I know, I know, I don't write to you enough ... Or is it too much? We probably won't all be able to agree on that, will we? Most of the musicians I know have stopped sending out gig emails. Most of us have gone to announcements on Facebook and that kind of thing. I still do it, because it gives me a reason to write to you, to stay in touch with you. I've thought about giving up these notes to you, but a couple of months ago I got an email from someone who heard me play a show in Milwaukee and wondered if I was ever gonna come back to play Wisconsin again. I'll bet it's been ten years or more since I played Milwaukee. I was so amazed that someone would stay on my mailing list, read these emails and even write me back after all of these years. It inspires me to keep writing to you. (Thanks, Mal.)
Leigh Rigby-Adcock, Kevin Marken, and Pat Horton surprised us by driving all the way from Ames, IA to see our show with Eric Taylor.... Photo by Leigh Rigby-Adcock.
Jackie and I will be at Vino Where You Live in Mount Vernon this Friday. Vino Where You Live is a charming, friendly venue where proprietor, Tom Noonen, will aerate your wine for you, if you order the red. (I always order the red just because I like the gurgling sound of the aerator.) If the weather is good, we'll play out on the deck. It's lovely, it really is. My friends, Leigh Adcock, Kevin Marken and Pat Horton, surprised me a few weeks ago by coming from Iowa to a show here in Columbus that Jackie, Eric Taylor and I did together. I'm hoping that they'll come back over for this one. It's only another hour further away. You can sleep on the floor in my basement again, Kevin.
Good news from Iowa: I'm working on a show at Byron's for September, a split bill with me and Dave Moore. Dave is one of my favorite musicians, so I'm very excited about this show. But, the news gets even better. When I told Dollface (Eric Taylor's name for Jackie) that I was going to Iowa in September to do a split bill with Dave Moore at Byron's, she said, "I love Dave Moore, I've always wanted to play Byron's, I'm coming to Iowa to play that show." Wow! That woman knows how to make me happy. We'll see if she can actually take time off of work to do this.
I'll also be at the Maximum Ames Festival in September and I'm fishing around for some more shows to do. Oh, this just in: something's cooking in Omaha. I'll let you know the details as I find them out.
My tour with Eric Taylor last month was demanding and wonderful, crazy and inspiring. We did nine shows in eleven days all across the Midwest. Eric is already back out there for a couple weeks of shows on the west coast. Travel well, my friend, and play it like you mean it. I miss you, man.
Thanks for listening,
B