Journal Entrees:

11/20/09 - Studio / Train
11/06/09 - Travis in Atl
11/04/09 - Maca in Atl
06/19/09 - Spring 2009
03/27/09 - 2009 Begins
01/14/09 - 2008 Wrap Up
11/06/08 - Travis
10/08/08 - Fall and Alex
07/17/08 - Live Albums
07/10/08 - Atlanta GA

2008-2007-2006 Entries

Friday, November 6, 2009 - Travis in Atlanta

I seem to have a serious backlog of stuff to write about. Melissa and I have been going to a lot of shows recently; well, not really recently. It’s been like this since the middle of the summer! Everyone has been touring and my guess is that I can thank the crappy economy for the plethora of performances. But they say that the recession is over, they being…exactly, who knows. I count my blessings for everything Melissa and I have been able to do during 2009. A year that changed many peoples lives forever. For a while there I felt like I was watching from the wings, waiting for the shit to hit the fan but it never happened. So now it’s the end of October and I look back at all the things we’ve done, all the places we’ve been throughout the year. So many good memories.

On Friday, October 9 we drove down for a show at The Classic Center in Athens, GA. Originally I had bought tickets for Andrew Bird at the Orange Peel in Asheville but then we heard about a very special Abbey Road Live show in Athens with special guests. One of those special guests just happen to be Mike Mills of R.E.M. How could I deprive Melissa of Mike Mills singing Beatles songs, come on! So I sold my tickets for the sold out Andrew Bird show and headed down to Georgia. The band was great as usual; the venue however was a little stuffy for my liking. So for the entire first set they played through the album Abbey Road while we sat simi-quietly in our seats. They had opened up the orchestra pit for dancing or maybe to let the kids run around, but by the second set it had turned into standing room for people that didn’t dig sitting in their seats during a rock concert. And yes, we got our wristbands and grabbed a spot right in front of the stage. The second set featured all the guest musicians: members of Plyon, Five Eight, and of course Mike Mills of R.E.M. I think I’ve written in the past about Melissa’s obsession with R.E.M. They are THE band to her; the one that changed everything for her. So when Mike Mills walked out on stage and stood only a few feet away from her, I could only imagine what was going through her head. He went into a refreshing older Beatles number “I Should Have Known Better.” He sounded great! Melissa has always said that Mike was the ace up R.E.M.’s sleeve. The next song they did together was none other than Melissa favorite Beatles song “Norwegian Wood”. With Abbey Road Live’s guitar player on sitar and Mike on acoustic guitar and vocals, they floated their way through the short number. It was great to see Mike like that, singing Beatles songs with our favorite Beatles cover band. He rejoined the band periodically throughout the rest of the set; namely singing backing vocals and a few other parts on “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be”. It was a great show. A Beatles and R.E.M. fix all in one night. The rest of the weekend was spent in Greenville at the annual Fall For Greenville festival that comes around every October. This years festivities didn’t seem so great for some reason. Not a lot of music and I didn’t get to try a lot of the food so it was kind of a wash, maybe next year.

The next weekend held something extra special for me because we had tickets to see Fran and Andy from Travis in Atlanta. Now I’m not going to go into great detail because I think I have already done so in a previous entry, but Travis’ music means so much to me. Each album is like a snapshot of my life, turning points mapped out in the form of music. I’ve never quite connected to anyone else’s music like theirs and up until this moment I had never seen them live. It seems like evrytime they would come around it would be during the week and they would be in Atlanta or DC and I couldn’t make the trip, it never worked out. I missed the last tour for Ode To J. Smith, their latest album, and was sure that I’d never have the chance to see them play in person. Shortly after completing their US tour their website posted details about some acoustic shows featuring the lead singer Fran and guitar player Andy in LA and NYC. Small intimate shows and yet again I couldn’t go. I was bummed to say the least. A few days later their website postage that more dates would be released soon for the US tour with Fran and Andy. I crossed my fingers that somewhere, within a 200 mile radius of Charlotte, there would be a show that I could attend. I wasn’t counting on it but when the dates were finally posted there it was; Saturday, October 17 at The Loft in Atlanta GA! I bought tickets the moment they went on sale and planned for a weekend in Atlanta.

Atlanta is always a great weekend destination. Our primary draw tends to be the music but the food is an added plus. Atlanta seems to be a blossoming city for foodies and great Chefs. For the past two seasons Top Chef has featured stellar chefs from Atlanta; this year there are actually two from the Georgia city. One of the restaurants conveniently located there is Top Chefs’ head judge Tom Colicchio’s Craft and that is where we had reservations for lunch. When we finally arrived in Atlanta is was freezing and there I was with a T-shirt on and a blazer, I was cold. Craft was neat, I had a chicken sandwich while Melissa enjoyed the craft burger. On Saturday and Sunday they serve brunch so unfortunately we had a limited menu. I’d like to go back for dinner one day as I was eyeballing the menu while waiting on our car to be retrieved and it looked great. So we checked into the Hotel Midtown and a few hours later we were off to The Loft to get in line for Travis. When we pulled up to the venue there were around 100 people waiting in line and I got a little worried seeing as it was a general admission show. Turns out the majority of the people were waiting for a different show at the adjoining club. Once we got in line there were only around fifteen people ahead of us. We stood in the cold for maybe 30-45 minutes. A few minutes before the doors opened a Loft employee taped a “SOLD OUT” sign on the door; that elevated the excitement level just a bit for me. Once through the door, branded and up the stairs, Mel and I grabbed a seat in the front row to the left of the stage. After a drink or two I recognized the guy setting up the slide-show on a mac a few feet in-front of the stage, it was Fran. He was having some “technical difficulties” that he eventually sorted out and then hopped on stage to start the show. Luckily we chose a seat on the side of the stage where he was set up so we were really close. The idea of the show was a chronological trip through the catalog of Travis. So Fran explained the concept and went into the first song he ever wrote, well first descent song, “Twenty”. Here’s the set list according to a fan post:

20
Happy
All I Want To Do Is Rock
Luv
Writing to Reach You
Last Laugh
Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
Slideshow
Flowers In The Window
Driftwood
The Connection
Side
Indefinitely
Love Will Come Through
My Eyes
Song to Self
Before You Were Young
As It Comes (new song)
Encores/Requests:
Peace the Fuck Out
Humpty Dumpty Love Song


All together the show was amazing. Stripped down acoustic versions of some of their best songs. Along the way Fran told stories about the songs and situations surrounding their creation. He was really funny and the slides ranged from a geographical guide through Scotland to stupid photoshopped pics and even family photos. It was really a great way to see the band for the first time; I felt lucky to be seeing them this way. With the beginning of each song I thought “Oh, I’m so glad they played this one” and I found myself thinking that throughout the entire set. Their music is just so powerful and I think it’s because it really comes from the heart. It’s not just words and melodies, it’s life in the form of music. It touches me and makes me feel happy, sad, and every other emotion in the book. I guess I just really connect with it. For the encore they asked for request and received quite a few for almost everyone in the audience. Someone screamed “Peace the Fuck Out” so they had to learn it again while on stage and then fought their way through the song. They did a great job and I was excited to hear it; 12 Memories is probably my favorite album of theirs and this was the only song they played from it. Before the final song Mel offered to go stand in line for merch seeing as Fran and Andy were selling it themselves after the show and we didn’t want to be last in a long line. It was very nice of her to do that because after the last song, the back of the club was totally packed with people attempting to get in line fro Fran and Andy. I finally caught up with her and we stood in line for about twenty minutes before they finally arrives to sale merch and meet the fans. I was really nervous. I have met a lot of famous people but never anyone that I care so much about. I should have spent my time in line thinking of something to say but for one reason or another I didn’t. I purchased a copy of the “official tour bootleg” and handed it over to Fran. I shook his and Andy’s hand and said “Great show, my name is Andy” and that is where it stopped. I started to freak out a little and stumble over my words. Thankfully Melissa stepped in and said what I couldn’t. She told Fran that she relates their music to our times together as a couple. How I would play their CD in my room when we first started dating and how I had to buy their new CD while on our honeymoon. Their music had always been there, all along the way. It makes me a little teary eyed even writing about it because I didn’t know that Melissa also had memories attached to their music. Fran looked back at Melissa and said “Thank you sooo much for telling me that.” And he really meant it, you could see it in his eyes. I think he could see how much their music means to me thanks to Melissa’s story. So I got their signatures and a few photos with all of us together and before we left Fran once again said “Thanks again for telling me that.” Damn, now I am crying. I don’t know why it means so much but it does. It was indescribable. Thanks Melissa for saving me from embarrassment and really saying what was on my mind. One of the many reasons I love you.

The rest of the trip doesn’t even warrant talking about after that! The next day we hit up Flip before driving back to Charlotte. What a great experience. Onto the next!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - Paul McCartney in Atlanta

If I had to choose one thing that shaped me the most, that made me what I am today and directed me to where I am today, that one thing would be The Beatles. I still remember the first time I heard John Lennon’s “Revolution”, I was blown away. I felt a connection, a direct path straight to my being. It was an awakening, a realization that there was more, so much more. I listened and dreamed and learned; wrote and sang and eventually performed. I went from simply enjoying the music to studying it and in the process became a Beatles fanatic. So much so that three years ago I gave my right arm in honor of the band, in the form of a Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band tattoo! I guess that made it official. I had always regretted that I never got to experience Beatlemania. I grew up in the wrong decade it seems. But I watched it on the films, listened to it on the bootlegs of Shea Stadium and Candlestick Park; I understood the feeling as much as I possibly could without being there to experience it myself. I would never get the chance to actually be part of the chaos…or so I thought.

The last week of June Melissa and I were with the entire Loflin family enjoying a beach trip to Avon on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, one of our favorite destinations on the planet. It was a great trip filled with seafood, sunburns and sand. The whole time I was secretly following Paul McCartney’s webpage and reports of shows in the states. Paul had not toured the US since 2005 and all year had insisted that he would only be playing one-off performances, no tour in the plans. With each day, however, a new show would pop up. Halifax lead to New York and Boston and finally Washington DC! On a weekend nonetheless! I tried to talk Melissa into a trip up North without success. In all honesty it would have been a stupid move financially and good tickets would have cost us an arm and a leg. So I was bummed, I knew that weekend in August would roll around and the whole time I’d be thinking, “Paul’s in DC”! So I went on an enjoyed the beach, tried to forget about what I might be missing.

On Wednesday I hopped on PaulMcCartney.com to see if there had been any more news; I wasn’t expecting much of anything at all really. Then I “read the news”: Atlanta GA, August 15, The Concert on the Green, Piedmont Park! Pure excitement started to build in my chest. Paul in Atlanta, on a weekend! It was all coming together, the stars aligned. It didn’t take long to convince Melissa and by the next days presale it was official, we were going to see Paul McCartney in concert. I was excited all day, standing looking into a mirror telling myself, “I’m going to see a real Beatle.” That afternoon we ended up sitting at the bar of Howards Pub on Ocracoke Island talking about what was to come. On a side note Melissa, for some reason or another, brought up a Quantum Leap episode where Sam teaches Michael Jackson how to moonwalk. When we finally got back to the house we saw the news that Michael had been taken to the hospital after passing out. We learned later that he had actually passed away. Why Melissa felt the urge to randomly reference Michael Jackson hours before we heard the news is still a mystery to me, a strange coincidence.

