Alabama is...Ala-mazing

Right, so I explained that this is the exploratory tour to new rooms and new towns, which means there are just not as many people in the rooms we've gone to as we are used to in more pathworn venues like Texas and out west. So we've had a great time but sometimes...like a lot times...you just want a lot of people in the room. Did I mention I bought boots before we left? We found that on a Tuesday night in Orange Beach, Alabama. There's a fabulous venue/dance studio/classroom/artspace called Beach Cite Studios, located right on the pier in Orange Beach. The people came, they listened to the songs, they laughed at all the right times (which always shoots me in into the fantasy-land stratosphere that I too could compete on Last Comic Standing), they engaged in the music, they want us to come back. It was sublime in every way. We celebrated by watching Bravo and eating coconut M&M's at the hotel. Today is a day off before we go to Birmingham, and I am going to MAIL OFF MY TAXES! I spend 4 hours on them yesterday morning and wrapped them up. I have a confusing job/living/driving situation which makes them hard to do. Last year I had 2 employers, changed cars, and moved. Bleh. Anyway, they are done. Then I will go to the beach and investigate tarballs (haven't seen any but I haven't looked yet).

Having a Blast, Kids

Thanks to Winker for the photo! My callouses are AWESOME right now. Thought I would share. I've been cramming and Susan and I have been rehearsing over the past few weeks so that I can play a full gig of her tunes and make them sound decent. So far, it's working. Now, Gibson over there throws in a lot of nuanced little tricks that deceive the casual observer but when you try and play them yourself you realize...Susan is a really awesome guitarist. So I've been picking up some tricks and some I'm just leaving there to lay in the road until her arm is back to strumming because, she does crazy cool stuff and only she can do it. So bow down to the guitarista in a blue cast, please. You can't keep a guitar nerd down, so Suz has been fingerpicking on a Gibson hollowbody electric and it's been super fun. We're all going to come out of this with a lot more music theory in our heads. I love it. My car is now officially the FolkMobile. So over the past few weeks I've gotten to be the right arm on a ton of cool stages with a ton of cool players. When you'd ask what are the venerable venues here in Texas to play, no doubt the names Gruene Hall, Luckenbach, and Saxon Pub would come up. We've played them all this week. When you ask who are some of the coolest, most reputable musicians in Texas these days, you'd probably see Terri Hendrix, Michael O'Connor, Adam Carroll, Mark Jungers, David Carroll, and The Mystiqueros on the list. We've played with them all over the past few weeks, too. Hot dang. Everyone's been so cool and supportive, the gigs have flown by. Except the last half hour in Marble Falls when the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and we all started shivering. But that was fun, too. Thanks to my buddy Havilah for playing with us and selling the merch, too. I haven't figured out how to strum and sell a CD yet. With The Mystiqueros at the Saxon. Terri soundchecking for the Sunday afternoon songswap at Luckenbach. Susan picks with Adam Carroll and Mark Jungers at Gruene Hall. And with all of that, Dan and I still managed to meet to mix some of EP 2. Which is coming along quite nicely and probably in the 80% done zone, not to jinx myself. So fun! That's that...we have a week off or so. I have more songs to learn. The weather is nice. Something called SXSW is happening this week. I might just nap.

Threadgill's with Terri and Lloyd

What happened last night? THAT happened last night. I was surprised at the end of my set by Terri, Lloyd, and Glenn joining me on "Blonde on Blue" and "Paper Rock Scissors". Talk about fun! Such class acts. If you came to the show, thank you so much. Such a fun night, and thanks for braving the raindrops! More on the evening later, I am off to Gruene Hall with my college buds to show them some Texas culture... And thanks to Maestro for the photos!! His clicking finger was on fire.

Merch Girl Escapades

Last night was another fun one involving Susan Gibson music, Diet Coke in cute little glass bottles, and lots of t-shirts flying off the...rack? Shelf? Bin? Can things fly out of bins? (They can when j-po is merching, hehheh). Cheatham Street is one of my favorite venues in Central Texas because it's full of history and there's live music almost every night of the week. Their open mic is highly respected as one for songwriters because people actually listen, and it was one of the first ones I hit up when I moved here. There was also space for hanging things which took the merch set up to another level. I was jazzed. I think we'll incorporate these grids into the traveling merch set up, and I have some other ideas, too. Lighting. A listening station. We're going hi-tech, y'all! Beauty.

Day 3: At the Crossroads!

Thank goodness. After surviving the night at the haunted hotel no worse for the wear and very well rested, I got up, explored the streets a little bit, and found breakfast at a Czech bakery. We picked up Susan's guitarist and made our way to Winnsboro. As of midnight I had shifted my official title to "Opening Act/Merch Girl," so it's good I didn't make a name tag or anything, cuz I just would have had to make another one. Right. Job One: MERCH TABLE! I am getting dangerously efficient, haha. Pleased. Crossroads Music Co. in Winnsboro hosts a plethora of shows in their awesome venue, and I felt really honored to be able to play there and be in such good company. My good buddy Kate met us there and I handed her the camera...she did an excellent documentation job! Kate also rocked my set by agreeing to sit in on "New Mexico Boy," so there were tasty leads and good times for sure. Kate rocks. Unfortunately, both of us were onstage during that song so neither of us took a photo, haha. Shifty. We stayed up late hanging out by a lake outside of Kate's house...I want a lake. I bet you have to get lake insurance or something. And a boat. Maybe I'll get a lake later, after I get a cat and a puppy. Order of operations.

