Editing is Important...

... and having looked again at the previous post, I realize how important. I will revisit this once back in Ireland.

USA Wrap

Well it’s my last day in Nashville – my last day in the States too. So many new friends, new places and new experiences. I’m sad to leave but will be glad to get back – it’ll be good to see family, friends – one of my being my four-legged one. No, not a horsey. My dog, Clara, who’s been staying with her mother, aunt and 3 of her siblings.

Flagstaff

I haven’t even begun to blog about the amazing retreat, staying at the Couch-surfing http://www.couchsurfing.org/ ‘Batcave’ in San Francisco, fear and loathing in LA or even the glitzy party to which I was invited – from the hotel elevator as I was returning to my room. About 200 people and I was the soul representative of the white brotherhood.

Possibly the most honest man in San Francisco

The places I’ve played still don’t include the Bluebird Café http://www.bluebirdcafe.com/

but do include Kulak’s Woodshed http://kulakswoodshed.com/ in Hollywood, The Sequoia Retreat Centre http://www.sequoiaretreatcenter.com/ – near Ben Lomond, Northern California, Mission Bart Station – San Francisco (by special request) and, in Nashville – Douglas Corner http://www.douglascorner.com/ , The Commodore Grill http://www.myspace.com/commodoregrill , Bobbies Idle Hour http://www.myspace.com/bobbysidlehour , Dan McGuinness’s http://www.danmcguinnesspub.com/nashville/ , and Picks Hall of Fame http://www.myspace.com/picksnashville . Also got to write a song with Thomm Jutz http://www.thommjutz.com/ and Jamie Cutler http://www.myspace.com/jamiecutharper – we all love it too.

Douglas Corner - in the top 3 open mic sessions

The people I’ve met too – mainly at Dan McGuinness’s, a popular Music Row hangout with a wonderful staff and amazing food. Ireland could use an Irish Pub like this. People I’ve met and enjoyed here include Ralph http://www.ascap.com/nashville/murphy/ – Murphy’s Laws of Song-writing, Jim Horn http://www.myspace.com/jimhornmusicservices – world’s most recorded Sax player – from Frank Sinatra you the Beatles (all four on their solo projects too). Pat McInerney http://www.myspace.com/ptmdrums (Nanci Griffith’s Band) who kindly introduced me to Thomm.

Old friends – Shine like Diamonds. Being snowbound for 3 days can test a friendship too. Thank you Tony and Sue Norris for a wonderful time in Flagstaff http://www.tonynorris.com/

Avalon and the 4 Brothers - Seqoia Retreat Centre

It’s as if the big doors here open more easily than the little ones in Ireland – I’m thinking one day, I’ll have to move here.

I’m noticing there’re a lot of links here – it’s been a lot of fun.

Still looking up in Nashville

Lastly – but by no means least, I’d like to mention a little old lady who’s been following me around and also having a ball. She’s really been the Tour Manager, connecting all the dots and ensuring a safe ride. Her name’s Eileen O’Neill – and she died in September 2009 – good to have you on board Ma

meanwhile, back in Nashville

Back in Nashville and there’s so much blogging I haven’t done. I’m sitting in Douglas Corner and there’s an open mic starting soon. It’s supposed to be a really good one and I probably won’t get to play. Different places have their own systems. Here the deal is, phone in during the day and you go on the list. Nobody tells you this and so you know the next time. Shucks. I’ll be playing in O’Donoghoe’s next Tuesday. I’m actually looking forward to getting back but will miss the USA more than I would have imagined and think I could be back before the year is out.

I didn’t blog it earlier as sometimes announcing you’re going to do something, takes the energy out of it – and I do that a lot – a Nashville co-write with Thomm Jutz. Thomm plays guitar with Nanci Griffith and is also a record producer. Co-writing in Nashville is a business. You get an appointment, in this case from 10-1 at Thomm’s place, and you go to it. I’m more familiar with having a day, you shoot the breeze, get to know each other and somewhere along the way, you touch on common ground and write a song – or not.

A bad start as I don’t have a car on this leg of the trip and I was depending on a lift – Thomm’s place is about 20 miles out of town. The short version is that I got a lift with Jamie Cutler. We were late and I made a couple of calls to what sounded like a grumpy, pissed off Thomm for directions and we got there about 10.30 ish. I introduced Jamie and suggested she join us which Thomm agreed to.

