Possum

02.13.02 - Stockton, CA - Fox Theatre
It was a dream come true... George Jones live in concert.  George Jones is simply the greatest crooner of all time and I had waited a long time to see The Possum.  Well, I got to see him twice in 4 days !!! What a time !!! 02.13.02 - Stockton, CA - Fox TheatreAs a big fan of "true country" today was both a good day and a bad day.  Waylon Jennings, one of the best voices in music, passed away today.  He will be missed.  Tonight, at the end of "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes", he added some touching comments about Waylon.  It was very moving. When I saw that KAT Country DJs were there with all their glory I couldn't resist.  I asked the morning show DJ why they were there if they never played his music.  "Well, we only play what the record companies allow us to play." he replied.  If you live in the Stockton / Modesto area, try switching to 93.9FM KEJC - they play REAL COUNTRY !!!

George was awesome !!! He said his throat was sore but he went on anyway. Here was the playlist:

Hightech Redneck
Once You've Had The Best The Race Is On
Bartender's Blues
Black Mountain Rain (Instrumental) 
Choices
Sinners & Saints
A Picture Of Me Without You
I'll Give You Something To Drink About
Who's Gonna Wear Their Shoes(with a special tribute to Waylon) 
One Woman Man
50,000 Names
Fire On The Mountain (Instrumental) 
Tennessee Whiskey
The Man He Was
Medley of: Share My World, Window Up Above, The Grand Tour, Walk, Through This World With Me, White Lightning(INCREDIBLE!),She Thinks I Still Care
Happy Birthday (to some lady named Fran) 
He Stopped Loving Her Today
Golden Ring - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith 
Rocking Chair - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith 
God Bless The USA - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith on lead vocals

02.16.02 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Harbor This is the greatest venue to see a performer like George.  Our table was five rows back (table 79) which gave us an incredible view of the stage.  Uncle Dennis was supposed to make the trip with us but had to work.  Since it was impossible to sell a single ticket she gave it to a guard outside and told him to just give it away.  About half way through the show a woman joined us and then switched with her husband so he could watch the end. The opening act was California Cowboys, from Vacaville.  A pretty cool band. The show was almost the same exact show as in Stockton except for those that sat close enough to see him get really upset at the sound crew because of some technical problems.

Possum_021602_20b

Jones Boys Ramblin' Fever
Muscle Car Man - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith 
The Sweetest Thing - with Sherry Copeman-Smith 
Mama Used To Whoop Me With A George Jones Album (That's Why I Sing This Way) - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith 
Don't Rock The Jukebox

The Possum The set:
Hightech Redneck
Once You've Had The Best
The Race Is On
Bartender's Blues
Black Mountain Rain (Instrumental)
Choices
Sinners & Saints
A Picture Of Me Without You
I'll Give You Something To Drink About
Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes
One Woman Man
50,000 Names
Fire On The Mountain(Instrumental)
Tennessee Whiskey
The Man He Was
Medley of:Share My World, Window Up Above, The Grand Tour, Walk, Through This World With Me, White Lightning, She Thinks I Still Care
Happy Birthday / Happy Retirement
He Stopped Loving Her Today
Golden Ring - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith
I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith
God Bless The USA - with Barry Smith and Sherry Copeman-Smith on lead vocals

Emily on Piano

Dateline 02.04.02 - StocktonOne of the proudest days of my life was when Emily called me at work to tell me that she wanted to take piano lessons.  As a musician, I never wanted to force my children into music.  Both of my daughters are true music lovers and from a very young age I could always tell that they would grow up to play an instrument.  Well, enter the second proudest day of my life.  Today, Emily said she wanted to play a song for me she "wrote" last night.  My eyes filled with tears of joy when she played her little 4-bar gem.  She even learned to make a chord... WOW !!! ... along with a great little melody.  I am soooo proud of her !!! Listen to her new song - take one Listen to her new song - take two Listen to her and I play our new song

Songs were recorded from across the room, literally, with a cheap computer microphone.

Who's going to win

Who's gonna win the superbowl??? Who cares!  Yeah, I know... no one cares.  Well, there's one big reason to watch: to find out what the heck this MLIFE thing is all about... great hype!  I'll be watching... who knows... maybe it's a new multi-level marketing, pyramid-scheme cult that is going to take over the world !!! Well, we'll have to wait !!!

100 Grand

Well, anyone that knows me knows that I take my camera with me almost everywhere.  So, today, as I approached the top of the Altamont Pass, I couldn't pass on the opportunity to click a shot when my '98 Chevy truck hit 100,000 miles.   Above are actual shots of my odometer and where I was when it hit 100k.  I know this is really strange but I couldn't resist.

Welcome K2

The Family welcomes the birth of Kenneth Gerald Havens, born today at 3:02 pm.  K2, as his little brother calls him, weighed in at 7 pounds and 3 ounces.  There was 18 7/8 inches of tape used to get from the top of his little head to edge of his big toes. Mommy, Baby, Daddy and Family are doing good now. Pictures can be found at the parent's site (http://kennyhavens.com/babynews/) along with a couple of pictures on our site.

Play us a song, you're the piano man

Brian, Katie and Brianna DeNapoli were gracious enough to give us a piano. Now, Emily can practice in the house on a real piano.  She has even learned a couple of my melodies.  It was so exciting for me when she said she wanted to learn some of my music.  She has a good ear because I only told her that one song started in B-flat and she figured out the rest.

The Baby Boom has officially begun

Congratulations to Jim and Natalie.  Thier little bundle of joy was born today, a girl.  Well, Jim, you were practically the last one to have kids... it's about time. CONGRATS!  You guys are going to make awesome parents!! 9-20-01

2 Bros... 2 Weddings

As matrimony draws closer for two of the Brothers I want to take this opportunity to wish the best to both and good luck for my two new sisters-in-law; one of which was quoted as saying, "When I met your brother I knew he was Mr. Right, I just didn't know his first name was 'Always' " - I can't say which one said it but for anyone that knows my bros, it's easy to figure out.

Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw

Mike, Shauna, Dawn and I saw Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw in Marysville at the Sac Valley Amphitheatre.  It was a great show with Kenny getting the place really pumped for Tim.  He did "I Wanna Know How Forever Feels" and released about 20 "big orange balls" into the stands.  When the first verse ended, "I wanna know how Jimmy Buffet feels..." he and the band broke out into "Margaritaville" and then continued the song.  The highlight of his show for me was his cover of Billy Joel's"You May Be Right."

Tim McGraw was electrifying!  His show was just as much visual and anything else with huge screens just behind the band that provided some cool backdrops to his tunes.  His show opened with the Elton John classic"Tiny Dancer" which he started singing in the middle of the audience on a barstool and then made his way to the stage walking through  a sea of crazed fans.   Tim did a lot of songs from his new album "Set This Circus Down" and a lot of his classics.  During "Don't Take The Girl" the screen in the back was showing the words to the song so everyone could sing with him (as if there was anyone there that DIDN'T know the words!)  Mark Collie, Kenny Chesney came out and helped Tim finish the show with the last song.  Oh, and in case you were wondering.... there was no Faith