"Birds" is now available for download at iTunes.... after you download it, please mark your calendar for the Jan 23rd Birds Cd release show at P.a's in somerville!!!

CD RELEASE SHOW FOR "BIRDS" instrumental Cd is going to be TUESDAY JAN. 23RD 8:00pm at P.A's lounge, Union Square Somerville. Mark your calendars for a great night of
acoustic guitar with three great musicians, Matthew Joy , Glenn Jones, and Freedom for Gus!......it's really an pleasure to be sharing a stage with these fine players......and i really hope
you can come out and join us for some great music.......Don't miss this extravagaaaanza!!!!

 

11/22/06 ...INSTRUMENTAL CD "BIRDS" IS DONE and in stores now....available at CDBABY http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thayer6 or at shows or on the street....pick up your copy today!!!
Cd RELEASE SHOW tuesday JAN 23rd with Matthew Joy and others.....more details to follow. mark your calendars and watch this space!!!
and here is your BIRDS page with lots of dobro esoterica!!!
or if you're a dobrohead, click here to go straight to the esoterica.......

rumor on the street has it that the INSTRUMENTAL, all dobro, all solo, lapstyle guitar with no overdubs cd is done, in the can, and being copied, even as we speak....
it should be done in the next couple weeks, available on the street, in the subway, on line eventually, and there will probably be a cd release show(yeah another one...) in january.....
stay tuned....
now work begins on part three of the trilogy, the long awaited all ballads cd........

thanks very much to everyone who came out to the benefit for the somerville homeless coalition at Johnny D's on Oct. 12th.......what a lineup....really grateful to be part of such
a thing....incredible performers, all people it was a privelege to share the stage with ....Frank Morey, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, Washtub Robbie and the Wombat Bass, Zack Nyman, Bill McQuaid....check out the music these people are making...! great great stuff......it has always been a dream of mine to see so many of Boston's great ACOUSTIC players get together for a night of music,
and for a great cause.....i hope we can do it again....thanks RICH HUGHES for all the work to put it together. ......

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO each and every one of you that came out to the cd release show. it was great playing for all of you, in such a great place.....i'm really really grateful.....
and i thank you for listening to the music and for caring.....thanks also to brendan hogan for a great opening set.....
next show is the BENEFIT AT JOHNNY D'S on OCT 12th FOR THE SOMERVILLE HOMELESS COALITION......all star lineup!!!

CD RELEASE TIME.....!!! THURSDAY SEPT. 21ST, 8PM, CLUB PASSIM.......BE THERE OR BE .....? come on out and help us celebrate the release of BLUES FOR
BOSTON!!! Brendan Hogan opens, i close.........

9/9/06....the beat goes on, in yr feet and on the street.....been playing a lot in the square......brought my 12 string out there recently.....it is pretty loud,
which sometimes can be nice, especially with trucks, and other musicians who set up on top of you.....less than two weeks till CD RELEASE TIME....

ken chang just sent me a link to his discussion group about blues in singapore....check them out here http://p067.ezboard.com/bsingapurablue

8/24/06......had a really nice birthday recently. not today, but recently....playing in my favorite spot in harvard square. it was beautiful day, and i saw a
lot of great people that i'm fortunate enough to be friends with, and some other great people i've never met before, and lots of little kids.......which is always great.
they are always open, and up for music, even if their parents are on the way to someplace else and trying to keep up with the schedule.

So my gratitude level was and is pretty high, which is great.....but i really do have to say, it just peeves me to no end, when people sit there for three or four songs,
make requests, and then get up and leave, and that's it. i mean, you dont have to go mental or anything, but at least throw a quarter in the box to say thank you.
i know you got a quarter on you. for example, the other day, i'm out there, playing and a guy comes by and takes some cd's out of a bag and sticks one in my face,
and says 'play something by THIS guy'.....(long deceased and somewhat popular old blues singer held in high esteem by middle aged white men who think they are a lot
hipper than they actually are) so, i go ahead and play a song by the aforementioned artist. i know, nobody's fault but mine, as another song goes. and then
the guy just laughs and gives me the thumbs up, and that's it. .......i know i shouldnt complain, but it always kills me when i hear all these so called blues fans
talking about"keeping the blues alive" and here i am, and actually person who IS alive, and they wont even throw you a quarter, and will a cd of someone
who died 50 years ago, with tunes on it that they already have, but they are buying them reissued and repackaged by some bootleg italian label that is keeping
all the money and they are just getting the same 12 songs they already have, because they don't know that the guy only did one recording session and those 12 tunes
they already had are all that's out there......don't get me wrong, i love all of the old stuff, men and WOMEN too......but man........ok, back to gratitude.
THANKS to all of the people who say hi, and drop a dime and keep me alive.....i love you all.....