When we got back from vacation I began planning our weekend in Atlanta. I snagged a hotel room only a mile from Piedmont Park for Friday and Saturday night and began preparing my plan of attack for the general admission show. I had a feeling this was going be very disorganized event and I wanted to be prepared. The Friday before finally rolled around and I left work early so we could drive down to Atlanta before dark. Four hours later we were pulling into the Hotel Midtown and valet parked the car. At the front desk there were printouts of Paul’s set list from the Halifax show; Melissa scanned the sheet while I checked into our room. Once we were settled the rest of the night was spent at the hotel bar as I attempted to ease my preconcert anticipation. We drank and watched people arriving and checking in; everyone was in town for the same reason. I didn’t think I would be able to fall asleep that night but thankfully I did. The next morning at around 8:30 I got up and began getting ready. Melissa’s plan was to keep me in the room as long as possible but I was already getting anxious. Breakfast came around nine and we enjoyed a relaxed meal in the room. Then Melissa started to get ready, trying to take her time and delay the extended wait we had ahead of us. I attempted to keep my mind off what I was convinced was an ever expanding line of fans. Finally, around fifteen till, we made the short walk down towards the park entrance. Along the way we talked with a young couple also headed for the line. Turns out they shared the same affinity for our two loves, The Beatles and Walt Disney World. They were cast members and had driving from Orlando at 4 am to get to the concert in time for a good spot of the green. You’ve got to respect young energy like that.

When we got to the park I realized there were only around 100 people in line ahead of us! We were totally going to get a great spot! So we got in line and began the long wait, we had five hours before the pre-sale gates opened. Melissa enjoyed some music and The Who’s Amazing Journey film that I had transferred to her iPhone the night before. I on the other hand sat and watched as the activity started to kick up. People were beginning to arrive in line behind us. Around 2 pm I began to hear Paul’s soundcheck; first with the Ringo’s number “Honey Don’t” and then shortly after “All My Loving” and “Dance Tonight”. I started smiling, it was finally happening. Meanwhile the line started to get a little chaotic. There was no organization, no staff telling people to form a single line, it was ridiculous. The line was started along the sidewalk outside of the park and behind the sidewalk was a small hill that lead into the park. What people were doing was going to the front of the line and sitting on the hill behind the people in the front. I attempted, along with some fans that had been there since 6 am, to tell those people to go to the back of the line but there was only so much we could do. As the gate time got closer the number of people in front of us had grown to a few hundred. We also learned that the gates would not be able to tell the difference between presale and non-presale so everyone would be getting in at the same time. About thirty minutes out our Disney friend went to the front to try and get the staff to do something about all the people cutting in line. What he found were hundreds of people who were all gathered around the entrance of the park, the fools on the hill were nothing compared to those at the entrance. Cops had to be called in to try and control to crowd as the fans in the front started chanting “Go to the back of the line!” over and over again. They attempted to organize the chaos but once 4 pm came and the first ticket was handed over all hell broke loose and everyone started charging the gates. It was like nothing I had ever experienced, but I had seen it before and it had a name…Beatlemania. As Melissa and I, along with hundreds of other crazed fans, ran for the gates I finally understood what all those kids in the 60s were feeling. The avalanche of adrenaline, all I could do was run towards the stage. Every few seconds I’d look back to make sure Melissa was still with me and she would just say “GO!” So that’s what I did and we snagged a spot on the grass a few feet from the barrier on the right side of the stage. After we caught our breath I told Melissa that I never dreamed we would ever get this close. We were right there, Paul would only be a few yards away from us when he hit the stage. Now all we had to do was wait another four hours before that happened, so we settled in.

While we waited to crowd behind us grew every minute. A steady stream of people would roll down the hill onto the meadow to fill in any space left. The sun was harsh. August in Atlanta is always very hot and we were in the middle of a field with no shade and thousands of people gathered around. I went and got some water to make sure we were hydrated, piled on the sunscreen and stripped down to my raggedy old Brash shirt. I was doing anything to stay cool and comfortable. There was nothing to do while we waited but what the people around us. You could feel the tension growing; the chaos from the line had followed us in. It felt like at any moment there could had been a riot, we were teetering on the edge the entire time.

Before the opener hit the stage I decided to fight my way back to the vendors so we could get some food in our stomach. Once I made it out of the crowd I looked back over the meadow towards the stage. It was then that I realized the scale of the show I was about to see. Forty thousand people “all together now” and Melissa and I were in the very front! After grabbing a few corndogs and sodas I fought my way back to our spot. At 7:15 the opener hit the stage; a band called The Script from Dublin. They weren’t bad, just not my cup of tea at the moment. After a short set they finished off with a cover of Bowie’s “Heroes.” I then watched the crew flip the stage in preparation for Paul. All the emotions were starting to build inside me. I could tell Melissa was getting excited as well. She loves Paul, more of a John fan but just ask her about Let It Be era Paul. She has a thing for him during that time of the band. The screens on either side of the stage began scrolling images from Paul’s past and then at around 8:40 the music turned off and the stage went dark.

The crowd began to scream with excitement as they knew what would happen next. Then all of a sudden there he was. Sir Paul McCartney and his band walked on from the left side of the stage, waving at the screaming fans while they took their places. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; a real Beatles was standing only a few yards away from me. My friend Brandi (who I swear is a bigger Beatles fan than me) got to see him in 2005 and she told me that when he came on stage she just lost it and I totally know what she meant now. The next sound I heard was the opening riff for “Drive My Car” and I went nuts. The energy was overwhelming. I used to laugh when watching films of the girls at Shea, but now I finally understand. All the emotions have to go somewhere! Thankfully we now have sound systems that are capable of overpowering the screams. Melissa and I sang along with every word, all along throwing our hands in the air to the beat.

The first part of his set was filled with some of Paul’s solo hits: “Jet”, “Only Mama Knows”, and “Flaming Pie”. He then went into “Got To Get You Into My Life” while images from the upcoming Beatles Rock Band played on the screen behind him. August 15, 2009 was not only the date of the Paul McCartney show in Atlanta, it also just happened to be the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Paul commented that he couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate the anniversary then with an outside concert. “Let Me Roll It” followed with a jam of “Foxy Lady” tagged at the end which he dedicated to the spirit of Woodstock. He then went into a story I had heard him tell I hundred times in interviews; the one where Jimi learned how to play “Sgt. Pepper” only days after the albums release. It was cool to see him in person telling that story. It made me realize the scope of what I was experiencing. Next he went into the great new song “Highway” from the Fireman album. Afterwards, Paul walked over to the right side of the stage where we were so he could get to the piano. He paused a moment to acknowledge the crowd and I was speechless, he was so close. In planning this weekend never did I think I’d get that close! Once at the piano he went into the Beatles classic “The Long and Winding Road” followed by “My Love.”

Paul was then solo on stage with only an acoustic guitar as he told the audience the back-story to the next song, “Blackbird.” During the song the heavens opened and we got totally drenched to the bone. Melissa pulled out one of the ponchos to try and escape the rain but it was too little too late. I just stood in the rain and enjoyed the show. “Here Today”, “Dance Tonight”, “Calico Skies”, and my new Wings favorite “Mrs. Vanderbilt” were all played under the rain. Paul taunted the skies yelling “Bring it on!” This coming from one of the few dry people! The drummer came away from his set and to the front of the stage to sing along with “Eleanor Rigby”. Next Paul went into another song from the Fireman album, “Sing The Changes.” It’s such a great song, Beatles quality for sure. Melissa really digs it as well. Somewhere along the way the rain stopped and we all sand along to “Band On The Run.” The video screen was really cool for this song as it was playing footage from the album cover photo shoot.

What came next was all Beatles and with the sound of a jet engine we were all singing along to “Back In The USSR.” I remember screening like crazy during this songs opening. I had been listening to a lot of the With Album recently and to hear it live was a little overwhelming. A little treat followed with a raucous version of “I’m Down”. Someone close to us had a sign that read “It was 44 years ago today, Beatles played Shea”, and it was. August 15, 1965 was the date of their landmark performance and if you’ve seen the film than you know that “I’m Down” was the highlight of the show with John going “crazy” on the organ. No John this time around but still just as effective. A special tribute to George followed with Paul’s version of “Something”. He told the audience that George had given him the ukulele he was holding and that he asked him to teach him a song, that song was “Something”. It was very touching. Pictures of George appeared on the screen behind the band as Paul played solo on the ukulele; one that I had never seen of George with a tambourine on his head. It must have been from around 1968. Eventually the entire band joined in where the lead guitar comes in.

" I’ve Got A Feeling” followed, this is one of Mel’s favorites. We had been in hot debate about Paul playing this song because of John’s lines. She said it wouldn’t be the same and it wasn’t, but it was still good nonetheless. They then played one of my favorites, “Paperback Writer”. Melissa and I both jumped around and sang along to every word. I had also warned Melissa that Paul played a version of “A Day In The Life”; she was not to keen on the idea but when he went into the song it just clicked, his tribute to John. It was very emotional. Melissa just recently commented that it hit her during the performance, “He knew John!” In place of the last verse Paul went into John and Yoko’s “Give Peace a Chance”. Melissa has an affinity of John and Yoko and their bed-in days. The entire audience, with peace signs in the air, sand the refrain over and over again, “All we are saying, is give peace a chance.” It looked over at Melissa and she was tearing up. We hugged and sang along with the band, what a great moment. Paul then went up to his piano and into “Let It Be”. Melissa and I are both kind of tired of this song but it was cool to see it live for the first time. It is a good song but one I tend the skip a lot. Staying behind the piano, Paul then lead the band into the Wings song “Live And Let Die”. The moment he was done singing the hook a large ball of fire exploded only a few yards from where we were standing. Everyone jumped back for a moment, startled from the initial blast, and then everyone started screaming with excitement as the stage light up with an array of pyrotechnics. Unbeknownst to everyone in the front, there were also fireworks being shot from the top of the stage. It was quite a spectacle; I had never been to a show with effects like that and defiantly never that close. To close the set Paul went into “Hey Jude” and got everyone in the audience to sing along with the refrain. At the conclusion everyone screamed to the tops of their lugs and the band gathered for a group bow. They quickly exited to the right side of the stage where we were standing. I remember watching his legs under the canvas covering of the sidestage area. I was only a few yards away and I could see him waiting there to come back. He had boots on and I remember thinking how they reminded me of the “Beatles” boots form 1964. I commented to Mel that his skinny legs really made me think about the classic Beatles caricature/stereotype; four tall lanky boys with “long” hair that bounced all over the place. I could see where it came from, Paul was very restless backstage and after only a few minutes the entire band was back on stage.

The first encore was a high energy three song set beginning with the timeless opening guitar riff of “Day Tripper”. “Lady Madonna” followed with Paul banging away at the piano. I was very impressed with Paul on the keys. To think that he learned to play piano out of necessity while guitarless in Hamburg, a blessing in disguise I guess. Speaking of Hamburg, one of the standout tracks for me from the Star Club tapes has always been “I Saw Her Standing There.” To hear the song in its early stages is very cool, to hear it now many years later was even better. It’s just a timeless song, classic. After “I Saw Her Standing There” Paul and the band again left the stage for a few minutes. Moments later Paul was back on stage for the second encore with just an acoustic guitar and the song “Yesterday”. To hear it live reminded me how good of a song it is; even after being overplayed for decades. The next sound we heard was the jarring guitar riff to “Helter Skelter” and Melissa screamed as loud as she could. Obviously Melissa enjoys that song because she was into it. The video screen in the background was awesome, playing a video of a rollercoaster racing along it’s track. There was a lot of energy in the performance and the crowd was feeding off that. “Get Back” followed with its sneaky grooves and unforgettable lines: “Get back Loretta!” Now that all 40,000 of us had spent our voices for the next two weeks, it was now finally time to say goodbye. Paul said some words, can’t remember exactly what, and then he and the band went into “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” with “The End” tagged at, well…the end! Melissa was uber excited to hear “The End” live. She it passionately in love what “that Paul” and loves his music from the “Abbey Road” album. What a way to end the night. After the last chords were played, the last harmonies sung, Paul said “we’ll see you next time”. That left me with a little hope, that maybe this would not be the first and last time I saw Paul McCartney in concert. Who knows right?

