Hi folks,
I've been having a ball of late. A busy ball, but a ball nonetheless. Eric Brace and I are heading to Chattanooga this afternoon, to play Charles & Myrtle's Coffeehouse. Showtime is 8 p.m., if you're anywhere near the 'Noog. This coffeehouse is a great little room, with good sound and nice people, and this is looking like the prettiest day of the spring so far.
Eric and I have also been recording lately. We had a magical day over at Richard McLaurin's House of David studio, tracking with Lloyd Green, Mike Auldridge, Richard Bennett, Dave Roe and Pat McInerney. I'm not sure when this stuff will actually come out, but I'm anxious for folks to hear it. We did a new song of mine, written with Don Schlitz, called "Suffer A Fool," and we also did a fabulous new song of Eric's. Then there were songs from Tom T. Hall, John Hartford and Jon Byrd, and a cover of the Herb Pederson-penned classic that Auldridge used to play with The Seldom Scene, "Wait A Minute." The Seldom Scene changed my life when I was a high schooler: That band provided my entry into bluegrass, Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons and so many others, so to sing a Seldom Scene song with the Scene's great Dobro player was pretty unbelievable and wonderful for me.
Also wonderful was a chance to head home to Spartanburg, SC and play The Showroom. Saw a bunch of old and great friends there, and another formative influence, Matthew Knights Williams, actually worked the soundboard for us. Eric and I will be back in the upstate of South Carolina on May 8, opening for Iris DeMent at The Handlebar.
I will soon post all our European tour dates for June. Can't wait to get back over there, see some good pals and make some new ones. I also am looking very forward to our May 6 show at The Bluebird: That night, we'll play with a band, and we'll have special guests including Kim Carnes.
Other quick thoughts:
* At the moment, I'm listening a lot to Larry Jon Wilson's self-titled album, recording on the gulf coast a couple of years ago. It's magical. If you haven't heard Larry Jon sing, you've missed one of the most soulful voices of our time. This album has been out for a while in Europe, and it is being released soon in the US.
* I'm re-reading Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?: The Carter Family & Their Legacy In American Music. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
* I'm thrilled that my photographer pal Deone Jahnke is opening up a Nashville studio soon. She's good people, and her work is top-notch.
* If you haven't been to a show of mine lately, then you haven't heard my Kinscherff guitar. A gorgeous instrument, with Brazilian rosewood back and sides. I started touring with this instrument about two months ago, and four sound guys have told me it's the best-sounding guitar they've heard. Richard Bennett, who collects instruments and recordings and whose main gig is playing guitar for Mark Knopfler, told me it was "magnificent," and Vince Gill and Bill Lloyd have also had great things to say after playing it.
www.kinscherff.com is the website.
* Paul Burch has finished his next album, and it's really, really, really good.
* Webb Wilder plays tonight in Nashville at 3rd & Lindsley, for an album-release show for his great new More Like Me.
* Someone told me a heart-warming story about Eric Taylor the other day. I've heard a bunch of 'em. Stories about Eric are almost as good as his songs.
* The cops just got the guys who have been robbing people in East Nashville, so it's safe to hang out in the Family Wash parking lot again. Whew.
* May 9, May 9, May 9, May 9. That's the date for the Elmo Buzz & The Eastside Bulldogs Show. I heard from my good friend Cigarette Milner that Elmo and the guys will be playing kick-ass, party hardy rock 'n' roll.