6/23/23

Another Friday night at 1919 with Lonesome Dave. Yeah, this feels good and I like settling in to it. Dave would still prefer an upright but I’m still covering the bottom end for him when needed and really digging it. 

We were up with Skizz, the drummer from the Clash night. That dude can throw down! We did two long sets and it was a real treat throughout. Hell of a good feeling learning how another player does it and getting to groove with them. There is a moment when you can feel it drop in to place and that is all there is in the world. 

Dave came up with a new/hybrid set of tunes. Some of his and a few new covers we worked up ,just the two of us. And of course we hit a couple that were not on the  list because live music works that way. 

5/26/23

I’ve had a couple of shows with my buddy Lonesome Dave since the Clash show. The first one was a total pick up gig the next week at 1919. Me, Dave and a drummer the bartender set up. But the drummer never showed! Dave and I played as a duo for a couple of hours and packed it in early. So I didn’t wright that one up.  

But! We played again at 1919 WITH a drummer so here goes!

We went up 8sh and tore it up, it’s all three set nights up here. Or play all the way through. It’s like it was back when I was in Knoxville. That austin 40 minute show thing got me lazy… No sharing gear, no gettin drunk and watching the rest of the night. Just GO!

Dave and I got together a few days earlier so I had some notes but I’d never played with the drummer Mike before. SEEN him play but…

Anyway it all worked out and by the end we were really tight and pushing each other. My eyes would be closed and I’d drift out of reality and live in the song right in that moment. Holy shit!! That feels right!

At some point I opened my eyes and my buddy Larry Dennis was standing next to me!! He even got up and played a few with  me and Mike while Dave took a break. 

Hell of a lot of fun. 

4/8/23

Here it is. The first Baltimore gig!

My buddy Lonesome Dave Fisher called me up asking if I was free to play bass with him on a Clash hoot night at a place called 1919. It’s this cool bar down in Fells Point that is crazy supportive of live music and it has all of the feels. 

No chance for a rehearsal with the whole band, Dave and the drummer, Skizz did a run through once though so there was some rehearsing. But no chance for all of us to get together, I was going by the charts I wrote up. 

We were third of three, the perfect spot and we tore it the hell up! On a couple of tunes Dave had a real “oh fuck yeah” look on his face as he jumped in to some lengthy solos. Really stretching the regular Clash format. It was awesome. 

It was short, but what a great first show!

9/24/22

Late is how I do it!! So….

South Filthy! We were back in a way we never were before. This has been the core line up for a long time now. Me, Walter, Jeffry, Mike and Jack, but this was the first time we actually played together as a unit. 

It was Gonerfest in Memphis. Before the pandemic we were scheduled to be a featured act at the official fest and a couple of other unofficial ones, but that was a couple of years ago. And this year we were not “official” so we had a one off at the Lamplighter, Saturday afternoon. 

We were supposed to rehearse before but scheduling is hell sometimes. We decided to just run through some tunes before we played our set. 

Day of we all met at the club and said our hellos and got to it. They doubled the size of the Lamplighter since the last time I was there. Nice big room set up for shows off of the original bar. Still a total mess but kinda perfect. 

We started in on it and on the second tune a couple of people walked in. And they kept coming. Every tune four or five new people would come in till we hit around 30. At some point we all looked at each other and laughed because we all thinking “I guess this is the show?!” We kept playing and even repeated a few of the ones we played early on. 

All in all it was a ton of fun. Would have loved to play ten more shows with them (Europe again?!!) but I’ll take what I can get. 

6/11/22

 Well here it is, months late as usual. 

My final show as a Texan, down in San Antonio where I really feel loved, playing with two of my favorite bands! That is the way to go out!!

At this point I don’t really remember too many specifics other than having a blast with people I love (and currently miss!) 

I got a ton of hugs and a little tipsy by the end of the night! Nothing but warm squishy feelings.  

It’s been a pretty big adjustment to going from playing in several bands with a decent amount of shows to zero. I’m “in process” on a few ideas and I’m sorting out the Baltimore music scene slowly ( I have some time, we did move there!)

But mostly there are a bunch of kick ass people I feel lucky to have as friends and even if I’m not around them all the time, they are still with me and I’m with them. That’s a wonderful feeling. 

5/30/22

 

Last of the three Bigfoot shows. Finally home in Austin.  It felt real good sleeping in my own bed last night! We were up at the Parlor with Gravyboat, hicks and Pat Todd for our third afternoon show in a row. 

We were second and quite frankly played a pretty great set. After three days, it’s to be expected. Kinda on fire. 

And the “boat” and Hicks were pretty great at well but Pat and the Outsiders just killed it again.  I know I’ve said that a hundred times, but it’s true. One of the best bands out there, in any style. 11 out of 10 and just fucking awesome. 

Here is where we come to the hard part. This was my last show in Austin. The wife and I are heading north to get the hell out of this state and away from the republicans that have been running it for the last ~30 years. It really sucks here. Austin in particular gets more depressing daily. So we made the decision and are headed to Baltimore. That’s right, we are choosing “murder town” over Austin and both of us are backflip thrilled for the move. 

I won’t dump too much but if you don’t already own a house or you aren’t going to school, there is no reason to be here. It never was what it wanted to be and it’s way worse than it was. 

Gonna miss the hell out of a bunch of people! But we won’t miss this city. 

So I’ve got one to go down in SA with Harvey and the Hicks and that is it. Boom!

5/30/22

So we hopped on the van and made that long ass drive from Clarksdale to Dallas. Oh boy. I’ll just say that some of us were fairly hungover, nothing too awful, but…

We went on at the Three Links early and kinda killed it. We were first of five and there weren’t a hell of a lot of folks there but that didn’t stop us!!

We were followed by the Me Thinks, Pat Todd (!), Lauretta Suede and the Hickoids. 

That’s right, the Hicks and Pat have been out while I’ve been out with Bigfoot. It’s a crazy world, changes everywhere!! ALL YHE TIME!!!

Speaking of… Austin tomorrow.