Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think. (Utah & beyond)

Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think. (Utah & beyond)
Current mood: inspired
Category: Music
If you know me at all, you know I love a good adventure. I rarely say "No" to an interesting invitation, unless I'm out of the country or am throwing up. I am not one of those people who asks, "Who's going to be there?" before I decide to attend the party. By the way, several of you readers ask that question all the time, and it drives me crazy. Who's going to be there? I am. And I think I am fun.

So last week, Travis Meeks invited me to Utah to make some music with him and a few other musicians, and I accepted without much thought.

I'd never met him before, and honestly, I had never listened to Days of the New. I remember when they hit it big in the late 90's, when all I was doing was homework in college. Some NYU friends asked if I knew this band from Louisville that was on MTV all the time. I didn't. I assumed they were some Christian metal band because the name sounded Christian, and they were on tour with Metallica.

Anyway, Louisville is a small town, and word spread quickly that I was going out to Utah. Several people warned me because they had heard that Travis was, shall we say, "difficult."

Let me say this publicly, then, to those who messaged me about it and asked.
I had an amazing time, and I absolutely love Travis's music. He's a very intense person, but I really enjoyed his company. He's smart and thoughtful and was very kind. He is also misunderstood, a term that I don't use lightly.

As for his music, i thought it was beautiful. Lyrically, I'm not really into angst, but I can excuse it from him because he comes by it honestly. He believes everything he writes wholeheartedly, and sarcasm does not exist. It's sad in a lot of ways. But he was an incredibly good and gracious host, and I appreciated the depth of his talents. Talent almost seems too trite of a word for it. The music is his soul, and it's all he knows.

It got me to thinking a lot about my own music and why I write.

I like to have a little fun with my music. I know that life is hard and times are rough and we're small creatures in a vast universe and blah blah and Philosophy-101 all that stuff, but I prefer not to dwell on it. And I am fortunate to be able to take a deep breath and laugh about it. So I write and perform to entertain -- to tell a story and treat people to a great show. Entertainment. And if you happen to notice that I am actually a really really good piano player while you're laughing at my yodeling, then that's cool too. But to me, i just want to write songs and perform them while you have a good time. Maybe to get your mind off of a few horrors.

I don't know that one style of music -- beautiful, honest angst vs lighthearted storytelling -- is any better than another. They serve their purpose. I wouldn't want to write dirges. I'm happy that I have the ability to shrug off the hard parts of life and enjoy myself.

There's a place for Pink Floyd and there's a place for Cole Porter. It just depends on my mood, I suppose.

Anyway, that's my pontificating. Now for some fun little bulleted points.
- My allergies went away completely in Utah; said allergies have returned ten-fold in Louisville.
- My new record will be released in Louisville May 13, in a limited-run.
- CD Release Party will be Sunday, May 18, all ages, at St. Francis on Bardstown Road @ 4:00 in the afternoon
- I'm playing accordion tomorrow in Nashville with a rockin' Colombian songwriter. Yee haw.
- Al Moreschi is a brilliant graphic designer/art director.
- Stacy Thomas makes my eyes look pretty in pictures.
- Peter Searcy is my BFF.
- I get to see Megan at the Noshville on Friday, yay.
- My dad went to Waterfront Wednesday AND Phoenix Hill with me tonight, so he's pretty cool too.
- My mom is going to be really annoyed that she is out of town and missed the debauchery.
- I'm sleepy, goodnight.

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=19356498&blogId=384326887#ixzz0tZZNlPGa

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