I
cant believe it"s that time again. The last tour
of the year is upon us.
We will begin in Columbus,Ohio at Vonn's Jazz
where we played for the "BLUES FOR A CURE"
benefit last year ... Shuffle off to THE TRALF
in Buffalo,then on to CALLAHAN"S in Detroit
where we recorded the last album and DVD. Ya never know
what surprises might be in store!
Next,and this is important, we will be at a new place
for us in Cleveland. We're doing a special EARLY SHOW
at THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM and we need ALL you
Cleveland folks to come out and show support.
Next up is NIGHTCAT in EASTON, MD. This is another
new venue for us and we hear that it is really cool.
Small and intimate and fun.
Then .... wait for it.... THE STANHOPE HOUSE!!!
in Stanhope, New Jersey. We are thrilled to be goin'
back there after all these years. This was a mainstay
for THE NIGHTHAWKS and every other touring band
back in the day, but it has not been on the radar for
many years. Well, now it is back and some old friends
have gotten back invoved to bring it back as a regular
stop. Get tickets EARLY! I'm just sayin'!
Zipping over to BETHLEHEM, PA. to have a rumpus with
LES HOUCK at his new venue for SECOND STORY
BLUES. I love this because we all started playing
in VFW's and legion halls way back when and LES has
found one that ROCKS!
Gonna finish up in PITTSBURGH with my dear friend MOONDOG
and get in the holiday spirit. Yu'ins know where it's
at ... BLAWNOX!
Then it's over the river and through the woods and time
for TURKEY!
I'll be mixing the new studio project soon so we can
get it available quickly. What shall we call it? Got
any suggestions? Maybe we should have a contest to name
the CD .... I dunno , I'll think about that.
Hi,
everybody,
As we prepare for our next chapter in the Drivers summer tour
adventure ,the temperature outside is in the triple digits. Here
in the Natural state of Arkansas, we topped out at 104 yesterday!
This tour will be our longest, taking us first into Iowa, then
up into Canada, back down into Minnesota, then out west - Phoenix,
Vegas, Taos, Albuquerque, then on to numerous California dates.
We just finished the final tracking proceedure for a new studio
CD. Starting at Tony's Treasure's Studio in Cadiz,Ohio and finishing
here at Winterwood studios here in Eureka Springs where we were
blessed by a brilliant performance on keys and vocals provided
by the one and only Ernie Cate of The Cate Bros. (He helped me
write this one and,of course, sang it beautifully).
Now, the project will make the trip to Memphis to be mixed by
my favorite engineer, Dawn Hopkins, who I have worked with so
many times with in the past.
You may have noticed a large, new FACEBOOK icon on the page here,
which will take you over to the FB fan page where we can have
a chat now and then, or post pictures, videos or whatnot. Many
thanks go out to the folks that viewed the STUDIO CAM and made
a donation to BLUES FOR A CURE! We had fun making this new record
and hope you all had fun watching the process.
Gary Brinkley and I are still working along with the folks at
JOE BARDEN ENGINEERING to finish up the design for a new signature
series guitar and hope to make it available to the public soon.
Stay tuned and we will let you know when this guitar, the new
cd and other things become available and, don't forget, if you
haven't already done so, please sign up for the news letter below
so YOU can have first hand knowledge of the release dates of everything
we have to provide you, our valued fan!
Check the list of dates below and find the nearest gig(s) to you
and come join us on the Drivers HOT HOT HOT tour.
STAY COOL AND WE WILL SEE YOU SOON
JIMMY AND THE DRIVERS
Just
got home from our first tour of the season and what a tour it was!
Barely made it out of Memphis as they shut the airport down due
to sideways rain and tornados. We very much enjoyed playing the
BLUES TENT at MEMPHIS IN MAY and stayed dry. A major
accomplishment in itself! Had a great time visiting with Reba
Russell and hubby Wayne and Dawn over pigsicles at THE RENDEZVOUS.
Then, with COCO MONTOYA and KENNY NEAL at the show.
All of our shows were a gas, but, the high point had to be the CD/DVD
release party at CALLAHAN'S in Detroit! Thanks to all the
folks who attended the sold out show and bought so much stuff that
our heads are STILL spinning! AND, let me say one more time, thank
you guys from CMN TV, Peter Jay, Mike Moss,
and the fine folks at DUPLIUM in DALLAS for going above and
beyond to make that party and release all it could be!
