Stormy Weather - day 31

Today here in Nashville was pretty intense. We had been told by the news that a good storm was going to be moving in - which was really surprising since yesterday was so nice - we even slept with the windows open and the fan on. But as the day moved on, the clouds slowly started crawling in and rain fell in scattered showers.
I had been having a fairly relaxing day - working on getting shows booked for June and possibly May - even though it's pretty late - and a thought or two for a new song, when I heard on the Weather Channel a major storm heading our way - well pretty much from Houston to Southern Illinois in a long contoured lined. The experts were calling for major thunderstorms, possible hail, and tornadoes. It had already done some damage in the Memphis area - and the storm was heading straight for Nashville at a rate of 70MPH.
Rain fell outside but it didn't look too bad - but as 2pm came - which was the arrival time, the tornado sirens were going off around town and the TV station was sounding the emergency signal too. We had decided to head downstairs into a safer place than Lauren's upstairs room which has a big windows and several other smaller windows too. Nando, Lauren's dog, was freaked out and scared as the thunder roared and, also, as we got visibly more nervous about the situation. 2:15pm was now the time that the storm was going to hit and we got ready for it. I looked outside once more before we went into the safer room, and the sky in the distance was darker and you could feel that something was going to happen. The lights flickered a bit but we never lost power, and I kept track of the storm on the internet and the radio. By 2:30 we could see that it had moved on and we came out back into the main room. We had heard from Lauren's roommate Shane, who called during it all and who actually was in the middle of the storm trying to get back home. Thankfully nothing bad happened to him and he made it back safely.
We turned on the news and could see the damage around the area from Memphis and Nashville - Little Rock and Alabama. I felt lucky that nothing happened to us or to the property - just our nerves - or mine anyway - a little shaken up. Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny out again - before another storm, I think, will move in.
So that's been the day over here in Nashville - that will be all the drama.
yours truly,
Jeremiah


About 10 minutes before the storm struck - you can see it coming

A Kentucky Weekend - Day 29 & 30

Sunday - back in Nashville after doing a bit of driving over the past several days. We were pretty busy and that's why I missed writing here yesterday. There was also a bit of catching up on some much needed sleep. I'm happy to report that the shows went well and I think we made some new fans along the way.
Friday we were in Louisville and after a slow start after that very late night and long day on Thursday, my friend Dan Harrigan and I went out on the town. He took me over to Churchill Downs to the Kentucky Derby Museum. It was an interesting place - lots of different pieces - jockey outfits'(silks right?), a variety of hats, photos of the winners - and the 11 Triple Crown winners. We were also able to go out to the track. I enjoyed it all since I am a fan of the derby thanks to my friend Eddie, and my friend Karen.
From there we went downtown and he showed me around. It has a good feel to it - the air was clean - though cloudy and chilly out - still lots of people out walking around. We stopped at a good little hot dog stand - Red's which I highly recommend. The one I had was good and spicy, topped with green bell peppers and onions, mustard - good stuff.
That night a storm came through and we stayed up late watching movies and then talking with Dan and his roommate Linda until the early hours of the morning. The next day I slept in which felt great. It had been such a busy week - full of driving and late nights and we didn't have to be up to Cincinnati until the evening - which was only 80 miles away - so we relaxed and enjoyed the down time.
The drive up was another easy drive - we pulled into Newport, Kentucky first and drove around a little bit, then crossed the river into downtown Cincinnati, before getting to a motel on the outskirts of town. After some food and a bit of relaxing we drove back to Newport where the Southgate House where we were set to play that night. We had a hard time getting to a parking spot close by, but we finally found a place and carried our gear in. It's an old multi-room house up a hill that overlooks the river. There are a bunch of bars in the area, a big aquarium, a movie theater, and right across the bridge is the stadium where the Reds play - and there was a game that night.
There were lots of people out on the town that night, cruising here and there - including into the Southgate House. We were set to play in a little downstairs lounge area. It has a bar that was crowded since Kentucky was playing Connecticut in the Final Four game. We set our gear up and got ready to play. It was a cool little room - but the only drawback was that they allow smoking there, so it was thick with smoke and would end up clinging to our clothes by the end of the night. By the second set we hit our stride and had the room listening to us (also the game was over and people had a good amount to drink). With the exception of the smoke I had a good time and was exhausted by the end of the night.
Again sleep came easy, and I woke up still needing more sleep. But we got our stuff together and climbed into the car a cruised down the road - back to Nashville. It was windy the whole way down - and I guess there's another storm heading this way. This evening is warm and soon I'm going to get the grill going on this fine, mellow, Spring evening

