2006 TOUR BLOG
(Be sure to keep checking back as we will be adding more info and photo links as they come available)
SEPTEMBER, 2006
Mon. 11 – Limerick Junction – Atlanta, GA. (solo acoustic)Spent the day reflecting on the 9/11 rememberance. Played acoustic at Limerick Junction in midtown Atlanta. Heading out tomorrow on the road for the fall tour. Seems like I just got back from the summer tour. Time is really beginning to pick up speed at this time in my life.
Tue.12 – Brackins’ Blues Bar – Maryville, TN. (solo acoustic)Left Kennesaw about noon heading to Maryville, TN for a solo acoustic show at Brackins’ Blues Bar. This is a favorite stop for me on the road. This was the first time doing a solo acoustic show there, and I really enjoyed it. Headed out in the dark after the gig toward Cincinnati.
Wed. 13 - The Lounge - Cincinnati, OH (solo acoustic)Went straight to WLW to sit in on my friend, Gary Burbank’s radio show to promote tonight at The Lounge. That’s always a blast. Cincinnati booking agent and music lover, Jackie Mulberry, books me in there for a fun weeknight. I have 2 more appearances there on this tour, which should give me a little more visibility. I headed out toward Columbus, OH and spent the night at a truck stop on the way. I love the solitude of stopping at truck stops. The low hum of the generators conveys a special mood on the road.
Thur. 14 (Travel Day)Drove toward Granville, OH. For the appearances at the Hot Licks Blues Festival for the weekend, and a school appearance on Friday. Stopped early at a truck stop on the other side of Columbus to get a good night’s rest before a busy weekend.
Fri. 15 – Granville Lower School – Brews Café (solo acoustic) – Granville, OH.Checked into my motel about 10am. Had lunch with Tom Carroll and Jerry Martin of the festival and Brews Café. Did a 45 minute presentation at 2pm for all 600 or so students. Played some traditional songs and explained their origin from the blues, and seemed to have their attention. They were a nice bunch of kids. That evening I did a solo acoustic set at Brews Café. The big day, The Hot Licks Blues Festival is tomorrow.
Sat.16 - Hot Licks Blues Festival / Brews Cafe - Granville, OHAfter a few years of trying I finally made it to the Hot Licks Blues Festival. Being the home of Denison University, the town reminds me of a mini Princeton. The atmosphere is of a quaint, artsy, pedestrian-friendly one, and the fact that the town is beautiful helps. This day, Main Street is closed and there will probably be 4000 to attend the event during the course of the day. My set was at 5pm, just before Big Time Sarah and Magic Slim. Then I was invite to get on stage with Sarah and Slim. This was truly a highlight. Then I had a set beginning at 10pm in Brews Café, which made for a long day, but a fun one at that.
Sun. 17 - Visited with my friend, Nick Joseph’s farm in Coshocton, OH for a beautiful afternoon. Stayed there until Tuesday. I usually play Nick’s club, The Sport Zone, but it is undergoing renovations at the moment. We’ll make that happen next time.
Mon. & Tue. 18 & 19 - Enjoyed a relaxing day and did some errands. Had to find a hardware store in Coshocton to make a minor repair to my trailer hitch, and then went out to dinner. Had a copy with me of the basic unfinished mixes for the new CD, and played those for some friends.
Wed. 20 - Drove back toward Cincy and stayed at the Flying J Truckstop about 70 miles out of Cincy. Did some writing and basically called it an early night off on the road.
Thur. 21 - Back to the Lounge in Cincy for a solo acoustic set.
Fri. 22 - Did a live interview with John Thad for the blues show on WNKU at Northern Kentucky University, then did a last minute solo acoustic show at Coco’s in Covington, KY., just across the river from Cincinnati.
Sat. 23 - Key Palace - Redkey, IN - Headed out toward the gig at the Key Palace in Redkey, IN. This is a favorite place of mine. Charlie Nobel owns and operates this cool old restored movie theatre turned concert hall. He brings in a lot of the road guys. You can check it out at www.keypalacetheatre.com.
Sun. 24 - Charlie came by the motel and went with us to have Sunday brunch. He was then headed back to Redkey to watch the Indianapolis Colts ballgame. I then began my trek toward Cleveland, OH and for my gig coming up at The Savannah Grill & Bar in Westlake, OH. I was able to catch the Bengals game against Pittsburgh on the radio. It’s fun to catch a Sunday game, no matter where I am. I’m planning to watch the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night against New Orleans, the first game in NO since Katrina. Arrived in the Cleveland area late this night and docked at a Wal-Mart.
Mon. 25 - I thought about hooking up at a campground, but decided to just plug in behind The Savannah Club, as I’ve always done before. Jim DePaule always extends great hospitality when I’m here. This is the place I recorded some of the tracks for my last DC, “The Ohio Connection”. I had dedicated the CD to Jim and the folks there. You can read the story inside the CD jacket. I then went to visit some good friends, Diana Firth and Mark Atzel for dinner, and to watch the football game. My Falcons didn’t do very well against the Saints, but it was truly a good night for the city of New Orleans.
