Fabulous February

Was fortunate enough to have another terrific gig last night at the Rumba here in the C-bus. Just a magical night. Lots of friends came out and lots of people I hadn't met before. I was in the middle of performing when I spied a couple of people I'd never met energetically singing the words to my song.

Sat in with Miss Molly on Gone Gone Gone, Come Together and a few of her originals. I even got to dance with Drew during her set. What a joyful time we had.

Valentines Day, I'll be in New York again performing at the heralded Googie's Lounge at the Living Room in support of my new record. Then its off to Penn Station to grab a train to our nation's capital, Washington D.C. for a show with my buddy Fumi at Phase One on Sunday, February 17.

February 23, I'll be giving a live in-studio performance and interview 10:30 AM on 88.9 WRDL in support of my show that evening at Seattle's in Wooster.

The next day, February 24, I'm back home for an in-store performance at Lost Weekend Records at 3 PM.

I have a new mantra anymore. When the opportunity presents itself, no matter what, take advantage of it. You might not get another chance. I only really thought about that when I was in New York with Larry Cook, our bass player, and he wanted to hit a gig at Columbus Circle with a friend of his, but was worried about his equipment and the narrowing window of time to get up there from our gig in the East Village. I said to him, "When will the universe align like this again and give you this opportunity? Its here. Now go do it." He looked at me, smiled and said "You're right. I'm going." I realized I really need to take my own advice. Its much easier to make dramatic sweeping statements concerning someone else's life. Never your own.

So every chance I'm getting to play to new people I'm doing it and so far the strategy is paying off. I have a feeling I'm not going to be home much this year. The road beckons.

Dinner: Turkey panini, chicken noodle soup and chocolate soy milk. Mmmm.
Listening: Andrew Bird - Imitosis

Out and about on the solo gig

I'm sitting here in a humongous and cushy bathrobe Drew gave me for Christmas last year. The arms are entirely too long and it nearly drags on the ground when I'm walking around. But it is positively perfect for lazing around the house on a day off.

Went to Wooster, Ohio last night for a gig at Seattles Coffee. First of all let me just say "Whoa!" What a great venue. Met some new friends (Wooster Warriors! Holla!), sold some CDs and had an all-around terrific set. It is from a logistical perspective a completely easy gig. One guitar. One mic. But once you get in front of a crowded room entirely by yourself, the real work begins. I was sweating by the end. I worked harder last night than I've worked playing in a long time. What an education.

Breakfast: Absolutely nothing. Waiting for the BFF to wake up so we can go eat!
Listening: Ghostland Observatory - Rich Man. Talk about jump-starting your morning.

In the Zone Adventures

Phew! We had great fun in New York. The crowd at Banjo Jim's dug the show. We had ton of hits on MySpace Friday night, added many more friends and more importantly, we were completely "in the zone" during our performance.

Strangely, even before we left on Thursday, I was in the zone. Usually, before I leave, I'm dealing with a half dozen last minute details, making phone calls, lists, just anything that will drive me crazy. But Wednesday night, all the work was done, bags packed, the rentals lined up, guitars restrung, amps retubed, all warm bodies accounted for. I actually fell asleep before midnight. That rarely happens.

So I consider myself fortunate. Every once in a while, the planets are aligned and the resulting superpower is Total Zone Domination.

Thursday night after arriving in to town, and after we'd put our gear safely away in the hotel, we took a town car to Times Square and had dinner and drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe. Yes, a little touristy. But when can you say you had dinner next to Lenny Kravitz's pants?

Friday, we hopped the 7 train at the Main St/Flushing station downtown to Grand Central and then the 5 Train to Little Italy and had vodka pizza and lasagna at Pomodoro. Delicious! Man, the boys in the band can eat.

Banjo Jim's is a wicked cool club. Right at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C in the East Village, the club is a magnet for serious music-lovers in New York City. A great big thank you to the staff at Banjo Jim's for having us.

We were grateful to have some familiar faces come out and support us at the club. That is always welcome when you're in a different city. This is my friend, New York-based photographer Manjari Sharma. Manj is "lightning in human form." She is the definition of artfulness. Spontaneous, beautiful, and just a joy to be around. Be sure to go through her entire portfolio online. It is amazing.

Honestly, its not all in the planets. We put a lot of work and foresight into the trip. Most details, both big and small had been worked out well in advance. So for anybody reading this and planning on making the long haul, I have three words of advice for you. Plan, plan, plan.

Make lists, think about everywhere that you will be, where you want to be and how you want things to run. Be realistic about how much time everything is going to take and then add a little extra just in case. If you plan ahead and things run smoothly from the get-go, you'll be in the zone too. And hopefully you'll have time to do stuff you really want to remember like watching your bandmates give impromptu performances in front of iHop. Okay, maybe not.

The New York New Year

I gigged this evening with the super girl fun band "The Mary Anns." The club was packed. I should have been happy. But I think I was having an off night. I didn't feel particularly social. The highlight of my evening, strangely enough was texting and chatting with a good friend on my cell phone from the backstage steps near the kitchen. There was the smell of french fry oil, blaring mariachi music, and the clatter of dishes while I tried to hear what she was saying. We didn't say anything particularly important or hit any weighty conversation topics. Nonetheless I felt ready to roll after we got off the phone.

We're gearing up to hit the road this week. I'm performing for the first time in New York which in itself shouldn't be that big of a deal but for some reason it is. First, I'm taking my entire band, secondly two people in the band have never been there and finally its NYC for goodness sake!

I'm excited. Its something akin to that nervousness on Christmas eve when I was nine years old. The anticipation, the worry that everything wouldn't turn out the way I expected or that all my dreams would come true.

Fortunately, I'm an optimist. Unfortunately, I'm also a realist. The trick is finding the balance between those two perspectives.