The Little Joe McLerran Quartet
On Tour...follow the Rhythm Road Tour

Robbie's tour blog of photos, videos, and commentary. Share with the band, the journey to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman and other stops around the Persian Gulf (Journal)

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April 20 - 21, 2010 - Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

We are in a coasting mode here.  Our final scheduled performance on April 20 at the Sultan School was canceled due to an electric power malfunction so we slept in.  I was up most the night after the concert at the Crown Plaza Hotel monitoring emails from Jazz at Lincoln Center.  They were trying to rebook our flights back to the US due to the travel chaos caused by Eyjafjoell the volcano.  I was operating under the Thomas Edison rule of sleep management, sleep an hour then get up and get after it again.

Don't mess with Mother Nature

Originally we were suppose to fly out of Muscat at one minute past midnight on April 21 flying to London where we would spend a couple of days bumming around the pubs eating fish and chips and hoping to hear some Blues bands.  David has friends in London who had volunteered to take us around and show us the sights.

By late afternoon on the 20th we were rested up enough to go do a little sightseeing.   Eskimo Dan and his embassy driver picked us up and we drove down the coast to the old city of Muscat.  Just about everything outside of the old town has been built since Sultan Qaboos took the throne in 1970.  The old city is built in a crescent where the mountains come down to the sea. With a gate at each end of the city, the mountain behind and the sea up front, Muscat was all but impregnable.  Ancient watchtowers pepper the mountain side. We visited the Omani museum and drove around taking pictures.It was quite a sight.
 
Built within the old city of Muscat is the Mattrah Souk.  It is a catacomb of shops filled with vendors selling everything from frankincense and mire to sandals, clothing, swords and watches.  Little Joe and Ronnie both bought traditional Omani hats and robes.  We wandered around the Souk for a few hours negotiating with the shopkeepers and buying souvenirs to bring back home.  We got separated a few times and downright lost a couple of times but managed to get back together for the ride home.

Sultan Little Joe and his Crown Prince

Rubbing the lamp hoping for a little Arabian Mojo

This morning, April 21st, our travel plans were finalized.  In the morning we will fly from Muscat back to Bahrain, where our trip in the Middle East began, then on to Amman, Jordan.  In Jordan we will board a direct flight to New York City, avoiding Europe entirely, and then home to Tulsa.

Now it’s time to started packing.  I have a lot more stuff now than I came with and I hope it all fits in my suitcase.  I have enjoyed keeping this journal and I hope I haven’t bored anyone who chose to follow us on this adventure.  It truly was an adventure.  I have seen things I never thought I would see and I have met a lot of folks I will never forget.  I will add some reflective thoughts once I get home and have had a chance to spend some time with my darling wife Candy, my wonderful daughter Jamie Blue and her family, my grandson Julian (Mr. Big Stuff) and Little Joe’s lovely wife Casey. I have missed them all terribly.  Also on the anxious list is my wrong brother Cowboy and the rest of my Okie runnin’ partners.

If anyone reading this journal has comments or would like to reach me, my email is robbiemack@littlejoeblues.com.  If you get a chance, catch the band next time were in your town. You don't want to miss it.  Bye bye for now. 

April 19, 2010 - Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

When I last saw David Berntson last night he was hurting.  The long ride to Buraimi had taken its toll on his back.  We were all tired by the time we got home.  Our driver, Ali, had been up longer than any of us but seemed in pretty good shape when he dropped us off at the hotel.
 
This morning it was Ali picking us up again and he had a smile on his face.  David was doing better too.  Our schedule for the day started at the Azzan bin Qais K-12 Private School, about 30 minutes from our hotel.  We played a short concert then broke into smaller groups for workshops and discussions about the Blues.

When we arrived mats were arranged on the floor in the main hall near the entrance and the kids were taking their places for the show.  By the time we started playing the place was packed with the youngest up close.  All the students were in uniform, boys in the traditional white gown and Omani cap and the girls in matching slack outfits.  They were all very excited.  The teachers worked at getting the crowd calmed down and then introduced us.  We played a 45 minute set and that just about put them over the edge.