So we slowly followed the mass of people leaving the park. We were tired and still slightly wet, but we were both high from the experience of a lifetime. I felt lucky to be there, lucky to experience the music of an idol I had followed for twenty years of my life. Melissa would always rag me about how Paul sounded on the TV; that his voice wasn’t up to the challenge anymore. As we walked along the green she commented that she takes back all the bad things she’s said about Paul over the years. That made me laugh, it made me happy that she was just as excited and speechless as I was. We made our way over to the merch tent. I picked up the poster for the show and Melissa got a sweet Macca 09 hoodie jacket. As we made the short walk back to the hotel we talking about the music and how amazed we where at what we had just witnessed. Everyone was in awe, smiles all around. Once we got to the hotel we changed into dry clothing and made our way down to the hotel bar for drinks. I had to lay my drenched ticket stub out to dry or it would have become mush. Everything was wet. In the bar we watched as people periodically came in from the concert; extremely happy and miserable all at the same time. The euphoria of seeing Paul was wearing off for some, around the same time the rain was soaking in. A little later we went to dead; ending one the wildest and most memorable nights of my life.

So life goes on, the next day we hit up Flip for lunch and made our way back to Charlotte. The following Friday, October 21 we had tickets for the Counting Crows at the Music Factory Amphitheater. I don’t want to go into all the details but it was a very cool show. We had fifth row seats for the “Traveling Circus” and Melissa got some amazing pictures. I love that band, we both do. August and Everything After was the pivotal album of my youth and I still love it to this day. Their latest rivals its creativity and freshness and I felt lucky to hear them perform some of the new tracks live.

Friday, June 19, 2009 - Spring 2009

It seems like all I write about these days is travel, food, and music…and that’s the way I like it. What’s more important right? So that’s what has been going on recently. Melissa and I have been moving around a lot and living. We’ve been to quite a few concerts in the past three months. In April we saw Fleetwood Mac at Time Warner Arena in Charlotte as part of their Unleashed tour. This was our second time seeing them and yet again they were great. Lindsey Buckingham is mind-blowing on the guitar, just phenomenal. We had cheap seats but ended up close to the floor after a ticket upgrade. Concerts are taking a hit with the economy; people can’t afford to pay $150 to sit on the floor anymore so they are buying the cheap seats. Nothing looks worse for a band than empty seats close to the stage. Fleetwood actually canceled a few shows in the area claiming scheduling issues but I’m sure it had more to do with bad ticket sales. It’s about time bands and Ticketmaster come back down to earth and realize they can’t overcharge for tickets anymore.

For Memorial Day weekend, Melissa and I flew down to Orlando to visit our two great friends Brandi and Tom. It was our first time in Florida where our agenda wasn’t all Disney. We just hung out like friends do and ordered pizza, drank beer, watched some DVDs. It was our first time seeing Office Space if you can believe it. We went out to eat at a Brazilian restaurant where they bring massive amounts of meat to your table on long skewers. It was amazingly good; I ate so much food that I almost passed out, but it was totally worth it. The following weekend was Melissa’s graduation party down in Greenville, SC at The Blue Ridge Brewery. I’m pretty sure everyone had a great time drinking, eating, and watching the Red Wings in game one of the finals.

The following weekend was the first of June and we had plans for something we had not done in almost three years…a Train show! This year marks the tenth year that we have been following Train around the South. In 1999 we saw them at a radio festival called Fall Out in Columbia. The main draw for me at this show was seeing Bush perform; Train happened to be an opener. This was right around the time when Meet Virginia started to get radio play and I guess you could say that we got hooked. So for the next seven years we followed them from album to album and town to town, twelve shows in all with the last being Bele Cher in Asheville in 2006. The fabled show where Melissa was pulled on stage during Mississippi for a dance with the singer Pat. I guess you could say that was the high point of Melissa’s life with Train. In 2007 Pat left the band to do a solo album but we did not jump on that bandwagon and I’m pretty sure not many people did. So it has been a long Train drought. Just a few months ago we pulled up the bands webpage to news that they were recording a new album in London and had scheduled a few warm-up shows. Luckily Train seems to love the South and the second show was one we could make, Riverbend 2009 in Chattanooga, TN.

So on Saturday, June 6 we made the long drive through the mountains towards Tennessee. Five hours later we arrived at our hotel in the heart of downtown Chattanooga. We got a room at the Double Tree and man was that place amazing, it was like a Disney hotel. The lobby was very modern with high ceilings and walls of glass, a saltwater pool right outside with a bar, I was really impressed. The staff was also very friendly, Melissa totally thought that we were in the bubble. The room was equally as nice, it kind of reminded me of the Contemporary at WDW. And you’ve got to love the warm cookie you get at check in at Double Trees! So after we got settled we walked down to the festival entrance at around 3 pm; the doors were not set to open until 4 so we had a little time to kill. As we walked up a familiar sound began to catch my ear, it was Train’s soundcheck! So we walked over to the fence and watched while they rehearsed a new song called “Save Me San Francisco”. It was great to see that. Pat made some stupid comment about how this was the worst crowd they had ever played for. I could see the look of excitement building on Melissa’s face. Directly behind us was a restaurant called Blue Plate where we decided to have a drink to kill some time and eventually we decided to order some food. I really enjoyed the theme of this place as it was designed to look like a diner or cafeteria with a lot of plastic and stainless steal. The wait staff carried food around on lunch trays and served water from large jugs. We ate at the bar which we tend to do a lot, I enjoy the atmosphere of eating at the bar as there is always something going on and the bartender is never far away. Melissa had thankfully done her homework on Chowhound and had planned on possibly eating here. I wasn’t expecting to be blown away but I was. I order a turkey sandwich, very unassuming but the second I took a bite I was reminded of Thanksgiving leftovers, those great turkey sandwiches with thick cuts of white meat that always seemed to be in abundance due to everyone’s love of dark meat. It was just like that with a thick single cut of turkey breast. The Blue Plate Turkey Club, Rotisserie turkey, applewood bacon, avocado cream, mayo, swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato on fresh toast; It was so simple and I think that is why I loved it so much. I’m still thinking about that sandwich, it’s making me hungry right now. After the great meal we headed into the festival grounds.

The main stage for this show was ridiculous; a barge on the Tennessee River four stories high so the people in the back could see the band over the riverbank. Melissa and I are use to being very close at Train shows but this one was impossible so we bought tickets in the star seating so we wouldn’t have to hold a spot all day long. We found a spot at the top of the riverbank in the shaded grass and just laid around for a while, watching people, talking, and taking pictures. Before long it was time for the show and we made our way to our seats. This time around they were without their two newest members Johnny Colt and Brandon Bush. Melissa and I really like Brandon from the last tour; he was great on the piano. Johnny just did not fit in so whatever, see ya Johnny. The opened with “Calling All Angles” and then into “Get To Me”, “She’s On Fire” and so forth; a lot like the 06 tour but with a few new songs. The first was the title track for their new album “Save Me San Francisco” and it was classic Train, upbeat and quirky. Another new song followed called “I Got You”. The final new song came close to the end of their set, a song called “Hey Soul Sister.” The second the music started for this one Melissa and I both stopped and look at each other, this song was something special. It has an amazingly melody and is, well…happy. That means a lot coming off the heals of their last album which was very dark, for Train that is. Soul Sister is one of those songs that just get stuck in your head and we sang it all the way back to the hotel room. It was great to see Train again, it had been way too long. This was the perfect way to kick off the summer. The next morning we walked over to Easy Bistro for a late breakfast, another great find by Melissa. I had the Scrambled Eggs & Puff Pastry with Wild Mushrooms & Gruyere which was really good; I have a love affair with mushrooms. Melissa chose the Lump Blue Crabmeat Omelette with Bibb Salad, very adventurous if you ask me but then again Melissa might turn into a crab one day. I had a taste and was very surprised. Usually when I see something like this on a menu, my first thought is “I bet you can’t even taste the crab.” Boy was I wrong, you could really taste the crab and it was great with the egg. So Chattanooga was beautiful, I hope to be back one day, maybe for Riverbend 2010.

On Friday, June 12 a special show finally rolled around that I have been waiting many years to see…Jane’s Addiction! I have been a fan of the band for quite a while and was lucky enough for the planets to align; a full reunion with all the original members and a co headlining tour with Nine Inch Nails with the final stop in my hometown of Charlotte. Needles to say I was very excited to be there, I felt lucky to see this show. I was a fan of NIN back when I was a teenager. I still remember the first time I saw “Head Like a Hole” on MTV. I was impressionable, looking for music to alienate grownups I guess. NIN was just that, it was dangerous and I loved it. But I had not listened to them in years seeing as my musical taste had mellowed quite a bit. So I was interested in seeing them play but didn’t really care all too much. Melissa however was very excited about seeing NIN because she has always had a crush on Trent Reznor. As their set progressed I started to really get into it. Their performance was extremely powerful and very tight. Every few songs I would hear one I knew; “Wish”, “Head Like a Hole” with a sea of people screaming along, “Hurt” and a very pleasant surprise with “I’m Afraid of Americans”. Seeing as I am a huge Bowie fan it was very cool to hear this song live; minus Bowie, yes, but it was still cool.

After their set it was time for Jane’s Addiction, a lot of people around us left for some reason. I was like, what the hell?! So you’re here for NIN, fine but stay for the reunion of Jane’s Addiction; the band that acted as a catalyst in the late 80s to the musical revolution that was right around the corner in 90s. Without Jane’s Addiction you would not have had Lollapalooza and the breakthrough performance by Nirvana there that catapulted the new sound to mainstream radios and TVs across America. Respect the Jane’s Addiction. When the lights went down we were treated with a clip from some movie with Kevin Bacon in it. He’s wearing a Jane’s hat and some kid asks, “Hey, did you go to that show?” Kevin replies, “Yeah” and the kid says “Man, I wish I could have seen them before they broke up.” Then you hear the familiar sound of Perry Farrell followed by the bass line for “Three Days.” What a great way to start the concert; there they were, all together, Jane’s Addiction. It was one of those moments that you’re not quite sure is actually happening. Here’s the setlist from the show:

1. Three Days
2. Whores
3. Ain’t No Right
4. Pigs In Zen
5. Then She Did
6. Up The Beach
7. Mountain Song
8. Been Caught Stealing
9. Ocean Size
10. Ted, Just Admit It

Encore:
11. Summertime Rolls
12. Had A Dad
13. Stop!
14. Jane Says


So it was a powerhouse set; “Ain’t No Right” was great, Dave Navarro was masterful on the guitar throughout the set. The encore was non-stop with three of my favorite songs all in a row; “Had A Dad”, the kick ass “Stop!” and the set closer “Jane Says” complete with a bottle of wine in Perry’s hand the entire time. It was such a great show to see. I left on cloud nine and Melissa wasn’t far behind. She thinks Perry is “fabulous” and I’d have to agree. He’s a classic rock front man. So those have been our “adventures” of late. Here’s what’s been going on with my music.

I’ve been recording like a fool. I recently moved onto tracking some acoustic guitar parts for The Big Green Monster, Just You and Me, The Recession Rag, A Little Song, and A Promise. It went a lot faster than I had hoped so that is good. On the last album all the acoustic guitar parts were recorded with a direct line in. This time, however, I’ve decided to record with a direct line and a microphone simultaneously so I can capture some of the raw acoustics that you don’t get from the direct. So far it sounds very good without any EQ or compression. I have a feeling this album will be very raw as compared to Scattered. I might even use the old Crate guitar amp for the electric parts even though it produces a lot of ambient noise. I could sound good.

