Weekend recap.

Hey, better late than never, right? It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and here's how it went down.

On Saturday I drove up to Dixville Notch to play a solo show at The Balsams. One of my favorite places to play for sure; not too many of the venues I play have a grand piano waiting for me. There was a good crowd up there, and they were in the mood to dance, so we had a good time.

I stayed overnight and headed out at daybreak. A quick stop at home, and then it was off to The Margate for the first of the summer's beach bar shows. About 12 hours previous, I'd been in a suit jacket playing a grand piano, and now I found myself in a tropical shirt playing guitar on a dock overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee. You'll never hear me say the job is boring. I played from 1pm to 4pm and got a peculiar-looking sunburn on my left forearm. The beach bar was packed with people, all grateful that the rain had finally taken the day off. After the show some friends in attendance offered to buy me a beer, and I told them I had to hit the road but they could buy me one at the next show if they were there.

a quick load-out and off to Campton, where I host the open mike night at The Sunset Grill. It was a small crowd there, and I was the only musician there at the start, but I did get a few takers by the end of the night. A young guy named Pete played some blues guitar with me for a while, then Buddy did a solo set, and then Nik played us out. And my generous friends from the Margate show did indeed follow me up to Campton and buy me a Guinness. :)

This weekend promises to be just as busy, if not more so:

Thu 7/9 - Smokey Bones, Tyngsboro MA (solo 9pm)

Fri 7/10 - Jack O'Lantern Resort, Thornton NH (solo 7pm)

Sat 7/11 - Veggie Art Girl Boutique, Holderness NH (solo 2pm)

Sat 7/11 - Totem Pole Campground, Ossipee NH (band show 7pm)

Sun 7/12 - The Margate, Laconia NH (solo 1pm)

Sun 7/12 - The Sunset Grill, Campton NH (open mike 7pm)

Hmm. Yeah, more so. Good thing I'm taking leave of the day job for a while...

Musician.

Starting July 13, I'm going to take a six-week leave of absence from the day job. I'm going to spend the rest of the summer making my way exclusively as a musician. With all the shows I've got on the books, you might think I wouldn't have a day job in the first place. Not so; I work as a graphic designer by day (for a wonderful company called MegaPrint). But my boss has graciously agreed to let me go for the summer to see what I can make out of the music thing.

So I'm excited and a little nervous. It looks like I've got enough booked to get the bills paid, but I'm definitely gonna be trying to fill every open day/night I can. My weekends are already solid. I'd love to find some Wednesday night work. And now that the day job doesn't have me at 8 every morning, I can travel any (driveable) distance to play a show. So, suggestions welcome.

Smokey Bones.

Just added another show in July. I'll be playing a solo show at Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill in Tyngsboro, MA on Thursday, July 9. The show starts at 9pm. It promises to be a good time, and I'm always excited to play a BBQ joint. :)

That brings the show count up to 22 for the month. I played 30 in July 2005, I think. Always a busy month. See you out there!

The Busy Season.

July and August are always busy. I had been able to reserve a couple weekend days off, but I've even given one of those up. Here's a rundown of the next upcoming month, as it currently stands.