been getting out in the square a little bit more lately.....the more things change, the more they stay the same.....sometimes i love playing in the street, other times...
well, it feels like you're singing in to the wind.....so to speak. but enough of that.......i have been trying to get the new cd out to some radio stations and to get some
reviews and that sort of thing. and that sort of thing is not my strong suit. but i'm doing the best i can. PRZEMEK DRAHEIM is a fine young man who's playing some great music on his radio show in Poland. It's great to see people in other countries who love our music so much and are working hard to keep it alive. it's also nice to be respected, and to see so much respect for our
music.....i sound like i'm whining. check out his website and show if you have a chance and i'll go back to being grateful.
Got some nice shows and events coming up this fall that i hope you can attend, so make sure to sign the mailing list or keep checking the UPCOMING events page.....
This fall's classes at PASSIM will be harmonica, harmonica and harmonica. beginner, and 'advanced beginner'.....you can sign up here, http://www.clubpassim.com/musicschool/
classes start SEPT. 19Th..........hope to have another column done for the boston blues society by the end of aug., which should (maybe) be up http://www.bostonblues.com/, in sept.....
also hope to have the INSTRUMENTAL cd done and out(when some money comes in) by mid to late OCTober........my birthday is around the corner, and there are just 37 ish days left till the CD RELEASE SUPER END OF THE WORLD APOCALYPSE WORLD WAR FOUR CD RELEASE SHOW sept. 21st at club passim
*special note to all european friends, fans, and pretty much anyone who is not in the U.S. : we're REALLY sorry our president and his cronies are such complete idiots and war mongers of the worst type, we really are......americans are good people, at least most of them, so please dont hate us because we have a moron for a president. :-)

 

as always, my updating isnt so great. playing music, not typing........ but i do have a DATE for the CD RELEASE SUPER EXTRAVAGANZA BLOWOUT SHOW!!!!
which is THURSDAY SEPT. 21st at 8pm at CLUB PASSIM in cambridge mass. i will be playing songs from my new cd......i will play the medley of killing floor, masters of war, on the
same stage that SKIP JAMES and BOB DYLAN played on. who knew?
there is a column i wrote a few months ago, for the Boston Blues Society, which is up on their website at http://www.bostonblues.com/, and careful observation will reveal that
they used the very same photo of me that appears four inches below.....
last but not least, i have been working hard on recording a cd of all instrumental dobro songs............well, to be honest, there will be other guitars on there too,
not just resonator guitars, but the main theme is that they are all played lapstyle, with no overdubs or edits, so they are SOLO instrumentals. i have about 8 songs done, and some
others are "in transition"......i hope to finish it up by the end of the summer, and then find some money to try and put it out.
as always, thanks for listening, and to all of the new folks who have signed on from hearing the cd on the radio, thanks very much, i really appreciate it.
dobro is best.
ll

here's the link to buy songs from the previous two cd's on apple ITUNES.......for the BLACK CD
and for BIG HEART ...so you can download them digitally, no smell, no mess......but then again, the compression levels. well.......dont get me started
about compression.....:-)

just when you thought it was safe......it's one of Chris Darling's great photos of the Trumpet Call Harmonica. Chris is a great guy, and he has a
radio show on Friday mornings in the Portland Maine area, on WMPG fm.......it is always great to go up and visit him,
and he is always so kind to let me play on the air for long, long periods of time.........To view the rest of the photos of me from that blessed
event, you can go to his flicker site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kikisdad/sets/1303012/

it is indeed tough to see where the hell my left hand is with those horns sticking out........i got this harmonica because i felt like i was just
blending in too much with all of the other singer songwriters on myspace.

 

6/1/06 .....new cd out.......BLUES FOR BOSTON available at CDBABY.COM.......there will be a
'cd release' show for this sometime in the late summer, probably august or sept.....details to follow.

BIG HEART and the BLACK cd are both available on ITunes......

check out Thompson's blogspot, http://lettersofmarque.blogspot.com/ with a short video of me doing some run DMC at passim back in january.....this clip is also floating around cambridge community access tv, for those of you who live in cambridge mass..............

4/20/06.....another beautiful spring day.....my favorite spot was taken .....no comment....so i moved down to the wall....

sometimes i think this spot is a little too high profile for me....but i do my best. these fine photos were
taken by eric rowley who is working a project for the great stephen baird, the man who has done more
for the street performing community than just about anyone else......http://communityartsadvocates.org/saaphotoproject.html
eric also has a cool website at http://www.ericrowleyimaging.com/

.............................................

 

i had a great reunion with my pal david johnston.......so grateful that i get to have friends like this, and to make the music we do.
we played for an hour or so, reminisced, had fun, and made fun of john kerry for stiffing us a few years back, on his way to buy high
quality footwear.....oh, those were the days....... it is good to be back. david is the best........