Thomm hadn’t heard any of my stuff so I played him a few songs. He liked them and I asked him where he liked to begin. I told him that this tight schedule way of working was interesting but new to meHe asked if I had a song started that we could maybe work on. I said that while , yes, hundreds in my cell phone, I’d like a clean sheet of paper and put out a couple of ideas. The first Thomm liked but was luke-warm on. The second, based on a sign at San Francisco Airport, we ran with and by 12.30, had a cracking little song.

It’s Wednesday now. I began this last night at Douglas Corner – in the top 3 open mics in the USA http://www.douglascorner.com/ and I’m writing now at Dan’s – my second home in Nashville http://www.danmcguinnesspub.com/nashville/ . I learned that to play at Douglas, you have to phone in – on the Tuesday – lines open at 1 – and your name goes on the list. Not on the list – you don’t play.

Chet O’keefe is a singer songwriter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGexqFv55qc who’s coming to Ireland and opening for Nanci Griffith on her tour. Jamie introduced me to him a couple of days ago and, most likely, he’ll be crashing at my place. Chet hosted Douglas Corner open mic for a couple of years and came in last night to say hi. I told him that I didn’t know about the phone-in and he said he might be able to swing something. Turned out that my name WAS on the list – Jamie had phoned me in. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrt0KcMgLxc

Chet was also quietly celebrating the news that a cover of one of his songs had reached no.1 in the bluegrass charts.

Oh yes, got me a haircut – a fancy salon that said they’d make me look 25. I called in just before closing and, just as they were saying that they were sorry that there wasn’t anyone available, Lyndse said, ‘I’ll do ya’. She was great and, when I got a call asking if I was going to Douglas Corner and I was asking for directions, she said that it was close to where she lived and she’d drop me off. That’s service. She even swung by my hotel for me to pick up my guitar. That’s service that deserves a tip. Do I look 25? No, but I feel it.

Nashville without a car I’ve been told, is a no no. Nashville with a car is a nightmare if you’d like to stop and park it somewhere. I do have a car at my disposal which is kinda cool. I’ve even learned how to release the automatic parking brake.

Y’all come back now.

3 nights at the Commodore

ASCAP's Lobby - a serious place

Stella Parton broke my heart - almost

Red Chevy and Bluebird

On Sunday, within a couple of hours of landing in Nashville, I had the honour of playing a couple of songs at the last Sean McNamara Irish night at Dan McGuinness’s Bar. If I hadn’t met with eight-time Nashville visitor and friend, Enda Cullen a week or so before embarking on my own trip, It might have taken me a day or two more to find my way into this excellent ‘Irish’ bar. Bars like this, Ireland could use. The food is wonderful – the best I had in Nashville – and, while the menu is reasonably priced, everyday they do a special; Fish and Chips, Thurs, Steakburger (incredibly good) is Monday etc. which is incredibly good value at around 6-7 Dollars.

Sean Mac’s been playing every Sunday Night for 6 or 7 years – an institution. He’s good too and is opening his own bar in February. Tears were shed on that stage on Sunday.

Dan’s, being so good – the staff are so welcoming (genuinely, in a relaxed way as opposed to the in your face trained friendliness), so good it’s become a popular Music Row hang out so, for example you run into Pat Alger – writer of numerous hits for Garth Brooks and others on your way to meet with Pat McInerney – Nanci Griffith producer and more. You were introduced to Pat Alger the day before by Ralph of ASCAP, who you’d met in the bar – only a few hours after you’d had an appointment with him in ASCAP’s beautifully quirky penthouse office suite. This bar raises the bar.

Ralph's Reception - Gertrude

Monday night 49 people had the idea that they’d like to play at the world famous Bluebird Café. 23 had a stamp showing that they gone previously and not got to play and these stamps guarantee you a slot the next time you turn up. It’s a fair system and I’m now in possession of a stamp. Back in 2 weeks.

Somebody I met at the Bluebird mentioned the Commodore Grill as being a good place to play and, once you put your name down with Debbie before 9, you’d most likely get to play. Somebody also mentioned the ‘Hall of Fame’ at the Music Row Best Western – my hotel, and with my Bluebird stamp safely stored where I’ll find it, I went home and played for a very appreciative audience.

In his office on Tuesday morning, Ralph Murphy also said I should check out the Commodore and talk to Debbie Champion – so I did. Debbie’s a diamond. The sound set up is superb with Debbie – sounding a lot like Sandy Harsh of RTE radio – speaking gently into her microphone from her desk at the back off the hall, encouraging you to check your sound – one by one for each of the three performers on stage. After agreement on the running order, everyone sings a song and then you each sing a second and Debbie reminds the audience of your name and thanks you as you leave the stage clear for the next round.

