Last gigs at the end of a busy tour can be a toss-up sometimes. The conventional thinking is that we’ve been on the road playing night after night primed up and firing on all cylinders and taking musical chances with the music evolving. On some levels it feels like we’ve acquired this new innate ability to perform just that much better from the short time we’ve been out. For the most part that really does happen and we do have those nights where things really click and spark. I’m hoping that happens for us every night. We’re human though and things influence us on a daily basis that keeping on the ever upward trajectory is not as easy as your brain will try to tell you it is. At least not for me. It’s the ‘H’ factor; the ‘Human’ factor. Why did I decided to embark on a career that gives me such extremes in emotional outcomes? I experience utter frustration and unimaginable sublimity in the course of a few hours. This is a wide swing of the mental pendulum. No wonder I feel crazy sometimes. Like an addict still on the prowl chasing the dragon it’s those few moments of bliss that helps me to forget the depressing lows I go through. I know it sounds unhealthy but like anything you love you find a way to manage it and you try to put perspective into the self-analyzing of your emotional peaks and valleys. A kind of coping mechanism. After all, there’s more in the day than just playing.

Arriving at the studios where Don and his largely volunteer crew tape the many bands performances, we settle in because as it turns out we still have a lengthy drive after this engagement in an effort to knock out a chunk of our travel day tomorrow. In a perfect world we’d be playing our first and last gig on a tour within a few hours of where we live but due to my current stature in the biz and market forces at work I am not afforded that luxury on a consistent basis. Preparation is already underway with the sound man going through the channels and EQ’ing the room. We set up and allow them to get the drum booth set up. This clear plastic enclosure that is handled with disposable surgical gloves so there are no smudges or scratches laid upon the sound barrier that would show up on camera. I really like this set-up here. It’s a small room that the taping is done in and for the limited audience that is allowed to attend they have put an arrangement of folding chairs in front of us in a straight-forward fashion. Art Tipaldi, publisher and editor of Blues Music magazine is our host and MC. I do a short interview with him in a separate room and then it’s on to the taping a short while to follow.

This is my third time to do this show and I’ve decided to try and do new material this time through. In the end I did manage to adhere to my wishes towards the set list but I slipped in a few repeats due to my feeling a bit uncomfortable and disappointed in my sloppy playing at times. It just happens. You work and work and work and you just have a day where things aren’t going great. In the end I walk up to the soundman and ask him to ‘fix’ things for me in the ‘post production’ of the taping. Smooth out the rough edges and inconsistencies from my fallible ways today. He assures me he’s got my back. Not every performance is authentically live out there. I’ve had some and then again I’ve had some that were edited.

I remember in my days of naiveté I was in the complex of KRLU, the public network on the University of Texas where the show ‘Austin City Limits’ is taped as well as the NPR station KUT is located at and I’m going down in the basement to do a ‘live show’ on the air which at the time was a regular program done on Sunday nights. The show was a coveted gig amongst the local bands. It was a bellwether of sorts because it showed confirmation that this was a band-to-watch and listen for on the scene. While I was in the elevator I ran into Paul Glass, one of the premier players in Austin. He was mostly on the jazz scene but obviously capable in many styles and I saw him play many times with various players and clubs. He was especially particular because he was a mandolin player.

This was way back in the days before the mandolin was in vogue like it is in popularity now. Plus Paul played a ‘Mandocaster’. A custom mandolin that had a ‘70’s style big Fender-like headstock on it. The body was of conventional mandolin appearance but the headstock was where your eyes gravitated towards. Plus it was a kind of sunburst two-tone red. Quite the sight and made all the more impressionable by Paul’s extreme talent he exhibited. The guy was good. Real good. So I said hey and we just start chatting lightly to take up the time of the ride to the subterranean levels, I’m flattered that he even acknowledges me cuz’ I was truly a nobody back then, I think he thought of me as this ubiquitous face buzzing around cuz’ he saw me at a lot of his shows back then. In my early days I was really a constant presence at the jazz shows. I’d go to them all. From the Elephant Room down on Congress to Piggy’s, and West Sixth Street to seeing Suzi Stern play at the Atrium lounge down at the Hyatt on the river. Well truth be told I had a crush on Suzi but I’m pretty sure she just saw me as this adorable ‘puppy-love’ guy that came in from time to time and maybe I might’ve pressed her into awkward zones at times. I had no clue. We’re talking early to mid-80’s at the latest here. Anyway Paul and I both are chatting and we both confess to being down here to play, me on the live Sunday radio show and he’s re-doing some tracks on an earlier Austin City Limits show that he played on. What?! He’s RE-DOING some tracks on ‘THAT’ show?! It wasn’t ‘LIVE’?! He’s being all casual in his off-handed way of informing me and inside I am all in turmoil and confusion. I was such an ingénue back then. I’m sure my jaw was still slightly open when he exited the elevator as I vacantly made my way down the hall to the studio room I was to play in that evening. Wow, what a rube I was.

