Links

• EricSteckel.com
  Eric is Craig's former guitar student who has really made a name for himself worldwide. CTB and Eric are teaming up together in '08 for several tours in Europe as well as performances in Jacksonville, Fla., Chatanooga, Tn., New Hope, PA and the Sellersville Theatre in Sellersville, PA. Keep watching our Schedule page for more details.
• ScottBradoka.com
  Scott Bradoka is not only a fine guitarist/composer--and an all around nice guy-- but a great friend of CT's. Scott has appeared worldwide including an '06 European tour as the opening act for Jeff Beck. Check out his original instrumentals on his site. Scott and CT plan on doing some writing/recording together in '08.
• SimonesWorld.com
  Simone, the daughter of renowned song stylist Nina Simone, is absolutely one of the finest female vocalists out there today. She has had the lead in Broadway shows, including "Aida" and others and has performed worldwide. CT had the opportunity to record with Simone on her first solo album which will be released in Feb., '08. You can hear selections on Simone's website. CT will also be doing some work with Simone in '08.

SImone at the Blue Note with Craig on guitar

Fri, November 14, 2008

Well, we played two shows at the Blue Note in NYC last night. The first was sold-out and the second was nearly so. What an awesome experience for me. Simone was outstanding as usual with both her performance and her connection with the audience. The band played well and we received great response. The first show was made of nearly all foreign tourists, many being Japanese. They are very appreciative folks and have a lot of respect for Nina Simone, Simone's mother. The second show was a bit looser and I know I felt better about my playing.
All-in-all it was a great night in NYC.

I really love playing NYC. The Village is my favorite area as I just feel at home there. It's always such a great feeling  to be in the area that was actually so close to where I grew up--Quakertown, PA is only two hours away--and where so much music history was made. It was such a huge influence on me as I was growing up and it has had a lasting affect on me to this day. Always a treat to play in NYC and it's even better when the band I'm playing with has won over a NY audience. What a great feeling!

So now I've played in two of the places that I've always wanted to play in NYC; the first being the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and now the Blue Note in the Village. We have dates booked in the Village Gate, another very famous Village locale where many historic recordings have been made and I think Simone will probably take us all back to Town Hall, another very significant venue. I still need to play the Cafe Wha?  which is right around the corner from the BN. It's significant mainly because Chas Chandler discovered Jimi Hendrix playing there, took him to England and the rest is history.

If you want to see what the Blue Note is like please visit http://www.bluenote.net. It's a cool place and I'm honored to have been able to perform there.