You know, I've always said the blues ain't just about the music. It's about the people. The stories. The friendships you pick up along the way. And every now and then, life hands you one of them moments you couldn't have planned if you'd tried.
That's exactly what happened down at the King Biscuit Blues Festival.
Now, if you've been hanging around TikTok or THE BLUES ROOM for any length of time, you probably know Dr. Moto.
Lord have mercy, this Bro's a character!
Moto's from Arkansas , country as cornbread, with a sense of humor that'll sneak up on you sideways. He's been hanging around our blues family for years. In fact, I first ran across him way back in the Periscope days, before TikTok was even a thing in our world.
Back then, we were just a bunch of folks sitting around on our phones, listening to music, cutting up, and making friends. Didn't know we were building something that would last all these years.
I remember one time Moto posted a picture of himself somewhere around Hot Springs, Arkansas, wearing one of our Blues Show Tonight shirts.
I looked at that picture and said, "Well, hell! Look at my Bro out there promoting the show!"
Now THAT'S what you call a VIP!
And wouldn't you know it, all these years later, I'm walking around King Biscuit, minding my own business, when I look up and see this fella wearing a Fat Mule shirt.
I took another look.
"OH SHIT! DR. MOTO!"
Man, I about come unglued!
There he stood, big as life, grinning like he'd just stole a watermelon.
We'd known each other for years. Talked, laughed, shared stories, and carried on through one livestream after another. But we'd never actually stood face-to-face.
And there we were.
Now, that's a strange thing about this social media. You can know somebody for ten years and never shake their hand. You know their voice, their jokes, their personality. Hell, you might know more about them than you do the fella living three doors down.
But when you finally meet? that's something special.
Well, five or six beers later, we'd done enough laughing and carrying on to make up for all them years we hadn't seen each other.
And let me tell you something. Dr. Moto is every bit as damn funny in person as he is on the internet!
Then, just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, here comes Miss Biscuithead!
Another one of our blues family we'd known through the livestreams.
Now we're all standing there together, laughing, talking, and putting faces to names we'd been seeing on a screen for years.
I looked around and thought, Well, I'll be damned. We done had ourselves a Fat Mule family reunion!
Or as I like to call it, a Fat Mule Homecoming.
And you know something? That might've been one of the finest moments of the whole festival for me.
Don't get me wrong. I love the music. I love the musicians. I love everything about King Biscuit.
But the older I get, the more I realize that the real treasure in this old blues business ain't hanging on a wall or sitting in a record collection.
It's the people.
It's the friendships.
It's knowing that somewhere out there, somebody you've never shaken hands with is already your friend.
That's what we've been trying to build with Fat Mule Record & Mercantile Company and THE BLUES ROOM. Just a little place where folks can come together, listen to some good music, laugh at a little foolishness, and forget about the troubles of the world for a while.
And every now and then, if we're lucky, we get to meet each other out here in the real world.
I hope I get to meet a whole lot more of y'all before this ride is over.
Maybe we'll shake hands at a blues festival. Maybe we'll sit down somewhere and have a cold beer. Maybe we'll just stand around telling lies and laughing till our sides hurt.
Don't make no difference to me.
Because if we're doing our little part to keep this blues family together and keep the love of the music alive, well, I reckon we're doing something worth doing.
Dr. Moto, brother, it sure was good to finally shake your hand.
And next time, maybe we won't wait so damn long!
Keep the blues alive, y'all.
And keep that mule kickin'!