Lots of folks have bought copies but rest assured we still have
EVERYTHING in stock. Just click on the appropriate buttons below
and our crack team of marketing geniuses will get your DVD or CD
out to you the very next day!
Don't wanna use a credit card? No problem! Just print out the order
blank here and order a copy by snail mail. It will STILL be processed
as soon as we get it,and mailed next day!
A tip of hat to TONY'S TREASURE STUDIOS in EASTERN OHIO,
where we found some time to visit and cut a few sides to "Test
The Waters" and found them warm and inviting!
Look for us to return there in the not too distant future for a
complete session and new studio project.
The Jimmie Cole Benefit at the STATE THEATRE was a smashing
success and we are still reeling over seeing so many old friends
and talented players.Once again, there never seems to be an end
to the huge amount of talent centered in our nation's capitol. It
was like a giant family reunion without all the dysfunction. Thanks
to my main man, HARRY TURNER and emcee extraordinaire,TOM"CAT"
REEDER for keepin' the train on time.
Well, just about time to wash our socks, pack, and shuffle off to
Buffalo, so stay with us and we'll see ya out there!
~
JIMMY and THE DRIVERS ~
02.27.10
Hi
folks,
Just a note to let everyone know that the soon to be released audio
CD "LIVE IN DETROIT" is at the duplication plant as we
speak.
I have used this company in the past and they have been very fast
and we hope to make the release announcement in a week or so. The
film crew is still in the editing process but making good progress
, so we should have a brand new DVD of that night ready very soon
as well. The release party has been booked in Detroit already for
April and we are looking forward to seeing all you folks who were
there that night. Maybe some newcomers too!
The benifit for JIMMY
COLE at the STATE
THEATRE is already selling tickets so I suggest that all
of you D.C. folks get your tickets soon before it sells out.
This is going to be nothing short of an historic event that you
won't want to miss! Just look at the line-up on the poster and you'll
see what I mean.
By the way, the poster you see here is printable so if anyone wants
to print some out for a keep sake, by all means, help yourselves.
Or better yet, print out a few and hang 'em up around town. You
will be helping the cause greatly!
Once again, let me thank all the people who have worked so hard
as a team to help us get this CD/DVD project happening and all the
attendees helping us raise some dough for JIMMY COLE who really
needs our help right now.
Be sure to take a look at the BLUES
FOR A CURE link here and do your part to help find a cancer
cure. This was ALSO a fantastic project for a very worthy cause
and ya know you want to do the right thing so, check it out, OK?
Pssst ... Hey, all you guitar pickers out there, I'm gonna have
some really cool news about a new guitar that Gary Brinkley and
I are working on pretty soon!
Here's a hint ... It's NOT going to be a STRAT or even STRAT-like.
More on that later.
Remember to sign up for the news letter below so YOU will get the
CD/DVD release news first. Because you're special!
BIG
NOTES TO YA!
~
JIMMY and THE DRIVERS ~
JOHN
WATSON VIDEO
Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers 12-02-09 at WNCW 88.7 live in Studio
B
11.24.09
Hi
folks!,
We made it back home (briefly) from our giant circle around, across
over and the through the big ol' USA! Quite the journey to say the
least.
The boys and I want to say how much we appreciate seeing all of you
attending our shows and signing up for our new E-mail list and contest
give-away. We had so much fun traveling and playing for you all and
the culmination of the trip resulted in a succesfull capturing of
a live CD. and DVD recording in Motor City.
Big thank you's must go to Mike Moss at Callahans for enabling this
rather ambitious endeavor, along with the wonderful camera crew (5or
6, I lost count!) Crawdaddy Dave, Alan Grossman, and above all Peter
Jaye our audio engineer extraordinare! Seems like a dream it went
by so quickly.
We will now begin to take all the footage and audio info and put together
the very best release we have ever done. To say that we are excited
about this project would be a gross understatement. We are thrilled
that we were able to capture what I believe to be one our best performances
on the whole tour in front of the best crowd we have had since the
last Detroit live recording 15 years ago.
