Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Hello Heatwave!!!!
I love summer. I really enjoy being hot. I’d jump into a car that had blurry heat slithering out into the open air before I’d prefer to be even slightly cool. However, this summer is pretty insanely hot. I’m amazed. It was quite a relief to head out of town for a couple of shows this weekend.
To the good folks at Legends in Columbus: What’s not to like about free food and great times? It was fun, we got paid, and we sold some copies of the record. Many many thanks, Legends. We look forward to coming back some time soon. We promise to have our “duo ship tight.” Here’s a clip of Legends:
The next morning we headed out early for Cincinnati. Benjarvis and I played as a duo at Rohs Street Cafe, which is a really cool joint located right on the university campus. The series was called Singer Meets Rapper that night, and we shared the stage with Dale Baker of Detroit fame. Check out his tunes here: www.myspace.com/dalebakerhiphop1. It was pretty sick. I asked his DJ, Country Fresh, if I could be his Emcee and my name could be Lil Bizkit. He didn’t say no…
I guess I have never spent any real daylight time in Cincinnati, but I was surprised by how beautiful it was there. Benjarvis and I were with his brother, Cole, and sister-in-law, Larissia. They had great ideas for entertaining ourselves before and after the show. We started with an incredibly tasty dinner at Daveed’s, then we played the show, then adventured in Fountain Square, then we made ice cream sundaes back at our suite, and we finished the night off watching Storm Stories on The Weather Channel in our pjs. ROCK AND ROLL.
We headed off to King’s Island early Sunday afternoon. Our fearless leader, Cole, took us on a flawless coastering expedition. My favorites were Flight of Fear and The Beast. Benjarvis lost his phone on Firehawk, but got the anger about it erased by Diamondback (which travels at speeds up to 80 mph). I almost lost my sanity on Firehawk, but I definitely got over my fear of roller coasters. Here are the pics from my Droid of Legends, Cincinnati and King’s Island: (The boy and girl are Cole and Larissia, and the boy with the meat is Steve Austin.)
I’ve got a lot more shows in August and September including a cool new series at The 5-Spot in East Nashville. Stay Tuned!
Nashville CD Release Photos on Facebook
I’ve got a bunch of new photos that Erick Anderson shot from the Grimey’s CD Release on my Faceybooks. Click the link on the homepage (above) to go to my FB and check them out!
Taylor Swift Grammy Performance
News!
Hi everyone! I’ve been having a few problems with my macbook. I’m thinking of sending it to behavioral school. My hard drive is questioning it’s existence, and my mouse just loves to click out of turn. That being said, I’m unable to post vlogs at this time.
I’m currently sitting in my bed, SNOWED-IN in Nashville, Tennessee. Unbelievable. I’m still waiting to hear from work if someone is going to pick me up to take me to work or if I’m just off for the day. I’m looking out the window at this gorgeous snowfall and listening to the sounds of sirens passing up and down Charlotte Avenue as dauntless southerners continue to drive their cars into ditches.
I want to share a couple quick tidbits of lovely info.
First, check out this link: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=431080214&blogId=527394886
That’s a blog on Myspace Records Friends and Family about me. Actually, you don’t have to check it out, but I just wanted to share that we are REALLY proud to be affiliated with Myspace Records Friends and Family and grateful for their support.
Second, as some of you may know, I have been under the weather (figuratively and now quite literally), but the last couple of shows went off without a hitch and I am so pleased with both of them. Playing with Erick Baker again was a real treat, and we even had a little talk about possibly doing some original duets in the future. The show the next night with Missy Raines was equally charming. This girl can play some bass and her band were absolute virtuosos.
There was crazy love at The Basement show. Benjarvis’ parents came all the way from Macon, GA. Even though is was about to be blizzardy, we had a big warm crowd and a great time.
The album is now available on ITunes, and we are having a soiree at Grimey’s New and Pre-loved Music on Monday February the 8th at 6pm.
I can think of other newses, but I’m getting hungry so its getting harder to write. I’ll catch up with you again soon!
Myspace Music Feature
Well, I finally called 2009 and told it to leave me the hell alone. It’s all about 2010 now, and things are really heating up. For the next few days my music is featured on the myspace music page and we couldn’t be more excited about it! Thanks to Myspace Friends and Family for hooking that up! The new record will hit stores in early 2010, but technically savvy oldsters and the rest of the record buying public can pick it up on itunes now! Erick Anderson did some beautiful artwork to go along with the digital download and we love that too!
We’ve got shows coming up all over the place, so stay tuned for those!
CD Release moved to January 28th @ Basement, and the first installment of MMF Flips!
CD Release Show Update after these messages…
Check This Out
My thoughts on the new record…
I’m overwhelmed by the new album as I listen to the unmastered tracks. It’s really incredible where we have grown from. I think back to playing that little show at Liquid Smoke in Murfreesboro Tennessee where I caught the attention of producer Mark Hornsby. I’m so glad I played that show. Our meeting that night started me on a journey that has changed my life and my musical direction profoundly.
The new album is called “The Fire and the Flood”. For me, its a coming of age record. It follows me through the last couple of years as I made new discoveries about money, love and cold. There are songs about letting go of the impossible, and songs that revisit the painful. It’s got classic whiskey and cheating tunes, but I tried to make it more than that. It’s about learning how to dream the right dreams, and hold on to them. The album is dark, but its soft and delicate, even hopeful at times. The stories explore a meandering path that is green with acoustic guitar, piano, rhodes, organ, strings and even a few euphoniums. The production is dry, warm and at times playful, but never over-done.
As we finish up the last few finishing touches, I have become so excited to share this record with you. I hope that it tells the story of not only where I’ve been, but where I’m headed and I hope the invitation to come along with me is clear.
I love you all and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Be on the lookout for Album Release shows in January and February…
Boardroom Blitz! JB and Mark discuss my future…
