Back from San Francisco -- LIVE at The Fillmore!!

The Fillmore is probably the coolest, most alive venue that I've played. Not necessarily the prettiest, or most comfortable, or even the largest, but it is alive with all the musicians that have performed there in the past. I couldn't believe that I got to be on stage there with Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band. We filled out the horn section with Jeff Bordes on trumpet and Danny Sandoval on tenor sax. Both fantastic players with charisma for miles.

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.

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.

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.