Ah, but we aren't done yet. We will be doing one more short trip before
the Christmas Holiday down through North Carolina where we will be
doing another live radio recording on WNCW, then on to Louisville
and into Ohio that will result in a show with Sean Carney and others
for a benefiet for a cancer cure, followed by a masters class with
your's truly and then a commemerative recording.
Quite a year!
Wanna say hi to all the old friends we saw and thanks to all the new
friends we made out there and we WILL keep you all updated
on the progress of the new live project.
Keep signing up because, as the song goes, ya gotta play to win!
Oh yeah , Special thanks to our old pal, Thayrone for doing such a
masterful job as M.C. Be sure to tune in to his radio show on the
web. [Click
Here to Listen]
That's all for now,except for HAPPY THANKSGIVING
and pass the peace, please!
~
Jimmy and the Drivers ~
~
Previous Posts ~
11.02.09
Hello
Friends!
Half
way through our west coast trip, we have had a spectacular journey
complete with great attendance at the shows and beautiful fall
colors. Here is a photo I took of Multnomah Falls on the Columbia
River Gorge.
"
Saw you're awesome show in Hood River (Halloween party)
and saw you at the falls ... thought you would like this
... hope you make it back to the northwest in 2010"
... Shelly Walker
Lots of folks have been signing up for our news letter and contest.
Thanks to all our friends , old and new! The North West weather
has been as abominable as its Snowman . Rain and more rain.Had
us longing for the great climate of Arizona again. Now we are
going back into N. California and lookin' forward to seeing our
friends there under somewhat drier conditions.
Been working on some new songs for debut on the upcoming live
recording at Callahans in Detroit. Some special surprises!
Rollo has a cold and Bumpy had a tooth pulled. See? Its not all
lollipops out here! But we ARE havin' a blast and hope to see
ALL of you in the coming weeks. More updates soon!
~
Jimmy ~
PS - Dont forget to sign up on our Email list!!
09.27.09
OK
Folks! Big announcement time!
On November the 19th The Drivers and I will be recording a new live
project at Callahan
Music Hall in Detroit. We will be also be taping a dvd simultaneously.
And just to be thorough, we will also be filming a documentary of
sorts about the recording itself and all the behind the scenes stuff
that goes into putting this kind of project together.
This will be a momentous occasion for us because 15 years ago ,we
recorded our "Wild Night Out" C.D. at Sully"s in
Dearborn almost to the day. Our M.C. will be our old friend, radio
personality, and self proclaimed "Rodeo Clown with a Microphone"
, the ever popular Thayrone!
We hope you all will enjoy this rather ambitious endeavor and we
invite everyone to be part of the festivities. Please call Callahan's
for ticket info and make your reservations now.Space is limited
so sooner is better.
We will be making a commemorative T shirt and some other goodies
so you all will be able to take home a cool souvenier of the event.
Here's hoping you can make the date and be part of the gig .
We are very excited to have a cool new place to play in THE MOTOR
CITY and extremely proud that the folks at Callahans are helping
us put this together.
Tell your friends ! See ya in Auburn Hills (Detroit) on the 19th
of Nov.
~
JIMMY AND THE DRIVERS ~
09.15.09
We
found ourseves in a bit of a conundrum over the last weekend ...
We ran straight into the Nor'easter in New Jersey. We were slated
to play on the outdoor stage on the beach in Somers Point which
after torrential rains and 45 mph winds was under water!
Fortunatley, Carmine, our promoter had the cool idea to move us
to the American Legion hall where we played for a capacity crowd
(although somewhat smaller than the 900 folks that woulkd have been
outside)
Thanks to all our friends who ferretted out the info and showed
up at the alternate location, and to the fine folks at the Legion
hall who made us feel right at home!
And thank you, Carmine!
Then it was up early the next morning for the 500 mile drive to
Niagra Falls for the second annual Niagra Blues Fest. Wow! What
a crowd! Try as I might, I couldn't see where the crowd ended it
was such a great turnout.
Last year it poured down rain and it was STILL a good group, it
was just hard to see their faces because the all had trash bags
on their heads.
This year, the weather was perfect and the folks were out in force.
Our benevelant host, Toby had formally renamed the Drivers ,"THE
DEVASTATORS" and put it on all the posters and shirts. What
a hoot!
Shared the bill with THE NIGHTHAWKS and they were as good as ever
and we had a great time hanging out again.
