F@#k You From Santa...

The Proclivities take on my version of F@#k You From Santa, a rewrite of Cee Lo's 2010 hit single. This was taken at Jeanne Jolly's Holiday show with special guest Matt Douglas & The Proclivities. Berkeley Cafe on Dec. 19th in Raleigh, NC. Enjoy!

Jesus may resent you if you don't come to this...

I mean, it is his birthday. And what better way to celebrate the holidays than with me, a beautiful singer with the last name Jolly that will make your heart cry, two awesome bands, one of which includes the great Zack Hickman of the Josh Ritter band, and some great rock & roll mixed with some holiday favorites? Come on now.

Berkeley Cafe

217 W. Martin St.

Raleigh, NC 27601

Sunday Dec. 19th

8pm

$10

Erin McKeown's "3 Song EP" has been released...

The XM Loft Session that we did a year ago has been released as an EP! You can download a hi-res version of it here. The 3 songs are from her LP Hundreds of Lions on Righteous Babe records, for which I contributed woodwinds to quite a bit of the record. The live EP features myself and the great Marc Dalio on drums/percussion.

Solo show at The Cave - Nov. 17th

It's always fun for me to play at The Cave, though often times you're
playing to a bartender and one lazy-eyed Chapel Hill homeless guy. A
good place to try and stretch out some new tunes, which hopefully I did.

Morning Songs

Tim from The Morning Times and I are starting a songwriter night. The first one will be on December 14th from 8-10pm in the upstairs lounge of The Morning Times! Hopefully this will be something that can turn into a regular event. But don't worry, I don't think I will always be on the bill.

Downtown Raleigh has added some fantastic new venues to the scene, but none that would really support songwriters in an acoustic listening environment. The upstairs of the Morning Times coffee shop has an awesome, intimate lounge that I think will sound pretty great. I'll have a small PA there to help with the sound and to make the performances feel a little more like a concert.

Jeanne Jolly is a total badass folk/country singer that everyone needs to hear. Check her out at...

www.jeannejolly.com

Can't wait to see everyone there!

Original poem I wrote that turned into the song Bleeding Hearts...

The glass you broke into a million pieces...shattered,

Traces of red, traces of red in your hair.

Hands on hearts I hope that you're still sleeping...soundly,

Holding your tears, holding your tears in my hand.

Take these simple signs and plead forgiveness...carefully,

Love the worst part, love the worst part of me.

Advice...

"She won't replace you, left you in a bottle by the shore,

I'll be your message baby, call it out then smash it to the floor.

Wake from a dream, all you see is through a crack in the door...

Chance stands there laughing,

Self-defense try and rip it from the core...

...but hearts don't move.

"I've got a stack of red greeting cards with your name on 'em, and the date and the time..."

Pics from the car of Western NC...

Photos taken by my lovely wife Ellen. Thank god she didn't drop her phone out the window.

The good kind of whining...

I had the pleasure of playing a solo show for the good folks at the New River Winery in Lansing, NC this past Saturday night. It was what I like to call a quad-threat of pleasures: Playing solo for people that are listening, drinking an obscene amount of wine, being in Western North Carolina in the Fall, and having my wife Ellen there to hang out with me. Normally the "quad-threat" evening involves illegal activities, poor decisions, sometimes vomit, and regrets. But we got away without any of those. And I'm incredibly grateful to my good friend Nic Slaton for treating us so well and showing us such an amazing time.

Last night of the Kellogg Tour...In Vermont!!!

We're here! At the Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont, and it is amazing here. Last night we destroyed it at World Cafe Live. I'd say we put another crack in that damn Liberty Bell.

A little taste from Little Rock...

A nice pic from the road! The Small Ponds plus our Last Chance Records friend and leader, Travis Hill. Please sell lots of records Travis. Please.

Today, we rock Maryland. The land where dreams are crushed by our cold hard gettin' it. Look out Towson...

Charlottesville at the Jefferson...bowling in Raleigh?

So The Small Ponds kicked off the next leg of touring with Stephen Kellogg and his Ultimate Sixers in full style at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville Sunday night. A great show, a great crowd, amazing little theater. The majority of the Ponds went home after the show, while my amazing wife and I hung out with my dear friends Zack Hickman, Adam Larrabee, and Adam's awesome wife Chloe. They had just finished up a weekend of playing with their infamous bluegrass 80's cover band Love Cannon, which also served as the backing band for Josh Ritter on Sunday afternoon.

We returned to Raleigh Monday and had a nice day off indulging in a Small Ponds/Kellogg and the Sixers dinner at Gravy, followed by some very enthusiastic bowling at The Alley on Hillsborough St, followed by wings and nightcaps at the Raleigh Times. Since I've been drinking for the last month straight, I was sure that the evening would be relatively tame, which of course, it was not. But we kept it classy, and nobody's pants came off in public. A success.

Tonight, we play the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, and then off to the Northeast tomorrow.

**Today's blog entry feels like work because I feel a little worked over. There was a pretty serious lack of humor, witty wordplay, anecdotes from the road, etc. I would put a picture up, but I can't find my phone right now and I don't feel like looking for it. More to come, I swear. And it will get better.

