Stormy weather

I find myself 1500 miles from home with a powerful storm lurking just south of the gulf. As it seems now I may have to pack everything up Friday afternoon when I get home in preparation for a Saturday morning evacuation.

The fact that expected landfall will happen mere days after the third anniversary of Katrina is both mind-boggling and disturbing. My only hope is that it will weaken or turn. I'm not sure how much faith the fair citizens of New Orleans will have in their city if another storm passes through.

As far as the mynameisjohnmichael.com goes, our plan is tentatively to record one track back home in Jackson and then possibly pick up in Austin later. Of course, that is planning for the worst.

Keep your eyes on the weather and your hearts on the city on New Orleans.

Hershey Park

Well, I've done it. In one day I knocked out both Hershey Park and my first rollercoaster. I must say, rollercoasters are good times. Wooden ones are absolutely frightening though.

Scuba Steve and I spent a few hours there taking in the sites and riding as many rides as possible. My only regret is not seeing any Hershey Kiss shaped lampposts. Someone definitely lied to me about that one.

We have a show at the park tomorrow so I just might have time to venture off to check out some more rides. We'll see.

In other news, my good friend Shannon drove up to the show last night and brought me medicine so I'm feeling better already.

Three shows left and this time I'm keeping notes on the best versions of the best songs for an actual greatest hits compilation for those of you that requested it last year. They still haven't quite nailed "Dreams" yet but there's still time. They did play "Dazed and Confused" for a bit last night which went over very well so that will most likely make the cut as well as a smoking version of "Gilded Splinters."

Sick again...

Well, it's official. I am chronic victim of tour crud. I am sick again with another sinus infection. It is apparently impossible for me to stay well while traveling.

Last night in Rochester I walked a few miles looking for a pharmacy to no avail. The downtown area dies after 5 pm. Today, we're sweating in Canandaigua, NY and heading to Jersey tomorrow.

I need to see about hiring some healthy person's immune system for the next tour I go on in November.

Hartford, CT

Another two shows down with excellent results. The mixes got many compliments and both sets were killer. While I can't say I have spent time with other touring bands and crews, I can say that the Allman Brothers' crew is a group of some of the nicest guys I have worked with.

The stories I hear on a daily basis keep me in stitches. The learning experience I'm getting every morning while flying the pa is sure to come in handy in the future. I can certainly dig the catering and tour bus.

All in all, it's turning out to be another great Allman Brothers tour.

Rest in Albany

Two days off is both a blessing and a curse. I've walked up and down the main thoroughfare Wolf Rd. looking for food and entertainment with marginal success and failure respectively. I've been playing catch-up on the Olympics, finally catching some track & field (though I greatly prefer track to field). In addition, I've discovered that I love E! countdowns like Top 101 SNL Moments as well as old school Tom & Jerry cartoons. I've also finally had Dunkin Donuts coffee--delicious.

The last show was great. Derek Trucks' wife Susan Tedeschi sat in. Listening from the crystal clear headphones I was reminded how angelic her voice is and how tasteful her Nashville-style of play is. CD sales were huge as usual in the Boston area. I can only hope sales will be as robust elsewhere as they were Saturday.

The bus continues to be amazing as well as on-site catering. Every day I can expect to find good sammich fixins and a decent dinner. All in all, I'm having a good time and think that this tour is just the right length though it's been much easier just having friends here.

R. I. P. Jerry Wexler

Today, legendary producer Jerry Wexler died. It will be a great loss to the world of music of yesterday and today. While at Atlantic in the 50's and 60's, Wexler was instrumental in getting the sounds, songs, and recordings of some of my personal favorite artists of all time.

He is often overshadowed by his partner Ahmet Ertegun but his work simply cannot be ignored. He worked hand in hand with the likes of Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, and the infamous Aretha Franklin among others. It is said that the hit "Land of 1,000 Dances" was penned about Wexler's lack of rhythm on the dancefloor. He chose Otis Redding's minor hit "Respect" as a cover for Aretha Franklin as well as helping his partner shape Ray Charles' now legendary career.