Tour done and long drive underway, we finish off the night with an overnight stay in Delaware. Started in Maine this day, stopped over in Palmer, Mass, (the home of the famed Smith College), and now we’re in Wilmington, DE. Home tomorrow.

‘The road goes on forever and the party never ends…’

Getting up in these past mornings as I move on through life I find my eyes and mind awakening earlier and earlier. Gone are the days when I would insouciantly lie about because my body desired it or maybe I would just find it pleasurable to be this way caring not about what needed to be done that day but rather idle away a few hours drifting in and out of a semi-dreamlike state. That’s not how I am now. My mind comes on-line and there’s no sleeping left in me. I am up early on a consistent basis, ‘I am constant as the Northern Star’; I have become my Grandfather. Although my Grandfather didn’t go for runs in the morning and I don’t drink coffee either, some of my more productive times are in the morning. So up I get and go for a lengthy run along the quiet state highway. I get back and since we’ve spent the night in a little B n’ B the vibe of hanging out in your room is just not quite the same as in a chain hotel. Albeit it’s a pleasant comfy place this B n’ B is, you still feel as though you’re in someone’s house, which you are, and besides being conscious of every noise you make while getting dressed or doing morning routines, the need to check-out and move along down the road has a stronger pull than usual. So heeding to that urge I start to pack up and we need to get moving because today is Memorial Day and you know what that means; a parade is coming. When I got back to the B n’ B after my run, there were already people lining both sides of the street. At first I didn’t put it together but it soon became apparent to me. The streets will be closed and we’ll have to wait it out, but come on, this is Winterport, Maine. How long can the parade procession be? It’s charming and nostalgic to think about this parade as I’m living out this small-town-America scene today that is also going on in hundreds of other towns across the US. They’ve got the marching band and Shriner’s with their colorful fezzes, didn’t see the little cars though, and vets young and old walking, firetrucks with lights on to convey celebratory not cautionary signs and convertibles with honored guests sitting up on the back boot of the collapsible roof with their feet on the seats and waving to the people on the curbs, who have in their hands their little American flags waving back. Well I didn’t actually see all of that take place but you could hear it coming as we were packing up and made our escape up a side street to avoid the delay. If we had the day off I’d be content to sit and watch the pageant unfold and pass by, but we’re not and it’s down the road for us. I say a reverent prayer to those that have given sacrifice and served and give my solemn thanks and gratitude to them all. We quietly make our departure.

It’s to Scarborough, Maine today and we return to the Brickhouse. Paul Williams has started to have live bands play at his house because of his love of music. It’s a nice sizeable abode with an ample basement/downstairs that he converted into a cozy little performance place. Able to accommodate up to 80 people or so, Paul started getting bigger acts up there because he can offer road bands a chance to fill-in an off-date in their calendar and while also providing free lodging on the premises. It’s been a while since I’ve slept less than 25 feet from the stage I played on that night. It’s a comfortable environment Paul provides and he goes out of his way to make his artists feel comfortable. It’s actually a good little system Paul has going on. Plus you get that close intimacy with your audience that sometimes is lacking from gig to gig. I’ve always like the press-the-flesh vibe in a room but this is more of a private party feel but it all works nonetheless. Today is different because Paul has constructed a stage outside for the summer days of the year and although there’s rain on the horizon threatening to open up above us, we opt for the outdoors. Not all is happy due to the PA having to be moved from the inside of the house to back outside because I think everyone thought we’d choose an indoor performance due to the weather forecasts in the area, but I’m ready to rock out and I want to play at the volume in which being outside can afford me to be; Loud! Everything is set and we get the equipment up and running.

We keep tabs on the moving storms with our smartphones and the weather apps and we kick it off as people start to show up and plop down in their lawn chairs to watch the show. When I play outside, sometimes shows have a really loose vibe to them and I tend to take all kinds of chances with the music. It’s as if the lack of physical walls around me translates into no walls of conformity; I’m free to roam spiritually and musically. The crowd looks like a small affair because after all it’s been a long weekend and even though there’s still Monday left to lay about recovering from all the festivities of the preceding days, you can tell the mindset of most is starting to wind down and prepare for the proverbial grindstone that is in their not too distant future. All things said though, the scattered throng is here to have a good time and we do our best to provide it. As dusk approaches we turn the gloaming into a sonically filled event. We are visited by mosquitos that try as they might to ply their innocuous and stealthy manner to ebb away what we have to offer. Some are successful and some aren’t but we play on. With minimal stage lighting we play till it’s dark all around us and then call it a night. It’s been another fun night at Paul’s Brickhouse and I’m grateful to Paul and his wife for allowing us to come here to play. We banter and visit with all who are still there at the end, pack up our things and say our good-byes. The club portion of the tour is over and we’ve only got one more date to go with another stop at Don O’Dell’s Legends show to be taped tomorrow. I hope it goes well.

