This Spring tour now has about 3 weeks left and I end up back in LA for a show at the Cinema Bar in Culver City on the 27th. I've been doing my best to write here everyday and I'm pleased with myself that I've only missed 3 days so far. I do find it interesting that there are people from around the world checking out the blog and I've been doing my best to keep it entertaining - and again - I'm sorry for the writing errors, which I do my best to catch as I get my thoughts down. So thanks for your patience and understanding.
I also figured that it might be good to add a bit more of who I am, since I think I only have my music page bio available at the moment. So here goes: I was born, adopted, and raised in Southern California - mostly Orange Country in Huntington Beach. The family did spend some years in the midwest when I was younger - Alton, IL, which is close to the St. Louis area, and then a year outside of Cleveland, OH before heading back to HB, CA. I started playing music when I was young - first with saxophone, then violin, and a few years after that, guitar. From about 18 years old on I concentrated mostly on guitar - although we had a piano always around and I would sit down and pick out things from time to time.
When I was 22 I started playing out - first with open mics, and then coffeehouse gigs. I played a lot of blues - Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Charlie Patton - trying to get the right sounds out of my guitar. By 26 I had made the jump up to Hollywood and played all over the city - mostly solo, but every now and then with different players. Around 2002 I started Jeremiah and the Red Eyes with my friend and bass player Dale Warner and we continued on around the area for several years after that - occasionally going out of town to Phoenix or the Sacramento area where Dale was from.
We recorded a CD called Red Eyed and Restless which had 6 of my originals and 3 older blues songs. We sent it out for reviews and got some good ones back. Over in Europe, several stations requested it and I was happy to hear that it got played several times in different countries. Back in LA, Lauren Austin (who is now a good friend and music partner) had helped me get a song on the syndicated Altville show which was broadcast on KZLA around the city. Then music journalist and Indie 103.1 DJ Chris Morris played a song off of the CD. I was able to hear one of the broadcast and it made me feel a little beside myself - cruising in my car with a song I wrote on the radio - I was definitely thrilled.
In 2008 I moved from Hollywood, where I had been for around 10 years, to Nashville, TN - where Lauren had moved a few years before - so we could continue our musical dreams. I helped her record her debut CD of all original songs - which was quite an experience - a lot of time and work trying to get everything right. I also started working with her and a bass player, Johnny G. D'Artenany, on my own stuff and we played several shows around town - mostly Norm's River Road House on the outskirts of town to the west. But, for me, staying in Nashville wasn't meant to be, and right before the 1 year mark I packed up my car and moved back to California.
Back in LA I kept working on music, trying my best to remember all that I had learned in Tennessee - because Nashville is such a professional music town that I knew there was a lot to take away from the experience - from playing gigs, to guitar playing and other instruments, to recording engineering, to booking shows, and trying to run a band. I felt more confident going back and by the spring I felt I was ready for the road.
So at the end of June and after a road trip to Austin for SXSW and a 3 week tour in May, I decided to quit my job and take to the road indefinitely. I had shows booked and traveled from state to state (which is chronicled in the earlier blogs on this site - well, except for part 3). By the end of the year I traveled 54,000 miles in my trusty Toyota Corolla and felt good about my decision.
This year so far I've driven about 10k miles and will soon hit the 100k mark in my 2 and a half year old car. The road has been interesting and good - exhausting at times - as I have said - and Iv'e been getting more and more fans as I keep traveling and playing shows in the towns across the country.
It's been nice to have this down time in Nashville, but starting Thursday when I head back to St. Louis, it'll pretty much be go-go until I reach home: St. Louis, Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe, Culver City - then I can rest.
I'd like to thank Lauren Austin, who I have been staying and traveling with - plus, for performing with me and for basically putting up with me - thank you!
Also I'd like to thank Bob Woodruff, Petrice Kam, Shay Port, and Dan Harrigan for supporting the 2011 Spring Tour - your contributions have definitely helped me out.
thanks,
Yours truly,
Jeremiah
the Kenny Vaughn Trio last night at the 12th Street Taproom with Johnny G on stand-up bass
a clear view to the Nashville Skyline with LP Field to the left
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