Kenneth and Kenne — Image by Mary
I was able to spend a few hours with Kenneth and Mary, re “Ken and Mary’s Blues Project” on Monday.
They are friends we try to spend some time with when we are visiting in the Houston area — love you guys!
— kenne
Archive for the ‘Ken & Mary’s Blues Project’ Tag
Blues Brothers 4 comments
Black Man Leave a comment
‘Black Man’ — Photo-Artistry by kenne
‘We pledge allegiance
All our lives
To the magic colors
Red, blue, and white
But we all must be given
The liberty that we defend
For with justice not for all men
History will repeat again
It’s time we learned
This world was made for all men’
— from Black Man by Stevie Wonder
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Singer-songwriter, Guthrie Kennard 2 comments
Guthrie Kennard at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (October 15, 2013) — Image by kenne
In October of 2013, we were visiting family and friends in the Houston area. The timing was great since we could
attend one of Ken & Mary’s Blues Projects in Porter, Texas. The headliners for this event were Guthrie Kennard and Julie Bonk.
I just learned that Dallas singer-songwriter Guthrie has cancer and is undergoing radiation. However, it hasn’t stopped him;
he’s out on the road doing shows. Guthrie, may the force be with you.
attend one of Ken & Mary’s Blues Projects in Porter, Texas. The headliners for this event were Guthrie Kennard and Julie Bonk.
I just learned that Dallas singer-songwriter Guthrie has cancer and is undergoing radiation. However, it hasn’t stopped him;
he’s out on the road doing shows. Guthrie, may the force be with you.
— kenne
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Blues Project Revisited Leave a comment
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project with Ashton Savoy & The Moe Hansum Band (10/18/02) — Image by kenne
Kenneth and Mary Harris produced house concerts for family and friends
for over two decades in the piney woods of East Texas —
“House concerts are our life
House concerts are our everything
House concerts give us joy
House concerts keep us happy
House concerts keep us dancing.”
— kenne
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Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — A Flashback Leave a comment
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (11/16/09) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
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Ken’s Stuff and More Stuff Leave a comment
Kenneth Harris (May 20, 2017) — Image by kenne
“Stuff.”
One of my favorite words is stuff.
“That’s Super Stuff!”
“Make Stuff”
“I Love Free Stuff”
“The Good Stuff”
“My Stuff”
“Stuff in My Life”
“Stuff That Works”
“The Right Stuff”
“How’s Your Stuff?”
There are so many variations on the use of the word stuff. This last May we attended the last “Ken and Mary’s Blues Project” house concert in Porter, Texas. Before the music started, Kenneth Harris told the story of how the Project came about from his listening to Sunday blues on Houston’s KPFT. One Sunday he was listening to Nuri Nuri’s Blues Brunch.
“. . . he [Nuri] was interviewing this guy, and they played some of his stuff, and I called Nuri on the phone, and I said Nuri do you know anybody in the Houston area that can do that type of stuff, and he told me you meet me at Billy Blue’s like next Saturday night.”
Long story short, Kenneth found that stuff in the form of the Moe Hansum Band.
As I listen to Kenneth’s story I couldn’t help but think of Guy Clark’s “Stuff that Works.”
Stuff that works, stuff that holds up
The kind of stuff you don’ hang on the wall
Stuff that’ real, stuff you feel
The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall
Continuing on this theme of “Stuff,” in the 1970’s there was a jazz-funk band called “Stuff.” The members were Gordon Edwards (bass), Richard Tee (keyboards), Eric Gale (guitar), Cornell Dupree (guitar), Chris Parker (drums), and later Steve Gadd (drums).
There is good stuff and not so good stuff, because of what we do with our stuff. We have too much stuff. Earth’s beauty is being scarred by the stuff we throw away daily. As someone who spends a lot of time outdoors admiring nature’s beauty, I see stuff on our trails, hanging in trees, blowing in the wind, in our lakes and streams.
In December of 2007, a short documentary was released. The documentary was critical of excessive consumerism and promotes sustainability, which has gone from a movie to a movement over the last ten years — a Community of more than a million changemakers worldwide, working to build a more healthy and just planet. This land is our land! You can join the movement.
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Ken & Mary’s Blues Project: Part V — Tighten Up Leave a comment
Archie Bell, Ken and Mary Harris (May 20, 2017) Image by kenne
Video by kenne
Hi everybody
I’m Archie Bell of the Drells, from Houston, Texas
We don’t only sing
But we dance just as good as we walk
In Houston, we just started a new dance
Called the Tighten Up
This is the music we tighten up with
First tighten up on the drums
Come on now, drummer
I want you to tighten it up for me now, oh, yeah
Tighten up on that bass now
Tighten it up, ha, ha, yeah
Now let that guitar fall in
Oh, yeah . . . (click here for all the lyrics)
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Just Sitting On The Front Porch 2 comments
Computer Painting by kenne
The Blues Project
They called it a project,
a Blues Project, but really,
it was a party — a party for
family and friends to share
happy times, talk about living life,
and a love for good old blues music.
Once this party began
there would be no stopping it,
even when forced undercover
of rain, friends laugh and
talk about déjà vu the
evening had become.
Just sitting on the front porch
doing that front porch thing
telling stories now embellished
by all the good times dancing
and singing the night away
in the woods off Old Houston Road.
The Blues Project may be over
so listen if the night will lead you
to the music, the stories told
and smile a smile one more time
for each Project was just a rehearsal
for what our tomorrows will bring.