I felt I gave a strong performance of my two songs – Debbie came over and said she’d really enjoyed the songs and that there was a home for me here – anytime. I told her I’d maybe come back on Wednesday and she said ‘Please Do – we’d love to have you back’. All in all, a great Tuesday.

Aidrian Mayhen also played on Tuesday and, outside while we were having a cigarette, suggested that Wednesday would be a really good night but to come early as it was Jerry Foster and Friends playing. I didn’t know what that meant but I came early. I’d made the mistake of spending an afternoon at a shopping centre – a little smaller than Dundrum but just as energy sapping. I wanted something warm – got it. I wanted a Zippo – tick. A pair of boots – not cowboy or mountain, comfortable city boots. No. Starbucks, where I stop functions in the same – customer unfriendly way – as in Dublin. I avoid it there and will avoid Starbucks here too from now on. Twenty questions about how you’d like your coffee unique, stand waiting for way too long – and they’ve got your money at this stage so flee at your own expense – and then the coffee has you wondering why you’ve come in hoping things might have changed.

Do you like it strong?? Yes. Tough, this is what you’re getting. I think I’m too old for Starbucks – I just want a good coffee quickly and without too much interrogation. My daughter tells me that, in Canada, Starbucks is actually pretty good.

Anyway, I arrived at the Commodore early and sat down at a table with a spare seat. I’d noticed a lot of limos and huge SUVs and even pre-shrink Caddies, Chevies and 20ft long Lincolns in the Holiday Inn icy parking lot. Still with my post shopping mall melancholia – and beating myself up to for not enjoying every moment of this trip I though I’d never be on, I ordered food – which was OK – not Dan’s class but Ok. The excellent generic performers doing the ‘round’ were leaving the stage and Jerry Foster and Friends were setting up.

Jerry had at least one of his songs in the Billboard top twenty EVERY week for the duration of the seventies! A flutter as the petite blonde – not unlike Dolly Parton and in fact her sister, Stella came on stage with a guitar player. Then came Michael Peterson – Google him – and James Rogers (why he doesn’t call himself Jimmy, I don’t know) followed and checked their sound – one by one.

Dolly’s sister Stella had a great line in repartee and explained she’d brung a guitar player for the fancy stuff, as, while she didn’t mind shaving her legs for the gig, she wasn’t about to spoil her fingernails. The music was superb and my mood lifted when, about 20 minutes into the show, I got the distinct impression that Stella was glancing in my direction – a lot. There was only 10 metres or so between us and though the night it got more and more obvious that she was – and, when you’re my age and free and single, this is a babe.

So a bad day was improving – big time and I was now looking forward to playing my songs and Stella coming over after and saying ‘Hey, I really like your stuff.’ – fluttering long eyelashes. Time for the last song for Jerry and each of his friends. When Stella’s turn came around, she sincerely thanked us all for turning up on such a cold night and especially, - gesturing right at me, ‘my sister Dolly’s publishers who are sitting right over there.’ I looked around and, at the table behind mine, sat four smiling gentlemen in suits.

My name was called – and two more – to come up on stage. I walked up as Stella walked down – ships passing in the night. I even admired her left-handed guitar in passing and while she said a well rehearsed, ‘Why thank you!’ – the look said something more like, ‘Who the fuck do you think you’re looking at.’

With this, I find myself up on stage, watching a full hall start to empty and most of those staying on, forming little huddles to greet each other loudly. That’s a tough gig.

Thursday. To go or not to go to the Commodore. Flip a coin. Drag yourself out. You know Debbie will be polite and you’ll get to play but a part of you thinks maybe you’re pushing it – 3 nights in a row. Get there latish – after 8 anyway and walking in are grabbed by Debbie’s sound-man and hugged tightly. ‘Would you mind doing a main round instead of the open mic after?’ – Does Stella wear false eyelashes?

Apparently, a few of the main acts that night were not able to come down from the higher ground due to ice. Debbie too and Anthony was holding the fort. It was a great night and with some new friends went on to a great bar and open mic, Bob’s Idle Hour – a place where you can sing the songs you wouldn’t in ‘Polite Company’

That was Thursday and Friday was something else.

