Real Girl” Directed by Craig Gillespie. Written by Nancy Oliver.

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Kelli Garner and Paul Schneider. 2008.

An emotional, very intelligent and (almost) over the top comedy that manages to be quite absorbing and ultimately endearing. The premise is a bit wacko but with supurb directing, writing and performances everyone keeps this lovely and captivating movie on track from beginning to end. Perhaps you won't all like it but I'll bet that if you like my music you'll love this movie. I was totally won over.

Books: “Globalization and it's Discontents”, by Joseph E. Stiglitz. 2002.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, former Chief Economist of the World bank and Chairman of President Clintons Council of Economic Advisors. This guy knows his stuff and this book will educate and scare the hell out of you. He manages to bring to perfect focus what Globalization is doing, who it is hurting and benefiting the most and why it is failing. An absolutely gripping and readable account of the West's financial global agenda and of the changing world that is meeting that challenge. This is not dry, intellectual reading either. Readable, engaging and profound.