I’ve finished piano parts for You Need This, Riverboat Joe, The Bar, Shoebox and a few others that I’m not sure will make it on the album; Don’t Worry Tom and Raggedy Andy. There still is much work to be done. I’m working on some tempo issues with the piano of Patriot. I’m very excited about this song seeing as it includes acoustic and electric guitar tracks recorded by Alex Quaranta last year during his US visit. I assure you this song will be on the new album, it’s all coming together finally. The vision is there, the mental image of a new record. I have some sequence ideas and the musical “backbones” are almost done for all the songs. The fun part is about to begin, the embellishments. There’s always a fine line to walk during this part of tracking; going to far is always a possibility. I just recently started recording some vocal tracks but I’m not sure if they are keepers, I just want to be able to build around them. I’m thinking a lot of these songs won’t need much of anything else other than vocals, guitar and piano. Anyway, I’ll post a few samples in the Music Archive page over the next few months.

I’m taking a break from recording for a few weeks seeing as Melissa and I will be doing a lot of traveling. On Sunday (ironically the first day of summer) we are driving to the Outter Banks of North Carolina for a week in Avon at a beach house with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. I’m really looking forward to a stress free week at my favorite beach with my family. I’m bringing my guitar along seeing as the atmosphere always makes for great song writing. For the Fourth of July weekend we are flying to St. Louis for another Train show under the Gateway Arch, yes I know we are crazy fans, and then it’s off to Disney for the annual July birthday trip for Melissa’s 29th. Then we are going to rest, ha!

See ya,
Andy

Friday, March 27, 2009 - 2009 Begins

“Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth. You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette. The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget. Ohhh how how how, you’re a rock n roll suicide!” So I’m listening to some David Bowie as you can see. It’s horribly gloomy today and I’ve been listening to some music to get me bright again. Bowie seems to be doing the trick. So, what has been going on? Well this past Friday, March 20, I played a show in Greenville SC at the O-Cha Tea Bar. I had played the old location on Main Street back in December 2006 right before they closed down. While looking for a room to play this time around I came across their website and noticed they had reopened by the river in the West End so I set up the show.
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I didn’t realize how small the place was; defiantly the smallest room I have played, now I see why they insisted on a completely acoustic set. It made me a little uneasy at first, that and the fact that no one was there ten minutes before I was to play. I swear, people in Greenville don’t come out to see live music, especially when there is no alcohol involved. Luckily I had some great friends and family that decided to come out and well, considering the size of the room, pack the place. A few people strolled in and out, along the river looking on. It was the first day of Spring and when I started playing it was dusk, the weather was really great outside. Before I started we went up to the bar at the Lazy Goat and grabbed a beer. The Red Stripe on an empty stomach made for nice smile on my face when I started playing. Here’s the set:

New York City Ghosts
Stare
The Big Green Monster
Raining
Drying Out
When I’m With You
Just You and Me
Patriot
A Little Song
A Promise
November
Breaking The Blues
Difficult World
1913 Massacre
The Recession Rag
Riverboat Joe
Home
A Small Southern Town

So the set was different from the December Charlotte show. I decided to dust off the song “Drying Out”; a Remains of the Day staple during ’02 and ’03. It was always a favorite song of mine, a great story I thought and I hadn’t played it in years. Another ROTD song followed, “When I’m With You.” This song was a gift as I am not really sure where it came from and how I was able to write it. Some songs are like that, they just come out of thin air and you feel lucky to be part of it. I feel lucky to call this song my creation. I truly think it’s my greatest song writing accomplishment. The set continued with more “new” songs; “Just You and Me”, an acoustic guitar version of “Patriot” that I introduced by saying, “This is a protest song” and my dad said “Good!” I then played a new one called “A Promise” for the first time; a story about hard times and vows to make them better. After a few tracks from the Live in Wilmington CD that I was pushing that night, I played what I like to call a lost song. “Difficult World” was written 2006 or maybe 2005, not really sure. It has been sitting around for a while and it was time that I got rid of it. It’s a good song I think but I just have no desire to record it. Playing it live while capturing the show in the process was a great way to put the song to rest; just as I did with “Breaking The Blues”, “Carry My Load”, and “Small Southern Town” on the live EP. It was time to put those songs to rest. Moving on…I had always been a big fan of a song called “1913 Massacre” that I had heard on Arlo Guthrie’s Hobo’s Lullaby album a long time back. It’s hauntingly beautiful and as it turns out it’s an old Woody Guthrie song. I had attempted it once during my 2006 solo outing but I never got it quite right until this time around. I could see my dad perk up when I said, “This one’s a Woody Guthrie song.” He loves stuff like that. I followed with a new one called “The Recession Rag.” I wrote this one last summer, maybe longer ago than that; before we were actually officially in a “recession.” Kevin commented that I should change the name to “The Depression Rag” but I’m not that pessimistic. I have hope! I then played a song called “Riverboat Joe” that I had originally written on the piano back in 2007 when I started writing for the “new” album. In the lyric book this one is pretty much the dividing line between “Scattered” and the new wave of songs that have yet to be released. “Riverboat Joe” is playful and simple. It’s written about an old estranged friend of mine that I still love. By now it was dark outside and my voice was giving up due to the lack of microphone. I finished with “Home” and “A Small Southern Town” for my dad.

All things considered it was a good show; very intimate. I gave the night’s recording a quick listen and it sounds pretty good. I’ll tuck it away for rediscovery a few years down the line. So, what next? God I have no idea! I’ve got to finish this damn album, I’ve got songs that are just stacking up and they need to fulfill their purpose…to come together as an album. I’ve been working on tidying up the piano tracks and plan on moving to vocals before I embellish each one. As for how long this process will take me, I don’t know. Maybe six months, maybe a year, maybe even five years! In all seriousness, I’d like to have the album done this year and maybe released late 2009 or 2010 but we will see. It’s shaping up to be like my version of The Beatles White Album. Do I take Sir. George Martin’s advice and scale it back into one really good album or do I go crazy like the boys did? I don’t know yet but right now I’m leaning more towards the go crazy side, maybe because I’ve been listening to so much White Album recently. Anyway, I’ve been bad about posting journal entries…I’ve written a few but have not posted them. I’ll just dump them below, feel free to read ahead if you want. Otherwise, see ya next time. Peace and Love!

So there is still snow on the ground here in Charlotte and up to Mooresville where we live. The snow came Sunday evening, covered the ground and took out the power. Melissa and I went outside to take some pictures before the neighborhood kids had a chance to mess up the beautiful scenery. We threw a few snowballs at each other while the snow blanketed to neighborhood. The rest of the night we played Beatles Monopoly while drinking and gathering around the gas logs; it was a nice way to spend a cold Sunday in February. I started a journal entry about a month ago that I never finishing. So, if we happen to be in a LOST episode then I guess this would be considered a flashback:

So I’m sitting here in Charlotte NC, watching the snow fall outside my office window. Today is the Presidential Inauguration and just yesterday we were in the thick of it all up in Washington DC. Melissa and I flew into Baltimore of Friday night and were greeted by my Aunt Julie who was gracious enough to have us for the weekend. The next day, along with my Uncle Brian, we all drove into DC from Silver Springs MD for a tour of the city. I had visited once before, back in 1997 with my mother but this was Melissa’s first trip and I was very excited for her to see the capital. The weather was extremely cold, I believe around 18 degrees plus the wind-chill. The first place we stopped was the Jefferson Memorial which I had never seen up close. Melissa was very excited because she had just been talking to her school kids about Jefferson. After some pictures we hopped back into the warm car and drove to the mall and found a parking spot close to the capital. We were lucky enough to catch a dry run of the inauguration ceremony. The music was playing and the speaker was announcing the new President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. There were people everywhere taking pictures, extremely cold with huge smiles on their faces. The energy was there, the same we had felt back in the summer when we attended an Obama rally in Charlotte. You could feel that something truly great was just around the corner.

We then made our way into the Capital building visitor center and along to the Library of Congress. Melissa was excited to visit here seeing as she was now a librarian. After making our way through some of the exhibits and seeing some great pieces, like the draft of the Constitution and a document written by John Locke (which Melissa was excited about because of the link back to her favorite TV drama Lost), we made our way to the Hawk and Dove for lunch and a few glasses of bear. Brian told us that this pub was a legendary capital hill bar where many law makers and whatnot went for drinks. It was dark and small with a lot of beer on tap, just the way we like it. Brian suggested the Chili so I had to try it. It lived up to its reputation, a perfect lunch for an extremely cold day in DC.

After lunch and a few beers we walked back into the neighborhood where my Aunt Julie and Uncle Brain had lived when they were younger; a small brownstone that Julie had bought on her own back in the 70s. She told us the we she went to the bank to apply for loan in the 70s they told her they wouldn’t give a mortgage to a single women and that her father would have to co-sign. Can you believe that? We’ve really come a long way in terms of equal rights. My aunt is a very strong women and needless to say she left the bank with the loan. Brian told us how they would get on the roof with lawn chairs to watch fourth of July fireworks from the capital. What a great memory. After walking through a local market we drove down towards to Lincoln Monument and the Vietnam Memorial. They were all set up for the “We Are One” concert happening on Sunday. There was a crowd gathered around listening to what I thought was a sound check, turns out it really was. The bands were setup behind the sliding walls. All of a sudden I heard a song I knew, “City of Blinding Lights” by U2. Bono was not singing but you could hear the music being rehearsed behind the wall on the steps of the Lincoln. It was very cool to be there while that was going on. We walked down by the reflection pool that was completely frozen over and then around towards the WWII memorial. By this point we were almost frozen and decided to call it a day. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying dinner at the house, seafood pasta…yum!

The next day we had set aside to visit a few museums. My brother Matt and his wife Dawn had driven up the night before and we all headed back into DC on the Metro. The first stop was the new American Indian museum where we enjoyed a great lunch. The cafeteria was divided by regions of the America’s and the native food from each. Every chance I get I try something different, something I’ve never had. I’ve become much more adventurous with food over the past few years. So I chose a Tamal with chicken wrapped in a cornhusk with peanut sauce, a sweet potato dish and pickled purple potatoes. The Tamal was great, very flavorful and exotic in a way. I’ve always been intrigued by food cooked in cornhusks and various leaves, seems very traditional and different from popular modern fare. Melissa tried the buffalo burger and I think she really loved it as well. Combined with a few Dos Equis and it made for a great meal in the American Indian museum. Melissa’s great-grandmother was Cherokee so she thought being there was pretty cool. The Smithsonian Air and Space followed with a quick walkthrough and then we made our way to the Pompeii exhibit at the National Gallery. This was something that Brian and Julie had wanted to see and it was pretty cool, the art was amazing. We enjoyed a few drinks in the museum food court before heading down to the Natural History museum. By now the concert was coming to an end at the Lincoln. While standing on the steps of the museum we watched Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen sing Woody Guthrie’s American classic, “This Land Is Your Land”. Melissa turns to me asking if that was the same guy who lead the masses in a chorus of “Give Peace a Chance” back in 1969 for the anti-war demonstrations in DC. “Are you listening, Nixon?” Pete sang between the phrases almost forty years ago. It was exciting to see that, in a similar yet much different positive vibe, Pete singing Woody’s “This Land is Your Land” to a mass of 500,000 people who are ready to re-inherit the pride of being an American. It was a little surreal actually. Melissa was smiling while standing on the steps, all bundled up from the cold. Everyone was untied.

After visiting the Natural History museum we fallowed the mass of people up to Union Square and grabbed a train back to Silver Springs MD. We stopped off at a local seafood market and picked up a few lbs of salmon as we were planning to cook for Brain and Julie tonight, one of our favorite dishes. Lighting breaded salmon, pan fried with a reduction of white wine, capers, fresh lemon juice, and garlic. It’s a wonderful simple dish that’s all about the fish. Julie made a mushroom risotto that was to die for along side asparagus and spinach. We all gathered around the TV and ate while we watched the concert on HBO.

