We’ll be performing at Nashville’s top honky-tonk event, Honky-Tonk Tuesday, on Tuesday, December 12, 2017. Native Magazine recently wrote an excellent feature on this weekly happening. Say what you will about Nashville’s population and real estate boom. This is a new golden age for honky-tonk and hard country in Music City.
As always, I encourage you to visit our Fish Blog for tales of trout fishing and photos my adventures in the great outdoors of Tennessee.
Read the back story behind this beautiful brown trout on the Fish Blog. I caught him right as I was ready to throw in the towel and scream in despair.
And, for those of you in Nashville, drop by this house concert tonight. I’ll have some new songs and some fancy IPA. Yes, you can have one.
Your Facebook “Likes” sooth our otherwise empty souls.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of band member, Craig Aspen.
In addition to being a talented musician, he was a gifted photographer and videographer. His handwork behind the lens is still there for you to see. The wonderful music he recorded with his band, The Believers, is also out there forever.
More than anything, I will miss laughing with Craig in the touring van. We spent hours on the road joking ourselves into a frenzy. Sometimes we would get so obnoxious that other band members would retreat into noise-killing headphones. Who could blame them? We both loved dark humor, and the exhaustion provoked by long drives and late nights fueled some crazy shit. I’m grateful no recordings exist.
I can’t make sense of his departure but I treasure the time we spent chasing the dream together.
If you are able, please consider making a donation to his memorial fund. And by all means, check out the links below. The music is the least of it. Just get a feel for a man who had style.
With Runner of the Woods on “Good Day Dallas” (2016):
With The Believers on the BBC:
In Nashville, this is the best time of year. For starters, it gets cooler and the mosquitoes relinquish their hold on the outdoors. You can sit on your porch again and sip a mug of coffee in the morning. Feel decent.
I’ve been woodshedding all summer and writing songs in preparation for a new album. Songwriting takes time, and quiet moments are a commodity that is in short supply for the musician-father-with a full time job. Add to this a love affair with fly fishing, and you can pretty much plan on everything taking longer than you’d like.
We had a blast performing at this summer’s Pickin’ Party at Cornielia Fort. Here are some great photos, courtesy of Mickey Bernal. I guess “accordion face” is a real thing…
L-R: Brett Resnick, Nick Beaudoing, Alec Newnam, Nate Felty and Billy Contreras
In the meantime, we’ve booked some shows at one of Nashville’s top music venues, the American Legion Post 82. In some cities, the Legion is where country bands are sent to pasture — a quasi-retirement where weekend gigs mean a quick payday while you drink free Michelob and play country standards to a family crowd munching on steak dinners (nothing wrong with this btw). Not so in East Nashville. Honky-Tonk Tuesday is your foremost destination for top country bands playing originals and standards for a dance crowd that routinely packs the floor.
More gigs are on the way. Until then, I’ll be giving a legal lecture on Copyright Registration on August 27th for the CDBaby DIY Conference in Nashville. Copyright law may be dreary, but breaking it down for DIY musicians is always a pleasure.
There will be fishing too. Many more like this one. Many, many more.
On Saturday, June 24th, we’ll be opening for Dustbowl Revival at Nashville’s Conernelia Fort Pickin Party. It takes place at the abandoned airport at Shelby Park in East Nashville. It’s a wonderful use of a deserted space, in this case, a small-engine airport rendered inactive after 2010’s flood.
Abandoned or no, this is easily the most fun you’ll ever have at any airport. See you there!
If things are looking a little bit slicker these days, it’s because I’ve updated the website with a new layout, new content, and a more streamlined interface. It’s a work in progress. I mean, I’m well acquainted with dreary tasks but website design was always a dreary bridge too far. But now I’m too frugal to hire someone to do it for me.
Folk Alliance was a blast. Many thanks to all who attended our showcases.
In addition to some shows in Nashville, we’re booking some choices dates for the summer and fall. In the meantime, I’m also working on a fly fishing blog. Don’t laugh. I’d rather write about fly fishing in those spare moments when I’m not in or on the water. And I recently discovered an entire cottage industry of people who do it for a living. My master plan is to merge our touring circuit for the band with options for fishing.
Stop laughing. What’s your dream, anyway?
1/13/17:
Runner of the Woods will be making their Folk Alliance debut in February, 2017! We’re thrilled to be playing the Access Film and TV showcase on Thursday, February 16th and the Sweet Beaver Showcase on Saturday, February 18th. The latter showcase has an excellent — and I mean fantastic — lineup and we’re honored to take part. Details here.
See you in one month, Kansas City! I can’t wait to try your BBQ and see how it competes to Texas!