Little Joe McLerran plays "Papa's on the Housetop" for the kids

We took a break and ate a lunch provided by the school.  During lunch Little Joe was interviewed by a young lady named Karima, a writer for Y-Magazine, the popular Omani magazine dedicated to the new generation.  Little Joe told her that if she came to concert tonight he would sing the Blues classic Corrina Corrina.  She was so thrilled with the invitation that she let me take her picture.
A select group of students were invited to participate in a Blues workshop.  David took a number of kids aside got them started with an introduction to the harmonica.  Little Joe, Ronnie and I took the rest, most with acoustic guitars, into a class room and gave them the lowdown on the 12 bar blues form.  Later we reassembled both groups and jammed a little Blues song. It was a great morning.

Little Joe & Karima Farid from Y Magazine	Ali our Embassy Driver
Tunes Sound Crew	Qais School Boys
The Guitar Work Shop Girls	The Guitar Work Shop Boys

We returned to the hotel for a couple of hours then met the Tunes sound crew at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for the concert that evening.  What a beautiful night it was.  There was a crescent moon with hardly a cloud in sky and the temperature hovering around 80 degrees, humid with a slight breeze.  It was perfect.  The hotel had set up 500 draped chairs on the lawn with the stage set overlooking the waves of the Gulf of Oman.  It was an incredible setting and fitting finale for our tour that had started nearly four weeks earlier.

Following an introduction by US Ambassador to Oman, Richard Schmierer, we took the stage to a standing room only crowd that included many dignitaries including Little Joe’s new friends the Spanish Ambassador and the German Ambassador who had both attended the party a couple of days ago.

I have watched Little Joe out do himself time after time during this tour but tonight he was flawless.  He performed a 90 minute set unlike any I have witnessed since I have had the pleasure of working with him.  He was simply dazzling.  He is without doubt the one of the great Bluesmen of our age.  I am so proud to be associated with him and to be a part of his band.  David Berntson was fabulous and Ronnie Mac was so on the money it was scary.  I wish you all could have been here tonight in Muscat, Oman and shared this evening with us.  A goodtime was had by all.

Little Joe McLerran QuartetTerriplane Blues

This was our last scheduled performance for the Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad but we are a long way from home. Until we sort out the complications caused by that volcano in Iceland and the ash clouds between here and home there will be more to come.

April 18, 2010 - Buraimi, Sultanate of Oman

Our only real driving trip on the tour so far was when we left our first country, Bahrain, and drove over the causeway to Saudi Arabia.  That drive took a little more than an hour including passing through the Saudi border check point when we all were fingerprinted and photographed.

Today we drove 3 1/2 hours through the desert to Buraimi, northwest of Muscat.  We arrived at 2pm and spent the day at the Buraimi University.  The University has linked up with Cal State Northridge and spends students there for graduate studies.  The enrollment is 75% women and 25% men.  If it wasn't for the Sultan's quota system there would be hardly any men.  It turns out the girls are smarter than the boys, even over here.  Students test out after high school and that test score determines their college entrance level.  The women far outperform the men.

We were treated to a buffet luncheon in the school cafeteria attended by faculty and staff and a few students.  There was a ping pong table in the room and David and I were challenged to a game by a couple of students.  I think they tried to let us win, but we were so miserable we lost any way.  It was close.  I don't think I've played a game of ping pong since I was about 12 years old.  It was a lot of laughs though.  Next we attended a meeting of the school's English club.  Three female students presented a western culture program that included sections on music, art and food.  America was known for Jazz and fast food.

Three gals from the al-Burani University

We performed to a crowd of 150 or so in an auditorium with gym like acoustics.  Mostly girls seated up close on one side and the boys seated on the other side mostly seated toward the rear.  Everybody was cheering and into what we were doing.  About two thirds of the way through the show a few women moved over to men's side and took advantage of the empty chairs up front.  The boys continued to hang back.  After our performance they all came on stage for autographs and asked to be photographed with us.  That's not uncommon with the men but little unusual for the women.  I was able to get a picture of three very striking Omai women who pose for the photo.

Little Joe McLerran Quartet plays Goin' to Louisana

On the way back to Muscat we stopped at a restaurant for a late dinner and returned to our hotel.  We made it home around half past midnight.  It was a long day.

April 17, 2010 - Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

We had a meeting this morning at the hotel with Robert and Dan from the Muscat Embassy.  Also attending was the sound crew from the Muscat sound company, Tunes Production.  We discussed the equipment Tunes was providing and the schedule of events planned for our stay. Tunes will supply the sound for each of our performances.

