.jpg)
Our second time in this roadhouse and pretty uneventful. There is usually some sort of a positive vibe on all the gigs I play even though some crowds are obviously going to be better than others, but honestly this gig was kind of a bummer. The crowd was pretty sparse throughout and the lack of energy seemed to emphasize our own fatigue. Journey's is a biker bar that has a really cool atmosphere but a tough location. It's pretty much out in the middle of nowhere along Rt. 15.
Positive things: 1) A gorgeous bartender whom I had a good view of most of the gig, 2) the owner's cousin Kevin who was playfully heckling us the first half of the gig (until he got "FUBAR'ed" and had to sleep in his truck), 3) our new fan Fred (whom we met at the Ott House), 4) a couple of female fans (one of whom drove from Towson to catch the gig), and 5) our friends and family that came out to support us.
Overall, the gig just had some bad "mojo," as Chris would say, and left me physically and mentally exhausted and kind of bummed out. Oh well, they can't all be winners. Although eventually it'd be nice to get to that point.
I'm looking forward to tonight in Bethesda to hopefully redeem the weekend. The show will mark our first "acoustic full band" show. We'll be rockin' out on acoustic guitars and Ken will be layin' down the groove with a different percussion setup. Think MTV Unplugged. The Bethesda gigs have always been pretty well attended and I hope tonight is no different. See you there...
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Friday, March 03, 2006
Spanky's - 3/2/06 - Leesburg, VA
I had played at Spanky's once before as a solo act a few years ago. It was cool to revisit the place with the full band. Pretty much the same as I remember it, untouched by time.
An interesting night crowd-wise. I would describe the flow of the crowd as a tent shape--slow in the beginning, growing and peaking somewhere in the middle with folks up and dancing, and then a gradual decline. There were quite a few interesting folks to talk to.
The first was a lady named Melissa who watched us for a while and then told me she had a gift for me that she had to run home and get. Not knowing what to expect when she returned, I was delightfully surprised. Her gift was a framed charcoal drawing of a man walking with his back to the artist. It had an uncanny resemblance to our logo. Even the footsteps seemed to line up. Melissa said the drawing had been in her family for a while and had been sitting in her basement, but when she saw the logo on our sign she decided I had to have it. She believed it was too much of a coincidence and I myself was pretty taken aback by it all. Crazy. I'll be hanging the drawing in my studio area at home. What a great surprise. This proves that I really truthfully never know what might happen when I load up the car and head out to a gig.
I also met this lovely and gorgeous German chick whose name I have difficulty spelling and pronouncing. She was very friendly and a true traveler--she had just returned from Breckenridge, CO. There was also a pretty friendly blues guitarist named Jeff who I spoke with for a while about music. I really hope that someday on the other side there will be a giant party with all these people I've met and crossed paths with over the years.
Thanks to our friend James and his crew for coming out and seeing us (and for his generous Jager donations). We played a few never-rehearsed first-timers including "American Band," "Glory Days," and a very interpretive version of "Melissa." Tonight we're playing a return date at Journey's roadhouse on the outskirts of Frederick, out in the "Coun-try." Here's hopin' for a raucous Friday night crowd...
An interesting night crowd-wise. I would describe the flow of the crowd as a tent shape--slow in the beginning, growing and peaking somewhere in the middle with folks up and dancing, and then a gradual decline. There were quite a few interesting folks to talk to.
The first was a lady named Melissa who watched us for a while and then told me she had a gift for me that she had to run home and get. Not knowing what to expect when she returned, I was delightfully surprised. Her gift was a framed charcoal drawing of a man walking with his back to the artist. It had an uncanny resemblance to our logo. Even the footsteps seemed to line up. Melissa said the drawing had been in her family for a while and had been sitting in her basement, but when she saw the logo on our sign she decided I had to have it. She believed it was too much of a coincidence and I myself was pretty taken aback by it all. Crazy. I'll be hanging the drawing in my studio area at home. What a great surprise. This proves that I really truthfully never know what might happen when I load up the car and head out to a gig.
I also met this lovely and gorgeous German chick whose name I have difficulty spelling and pronouncing. She was very friendly and a true traveler--she had just returned from Breckenridge, CO. There was also a pretty friendly blues guitarist named Jeff who I spoke with for a while about music. I really hope that someday on the other side there will be a giant party with all these people I've met and crossed paths with over the years.