Tue. 26 - Had the day off and went for an outing in the park overlooking Lake Erie. I always enjoy walking and enjoying at this location. The beautiful weather really makes it that much more enjoyable. Met up with Diana and Mark at a restaurant for dinner.
Wed. 27 - Savannah Grill & Bar - West Lake, OHThis is a regular stop for me. My “Ohio Connection Band”, consisting of Mike Miheli and J Scarr joined me here for a fun night. Although the house wasn’t full, the folks that come here are familiar with me, and show up whenever I’m here. Many places feel like I’m coming home when I go there, and this is one of them. I’m heading back to Cincy for Thursday night after the gig.
Thur.28 - The Lounge - Cincinnati, OHJoined my buddy, Mike “Cash Ownly” Tucker as an acoustic duo for the night. We really get back to some roots music here. J Scarr came in to sit in on bass, and John Hall played some mandolin. We had a fun jam and almost weren’t able to quit since it was happening so well. These are the kind of musical nights we live for. Hit the road for Knoxville to do a 5:30pm show at the Knoxville Museum of Art program called “Live After Five”.
Fri.29 - Live After 5 - Knoxville Museum of Art - Knoxville, TNI made it in to about 40 miles out of Knoxville and pulled over for the night about 4:30am at the “Million Dollar Refrigerator” (Wal-Mart) Slept until about noon, grabbed some coffee, and made the last hour trek into Knoxville. We had a great show and were then back on the road by 9:30pm headed to Murphysboro, IL and the Riverside Blues Festival. We made it to close to our destination by around 4am, and into another Wal-Mart parking lot. Ya gotta love it!
Sat.30 - Riverside Blues Festival - Murphysboro, ILThis is my second time headlining this festival. My buddy, Joe Glasser, goes out of his way, and out of pocket to put on a great event. Unfortunately, there are never as many folks there as should be, but the crowd we had was wonderful. This show is held in an old, but really cool concrete amphitheatre. I hope to be on this show again.
Sun. October 1 - We’re burning up some road on this day. We’re driving from southern Illinois to Sharon in western Pennsylvania for a Monday night show at Quaker Steak & Lube. This is the home of the original Quaker State Oil Company, so the play on names for a wing joint blends right in. This is a franchised operation, this being the home office. We had a fun show to the folks that come out Mondays for the music. We arrived in western PA about 2am.
Mon.2 – Quaker Steak & Lube/ Tully’s - Sharon, PA - Just getting ready for a blues Monday. Pulled into the club and dropped off the gear and headed to the hotel for some rest. This is a fairly normal routine on a working day while on tour. The road, the club, the motel, the club, the motel, the road. Thankfully I have a couple of days off coming up. I always enjoy them immensely while on the road.
Tue. 3 – Started making the trek into Pennsylvania toward Chambersburg in southern PA. The day was pretty much dampened in the state due to the Amish school shooting. This was a very distressing story with many reports describing the resolve of the Amish community in dealing with this crisis. The stories of how they didn’t want help from the outside (but did graciously accept it) , and how willing they were to forgive just about caused me to run off the side of the road. My heart was (and still is) aching for the families of these kids murdered for no reason. I arrived at the Relax Inn in Chambersburg around 6:30pm and plugged in the trailer for the night.
Wed.4 - Kclinger's Tavern - Hanover, PA – Headed over to Hanover via Gettysburg. Stopped to do laundry and get that chore out of the way. It’s always nice to get back to Kclinger’s. Bill Klinger always brings in touring acts on Wednesdays, and it’s always good to see the folks there again. We had a fairly good sized crowd, although folks do tend to retire earlier during the week. The response was very positive.
Thur. 5 – Had the evening off hanging out at the Relax Inn and retired early.
Fri.6 - Basically just worked on the upcoming CD project and enjoyed a Friday evening off.
Sat.7 - Relax Inn - Chambersburg, PA - -Set up the gear in the afternoon for the band gig that night. Had a good crowd and just did what we came to do.
Sun.8 – Had brunch at the restaurant and went for a long walk and watched football.
Mon.9 - Relax Inn - Chambersburg, PA (solo acoustic) - Played for wing night and just had a good time, and relaxed afterwards with a cigar and watched Monday night football.
Tue.10 – Headed out of PA over to NJ to see some good friends I played in a band with when I lived in NJ in the early 70’s. Visited for a few hours and then headed north to park at the Stanhope House.
Wed. 11 – Hung around Stanhope during the day and then headed over to Pearl River, NYn in a driving rain without the trailer for Thursday’s gig, and to watch the Mets in the playoffs.
Thur. 12 - Pearl River Library - Pearl River, NY – This is an enjoyable 75 minute show that I do every year. Unfortunatley, the turnout was quite slim. The Mets were once again playing at home in Shea Stadium for the playoffs, so everyone was pretty much glued to that.
