Sunday, November 8, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 241

Day 240 - November 7th 2009

SEPTA strike Day Five

The strike is five days old and The Transit Workers Union has the audacity to have a commercial running trying to help out with Public Opinion, spouting off about how they want what’s fair. As I stand here today I swear that they should count themselves blessed that we don’t tar and feather people in Philadelphia anymore. What they should spend that time and money on are some customer service courses so that when your asses come back from vacation you’re a little nicer to customers. The Transit Workers Union has caused me to miss my buddy’s surprise birthday dinner. So I had to go straight to Jersey instead tonight.

I spent most of the morning coming up with some chord progressions I like, which I’ll do until words come and I can put them with the progressions. Trying to stay as R&B as possible. Lyrics are usually the thing that keeps me from releasing albums once a month.

I came over to Jersey and I did some hanging with my nieces and nephew until they went to bed at about 9:30. I tried my new chicken wing recipe with much success. Sabado de Mexico was underway. I didn’t get a chance to buy sombreros but we still had fun. I wish we had some Mariachi music instead of the salsa…it goes better with Tequila. I mutterd a melody that I quickly wrote down I work on it tomorrow.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 240

Day 239 - November 6th 2009

SEPTA Strike Day Four

The city is still crippled. The Transit workers union are still on strike. The Governor’s involved. Apparently SEPTA came back with an offer which would give them more of their increase earlier on in the contract as opposed to later and they pissed all over it and talks broke down. They were pretty close to getting a deal done that would have buses and trains running by tonight and I could have made it to my buddy’s birthday dinner before I had to go to work.

Instead I spent time with the parents and we went to see This Is It. Watching the movie made me kind of sad because judging from the rehearsal footage it looked like it was going to be a great show, like it would’ve basically lifted him above all of the crap that had plagued him the past 15 years or so and reminded the world that he’s Michael Jackson. We’ll never know now. It’s a shame he died. He looked in pretty good shape during all of the rehearsal stuff albeit a bit frail.

After the movie I hit Lickety. I wondered how the strike would effect attendance tonight especially since I had a college band headlining. Lee Morgan opened up, followed by Jack Stafford, a guy I met at Dewey Beach from great Britian. He’s currently touring the country, I love his music, it has just the right amount of humor.

The Natural Result would close things out. They are a solid college rock band that gets better and better with every show. The dynamic is similar to fallout boy where the bassist is a tad more outgoing and charismatic than the lead singer so he does most of the talking. That always makes for an interesting show.

I went home looking forward to what my siblings and I have dubbed Sabado De Mexico which we would do after some hanging with my nieces and nephew. Once the siblings were home and ready there’d be Tacos, Tequila, Salsa Music, mainly us…drunk in my sisters living room. It’s going to rule.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 239

Day 238 - November 5th 2009

SEPTA Strike Day Three

No word on whether or not the Transit Workers Union is even thinking about going back to the negotiating table. I remember in High School they were on strike for 40 days. They blow.

I did have a meeting today with Marc Eimer from Range Recording Studios. We discussed Philly Rising’s sponsorship of the Christmas Village this year. The Christmas Village is this cool thing the German Society of Pennsylvania started doing last year where they basically do a European Market outside of City Hall. This year they want to have entertainment and who better than Philly Rising to provide it. This is a very good move for the Village itself, Range, World Café Live, as well as Philly Rising. Provided we put our best foot forward it could be a great way to get non musician types to come to the event on a weekly basis.

It’s going to be from Black Friday to Christmas Eve. 30 straight days of music. Quite a difficult task but I think between Mark and I we can get it together.

I used the time I had to put more Philly Rising posters up in Center City. I’m wondering how this strike is going to effect attendance.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 238

Warning: This entry contains coarse language

Day 237 - November 4th 2009

SEPTA Strike Day 2

I have a Lickety show tonight. With the Transit workers Union bringing the city to a standstill they are butt fucking me with no lube…I mean come on at least buy me a drink first. I know what you’re thinking “B Dubs, why you taking this so personally?” I would respond to those who might think that by saying…shut the hell up. I take it personally cause the young drunks that usually come to Lickety to check out the cool n music are unable to come and if they can they’re not drinking as much cause they have to drive or are complaining about taking a cab into town. Less alcohol consumption mean less money for me and the bands thus directly impacting my buisness. Thanks a lot Transport Workers Union. You suck.

Lickety was slow like expected. We had two great weeks in a row and now the momentum has slowed a bit. The one Brightside was that I brought in one artist that I’m super interested in working with long term. On top of all this The Phillies lose the World Series tonight to The Yankees making the city even more depressed. Personally I’m glad the thing is over and that Fringe’ll be on tomorrow.

I have a meeting tomorrow with Marc Eimer from Range about assisting him with putting together some shows and what not for the upcoming Christmas Village. He’s gonna come and pick me up so I may use this time to put up some more Philly Rising Posters in Center City. The push for the January 2nd show is also going to start soon.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 237

Day 236 - November 3rd 2009

DAMNIT!

I wake up at 6 this morning to news that SEPTA has gone on strike…again.

For those of you who might be reading this and are unfamiliar with Philadelphia, SEPTA (or The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) is the sole mass transit system in town serving Philadelphia, it’s suburbs, and even as far north jersey as Trenton. It’s not as vast as New York’s system but you can basically get anywhere you wanna go in Phillly with relative ease by using SEPTA. For someone like me that doesn’t drive I rely on SEPTA to get me everywhere but full band shows. I am not unique, many use SEPTA because it’s faster than traffic.

So when these assholes decide that it’s a good idea to go on strike they basically cripple the city. I’m not sure of the exact numbers but I’ve been told that the union was offered a 5 year contract with an 11% raise and they only have to pay 1% into their Health Insurance, basically the same package that they got last year, a pretty fair deal in an economy where the employment rate is hovering around 10% and the union basically just shat all over it and decided that because they can, that they were going to take a vacation. Usually I’m for union and stuff but not in this case.

It hits us musicians particularly hard because most of us rely on SEPTA to get to open mics and shows and what have you. Philly Rising may suffer until these guys pull their heads out of their asses.

I had to get a ride into Center City from a family friend to go into Jefferson and get my Swine Flu shot. I don’t like needles so sufficed to say I was whining like a girl the whole time. My sister was able to drop me off at Word Café Live early so I go there around 5. I used the time to hang up Philly Rising Posters around the area. We need to start pushing again if we want people to be aware of it. So I don’t mind going around the city and putting posters up wherever musicians might be to see it.

Tonight is the monthly competition for Philly Rising for September and October. I had to get there early because I’m loving the diversity that we’ve been getting lately with The Monthly Competitions. It really reflected in our September winner Shon Penn (of Making the Band 4 no less) and Joe Jordan, a black Heavy metal Artist that is really getting it cracking in the scene again. His mom is his drummer and she kicks ass.

I hit the bed wondering what I’m going to do about getting around while SEPTA’s on strike.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 236

Day 235 - November 2nd 2009

No Philly Rising today. So for the most part it’s been a lazy Monday spent trying to write songs. My focus has been more on the R&B tip these days using that as a starting point for the writing with the eventual plan of adding the things that I like about Rock, New Wave, and Pop music to get the blend that I like. Will it result in a new sound? I’d like it to but I’m not gonna worry about it too much. I wish I were a better musician it’d be easier to do. I’ve never been deliberate as a writer before so this should be an interesting experiment.

I spend most of my days writing with MTV Hits or CMT on all day if the TV’s on at all. I think anyone who’s writing or singing songs with the intent on sharing them with a lot of people should at least be aware of which direction the wind is blowing. I’m not saying copy Miley Cyrus, but I always thought writers and singers should at least be aware of it. Once you know then you go on the hunt for music you might like better.

I’ve taken a liking to Jesse James and Trace Adkins lately. I dunno why I’ve been so enthralled with the Country Music lately. Maybe it’s cause listening to a lot of it is kinda like taking songwriting 101. A lot of it is pretty much straight from the shoulder.

Trying to squeeze at least four tunes out of me for demo purposes. I’ll tell you all out that a bit later.

These were the videos I saw today

Jesse James...you can probably guess why I like this



This song by Trace Adkins tickles me

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 235

Day 234 - November 1st 2009

Lazy Sunday

Not much goin on other than The Eagles Winning and The Phillies losing. Hopefully they lose Monday so my shows can come back on. I’ve officially checked out emotionally.

Fortunately tomorrow is going to be the last Monday with No Philly Rising for a while it’ll be good to get back to work there. See what the rest of the year brings.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 234

Day 233 - October 31st 2009

I got up real early today for some reason. I realized I was on my sisters couch. Boy did we party last night. Great show, great bands, Black Spiderman Dance battling Arabs for Pimp Cups, we had a damn good time.

The folks came to Jersey and we went to Texas Roadhouse for some steaks. They were okay, my mind was focused on the Halloween party At Lickety Tonight. We have Kittens Ablaze, Damon Hamilton, and DJ Pressure and MC Showtime rockin out. We’re in good shape.

I got there around 7 and of course Kittens Ablaze caught in traffic in a rain storm and didn’t get there till 9 so we started everything an hour late. Didn’t stop the party though. They rocked it. Then Damon Hamilton rocked it. Then Showtime and Pressure Rocked it.

It was a truly amazing time, I look forward to working with everyone in the future. I forgot how much fun life can be.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 233

Day 232 - October 30th 2009

Big Day

Tonight was going to be our first South Jersey show…ever. It’s not that I don’t have love for our people across the water it’s just that generally I haven’t had too hard a time getting all those folks to come over to Philadelphia whenever I have big shows, so there’s really been no need to roll over there to play. But when Damien Anthony asks you to do a show with him, you don’t say no. He knows how to get down, and we’ve been wanting to do some more things together so tonight seemed like as good a time as any.