We left the hotel for a brief tour of Sultan Qaboo's Grand Mosque recently dedicated in 2001. The mosque took over 6 years to build, contains the world's largest chandelier and the world's second largest Persian carpet.  It is made of 600,000 tons of Indian sandstone.

Sultan Qaboo's Grand Mosque

Entrance to the Grand Mosque

Ronnie resting his feet	Tower at the Grand Mosque

World's largest chandelier

World's second largest carpet

We then drove to the US Embassy for an interview with the Muscat Daily, the English language daily newspaper.  Following lunch we returned to our hotel to prepare for this evenings concert in the Sinbad Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel hosted by US Ambassador to Oman, Richard J. Schmierer.

That evening we arrived at the Crowne Hotel at 6pm, loaded in and did a sound check.  The Crowne Plaza Hotel is a very ritzy place.  In a couple of days we are scheduled to play here again for a public concert on the back lawn where the cliffs drop down to the Arabian Gulf.  We took a walk to back of the hotel where we saw where they planned to set the stage. What a fantastic view.

As the Ambassador's guests began to arrive, as the mingling and social chit chat got underway we hung out in the hall.  We were a little apprehensive with the Ambassador's party in Kuwait still fresh in our memory.    Playing for a room full of dignitaries and diplomats is not quite like playing for a room full of college kids or blues enthusiasts.

By the time Ambassador Schmierer warmly introduced us and we started playing we had about 150 guests seated up close to the stage.  From the first tune we knew we had them.  Little Joe peppered the set with snappy patter describing the songs we were playing and the blues in general.  We played an hour long set and, unlike the party in Kuwait, each song was met with thunderous applause and even a few hollers and whistles.  

We were mobbed after the show with well wishers and those seeking autographs.  Ambassador Schmierer and his wife are among our new true blue fans.  We shook a lot of hands and made conversation for half an hour encouraging everyone to return in two days for a repeat performance on the lawn out back.  Our buddy Dan (Eskimo Dan) helped load the van and we headed back to the Intercontinental slapping each other on the back.

April 16, 2010 - Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

How do you like that, the Sultanate of Oman.  Oman has been ruled by Sultan Qaboos since 1970.  Sultan Qaboos balanced tribal, regional and ethnic  interests by presenting to his people the "Basic Statute of the State" in 1996.  This is Oman's first written "constitution". 

We met an American fellow in the baggage claim area of the airport last night who works in the electrical grid industry here in Oman.  He spoke of the great modernization progress made in Oman due to the Sultan's efforts.  He said Oman is much more moderate than Saudi Arabia and has far less in the way of oil recourses. I see a change in the head gear on men and an occasional turban.

The view from my hotel room shows mountains and white washed architecture reminiscent of the Mediterranean.  In the area below my window is a compound of broad roofed tents.  It is definitely very colorful.

We are staying at the Muscat Intercontinental Hotel built right on the Gulf of

David by a palm tree on the Gulf of Oman

Oman.  Across the Gulf is Iran.  David and I walked down to the beach this morning and saw a bunch kids swimming out among the waves.  Little Joe was warned before we left Kuwait that the waters in Oman are shark infested.

We stopped at the local Starbucks for an iced coffee then returned to the hotel to avoid the heat.

Later in the evening we joined Embassy PAO Robert Arbuckle," Eskimo" Dan and Dan's wife Katy for a casual dinner at the Turkish Grill, a popular Muscat restaurant.  We briefly discussed the bands schedule over the next 5 days.  It is a rigorous schedule including a driving trip on Sunday across the desert to a University in Buraimi three and half hours away.  Our work week will start early tomorrow with meetings at the Embassy and a 14 hour day. I've got to get to bed.  Good night.

April 15, 2010 - Kuwait, Kuwait / Muscat, Oman

Today was our last day in Kuwait.  We had time to hang out at the pool, visit the beach and relax in the hotel.  The Radisson Blue, in my opinion, is the nicest hotel we have stayed in.
 