On Monday we decided to hang out at the house and relax. Helped Brain and Julie setup the Wii and played some bowling and Wii-Fit. See, even Harvard grads enjoy the Wii! The snow started lightly falling and we just watched it fall for a while. Around two we drove to Annapolis where Brian showed us his favorite sailing store, Melissa bought a cute hat for the cold, and then we walked around the downtown area. The town was very pretty, very much like Charleston minus the humidity. Ha! We ended up at Buddy’s Crab and Ribs for an early dinner. The crab soup was amazing!!!! I ate some beer battered rock-fish. Then it was off to Baltimore International to catch out flight back. I love airports for some reason, I just think they are romantic. I tend to romanticize travel in general, the only thing more whimsical than a late night flight would be a train ride and those don’t happen that much these days. Anyway, So now I’m off to a local bar here in Charlotte to watch the Inauguration. Time for some change!

Back to real time here, that was a month ago. I’m kind of glad that I’ve waited to post this as I’ve had some time to reflect on everything that has happened over the past month. Have things really changed? I don’t know and I think it will take a while to find out. I mean, it took some people eight years to realized that Bush royally fucked over the entire country...but anyway. I’m hopeful as always, there’s always hope.

So in February Melissa and I had a few fun things go on. For Valentines Day weekend we headed down to Atlanta Georgia for a night on the town. There was a Titanic exhibit on display at the aquarium and Melissa is a huge Titanic buff. The artifacts were amazing, hard to believe they were actually from the bottom of the Atlantic. It was also our first visit to the aquarium and it was amazing. Simply put it was huge! I was very excited to see the whale sharks and beluga whales. This was also a chance for us to try out some of the great Atlanta cooking via our favorite Top Chef runner-up Richard Blais. Since we had eaten at Home last summer, and had what we both considered our deathbed meal, he had opened his own place called Flip Burger Boutique. We decided to hit it up for lunch and arrived there before they opened. Melissa wasn’t sure if we needed to be there right at 11 when it opened but once we got our seats it was quickly apparent that Flip is very popular. After maybe 15 minutes there were already people waiting for a seat. The food was pure Richard, imaginative and exciting. When was the last time you ate a meal that was exciting? That is what I strive for now. I can just eat, sure we all can. I want more, I expect more, and that is was Flip delivers. I ordered The Cuban; spicy pork patty, Benton's ham, pork belly, mojo, swiss cheese, savory pickles, smoked mayo and dijo. On the side I had sweet potato tots. Melissa had the Pate Melt; veal & pork, swiss cheese, cornichons, lingonberry, and dijon. On the side she had sweetbread tots! My GOD the food was amazing. For desert Melissa had the Krispy Kreme liquid Nitrogen Milkshake and I had the (brace yourself) Foie Gras liquid Nitrogen Milkshake. They were both to die for. Our waiter explained the Foie Gras milkshake for me. Basically they take the duck liver and sear it in a skillet. The fat in the pan is then used to create a vanilla ice-cream and then a milkshake. It was great, not what I expected…better. This place is a must. After Flip and the aquarium we had dinner at Richard’s old stomping grounds Home but it was not as good as it once was. It had lost it’s excitement. The food was good but forgettable, I can’t really remember what I ate. So Atlanta was a blast and we must hit up Flip again. A few days later we drove to Durham NC for a lecture from culinary badass and the victim of Melissa’s stalking, Anthony Bourdaine. We had front row seats and paid well for them but it was well worth it. He’s so captivating and brutally honest. I see a lot of Melissa’s personality in him. Afterwards we got in line with the rest of the VIPS to get a book signed and a handshake. When we made our way to the table Melissa pulled out her iPhone with a picture of her and Anthony and told him, “My kids at work ask if you’re my husband and the teachers ask if you’re my dad.” He laughed as if he was all too aware of his age. It was a funny moment. So we got our book signed and headed home. So it’s been a good month, onto the next.

It’s time to wrap up 2008 with a bow. On November 22, 2008 Melissa and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in grand fashion. We planned a trip to Walt Disney World to celebrate followed by a three night Bahamian cruise. Our lodging this time down at WDW was the Contemporary Resort located right next to the Magic Kingdom. The rooms were amazing, top notch all around. Too bad we only had two nights there but we had a blast. Our good friend Angie from New York surprised us with a knock on the door as she came down for the festivities, very cool! So we all had a blast Angie, Melissa, myself and our Baker pals Brandi and Pom who live down in the Orlando area. The cruise followed and Melissa and I were both a little nervous as we did not really know what to expect. For three nights we adjusted and settled into “our boat” while visiting Nassau and Disney’s private island (which was freaking amazing…with a Disney touch). After the unforgettable trip we spent a day in Saint Augustine; a sort of honeymoon recreation as this is the town we spent the last three days of our honeymoon visiting. Not much had changed other than the bridge of lions being closed due to restoration. I really love this town; so comfortable, quaint, and historic. I never really want to do much other than sit and relax and that is always a nice change.

On our way back we stopped in a town outside of Savannah to call it a night. A little back story first, every Wednesday since May 2007 Melissa and I have partaken in a new Loflin tradition called “Pizza and Ghost Hunters” night where we, you guessed it, make pizza and watch the Ghost Hunters marathon of SciFi. It’s the bright spot in a usually long work week for the both of us and it truly makes Wednesday a night to look forward to. Well the timing couldn’t have been better. We had just visited the Saint Augustine lighthouse where TAPS had caught some amazing stuff on video and it just happened to be Wednesday night! So we setup in our Microtel, found a spot to order pizza, stopped by a gas station for a six-pack of Heineken, and turned the TV to SciFi for our first Pizza and Ghost Hunters night on the road. I know it’s so simple and yes a little stupid, but it ended up being my favorite part of the entire trip. It’s funny how little things like that can create such great memories. The next day we drove to upstate SC for Thanksgiving with the family. By this time we were beginning to feel like nomads; we had slept in around 5 different places in the past week, it was time to get home. It was a great trip, one that I will never forget.

Now that we were back it was time for me to finish preparations for my upcoming show at the Smelly Cat Coffeehouse on December 13 in Charlotte. I had been having second thoughts about this show for a while. Maybe it was due to the fact I hadn’t played live in nearly two years, maybe it was the number of new songs I was planning on playing, maybe it was the idea of playing piano in front of an audience? All these doubts had crept into my thoughts and had been plaguing me for the past few months. I wasn’t sure if I could do it anymore but I was going to give it a try. I had been practicing every weekend for the past few months, fine tuning the set list and pulling songs that weren’t quite ready. After much work I had decided on a set list and began running through the motions.

This show also marked the hard copy release of my new Live In Wilmington CD that had been released online in November. I also had some great posters printed up to mark the occasion that were styled after the new CD with the same blue sky picture in the background. I’ve got a few leftover so if anyone would like a copy just email me at Andrewl@cgraphics.com and I’ll happily send along a print. Anyway, the day of the show had rolled around. I talked my parents into coming up and staying with Melissa and me for the weekend so they could see the performance. They have always been my biggest fans and I love having them at shows. So Saturday morning I was in the studio getting everything together; the speakers, PA head, mics and stands, guitar, paino, countless cables, laptop and recording system. I look down and the cables were everywhere. I thought to myself, “This is ridiculous!” All this stuff for just me and some new songs, there’s no need for all of this. So I look at Melissa and say, “I should just do this completely acoustic” and she agreed. So I left with only my guitar and keyboard in hand, all the crap was left behind and it was a good feeling…kind of symbolic really. We got to NoDa around 5 and I set up my limited stuff while my parents went with Melissa to Revolution for a beer before the show. The Smelly Cat is such a great place, it reminds me of The Coffee House and Wine Bar in Clemson SC that I played countless times with Remains of the Day. It’s small and comfy and the people there are always welcoming. It’s very Bohemian you know, “Want to play? Sure, come out and well set up a tip jar, drink some coffee, and play some songs.” It’s what music is all about, it’s natural and personal. To display CDs this time I decided to use my mother’s old painting toolbox as a display case and it worked really well. It was fun to have that little piece of family history there with me. To add to that I was using an organ stool that belonged to my grandmother, I love that stool! It didn’t take me long to setup so while I waited for 6 PM to roll around I enjoyed a mocha and sat outside the coffeehouse in the cold weather. A mix of Simon and Garfunkel and the Beatles Revolver played on their sound system, a good moment. Shortly thereafter the crew came around to corner from Revolution joined by my aunt Beckie and uncle Doug. We love these guys, they are my stand-in mother and father up in Mooresville seeing as we live only ten minutes away from each other. So we all settled in and I started the show, here’s what was played:

1. Burroughs
2. The Big Green Monster
3. Raining
4. Just You and Me
5. A Little Song
6. Don’t Worry Tom / The Bar
7. You Need This
8. Rochester
9. Hold Me Now (Reprise)
10. Patriot
11. Closer To You
12. Shoebox
13. It’s All Been Done
14. Stare
15. November
16. A Small Southern Town

About the set…I had recently been talking to Matthew Poeta via email about some of the music we made together while in Remains of the Day. We got on the subject of the Blend Into Backgrounds album and the song “Burroughs.” We both talked about how much we liked the song but how the recording didn’t come out quite right, it was so close. So I had been playing around with the song for a few weeks, on piano and acoustic guitar. I remember an early version of the song that was recorded either on video or audio, maybe it’s on the Descending Live CD but I can’t really remember. All I remember is how simple and soft it was, whimsical even. So I decided to open the show with that version, soft and paced just right. It really is a great song. I can’t remember the last time it was played live, I would guess around mid 2003 but who knows.

Then came the new guitar based songs starting with “The Big Green Monster”. My lyric book says this song was written in two stages. First came the acoustic guitar only demo that was recorded on February 12, 2007 and then lyrics followed on May 10, 2007. This is one of my favorite new guitar compositions, it’s about concurring inner demons. The next song called “Raining” was written during 2008 but not sure when. It’s a very simple song which is good, I sometimes try to put way to much into songs so I’m kind of in the process of scaling back. This one reminds me of Charleston and staying in bed on a Sunday morning in a hotel room with Melissa. “Just You and Me” is set at the beach and was written on July 19, 2008 and talks about the hard times in a relationship and working through them. Another simple song followed called, simply enough, “A Little Song.” This one is really great, a favorite of the unrecorded songs. I recorded a demo back on June 1, 2006 and adlibbed the lyrics along the way. The demo had been on my iPod for quite a while and I would listen to it every now and again. In May of 2007 I traveled to Rochester NY for business, it was the first time Melissa and I had been apart since we were married in 2003. So all I had was a bunch of incomplete songs on my iPod to piddle around with. I finished this one somewhere in the sky between Rochester NY and Charlotte NC. I pretty much went with the adlibbed lyrics because I liked them so much. It’s about what is important in life and how segments of your time on earth with come and go, defining the constants and what is really important. High school and College friends that come and go, “So open up your arms and sing a little song, about your life from this point on, am I ever gonna be anyone?” as the chorus goes. It’s my favorite live I’ve ever written, “about your life from this point on”, to this point and that is kind of funny to think about. I’m sure at one point down the road there will be another line that I think is the best ever, but right now this is it and that is what the song is about, living for now and defining yourself in the moment. The words were off-the-cuff but sometimes that is when you channel to the emotions, like a random stream of continuousness. I guess this song is the closest I’ve come to composing a song in that manner.



For the piano section of the set I decided to start with an opening theme, a song called “Don’t Worry Tom” that doesn’t really have any lyrics other than a few that were made up as a joke for a friend. Turns out I really liked the melody and chord pattern so I decided to keep it and the name just stuck, maybe the lyrics will stick as well. I then segued into a song called The Bar written in late August 2008. The song is basically a tribute to the Blue Ridge Brewery in Greenville SC, my families home away from home. “You Need This” was the next song performed on the piano and it’s one of my favorites. Written in early 2007 it’s a song about defining yourself and finding out what makes you you. Heavy stuff yeah? A song called “Rochester” followed which was written about coming home to Melissa after being away in Rochester NY. Then came “Hold Me Now (Reprise)” played with a electric piano sound that I really loved. This is my equivalent to a spiritual; a song about coming to terms with God and letting go. It’s tagged with reprise because I borrowed the chorus from another song written a few months earlier.

