Episodios

  • Playing vs. Performing

    Playing vs. Performing
    Nov 17 2025

    https://open.substack.com/pub/blusician/p/playing-vs-performing?r=5x6a64&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
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    6 m
  • From Guns to Guitars -3-

    From Guns to Guitars -3-
    Nov 7 2025
    From Guns to Guitars The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Confucius I've been into guns since childhood. I was born in the sixties and all the tv heroes had guns. The firearm culture was a part of Americana then. It was accepted that hunting season would cause a few boys to be absent from school as they spent time with their fathers and uncles in the woods. It was not uncommon to see long guns in the back of pickup trucks. The more rural you were the easier your access to firearms were. They are tools. They were collectable items that were passed down in families. They hadn't invented the term gun violence yet. Guns don't kill people. People kill people. Firearms did not pose the threat of violence that is parroted today. They were still mechanical devices young men used and received as a rite of passage into manhood. The fear of guns and the manifestation of gun control was always there but not to the status it is today. Common sense was more common before the drug wars of the 90s. Gun control was not a business as it is now. I spent thirty years and sacrificed a career, fighting gun control as a firearms instructor and civil rights activist known as the Black Man With A Gun. As a former US Marine, federal police officer and protective agent that had spent a life time in the Intelligence Community, I knew what I was talking about. I have protected a US President, and three high ranking government officials. I have traveled to and worked in thirteen hostile countries. I've carried a sidearm for more than half my life. In 1999, I wrote and published Black Man With A Gun, A Responsible Gun Ownership Manual for African Americans, and rewrote it in 2014. I created a firearms consulting business called African American Arms & Instruction, (A3i) in 1992. I have lobbied the US Congress. I have testified in the state legislatures of Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, Michigan, Maryland, and Wisconsin. I was instrumental in the passing of concealed carry reform in 1992 for Virginia and Texas. I founded the Tenth Cavalry Gun Club, a national pro-gun organization for African Americans. I've failed at more than I have succeeded in. I have tried a lot of things though. I even trademarked Black Man With A Gun (TM). In 2007, I started podcasting and used the connections I had made as activist to interview and share knowledge about firearms, the truth about guns, and its culture. I tried everything on that show. I was a constant on the radio. I have been in at least four documentaries. I've been the voice of reason called upon immediately after a crisis. The podcast became a pro-gun variety show that I just ended in 2023 after almost 800 episodes. It was a great experience. I have connected with thousands of people and at a time was a household name in the firearms community. Today I pass the torch to the young guns that can more effectively reach others through social media than I did at its infancy. I love gun people. They are the traditional Americans that have the same values as my grandparents. There are not as many of them as it used to be so I cherish the ones I know. I like the rest that often fall in the middle of the argument and understand it's about choice and the protection of life, and not politics. They like me back. Some of these traditionalist are still encouraging me like good friends although we have never met. The internet isn't all bad. These days, I don't debate or post gun pictures. I stopped responding to queries and calls to help others ratings. I have embrace my creative side, to learn the art of guitar. I use music to help those that can't get around like they used to. In the year 2019, I leaned forward with my guitar goals. I'm not alone. People all over are buying guitars according to Fender, Gibson and my friend and luthier extraordinaire Dean Zelinsky. Younger people are learning, shredding and making music with a guitar like never before. The pandemic increased it. I needed it when my wife got sick. Learning the guitar, is a forward-looking process, kindling hope and optimism. You may not know this but it helps regulate stable mood chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. For me, it gives me joy. I can physically chart my progress. It is cheaper than therapy and doesn't leave me any bad side effects. I've replaced many of the guns I had with guitars. Each one allowed me to learn a style or try something new that helps my progress. I've been buying and selling them so much, I decided to start a side business which also helped me. I now do minor repairs and set ups for guitars and basses to help others get their sound or favorite instruments back. In 2023, it's all about growth to me. I now know what life is all about. I know who I am and what I am not. I try to get along with most people, the rest I ...
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    10 m
  • Depression, Loneliness and Melancholy -3-

    Depression, Loneliness and Melancholy -3-
    Nov 3 2025

    i don't have a rhythm yet for the release of these episodes but I am sharing them to jump start me and get me out of my head. I am hoping that Fridays will be the day that you get new episodes. Let me know if this is too much.

    Branding / Names

    🌹 The Story Behind the Rose: A New Logo for Blusician.com

    There's a new emblem blooming at Blusician.com—a thorny red rose, bold and unapologetic. It's more than a logo. It's a living symbol of the journey, the grit, and the grace that define this one-man band of blues, rock, and ministry.

    🎸 Why a Rose?

    The rose has long stood for passion, beauty, and love—but in the world of blues and gospel, it carries deeper weight. This rose isn't pristine or polished. It's weathered. It's real. It's the kind of bloom that grows from hard soil and long nights. It's the kind of love that's earned.

    For me, it represents:

    • The fire of performance—every note played with heart.

    • The tenderness of ministry—every story shared with soul.

