drinkwater.works

Gomez - A New Tide

2009-04-03T17:02:00.009-05:00

Gomez. One of my favorite bands for a long time. I wish, I really do wish I could keep telling people that. Their past few records have only been more and more poppy. Their 3rd studio record (In Our Gun) at first turned me off due to it's experimentalism. Now? I yearn for the grittiness and its earnest sounds. Their debut album won the Mercury Prize for God's sake. Since then, they have continued to put out more and more lackluster records (don't even get me started on B-sides record Five Men in a Hut and live album Out West...what were they thinking? Take the worst live show we've ever played and sell it? I think so).

That's not to say they have been bad. Not at all. But more filler than killer if you know what I mean. 2004's Split the Difference was a return to the great great hooks from Liquid Skin but a great leap in sheen and pop. I knew there was no turning back upon hearing 2006's How We Operate. Both good records, but both had less of the British sound that I had fallen in love with.

Now, A New Tide is a slap in the face. This is a band I would travel to see, stay up all hours of the night during Jazz Fest to witness, skipped school one day in high school to completely absorb their new record. A New Tide, again, isn't a bad record, but the listener can just tell that the songs were written apart, recorded with no collaboration, and arranged with no heart. To clear this up, a little backstory perhaps: after How We Operate, two members left the UK (one to LA, one to Michigan...Michigan) and the newest record was recorded in studios in the three locales, pasting together parts via an FTP server. While they and their record company (and Rolling Stone, but who is that anymore) laud their ability to make a record in that method, what good is it?

Digital recording is an inevitability these days. It's relatively cheap, anyone can get into it, and there's no way to really mess up if you're just learning. Does that mean that a group of studio veterans should waste creative energy by using this digital format to its fullest abilities? No! Maybe I'm wrong and they just had a case of writer's block. Maybe they're getting old or the solo projects were not such a good idea. Either way, I implore the boys of Gomez (Ben, Ian, Olly, Blackie, and Tom) to get together and write and record the proper way. Please.

MNIJM Acoustic Show at Cups

2009-04-01T12:30:00.004-05:00

Way back in August, the boys of MyNameIsJohnMichael came up to my hometown of Jackson Miss for a little hurricane evacuation. While there, they played two shows, one of which I recorded. The following songs are from a little acoustic show at local coffee house Cups just off Lakeland at Old Canton. Those in the Fondren area should know it well. I figured I'd post these duders up for posterity's sake. You never know when they'll play another set like this (where I'll also have a recording rig that is...). My favorites, by the way, are 6 O'Clock because they don't tend to play it anymore and Nothing But Memories because they played it so slowly and differently than normal.

Anyway, enjoy people.

6 O'Clock

Character Piece

Every Night of the Year

Her, I Think

Nothing But Memories

Why Does The Whirlwind Weep?

SXSW MNIJM Questionnaire

2009-03-24T11:11:00.014-05:00

I traveled to Austin, TX this weekend with MyNameIsJohnMichael and decided on the drive home to give each of them a little questionnaire in order for folks to better get an idea of who they are. The following are the questions and answers as given by each member individually. Enjoy!

What's your first memory of playing music?

John Michael Rouchell: I remember breaking my Dad's acoustic when I was 8. Pete Townshend style.

Eric Rogers: There is a video of my brother, myself and our neighbor at the time Dustin Rojas, playing in my Dad's house. I must have been 8 years old and we played 3 chord progressions and 4/4 beats till the cows came home.

Richard Dubourg: When I was about 12 I guess, my grandpa had a $50 electric guitar with a built in speaker, and I used to play it whenever I was over there, typically trying to teach myself "House of the Rising Sun"

Leo DeJesus: Setting up toy pots and pans in the shape of a drum set when I was about 7.

Cory Schultz: While drinking a glass of kool-aid, I realized that when I tapped the glass with a spoon after I had taken a sip, the pitch of the glass became lower. I then decided to set up 12 more glasses of kool-aid, sipping the correct pitch into each glass, creating a full scale with sharps and flats of musical kool-aid. Grape flavored, of course.

What is your first memory of music? In other words, when did you first start noticing music?

JMR: Allman Bros and Beatles tapes in my Dad's Brown MG convertible while driving to the playground.

ER: I used to play air guitar (left-handed) in the car with my dad when I was a kid to everything that came on the car radio. I still play air guitar left-handed for some reason. First CD I ever got was .38 Special's greatest hits.

RD: My mother used to listen to John Denver constantly, so that would probably have to be my first memory. I remember hating it when I was a kid, but I recently started listening to him again, and whether it be strictly out of nostalgia or not, began to kind of like it.

LD: When I was little, I loved to dance...and my parents were kids of 80's music...so I had plenty to dance to around the house. I used to have a black leather bracelet with white studs on it, and according to my mother, I loved to break dance (whatever version of break dancing a young white child is capable of) but I would only break dance if I was wearing the bracelet.

CS: My mother used to play classical music all day long and play our upright piano to some of the songs. Although she was never the greatest pianist, her harmonization skills always blew me away. I always listened to her singing along to melodies, but in a higher register. After a while it made sense to me, and now it is like second nature. Thanks Mom.

Joe Bourgeois: I think it was when my sister would pick me up from camp playing TLC and Ace of Base.

Favorite 52 song not on the record?

JMR: I really like "Point of Origin" right now.

ER: "6 O'Clock"

LD: "Balancing Act"

CS: "Arm's Length"

JB: "Ghost Writer"or "Breaking Point." I can't choose between the two.

Favorite tour story/moment?

JMR: BR/Laffy weekend - that's when I knew we would be ok. Completely insane but that was the group of guys, ya know?

ER: Statistical Anomaly - Live from Erin's bedroom.

RD: I haven't had a ton of experience in that department yet. If we're speaking MyNameIs touring...I think it would simply have to be playing the show in Lafayette.

LD: When we left Cory at the Karaoke Bar in L.A.

CS: When the airplane flew over our heads in the van in LA

JB: So far, I think it would have to be Richard's first weekend with us.

What's the best part of playing on stage?

JMR: It's the thing that makes me truly happy. It's hard when it sucks but it's magic when it works. So.. Everything about it

ER: Comfort. When I get on stage, all worries, cares, problems do not exist. I am in my comfort zone behind the drums and on stage with this band and any band.

RD: Everything. I have always told people that performing in front of a crowd is better than any drug I've ever taken or sex I've ever had. It's the coolest experience.

LD: Completely letting loose, if you commit to the moment, you feel like you're capable of anything. This combined with a sharp sense of plan and execution is enough to make me howl to the moon.

CS: It is completely organic. It's not a bunch of notes and chords and memorization anymore. It's a play, and you have a key role in this play. You cannot let someone see through to your natural state, but be completely submerged in the persona that this musician has been assigned. Once you can achieve this setting, then parts and chords and rhythms don't matter anymore. They flow like Rapunzel's hair.

JB: When I see peoples eyes open real wide whenever we do something crazy like throw the trash can 20 feet in the air or break down the drums for "The One" or chant the opening lines to "Misery Runs" as we walk through the crowd. Anything we do really.

Do you miss the deadline and nearly forced creativity of the 52?

JMR: In a way I miss the deadline terribly. In another I'm happy it's over. The problem with the deadline was there are songs that have great moments but aren't great songs. I just hope I'm diligent enough to write a bunch of great songs.

ER: Sometimes I do. I feel like we still work very hard for this band now that we have the blog and shows to book/play and prepare for.

LD: Somewhat...but other work and deadlines have seemed to take its place

CS: I miss them. Even though each week was a stressful tiresome one, it brought us close together and helped us to dig into eachother's brains to find the keys to make these songs work. Next mission: a song a day for a month

JB: I do but it's a welcome change. Don't have worry about cramming things in on the weekend any more. I do miss the cookouts we would have on Sundays though. I'm sure John Michael doesn't mind one bit about not having to worry about the deadline anymore.

Favorite place to play?

JMR: One Eyed Jacks. Can't wait to play it with the boys

ER: NOLA - One Eyed Jacks

RD: I've always really enjoyed playing Tipitina's. Even more so though, is any tiny bar or house. You can have an audience of thirty and it feels like you're playing in front of thousands. There's always a really good energy at that sort of show.

LD: Blue Nile

CS: I love Artmosphere in Baton Rouge. People flock there because they crave good tunes. We get squoonched [sic] together on stage, but we always play tighter.

JB: So far, it would have to be Artmosphere. Tiny stage big crowd. It's kind of a wet dream.

Who is easiest to share a bed with on the road?

JMR: Eric is the only one I've shared a bed with, I think.

ER: So far, I have only shared the bed with JM and Leo. Neither of them bothered me.

RD: Sharing a floor with John Michael was pretty easy. He apparently kicked me in the face while he was walking in and I was sleeping, and I didn't even notice.

LD: Me, who wants some?

CS: Teddy Lamson... Sorry boys

JB: Thankfully I haven't had to share a be with anyone yet.

Boxers or briefs?

JMR: Briefs. You know that.

ER: Both. depends on the pants or shorts.

RD: Boxer Briefs.

LD: Briefs

CS: Neither. Commando fa sho..

JB: Briefs totally.

Favorite strings/sticks/picks?

JMR: DR strings, Purple Dunlop picks, stick of butter

ER: Promark oak 5A wood tip.

RD: Dunlop .88 picks. No real preference on strings, though I don't really understand the appeal of Elixirs. They feel slimy to me.

LD: Other people's

CS: DR 11's, Jim Dunlop Grey .73's

JB: Strings: GHS Bass Boomers 45-100 Kent Smith 45-100. Picks: the yellow ones [Dunlop Tortex .77 mm]

What's your musical weakness? What is your guilty pleasure song/artist?

JMR: Beyonce. She's amazing.

ER: My musical weakness is that I cannot write. I smoke so I am not as fast as I once was.
Guilty Pleasure = Hall & Oates or Michael MacDonald.

RD: Bands that I love that the MNIJM crew will probably ridicule me for: Kiss, Blink-182, New Found Glory...and a slew of other pop-punk bands.

LD: weakness: badass female drummers, guilty pleasure: Garth Brooks' "The Thunder Rolls"

CS: I pretty much taught myself how to play music, so even though I can play a lot of instruments, I am proficient at none. Guilty pleasure: Seal's Kiss From a Rose. Anyone who's owned the Batman Forever soundtrack knows why.

JB: I will probably catch a bunch of shit for this, but at the moment it's still that animals song by Nickleback. Now shut up.

Who would you most like to sit in with?

JMR: Grizzly Bear. Don't know what I'd do. I just love them

ER: Caddywhompus

RD: Mike Kinsella of Owen/American Football. He has influenced me like no other.

LD: Antenna Inn

CS: J. Robbins

JB: Bouncing Souls or Tortoise

Favorite chord?

JMR: The chord at the end of A Day in the Life [E Major played on 2 octaves of 4 pianos]

ER: Am. It is the first chord of Angie by the Rolling Stones

RD: Leo would have to translate this, but from high to low it goes D, A, C#, F#, A [Leo says it's a D major 7th chord with an open spelling]

LD: Fully diminished 7th chord built on the first scale degree (I went to college)

CS: I have no clue what this is considered, but here is the guitar tab:
2
2
2
4
5
3

JB: Monster cable. Oh, you meant musical chord. Um... E flat

Favorite tour food?

JMR: Anything that isn't fast food

ER: In and Out burger or good home cooking.

RD: I have always loved when kind folks on the road BBQ for us. Home made road BBQ.

LD: Taco Bell

CS: Avocados, especially free ones.

JB: That's easy, the free kind. If not, Subway.

Describe the musical tastes and occupation of your bizarro self.

ER: My bizarro self dresses like me... first base coach shorts and all, but is a vegan, listens to
pop country, and works hard everyday. He would work with his father building/remodeling houses and get up at 6 everyday and go to bed at 9 every night. He would be boring.

RD: The bizarro Richard Dubourg would probably be a huge fan of modern country music. He would work construction, drive a large shiny truck, and have a deep passion for Bud Light

LD: My bizarro self would love "dude rock." Ya know, rock for dudes. First and foremost, I'm a lady.

CS: My bizarro self has a buzz-cut with a rat-tail. He has an uptight girlfriend that pisses him off because she is allergic to everything, so he can't take her anywhere. He rides a trike with a mercedes hood ornament and loves Mike's hard lemonade. Don't be suprised if you see him at a dirty strip joint with a stack of ones.

JB: My bizarro self would work in a grocery store while listening to a New Found Glory and My Chemical Romance. Also shops at the Gap and Hot Topic

Beatles or Elvis? Tupac or Biggie? Michael Jackson or Prince? Honky Chateau or Tumbleweed Connection? [my favorite two Elton John records, this has become a point of contention among a few of the members] Lil' Wayne or Jay-Z? Marvin Gaye or Al Green? Coldplay or U2?

JMR: Beatles, Biggie, Prince, Tumbleweed, Lil' Wayne, Marvin, U2

ER: Beatles, Biggie, Michael Jackson, Honky Chateau, Jay-Z, Al Green, U2

RD: Beatles, Pac, Michael Jackson, No opinion, Lil Wayne, Al Green, loathe U2, so Coldplay

LD: Elvis, Tupac, MJ, who or what?, Jay-Z, Marvin Gaye, U2

CS: Beatles, Tupac, MJ, tumbleweed, Jay-Z, Al Green, Coldplay

JB: Elvis, Tupac, Michael Jackson, who the hell is tumbleweed connection?, Jay-Z, Al Green, Coldplay

Finally, what venue would you most like to play?

JMR: Beacon Theatre

ER: Anywhere that is not home. The Filmore in San Francisco would be nice. Festivals in Europe, Japan, and Australia would be nice.

RD: Though I know nothing about the venue, one of my favorite bands (The Impossibles) final show was at Emo's in Austin, TX. I always thought it would be cool to play where they finished up.

LD: I recently discovered that I would love to play Ballet Austin's Butler Dance Education Studio in Austin, TX

CS: 40 Watt in Athens

JB: CBGB's but since they are closed, the Roxy will have to do.

Long weekend

2009-03-15T10:30:00.001-05:00

This weekend, we have my roommate's younger brother and three friends in town staying with us for the St. Patrick's Day celebrations. I hope the novelty of laughing at them because they drank too much too early doesn't wear off until after they return to Iowa otherwise this is going to be a very long weekend indeed.

In lighter news, it is my sister's 30th birthday today and she's coming down to celebrate tomorrow. How exciting. The boys and I leave for SXSW midnight Wedenesday so the next post you read will be full of stories from Austin TX.

Allman Brothers Tour

2009-03-05T16:56:00.002-06:00

So it has come early this year. News of the Allman Brothers tour has hit my inbox and I have dates for the whole year, beginning with their return to the Beacon Theater in New York (which I'm obviously not doing as it starts Monday). While I'm not at liberty to give out cities and dates, I will say that I'll go further and hit different corners of the country than ever before with ABB. I think it's safe to say that I'll hit all four corners of the country this summer/fall.

Either way, it's their 40th anniversary tour so it's going to be huge. I'm really excited about who we're touring with for part of the year and a lot less than excited about who we're touring with further down the line. I may miss some holidays, I may miss some summer heat, but I may get some early snow. It's too early to tell (or at least to tell the general public). Stay tuned and I'll fill you in on dates as they approach (or as I'm allowed to release them)!

Weekend Tour

2009-03-03T22:54:00.006-06:00

This past weekend, I traveled to Baton Rouge and Lafayette with MNIJM for a mini tour. As the seven of us loaded out the space and crammed into the Tahoe I knew it was going to be a trip to remember and surely it was. The drive to Baton Rouge was spent just talking, as usual. For me, it was a good chance to get to know the newest member of MNIJM, Richard Dubourg and I guess this is a good enough forum as any to officially welcome him to the group. So welcome, Richard.

Our first mission in Baton Rouge was to play the vintage clothing store Time Warp. Our first in store went very well. The band played the songs slower and softer than I've ever heard and it sounded great on two acoustics, a muted trumpet, and various percussion. The store itself was pretty cool so I suggest stopping in when you are in Baton Rouge. There's plenty of video of the in-store, so keep an eye out for it on the MNIJM blog (mnijm.wordpress.com). Why a vintage clothing store? Because apparently there are absolutely zero good record stores in Baton Rouge. Not my words, don't take it out on me if you own one.

Next on the agenda was heading over to KLSU to go a radio interview with one of their DJs. Fifteen semi-awkward minutes and two songs later, we were heading to the venue. The only time I had been in Spanish Moon before this was to see one of my favorite bands, Band Of Horses, and it was great. The boys put on a hell of a show and things are definitely looking up. Their shows are only getting better so make sure to catch them when they hit your town.