A Texas-style Bar-B-Que joint up in the far reaches of Maine. That was the ambition that John Ramirez had a few years back. I had no chance to research this other than that statement but I do know in the conversations I had with John that he’s a man-of-means with his love for Harley-Davidsons and Texas-style Bar-B-Que. Winterport, Maine is a little bit of a drive up into the wild country of our most north-eastern state in the lower 48. It gets brutal up here in the winter time and you have to watch for the occasional moose stepping out in the roadways. It’s green right now, very green. This small hamlet rests on the west side of the Penobscot River which eventually flows south and becomes an estuary to the bay of the same name and into the Atlantic. Really quiet here, sans Harley rumbles, we are staying in the B n’ B just a stone’s throw from the venue. 4 Points Bar-B-Que is the name of the venue and they’ve constructed an outdoor stage in which a summer series of shows plays through this season starting on the backend of spring and going sometimes into the late summer, weather permitting of course. We’re the first band up in the 2015 season with a whole roster filled with the up and coming bands to bright luminaries from the music scene. John wasn’t there today, he is off attending business down in Texas and has left the operations in the capable deft hands of his shop manager and good friend. Everything is running smooth at the club and the food is more than an eye-opener this far north in what is usually thought of as ‘Lobster Country’. We’re situated right on the main strip of this peaceful town and we’re about to roar into action with our show before the sun begins its last vertical declension behind the horizon. We eat our meals given to us and lick our fingers to clean off the sweet savory sauces provided on the tables. A short walk back to the B n’ B to change and warm-up a bit and it’s back to the venue to rock out. The crowd is a good little size and comfortably fills up the area we’re in. Winterport is not too far out of Bangor, Maine so there still is a sizeable population that is accessible for business and participation in 4 Points offerings of food and music. Less than a conversation away to the south but since we don’t get up in this area much it’s not uncommon to see folks from more than a few hundred miles away attending shows here.

When we open up the show you can see some of the younger locals up on the hill to our left listening in and rocking and swaying to the beat. As the sun sets further they become silhouettes against the backdrop and then they fade into the dark to be only seen by drawing a breath from their cigarettes or from lighting a new one. Once in a while a face is illuminated by a gaze into a smart phone. The crowd inside the area before us is excited and vocal in their approval of what they’ve come to see and hear. We don’t hold back. Another day in the office for CDG. I always like coming back up here and I’m glad 4 Points is still alive and kicking. A great testament to the food, entertainment and efficiency they’re running and providing to the locals and travelers. I hope it’s here for a long time to come. Something about being up here in Maine is always an attraction to me. I am thankful we’re not here in the dead of winter, but it’s pretty up here during that time too. A reverent stillness descends out here in those winter months where it’s only the wind that makes the sounds. I remember those times so vividly, and if you’re lucky you’ll get to see an Aurora Borealis at night in all its moving and shimmering beauty. Maybe hear a haunting Loon call in the distance. On my run the next morning I pause many times to reflect on this and other things and pray that my life is long to experience all the glory that quiet ruminations can bestow to calm the tempest of the storm.

“When I get to be a big rock star I’m going to have easy routing.” That’s always been something I like to think on or in jest I’d announce that to people who gawk at our itinerary and wonder how we do it; travel all those miles that is. It’s the ‘dart-board method’ or ‘Pin-the-gig-on-the-map’ game while blindfolded. Now I’m really jesting, it’s just what happens when you’re at my level in this biz and in the course of booking shows you just have to try your best to piece together good routing. I don’t mind driving; really. I get to see so much. The evolving highway system, seasonal changes, bird migrations, various wildlife, (alive and dead), Unusual ‘Oversize Loads’ being transported, classic cars in motion, fecund fields, pastoral pastures, sometimes stupendous to serene sunsets to child book night skies. The stories I could tell of what I’ve seen from the driver’s seat of a van. It’s not just about watching a gas gauge and the odometer numbers fall.

