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Current mood:  accomplished Category: Life
I have been so blessed this summer with the opportunity to begin really touring. My friend Crystal Chandler and I finally kicked off the Still Barefoot tour in July with our first show in Atlanta GA.
The Tin Roof Cantina didn't see us coming. Literally. The manager that night had not been informed that we were scheduled to play. LOL! We show up with our guitars, a basket of CDs and our smiling faces and they didn't know what to do. Finally, the bassist of DMX came and set up our sound for us (they didn't have anyone prepared to do that for us, since they forgot we were coming) and thanks to his speed and skill we got to kick off the show on time. What a way to get started!
Our Atlanta friends were welcoming and supportive. Over 30 of our email listers came out to see us. None of them had ever seen us perform our acoustic set before. 2 hours of covers and originals is more than your average Nashville writer's night allows and Crystal and I had never performed covers in our shows. We were glad to hear how much they enjoyed it. We keep getting emails and texts from people who just heard what a great show they missed, etc. Between all of their enthusiastic bragging on us and the new members of our email list we met that night, we think the next show in Atlanta will be even more fun. Plus, we'll probably have the sound thing figured out in less time since I've been taking lessons.
Last weekend we did a show in Belvidere TN at the Belvidere Market. As soon as we drove up we knew we were in for something special. Crystal said the only thing they were missing was a cat on one of the front porch rockers, then during her smoke break, she had one curl up on her lap and the atmosphere was made completely perfect. Even though it was raining cats and dogs that night, we ended up playing to a packed room of new friends. After the show we jammed with all of the local instrumentalists and had a great time. Maybe we even found a band to do full-band shows with?
Yesterday we got back from Ohio. Boy did we pay some dues this trip. First, we had to drive through the night to get to Lima with time for preparation. We planned to nap when we arrived at her mom's (Lisa's) house, but we were too wired. Instead we ended up working out harmonies to a couple of requests our OH friends made in advance. Then friends of Lisa's started showing up to meet us, and we ended up jamming with a couple of 'em. With only an hour's nap, we headed off to Pappy's to set up and play. I learned that it's very hard to carry speakers in 4 inch spike heels and I should probably bring a pair of shoes for setting up in.
The crowd Lisa assembled for us in Lima was amazing. All of them were new faces except for a small number of family. None of them stayed strangers. By the time the show was over, we were in love with Lima and some of Lima was in love with us. The friendliest of our new friends brought their guitars to Lisa's house after for a sing-along jam that lasted until 5 am and included a brief incident when a cop came and asked us to close the garage door and quiet down a bit. LOL!
With happy hearts and heavy eyelids, Crystal and I climbed into Lisa's bed for a 3 hour nap before we had to head to Mt. Vernon in the morning for our 1pm radio interview. A couple new friends and fans slept on the living room floor and helped us load up our equipment in the morning to send us off in style. Their good intentions of cooking us breakfast were even more appreciated when we swapped food for sleep and hit the road with empty stomaches and rested eyes.
We got to the radio station in Mt. Vernon with enough time to touch up our makeup before walking into the studio. Everyone at 93.7 and 1300 was friendly and welcoming and our first out-of-town interview was fun and productive. While we were walking out the door, a caller on the air was asking about us and how to get to our show. We literally jumped up and down in the hallway.
After a lunch and ice cream break at Friendly's we got ready for the next show at Crystal's friend Liz's house. Crystal's dress had shrunk in the wash and looked much more like a shirt. She ended up borrowing one of my shirts for the show and I hated that it looked cuter on her, but I'm so proud of how great of shape she's managed to get in so soon after having Chet.
Eric and Liz helped us unload the PA and I got us set up so fast we had nothing to do for half an hour but let Crystal introduce me to all of her old school mates and ex boyfriends. The Lakefront Grill got so crowded that people had to stand up against the wall waiting for seats. We were so excited to meet people who said they came after hearing our interview and songs on the radio, and some who came because they found us a while back on myspace and finally had a show nearby to come to. We sold almost all of our CDs that we brought.
By the end of the trip to Ohio we'd managed to make enough money to cover Crystal's speeding ticket and my new guitar pick up which were unexpected last minute trip expenses and still replace Crystal's tips for her missing nights of Nashville work.
We sure are enjoying life on the road and can't wait to come your way!
3:03 AM
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