We had the pleasure of meeting a great family from St Martin at a Boston show a couple years back and when they made an offer for me to come down to their hotel in St Martin we warned them that we probably would come.  A few weeks back we did. Since that night in Boston we have been friends. Marc and Kristin Petrelluzzi run an amazing hotel in Grand Case, which is on the French side of St Martin. The hotel is called L’Esplande and it’s just the perfect spot for a getaway to recharge, relax and inspire. If you are planning a trip down to the Carribbean I highly recommend this charming hotel by the sea. Check it out:  www.lesplanade.com This year we had a wonderful oppurtunity to have been offered a gig down in St Martins and guess what? We went. Surfboards and guitar in hand we flew from NYC down to St Martins and got into it. I was doing a benefit show for a local foundation which supports the wild life of St Martins called the Nature Foundation. Check out some of the good work these wonderful people do here: www.naturefoundationsxm.org I was going to be performing with a band called Orange Grove. OG splits time between St Martins and Holland. St Martins is half Dutch and half French so you find many people, like OG, who spend time in both countries. A Carribbean/ Dutch reggae band? Works for me. After our flight landed and a quick surf with Philly Frank we had some amazing local food at the LoLos down in Grand Case on the French side. These LoLos are basically BBQ joints on the beach. They cook everything from conch, lobster, chicken and ribs on an open grill and serve it with Johnny Cakes and peas and rice, salad and slaw. You will be in heaven. The next morning I was up early and went off to meet Orange Grove for a rehearsal. We had decided to get some jams together as an encore after their set and my solo acoustic set. We had a great morning sess jamming on tunes like Jersey, Peace, Love and Happiness, Unified and a couple of covers including Jimmy Cliff’s “Harder They Come” one of my favorites for sure. The next two days were show days and surf days.  In between surfing and picking sea urchin spines out my toes I was changing strings and practicing up getting ready to bring the blues to the beach. The shows ended up really coming off we enjoyed some excellent collaborations with OG.  I think it is safe to say a fun time was had by all. For more info on OG check this out www.ogband.com.

What’s up Pham!?! Well, we are closing in on the end of another wonderful year of music, music, music and I wanted to reach out and reflect on 2011 and thank you all for your support. So many roads, so many towns, so many cities and so many shows. It’s always amazing for me, as I’m sure it is for you, to look back on the year of travel and adventure and think about all you’ve accomplished. It’s a good feeling to see all that work you’ve done and a good feeling knowing that wherever you feel you’ve fallen short, you can set goals for a new year to get it done. When I look back at some of the highlights for 2011 I see the release of our 11th record “Fixin To Die”. This record really brought me back to my roots, as a blues and folk music player and I really believe Fixin To Die will be remembered a one of our best studio records. I was pretty sure I would get a Grammy for that one but fuck it as long as y’all lived it and loved it with us that are all I care about. The thing about records (and so much of life and work for that matter) is, all you can do is work your ass off, put all your heart and soul in it, have a damn good time doing it and make the best damn record you could ever make. That’s it. Whether it sells a thousand or a million is out of your control. Just make something great.  People will love it or hate it but as long as it’s true to you, that’s all that matters you know? Do your thing. 2011 had me touring nonstop in support of Fixin and for me, touring is where it’s at. You guys know I live to tour but this past year was one of my favorite years. I had the opportunity to tour solo acoustic, with the four piece Special Sauce and with the Special Sauce Trio. All of these different looks challenged as inspired me night in and night out. We’ve been touring as the four-piece Special Sauce with Jeff Clemens on drums, Mark Boyce on organ, Timo Shanko on the bass, and myself on guitar and harp for 4 years. This is one powerful band and with Mark Boyce bringing his kick ass organ, piano and clav solos throughout the night shit would get deep. We played a lot of shows, which just deepens the chemistry, and this year I felt the four-piece unit and especially Mark’s playing reached great heights. The challenge to play the stripped down solo shows has been amazing. While I miss the accompaniment at times I find my solo shows to be very intimate and my connection with the audience to be more open. I’m not trying to toot my own horn but you’ve got to see the solo shows. It’s just like coming home for me. I’ve been a solo performer since my very first shows and in a lot of ways it’s the best way to see a G. Love show. And I’m remembering back to those great nights on the summer solo tour in Nantucket, Wellfleet and Dewey Beach to name just a few where that crowd would be going off and dancing just as hard as they would if we had a 20 piece band. Alls’ I can say is thanks! Also this year we returned to touring as a trio with Timo, Jeff and I holding it down. The return to the trio was also a challenge but a welcomed one. By stripping the sound down we were subliminally guided towards a different sound, a different set and a more urgent approach on stage. I find the trio show to be more raucous, very spacious, very blues oriented and free flowing show. GLaSS was a three piece for 13 years so in many ways it’s like coming home.  All this touring led me all around the world with 3 stops in Japan where I saw a strong country rebuilding after the earth quake and tsunami, a return to the UK and Europe for a solo tour where my manager J and I drove around the countryside for a week or two and managed to not kill ourselves or each other. And of course many, many shows and festivals in many big cities and small towns all across this god loving USA.  Each show could make its own book but I will stop my rambling.  Anyways a great year of touring, traveling, writing and recording. Once again as always, thank you so much to our fans and supporters y’all are the best. I don’t know how we can ever repay you for all the love and support you give a night in and night out but we will try our hardest to make you smile and keep on dancing. So, wherever you saw the show be it a solo, trio or four piece show I hope you had a great time and are ready to come again because winter tour is coming sooner than you can say “Happy fucking New Years!! “ Have a merry, blessed and peaceful holidays and a happy freaking New Years and we will see you on tour. Thanks for stopping by.  Your friend, G. Love

Our Friends in Philly at the World Cafe invite you to listen to World Cafe’s Christmas special including G Love and Jack Johnson which will air Friday, December 23rd, 2011. National Public Radio’s World Cafe with host David Dye can be heard on over 200 stations nationwide. You can find your local station at the following link by selecting a state from the pull-down menu, or you can stream the event on the internet HERE. If you’re running around and can’t get to a computer or radio, you can visit the World Cafe later in the day to catch the audio of the event HERE.

You’ve got to check out Little Kids Rock. Support music education, support these guys!! G. Love recently stopped by P.S. 11 in the Bronx to deliver some instruments for the kids. Check it out: