Journal Entrees:

04/02/08 - What's Up
02/15/08 - 2008 Update
04/16/07 - Spring 2007
03/08/07 - Winter 2007
12/21/06 - Nov/Dec 2006
11/08/06 - Scattered Release
09/19/06 - R.E.M.
09/01/06 - Port City Review
08/24/06 - The Gin Mill, NC
08/15/06 - Athens, GA
08/09/06 - "Find Your Muse"
08/07/06 - Day off / Dnaville
08/04/06 - Raleigh, NC Review
08/03/06 - Train / Open Mic

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - What's Up

When I left everyone last time, Melissa and I were on our way down to Charleston to get away. It had been around ten or more years since I had last visited the city. We were just going for one night so I got a room at the Francis Marion Hotel on King Street right across from Marion Park. The drive down early Saturday was nice and we arrived to find the park bustling and the street full of people. Turns out some wildlife convention was going on and Marion Park was hosting some of the outdoor events. So we valet the car and checked in. The hotel was great, classic Southern charm. Our room was facing the park so we could people watch from the window, what a wonderful view. There were musicians busking on the sidewalk and a lot of people with their dogs in the park.

The hunger was beginning to kick in so we decided to check out the food in the park. Many of the local restaurants had set up booths around the perimeter of the park. We tried some She Crab soup, Melissa thought it was too buttery and she was actually right. We’ve become such food snobs from watching too much Anthony Bourdain. Speaking of Anthony, he was actually in Charleston not too long ago so we had considered checking out some of the places he ate. We then read that the place in downtown that he ate was a tourist trap and not actually that good. Anyway, beer followed at a very reasonable price I might add. The weather was awesome and walking around the park made me want to take my shoes off. We grabbed some more food, I tired some pork tenderloin with a side of greens and a cheese biscuit. Now yes, I was born in the south but I was raised and feed by a Yankee mother (love you mom). Southern cuisine was all but foreign to me until I met Melissa over ten years ago. She took me into her family and I learned a lot about great southern cooking. One dish I had steered clear from had been collard greens. They just didn’t seem very appetizing, wow was I wrong. I loved them, freaking great! We sat on a bench, ate our food and drank our beer while watching people walk by and play with their dogs. I could have stayed there all day, it was beautiful.

The rest of the night was spent walking around downtown Charleston, checking out the shops and hitting up a few bars like Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub. We made reservations at a restaurant on the water and walked there later that night, cutting through on of Charleston’s many long alley ways. Even the alley’s here are nice! The food was good, it had gotten cold and the crowd there had turned into that annoying “I’m 30 something, think I’m hot shit but have accomplished nothing in my life.” Sorry about that but that’s how I saw it. So we got out of the madness and walked back to our hotel room to call it a night. I kept the blinds open for a while so I could look out over the park. A church steeple could be seen above the trees and the bridge behind that. We watched “Say Anything” on TV while we fell asleep, it was a great day.

The next morning we had breakfast in bed. Sunday was spent sight seeing around town, visiting the battery and walking around the city. We stayed until the afternoon before we made the drive back to Charlotte. I loved going to Charleston with Melissa. We had never been together and it made for a really romantic weekend.

So what else has been going on? Well we went to see a couple of shows last week. On Monday we caught The Meat Puppets at the Neighborhood Theater in Charlotte. This one was a long time coming and I’m still in awe that I actually got to see the Meat Puppets perform together. It was a reunion of sorts, brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood are finally back together minus the original drummer Derrick Bostrom. My introduction to the band happened around the same time as most teenagers of the 90s, when they performed with Nirvana on their Unplugged. Shortly following I bought Too High To Die and began to dig deeper into their music. I have very vivid memories of being with my mother at our dentist in Clemson SC. After my time in the seat I would walk down the hill to Manifest Disc and Tapes and buy Meat Puppet albums (among others); back when CDs still came in long boxes, hell back when there were independent record stores! My favorite that I purchased there so many years ago was the 1987 album Huevos, it’s still a staple on the iPod fourteen years after I first picked it up.

On Monday, March 10, after many years of listening, I finally got to see The Meat Puppets play live. Strangely enough they were to opening band for Built To Spill, OPENING! But that was fine with me, it was a Monday night and I did need my beauty rest. We got there early enough to be close to the front of the queue. I had never been to The Neighborhood Theater before so it was nice to finally check out the venue. I could tell that a lot of the people were there to see The Meat Puppets, a few Nirvana T-shirts lingered among the line. We got in a went straight to the front of the stage, the only proper place to see a show. A band for Seattle opened, not my cup of tea. Finally, after a stage flip, The Meat Puppets walked out on stage without any fanfare. I was in awe to finally see them, after so many years of listening it was finally time to experience a live show. They opened with the tongue twisting “Sam” from the Forbidden Places album, I hadn’t listened to this song in years but it was good to hear it again. They played the staples: “Lake of Fire,” “Plateau,” and “Backwater.”

A wonderful cover of “Tomorrow Never Knows” was thrown into the mix as well. There were a few songs that I had really hoped to hear, the first came with a nine minute version of “Up On The Sun” and finally a song from the Huevos album, “Look At The Rain.” The moment the guitar kicked in I knew what it was. I screamed, clapped my hands, and beat the stage whilst singing along. It was a great show, one of those that I thought would never happen. Even Melissa enjoyed herself, I think.

Five days later, Saturday, March 15, we were in Greenville, SC to see Emerson Hart at The Handlebar. Late last year we caught our first solo Emerson show here in Charlotte and we fell in love with his music. The album Cigarettes & Gasoline is beautifully put together and Emerson’s live shows are very intimate. It’s like watching someone play in your living room. There’ s no clear separation between audience and performer and I love that. People would request songs and he’d do his best to perform them. Some drunken ass requested “Friend To A Stranger,” the guy was annoying but had good taste as this is one of the best tracks on the album. At first he said he couldn’t play it but then agreed to give it a try all by himself. He said he had never played it live before and you could tell that he was unsure of the chords at points. It made for a truly great moment; just Emerson, a guitar, and a great song.

After the show Melissa and I hung out to meet him once again. I think Melissa told him something about how one of his songs sounds like a Lindsey Buckingham song. We quickly retired to my parents town house only a few minutes away where I ate some Irish Stew and Soda bread. I love my Irish heritage!

Anyway…this is getting really long and I guess I should actually be working at work?

Love,
Andy

What I’m Listening To:
Counting Crows Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings

Friday, February 15, 2008 - 2008 Update

So I guess you could say it’s been a while since my last update. I trust everyone has been doing well. Here’s what has been going on.

I spent all 2007 trying to being a normal person only to realize that I already was. It was my first year without a live performance of some kind. I’ve had to repeatedly tell myself that was okay. Don’t freak, it’s not a big deal. You’ve only been doing this for thirteen years now. My God! In all seriousness it was a little weird. I constantly struggle with this inner drive to produce or have a project of some sort. I guess you could say that I spent 2007 in creative rehab. The best part is that it really changed my entire writing process. I no longer sit at the piano and go, “I’ve got to write two more songs for this album so I can get it out by X date.” I now just sit down and play, if a song comes out then great and if not then oh well. From this philosophy I’ve garnered around 25 new songs. 90% written on the piano. Looking back at the lyrics I’ve written over the past year I’ve begun to see a pattern. All the songs are about or for people I know. In the past I’ve always been very introspective with my writing but recently that has changed. I think it actually started to shift during the Scattered sessions with songs like “The Prince of Washington Square” and “We Always Do What’s Right”. I’ve always loved to create stories and have made a few feeble attempts at writing screenplays however I don’t have the patience for the writing process. I just recently realized that I can still create these stories in the more compact form of a song.

I’ve been listening to a lot of The Who recently; Sell Out is now in my top ten greatest albums of all time. Amazing music, I still can’t get over how cool that album is.


In December Melissa and I took my parents down to Disney World for a few days and it was a blast. We stayed at The Beach Club resort for the first time and it was really cool. It's so close to Epcot that we could walk right to it every night. Epcot's back door leads right into the UK Pavilion; home of tall pints of Guinness, great fish and chips, and a Beatles tribute band called the British Invasion. In other words we had a wonderful time. Our NY friend Angie (the Queen of Corona) stayed with us all week as well, we love that girl!

