A while back I was trading slide guitar licks with Ray Wylie Hubbard live on the radio and thinking, “How cool is this?” Mattson Rainer of KNBT, the top-rated Americana station in the country, had called earlier in the week and asked me to play on their “Roots and Branches of Americana” show. So there I was, doing what I love to do best—play music. I know it may sound “hokey” to some but it’s the whole point of me being here. It’s one of the few times I can become totally lost in the moment. It feeds my soul.

Now, I can’t say I haven’t gotten side tracked from the dream of making music my calling in life, because I’ve definitely had a few detours on the road to “mega stardom.” I worked as an electrician and appliance repairman. I’ve been married and divorced. I’ve made some really bad choices and lived through the consequences. I’ve had a few disappointments and a few triumphs. I’ve lived the school of hard knocks.

Surprisingly all of those tangents, missteps and “real life” have shaped my song writing and music in ways I couldn’t have imagined at the time. My first CD, “I’ve Been Around,” charted 38 on Americana—Dolly Parton gently nudged me off. I’ve opened for Jerry Jeff Walker, Gary P. Nunn, Charlie Robison and Ruthie Foster. I’ve played Gruene Hall and appeared on Mattson Rainer’s “Crossroads Americana” numerous times. The old “Humbletime” radio show featured me as their guest artist. And, as I started off saying, I got to trade slide licks with Ray Wylie.

I play bottleneck slide and finger-style acoustic guitar. A little contemporary folk. A little blues. A little country. And unlikely combinations, like Phillip Glass meets ska. So if you just want to sit back and laugh a little, remember what you tried to forget, or just groove to the blues, check out my calendar. Stop by. Pull up a chair and be a part of what I love to do best—play music.

www.MichaelWaid.com

Don Paladin has played in bars, churches, coffee houses, dance halls, restaurants, house parties, concerts and beer gardens around Texas for about 35 years in small ensembles, dance bands, and as a solo artist. The duo of Smith and Paladin is comprised of Rodney Joe Smith and Don.

Don has published and recorded his own music and has worked in studio with other artists, such as The Lucky Tomblin Band, Augie Meyers, Kevin and the Blacktears and Charlie Beall.

Don is a guitarist, vocalist and harmonicat, clearly enjoys playing for and entertaining people. “I tried playing for just my dog, but she can’t hold up the Bic lighter and sway rhythmically. No thumbs.”

Don Paladin can be reached by email: Don.paladin@satx.rr.com and by phone: 210-313-8646. Web page is under construction.

Blue skies and green lights, y’all!