The next song in the piano set was a war protest titled “Patriot.” I had barrowed the character Johnny from the classic American Civil War song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and told a different story. The idea behind this song is pretty simple; the US government does very little to help their vets from mental stress when returning from war and this song depicts Johnny being tricked and abandoned by his government. Anyway, enough political stuff, “Closer To You” was the next song and I’m not really sure when the motivation came for it…it’s just a good melody really. The last song of the piano set is one of my new favorites. “Shoebox” is a song about collecting your life and memories and revisiting them in a shoebox full of pictures. I have been doing this a lot lately, looking at old photos. It seems like we did this at every stop over the holidays with the family. I really can’t wait to get a proper recording of this song, it’s pretty good.



I finished the set out on acoustic guitar with some old standards of mine, some songs I was sure that a few of my friends would remember from past shows and CDs. During the show my cousin Shane and his wife Natasha came in so it was cool to have them there as well. Playing the show completely acoustic was a great idea. It felt so natural, like I was sitting in my living room playing for my friends. The only drawback was that close to the end of the set I could feel the throat giving out. I believe I was overcompensating due to not having a mic to sing into. Luckily I was to the end of my set before it gave out. So it was a great night. I gave away some CDs and talked to my family, packed up the guitar and piano and we all went for dinner at Revolution. Great food and wonderful selection of beer. I may have stolen a set of Boddingtons glasses; they followed us home for some reason, what can I say.

So the first show in two years was great, so much so that I’ve decided to do it again but this time in Greenville SC at the O-Cha Tea Room. I plan on debuting a few more new songs as well and maybe even recording this one. The show will be completely acoustic once again. I hope to see a lot of old friends there. So I guess that is all for 2008. It has been a great year, living life to it’s fullest. The new live album Live in Wilmington is doing very well, I’m getting a lot of great feedback on it so that is cool. What does 2009 hold for me, who knows? I will see where life takes me. Musically I plan on continuing work on my next studio album. I also plan of finishing The Complete Center of Gravity collection that I was hoping to get out this past year. I have a few other archival projects that are in the works but that is all secondary to the album I’m working on and the COG collection as they are both well overdue. This weekend Melissa and I are flying up to Washington DC for inauguration weekend. It should be quite an experience to say the least so I’ll be sure to write about it once we get back. See ya next time!

Peace and Love
Andy

Thursday, November 6, 2008 - Travis

So today I’m working while listening to an R.E.M. bootleg from Switzerland on 7-27-2008; a great radio broadcast. They are such a great live band. I regret that we weren’t able to catch them for this tour but then again our last R.E.M. experience was one that can never be topped, meeting the band. Until this point I had been wearing out the brand new Travis album Ode To J. Smith. I’ve only had it for three days now and I’m already loving it. This band and their music means so much to me, in a different way than any other band really. I can relate each album to a pivotal point in my life, it’s kind of like they have been writing the soundtrack to my life…I know that sounds stupid but it’s true. I got their second album, The Man Who, when I had graduated from high school and moving on in many aspects of my life. I started dating Melissa and that began to blossom. The high school band I had nurtured for the past two years came to an abrupt end. The next album, The Invisible Band, reminds me of my time at Clemson University. I just remember listening to this album all the time while in Godfrey Hall and various locations around campus. I’m reminded how beautiful everything was there. Listening to it today takes me back to Clemson and my life during that time. I remember buying 12 Memories, their fourth album, at the Disney Virgin Mega Store while Melissa and I were on our honeymoon in 2003. I just think about driving to Saint Augustine and experiencing new places in a new life. This one is my favorite. The second I hear the opening to “Quicksand” I’m back in that old town in November 2003. Four years later The Boy With No Name is released as I am preparing for a business trip to Rochester for a week. This would be the first time Melissa and I had been away from each other since we had been married. We are very close, we do everything together and me being away was a big deal. I just remember sitting in the Rochester airport all alone and listening to each song; reading along in the booklet. The songs feel really cold and that is the way I was feeling, cold and alone flying over the east coast. It’s a sad album I think and that I what I take away from it, or maybe that is what I apply to it.

So there we are, my life mapped out by Travis albums. I know it sounds stupid but that is the great thing about music. It’s the only time machine we have at this time. Pictures and video are great but music attaches intangible emotion like none other. It’s really great. So right now I’m listening to the new album and as to what memory will find it’s way into this music I’m not sure yet. Maybe the recent election, hopefully our upcoming 5th anniversary set to the beautiful back drop of November in the South. The leaves are falling, the weather is a little chilly, and maybe everything is changing…the world and my life in conjunction. Maybe this album will remind me of that much needed change. I can only hope.

Peace and Love
Andy

Three weeks ago Melissa and I had my parents up for a visit. This first since my grandmother on my father’s side had passed away. Our house had served as home base for the past year or so while my dad would come up and visit her in Salisbury. Needless to say this past visit was a little different with no agenda attached. So all weekend we watched news coverage about how Senator Barack Obama was visiting Charlotte on Sunday for a free rally in Uptown. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that we decided to head into the city and see what was going on.

We got uptown a little after ten in the morning and the line was amazing; thousands of people were lined up along North Caldwell street towards uptown. The line would eventually stretch all the way to 277 and then have to wrap back around. The weather was also a nice touch; it was finally beginning to feel like spring was around the corner. The gates opened at 11 and the line started to move periodically, the whole time more and more people kept showing up. Vendors were set up selling t-shirts and buttons, some official and others not I’m sure. Some of the art was of Obama with Martin Luther King in the background. The other that interested me even more were similar designs but this time with John Kennedy. Fitting comparison? Not sure. One thing that I was sure about was the energy coming from the crowd. It may sound stupid to say but there was a feeling of hope in the air, just as the slogan reads. There were no barriers between race and class in this line, it was a feeling that I’m not sure I had ever experienced.

Once we finally made it to the entrance and through the metal detectors you could see how packed the streets were, people were everywhere. A volunteer was greeting people after the entrance, asking if we were excited and pumping up the crowd. We went towards the stage as far as we could. We finally made camp maybe twenty yards from the stage. Music was playing; Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” and most memorably for Melissa and I, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who. People were everywhere but everyone was great, no issues at all. I felt totally safe. Obama finally came on a little after 1 PM and started his speech. Not sure what he calls it but I call in the “Main Street” speech and people were into it. In a time where everything in this country seems to be falling apart, it’s good to have hope for the future of our country. Polls now show that North Carolina is a battleground state, amazing the believe as I have always lived in Red states. We had always been the political minority. I now finally feel like my vote truly counts. A read in the papers the next day that 20,000 people watched Obama speak in Uptown Charlotte that Sunday; another 10,000 waited outside because there wasn’t enough room for everyone. It was an amazing experience, one I will never forget. I then exploited the situation for my own personal gain, lunch at Mert’s on College Street. Too good to put into words, too good.

The weekend after was a change of pace; much less serious. Charlotte Shout had rolled around again so Melissa and I got a room at the Double Tree in Uptown to enjoy the Culinary Arts Experience festival. We totally love this event, maybe it’s due to memories of meeting Anthony Bourdain two years back and maybe it’s just because of all the great food. Either way it has turned into a yearly “must do” for us. The best restaurants and chefs in Charlotte come together next to the Johnson and Wales University to create a food lovers paradise. Great food, wonderful cooking demonstrations, and a celebrity chef or two; this year that chef was Curtis Stone, the “Take-Home” Chef. After checking in was started drinking and eating…what did we eat? I started the glutton-fest with a Grilled balsamic artichoke with remoulade sauce, very tasty. I have a thing for artichoke, I just love the flavor. Melissa didn’t seem to keen on it, but she did have a bite so that’s good. I just got so much better from there; a duck salad, grilled peaches with goat cheese, lobster dumplings. The list goes on, I’ve got to stop writing about it because it’s making me hungry. We watched a few cooking demonstrations. One chef made some hummus that I quickly had a sample of. He also made a flatbread pizza that was very good, the flatbread was perfect.After a lot of food a equal amounts of drink, we decided to make our way up to the main stage area.

Along the way we noticed that Curtis Stone was out signing autographs before his appearance. Melissa got all excited and I popped into the book store to pick up a copy of his cookbook. A few photographs and signatures later Melissa’s primary goal for the night was accomplished. So we did a little more eating and drinking and then found a spot to watch Curtis in action. I was very impressed with how much of a showman he was, very engaging with the crowd. He made some great food. A baked chicken that looked to die for with herds stuffed between the meat and the skin. I’d like to give this a try some time. It didn’t seam too difficult to prepare so who knows. So we had a wonderful night and enjoyed breakfast in bed the next morning. I’m sure next year will be just as rewarding.

This past weekend was a very special one. A few months ago I got an email from an old friend, Alex Quaranta. For those of you who don’t know, Alex and I started the band Remains of the Day back in 2001. He played lead guitar with the band up until the very end of 2003 when he decided to move back home to Turin Italy. During our time together Alex and I really clicked. We often butted heads but we were close. Unlike anyone else I have played with, Alex and I would collaborate and write music together. I would often show up to rehearsal with a new song that I thought was finished, after playing it for the guys Alex would say, “I take it home and make it better.” It turned into a running joke, but he always did make it better. He would rearrange songs and add chords that I could never think of. Alex has a style to his writing that really seemed to contrast mine. I’m generally very major, bright and shinny and poppy. It’s what I do best. Alex is very minor, melancholy and sometimes dark. Through Alex I was able to co-write songs that I would have never been able to conceive like “Senza Graffio,” “Move Me,” “Never Change” and so many more. Our shinning achievement was the “Taking Form” album that we created together with Matthew Poeta and Chad Mullinax. It was his swan song. We finished it just before he left and released the album at a going-away performance at my parents house. The last line on the album is sung by Alex in the song “Senza Graffio,” how fitting.

So it had been around five years since we had last see Alex and a lot had changed. Everyone in Remains of the Day’s now married and living in different parts our the country. Before coming to Charlotte to visit Melissa and I, Alex was spending his time in America in Greenville SC visiting with old friends. I know he met up with Chad and my parents, and most definitely Kevin Tribble. On Friday, October 3, 2008 Alex took a bus to Charlotte NC to spend the weekend with Melissa and I at our home in Mooresville. After work on Friday I drove uptown to pick Alex up at the Greyhound station. I must say that I was a little nervous to be seeing him again, but it was a good nervous. I waited in the station and all of a sudden there he was, the same old Alex as I had remembered. Five years older but still the same Alex. We hugged and started to talk while we made our way uptown to my car. The night was spent catching up and just relaxing. We talked over dinner at the local sports bar and then moreover once we got home. Back at the house I sat down on the piano and played a few new songs while Alex strummed along on acoustic guitar. There it was, he was adding his minor feel once again.

The next morning we made a big breakfast; Mickey Mouse waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon. We then all piled into the car to go pick up some fresh seafood we had ordered from a local supplier. This guy drives down to the coast every Thursday morning to pick up seafood right off the dock and bring it back to Mooresville. We had placed our order for 1lb of blue crab meat but once we arrived we decided to get some sea scallops as well. I think Melissa and I have discovered a new local addiction. We had always said, “I wish we could get fresh seafood here in town.” Now we finally can.