A few weeks ago we went to see the triumphant return of Matchbox Twenty at the Cricket Arena here in Charlotte. I should go back a little first. Melissa has always been a diehard MB20 fan; since she was just a kid in high school she has been following them. We were members of their fan club, got to see some amazing shows along the way, even partook in the filming of their live concert film SHOW! Staying after the performance so the camera crew could re shoot some numbers and get a few additional angles that were impossible to capture during the actual performance. At that point we thought that was it, there is no getting closer than that show in Atlanta. We savored the moment. Then the inevitable happen; Rob did a solo album and we were a little worried about the status of our favorite band. Then Adam left the band during their hiatus; Melissa and I lowered the proverbial flag to half-staff that day. A few years went by and we gave up on ever seeing Matchbox Twenty again. Then one day I was messing around online while Melissa was on the phone with her mother. Out of the blue I decided to click over to Rob’s page just to see what he was up to and I read the headline, “Matchbox Twenty Returns – New Album October 2nd!” I couldn’t believe it. Without a word I turned the computer towards Melissa and awaited her reaction. She screamed with excitement and almost dropped the phone. All of a sudden Matchbox was back.

So this past fall Rob and Paul went on a radio promotion tour for the new album and inevitable tour to follow. Our local crap-music station was offering a chance to see them play an acoustic live set for the station, you just had to be caller 10. So for a week Melissa and I sat through hours of shitty music; the 40 minute rational crap that has infested the radio waves like a degenerate cancer. We persistence and impeccable timing, Melissa was caller 10 and we had our ticket to the private performance. It was awesome to see Rob and Paul in a setting like this. We were right in the front, four feet away from them. So after the show and interview we were herded into groups of strangers to speed up the photo process. A quick shake of the hand, a “we love your music” and we were off. But we did wait around out back to see if we could get a real pic. Instead we got the “we might be stalking you” pic and another quick shake before they were off. A few months later they released tour dates and we sprung for a fanclub Gold Package. What did the gold package get you might be asking. Well, some random merch, a T-shirt, poster, preshow VIP party, but most importantly front-freaking-row tickets!!! And not just front row, we were front and center. Needless to say we were excited for January 29, 2008 to roll around.


So now we’re back to where I started. A few weeks ago we went to see the triumphant return of Matchbox Twenty at the Cricket Arena here in Charlotte. We got to the venue late due to traffic but thankfully our VIP coordinator was late as well. So we checked in and went over to Oven’s for the catered pre-show party. We ate and drank and talked; it was really actually very nice. I wasn’t expecting the whole spread but we did take advantage of it. We were then escorted through the back door so we could hit up the merch booth minus the general peasant crowd (yes, I paid good money for my passes and I’m making sure everyone knows it, hahahaha). Anyway, we got to our seats and prepared ourselves for how close we were going to be at a show of the magnitude. Mute Math was the first band and I did really enjoy them. Not going to buy the CD anytime soon but still a good show. Then Alanis Morrissette hit the stage and she was amazing; I was really blown away by her performance. Before long it was time for Matchbox, it had been so long but well worth the wait. As always they blew everyone away. Highlight of the show: “Bright Lights” with a little “She Came in Through The Bathroom Window” thrown into the middle, very nice. So after the show we received a bracelet/USB drive that contained MP3 files of the night’s show. Sometimes you’ve really got to love advancing technology. So we had a great fucking night and I can’t wait to do it again, VIP all the way.

Okay, I really need to wrap this up. Current projects: A live Andy Loflin EP from the 2006 summer solo tour, oh yeah. The long awaited and sadly neglected (until just now) Center of Gravity collection. Here’s a quick taste of The Complete Center of Gravity; a two disc CD/DVD collection featuring EVERYTHING ever recorded, videoed, or photographed by the band. I’ve been working on this for many years now and it’s finally seeing the light of day this Spring.

This weekend Melissa and I are heading down to Charleston, SC to get away and relax. We plan on eating a large amount of seafood while drinking as much beer as possible. I'll be sure to take some pictures while we are down there and share them when I get back. Until then keep listening to music and enjoying life. Email me at Andrewl@cgraphics.com if you'd like to chat. New music is on the way, I promise!

With Love,
Andy

What I’m Listening To:
Big Blue Ball Whole Thing
Paul Simon You're The One
The Beatles It's The Beatles/Royal Variety Show

What I’m Watching:
Long Way Round series DVD
Anthony Bourdain Collection 2 DVD
The Beatles HELP!

Monday, April 16, 2007 - Spring 2007 Update/Preview

What a busy last few weeks, so much has happened. Saint Patrick’s Day was a blast! Melissa and I got a room at the Omni in uptown Charlotte. We watched the parade from Matthew and Wendy’s apartment on Tryon because it was so cold. All of us then went down to the festival to grab a Guinness and Harp while checking out all the Celtic nick-knacks. Melissa bought me a Fitzgerald pin; my grandfather, Patrick Fitzgerald, was a Dubliner until the age of seventeen when he came to New York City. My parents say that this is where my love of meat and potatoes came from. So the drinking had begun by around 11:30 AM and it was all a whirlwind from then on. We hit Mert’s for lunch, this place is amazing! I’ve been a few times and I’m always impressed, soul food as they put it. If you’re ever in uptown looking for a fun place to eat something different Mert’s on College St. is the place to go. Ri-Ra’s followed with it’s hordes of patrons; elbow to elbow we fought for room at the bar while listening to the Irish band. After a few hours we had secured two seats at the bar. We drank for hours with my cousin Shane Loflin and his wife Natasha, my Uncle Doug and Aunt Beckie and their friends Joe and Linda. Guinness after Guinness, an Irish car bomb and the ceremonial stolen pint (a very nice Bass glass with shamrocks on it, score!) It felt like 2 AM but it was actually 6 or so, we gave up our cherished seat at the bar and headed down to Fuel Pizza for dinner. Everything that follows is quite a blur, a drunken haze. I don’t get like this often but Saint Paddy’s day is always the exception. Morning quickly followed void of any sickness or hangover, always the best.

So on the 19th of March we drove up to Asheville, NC for a concert at the Orange Peel; the one and only Lindsey Buckingham. Melissa is a huge fan of Fleetwood and even more so Lindsey. There was no way she could pass up seeing him in a small general admission setting. As we were driving up to the club we saw him out back signing some autographs and taking pictures. I almost pushed Melissa out of the moving car but she didn’t want to see like a freak stalker. So we parked very quickly but by the time we made it back to the venue he was already sound checking. So we waited and waited and waited until utter starvation kicked in. I had called in an order to the Wild Wing down the road and it was time to give up and go get some food. There was some strange country dancing in the bar, it was like a very weird variety show. When we got back to the Orange Peel the doors had opened and the will-call line was ridiculous. Luckily we had already picked up our tickets so we walked right in and up to the stage, only a few people back from the front. There was no opener and none was needed, Lindsey Buckingham was freaking amazing! This guy has got to be one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. He’s impeccable and his style is so key. The show was a mix of solo and full band numbers ranging from his latest solo album to classic Fleetwood tracks like “Tusk” and “Secondhand News.” Needless to say he’s still got it, the vocals were spot-on and the guitar playing left me speechless. “Big Love” was an obvious highpoint and the fun “Holiday Road” left everyone barking like dogs! After the show we stuck around out back waiting for Lindsey's inevitable departure. There were a lot of people waiting around to get autographs and photos, more than any show I had been to. After forty-five minutes or so Lindsey finally came out and Melissa got to meet one of her favorite musicians. He was very nice; a quick picture, shake of the hand, an “Awesome show” remark and then we were off. I’ve been to a lot of shows in my time and I must say that I’ve never had so much fun at a live performance, Lindsey is currently #1 on my list. What a night!


The next weekend, March 31, was brother’s bachelor party...enough said!

It was back up to The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC on Thursday, April 5, this time to see Sean Lennon in concert. Now let me get this out of the way...yes, I am a HUGE Beatles fan and thus a devout John Lennon follower. I first came across Sean back in 1998 with his video for “Home” off of the Into The Sun album, his debut release. This was back when MTV actually played videos. So I got into Sean back into ’98 and yes, I admit that there was a lot of curiosity due to the “Beautiful Boy” connection. Listening to “Mystery Juice” I was all the time blown away thinking of how much he sounded like John. Eventually the infatuation went away and I was able to enjoy the music for what it was...good music! I picked the album back up in 2004 and it stayed in my CD player for many months. Friendly Fire was released in October of 2006 and I fell back into Sean. This time however I was able to experience the album without thinking, “He sounds like John” the whole time. The record is beautiful, it floats and is connected while being filled with melodic hooks that I find hard to shake sometimes. Sean really made a great album this time.

