Feeling Lucky?

Someone ask me the other day when I would be performing next. These days I can't seem to find the time. With four kids and a schedule that keeps thin soles on my shoes I have to remind myself to breathe.

However, not too long ago I had a visitor in my living room and he came with a head full of problems and unloaded them all on my wife's grand piano. I was fortunate enough to be his harmonica side man for the evening as we played for all of my son's friends that came to hear a special private concert. A concert by one of the most talented musicians I've ever had the privilege of knowing. Mr. Lucky Peterson himself.

Lucky, born Judge Kenneth Peterson, was born on December 13, 1964 in Buffalo, New York. The doctor didn't think that either he or his mother would survive during his birth which is where he gets the name Lucky. And yes, they both survived.

Lucky learned to play the B3 organ as a small boy in his father's nightclub. He was given direction on which notes to play by the strategically placed cigarette butts on certain keys.

By the time he was five years old, he had fully mastered the organ and had caught
the attention of Willie Dixon, the bass player that wrote most of the songs for Muddy
Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

Dixon took the child under his wing and cut his first recording which landed him on The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and What's My Line?. From the book The Blues,  Journalist Tony Russell quoted, "he may be the only blues musician to have had national television exposure in short pants."

As a teen, Peterson studied at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts where he played French horn with the school symphony. He would soon leave Buffalo to play guitar and keyboards for Etta James, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Little Milton touring and traveling all over the world.

Lucky has been around the block more times than you can count. Countless albums. Countless gigs. Countless relationships. His musical career has been hard on him but Lucky has maintained a kind and gentle soul unlike the road that's been a troubling place for him for so many years.

He has struggled with the demons of addiction like a lot of musicians but he continues to travel up mountains and through valleys that all of us are faced with on this journey they call life.

I'm proud to call him my friend and would invite each and every one of you to experience one of the most talented blues musicians this world has ever known.

Here's to you Lucky. May your life always be just that. Lucky.

Fishing for Charity

Keeping a kid's attention on a fishing trip can be a challenge. They want to play with the worms or try and catch the minnows in the bucket. "Look at all these little fish. Can we keep them?"

The trick to turning on a little person to fishing is getting them on the fish so try to stick with a species that schools.

White bass fishing is probably the best kind of fishing for little kids. And it's not bad for impatient adults such as myself. Oh I like working for a black bass when I'm by myself but to pull in hundreds of fish in one day with a bunch of kids is as close to Heaven as you're going to get down on this rock.

The white bass, commonly referred to as "sand bass," are migratory open-water fish. Most of their life is spent in the open-water portions of reservoirs chasing schools of shad. In the Texas spring time, schools of white bass migrate to the upper portions of reservoirs to spawn which is when you want to wet that hook and pull them out of the water.

Last year, my boys helped me pull over 80 fish out of Caddo Lake but the best fishing story you'll ever hear will be the one you read today.

As this is a tradition with the Holt boys each year, my oldest was inquiring what we'll do with all the fish we catch. I have so much in my freezer already, we always end up giving it to the locals when we return to the dock. After I told him this, he says to me, "Oh...so it's like charity." I told him that you could consider it a charity if you wanted to. Feeding folks that live off the lake is a great thing and if one wanted to consider that a charitable contribution, I don't think I could argue with it.

We fished hard all day breaking only an hour for lunch. It was cooler in the morning and we managed to fight off a kamikaze attack of local mosquitos that swarmed us before noon. By the afternoon, the sun had come out full throttle and we were five sweating boys pulling fish out of that water faster than you could pull up your socks.

Five o-clock finally found it's way to our boat and the fish finally stopped biting. The sun was beginning to set and we all sat down to rest from our arm and wrist work-out.

We had pulled in the anchor and our fishing guide, Billy Carter, was just about to crank the boat when my oldest asked him to hold up for just a minute. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out an orange piece of paper and hands it to Billy. He explains that this is his "All Saints Community Service Form" and he asked that he sign it for all the community work he had done that day.

Well Billy looked at me and I looked back at him as we were both confused. Then it hit me that my boy was thinking since we give all the fish away, we must be doing community service. I explain this to Billy and he just about wets his pants from laughing.

His quote was, "Boy, I've been doing this all my life.  I'm almost 60 years old and I have never had anyone ask me to sign a community service document. But I'll tell you this, if that works out for you, every man in America will be wanting me to take them out for community service work as they will be able to tell their wives that they're really not going fishing."

Peace out. I'm off to Caddo.

A Fresh Concept for a FRESH Store

My wife tires of my continuous criticism on television advertising. And to add to the rhetoric in my household, my seventeen year old son has now joined dear old dad on this mission of brand quality and clarity for any commercial that rolls through our television screen. My wife may move out soon.

However, as of March 10, 2011 the criticism would come to a screeching halt as Brookshires opened the doors to FRESH. Breaking new ground in East Texas, a marketing department has set the bar on real brand development and awareness.

Brookshires has long set a standard on quality as well as solid brand identity but FRESH is on a whole different level. From their logo development down to the slick quality of the interior design, it's more than a grocery store. Not only is it making an impact with a FRESH visual concept, I believe they have invented an entirely new kind of animal all together.

But since the mechanics of a store aren't really my gig, I would like to take this time to compliment their marketing efforts on real brand development. This level of development is really only executed on very high level retail corporations.

There are four main points to a successful brand and they are:

1. Connection - Your brand must tell a story

2. Clarity - You must be clear about why you're worth noticing

3. Conviction - Radiating an unwavering certainty

4. Consistency - Keeping your word

These four points are all developed through an internal process that serve as anchor points for any and all messaging. The public, that being us, will never see the definitions that are refined through these four points. The only thing we get to see, and we're seeing it now, are the results of the creative that flourishes through all these definitions.

For instance, one of the big focal points within a solid brand is in defining a "Constituent Club". This is the group or tribe of people that "join" when using or supporting the brand. It's what being associated with the brand "says" about someone such as seeing a person with a Starbucks coffee cup in their hands. They are part of the club and may be just a little proud to carry it around. Don't believe me? When was the last time you saw someone in a board room bringing in a cup of coffee from a gas station? But for whatever reason, it's perfectly acceptable to come into the most formal of areas holding this paper cup wrapped up nice and neat with a cardboard sleeve.

FRESH has successfully defined their Constituent Club and it's growing in numbers. I'm proud to say I'm a FRESHIE myself and would wear a t-shirt if they sold them. Maybe they do.

Are you a FRESHIE?

freshie \fresh-ee\ n. 1: A person keenly interested in freshness 

2: A person who seeks fresh experiences in eating or cooking 

3: A loyal fan of FRESH by Brookshires 4: FRESH's super-friendly 

employees, typically found helping folks throughout the store

My hats off to Brookshires and their entire marketing department for leading the market in tier one brand development. Love to keep on typing but I'm off to FRESHEN up my stomach.