Day two was much of a repeat of day one with a few exceptions: it was in Lafayette instead and we had a sweet dance party DJed by John Michael himself until the wee wee wee hours of the morning afterwards. We got to really know Richard's personality that night and I think he'll fit in just fine. As long as we keep him away from high school girls thus keeping him out of jail, he'll be around for a while.

Our next outing will be SXSW in Austin which I am very much looking forward to and hoping to see some old friends along the way. If you live in Austin, come see us at the Historic Victory Grill on March 19th (not sure about the time but I'll definitely have more info on this later).

Mardi Gras recap and MNIJM tours

2009-02-27T09:48:00.003-06:00

Well I have survived my fifth Mardi Gras intact. Got to see my favorite parade (Muses) from my favorite spot (Magazine and Napoleon) which is definitely a great way to start up my personal parade season. Kat and I were able to introduce Mardi Gras to our Iowa-bred roommate who loved it for the most part. We spoiled her rotten by taking her to some invite-only stands downtown though. I know people who were born and raised here and have never had the opportunity to do that so I know her fellow Teach For America-ers will be envious. Mardi Gras this year also marked my Lenten promise as I decided to start it early: I have given up beer for Lent this year.

Why beer? Why not? It weighs you down I suppose. This means I will not be seeing Judy over at Cooter Brown's until April. Sorry Judy. I'll be back I promise.

In other news, today marks the first day of the first weekend in a long series of mini-tours around the Southeast for MyNameIsJohnMichael. We begin in Baton Rouge and Lafayette today and tomorrow and will soon travel to cities like Jackson, Austin, Birmingham, Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, Nashville, Mobile, Oxford, etc. Keep your eyes and ears peeled people. We're coming to your town!

Finally, it seems engineers occasionally receive statues for their work on a Grammy winning record. Which means I may have to start a trophy room after all. We'll see. I'm keeping all of my fingers and toes crossed for this one.

Jackson, George Street, and the Brothers

2009-02-20T23:48:00.001-06:00

So it's Mardi Gras and I find myself 200 miles north of ground zero in my hometown of Jackson, MS. Today marks my father's 60th birthday and I just had to come up to help celebrate. After a nice lunch and a great dinner complete with stories from his childhood I had not up until this point been privy to, I adjourned to the somewhat famous George Street Grocery.

If you know Jackson nightlife, you know George Street. It is known for it's great music, good crowds, hard-working bartenders, and it's utter inability to stay in business. This place changes owners honest to God every 18 months (after the requisite 3 month boarding up and grand reopening period). Either way, it's nice to be home while I have a chance to actually go.

The band playing tonight is a group of local 30 somethings with a mixed set of classic rock covers (though tasteful) and southern rock originals. They were playing an Allman Brothers song when I walked in and while I'm not much on cosmic signs, this may be a sign. To what, I'm not sure, but I suppose it's the world's way of telling me that I should hop back on the road for ABB's 40th anniversary later this year. It's as much of an opportunity as it is an excuse not to find another job due to the fact that I'll have to leave said employment to go on the road. We'll see where this year takes me.

The Arkells!

2009-02-19T11:26:00.005-06:00

If you have been reading this blog for a time, even just occasionally, you may have run across my post about a Canadian band Charlemagne I had fallen in love with. Well, a few legal troubles and bit of good luck later, they're now called the Arkells and are still going strong. They've released their first major record on Dine Alone Records (in October...sorry for being so behind) and it sounds great. The songs are still incredible and there's a new energy and sheen to the music (energy good, sheen still undecided).

I love the inclusion of the standards I had grown to love, even humming them months after listening, and the new songs are just as strong. There are Springsteen caliber anthems, The Edge guitar riffs, and incredible everyman vocals. I love his vocals because I can sing along easily. He has that Dr. Dog thing where he's not quite singing, not quite screaming (sometimes).

The final song, Blueprint, used to send shivers down my spine by the slave song-esque opening. On the record, it jumps right in which is unfortunate but they still nailed the song. Can these guys do no wrong? Go buy this record!

Dr. Dog live at One Eyed Jacks

2009-02-18T11:42:00.003-06:00

So last night I went and saw Dr. Dog at local venue One Eyed Jacks. I was disappointed at the get go simply because it was packed. I naively thought that Dr. Dog was still fairly unknown and I was expecting a medium crowd full of big fans. Instead, there was a monstrous crowd full of huge fans.

That being said, it really was a great show. Dr. Dog is able to take everything they do on their fantastic records and recreate them very well in concert. Most impressively, they nailed all of the tight vocal harmonies that initially sucked me in upon first listen. The bassist/singer (one of two "lead" singers) poured his heart out on stage and into the microphone which was refreshing but at the same time a little daunting. If he had been nearly screaming (while still singing) into the mic the whole show, my ears would have been fatigued. Enter singer #2: a soft spoken, confident singer and guitar player handled the more emotional songs and did very well.

Overall, the show is a must see for any Dr. Dog or similar band fan. A must see. They played exactly what was on the record which is perfect for some fans, and a let down for others. Personally, I would have liked to see a little movement from the record but it's hard to complain when they hit every note and harmony lick for lick.

By the way, be sure to check out Dr. Dog's Tiny Desk Concert from NPR. It's tough for a band to perform this way and they nailed it.

Need new music?

2009-02-13T16:59:00.003-06:00

I've been listening to a lot of new music recently and there's one I absolutely must share. Because I am often behind on the new music trend, I feel it would be a waste of time to tell you about Bon Iver, Nick Cave, Fleet Foxes, etc. However, I feel that Port O'Brien is one of those bands that has remained under the radar for the most part. Therefore, I command thee to rush to iTunes and buy the album All We Do Was Sing.

It is a little Les Savy Fav, a little Tapes N Tapes, and a lot great. Two vocalists blend great together. It's as if the coolest people on your hall freshman year got together and formed a band writing songs feverishly they never planned to play.

So while you're at iTunes checking it out and hopefully purchasing, go ahead and buy their first effort (a compilation of sorts from self-released tracks) as well.

Live Recordings by moi!

2009-02-13T10:02:00.002-06:00

Recently I've been getting a little bit of business with live recordings and I'm really trying to get it off the ground. With my gear I'm able to go to venues around town (that are big enough) and do a multi-track recording of the shows for a remix. So, if you're a band interested, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I've recorded and mixed bands at Jazz Fest, Tips, and Blue Nile including recently Antenna Inn, MNIJM, the Revivalists, and High Tide Blues.

As a reference, here's MNIJM live at Blue Nile from November of '08:

MNIJM Live at Blue Nile

Huuuge Update

2009-02-09T13:53:00.002-06:00

Sorry I'm such a hack when it comes to blogging while at home. I just get into a rhythm of blogging on the road and when I get home I forget all about it. So I'll give you readers a monster update about my life since Nov. 1.

First of all, the LA trip with MyNameIsJohnMichael was a huge success. We played two great shows out there for the right people and got killer contacts. We also had a generally great time out there and it went very smoothly. The nine of us were able to polish off a 36" pizza in one sitting (it was a team-building exercise and it was gross), I got to have In-N-Out again, and go to mecca: Amoeba Records. It was a short trip but definitely worth it.

After returning, we were scrambling to finish up the 52 songs for the project while preparing for recording a record and play the last show of the year. We knocked out the 52 songs, played a killer show, and recorded the record. We started recording on December 13th and didn't stop (except for 3 days over Xmas and New Years) until January 8th. Spirits remained high and we recorded 17 songs. They are very high quality thanks to Ben Lorio at the console and I'm really excited to get mixes back from our mixing duder TJ Lipple.

The CD will come out at a One Eyed Jacks show on March 28th and after that MNIJM has five (five!) festivals this year: SXSW, Jazz Fest, Bonnaroo, ACL, and Voodoo Fest! It's a busy year. We've recently started up a blog for all things MNIJM so please check that out: mnijm.wordpress.com.

In other news, an album I mixed won a Grammy last night so that gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside (though no statue to start a trophy room). Things are looking up.

New tour

2008-11-01T12:23:00.001-05:00

I am officially on tour again though only a short one. I am currently sitting on a plane on my way to Los Angeles with MyNameIsJohnMichael for some important showcases in front of important industry peeps. It's going to be a solid 5 days of fun in the sun hanging out in Hollywood and I'm pumped about landing.

This trip I'm acting as FOH and tour manager which means that when the boys are away I get to keep them in line, on time, and sober (when they need to be). I am responsible for the 6 band members, a Mr. Ben Lorio, and a Mr. Mark Heck. Band manager Erin Frankenheimer is with us as well but this is her hometown so she ain't having me feeling responsible for her.

Anyway, we're playing at the Mint on Sunday and The Good Hurt Wednesday so if you're in the area, come see us.

Heading home

2008-10-14T09:19:00.001-05:00

Well, it's all over. I'm sitting in the Newark airport thinking back over not just the second leg of the Allmans (which, by the way, culminated with a show with the Grateful Dead last night), but all the touring I've done this year. I'm pretty sure I can say this is the last major tour I go on this year and that should make my girlfriend happy.

That's not say I won't be doing some more travelling. This weekend I'm going to Memphis with MyNameIsJohnMichael and then out to LA for a showcase the first week of November. No matter how often I leave or how long I'm gone, I've always got my sights set on New Orleans. So, while I had a lot of fun, I'm excited to get home.

I did make some good friends on the road this year and hope I'll see them again when various bands roll through New Orleans if not next year's ABB tour.

Hotlanta

2008-10-11T11:29:00.001-05:00

Well, my birthday came and went with little notice. I suppose that's what happens when you spend it away from your friends though.

We've been in Atlanta since the 9th and have one more show tonight. As the tour winds down with just two shows left I realize that I enjoy being out on the road, definitely appreciate the pay, but I don't think I could do it full time like some of these folks. I just miss New Orleans and everyonr in it too much to be away for months at a time.

Thus, I will be finding a new job when I get back to the city next week. Any ideas? Something music related without the sin of retail would be preferred.

I return to New Orleans on Tuesday so, if you're reading this, let's celebrate.

Show #20

2008-10-08T11:45:00.001-05:00

Last night's Birmingham show was a doozy. They played a couple of tunes I'd never heard live, they did the set list completely out of order, Warren called out an old blues song on the fly, an Mr. Salt and Pepper American Idol Taylor Hicks sat in.

The show was going wonderfully until Mr. Hicks was called on-stage. He didn't sing, as one may expect, but instead took to the harmonica. I always thought it was near impossible to be off key playing harmonica as it is only in one key. It was confirmed that his harp was in the right key (more on that later) but the way he played it was just bad. I almost felt sorry for the guy having just gone out and made a fool of himself on front of 5,000+ people.

This apparently isn't the first time he has sat in with the Allmans and it's not the worst performance he's given with them. It is, however, the worst performance he's given sober. Anyway, after he came off stage he set his harmonica down on one of my cases and walked away. Thus, I am now the not so proud owner of a Hohner harmonica in the key of D played on stage by Taylor Hicks. I have no idea what to do with it but for now it will rest in my backpack. Maybe I can sell it to a middle aged woman fascinated by his boyish good looks underneath a sea of gray hair giving her an idea of youth in her later years.

Birmingham, AL

2008-10-06T17:12:00.003-05:00

First of all, please check out the new element on my blog! On the right column, you will find a link to my iPhone app GPS Tracker. I will update it every day (or I will do my very best to do so) so you can figure out where I am on a day to day basis! Thanks!

So here I find myself on day off number two in Pelham, AL (just south of Birmingham). It's a lot like one may expect in a small southern suburb: fast food, chain restaurants, and a Walmart. There's honest to God nothing to do. Yesterday we decided to hit up the only sports bar in the area, Hooter's, and watch some football. While a good time was had by all, I must say I felt kind of filthy to be in there.

It was my first trip ever to a Hooter's and I'd love to say it's my last but the Saints and the Red Sox are playing tonight so I guess I'll be returning. It's hard to be picky when you're on foot.

Today I spent an exciting morning doing laundry, eating at Waffle House (which truly was exciting), and finding the quickest way to Walmart--which is through a 6 foot diameter drain under the highway and down a dry creek bed. Yes, I am quite the adventurer you might say.

Tomorrow we have our show in Birmingham and I can only hope it will be without a Hendrix tune on the setlist like the last show. When the Jimi Hendrix Experience plays "Manic Depression" as a three piece, it's wonderfully loose and dirty and it moves. Now when the Allman Brothers play "Manic Depression" as a seven piece, it's polished and slow and tight a.k.a. no good. Everyone's been asking if we're in town for the Talladega race. We're just sorry to disappoint them.

Carolinas

2008-10-04T12:22:00.002-05:00

We have made it through the first half of the second leg officially. Today I find myself in Charlotte, NC waiting around as Phil Lesh and Friends finish their setup as they will be closing the show again tonight. Thus, it's a hurry up and wait situation until we can get our stuff on stage.

Last night's show was pretty killer though I'm worried about the mix since my ears were all stopped up thanks to yet another sinus infection. Apparently, my sinuses know when I leave the deep South and make me pay handsomely for it. Thankfully, it was just two bad days and it wasn't too severe. Brian Farmer, poor guy, is puking due to the build-up in his throat.

I wish I could say I had a lot more stories about shooting rubberbands outside the bus window, but I don't. The most ridiculous thing I've seen since I last visited you was a sponsor tent last night raising money for a children's hospital. It's not that alone that makes it ridiculous. It's the fact that the organization that was raising money through a motorcycle auction was Raleigh's number one strip club. Honest to God, strippers were walking around asking for donations and telling everyone about free admission valid with the ticket stub to last night's concert. It didn't make much sense to me. I thought they were going about it all wrong: calling out to people based on hair color, what they were wearing, etc. For example, when I walked by on the way to the CD sales tent, I was called "Boston hat," "red western shirt" and "hey you." However, I don't guess they know any better. I would imagine that's the type of treatment they get day in and day out. How unfortunate. It's no wonder I don't go to those establishments.

Tomorrow we're heading for a whole two days off in the Birmingham area. My buddy Adam said he'd come visit but I doubt he'll remember. Maybe calling him out publicly in this forum will convince him to make the short drive. Otherwise, we'll just hang around visiting the hotel bar, possibly playing paintball, and watching TV. If you're in the Birmingham area, come pick me up and take me somewhere Sunday and Monday!

Rubber Bandits

2008-09-28T19:03:00.001-05:00

Today, we drove. And drove. And drove. The overnight drive from the Memphis area to right outside of Baltimore took longer than any of us expected.

We finally pulled up to the hotel around 7pm local time but not before various bus hijinks and bad movies went down. When I roused this morning, the atrocious King Arthur was just being placed in the DVD player. First of all, I'm not too big on mythology and other various tales and especially not when they are retold by a whole host of overactors reading from an immature script.

The second movie was the now legendary among the crew Mr. Woodcock. Fantastic. I hardly remember laughing that hard at any movie that has come out in the past three years. Then, disaster: a five car pile up that kept us at a snail's pace for an hour.

Have no fear though, loyal readers, we know how to keep ourselves entertained. In this case, we loaded up our rubberband guns and aimed at open windows in the stop and go traffic. Yours truly made it into two open sunroofs before the wreck was cleared and traffic thinned out.

Finally, I was tortured with the suckfest (no pun intended) that is Underworld. My mind screams for intelligent conversation. Hopefully I can find it at dinner this evening.

And so it has begun.

2008-09-27T14:11:00.002-05:00

So I'm back on tour. We are currently on a little bit of downtime before show number two in luscious Robinsonville, MS. Last night we played in Fayetteville, AR at the Blues, Bikes, and BBQ biker rally. It was actually pretty cool to walk around and see all the bikes and hilarious biker wear. I was the outsider because I wasn't wearing a sleeveless shirt (especially one that is frayed at the shoulders). The day before in the Houston airport I was the outsider because I was wearing baseball cap and converses with my Western style shirt instead of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. Texans, as I've stated before, are funny.

Getting away from my attire and the fashion sense of others, I am on show two of I believe eleven on this leg. I decided to stick around for the entire second leg and will therefore be on the road until approximately the 14th before leaving again for the weekend with MyNameIsJohnMichael and then out to Los Angeles for a showcase the first week in November. I calculated that by the end of the year, I will have been on tour for something around 70 shows in 2008, up from 11 last year.

I'll be checking in hopefully more frequently than I have been between tours so please check back often. I'm off to the casino to watch Brad lose money to the video poker machines.