Sat 7/4, 9pm - The Balsams, Dixville Notch NH - solo show
Sun 7/5, 1pm - The Margate, Laconia NH - solo show
Sun 7/5, 7pm - The Sunset Grill, Campton NH - hosting open mike night
Fri 7/10, 7pm - The Jack O'Lantern, Thornton NH- solo show
Sat 7/11, 12pm - Veggie Art Girl Boutique, Holderness NH - solo show (open house)
Sat 7/11, 7pm - Totem Pole Campground, Freedom NH - with No Limitz
Sun 7/12, 1pm - The Margate, Laconia NH - solo show
Sun 7/12, 7pm - The Sunset Grill, Campton NH - hosting open mike night
Mon 7/13, 7pm - Lago, Meredith NH - featured performer, singer/songwriter night
Tue 7/14, 4:30pm - Franklin Farmers' Market - solo show
Thu 7/16, 7pm - The Country Cow, Campton NH - solo show
Fri 7/17, 6:30pm - Tony's Italian Grille, Thornton NH - solo show
Sat 7/18, 7pm - The Jack O'Lantern, Thornton NH- solo show
Sun 7/19, 1pm - The Margate, Laconia NH - solo show
Sun 7/19, 7pm - The Sunset Grill, Campton NH - hosting open mike night
Wed 7/22, 8pm - Shooter's Tavern, Belmont NH - hosting open mike night
Fri 7/24, 8pm - Shooter's Tavern, Belmont NH - solo show
Sat 7/25, 8pm - private party
Sun 7/26, 1pm - The Margate, Laconia NH - solo show
Sun 7/26, 7pm - The Sunset Grill, Campton NH - hosting open mike night
Fri 7/31, 9pm - Pit Road Lounge, Concord NH - with (Who Are The) Brain Police

If I'm a little slow in updating the blog, or if I'm not returning your phone calls in as timely a manner, it's just because I'm a little busy. See you out there!

Bike Week.

It's been a rainy Bike Week so far, but it didn't keep people away from The Country Cow last night. I was scheduled to play from 7 to 10, and I finally waved off at 11:30 without having taken a break. A good rowdy crowd that was into what I was doing. Nice when that happens.

It could happen again tonight. My classic rock band No Limitz is playing at The Black Cat Cafe in downtown Laconia. We played there for the first time last month, and they loved us. And that band is a very good fit for the Bike Week crowd.

Tomorrow night (Saturday), No Limitz makes the trip north to the Elks in Littleton, where we'll be opening for a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band. That promises to be a good time. I'll take lots of pictures.

And on Sunday, I'll be the host at the Sunset Grill's open mike night. That's in Campton, at the junction of 3 and 49. Hopefully we get a lot of musicians over there who want to play that night, because my voice is already in rough shape from last night's show, and it's gonna be a long weekend.

About sprinkler systems.

Just got the word that there will be no more shows at The Seven Barrel Brewery in West Lebanon. Apparently they've been hit with the 'sprinkler ordinance'. In a nutshell, they've been told that they must have an adequate sprinkler system in place if they are going to have bands that perform to a certain crowd capacity.

If I had to guess, I'd say this ordinance is in response to the tragedy in Rhode Island some years ago when the pyrotechnics at a Great White concert went awry. I can understand the need to keep people safe; I certainly don't want anyone getting hurt at my shows. But here's a breakdown of why I think this ordinance is useless and stupid.

1) I have never seen a band in New Hampshire use pyrotechnics on stage. This includes trips to the Verizon Wireless Arena and Meadowbrook.

2) The crowd capacity of the bars/clubs can (and sometimes does) reach the 'sprinkler ordinance' threshold WITHOUT a band present, I'm sure. Apparently the addition of four guys with musical instruments creates a fire hazard that did not exist previously.

3) The ordinance seems to be applied/enforced randomly. Some clubs are hit with it, and others are left alone. It's a law or it isn't, guys.

I'll be the first to say my information regarding this ordinance is incomplete. But based on what I know, it seems like a hamfisted effort to protect the public, and it's preventing me from doing safe work.

I welcome your thoughts on this. I'm going to look for some state documentation of the ordinance, and I'll update as I find anything relevant.

UPDATE: It looks like the ordinances are by TOWN, which helps to explain their seemingly spotty implementation. Still looking for a well-laid-out example of the ordinance itself.

The Pinkwater Podcast.

A lot has happened in the last couple weeks, and I'll get you caught up on it over the course of this week. For now, here's an interesting recent tidbit: my song Bacon Wine was featured this week on author and NPR commentator Daniel Pinkwater's podcast, aptly named The Pinkwater Podcast. It's the Sunday, June 7 episode, and you can check it out right here.

Stories and photos from the road coming soon. It was a great trip, and it's nice to be home and back to work.