Today we’re starting out the back and forth part of this tour. For us it’s fortunate that this part of our itinerary is in the Northeast where the states are close and not too big. Yes it’s the Memorial Day weekend but we seem to be moving in the opposite direction or we’re on the road when the traffic isn’t at its heaviest. We’re heading to Connecticut for a private show and I’m looking forward to this because this is going to be about playing whatever I want. It’s actually encouraged from the people that hired us to do just that. They just want us to play and we’re provided a more than comfortable environment with which to ply or trade. No set lists, no preconceived structure, just let it rip and have fun. Our stage is set up expertly on a hill and it’s more than ample to accommodate us on. The whole family that’s hired us is here, from all the brothers and their extended family and even Mom is there. A lot of our dedicated fans show up at this gig because it’s a big family that has grown over the years of our touring with the people that follow us from gig to gig in these small Northeastern states. The Magical Music show continues. We’re in a lakeside area in a beautiful cozy neighborhood and our hosts have put out the word in the area about us coming so there will be no problems with noise ordinances. Everyone has been forewarned but it also exemplifies the sense of community and cooperation of these neighbors to work with each other in allowing each other to engage in a measure of frivolity and good times within reason and tolerance. It’s a great set-up here.

Load in done and our meals consumed we saunter up to the stage and get ready to commence. We open up with the typical starting number of ‘Jump The Trane’ as I keep trying to work on melodic ideas with this tune but after that it’s whatever goes. I see John putting the microphone in front of him ready to sing cuz’ the second number we usually play is one with backup singing but I call something else and he pushes it out of the way and he’s ready to adjust. It’s not going to be business as usual tonight. I call out some old tunes that we haven’t played in a while, some that we do but I change up what I normally play and I also call out some rarely played Hendrix songs. A few of them being the Hendrix version of ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ and ‘Catfish Blues’. Another indicator that this was not to be ‘business as usual’ was that we started off with ‘Sgt. Pepper/Little Help From My Friends’ but it was a bit clumsy on my part cuz’ this pair of songs isn’t getting enough play time for me to master it yet. At the infrequent rate that I call this tune out, it’s on schedule to start sounding solid by about the end of the year. We’ll just have to have fun with it until then. Onward with the show…..

We twist and turn for about 2 hours with our first set, take a small break then we go into our second set. The sun is beginning to go down and the crowd is turning into a black void. There are no lights placed out there like there would be at a club so all you hear is disembodied voices yelling their approval and cheers. A fire has been started way in the back and I can see the silhouettes circling the flames for it is a big fire burning back there. We rock on and mistakes and miscues be damned. There are some lights on the stage but the lights illuminate from the stage pointing up instead of the conventional above and pointing down on us, and everything on the stage is turning slowly into a black void as well. I can only see the pedals that are on due to the small LED indicating its operation. The lights are focused a bit too much in my vision so I’m blinded by the colors if I look down their way. The music plays on. We end in a fury and we call it a night. It was fun just to come here and play. Our hosts have become dear friends to me and all that have attended we know well too. It’s been like a big family getting together for a night of music, fun and food and I couldn’t have been more comfortable in this setting. Kudos to all at the show. This event has become somewhat of a tradition now, it was originally born out of a cancellation while we were up in this area touring, a sudden cancellation that is, and our friends were just trying to help us out and I’d much rather be playing than sitting in a hotel room anyway. From those accidental and generously extended acts of goodwill we have all made it a tradition. I’m hoping this will be an annual event for many years to come. Thanks goes out to Mel and Dave and for all who had a hand in making this memorable gig a warm remembrance and a great time. I look forward to our next show here.

Rock on!!! – chris duarte

CDG has been playing the Hungry Tiger now for quite a while. It’s a long established venue that Don Denley has kept open and kicking with live music and food. Notable acts of national repute play there like Coco Montoya, Jimmy Thackery and Les Dudek. There have also been some artists on their way up that have played there with frequency too, Susan Tedeschi being one of the most prominent and the late Sean Costello who tragically left us too early. The building is almost like a big converted house and it’s set right inside a neighborhood. Really. There’s a small city park out back with a couple of basketball courts that are usually always busy with pick-up games and other families enjoying the strip of greenbelt with stuff for kids and such. I really like all the wood inside this place because it gives off a warmer sound during our performance. At least it sounds like that to me. I know I’m probably regarded as one of the ‘louder’ acts that roll through here. Fear not my people, with the arsenal I’m carrying on this tour I shall not disappoint nor shall I lose traction with my current reputation. We get down there a bit early to load in and then it’s time to eat. I always seem to get the meatloaf when I’m there. It’s one of the house specialties made from a recipe Don’s father would use and the cook in the small kitchen there, Al, adds his own touch to the offering too. Classic Americana; Yummy.

