Posted on

25 Jan: Atlanta

25 January – Smith’s Olde Bar (Atlanta, GA)
w/ the Drexlers; Acres

A strange little show.

I didn’t know either band previously. I got the show because the Drexlers were finishing up their CD at Rob Gal’s and were figuring out their CD release party. They wanted someone to open the show acoustic and Rob suggested me. When I got there for load-in it turned out I did know some of the band; Greg from Gentle Readers was playing bass (he’d just joined a week before) and Wayne Glass, who I met a few years ago when he played with Viva la Diva, was playing drums.

I was originally supposed to do a full solo set, starting at 9pm. But the club wanted the show to start at 10pm. The Drexlers had wanted to have a listening party after their set so I told them to just let me know when to go on and how long to play, that it wasn’t a big deal to me. It was their CD release party after all and I don’t think anyone should give up anything they want on that night. It’s like a wedding ceremony for a band. So I ended up just playing five songs, including one on the uke and one on tenor guitar. The crowd was a good size, but the lighting being what it is there I couldn’t see any of them. But the response was good. Also, I had a couple of people I didn’t know come up to say they’d shown up for my set. That’s something, I’m happy to say, that’s becoming more common.

Geoff, who played stand-up bass on my CD, produced their CD and he was there, along with Mike Rizzi (from five-eight) who also played on the CD and who I’d never met in person. We talked for a while backstage about the usual things that closet pop fans talk about.

Posted on

16, 17 Jan: Chapel Hill, Charlotte

16 Jan – Cat’s Cradle (Chapel Hill, NC)
w/ Amy Ray and the Butchies
17 Jan – Tremont Music Hall (Charlotte, NC)
w/ Amy Ray and the Butchies

We did this trip as a caravan, half my band were planning to stay an extra couple of days so we were pretty much all in different vehicles. Lee and I drove up in her car (somehow managing to get all of our equipment in the back… she really is the master of all packing), talked and drowsed. We got into Chapel Hill right on time. By the time soundcheck was done it had started to snow outside. It never stuck to the roads, thankfully, but it was a strange feeling to know I was out on the road playing shows and it was snowing. It brought home the feeling of being a touring musician even more than the trip to Florida did, I suppose because Florida was more bizarre overall.

The shows were okay. We played really well, I thought. Missteps here and there (mostly mine) but nothing that would have been noticeable. We were energetic, too. It was a stranger mix of people… Amy’s solo CD and the Butchies are more punk than anything, and we’re clearly pop. It seemed hard to hook into the crowd. The crowds at both shows cheered loudly between songs, but then any attempt to interact with them seemed to flop on the ground in front of me. We only sold a few CDs at each show, though after the Charlotte show I had a number of people come up to say they really enjoyed the show. It made me wonder if it was more of a result of people at clubs not expecting to spend a lot of extra money, as opposed to the crowds at the big venue shows in Florida. At any rate, it seems we do better with the large venue crowds than with smaller club crowds. Which doesn’t seem like a good thing as far as trying to develop a following, because big venue shows don’t come along every day.

Odds and ends: I met a few more people (one of whom had actually found me on mp3.com, first, and had even found the Radiant City page there), which always reminds me just how great this damn thing is. I also met a couple of people at both shows who seemed to be big pop fans… a girl at Chapel Hill who already knew about me and had come out to see us. I had forgotten to ask her where she found out about us, so now it’s driving me nuts, but she was talking about clubs in Wilmington, NC and said she’d email me info, so hopefully I’ll hear back on that. Also a guy in Charlotte who was there for Amy’s show but caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a pop band. He seemed to have really enjoyed the show, which is always good to hear from the closet pop fans. Oh, and I sang on “Refugee” with Amy and the Butchies at the end, which was fun, but I felt silly while they were all bouncing around between choruses and I had nothing to do but stand there with my hands in my pockets and sort of rock back and forth like a goof.

But it was a good trip. Next week I buy the van for all future touring. I’ll post here with photos, it seems dull, I know, but it actually looks like the sort of van a good Hanna-Barbera band would be driving around in.

Posted on

10, 11 Jan: Atlanta

10 Jan – Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
performing a song with Susi French Connection
11 Jan – Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
w/ Eden; Annaray; Alastor

Still sick and a little preoccupied for these shows, I can’t really give a very detailed account. Friday’s show with Susi French Connection was fun, it always is. Not just for the chance to sing on an AM radio hit from the seventies, but just because the shows are fun to watch. The crowd this time was big, Eddie’s was packed. They seemed a little subdued at first but really seemed to warm up as the night progressed, which is good. There’s not much point doing these songs if the crowd doesn’t enjoy it. My song was pretty much in the middle of the set, a rendition of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” by Elton John. Singing while not having an instrument to hold is always awkward to me. Usually when I get up to do backing vocals for people the whole point to me is to not be the focus, so I slip up to the mic when the part is there and back away when it’s not. Usually my hands are behind my back, I’m just trying not to draw attention to myself. But for these shows I’m doing the lead vocal. Last year I think I sang with my hands in my pocket, so this year I decided to make an effort, even if I felt foolish. So I grabbed the mic seventies rock star style and tried to EMOTE. The crowd seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday was an odd night, I had other things on my mind. Also, it was the first time I’d seen Mickey (drummer for my old band) since the split. I’ve played show with Alastor, the band she’s with now, since then, but they were both acoustic. So it was also the first time I’ve seen Alastor electric in a couple of years. They have really progressed and it was good to see. Mickey also looks happy, the same thing I noticed watching Jeff’s band play last year. We went on last, very late, and played to about 20 people, half of whom were band members from the other bands. But even so, we played a great show. I was very animated, for some reason, but it’s a good thing. Maybe it was just being on a larger stage with the band again. I did the seventies rock star thing during “Fine” and felt good about it. Who knew? Anyway, Mickey came up after the set for the first time and we hugged and gushed about each other’s current abilities. It was a good thing and a good bit of closure, I suppose.

I’ll tell you something else, though… my band? They kick ass. nyah, nyah, nyah.

I’m in a rush to get out the door.