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.