We come back to the club for our show after a bit of chill time at our hotel. When I first started touring Japan we would just always go to the venue most of the time and set-up and hang there until show time. That’s how CDG used to do tours way back in the beginning. This is before we had a support staff that would get us rooms or other amenities that goes with touring; we were just traveling like a band of gypsies out there. Worry about the rooms after the gig. Then it was usually all of us in one room. Can’t say I miss those days too much but I suppose the euphemism that comes to mind is ‘it was a simpler time’. The Bluestone guys adopted this type of touring where you go to the venue then you’d return to the hotel before the show as ‘American style’. Early CDG wasn’t one of those bands that looked for some fan to offer us their couch or house or whatever to bivouac in for the night. I really can’t recall us doing that at all. It was during Frosty’s tenure on the drums that the separate room policy was adopted. Now I’m kind of used to that and it’s only a handful of times that the rhythm section has to share a room due to the club not providing us each a room or the accommodations do not allow for complete segregation; band house. It does make the expenses go up but sometimes you just have to make the compromise for band unity and harmonious and positive convivial interactions. When you’re in close proximity for a stretch of time it’s only natural that things come up. We’re only human. Tolerance and patience is a true virtue.

Our crowds at the Hungry Tiger have varied in attendance for the past few years. Sometimes we’ll get a really full show and there have been others where it’s been a bit light. Tonight is about right in the middle. I don’t know what it is with the Tiger but I always seem to have pretty good musical shows here. Oh I’ve had some clunkers before, bad singing, mind connection problems, you name it and I’ve had it, but for the most part I can hear everything pretty good at the club. The seating is close to the stage and from time to time people will stand right in front of me. I can also see people swaying to the beat in the back of the room. With the ‘press-the-flesh’ vibe here at the Tiger it can be pretty intense when things are going right in the group with the music. I’m still trying to incorporate new songs in the set, some brand new and others off the Lucky 13 album. The only way they’re going to sound good is I have to get comfortable playing them. The songs need to develop in my head and hands. The guys always sound great behind me but I can hear them adjusting as well and we all grow into the song adding our own characteristics and nuances. We gather momentum as the night progresses and the intensity ramps up more and more. Typical CDG and the crowd is loving it. When the last note is played and instruments are laid down we then begin the post-gig socializing followed by the therapeutic break-down of equipment. At the Tiger and in this region of the country we have a cadre of fans that help us load out. It’s dramatic how fast our load-out can be with an additional 3 to 4 people. Sometimes I just have to stay in the van to facilitate the packing of things. Everything has an order going in. I’d venture to say that the one thing CDG does with relentless consistency is loading in and loading out. We have got that down good. Schlepping our equipment doesn’t bother me a bit. ‘This is how I stay in shape’ is what I tell people sometimes but we’ve got a compact stage set-up to begin with, being just a trio, so it’s no problem. Sure I’d love to make it to the level where I just walk on stage and plug in and everything has been prepared to my specifications but I don’t mind this station I occupy for now. Keeps me humble and I’ve made some good friends and acquaintances over the years with these types of interactions. It’s just all part of the gig and the road.

It’s onward to The Stone Church in New Hampshire tomorrow.

**11/20/14 video courtesy of Mark M (Youtube)

So you think at first when you hear Sportsmen’s Tavern that you’re going into some bar with lots of TV’s lining the walls at various angles with multiple games going on and beer being downed at a slow pace or with gusto but that’s not this place in Buffalo. The Sportsmen’s Tavern is a true music venue. With a high stage that has plenty of room, good sound system and upstairs seating that is also elevated to allow the rows in back to view the bands on the stage, it’s an impressive set-up when you walk in. The neighborhood the club is in would make some gentrified people a bit wary but you soon realize it’s all good and your anxiousness melts away. This is our third time in this club and I love it. The audience is a real listening crowd too. All kinds of acts play this place and there’s been lots of singer/ songwriters come through so maybe that gives them the listening discipline from their support of that genre.
We arrive and do our load-in and sound check and while this is going on people are starting to arrive and taking seats. It’s an hour or so before the show and I take this as a good sign that we’ll have a decent crowd for a Monday night. The show is also early and that will help since the majority of my fans are over 30. You can still be home before the evening news after we’re done.
It’s also become evident to me, from people whose opinion I trust, that my blogs can get a bit self-absorbed with me writing about my practicing. Let’s just now assume that it’s going on just about every day in my life, home or on the road, and we’ll now adopt a tacit understanding to this. Enough said and I won’t mention it anymore. So we get to the hotel and I get the guitar out and start to run through some new things…just kidding. Old habits die hard.

