Secret Agent Man…

Hey kids… So, have loved this tune since it was released in 1966. Very hip/edgy and all that… The original tv show was called ‘Danger Man’, when first produced in 1964 in the UK. When it came to the US in 1966, title was changed to ‘Secret Agent Man’… Johnny Rivers had a hit w/ the tune… A lot of Cold War spy tv shows and movies then. This one, ‘the man from UNCLE’, ‘The girl from UNCLE’. James Bond… Etc… But always liked this tune…. Anyway, here is The Magtones version, w/ a lot of help from our friend Mike… He always makes a song better…. Hope you like it…

We Can Almost Hear the Dr DeMento Show…

Hey kids. Been awhile. Outside of the holidays, and some jamming, not a lot going on. Not a bad thing. One thing going on recently, was this collaboration… Our amazing friend, Elizabeth Safely Brinker wrote, sang, and played uke on this. The smooth Martin Hoffman was killer on the Ubass. And, the one, the only Michael August added great harp. I did the rhythm guitar, to finish it up… Hope you like it… Cuz, it’s soooo good…

SCIUC Festival

Fantastic Four hittin’ the road

Hey kids… We had a great time in Minnesota, at the SILVER CREEK INTERNATIONAL UKULELE FESTIVAL… Good music, great people, good times … Met friends from all over the country. What more could one want, for fun?

The Goober Gang, assembles at lunch
Campground zero
Two Harbors Tourists
Long way down (Split Rock Lighthouse site)
Wisconsin in the distance
Holding down the fort
A snack
Superior in the morning
Practicing by the lake
moonrise
shadows of things to come
Further in the hole. our tune onstage

Willow 2021

Hi there. Hope you are all well… We’re fine. Been busy… Hey, it’s summer. We are supposed to be busy!!! Speaking of busy, we got home last night, from the 2021 Willow folk festival. We’ve gone for almost 20 years. Last year, like sooooo many other events, it was given the year off… This year was a smaller version of the fest, but still a ton of music, in and out of the camping cow pasture area.

There were several people who had passed, some from Covid, and some from other things, and that made it a bit sad. Our friend Al, was sorely missed, but not in a ‘sad’ way, but it wasn’t quite the same without him. He ran the sound system for almost 40 years, so, that was a change. However, the very talented Bill Bartilson, has had his hands on the knobs for several years, and he made quite sure, that the music sounded great! In fact, we were told, as we came off the stage, by a group of talented young peeps, that ‘your sonic texture was the best we’ve heard all day’… Means we sounded good… We take some credit for that…

The fest is actually at a country church. The stage is a hay wagon. Seats are 2X12’s on hay bales. Rustic is the byword… Anyway, there were familiar faces, new faces, and a lot of happy faces. Some great music. Some ‘enthusiastic’ music… Talking, eating, sharing, enjoying. And yes, we were cautious, w/ social distancing …

We got to be onstage THREE times, on Saturday. Once, as the Magtones. Once, to back up our new friend, Bruce. And, finally, as the backup to our amazing friend, Tommy… All, a lot of fun, and good tunes…

We’re here!!

You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere

Morning, kids… This… may be the perfect tune for our Covid Quarantine… We got the band together- Mike August, Gail Herrera, Elizabether Safley Brinker, Diane Poole, my lovely wife, Maggie, and Ernie Saunders- all amazing tune smiths on their own, and did a Dylan tune, ‘You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’ (Easy Chair). Turned out pretty darn good, I believe… Hope you like it…