If you are unfamiliar with Wexler's work, I implore you to buy yourself a copy of Aretha Franklin's 1968 Atlantic record Lady Soul. "Since You've Been Gone" and "Chain of Fools" alone are worth the purchase.

Bethel, NY

The first show is complete. I was pleasantly surprised to see that 95% of the crew returned so finding friends was easy. After the extremely hectic initial set up, I relaxed and tried calling American Airlines to find my bag.

The obese sounding woman was quite unhelpful. She went as far as to say that my bag was not currently in the system. O'hare? Maybe. Newark? Maybe. Laguardia? Perhaps. I hung up in disgust.

The show went very well. Hopefully the cd sounds good though I'm not sure. I found my spot on the crew bus (a huge step up from last year by the way) after helping the audio crew break down and load out. The bus is cozy full of quiet, peaceful individuals though no real friends on this one.

Either way, I'm happy to be here. I called the baggage hotline back and they located my bag. Thank God. I will have clean clothes, socks, and full toiletries tomorrow. On to show two tomorrow. Keep posted.

Slick Willy

So the wedding went well. The highlight was definitely when Bill Clinton popped in and I snagged a photo of him congratulating the new bride and groom. At the reception, he loosened his tie, had a scotch, and sang along to all the Journey songs. I wish he could have signed my Big Mac.

In other news, airports suck. I'm currently hanging out in Albany waiting to be picked up sometime well after midnight. I should've stayed home. This is an omen.

O'hare

I hate airports. Always have. My flight was cancelled. Of course it was. Was my boss's flight cancelled? Nope. At least, not yet. Thus I stand in this long line waiting to speak to a "rebooking specialist." Ha. It's going to be a long day.

iowa!

So I'm in Iowa for Kat's brother's wedding. It was great to be home in New Orleans for the short week I was there but it had to come to an end I suppose. The wedding is mere hours away and I am procrastinating getting dressed watching the olympics--one of my favorite pasttimes. It's a damn shame, in fact, that I will be on tour during most of the games and thus will have to get results online instead of watching the games. I did get something that will aid me in getting info as well as blogging and staying in email contact while on the road: a new iPhone. It rocks.

Anyway, it's time to get dressed and stop searching for new awesome apps. Stay tuned for allman bros blogs starting this upcoming week.

I'm home!

I know, I know, I've been slacking horribly. The truth is, I've been so busy I haven't had time to blog much. After Norway and the last three Sweden shows, we had to take everything completely apart to get back home. I stayed up all night using up minutes on my calling card and made plans to sleep the entire length of the plane ride back. I almost did. The only thing that stopped me was a stewardess who apparently decided that nothing was getting in the way of her fulfilling all of her atmospheric duties.

We boarded at 8:10am local time and I immediately fell asleep. About two hours later, I was awakened by an incessant tapping of this stewardess leaning across the two people in my row to get my attention. What did she want? She wanted to make sure that I had the Kosher meal and needed me to open it due to Kosher Law (I did have the Kosher meal, I'm not Jewish, I just don't eat pork and have had great luck with that meal in the past). So I groggily open the package and fall back to sleep. An hour after that I'm poked again and open my eyes to a warm Kosher meal in my face that I clearly did not want hence the whole slumber thing. So I ate one cracker from it and slept again. I figured I'll be damned if she's going to ruin my sleep. That should be it, barring oxygen masks falling, she has to leave me alone. Nope. She neglected to mention the Kosher breakfast. Heaven help me she woke me up again for that nonsense too. I should lodge a formal complaint with Continental.

With all of that behind me, I am now back in New Orleans eating deliciously rich Cajun food, drinking decent beer, speaking English 100% of the time, and melting in the heat. I elected not to go back to work this week so it has been a solid few days of relaxation during which I have done laundry, rearranged my house, cleaned up, gone to the bank, watched TV, read the last of my book, and taken cat naps. Yesterday, I began recording a John Michael song and it is great to be able to do that before leaving again. I really missed recording.

All in all, I'd say the trip was worth it. I learned a lot, I visited three new countries, I got out of the New Orleans heat, I got some killer new jeans, and I had fun. Will I partake a tour that long again? Not sure, but I could do some fly dates I believe.