John Fogerty "Working On A Building"

So I've been banging away with posts about artist friends that are worthy of your support for the last couple of weeks, and I thought I should get around to Mike Palmer.

Those of you who live on the Cape and Islands know that, among the hardest hit during this recession, are the people who build things for a living.  10 years ago, there was plenty of work to go around.  These days, every job counts.

For Christmas, my folks, and my wife's mom, and my wife's dad, have all offered to give us a little money to devote to various around-the-house projects.  The slider to the deck is broken.  The tiles around the tub have cracked.

Maybe you're getting this kind of gift too.

We'll call our friend Mike Palmer, who did a hellava job on The Art Shed.

Mike has built homes from the ground up.  But in the winter, its the little jobs that get you through.

Check out his work on his MLP Carpentry site.

Before you do any Christmas shopping online with big companies, consider supporting individual artists and small entrepreneurs.  Amazon isn’t going to miss your 50 bucks, but a purchase from an artisan will help them enormously. I’m posting links to a few of my talented friends and family.

Take a look at the other posts on my page this week, and please "Share" the links with you think might be interested in these artists.  Thanks!


Hear the song on Youtube.

Mavis Staples “Wrote A Song For Everyone”

The Life Is Good Festival happens in Canton, MA this weekend. So this week's blog posts feature artists appearing on the bill.

It’s a testament to John Fogerty’s songwriting that this 40 year old tune sounds as relevant in 2010 as it did when he wrote it.

And it’s a testament to Mavis Staples gravitas that she can sing Fogerty’s tune, and leave no trace of the fact that this was written by a young white-bread Californian, and that it wasn’t just one of those tunes she and Pops performed during those marches with Dr. King.

Mavis Staples performs today at the Life Is Good Festival.