So with a new album to promote Sean hit the road and thankfully decided to hit the Southeast as well. Melissa bought me tickets for my birthday to the show in Asheville, I had been patiently waiting ever since. My brothers wedding was the same weekend so I went ahead a took a few days off. A major cold front had moved in and being in Asheville it added an extra bite. We spotted Barley’s Taproom and decided to grab and drink and some food before the show. Melissa braved the organic beer while I had a Harp. We sat and talked and at some food, a slice of pizza each made to order. It was very good, their pizza is so not greasy and I love that. The jalapeños almost killed me! After the food and drink we shivered our way down to the Orange Peel to stand in line, turns out there wasn’t much of one. I grabbed a spot front and center while Melissa bought a Sean Lennon shirt for herself and an autographed Friendly Fire for me, thanks! There were two openers, one of which was freaking HORRIBLE! Women and Children, if you ever come across this band...run like hell. They were the worst I have ever seen. When Sean finally hit the stage I was very excited, it was a surreal moment as he was just feet away from me. He opened the show with “Spectacle” followed by “Dead Meat”. You could tell he was having some vocal issues, the high notes were not where they should have been. He proceeded to play the entire Friendly Fire album and finished the show with just one track from Into The Sun, “Mystery Juice.” Overall I was a little disappointed. Maybe it was because Sean didn’t seem to be feeling well, maybe it was that we had just seen a high energy show from Lindsey two weeks before, maybe it was the cold front? Who really knows. There was one point in the show when Sean’s true talent shown through. He did an acoustic rendition of “Tomorrow” that was utterly brilliant, it was so delicate and the highlight of the night. After the performance I decided not to stick around; it was late a cold and I just didn’t feel like waiting for a picture that I wasn’t sure would come anyway. So we drove back to Mooresville.

We tried to sleep until noon but the lack of curtains made it a little difficult to do so. Now all our meals were messed up, breakfast became Lunch...I hate that. Matt and Dawns rehearsal and dinner was later that night so we made our way down to Greenville, SC for the weekend long event. I guess you could say that it has been a long time coming; I’m so happy for both Matt and Dawn! Anyway...so the rehearsal went off without a hitch, cut and dry. The dinner followed where I got see some of my favorite relatives from up north while enjoying some great food. The next day was completely hectic, we were all running around until the very moments before the music started. The wedding and reception was held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Greenville, SC and it was a very nice setting. Everything went as planned, as far as I know. The reception was so much fun; we danced and drank until we couldn’t dance anymore because we had drunk too much! But before I passed the point of no return I presented Matt and Dawn with my wedding gift to them, a new song called “The One” that I had written just for the occasion. I think the song went over pretty well, I hope they enjoyed it. Everyone will be able to check out the new song shortly as the B-side to the upcoming “The Story of Us” single. The release date has been pushed back a little but it won’t be much longer. So to Matt and Dawn, good luck on your new life together!

On the Andy Loflin music front things are settling. I’m trying to keep to the “Watching the Wheels” mantra. I refuse to do any serious recording until my studio has a proper work table and I’m totally comfortable. I’ve been writing a few songs along the way however. Just last week I wrote a really good one, up to par with “When I’m With You” and “The Story of Us.” It’s going to be hard to sit on this one until the next album is released. I’ve been concentrating on some archival projects that are long overdue. The Complete Center of Gravity is virtually complete and I’m pretty excited about the final product. Russ Chapman (COG Drummer) has agreed to be involved in the project so that makes it even better; now we just need to get Ben Hayes on board. The collection will be release this September to commemorate the ten year anniversary of Center of Gravity’s first live performance. On a similar note...The Remains of the Day OMNIBUS project has taken a turn for the better. I don’t want to go into details right now but I know everyone will be excited with it’s new direction. I’m thinking January 2008 as a launch date?! I’m also considering a 1995-1998 archival project however low it may be on my priorities, we’ll just have to see.

So that’s all for now. Melissa and I’ve got a few concerts coming up this summer: on June 2 we are going to see Jars of Clay and Newsboys (two great Christian bands) and then on July 21 we are going to see Morrissey in Myrtle Beach (I’m just a surprised as you!) Looks like another good summer is beginning to roll around, see ya then!

Love,
Andy

What I’m Listening To:
Peter Gabriel 1
Sean Lennon Friendly Fire
Wolfmother ST

So I’ve been a little slack on the Journal entries; I know I’ve got some catching up to do.

November 2006:

November is always my favorite month and this was quite possibly the busiest November to date. To start off Melissa and I moved into our first house. It’s a great feeling to finally have a home of my own. We bought a little 3 bedroom 2 bath in Mooresville, NC. It’s a great location right between Charlotte and Statesville. I’m so domesticated now and I like it. So the first weekend of November was spent moving into the new home and trying to get the cable hooked up. I hate TimeWarner by the way.

On Wednesday, November 8 we made the drive up to Winston-Salem, NC for an acoustic performance at Foothills Brewery. I had been really excited about playing here, like visiting an estranged family member. For those of you that have been around for a while I’m sure you know about the Blue Ridge Brewery in Downtown Greenville, SC. The central hub one might call it; every get together no matter how big or small usually starts and ends at this bar. Example: my College Graduation party was here, the after reception for our wedding, my dads 60th Birthday Party, and I’m sure it will play a significant role in my brothers wedding coming up April 2007. I consider all the people there as extended family. Both of my former bands, Remains of the Day and even Center of Gravity, performed at Blue Ridge multiple times. So Foothills Brewery is owner Bob Hiller’s latest endeavor; a larger North Carolina version of Blue Ridge Brewery.

I automatically felt at home. Melissa and I had left a little early so we could try out the food and beer. Everyone was really nice and the bar was really put together well. I was really surprised with how larger the place was. So after a good dinner and a drink I set up in the corner where the bar entrance was. I was using Foothills sound system for the night to cut down on the hassle of loading my own rig. Looking back I wish I had used my equipment seeing as everything was a little outdated. I made the best of what was provided and after a murky first song finally got everything on track. There were the usually characters; the drunk guy screaming for me to play some music, the fellow musician who was really into the show, another drunk guy who hit on Melissa...wow, this place was just like Blue Ridge. So I played for around an hour visiting the usual songs. A mix of the new “Scattered” album with some “Hand Written Notes” and Remains of the Day thrown in to give the set variety. I could tell that people wanted to hear some cover tunes so I whipped out the two I knew; “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd and “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkle. It always reminds me of how much I hate doing covers. What can you do? So I finished up the short hour long show, grabbed a few Foothills souvenirs and then started to drive back to Mooresville. I had a great time up at Foothills Brewery and I hope to go back sometime in the future.

The next three days were spent pulling up carpet in the new house and laying down hardwood laminate. What a job! I really don’t even want to talk about this experience because I’m in the process of permanently erasing it from my memory. All I see now are nice pretty floors and that’s as far as it goes.

On Wednesday, November 22 Melissa and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary in grand fashion by seeing one of the greatest Rock-and-Roll bands of ALL TIME live in concert...The Who! I had found out a few months before that they were playing Atlanta, GA on the same day as our anniversary and I just couldn’t pass it up. So a nabbed a few tickets in secret hoping to surprise Melissa only for her to find them a few weeks later. You can’t keep anything from this girl. The drive to Atlanta took 6 HOURS! Traffic was horrible; a pre Thanksgiving rush like I had never experience. Once we finally made it to our hotel we were both at our wits’ end. We rushed over to the arena, grabbed a quick bite to eat standing up and right as our ass hit the seat The Who hit the stage. Thank GOD we did not miss any of the show because it was truly amazing! The best show I have even seen by far. I can’t even describe it really, beyond words. So we rocked out to The Who for the night and we’ve been on a Who kick even since. The new album “Endless Wire” is really great. Give it a listen.

Thanksgiving with the family followed...my dad fried a turkey and it was the best damn turkey I had ever had.

December 2006:

Melissa had been all sad because we weren’t celebrating our anniversary in Disney this year as we had all the years before. So in a heated moment she booked a quick weekend trip down to our favorite getaway. Don’t judge me for enjoying Disney World...we always have a blast when we are there. Check out the pictures:

So Disney was great, a perfect break from our hectic life. The following week I was scheduled to play a show at the O-Cha Tea Bar in downtown Greenville, South Carolina on Saturday, December 9. I had been really excited about this show for a while. It was my first performance in South Carolina in more than a year. I had been all around the South from Georgia to Virginia and from one end of North Carolina to the other but for one reason or another there had been no visit to SC until now.

The day of the show started off early with a birthday lunch for my mom. She turned 59 on December 8. We then all went back to my parents’ townhouse where I practiced a few songs and prepared for the performance. I then went over to Kevin and Lori’s house to celebrate Kevin’s birthday...so many birthdays. I had some good cake and enjoyed seeing everyone again. It was then back to the townhouse and then off to Blue Ridge (told you). We all enjoyed in a few drinks while people began to trickle in; my Godfather Jim Byko, Kevin, and good friends from Charlotte Matthew and Wendy, my brother and Dawn. The crowd grew rather quickly so we decided to get a table and grab something to eat. They set us up in the back room and I ordered first so I could leave in time to set everything up at O-Cha. The fish and chips were great as usual. I ate and ran to O-Cha to set up.

I had never been to O-Cha Tea Bar before so I didn’t know what to expect. It was a long heavy trip to the top of stairs to where the tea bar was located. The room was great, an open modern space with a very artist-loft feel to it. I introduced myself and got the lay of the land. They ask me to set up in the back of the room behind these two floating space dividers. Their placement along with some winding soft couches made for a very comfortable area. A group of teens were taking up one side of the room enjoying some tea and conversation. After a few trips I finally got everything up to O-Cha and began setting up for the performance.

My crowd began filling up the space a little after eight. Dawn was sitting on the couch all drunk just smiling away, it was pretty funny. It was around this time that Chad Mullinax wondered into the room. I was so excited to see him as was everyone else. I had not seen Chad since Remains of the Day played its last show at The Handlebar back in January of 2005. It had been way too long and I was very excited that Chad made it out for the show. I was sure that the teenagers would vacate the moment I began playing...I had prepared myself for that. I was pleasantly surprised when they rearranged themselves for a better view and eventually stayed for the entire performance. Very cool! I played a lot of new material from Scattered and I was excited for everyone to hear the new stuff...especially Chad. I hope that he arranged some drums mentally during the performance. I got a funny reaction during the performance of “The Prince of Washington Square.” A mix of pure horror and laughter just as I had originally hoped for. Right before the last song Chris Ivester made a grand entrance an almost everyone jumped to their feet to great him. It had been a long time since we last saw Chris, maybe December of 2004 at a ROTD show? Here’s the set list from the performance:


1. A Small Southern Town
2. Stare
3. New York City Ghosts
4. Home (The John Lennon Song)
5. When I’m With You
6. November
7. It’s All Been Done
8. Love Comes On
9. Temporary
10. Cecilia
11. The Cold
12. The Prince of Washington Square
13. Avon (1:11 AM)
14. The Story of Us
15. A Small Southern Town (Encore)
16. A Myth Retold

I played a very old song, circa ’98, titled “Avon (1:11 AM).” A song I had co-written with my high school friend Robby Lockmiller. “Avon” had been a staple throughout most of the Center of Gravity days and I thought I’d dust it off and play it as a treat; just for some of my friends in attendance who had been around that long. I’m not even sure if they remembered it but it was fun to play nonetheless.

After the show we all gathered and talked. I gave away around 15 CDs to various friends and almost the entire sofa of teenagers; I hope they are enjoying them. I’d love to hear their review of the disc. So I packed everything up and all the guys helped me take the equipment back to the car. The next two hours or so was spent hanging out at Blue Ridge drinking and catching up with some people I had not seen in years. It was a wonderful night and by far the best out of all the shows this year. Not that I played any better or had even practice that much, there was just a magic to the entire night. All my best friends came and together we recreated a time when we were all a little younger and little more carefree. I will never forget that night.

See ya in 2007!
Love, Andy

What I'm Listening To:
The Who Endless Wire
The Lemonheads The Lemonheads
Meat Puppets Huevos

Talk about this Journal entry Here.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - R.E.M. / GA Music Hall of Fame

Last night (Saturday, September 16) was the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Atlanta. Remember how I posted a month ago that we got tickets b/c REM was being inducted and Bill Berry, the drummer, was coming back to play in public for the first time since he left in 1997....

Let me just say it was the most amazing event I have ever been a part of. You have to understand....here's a little background.. The band formed in 1980, I was born in 1980 :) Cool fact ..1...
Back in 1994 at the ripe old age of 14, I discovered Everybody Hurts and loved the fabulous song and band that sang it. So my best friend had her brother copy his tape of Eponymous, REM's greatest hits album, and give it to me. I wore that tape out that summer. Anything I had to do around the house, I had my walkman on, bopping away to the REM tunes. When Monster came out in 1995 I talked my parents into buying me a copy. It was my first rock album ever. And it changed me. Once I had it, I worked my way backwards through their albums. Everytime we went to the store I had money to buy another REM album. They absolutely molded me into what I am today. They changed my views, they made me into the open minded person I am, they made me have a genuine love and appreciation for good music. I was addicted....obsessed I guess :) I taped everything that came on television that involved them. Back when MTV actually revolved around music, I had all their videos taped, I had the MTV Rockumentary (remember those???) on tape, and I had their unplugged from like 1992 on tape. I wore those tapes out. Eventually the VCR put these stinky lines through the picture but I still watched them religiously. I had my poster on the back of my door, I blasted their music when I got ready, I listened to my mom yell and scream "TURN IT DOWN" over and over
I had a favorite member, the drummer, Bill Berry. I don't know why he stood out to me as my favorite, maybe it was the drummer factor... I don't know, I just loved him. He was my favorite member. In 1996, while on tour overseas for Monster, he suffered a double brain aneurysm and almost lost his life. He was out of commission for quite awhile, and I was totally freaked out. Then in 1997, he made the announcement that he was retiring. I was devasted. Here I was, 17 years old, living 2 hours away from the tiny town they started in, and I had never seen them as a whole. I had strict parents who didn't understand. It was a very sad day. But the band continued on b/c that's what he wanted. And in 2003 I got to see them for the very first time and it was AMAZING. Not the same without Bill, but still, absolutely amazing. We saw them again in 2004 and I figured that would be it. But no.... now we've had this opportunity to see them at the music hall of fame in Georgia. A well deserved recognition for them...

Here are some pictures from the night. Notice all the swanky people all dressed up. Some people were way over dressed. We laughed b/c all the REM people were dressed like the band, jeans and a jacket, or pants a nice top. We sat a table with some fellow fans and one girl and I hit it off. She said she saw us downstairs and knew I had to be an REM fan b/c of how I looked. She's totally me in 10 years. A former english teacher, now librarian, also loved Bill to pieces. She was great. It was a fantastic night!


Us before the show. There was a reception beforehand.

Me being silly before the show.

They had a red carpet that we walked in on, so we went and stood waiting for the band to make their entrance.... I freaked at my first whole band sighting

Finally we made it into the ballroom

Andy was like "I wonder where their table is?" And then he suggested we just walk around and try to find them, so I was totally game. We got some wine and made our way to the front. And sure enough, there was Bill sitting and chatting. I freaked. Tears people. He starts to walk toward us, I don't remember much after that... I said his name and touched his arm and he stopped. I made some stupid comments about how important this was to me and how fantastic it was to see him with them again and again how much it meant to me to be there and to see him. I think I said "Holy ****" a few times, too. Andy took a picture for me and afterwards he said that he really thinks that ole Bill could tell how much it meant to me and that's why he stopped and took the time to actually talk to us. Here's a picture. I know he has a HUGE unibrow, but you have to understand, that sucker is trademark. It's him, and he'd be weird without it.


After that we saw Mike Mills, the bassist, sitting. Andy talked me into going up to him after we saw someone else interrupt him. He asked my name and I said something about how surreal the moment was his response was "yeah, tell me about it" I blubbered on about how I was only as old as the band but I had been following them since I was 14. And I explained how their music made me what I am and influenced me and made me marry a musician. He thought that was great, and then we got a picture...

Afterward when I asked Andy what the heck I said he said I basically poured my heart out to him... If you look close you can see tears where I was still freaking out over the whole situation.

Then it was time for the show...

They played 3 songs and it was fantastic to see Bill up there in person. They played Begin the Begin from Life's Rich Pageant, Losing my Religion from Out of Time, and Man on the Moon from Automatic for the People. Amazing! I'm going to upload a little video clip after this...so check back :)

Here they are accepting their award...


And then after the show I got to meet Peter, the guitar player...


I still can't believe it happened. How many people can say they've met the influence from their teenage years? It's just amazing and I'll never forget it!

By: Melissa Loflin

Friday, September 1, 2006 - Port City Review

Day 1: Friday, August 25, 2006 - Smelly Cat Coffeehouse - Charlotte, NC

Where to start? Well...on Friday, August 25 I played the Smelly Cat Coffeehouse in Charlotte, NC's NoDa. A friend of Melissa and I (Angie) decided that she wanted to come down from NYC and share the weekend with us. I was totally excited that she was coming all the way from New York for the show (and to see Melissa...I guess)! Her flight was a little delayed Friday evening so Melissa dropped me and my gear off at the coffeehouse while she went to pick up Angie at the airport. I had planned on recording the show for a DVD release so setup was a little more labor intensive than usual. Setting up the sound and cameras took quite a while and before I knew it eight o'clock was here and people were beginning to arrive for the show. While I was finishing up tuning Angie walked through the door, she made it! It was really good to see her again. The last visit came during a trip to Disney World for Melissa's birthday (hello Passporters...enter rolling smiley here) in July. We really get along well with Angie so it was good to have her down for the weekend.


