Upcoming shows of interest and fun things i have done

urrent mood:ready to rock
May 26 @ Headliner's .. Peter Searcy's CD Release party. Peter built me an unbelievable keyboard stand. Actually, his friend Alex built it. It's basically a custom-built shell of a piano, and my keyboard sits right on the ledge where the keys go. It looks dead-up like an upright piano. I thought it was a fun idea, and i always hated the giant logo on the back of my keyboard -- i'm not getting paid by the company, so why should i advertise? Plus, those X-shaped keyboard stands just look sort of cheesy. But i am blown away at how different it feels when i'm sitting behind this pseudo-piano. I actually feel like i'm at a real piano, and my whole attitude is different. Really weird.
Anyway, you may have seen it this morning on FOX news. Betcha thought it was a piano, yes? Check it out tomorrow night at Headliner's (May 26).

Kush
Okay, so i love performing music, but i'm not the biggest fan of rehearsing music. BUt i was at a rehearsal a few days ago with Kush Griffith, and i did not want to leave. The man knows exactly what he wants out of every instrument, and knows exactly how to extract it from the musicians. I am so wishy-washy when it comes to arranging, probably because i'm young and indecisive and know there are thousands of possibilities. But Kush -- who was the musical director and main trumpet player for James Brown AND Parliament back in the day -- hears the whole groove in his head and tells you what he wants. And it's incredible to hear it build from nothing to absolutely funk. Not to mention that Kush is both blind and in a wheelchair. Groove groove groove.
You HAVE to come out to the Kush Griffith Benefit show. It's Saturday June 2 at Bobby J's in Louisville. 8:00. $10
Maceo Parker (read the Wiki entry, if you don't know who that is) is taking time off the road (i hear he's out with Prince these days) to stop by and play. Kush said 4 out of the 5 horn players for James Brown will be there. And other even bigger funk names are rumored to be dropping by to jam.
What have I to do with this show? I'm the keyboard player. The FUNKY keyboard player, i should say. And with my new keyboard/piano shell, i will definitely be bringing the funk. I may actually end up doing a few of my own tunes there too. But now i want to write some old-school funk stuff. Silly me and my pop-rock-americana stuff.

Other notes..
I didn't make it to Nashville as planned last week (sorry) because I was hanging out with all the new friends (hello there, new friends!) I made at the Non-commvention in Louisville. But i'm planning on heading there on Sunday for a couple of days. I still miss you Nashville, but you're hanging in there without me. You're just not having as much fun as you could be if you had me there to play with.

Play, play, play. It's more fun that way.

Ha, i also went to the Ryan Adams concert at the Brown as part of WFPK's listener appreciation series. You probably heard that he only played for 30 minutes, wore a hoodie and sunglasses the whole time, and insisted the lighting be incredibly dim. I could barely see him, but he did sound beautiful at least. I have never seen him live before, and honestly, i don't own any of his records past Whiskeytown stuff. But i digress... of course, he got moody and left the stage early. Everyone was annoyed, a lot of people really angry. I was mostly annoyed because I had hoped he would throw a bigger fit. Maybe yell at the bass player, or knock his microphone to the floor. Give me some antics if you're not going to give me a show. Otherwise we can just buy the record...

music, music, music

Music music music
Current mood: artistic
Satiating my insane urge to play music, I have played with someone or some band pretty much every night since March. The late nights at clubs and the sugar in the Crown Royal are working on my sanity and my belt buckle, but I refuse to be defeated. I'm having too much fun.

Some favorite recent musical adventures:

Playing musical saw with Steve Cooley, Larry Raley et al, on Monday nights
Singing old-school country duets with Mr. Raley
Fronting an all-star rock band that included Peter Searcy as my bass player and danny flanigan as my guitarist. And having a crowd there to appreciate it ... thank you all for coming!
Running into friends old and new and playing at Air Devils until 5 am for no one but ourselves.
Impromptu mandolin and fiddle sessions (although i am terrible at each) with JLP on the deck.
Playing accordion with Love Jones at their annual pre-Derby show.
Rehearsing with Peter Searcy's band for his rockin' CD release. (yes, i'm actually enjoying rehearsals. Very unlike me, i know.)
Being randomly called up onstage to play keyboards with Tim Krekel's band at the Willow Park concert. John Mann, your keyboard rules.
Dancing to Johnny Berry music until 4 am on Derby night.

There are many more, but those are some recent highlights. And i'm hoping to have one of these lists every month, so bring on the funk. (And I suspect i'll have some good ol' funk added to next month's list after the June 2 show. Maceo Parker is playing with us... and other bigger names are rumored to be dropping by...)

Now... Nashville ... i miss you. It's been two months. But i'm coming to see you on Saturday.
My good friend John Mann will be playing at the Bluebird Cafe on Saturday, and I am taking that as a good excuse to get out of town. My Tennessee garden needs tending. If you're in Nashville on Saturday, drop me a line.

And if you're in Louisville, Friday night is the Gram Parsons Tribute Show at the Pour Haus. I'm singing TBA Gram Parsons tunes... and general Emmylou Harris parts. And Sunday afternoon, my fabulous chorus has their Spring Choral Concert at Mercy Academy on Broadway. I'm just accompanying, but these girls have worked hard all semester to sing sing sing. Come out and have tea with us. 3:00. Free.

I'm also absolutely ready to make my next record. Any requests? I really just want to record two of my favorite new songs ... "Sunday Afternoon" and "You Make Me Wanna Go to Church." I played the church one last night, and someone called it "Brigid-to-the-max." Rock.

And completely unrelated -- go see the baby elephant at the Louisville zoo. I went on Sunday and watched it frolic for about 40 minutes. Ridiculously cute.