— kenne
Kenneth Harris shares the story of how Ken & Mary’s Blues Project came about. (May 20, 2017)
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Ken’s Art Fence — Photo Essay Leave a comment
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Ken’s Fence Panel
Panels in Kenneth Harris’s Fence, Porter, Texas — Images by kenne
(Click on any image to see in a slideshow format.)
Currently, Ken’s fence has 31 panels and growing. I took photos of eight before the music started at Ken and Mary’s Blues Project, May 20, 2017, in Porter, Texas. His fence has got to be one of the most creative fences in Texas. Great work, Ken!
— kenne
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Archie Bell at Ken and Mary’s Blues Project — Part III Leave a comment
Archie Bell at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — Computer Art by kenne
Houston, Texas has a lot of legionary musicians, not the lease is Archie Bell. You all timers, like myself will remember the 50’s & 60’s group, Archie Bell & the Drells. Remember “Tighten Up?” When it comes to great R&B, Archie Bell is among the best! His appearance at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — The Last Waltz was a real blessing for those of us who have attended the Blues Project concerts over the years.
There’s more to come.
kenne
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Blues Project — Part II 1 comment
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — The Last Waltz
Computer Art by kenne
Down the east Texas road,
there is rain in the wind
as the musicians’ setup
for an evening of the blues
with friends gathering
the last time at
Ken and Mary’s Blues Project,
the best house concert ever.
In recent years we’ve missed
some of the concerts in
the woods having moved
to the desert southwest,
then last February, we received
word of the “Last Waltz”
for the Blues Project —
plans were made immediately.
With Coleman cooler,
yard chairs and
cameras in tow
we walked over old
bottle caps toward the
Blues Project stage,
to be greeted with
hugs and kisses — Welcome!
Mary announced the food
was ready, and Ken shared some
background on the beginning
of what became the Blues Project.
Not long after the music began,
lighting lit up the darkening clouds
with thunder adding to
the magical evening.
Other than an occasional
drop or two, the music played on
until, as if the plug was pulled,
the dark sky began to fall.
A rain delay was called
as the tarps were brought out
to covered the equipment.
Using our smartphones
we could see radar showing
the rain would be lasting
for an hour or more.
As has happened in the past,
the musicians gathered inside
to continue an evening of music.
Most of those who remained
were inside or on outside porches,
knowing the best of the evening
was yet to come —
jamming the night away
on a hot, humid night
in the piney woods of east Texas.
It may be the last waltz
for the Blues Project
but that doesn’t mean
the party is over,
the music still plays on
and on, and on — may
we stay forever young.
We’ve got to go, but our friends will stick around.
— kenne
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Moe Hansum Band @ Ken & Mary’s Blues Project — The Last Waltz, 2017 Part I Leave a comment
The blues is life itself.
— Billy Gibbons
Images and Video by kenne
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Memories of East Texas 2 comments
Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (On a humid east Texas night the rain forced everyone to move inside) —
Images and Video by kenne (Flickr Images)
Memories of East Texas keep drafting
over Arizona mountains
headed to El Paso, San Antonio, Houston
where BBQ smoke floats
through the piney woods
and blues music heals the soul
to make up the conscious past
with the Last Waltz of
Ken and Mary’s Blue Project.
Over time we have learned
all good things must
come to an end;
things we enjoy,
things we find comforting,
things we love
all eventually come to an end —
“To everything, there is a season, and
a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Now it’s time to head on down the highway
to once again experience the blues at the crossroads —
“Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
— kenne
Darkness settled over Ken & Mary’s Blues Project as Sonny Boy Terry and Rich DelGrosso finished their set, October 17, 2009, Porter, Texas.
Original Stage at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (August 2005)
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Deciphering Visible and Hidden Meanings Leave a comment
Ray Bonneville at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project (November 14, 2009) — Image by kenne
Deciphering Visible and Hidden Meanings
Some may call me a photographer,
having an eye for the moment
always looking for the duende.
Catching the edge of life
creating a visual narrative
of what was, what is and will be.
Every moment I capture
starts a journey from
what I found to what found me.
Many layers blending together
shaping a visual attitude
as of my mind’s eye —
Poetry without words,
an expression of existence
in life’s fleeting moments.
Looking for photos within a photo
Catching what others see
Through their camera’s eye.
Having a camera is not
a photographer to be
without being drunk with life —
A passion to do something
without knowing what or why,
making the invisible, visible.
Forming a communication circuit
laminating a soulful spirit
linking an image with viewer —
As with Klee’s quirky angels
where we try deciphering
visible and hidden meanings.
— kenne
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Something Imagined Day by Day Leave a comment
Music Under the Moonlight — Grunge Art by kenne
Epilogue
Those blessèd structures, plot and rhyme–
why are they no help to me now
I want to make
something imagined, not recalled?
I hear the noise of my own voice:
The painter’s vision is not a lens,
it trembles to caress the light.
But sometimes everything I write
with the threadbare art of my eye
seems a snapshot,
lurid, rapid, garish, grouped,
heightened from life,
yet paralyzed by fact.
All’s misalliance.
Yet why not say what happened?
Pray for the grace of accuracy
Vermeer gave to the sun’s illumination
stealing like the tide across a map
to his girl solid with yearning.
We are poor passing facts,
warned by that to give
each figure in the photograph
his living name.
— Robert Lowell, Day by Day
Becoming is Superior to Being 