Katie and Jana take on Gruene Hall

Oh Katie. One might call her a partner in crime, or maybe an enabler. However you word it, Katie agreed to roadtrip down to Gruene Hall with me to see one suSANG! play. I love seeing shows at Gruene because the town itself is all cute and German, and the Hall has a great historic, gritty vibe. Plus Katie made sandwiches. Wot? It starts as all good blog posts do, with an inside joke. These curry chips were on stage all night. That is all. The crowd was kickin'. I saw Suz make a Sharpie tattoo on someone's hand. Rockstar! Jana: Too bad her last name isn't "Miller." Katie: Yeah...then it would always be HER TIME! I brought in a contraband Diet Coke. Because it was in my bag, dangit. So Katie took a dark photo of my drinking the contraband. Recycled the evidence. I took this photo of the artist and the tip jar to reiterate to all you kind folks: LOVE THE TIP JAR. That is all. There's "Johnny (Hearts) Jessica" and such written/scratched all over the ancient Gruene Hall tables. I suppose we are not to take photos of evidence yet again, but...well, we had to. I hope to go back to Gruene Hall in 2028 and see this note. Did we mention there's a new CD coming? Head to the Myspace to hear a track or dos. How does live music make me feel? Like THIS.

The Weekend That Was

Oh kids, I am a little tired. Friday I left work, went to sign my new apartment lease, and then hit the road. I was a little scared as to how the day started, though...with a weird incidence of traffic on my usually smooth commute. Luckily I had the Bimbo truck to entertain me. Insert your own joke and entertain yourselves, too! But soon I was on the road headed north looking like a...well, a driving person. Person who drives. Right. "Excuse me, do I have windshield in my eye?" I had a nice drive to Winnsboro, which is pretty much as far east in Texas and I've been ever, I think. They call it the Piney Woods, and if you would believe it, it is populated by pine trees. Gorgeous. I went there to visit my friend Kate and her folks, who own a fabulous music venue in downtown Winnsboro called Crossroads Coffeehouse and Music Co. What a killer amazing spectacular place! It's something I think I want to attempt in the future and I think business partner Josh will agree (somewhere else, of course, like in New Mexico)...a music venue/instrument store/place to hang out. Drool. Drooooooooool. Lynn and Lindy (aka the duo Adler and Hearne, who played Saturday night, and who were awesome) have created a great place to hear music. I like that. Kate played with them on their set and rocked. Of course. Rehearsing. Most of the time you find a beer and a cigarette on stage with a musician. Kate's gear includes gum, a cell phone, and a frappucino. I like that. Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group were the main act and I have seen them twice before back in Albuquerque. They're great performers and now I pretty much need to buy a banjo. Linda makes her's sing. Mine might cluck or screech for a while, but I'd like to know my way around it a little more for sure. I'm excited to go back to Winnsboro soon -- at the latest I'll be there July 5th opening for Susan Gibson. Woohoo! We'll have a time. For now, I think I will concentrate on the fact that I don't have to be at work at 7:30 AM tomorrow. What does Monday hold? Possibilities are endless.

Cheatham Street: Songwriters' Class of '87

On Thursday night I headed down to San Marcos, TX to Cheatham Street Warehouse -- a legendary Texas venue where people like George Strait and Stevie Ray Vaughn got their starts. It's also where an astoundingly diverse and talented group of open mic-ers from 1987 re-converged on Thursday to swap songs and celebrate their beginnings. So who were these '87ers? A rundown: Terri Hendrix: You read this blog. You know Terri. She was great. Lloyd Maines jammed with everyone in the circle, too. Note: we had awesome seats behind Terri and Lloyd, and since it was in the round...every photo I took contains the head of either Terri or Lloyd...sometimes both. :) Bruce Robison: When he's not performing all over the country himself, his songs are being cut by the likes of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, George Strait, and the Dixie Chicks. Not too shabby. Bruce Robison...and Terri's hair. James McMurtry: He has fabulous words and stories in his songs. Why, here's one now. John Arthur Martinez: He was on the show Nashville Star, and has a fabulous voice and a traditional sound. John Arthur and Hal...and Lloyd's head. Todd Snider: He lives in Nashville now, and had the crowd in stitches with his great storytelling as well as his awesome songs. Yay! Hal Ketchum: I listened to Hal on the radio back in the 90's when I was first getting into country music..."Small Town Saturday Night" -- great song. I never knew he was from around here. His voice is perfect. Everyone kind of joined in on other people's stuff when they felt like it...Terri played a couple of mean harmonica solos, Lloyd played a new baritone Tacoma guitar and it sounded excellent. Kent Finlay, who owns Cheatham, presided over the circle and played his great tunes as well. He must be extremely proud to have fostered so many accomplished writers. He's always kind to me when I head down to San Marcos to the open mic. Kent is one of a kind! So...I'm hoping we don't have to wait 20 years for another reunion, but this one did quite all right by me. A birthday, a short New Mexico tour, a successful JP Project No. 2...it's a good way to end the month. Happy December, y'all!

Day One: Taos Heart Cafe Live

Sitting in the back of Taos Heart Cafe in gorgeous north New Mexico listening to Susan play a brand new song. Life's pretty good. I did not attempt my brand new song. She called me chicken. I'm so gonna do it tomorrow night. This venue is lovely, and Jack and Mark have a great and welcoming atmosphere. Jack just told me this is their first night to have live music, and I played the inaugural song. That's pretty cool. Thanks for the gig, guys!

Campfire Concentration

Head on over to the Irie Bean on Wednesday nights for Campfire Songs! You too can get your photo taken with a creepy orb floating above your head. (Thanks for the photo, Melissa!)