Flagstaff, Arizona

flew to Flagstaff from LAX yesterday on the most relaxed flight I've ever been on. About half full - maybe 50 people who probably knew almost everyone on the plane. The hostess up front and in her fifties would serve well as a stand up comic, holding her nose and pulling a face when demonstrating how to enter the one restroom. The safety routine ran something like, 'We reckon you've probably figured out the seatbelts by now but just in case.... and surprise, surprise, you cain't smoke'

The views of the snow sprinkled volcanic mountains and tracks, looking like crop circles in same, combined with ponderosa pines casting shadows of about their length was stunning. Tony was on the ground at the tiny airport holding a sign saying, 'SEAN'

Any cars that had overnighted in the car park had about 6-12 inches of snow on and around them. Tony said that this side was north and that it wasn't so bad out at his place. We drove to Flagstaff - very picturesquew and got a couple of things from the store - including the 'wrong' flour.

Tony's house is down a long lane with several other house, all on a couple or three acres - hard to tell as it's flat with hardly a fence. They share a new puppy with their daughter who lives, most of the time in an apartment in their house - They've moved downstairs. The frond door is on the upstairs level and downstairs, the back. Soon after arriving, I went out the back door for a smoke. Sue came out before I finished and told me that the stange bird that ran right in front of us was a roadrunner that'd been hanging around for a few weeks now.

This morning, I looked out the window and Tony and Sue were shoveling snow from the apron leading to their cars. About 2 foot of snow had fallen on top what was already on the ground and the snow continued all day long. As I write, there's a snowstorm brewing - expected to bring in another 3 ft tonight. It's snowing almost horizontally and hard to keep a cigarette lit in it.

Today then, we didn't go to town. There's plenty of food in and Sue's quite a cook. Tony and I exchanged songs for a while, drank a bit of whisky made in Colorado by a company his son is a quality checker for - it's a single malt. With Sue, this evening, we wrote a very silly song which is also quite good. They've headed to bed and I have my emerciency kit - flashlight, candle, kerosene lamp and jug of water - if the power outs, the water stops. They've actually never experienced anything quite like this in the twenty eight years they've lived here.

Forgot to mention that through the day, if you stood watching the trees outside for five or ten minutes, you were almost bound to see a waterfall like avalanche of snow slide down a tree trunk. So much beauty. I'm trying to change my flight out from Sat to Sun and connect then with my Nashville flight. Looking at the forcast, after tomorrow, it'll ease up and the airport should be normal by the weekend - the do snow better here. Today wasn't even cold or wet - just around zero.

I couple of photos and youtube links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h9csDuwqns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvBfI4ngxac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRlAGG_sCI

a soft day thank God...

2nd co-write day in California. woke up to pelting rain which hung about, occasionally pausing. has one of the most unusual writes I've ever had and produced a diamond.

1st Days writing..

... one excellent song - 'Next Time Around' . Actually 8 songs - all with the same title all very different and all very good.

I'm in love with California...

Fox Car rentals at San Francisco give better value than Enterprise, Nashville. Four days in my Cherry Chevy worked out at the same as 7 days in this. Granted, this one has no roof - I guess that's the difference.

The little house in behind the car - and - there's only 3 of us sharing.

Good Friday... in Nashville

I’m writing as I’m flying out of Nashville, bound for St Louis and onward to San Francisco. It’s been a week of place names I know through songs, literature and film. Yesterday morning, I braved the snow and ice and drove eastside. I was planning on filling the time while waiting for the print shop to call and let me know my Cds were ready.

What, according to the printout the receptionist had given me, should have been a nine minute drive – including my first interstate miles – took me about an hour and a half and, while I found Lanes Motor Museum, I went to my first real American diner instead. The woman who served me could have come strait out of a movie. Black, motherly and very friendly. I even heard her nagging an old boy – looked like a regular customer – to ‘Go to the doctor and get yourself seen too. You men are all alike when it comes to doctors!’. Beautiful.

I had a few other things to do apart from the CD pick up on the West side, return my ‘Chevy’ – surely the reddest car in Nashville – and I was going to see a play reading at the ‘Post Depression Theatre’, somewhere in East Nashville. The play – based on legend, Kinky Friedman was being produced*** by Jaz and Jamie who I met on Thursday at the Commodore.

Having overshot the museum by some miles, I turned around and was heading back when the aforementioned diner beckoned – a Waffle House. After my 4.99 special, a BLT with a bowl of Burt’s chilli and an iced tea, I got a call to say the Cds were ready and figured I’d like to spend more time looking at the cars than I now had so best to head West and pick them up. I’m a really bad tourist – I love everything and particularly the everyday mundane stuff that’s different from my own everyday mundane.

I also got a series of texts from who I don’t know as I don’t even know my US cell number. Getting drunk and ‘making out’ was the desire of the textee. A good idea but not today.

To be sure, to be sure, I asked the motherly waitress for directions to Hillsboro, explaining that I wasn’t the best at following the US road system.