We do have a good crowd for a Monday and we start in on the first set. Sometimes it’s a real scene changer when you play so many club dates and there are the different heights of stages we acclimate to. Tonight’s is a good 4 feet and I’m looking down on everybody. Also, when there’s an upper level I try to make sure I give the upper fans eye contact as well to make them feel they’ve got my attention too. I know I’ve had some nights where I’m really concentrating on my voice with hitting the right pitch and phrasing and for the most part my eyes are closed cuz’ sometimes the monitors in the club aren’t too good and I really have to concentrate while doing this so I don’t give much eye contact out there. I wish I was a natural at playing and singing but I’m not and I have to work at it very hard even to this day. When I moved up to New Hampshire on an attempt at ‘geographical relocation’ in an effort to leave my foibles behind, I didn’t really sing much at all on my gigs. Sure I’d done some back-up vocals in most of the groups I played in but I was still never really that good. I could just about cover my parts and that was it. The drummer I was playing with at the time in Austin had even moved up to New Hampshire for a while and he was doing most of the singing so that delayed my stepping out front to the mic even further. It was when he decided to move back to Austin; Jeff Hodges was the drummer’s name; that I made the decision to shoulder the singing duties and get to work. I was truly awful in the beginning. I was so bad at hitting the right pitch that I had to play the melody line while doing the song just to be able to hit the notes correctly and for the guitar to be as reinforcement to my pitch problems. Argh, I was truly horrible back then. But I persevered and slowly my elocution and cadence got better and my pitch problems started to improve too. Now at least I can carry a tune but I’m not a crooner even though I wouldn’t mind that. Love the crooners. Near the end of the night for our first encore I decide to play this brand new song I’ve written that requires me to sing in falsetto the first couple of verses and chorus. The guitar part is also very delicate and I have John playing brushes as well. I know I can do this song here at the Sportsmen’s cuz’ the crowd is a listening crowd and there won’t be the undercurrent of conversation beneath my attempt to project a somber mood for this song. Even today when I see a solo artist on stage and while they’re performing the crowd is just talking away and hardly giving the person any kind of attention, my heart goes out to them cuz’ it’s just so hard to soldier through that environment. I know it applies to different situations and maybe that’s just me trying to impress my standards of performing in their case. Where I’m trying to connect with the audience and communicate with them and I aspire for their attention, some musicians are there just to provide background music and that’s it and the voices and conversations don’t bug them at all. I don’t know if I could ever adopt that way of thinking or be that ‘worker-kind’ of mentality. Different strokes for different folks. I just have to get out there and give it everything I’ve got cuz’ besides this being who I am and what defines me as a person, it’s food for my soul and it’s what I truly love to do. Am I being self-absorbed again?

The song, Drifting Away, goes off pretty good since I have yet to really work out all the parts, the phrasing and the melody lines to it plus given that I’m doing this live is a whole nuther’ matter. I can sit by myself and sound pretty good but when I get in front of people or get on stage it’s a different mental landscape and all these new variables come into the equation and I start having issues at adjusting. Like I said, I have to work at this. But it comes off good and I’m pleased with the results.
The Sportsmen’s Tavern is a venue I look forward to when I see we’re going there and the people there are part of it too. It’s a great place to play and I hope I get to return there for a long time. The next two days are off so we’ll leisurely work our way over to Manchester for the Hungry Tiger.
‘The road it lasts forever and the party never ends’

It’s a glorious morning in semi-rural Middletown NY. Our hotel is off the Interstate, naturally, but off on a little side road or state route that parallels the Interstate. After I had loaded up my stuff in the van and done my quotidian cleaning and organizing on the inside of the van, I go round to the front of the hotel and I catch a glimpse of a Lamborghini going down the road and then another and another. Turns out this line of Lamborghini’s is a car club out on a morning drive and they’re all riding in tandem down the road. Pretty impressive it was. There were about 20 or so in different colors and models with one near the front filming the procession with a camera being held by an attractive female standing up in a ‘chrome-wrapped’ Lamborghini. I figured I just saw a couple million dollars’ worth of cars rolling down the road. Never know what you’re going to see in my job, that’s why I love it.

Now we’re on to Rochester and the beautiful roads leading up to Syracuse. I never get tired of this drive. Rolling hills and tree covered ranges and bucolic valleys and vistas. It’s all showing its fecundity with the strong resplendent hues of virescent beauty as the new leaves are bursting from their branches and new shoots sprouting forth from the earth. Spring is on full display. I drive in a peaceful state and ruminate with solemn reverence.