Fri. 13 – Stuck around my friend, Bobby Lyons’ house to watch part of the game, and then headed back to Stanhope, NJ to be in place for Saturday’s gig.
Sat. 14 - Stanhope, House - Stanhope, NJ – I always feel like I’m coming home when I arrive here. It’s been over a year since I’ve been here, so a lot of friends have made it a point to be there. It’s such a pleasure to be here, having worked this club for 8 years.
Sun. 15 – Hooked up the trailer and headed back to Pearl River, NY with the trailer, since I will be heading to New England on Wednesday. My good friend, Rusty Paul, son of the legendary les Paul, hosts a jam somewhere in Jersey every Sunday night. This time the location was in Oakland, NJ. We had a big time sitting in for some jams, and just had a lot of fun. I ASSURED Rusty that I would come into NYC on Monday night to visit and sit in with his dad, as I have had the pleasure to do on 5 other occasions.
Mon.16 – Did some music business stuff during the day today, but then Bobby and I headed into NYC around 5pm to see Les Paul. At 91, he is still doing 2 shows every Monday at 8 & 10pm at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. It was just like a homecoming when I arrived, since the band seems to enjoy it when I show up to jam with Les and play some blues. I got to play both sets and just had a wonderful time.
Tue. 17 – This is probably going to be the day of days. I caught an 11:15am into New York to visit with Andy Rooney of 60 minutes fame. I’m a big fan of Andy and his writings as well as his weekly commentaries. He had answered a personal letter of mine back in the summer and invited me to visit with him when I came to NYC. This is definitely a highlight among many in my career.
Wed. 18 – Got an oil change on the van in Pearl River, NY, then hooked up the trailer and headed north for Hyannis, MA for the gigs on Thursday and Friday. Got into town about 5:30pm and went to the club for dinner. Spent the evening later doing some wifi internet work at Barnes & Noble. Just an enjoyable and relaxing evening. Parked the trailer in the motel lot where we would be staying over the weekend and spen the night there.
Thur.19 - Harry's Cajun Bar - Hyannis, MA – Always a treat to be here. Laddie and Fred Durham go out of their way to create a fun atmosphere. They are all about the music. Being a Thursday, the first set was quite active, but the place did thin out on the first break. That’s why we played a 90 minute set to hold who was there.
Fri. 20 - Harry's Cajun Bar - Hyannis, MA – Now this is the day we came for. Hyannis is a real cool town to walk around in, and the other cool thing is I can walk to the gig from motel. This is John F. Kennedy’s hometown. I always think about what he said when he was President. He claimed that he liked the job because he could walk to work. That referred to living in the White House, of course.
Sat. 21- Inn On The Blues - York Beach, ME – I’ve been playing this club since 1999 and have developed many friends here, as opposed to a following. It’s always nice to see the same folks returning and enjoying the show.
Sun. 22- Horsefeathers - N Conway, NH – This, my 4th appearance at this venue. It’s always a great time here, with folks coming in for the music. Ben Williams and his partner have been operating this place since 1977. I stood in the hallway reading the original newspaper story from that era, and I was just very impressed at how focused they have remained all of these years on their desire to run a great place. Congratulations to these guys on 30 successful years.
Mon. 23 - Time Out Lounge - Rockland, ME – A full house for this Monday night show. Psaul Benjamin, who also founded and operates the Handy Award winning North Atlantic Blues Festival, regularly brings in touring acts for a great Blue Monday.
Tue. 24 – Had the day off and used it for some well needed rest. Even had a lobster omelet fro breakfast. I did have an acoustic performance scheduled, but some changing circumstances made it more logical to just cancel it. Paul Benjamin came to the motel and we walked into town to have dinner. We had some great music conversations.
Wed. 25 – Headed down to Boothbay, Maine to see my friends Mike and Dee Kennedy at their beautiful home and place of business, The Five Gables Inn.
Thur. 26 – Travel day from Maine to Norwich, NY. Made it in about 5 hours. Not a bad trip. Got in about 11pm. Pulled the trailer behind the club and turned on the furnace in the trailer. It was quite chilly.
Fri.27- Music Shop Pub - Norwich, NY – Got up around noon and grabbed some coffee. I enjoy this town. Weather was nice, but expected to deteriorate over the weekend. This is Pumpkinfest Weekend, where the town is going to try to set the record for the most jack o’lanterns lit at once.
Sat.28 – Coffee Connection – Norwich, NY (guitar workshop) – This little coffee shop is a new addition since I was here last. Geri Barnes has created a great little place to congregate and relax. Did a guitar workshop for about an hour at 7:30pm with about 25 folks showing up. We’ll probably do this again next year since it was such a success this year. Later this night, I had a great time sitting in with the Matt Barranti Band from Pittsburgh.
Sun.29 - Music Shop Pub - Norwich, NY
Mon.30 - Relax Inn - Chambersburg, PA (solo acoustic)
Tue.31