Summer Travels Part I

December is here and the New Year is just around the corner and I still can't believe that I haven't written what I have wanted to about this past summer. I haven't been disciplined at all lately about writing - although songwriting is a different story - I have come up with a couple songs over the past couple months that I've been happy about. But from the beginning of my journeys I've been wanting to write about the roads I've traveled, and this summer I covered about 30,000 miles - from July to October. I spent a good deal of time in the truck stops across this country, Starbucks (free wifi you know), Flagstaff, saw lots of family and friends, ate and made some good food from LA to Seattle, to Nashville and Austin, heard and saw countless hours of music and epic scenery pass by my car windows. So here's a bit of how it went:

The following day after Kim and Justin's 3rd of July party in their backyard in Pasadena, which was an amazing gathering of people coming together to enjoy some music, friends, drinks, fireworks, I loaded up my car and headed for Phoenix to start off the summer tour. Lauren Austin, my friend and musical collaborator, was flying in that evening from Nashville and she made it early enough for us to catch a fireworks show right from the freeway in Tempe. We crashed at a friend's house that night and were able to relax the next day at another friend's house who had a backyard pool. We lounged around, escaping the 105 degree heat until we had to rehearse and get ready for the show that evening which was at the Sail Inn, just west of downtown Tempe. We had Cates, the drummer, sit in with us and we had a good sounding set and I saw that once again Lauren and I are just able to pick up from where we left off before - like the months and miles don't really matter.


(Kim Grant at the head of the table - on the left - on the 3rd of July)

(Old Californio onstage in the backyard)

Since we had a couple days before the next gig, we headed up to Flagstaff and were very happy to get out of the Phoenix heat. Down in the valley it had been around 105, but up in the mountains it was a nice 85 during the day - warm enough to enjoy the pool at the motel, but cool enough in the evenings to be able to relax outside and enjoy some beers - which is exactly what we did. Flagstaff is one of my favorite towns in the US - it just has a great feel to it - the air is clean and crisp, and even though during the summer the traffic can get things a little slow, it just feels right. I was a little sad when we had to leave town to make our next show but I knew I'd pass through again soon enough.


(a mellow summer evening in Flagstaff)

The next gig was in Gallup, New Mexico and my friend Wydale helped me set something up at this bar/restaurant in the downtown area. I had been through Gallup quite a few times in my life. It's a little town that you almost HAVE to go through if you're driving across the country. Since it's a border town - right on the edge of the Navajo Reservation - there are lots of Natives around and it's obvious that you're in Indian Country. Before the gig we had some gear to buy (cables, stands, etc.) and found a music store and ended up walking out with an electric mandolin too, which was something that we really needed since Lauren was getting a little lost in the sound. The set that night was a good one and we had fun - and the new mandolin added a lot to it.

After the set in Gallup, we drove on to Albuquerque and stayed with some of Lauren's family. After a good breakfast we hit the road for Colorado where we had to be in Colorado Springs for a country music fan fare event that Lauren got booked into. We also had a gig in Denver that evening too and we had a limited amount of time to set up Lauren's booth for the weekend event. Luckily everything came together and after a little delay, we made the gig. My cousin sat in with us on bass and we all had a good time. Since it was a coffeehouse that served beer and wine in the neighborhood, a lot of parents with their kids were there - and the kids took to the dance floor which was a sight to see.


(Lauren, myself, and Chris Evans at KJ's in Denver)


After a late night, in the morning we rushed down to the fan fare deal in Colorado Springs - but we soon found that no rush was needed. The whole event was sparsely attended with many of the acts on the bill using backing tracks. It was a very strange weekend - we mostly just sat there - waiting for something to happen - waiting for people to come in - waiting to play. The band Sherman was there from Austin, a band that we knew and appreciated, and who had members we had met in May when we played a house party in Austin. Later that evening we met up with them and others who had been on the bill at a local bar and were able to play again. I guess the best part about the weekend was that the fan fare people put everybody up in a nice hotel - so it was good to get back to a decent room after it all.