Thanks to our friend James and his crew for coming out and seeing us (and for his generous Jager donations). We played a few never-rehearsed first-timers including "American Band," "Glory Days," and a very interpretive version of "Melissa." Tonight we're playing a return date at Journey's roadhouse on the outskirts of Frederick, out in the "Coun-try." Here's hopin' for a raucous Friday night crowd...
Monday, February 27, 2006
The Ott House Pub - 2/25/06 - Emmitsburg, MD
First off, apologies are in order for the delay on this post. I've been in somewhat of an existential funk the last couple of days and I didn't want it to negatively affect the candor of my usual posts. The only way I can describe the episode is that it's a period of time that usually lasts a couple days and contains equal parts depression, fatigue, and "Who am I/What the hell am I doing?" Treatment includes napping, buying stuff you don't really need, and/or eating with reckless abondon. I blame the Wild Turkey.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's reminisce. Saturday was the first time the FLB played the Ott House and it was first time Randy and I had even been in the joint. Chris and Ken had played the venue several times before with their last ensemble. I thought the place was pretty damn cool. Minus the chicken wire, the place looked like it could've been the inspiration for Al's Country Bunker in the Blues Brothers movie--and I mean that as a compliment. I love a down home honky-tonk kind of place with friendly folks ready to have some fun.
The place is pretty sizable and I thought we had good turnout. Mount St. Mary's University is in Emmitsburg and so is FEMA's Fire Administration. So the crowd was diversely mixed with college folk, firefighters, and general townspeople--all ingredients for a good time.
No new tunes, just the hits, but we seemed to be jumping around and gesturing like zoo animals the whole show. Randy pulled a Spinal Tap and fell over backwards playing his bass on the ground, and I think at one point Chris and I almost put our guitars through the ceiling in an attempt to play them over our heads. There were also a lot of hardcore dancers Saturday, and we had a great view of the action from the stage.
It's always good to see the three F's (fans, friends, and family) at the show, so thanks to everyone who came out. One of my closest friends, Mitch (future World's Strongest Man and renown ladykiller), actually drove a couple hours to come see us play. The stories we could tell...
After the gig, a couple of MSM students invited some of us back to their apartment to hang out for a while. We had some drinks and played some songs (badly) and Mitch and I ended up crashing there for the night. Mitch left early the next morning and I had brunch in the MSM dining hall with some of our new friends. Everyone was really kind and their hospitality was greatly appreciated. I hope we get a chance to come back soon.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's reminisce. Saturday was the first time the FLB played the Ott House and it was first time Randy and I had even been in the joint. Chris and Ken had played the venue several times before with their last ensemble. I thought the place was pretty damn cool. Minus the chicken wire, the place looked like it could've been the inspiration for Al's Country Bunker in the Blues Brothers movie--and I mean that as a compliment. I love a down home honky-tonk kind of place with friendly folks ready to have some fun.
The place is pretty sizable and I thought we had good turnout. Mount St. Mary's University is in Emmitsburg and so is FEMA's Fire Administration. So the crowd was diversely mixed with college folk, firefighters, and general townspeople--all ingredients for a good time.
No new tunes, just the hits, but we seemed to be jumping around and gesturing like zoo animals the whole show. Randy pulled a Spinal Tap and fell over backwards playing his bass on the ground, and I think at one point Chris and I almost put our guitars through the ceiling in an attempt to play them over our heads. There were also a lot of hardcore dancers Saturday, and we had a great view of the action from the stage.
It's always good to see the three F's (fans, friends, and family) at the show, so thanks to everyone who came out. One of my closest friends, Mitch (future World's Strongest Man and renown ladykiller), actually drove a couple hours to come see us play. The stories we could tell...
After the gig, a couple of MSM students invited some of us back to their apartment to hang out for a while. We had some drinks and played some songs (badly) and Mitch and I ended up crashing there for the night. Mitch left early the next morning and I had brunch in the MSM dining hall with some of our new friends. Everyone was really kind and their hospitality was greatly appreciated. I hope we get a chance to come back soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