We picked up Jake and we arrived at The Cherrywood around 8. We were scheduled to go on at 9 so I went ahead and suited up so that we could play. I joked with Rob asking him when was the last time we played in Philly, when we play at Lickety on Thanksgiving Eve it will be over a month since the last time we played within the city limits. I meet Bullwinkle, who runs the booking for The Cherrywood. I hope to impress him, so that we have another place in the area to play.

Once we hit the stage there was nothing fancy, basically the set list from the tour with a couple of adjustment

Superhero
(Oh) I wish I loved You
Billie Jean
How Can This Be Love
Feels so Good
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin

I cut Wasted trying to be conscious of time.

Once we were done I decided to enjoy the evening. Which included me jamming with Damien during his set , winning best costume contest and dance battling two guys dressed like terrorists, and emerging victorious. I won a Pimp chalice as a result.

Once I was all funned out I went back to my sisters place, drank pepsi from my pimp cup and slept the night off.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 232

Day 231 - October 29th 2009

Today I spent most of the day trying to line up dates for a future tour of the Midwest in the summer, possibly a trek to SXSW in March and maybe some dates in the south. Not sure what I’m actually going to do but I spent a great deal of time at the computer compiling information.

Big show tomorrow at The Cherrywood. Looking forward to playing with Mr. Damien Anthony.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 231

Day 230 - October 28th 2009

Today would be my first day out since being back. I’ve been in bed trying tot take care of this cold/whatever I have.

Lickety Split was tonight. The 8:30 band apparently calls up and cancels the day of the show, another reason why I feel like I should rely on bands I have personal relationships with as opposed to booking bands that I don’t know or booking bands on others recommendations. I can blame those other people but ultimately it’s my responsibility.

Other than that show went really well. It sucks to have to play music and compete with a bar full of people watching the World Series, especially if you’re a Bossanova group or a Blues/Folk trio. The Phillies did win though making everyone drunk and excited. Which set the stage for the closing band the Relyx from New York. Funky and Loud, just the way I like it.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 230

Day 229 - October 27th 2009

I’m still sick, hoping that rest will ultimately make me ready for the show on Friday. My phone says no lesson today, this make sit two weeks, I hope she’s been practicing.

I’ve been sleeping a lot so far this week. It’s slowed down a lot of things that I’ve wanted to get done but I guess I can’t really do anything unless I can get healthy enough to keep it moving. I woke up around 3Am realizing I’d missed Jake’s show. Damn.

For the brief time I was awake Dad talked to me about planning the next tour route. I welcome his help. Lord knows I could use it. I felt such a boost to the whole thing going out on the road. If I can keep going out and making friends and fans I’ll be closer to where I wanna be. The future seems bright.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 229

Day 228 - October 26th 2009

I wake up in my own bed. It’s always weird being home after being gone for more than a day. Philly Rising was cancelled today, which in the long run is fine with me because I am still sick as a dog and can use the rest.

I got bored and made dinner for the fam. My mom thought it was a nice gesture. Then it was Eagles-Redskins on Monday Night football. The Eagles destroyed as they should have. The Redskins aren’t even as good as The Raiders were this year.

Not sure if I’ll have my guitar lesson tomorrow, Jake’s show is at Silk City tonight so I’ll probably ttry and make that.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 228

Day 227 - October 25th 2009

I hear a knock on my door. It’s Brian apparently it’s 10 am and we have an hour to get out of the Super 8 in Romulus Michigan so that we can get on the road and head back to the Keystone State. Today we go home. We get dressed and head over to the van. I’m still sick but I don’t feel nearly as bad as I did yesterday. Perhaps the chills were my body telling me to rest. Rob was sweating his balls off last night he was sure to let me know. We hit the road and started rolling. Knocked up was the first movie on our agenda, quality flick.

I’m less of a tight ass about stops along the way and even about the time we left. I’ve been in knots about making sure we got to the gigs on time. I’ll probably loosen up the next go round now that I know how we roll and what the group dynamic is. We rolled into a Bob Evans and ate some food before continuing the trip. My inability to swallow without pain kept me from eating so I boxed it up for later.

Brian’s road rage reached new heights as a truck drove slow and wouldn’t get over so that he could get by. He picks up his phone and actually calls the “How’s My Driving Number” and speaks with someone telling them that this truck is driving too slow and won’t get over. I’ve never seen anyone actually use those phone number so we had a good laugh. If that wasn’t enough someone with Virginia license plates cut him off and he uttered a word that I‘ve never heard be fore and hope to use everyday for the rest of my life he called Mr. Virginia...a cuntsicle! We hit another rest stop and throw on Tropic Thunder.

As we finish with the movies and throw on some music I look out of my window and I have to say there aren’t many more beautiful sights than this stretch of land in the autumn. All the trees are different colors and the leaves still haven’t fallen off yet. Looks like a Bob Ross Painting. As I stare into space I sort of take stock and evaluate this little mini tour. Now that I’ve taken my band out for a little road trip that included long hours in a car, being on top of each other, hotel rooms, and consecutive shows in different cities, there are things I’ve noticed, learned and will take into account the next time we’re out.

Firstly, I have to plan the route better. I sort of had to take what I could get this time around but next time I’ll probably make so that we don’t have to spend more than four hours in a car and can actually see the cities we’re playing in. The long rides meant that we had to get up early which meant little to no sleep for everybody.

Second, this is my preferred touring situation. It’s not inconceivable that I may be on tour with other bands, singing, playing guitar, or managing but if I had a choice of being on the road with someone it would be with these three guys. Jake, Rob. Brian, and I have a really good personal chemistry it’s almost brotherly. I enjoyed the debates and philosophical conversations, the new words and terms developed while out here. It seems like we’ve bonded and I think it transferred over to our playing this weekend. The machine parts are right and now and it ran beautifully despite the few setbacks we had.

Third, traveling gives me a new perspective on how good the band and I actually are. I often feel like the longevity and consistency that I’ve enjoyed often allows the people here at home to take me for granted. There’s always some cool new band that the Philly faithful try to get behind and jump on the bandwagon, the general feeling that I’m not going anywhere sometimes people are a little more lukewarm than I’d like them to be and it’s easy to get down on yourself. Not to mention Philly has a dearth of Funk/Rock acts these days. For the people we played for this week the sound was something fresh and different.

Fourth, this is a group of people comfortable with gas. I’ve smelled more farts in the past few days then I ever did in the van with Camaro, many of them were my own.

Number five, Microtels are the best of the three we stayed in.

Six and most importantly, now I know that this current Boy Wonder lineup can dot he whole touring thing. If something were to happen where we got on the road opening for someone or I got a deal etc. These guys are tough enough to withstand the pounding that can sometimes be associated with living this kind of life. There’s a big difference between a two month tour and 5 days out but I think if something were to happen we could really do the damned thang.

We’ll get the ALCS on the radio and listen to that until we get home. Drop Rob off and unload his stuff, Drop Jake off and then I get to see my house again for the first time in a few days. I can’t believe it’s only been like 4/5 days. Seemed a lot longer than that. I had an awesome time with some awesome people, can’t wait until we get a chance to do this again.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 227

Day 226 - October 24th 2009

itll be tops!

Day 226 - October 24th 2009

I wake up in Minneapolis I think I’ve slept for like 4 hours…maybe 8 this trip. This is by far the most brutal tour route I’ve ever been on. I’m coughing already, and my mucus is a dark green color mixed with blood…sinus infection, not good. I’m miserable but I need to get us on the road so that we can get to Detroit, the last site on this mini tour. We have the sneaky suspicion that last night’s show would be the best of the three. Minneapolis showed us a real good time, and we had the best out of town reception there I think we’ve ever had.

We manage to get out of the hotel and into the car. We throw on some movies to pass the timebut most of us are in a daze. Only Brian’s got the ware withal to do anything at present moment which is why he’s driving. I’ve been very impressed with him on this trip. I think he’d make a good tour manager for us, for anyone in particular. He’s taken good care of us and his road rage is 100 kinds of hilarious.

I talk to Sean (Bang Camaro Vocalist) briefly on Facebook I get some encouraging words from him I also had a quick convo with Mayte (Cutest Bang Camaro fan) it’s hard to be out here and not think of them. I guess you’ll never forget your first tour. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to do any of the 3 shows left on the calendar for this year. I may try to make it up to Boston though.

As we drive to Detroit one thing is glaringly apparent. I’m sick and I’m getting worse. As we stop at a rest stop in Michigan I’m literally shivering once we get inside. I’m feeling my head and I’m burning up. So that’s twice on the road and I’ve been sick both times a streak that I would like to not continue from this point on. I sleep most of the ride curled up under my leather jacket. I’m drugged up mostly trying to dull the pain,

We get to the hotel in Romulus Michigan I can’t find my phone but that’s not as important to me as hot shower for my aching body. I watch cops as I wait for Rob to get out of the shower, cops is one of my favorite shows. When he gets out I grab my shower, I get dressed and head over to the Lager house.

Driving through Detroit we’re a bit nervous. Aside from the casinos which shone brightly throughout the city, Detroit looks a lot like Thunderdome. You don’t really know what might happen to you out here. We pull up to the Lager house and I go inside. It was a pretty cool little spot. The Layout was similar to The Fire back at home, the bar in one room with the stage in another. Tonight we’re opening for the science fair who are doing their EP Release party tonight which means we likely won’t be selling CD’s tonight.

We load in as I try to search for my phone. Good news was I found my phone, bad news was I locked the keys in the car. Of course I’m freaking out. I call triple a, but our coverage doesn’t cover anything outside of PA so I have to call Dad. Of course he has a laugh over my plight, he calls Allstate and they tell him they’ll be there in 35 minutes. Brian takes my phone and will take care of them when they arrive.