The load in is always quick at the Abilene Bar, there’s a side door that leads right to the side of the stage. We’re going to hold off for now cuz’ there’s an opening band so we’ll just do it after they’re done due to space constraints. Sam Snyder is opening up for us tonight and I’ve known Sam for a long time since he was really young. He cites me as a big influence on his playing and for wanting to play and for this I am truly humbled. As I listen to Sam’s set I’m struck by the textural quality of his music. His music reminds me of Portishead or Radiohead with its adventurous and ambitious melodies and sounds. How’s he doing those textures live? It’s only a trio. I look in on him and see two different pedal boards and he later tells me that one is for his vocals. Then I see that Sam plays overhanded on the neck of the guitar. It’s really interesting. He sounds great and even if you sit there and you’re cynical and you think ‘Well he’s just playing that dark vibe atmospheric stuff but when he starts to play a solo it’s at that point you realize Sam is a player. He’s got tone and phrasing that’s way beyond his young years. All overhanded too. He told us that when he started to play guitar he had broken his left arm and he could only play the guitar with it lying on a table and his hands would just lay over it. Fast forward a couple of months and this technique he’s learned is now ingrained and he just thought, ‘well I guess this is how I play the guitar’. He does it well, really well. He does play the conventional way but he adapted that way only after he serendipitously took to teaching kids guitar instruction at the music store he works at. But when he plays out, he plays in his natural way; overhanded. I enjoyed his set immensely and I look forward to hearing his progress in the years to come. I’m humbled again to be considered an influence on him.

Anyway we set up and the crowd is really light due to it being the final night of a big festival they have there in Rochester; The Lilac Festival. I’ve played it before but many years ago. The night was gorgeous and the Lilac Fest’ is a free fest so that really put a damper on our crowd. I get up and start and the stage is really small and the room is small too so no Marshall tonight. I thought about the ‘rock n’ roll stack’ where I’d put my CBB on top of the Marshall cab but that would be just overkill. Oh well, the show must go on. For some reason I’m just having a hard time tonight and I’m not finding my brain hooking up too well with my hands. I soldier on but I’m getting frustrated. This happens from time to time and all you can do is to keep trying to create and try new things. I mean I was really relaxed and usually I’ll have an easy time of it when I’m like that but my brain wasn’t going there tonight. I decided to try some new things and break out one of my new songs and another song off Lucky 13 that we just started playing, Setting Sun, but the results were predictable on my part; disastrous. Gotta’ keep going on though and shake it off. We played a long first set then we came back and did a short second set. Not a horrible night and it did have its moments but I really wish I could’ve been a little more on my game tonight. You just have to get through these tough gigs from time to time cuz’ this is just part of the learning curve and natural progression in my life. Some are worse than others. I’ll be fine because tomorrow I get to go at it again and I’ll try to learn from what I did wrong and build on what I did right. Thus is life.

Tomorrow we go on to Buffalo and I always look forward to the Sportsmen Tavern. A real music venue and the audiences are great. But that’s tomorrow.

A rainy day wake up and the skies let a little bit of steady rain come down. I do my work-out, gotta stay in shape somehow, and then gaze out my window as I eat my post-workout snack. We get ready to jump on the LIX – Long Island Expressway or 495. You know I just was wondering how the LIX got the designation of an ‘even’ number in the 3-number interstates. See, odd numbers are designated as spurs the lead into or away from the downtown area or Interstate that later hooks up with the dominate Interstate. Evens are the loops, which encircle the metro area the dominate Interstate either goes through or by-passes. Yes I see that the Long Island/Manhattan/Other boroughs area is a geographically challenging area to lay out a simple ‘Loops and Spurs’ configuration there but I guess this is just me again letting my mind chew on trivial minutia. Anyway the traffic is about ‘par-for-the-course’ for a Saturday morning and we do just a little bit of slow driving on the lead up to the GWB. At least the traffic was at a slow pace. I’ve sat on the Cross Bronx when it was at ‘no pace’. We were also having trouble getting a reasonable rate for a hotel moderately close to the club but so far no go. So my hotel guy was working feverishly at obtaining one and we were just in a hold pattern. We decide to go down to the club and hang around the immediate area until load-in. Most of the shops are closed in this quaint little neighborhood of Teaneck and the pre-dominate Jewish community in this area are all out taking afternoon strolls. I do see this one little store front open and it touts that it’s Authentic Southern Cooking. ‘Maggie’s Southern Kitchen’ is the name and I tell myself, “I’m down with it. I’ll check it out” My rhythm section goes for this big deli across the street from where we park the van and I turn the corner towards Maggie’s. Upon entering it’s a really small dining area and the food is all behind glass sort of buffet style warmers but there’s someone behind the stands to fill your plate. There’s fried chicken, Meatloaf, Smothered Pork Chops, White fish and the sides of black-eyed peas, mac n’ cheese and collard greens ect. I get the black eyed peas and collard greens and Meatloaf. It was pretty good. I wouldn’t rave about it but it certainly was a pleasant experience and the charm of the place did help with my taste opinion. My guys came to Maggie’s cuz’ the deli they went to was closed. We all ate there at Maggie’s. That done we drove to the club and someone was there so we loaded in.

