The tour ends.

I'm back home now. I had less time for blogging than I thought I would, so let me get you caught up on things now.

Thursday was a rainy day, but it let up in time for the load-in at The Beacon Pub in Swannanoa. I set up the congas for this show as well, but I didn't put a mike on them. They were plenty loud enough with the smaller PA system I use. The crowd was very nice, and I played a lot of requests. The show had been advertised as heavy on the drinking songs, so I did more of those than I thought I'd be doing. They were happy to have me, and I should be able to play there again if I find my way back to Asheville. I don't have photos from the show on my camera, but I know a few were taken, so I'll post 'em if I get 'em.

There's a lot more to be said about the week I spent down there, and I'll probably highlight a few of the fun things I did in future blog posts. The important thing for you to know is that I had the BEST BACON I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE at the Tupelo Honey Cafe.

I left Asheville on Saturday, intending to drive through the night as much as I could. I ended up stopping three times to sleep, and I wasn't really lucid enough to feel good about driving until the sun came back up. Then I was in the zone. I got to Plymouth NH around 4pm Sunday. Plenty of time to unpack, do the road laundry, and get a good night's sleep. I'm more or less back on my normal schedule this Monday morning. And I'm already thinking about where to go next. Suggestions welcome. :)

The tour continues.

Tuesday's show at The Rocket Club was good, but a little bit of a surprise. The other band (Pete and J) couldn't make the show due to a blown transmission. So all of a sudden I was on the hook to play the entire night. Not too big a deal, I play full shows often. But I was a little nervous doing it in a new venue.

Fortunately, local comic Greg Brown helped me out by doing an opening set. He's a friendly and funny guy. He set them up, and I knocked 'em down. It ended up being a really good, high-energy show. Several folks in the crowd took turns coming up on stage and playing the congas. A lot of people danced and got really really drunk for a Tuesday. In fact, most of the crowd went across the street to another bar (The Admiral) after the show. A quick stop there and a 1am run to Taco Bell topped off a very good night. Look, photos!

Tonight is the show at The Beacon Pub in nearby Swannanoa. That should be a good one too. The venue is a real cute place, and the people there were wonderful when I stopped by to check it out earlier this week.

The tour begins.

Saturday night I played in Vermont with (Who Are The) Brain Police. Small crowd, but a good show. That band is getting tight.

Right after the show I got in the van and started driving south. Around 4:30am I found a rest area and slept in the back of the van for a couple hours. Then it was off to North Carolina! I got to Asheville Sunday night. It was a nice drive, if a bit long. And there was a lot of rain and fog. Virginia was a nice stretch though.

Now I'm having a huge cup of very stiff coffee at Stacey's place. I'm going to do an inventory of the gear today and make sure everything is set for tomorrow's show at The Rocket Club.

About the tour.

It's coming up fast. And calling it a 'tour' might not be entirely accurate, since it's just two shows within a few miles of one another. But I've got to drive all day to get there, and the whole thing is going to take a week, so it's a tour to me!

On Sunday I'll be headed south, and unless I can book a last-minute show somewhere along the way, I'll drive straight to North Carolina. My friend Stacey lives in Asheville, and she and her roommates have graciously offered to provide accommodations while I'm down there.

The first show is Tuesday, March 31. I'm playing at The Rocket Club right in Asheville, opening for Pete And J, a clever band from New York. They toured with Rusted Root recently. I'll primarily be doing originals at this one, but I'm sure I'll work in a few of the more interesting covers. (I'm still having a ridiculously good time with the loop pedal I got a while back.)

The second show is Thursday, April 2. I'll be at the Beacon Pub in nearby Swannanoa. This show is just me, and it'll be a lot like the solo shows I play up here, with a mix of originals and covers.

I'd like to find a show on the way home, too, but it doesn't matter much. The two shows already on the books are enough to justify the trip. I'll probably hit some open mikes while I'm down there as well; there's something going on in Asheville pretty much all the time, from what I'm told. I will have the laptop with me, and I'll post reports from the road.

There's one last order of local business to attend to before I take off though: (Who Are The) Brain Police are returning to Shenanigans in White River Junction VT for a Saturday night show. I'll probably hit the road right from there, so I guess you can count that as the start of the tour, right?

Giuseppe's.

I'm playing a solo show at Giuseppe's in Meredith tonight from 6 to 9. This is just the sort of show I'd love to get a recording of, but I have misplaced my field recorder at the moment. I'm going to do the whole show on their grand piano. I'm going in with nothing but a one-page song list and a tip jar.

After the show I will probably pop in across the street at Lago, where Peter Lawlor is headlining tonight's singer/songwriter open mic night. Come on out and barhop in Meredith! Not a bad music scene, for a Monday. :)

Live at Lago.

I was pretty under the weather this past Monday, but I managed to get through my Live At Lago show. You can hear the podcast of the show right here. It was a well-attended show with a lot of good performers. Check it on out!

In other news, the track list for the new full-length CD is nearly set. I'd like to settle on one more song. Recording has started on a few of the tracks. Some of them can be built up from the demo versions, and others will need to be redone entirely. I'd like to have the CD ready to go this summer. Details to follow.

The second floor lounge.

A podcast called The Second Floor Lounge played one of my songs on St. Patrick's Day. I'm a little late in linking to it, but there's never a bad time to listen to drinking songs, so here you go. It's a good long podcast of Irish (and Irish sounding, in my case) tunes.

In other news, I've got the weekend off. I was supposed to play with (Who Are The) Brain Police at the Seven Barrel tonight, but my voice just isn't up to it. I'm a little worried aobut that, but it's gotten better over the last couple days so I'm gonna see what happens. (I got through my show at Shooter's Tavern last night, but there was still a lot of material I really couldn't do.) Our bass player has fallen ill as well, but worry not, fans of loud chaos: a couple members of The Undercover Operatives have been enlisted to fill in, and the show will go on as scheduled. Soldier on, Brain Police!

As for me, I'm spending some time with the boys, recuperating, and working on some material and arrangements for the upcoming tour. Which starts in... nine days. Holy crap.