Goin' Back South - Day 38

After a weekend in St. Louis and Chicago, I'm on my way heading back to the south - first to Nashville to pick up Lauren, and then to head over to Austin. Right now I'm making a stop in Terre Haute, Indiana - food, a bit of rest. I've been taking the small Highway 41 down to the south. I had been wanting to try a new road - and this is definitely a new one.
First though - the Saturday night show in St. Louis at Pop's Blue Moon went well. There wasn't as many people as last time there, but still a decent crowd. The first band up was called Free Dirt and Dan, who was going to be playing bass with me again, along with Mike, my cousin, was Dan's old band. They were good - loud, raw, twangy rock and roll. They did a cover of Devo's Yeah, Yeah, Yeah... which was pretty awesome. Our set was cool - although it took a while to get the sound just right, but we played on, and at the end of the set people were calling for more - that's always a good sign.
In the morning I said goodbye to Mike and hit the road for Chicago and for my other cousin, Ben's place, who lives in the Naperville/Aurora area just west of town. On the way up, the land is pretty flat - lots of farms dot the countryside - and birds: crows, hawks - circle the road looking for food. Again it was another smooth ride and I made it there with enough time to sit down and relax for a bit.
I drove into town and thankfully the traffic was light. I've made that drive before and it's been hard because of roadwork - or a Cubs game. There were lots of people out on the town - hanging out on the patio bars, and walking up and down the streets - it was warm out - warm and humid, with a slight breeze, but in the distance were clouds and the threat of a storm. So I was glad to see people out and I took it as a good sign for the show that evening.
The venue is called Uncommon Grounds and it's in Wrigleyville - right on the corner. It has some good food and a good bar. The music happens in a smaller room - and was glad to see the place fill up as the first act got ready to play. The evening of music were people connected to my friend and former Chicagoan Kim Grant - who now lives in LA. When I was looking for some people to add to the bill, I thought of her friend Lisa DeRosia, who I had met several years ago in LA - who agreed and then we added some of Lisa's friends, Anne-Marie and Colby Maddox who played as a duo. We all had a great time and I enjoyed everyone who played - and was also glad that the room stayed full through out the whole night. My friend Arthi who I knew from working with her in LA at Trader Joe's showed up with her boyfriend and we all hung out after Uncommon Grounds closed.
Today has been all right - just a slow drive down from the north. Again, lots and lots of farms all around the road, some cloudy skies, diesel trucks - and I'm looking forward to some sleep in Nashville tonight. Tomorrow night - Austin!
Thanks again to my cousin Mike for all his help for the St. Louis shows. I'm thinking of heading back in June - but we'll see -
Also - in May I have several shows around LA - I'll post it all up soon.
thanks,
yours truly,
Jeremiah


even though I'm not a Cubs fan (go Cards!), I thought this was cool


Anne-Marie and Colby Maddox - and their bass player


Lisa DeRosia and her guitar player


Lisa and her daughter playing Old Macdonald's Farm

Chicago - day 37

So it's late now - and I do have more to tell about today and last night too - but I need to rest and get ready for the drive back to Nashville. I am hoping to get some time tomorrow - during a break on the road to get some writing done.
But to let you know, the show here in Chicago was a good one - good crowd, good line-up, good people - I had a good night and enjoyed everybody's company. I'd like to thank Kim Grant for the connection between us all tonight - she was definitely missed this evening.

yours truly,
Jeremiah

Sunny St. Louis - day 36

It's pretty amazing how warm it is up here - and how just two weeks ago there was a half a foot of snow. In the early hours of the morning today, a good storm passed through and the rain poured down hard. Later today the skies are clear, there's some humidity in the air and I'm looking forward to playing again tonight.
Last night went well at the Ten Mile House. I played a solo set and started off the night. The next band was from Chicago and two of the guys were from LA. They were all right, but they need to work on their volume levels - the guitars were too loud and the drummer was pounding the drums excessively. But still they were pretty good. The Homewreckers were the headliners and they were good - and it was a fun night overall.
Tonight is Pop's Blue Moon and it should also be another fun night. Tomorrow I drive up to Chicago for a show at Uncommon Grounds in Wrigleyville on Clark Street - and I'm looking forward to getting back to Chicago - it's such a cool town.
Then next week I head back to Nashville to pick up Lauren and we head to Texas - Austin on Wednesday, Dallas on Thursday, Estes Park in Colorado on Friday, and Denver on Saturday. It's going to be a busy week.

yours truly,
Jeremiah


a shot of the grill from a few days ago - it was good


The sign for the Ten Mile House

Ready For The Weekend - day 35

After a few days of rest and relaxation in Nashville, I'm ready to get back to work this weekend - sort of the reverse of how weekends typically work innit? This weekend of shows and music starts up here in St. Louis - where I just pulled into. Tonight I get to open the night out at a place called the Ten Mile House where my cousin Mike's band is the headliner.
Then tomorrow is another show here in town at Pop's Blue Moon where we played last May. It's a small and cozy little bar in The Hill part of town - which is the Italian part of town. It has a very similar feel to The Cinema Bar back in LA which is my home stage. There's the opaque glass window in the front, the limited table seating, the old bar feel to it - also how you have to run your own sound, and get the bands yourself to fill out the night.
The drive up went smoothly - along the way more trees were blossoming and it was nice to see the leaves appearing on the branches too. The was a good wind that was blowing and I could feel as I drove on. I made a stop at Steak and Shake for lunch which is one of my favorite places in the midwest. Before I started making regular trips to the midwest and the south, where Steak and Shakes are located, I would remember and crave the burgers, fries, and shakes from my youth and previous trips over the years.
Well - it's about time go get ready - get settled in for the next couple nights here.
yours truly,
Jeremiah

Last night in Nashville - Day 34

Tonight as the sun goes down, I'm making another dinner - well the last one here in Nashville. Tomorrow I pack up my car and head back up to St. Louis. I have enjoyed my time here, and already look forward to returning - which might be in a couple of months.
I've already started booking shows for a trip in June and I might end up coming over here when I do. Lauren and I want to continue working and pushing what we're doing - to get us to the next level - which we both feel we're capable of doing. Our plans are to write some songs together, record, and put out an e.p. It seems easy enough - but we'll see. We threw around the idea of doing a Kickstarter project too.
For dinner tonight is pizza - which I'm more than happy to make.
This evening is a nice warm Spring evening - I'm hoping it stays that way in the towns I'm headed to.
yours truly,
Jeremiah

Day 33

Still here in Nashville - and soon will be heading back to St. Louis. There's been clear skies overhead which has been nice and I took the opportunity the do some grilling for dinner. Overall, everything came out like I had wanted it to, and I was happy - on the menu was a Flat Iron Steak, corn, red bell peppers - I was happy with the way everything turned out.
NOthing else much happened today - but ready to get moving down the road.

- j

Clear Skies Once Again - Day 32

I'm thankful to say that the weather has gone back to being fairly normal here in Nashville. Yesterday's storm was a wild one and after seeing the scattered destruction across the South, and where the storm passed through, I'm thankful that we got through it unscathed. Today the skies are clear, it's a little bit chilly outside, and I'm hoping to grill the chicken breast that originally we had planned for yesterday.
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