detour BLUES

A decision has been made to reduce the bitrate of the station from 128 to 64. The broadcast is still in stereo and most listeners will not even be able to distinguish the difference. Overall the reason behind lowering the bitrate is to allow those at work, on cell phones , and other places where high speed internet is not readily available the opportunity the listen to detour BLUES.

Beginning Monday, April 12, 2010, the show Blues You Can Use with your host John Tibbs is back! Due to equipment failure (the mixer died), the show has been unable to be broadcast. A new mixer has been secured and now John will be back broadcasting his show live, from 1-5pm eastern. As before, you will be able to make requests or dedications anytime during the broadcast by either logging onto www.detourblues.com or you can call John here at the station by calling 423-546-0360, or toll-free at 888-895-0996 ext. 5. If you call John on the phone, he will put you on the air to make your request or dedication and you can even say hi to your friends. Remember though, if you call, please hold until the end of the currently playing song before your call can be answered.  Looking forward to being back and bringing you some Blues You Can Use!

Due to equipment failure, the show Blues You Can Use will not be broadcast. The mixer that is used for the Blues You Can Use broadcast has died and is no longer working. Because of this the show Blues You Can Use, which is normally broadcast from 1-5pm eastern will not be available until further notice. Hopefully, this will only be for about 2 weeks, however it may extend until the month of May due to financial considerations. During this time the station will still broadcast 24/7, but there will be no live broadcasts… sorry.

Due to computer issues, detour BLUES has been experiencing technical problems. While detour BLUES is down, detour MUSIC will take over. We are working on a more permanent fix to make sure that the stream is always stable. We apologize about this but will have the problem fixed soon! Thanks for listening to the detour network.

Technical difficulties during Blues You Can Use broadcast… somebody (I’m not mentioning names… me, John Tibbs) inadvertently left the microphone turned on after making an announcement and so the music levels stayed muted… and of course the microphone was still active. Thankfully one of the listeners sent me an Instant Message alerting me to the problem and after fixing it, I decided I needed a cup of coffee and headed to the coffee maker! Whew, guess now it’s time to light another cigarette and grab another stack of CDs! Only excuse I have for this is…

Well, it’s time again to remodel the studios here at detour BLUES. Basically I’m going to rearrange all of the equipment here in the studios so that the live show “Blues You Can Use” will be easier to manage. This is going to take place on the weekend of March 20-21. This will not effect the station itself… detour BLUES will continue to broadcast 24/7, as normal. No live broadcasts will occur here at the studios during those days however. Thank you for your understanding in this matter… detour BLUES is constantly improving itself for the convenience of our listeners and artists. Will also be re-activating the station’s webcam, which will be active during the “Blues You Can Use” broadcasts.

Our current layout here at detour BLUES…

I don’t talk about my private life all that much, but I am proud to announce that I now have someone to share my life with. We have been corresponding since August of last year. We have met in person on several occasions and have progressed to the point of us talking about living together in the future. We’re working out details now. This lady’s name is Miss Char (she’ll kill me for including the “miss”), and a photo of her is below:

Miss Char also is the owner/administrator for the Freebird Forum (www.freebird-forum.com), where the official detour BLUES forums are hosted. Go there and sign up so that you can post… and come join in on the fun. Tell ‘em John sent ya!

Blues You Can Use host, John Tibbs, would like to apologize to all of his listeners. The past few shows have found John sick and as a result, the shows, in his opinion, have suffered. So now, he has the coffee pot brewing while chucking down a handful of drugs (none of which are “recreational”, BTW…) on his way to bringing you some “Blues You Can Use”. Thank you for all of the requests and dedications… and for all of the listeners that tune into the station… without you… we’re nothing!

February 17, 2010 (12:20 pm EST)

Please note the revised date of the funeral is this Saturday, February 20th.

In Memory of Lil’ Dave Thompson 1969 – 2010

A support fund has been set up by the family of Lil’ Dave Thompson. There is also updated information on how to contact the family and funeral arrangments have been finalized.

Contributions to the family can be mailed to:
Community Bank

PO Box 28

Indianola, MS 38751

or wire transfer to routing # 084204301

for the benefit of Dave “Lil’ Dave” Thompson

c/o John Thompson

Direct mail to the family can be sent to
John Thompson

PO Box 512

Moorhead, MS 38761

email to John Thompson: thomp964@bellsouth.net

The funeral for Lil’ Dave Thompson will be at 2:00pm, this Saturday, February 20th, 2010 (Please note the revised date)
Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church

1301 BB King Rd

Indianola, MS 38751

Lil’ Dave is survived by his children: David Jr. (20), Danielle (19), Shequeena (18), Shirleiah (16) and Destiny (13); sisters Patricia, Barbara Denise (twin sister), Jennifer and Pasty Thompson, Zenovia Henderson and Rose Marie Richmond; and brothers John, Sam, Elijah Allen and Tyrone Thompson.

We are saddened this week by the news of a tragic accident involving third generation Mississippi Bluesman Lil’ Dave Thompson. It is a huge loss for the Blues world! Dave was killed when he was thrown from his van in a traffic accident this week as he was returning from a show. From his booking agent Doug Tackett at Road Dawg Touring Co:

“It is with great sadness that I write you all today that Lil’ Dave Thompson was killed in a car accident early morning, Sunday, February 14, 2010. He was travelling home after playing the Blues Bash at Fiery Ron’s in Charleston, SC on his final day of a very successful tour. The band was driving toward Greenville, MS when the van struck a hole in the road, veered into gravel and lost control. Lil’ Dave will be greatly missed by me personally. It has been an honor & blessing to represent such a genuine talent and wonderful person.”

Lil’ Dave is survived by his children: David Jr. (20), Danielle (19), Shequeena (18), Shirleiah (16) and Destiny (13); sisters Patricia, Barbara Denise (twin sister), Jennifer and Pasty Thompson, Zenovia Henderson and Rose Marie Richmond; and brothers John, Sam, Elijah Allen and Tyrone Thompson.

The funeral for Lil’ Dave Thompson will be at 2:00pm Saturday February 27th, 2010, at Bell Grove Mission Baptist Church, 1301 BB King Rd. Indianola, MS 38751

A support fund has been set up by the family of Lil’ Dave Thompson. Contributions to the family can be mailed to: Community Bank, PO Box 28, Indianola, MS 38751 or  by wire transfer to routing # 084204301
for the benefit of Dave “Lil’ Dave” Thompson  c/o John Thompson

A complete bio of Thompson is available on his website at:  www.lildavethompson.com