(Sherman onstage in Colorado Springs at the Fan Fare show)

Since we didn't have anything booked for a couple weeks we decided to spend a few days over in Lauren's hometown of Grand Junction, on the western side of the state. After the rushing and driving around the previous days, it felt good to stop and be in one place for awhile. The first evening as the sun was setting we went up and had happy hour up on the roof of her dad's house. The town is surrounded by mesas in the distance and storm clouds hovered over the landscape as rain fell from the dark sky. It was a stirring sight to see. The house had a nice patio and during the days I sat out there and did some writing - in fact, it's where Lauren and I came up with our first song. The rest of the time, while we were there, we did some playing, some drinking - including a tour of some local wineries - visiting with Lauren's friends, visiting with her family, checking out some old haunts, and even a 2 mile jog which was a first for me in a long time.


(the happy hour view in Grand Junction, CO.)

As the week was coming to a close we knew we had to head back to Nashville. I didn't have anywhere to be for another week so I didn't mind driving all the way to Tennessee where I had planned to hang out for a couple days and catch up with friends there, then make the trek back to LA. We crossed back through the mountains again, passed through Denver, then headed out to the vast open plains. We passed through Salina, Kansas and into Kansas City and the midwest, where the hot, humid, summer heat would hit us as we took our breaks on the road. I was happy to see St. Louis since I knew that meant we were only five hours away from Nashville. We crossed the Mississippi River and just kept rolling along. Soon we were coming into Nashvegas and again I was glad knowing that I had a few days to rest.

Unfortunately things took an unplanned dramatic turn the following day. After completing some errands around town we went to work on changing out one of Lauren's headlights in her car. One of the pieces wasn't fitting correctly (we would find out later, it was wrong) but Lauren kept struggling with it trying to get it to fit. She had to step away and went inside and I continued trying to make the part fit. As I was focused on the work, two guys walked by and said hey which I didn't think much about since it was 7pm and plenty of daylight out - and people had been jogging up and down the streets just moments before - and I really wanted to get the part in. But a couple minutes later the two guys came back - one had a gun and they both came up close. The other guy said - Don't move - and searched through my pockets and looked though my wallet and grabbed my phone. I had no money on me and they asked- Where's the cash? - I don't have any - I answered. They took the wallet and phone and started walking quickly to the alley behind Lauren's house and again said - Don't move - then they were gone. Lauren had been on her back porch and heard them come around the corner to a waiting car where they jumped in and sped off. We called the cops and they showed up quickly and immediately went searching the surrounding neighborhoods. About two hours after it was over was when I was finally able to settle down.

After the police left and before I went to meet up with my friend for a much needed drink, I cancelled all my cards, reported my phone stolen, and planned to hold tightly to my police report of the incident since I had no ID. I was worried about driving back across the country since I really had no other proof of who I am. I was very happy to hear that my cell phone company said I would get my new phone in a day and a half since I really didn't want to travel without one. After thinking about things, I knew I had to cut my Nashville visit short so I could get back to California and get my drivers license replaced as soon as possible, since I had a whole lot more driving to do over the next couple months.

The drive back to the west was fairly uneventful - which is a good thing really. I crossed Arkansas and Oklahoma and stopped at a rest stop in Texas before Amarillo and slept for a few hours in my car. I awoke as the sun was rising which lit up the eastern sky brilliantly. I made my regular stop at a Starbucks in Amarillo so I could charge my Ipod and phone, check into what had happened on the web and get some caffeine in my body. After I was properly charged, I kept driving on the 40 and after most of the day behind the wheel I pulled into Flagstaff again to rest for a while. I crossed the desert in the dark and made it home in the early hours of the morning.


(a panhandle Texas morning at about 6:30 a.m.)

After getting some much need rest I decided to head to the DMV to start the replacement process. I was in and out of there surprisingly fast - which I was very happy about. I caught up with my family one night and told them my stories but soon had to hit the road again so I could make my next gig up in San Francisco at Grant and Green in the North Beach part of town. This was to be my San Francisco debut and I was looking forward to it and to going into the city which I hadn't done for close to 10 years.

Not too long after I pulled onto the San Francisco streets I remembered how they were a little confusing and that I should have looked at a map, at least, before driving into town. I used my new phone and it helped me figure out where I was and where I needed to go. I made it right in time and was glad to see some old friends I hadn't seen in a long time and my cousin Jason at the bar. I was happy with the way things went and afterwards a group of us went to get food at Tommy's Joynt which had incredible sandwiches - I chose a brisket one that so flavorful and juicy, and huge - and though afterwards I was full, I wanted more - but I knew I had to wait until next time. The next day after breakfast with my cousin I drove back down the 5 and made it to my home stage at The Cinema Bar in Culver City for my gig that evening.


