I haven't played a gig in a while. Where does the time go? But my first solo CD 'Rise Above' is s'posed to be ready at the printers in 2 days. Exciting! For me at least. I'm very proud of this CD, especially all the amazing folks who played and sang on it (Byron Myhre, Dale Ulan, Jim Nunally, Andrea Revel & Juanita Brandt), worked on the recording and engineering (Dale Ulan, Rob Smith), and graphic design (Juanita Brandt). In my opinion there are some powerful songs on there, and I like the way they came out. I'm looking forward to sending it out into the world and seeing how the ripples spread. I'll be selling it through a couple of local independent outlets in Alberta, and online through cdbaby.com, itunes, etc. I hope you get a chance to hear it. If you want a sneak preview of some of it, you can listen on my MySpace page at myspace.com/whprwill.

On the musical instrument front, back in February my friend Craig Korth sold me an incredibly sweet 1946 Gibson LG-2 guitar, and just this past week my first open back banjo arrived in the mail. The guitar is small-bodied and rich and beautiful. It suits me very well and I think we have a long and passionate relationship ahead of us together. The banjo is new and custom-made by Jeff Kramer at CloverLick Banjos in Burlington, Wisconsin. This man takes craftsmanship to the highest level. His banjos are each and every one labors of love. Jeff's banjo design came out of a collaboration with Dwight Diller in Pocahontas County, east-central West Virginia. I love saying "east-central West Virginia"! But that is indeed where Pocahontas County lies. Anyway, Dwight is thought by many to be one of the very best old-time players of traditional West Virginia clawhammer banjo, and Jeff's banjos are the only ones Dwight plays these days. I went to one of Dwight's week-long banjo retreats last fall and got to play some CloverLick banjos. I've played a lot of banjos, and these are the best I've come across for this type of music. The craftsmanship, artisan-ship, playability, sound, etc. are all at the very top. Jeff even makes his own brass hardware (brackets, tone ring, hoop, etc.).

Finally, I'm going back down for another old-time music retreat at Dwight's at the end of this month. Music, friendship, and early summer in the mountains of my homeland. The week ends up at the Vandalia Gathering which is a festival in the state capitol of Charleston, celebrating the traditional culture of West Virginia. I'll try not to be too tardy in reporting back here afterwards...

All right, enough for now - it's a beautiful spring Sunday morning here in Calgary and I'd rather be outside drinking an Americano under the flowering plum trees in my back yard and playing my new banjo instead of sitting here typing on a computer!

Adios for now!