‘Ya take a right outta here – stay on the road and follow signs for Chattenooga till the road divides and follow the Memphis signs a while. Hillsboro’s signed after that and you can’t miss it.’ Poetry, and I didn’t.

When you’re on your first interstate and your phone rings, startling you somewhat, and you notice the caller display is Ralph Murphy – vice president of Membership, ASCAP – you take the call. ‘Hello my good friend, and how are you today?’

‘Scared of crashing my Chevy, Ralph and how’s your stubbed toe?’, followed by, ‘Can I call you back Ralph? I’m about to peel off my first interstate and I’d love to bring the car back in good condition this evening.’

‘You sure can, Sean. I want to give you a number of a very good friend of mine who’s expecting you to call him soon – and he’s “connected”’ – Music to my ears. Thank you Ralph!

Got the discs. Rang Mr Connected and set up a meeting at my home from home, Dan McGuiness’s, for 4 O’Clock, replied to a couple more amorous texts and got back to my hotel – a walk across from Dan’s. Burnt 3 or 4 demo’s onto the beautifully printed discs, dealt with emails – including a response to a rough recording – on the mac – made and emailed to Steve Goodie’s studio, earlier on. Steve said he really liked the song and would work on a track and suggested treatment for me to come on in and put it down on my next visit – in 2 weeks time.

A good meeting at Dan’s and even found Enterprise without getting lost and with Cherry Chevalier in one piece – albeit with way to much fuel in the tank. The kindly dropped me back too.

Six O’Clock – ‘Becoming Kinky’ starts at seven thirty and, as there’s an open mic going on in the hotel’s ‘Hall of Fame’, I got to play a couple of songs while waiting for the taxi – a big mother-f*cker of a truck, and black as the driver. And glimpses of a TV I’d had today were showing all the accidents of the day – ice and snow is big news in Nashville and there must be cameras everywhere. The big 4x4 taxi was, on this occasion very welcome this evening.

*** now on St Louis – San Francisco flight.

Nashville Open Mic Nights - compare and contrast...

The Commodore Grill in Nashville isn’t as world famous as the Bluebird Café but for a visiting performing songwriter, It’s found it to be an easier place to get to play. Turn up before nine, give your name to Debbie Champion and you’ll get to play that night. The sound is second to none and, as the open mic immediately follows the ‘Writer’s Night’ showcase, you’ll possibly have a ‘Legend’ or two warming up the crowd for you. The only drawback is that ‘the crowd’ shrinks noticeably once the Legends have left the stage.

The Bluebird by way of contrast has the Legends playing after the open mic and a lot more people turn up to play. Barbara Cloyd, who runs this Monday night event, has devised a very fair system of deciding who plays. There are two baskets and songwriters without a ‘stamp’ put their name on a piece of paper into basket number 2. Basket number 1 is for people with a stamp to put their name into. Everybody in this basket gets to play. Names are drawn out to decide the playing order. The gig runs from 6-9 and, if there aren’t enough stamp people there, basket number 2 comes into play.

On Monday night, not having a stamp, I put my name into basket 2 and just before kick off, Barbara announced that, as there were 23 people in basket 1, there was only a slim chance of anybody from basket 2 getting to play and those people with names in that basket, would be able to retrieve their stamped name at the end of the show and bring it back for basket 1 any Monday night in the future. I will.

Debbie’s open mic runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and, if she likes what you do, you can play all three.

Dublin to Nashville...

I left Dublin in snow, passed through Chicago - in the snow and landed in Nashville - no snow - about 7pm. Hotel is good and location is pretty good too. There's a small row of shops across a big stretch of road and I'm sitting in a cafe-bar there and there's wifi.

I was knackered on arrival but came over here and ate an excellent shepards pie with a pint of Guinness. Enda Cullen recommended it to me and I haven't been disappointed. I've just eaten a char-grilled burger - rare and I've never had one as good before. With Swiss cheese and fried onions, not to mention the fries, the bill came to 6.56 dollars (inc. taxes)

I'm hanging out here and giving myself an easy day. I walked for 2 or 3 miles before I found my car rental depot and have so not got a handle on getting around - need to buy a box of matches for instance - or a lighter - but don't know where the shops are - toothpaste too.

People are very friendly and open to chatting too. I played a couple of songs here last night too, wandered into the famous Tootsies at about one and there was a guy playing - stunning voice - he'd been playing since 10 and would be till the changeover at 2 - and for tips only.

Oh yes, I opened my curtains this morning - snowflakes.