Stormy weather

2008-08-27T13:46:00.001-05:00

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

2008-08-25T14:51:00.001-05:00

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...

2008-08-22T16:36:00.001-05:00

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

2008-08-21T01:13:00.001-05:00

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

2008-08-18T14:19:00.001-05:00

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

2008-08-15T19:55:00.002-05:00

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

2008-08-13T00:44:00.001-05:00

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

2008-08-11T21:35:00.002-05:00

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

2008-08-11T14:45:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-08-09T13:29:00.001-05:00

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!

2008-08-05T09:21:00.002-05:00

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.

Downtime and new book.

2008-07-21T15:43:00.002-05:00

Today and tomorrow are filled with significant downtime. I thought I would relish the itinerary-free days but today was instead accomplishment-free for the most part. I woke up very late, sat around finishing The Undercover Economist, and eventually took a trip into Stockholm for a currency exchange. I must say that the small personal success of going there alone and finding the Forex exchange and a bookstore as well as making it back with no problems was uplifting.

Anyway, the book I picked up was Love in the Time of Cholera. I figured reading a Nobel prize winning classic would not only be a character building exercise but also last me until I got back to New Orleans. I'll start that up tomorrow I guess. It was down to either that, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, or the new Nick Hornby book. While I really enjoyed the first two of his novels, the more recent ones have been a disappointment so I decided to skip it.

Tonight for dinner, I walked down to the local restaurant and got some felafel. I don't have any idea what felafel is but I've been enjoying it immensely ever since Eddie's Attic in Atlanta where I had a mini-felafel burger.

On the morning of the 23rd, we'll be leaving for Norway and I won't get back to Stockholm until the night of the 28th which means I will most likely be without internet access until then. No blog updates, no email, no nothing. Hopefully I'll have much to speak of when I get back. Who knows? Maybe my next post will be laden with Nobel-prize-worthy romantic descriptive language. I just may be gushing with emotion having finished my 12th book.

The further misadventures of Goran Wallen

2008-07-18T07:06:00.003-05:00

I didn't think I would have enough material to write a second post on our story's antagonist and certainly not this soon. However, the past 24 hours' events have changed things. When Goran (GW) borrowed the van we're traveling in from a friend, he was told explicitly to remain aware of the water level. To check it often and fill it when necessary. As usual, that caution went in one ear and out the other.

On our way to the ferry last night, GW remarked candidly that the car was overheating. Rather, he said "the car is boiling." Instead of stopping and checking the water, he insisted on continuing until we were safely inside the ferry. We arrived finally after a grand series of starting the car, getting up to 15 and turning it back off, coasting to a stop, despite repeated pleas not to. So, this morning I put a full half-gallon of water in the van and insisted that we find a mechanic to make sure a lack of water was the only issue and that it will last us through the Finnish countryside today and all the way to Norway later this week. Instead, he hopped on the freeway.

After explaining to him that if we overheat in the middle of nowhere, he's going to have some trouble finding Theresa and I transport to the venue with all the gear while he waits with the van to get it fixed, he decided to get it looked at. I'm positive that at one point in time this man did have a job but I'm not sure what kind and I can only speculate as to the seemingly obvious simplicity it must have entailed. There's no way logic and critical thinking were involved in his daily work routine.

I nearly forgot: on the ferry there was a karaoke bar. Said karaoke bar was in full swing when I stumbled upon it and my eyes didn't believe my ears when I rounded the corner. There, in full glory, was a 350lb Finnish biker complete with black doo-rag, long beard, huge gut (contained by a black t-shirt with demonic imagery) singing Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love" and singing it well. He was as serious as the heart attack that is sure to one day befall him. His whole chubby, dressed-in-black, biker family was into it too. Soon after he was finished, a young Swedish couple got up to sing "I've Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing. I figured the guy was roped in by his Patrick Swayze loving girlfriend, but he was into, man. Karaoke on the Baltic Sea is serious business.

Anyway, back to GW. Upon arriving in Porin (where the venue was), he took a left turn from the right lane because he thought it was a two way street. That was near death experience #1. Between near death experience #1 and 2, we (Theresa and I) discovered that a) the 4pm show we were supposed to have was actually the next day and we had to cancel it, b) our hotel rooms were cancelled and then rebooked, and c) were being led around aimlessly because he didn't want to bother the festival promoter with directions. Anyway, we had a show at midnight that went well and then left at 5am to get back to the ferry. Near death experience #2 was when he stalled out in the middle of an intersection (which is pretty much just a giant yield sign) while pointing to a sight instead of driving. This leg of the tour is pretty much Bad News Bears, it's a wonder we succeed at all.

Pori, Finland is a beautiful small town apparently much further north than Stockholm judging by how high the sun was in the sky at 10pm. I thought it would never set. One last thought: the artist passes we got for the Pori Jazz Festival are totally bitchin.

The Misadventures of Göran Wallen

2008-07-17T09:00:00.003-05:00

So we have had our last night in Gotland. The show was in a reception hall. A horrible sounding reception hall. Of course we waited until the last night on Gotland to play such a small venue that we were actually turning people away at the door as well as making the mistake of bringing far too few CDs. Hopefully we can remember the vibe of last night in Finland and Norway as I would imagine the crowds will be a lot more tame and less ravenous for Theresa.

Yesterday, Goran, 66, sat in the middle of the road stopped in front of the venue with no blinker just waiting on something or looking at something or really doing nothing is what it was. Either way, when he did finally decide to turn off this very narrow one lane road into the venue, a Vespa was passing him and he clipped the back tire, nearly throwing the young woman from the scooter. However, she was so scooter saavy that she quickly regained balance, remained upright, and kept driving. I, of course, was inwardly furious at his constant neglect for the safety of others, the rules of the road, and his general surroundings. Thus, I have reached the conclusion that barring flight delays, the only reason Iwouldn't be home on July 29th would be a car wreck caused by our bumbling octogenarian promoter.

After the show, we arrived back at the house near 1am with plans to be up and at 'em to leave at 7am in order to catch the ferry back to the mainland. I undress, climb into bed, and close my eyes, exhausted. Suddenly, my door opens, the light comes on, and Goran asks me if I can get into the car.

I ask, "why? You have the keys."

"No," he says "I locked them inside just now."

I think about this for a second, realize that I made sure that all the doors and windows were well locked on the van when I came inside and told him "Guess you'd better call a locksmith now then to make sure we can leave promptly at 7." I then, having solved the issue, fell asleep.

Ten minutes later, Theresa wakes me up. Apparently on Gotland locksmiths are most certainly not available 24 hours a day and we wouldn't be able to catch the morning ferry unless we got the keys soon and would I mind trying my hand at getting in since Goran is doing nothing but circling the car trying all the windows and doors again in a textbook case of insanity: repeating an action expecting different results. So, my next 20 minutes were spent in the pre-dawn chill, with eventual success, feeding a crooked coathanger in the window to unlock the door.

Now, this is not the first time Goran has locked us out, but I'm having trouble deciding on which time was more troubling. The first time he locked us out of both his car and his house in one fell swoop while it was raining heavily and we were in a rush. All in all, I'm beginning to fear my safety as a passenger and/or guest in this man's care. It is a miracle we haven't missed a show yet. I believe I could have an entirely separate blog entitled "The Misadventures of Göran Wallen" and it would probably have more readers and more comments than this one but the subject just depresses me.

On a happier note, I finally got him back for taking numerous unwanted candid photos of me against my wishes by snapping a shot of him snoring loudly, mouth open, head back.

Visby

2008-07-14T04:47:00.002-05:00

We have played two shows in Visby so far, both in a unique club set inside a tower which is part of the ancient city wall. The tower itself is said to date back to 900A.D. and certainly looks it. As great as the ambience and decor of the room was, imagine running sound in a half-cylindrical room made of stone. Not too much fun. Either way, we got the sound pumping and it was a good crowd. This was the first Swedish show in a proper bar so the crowd was ready to move with the music. The alcohol certainly helped.

Some of the pre-show music piped in was a hilarious mishmash of 80's hits like "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Like a Virgin," Cameo's "Word Up," "Welcome to the Jungle," and the Human League's "Don't You Want Me." The greatest part of the night came between the two sets and some jackass put on "Dr. Feelgood." It seems like the bar suddenly jumped into hyperdrive with everyone up and singing along while dancing over to the bar. And all for what? Mötley Crüe.

We've got a few more shows here in Visby before heading to Finland on the 17th for a show, back to Stockholm for a show on the 20th, a few shows in Norway possibly, then three shows back on the mainland from the 26th-28th to close it out before I head home sweet home. I'm counting the days.

My greatest fears have been realized

2008-07-12T09:51:00.003-05:00

Well, the time has come and a lot sooner than I had hoped. I finished all my books including the John Grisham book (which sucked me in around page 200 I must admit) and a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that was miraculously here in Sweden. So I have finished a full 10 books and a thoroughly uninteresting copy of Vogue in about 5 weeks and have about 2 1/2 weeks left. Hopefully I can actually make it to that bookstore in Stockholm when I get back.

On a happier note, Gotland is pretty nice. We're pretty isolated from everything here and the distance from a city is noticable. A kilometer in one direction brings me to a country store with the daily necessities, a kilometer in the other direction brings me to the Gotland shore and an ancient fishing village with no electricity or plumbing to give you an idea of the area I'm in. Either way, Gotlanders are excited that one of their own is here and playing shows. They're packing in from miles around.

Gotland

2008-07-10T04:44:00.003-05:00

Earlier I found myself on a ferry ride to a mythical land, Gotland. Mythical because of the extreme pride of natives who talk it up. Twinkles appear in the eyes of Gotlanders when the word is mentioned and they will speak at length of it as if it is their first and only child.

The way Gotland seems to have shaped many artists, it has become a popular haven for the creative but even in my short time here, it seems that Gotlander artists use it as a fencepost: something they can lean against (though in some cases, it leans back). In addition to an artist haven, it is also a hugely popular vacation spot in the summer. I was hoping for, if nothing else, packed shows, fresh air, and a dip in the Baltic Sea (if only just to say I've done it, which I now have). I got more than that.

The beginning of our second day began at 3am to drive an hour for a 4am casting call for a TV4 program. Filmed in the ruins of a once magnificent stone church, the three hour show highlighted the upcoming goings on in Gotland: a politcal convention, a small culinary fest, a new wonderful vet, Theresa Anderson shows (she performed two songs on the program which I got to mix live to air), and the circus. The circus spot was one of constant buzz because it featured Mickey, a very large, very hungry elephant.

That's correct. For many hours Mickey hung around a small field that was once the grand stone foyer of a very large church eating apples and unpeeled bananas whole with an insatiable appetite both for the fruit and attention of the dozens of confused onlookers. Confused because an elephant was downtown, confused because an elephant was being filmed at 7am, confused because they were stand out of earshot of the hosts and may have found it necessary to draw their own conclusions rather than popping on Sweden's Good Morning America and discovering the real reason for presence of this uncaged, untethered gentle giant in their fair city.

That afternoon we made our way to a local hotel compound (many cottages, hostel rooms, and true hotel rooms) for the show. The staff, while attentive and generally aiming to please, became a source of constant irritation through their music choices. I truly believe that the young manager has just discovered the Barenaked Ladies and admires them vociferously as the triumphant voice of a generation. Thus, he played the same five songs over and over as an evangelist of the gospel of sappy Canadian pop. Otherwise, the accomodations were fine.

This morning, I took a walk down to the store. I grabbed a pear and Coke, set them down on the counter, waited to hear the price (or actually see it on the screen) before handing over my money, and said "tack." In response, the duder said "you're welcome." How did he know!? Apparently my look just screams American. No matter what I wear people know that I do not belong. Amazing.

Moja

2008-07-06T18:31:00.002-05:00

Moja is beautiful: An island off the eastern coast of Sweden (1 of an alleged 25,000 small islands) measuring approximately 5 miles by 2.5 miles. It is Swedish pastoral epitomized--numerous clay red cottages dot the rocky landscape said to have been formed by slow moving glaciers and I believe it. We were treated to a wonderful bbq on the water with a large gathering of an extended family and many new friends before the show.

The fresh air did make me feel a lot better for a time and this morning's outing was especially nice. We took a boat ride to a tiny island further out into the Baltic for coffee and freshly baked bread that we brought with us. I took many pictures but have no way of posting them now as this PC doesn't like my camera connection. Either way, the island community absorbed us like a wet blanket. The tight knit group fed us, gave us drink, offered to carry our equipment, wanted to talk all night, offered beds, even two whole cottages. It felt like home.

My 4th of July

2008-07-05T03:41:00.003-05:00

Last year I spent my 4th of July among many friends. We ate, drank, and took two dogs for a swim with mixed results (the pug is a swimming champ, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever was terrified). This year, I spent 4th of July in a country that doesn't even have an independence day. There are rumors that country executives are attempting to make June 6th meaningful in some way but it was unclear as to why. Something about conversion from paganism.

Anyway, for my 4th of July, I read a book used often in college level management courses, ate an entire veggie pizza, and blew my nose a lot. I'm still quite sick and can only hope that the trip by sea we're taking today doesn't disagree with me.

I do hear from others, though, that the fireworks were bright, hot dogs warm, iced tea sweet, and spirts up in the States. Good for you guys, I guess.

Here are some things Sweden has allowed me to get back in touch with:
e-Bay
PayPal
Blogging
Writing stuff down in my little notebook
Sinusitis
My hilarious passport photo
BBC (especially the show Lead Balloon which is genius)
Long, personal emails

Here are some things Sweden has allowed me to neglect, if only temporarily:
Shaving
Recording
Coke
Good American television
Variety of wardrobe
Driving
The celebration of national US holidays
Long, personal conversations

Paranoia or are they out to get me?

2008-07-03T18:40:00.003-05:00

It seems a running joke towards Americans here is forewarning us to either be silent or behave especially well around certain individuals due to a great disdain towards my native land.

The way in which this "joke" is presented baffles me: is he serious? Might I upset this A&R guy? Will that bartender spit in my beer for ordering in English? Will this shop attendant give me intentionally wrong directions? Sarcasm translates as a dead serious statement. It is hard to appear dry and cynical when one stumbles over words. If the comic concentrates hard enough on the proper English, he or she forgets to display the twinkle in the eye, the wry smirk, or the eye roll. Maybe I should just tell people I'm from Canada and see how their reactions may change.

Today we had a long break between load in and sound check--around 5 hours. Therefore, I sat comfortably scrolling through my iPod to find music I have not listened to for one reason or another and actually enjoy it. The Guillemots were great, Peter, Bjorn, and John's Writer's Block was also good. I chose to listen to the latter because I was able to meet John earlier this week. Very nice, very unassuming guy. If anyone has found anything truly amazing recently, please pass it along. I've heard great things about Fleet Foxes but haven't had a chance to listen to or even learn a thing about them.

Sitting in the green room listening to music and contemplating my origins today, I noticed two tea candles on the table and I wondered: what is it about candles or contained fire in general that is comforting? The small amount of light they put out is romantic in a restaurant setting but frighteningly unhelpful in total darkness. Is it human nature to, even now in the 21st century, amaze ourselves in the discovery to cultivate fire? Our ability to overcome what once alluded us for thousands of years? I'm not sure but I will allow myself to be pulled blindly toward the softly flickering light time after time.

I ramble because I'm quickly running out of book. We have, I believe, 20 shows left in Sweden and I've already finished The Corrections, Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop, and American Pastoral. Today alone I read half of Made to Stick and after that it's a thin Elmore Leonard novel and a John Grisham legal "thriller"--gross.

I do know of a Swedish bookstore with a variety of English titles as well as a record store with various music themed books but it would cost me $15 round trip for a one day train pass. Oh well, I don't have much choice. $10 says the bookstore has stacks and stacks of Stephen King, Jeffrey Deaver, Dean Koontz, and other horribly boring fiction while carrying nothing of interest to me. Maybe they'll have a sweet used section full of heavy paperbacks tourists didn't want to take back with them in lieu of all the heavy Swedish stuff they bought while on vacation escaping the doldrums of reality television, fast food, and shopping malls. Little did they know that they would be watching nothing but reality TV in Sweden (many stations carry it), eating fast food (easy to understand menus), and shopping in malls (there are tons of them here).

Either way, I need something to fill my time otherwise I'll just it around and know what it means to miss New Orleans while thinking nonstop about this cold that refuses to die. I think it's my body telling me to head West.

Why do I attract stupidity?

