107 years ago today, Mother Jones was the guest speaker at a rally held on a farm just outside of Indianapolis. She was 84 years old and had just been released from prison in Charleston, West Virginia, where she served a three month sentence for “agitating.” The Indiana farm where she gave her speech is now an all but abandoned strip mall on the east side of Indianapolis. I first learned about this a few years ago, and thought to myself, I should go over there some day and play some songs in her honor. Well, today was the day. I got up early and recorded this session in the spot where Mother Jones spoke to 1,500 Hoosiers, back in 1913. I guess we all celebrate the 4th of July in our own way.

My buddy, Todd Fox helped me film this. At this point, he probably deserves a medal, or something. It was way too early to sing, but at least I wasn’t in jail for agitating.

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About ten years ago, I bought a 1971 Fender Champ off of David Olney. In this video, I talk about my love for Silverface Champ’s and my many interactions with David Olney throughout the years. David and I weren’t super close, but we did consider each other friends. We lived in parallel orbits for quite a while. We played the same gigs, in front of the same crowds, for the same promoters and we probably slept in the same beds (at different times). It’s a strange thing to be at a small folk club, in a small town in Holland and see pictures of your friends on the walls. David was one of those friends. I’d see his pictures and posters everywhere. His music is loved by a lot of people. Please subscribe, like and comment and I’ll keep making videos for y’all.

This is a video about my grandfather’s 1964 Fender Mustang. He had a lot of old guitars and they were all in terrible shape. When he passed away, I decided I’d make an attempt to get as many of them as I could back into playing shape. Sadly, I don’t have a ton of extra money laying around, so it’s been a bit slow going. This 64 Mustang is the first guitar that I paid to have fixed up. I took it to Glaser Instruments in Nashville and they did a phenomenal job on it. The video talks a bit about that and about the guitar’s history. I think my fellow guitar nerds get a kick out of this.

The title pretty much says it all. Back in the mid 90s, I got into a scuff with some frat boys out in front of a bar called The Patio in Indianapolis. They were pissing in the middle of the street, I lost my cool and started yelling at them. I lived two blocks away and was tired of young white males treating my neighborhood like their own private toilet. So, I snapped. I was about to get stomped down by these three guys when Mojo Nixon rode in like the cavalry and saved the day. It’s a true story, I promise.

Filmed by Todd Fox. You should go check out his photography, it’s some damn good stuff. https://www.facebook.com/toddfoxphoto…

A couple of years ago, I heard about a squirrel named Shorty that once lived outside the Smith County Courthouse in Tyler, Texas. He was beloved by the town and was given a proper funeral when he died of old age. So naturally, my buddy Todd and I did what any normal person would do… we drove 15 hours from Indiana to Texas to pay our respects. This is a film we made about our visit to Shorty The Squirrel’s grave.

Hey friends,
I have some not so great news that I need to share with ya. My UK Tour that was scheduled for July 2020 is not gonna happen. We’d hoped upon hope that things would get better and we kept putting it off, but it’s time to face the facts. We need to do the right thing and cancel this tour.

I’m fortunate to have met so many wonderful people on these tours. Whether it’s the promoters in big cities and small towns or the people I get to chat with after the shows, I definitely get to see the best of folks every night. I can’t imagine doing anything to harm these people who have been so good to me. The reality is, it would be irresponsible of me to do this tour, so I’m gonna stay home for now.

I’m not gonna lie, this will put us in a pretty rough financial bind, but we’ll find a way to work it out. Almost everyone I know is without an income right now, so I know we’re not alone.

I look at it this way. It’s raining like hell, my family and I are standing in the middle of a field, huddled under a rickety umbrella. We’re trying to hang on the best we can. If we can hold out long enough, maybe we’ll find shelter under a tree, maybe we can even help someone else find cover. Until then, we’re gonna hunker down as best we can until the storm finally passes. And the good news is, the storm will pass. And when it does, I’ll jump on a plane and come sing some songs for y’all.

Here’s to better days!

Thanks for giving a damn,
-Otis

My earliest childhood memory is my grandpa playing music with his friends on New Years Eve 1969-70. Exactly 50 years later, I sat around and played that same guitar with my friends on New Years Eve 2019-20. Here’s to good friends and good music in 2020.

Thanks for giving a damn,

-Otis