(Tommy's Joynt in San Francisco)

The month ended with a big show at The Echo and Echoplex in Echo Park that Kim Grant helped put together. On the bill were so many good bands, Old Californio, The Whispering Pines, I See Hawks In LA - mostly locals - with Dave Alvin, one of my heroes, headlining. The areas were packed, and the crowd which was made up of friends and musicians, and friends of musicians, drifted from stage to stage (there were three of them) for the 9 plus hour event. At the end of the show I was so glad that I was back in town for it because the bands I saw were unbelievably good and it was an inspiring gathering of people.


(Dave Alvin at the Echoplex)

Austin and SXSW and the upcoming tour

Well it seems like the trip to Austin just happened and in a few weeks I'll be packing things into my car again and heading east. This time I'll be traveling through the southwest, the midwest, north, and to the south - and then back home again. I'm always ready for a road trip and I'm so glad that things have come together the way they have - and hopefully I'll have a couple more things to add to the schedule.

Austin and SXSW were pretty amazing - so many things to see and do and also play the three shows we had lined up. We left LA Tuesday night and got there Wednesday night and met up with my partner from Nashville, Lauren Austin, and caught up over beers. The next day we rehearsed for a while and got ready for the first one out at Sam's Town Point out at the county line. It's a pretty cool and funky place and we had people there listening and it went well overall. Later that evening my friend Mikaela and I wandered around the downtown streets, enjoying some good Korean BBQ tacos and met up with several friends - a good night in Austin.

The next day we had an early show at the M&S Management show at Freebirds. We played out on the patio and thankfully the weather was nice. There was a good group of people there listening and eating and drinking and was glad, like I was for all the shows, that we got on the bill. After that we stopped by the very packed Bloodshot Records party in hopes of seeing Justin Townes Earle but the crowd was too much and we had to slip out of there. We escaped to the Sin City party over at Maria's Tacos X-press and the found the scene more to our liking. We met up with Todd Kivi, who had a table and we had the good luck to sit down and enjoy the bands. Soon our table was full of bottles of Shiner Bock as the sounds of the Mother Truckers and Mike Stinson took us into the evening. Later that night I saw a truly amazing show - Smokey Robinson at the Austin Music Hall. His voice was wonderful, the band was awesome, - a great storyteller and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, I went away being very happy that I was able to see that show.

Early Saturday morning a storm came through that brought with it rain and cold wind and the temperature went from a pleasant 70 degrees down to around 38. I received word that our show at Uncorked, which was supposed to be outdoors, was thankfully moved inside. We played a good set in the warm atmosphere of the wine bar and we got a good response from everyone there - which is always a good thing. Afterwards we headed off to our 2nd Annual Feast at Matt's El Rancho on S. Lamar and feasted on some great Mexican food with margaritas. A little bit later we headed back to Uncorked to catch Austin Collins who had helped us get on the bill at Freebirds the previous day. Earlier there I saw a band called Annie and the Beekeepers who were pretty awesome - I bought a CD in fact. Austin Collins and the Rainbirds played a good set and I finally met him afterwards, after just being friends online - just like Mark Gonzales from M&S Management the day before. It was another good day in Austin and we ended it back at the house where we were staying, enjoying beers and talking about our time in town. The next day we all had to head back to our towns, LA for me, and Nashville for Lauren, Mikaela, Shane, and Nando.

The drive back starting on Sunday wasn't too bad really - I think it sounds worse than it actually was - 26 hours - ten of those in Texas - I left at 11:00 am and got home at 11:00 am. In El Paso I rested and had some BBQ which was awesome. Throughout the whole trip back I had a whole lot of coffee - so much so that I haven't had any since with the exception of one cup later that Monday night at the Cinema Bar just so I could stay awake and make it through my set - which seemed to be a better idea when I booked it weeks before than when I was there - but I made it through all right.

The only thing that was a bummer about the trip was hearing that Alex Chilton died on the opening day when there was already a huge buzz about the Big Star show that Saturday night. It ended up being a memorial tribute show with other singers coming up to sing songs and I really wanted to be there in the audience. Alex Chilton and Big Star were big influences on me and just about two weeks before I was listening to a lot of Big Star - (in the words of Paul Westerberg and The Replacements, "I never travel far, without a little Big Star"). I also loved his production work with The Cramps, which is where I first saw his name - that raw, garagey, noisy sound just knocked me out. His influence definitely lives on.

