I wish to thank first and foremost our wives, Tracie and Karen for putting up with our addiction to music and our kids for the nights we've spent “working”.

How we got our name:

We had come up with the name R & D because we needed a name back in 2002 when we started the duo thing. It was very hard to relate that as a website so we decided to look at other names.

I had always loved the name Journeymen since Eric Clapton's Journeyman CD came out. I thought that would be a great name for a band. Essentially the term referred to the tradesmen who would journey from place to place to follow the work and apply their trade. The musician has always been a kind of journeyman because he has to go from town to town to show off his music. It's just called touring now.

The other name that we seriously considered was the Molson Twins. I about fell off my bar stool when I found Molson had come up with their “twin label technology” add campaign.

We play at the Oxford Tap for the first time as the Journeymen. For the first time I used a harmonica holder and played harp on the tune Alright Guy by Todd Snider.

I can honestly say that I can't remember a single gig short of the Blues Cruise that we had such a great response from the audience consistently all night long. We can't wait to go back and we don't have to because we get booked for the following Saturday.

New tunes:
Come Back to Bed - John Mayer
Good Ole Boys (Theme from the Dukes of Hazzard) - Waylon Jennings

September 17 2005

A surprise 40 th birthday party for my friend Ed at work. Ed is completely taken aback by the surprise. We are playing at the Masonic Temple in Mt. Clemens. There is a very nice stage. We set up and play and as dinner finishes most of the crowd moves to the other room where they can smoke. And we thought it was because I hadn't showered!

Happy Birthday Ed! We need to go to Bennigan's

September 24 2005

Back to Oxford Tap. Another fun gig! There was more attention paid to the TV until the Michigan game was over but Amanda the bartender made sure the audience was responsive. Of course she was threatening to go over the bar with a baseball bat if people didn't start clapping.

I installed a new pickup in

New tunes:
Change It - Stevie Ray Vaughan

September 30 2005

The Oxford Tap. The place wasn't as full as previous nights and the crowd was a little more hot and cold but we still had several requests and compliments.

When we started playing Hit Me Baby One More Time one patron at the bar stood up and expressed is extreme displeasure with our choice of music. He seemed to miss the fact that the two old guys at the end of the room were playing a song typically sung by a teenaged girl wearing belly shirts or less.

Fred Bear was dedicated to those who could not be in the woods the next morning for opening day of archery deer hunting season which in Michigan is the second biggest holiday of the year falling right behind November 15th the opening day of firearms deer hunting season.

New tunes:
Hotel California - Eagles
Joe's Blues - Todd Snider
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
Fred Bear - Ted Nugent

October 14 2005

The Healing Hands Holistic Health Center School of Massage October 2005 Graduation. We played for a crowd of about 60 guests to celebrate their graduation from massage therapy school. Very little interest in the music which was to be expected when you consider we were the side show and upstaged by my wife and her friend who took the time to teach my wife to Belly Dance!

New tunes:
Through Your Hands - John Hiatt

October 15 2005

Oxford Tap. Nothing new here. No new songs added, just played Through Your Hands for the first time in a bar setting. Good response.

October 21 2005

Oxford Tap. Good night.

November 11 2005

Oxford Tap. Rick played his new Morgan Monroe Bass. And showed off his freebie Chinese Bass. I played my Ovation Elite Special for the first time at a gig. We were both very happy with our own instuments and each others. Good crowd.

New Tunes:
Walk Out in the Rain - Bob Dylan
Wanna Make Love to You - Eric Clapton
The Way - Fastball

December 3 2005

Oxford Tap. Rick played showed off his talents as a guitarist with his Ovation Celebrity. This allowed me to play more solos without disrupting the rythmn of the tune.

New Tunes:
Old City Bar - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (This is actually a tune we have tried before but this was the first time we really had it down)

December 10 2005

Scarab Club Boars Head Dinner. We played the Scarab Club back in June as R&D and everyone liked us so much that they asked us to return for this special event. Our Wives joined us and we were introduced to Tom and Jerrys for the first time. (It was the strangest punch I have ever had.)

New Tunes:
Starry Starry Night (Vincent) - Don McLean (Rick played this solo on guitar. Very cool to watch my partner shine. Rick, it was very good!)

December 17 2005

Hoops (Auburn Hills) . This was our first time at Hoops. Suzy Cole from WRIF was there hosting the Budwiser Flick Football tournament. The crowd was very laid back. Great sounding room and very friendly staff

New Tunes:
Down on the Corner - CCR
Spoonful - Willy Dixon

Tune in again...