Afterwards Alex and I headed into the studio to record some music. We had been talking for a while about a Remains of the Day reunion song, one last track to act as a bookend to this band that so many put so much love into. With Alex in the country and in a studio once again, that was our main goal. We warmed up on a few old ROTD songs and then I introduced him to a new song I had been working on, a piano track called “Rochester.” After running through it a few times Alex laid down an acoustic guitar track in his usual manner. Not sure if he was very happy with it. He kept saying that it was a piano song and didn’t need any guitar. He may be right but I hope to use his parts on the final piece. We were then planning on moving to the reunion track, song from 2004 called “Home” that never received a proper recording. Instead I wanted Alex to hear a few of my new creations, one them being a song called “Patriot”; an anti-war song much in the light of “A Myth Retold” and “Eight Minutes From The Sun.” It’s kind of a full circle moment. When I wrote “A Myth Retold” I remember sitting in Melissa’s apartment in Anderson, SC watching the late night first attacks in Iraq. The televised birth of a war that, since Alex had left America, changed the country he had now returned to. Five years later I’m still compelled to write songs about what’s going on. Anyway, Alex immediately perked up when he heard the song, he said something to the extent of “I like that, I can play on that.” So for the time being, revisiting “Home” was off the table and the new track “Patriot” was the new challenge.

Right away Alex spotted some room for improvement. A change of a chord in the chorus and a rearranged bridge section, Alex was once again “making it better.” After jamming on the song for a while I put down a new piano track that I truly struggled with. I’m going to have to rerecord it once again and fix all the issues. I got enough down for Alex to have his go at it. First came an acoustic guitar track and later an electric chorus. Alex had a clear vision of what he wanted as he always did with his songs. It was a great feeling to be playing music with Alex once again. After all these years it took no time at all to jump right back into creating music together. So Alex added his signature sound to the song. We called it quits around 6 PM or so and settled in for the night. Melissa prepared some crab-cakes with our newly acquired fresh blue crab. While cooking Alex we all relaxed, drank a few beers and played around on the guitar. While sitting in the living room Alex and I pulled out some on ROTD tracks to jam on; “Move Me,” “Taking Form,” and “Senza Graffio” were all played around with. Dinner was great and was followed by a few more beers and more games on the Wii.


The next morning Alex and I went to pick up some coffee and pastries at Starbucks. The plan for today was to show Alex around the area. He wanted to see Lake Norman and then visit Uptown Charlotte for the rest of the day. After breakfast I had Alex lay down a guitar part for a song he had written; just a chord progression with a chorus that he was very nonchalant about but that I really liked. So he played along to a click track and I told him that I would finish it off, turn it into something different. We will see what happens with this yet unnamed track.

So we drove towards Troutman and the Lake Norman State Park so Alex could get a few pictures in. The beach they have there is very nice. Some pictures were taken and then we were off. When we were passing back through Troutman Alex asked if we could stop and take a few pictures of the town. Alex said that everyone back in Italy would think it looks like a western. It’s funny how we take places like this for granted, towns like Troutman are a dime-a-dozen in the South. With its old string of brick buildings adjacent to railroad tracks that run in and out of town, it’s just like every place I remember from being a kid; the spitting image of Liberty, South Carolina and now my new home of Mooresville, North Carolina. I always tried to hate these places due to the kind of people they tend to produce but instead I ended up loving them. I just feel comfortable in old towns like this. Every time I pass through one I say to Melissa “This is a pretty town.”

After some pics in Troutman we made our way to Huntersville for a walk around Birkdale Village. We headed straight to Corkscrew Wine Bar for a drink and some light food. The place was virtually empty because everyone was at the sports pub around the corner. The bartender said the wrong thing to Melissa, well…all of us for that matter. “No one here looks old enough to drink” she said in a joking manner. That’s just not the right way to address your customers, your only customers mind you. So 28 year old Melissa, 31 year old Alex and 27 year old Andy pulled out our IDs and gave them to the lady who quickly shut up and took our orders. We enjoyed the beer and hummus while talking about football in Italy. Alex has season tickets for his home team, a cherished commodity as the 28,000 person arena comes nowhere near meeting the demands for tickets in the area. Alex said he waited in line for nine hours to get them a few years back. Now he is set, all he has to do is renew each year. After our drinks and snacks we drove uptown for a sightseeing tour of Charlotte. This is actually something we had never done, Melissa and I never took the time to walk around uptown and take pictures like tourists. It was great. The weather was beautiful, fall was in Charlotte and a Sunday evening in uptown was very nice. We made our way down Tryon, taking pictures along the way, and then back up and over to College. We told Alex about all the buildings and the best places to get food in town. We walked down to the new light-rail line and along past the arena. Alex noticed the new NASCAR hall of fame building that I had not seen yet. He took a picture so he could show Kevin. After our long photo-taking tour of the city we made our way back to the car and headed to one of Charlotte’s most famous restaurant, The Penguin.

The Penguin is the one place we try to take everyone who is visiting Charlotte. If you haven’t been then it’s must next time your in town; the diner with great food and drinks and an atmosphere like nowhere else. Business men, tattooed rockers, old-timers, families with their young kids, black, white and whatever…The Penguin the common meeting place where everyone comes together of fried pickles, cheap beer on tap, and a small block burger. I love this place and as always it was packed to the gills. We waited at the bar for a seat. Melissa and I drank some beer that was the special, can’t beat $1.50 for a good Belgian Wheat on tap. An order of fried pickles were also acquired so Alex could try it. Supposedly pickles are not very popular in Italy. He says that when everyone goes to McDonald’s for a burger they always take off the pickles. So Alex didn’t enjoy the fried variation, Melissa and I happily picked up the slack. I think Melissa was sitting next to the drunkest guy in Charlotte. I mean, this guy was way gone and by himself. Not a good situation. So everyone in the room was watching from the corner of their eye to see what was going to happen. He finally made his way out without incident.

At our table small blocks were ordered around. I explained to Alex what “Southern Style” meant and he gave a face of disapproval. No southern style for Alex. I think he really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Afterwards we searched for ideas of how to kill an hour of time before he had to be at the Greyhound station for his 9 PM bus back to Greenville. Melissa suggested NoDa so we hopped in the car and made our way up North Davidson Street to Charlotte’s bohemia. We headed straight for Smelly Cat Coffeehouse for a mocha, some hot tea, and a seat to spend a little time in. We talked and just sat for a while. I told Alex how I had played the room a few times back in 2006; he said he really liked it, thought it was comfortable. Around 8 PM we made our way back uptown. I’m glad Alex got to see the city light up and we drove in, we all commented on how pretty it was with all the lights. When we got to the station we took a few pictures with Alex before he left. We waited in line with him and talked about the last time he was going away. Before we knew it the line was moving and we had to say our goodbyes. Melissa gave him a big hug, she hates goodbyes, and I followed. We told him that we loved him and that we will see him next time, hopefully in his country if we are lucky. It was sad to say goodbye but it was great to see Alex again. I wasn’t sure if we’d ever be able to see him again but I’m so glad we did. We both love Alex very much. It was sadly quite at the house once we got home, we already missed him.

So that brings us up to today, Wednesday, October 8, 2008. I love this month and all that follows it. Fall just brings along many great emotions for me. I listen to certain kind of much and feel a certain. The albums I always wear out this time of year are “The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner” by Ben Folds Five, “August and Everything After” by the Counting Crows, and all the albums by Travis. Records are like the seasons for me, they come a go and attach memories along the way. I hope to add more this year. This weekend is Fall For Greenville in upstate SC, a festival I’ve been attending for many years. One of first dates with Melissa was to Fall For Greenville, I remember it well. The talented Rocco Deluca is playing this year so I’m excited about that. I’ve been a big fan of his first album for a while now and I’m excited to see him in this setting. So that’s all for now, see ya next time.

Cheers,
Andy

Thursday, July 17, 2008 - Live Albums and Bootlegs

I just had to get on here and comment on some late breaking news; well at least it is late breaking to me. I was sitting on the sofa with the wife last night enjoying a Red Stripe and Tommy on VH1 Classic when I saw a commercial for a new CD from the master himself, David Bowie. I was floored to see that EMI was FINALLY releasing the Santa Monica 1972 live Ziggy show, in it’s entirety…raw and unedited. I was giddy, like “waking up on Christmas morning” giddy (a little Tommy for you there). I can’t believe that after all these years EMI has decided to acknowledge this historical recording. It’s a bootleg, one of the best ever mind you. This was recorded during a great era for Bowie. He was touring the US for the first time in support of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars and had amazing material from Hunky Dory to vary the set. It’s rough and imperfect but all along true to form. Real music minus ProTools and all that digital crap that has, as Roger Daltrey recently commented, ruined music. I remember a section in the Beatles Anthology series where George comments how most of the music he listens to is scratchy and imperfect. What ever happened to that concept? Some bands still have a hold on this. The White Stripes album Get Behind Me Satan is a good example. Unprocessed and truly raw, recorded with one single mic! Imagine that Andy Wallace! Music isn’t always polished and easily consumed, some times the listener has to force it down and actually connect to understand and appreciate it. So this got me thinking about some of my favorite bootlegs and/or live albums. Here’s a quick run down (according to me) of what should not me missed.

The Beatles – Star Club Tapes

This bootleg is essential for Beatles Fans. Recorded in December of 1962 while in residency at The Star Club in Hamburg Germany, these tapes include over thirty tracks of pre-Beatlemania magic. What you are essentially listening to are the Beatles live in a small club, sans thousands of screaming girls with all the in-between song banter and great early Beatles music. Yes, the sound is very rough and at times hard to listen to but what this offers is a rare glimpse of the band. I feel lucky when I listen to this music. By all means it should not even exist but thankfully it has survived after all these years. Misterclaudel recently release a two disc unedited version that provides much more of the original tapes and better quality than in previous releases. If you don’t have this CD then find a copy! If you can’t find a copy, email me and I will make you one. It’s truly an amazing piece of history that shouldn’t be missed. Who knows, maybe EMI will get off their ass and officially release the Star Club tapes as well…but I’m not holding my breath.

Iggy and The Stooges – Metallic KO

I fell into The Stooges via David Bowie and his Iggy Pop collaborations in Berlin. I bought this CD many years ago and at first discarded it, I wasn’t ready I guess. The show is totally out of control. You can hear the biker packed audience screaming at the band, beer bottles being thrown towards the guys on stage, it’s really amazing. During the show you can hear Iggy say “All right” as he stops right in the middle of a song, “you assholes want to hear ‘Louie Louie,’ we’ll give you ‘Louie Louie.’” The band then goes into a forty-five minute version of “Louie Louie” with improvised lyrics consisting of “You can suck my ass / You biker faggot sissies.” The hatred in the room grows, Iggy singles out one heckler who has been particularly abusive: "Listen, asshole, you heckle me one more time and I'm gonna come down there and kick your ass." "Fuck you, you little punk," responds the biker. So Iggy jumps off the stage, runs through the middle of the crowd, and the guy beats the shit out of him, ending the evening's musical festivities by sending the lead singer back to his motel room and a doctor. Supposedly, the next day the bike gang, who call themselves the Scorpions, phoned WABX-FM and promise to kill Iggy and the Stooges if they play the Michigan Palace on Thursday night. They did play and nobody got killed. Recorded 1973~74, this is another bootleg gone official release.

The Who – Live at Leeds

Now this one was never really a bootleg but rather the bands weapon in combating bootleggers after the success of Tommy. The Who Live at Leeds is hands down the greatest live album of all time. Recorded at Leeds University on February 14, 1970, the show captures Roger, Pete, John and Moonie at their best. Explosive is the only way to describe it. The recent Deluxe Edition is great as it shows almost the entire night of music with song introductions and all. You can hear Keith scream “Good morning wankers” in “Tommy’s Holiday Camp,” love it! The show stopper however is “A Quick One, While He’s Away.” You can’t really talk about it, you just gotta listen to it for yourself. This is another must own.