yours truly,
Jeremiah


the stage of the Blue Plate Special radio show on WDVX out of Knoxville, TN


The front of Churchill Downs


a giant bat at the Louisville Slugger museum - that's 5 stories tall by the way


Our set up at the Southgate House in Newport, KY


The marquee in front


and yours truly in front of the Southgate House

Louisville - Day 28

Yesterday evening it felt so good to get off the road after the 7 and a half hours in the car which started at 7am. Still we had another late night show to play at the Hideaway Saloon here in town. We landed at my friend Dan Harrigan's place just outside of town around 7pm or so - did a bit of resting, and then headed off to dinner and the gig.
It was a pretty cool little place - hidden away up a short alley - a decent stage and friendly people in the bar. We were going to be playing after a band called BEHM. I was a little worried when then didn't start until 10:30 - I knew we were in for another late night. But the band was pretty good - a trio - sort of bluesy/jammy rock, and they were done by about 12:30. So we set our stuff up and got too it and played from about 12:45 until just after 1:30am.
By the end I was almost dead - just enough energy to get us back to the house. We made some money - maybe 2 tanks of gas which I was happy about - and we were asked to come back at some point - which I hope we do. We also found out that it's a bar that stays open till 4am - so we could've played for another 2 hours.
We have the night off which I'm thankful for and hopefully I can sleep in tomorrow. We're headed to Cincinnati for a show tomorrow night at the Southgate House - which actually is in Newport, Kentucky which is right across the river from Cincinnati.
Will post some photos soon -
yours truly,
Jeremiah

Another early morning & Radio - day 27

This is going to be a short note. We were up late and then had the alarm go off early so we could hit the road and make it to Knoxville by 10:30 eastern standard time - which meant we lost an hour. Everything went well - we had a good set that was broadcast out over the airwaves and the web. So now after 7 hours of driving for the day, we're getting ready to head into town and play our show tonight at the Hideaway Saloon - then sweet sleep.
- J

Tired - day 26

Last night we weren't planning to stay out until 2am - but it just sort of happened. We had a good set at The Basement here in Nashville - but it was also the last set of the night. Then there was the downpour of rain just past midnight and running downtown to see some old and new friends - and just like that - it was 2am - which wouldn't really be all that bad but Lauren had to wake up for work at 7:30am and since I sleep on a fold out bed in the same room, I woke up and stayed up also.