4/5/06- there is a real nice dobro class going at the passim music school right now, and also an 'advanced beginner' harmonica
workshop......a lot of folks have been emailing, and these classes will run till mid may, then there will be another set starting up
in mid june i think, and that should have the famous 'beginning with the harmonica' class again.....who knew harmonica
would be so popular???now if i could only figure out a way to talk and yell the position numbers out with the harp in my mouth....
you can always check the passim website for details at http://www.clubpassim.com/musicschool/
speaking of which, there will be a one hour harmonica workshop at umass boston, on Tuesday MAY 2nd at high noon, as part of wumb's 'extreme folk experience' series.
no, that really IS the name, i swear to god......details at this link http://www.wumb.org/events/xtreme.php ....it's FREE and they provide the harps.
new ones even......not bad for a 'subway performer'.........

 

4/1/04 - new cd is finished, and i just have to finish the cover now, and get some copies made. hope to have it done SOON. 13 tracks, all solo,
all blues. watch this space. hope to have it out in May at the latest....
i'm also working on tracks for a new instrumental cd, hopefully to be done in the next few months, and a cd of more "folky" material,
whatever that means.....

3/31/06 - while spring often comes in small pieces in new england, we've had a few shots of WARM weather
here lately and i've been out on the street in harvard square, and even had my picture taken a few times with numerous tourists.....
if only they would send me copies of the photos from their native lands.......!
certain things do get on my nerves about playing on the sidewalk, or in the subway, but i never
tire of having my picture taken by tourists for the family album. maybe i'm just a ham, or maybe it's the perverse
thrill of somehow thinking i made their vacation slideshow or family album.......
really though, it feels great to be back out again and i even went out and got a new amp,
as my old one died after seven years of unbelievable service.......thank you crate, thank you taxi......

here is the only known photo of me playing BANJO!!!

BANJO PROBATION is OVER!!!
thanks to maureen and george leblanc for putting on a great
show on 4/1/06 at the NAMELESS COFFEHOUSE.......39 years and counting.....
go and check out a show there soon!!!

3/20/06 - thanks to everyone who came out to the BOSTON BLUES SOCIETY
Fundraiser at club 58 in quincy.....here's a shot of me acoustically reminiscing.

not sure, but i think i'm playing my hit single 'blues for blue hill ave in 1974",
if you look closely, you can just make out the images of son house and sharkey johnson
just above the amplifier head, off my left elbow.......get your shoes and socks on people!!!

 

2/20/06 - - it was nice to meet so many new people at the JOHNNY WINTER
SHOWS....yes, i really DO play in the subway, but that's not
why it was an honor to open up for johnny.......

things are going pretty well with the harmonica class, so they
are going to be having another one, probably in april or may,
along with another dobro class, both at PASSIM, you can
check their website for details....http://www.clubpassim.com/musicschool/

stacy phillips told me that teaching would really improve my
playing a lot, and he was, and is right......i am learning a lot,
probably more than i'm actually Teaching, but i'm trying anyway!!

thanks so much to everyone who is inquiring about lessons, classes,
cd's etc.....it makes me really grateful, and i need that, because
trying to book things really really makes my teeth hurt. sheeeeeet.

 

 

1/22/06 - thanks to all of you who came out to the harry manx show.....
it was a real honor to share the stage with harry...check out
his music when you can at www.harrymanx.com

who wears a hat like this, really??

 

THANKS to everyone show came out to Passim for the annual street performers benefit show....
for the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to
raise some money for folks who really need it.....this is definitely one of my favorite shows
to do every year, and i'm really grateful i get to be a part of it. thanks to TOM BIANCHI
LISA HOUSEMAN AND DAVID FALK for all of their hard work in putting it together....

sure i don't know how
to put my hat on, but i DO know how to make "the concentration face"....what
tuning am i in again????

 

1/15/06 - HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS, it's HARMONICA CLASS!!! coming to the club Passim
school of music.....i'll be teaching the first ever harmonica class at passim, starting
on feb. 7th http://www.clubpassim.com/musicschool/?school=current
along with a class in blues history.....the blues history class is all talking,
no instruments, so hopefully that will help me to play MORE in my live
shows and talk a lot LESS!! but you never know......anyways, both classes should be a lot
of fun....they will meet six tuesday nights in a row at the music school, upstairs
from club passim in harvard square, people's republic of cambridge.....
hope to see you there.....

1/12/06 Thanks so much to everyone who came out to johnny d's on
january tenth!!! I REALLY appreciate it....
and i'm grateful
for your support....we had a great show with mark tolstrup and
alastair moock......it was great to hear them play, and to hear myself
try to keep the 12 string in tune........because so many of you came out
we are going to do another show there sometime in the future....keep your
eyes peeled at the upcoming events page....
welcome to 2006 everybody......

HAPPY 2006!!!--- looking forward to some big shows in january......

doing some recording.....maybe i'll update more.....maybe not.........hope you

are being good to yourselves and thanks for listening....lloyd