2008-07-02T06:04:00.003-05:00

First and foremost, I must say that I laud Swedes for their commitment to learning much of the English language. Nearly everyone I ask a question in English (do you have international calling cards, where can I find a map, why is everyone so blonde here?) is able to answer me with little to no difficulty. It seems, though, when I begin to engage in a deeper conversation than the normal "is this your first time in Sweden? How do you like it? How long are you here?" etc, that there are just as many idiots present in Scandinavia as there are in the US perhaps more.

Granted, I've met some very intelligent Swedes that I would delight in talking to all day long (one of them being local indie star Tobias Froberg, his fiancé Sondra, and Michael, the music producer of Scandinavia's largest theme park, to name a few) but I have certainly had the unfortunate displeasure of having lengthy repeated conversations with some who are no brighter than a brick wall that is suffering from a growing and relentless dementia. As my father would say, "about as dumb as a bag of hammers." Now my question is this: is it the language barrier or just genuine lack of appropriately firing neurons that account for the sheer stupidity? Do these same people think that yours truly is a moron as well? Finally, how can I spot these people before engaging in conversation or how to keep it to a minimum with those I cannot avoid?

Yes, I realize this post is one full of brash language and perhaps a false sense of superiority
by yet another complacent American, but I'm just telling it the way it is. Any thoughts?

Stockholm's totally walkable

2008-07-01T17:28:00.002-05:00

Today I walked around Stockholm. I did yesterday as well, but today I did it alone. It's interesting to see the great number of people that look just as confused as I do. July and August, I've heard, are the months that all of Sweden seems to take as vacation so I would imagine that many native to Stockholm have vacated and many from the country have flocked in. Either way, it's a cool place to visit.

After getting caught in a rainstorm today, I decided that perhaps a warm coffee in a not-so-hip coffeehouse was the thing to do. So, while enjoying a good cappuccino and my current book (Philip Roth's American Pastoral), I noticed quite a commotion across the street. There were literally hundreds of blonde-haired Swedish women crowding through two sets of double doors into what turned out to be two simultaneous showings of Sex and the City. Promiscuity and materialism, it seems, is not limited to American culture.

These women were ravenous for Sarah Jessica Parker's latest travails in the ways of love (or perhaps those of Samantha's). I still have absolutely no interest whatsoever in seeing it, regardless of my sometimes regrettable admitted materialism. I confess that I am a true hound for studio gear and boutique jeans. It is something I cannot escape. I bought boutique jeans yesterday, in fact, from a local jean shop (Nudie Jeans) that are fantastic (and fantastically expensive compared to the regular Levi's). It's something I cannot help. My calves, my thighs, my waist, it seems, are happier when embraced by quality denim in an insatiable thirst that cannot be satisfied by American chains like The Gap, American Eagle, and Abercrombie & Fitch. Tell me I'm wasting my money, tell me I'm a clotheshound, only don't tell me my jeans look bad.

Sinus attack.

2008-06-30T06:51:00.002-05:00

Well, it has happened. I go overseas will a clean bill of health and get sick. How typical of my sinuses to ruin a day of planned exploring. I'm still going, but I may not be able to do the full amount that I was planning on. Hopefully I will only be down and out for a few days since the next show is on Thursday. Sinus infections are potentially troublesome for running sound: my nose is congested, my ears feel clogged, and I'm drowsy.

This morning, I did what any American would do: head down to a grocery store to grab some medicine. This is all well and good except that Swedish groceries do not have medicine. Only Swedish pharmacies have medicine. Fine. Great. I'll go to a pharmacy. Finally having made it to the pharmacy, I find that Sweden is not as frivolous about giving out medicine as we are in the US. They only have regular strength over the counter drugs. If I want the Jerry Seinfeld "figure out what will kill me then back it off just a little" maximum strength, I have to go see a doctor. Thus, I am on a combination of various medicines that will hopefully do what Advil Cold & Sinus does. I am not a fan of alternative, natural medicines on the whole; I just want the drugs.

Therefore, I will be chowing down on apples, bananas, OJ, Emergen-C, etc. until I feel myself again.

Back to Stockholm

2008-06-29T05:58:00.004-05:00

Well, we have four shows under our belt and have just arrived back in Stockholm for a couple of days rest. The shows have been to very interesting crowds due mainly to, in my opinion, inappropriate venues but we've gotten fairly good responses. In the past week since I've been here I've made many observations about Sweden and Swedes in general:

-95% of Swedish hotel rooms have only a single bed-no double, no queen, and certainly not a king.
-95% of Swedes wear jeans. All the time. So, I, of course, fit right in.
-Sweden is the one place I don't look ridiculous carrying around my sunglasses at midnight. People that know me well know that I usually find myself stuck with my sunglasses late at night for one reason or another but in Sweden, I actually need them until usually around 10:30pm due to the extremely late sunsets.
-Swedes don't understand the whole Hurricane Katrina disaster. They understand that we could have done nothing to stop the storm, but what is puzzling is the loss of life. It seems that in Europe's eyes, America really has it together and to lapse in a time of need is unbelievable. When I asked the entertainment producer of Scandinavia's largest theme park what he meant by this, he replied "Well, hell, America sent a man to the moon! Anything is possible!"
-Swedes say "thank you" all the time. Constantly. I hear "tack tack" 1,000 times a day.
-The Swedish countryside looks very much like Mississippi: rolling pastoral lands full of very down to earth people.
-Swedes (and Europeans in general) have an extreme affinity for small cars. It's easy to see why with the high gas prices here. Something I've found interesting is the appealing American brand European-only available vehicles. I imagine that as gas prices continue to rise in the US, some of these tiny Fords, Hondas, Hyundais, etc. will make their way into the American market. It would be absurd for US automakers not to bring them stateside.
-Finally, Europe loves large, counterproductive digital FOH boards. The Digidesign Show is the worst live board I've ever seen unless it is a touring board. The time it takes to set up a new artist is extremely prohibitive and the fact that I have to select each channel to set EQ and pan (controlled a full 2 feet away) is alienating. Great recording board, great board for a touring band, but horrible in a venue.

We've played two festivals so far and it's been awesome to be able to run such large systems (albeit on terribly expensive, terribly limiting digital boards) though the set-up, sound check, and load out times are getting smaller and smaller it seems for festivals. This is certainly a drawback when you have a set-up that has to be disconnected completely and moved in sections because Theresa prefers not to be on a riser. Oh well.

On a lighter note, here is the van we're traveling in:

And here's a view of Goteburg (which really looks like Munich, where Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was filmed):

Sweden!

2008-06-24T17:38:00.003-05:00

So I've made it to Sweden and I must say: Jet lag is horrible. The fact that the sun doesn't set here until around 11:00 pm doesn't help my sleeping pattern one bit. Thus, after going to sleep last night before 9pm, I'm still up at 12:30am. I just don't get it.

Our first show is tomorrow and we'll see how well Swedish sound guys understand English when I need a hand in locating certain things, figuring out how the place is wired up, etc. I don't think the few words of Swedish I have learned (tack - thank you, nej - no, yah - yes, mixer - mixer, etc) is going to help one bit in this regard.

We have been into Stockholm from the suburb we're staying in quite a few times. What I have seen of it is absolutely beautiful; the old and new architecture, cobblestone streets, and canals passing through the city are great. However, I must admit I haven't been paying attention to the city nearly as much as I have been paying attention to our driver: Goran Wallen. Retired salesman turned promoter, Goran should have been a last place Nascar driver. He drives with two feet (even when not shifting), tailgates, zooms around curves, hops curbs to pass slow moving vehicles in the city, and talks on his cell phone constantly, even if that means traveling at highway speeds in third gear. It's terrifying.

We've been to a few music stores to get supplies and scope out places we may later need and have found a goldmine: Hellstone. The owner, Sven, gave me a free shirt that is killer. I will surely take a picture of it at a later date. This place has tons of vintage drums including old Gretsch sets and probably 100 each of vintage Slingerland and Ludwig snare drums. It's pretty much Eric Rogers' heaven. In addition, they have not one, not two, but three RCA 44 ribbon mics wasting away in a display case. According to Sven, all three are working very well and all three have an asking price of 21000K or $3500. Oh well.

I keep you all posted about some other parts of Sweden when I return from my 4-show road trip.

AHH!

2008-06-21T10:08:00.002-05:00

Packing up is serious business. We're cooped up in a large Tribeca apartment trying to make sense of all the stuff we have to take. Hopefully we'll be able to fit all of it into small enough bags to make the trip financially viable (overweight/size bags are expensive!).

On the other hand, New York is great. Once you learn the subways, it's really a piece of cake. It's still expensive to eat and live and all that but at least I know how to get from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side quickly and cheaply now. No more cabs for me. I will be wrapping up loose ends this evening (i.e. posting pictures that haven't yet been posted and need to be...if any) before we leave tomorrow afternoon for nearly 5 weeks.

Obviously, my phone will not work in Sweden but I should be able to check email every other day or so and I would greatly appreciate a hello from folks in English since I'm not sure how much I'll be able to communicate with these Swedes. I've got a ton of books to read including two new ones I just picked up--Made to Stick by Chip Heath and American Pastoral by Philip Roth--so I won't be all alone. Either way, shoot me a line, let me know what's going on in New Orleans or in the US in general. I'd appreciate it.

drinks11@gmail.com

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

2008-06-18T23:01:00.004-05:00

[Writer's note: While today I should be writing about the show, it seems that the new MMJ record is more present in my mind so I shall review it instead]

I love My Morning Jacket. I do. I love the singable melodies, the huge reverb, the amazing shows, and their progression through the years. I discovered Z first and worked backward. Z is such a stand out record for me because nearly every chorus has a melody that one just aches to sing along to. The music is well written, the lyrics have meaning, the recording itself is phenomenal, and it's just the right length.

When I heard that they were releasing a new record soon, I waited on pins and needles to hear it. Today during my drive I listened to it three times in a row and I must say I'm a little surprised. Throughout their career, the members of MMJ (mainly Jim James) have flirted with alt-country, space rock, noise rock, and indie. Each album shows a growing musicianship and talent for arranging and Evil Urges is no different. However, the vocal melodies that were once so appealing are not as present in this record.

The title track begins with strongly until the vocals come in: Jim James is almost squealing his lines. It's a little bit of a turn off. Two songs later, "Highly Suspicious," you would swear that Prince was coming over the loud speakers. This song rocks. It has a great melody, a pumping bass line and a tempo that makes it a great driving song. Again though, the vocals are strange. The chorus (a chanted "Highly Suspicious") is sung more or less sarcastically or playfully.

Two songs that really strike a chord with me (and not in a good way) are "Two Halves" and "The Librarian." The chorus of "Two Halves" is a little out there for me and not what I'm used to from My Morning Jacket. With "The Librarian," he mentions that we don't use books much anymore since we got the interweb [sic]. Interweb. Jim James may not think of it this way, but I believe that most artists should think ahead to the lasting impression of their work. Including kitschy slang like "interweb" does not bode well unless, heaven help us, it becomes a common word through major usage.

That's not to say that the entire album is that way because it's not. I will say that Evil Urges is a grower and you can most definitely find gems in it. Those of you who aren't as concerned with lyrics or vocals really will find it remarkable. But for those who have been waiting patiently for a new album full of James' reverb laden vocals, you may have to keep waiting.

That said, I can still greatly appreciate this record and I know I will be coming back to it again and again, but I don't feel I can give it the same 4 star rating I would have given Z. I continue listening to it again and again hoping to find something new. Fans will love it, casual fans may feel alienated by the playful vocals. I do think they will gain a whole host of new fans with this one though. Either way, I'm excited to see them again.

New York shows!

2008-06-18T07:41:00.004-05:00

Sorry I've been slacking with blogs since I arrive in New York. It's just so hectic up here I haven't really had time to write. Anyways, New York has been a blast and it's over too quickly. I'm leaving here in a mere 45 minutes to go to VA for the next two shows.

Sunday we played at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Very cool place. They had bocce ball courts in the bar and the music was in the basement on a tiny stage with low ceilings that had lots of charm. It was a small crowd that was receptive for the first few songs.

The next day I hopped on the subway and explored Manhattan for a few hours before having lunch with Kelley near Times Square where she works. I got a new phone charger since I left mine in Baltimore and duder was nice enough to let me charge it in the store while I browsed through the inferior Virgin book selection. I went to the only physical B&H store and it was amazing. I also headed over to 48th and 7th for all the music stores and actually had time to explore them all which was great. Then back to Brooklyn to prepare for the second show at Pianos.

The Pianos crowd was bigger and better and the show went off without a hitch. [edited for content]. Good crowd that was receptive. It was a cool club in a cool area. Seemed to be one of those "places to be seen" and she was certainly seen there.

After the show, I left the club around 11:30 and didn't get home until after 1. The subway stopped after only Lorimer street due to late night construction which meant walking the rest of the way through Brooklyn. That sucked.

Yesterday I had some true New York pizza and went to Katz's for dinner which is the ultimate in Jewish delis. Katz's is where the famous "I'll have what she's having" scene from When Harry Met Sally was filmed. I had matzo ball soup and a brisket sandwich; both were out of this world excellent. The show went fine and it was a quick load out so I had time to get back to Brooklyn while Kelley was still awake and actually hang out with her and Rubey.

Oh yeah, and while walking through the Lower East Side yesterday I stumbled upon this: the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. I wanted to go in but it wasn't open yet.

Now, we have to drive a long way to VA instead of having a few days off to pack up and prepare as we should. Oh well. See you guys in the funny papers.

Baltimore Chop - Baltimore, MD

2008-06-13T23:15:00.001-05:00

Before we even get to the venue I hated because of the long drive and insane traffic. DC sucks. Always go around it, never go through it-no matter what Mavis says.

The coffeeshop ended up being very intimate. Good small crowd that was quite receptive and stuck around for nearly two hours afterwards to talk. They certainly didn't help carry anything but oh well. I bought two books there since I'm already getting low.

So far I've finished Geronimo Rex (for the third time), read the Jerry Lee Lewis biography Hellfire (great) and I'm burning through Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections. I bought an Elmore Leonard book and on that will perhaps allow me to better understand my sister when I read it, Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop.

Today before leaving we went to Hon Fest on 36th St. It was nuts.

Visulite Theater - Charlotte, NC

2008-06-13T00:16:00.001-05:00

Good show, good room, great percentage of folks buying CDs. The stage was amazing.

Before the show, we had some absolutely killer BBQ. I don't care what anyone says, Carolina BBQ is the tops. How could anyone truly favor ketchup-based BBQ over vinegar based? People are crazy.

Also, on the way to the venue, we went to an awesome coffee shop called the Smelly Cat. It was totally chill. Great coffee and the owner was a sweetheart. Additionally, out on the porch they had these little glass pieces strung up which I though was cool:

Yesterday Theresa had a YouTube featured video that got something like 250,000 views very quickly. Hopefully that will translate to lots of people out to future shows but we'll see.

I took a bunch of pictures though they may remain in my camera until August as I think my computer is kaput for the time being. My RAM is corrupt and I don't feel like spending nearly $200 on some SODIMM right now, especially if I apparently won't be able to really use it much overseas since the Swedes are all about some PCs.

Tomorrow's drive will be 7 1/2 ungodly hours. Far too long for a donations show. We should've had a paying show in VA or elsewhere in NC somewhere instead.

Anyway, here's a few pictures I took of the show I thought turned out well.

[I was able to edit this post on someone's computer, so here are pictures. I will be able to post some pictures when I can use others' computers but not my own...]

Greenville, SC - The Handlebar

2008-06-11T23:01:00.002-05:00

This morning we left Atlanta for Greenville, SC where we met up with sound man extraordinaire Brian Dawson. He will be with us through our New York City shows and will lend us his experience and talents to make sure the very important showcases in New York will be tip top.

Tonight at the Handlebar, Brian took the wheel running sound with my assistance and, I must say, it was pumping. This is the first room we've been in with a sizeable PA system. We figured out some great EQ tricks and levels that will make sound checks a breeze and each show will sound crystal clear.

The show itself tonight was great though the turnout was dismal-even for the headliners. Theresa has never played Greenville before and we were told that the town is usually dead during the summer months as it is. Oh well. I blame the headlining band. They were some old duders "rocking" limply it seemed to me. The lyrics were in the style of Jimmy Buffet: mellow, not smooth, kind of shitty. What really mattered was that the crowd, though small, got into the set and was engaging with Theresa. They were cheering heartily, clapping along, and talking to her between songs and definitely after the set.