So I started the show a little after eight and there was a nice crowd on hand. The room was very small and cozy and I loved that; not too hard to pack the place with people and after a few numbers that's exactly what happened. Here is the set list:

1. New York City Ghosts
2. Stare
3. The Cold
4. Temporary
5. Love Comes On
6. Breaking The Blues
7. When I'm With You
8. November
9. Carry Me
10. A Small Southern Town
11. A Myth Retold
12. The Prince of Washington Square
13. Chicago
14. It's All Been Done
15. Home (The John Lennon Song)
16. Cecilia
17. Best Defenses
18. Piece of Mind
19. Cinderella
20. The Haunting
21. Taking Form
22. Move Me
23. Norman Rockwell
24. Happiness is a Warm Gun
25. Pleasure and Pain
26. Letter to Hermione
27. Halley
28. The World Outside


I finally debut the song "The Prince of Washington Square." I had been shying away from it for the entire tour; I'd keep writing it down on each set list but when I would get to it I'd always chickened out. I'm glad I finally got the nerve to play the song because it went over very well. I'm fairly sure this song will be on the new album. The crowd at the Smelly Cat was great! Thanks to everyone who came out to support this show, you guys rocked. The filming unfortunately didn't go as planned. I ran into some technical problems while recording the sound and in-turn lost most of the night's audio. Sucks...but oh well. I hope to be able to salvage a few song for promotional use. I wrapped the set up at around 10:30 and made my way around the room thanking everyone for coming while selling some CDs along the way. It was a very successful night, the best of the entire tour by far. Thanks to Robert and everyone at Smelly Cat Coffeehouse for having me out. I can't wait for the next show there.

Melissa wanted to show Angie our favorite place in Charlotte and it was getting late so everyone helped to pack up as quickly as possible. We then made our way to The Penguin. This little hole in the wall, greasy spoon diner is the best in the area (I'm standing in-front of it on the Music: 1996-2005 album cover.) The food is amazing, the prices and cheap, the people are eclectic and they have Guinness on tap...what else can you ask for. The room is always packed with people and sometimes it can be practically impossible to get a seat. We however we lucky enough to snag one the moment we walked in. Everyone ordered a small block burger; Angie and I opting for the southern style (look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about). Unfortunately they were out of their staple side, the fried pickles....crap. But the food was good nonetheless and I did enjoy with pint of Guinness. So we got back to the apartment a little after midnight. Angie visited with our three cats while we all got ready to sleep, we had a long four hour drive ahead of us the next morning and we needed the rest.

Day 2: Saturday, August 26, 2006 - Port City Java (Downtown) - Wilmington, NC

The next morning we were on the road by 11:30. You have to give up to my Toyota Matrix for holding two speakers, PA head, two guitars, cables and microphones, computer, a weekends worth of luggage, and three people all in one car. Not too bad for a economical compact car. Anyway. I've never made the drive to Wilmington from Charlotte...my God, there is absolutely nothing between these two towns. Not a very interesting drive. I had arranged for us to stay with a friend of mine from work, Shawn Underwood. His family has a house on Oak Island, only forty-five minutes away from Wilmington so it was a good arrangement. Shawn and his wife actually came up as well for the show and a weekend at the beach. We arrived at Oak Island at around 4:00 PM, quickly got ready and drove to Wilmington.

On Saturday I was playing the Port City Java on North Front Street right in the heart of Wilmington's downtown port area. I love driving across the bridge and looking down on the city...it's such a cool town. There is a lot of history here, old houses with great architecture on every corner. We parked on Market Street, the center of downtown Wilmington. We all grabbed our cameras and made our way over to Port City Java just to know where it was. I didn't have to set up for the 8:00 PM show until 7:00 so we had a couple of hours to explore the town and grab something for dinner. We walked down Market Street to the river, took some pictures of the water front and Melissa pointed out all the Dawson's Creek filming locations to Angie. I had to pick up some batteries for my guitar so I stopped by the music store on the corner of Market and Front while Melissa continued to show Angie around. We eventually ended up in a bar called Reels? Not quite sure of the name but oh well. We grabbed a seat at the bar, ordered a few drinks, and some appetizers. It was then that I looked to my left and saw a longtime friend of ours, Jessica and her boyfriend Joe, sitting at the same bar. We all exploded in excitement and hugged. Jessica then showed us the ring on her finger...her and Joe had just gotten engaged the night before! We were all very happy and excited the fate had brought us together to help them celebrate their huge occasion. I mean, what are the chances that we'd be in Wilmington (Jessica and Joe live in Greenville, SC), walk into the same bar at the same time on the same weekend and run into each other? Fate truly brought us together. So we drank and talked and ate. I ran back to the car to pick up my tripod so we could take a group picture. On the way I stopped off at CD Alley on Market Street. I had not been in a real record store in quite a while thanks to iTunes. It felt good to hold the entire CD package in my hand, iTunes is great but you loose a lot in the process. I found a bootlegged DVD of Nirvana's Live Tonight Sold Out and just had to get it. I think I have around forty Nirvana CDs from my teenage collection so when I see something I don't have I jump on it. So we went down to the waterfront and attempted to take some photos looking up Market street. We ran into Shawn and Barbara so they helped us take the photo. After the pics I had to start setting up for the show so I left everyone and headed to Port City Java.


The room was really cool, very old with brick walls and all. They had a raised sitting area in the window on either side of the entrance that doubled as a stage. I removed a few chairs and setup to equipment. Melissa, Angie, and everyone else began to show up. I started the show right around eight. The set was almost identical to the Smelly Cat show with exception to a few songs I changed the order of. It was a fun show...I had to sit down the entire time due to the chandelier hanging above my head but that's okay, it made for a relaxing night. Jessica and Joe finally showed up a few songs into the set. Melissa then came up with a request written on a piece of paper while I was playing "It's All Been Done." So I stopped right in the middle of the song to read what she had written. Way back, a long time ago before Melissa and I were married, engaged, or even dating...I wrote a song for her called "Start Again." I played it with my high school band Center of Gravity. For one reason or another Jessica asked Melissa about that song, what it was called and all that, so they wrote down on a piece of paper, "What was that song you wrote for Melissa?" After a lengthy pause I picked back up with "It's All Been Done," apologizing to the patrons for how unprofessional I was. Ha! I then proceeded to pick through "Start Again." After a minute or so I had remembered all the chords and the words were coming back to me so I thought I'd give it a go. It's funny how songs can just stick with you, even when you haven't performed them in over six years. It was cool to have Jessica there with Melissa and playing "Start Again" like I had a hundred times before back in the 90s...it was like old times.

I played for about an hour and a half, packed up the stage and then we all made our way over to a piano bar next door called Rumrunners. Jessica and Joe were already there with a table so we joined them for a whole lot of drinks and a whole lot of fun. Melissa and I really enjoy piano bars, non-stop fun! We requested a few songs and enjoyed singing along until almost one in the morning. All the drinks ere beginning to catch up with everyone (except for me..DD) so we decided to go home and get some rest. By 2 AM we were fast asleep.

Day 3: Sunday, August 27, 2006 - Port City Java (Barclay) - Wilmington, NC

So everyone eventually got out of bed, believe it or not. We decided that a nice morning walk on the beach would be the perfect remedy for all partying done the night before. We followed Shawn and his wife Barbara down to Oak Island's point, parked our cars and took off our shoes for a walk. The beach was so nice and the water was amazingly warm, like bath water. From the point you could see Holden beach, a favorite retreat for my family. Both Melissa and I have many great memories associated with Holden. Not too far from the shore there was a pod of dolphins feeding and jumping around out in the water. It was really cool and very relaxing, just what we all needed.

After the walk we went back to the house, packed everything up and said our goodbyes to Shawn and Barbara. A huge thanks to them for having us out for the weekend, it was a blast. I had a matinee performance lineup up for 2:00 PM at the Port City Java Barclay location in Wilmington so it was time to head out in that direction. We stopped in Southport to eat at a famous whole in the wall called The Yacht Basin Provision Co. Melissa and I had eaten there in the past and loved it, we had to give Angie a taste of some Carolina seafood. Everyone ordered the same thing: crab cake sandwich and we all shared an order of conch-fritters. The food was great, the view was awesome! Sunday in NC's coast was really going well so far.


