Rock Bottom Arlington - 2/1/06 - Arlington, VA

Packed as usual in this place with a huge line out the door. Even though I know that a good portion of these folks came for the $1 pint happy hour, it's always fun and exciting to have a captive audience. Especially a lot of good-looking young folks.

Nothing too crazy tonight. Our friend John sat in on lead guitar for "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" and did a rockin' job. Thanks to our friend James for taking all of the great pictures that are now on the website. There was one guy wearing a kilt and a whole lot of Irish garb, which was pretty cool.

In a wild fit of rock and roll, Randy knocked a lamp shade off of a light hanging in the bar. I grabbed the shade and suggested someone wear it, and all of the sudden two guys (one of them the Irish guy) dashed to the stage to get the shade. The other guy snatched it and placed his winning crown upon his head. I took a picture with my phone (that thing IS good for something) from the stage:

That's what I love about playing, you never know what's going to happen. During our set break, this same guy told me a long story about how he almost kicked Ted Nugent's ass when he was hanging out with him at his ranch. He was serious and according to him they apparently they made peace and decided to play each others guitars around the campfire instead. It was a fun story, and I think I believed him.

Tomorrow we're back in Harrisburg at District, playing a set with two other great bands, Red Room and Maria Forgotten. The club has a really cool underground vibe and it should be a lot of fun. Haven't solidified any Super Bowl plans yet...

Flinchy's - 1/28/06 - Camp Hill, PA

Somewhat of a fickle crowd tonight, but a pretty good gig nonetheless. Things started out a little slow, but seemed to get wild in waves. A lot of "crowd participation" which included yelling in the mics, banging on the keyboard like a three-year-old, and tambourine shaking (both rhythmic and otherwise).

We tried a few new impromptu "never-played-together" tunes including "Stay With Me," "Let's Get It On," and Ken's favorite (insert sarcasm here), "Jump." They all went well. Like I've said before, I love spontaneity and being able to try new songs with these guys without rehearsing them first. Keeps me on my toes. Ken Deater also made his lead vocal debut on "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" and sounded great.

A good friend of mine and partner in Godparenthood, Ashley, came to see me play for the first time. It's always a lot of fun to see her and talk with her and I was glad she got a chance to hear Madison's Song. I think Flinchy even got her up and dancing once or twice. Get down girl, go 'head get down...

-Freddie Long