The first act Brian Callhoun had finished his set and it was time for us to go on. I’m delirious at this point. But we look good with out matching shirts and ties. .I figure what happened with the car nothing else could possibly go wrong. Well when we jumped into Superhero my guitar and Jake’s Bass came crashing together.

Superhero
(Oh) I Wish I loved You
The Way You Make Me Feel
How Can This Be Love
Feels So Good
Wasted
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin

Singing and playing at the same time was particularly challenging tonight. I’ve plaed these songs a billion times but it can still be an issue. With the fever I often would drift off when I wasn’t singing, I forgot some parts and some chords, I don’t think the audience noticed it though. I felt like the crowd was into it not as much as they were last night, but that sort of frenzy is hard to match. There were a lot of black folks there and I got a lot of compliments from them after the show telling them to let me know when we were coming back. I even met someone from The Detroit Free press who asked to be added to the mailing list. Could be a good thing.

I remember being pulled aside by a few older gentlemen the owner definitely liked us

“We don’t get many neo soul acts with psychedelic guitars in here, never seen anything like it, we’d love to have you back sometime.”

I don’t even pay attention to the genre classifications people give me anymore, it used to bother mebut now-a-days I figure people just need to put you wherever they think they would find you in the record store so I take all these things as compliments. It didn’t stop there Another gentlemen said something to me that almost made me choke.

“Look I’m going to be honest with you, I come here every week to see bands and I’ve never seen anything like what I saw tonight, I was a bit luke warm on some of the stuff but I saw more than a few flashes of greatness from you and your band tonight, keep going, we’ll be watching you.”

Is greatness reachable? Which parts were great and how can I hold on to those and extrapolate on them so that we can be great for 40 minutes, an hour, two hours. Would we have been great if I were healthy tonight? I will tie myself in knots over this for…forever probably lol.

The Science Fair killed it. Sort of a mix between Incubus and Maroon 5, The bassist was black which explained all the brothers and sisters in the crowd

We hung around for some free barbeque and then went back to the hotel. I shivered as I put my PJ’s on and turned the heat on full blast and went to bed. We’ll all likely get a full nights sleep tonight. Rob’s gonna be sweating his balls off tonight.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 226

Day 225 - October 23rd 2009

There are a few habits I’ve developed since becoming a musician that goes out on the road.

1) Get up early so that you can get that first shower
2) Go to sleep in the van shortly after it pulls off

I woke up in the knights in in Indianapolis with these things in mind but as I got dressed and opened the door I saw that it was raining cats and dogs….great. It’s 6 am and I’m trying to call Brian and Jake to get them up so that we can get to Minneapolis in a decent amount of time. I wanted to avoid traffic and all that, get to the hotel, and lay back before having to get to the gig which wasn’t too far away from the venue itself. We left in the rain about an hour later than I wanted to. I try not to be a drill sergeant about it, but I know that we need to leave at a certain time to get there at a certain time.

There aren’t many more beautiful sights than the sun rising over the Midwestern landscape, it’s the America from the movies. The drive would be nine hours. Movies like Zach and Miri and Dazed and Confused would help pass the time, oh not to mention all the rian that fell from the sky as we passed through Illinois, which would quickly turn into snow once we hit Wisconsin. My sinuses are acting up when I spit out the post nasal drip it’s half thick green/yellow mucus, half blood, I’ve had sinus infections before but it always seems like I get them worse than other people. My throat’s mad ore which doesn’t bode well for tonight. We marveled at the fact that it was snowing now as we scream outside “It’s October!” Tom Tom steered us wrong somewhere in the middle of Chicago but once we got back on track we got there at a reasonable time.

We pull into the Bloomington Microtel and I go into the room and everything is where I remember it from Iowa including the mattress in the window seal. We had a little while in the hotel before we needed to go over. We piled int eh car and stopped at a walmart so that Rob could get a rug for his drums, Brue (Grey Matador) had already allowed us the use of his but I guess we don’t know what’s going to happen in Detroit. After that we hustle to get over there.

We roll up on Sauce, Spirits and Soundbar at around 8, 8:30. As I enter the venue I can’t help but see a Bong Hits for Jesus poster in the Window, they were here at this very bar last night. Seems like a lot of Philly bands are migrating towards that area of the country. Probably cause it’s awesome. I can say one thing about Minneapolis right off the bat…the women here are mad sexy. Not sure what it is but they know how to work what they have. A single man would have a wide array of beautiful women to choose from…if he could stand the cold weather.

As we finish loading in I can’t help but feel nervous, because for me this is THE GIG. The other two shows on this mini tour were basically built around me and the guys playing in Minneapolis. Ever since I was here with Camaro and met some of my great friends/fans at the show I wanted to come back and show them what I really can do. Thanks to my good man Brue we were able to make it happen. I see Lori and Traci and Kibra and all the people they brought. This might be the first time I’ve gone somewhere with the band we had a decent draw, something hat we may be able to build off of. We’re sharing the bill with some great Twin Cities talent so I want to make sure that we can play well here and generate some buzz.

They showed us the green room and the steps that lead to nowhere in the basement of the club, it was good to be able to show Jake and Rob what my actual touring experience was like and what it should be like, Indy although it was an awesome show it wasn’t a great example of that. The place had water, PBR, and other stuff waiting for us in there. I was glad I had someplace to put my change of clothes.

Obergaramu, the opening bands drummer were late, and I was concerned what was actually gonna happen with the show. Thankfully they and Grey Matador offered to cut their sets short so that we can play a full set. Again these Minnesota folks are going above and beyond for us, something we really appreciate. I feel better about the fact that we actually had quite a few people there and were bringing something to the table. Once Obergaramu was done we set up. They key was to move fast so that we didn’t cut into anyone’s time. I threw my white jacket on after a quick line check and we were ready to go. We’d be tuning to e flat to help out my voice.

Set List

Superhero
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
The Way You Make Me Feel
How Can This Be Love
Feels So Good
Wasted
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Leavin

After we were done with (Oh) I Wish I Loves You I was feeling super comfortable. I took my jacket off and the guys and I really dug into the songs. The people loved us it seemed. We had a very receptive, enthusiastic crowd, who’s energy I fed off of and tried my best to give back to them. I saw people lining up to buy CD’s I mean it was truly an amazing thing. As we moved to Feels So Good I was fearless, jumping down to the floor so that I could be closer to the crowd when I played my big solo. People were cheering extremely loudly as I played the last bit with my teeth. I’m talking to the crowd, playing around with them, taking them where I want them to go. We sealed the deal with Leavin and that my friends was it. E the best show. I was especially proud of the way Jake and Rob played they’ve been with me long enough that they can give me exactly what I need when I’m playing and singing. They throw enough new stuff in there to keep me on my toes.

Grey Matador is an amazing band, them along with Minneapolis should write a book about how to treat a band when they come to your hometown. Like I said above and beyond. Outside of Philly this may be the best overall show we’ve ever played. All the starts lined up pretty perfectly and gave us a really kick ass show. Some of the matador fans voiced their displeasure about us not playing any Prince Songs, but I promised them next time when my voice is in better shape we’d do at least one. Is this the peak of our tour? Maybe. Then again Detroit could be even better, we’ll just have to see.

I hit the bed as early as possible, knowing we have a looooong drive tomorrow.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 225

Day 224 - October 22nd 2009

The Sun rises on the open road. Brian’s driving, I’m in the front seat, Jake’s looking straight ahead Rob’s sleeping. There’s always a feeling when I’m looking outside of a window watching the road pass by that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. It never takes long for me to realize that I like it out here we’re in a van going to a show, I can’t think of anything cooler than that. Maybe I’m built for this, looking back over these 200+ days I realize that I’ve spent quite a few of them outside of Philadelphia performing. We talk about The Phillies’ NLCS victory and their (seemingly) impending meeting with The New York Yankees. Jake tells me that there were riot police outside of his job preventing him from going downtown. We’ve been driving all night, so we stop off at a bob Evan’s, grab breakfast and keep going.

I have one main objective with this mini tour…to generate interest in Boy Wonder in this region of the country I understand that these things won’t happen overnight and that one has to keep at it in order to achieve any success, but if we can get the right person/people to feel us it could be a start, I don’t care if we only get one name on the mailing list, sell one CD, get one pat on the back, it’s gotta start somewhere. But first we got to get to the hotel.

We arrive around two for check in as me and Brian walk inside to grab the rooms. We get in and settle in our rooms waiting to figure out what the next move’s going to be. I call to find out our time slots been changed to 11:30 and then she asks how much time we can fill, out of reflex I say that we can play for a while so we end up with a 90 minute set, but that’s several hours away, next call goes into my cousin betty, apparently I have relatives here and they’ve already been told to come to the show, she tells me about Monument Circle so we’re gonna go there to kill some time.

As we arrive we marvel at the differences between here an Philadelphia, it’s cleaner for one, the pace is slower, people are more laid back (even the two homeless guys I saw weren’t really all that pushy) there were a lot of bar/restaurants in this section of the city (as opposed to the straight up bar/bars in Philly) and that Philadelphia has better looking girls per square foot. Jake wants pizza so he stops inside of a spot as the rest of us explore, we happen upon a sweet looking BBQ spot so we plan to hunker down and realize we should go grab Jake, Jake has no phone and I immediately start to freak out. I treat every place I go with a band like Mexico, everyone needs to stay together or else something bad happens, I know I’m a tight ass but it just makes things easier especially when people don’t have phones. We at some BBQ and checked out the sports bar, which had the most awesome Dyson hand dryers I’ve ever seen.