That being said, we're psyched for the next few shows leading up to New York and especially NYC because it is generally awesome. Besides, I'll get to see one of my dearest friends: Miss Kelley Farris.

Until next time folks!

Decatur, Ga - Eddie's Attic

2008-06-11T02:00:00.000-05:00

Mavis is a liar, and a pathological one at that. She'll take me down a road then pretend it ends prematurely so she must calculate another route for me. Most recently in her string of lies, she sent me down Dozier Hill Road just outside of Oxford en route to Birmingham. For those of you unfamiliar with the road (which I will assume is everybody save for the residents of the few houses along it), it is six miles of a one laned gravel full of steep hills, tight curves, and speeding locals. It will haunt my dreams all the days of my life.

Finally, after I was able to resuscitate myself, I made it to Birmingham otherwise unscathed to stay with a good high school friend, Candace. She has just finished her first year in law school and is having a blast living it up in the South's worst area of cell phone reception. Many thanks to Candace.

Atlanta was great. I finally got to go to Eddie's Attic and see a show. Eddie's the nicest guy in the world, and I got to talk shop for a solid hour with the sound guy, Shalom. They fed us well and afterwards we retired to a friend's cousin's home just off Piedmont Park. Many many thanks to Mark Thompson for letting us stay, feeding us, entertaining us, and being generally hospitable. He sat up with us until 1am engaging us with his stories of his 2000+ skydives. He is truly fearless.

Unfortunately, I have no picture from Eddie's Attic. I either forget that I have a camera, or I'm far too busy to actually get in there and take pictures. I promise to be more diligent the rest of the week.a

Oxford, MS - Two Stick

2008-06-08T16:01:00.003-05:00

A 4 1/2 hour scenic drive sponsored in part by local New Orleans bands Antenna Inn and Fay Wray has put us in the 95 degree Oxford Square. We were able to stop by my hometown and have lunch with my folks which was nice.

During our break today, I began advancing shows for the next week. Advancing is neither a science nor is it a pleasant thing to do. If I'm lucky enough to actually get someone from production on the phone, there's always some sort of contractual discrepancy. Otherwise, I'm stuck talking to duder that happens to be near the phone and is generally unaware about things like load-in, doors, set length, etc.

On a lighter note, the Two Stick has some damn fine sushi. Thus, it was with a full belly and a tingling tongue (spicy sauce) that I loaded gear. The load-in was quick and easy and the show went pretty well. We still have a few bugs to work out but things are coming together well.

I guess now is a good a time as any to explain exactly what makes the show so complicated: Theresa has a monstrous pedal board with two looping pedals. She builds loops using guitar, violin, dulcimer, vocals, drums...anything really. She has two sub-mix boards and a total of five outputs. Basically, it's a fight with every song to get everything equal. I've got a crib sheet for each song but we've got to figure out little feedback issues and clarity.

All in all, I'm pumped about the next show at Eddie's Attack in Atlanta. I've heard great things about it and I've never had a chance to go so now I'll see it in the flesh as well as running sound.

No pictures this post but expect some from Eddie's Attic on Tuesday.

Natchez, MS - Bowie's Tavern

2008-06-07T00:46:00.004-05:00

We began today in a huge van barreling up I-55 on our way to Natchez guided by Mavis: the wireless GPS system which is absolutely amazing. After soundcheck and grub, we found our hotel rooms, lounged about, and pumped ourselves up for the show. We had no idea what to expect when we arrived back at Bowie's Tavern for showtime.

Full of our Deep South neighbors, drunks, bored citizens looking for a good time on a Friday night, and, finally, music fans. Pre-show jitters were accompanied by the police escorting out an angry and intoxicated Toyota mechanic and a "Happy Birthday" request.

I sat side stage - rather, directly next to Theresa behind the speakers - an unfortunate spot. Theresa didn't care about her dining fans or those that just didn't understand the whole looping concept; she played anyway.

The crowd brightened up quickly and by the time she played her Sw

edish song (which I was worried about the crowd's response) everyone seemed hooked.

Theresa can work a crowd. Her dancing, her ability to sing just as loud off the mic as on it, as well as her obvious heart and soul propel the shows. By the way, she obliged the "Happy Birthday," though not happily. Her voice and smile said "yes," but her body language said "no, no no."

Cheap thrills don't come easy, but when you sing a song called Mississippi to a group of steady drinking Natchez, Mississippians, it just works. One last thought: It seems Duane Allman is alive and well. He offered Theresa $20 to play a Faces tune (Ooh La La).

Stress! Time to go!

2008-06-05T20:02:00.003-05:00

So it's officially the night before and I'm stressed. My emotions run wild from thinking ahead to the upcoming drives to shows to having to advance all the upcoming shows and generally making sure I'm doing everything right. Kat and I just had our last dinner together at Cafe Atchafalaya (which was good by the way) and it's becoming quite obvious to us collectively that we have but a short time together before I head out tomorrow morning.
I will of course be updating all with blogs about the various shows and how I'm feeling and where I am so please everyone feel free to leave comments. They let me know how many folks are actually reading these and reassure me that I'm not writing for myself. Below are a couple of pictures that are cheaply displaying my array of emotions while procrastinating packing. I hate packing. Kat is actually trying to pack for me while I'm typing. Fitting two months of your life into a carry-on is not fun. Until next time, let's boogie.

Almost ready to go!

2008-06-04T18:17:00.002-05:00

So it's June 4th and it's coming down to the wire. I've officially begun "road-mode" which means I'm stressed, on edge, hurried, impatient, and unable to sit still for very long. Theresa and I had a great rehearsal last night which will go a long way for the first show in Natchez. By the way, for those of you loyal readers that will be in the area for any of the upcoming shows, I fully expect to see you at them!

Before I leave I'm spending as much time as I can with friends and loved ones which means dinners, drinks, shows, and general relaxation (or as much as I can as we approach my departure). Tomorrow night will be my last night in town for nearly two months and I will spend it at Tipitina's to see John Michael's show (he's the opener). So please come see that folks!

Keep posted for more and more blogs!

Big Sam, Abita Tour

2008-05-31T15:55:00.026-05:00

This weekend I've got a friend in town so I decided to show him a good time native New Orleanian style. I took him to Big Sam for a good local show and the Abita brewery tour today. I don't have much to say about either so I will let the pictures do the talking.

On the way to Molly's for a pint.

At Molly's with a pint. This is Jeffrey.

At Blue Nile for Big Sam's Funky Nation. Good live band, definitely worth seeing live at some point during a New Orleans stay. However, I can see why they play live so much as opposed to relying on CD sales. It's hard to listen to a CD with a bunch of "throw your hands up" and "shake it, shake it!" all over it. That said, the music is tight, Sam is extremely energetic, and has a killer taste in sunglasses as you can see below. Somewhere, Grandmaster Flash is smiling.

Big Sam's guitar duder, Casey. My apologies to Casey for the picture but he never gave me a good shot.

My favorite picture of the night by far.

And finally, on to the Abita Brewery Tour. Kat is enjoying a beer before noon if I recall correctly. She's a champ. It's all delicious, it's all informative, it's all free. What more could a red blooded American ask for in a Saturday morning?

Cody maxing and relaxing after a few pints from the self-serve taps.

The glorious self-serve taps. Everything (almost) that Abita offers is available here. There are hundreds of cups stacked nearby for unlimited refills. The cups fill quickly, the lines progress with such a fervor of Americans realizing they had better move before this thing that is too good to be true ends, and every sip is ice cold. The end of the "tasting" (imbibing) is marked by the beginning of the tour into the brewery.

The brew tanks. These house the ales, lagers, and soon to be Belgian brews. Look for those this fall.

Many rounds later...

Studio

2008-05-29T10:11:00.003-05:00

So in the past few months I've been putting together a studio. I've mainly been using it on the My Name Is John Michael stuff. So far I've accumulated what seems to be a pretty nice set up. That said, I'm always looking for other projects in the New Orleans area, whether that's just vocals, mixing, or mastering.

For those of you that might be interested in knowing the gear I have, check the following list:
Digidesign 003 Rack
DriveRack PX (for RTA with my monitors)
Event TR6 monitors
Neumann U473SP mastering compressors (pair)
Neumann PEa parametric EQs (pair)
dbx 162SL
dbx 163x
Neumann M 149 Tube
Audix SCX25a

and on the way:

Aurora Audio GTQ-2
Focusrite Octopre LE
AKG D112

So, as I've said, if anyone is interested, please contact me about recording/mixing/mastering at drinks11@gmail.com

Tour Details!

2008-05-28T09:24:00.003-05:00

I've gotten some info on tour dates so I figured I'd pass them along. The Theresa Andersson tour will start June 6th in Natchez, MS and I should arrive back in New Orleans July 29th. Here are some of the dates in between:

Jun 6 - natchez, ms @ bowie's tavern
Jun 7 - oxford, ms @ two stick
Jun 10 - atlanta, ga @ eddie's attic
Jun 11 - greenville, sc @ handlebar
Jun 12 - charlotte, nc @ visualite theatre
Jun 13 - baltimore, md @ chop shop
Jun 14 - philadelphia, pa @ world cafe upstairs
Jun 15 - brooklyn, ny @ union hall
Jun 16 - new york, ny @ pianos
Jun 17 - new york, ny @ living room
Jun 18 - vienna, va @ jammin java
Jun 19 - charlottesville, va @ gravity lounge

We'll be flying off to Stockholm on the 22nd and playing apparently another 17 shows in Europe before flying back.

In August, after an Iowa wedding, I'll be heading out with the Allman Brothers sticking mainly to the Northeast:

Aug 12 - Bethel, NY - Bethel Center
Aug 13 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon Theater
Aug 15 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Center
Aug 16 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
Aug 19 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga PAC
Aug 20 - Hartford, CT - Meadows
Aug 22 - Canandaigua, NY - Constellation Brands PAC
Aug 23 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Center
Aug 25 - Hershey, PA - Hershey Star Pavillion
Aug 27 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Eneregy Theater
Aug 28 - Chicago, IL - Chapter One Pavillion
Aug 30 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks

This tour seems unusually short for the Allman Brothers but we'll just have to see. Gregg Allman has been recovering from Hepatitis C for months so they are still figuring out a touring schedule that will not be too strenuous for him. I was told initially that the tour would stretch from August into October but that may be it folks.

On a side note, I purchased a new camera recently so you may actually see photos shot by yours truly appearing in this blog soon. I will certainly take lots of pictures of the Theresa tour and as many as I can of ABB (they do not allow cameras or even cell phones on stage and that includes band, crew, visitors, etc).

Check back soon and often for updates!

And finally, a couple of pictures:

New Tours!

2008-05-21T20:55:00.004-05:00

Hey people,

Sorry it's been so incredibly long since I've last posted. I just got out of the habit I suppose. Here's what's been going on:

Since January 1st, I have been a part of the mynameisjohnmichael.com project. It is a local New Orleanian (John Michael Rouchell) writing, recording, mixing, and releasing one song a week for the entire year. We've recently passed song #20 and still going strong. Make sure to visit the site and catch up on the songs. There's definitely good stuff in there.

Second, I'm going on more tours this summer. During the months of June and July, I'll be with local artist Theresa Andersson in New York, England, Sweden, Holland, Norway, and maybe Finland. When I arrive back in New Orleans, I'll be home for a short week then it's off to tour with the Allman Brothers again until possibly middle of October. Needless to say, I'm going to be very busy.

I will keep everyone updated on the tours via this blog as much as I can so stay tuned.

Charlemagne

2007-11-02T10:11:00.000-05:00

This is a band out of Canada and I can only say that they rock. I've known little about them for almost 2 years now and wish I knew more. It's a bunch of young guys just out of high school writing interesting indie rock with mature lyrics, good changes, memorable melodies, and apparently great live shows. Unfortunately all they have is a Myspace page so it's hard for those of you unfamiliar with them to really catch up of their total body of work but please do visit the page and listen to the tracks. My favorite there is "Oh The Boss Is Coming" followed closely by "The Ballad of Hugo..."

It seems they are gathering a following in their haven up there among our neighbors to the north. I think they have what it takes to get big. All they need is an opening spot on a tour with say BRMC, CYHSY, or some other acronymic band.

Voodoo Fest!

2007-10-31T19:16:00.000-05:00

Well it's Halloween again and for the first time since 2003, I didn't go to Voodoo fest. I was there, but not to see shows. No, this year I had the golden opportunity to work with local radio station WWOZ to record some of the fest. It was good times. They have two killer mobile recording trucks and go all over the country doing recordings. It would be fantastic to work for them at some point (perhaps some time very soon...).

I did hear good things about the music though:

Kings of Leon put on a pretty good set but they really need to be in a small indoor venue to do justice. They're just much better in an intimate atmosphere. Rage Against the Machine did not have Trent Reznor or Robert Plant sit in, thank goodness, so I didn't miss anything there. Billy Corgan was off-key and just doesn't have the same energy he once did. Perhaps its time to hang them up. Wilco was apparently fantastic and I believe it. Despite those of you who loved A Ghost is Born and didn't care for Sky Blue Sky, I liked it very much because it returned to my favorite Wilco record: Being There.

Congratulations on another great year, Rehage. You've got some big planning to do for next year...Voodoo's tenth anniversary.

Lars and the Real Girl

2007-10-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

Ryan Gosling has surprised me. After seeing The Notebook for the first (and only) time, I vowed never see another Ryan Gosling film again. I relented, seeing Murder By Numbers and, more recently, Half-Nelson. Half-Nelson was great and has a killer soundtrack with a lot of Broken Social Scene on it. Gosling's ability to play so many different characters well is really refreshing today when Steve Carell is cast in so many movies playing the exact same character in all of them and his sitcom The Office.

Anyway, Lars and the Real Girl is a touching story about a lonely man who buys a Real Doll--an extremely lifelike anatomically correct silicone doll that is completely customizable by the end user. However, it seems that he is only seeking for companionship, not carnal pleasure. He speaks and answers for her: Bianca. His community, in seeing such a void that is filled with delusion supplied by an inanimate object rallies together to treat her as well as Lars does.

It is filmed in a cold Wisconsin winter and as the snow melts, so do his social anxieties. Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer both shine in this comedy/drama. Personally, it's hard for me to make up my mind on what it should be: dramatic or comedic. During the film, there were many laughs in the theater seemingly because of the ridiculousness of the idea that a) such a doll exists and b) people actually spend money on such a thing. However, I have seen a documentary I'm sure not many have about men around the world who have Real Dolls for sex, for companionship, for quality of life. These men find it extremely hard to find a partner in life and have not necessarily reduced themselves to these dolls, but have accepted their plight. I highly recommend viewing the documentary while Lars and the Real Girl is fresh on one's mind. It is 47 minutes long and some viewer discretion should be advised.

As mentioned before, please go out and support indie movies. For those of you in New Orleans, keep abreast of the schedule at Canal Place theater.

The Darjeeling Ltd

2007-10-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

Wes Anderson's new film has been released. On a lazy Sunday, I went to the only theater in New Orleans showing independent films for it. It stars Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody as three estranged brothers on a train traveling across India to reconnect perhaps against their wills. I've been waiting on pins and needles for this film (and any other Wes Anderson film) and I have good and bad things to say.

Firstly, it's a beautiful film. The colors, locations, the backdrops are all fantastic. The costumes are great and the sets are very much like Life Aquatic. The actors playing the three brothers seemed not to have that great a chemistry, but it may be that their chemistry was so perfect it was an exact replica of feuding brothers. And who would know more about that than Owen Wilson?

The story was good and dialogue driven again though the dialogue I feel wasn't as strong as in previous movies (most notably in Royal Tenenbaums). Darjeeling was written by Anderson, Schwartzman, and burgeoning director Roman Coppola. I long for Wilson to help in the writing again as he did with the first three films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and Tenenbaums).

As with all Anderson films, this one will also require a second viewing to search for all the subtleties that typically abound in his movies. I will say it's not his strongest film, but it certainly will hold up over time. I'm not sure Brody fits in as a castmember of an Anderson film, but we'll see next time (since he typically uses many of the same actors). Scenes occasionally drag on like there is an improvisation gone boring or the actors are struggling to remember their lines in a timely manner.

Therefore, after one viewing, I'll give it 3 (of 5) stars with a caveat emptor. In English, know what you're getting into when stepping up to the box office.

On Tuesday, I believe I will be going to see a sneak preview of Lars and the Real Girl starring Ryan Gosling. After his fantastic performance as an inner-city teacher in Half-Nelson, I'm thrilled to see this.