In the hotel's lobby is a giant granite ball called a kugel that is hydraulically floated on a granite base that keeps the ball turning constantly.  The perfectly round ball and base assembly weight 8 tons, designed and built by Kusser Ganitwerk in Germany.  During the Gulf War, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the hotel was occupied by what the hotel staff refers to as thugs and gangs of youth.  They trashed the hotel.  After the US liberated Kuwait and the hotel was to be renovated the owner decided the kugel would make the perfect centerpiece.

The band was invited to return to the Embassy Post for the traditional Thursday "Happy Hour".  Remember, Thursday night in the Muslim world is the same as Saturday night in the US.  We took them up on the offer.  We checked out of the hotel in the afternoon, loaded all our stuff in the van and returned to the Embassy for one more jolly round.  Several of the staff who had been running us around for the past few days were there and we toasted the times we'd had then said goodbye. We jumped back into the van and headed back to the airport.

Checking in at the Kuwait airport was a nightmare.  It was very crowded.  If we hadn't had the State Dept guys hustling us through the security and endless check points we would never had made it.  When we finally got to the baggage check in/ get your boarding pass area the sh** really hit the fan.
 
We are responsible for our overweight luggage charges and believe you me we have some overweight luggage.  David has a road case full of harmonicas, his harp amp, mikes, effects, power supplies, you name it.   The thing weighs 65 pounds and is a back breaker.  We all take turns breaking our backs with it.  My anvil bass case weighs 50+ pounds, but it is the size of a small refrigerator.  Luckily we had only been hit once before with excess baggage charges.  Not so lucky here.

The little gal at the counter wouldn't let me pay her.  I had to go to the cashier. I rushed to the cashier but they would take a credit card. I had purposely spent all my Kuwaiti Dinars at the Happy Hour and the cashier would take US dollars.  Our Embassy expediter was at my side the whole time so we rushed outside of the passenger area to an ATM where I was able to use my bank card to get a fist full of Dinars.  I had to go back through security then I raced back to the counter where the gal reminded me I had to pay the cashier.  Back to the cashier but get this he couldn't make change for a 10 dinar note.  Between the three cashiers on duty they were finally able to give me my change and I was on my way.  By the time we got to the gate they were loading.  I didn't want to spend another sleepless night in an airport and was happy when I was sitting on the plane.

Our seating assignments were screwy.  David, Ronnie and I were seated

Dan Patterini in his Eshimo Joe's T-shirt How could we not like this guy

together but they had seated Little Joe about 6 rows ahead of us all by himself.   They served a chicken curry dinner with chick pea salad and a rubbery desert thing.  I was hungry so I ate it.  When we landed in Muscat, Oman we learned that Little Joe didn't get any dinner.  He was asleep when the food cart rolled past him and woke up while it just a couple rows away.  He asked if he could have some dinner and they said, "NO".  When he asked for a cup of coffee they said, "NO".  As we passed through the security for arriving passengers and customs Joe was not a happy camper.  We were finally met outside the airport by our new embassy guy, Dan Pattarini. He was wearing an Eskimo Joe's T-shirt.  Turns out he has an aunt living in Ponca City, OK.  For all you folks reading this journal who don't live in Oklahoma, Eskimo Joe's is a beer joint in Stillwater, OK, home of, among other things, Oklahoma State University.  Eskimo Joe's is more famous for T-shirts then they are for their beer.

Dan took us and all our gear to the Intercontinental Hotel in Muscat.  We checked in and went to bed exhausted. Tomorow we have a day off!!

April 14, 2010 - Kuwait City, Kuwait

Today we hung around the hotel until 4:30 when the van arrived to take us to Kuwait University for a concert in the evening.  Kuwait University is a public school similar to a state university in America.  In fact it is the only public university in Kuwait.  Established in 1966, five years after gaining independence from Great Britain, Kuwait University offers a full curriculum including schools of art, law, medicine and engineering.

We met William the sound guy and his crew at the University for our sound check.  The system was already set up and our gear was on stage and in no time at all we had dialed the in levels and set the stage for the performance.  The show was held in the 500 seat auditorium of the Law School.  By the time we played we had a full house with people standing in the back of the theater.  They all had a good time and so did we.

