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The trip to Nashville was overall a great experience. Both exciting and humbling--lots of talented folks out there. My first plane flight ever went really well, I was like a little kid on an amusement park ride. Had breakfast and some drinks at the airport, then flew off into the sunny skies towards Nashville while sipping on Wild Turkey. Ahhh...it was great and exciting and I wasn't apprehensive at all. Plus, as a bonus the flight attendant didn't even charge me for the drink, perhaps because I was easy to spot as a 'first timer' and he wanted to hook me up. I had a great window seat, and it sure put me in a very contemplative cosmic place looking down at mountains that looked like they could fit in my hand...
The only downside was that I was the only dumbass at the airport who had a huge bag with no wheels on it. Bruce was walking like he had taken pledges for a cure of some sort, and I had to keep up carrying by hand the 100 pounds of s*** I had packed. By the time I got to the ticket line I was sweating like a bastard and had lost feeling in one of my arms. Lesson learned. Needless to say, I went to Walmart the other day and bought a more mobile piece of luggage.
Monday night I had the great honor of playing at the legendary Bluebird Cafe on the same stage that had been previously graced by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Kris Kristofferson, among many other great performers and songsmiths. It was surreal.
Waiting for my turn to play, I got to talking to a man next to me who I found out happened to be one of the most famous anonymous voices in the country. His name was Joe Cerisano and he had done a lot of singing in commercial work in the 80s. Remember the 'Be All That You Can Be' song? That was him singing in that Army commercial, among many other well-known ads. He is a really talented musician/songwriter and a really nice guy, too. Check him out online:
http://www.cerisano.com/
I made a lot of other great friends while I was out there, heard some great music, got to see an old friend who I hadn't seen in a while, and was able to get a wealth of insight from several folks in the biz (not to mention, some great food). Also had the opportunity to play at both The Hall of Fame Lounge and The Commodore in addition to the Bluebird. I was very fortunate to be able to cram so much into one trip (you can always sleep later, right?). Here's a picture of me playing at The Commodore:
The only bummer was that the weather went from 75/80 to cold and freezing rain by the day we left to get on the plane to come back home. The words 'deicing' coming from the cockpit really didn't set well with me and I was a little edgy for the flight back. Thank God those people know what they're doing. There was a little turbulence, but we made it back safe and sound. Hello solid ground...does anyone need a drink?
All in all, a great trip. I look forward to returning to Music City soon. Next week it's off to The Sunshine State to play some more tunes and hopefully catch some of those warm Florida rays!