Gregg Allman and Friends

2007-10-18T09:25:00.001-05:00

So last night Gregg Allman played in New Orleans. Figuring I may have a way in, I gave my friends from the Allman Brothers crew a call inquiring about tickets. Sure enough, these guys pulled some strings and got two backstage passes for me and my lady. There are a lot of tough road crews out there and while the Allman Bros. put on a great show every night with a tight road crew, they are still the nicest guys I've run across.

The show was really good. It's interesting to see Allman to take the lead since Warren Haynes is definitely the band leader for the Bros. He was up playing guitar, talking to the crowd, calling out different songs to play, etc. And, as a special treat for me, they even played "Dreams."

I felt a little bad before the show when some tapers were ejected from the venue even after pleading their case ("hey man, the Allman Brothers allow tapers, go ask Gregg") which fell short of the official House of Blues policy and the wishes of tour manager Vid Sutherland in small venues like that.

All in all, good experience. I must say I was happy to see a few familiar faces last night and can only hope I'll have the opportunity to go out on the road with them again.

New Orleans Film Fest

2007-10-15T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight I attended a film at the 18th annual New Orleans Film Fest. Though I do like film fests very much, I must confess that this was the first time I had been much less even heard of the fest. For shame. The fest goes on from the 11th-18th of this month at three different theaters around the city. Check out the website for locations, showtimes, and movie description.

Tonight I saw King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, a thrilling documentary about the conquest for world domination via the official high score on the original Donkey Kong arcade game (think Mario, the Princess, rolling barrels, elevators, fireballs, etc.).

It stars 35-year-old Steve Wiebe, a science teacher from Redmond, WA, who was on a quest to beat the world high score in an effort to accomplish something definitively meaningful in his life. Before then, his life had been a story of near-championships, near-promotions, near-successes. As an avid athlete, musician, and fill in the blank hopeful, he found solace sitting in his garage on a barstool in front of the soft glow from the screen of this 1981 Nintendo classic.

Enter Billy Mitchell: reigning world champion from his original competition in 1982. He holds (held) numerous world gaming records and is a self-proclaimed perfect man in everything he does. The movie goes on to show tears of defeat, tears of victory, a bunch of gaming nerds, a hilarious helmet-like mullet, and one very courageous Steve Wiebe.

This is definitely a film any independent movie fan should see. So get your NetFlix queues ready, people. Also, stay posted on the NOFF website for more films. Go support indie filmmakers.

Royal American - Don't Waste Water

2007-10-15T18:29:00.000-05:00

Last Friday the members of Royal American walked into the store to rent some stuff and generally shoot the breeze. Apparently they're an indie pop band based out of Brooklyn and New Orleans. When they returned the stuff, they dropped off a couple copies of the new EP Don't Waste Water. Today I threw it in not knowing what to expect and it turns out it's really good. They played here at Checkpoint Charlie's on Friday and I wished I had heard this CD last week because I'm betting it was a good show.

Don't expect them to change the world or become blog stars, but if you're in the mood for 6 strong pop songs then check out either the Royal American MySpace page or the official website.

My personal favorite is "Fire One Down." The CD sounds good, the songs are just the right length (something that is incredibly important to pop), and the band members are ridiculously nice guys. Give them a listen. Maybe even buy the EP from iTunes.

Royal American - Fire One Down

Voodoo Fest News!

2007-10-13T00:44:00.000-05:00

Though it's just a rumor, I couldn't help but spread it if only to add a little fuel to the fire.

At a recent event, I overheard Steve Rehage (founder and promoter of Voodoo Fest) say he was working on getting Rage Against the Machine to open their set with "When The Levee Breaks" and bringing in Trent Reznor and Robert Plant to play with them. That would be huge. That would be bigger than huge. If it happens it will be monumental and will create such a huge buzz that Rehage is going to have a very hard time next year booking talent good enough to bring people from all over the country again.

Don't get me wrong, the fact that both RATM and the Smashing Pumpkins are coming this year is amazing but how can that be topped? Zeppelin reunion (WITHOUT JASON BONHAM)? Sabbath? I don't know. Either way, keep your eyes and ears peeled!

Elton John - Friends

2007-10-12T23:11:00.000-05:00

In 1971, writer/director Lewis Gilbert made Friends and, in a moment of what would turn out to be genius, chose Elton John to do the soundtrack. The movie did poorly in theaters both in the US and its native UK while the soundtrack went on to do fairly well. The title track rose to #34 on the Billboard charts and put the names Elton John and, to a lesser extent, Bernie Taupin into the minds of their future adoring American fans.

To my knowledge, this soundtrack has only been available on hard to find vinyl in the US. It had a limited CD release in the UK and is just as rare as the vinyl recording. This week, however, I was lucky enough to lay my hands upon a copy.

It is a typical soundtrack with its dramatic and emotional music and instrumental pieces with moments of dialogue. On a side note, after hearing some of the dialogue it's easy to understand why the film didn't do so well. The album is 10 songs of hit or miss music. When it hits, it's dead on. When it's miss, it's the dialogue-riddled long-winded instrumental pieces (which may be just fine for some). The pleasant exception is the too-short ballad "Seasons Reprise," beautifully constructed around his voice. It reminds me of Rufus Wainwright's fully orchestrated album Want One, which is also fantastic.

Either way, it's interesting to hear the early music of Sir Elton and lyrics of Mr. Taupin. One of my favorite records of all time is the 5-star 1972 masterpiece Honky Chateau so hearing the music that was leading up to his peak is a bit of an adventure. His vocal melodies (especially in the chorus of "Michelle's Song") are actually more similar to the songs he has written in the past 10 or 15 years. "Can I Put You On" and "Honey Roll" are easily the greatest b-sides he has ever recorded and belong alongside their peers on either Tumbleweed Connection or Honky Chateau. It certainly doesn't hurt that the band that made him famous was full constructed at this point (most notably to me Nigel Olsson).

I know this is a rare find, I know it was released some 36 years ago (which is straying far from my normal reviewing period), and I know many of you may think of Elton John as the man wearing funny glasses, singing "Bennie and the Jets," and responsible for the Lion King soundtrack, but his early stuff really is amazing. So, if you can't find Friends anywhere (which is a guarantee), then try to pick up either Honky Chateau or Tumbleweed Connection. Don't do it for me, do it for you.

In Rainbows

2007-10-10T18:26:00.000-05:00

I got home late last night after some birthday celebrations for yours truly and was thrilled to see the download code awaiting in my email inbox. I immediately downloaded the album and listened to a couple of tracks before sleeping. I woke up early this morning to listen again and am listening again now after work.

I can't figure it out. Is it the best album or the second worst (the worst obviously being Pablo Honey...what an embarrassment that was)? I'm really having a hard time figuring it out. I love (like everyone else) The Bends, OK Computer, and Kid A but thought Hail to the Thief was boring. Thom Yorke's Eraser was fantastic but he hired long time Radiohead and Beck producer Nigel Godrich to help him shape the record. According to some reports, there would be no album without Godrich's songwriting, producing, arranging, etc.

Having said that, it's obvious that Radiohead as a band was strongly influenced by The Eraser and perhaps used a similar method while recording In Rainbows. They are fairly similar albeit less electronic. Either way, they drift in and out of a heady psychedelic rock and into their normal could-be soundtrack music. It's very eclectic and different. There was much speculation as to which album it would sound like and the answer is none of them. It has elements of many of them and I think it will only grow stronger with each listen. Kudos Thom and co.

The only thing wrong with it, of course, is its availability and packaging (or rather its lack thereof). I'm upset I can't get a hard copy or a VBR version (it's DRM-free 160kbps). But in early 2008 that's rumored to change.

Verdict: Buy a hard copy in 2008 but download it now from inrainbows.com

Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

2007-10-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

For starters let me begin by saying that I love the first Band of Horses record. I love it. When I first got it I was really into My Morning Jacket so it was right up my alley. However, I found that it took me a while to really get into it. The same seemed to be true for the second one. The reverb is back, as are the almost whiny vocals and the hints of country. New to this record: organ, 50's pop, percussion (hand claps, tambourine, bells, etc).

Cease to Begin starts fabulously with "Is There a Ghost" which is just as good as any track on Everything All The Time (except maybe the blog star "The Funeral" or my two favorites "Weed Party" and "The Great Salt Lake").

From there, the album becomes a little more somber. It is not as energetic as the first one and may take a couple of listens to get into. On the first listen "No One's Gonna Love You" really caught my ear as well as the playful Beach Boys-esque "General Specific." I have found that I like the album very much. Every song has a little something to it that makes it memorable. However, in true BOH fashion, the vocal melodies don't exactly stick the first time through.

Are the songs better? Maybe. Maybe not. Is the album more consistent and better themed? Definitely. The loss of one of the founding members during the songwriting and early recording sessions may have at first seemed disastrous, but I like the way it turned out. Now a trio, Band of Horses is out touring in support of their new album.

The final verdict: big BOH fans will really like it, moderate BOH fans will appreciate it as background music. I bought a hard copy. Maybe you should too.

Radiohead!!

2007-10-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

So it seems that Radiohead has finished their newest album. They announced just yesterday that the album was complete and that they were releasing it in...10 days. 10 days?! How? They are releasing it themselves online via their website.

There are two ways to score the upcoming record. One: buy the massive box set that will arrive to your doorstep for a mere $81 (shipped on or before Dec 3, 2007). It will include the two-disc CD, two heavy vinyl records, a lyric and artwork booklet, and a book of photography/artwork all wrapped up in a collector's box. Two: download the record straight from website. Cost? However much you want. £1 or $100. Apparently they intend on releasing a hard copy available in stores everywhere sometime in 2008 but haven't announced the label or distributor. Anyone running a label would be fool not to take a few less percentage points on the deal.

Many websites are claiming that this will completely revolutionize the model but I must disagree. Not many bands could pull this type of distribution off. Radiohead can, Tool could, Dave Matthews Band might be able to, along with Wilco, Bright Eyes, and Beck, but very few bands could. You have to consider the demographic of these bands: superfans. Only blog-savvy fans that are ravenous for new music will be aware of such a promotion. Radiohead will certainly be able to reach gold status using this method because they have such loyal fans, but changing the industry? I don't think so.

The people this is really hurting are the advertisers, non-technological people, and mom and pop stores. While I appreciate the whole marketing concept and 100% support mom and pop stores, this won't kill either one of them.

I applaud Yorke and company for having the cojones to pull such a stunt and am perched on the edge of my seat for the new record (praying it is better than Hail to the Thief). Stay tuned to Pitchfork and the Radiohead website in the coming week and make sure you buy (or just download for free straight from the website) the album on October 10th!

Finding Forever today.

2007-09-19T00:07:00.000-05:00

Once again, Common has released a great album. Finding Forever came out in July under my radar and I have only now come to really dig into it. It's a great album full of intelligent lyrics, thoughtful samples, and catchy hooks. Also, he finally got the credit he deserved by debuting at number one on the Billboard 200.

I first came under Common's spell on the De La Soul record Stakes is High and have tried to keep up as best I could. His 2005 record Be was the pinnacle of his career. It was a soul/R&B record that deserved record of the year for its socially conscious lyrics, its fantastic hooks, and its surprisingly widespread appeal. His new record is more in the hip-hop vein, which is fine, but I was really hoping for a Be sequel to be honest. This one is more like his previous records (Electric Circus, Like Water for Chocolate but without a pop masterpiece like "Come Close" from EC). The lyrics are less socially conscious and more appealing to a larger crowd. What I mean by a more widespread appeal is the references buried in them.

For example, he makes reference to, among others: Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn's relationship, astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak's very publicized breakdown, and Dreamworks Pictures near-masterpiece Finding Nemo. While my generation may now get a kick out of reminiscing about these events today, where does that put these lyrics in 10 years? Will those in kindergarten today know who Nowak is or remember that Aniston and Vaughn had a short-lived relationship following their $100+ million film The Break Up? I hope not.

His music is always catchy and very well constructed. His tracks could easily stand alone, thanks again to Kanye West (producer of Be as well), which reminds me of some of my favorite other hip-hop groups. His lyrics are memorable enough to sing along (for the most part) but I can't get over the fleeting nature of his pop references. Tracks to check out: "The People," "Forever Begins (featuring the easily recognizable drum track from Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover")," "Break My Heart." Either way, I'll still give it...

Rating: Buy it.

Just another week at One Eyed Jacks.

2007-09-16T12:34:00.001-05:00

In recent months, One Eyed Jacks has become one of my favorite venues in town. This week along I saw two great shows. They always offer great music that no one else in the city seems to attract.

Heartless Bastards
On Wednesday I saw the Cincinnati trio rock for the second time. The first time I saw them (also at One Eyed Jacks) I was absolutely blown away by how tight they were, how great they sounded, and how shy but simultaneously powerful lead singer Erika Wennerstrom was. This show was much of the same. There were many many more people in the crowd this time which was great to see, and Erika had a little bit of a buzz on.

Ok, that's stretching the truth. She sat at the bar during the entire opening band (Pearlene, also from Cincinnati and pretty good) and by the time she got on stage she was allegedly "very drunk, but hey, ain't New Orleans the place to be drunk? wooooo!" Surprisingly, she still put on a great show, albeit dropping picks, stopping songs because she's out of tune, etc.

They played a new song which was very mellow. This is a little worrisome to me. Listening to the first and then second album, it's obvious that they did a lot of songwriting and innovating between albums. However, I hope that doesn't mean that they will continue to mellow out. Songs like "Brazen" and "Into The Open" are fantastic and some of my favorite. Either way, good show.

The Comas
The Comas opened for the Meat Puppets. The only reason I mention them is their stage antics. They weren't great. They weren't unlistenable, but it was few and far between those in the crowd that were really paying attention much less getting into it. They played sloppily, they ignored the crowd, it was just not a well run show. Before the second to last song the singer decided to announce to the crowd that we sucked and we're nothing but dead weight that was pissing him off. Forget those guys. Avoid the Comas. That's what happens when you take a regional at best band out of their region.

The Meat Puppets
Great great great show. Both Kirkwood brothers were present and they were both obviously having a good time. They went all over the place: punk, country, psychedelic rock, and everywhere in between. I was never able to see the Minutemen or fIREHOSE so it was awesome to see the Meat Puppets, who typically fall between these two bands and bands like Sonic Youth and The Pixies. The crowd was interesting. It was full of hipsters, older guys, frat guys, young guys, and hippies. I can explain most of them, but I don't understand the frat guys. Either way, I have now seen the Meat Puppets. Great show.

Galactic - From the Corner to the Block

2007-09-10T23:52:00.000-05:00

I first fell in love with Galactic in 8th grade on the way to summer camp. Their debut album, Coolin' Off, is awesome. I didn't know it then, but I know now that it is an homage to the original funksters, The Meters. Either way, it's a totally decent funk R&B record and I still give it a spin once in a while. I further fell in love with Galactic drummer Stanton Moore with the release of his first solo album All Kooked Out! when it was released. I was just getting into the New Orleans style of drumming and it is an amazing record. The fact that the basslines were played by tuba and renowned weirdo Skerik played his fool head off on the album certainly helped.

Having worked in a local music store (instruments, not CDs) for a couple of years now, I've seen all sorts of New Orleans musicians flow in and out. From George Porter and Mem Shannon, both of whom appear weekly, to Ani Difranco and some of the Neville Brothers (a more rare occurance), they all stop by.

More recently, I've met Stanton Moore and some of the other members of Galactic. For the most part, I will say that they are humble..for the most part. The album they released in 2003, Ruckus, was the first thing that made me scratch my head. There were loops, beats, and other generally confusing things on the record. It was the first time I was let down by a Galactic album.

The most recent one, From the Corner to the Block, is another one of these Galactic albums that involves a kind of general confusion on the theme of the record. It's premise is Galactic funk under MCs laying down their respective gifts of gab. Being such a huge fan of Tribe Called Quest and Jurassic 5, I figured I would dig the New Orleans rhythms under the eloquent stylings of many a guest rapper, but how wrong I was. First of all, the funk is lacking. The syncopations are not what they should be, the melodies are lacking, and the rapping, while perhaps strong otherwise, gets lost over the music. Why they decided to innovate instead of seeking out their roots I'll never know. This is the first time I can safely say that not even their usually killer live shows can save this one.

Rating: Skip it.

Last Light

2007-09-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

Matt Pond PA: Hardest working band in indie pop show business? Once again, Matt Pond and co. has released a totally decent album both my mother and I can enjoy. He has, year in and year out, put out good pop records that he can be proud of. These same records have, year in and year out, failed to wow any A&R executive. I've seen them live once and was actually pretty impressed. It was the first time I had even heard of them and I found myself wishing I was able to sing along with the rest of the rather moderate crowd.