We walked around downtown for a while until it was time to get to Lizards. Tom Tom got us there but it didn’t tell us it was behind the actual place with the address. We circled many times before arriving at the venue. As we walked in it was something out of a movie, all the redneck stereotypes were there, trucker and NASCAR hats, mullets, people in sweat pants, Only Miller Lite on Tap, even a pregnant bartender. They certainly were more of an older crowd. They seemed to be staring at me as if I were an alien, I’m wondering what exactly I’m walking into at the moment. Brue (from Grey Matador who helped us book the gig) and Liz (the owner and booker at Lizards) wouldn’t have me performing somewhere that would potentially be hostile, even violent would they? I doubt it, but until something happens here either way to ease it, I’m probably going to be tense. Then I hear something over the loud speaker

I’ll take you to the candy shop
I’ll let you lick the lollipop
Go Head Girl Don’t You Stop
Keep Going Till You Hit The Spot

I never thought a 50 cent record would ever ease my mind, but when I saw the guy in the Jeff Gordon hat dancing in his seat at the bar I realized that I wasn’t in any real dangerying out . One of the disadvantages of growing up in the north is that you don’t really run across anyone from the more red parts of the map, the more rural areas of south or the Midwest unless you have the opportunity to get out. All you know is what you see on TV, Bill Maher’s comments, the folks on Springer, etc. so when you do run across them you assume that they’re going to lynch your black ass as you walk in the door, when more often than not they’re just good down home, no nonsense folks that have more in common with Black Folk than one might realize.

I sit back and relax as The Wil Woodrow project starts setting up. Wil seems like a cool ass dude, he doesn’t say too much but from what I hear him say it sounds like music is his life. I turn to see a cute girl behind the drum kit, striking eyes, legs for days, tough as nails from the looks of her, this is Liz, drummer for Wil Woodrow, owner of the bar, impressive…seeing as though she doesn’t look any older than me, I need to be doing more with my life…lol. I shake her hand and thank her for having us she‘s very warm, making me feel even better about being here tonight. I get out of their way as they launch into their set.

Theirs is a unique sound, sure it has elements of funk and rock, blues and hip hop, but the way it was set up was quite interesting. Wil’s bass is really the lead instrument with the drums locking in and the guitar player adding top and staying out of the way. I very much liked Wil’s energy and passion and Liz smoking a cig and laying the beat down on the drums at the same time is right on my top ten lists of sexiest things I’ve ever seen.

As they are finishing the doors swing open and a bunch of black folks in church clothes walk inside of the bar, they have to be my distant relatives. It was good to see betty whom I probably haven’t seen since I was 9 or 10. It was very good to see them and it was awesome of them to sit the whole time.

Wil was done and it was time for us to get goin. We set up and got it in

Superhero
(Oh) I wish I loved You
The Way You make Me Feel
Always Giving Me The Blues
How Can This Be Love
Electric Love
Body
Feels So Good
Wasted
Covered in Rain
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Walking on the Moon
Destiny

As we started the strangest thing happened, instead of taking a beer bottle to the face…people loved it. They were dancing and grooving, one girl was even shaking it directly in front of me, before her boyfriend grabbed her as hard and fast as he could. I had to really work the stage because of the awkward place it was in the room and just as we were about to launch into the more rock parts of our set Jakes Low E string broke. Luckily Wil had an extra one and I decided to go nice and easy for the remainder of the set. Thigns were going wrong, my guitar amp was waaay too loud, and there were some small mistakes early on but these folks didn’t care, they loved it. Few people bought CD’s so I signed him, one guy seemed really fixated on Rob so he was talking to him a lot really fast.

Liz seemed to really like us as well and wants us to come back on a better night with better crowds and what not. I’d love to have them at the Split sometime if they could make the trip. At least I know whenever we’re here we have at least one place to play. Wil even offered to put us up and take care of us. These guys were really awesome, whenever you are in a seemingly strange place it’s great when people are warm and friendly, especially in this business.

I leave the club like we just pulled off a bank heist, that went better than any of us could’ve ever expected. We get back to the hotel and I think about tomorrow. I can tell I’m getting sick but I think the band’ll be super tight and it’ll be a better show tomorrow than it was tonight…Minneapolis here we come.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 224

Day 223 - October 21st 2009

Ugh!

I wait till the last minute to do everything but I have a checklist of things that need to get done before I leave

Gear
Clothes
Toiletries
New Jacket
New Sneakers
Itineraries
New AC Converter for the Laptop
DVD’s

I wanted to switch my phone off so that I could get everything done but the well wishers would’ve found a way through. It’s my own fault had I not been so tired after electric six I would have packed my bag last night. My dad had housework for me to do that would likely not get done. But I would try my best.

First things first were the directions, after the Tom Tom debacle at Dewey Beach I wanted hard copy directions to make sure he was leading us in the right direction. I even put the daily forecast on top of the page. I attached it to a clipboard, it looks official. I spoke with Alex (Bang Camaro Guitarist) who told me to keep all my receipts, I remember sitting with him looking at spreadsheets in Boston with him going “This is How this works” I often wonder how long it took those guys to figure out I had my own ambitions.

Second thing was the suitcase. I grab a much smaller suitcase than the world famous Roxanne, and I know I can fit four days worth of clothes into it. I am successful, mostly hoodies and warm clothes considering that the weather forecasts all point to the weather being a dick this weekend. My mom got home at 4:30 and made dinner so she dad and I could eat together before I left. Pot roast, brown rice, broccoli, hell yeah.

Third my mom took me to Best Buy to get a car adapter for the laptop, Modell’s for some new kicks (I had my last pair since the day I left for the Bang Camaro Tour and they were pretty chewed up) and to Burlington for a white suit jacket that will compliment my Minneapolis outfit. I plan on looking good that night.

Fourthly I had to pack the car, but the car wasn’t there so I had to put all the stuff by the door so I could head to Lickety Split.

The Phillies are on, and two of the acts have blown off the show, something that I simply can not stand. Even if you call or email and say “I’m not playing the gig cause the Phillies are on” I’d rather that than you just blow off the show. I have to admit with this news I was a bit concerned about the night considering the first band committed the double sin; not only did they not bring anyone out to see them they cleared the room of the existing crowd, mainly because people wanted to watch the game and weren’t so concerned about hearing the music.

It was a good thing for us Shining TV Screen did a great job with the draw, if I could ever manage to get two or three good drawing bands on a Wednesday we could bring it back to where it was this summer. Meron followed and played really well, even though his crowd hasn’t shown up strong yet there are still uses for him in the grand scheme of things, mainly to entertain a crowd that might already be there. He makes music that you can get high to, which works with just about any kind of band I’d have in there. Before Meron was done the Phillies were National League Champions for the second year in a row, I was waiting for the natives to start tearing up the city again.

Damien Anthony also showed up big with the draw for the open jam. That thing has the potential to be really special if we can keep the momentum going. The place was packed and they were still partying when I went ot meet up with Rob and Brian.

The car was there packed up and ready to go. We were ready to go. We picked up Jake and hit the road towards Indianapolis. Finally the journey begins, it’s not a long tour by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a nice test run to see what happens when we do some real extensive touring. I will finally take what I learned from Camaro, Leslie, and Electric Six and apply it here, we’re not either of those bands and will hopefully find our own rhythm out here.

With the laptop here Jake breaks out the DVD’s and we watch Ghostbusters, I fall asleep. I wake up at a rest stop that looks exactly like the one in Allentown. I then realize that it’s some alternate universe rest stop, it had a couple of different stores inside.

Death to Smoochy played on the laptop as I nodded off for good, with so many of my dreams coming true lately I might have to start dreaming about Unicorns

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 223

Day 222 - October 20th 2009

With my lesson cancelled my Tuesday was mostly spent doing layouts for the tour itinerary, printing out directions and the like and figuring out what I need along with getting psyched for the Electric Six show. I did some work on the new tune and decided that I would hit the Tritone to try it out before meeting up with Casey to go to the show.

I snuck onto the list and played the song with Kelvin’s Telecaster. The song seemed to come to life and breathe more when I played it that way so I’m looking forward to showing it to the band. I left the Tritone in time enough to meet Casey.

We rolled into Johnny Brenda’s again and I see Emily sitting by the merch table, it was like old times. It’s funny how before I leave for my first Boy Wonder mini tour I’ve seen everyone that taught me everything I know about being on the road, Bang Camaro (last Thursday) and Electric Six (tonight) we all still talk and they know I’m hitting the road, they ask questions, they’re still teaching me stuff.

I run into two people that I met the last time I saw Electric Six, they buy me drinks and ask about Bang Camaro and I have no answers for them. I’d rather be talking about what I’m doing but I don’t mind it, there are people out there that really love that band, it’s a shame they haven’t been able to play Philadelphia more often I think they probably played well here last time and probably would again. Electric Six took the stage and it was time to watch them rock.

The New Stuff sounds awesome, so incredibly funky and rawkin, the hits sound as solid as ever, to the point that some idiot decides to start a mosh pit by the stage. They slammed into me on more than one occasion to the point where I had to scream “If another muthafucka slams into me we’re gonna have problems!” They kept it in another area. Angry black man voice still works.

I went into the green room after the show, they said that although they won’t be there Saturday night they would tell all their peeps that I was playing the Lager house in Detroit.

Home now, so much to do to get ready for tomorrow’s trip. Not to mention the fact that the Phillies can win the NLCS tomorrow, I wonder how the game’s gonna affect the show at Lickety.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 222

Day 221 - October 19th 2009

Today is my little cousin Danielle’s birthday, so I wanted to give a shout out to her.

I walk into Philly Rising and immediately see business happening. Marc is there with the new marketing person and Neil I’m assuming discussing re-upping for next year. There’s an energy in the room with the line looking pretty deep and more diverse than last weeks hip hop fest which is good, hopefully me being at some other mics around town will help let people know that we’re still here. Like I’ve said before it’s like McDonalds, sure everyone knows we’re there but it’s important that we remain out in the forefront of everybody’s mind.

I walked into the offices to run off the copies of the list and I‘m pulled into the office and apparently World Café Live feels the same way as I do, I have plenty of ideas that we could do so we discussed them. It’s important we stay a step ahead of the competition and I have quite a few ideas as to how to make that happen.

