“Hey Tom, this is Steam Music in Missoula. I have a guitar here you might be interested in.” It was September 22, 1978. “Peavey is doing a test market on a new guitar they just came out with. It’s pretty cool. You should come over and check it out.” The next Saturday I was on […]
Author: tom@cautionblinddriver.com
Coolest Band Name EVER
If you have perused this site, you know how our family band, Caution! Blind Driver got its name. Our drummer, Jeff, is totally blind. And he is the driver of our music. When Jeff was a little, he took great glee in sitting on my lap and steering our old pickup truck down the gravel […]
What a Difference A Chord Makes!
Here’s an interesting note – or should I say “chord” – for songwriters. Scott Frieman shows how Paul McCartney wrote Penny Lane with a really odd chord progression, using a B minor out of nowhere for the turn. If you are a songwriter, or a musician, or a Beatles fan, proceed to the short and […]
Can You Write A Song in Ten Minutes?
A guitarist friend, Kevin Scruggs, pointed me to a Facebook video featuring Ben Folds at the Kennedy Performing Center for the Arts. Folds was asked to write a song in ten minutes, from scratch, given the following tools: one line selected from that evening’s printed program, the key of A minor, and the National Symphony […]
In Defense of Three-Piece Bands
Some people assume that a three-piece band can’t be as “good” as a four-piece band. A five-piece band must be even better. Hell, a 27-piece band must be top-notch. I have played in many bands over the years, some big and some small, some awesome and some not-so-hot. And I have concluded that the number […]
Let’s Talk Drums
Our family band, Caution! Blind Driver is all about the drums. My dad was a drummer. My sister was a drummer. I’m a drummer. My daughter, Jenny, can play. My son, Jeff, is our drummer and the driver of the band. You might say we’ve got drums in the DNA. To me, and all of us, drums set the […]
Line Dance with CBD
We are playing a convention gig this week and have been asked to do a number of line dances. So we have been studying up on the fine art of line dancing. We already do the Cupid Shuffle, which seems to be the current favorite for line dancers. And Jeff and I played for country line dancing […]
Jeff and Tom On a Beatles Pilgrimage
Jeff and Tom spent a week in the UK and did the Beatles tourist thing with visits to Abbey Road, a tour of notable Beatles historical sites, and the obligatory trip to the Beatles Store – a treasure trove of Fab Four memorabilia and tourist trash. No musician’s trip to London would be complete without a photo […]
Check Out Hartland’s in Rock Hill
If you are looking for a fun new place to kick back for an evening, you will really enjoy Hartland’s in Rock Hill. It’s located at 2260 Cross Pointe Drive – that’s in the new shopping district on Dave Lyle Blvd., right off I-77, an easy drive from Charlotte. They have fantastic food and live music several […]
Merry Christmas from Caution! Blind Driver
We love this time of year – the lights, the food – and especially the music! We play a bunch of rocked-up Christmas songs during the season. A few years ago I was sticking close to the fireplace in our log home on a mountain in Montana, snowed in half the time, and it gave me the […]