With all this talk of live albums and what not I guess it’s time to officially announce the upcoming release of my own, Live in Wilmington. This one was recorded during the end of my summer outing while at Port City Java in downtown Wilmington NC on the night of August 26, 2006. It was a very rare night that yielded an intimate acoustic performance of old and new. Included on the eight song EP will be the first official release of three old numbers. “Breaking The Blues” was written around 2000 and has been hanging around ever since. The song was introduced to the guys in ROTD during the formation of the band but never made it to a set list or album. The second track finally seeing the light of day is “Carry My Load.” Another one that fell through the cracks; written around December 2003. The last ‘new’ song has been around for years, back into the 90s possibly. “A Small Southern Town” has been a staple of my live performances for quite a while now. It has garnered a cult following with my father. Haha! Needless to say it’s a standard whenever he is around and a guitar is in hand. I’ve attempted to record the song many times but never had much luck until now. Check out the track list:

1. New York City Ghosts
2. Stare
3. The Cold
4. Temporary
5. Breaking The Blues
6. November
7. Carry My Load
8. A Small Southern Town

Release date and all will be announced soon so keep checking back for more info. In the meantime dust off your favorite live LP, or MP3 these days, and enjoy some good raw music as god intended.

Cheers!
Andy

Thursday, July 10, 2008 - Atlanta GA and More

For the past few months I’ve been doing some basic tracking; spending most of my time recording a song called “Rochester” that will likely be on the next album. The piano, drum, and additional key tracks have been recorded and now it’s on to an acoustic guitar track. I attempted to record a bass line but just ended up proving how inept I am at playing bass. I might give it another go. For this song I’ve been keeping the Scottish band Travis in mind. I’m not trying to emulate their sound but rather just be inspired by the way their songs are put together. Electric guitar might also be added but we will just have to see. The next song that I plan on tracking will more than likely be “Riverboat Joe.”

On the song writing front, I wrote a song called “Want” one the piano in early June. It’s a pretty silly song but who knows what might happen with it. Also, a guitar number called “Tracks” was thrown together just a few days ago. I recorded a quick acoustic guitar demo with Doumbek, shakers, and Mbira accompaniment. It’s pretty crude but acts as a good recording map for the future of the song. Again, not really album worthy material but still worth mentioning.

April was spent at our home in Mooresville; cooking out, eating, and drinking. Melissa and I did make another trip down to The Handlebar in Greenville to see Kevin Max perform. A band called Civil Twilight opened up the night and they were bloody amazing. Their music was so tight and energetic. I never really expect much from openers but this band took me by surprise. Kevin Max followed joined only be an acoustic guitar player and iMac. It was a small crowd, around seventy-five people or so I’d guess. Melissa had gotten me into Kevin’s music last year when we downloaded The Imposter album. It has been a staple on my iPod ever since. The man’s voice is really mind blowing; so powerful and truly unique. The highlight of the performance for me was “Stay”, wonderful song. We stuck around after the encore so we could meet Kevin and get a pic. While waiting around a teenager commented on my Hard Days Night t-shirt. He said that is was an underrated album, Beatles talk quickly ensued. He really knew his Beatles (even the bootleg material) which left me with hope for the future of music. We got a picture, autograph, and back to Charlotte. Sleep.

In May we went back down to Greenville for Mother’s day. We did the downtown Greenville thing, drinks at Blue Ridge Brewery and then dinner at one of the many downtown restaurants. This time it was Barley’s Taproom, a great pizza pub with a huge selection of beers. A glass followed me home. For Memorial Day weekend I surprised Melissa with a weekend trip down to our favorite getaway, Disney World! You can call me a nerd for enjoying this place so much, that’s fine with me. We always have such a great time in the Disney bubble. On our first night, after Epcot closed, we did get to watch some of the Stanley Cup playoffs at the ESPN club at Disney’s Boardwalk resort. It was like being at the freaking game. There were so many Red Wing fans there I was really amazed. It was great! Congrats Red Wings!

We had some time off at Holden Beach with my parents in June. They had rented a condo and invited ‘the kids’ to come down for the week. My brother joined them for the first part of the week while Melissa and I stayed for the second half. On Wednesday night, however, everyone was there together. It had been a long time since I had really hung out with my brother and just had a good time, it was really great. Matt’s goal was to clear out all the beer from the fridge so yes, we did a lot of drinking followed by walking on the beach, jumping in the pool with all our clothing on, and eating cold Hawaiian pizza. The night ended very late on the porch, watching the waves and the full moon. Melissa and I spent to rest of the week consuming as much seafood as humanly possible. We went crabbing one day and had ok results, four crabs total. When added to some fresh muscles and shrimp from a local seafood market, it made for a really great meal. The next day we put the middle man back in and bought a dozen live blue-crabs from a market on the waterway, $10 for 12 crabs ain’t bad at all. Melissa and I tried to play it off like we had caught them but that joke didn’t last long once my parents saw how many we had…and how big they were.

If you know my parents then you know how they will talk to ANYBODY! It’s comes from years at the bar of Blue Ridge Brewery. Well they had befriended our next door condo mates and as it turns out, the lone male next door was a folk musician from Winston. On our last night we ended up talking, one thing lead to another and before I knew it his nylon stringed classical guitar was outside on the porch among the beer and people consuming it. So we passed the guitar between the two of us, sharing songs one at a time. I was very rusty on that guitar. I have been so piano driven for over a year now that my guitar skills are, well, dormant. I played “Stare,” “The Prince of Washington Square,” and “Piece of Mind.” It was a fun night and it was great to play again, kind of makes me want to arrange a show.

A few days after getting back from the beach we drove down to Atlanta GA; we had tickets for Eddie Izzard at the Cobb Performing Arts Center. Now Melissa has been virtually in love with Eddie for quite a while now. We had seen all his standup DVDs, we’re huge fans of the Riches on FX, and (as Melissa would say) just think that Eddie is fabulous. We saw that he was going to be in New York a few months back and seriously considered getting tickets and a flight just to see the show, but we didn’t. Then one day is get a frantic call from Melissa at work that Eddie is coming to Atlanta, fan presale has begun, get tickets!!! So we snagged a pair of fifth row seats and planned for a quick trip down to Atlanta in June.

Along the way we started watching Top Chef. I guess you could say that Melissa and I are want-a-bee foodies. We are big Anthony Bourdain fans (place picture of Melissa with Bourdain here!).

Melissa will post this picture at the shear mention of Bourdain. We were able to see him speak at Charlotte Shout a few years back…we then stalked him into a dark alley (and you think I’m kidding.) We also very much enjoy Gordon Ramsey, have not stalked him at time of posting. Anyway, so we had been watching Top Chef and instantly were intrigued by Richard Blais. He really seemed to be miles ahead of everyone else in my opinion. We knew that Richard had set up camp in Atlanta but didn’t think much about it until we were watching the reunion special and he mentioned the restaurant he is currently head chef at, Home. We instantly got online and booked dinner for two before the show. Excitement level elevated!

So we made the long drive to Atlanta. I think the last time we were in Atlanta was for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame R.E.M. show, or maybe it was to see The Who? Not really sure. I have very fond memories of Atlanta; it was always the “show” city. Growing up in the small town of Liberty South Carolina, entertainment was extremely lacking and good live music was even harder to come by. So Atlanta was always there for great live shows; Tool at the Tabernacle, R.E.M. at Phillips Arena, Train at Smith’s Olde Bar, Placebo at The Roxy, Radiohead at Stone Mountain Park, Matchbox Twenty at Phillips…the list goes on. So when I think about Atlanta I think of great shows and day trips to the city. Our reservations weren’t until 5:30 but we got into Atlanta pretty early so we decided to go pick up our tickets at will call and then made our way to Home. I’m pretty sure we were the first people in the restaurant. We told the hostess that we were really early and were going to the bar for a drink. After fifteen to thirty minutes other people started showing up so we decided to have a seat and begin our dinning experience.

Now I don’t make a habit of reviewing meals and explaining every detail but on this occasion I feel obligated; the food was AMAZING. The meal began with two freshly made biscuits served with cream and spiced preserves. I was surprised and impressed with the first bite; the combination of spice with the fruity preserves was very different and it worked well. It really woke my taste buds. For our “Snack” we ordered the Deviled Eggs Duck Confit. We had been looking forward to this snack since we read the menu online, wow! The Duck Confit was so buttery and melted in your mouth; the pairing with deviled eggs was brilliant. Two courses in and we were already floored, how could it get better? For our starter we tried the Chicken Fried Sweetbread with Sausage Gravy, Apple, and Rocket Salad. Now I am aware of what sweetbread is but once I tasted it all reservations were out the window. Holy Shit! This was the best stuff I had ever out in my mouth, it just melted and the flavors were amazing. Melissa commented that she could have easily had another. Again the course had raised the bar. For the main course Melissa chose the Crispy Fried Chicken with Cauliflower Mac-N-Cheese and a hot pepper and honey vinegar dipping sauce. The best part of Melissa’s dish was the vinegar sauce on the fried chicken. It was nice and spicy while also being sweet. I had never seen fried chicken presented that way and it was definitely a hit. I’m still thinking about this dish and it’s been what, a few weeks. For my main course I tried the Slow Cooked Pork “Short Rib” with Collard Greens, Local Peaches, and Coffee BBQ. Now this is Home’s play on “short ribs,” the dish is actually a braised pork belly. This is something I had always wanted to try but had never gotten the chance to. It was mouth watering! The pork belly was so tender and had a nice thin layer of skin on the bottom providing a great crunch with each bite. Paired with the fresh peaches, light BBQ sauce, and collards it was spectacular. Melissa thought I was amazing as well; we traded bites all dinner long. For dessert was shared the Moon Pie Coca-Cola Float, very “Richard.” The moon pie was homemade and the soda had something different in it, a little spice of something. The meal set us back a little over $100 but it was well worth it. Melissa and I would happily drive five hours just to eat here again, we are actually planning to!


So after dinner at Home we drove to Cobb Performing Arts center, quickly parked the car and made our way to the great seats we had. My aunt and uncle had actually bought tickets as well so we spoke to them for a while and waited for the show to begin. The lights went down and “Let Me Entertain You” by Robbie Williams started playing. Now Melissa loves Robbie so combine that with the fact that Eddie Izzard walked out just a few moments later, it was almost too much for her to handle. It’s always a little surreal seeing someone like this so close after you have been watching them on TV for so long. It’s one of those, “I never thought this would happen” moments. But it did and Eddie was great. Funny as hell! I am really hoping that he filmed this tour for DVD release sometime in the future.

After the show we hit the merch table up and noticed a small crowd of people gathering near a portal. I wasn’t sure what was up so I told Melissa to go wait over there to see if he was coming out. I made my way through the line and met up with Melissa. Shortly thereafter Eddie comes out and does a ten or so minute Q&A with the crowd. It was great, we were like just a few feet away from him. Some people ask such stupid questions, well…not really ask. It usually begins with, “I just want to say that I am a huge fan…blah blah blah.” No, really? You’re a huge fan? I would have never guessed with your Cake or Death T-shirt and your tickets to a sold out show!? What idiots. Anyway, what a great day…the best I have had in a long time. We tried to make it all the way home to Charlotte but I have a bad habit of getting drowsy at the wheel so instead we stopped in Greenville at my parents place. What a day.


On Saturday we went to see The Newsboys play at Knight’s Stadium in Fort Mill SC. We have been big fans for quite a while and saw this as a chance to get real close to the band. We bought the $5 general admission tickets for the infield and ended up right again the front barriers. Melissa has been perfecting her photography skills and got some amazing pictures at the show. The music was great as always, uplifting and original. They played a new song, well new to me, the was really great. I can’t remember the name of the song right now but I’m sure it will be on an upcoming album.

So wow, now that my novel is almost complete! I hope to have some new music out there soon, maybe even a show or two in the fall. We will just have to see how it all shakes out. Alex Quaranta who played in Remains of the Day with me will be visiting the states this September. We are planning on doing some recording for sure, maybe even a show together. I’ll be releasing a live EP this fall that was recorded in Wilmington NC during 2006; more official news on this later. See ya.

Love,
Andy

What I’m Listening To:
Vampire Weekend