Conference atlana::ccm

"On the Fly" is to be released early March.  This is the "electric" companion to 
his "Acoustic Sketchs" although there are a couple of acoustic tracks on this as 
well. 70 minutes of pure Phil.  Watch for news through the fan club.

Also...Phils working on an album with Wes King and Jerry(?) Dente...you know,
the guy from Out-of-the-Grey.  Should be interesting.

Tedster...

    I take it "On the Fly" is referring to his new Parker Fly guitar?!
    
    When did "Acoustic Sketches" come out?  I don't think I have it.

>    I take it "On the Fly" is referring to his new Parker Fly guitar?!
 
Could be...I didn't ask.

   
>    When did "Acoustic Sketches" come out?  I don't think I have it.

Last year sometime...I thought you got it through the fan club...or was that
Marty?

Ted

  There is a persistant and mutating rumor (e.g. urban legend) that
Hendrix, McCartney, or Clapton once said in an interview that Phil Keaggy
was the greatest guitarist in the world.  The interview has variously been
in Guitar Player, the Dick Cavett show, or the Tonight show.

  If it was Hendrix, then it would have been after the tour that Glass Harp
reportedly(1) did with Hendrix, and thus between 1967-68 and 1970 when
Hendrix died.  The Dick Cavett show c. 1968 is said to be the source. There
are several possibilities here:
	* Hendrix was being sarcastic (in response to a leading question?).
	* Hendrix was under the influence of mind-altering substances.
	* Hendrix said Phil was the "shortest guitar player in the world."
	* The whole thing is a mass hallucination.

  Much the same analysis applies to the other two guitarists, with the
possible exception of the "mind-altering substances" alternative.

(1) I've only seen it on the net, so...

[The rest of this section contributed by Mark Aubury]

     This is the story according to Phil. (Reprinted from True Tunes News,
Volume Five, Issue Seven, page 43.  Reprinted with permission of John J.
Thompson, editorial director.)

TTN:  There has been a story floating around forever.  I has to do with
Hendrix and/or Clapton saying that you're the best guitarist in the world.

PK:  Well, to me it seems like an unverified rumor.  Maybe someone said
something and it went down the line and turned into something outlandish.
After 22 years of hearing this thing you would think by now that someone
would say "Hey listen to this tape or this video that proves it."  Nobody
has ever produced anything that gives it authenticity.  I couldn't imagine
that Hendrix or Clapton would have known me.  I do know the Edge has heard
about me and was once quoted as saying "I don't understand why he won't be
more dangerous with his music."  Maybe this album [Crimson and Blue] will
prove to be.  I met Paul McCartney at a wedding, and he said "You did a
very nice job in the wedding, you have a very nice voice."  He gave me a
couple compliments and some advice. It was great to sit down and have about
twenty minutes with one of my heroes and play guitar and sing together. 
The big mega-stars don't happen really, I just don't rub shoulders with
them, although I have recently made friends with Greg Martin from the
Kentucky Headhunters.  He is going to be interviewing me for a magazine
article soon.  But I don't know too many big timers.  As far as the rumor,
unless anyone can sit and show me proof I will not believe it.  I do know
that in the days the Glass Harp was getting underway we were very high
spirited.  There were some things done in those days that I listen to today
and think it was pretty good.

    10,11 April 10, 1981: The suprise Glass Harp concerts. Daren writes:
    "Wished You Were There" on the "Town To Town" album is about the surprise
    Glass Harp reunion concerts given on Friday April 10, 1981 at Cleveland
    Masonic Auditorium and the next night at Akron Civic Theatre.  In the song,
    Phil alternates between wistful nostalgia and annoyance at not being
    mentioned by Anastasia Pantansios*, the music beat reporter at the time
    for the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.  Glass Harp was not announced
    beforehand, and never played again.  Rumors even circulated that the trio
    had reunited illegally (since Pecchio and Sferra were still active in
    Northeast Ohio bands at the time).  Clearly, among the best $5 I have ever
    spent: among the 8 Keaggy shows I have seen since 1980, this was the most
    inspired, rockingest Keaggy ever seen.  His albums, until "Sunday's Child,"
    never approached the fire of that night."

I was handed this CD on stage right before we started a worship set
yesterday.  Its out but not sure where, I couldn't ask...and John had
to leave.  You could probably give the fan club a call to find out where
its available.  To answer an earlier question:

>    I take it "On the Fly" is referring to his new Parker Fly guitar?!
 
Yep it is.

I got through about half of it.  More acoustic than I was expecting but
more instrumentation to go with it.  I liked what I heard so far, but there
is much of Phil's stuff I don't.  I was going to bring it in and plug it
into the old Alpha station but I forgot.  Try that tomorrow.

Ted

Been listening to "On the Fly" closer...he makes that Fly sound
like acoustic.  Its really starting to grow on me.  Almost 72 
minutes of good listenin'.

Ted