After lunch we made our way to the Port City Java Barclay location in Wilmington. We arrived a little before 2:00 PM. I introduced myself and found a corner to set up in. Everyone was really tired so I did a quick stage setup to allow for easy exit once the performance was over. The room was scattered with people reading, working on their computers, and just sipping on coffee. I played a low key set so not to scare anyone away or worsen their Sunday morning hangovers...:) The set was again similar to the Smelly Cat performance and I could tell that a few people were grooving along behind their assorted media. Melissa and Angie uploaded some pictures and looked at them while I played through the set. I didn't play very long, probably only seventy-five minutes or so, thanked everyone for listening and packed everything up for the four hour drive back. On the way out I ordered a Mocha and spoke with one of the employees their. She said she really enjoyed the performance so I gave her a complimentary CD, she seemed shocked to be getting it for free! One fan at a time, one fan at a time. We were on the road by four...

(Long drive we nothing interesting to see.)

A little less than four hours later we were back in Charlotte on Harris Blvd. I went and got some great North Carolina BBQ for dinner, we were trying to southernize Angie as much as possible. The Emmy's played in the background while we enjoyed the food. It was totally great to be back after such a busy weekend. Wilmington was great, I can't wait to go back. There is more to write but I'm going to end it here for right now. The last show of the tour is coming up tomorrow in Asheville, NC...thank GOD! I'm ready for a weekend off.

Cheers,
Andy

What I'm Listening To:
Peter Gabriel UP

Talk about this Journal entry Here.

So after a disappointing weekend I was looking forward to these hometown shows. I had played the Gin Mill in Charlotte, NC before with the band Remains of the Day. It had been two years since then but the place really had not changed one bit.

A few months earlier I had asked Michael Costa to open the show for me. Michael and I were both in the Graphic Communications major at Clemson University and even graduated together back in December of 2004. Well, a strange twist of fate brought us back together; Costa took pictures for the Music: 1996-2005 CD and I asked if he would enjoy playing the show with me. Thankfully he agreed. So Melissa and I got there at around nine to set up everything and there was already a nice crowd in the bar. The staff at The Gin Mill was very nice and that's cool. I got everything together while accidentally pointing Costa down the wrong direction of Tryon...sorry! He finally found the place and we got his gear on the stage for the show. A quick sound check followed.

Costa started playing a little after ten. If you've never seen Costa perform then you are really missing out. He has a great smooth style of guitar playing and a voice that complements it very well. He wrapped his set up around eleven. Thanks again Costa for playing the show with me Costa, you rocked! By this time the crowd had really grown, maybe 100 people in all. The only thing...they were ALL drunk. But that's cool. I started my set a little after eleven, here is what I played:

1. New York City Ghosts
2. Stare
3. The Cold
4. Cecilia (Simon and Grafunkel)
5. Temporary
6. Love Comes On
7. When I'm With You
8. November
9. High and Dry (Radiohead)
10. Levee
11. Piece of Mind
12. Letter to Hermione (David Bowie)
13. The Haunting
14. Pleasure and Pain
15. Best Defenses
16. Happiness is a Warm Gun (The Beatles)
17. Cary Me
18. It's All Been Done
19. The World Outside
20. Move Me
21. Halley
22. A Myth Retold
23. A Small Southern Town
24. Chicago
25. Taking Form
26. Home (The John Lennon Song)

Yes, it was a pretty heavy set with a lot of old a new ones. I tried my hand at a few new covers; Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia" went over very well with the crowd and The Beatles "Happiness is a Warm Gun" took everyone by surprise. I guess you have to really like the Beatles to know this great song, too bad. A few surprises from my catalog: "Levee" is an unfinished Remains of the Day song, Rusty' favorite. "Pleasure and Pain," this is an old Center of Gravity song from 1999, a groovy little number to play live. "Cary Me" is a song that was written somewhere around 2003 and I've played it a few times live during this tour, it's a soft and emotional song. After the long set we retreated back to our apartment for some rest.

Now this is where everything goes wrong. I had been so excited to play The Iron Horse in Easley, SC for quite a while. I grew up on it's stage, it's where I learned how to perform live. The room had finally reopened and everyone worked hard to promote my Saturday, August 29 performance there. The day of I mapquested 102 Hagood Street but mapquest didn't know the street. I knew Mike had mentioned that it was close to the original location so I thought it wouldn't be too hard to find, I mean...I did grow up in the area so you think I'd be okay...right? Wrong! Melissa and I arrived in old Downtown Easley at 7:00 PM and drove around looking for the Iron Horse. After fifteen minutes I was beginning to get worried. We kept driving around but we could not find Hagood Street to save our lives. I felt so bad, I have never not shown for a performance and I didn't want to start with The Iron Horse. I tried to call 411 to get Mike's number but I had no luck. After an hour of driving around I called my friends and told them that the show was unfortunately not going to happen. We went to my parents house and I played a few numbers on the porch...it was very depressing. My most sincere apologizes go out to everyone I stood up...especially Mike Case. I hope you will have me back to make up for this mess but if not then I'll understand. I had every intention of playing this show.

So the weekend was a little mixed; the Gin Mill was great and the Iron Horse...well, didn't happen. So I tried to not be bummed. Sunday we relaxed and watched the NASCAR race...yet I like NASCAR. On Monday night we went back out to the Evening Muse here in Charlotte for their weekly open mic event. I usually try to sign up in the middle of the list but this time I decided to go first. Scot, the host, said I should get an award for signing up first. Each Monday I've been trying to play songs that I haven't done yet at The Muse. This week I played "New York City Ghosts" and "A Myth Retold." As usual, the crowd was very receptive. There is a nice little scene brewing here at the Evening Muse, it's exciting to come out every week and see all the talent in Charlotte. Melissa and I spoke a little with our favorite local Singer/Songwriter Lee Neitzel (playing August 31 at The Evening Muse...I'll be there) had a few beers and talked with some new faces. A fun night as always.
So I guess I'm caught up a little bit, I've been preparing for the Smelly Cat Coffeehouse performance that's coming up the Friday, August 25 followed by a nice weekend in Wilmington, NC. I'm going to be filming The Smelly Cat show here in Charlotte for a DVD later this year. I am hoping for a good crowd. We have one friend flying down just for the performance! Thanks Angie, you are too cool!

Last night Melissa and I went to see comedian Josh Blue perform at The Comedy Zone in Uptown Charlotte, NC. Melissa and I fell in love with him while he was on Last Comic Standing and we were very excited that he was coming to Charlotte for a one night only performance. We got tickets to the 8 o'clock show and it was freaking amazing! Both Melissa and I were crying it was so damn funny. Melissa spoke with Josh at the bathroom before the show and the we both said hello after the performance; got some pictures and his new CD. Then we decided hell, lets go see the late show! So we went and bought tickets and got even better seats right up front. The show was even better the second time around, it was a really cool night to say the least. Melissa is currently recovering and I'm writing this journal when I should be working...so I got to go. See everyone at the shows this weekend, the tour is almost over

So we blew off the open mic event on Wednesday, August 9, at Ri-Ra's to go to our very first Tosco Music Party open mic event and The Evening Muse. I was expecting the same old 'sign the list and wait for your slot' type of thing but this was very different. To open the night all the singers, guitar players, and whoever else sat in a big circle and jammed on a few classics; "Blackbird," "Mrs. Robinson," and "Wild Horses" just to name a few. I was a little hesitant a first but once I heard some Simon and Garfunkel I jumped right in. It was really cool to see all the talent gathered together in this small room. After the jam session the open mic began. For this event you only get one song to make your point and I chose "The Cold." This is currently Melissa's favorite song. I felt good about the performance and enjoyed watching the other talented singers and performers.

I was kind of in the dumps because I had to cancel two performances at the very last moment; Inman Perk in Atlanta, GA and Mocha Match in Decatur, GA. I had lined it up to be a full weekend of Georgia shows but the cost of the trip was starting to add up. When it came down to it I just couldn't afford the hotel room for two non-paying performances. I still feel really bad and I wish both places the best; sorry Sabrina at Inman Perk...you were really very hospitable. So with Atlanta and Decatur both canceled I decided to hold on to the Athens, GA performance at Hot Corner Coffee on Saturday, August 12 so the whole weekend wouldn't be a wash. Turns out it would have been better if I had just stayed at home.