So - at the end of the month I'll be hitting the road again.
Here are the dates so far:

April 29th - The Cinema Bar, Culver City, CA
April 30th - The 51 North Grill, Phoenix, AZ (still to be confirmed)
May 1st - Gallup, NM (still to be confirmed)
May 4th - Oklahoma
May 5th - Magoons with Tracy Huffman and the Motors, St. Joseph, MO
May 7th - Pop's Blue Moon, St. Louis, MO
May 8th - BBQ house party, St. Louis, MO
May 9th - Uncommon Grounds on Clark St. with Arthi Meera, Chicago, IL
May 11th - The Basement - New Faces Night, Nashville, TN
May 13th - Norm's River Road House, Nashville, TN
May 14th - Foam beer and coffee bar, St. Louis, MO
May 15th - House Concert with Austin Collins, Austin, TX

I'm looking for some more shows on the way back from Texas or in the Oklahoma area on the way out.
I will also have my new Under Your Spell CD to sell which will also soon be available online through Itunes and Amazon.

so come on out if you can to a show

thanks,
yours truly,
Jeremiah

Just Around the Corner

In just about a week I'll be packing up my car and once again hitting the road for another trip. This time I'll be heading to the great city of Austin, Texas for some South By Southwest fun. I'm happy to say that I was able to get three shows during my time there and I'm really looking forward to the trip and to being in Austin again and seeing some great music.
I'm really hoping that the winter cold that seems to have really hit the South this season will have moved on by that point. Last year when we drove in from Nashville I was so glad to feel the warmer Texas air - and also eat some good Mexican food which I was really craving at that point. This year I'll be driving in from California where the winter hasn't been that bad at all. Of course there's been some rain, but nothing like the rain that comes down in the South and the Midwest.
Being back in California has been good and I've kept myself busy since I've returned to town. In February I did a Monday night residency at The Cinema Bar in Culver City - which I can definitely now call my home stage. Rod, the owner has been really supportive - as have the rest of the staff - Jackie, Michelle, Nila, and Lisa. My CD release show for Under Your Spell will be there - I'm thinking late May - after I get back from my tour of the Midwest and the South.
In addition to booking shows and making travel plans I've started doing a webcast show - although I've only really been testing it out lately, so I haven't announced anything until now. I'm thinking about continuing the Monday night idea and doing a 8pm PST show - starting tentatively on March 29th. The show is called From This Corner and can be found on Ustream.com - we'll see how it goes.
For now I'm really looking forward to Austin - meeting up with some old friends and meeting some new ones - playing my shows - going to Cooper's BBQ and traveling from here to there and back again.
yours truly,
Jeremiah