Mexicali Live is a really great club. Set up as a music venue the seating in front of the stage is good and there’s a back upper deck on the back wall. I’ve never packed this club but it would be cool to see a couple hundred in this place. The food here is pretty good too. The stage is about 3.5’ high and has ample room for us. The backdrop behind us on stage has little lights in the curtain giving it a ‘Celestial skies’ effect and it looks great on videos and pictures. The sound system is good too. I bring in the Marshall and erect the barriers to dampen the volume. It’s actually kind of an industrial look on the stage with the black road cases set up in front of the amps. An empty canvas so to speak but it looks cool that way. When we start it sounds great. I love the way the Marshall is rounding out my tone and I can hear everything. I’m having a great time and trying to reach for things I can hear in my head but haven’t tried with my hands. I’m not frustrated if I don’t achieve what I was going for cuz’ it sounds great in what I’m doing. Wow. Like I said, enjoy the times I’ll be able to bring this amp in and get to play it. Not all the clubs on this run will allow it. : )

The gig done and merch sold and signed and hands shook and hugs given, we pack up and before the gig I was able to find us rooms in Middletown, NY. about 60 miles. The price of a room dropped dramatically that far out and the traffic was but wisp of what it was this afternoon.

That’s just fine with me. We take the beautiful drive up to Rochester tomorrow. I’ve done that drive many times and I always look forward to its awesome views it has to show for.

Till then…..

So for the past few weeks I’ve been sending out some tweets and some video blogs promoting our gig in Islip, NY at Treme. All this time I was making my video blogs I was pronouncing Islip as ‘Iss-lip’ when it should’ve been ‘Eye-slip’. Silly silly me. I will next research new towns to make sure I have the right pronunciation. So now it’s the day we play there and we set off out of Delaware towards Long Island, NY. We thought it might be a bit congested on the roads not just because it’s Friday but from that horrible train wreck disaster inside Philadelphia. News reports were predicting a possible dramatic uptick in vehicles on the road due to the shutting down of that heavily used train route between Washington DC and NYC. We prepared for the worse. I’m pleased to say that traffic wasn’t any heavier than normal given the fact we crossed over on the GWB, George Washington Bridge. I was pleasantly surprised and happy that we would get a few hours at our hotel to chill and recharge and practice.
We get down to the gig and it’s decorated in a dark affair with a touch of elegance to it. Since the word is the name of a neighborhood in New Orleans and a popular TV show on HBO, there is a sort of feeling in this place of New Orleans and the food on the menu reflects some New Orleans flair as well. The stage was of an odd configuration due to there being a grand piano in permanent residence there so we adjusted to the piano. Treme also is a long rectangular set-up but the stage is in the back but on the right side if you’re looking from the front door. So we had to figure out how to face down the length from a sideways orientation. That problem solved and a perfunctory sound check done we had about an hour to kill before downbeat. I changed my strings on the gold guitar, as I do every gig, (Thank You GHS Strings!), and got in my stage clothes. On this tour I’m wearing predominately collared shirts to kind of ‘up’ my image a bit. Nothing wrong with wearing a nice T-shirt with nice jeans but I so want to give off more professional appearance and at least be pleasant to look at.

OK I know my hair is getting to be a bit unruly when I leave it down and when I play with my head down, like I do most of the time, there’s just a ‘mushroom cap’ of hair. So I’m trying to whip my hair back out of my face but I know that’s gotta be tiresome to look at over the course of 2 – 3 hours, me whipping my head back every 10 -15 seconds. I’m just in this middle phase with the hair length and it will be more manageable; we’ll all survive this. We start off with the usual 3 songs that I’ve been playing ever since ‘Lucky 13’ was released and I think I’m going to change that when this tour is done, Jump The Trane is a good opener though. I’m doing OK but my amp is way back behind me and barricaded with my amp cases to cut down on the volume but I’m having trouble hearing it. Standing right next to the drums isn’t helping my situation either. For our purposes playing soft drums does not bode well for getting our music across and John knows that so this is something I’ve got to overcome. I’d rather have someone hitting those things anyway. The crowd is a bit light but they’re there to hear us. We play our fill and I’m still trying to incorporate some new songs that I’ve written recently but I haven’t gotten the chance nor do I have them ‘gig ready’ to play them out live. I’ll keep working on them during my personal time in my room and hope I can bring them out on the road this tour.
Another good gig and another new town that we’ve played in go in the books. I hope we get to come back cuz’ I always like playing in the NYC area. We pack up and head back with our usual stop at a convenience store and then head for our nightly downtime. On to Mexicali Live tomorrow.