Home from the tour...for now.

So we're all home recovering from the last couple of weeks of late nights and grueling drives. Our final show in Minneapolis was amazing! The Varsity Theater is a truly outrageous place with amazing decor and incredible sound. While we were there, the incomparable photographer Darin Back (www.darinbackphoto.com) took shots of Caitlin and I for a part of a series he is working on. Very theatrical. I'm still waiting to see the ones of me riding a pony. We'll see if I love them as much as Caitlin thinks she will.

I also had the chance of catching up with my good friend Aaron Dysart (pronounced "Die, Sartre!!). He is an amazing sculpture artist based in the Minneapolis area. You can see his work at www.aarondysart.com. Be prepared to have your mind blown. Not just by his unique and delicately thoughtful creations, but by his wickedly enthusiastic facial hair.

I feel bad that I was able to fly home via a beautful wedding in Baltimore while the rest of the Ponds had to drive all the way back to Raleigh. But I had to meet my baby in Baltimore. And that's really all there is to it.

Somewhere in Illinois...

On our way to St. Louis after a great show at the Belcourt Theater in
Nashville! We had an amazing home stay at Jen Gunderman and Audley
Freed's house. Jesse and I slept in a room that had an amazing grand
piano and a closet full of guitars that were all fancier than anything
I've ever ogled at in a boutique guitar shop. And their driveway is
shaped like a guitar headstock and they have a pool. And from their
yard you can see the river and the Opryland Hotel off in the distance.
We talked about funny little balding white men that do
ethnomusicological studies, and the Beatles, and the changing tastes
of American youth, and we downed a bottle more than we should have.
God bless Nashville...

House concert stage...

...to Georgia?

After a rousing Austin show, the Small Ponds split the scene to try and cover a few hours of our long journey to Georgia. In our humiliatingly sober state, we were pulled over in a town called Chandler, Texas due to a rear light outage. The officer was kind and only gave us a warning. He asked what kind of music we play, which Jesse's responded to with "Ummm…it's pop!" Then I immediately poked my head around and said "but with heavy country influences." After which Caitlin popped HER head around and said "plus violin!" The officer smiled and said, "All you had to say was violin." He totally genre profiled us, and we were on the right side of his taste-o-meter.

The Tyler Express Inns & Suites gave us a good deal on seven hours of blissful, bedbug-free sleep before we hit the road, headed for Carollton, Georgia, a mere ten hour drive. There we will play a well-attended house concert at our good friend Chris Laney's, followed by an evening show at a local spot where we'll share the stage with his band.

Texas was an experience. It's probably the most American place that you will ever experience. It's big, dumb, and beautiful. In a place where they execute the most number of people in the country, there's a church on every corner. And across from the prison, there's a prison museum, honoring the system. And they fucking hate government. Which I guess is somewhat understandable, except the roads are terrible, and because of a lack of signage laws in a lot of places, it looks like you let your drunk Aunt Tammy decorate the joint so it ends up looking like a cross between an Applebee's and a junkyard. The contradictions ARE the intriguing part. And a Texas sky is one of the most beautiful sights you've ever seen. Just like a rambling conservative Baptist, it goes on forever, and you're not exactly sure why.

Tour continues...

Houston. Holy shit, Houston. This short blog update is going to be dedicated to our good friend The Breeze. He blew in to our first show with Stephen Kellogg, and destroyed our minds and sensibilities as we raced around the town searching for the next cocktail and mishap. We visited both of the bars he owns: Grand Prize and Big Star. EVERYONE should go to these bars. Then we ended up at his friend Rachel's house for an evening of sing-alongs and weiner dogs. 5am came fast and wake up call came even faster. A great kick off to the Kellogg tour...

We have reached the promise land...Waco, Texas. I'm not convinced that they have music here, so that's why we just stayed the night. Last night was our 2nd show with Stephen Kellogg at the House of Blues in Dallas. Kind of a rough technical start to the show, but a strong finish involving mild insults to the crowd and me almost falling over from my momentary rock fever and attempt at snapping the next off of my guitar for reasons involving both drama and contempt. We booked it to Waco for some punch drinking with my close friend Will, who is getting used to Texas and their signage laws, or lack thereof. After playing a show at the House of Blues in Dallas, it feels strange to talk about post-grad level studies of the Federalist papers, Abraham Lincoln, and teaching assistantships, but refreshing. Goddamn Texas has a big sky. And we are feelin it.

The Lyric Theater in Oxford

Small Ponds on Tour!!

This is Day 5 of the Small Ponds Fall Tour 2010 Extravaganza!! We had
our CD release show in Raleigh on the 16th, an amazing show at the
Evening Muse on the 17th, an intimate throwdown in Birmingham, Alabama
on the 18th, a REALLY special release show at the Whitewater Tavern in
Little Rock, and an awesome experience in Oxford, Mississippi at the
Lyric Theater and in the true Faulknerian way I will write this entire
update as one continuous thought sentence feeling since we visited his
home this morning and I was inspired by his home and his quotes about
your environment and what it means to work at home and attach your
name to such work and how to live with a little paper and a desk and
whiskey and how mint juleps should be served cold in a metal cup and
how loneliness and solitude are very different and separate things
which makes me happy to know...