Austin And SXSW

This past Sunday night we arrived safely back home to Nashville after an exhausting but fun filled, adventurous trip to Austin, Texas to check out the scene at SXSW. It was my first year going, and I'm so glad that we decided go, even though we didn't have anything officially lined up. But we did get to be heard - we made ourselves known and came back inspired, more focused - we also got to meet up with friends, enjoy some good food and we're also now the proud owners of a banjo.
For a while Lauren and I had been going back and forth about going to Austin. I had been trying to get onto a bill that had some open slots but by Wednesday night we hadn't heard anything and so we both just said - What the Hell! Let's just go and make something happen. So we did. We packed up my car with our gear and just after midnight we hit the road for Texas.
By the following afternoon we were rolling into Austin and the craziness of SXSW. We slowly made it through town dealing with more traffic than I had seen since I left LA and found a parking lot close to the action and downtown. It was a pretty overwhelming place to be for the first time - so many people and so much music everywhere. We had a list of unofficial events and spent some time trying to figure out what to do.
With some finagling we were able to get into the AMA showcase at Antone's. There was a good sized crowd there to see Carrie Rodriguez, Justin Townes Earle, and the closer Raul Malo - who were all awesome. We also ran into people from LA - Michelle, who we had run into earlier on 5th St., and the great Todd Kivi, who was really surprised to see us there. We met some others too but by the end of the show we were both beat and headed out to where we were staying to get some rest.
The next morning I woke up early thanks to the morning birds singing their songs and since I was sleeping on a screened in deck it came through loud and clear. Thankfully I was able to fall back alseep and get some more rest. That afternoon we headed back downtown and while trying to figure out what to do, Lauren suggested getting our intruments and playing out on 6th St. - so we did. We set up right there on the street and started playing and ended up getting some good attention. We did a couple interviews including one for a guy who was doing a documentary on street performers. It felt good and was a very positive experience and I was happy that people were interested in what we were doing.
Later we made it out to Maria's Tacos for the Sin City party. I was really looking forward to seeing Randy Weeks since the day I left LA was the last time he played at the Cinema Bar. I ran into a whole bunch of people I knew from LA - Cindy Wasserman, Funky Jenn, Jill, Dave from The Horsepainters, Michelle again, a full bearded Tracy Huffman who I had last seen when I stayed with him up in Missouri, Mike Stinson, and of course Shilah. We enjoyed the music and the people and the nice Spring Texas evening.
Chris Morris had given us a flyer for Ruby Friedman's show that evening at the Apple Bar, so after we saw our friend Ryan's band, Sound and Shape, we headed over there. We saw Todd and Chris and met a few others and then were just blown away by Ruby's set. They, the Ruby Friendman Orchestra was just awesome and played a strong, powerful, wonderful set. I was so glad that we had witnessed it. After that we called it a night and after a stop off for tacos on the way back went to sleep.
We had a slow start that Saturday and missed having lunch with Chris and Todd and Jim but decided to get some Mexican food at place that we saw right next to Maria's Tacos the day before - a place that Lauren remembered going to when she used to live there when she was younger - El Rancho. I had been craving some good Mexican food (something that Nashvile really lacks) and I was so hapy when we sat down and they put the chips and salsa on the table - and the salsa was good and spicy. I think it's safe to say that we feasted - or at least I did - it was so good.
On our way back into town we saw a guitar store that had a SXSW sale sign out front. I think we both already had an idea about what would happen - and after walking around and seeing what they had, there it was - a banjo. We had been looking for a while for one - something that wasn't too expensive, something that we could learn on - and after both of us played it we decided to get it. We left the store happy and we had someone take our picture with it out front - feeling a bit like proud parents. As we drove back downtown we kept looking in the backseat, checking on it.
We made it to the end of the Shurman party and ran into a bunch of the people from the day before. We randomly ran into Michelle before going in, just like we had a few days before. It really was cool seeing everyone and I'm looking forward to the trip back to LA in May for the shows we have lined up.
I got a call from Todd and we met up with him over at the Hilton to see Jackie Bristow who was good and soothing and I relaxed in a nice hotel lobby chair. We were planning to leave at some point that evening so we didn't have to do the drive home in one big day but we still had some things we wanted to do. After Jackie's set we decided to get some food with Todd and we met up with Cary Baker from Conqueroo and enjoyed a nice meal and reflected on our time there in Austin.
We decided our last outing would be to try to see Exene and we made our way through the crowded streets to the club. Unfortunately it was a wristband only show but we ended up running into Chris Morris again and we talked for a while with him. I also ran into my friend Izzy Cox who had moved to Austin a while ago. She's the one who had passed on to me that gig I had at the Karma Coffeehouse in Hollywood. I was glad that I ran into her and also Johnny Fargo who I hadn't seen for years who I randomly ran into during our time in Austin.
By then it was getting late and we decided to get on the road and start the trip home.
We made it to the other side of Dallas and enjoyed some sleep. I woke up fairly rested and ready for the rest of the way. It all was a smooth drive and we cruised along listening to some country on the radio. By the evening we were coming into Memphis and we decided to stop off and check out the city. We drove by Sun Records and then over to Beale St. and got out and walked around for a bit. We saw a pretty good blues band at one of the bars there and it was a good stop.
Just before midnight we made it back to Nashville and it felt good to get back to my own bed.
Luckily I don't have to go to work until tomorrow and I'm not really looking forward to it. I would rather travel and play music - but that will come. I'm also looking forward to SXSW next year. We'll definitely get something going for that. For now we have a show here in town at The Basement next week and we're ready to do our thing. The trip has left me feeling inspired and confident of reaching our goals. We'll be heading back to LA in May for some shows - can't wait to travel again.


Meat by the pound - All right!


Cindy Wasserman singing @ Maria's Tacos


Tony Gilkyson and Randy Weeks - Sin City party


Chris Morris and Lauren Austin at The Apple Bar


The Ruby Friedman Orchestra at The Apple Bar


The feast at El Rancho


Jackie Bristow onstage with Todd Kivi and Michelle watching


Elvis on Beale St. - Memphis


W.C. Handy on Beale St.

yours truly,
Jeremiah