Yesterday was the first day of hardcore travel since we left Syracuse.  I traveled from Baltimore to Asheville, NC.  Although it is only a 7 hour trip…it took us closer to 11 because D.C.’s terrible traffic.  However, I must say that I am almost glad that we got stuck in traffic in D.C. because once I hit route 66 in Virginia I felt like I was a caged animal that had just been set free.  My eyes widened from behind my sunglasses as we traveled up, down, and around the Blueridge Mountains.  Green, green, and more green.  It is a beautiful mountain range that has some tremendous homes sprinkled across it. My foot got heavy and my thoughts grew deep. It felt unfamiliar yet homelike. I couldn’t help but sing John Denver’s song, Country Roads…

“almost heaven…West Virginia…Blueridge Mountains….and The Shenendoah River”

It was nice to see what Johnny D was talking about.  I have Siruis radio so I have heard some great songs throughout the quest.  Yesterday was a great day to turn on the Outlaw Country station just in time to hear a song by Tom T. Hall called “A Hero In Harlan”.  The song immediately rocked me, I recommend a listen.  A great American story…especially when you are looking at the mountains and seeing three wooden crosses up on the slant.

I am a bit tired (and sore) from that trip but ready to carry on.  I am going to hang out in Downtown Asheville for the day and then take off for Atlanta at around six.

On Thursday I travelled to NYC to hang out with my good friend Sam.  It is always an uplifting experience, I would say spiritual, whenever I hang out with Sam.  Sam brought me to his friend Richard’s recording studio which is located in a beat up old New York City building wedged between a middle eastern fabric store and a flower shop.  The building is all black with filthy windows and a kicked in front door.  The only color of any kind can be found above the front door where the letters “M.B.” are displayed with gold mailbox stickers.  M.B. stands for “Music Building”. 

Richard was fantastic.  He is a wise musician with tons of experience so I was certainly in a sponge like state while in his presence.  I was giving everything he said a chance to soak in, which I try to do with each conversation. Within moments of first meeting him he said things that really resonated with me, like… ”money is liquid”.  We recorded a few songs with a couple ribbon mics but mostly we just sat and talked.  I think that in this fast paced world we need to learn to value conversation and relationships instead of cars and golf scores.  Slow down, if you are conversing corrrectly you are not missing anything…you are gaining everything.  There is so much to learn in this world and the most valuable life lessons exist in interaction and experiences.  We had some good laughs and it was great to talk music with Richard.  I really appreciate him letting us invade his studio.  I said my goodbye’s and left the Music Building.  On my way out I noticed that someone had written in sharpie, “When you die, I’ll eat your dreams”. 

I left NYC on Friday and travelled to my friends Steve and Rebecca row house in Federal Hill.  A great part of this journey has certainly been reconnecting with old friends.  Life moves fast. Steve was my college roomate so we have a powerful bond.  I played at The Greene Turtle in Fells Point.  Parking is a nightmare there.  I had a blast and it was a great crowd.  Thank you for all of you who listened and especially those of you that made it a point to come up and say hello once my show concluded.  I packed up my gear and now I am heading south to play in Atlanta at Smith’s Old Bar. 

I had plenty of time to think on the road.  I recommend that all of you that are reading this…take some time to yourself and just think.

I am writing to you from Normandy Farms Campground in Foxboro, MA.  It is nine thirty and the skeeters are in full force, it seems as though they like my knuckles.  I have started a fire using some pressurized deck slabs that were given to me by a departing camper named Eddie.  It is burning hot…too hot…I am literally 25 feet from the blaze and still considering moving back. I have already gotten in trouble twice for having too large of a fire and this one is the without a doubt the largest of the three.

I am sitting here reflecting on what I experienced this past weekend…my first weekend of the tour.  I had a great weekend musically, socially, and creatively.

Saturday - I had the opportunity to play music with my good friends Lewk and John on Saturday at NCAA Fanfest. Lewk forgot to bring his snare stand…so he duct taped the snare drum to the end of a knee-high lid from a blue tin box tilted on its side.  He played so great he plans to trash his snare stand and use the tin box method consistently throughout the rest of his music career.  I consider the move to be both innovative and inspirational.   John played great, although I was hoping he was going to wear his vintage MSU #40 Lax jersey while performing…it would have been instantly classic and a tremendous throw back to the spirit of the game.  Kids still speak of the day the “King Of The Slop” scored that game winning BTB (Behind The Back) goal to beat Liverpool Central. Thanks for playing Lewk and John, it was a ton of fun as always.  Good laughs, good times, and bad language. And I would like to send a thank you to all of you that swung by the stage to check out the show…thanks for listening.

