Nashville

Just back from a wonderful trip to Nashville. I played Billy Block's show at 12th & Porter which is always great fun. Billy is immortalized in my song "Nashville" that kicks off the new record. I also played a show at the Tennessee State Fair where I had to compete with a trapeze artist hanging from a helicopter over my head. Talk about being upstaged. All heads, including mine, were looking straight up as I sang "Crazy For Hollywood" which seemed somewhat appropriate.

The Americana Music Association conference kicked off Wednesday night with some great shows and a surprise appearance by the legendary John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, who did a killer set at Mercy Lounge. I was surprised and delighted to see my good friend Oren Waters (who sings on "Sweet Corn") on stage with him. Also caught the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and JD Souther which were highlights for me. As far as newer faces that I saw, hands down my favorite band is the Belleville Outfit. I caught them at the Kerrville Folk Festival in '08 and have been a big fan ever since. Also loved seeing Justin Townes Earle.

Friday I spoke on a panel that focused on placing music in Film, TV and Advertising. Video games were also discussed but there aren't a lot of Americana focused video games in the market just yet. During the panel, Dan Navarro was next door doing a showcase and I could hear him through the wall. Dan's birthday was earlier in the week and we had a chance to tip a glass to his youth. All in all a wonderful conference and visit to Music City -- a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to die there... as the song goes.

Let the blogs begin again

OK, OK, it's been ages since my last post. Been working on a record (which is now finished and coming out 9/15), learning Facebook and Twitter, and trying to figure out all the stuff I need to do as a folk artist in this wacky new world. Currently I'm up in Capitola, CA (Santa Cruz area) breathing some fresh air and taking refuge from the Southern California wildfires with my family.

Alright -- enough excuses. How about a little strange bit of trivia I stumbled upon recently. Perez Hilton, the famous blogger and television personality known for covering celebrity gossip, is my former publicist's assistant. I knew him as Mario Lavandeira when he worked for my company, DeepMix, back in 2002. I reconnected with Mario recently and he has agreed to be our "Guest DJ" for the upcoming DeepMix Bandwidth -- an eNewsletter that goes out to advertising and entertainment industry folks. Regardless of what you might think of Perez's journalistic tendencies, he does have good musical taste. Should be interesting. If you want to get on the Bandwidth bandwagon, just send an email to bandwidth@deepmix.com with "subscribe" in the subject.

Looking forward to the Americana Music Conference in Nashville which begins on September 17. I'll be speaking on a Film, TV, and Advertising panel on Friday the 18th at 4pm. Come say hello if you're attending the conference.

Kicking off the CD Release with a show in Lincoln, Nebr. at CGS Music on Saturday, September 12. Steve Hanson will be joining me and it'll be big fun -- come on down if you're in the area. I promise to blog again before Sugar Larsen's birthday on Sept. 23!