Let me say that I love Athens, GA. I've had some really great experiences with the town in the past; from playing at a crappy old bar called Sons of Italy back in 1999 to seeing Train perform at the legendary 40 Watt before they were to large for it's stage. The town is really cool and I expected the same from Hot Corner Coffee. Melissa and I got there at around eight, we had a hell of a time finding a parking place. The coffeehouse was located on the corner of Null and Washington, just a few doors down from the 40 Watt where R.E.M. was born. I talked to some of the employees and they didn't really seem to know I was even playing, not a good sign. They then wanted me to set up in a side room that was completely empty of patrons. I talked them into letting me set up in the main room so I could be heard by some actual people. All during the show I kept on getting asked to turn the sound down, all the way to the point of unplugging my guitar and playing acoustically. By that point I had had enough and ended the set after only thirty minutes. I felt very unwelcome at Hot Corner Coffee and that sucks. I do think a few people enjoyed the music but I was so disappointed that it was hard to tell. We then packed up as quickly as possible and drove back. What a waste. I don't know the next time I'll be back in Georgia for a show but at the moment I'm a little turned off about playing there. I wish I had kept the Inman Perk show...but oh well. Now I just have to put it behind me.

So after the bad weekend I decided to skip out on the Find Your Muse event on Monday, I need a little time to recoup. This weekend should be fun however. I guess you could call it Homecoming Weekend; my current home of Charlotte, NC on Friday, August 18 and then my childhood home of Easley, SC on Saturday, August 19. Expect a much happier journal entry, I hope.

Peace,
Andy

What I'm Listening To:
Hayden Skyscraper National Park

Monday, August 7, 2006

Yet another installment of the "Find Your Muse" open mic series at The Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC. This was only my second week participating in the event but I plan on returning every week until I'm well known in the area as a force to be reckoned with. Before heading to The Evening Muse, we stopped by the Smelly Cat Coffeehouse to drop off some posters and talk with the owner Robert. Everyone at this place seems really cool, I'm totally excited about the upcoming show. Maybe I'll do something crazy like record it for release later this year?! Who knows. So we grabbed some coffee and sat for awhile before making our way back to the Muse. Many of the faces here are becoming familiar and that's good. There seems to be a great collective of singer/songwriters in the area and this is where they all collect on a Monday nights. The talent is really amazing and at times intimidating but always worth every second. This time around I played the new song "Love Comes On" and one from the Hand Written Notes EP called "The Cold." There again seemed to be a good reception from the crowd, I even sold a CD to a nice lady in the audience. Very cool stuff! I'm playing another open mic tonight in Charlotte at Ri-Ra's. Not sure what I'm going to play yet, we'll just have to see. Saturday we head off to Athens, GA for a performance at Hot Corner Coffee. See ya at the show.

Cheers,
Andy

The Evening Muse - 8/7/06 Pictures - By: Melissa Loflin

What I'm Listening To:
Hayden Elk-Lake Serenade

We started off at Boudreaux's Louisiana Kitchen for dinner. This was a first for us and it was really great food! I'm not going to pull a PassPorter and post pictures of the presentation (inside joke), just take my word. Melissa was beginning to play with her camera and she snapped an amazing shot of me at the table. It is now being showcased on my bio page. After the food, pictures, and a few pints we strolled around looking for Hart Witzen Gallery where David French was opening tonight. Now I thought this was a gallery CRAWL, turned out to be a hike. Once we finally made it to the gallery we strolled around and looked at all the great art on the walls. I looked at Melissa and said, "I've never done this before, I feel cultured." We came across one wall that had many of the sketches that we saw that night back in February at the Dunhill. A few pieces caught our eyes: one of NoDa at night that was just amazing and a collection of small sketches of buildings in uptown Charlotte, most notably one of the Dunhill where we met David back in February. We thought that they would make a great addition to our home and even better story so we bought the NoDa piece and the uptown building series. Now we really felt cultured. After a cookie from David's grandmother, we made our way around to the other Galleries and enjoyed the art. We eventually ended up at The Evening Muse to watch some of the performers. Melissa was still playing with her camera; she took some pictures in The Evening Muse and then we stepped outside where she took some more photos. We then decided to try out a place called The Dog Bar and that is exactly what it is...a bar for dogs and their owners. The place is a small rundown building just large enough to house a crappy old bar and a bathroom that I wouldnít touch with a ten foot pole. All the action happens outside in the fenced in gravel yard, dogs everywhere! Now Melissa is a little nervous around big dogs so stepping into a yard filled with them was a little hectic at first. We grabbed a pint and quickly found a seat to watch the dogs. It was totally crazy, twenty or so different dogs all running around hyper as hell checking each other out...totally surreal. We ended up sitting next to a family of golden retrievers that were very calm and nice. One in particular named Willow that both Melissa and I bonded with, what great dogs.

After the craziness of the Dog Bar we made our way up to the more subdued Smelly Cat Coffeehouse, yet another new place for Melissa and I. They had some musicians playing that we recognized for The Evening Muse open mic event earlier in the week. We order some coffee, tea, and a muffin while we caught the last half of the show. Melissa says to me, "You should talk to them about playing here." So I take her advice and talk to the owner who offers me a show on the spot! Lesson learned; always listen to your wife! So on Friday, August 25 I'll be playing a nice intimate show at the Smelly Cat Coffeehouse in NoDa.

It was a fun day off. Spending it in NoDa was the perfect escape; just walking around taking pictures and going places we had never been before. We had a great time

Saturday, August 5, 2006

Saturday started off with me waking up and doing some website maintenance. I emailed a few people in Danville about the show and how they needed to come out and support live original music. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon putting together a set list and practicing everything I could. We got everything packed up and on the road by a little after five. Compared to the drive we had earlier in the week to Raleigh, this one was a breeze. In about two hours we had arrived in Danville, VA.

I must say that I was a little apprehensive about this show. I didn't know anything about the town or the venue for that matter. There was no guarantee that anyone would come out for the show so I was counting on regular Muse patrons to make up the audience. I must say that I was a little shocked when we drove into town; you could tell that Danville had seen better times. It actually reminded me of a larger version of the town I grew up in (Liberty, SC), an old textile city that fell subject to the industry moving over seas. Now granted I didn't get a chance to see much of the town, so don't take this a gospel. I've been told that the college there is really nice. We parked right in-front of The Muse and I got some stuff together while we waited for the place to open at 8:00. The owner, Micah, finally let us in and we unloaded all the usual stuff. The Muse is actually a very cool little place inside and out. It's a two story brick building in a main street row of similar structures that are all connected. The inside has a few tables and chairs, a nice relaxing built-in couch that wraps around the left side of the room, and an actual stage with lighting! There was a good sound system so there was no need to drag mine in and set it up, thank God. After a quick sound check we sat down and had an amazing ham sandwich. The trip was worth it if just for that sandwich. Some people began to trickle in; Micah asked to delay the show until 9:00 because he had some of his regulars coming out...then it was 9:30. So we finally got the show going. Here's the set list:

1. New York City Ghosts
2. The World Outside
3. The Cold
4. In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
5. November
6. Breaking The Blues
7. Love Comes On
8. A Small Southern Town
9. Chicago
10. When I'm With You
11. Carry Me
12. Letter To Hermione (David Bowie)
13. Best Defenses
14. Stare
15. Piece Of Mind
16. Nobody Sees Your Face
17. Alice In Wonderland
18. The Haunting
19. Temporary
20. Lake View Dr
21. Home (The John Lennon Song)
22. It's All Been Done

There were a few new attempts at this show. "Love Comes On" is a great new track that was played here for the first time live and I believe it went over very well. This song has already been recorded for release on the upcoming album. "Carry Me" is an old song written around the end of 1993 just as Alex left Remains of the Day. It was a favorite of Jeremy's (little Jeremy) but we never got around to playing it. The newly released track "Nobody Sees Your Face" was also performed here for the first time. I tried my hand at two new covers; Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" and an obscure song by David Bowie called "Letter To Hermione." The Bowie song went over very well and is a keeper. "In Your Eyes" however was a stretch and unless I'm feeling saucy it probably won't be heard again on this tour...oh well. Here's a hardy clip of the new song "Love Comes On" as recorded live at The Muse, also be sure to click the photo from the show to see the full gallery.

The crowd was good, better than I had expected actually. There was one couple that stayed for the entire show and was very attentive; they even listened to my witty banter between songs. A made the comment that I was selling CDs but I might give a copy away if the audience sweet-talked me into it. After the show the girl asked if she was going to half to sweet-talk me into giving her a CD. That was enough sweet-talking for me so I passed along a promotional copy to her and her guy friend. They said the really enjoyed the show and that made me excited, Danville was totally worth it because of those two. One fan at a time is my philosophy. So we were back on the road a little after eleven putting us getting home around one in the morning. Another late night, I guess it's becoming the norm. The first week in now over, Georgia is coming up next.

