The postponement bug.

How strange. Turns out my own show was postponed last night! I was scheduled to play for a group coming in by tour bus at The Margate. Apparently the bus broke down in New Jersey. So we've moved the show to this Wednesday.

So last night was spent in the studio, with a bit of extra time at the day job. Things are kind of busy there right now, so it's just as well I was able to put an extra hour or two in.

Tonight I'm thinking about checking out an open mic at Lago in Meredith. It's strictly original material, and that's pretty unique around here. Hope I can work out a trip down there.

Another flashback.

I was supposed to see the Crunchy Western Boys on the Second Stage at Meadowbrook last night, 'opening' for Sugarland. When we got there we found out the show was postponed. So Stacey and her dad and I found ourselves in the Lakes Region with nothing to do. I suggested we check out the open mic at Giuseppe's over in Meredith, and so we did.

I hadn't played the open mic there in quite a few years. Lou Porrazzo has been the host there for a long time, and it was good to see him again. Since the last time I'd been there, they've put in a new piano - a Kawai digital baby grand. It was gorgeous. But other than the piano, the place was pretty much like it had been twenty years ago when I was just starting to play out. Oh, I guess twenty years ago I had more hair.

More car trouble.

A few hours before my show at The William Tell, smoke started pouring from the front driver-side wheel well. I limped the car to the shop, where they told me it's probably a caliper, and they can't do anything until Monday. With a bit of good luck (and an extremely generous friend) I was able to borrow a car, get the gear switched over, and get to my show on time.

The show went well, actually. A little tough to focus at first, but once I got into it, it was business as usual. Lots of Billy Joel and Elton John. It was well-attended too, and I was able to fill the gas tank of the Blazer I borrowed with tip jar money. Good thing; these car repairs have set me back a bit, and the next few months are looking pretty lean as it is.

Anyway, after my show I stopped by The Lucky Dog to see the Stema/Spyboy reunion show. It was seriously like walking into a room and finding myself back in 1990. The bands were spot-on, and the crowd was full of so many distantly familiar faces. The whole experience was a gift from the past. Just what I needed at the end of this day.

Back at it.

Looks like it's gonna be a rainy weekend. I don't know about you, but I'm spending it at the bar. Tonight I'm playing a solo show at Shooter's Tavern in Belmont, NH. The show starts at 8pm, and goes until about 11. I've got sheets for a lot of new songs to try out tonight. I'm gonna give a few of them the ol' test run today, and we'll see what I can get away with.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I'll be at The William Tell in Thornton from 6pm to 9pm, and then I think I'm stopping in at The Lucky Dog in Plymouth to see the Stema and Spyboy reunion show. Lots of old friends coming into town for that one.

Feeding the muse.

The urge (maybe even the ability) to write comes and goes. Spring and fall seem to be more productive. That might be due to the slowdown in the show schedule, I don't know. Anyway, I'm coming into it now, and it's frustrating. Because it doesn't come as a flood of ideas, it comes simply as the URGE to have a flood of ideas.

So it's my job to keep the muse well-fed. I'm listening to a lot of different stuff these days, and allowing it to influence my work. I'll worry later about whether the results are too derivative. For now, I just want to try to compose some stuff that moves me, and that speaks the idea as soon as it arrives, without too much distillation or second-guessing. Of course, if it were easy to do I'd be doing that instead of sitting here writing about writing.

Irons in the fire.

The show schedule slows down in Sep/Oct/Nov, so I get to spend some time going around to clubs and looking for new gigs. I've had pretty good luck the last couple days, and I should be posting some new shows soon.

I have solo shows this weekend though. Friday I'm at Shooter's Tavern in Belmont, and Saturday I'm back at The William Tell in Thornton. I love the Tell shows because they're heavy on the piano stuff.

And I've got this one big gig opportunity that's still not quite official, so I can't announce it. Suffice it to say it'll be the biggest thing I've ever done if it goes through. Fingers crossed.

Hey Ruth.

This is a song that will be on the next CD, whenever that is. I didn't have time to get it recorded for Permanent Record. This performance is from the 7/15/08 Second Stage show at Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion, where the trio 'opened' for Weird Al Yankovic.




Most of the songs from that show can be seen over at the ol' Youtube. It was a good show. We didn't get to meet Weird Al, though. We did meet R2-D2, so that's something.