About last night.

Good times at The Country Cow last night. It wasn't real busy in the restaurant, but the online crowd added to the mix nicely. I tried out a couple new songs and they went well enough. I'm off tonight, and I think I'll head right back to the Cow; The NC Blues Co. is playing there tonight, and that's sure to be good.

Tomorrow (Oct 30) I'm playing a solo show at the Sunset Grill in Campton. That show will be watchable online as well.

In other news, my Kickstarter project got a huge shot in the arm last night. A generous backer put up $500, which entitles them to (among other things) a live show in their very own home! Really looking forward to that one. I've still got a long way to go for my project to be a success, but it's off to a better start than expected. Onward!

Kickstarter Project, Day 2.

It's day two of my Kickstarter project, and at the time of this post, it's already 10% funded. I'm humbled by this early support, and I'm excited to send out all the goodies my backers are going to receive! If you haven't yet done so, please take a minute to check it out:

In other news, I'm playing a solo show tonight at The Country Cow in Campton, NH. There's no wifi available, so I can't webcast this one, unfortunately. But it's worth the trip to Campton; tonight is pizza night! The show starts at 7pm. :)

About the 2011 tour...

I'm taking my act on the road in the late summer/fall of 2011. Where is it headed? Well, that's where you come in. Earlier this month I pitched my idea to the folks at Kickstarter, and my project proposal was approved! So I've put together a way for you to help me get my act out on the road. I've got between now and Christmas to make this happen. Take a look, and if you can be part of this, then I'm excited for both of us!

Local Outbreak.

Back in April I did a radio interview. It was for the Local Outbreak program on The Planet 100.1fm. I rode down with Annie (from The Planet) to Rage Rock Studios in Manchester to do a one-hour Q&A with Matt Connarton. They did a nice job of putting the piece together.

The episode aired on Sunday, April 11. You can hear an archive of the show at www.soundcloud.com/jimtyrrell.

Weekend recap.

This past weekend featured a nice variety of shows. I was at Tony's Italian Grille & Pub on Friday night, playing an originals-heavy set. On Saturday afternoon I played Employee Appreciation Day at Freudenberg NOK in Bristol, which was a really fun time. And that night I headed over to The Black Cat Cafe in Laconia to play a show with No Limitz.

Sunday was a day off. I got caught up on a lot of around-the-house stuff, and I got to sneak down to the basement studio for a quick little recording session. Things are going well there, my friends. I have recording capabilities to a degree that I have never enjoyed previously. Things, as they say, are happening.

October is a busy little month. I don't have a show on Halloween night (for the first time in years). I might actually get to go out; maybe I can watch someone else play for a night. ;)

Permanent Record.

The 2007 CD Permanent Record has been out of print for a while. I'm excited to announce that it is about to become available again! This CD was originally released in conjunction with my 2007 Second Stage performance at Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion (I 'opened' for Weird Al), and it features the songs I Know My Rights and House Of Hodgman, which can be heard regularly at my shows. It also features the notorious hidden track 'Asshat'. (Okay, it's not a hidden track if I tell you about it. But it's been three years.)

And all you savvy online folks get the first crack at it! You can preorder a copy right here for just ten bucks, and that includes shipping! The CDs will ship out in late October.

My guitar.

In June someone went into my car and stole my guitar. I reported it to the police, and went out and bought a new guitar and got on with my work.

Yesterday I got my stolen guitar back.

Here's what happened: it was graduation weekend at Plymouth State University, and there were a lot of college kids partying on (and near) the street where I live. I got home after midnight, having played a show with No Limitz at the Crazy Gringo. I had a 1pm show the next day, so I was in a hurry to get some sleep. And in my haste I forgot to lock my car.

The next morning I went out to the car to grab something and I saw a microphone on the ground. Uh oh. I opened the car door and discovered the guitar (and my gig bag, with all the mics/cables/etc.) missing. The glove box had been opened, and its contents strewn across the passenger seat.

I went downstairs and dismantled the basement studio, scrounging for enough cables to recreate my live setup. I was able to gather enough gear to get through that day's show. (I used an older guitar that I can't bear to part with, although it's in really bad shape.)

Detective McCarthy of the Plymouth PD took my police report. I stopped by the Vintage Fret Shop in Ashland (where I bought the guitar) and told them about it. They said they'd keep an eye out. There wasn't much to do beyond that, so I broke out the credit card and got myself another guitar. I replaced a couple of the lost cables, but couldn't justify the expense of a complete rebuild. So the studio has been on hiatus since then.

About a month after the theft, Ben from the Vintage Fret Shop called to tell me I would be getting another call, this one from the PD. Apparently a young guy had come in to sell a guitar, and they recognized it as mine. They matched the serial number to my sales invoice and had the kid arrested. The guitar was taken in as evidence at the Ashland PD. The kid went to Plymouth, where he confessed to the PD there. A few days after that, he turned over the gig bag to the Plymouth PD. I went to both PDs and identified the gear. The stickers had been removed from the guitar case, and the box for my wireless headset mic was gone, but the gear itself appeared intact.

The courts move slowly. On September 13 a guilty plea was entered and a fine was paid. I've been following up with both PDs about the release of my gear. I'm still waiting on the gig bag in Plymouth (it requires some injunction paperwork to release it, and apparently things are extremely backed up), but Ashland was able to release the guitar to me yesterday.

And that's pretty much that. The whole thing was a pretty serious economic blow, and a significant inconvenience. But at least I'm getting my stuff back. Detective McCarthy has been nothing short of amazing in his efforts, and everyone at the Ashland PD was friendly and helpful too. And while it is not the job of the Vintage Fret Shop to confront and apprehend criminals, they did exactly that, and I could not possibly be more grateful.