Cheers,
Andy

The Muse - Danville, VA

What I'm Listening To:
David Bowie LOW

I had the help of our local Starbucks to wake up this morning after a long night of driving, it was all worth it. Raleigh was a blast! Melissa and I got everything packed up and we were on the road from Charlotte to Raleigh by 4:00 PM. That put us arriving in Raleigh by around 6:30. After finding a place to park I went in to check out The Third Place. It was a really neat area with all older brick buildings, just the way a five points area should look. The Third Place was a neat galley style coffeehouse with nice low lighting, great art on the walls, and even better employees. I went in to introduce myself and before I could say anything the girls there go, "We know who you are!" I guess the big poster with my face on it didn't help, too funny. So we talked a little and made a plan about where to set everything up. We then unloaded the car and set everything up for the performance. It had been a long time since I had done this, I need to work on my setting up speed. Once we got everything together we decided to grab a bite to eat.

Right next to The Third Place was a hoppin' pizza-parlor called Lilly's. A friend from work had mentioned that they have great food so we decided to give it a try. The place was totally packed with nowhere to sit or even stand comfortably. Melissa said she was reminded of hot dog joint in Anderson, SC called Skins. It followed the same basic formula; no frills and good food. It was basically a pizza factory and if you could find an open seat then you can sit down and enjoy the meal. After ordering, Melissa snagged two seats at the bar...thankfully. I enjoyed a sadly poured pint of Guinness and Melissa tried a New Castle which she enjoyed very much. The pizza was great: Andy's slice...Sun-dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts...Melissa's...Pepperoni and Pineapple. Melissa said I checked my watch a million times, but I can't help it. I guess you can say it's my pre-show nerves. We got back to The Third Place right around 8 PM for the show.

There was a nice crowd of people on hand enjoying some coffee, working on their computers, reading books, and just talking to their friends. It made for a really relaxed atmosphere. Not only did this show mark the opening night of my tour but also the release on my new compilation CD Music: 1996-2005. I had a few set up and ready to sale along with a tip jar and email signup list. I played a number of songs off the disc including "Taking Form," "Piece of Mind," "Halley," and "November" just to name a few. Some new songs were also played, "New York City Ghosts" and two songs ("Haunting" and "It's All Been Done") which were debuted for the first time last night. I also tried my hand at a Woody Guthrie song called "1913 Massacre"; a hauntingly beautiful song about a tragedy that occurred in Michigan at a Christmas party. Melissa took some great pictures while sampling the tea and coffee selections.The show wrapped up a little after ten and I was happy to hear that people were disappointed that the show was over. I heard, "One More!" quite a few times and I was happy that everyone there enjoyed it that much. Unfortunately we had to make the long drive back to Charlotte and it was already getting a little late. I sold a few CDs (YES!!!), collected some emails, had a quick drink and then packed everything up. I stopped for one last picture in-front of the Five Points mural before we started back to Charlotte at around 10:45. Two-and-a-half hours later we were fast asleep in our own beds, what a night!

It was really a great trip. Raleigh's Five Points was beautiful and just as I had hoped. The Third Place was a classic and cozy coffee house with the BEST employees, they made Melissa and I feel so welcome the whole night. I can't wait to go back for another show. See Melissa's pictures here.

Today I'm off due to the Charlottesville double booking fiasco. Maybe it's a blessing is disguise, I can really use the rest. We're planning on going to a gallery crawl tonight in NoDa to see an artist we met back in February at The Dunhill Hotel. I plan on taking some pictures. The next show is tomorrow night (Saturday, August 5) in Danville, Virginia at The Muse. My first show in the big VA. See ya then.

Cheers,
Andy

The Third Place
Lilly's Pizza

Thursday, August 3, 2006 - Train / Open Mic Tour

Before I get into all this tour and new CD mumbo-jumbo, I need to tell you what has been going on at the Loflin house for the past month or so. Throughout July Melissa and I have been following the band Train everywhere we could afford to see them. We've been doing this for around seven years now and after seeing them at the House of Blues (Myrtle Beach, SC) on July 1, the Township Auditorium (Columbia, SC) on July 26, and Bele Chere (Asheville, NC) on July 29, we have now seen Train a total of 12 times. After the shows we usually manage to talk and take pictures with some of the members. We've met Pat, Jimmy (after every show, he's so cool about coming out), and just recently Brandon. If you've never heard Train live then you are really missing out. They are one of the best live bands out there...hands down, just listen to their cover of Zeppelin's "Going to California" and tell me that's not true! Anyway, so we got to Asheville at around 2:00 PM and wait until doors open at 4:00. We were the first people in line and therefor got to be right up front against the stage barrier. After the doors opened it was then a five hour wait until Train hit the stage...yeah, we're crazy like that. All the waiting paid off however. Train rocked as usual and we noticed that Pat was eye-balling us. Did he recognize us from Myrtle Beach on Columbia on Wednesday? Maybe. After a few songs Pat comes over to ME and asks, "What you mind if I danced with her?" pointing at Melissa. While Melissa's jaw drops I say no problem and the next thing you know Melissa's on stage slow dancing with pat to the song "Mississippi." It was a dream come true for Melissa, she's still glowing over it. The kiss on the hand from Pat didn't help. Needless to say this past Train show was the best yet. You can't get much more interaction with band than that. Check out Melissa's MySpace shrine to Train for more pictures and the complete unabridged version of the now infamous "Mississippi Dance"...MOON!

Anyway, so I've been spending the last few weeks scrambling, trying to get things ready for the tour that kicks off tonight in Raleigh, NC! To prepare for the upcoming shows I decided to hit all the open mic events around Charlotte.

On Friday, July 28, I played an open mic at a little place called The Dilworth Playhouse in Charlotte. It's hard to believe but the short performance there was my first time on stage in over a year. I was totally nervous and that is rare for me. Melissa and I met up with a friend of mine from work named Zack Jones. Turns out that Zack plays a mean stand-up bass and I was really excited to see him play. We spent some time talking about musical influences and what type of music we'd enjoy playing...is this the beginnings of a new band? I hope so! We plan on putting something together after the tour wraps up in Johnson City at the beginning of September. Stay tuned for more information on that. There was a nice small crowd of poets and musicians all sharing their art. I played two songs; "Stare" and "When I'm With You." It went over pretty well. I got some nice compliments from some of the Dilworth patrons.

This past Monday, July 31, I finally made it out to The Evening Muse in Charlotte's NODA area. This was a first for both Melissa and I. We always talked about going out to NODA but never really got around to it. I was the first one to sign up at the Muse, putting my name about halfway down the list so I wouldn't have to play first. Melissa and I then made tracks to the Mellow Mushroom across the street for a small pizza and at pint of Guinness and Harp. By the time we made it back to The Evening Muse the place was full of musicians and people quietly listening to the performers. This place is defiantly a listening room...meaning that the people don't really talk but rather just listen to the music. It was a nice change a pace. There were a lot of great musicians that came out. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of talent here in Charlotte. Very reassuring. Zack again came out but this time just to listen. I again played two old Remains of the Day songs; "Stare" and "Home (The John Lennon Song)." It's always heard to tell from my vantage-point but I think the crowd enjoyed the performance. Melissa was kind enough to shoot a video of "Stare" somewhere in-between all her picture taking. Check it out:


We hung around a little to see some more performers and talk with Zack a little. It was a lot of fun and great practice for the upcoming performances. For more photos from the Evening Muse, click here.

Now just last night (Wednesday, August 2) we went to my favorite little Irish Pub in Charlotte, Ra-Ra. Located on N. Tryon right in uptown, it's such a cool place to hang out. Open Mic Charlotte was hosting an event here and I was excited to finally get to play at R-Ra. Melissa and I got there a little before nine, had some yummy yummy calamari and yet another pint of Guinness...it's the Irish in me. The performers started a little late but that didn't bother us too much. There were some good performers again, not quite in the same class of what we saw at The Muse on Monday but still descent. By the time my slot rolled around I was feeling pretty good. It was a pretty good crowd for a Wednesday (Billy Joel dueling pianos come to mind). I started off with "November" from the Hand Written Notes EP followed by "When I'm With You." I then tried a new song called "New York City Ghosts" for the first time live. It went over okay; I bumbled around on the first refrain but I don't think anyone noticed. "Home (The John Lennon Song)" was my last song for the night. It was a fun place to play. I plan on doing it again next Wednesday and hopefully in the near future as a hired performer...that would be nice. I must apologize to Ri-Ra's however because I borrowed a beautiful Guinness glass with some very talented seals balancing pints on their nose printed on it. I don't believe they will be getting it back, sorry.

So that brings me to today, Thursday, August 3. In have a performance tonight in Raleigh, NC at a coffee house called The Third Place. This will be my first performance in Raleigh and I'm excited to see what the city will turn out. The new disc, Music: 1996-2005 will be available for sale at the performance. Check back tomorrow for an update on how the show went. See ya soon.

Cheers, Andy