With each album put out, I find I am torn between buying another copy for my Mom (who likes pretty decent music, to her credit) or telling my friends that this could be the one for the band. The latest offering, Last Light, offers more of the same sing-a-long mom pop we've come to expect and even wait for. He's found his niche and he's sticking to it. The David Bowies and Becks of the industry are more than welcome to adapt and evolve to their liking, Matt Pond has found his style.

This offering is a little more solid and reminiscent of Several Arrows Later (2005, Altitude Records) which has been my favorite album until this point. This is the album that college coeds will share on their various P2P programs promising a perfect pre-class and/or pre-game record. Long live Mr. Pond.

Rating: Burn/Buy it.

Want to grow up to be, be a debaser!

2007-09-05T21:02:00.000-05:00

Having returned from the tour, I'm not quite sure what to write about in these blogs. The only music news I've heard recently is that Frank Black has disappeared. Black Francis has returned. That is correct Pixies fans: the arguably most influential band (with Sonic Youth) to the grunge era's singer's alter-ego has resurfaced. What does this mean?

Most probably, it means that the albums he put out under the Frank Black name (self-title, the near perfect Teenager of the Year, all the Catholics releases, etc) are officially shelved and the music he wrote on the records we know and love (Doolittle, Trompe Le Monde, Surfer Rosa, etc) is back! Upon first listen, the first track is exciting and really moving. It's exactly what I expect out of the lovely Charles K. Thompson.

However, I'm disappointed to say that the melodies that the Pixies records were so thick with seem surprisingly absent. There's not as much to sing along with even though the vocals are more Pixies and less Frank Black. Hearing this album, I'm ok with the Pixies not releasing a new record yet. I want their upcoming record to be the ultimate resurgence of teen angst and grunge and power pop and all the thing I love about them. The recent Dinosaur Jr. record was pretty good, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the hell out of it. I recommend this record to all of you superfans, those of you who love later Pixies and later Catholic stuff.

That's not to say it doesn't have the potential to be great. I said myself I've only given it one good listen. I was just too excited about it to wait and absorb it before posting about it.

Rating: Borrow and burn

End of the Roadie

2007-09-02T15:33:00.000-05:00

I have officially reached the end of my roadie days. I had a great time but it sure is nice to be back in New Orleans in my own bed driving my own car and having my own fridge. I made some friends that I will hopefully run into again soon. The last show I recorded was a pretty good one. Scoop up a copy at the Hittin' the Note website or download it at ABBlive.com. They played neither of the songs I wanted to hear nor "Gambler's Roll" which would have been so appropriate for a casino show, but oh well.

After the show in Council Bluffs, IA, I caught a flight out of Omaha and back to New Orleans. Neither the Omaha nor the Houston airports have free or even cheap wireless so I was instead reduced to doing something more useful with my time anyway: reading. I picked up a book called The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times journalist Thomas L. Friedman.

It is an LP, if you will, of an essay about a increasingly shrinking world. In it, he argues that the world, with its outsourcing, offshoring, multinational corporations, and ever increasing numbers of knowledge centers is getting smaller. Our cultures are slowly merging and as more and more countries advance, it forces the world leader, America, to innovate at an astounding rate. Really interesting read.

In other news, the Gregg Allman Band is coming to New Orleans in October and I've been asked to at least stop by and visit my new found friends in the roadie world, which is fairly exciting. Also, tons of great music is coming to New Orleans in the next two months.

9/12 Heartless Bastards at One Eyed Jacks
9/15 The Meat Puppets (with both brothers!) at One Eyed Jacks
9/16 Indigo Girls at Tipitina's
9/18 Arctic Monkeys at House of Blues
9/20 Biz Markie and the Roots at House of Blues
9/21 Henry Rollins at House of Blues
9/23 Interpol at House of Blues
9/30 Turbonegro at One Eyed Jacks
10/4 Rilo Kiley at The Republic
10/5 George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at House of Blues
10/10 Blitzen Trapper at The Parish
10/17 Gregg Allman Band at House of Blues
10/25 The Hives at One Eyed Jacks

And that doesn't include Voodoo Fest, which I will cover in full at a later date.

The Great State of Iowa

2007-08-30T19:20:00.000-05:00

Dave Thomas: philanthropist, restaurateur, orphan, and a passionate hater of Iowa. Today I woke up at a rest stop somewhere East of Des Moines. After a few minutes on the road, it was decided that Wendy's and Wendy's alone would satisfy our appetites. McDonalds? No thanks, Morgan Spurlock. Burger King? Not after that child molester in the King mask made all those commercials. Taco Bell? Yeah right...we need to make good time without stopping every 30 minutes. Therefore it must be the delicious 5 piece chicken nuggets, the original Frosty (I don't know what this new vanilla flavor is), and the square burgers. That's right, square burgers. While other fast food places may cut corners on their meat, Wendy's is committed to giving you the beef, the whole beef, and nothing but the beef.

However, every exit came and went without a single Wendy's advertised. Over 100 miles we traveled, our bellies begging for respite, before we happened upon Des Moines. It was there we saw the one and only Wendy's since leaving Illinois.

Now, why do you think there is a noticeable absence of this land's favorite fast food chain (in this case, good food quickly instead of reheated cardboard)? I have two theories, as usual.

1) Dave Thomas hates Iowa. He never warmed up to corn in his adult years after his foster parents were never able to afford it, instead propagandizing him with anti-corn sentiment. The soft, rolling hills slowly waving back and forth with the stalks made him nauseous. He suffered from motion sickness as an adolescent and he couldn't have any of his restaurants in any city in which he could not stand still without vomiting.

2) Small business owners in Iowa are terrified of Wendy's. They know as sure as the rapture in this Bible belt extension that Wendy's will knock the socks off any other in and out eatery. They have prayed and meditated over the issue. The answer, of course, is bribes. They have been putting members of the Chamber of Commerce into homes well beyond their means for years. Every additional bedroom, every 10 additional horsepower, every additional Italian cut suit these men have, the fewer and fewer commercial lots available for Wendy's.

The zoning committees will give in. They will. Burger King just ain't that good. Get ready Iowans. Dave Thomas has passed on and his minions will prevail.

Hawaiian Shirt Tuesday

2007-08-29T00:04:00.000-05:00

Once again, it's Hawaiian Shirt Tuesday. Once again, I am without this dubious attire. Not to be left out again, I was treated to something special: a cheap Hawaiian lei. I was literally forced to wear it all night even though I was in the dark in deep stage left. Without it, I'm told, I'm nothing but a stage hand with special privileges. It's just a shame cameras are not allowed on stage, otherwise my adoring public would be graced with a photo of yours truly in full lei get up.

In other news, my hard work seems to be paying off. At the end of every night, I dutifully help load the trucks even though I'm not really supposed to. While they still don't call me by name Christian name, they know it. Instead, they refer to me by my MunckMusic given name: Opie. Either way, the crew seems to accept me now. Not as one their own, mind you, but instead as a semi-integral part of the show.

With only one show left (with most of the crew), it's about time. It's been a great trip so far and it can only end with favor. Thanks to the great folks of the Allman Brothers organization.

Iron & Wine - The Shepard's Dog

2007-08-27T22:43:00.000-05:00

The newest offering from Sam Beam out September 25th on Sub Pop is going to surprise long time fans and win over new ones. The songs on this album are more orchestrated, more diverse, and more fun. His vocal stylings have hints once again of Elliot Smith's drawl and some of the longing made famous by Red House Painters and Sun Kill Moon singer Mark Kozelek. Most of the people familiar with Iron & Wine know the group for its inclusion in the Garden State soundtrack with his cover of Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" but I'm hoping that The Shepard's Dog will expand his fame and notoriety.

The first track "Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" begins with a picked guitar, some sloppy (and wonderfully so) drums, and a choir of Sam Beam. The way it begins lends itself to morph into a track with over driven guitar and pounding drums. However, it never really picks up, but it's the type of track you never want to. It's great. My other favorite track is "The Devil Never Sleeps." The tenth track of the nearly 50 minute album is an early Elton John song through and through. Other tracks to check out: White Tooth Man, House by the Sea.

Rating: Get a hard copy.

(Disclaimer: my rating system is as follows: skip it, listen, borrow and burn, buy it, get a hard copy)

Minnesota

2007-08-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

Our day's travels have placed us in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have already heard the phrase "don't ya know" and have only just reached the hotel. I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. Along the road from Milwaukee today, I drifted in and out of consciousness. Every time I was awake, there was the local classic rock station coming in over the speakers in the bus. It made me realize something.

Middle America loves classic rock. Middle America's classic rock DJ's are feeding their listeners with more music than they can seemingly handle. Thankfully, it's all music they've heard before. They have heard each and every song hundreds of times. Each DJ, whether we are in Newark, NJ or on the University of Minnesota campus in the outskirts of Minneapolis tends to love the same songs. They play Bad Company, Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynard (especially "Simple Man" and "Free Bird"), the Steve Miller Band, the Eagles, and Journey.
This is a crime. It is the equivalent of taxation without representation. These listeners have no choice in cheap entertainment on the way home from work. They are forced to hear the same 200 songs over and over. This sort of thing is the reason this great country declared independence in the first place, right? Once upon a time, I thought the yearly premium for satellite radio was too expensive to catch on. Now, I'm literally jumping at bit to enroll for my next long road trip if I hear one more hour's worth of music featuring "Jamie's Got a Gun," "Don't Stop Believing," and "Hotel California."

Tomorrow the Allman Brothers are playing the grandstand at the Minnesota State Fair. It almost makes me want to seek out a Blockbuster so I can rent a copy of That Thing You Do! to prepare. I bet the fairgrounds will be full of idiots humming Foreigner and Styx songs under their breath. I can only hope that the enthused weight guessers on the main strip can drown out their misquoted lyrics.

Sick...

2007-08-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

I'm officially sick on tour. At Bonnaroo in June, I laughed in the face of a sinus infection claiming invincibility. Now when I'm expected to work and work hard until midnight (which is when it is normally at its worst), disaster has struck. I hate sinus infections and will give anyone who helps me $1500 to rip my sinuses out. In addition, I arrived a full 5 hours late to the venue which means I'm in the worst spot without room for all my cases. Today is about a 1 on the wow scale.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

2007-08-24T23:04:00.000-05:00

I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the delicacy known as an Arnold Palmer but I assure you that it is one worth knowing. To create the delicious mixture, take 45% sweet tea (only moderately sweet tea), 45% lemonade, 10% ginger ale, and 10% love. I guarantee you will not believe your taste buds. Upon arriving at a venue I embark on a nearly religious journey for these ingredients. Today, bless my lucky stars, I was honored with three of the four ingredients—I had to supply the love myself (it’s all in the mixing). Therefore, I insist that you run, don’t walk, to the nearest grocery store to pick up these beverages. If you’re feeling short on love stop into the Hallmark Greeting Card aisle and write a love letter to yourself. It’s not narcissistic if it’s all true, right?

Tonight was the first night of the tour with Robert Randolph. What a showman. His band puts on a terrific show while giving him plenty of room to work his pedal steel all night. I'm not sure I'm love with his studio albums, but his collaboration with the North Mississippi All-Stars and John Medeski in the instrumental gospel jam album under the name The Word. I implore everyone I know to pick this up. It is one of my "must have" albums.

Tonight’s Allman Brothers set was the first 2 ½ hour set I have experienced. It went by very quickly most likely because I was able to sit for this show. Standing hunched over the board for 2 hours is not an entirely good time, as you may imagine. I’m looking forward to tomorrow night.

Tonight’s set list:

Midnight Rider
Trouble No More
Firing Line
School Girl
Wasted Words (one of my personal favorites)
Statesboro Blues
Desdemona
Into the Mystic
No One to Run With
Melissa
Same Thing
JaBuMa
Jessica

Encore:
Love Light with Robert Randolph
One Way Out with Robert Randolph

Clarkston, MI

2007-08-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

Today my station has moved from Stage Left to Stage Right. Tonight I bond with the light crew. The light guys are the stage equivalent of Delta House. They work hard, they play hard. My sides hurt already from laughing. They seem utterly obsessed with Borat and fitting his voice and accent into most sentences. Brian Farmer (Warren's guitar tech you might remember) enjoys the company of these guys too and loves to interject with his Cartman impressions. Though, to be honest, it's less Cartman and more Anne Ramsey in her Academy Award nominated performance in Throw Momma From the Train. Tonight I am also blessed with a new opening band: Robert Randolph & the Family Band. I'm very excited to see this spectacle again.

This morning during my hitched ride on the crew busses (which are extremely, extremely nice by the way) I learned something odd. It seems that 60 year-old Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks is hopelessly obsessed with the World of Warcraft. Two years ago, he had no email address, no computer, and no clue. Last night his computer crashed at midnight and he made an emergency call the production manager needing a computer tech to get him up and running again by this afternoon so he can continue his quest through the magical land of Warcraft. Mr. Trucks has a fever. Apparently the only prescription is to level up. I wonder if he takes offense to the charmingly satirical South Park episode addressing WoW as it's called by players.

Moving on, it is currently 83 just north of Detroit. In New Orleans, the heat index is hovering somewhere around 103. Suckers.

Michigan

2007-08-23T23:35:00.000-05:00

I have officially arrived in Michigan. The ride today was extremely long but was met with a much needed hotel bar at the end...the first of the tour. Last night's show was a great set though I believe the limiter was set a little too hot (not that the previous sentence will make much sense to most of you). I would highly recommend getting last night's show--especially those of you who are either Ratdog or Allman Bros. historians. The set list was killer and most of Ratdog sat in with the Brothers for a wonderful rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" (a cover of the Hendrix version). Sadly, it was the first thing I have seen Ratdog do that I actually enjoyed. They ended the show last night with yet another awful rendition of "Come Together."

Tomorrow, I will be hitching a ride with the crew on their bus to the venue largely because my compadres are lazy and don't want to wake up before noon. I'm not sure how big the venue is but hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised with the Detroit area crowd's appetite for CD's of the show.

On the road today I read one book and started another. I wish I had the foresight to bring more reading material as I have but 150 pages left of my last book. I'll either have to stretch it out with cat naps during my days off or make a stop at a bookstore. I would strongly prefer the latter. While I'm on the subject, I highly suggest those of you looking for some light reading (by light I mean easy to digest in a single sitting, not Dean Koontz crap. I recommend either IV or Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs) to pick up any number of Chuck Klosterman's books. They are broken up into many short essays that he has written over the years and, to be honest, I strive to write like he does.

My favorite part of the tour so far is not the shows (since I have to spend them on pins and needles listening intently to the mix through headphones) but spending time with either the light and sound crew or just shooting the breeze in the bus with my traveling partners Damon and Brad (both at least 12 years my senior). I can always anticipate a smiling face greeting me from the crew in the mornings because that is when I hand out complimentary CD's from the previous night's show.

The smiling faces usually accompany a genuine appreciation for the discs but most always come with some sort of generic nickname for the youngest person on tour. To my fellow MunckMix mates, I am most often Opie or Skippy. On stage, I am Tiger, Sport, Brother/Man or just "Hey you." One day I'll lose my baby face, gain some seniority, and have a real name. Either that or I'll have to start wearing a name tag. Perhaps some flair will help people to remember me.

Set List from last night (Holmdel, NJ)

Les Brers in A Minor
Can't Lose What You Never Had
Statesboro Blues
The Weight
Dreams
Done Somebody Wrong w/ Jr. Mack and Bruce Katz
All Along the Watchtower w/ Ratdog
Jessica
JaBuMa

Encore:
Melissa
Whipping Post

Mother Nature hates the Yankees.

2007-08-22T12:54:00.000-05:00

She does. George Steinbrenner sheds a single tear every time his field crew sprints across Yankee Stadium pulling an oversized blue tarp. Today Mother Nature rained herself upon the seemingly infinite Long Island from sun up to sun down. To use Forrest Gump parlance, it was prime example of “a tiny stinging rain” that drives into your shirt collar and sneaks up your pant legs. Due to the rain, the Hawaiian shirts were seemingly put on hold for drier and warmer attire much to my mounting dismay. As if the rain wasn’t bad enough, it is also about 55 degrees—a solid 50 degrees colder than it was in New Orleans the day before I left. Needless to say, I was cold both in body and spirit.

In addition, my station this evening was way off stage with a solid sheet of tarp blocking my line of sight. Therefore, for those of you that will hear the Jones Beach disc, I apologize if the track markers are off by a few seconds. It’s very hard to guess transitions when you can’t see the band.