The line was even longer when I re-emerged to do the sign-ups I was pretty giddy all night and I felt like I was really in a solid groove. We even had some comedians thrown into the mix. Our winners Atlanta Bred Huston West and New jersey band 61 North will round out the Monthly competition for October. I can’t believe the year is almost over, it’s crazy, soon I’ll be doing another yearly competition and hopefully returning for my third year at Philly Rising.

Casey and I are gonna catch Electric Six tomorrow

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 221

Day 220 - October 18th 2009

Third Sunday

That means church, I have an amp and effects there so all I have to do is grab my guitars and cables. I get there a little late but Virgil had already rolled my amp out so all I had to do was hook everything together.

With such great musicians all I could think of is how good this would sound if we knew what we were playing and had time to rehearse. It does keep me on my toes and with such a great rhythm section all I have to do is stay out of the way for the music to sound good. As usual we get to talk while on breaks and in the middle of the service the Pastor prayed for me that we’d have safe passage and a warm reception everywhere we went. I know that’s my mother’s doing. I’d rather not people make a bigger deal out of this that it is. I’ve been putting enough pressure on myself as the gigs are coming so I don’t need any additional pressure.

When church was over we went back over to Jersey for part two of Jordan’s 7th birthday extravaganza tonight dinner with the family. I had to watch The Eagles lose though, to the raiders no less. I made a phone call to World Café Live to see if they tickets available for the Marc Broussard show tonight I’m taking my oldest niece Taylor to the show. Apparently her dance teacher does a routine to Gavin’s Song and she downloaded some stuff and she liked it so she asked me to take her.

After the game was over we took a ride over to World Café Live. I keep my eyes peeled for little boys that want to get chest punched for looking at her. They lead us into VIP and we sit and enjoy the show. Not as much as some others though there were several couples there dancing and kissing and such…we were both pretty grossed out. As for the show itself it was a more of a stripped down thing him a drummer and a guitarist/bassist. It was a cool show I bought her a T-Shirt that I found out later didn’t fit.

Philly Rising tomorrow. We go on a two week break after tomorrow night so I hope for this to be good, a heck of a lot better than last week. I feel like we need to step up the diversity and get it back to acceptable levels. Hip-Hop for two hours straight isn’t good for anyone involved. Hopefully this is a result of the playoffs and we’ll get back down to business here soon.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 220

Day 219 - October 17th 2009

We travel to Jersey for part one of my niece Jordan’s 7th birthday extravaganza tonight we went to Jersey to go to the movies with her friends. They were going to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. Pops and I went to see Law Abiding Citizen. Good movie, Gerard Butler was crazy.

It’s always nice to get with the fam especially with what’s coming up this week.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 219

Day 218 - October 16th 2009

Morning

It’s still raining

My back is killing me

My ankle’s sore

I’m glad to be home though. The Bang Camaro Show was an amazing thing, it always is. That band will always be an important part of my narrative and those guys will always be my second family. I have 11 brothers from another mother and I learned so much from that experience. But now it’s time to change my eyes to move forward. I have things that I need to do for the very near future, I’m over thinking these dates, it’s 3 shows in 5 days but I feel like my life hangs in the balance. One of my dreams are coming true. Ever since I hit the road with Camaro I dreamed of doing it with Jake and Rob, I think we have something, I know if we play well we can keep up with anybody, I am plagued with doubt, what if I fail and have to go back to an office job, try not to think about it.

Tonight we’ve got Lickety. A normal gig for us where we play from 10-2 spanning most of my catalogue and a few covers here and there. But tonight is our last chance to tighten up before we go out on the road. I didn’t book any other bands tonight an oversight on my part, but with the weather and the Phillies I figured there wouldn’t be many people out anyway, so this wouldn’t be anything more than a glorified practice. I even forgot the set lists and had to make them up on the spot.

There were quite a few highlights, and quite a few people all things considered. It was a normal Friday Night. The band’s pretty tight and I’m lookin forward to the moment when I stop being so anxious and it becomes more about playing these shows and growing this whole Boy Wonder thing. Good things are happening and I probably just need to relax. I only feel better when I worry which makes me feel worse, I get it from my mother

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 218

Day 217 - October 15th 2009

My cruel overlord aka my cell phone alarm woke me up at 9 on the dot. It took me a split second to realize why. I’m rejoining bang Camaro this evening for a show at Santo’s Party House the sight of my first show with them. I have to admit I was excited about performing with them again. But first I had to find my winter hat cause frankly cause it was nasty outside. I was unsuccessful.

I braved the cold and the rain, headed to the Megabus and it pulled off headed for New York, a city short on positive experiences for me. Seems like every time I go to New York something bad happens although lately it’s gone from having a horrible time to just not having a good time. Hopefully this will finally turn it around. I’m meeting up with Claire first then I head over to Santos for sound check. So many thoughts running through my head on the way up, mainly whether or not I was in Camaro shape or not. We generally go really hard so I was worried about my general physical condition as well as the ankle. I wondered which singers were gonna be there and which movie they would show on a bus…it was twilight which meant it was Ipod time.

A few hours and a convo with my mom later there it was…New York City. Regardless how I feel about the city and the people that live there it’s a wondrous city at first glance. Everything is bigger, faster, louder. It has an energy that can only be achieved when a crap load of people are packed in tightly together, everyone has somewhere to be. I got off the bus and it was colder and more rainy here than it was back home, of this I wasn’t pleased. Claire found me though and we started walking.

For almost a two year period Claire and I were inseparable, the very best of friends, we used to talk or see each other everyday for like two hours, I still feel like we’re close but living our own lives in two different cities we’re not as locked into each other’s lives as we once were. I don’t talk to her as much as I should but I was definitely happy to see her. She looked good, happy, which is what we all want for our friends. We took a train to get lunch and of course I screw up going through the turnstile. She had to open a door to let my dumb ass in so that I could take the train.

We stopped at a Uno and ate pizza. I got a chance to listen to some of her new music and it’s dope. Just her and a guitar. She even played me a tune that she wrote completely on her own. A far cry from the days of she and I cooking up tracks in my house for her first album. I’m very proud of my friend who is just scratching the surface of her musical abilities

After we were done she graciously accompanied me to Santos Party house and as I opened the door and walked inside there they were…Bang Camaro.

Every memory, every show, every cramped van ride, comes rushing back to me as I look around and see 11 guys that I had become extremely close with over a two month period No matter what I do with my life and career from this point forward, I will never have another experience like the one I had with them. They greet me warmly as I introduce some of them to Claire. I hug lots of dudes as we all catch up. I hear about new projects several of them are working on, all sound pretty damn intriguing. They ask about the mini tour, they still read the blog, the internet’s an awesome thing. There’s pizza so I eat it and then I hear Pete checking his bass drum and it all really comes back. It’s just like every other show and now I’m just waiting to check my mic.

In a few short moments the opening act played by That Handsome Devil kills it just before we are due to come out. I see Angie and Vanessa Boyd and I talk to them before rejoining the army in the back they’re writing a new set list on Pizza Boxes, no chance to go on autopilot tonight, which I was actually hoping for seeing as though I haven’t done this since May. That Handsome Devil is finished and the guys hit the stage

After Thunderclap we hit the stage to do our thing.

Set List
Thunderclap
Swallow The Razor
Pleasure Pleasure
Blood Red Rock
Rock Rebellion
Rock of Mages
Out on The Streets
Revolution
Push Push (Lady Lightning)
Encore
F.Y.T.F.O

As we move though these songs I spot a blonde in the crowd. I know her from another life, one where I was a flim maker and a Superhero (don’t ask) she can’t be there to see me, she didn’t know I was coming but there she was anyway. My friend Zoe doesn’t notice me at first. Then she looks up, it’s hard not to notice the lone black guy on stage she runs to the stage I look up and wink at her it was quite a moment. I’m not used to my friends seeing me singing and dancing on stage, no guitar in hand. I’ve been claiming I don’t dance for close to ten years, and now too many of my friends know better. My ankle also feels better the more I move on it.

The shows over, we play an encore, and there I am again in a bathroom with a towel trying to wipe myself off so I don’t get sick. I’ve got a show tomorrow and a mini tour next week so me being hoarse isn’t an option. I hit the city with Ange. She prefers my work to Camaro’s…I wouldn’t expect the woman who produced my last album to say anything less. We talk about the future, we had such a great time making that record and I would love to work with her again. I gotta write some songs first. We hit a few bars she puts me in a cab and I hit the Megabus to go home. This may be the first great time I’ve ever had in New York.

Lickety tomorrow.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 217

Day 216 - October 14th 2009

I had to change my hair appointment to today. Mainly because I will be traveling to the Big Apple tomorrow afternoon to once rejoin Bang Camaro at Santo’s Party House, the place where I performed with them for the first time. I was a ball of nerves that night. I expect to be a ball of nerves tomorrow.

As I arrived at Yoni’s and she asked me how I wanted my hair this time around I began to factor in that I would be performing with Camaro tomorrow and venturing off on my own mini tour next week, I will be spending a great deal of time drenched in my own sweat so I would need something hat could stand up to that. So she basically did it the way I had it for tour, which will be cool because I can head bang and shake my hair tomorrow.

After I was done there I ventured to Lickety Split for another Wednesday extravaganza. We’d been slow the past few weeks and I hoped that tonight would be the start of a slow return to respectability as we fight college midterms, an awful economy, Phillies fever and the weather. I’ve worked with these bands at various places and they always do well so I was hoping that we’d be in good shape.

Lee Morgan kicked things off to an empty room, Lee is one of the great puzzles of the Philadelphia music scene. He is truly one of the best singers and songwriters I’ve ever heard but he’s yet to hit in this town. I want people lining up around the block to see this guy play. Eric G would follow, his band was late but since they traveled all the way from Maryland to see him we’ll go ahead and cut them some slack. He delivered yet another solid performance that’s going to warrant moving him to Friday Nights.

