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There are a couple of Don mentions in Jam! Amp Your Team, Rock Your Business, a new book penned by former .38 Special lead guitarist and songwriter Jeff Carlisi and co-author Dan Lipson. Like the title suggests, the principles behind reaching a collective goal by orchestrating individual members’ efforts hold true for rock bands as well as businesses. According to book contributor Jay Busbee, Don was “interviewed in the emergency lane of [the] I-4 in Florida on the way to Daytona.” That’s what we call life next to the fast lane.

Don cruised by and answered the latest round of questions posed by site visitors via the Guitar Q & A page.

If you haven’t seen your question answered yet, be patient. We collect and submit them to him on a regular basis.

By the way, fans are also welcome to share their own music, photos and anecdotes.

Expect a new album this summer from country-rock “pioneer” Al Perkins’ brand-spanking new band Big Dog 3. Al, who in the past has crossed guitars with rock, country and bluegrass combo groundbreakers Flying Burritos, Gram Parsons, Stephen Stills & Manassas and Emmylou Harris, baptized the trio earlier this year.

Al and fellow bandmates Brady Blade and Chris Donohue hit the pavement running in Europe beginning July 2nd for shows in the UK and the Netherlands. Check their current schedule at the new Big Dog 3 website.

Don was recently involved in filming a promotional product demonstration for Blue Microphones. Thanks to our Twitter RSS “bird feed” and a tweet from the folks who produced the video, we caught the link to the 3 Penguins Design blog. Between the mic match-ups, you’ll get to see Don flip-flop between playing an electric and an acoustic guitar on command, something we wish we could get him to do.

Here’s the direct link to the flash video

Find that obscure band that blew you away at the college mixer. Or browse among classic artists including the Grateful Dead, Warren Zevon and Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. Sample today’s mainstreamers John Mayer or Jason Mraz before you shell out for concert tix. For free.

Impossible? Nah. Just head over to the Live Music Internet Archive. There you’ll find thousands of concert performances taped on site and granted by the performers to the LMIA for streaming in hi-fi VBR MPU quality or downloading in “21st century bootleg” formats Flac, Ogg-Vorbis und VBR MP3. As much as you want, whenever you want.

Check out our recent picks: The Derek Trucks Band - Mountain Jam V, Hunter NY - 5/31/2009 and New Riders of the Purple Sage - Strange Creek Campout, Greenfield MA - 5/22/2009

Give yourself time to comb through the database. You’re gonna need it.

* A Visit to the Hotel California

Last week (5/21), the German cultural radio station Deutchlandfunk broadcast a feature dealing with the myth surrounding the origin of the song Hotel California. It’s an interesting report about an actual “Hotel California” in Todos Santos in Baja California, Mexico, reputed to be “the” hotel which inspired the Eagles’ greatest hit.

Today, not only the hotel, but other merchants in the area as well still cash in on the tales of a connection between the band and the hotel. The story features several references to Don’s book, underscoring the spirit behind the rock and roll folklore which even today continues drawing tourists to Todos Santos from north of the border.

There’s a transcription of the program along with the audio file in German (of course!) available on the Deutschlandfunk site. For an online translation into English, click here.

Prior to his performance last night in Windsor, Ontario, Don appeared on Detroit’s Channel 2 morning news program.