Sadly, I was told that this venue was devoid of all the characters I wished for. This is the Long Island crowd: ambitious suburbanites who find acts like the Allman Brothers “smart” and “a great example of solid Americana this country can really get behind if only they would discard newer music made by computers and other devices lacking the soul of a true American like Gregg Allman.” In summation, it’s a good thing I was backstage and not in the crowd this evening. These people would probably abhor my Southern accent, my Boston Red Sox hat (specifically chosen for today though in retrospect it may have been a bad move as the stagehands didn’t pay me much attention except to ridicule my obviously superior headwear), and my desire to stay in the city of New Orleans.

My day did take a turn up when I arrived backstage after dinner. There, like a couple of high school girls milling around before senior prom, were all of the Allman Brothers crew in all their Hawaiian glory. After such a let down this morning, my eyes were met with vividly hellacious polyester and silk shirts draped eloquently over sweatshirts, ponchos, and one bare chest. I was disappointed to see only flowers and leis but thrilled and excited by the colors. O! the colors how they swam, chasing one another across these wearable canvasses. There were no NASCAR shirts, no band shirts, no other vegetation of any kind but it was a feast for my eyes anyway.

The set itself was very good. Great set list and many tracks I haven’t heard yet. Overall, quite a successful night.

Trouble No More
Ain’t Wasting Time No More
Statesboro Blues
Rocking Horse
Gambler’s Roll
Black Hearted Woman
Stone Me
Stand Back
Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad?
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
JaBuMa

Encore:
Don’t Want You No More
Southbound w/ John Hall (of one hit wonder band Orleans with their hit "Still The One" why they invited him to sit in is beyond me...he's now a congressman or something)

My First Day Off

2007-08-20T22:38:00.000-05:00

Today marked my first day off. Some people would consider this a perfect time for a little “R & R” but it has been marked with boredom and procrastination (though certainly not on my part). I awoke at 10 this morning in a parking lot somewhere in New York state and began working on re-mastering the past three shows on a company laptop. A couple of hours later, my companions awoke and decided that it was perhaps time to get on the road seeing as we have a 6 hour drive ahead of us excluding traffic surrounding New York City.

Simple math would put us at our destination around 8pm, right? Wrong. It is now 8:30pm and I write as we speed down the interstate towards the Big Apple. Our estimated time of arrival: midnight. Our departure in earnest was delayed by a stop at Friendly’s, a chain mixed with Denny’s, Cracker Barrel, and Baskin Robbins, and a detailed hands-on lesson in a motorhome’s holding tank unsoiling, as it were. Both experiences were about the same if you catch my drift…

Tomorrow is Tuesday. Tuesdays among the Allman Brothers Band crew means Hawaiian shirt day (so if you want to go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and, uh, jeans). Rumor has it that the uglier the shirt the better. FOH assistant Michael Jackson reputedly got his Hawaiian shirt for $4.99 in a gas station in West Virginia. Therefore, I believe the prized Hawaiian shirt just may have a NASCAR theme. The reason this does not bode well for yours truly is that I do not own a Hawaiian shirt. Even if I did, I would never have found any reason to pack it among the jeans and t-shirts I did choose to bring along. I will apparently be very out of place and may very well receive ridicule tomorrow for it (how ironic).

I’ve spent years of my life distancing myself from this fashion faux pas and now I will be committing one without such an article. How embarrassing, though for whom I’m honestly not sure. If cameras were not viciously banned from the stage at all times, I would sneak as many photos as I could but alas, I will have to rely on the one thousand words instead.

Stay tuned for stories of Long Island, NY. Hopefully it is as funny to a Southern boy as I’ve dreamed. I’m praying for gold chains, slicked back or spiked up hair, muscle tees, huge sunglasses, and tans that would make George Hamilton seem pale. If that doesn’t happen, then I suppose I’ll tell stories of funny shirts from our nation’s youngest state.

O Captain, my Captain.

2007-08-19T23:35:00.001-05:00

Tonight was the night folks. I am officially wearing the skipper hat now. First of all, it was a great show. They finally played Mountain Jam (at least since I've been with the tour) and it was killer. It was so nerve racking knowing that the real time changes I was making would make or break a recording for the 300 CDs we sold tonight (the most so far!). Needless to say, I didn't have a moment's rest during the two-hour set.

Being behind the board, it's so interesting to hear the interactions between guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks. They have such different soloing styles and can mimic one another very well. They trade off bars, entire solos, even single notes. I'll be doing my best to perfect the mix between them during the next show (Tuesday at Jones Beach, Long Island).

If any of you have any interest in getting a hand on CDs that I mixed, feel free to stop by abblive.com and scoop up a copy of a CD from 8-19 through 8-31. Or I suppose those of you that know me well, you can just wait long enough for me to make you a copy (or two or three). I'll definitely be putting together a best of compilation when I get back.

That said, I've got the day off tomorrow. That means sleep, it means a real shower, it means a bed that is not a couch the other 18 hours of the day. I'll be spending it fighting traffic in NYC. Of course, I would rather the traffic of New York than the Walgreens-less and nearly gas station-less town of Pembroke, NY that I experienced today. So drop me a line, leave a comment, give me a call. Goodnight all.

Here's the set-list from Darien Center:
Les Brers
Revival
Statesboro Blues
Midnight Rider
Don't Know Who to Believe
The Sky is Crying
Come and Go Blues
You Don't Love Me
Who's Been Talking
Every Hungry Woman
Mountain Jam

Encore:
One Way Out

Perks and Pitfalls

2007-08-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

On the tour, there are many rules to follow, many rules to break, and benefits for both. One of the great benefits of the tour is catered breakfast, lunch, and dinner on show days. This is not your run of the mill sandwich meat and day old macaroni folks. Friday night the menu consisted of grilled pork chops, orange roughy, Thai curry vegetables and many side dishes.

Breakfast yesterday, I found out was ham and eggs, grits, bagels, crossaints, etc. Of course, I couldn’t find breakfast because it was located outside in a tent at this venue. Inside, I suffered stale donuts and the worst coffee ever made. Lunch was hamburgers, salad, veggies, fruit, chips, sandwiches, cookies, brownies, pretty much everything the body needs to carry on the most in your face classic rock jam show there has ever been.

Some of the pitfalls are being in the way at any point during set up and take down on stage. This can not only be dangerous to your person, but also to your self-esteem. Big Earl (monitor engineer) and Michael Jackson (FOH assistant) will not hesitate to send you off to recording world (basically anything on a stage is “x” world such as guitar world, monitor world, etc) with a tongue lashing over the loudspeakers. You can get around such a dismissal by volunteering to help which is both tiring and fun. The characters you meet, both local and traveling, are always entertaining.

After each show, you have a choice: either chug some Redbull and start driving behind the tour buses and equipment trucks and sleep when you get there (we arrived at the destination at 5:30am yesterday) or crash and wake up at 5am to arrive for the 9am load in every morning. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve only been with the group for 48 hours afterall. There’s plenty more to come.

Quite possibly the biggest pitfall will occur tonight. I am officially behind the wheel as it were in 7 hours. Wish me luck, I'll need it.

And, as promised, last night's set list:

Done Somebody Wrong
Southbound
Ain't Wastin' Time No More
Hot 'Lanta
Woman Across the River
Melissa
Nobody Left to Run With
Dreams
Stoned Me (with Steve Kimock)
Leave My Blues Alone plus JaBuMa
Jessica

Encore:
Don't Want You No More
One Way Out

Tour Stops

2007-08-19T00:50:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

Just finished the second show. This one certainly ran much more smoothly though I may not have been as happy with the mix. Tomorrow I will be in charge of the mix the whole way through and I've got ideas boys and girls. Ideas. Warren Haynes (who is in charge of approving the mix) will not believe his ears come Monday. Anyway, it's 2am and we're just wrapping up before driving 6 or 7 hours to Buffalo, NY.

I figured someone would be interested in knowing where I'm going on this thing. Here's the stops:

Camden, NJ (Philly)
Bushkill, PA (middle of nowhere)
Darien Center, NY (Buffalo)
Wantagh, NY (Long Island)
Holmdel, NJ (more Garden State)
Clarkston, MI (between Flint and Detroit)
Petoskey, MI (upper "mitten")
Milwaukee, WI
St. Paul, MN
Chicago, IL
Council Bluffs, IA (Omaha)

On the tour...

2007-08-18T13:14:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Bushkill, PA--home of no cell phone service...period. The tour has officially begun. Last night was the first show and went pretty smoothly. I arrived in rainy Philadelphia yesterday afternoon and took the slowest cab ride ever over the Ben Franklin Bridge to smoggy New Jersey, more facetiously known as the Garden State.

Upon arriving backstage, I realized that the road crew traveling with Allman Brothers Band is nothing but a bunch of big kids playing with some extremely expensive toys. Those of you who are familiar with Gov't Mule as well as the Allman Bros may know of Brian Farmer. He is Warren Haynes' look-a-like/guitar tech. This stout bearded man is the epitome of someone completely in love with his job.

After watching a little bit of Keller Williams and eating the fabulous catered dinner, it was time to head backstage to prepare for recording. Unfortunately, this meant sitting through the insufferable Bob Weir and Ratdog for nearly two hours. How these guys sells records and concert tickets is beyond me. I just don't understand.

Finally, they wrapped up their less than stellar set with a horrible cover of the Beatles' "Come Together" and it was time for the main attraction. The Allman Bros started strong and ended stronger. One of the best parts of my job is listening to the headphones and hearing the interactions between songs on stage. Even in the thick of it, everyone on stage is joking around, having a great time.

The recording was going very well up until the encore and disaster struck: the CD burner decided it no longer wanted to record. So, after a panicked rearrangement of hard drives, computers, and headphones, we had to remaster the second half of the show on the fly...in less than 10 minutes. All in all, the 225 customers that preordered CDs before the show had the discs in hand within 45 minutes of the last note. All's well that ends well I guess.

The perks of the tour are fantastic, but I will get into that later on along with the unfortunate bus ride times and conditions (though there has only been one thus far). I will do my best to post set lists for every show:

Don't Want You No More / Ain't My Cross to Bear
Statesboro Blues
Midnight Rider
The Weight
Black-Hearted Woman
Dreams
Franklin's Tour feat. Bob Weir
Into The Mystic
Don't Keep Me Wondering
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
JaBuMa (Drum solo named for Jaimoe, Butch, and Mark)

Encore:
Whipping Post

Until next time...

The rumors are true!

2007-08-13T19:48:00.000-05:00

I spoke personally with John Fischbach, head engineer and manager of local New Orleans studio Piety Street and he confirmed the upcoming project: OK Go!'s Damian Kulash and My Morning Jacket's Jim James are coming to New Orleans to each work with Bonerama. Why is this important? Because I love My Morning Jacket and I love Bonerama (sorry to the members of OK Go!).

For those who have never seen or even heard of them, Bonerama consists of four trombones, a tuba, guitar, and an amazing drummer (currently). They flow seamlessly from straight ahead New Orleans funk to classic rock. For those not into the whole RealMedia thing, please check out their MySpace for music samples here: Bonerama Myspace and definitely give Bap Bap and the Ocean a listen. If you ever have a chance, go see them live. You won't regret it.

"How did this all come about?" you may be wondering. Well a few months ago the New Orleans non-profit Sweet Home New Orleans (please consider donating as they are really doing the city well) threw a shindig called Musicians Bringing Musicians Home. It featured major artists playing at world famous Tipitina's to raise money for SHNO so that they could, in turn, pass it along to the musicians needing a hand in getting back into the city and playing the music that makes it famous.

Among these artists were headliners Indigo Girls, Jim James, Damian Kulash, Bonerama, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, and a few others. It was a great night and as far as excitement goes, Bonerama stole the show. James and Kulash were apparently both blown away.

I'm assuming both these artists will be doing something for an upcoming solo record, but that remains to be seen. I'll certainly keep everyone posted.

New Music

2007-08-11T21:15:00.000-05:00

Recently I've been even more ravenous for new music than normal. I have scoured the popular indie blogs (Pitchfork, My Old KY Blog, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan), read reviews in all the music magazines [Rolling Stone (don't bother), Spin (buy one in an airport), Paste (get a subscription at your earliest convenience)], and most disappointingly, in local alternative weeklies (Where Y'at, Offbeat, Gambit Weekly).

Doing so, I've found lots of new (and not so new) music. I wanted to share some of it with you folk. These artists range from the ordinary to the extraordinary, solo to orchestral, crooned to screamed. Check out a couple of them and let me know what you think. In the coming weeks I'll be doing in depth reviews of the newer albums (and some that are less well known).

Sanders Bohlke - Solo artist hailing from Oxford, MS. His first and only album (released 2005 on Ampere Records) features soulful songs for a rainy day. His voice carries the album and complements his minimalist accompaniment extremely well. The production is good on the album with the sounds of the Mississippi Hill Country throughout though it is mastered rather poorly and with very little dynamic range. Either way, I love it and my friends are tired of hearing me trying to evangelize about him. It touches on Christian values but I wouldn't call it Christian music. Great for fans of Damien Rice, Elliot Smith, and New Orleans' own Blair Gimma.

Jason Reischel - Another solo artist from NYC. His lyrics range from heartache to new love and are usually interesting though not always exactly educational. I first saw him in a small Irish pub in Jackson, MS and liked his live show very much. I recently got his album Brown Bridge & Green Bridge and am happy with the first half. The second half may take a second or third listen. Good for fans of acoustic folk rock pop.

St. Vincent - The brainchild of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark, Dallas TX's St. Vincent is fantastic. The first album, Marry Me, was released on July 10th and it is a fantastic female driven pop album. Clark handles guitar, programming, keyboards, bass, percussion, nearly everything you hear. She handled lead guitar duties for both the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens before striking out on her own. It's a great road trip and early morning needing a pick me up CD. A little like Regina Spektor's new record but without the playful lyrics. Check out her track "Jesus Saves, I Spend."

Soon I will be posting a full review on the newest Iron & Wine record (due out next month). For fans of Sam Beam, be very excited. For those who are only familiar with his fantastic rendition of Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" from the Garden State soundtrack, prepare to have a new favorite CD.

Jazz Fest Live

2007-08-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

I guess it my be helpful to explain how such a wonderful opportunity came about.

During my time at Loyola New Orleans, a professor approached me with a volunteer opportunity that was right up my alley: recording shows at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival with a company out of metro Chicago: MunckMusic (dba Jazz Fest Live!). It entailed sitting side stage and recording tracks from the monitor board of artists that agreed to the terms associated with the recording.

From there, the recordings would be ushered to the mixing trailer where one of a diligently working group of staff members would mix feverishly in order to get those CDs to shelves the day.

Basically, festival attendees would be able to purchase CDs of shows they saw the day before. It worked fabulously well and I ended up working with the company each spring for the past three years.

At first I was but a worker ant, sitting in the sun behind the musicians making sure the recordings went smoothly, but this spring I moved into the mixing trailer. Apparently, the gentlemen from MunckMusic saw something in me during these sessions and led to the upcoming Allman Brothers stint.

Among some of the shows I've recording the past three years:
Ani Difranco
The Meters x2
New Orleans Social Club Cowboy Mouth
Papa Grows Funk
Rebirth Brass Band
Warren Haynes
The Radiators
Hot 8 Brass Band
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk
Neville Brothers
Little Feat
Henry Butler

It's been wild. If the boys from Chicago come back this year (which I'm sure they will) I'll get to do it all again.

Welcome!

2007-08-07T00:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my first blog. I'm starting this thing up for my friends and family to follow my journey more closely when it begins.
As many have heard, I've been extended the opportunity to travel with the Allman Brothers Band on tour for a few weeks (Aug 17-30th) later this month. I, of course, jumped on the chance and am now looking forward to departure for smoggy New Jersey (my first stop).
While trying to avoid the strictly technical terms, I'll, in essence, be sitting side stage for 10 shows whilst recording and mixing live. The end result will be CDs of the concert available for purchase about 15 minutes after the last note rings out. It will be hectic, it will be stressful, it will be a hell of a lot of fun.
I'll be traversing across the Northeast and into the Midwest in a 31' motorhome (piloted occasionally by yours truly) getting little sleep and even fewer showers. All this is made possible by the production company MunckMix out of the greater Chicago area.
If you will be in the areas of any of the shows on tour, feel free to give me a call. If I have time, I'd love to see you folks. There's more news to follow counting down to the big day (August 17th) so stay tuned.