Naeemah, and old friend and former band mate, would go on next delivering her sophisticated blend of rock pop and jazz. There are so many black rock performers now in the Philly scene, I remember even 3 years ago it was me, her, and maybe two others. She’s still amazing as ever and so incredibly gracious.

Erronious Krunk would close out for us. Philly Rising December standouts and a truly amazing blend of Jazz, Blues, and Soul. Even without their Sax Player they are still a compelling act. Lead Singer Samantha Rise will leave you in a trance with sultry voice and radioactive good looks. There’s something about these cats, they have the potential to really be something special. But that’s just me.

If that night of music weren’t enough, Damien Anthony kicked off his stint as the host of The Open jam session which went amazingly well. I even got to play a little bit.

I got home around 2 unable to sleep because of the excitement for tomorrow’s show.

Peep The Krunk

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 216

Day 215 - October 13th 2009

I woke up today to my lesson being cancelled so I had only one thing on my agenda (two if you count the fact I’m doing it twice).

Tonight my plan is to hit two Tuesday Night Open mics to promote Philly Rising on Monday Nights. Philly Rising has been the biggest open mic in town for the past 5 years but to me it’s important every once in a while to show your face in the open mic community to remind people that we are still there, sort of like McDonalds.

My goal has always been to promote musical diversity within Philly Rising. In my opinion if we are truly going to spotlight Philadelphia’s next rising stars we have to see as many different kinds of musicians as we can and with last night’s open mic so heavy with the hip hop tonight I’m going to reach out to the singer/songwriter community and see if I can get more of them to come back to create a more balanced night.

Not to mention I have a few new songs I’d like to try out tonight.

My first stop, the Tritone hosted by my buddies The Absolute Zeros. With the room not quite as full tonight I put the flyers right next to the list which seemed to be a good place for them. I saw a lot of folks pick them up.

The Zero’s opened up the night and after they were done I got up and played Feels So Good and a new tune. Both were well received, but the new tune still needs a lot of work, I’m having trouble piecing the parts together and a bit of trouble with the second verse. It’s getting better but still needs ass loads of work. I might be working too hard on something that’ll never be good but it’s important I see things through.
I stayed for Keyboard Cathy’s set and then left to meet up with Liat and head over to Lickety Split.

Tuesdays at Lickety Split, one of the only nights of the week there I’m not running an event. They have their Tuesday Night Open Mic and today I’m here to play and do promo. I pass out flyers and after a while play a short 3 song set

(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
How Can This Be Love
Feels So Good

In the middle of Feels So Good the microphone stand falls and I am forced to stop. The Video camera guy had to hold the stand while I finished the tune. I finished to a raucous applause (mainly for braving the mic stand) and it gave me an opening to shake a lot of hands and kiss babies and what not. I even met someone really good that just moved from Brooklyn that would absolutely love to be a part of Philly Rising.

I had a lot of fun and am going to do this more often. After next Monday I’m going to have a two week window and may even venture to Fergies and The Fire on those Mondays, or rest, that would be good too

Here's a short clip of (Oh) I Wish I Loved You

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 215

Day 214 - October 12th 2009

We have a few things working against us in October.

1) The weather starts to change. It’s getting colder and people decide to stay inside until they get used to it. As if seasons don’t change every year

2) The Phillies are in the playoffs. They were so bad for so long it didn’t matter now people are watching baseball during the week into October.

3) The full weight of the college semester has been slammed down upon you by about Mid October. I remember not wanting to do anything but work done around this time as midterms were coming up fast.

With these things in mind I’m generally anxious about the line at the open mic and when I got there at around 5:30 I was a little anxious about the overall draw for tonight. We have bad nights, something they didn’t seem to have in previous years. But as the hour drew nigh the line filled up and we were confronted with something that has literally never happened before. From nine pm to close we would have all track performances.

Not only do we have the singer/songwriters and the bands, we get quite a few hip hop and R&B acts that perform to pre-recorded tracks. In Philadelphia these performers, who often get less of an opportunity to perform actual shows, are increasing exponentially often taking up one third of the slots at any given open mic that’s open to them performing. It’s where the sea is moving. Tonight they would make up more than half.

Many have feelings about people that perform to pre-recorded tracks, some think they don’t belong, I disagree. I have my personal preferences about how I like my music to be presented but that doesn’t mean that these guys don’t have the right to perform, you can perform to pre recorded tracks and still be amazing. I’ve been there long enough to see it.

I tried some new tunes, they still need work, loads of it. But I like molding the songs by performing them at their various stages forging them from the fires of audience response. The performer in me is screaming but I may develop these new batch of songs this way. I’ve definitely never done it before.

Joe Jordan, a guy I used to busk with in Independence Mall many, many moons ago was our standout for the night. Extremely talented guy, we reconnected by him showing up at Philly Rising last week. It’s been good to see him. He hosts an open mic at Doc Watson’s on Wed Nights, I have Lickety so it’s gonna be hard to get over there but I’ll probably try at some point.

All in all it was a pretty good night. Not particularly balanced but I’m going out tomorrow to reach out to the singer/songwriter community

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 214

Day 213 - October 11th 2009

Went to church today. Great sermon on Praising The Lord. As I entered I saw the bassist playing through my guitar amp. I wasn’t sure whether or not to disturb everyone by goin up there and switching it out. But I figure better disturb the band now than have him blow out my amp later.

After it was over we went home and watched the Eagles destroy the buccaneers. Other than that basically just chilled and did some songwriting work. I feel like I’ve been working on this song forever tryin to figure out which way to take it.

Philly Rising tomorrow. After next weeks open I have a two week layoff so I’m out here really tryin to promote it through the Facebook page and some other email stuff, and I’ll also be trying to do promo at other open mics on Tuesday.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 213

Day 212 - October 10th 2009

Slept in until about noon as we had to get ready for my niece Brooklin’s birthday party. She’s 7 today (well she was 7 on Thursday). It’s weird watching people grow up and get older. I remember when she wasn’t here and when they were small and unable to walk. I got her a Target gift card since I’m bad with girls. The party was cool, it was at the bowling alley that it was at last year. A lot’s changed since last years party.

After I was done with the party I had to be over at Lickety. It was our first Band DJ Hybrid show. The concept is that the right kind of band will bolster the ring, actually bring some people out and (depending on how quick the DJ’s can get up and running) blend well with the DJ’s that take the bulk of the night.

Tonight the band was Drake, a very interesting Jazz/Rock/Hip Hop band. Trumpet, Drums, Upright Bass a Cello, and two vocalists. They were great entertaining the crowd who otherwise would have been there watching college football.

As soon as they were done MC Showtime and a substitute for DJ Pressure. I wasn’t the DJ’s biggest fan. Pressure is just so good at what he does it’s hard to come in and work at that capacity without the comparisons being made. But the crowd which included some left over Drake fans, a Birthday party, and seemingly half of South Philly seemed to dig it. There were $2 Jell-O Shots and before the night was over MC Showtime yelled “South Philly!” and was tackled by a South Philly woman resembling Keith Richards, the same woman attempted to grind on me as I sat at the Bar.

I got out relatively unscathed and got in my bed at a semi reasonable time. Goin to church tomorrow then followed by Eagles football.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 212

Day 211 - October 9th 2009

Today was a beautiful day so I decided to go out to Rittenhouse Square to work on some material. Working at home can be hard because there so many things that can distract me from writing. Mainly getting booking work done, the phone ringing off the hook, and Law and Order Re-Runs, so getting out of the house is extremely helpful to my writing.

I got there and it really opened me up. I spent most of my time fixing some lyrics for some tunes I’d already written but I was incredibly productive. I didn’t have long though because I had to make my way over to Lickety Split for the weekly Friday show. This would be an experimental night as I divert from the standard pop/rock or funk/soul fare and venture into more singer/songwriter experimental music that’s usually reserved to for Wednesdays.

Alexis Shay rocked it for a bit and since Vanessa Boyd was late I had to stand in and play a few songs, mostly covers. Vanessa got there and rocked it followed by Kursten Bouton but nobody did their thing quite like closer Joe Brady, a guy that’s been on the come up for quite some time. He’s just about ready to step up to some of the bigger stuff I’d love to put him with some other acts of his vibe that can really draw a crowd.

The show went over ok…but not as well as I would have liked. Would have been an awesome Wednesday show.

My niece’s birthday party is tomorrow so I‘ve got to hit that in the afternoon followed by Lickety Split.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 211

Day 210 - October 8th 2009

Trying to keep it inside today, with so much coming up soon rest is necessary.

Didn’t do much other than watch Fringe, it’s supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow so I may go out to Rittenhouse and try to work on some of these songs I’m almost done at least one, I reworked the song from Tuesday making it end quicker so perhaps it’s show ready. We’ll see soon.

1 Week till NYC With Camaro
2 Weeks till Boy Wonder Tour

Sweeeet!

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 210

Day 209 - October 7th 2009

Lickety Split seemed to dominate most of the day. As I try to find new bands to fill the remaining spots in October and November (even December) to keep Fridays and Saturdays going and to try to turn Wednesdays around and get them back to levels they were a few months back. As you work with new bands sometimes people pan out (in terms of professionalism and draw and all that) and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes people cancel, don’t promote, but you don’t know that until you work with them and unfortunately Wednesdays can become a casualty of that. The jam session will help the draw on Wednesdays once we stabilize it

My headlining act tonight needed to perform on another week so a chance to have a good crowd tonight is probably dashed which would make 3 weeks in a row where we’re not busy in there a massive blow tot his promoters ego. We did have 3 great acts tonight so I wasn’t worried about the quality of music.