    • The legacy of those who came before—mentors, family, and fellow travelers whose spirit lives on in every lyric.

    🌿 And the Thorns?

    The thorns matter just as much as the petals. They're not decoration—they're testimony.

    They speak to the quiet, daily weight of being a caregiver. Of showing up for your wife with tenderness and strength, even when your own spirit feels worn thin. Of learning to balance love and responsibility, music and ministry, while the world keeps spinning fast.

    They speak to the struggle of learning the blues—not just the chords and phrasing, but the feeling. The kind that only comes with time, with loss, with late nights and aching hands. Picking up a guitar in older age isn't just a hobby—it's a declaration. That you're still here. Still creating. Still fighting to turn pain into praise.

    The thorns remind me that beauty doesn't come easy. That every performance carries the weight of real life—joy, exhaustion, grace, and grit. They're a gospel truth and a blues badge. They say: this rose has lived.

    🌿 And the Thorns?

    The thorns matter just as much as the petals. They remind me:

    • That beauty doesn't come without struggle.

    • That faith and music both require resilience.

    • That every performance carries the weight of real life—joy, pain, and everything in between.

    The thorns are a nod to the gospel truth: redemption isn't easy, but it's worth it. They're also a blues-rock badge of honor—proof that this journey hasn't been smooth, but it's been true.

    🔥 What It Means for Blusician.com

    This logo marks a new chapter. It's a visual anthem for the kind of work I do: soulful, defiant, and rooted in gratitude. Whether I'm performing at a senior center, a farmers market, or an outdoor rally, this rose goes with me. It's a symbol of connection—between music and message, between past and present, between artist and audience.

    So when you see my thorny red rose, know this: it's not just decoration. It's declaration.
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    17 m
  • About it all.

    About it all.
    Oct 31 2025

    Back in the days when 9mm ammunition cost five dollars a box, I was involved in gun right advocacy. For the next 20 years, I was involved in every monumental legislation across the country-especially that had a connection to so-called minorities. I took the name of "Black man with a Gun" as a homage to Robert F Williams who wrote "Negroes with guns" in 1968. I worked with the NRA, SAF, LEAA, GOA, local and state gun clubs across the country to unify the movement. I made lifelong friends.

    I played a role in shaping policy and educating the public, helping to grow gun clubs nationwide. My advocacy came at a cost—I sacrificed a career in government and navigated personal challenges at home. But the mission mattered.

    I launched a podcast originally titled The Urban Shooter, which became a platform for dialogue, education, and empowerment. I published a book and founded the 10th Cavalry Gun Club in 1991, a pioneering space for African-American gun owners.

    During the Y2K era, I built a website that, for a time, outpaced even the NRA's in reach and influence. I helped identify and support litigants in major Second Amendment court cases. But beyond politics and policy, my work became a ministry—serving outdoor enthusiasts, law enforcement, and veterans. It was rooted in unity, compassion, and the healing of old divides.

    Times changed. Politics grew sharper, more divisive. The world shifted, and with it, the culture. People felt emboldened to say anything, publish anything. Social media rewrote the rules of publishing, and its rising stars often had no sense of the history that came before.

    I wasn't the young kid anymore. It was time to move forward, to reclaim the pieces I'd left behind. Still, I see traces of my journey—my fingerprints on the struggle. Thirty years later, I found myself returning to music, diving into the sounds of my guitar heroes, the blues masters, the jazz legends.

    Today, I'm not competing with anyone. I'm learning the blues—physically, metaphorically, spiritually. My latest book, Finding Joy in the Blues, captures some of that wisdom.

    Since the global pandemic and my wife's illness, I've stepped into the role of caregiver. Social media has become my journal, a space to document my progress and share the journey. Sometimes, the music even sounds good. I'm becoming a performer—and it brings me deep joy.

    thanks for being a part of this project.

    kenn.blanchard@gmail.com

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    10 m
  • Rebooting the Podcast

    Rebooting the Podcast
    Oct 30 2025

    Someone once told me if you don't like the way things are, change it. I am rebooting this podcast and changing it a little to a personal journal called "Behind the Rose. "
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    1 m
  • 5 Things You Need to Know to Start Playing Electric Guitar

    5 Things You Need to Know to Start Playing Electric Guitar
    Sep 1 2025

    trying something new. show notes in the newsletter.

    https://open.substack.com/pub/blusician/p/5-things-you-need-to-know-to-start?r=5x6a64&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

    kenn.blanchard@gmail.com

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    19 m
  • After Action Report - Indian Bike Week Performance

    After Action Report - Indian Bike Week Performance
    Aug 24 2025

    Indianbikeweek.com

    I jst got back from a 4 day gig 1100 miles from home. It was my return engagement for this rookie. I feel blessed. This is the after action report. More later.

    https://youtu.be/fdK4_J0rmh8?si=HtYPd381xUDO69uD

    https://youtu.be/b-SlbiifD4M?si=FXC9RTi67o4Z3Ch9

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    16 m