How did I get here?!

I've said before and I'll say it again: all that stuff they told you in school was true. If you chase your dreams, they happen. That had never been more apparent to me than on Saturday night opening for Jo Dee Messina at The Maryland Theatre.

The show was a fantastic experience. I met Jo Dee early on in the day and we chatted very briefly about Hagerstown and her missing the small town where she grew up. I was a little star stuck of course, but I thought (hoped?) I played it cool. Later on I chatted some with Jo Dee's pedal steel and acoustic guitar players, both incredibly friendly and complimentary, which was huge coming from such great players.

Ok, here were some really cool perks of the show: Free food (lunch and dinner), some free booze (that we were able to request), and we even got our own dressing room. We also got to watch Jo Dee from some of the best seats in the house, not to mention we had a lot of incredibly helpful and gracious volunteers helping us with equipment and anything else we needed. I just kept thinking how ridiculous it all was and how I didn't really deserve it all. Folks like teachers, or firefighters, or EMTs, and countless other public servants are really the kinds of people that deserve all these luxuries. I should just get a water fountain and be glad that people are there to listen to my musical ramblings. Anyway, big shout outs to Mick, Niles, Brian, Mike, Jon, Jess and everyone else who helped us out Saturday.

Here's a dressing room shot:



I was nervous and anxious before and during the performance, but also felt a certain level of comfort. I couldn't help but smile as we tore into the first song, 'Blanket', looking out into the theater with the lights flashing all around. It really felt like 'wow, I can't believe it. We did it.' It was an especially special moment with my parents and brother, my biggest fans, sitting right in the front. Mom said she bawled through the entire set! Here's a shot of me looking up at the balcony:



The crowd was incredibly responsive for us being a pretty unknown opening act for such a huge artist, and I thanked them for not impaling us with any foreign objects. It was really great when the lights would come up and I could see all the faces. That connection really filled me with comfort and joy. And then just like that, it was over. Those 30 minutes on stage went by in a blink.

The whole experience truly was something I'd hoped for and dreamed of for a long time, and it was wonderfully surreal to have those things materialize right before me. Here I was, playing in a beautiful theater for a crowd of people sitting listening to songs I had written in my bedroom or dorm room or wherever. And if my dreams can become real, it 'sure as heckfire' can happen to yours. Please remember that, and remember that any success I experience belongs as much to you as it does to me. It's all about us being a part of something together, and I would be nowhere if it wasn't for you and everyone else to share it with.

Big thanks to Bruce Torres at Cabana Cove Concerts for believing in us and the music and leading us to the promised land. Which leads me to Crazy Story #2...

Bruce was nice enough to hook us up to see Elliot Yamin, The Last Goodnight, and Josh Hoge at the theater Monday. After the show, we all ended up hanging with Elliot and TLG at a private bar gathering in town later that night. Because the owner opened the bar privately for Elliot and everyone, he was low on help so Randy got behind the bar and started serving drinks! I talked with Elliot for quite a while and he even offered me the clams that he didn't want from his dinner. Gave him a CD and then Randy played it on the bar stereo (which was quite embarrassing). Elliot and some of his band mates were politely complimentary about the music, though, which was very cool.

Here's a shot of Elliot and I at the bar that Randy took with his phone (I am gesturing wildly for some reason--I blame the Jim Beam):


Needless to say, this week has been a trip and I just wanted to share some of it with you all. Now it's time to go underground for a little while to get the new group together and up to speed and to record some new material.

See you soon!