Mark returned to Clarksdale in April 2005 to catch up with everyone there and also made some new friends.

"What a great time I had! I met up with all my old friends from the last visit - Bill, Jim, Guy, Jimbo, Will, BJ, Stan, Dixie, Roger, Jennifer, Jim, Phil, Ronnie, Rich, Ali, Joni, Shelley and, of course, Mr. Tater plus others too numerous to mention (sorry if your name's not here!) It was great to get back to the best music town in the world!

Had a great time at Red's, Ground Zero, Hopson and many of the other clubs. Also had a great day at the Planters Celebration in downtown Clarksdale. It was great to see so many families out enjoying themselves at the various stalls and watching Robinson's Racing Pigs!

I had a chance to sit in with some of the bands that were playing at the Juke Joint Festival & Planters Celebration, including the excellent Quazimojo Blues Band (pictured below right) which featured 'blues brothers' Mike 'Mossman' Myers (gtr & vocals) and Steve Myers (bass) who'd driven all the way down from Ottawa, Canada to play at the festival, where they hooked up with local drummer BJ.

I also saw some great acts including the wonderfully raw and driving Trainreck (pictured far left) and Jimbo Mathus played a great acoustic set joined by the wonderful Odell Harris (left)

Within five minutes of arriving at Clarksdale I'd bumped in to Bob Long from the UK. I knew Bob from talking to him at gigs we'd played in Southampton, UK, where Bob had been there in the crowd. I soon found out that he plays some very tasty guitar! I sat in with Bob at the Greasy Man Gas Stage (below left) and later we got a chance to reprise our show on the Main Stage (below right)

I managed to spend a little time with Will and some of the other guys at Delta Recording, where Rick and I recorded back in October. I spent more than a few minutes looking at a 3D book of 50s American nude pin-up girls (below left - caught in the act by Will). It really is a fantastic recording studio. From the frontage you wouldn't even know it was a studio (below right)

 

Roger at Cat Head put on another superb mini-fest on the Sunday and on Monday the Quazimojo Blues Band played there plus one - me being the additional member for the session (below left) and many a night's end saw me with all the other serious party people having a ball at Red's - often jamming with the band (below right)