Matthew Bailey kicked things off using a loop pedal to layer his sound to play covers. A talented cat but I would have liked to see him do more of his original music which is great. Kelvin Cochrane of the Absolute Zeros would follow. That dude is clutch even doing solo versions of my favorite Absolute Zeros songs Red Bone Mama and Dead Flowers. I love that guy to death.

St Alborne would be the unexpected surprise. They’ve always been a great band but I wasn’t sure if they would do well here with the attendance. But they pretty much packed the place, playing an exciting blend of metal and soul. I definitely am going to have them back, possibly on Thanksgiving Eve.

Hit the bed at around 1 tonight. Not much to do tomorrow but gear up for Friday.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 209

Day 208 - October 6th 2009

Not a whole lot on the dockett today. Tuesdays are usually just my guitar lesson.

I spent the majority of the morning advancing for the upcoming tour, knowing when we’re goin on, what time we need to be there and all that Jazz and then planning accordingly. I learned a great deal from Bryn and Alex so I look forward to applying it to my own operation.

Decent lesson with my student and then I hit the Tritone Open Mic for a while. I played a new song that didn’t really feel right, perhaps it needs tweaking or abandonment. Afterwards I met up with my sisters and had a drink or two before I went home.

Got lickety tomorrow, hoping that things go better than they did last week.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 208

Day 207 - October 5th 2009

Monday, Monday, Monday

I ran for the first time since I sprained my ankle. It felt good as I try to get into some sort of shape for the Camaro show in 10 days and for the upcoming Boy Wonder tour the following week. I felt a lot better although I’ll probably be walking or something tomorrow cause the ankle’s not ready for hard running just yet. It’s getting cold too so a jump rope may be the best thing for me so that I can keep my black ass in the house.

I got dressed and headed out to Philly Rising. I’ve really been pushing to get the attendance back up this week. It’s not where I would like it to be if I’m being honest. With cancellations increased combined with my two month absence we’ve seen a slight dip in the attendance, especially with the simple fact that Open Mics all over town have seen a decline. Could be the economy, could be that the concept of the Open Mic is passé and we might need to re-think it in order to survive.

There’s also a third option, that maybe I’m overreacting a bit, which was evidenced when an old friend of mine Joe Jordan approached me as I was entering the venue

Joe: You said be here at 5

Me: Usually that’s enough time

Joe: You should’ve said 4. That line is husky

Me: Really?

Joe: Whatever you’re doin, keep doin it.

I walk in and there it was. The line, not quite back to ridiculous numbers is definitely healthy, diverse, and brimming with promise. I’m looking forward tonight.

I kicked things off and then sat, prepared to be blown away by the talent, and boy did they deliver. April Simmons, a big voiced, big boned black woman was our standout, and although I’m always a little leery about people that don’t write their own tunes being standouts but the way that she brought the house down couldn’t be denied.

I’m already excited about next week. My long awaited open mic tour is going to happen probably in November or December where I’m basically gonna go around to tall the open mics that happen everyday other than Mondays, pass out flyers and really interact with some new people.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 207

Day 206 - October 4th 2009

Needle Party

We went to my sisters house in jersey and mom gave us all flu shots. It was an Eagles by week so it was a good day to get over there. I spent most of my night going over plans for the tour with Dad and we had a long talk about what needs to happen to expand what’s happening. He’s taken an interest which is actually kinda cool

Philly Rising is tomorrow. I’ve been busting my ass trying to promote it this week, to try to turn the attendance back around. We’ll see if it works out this week.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 206

Day 205 - October 3rd 2009

Bright and Early. I’m up because the band is going to the Dewey Beach Music Conference to party a little bit under the guise of me hosting he open mic at Mama Maria’s. Last year there were definitely aspects of it that we enjoyed, the parties, running into fellow musicians, the weather, but I didn’t find anything about the conference itself particularly useful which is why I had skipped it in the past and would have rather skipped it this year. But the crew wanted to go so I figured why not.

A long car ride was made longer by TomTom, who brought us through Cape May to a $70 ferry to get to Dewey Beach. I said hell no to that and we kept rolling, the two extra hours was worth not spending that kinda money

We arrived around 6 and the party was in full swing. The booze was flowing and I got a chance to talk to some folks that I haven’t seen in a while. Admittedly I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, frustrated and pissed off. I tried to be as civil as possible. We ran into Brian and he gave me the run down about how the open mic was gonna run. We took a break and around 9 I was over there getting he skinny.

The list full and we opened things up with a short 3 song set. There were many acts until 11 then we played for about 30 minutes, closed out the list, and then rolled out. An older gentlemen was so drunk and enjoying our music we played Billie Jean and he moonwalked, then fell in a heap on the floor.

On the ride home I realized that just like last night, although I wasn’t happy where we were or the situation I was in, the act of playing music still brought me joy, spending time with Jake and Rob made me laugh, these two things are good considering we‘re gonna be on top of each other for five days.

We got home at about 3...another day in the books.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 205

Day 204 - October 2nd 2009

Lots to get done today. I have a show at the Tiberino, I have to get the show at Lickety Split going, then I have to get over to World Café Live to play the 5th Year Anniversary Show.

First was getting my equipment over there early. My mom wanted to check out Wyldlyfe and Bob Beach so we went over, I dropped my stuff off and we had lunch. A guy sat next to us a little ways through and talked to us about the business and who he new and what he could do, and what I needed to do. He gave me his card and told me to call him. I’ll give him a buzz this wee and see what he has to say. I’ve grown cynical after 15 years in show business, I don’t believe words until they turn into actions.

Bob and Wyldlyfe were amazing as usual. Semaj is a mountain of talent that’s only surpassed by his drive.

Second we got back to the house and I was able to change into something a little more presentable for the Tiberino show and as I ironed my shirt for the show my dad showed me the matching ties he got for us to wear tonight, that was very cool of him. We wrapped up the clothes in plastic threw em in the car and I headed over to the Tiberino.

I arrived at the Tiberino for a show that had no electricity, no mics, literally just me and my guitar. So knowing that I only had four songs to play at World Café Live I played a set of songs that I knew I wouldn’t get to play

(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
How Can This Be Love
Destiny
Get Me To California
Wasted
Hangover

I tuned down to e flat to save my voice for World Café Live. It was a cool gig I got to bring in the audience close to me and I got to talk to them about my songwriting process. I’ve never been very good at banter and often prefer not to talk at all. The air started to change and I could feel myself getting sick

I arrived at World Café Live in time to see Trombone Shorty be sicktastic. As he left most of the crowd did. The Real Feel hit the stage next followed by us. We played a fast four song set

Superhero
(Oh I Wish I Loved You
The Way You Make Me Feel
Feels So Good

The crowd had significantly dwindled by the time we got up so we didn’t play to very many people. But I was determined to rock it like 600 people were there. There were some sound problems and the show didn’t feel as good as the Tiberino show, or the show last week at World Café Live, definitely not my best performance, we looked good though.

Tomorrow is Dewey Beach, not necessarily looking forward to it. I have my own personal feelings about the conference that I’ve aired on this blog so no reason to rehash that, but we’re gonna get up nice and early and head down and try to have some fun.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 204

Day 203 - October 1st 2009

Slow Day…But Thursdays usually are.

I’m getting ready for a relatively busy Friday so all I have on the docket was my hair appointment. Yoni came over and braided me all fresh and stuff. The good thing about her is that by the time Bones is over she’s finished. My hairs tight (literally) but at least my hair will look good for the show tomorrow.

I also booed all of the hotels for the upcoming Boy Wonder Road Trip, I hope the hotel in Detroit doesn’t have meth heads in it. We’re gonna have a great time I can feel it. Maybe I’ll get an Ac adapter for my laptop so we can watch movies and what not on the road.

Tried to get to bed early tonight. I’ve been working on this song that’s taken me forever to write. I have thos chords the way I want them but I have to figure out how to really set the mood lyrically. I swear after I’m done with this I’m gonna write some simple loud rock songs to cleanse my spirit.

2 Weeks till NYC With Camaro
3 Weeks till Boy Wonder Tour

Life’s pretty awesome

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 203

Day 202 - September 30th 2009

You know it’s gonna be a bad day when you’ve got a problem before you even eat you eat your cheerios. Apparently I’ve been having problems with my email for the booking agency so the bands who I’ve been emailing with updates for the past month have been receiving them in their junk folder. Meaning half the bands didn’t even know there was a show…Great

With everything with my friend in the hospital this week I wasn’t in the mood for bad things to happen. Two of the bands pulled out which doesn’t make me happy in general. If I had scheduled a show and no one contacted me I would follow up.

As I arrived to Lickety Split more bad things as the first band arrived late, the second act had to perform way longer than scheduled and my final act was stuck on I-95 for two hours. See the Phillies won the NL East Tonight and Traffic’s a bitch.

All in all probably the worst Wednesday show I’ve had since taking over the booking there. I know things will be better in 7 days but it doesn’t change my frustration. I want to kill it every time I do something it’s a compulsion I have.

October comes swinging in tomorrow. Lot’s of busyness this month, I think we’re doin some traveling or something…lol.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 202

Day 201 - September 29th 2009

I was up pretty much all night. A really good friend of mine was hit by a car last night and is in the ICU. She was going to pick up her daughter when someone came barreling down there street way to fast and hit her so hard. Judging by the tone of a mutual friend it seemed like it was bad, that she’d pull through but that it was bad.

We went to see her today. Everybody got together and prayed by her bedside. There were tears shed. I know God is going to get her through this, it’s just sad to watch her in the bed like that and it’s going to be a long way to go, so if you’re reading this now please keep her and her family in your prayers, they’re gonna need all the prayer they can get.

I had my guitar lesson which was probably the only bright spot in my day. She’s almost got these pieces perfect, which is great because we were finally able to move onto something new.