In the afternoon yesterday I was really nice out - the skies were fairly clear, and it was t-shirt weather out. But as the evening came, the clouds rolled in and covered the sky and the temperature dropped a bit. We got ready for our set - I got everything tuned and we ran through some songs and then headed across town.
One of the positives about this town is being able to get from one side to the other fairly quickly. When I lived here, I used to live about 15 miles from work - which was from one side of town to the other. It took me about 15 to 20 minutes to do the drive. In LA it probably would have been double that - and depending on the hour - longer. The traffic here was never terrible - well besides when I drove in to town last year right when the floods were happening - not too long after the water stopped rising. That time getting around the city was a little chaotic - because everyone was feeling a little chaotic - or more in some cases. So dealing with a little more traffic was all right to me.
We made it to the club and checked where we were on the list - see, the New faces Night is a night of 20 minute sets mostly for newcomers - and you don't know the lineup until about 7:30 that night. We were hoping to go earlier but when we saw the list we knew that wasn't going to be the case - we were last. We sent out messages to our friends and I posted on FB about the approximate time - and we were hoping that our friends that were already there would hang out and wait for our set.
We saw several good acts - one was this duo from Ireland who were in town recording an album - The Lost Brothers - great harmonies and great guitar playing. There were others too, but I can't remember their names - quite a few were touring acts - passing through town just like me. The night kept rolling along and thankfully, we have very patient friends and they waited until it was our turn to get up and play.
We made it through our four songs - Lauren switching from mandolin, to harmonica, to banjo - while I strummed the sounds out of my guitar, hoping to not break a string. At the end, Mike, the soundguy that night and co-owner of The Basement, said - Well since there's no one after you guys and it's pouring out, why don't you play a couple more. So we did - and felt good about the set when we were done. There were several people still there which I was happy about - you never know - especially when you're the last ones on a long night of music.
The Lost Brothers were still hanging out with one of their friends who had talked about heading downtown to Broadway and checking out Robert's Western World - which is a more classic country - sometimes rockabilly kind of place. It's a place I don't mind hanging out in. I also knew that my friends Dave Gleason and his wife Dawn were across the street at a place called The Wheel where Dave was playing guitar. Dave and Dawn moved to Nashville from LA in September and we had talked about meeting up at some point while I was in town. So we stopped by and said hello and listened to a couple songs - and it was great to hear Dave play guitar again. We met up with the guys at Robert's and heard the band there until 2 and then knew we had to go.
Now, as 6pm is coming up, I'm pretty damn tired - and tomorrow is going to be an even earlier day since we have to be in Knoxville at 10:30am and it's a 3 hour drive - plus we lose an hour due to the time zone difference. Hopefully I can get a nap in at some point - even if it's just in my car with the seat tilted back - we'll see.
OK - it's time to figure out what's for dinner -


Dave Gleason on the left playing guitar at The Wheel


yours truly - on my way back to Nashville

Good Weather - for now... Day 25

After that crazy weather over the weekend in St. Louis, it felt good to get back to the clearer, warmer weather down here in Nashville - although there is supposedly a storm moving in. Right now and last night, it feels like spring here. We got the grill going last night and I made burgers - a little more rare than I would have liked but it had been a while since I cooked out in the dark. Looking forward to another shot at it.
Tonight we get to play at one of my favorite places - at The Basement. It's located beneath Grimey's Record store which is an amazing record store. It's not a big place but they have the best packed into the area there - CD's, DVD's, vinyl - just so much good stuff. The Basement also isn't big, but they get a good crowd in there and some of the best names of rock and indie rock, Americana and singer/songwriter - so I'm very glad to be playing there tonight.
I like coming back to town. It's a slower pace than Los Angeles or a big city and it does feel good to slow down - although I do have to sort of flick a mental switch in my head. I don't think I realized that for a while - and that caused a problem when I lived here for that year - I couldn't get the big city out of my head to really enjoy it. But now I enjoy returning and relaxing and seeing all my friends here.
This Thursday we'll be on the WDVX Blue Plate Special out of Knoxville, TN. Here's the link:
http://www.wdvx.com/webcast.html
The show starts at 12pm Eastern Standard Time - so listen in if you can.

yours truly,
Jeremiah

Back to Nashville - Day 24

This morning I woke up after a late night - though not as late as Saturday - and packed up my things and headed back to Nashville. It's only a five hour drive and it went by fairly quickly - which is just how I like my drives.
I'd like to thank my cousin Mike for his support this past weekend. We had a good time and I'm looking forward to playing a show with him again on April 9th at Pop's Blue Moon in St. Louis.
Tomorrow night Lauren and I will be playing at The Basement here in Nashville.
I'm feeling pretty exhausted now - after making some dinner tonight and not getting enough rest over the weekend
so it's about time for bed I think -
yours truly,
Jeremiah