...and here's a picture of Caitlin and Skillet taking a picture of a
cow under a dock in a Small Pond...

New Small Ponds EP releases TODAY!!

This is an exciting day for The Small Ponds!! Our new EP Caitlin Cary & Matt Douglas are... The Small Ponds comes out on Little Rock, AR based label Last Chance Records. You can purchase it at www.lastchancerecords.com or from us at SchoolKids Records on Hillsborough St. in Raleigh today at 5:30 when we play an in-store show there, or tonight at the Pour House for our big full band show!!

Check the calendar for all of the Small Ponds dates coming up in your town!

Review:

The Independent
http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/the-small-ponds/Content?oid=1667695

Interview:

The Daily Tarheel
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2010/09/the_small_ponds_better_than_swell

The Hot @ Nights

The Hot at Nights play Marsh Woodwinds on Thursday, September 2nd at 8pm.

$10 and BYOB

The Hot at Nights is the instrumental super trio led by 8-string guitar great Chris Boerner, with Matt Douglas (of The Small Ponds, The Proclivities) on saxophones/woodwinds/effects and Nick Baglio on the drums. They play an aggressive style of electric instrumental music, using mostly original compositions (with the occasional Radiohead or Joe Jackson salutation) as launch pads for their embarrassingly ferocious improvising. This group has a technique for miles in their bones, but whiskey in their hearts. Come to Marsh Woodwinds on September 2nd so they can share their eclectic musical tastes with you in one collective face slapping. You'll enjoy it.

www.chrisboernermusic.com

www.marshwoodwinds.com

Thanks for your time!!

The Hot @ Nights

"Because it's so goddamn hot in North Carolina. Even at night."

Lots of Small Ponds excitement!!

We play at Tir Na Nog TONIGHT with the great Jon Lindsay! Next week, we play LOTS of shows with Jon Lindsay...

Thursday August 26th

The Garage

Winston-Salem, NC

Friday August 27th

The Whiskey

Wilmington, NC

Saturday August 28th

The Visualite

Charlotte, NC

Sunday August 29th

Local 506

Chapel Hill, NC

Looking forward to all of them!! And Jon Lindsay's new record Escape From Plaza-Midwood is out NOW. Check it...

http://www.chocolatelabrecords.com/jon-lindsay-efpm/

Kisses!

It's so hot I could slap my grandma...

...and she would thank me for the breeze that my sweaty palm made as it approached her aged face. Those are the kinds of things I'm thinking about as I'm on my computer in my no-central-air pre-war apartment. Other impossibilities for the day include creating a Facebook event for The Small Ponds, understanding how my beautiful wife could want to join the jogging club, and how to finish a sentence without getting distracted by a song or a dog or a phone call. Upcoming events of note...

July 9th at Jessee's Coffee Shop in Carrboro, NC

July 10th at Broad St. Cafe in Durham, NC

and the start of our July 2010 Small Ponds Tour up the East Coast!! We kick it off at Ashland Coffee & Tea in Ashland, VA on July 14th!!

Wait...Matt plays the saxophone?

New show dates are up!!

Check out all the new dates on the calendar section of my website!! And you can also check out The Small Ponds' website here!!!

The Small Ponds on WKNC

Here is the interview that I did with Caitlin Cary on WKNC last week. Patrick from the band Luego is also with us. Enjoy!!

http://wknc.org/blog/post/11448/interview-with-luego-and-small-ponds/

Things are happening!!!

Things have been happening! But I've been terrible about writing them down. My band with Caitlin Cary played a show at the Pour House in Raleigh this past Friday that was fantastic! Thanks so much to BJ from American Aquarium and Luego for playing as well.

Next week, I'll be playing solo at Ruby Red on June 2, in Charlotte with The Small Ponds at a private party, and then...

The Small Ponds help open the Downtown Amphitheater on Friday June4th!! 6pm!!! Come listen to us, and then we'll go take out ties off and have a drink.

More news to come...

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!

Easter...

Next weekend will be busy. I play with Caitlin Cary at 8pm in Raleigh at Marsh Woodwinds, and with The Proclivities at Broad Street in Durham at 10:30pm. Both on Friday night. On Saturday, Caitlin and I are back at the Six String Cafe! If you come, I WILL make you do the moose head with your hands. If you don't know what I'm talking about, even better.

Next weekend will also be the last weekend of my unmarried life. And good riddance to it. As far as music goes, I've been thinking about Sparklehorse a lot these days. We may do a Sparklehorse tune with The Proclivities on Friday. As far as how Jesus plays in to all of this, well...I'm just not quite sure yet. But I do know some pretty sweet Jesus jokes, so you should ask me about them when I see you next weekend. It would be tacky of me to tell them to you now.

I Swear...

I swear...I'm going to write. I can write clever things about what happens to me. Music, puppies, food, naps, etc. You will be able to follow what I say, and it should entertain you. I will do my best. And you will not be intimidated by what I'm saying, or by the frequency in which I'm saying it.