Sunday – I played a show at Showcase Live in Foxboro.  It was amazing.  Showcase Live is a new venue with an amazing sound system. Overall, it is just an amazing space to play music.  The highlight of my trip so far is definitely meeting Pete Francis and Barefoot Truth.  I remember listening to Pete’s work in Dispatch when I was in college…it is obvious that he is a super talented musician, but it was even better to discover that he is just as good a person as he is a player.  I immediately hit it off with Barefoot Truth backstage.  What an amazing group of traveling musicians!  It was so refreshing to meet down to earth guys on the road.  I have noticed throughout my travels into the depths of the music community that humble artists are few and far between.  Barefoot Truth is what a band should be…they love music and they are playing for the right reasons.  Pete, Will, Garrett, Jay, Andy, and Wayno thanks for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of the evening.  I had so much fun hanging with you guys, thanks for taking me in.  I am sure I will run into you at some point down the road. Maybe in Mysitc.  And of course, thank you to the crowd in Foxboro!  You guys were incredible and you completely made my night.  I had so much fun playing for you guys.  I know from my concert going experience that it is easy to look past the opening act, I felt like you guys treated me like a headliner and for that I can’t thank you enough.  It means the world to me.  You made me feel very comfortable on stage…it felt like I was singing to you in my living room.  Also thank you to the Showcase Live staff for making the show a success…great sound guys with great personalities!  Thanks Jeff.  And I can’t forget to thank the venue for putting a case of Budweiser in my green room…it made the show interesting…it even caused me to attempt playing an impromptu Michael Jackson song.  The live recording of this show is available at archive.org

Monday – I watched the Syracuse lacrosse team win its 11th National Championship…congratulations to all players, coaches, and personnel!

I have been camping ever since and I leave tomorrow morning bound for Freeport, NY to play at E.B. Elliott’s.  I am really excited to go down to play in Baltimore and catch up with some of my closest friends.    The trip is going better than I ever imagined I am relaxed yet alert.  I am looking forward to making more relationships along the way.  See you soon.

At three o’clock on Thursday afternoon I strolled into the Otter River State Park.  It was a ghost town.  I was shocked because it was Memorial Day weekend, so I was expecting a zoo.  I set up my tent for the first time of the summer at campsite 45, a big campsite right on the water.  After my summer home was assembled I pulled out my folding chair and started a fire.  As the fire crackled, the feeling of complete freedom crept quickly into my bones.  I was there and I was doing it. I had dreamed about this moment my entire life. There is something about the smell of a campfire and the feeling of pine needles at my feet, it makes me feel like an old cowboy. It makes me feel more in touch with everything.  Myself, my surroundings, and my music.  Everything slows down.  When you have less, you are forced to focus on more important things.

While shopping for bait earlier that morning I got into a conversation with the elderly shopkeeper.  The bait shop was located in the living room of a small quant colonial home, one mile south of Otter River.  Before I could enter the front door I was prompted to press the doorbell.  After an awkward one minute wait on the front porch, the old man appeared around the corner wearing a blue flannel and some dark colored Lee jeans.  On his feet he wore bright white sneakers.  It seemed as though time had forced him to trade his steel toed boots for velcro strap walking shoes and a cane.  He was a man with a dark disposition, reminded me of an old junkyard pitbull.  I aksed for a dozen night crawlers. He moaned and slowly fetched a white container from his white Coleman cooler. As I was checking out, the man asked me where I was going fishing and I told him Beamon Pond.  I explained that I was camping at Otter River and I asked him what kind of fish are in Beamon Pond. The old man finally loosened up,  let out a loud sailor-sounding laugh, and said, “Son you won’t catch shit in Beamon Pond…actually, I lied, maybe you’ll hook some goose shit.” I said thanks and headed out the door.

I grabbed my fishing pole and I set my sights on proving the old shopkeeper wrong.  As I was casting and reeling, and casting and reeling, I had a vision.  I was hoping so badly to see a huge whooper of a fish take my line so I could hook it and bring it back to the bait shop.  Fast forward…I caught seven fish in Beamon Pond and not one of them was any longer than my index finger.  Regardless of failing to hook the big one, I was having the time of my life.  Me and the world hanging out.  I realized then that it didn’t matter how big the fish were or how many I had caught, the fact that I was fishing was most important.

After staying two nights in the woods I packed the tent and headed to Foxboro, MA, the site of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Final Four.  I played a show with John and Lewk in the parking lot before and in between the days two planned games.  The show was great…loud! This is the last time that I will play with a band for the rest of the summer so I certainly focused on a jam centered set.  Lots of gaps for experiments.

Syracuse beat Duke and Cornell beat Virginia.  Looks like a central New York final…very cool, I am proud of both teams.  Tomorrow I have a show with Pete Francis and Barefoot Truth, should be a fun show! I am looking forward to it.  I don’t have much time left to look forward to it because today will be yesterday tomorrow. Slow down and breath.

I woke up this morning to the ringing of my door bell.  It was FedEx.  They dropped off multiple boxes of my new CD “Replevin”… they are here atlast!  It is one thing to concept an idea, it is a whole other animal when you are actually holding your idea in your hand.  I couldn’t be happier with the way the whole project turned out, from front to back.  I am really excited to get these albums in the hands of music lovers, listeners, poets, rich people, poor people, average people, extrordinary people, artists, and of course song writers.  I really hope everyone gives it a good listen…after all, I made it for you.  Enjoy!

PS - Those of you that pre-ordered “Replevin” will receive your shipment within the next 2-3 business days.  Thank you so much for your purchase!