To Spencer Bohren Fans Everywhere:

Greetings from beleaguered, broken, but unbowed and still beautiful New Orleans. The past year has been trying and difficult in ways I could never have envisioned, and the drama is far from over. Progress is being made, though, however slowly, and good things will continue to emerge in the aftermath of last summer’s apocalyptic storm. Many musicians and artists are experiencing a powerful creative surge these days. A couple months ago, my Muse whispered verse after verse in my ear, filling my mind’s eye with pictures of pre and post-storm New Orleans, and hanging them all on the image of the high-water mark that poisonous floodwaters left all over our beloved city when the levees failed. I premiered the song, titled, ‘THE LONG BLACK LINE,’ for approximately a thousand people in the middle of my set at the storied New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival last month, and an incredible thing happened…

Before the final notes of my lapsteel guitar drifted away, the entire audience had risen to its feet, openly weeping! The song’s multiple references to the issues and questions every New Orleanian presently faces obviously hit home in a big way with the people who chose to join me at the Lagniappe Stage that day. Since that afternoon, my mailbox has been filled with requests for the song, and I am pleased to be able to offer it, free of charge, to anyone who wants to hear it.

This recording of ‘THE LONG BLACK LINE’ is an advance copy, part of an album of the same name, that was recorded in Germany in April. For some, it will serve as a reminder of what we’ve been through. For those who do not live in New Orleans, and cannot possibly understand our trials, it will hopefully provide a glimpse of the tribulations our battered city still faces. In any event, this song belongs to the people of New Orleans, and I encourage all of you to download it, listen to it, and share it generously.

To get your copy of ‘THE LONG BLACK LINE,’ simply go to spencerbohren.com, and click on the image listed as “Spencer’s newest music.” You will also be offered a PDF File of some cover art, if you want to dress up your copy a bit. Then listen. Be forewarned, this ain’t no party song.

Thank you all for your support over the decades. Hope to see you at the gig someday soon.

Warm Regards,

Spencer Bohren

Thank you to Mick Miller at M.A.D. Amps, and Heights Guitars in Cleveland, Ohio.

Spencer Bohren does not walk. He glides. I was there the warm October night Spencer Bohren glided into Heights Guitars. First you have to visualize a small, but fashionable, shop in what was formerly a Christian Science Reading Room. Most of the architectural appointments are still intact. The walls are covered with old wooden guitars of every make and pedigree. The floors configured respectfully with classic amplifiers from Fullerton and Chicago, mostly.

Spencer, who was wearing a dark suit and a long chartreuse scarf; hair pushed back, a bit like Leopold Stokowski, was in Cleveland to play a benefit at John Carroll University. It had been a tough couple of months for Spencer. The waters of Lake Pontchartrain had consumed his home in New Orleans and washed most of his gear out into the street. Spencer was drawn that night to a very cool black & white Supro lap steel, sitting propped against a little tweed amp. He tuned the Supro to an open G minor chord, plugged into the little tweed amp and proceeded to play something so haunting, and so beautiful, that it momentarily stunned the three people fortunate enough to have been in the store that night. When he finished, we got up off the floor and applauded Spencer like we’d never applauded anybody (or anything) in the 15-year history of that shop. Spencer walked out with the Supro, bound for Europe and eventually home, to New Orleans.

One of the reasons that rig sounded so wonderful that night was that little tweed amp. It was a MAD Amps Temper Tantrum. It didn’t require any set-up or sound check. The amp didn’t fight Spencer. It complemented him, his style and that Supro. That’s what an artist demands. There is no time for negotiation. Spencer plugged in, turned up about half way and proceeded to kill everybody in the room. We were so deeply impressed we decided to make that amp, “Temper Tantrum” (# 004) a gift to Spencer Bohren from MAD Amps. They are perfect for one another.