Little Joe closes the show at Kuwait University
with Homesick James' "You Gotta Move"

Our new friend Salama Ayyad, our right hand embassy man in Kuwait who's been with us every day here in Kuwait City, suggest we get a midnight snack at the Canary restaurant, a working mans joint with the best sharma sandwiches yet. We took the scenic route home driving past a local landmark, the Kuwait Towers, then we headed back to the hotel.

Landmark Kuwait Towers at night

April 13, 2010 - Kuwait City, Kuwait

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder.  It made me homesick Tulsa.  I looked out my window and low and behold it was raining.  The hotel desk clerk told us rain in Kuwait is very unusual.   I'd been kidding David because he had packed an umbrella for a tour in the desert. It just goes to show you.
We taped a TV show this morning inside the great big wooden ship by Kuwait Marine Museum at the hotel.  The TV crew used 4 cameras and one was on a rolling rail track like the ones they use in Hollywood.  It looked like a very professional crew to me.  There must have 20 of them and I couldn't understand a word they were saying.  There was a lot of hanging around while they set the lighting and wired us all for sound. The host of the show was a gal named Emon and she was going to ask all the questions.   Once they started rolling she started asking questions.  Little Joe had trouble understanding just what she was asking him but he kept the answers rolling. They told us they are planning to film our gig at Kuwait University tomorrow and edit the two pieces together. They promised to send a copy of the show after it airs. The embassy folks said they would see that we get the DVD.

Inside the big boat Little Joe and I wait for the TV crew to start rolling.

After that we drove across town and did an interview for a local Kuwait FM radio station.  We arrived late because the TV thing took so long.  We talked with the DJ about the blues, the band, our travels and plugged the concert at the University scheduled for the next night. The station was located in the upscale Marina Mall. In Bahrain as here in Kuwait we were incouraged to "go check out the mall". We have malls in Tulsa and all across the USA. That just didn't do anything for us. Now we were forced to visit the mall and it was what we might have expected. The food court had Popeye's chicken, Baskin Robins ice cream and the shopping look about like every mall I've ever been in.

At 5:00 the van picked us up and took us to the US Embassy for a garden party at the residence of the US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah Jones.  The security at the embassy was the tightest I have seen so far on our trip.  They took each of us individually through the examination room and checked out our stuff quite thoroughly. They x-rayed my bass then confiscated my camera which was returned to me in time to film the performance.

The Embassy was built by the Kuwaitis after the Gulf War thanks in part for the USA kicking the Iraqis out of their country in 1991.  No US tax dollars spent here. Kuwait donated 40 acres of land and paid $100,000,000 to have the Embassy built.  It is beautiful.  The surrounding grounds with date palm groves and landscaped lawns are magnificent.  Ambassador Jones gave me a tour of the official residence and the craftsmanship throughout is excellent.  It turned out that Mrs. Jones and I have a mutual friend in Boulder, CO.  Tom Wasinger, a guitar player I had played with in Boulder, was the husband of her best friend.  I learned that Tom had won a Grammy in 2009 for Best Native American Music Album.  Mrs. Jones commented, "It's a small world isn't it?"  That's putting it mildly.  A quick reality check is the miles of razor wire atop the surrounding wall.  We're not in Boulder anymore Toto.

For tonight's performance a festival style stage was set up on the tennis courts which had been covered in Astroturf.  The embassy provided a real nice sound system and crew lead by William the sound guy.  Tables and seating for about 150 had been set up with across the court.  We were scheduled to play at 7:30 but the weather seemed threatening.  After a lengthy sound check we mingled with the crowd and met several young Kuwaitis who had been invited and were part of a student exchange program set up by the US/Kuwaiti Embassies.  They were excited with the opportunity to visit the US and we expressed our excitement of our visit to be visiting their country.

At show time it started to sprinkle, not like what we see in Tulsa but enough to get things wet and force us to cover the equipment with plastic trash bags.  After a brief delay we took to the stage.  Little Joe decided to open the show with "I Get the Blues When it Rains".  I thought it was very appropriate but the mood was damped by the rain.  A lot of people left for higher ground and the delay caused some of the kids to leave early because they had school in the morning.  Still we had a good time and we will treasure the experience.  Leaving the embassy we noticed a pill box with a machine gun barrel protruding and a soldier at the ready.  We returned to our seemingly secure hotel for a good night sleep.

The Little Joe Quartet starts the show with
"I Get the Blues When it Rains"