I skipped my Tuesday open mic activities, went home and watched Superman/Batman Public Enemies with some friends to try to get my mind off of everything. It worked for a while I had a bit of trouble sleeping but I hit the sack at around 2.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 201

Day 200 - September 28th 2009

200 Days since I turned my life upside down so to speak. I’ll spare you the retracing of my steps from AV Tech to bang Camaro Vocalist to Full Time Musician.

On the way to Philly Rising I confirmed with Bryn that I’d be performing with Bang Camaro on October 15th at Santos Party House, the first place in NYC I Played with them. This’ll be a hoot especially considering I have to get back the next day to play a show at Lickety Split and the Boy Wonder Road Trip is the following week.

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my 200th Day than at Philly Rising. My anxieties were heightened a tad since the line was low. One could blame the rain, but the line didn’t used to be effected by that. When I was an open micer there I made sure I went when it rained to increase my chances of winning. Problem was a crap load of people were thinking the same thing. This was and still is the biggest open mic in town with people crawling to get in. I don’t want that to change on my watch. We were the thinnest we’ve been since I got back from tour. But as we started the open mic the list filled up.

As the night wore on I was sitting with someone that comes quite frequently. As they were leaving I made a crack about them leaving and they responded with this tirade about the rappers and about how they need to be more “original.” Original is a word that really gets under my skin.

The 90’s and 00’s have given way to a thought that things like “originality” and being unique are the most important thing when it comes to music. Giving something that they’ve never seen or heard before is the battle cry from the music snobs that I run into on a constant basis. Even industry people that I’ve run into put a premium on being “different” I hear it all the time. “I like this, it’s different” I’m quick to defend anyone on the stage with the guts to get up there and perform against someone who only seems to have the guts to talk smack while they’re performing. But as I listened I came to a realization and asked myself a question. Whatever happened to just being good/great? What happened to that being enough?

Nothing great I’ve ever seen is truly unique or original. Sure it might look a little different, it might sound a little different but you can track anything anybody’s playing back to something else if you look far enough. Pop music allows you to take some tried and true forms, put a little you in them and make them work. There are only so many notes in a scale, so many chords that fit, and so many words that sound good together, so to ask someone to be truly musically original is pretty much impossible. I think the focus should be on being good, someone honing their craft and being the best them they can be. You can basically come out singing and dancing Like Michael Jackson (Usher, Justin Timberlake) or playing like The Beatles (Oasis and Everyone else) or SRV (John Mayer) and if you’re good at it no one really cares because at the end of the day people really just want good music.

The originality is going to come from the artist themselves, their perspective, their personality coming through in the music. When I play No Such Thing it’s going to be different from when John Mayer plays it, I bring different tools to the table, my experiences will inform the lyrics in a different way. If I’m truly being myself my music will be my own. That’s all that needs to be done…period. We should worry about people being good and foster growth so people can be as good as they can be.

I will step off my soapbox for just one second and get back to Philly Rising. A slow night turned into a pretty good one in terms of talent. Our winners were The Dropout Plan from Jersey. A Great acoustic act that may do well at the monthly competition which is quite the mixed bag this time around. Apparently they’re friends with Rae, a girls who’s friends with Liat a young singer/songwriter I book.

I’m gonna be putting my head down and promoting Phiilly Rising even harder than normal. I want to get attendance back up to ridiculous levels.

I came home to some band news that I’m not really ready or sure I’m gonna blog about. It will keep me up tonight.
200 days gone. Living the dream? Not even close. I’m just getting started.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musiciain 200

Day 199 - September 27th 2009

Lazy Sunday

After all the fun I had this weekend I decided to kick back and spend some time at the crib. Mostly with Pop Dukes As mom had to go sing somewhere with the chorus. We watched The Eagles Kill Kansas City, then watched Cadillac Records and then I made Dinner.

I laughed so hard at The Clevland Show and Family Guy and slightly less harder at the Simpsons.

200 days tomorrow and a pretty crazy week ahead.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 199

Day 198 - September 26th 2009

I had a great time tonight.

I started my evening at Comedy Sports. My buddy Casey had been taking lessons there and was giving his second performance. He’s very funny. So many of my high school friends were fellow aspiring actors, so it’s nice to see one of them actually act. I was mad entertained by what I saw and will be going to see it again as often as possible.

My night would continue with an Absolute Zeros show, they were awesome as always. I hung out for a little while after they were done and then I traveled over to Lickety to handle business. I was a bit concerned that the rain would keep attendance low tonight but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the party packed it was poppin. Well dressed people drinking booze and grinding on each other.

I got home at around 2 and hit the sack.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 198

Day 197 - September 25th 2009

Here’s how a day kinda completely falls through

My friends Wyldlyfe were playing a late night show tonight at 11 and I really wanted to go, that was the plan at least. I’d hang out here at the house all day then move on over to WCL and enjoy myself. I get a call from a band at noon telling me they were all set for tonight’s show, problem is I was pretty sure that I had them scheduled for tomorrow’s show. Luckily we had an opening from 8-10 tonight for them to play. I don’t know how stuff like this happens. What this means is that I’m going to have to go over to Lickety Split before I go to World Café Live, should be done by 10 I should be able to make it over there.

Then I get a text around 5:30, the person had obviously sent it earlier but because my cell phone was forged in the fires of hell by satan himself I didn’t get it until then. It said be at the Whole Foods on the parkway for a 5:45 set. I had completely forgotten about this gig not to mention I was already super late.

I got on the Train and got to the whole foods around 6, 6:15 in time enough to play a 30 minute set. My allergies are acting up thus making my voice not as good as normal.

Set List
Michelle
How Can This Be Love
Bed’s Too Big Without You
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Feels So Good

Supermarket shows are probably the weirdest. Mainly cause people have little to no interest in being there, let alone being there to see you. So you just kinda close your eyes and go, try to make eye contact if people look at you, and maybe they stop before and after they get their organic beet juice or their apple pecan pound cake (I had a sample…very good) maybe they ask you your name before they put their stuff in the car to go home.

After I was done I got a call and had to head over to Lickety Split. To get the band up and running. They played for a few hours and then Tommy wanted to talk to me about a corporate band show that he wants to put on in December by the time I got out it was a little after 10:30. My phone rings again my friends are in town and they want to hang out. I haven’t really hung out with them in a couple of weeks. So I decided to go and meet with them. By the time they scooped me it was around 11.

We got to Oscar’s and kicked it for a while and it was pretty clear that I wasn’t gonna make this show. I felt really bad about it as I wanted to go support them. It’s hard to balance supporting the local scene with your own personal life sometimes. I kicked back and relaxed and had a beer with my buds. Then I got a text letting me know the Menya Crew was at the Medusa Lounge so we went over there and danced the night away.

Tomorrow I just found out The Absolute Zeros are playing at Doc Watson’s opening for Bong hits for Jesus hopefully I will successfully make it over there. Hopefully the next time Wyldlyfe plays some place I’ll be able to go see them.

Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 197

Day 196 - September 24th 2009

I wake up ferociously on days like this. This time a year ago I was practically begging for a show Downstairs at the World Famous World Café Live either opening for a major act or on a show with another local. Now this is show number four. I’ve gotten the opportunity to put on some really awesome shows and work with some of the city’s best.

I was hoping not to be late tonight but the TV Repair people would make that happen. I wasn’t able to get free from that until about 4:30. Which wouldn’t get me to World Café Live until about 5:30 half an hour before doors were slated to open. Great. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) none of the bands or fans had shown up…I’m shitting bricks at this point because usually there’s a flock of people outside the door waiting to get inside. Perhaps my luck had run out with these shows. I only had 3 weeks to put together a show and promote it…hardly enough time for something to become a massive success at the same time though, I want everything I do to be a massive success. I put more pressure on myself than probably the venue does. “Do the best you can” they said to me.

Fortunately around 7 people started to climb on inside and the room started to fill up and Mary Scholz kicked off the festivities. I’ve yet to find acoustic acts that can rally draw a substantial crowd in this town but they act as great buffers in between the bigger bands. The Infadolls would hit the stage next followed by Tophers Bossa Nova Brigade. They have a new fancy French name that I’m not gonna even bother with right now. Once they were done it was time for us to play. We played early, a rare occurrence but I was actually fine with it. One they were done me and the crew went to work.

Set List
Superhero
(Oh) I Wish I loved You
The Way You Make Me Feel
How Can This Be Love
Feels So Good
Baby One More Time
Leavin

I don’t know what it was tonight. It’s like everything slowed down. I didn’t really feel a whole lot of nervous energy, I wasn’t so intimidated by the big stage, but it was more than that. I was like subconsciously I knew that I wasn’t gonna sing or play a bad note. The bands playing everything right. I don’t even have to look at Jake and Rob tonight. We’re super super super tight. I’m more concerned with the girls in on the dance floor, movin to the music. Might be something to this funk thing after all…lol. It was one of the more energetic shows. I’m movin around on stage a little bit more tonight since I’m super confident about my playing. It’s like the level on the video game got switched over to easy.

I left the stage quite pleased with myself. Often times I have no clue if it’s good or not. But tonight I knew. If I could hit it like that or better every time I’m in good shape. Lots of smile and waves from cute girls doesn’t hurt. I’ve finally felt that floating on air feeling that musicians talk about, I’ve felt similar feelings but they’ve always been negated by the dread that the show wasn’t good. Not tonight though. I feel like I could fly.

The rest of the night belonged to City Line, Phunkyman, Jason Min, and Phil Murphy who was releasing his CD tonight. It was an awesome feeling watching Phil have his moment. His album is great and you should pick it up if you don’t have it. There were so many people there from the good ol days. A lot of Outset fans, Laura Shay, Mark Rogers from WSTW (Who‘s been playing me quite a bit on his Hometown Heroes show), among others. Truly great night.

I went to sleep with nothing to do tomorrow but catch the Wyldlyfe show.

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