Good to see all of you and keep checkin' this site because we have
a big announcement coming in a little while that we will need your
help with!
Just have to get a few more ducks in a row!
~
Peas & Cornbread ~
Jimmy
T
09.24.09
- More "Blast from the Past" photos sent to me by
our good friend Patty (many thanks) ...
w/ Muddy Waters - around 1970
~
Photos by David Blackwell ~
09.02.09
Every
now and then, ya just find yourslelf in that perfect situation where
the venue is extraordinary, the weather is perfect, the crowd is
with you, and the planets just line up right. Our show in Lancaster,
PA was one of those "just right" experiences.
The Long's Park Summer Music series was one of those gigs we dream
about . The production was excellent,lighting perfect,and the promoters
couldn't have been nicer!
It's part of what makes us keep on keepin' on.
Here are some nice photos taken by Harry Turner that gives you an
idea of what it can be like to have all the ducks in a row.
The night before, we had another good time in Bethleham PA. The
review (see below) speaks for itself.
Here's hoping the folks in the Lehigh Valley area keep supporting
the place because it was one of the best new venues we have had
the pleasure of playing.
Rock on everyone and we hope to see you in Sommers Point and Niagra
Falls!
~ Jimmy
and the Drivers ~
Long's
Park Summer Music - Lancaster, PA
Show
Review: 2nd Story - Bethlehem, PA - Aug 29, 2009
By Dave Howell - Special to The Morning Call
Thank God the lights came back on!
It
looked like a power outage in Southside Bethlehem might cancel
the Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers concert at 2nd Story Blues.
Luckily the electricity came back on, and the band instantly
began its 3-hour show.
If the band could have been hooked up to the power supply, it
could have provided enough energy to light up the whole city.
2nd Story blues is noisy, as blues clubs tend to be. But when
Thackery played, there was little movement or talking. His effortless
guitar work mesmerized the audience of about 150 with nearly
every style of American music.
Thackery
is known as a bluesman, but blues was only a small part of his
varied show. He included country, surf, swing, rock and roll,
jazz, Tex-Mex, rock, and even a piece that could have been the
theme to a spaghetti Western film. [Read
More]
~ Latest Photo Galleries ~
Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival 'After Party' - Pickin'
and Grinnin'
Mile
Hig Blues Festival - Photos by John Ambrosino
Photos
by Mike Dockeray (Detroit Blues Society)
07.30.09 at Callhans - Auburn Hills, MI
Photos by Alan Grossman
07.24.09 at the Birchmere Theatre
Jimmy
Thackery and Jimmy McCarty at Callahan's on July 30, 2009
video by John Ripper
(Many thanks to The
Detroit Blues Society)
Latest
Videos: July 24 show at the Birchmere Theatre - Alexandria, VA
With Guest Drummer George Sheppard
Jimmy
Thackery talks about his 1960 Fender Stratocaster which
at one time was a 2-tone sunburst
Mountaintop
home near Eureka Springs is music to ears of Jimmy Thackery
By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Monday,
May 19, 2009
LITTLE
ROCK — Six years ago today, Jimmy Thackery spent his first
night in the vacation home the musician and his wife, Sally,
had bought a few miles northwest of Eureka Springs in the community
of Busch, as Michelle Parks reports in Tuesday’s Style
section. He opened the windows and took in the quiet night and
fresh spring air. He never went back to their apartment in town.
Thackery,
who turns 56 today, spends much less time on the road than he
used to — much of that playing in The Nighthawks. This
rural, mountaintop home, with a German shepherd, pit bull and
chickens, is part of his plan to simplify his life. It allows
him the time and space to write songs and record them.
For
much of his career, he performed in every state but Arkansas,
until 1994, when he accepted an invitation to play the Eureka
Springs Blues Festival.
“Well,
I got here, and I fell in love with the place,” he says.
Thackery was invited back year after year to the festival, which
was then run by the former Sally Riker — yes, that Sally
— and his friends in the music business asked him why.
“And
then it kind of dawned on me that there was something happening
between the two of us. The next thing you know, I married the
boss and moved to Arkansas. I’ve never lived anywhere I’ve
liked as much. I really haven’t. There’s something
about Arkansas. It’s quirky. It’s a little weird.
It’s breathtakingly beautiful.”
