otis gibbs

This ended up being a lot of fun, but it started out a bit awkward. I stood there for a while while the host had a conversation with his guests in Dutch. I had no idea what they were saying (I don’t speak Dutch) so I just stood there for a while waiting to hear my name. There’s never a dull moment while traveling. I played a few more songs for the show. If anyone is interested I might post them for you.

Thanks for giving a damn,

-Otis

I saw this wonderful roadside treasure in Einhoven a couple of days ago. I have no idea about the history of it, but whomever is behind this is my kind of person! I’m ashamed to admit that i didn’t get a chance to photograph it myself, so I pulled this pick off of the city website.

I’ve played three shows so far and they’ve all been excellent. I played Ottersum on a Sunday, Eindhoven on a Monday (SOLD OUT), and Deventer on a Wednesday. All of these gigs were very well attended by people who had to get up and go to work the next day. Even though the gig was early in the week, these folks still came out to enjoy the show. There are a lot of things wrong with music these days, but the people at these shows are everything that’s right about music. Thank you for coming out and having a good time with me. I truly appreciate it!

Thanks for giving a damn,

-Otis

Grave in Exeter Cathedral. If anyone knows anything about this grave please fill me in.

Graffitied wall in Belfast. Yet another reason to love the Irish!

I’d drive this sucker all over Nashville. I wouldn’t feel great about it on the highway but I’m sure it’s safer than a motorcycle.

Peter Dunwell took this photo of Billy and I in London. I like this one for a few reasons. 1) It’s a nice shot. 2) Billy looks great with that Gibson and I think they should give him this guitar. 3) I look like the guy that is always standing on the side of the stage looking tough while Run DMC or MC Hammer busts out the rhymes.

This was a party for “Jail Guitar Doors”. It’s a very cool organization that Billy set up to send guitars into prisons. It’s a way to reward the best behaved inmates and give them something constructive to work on while they pass time. It has a very good track record of helping rehabilitate inmates and is spoken highly of by wardens in the UK. You can learn more at http://www.jailguitardoors.org.uk/

Your guess is as good as mine?

Self portrait backstage in Belfast.

This is me on stage at the beautiful, Empire Music Hall in Belfast.

Another grave in Exeter Cathedral.

I have no idea who this is and I’ve never seen the show, but I can say with confidence that this has to be the best ventriloquist act of all time!

****Edit****The lovely and talented Grant Showbiz sent me this little bit of knowledge.

the man with the teeth is not a ventriloquist,but,a guy called Ken Dodd & he’s holding a Diddyman from Knotty Ash…..He is the last of the great Music hall comedians & is about 80 years old now.He’s very funny & does 3 hour sets-yes,even longer than Billys…..He was put on trial for tax evasion about 10 years ago.& basically amused the judge out of jailing him……well worth a google

Someone sent me this photo of Billy and I on stage at Shepherds Bush Empire in London (photographer unknown). If you took this photo, please let me know and I’ll credit you or pull it down.

This was also sent to me by an unknown photographer. It’s a crowd shot of Shepherds Bush Empire in London. If you took this photo, please let me know and I’ll credit you or pull it down.

Thanks for giving a damn,

-Otis

*****More to come******

These were shot at a living room show that I played in Orlando a couple of weeks ago. I drove four hours to Atlanta, taped the Paste session and then played a really fun House Concert. I slept for 5 hours and then drove 8 1/2 hours to Orlando to play this show. I was very happy that this turned out to be a great show with some very swell folks. After this show, I drove 4 hours , then slept 6 hours and then began the 12 hour drive home. If you’ve ever been curious what life on the road is like, this is a little taste of it.

I’d like to send a special thanks to the Coble family for hosting the show and to Keith Alan Morris for putting this film together.
Thanks for giving a damn,
-Otis

I did a session with Paste Magazine while I was in Atlanta a couple of weeks back. I can’t figure out how to embed the video so, you’ll have to follow the link to check it out.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2009/02/live-at-paste-otis-gibbs.html

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Otis Gibbs and Billy Bragg singing “Sin City” at Guildhall, Southampton, 30/11/08

I came outside and found this little guy trying to find sunflower seeds in my empty bird feeder. I was wondering where all of the seeds were going!

When I was a kid, my grandma would make us a special treat every now and then that she called “Chocolate Gravy.” She learned most of her recipes from my great grandmother who traveled across the country in a covered wagon. Grandma died about twelve years ago and I assumed the recipe died with her.

About a year ago, my favorite Uncle Mike died, and as the family was sorting through his things they found a box full of recipes. It turns out that whenever my uncle stopped by to see his mom ( my grandma), he would ask her about some old recipes that she had memorized and he would write them down. He preserved a lot of family favorites that would have otherwise been lost. One of those favorites was Chocolate Gravy.

I took the time the other night to make this recipe and good lord was it sinful! You can dip biscuits in it or simply eat it like pudding. I’m posting the recipe here for posterity’s sake.

CHOCOLATE GRAVY
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir dry ingredients together. Mix in milk slowly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. Add butter and vanilla. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve. This recipe makes two bowls like the one in the photo.

It won’t take long before the bowl looks like this.

I should point out that this has some language that will most likely get you into trouble at work. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’ll warn ya anyway. Thanks to my buddy Matt in Milwaukee for sending this my way.

I was in a car accident after playing a memorial show for Utah Phillips in Chicago last week. It was 1:30 a.m. and I was sitting at a stoplight. I sat there for fifteen seconds or so and BAM! I was rear ended and pushed out into the middle of an intersection. I was pretty dazed so I sat there for a few seconds. My glasses were thrown off of my face and I couldn’t find them (they were later found in the back seat). After a half minute or so I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a blurry white car backing up. The car went around my left side and drove off up ahead of me. I squinted and strained trying to see their license plate, but I couldn’t make it out. I’m blind as a bat without my glasses. As they drove by I heard a voice shouting at me out the window. It said “GET THAT BROKE F*CKER OFF THE ROAD, BITCH!” It wasn’t one of humanity’s finest moments.

I called 911 and waited at least a minute or more for someone to pick up the phone (Chuck D was right, 911 is a joke). It took the cops an hour and ten minutes to get to the scene. When they arrived they didn’t even get out of the car. They told me to drive to a police station and fill out a report. I told them that I was from out of state and I had no idea where the closest police station was. They told me that there isn’t a chance in hell of ever catching the person that fled the scene and that I shouldn’t even report it unless I wanted to report a claim to my insurance company. Then they drove off. It was 3:30 am in Chicago. I got in my car and drove to Michigan.

My back and neck hurt like hell for the next few days. I’m feeling fine a week later. My rear passenger side door on my car no longer opens and the rear end looks like hell.

Billy Bragg was nice enough to give me a shout out in the Wall Street Journal this weekend. I’m not sure that I deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Bob Dylan, The Clash, Chuck Berry and Sam Cooke, but I’m happy to take what I can get.
Thank you Billy!

Click here to read the Wall Street Journal article.