Mike & Troy at Southpaw Guitars in Houston, TX

Next we made the mistake of planning a peaceful seaside family beach vacation on South Padre Island. You see, my wife was there with her family 35 years ago, so now that our son is 12, she thought it would be cool to revisit that trip. A truly great place to visit, but our timing could not have been worse. Check this out.

So we cut that short and headed up to San Antonio. What a great city, plenty of family things to do there and plenty of great restaurants. Will certainly look forward to going there again. Then I was lucky enough squeeze in a one-afternoon whirlwind stop in AUSTIN, TX for the 2011 SXSW festival. First I had lunch with Lance Keltner who took some EASTWOOD’s for a test drive on YouTube.

Then I dropped my wife Kay and son Troy off at the Austin Duck and dove headfirst into the SXSW crowds, battling my way to the Pitchfork outdoor stage, waiting for Edwyn Collins to appear. One real surprise was catching a set by Toronto based one-man-band Diamond Rings. Great set of energetic pop tunes, quite like Depeche Mode. An hour later the legendary Edwyn Collins cruised through a perfect 30-minute set of new and classic tunes. As always, “Rip It Up” had the crowd dancing away in the hot afternoon sun. Great to see Edwyn again as well as his son William pitching in for one of his new tracks.

Edwyn Collins & his son William at SXSW 2011

A rather LONG walk across 6th to the far side of SXSW and GINGER MAN bar. There was a lineup so I missed the end of Steve Wynn’s set, but got in just in time to see him switch hats and the BASEBALL Project took the stage.

Steve Wynn's 'The Baseball Project' at SXSW 2011

Great tunes, great players and a really great crowd made for a memorable set. A little icing on the cake for me personally was Peter Buck pulling out his EASTWOOD Nashville 12 string for to tracks. Cool.

Peter Buck with his Nashville 12-String guitar from Eastwood Guitars at SXSW 2011

Hard to beat that for a quick afternoon drop-by at SXSW, but it got even better when Mike Watt took the stage!

Texas in March & SXSW 2011 from MyRareGuitars.com

Our first day in London included a visit with Chris Spedding

That afternoon we drove up to OXFORD to catch of Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople fame. Unbelievable showman, he rocked the SOLD OUT show.

The next day we drove up to Nottingham in search of Robin Hood, but instead ran into John Cooper Clarke. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, your are missing out. John is one of the best comedians the UK has ever produced, and one of these days I will convince him to come back to North America to treat us to his twisted sense of humor. Here is a sample of what we heard: “A man goes to his doctor for his annual medical examination. Doctor says, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to stop masturbating”. The man exclaims, “Stop masturbating? WHY?” Doctor says, “Well, I’m trying to conduct a medical examination!”

Me with John Cooper Clarke, comedian

Next stop was Sheffield to visit some friends and check out the new JOY DIVISION movie, CONTROL. Great movie, even better because “Ian Curtis” in the movie is playing and EASTWOOD VG6 Guitar. =)

The Undertones

Up to Holmfirth to spend some time with one of the best bands around, The Undertones. The SOLD OUT audience was treated to a memorable set of non-stop hits. I can’t remember seeing a more appreciative group of fans. Just another band on the list of bands we need to get back over the pond. Thanks guys for your hospitality and for getting those EASTWOOD Guitars up on stage and put to good use!

Mike Robinson & Bill Nelson at Nelsonica 07

Next stop was YORK in the North of England. I’ve been planning this trip for a couple of years, and it finally came together. I had to opportunity to interview Bill Nelson, live on stage at Nelsonica 07. An incredible, memorable event. We will have the entire video interview available in the coming months, on-line. I’m hoping to get Bill to bring NELSONICA to North America in 2009. More info to come….

The next morning we braved the 5 hour drive, back down to London (in typical British weather and traffic) to get to the comeback show of Edwyn Collins. Worth twice the drive….

At the Edwyn Collins comeback show

Quite an emotional event. Edwyn suffered a near fatal brain hemorrhage in 2005 and had to relearn how to walk, talk, read and write. All his friends were on hand to support this comeback show, including the BBC, and what a show it was.

Colin Newman and his wife Malka Spigel, who are half of the band GITHEAD

After a day off in London, we made our way over to meet with Colin Newman and his wife Malka Spigel, who are half of the band GITHEAD. We visited them in their home studio, discussed the recent GITHEAD release and then popped out for a couple of pints to discuss the music industry in general. Colin gave me an advanced copy of the new WIRE release, READ & BURN. I will post a review in next months newsletter.

Last leg of the trip we spent with Pete Shelley of BUZZCOCKS fame

Last leg of the trip we spent with Pete Shelley of BUZZCOCKS fame. We are nearing completion of the soon to be released Limited Edition replica of Pete’s famous STARWAY guitar – here we are discussing final details. All the pickguards are signed, the custom signature hardshell fitted cases are in, the signed original photo’s are on their way, and the BUZZCOCKS leather straps are in production. We will be launching a contest in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. Send an email if you want some advanced photographs and specs.

UK Trip (October 2007) from MyRareGuitars.com