News

This is too sad... Chris Whitley, 1960-2005.

"Living With The Law" was one of those records that makes everything else seem irrelevant for a while. It was so bare and raw and beautiful, and so much better, and it came out just when I really needed exactly those songs to obsess over for a year or so.

A huge concertgoing highlight of my life is seeing Whitley at the Stephen Talkhouse on South Beach; and having a beer with him and actually getting to thank him personally for his music.

My heart goes out to Dan and the rest of Chris's family.

Tuesday, December 6th, I'll be playing at the Sun Shoppe Café in Melbourne. This is actually part of their Battle of the Acoustics, a multi-week, single-elimination, bare-knuckles, WWF-sanctioned competition. I made some of that up.

In actual fact, I'm not aiming to win, so much as get in front of a local audience (since I live here now), and in front of the folks at the Sun Shoppe -- since I really like and want to play at the place; they don't have an open mike as a first-impression route; and it's well-documented that I'm no good at the gig-solicitation thing.

Regardless, the night should be fun, as the mix of performers (myself, Chris Kahl, Shorthand Provision and Moonshine Blue) is all over the musical map.

The show starts at 8pm; running order will be determined that night.

The Sun Shoppe is located at 540 E New Haven Ave. in Melbourne. Call 321-676-1438 if you need more info.

On the plus side, the mixing is done on one of the two songs I helped Lore out with a few weeks ago. As an unexpected epilogue, I got to add some background vocals this week -- from home, while tending to the server crash. Mailed the vocal track back to Carlos, and voila.

Anyway, most of the guitars on there are mine, and a few harmonies to boot. Way fun, and so cool to hang with Lore again. Check out Movies in my Head.

More to come.

p.s. Extra points: spot the extra-special Night Ranger Guitar Moment!

When emailing requests-for-booking-info to two different establishments, perhaps it would be best not to copy-and-paste the email from one to the other.

Or, if I must copy, make sure to correct the name of the club before sending.

So, yeah, I'm looking to start gigging some more (OK, at all). Hopefully I'll succeed despite my own best efforts.

Need I mention I've never played these places before? Way to make a first impression. Now to convince them that, if booked, I'll actually show up at the right address.

Anyway. I'd like to book at least some stuff since (a) I really miss playing, and (b) the dread of playing the same old shit usually kicks my lazy ass into writing mode. Haven't written a thing since "Disappear".

The ever-helpful (but incorrectly spelled) openmikes.org furnished a list of nearby venues...

So sayeth someone who I believe to be named "Thomas".

Y'know, if you want to say the site's ugly, or "sloppy-looking" (I'm looking at you, Scott), or incomplete, I'm right with you. It will always be incomplete, always in progress, as it must be. And I'm no designer, as is plain.

But misspelled? Why, it's almost as though this guy were intentionally tweaking me, in some sort of good-natured sarcastic manner... Oh.

OK, then.

But anyway, I'm right. Sam says so.

Update: As ever, Sam makes his point. And Thomas is a good sport about the whole thing.