4-String LOTW #42 (Fender Jazz Bass with the Ditto Looper)

4-String LOTW #33 (Mandolin through a Monoprice Tube Amp)

4-String LOTW #10 (Mandolin with Backwards Looping and Delay)

I don't know if anyone checks out this blog any more, but I've done a lot of videos on the YouTubes since I stopped writing regular blogs.  This is the 10th weekly installment of my second Looping series.

I released my first instrumental album, Loops, about a year ago.  You can pick it up at www.JeffMillerOnline.com - it was inspired by my first Loop of the Week series, and features performances by the legendary guitarist (and looper) Phil Keaggy.

LOTW 43 (First Take)

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - Jeff Miller Live at Hill Chapel House C...

JM Newsletter - Fall Tour and some exciting announcements

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2014 Fall Tour Edition It's been too long since the last Newsletter. But I'll do my best to get you caught up on everything that's been going on. There's a good bit, too, but I'll do my best to run through it speedily. First off, I want to welcome all of the new readers from Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina! All of the news since the spring falls into the audio / video realm... Nashville Unleashed In the last Newsletter, I mentioned that I would be making my major network television debut, as an extra on the ABC show "Nashville". We had some fun playing "Where's Jeff?" here and on my facebook page. I've gotten some calls and emails to do some more work on the show, but my schedule hasn't worked out well to make a triumphant return in season 3. Hopefully I'll have some time after the Fall Tour. In the meantime, however, something even more exciting (in my opinion, at least) has developed. I am proud to be part of a great group of songwriters and performers here. We've been doing unique shows over the past several years. The originators and organizers of this group have been hard at work getting national (and international) TV interest in our show, and, over the summer, signed deals with many cable networks to get the series to premier this fall. I happen to be in the very first episode, which will air this coming Monday (September 29th) on the Heartland Network (formerly TNN). It will air on other networks around the country (and one in New Zealand!) in October. Also appearing in this episode are Bridgette Tatum (hit country songwriter) and Devious Angels (which includes a former member of The Pink Spiders). Because the series has been picked up by multiple networks, there will be multiple start dates for the series' first season. Click the link below for more exciting news about Nashville Unleashed, and to find out what other networks have jumped on board with the series. Loop of the Week My LOTW series ended a year-long run last month. Each week, for 52 straight weeks, I recorded a new loop-based piece of music. Thank you for "tuning in" to watch it throughout the past year. As a result of doing this series, my YouTube page is getting between 4,000 and 5,000 views a month. If you haven't caught any of the videos yet, you can find the entire series by clicking below. Click the image to access all 52+ videos in the Loop of the Week series! Here are some highlights from the series: ▪ The Grand Finale (using 3 loopers simultaneously, with 7 instruments) ▪ Live at a House Concert in the DC area ▪ Using Artificial Harmonics and Backwards Looping ▪ Live in Dayton, OH ▪ Live in Frederick, MD ▪ Rocking Out ▪ Whistle Looping ▪ Vocal Looping ▪ Spooky Halloween Loop I am currently working on my first instrumental album, which is based on this series. Look for it to be released around the middle of 2015. Professional Music Videos While we're talking about the YouTube channel, there are two new, multi-camera, fully-produced music videos currently in production. I've been told that they will be ready to go at any point, so be sure to subscribe to get the notification when they come out. 2014 Fall Tour Schedule It all starts tomorrow night in Louisville, KY! It has been years since my last show in Louisville, and that's where the 2014 Fall Tour will kick off, as I share the stage with Tonya Buckler and Danny Flanigan. This year's tour is filled with a more new venues than usual, as well as several House Concerts, which are my favorite shows to do. It's going to be good, and I look forward to seeing many of you again over the next 34 days. I also wanted to remember to point out that I'll be doing a Looping Clinic on Monday, October 13th, in Frederick, Maryland. This will be an intimate, hands-on look at looping and looping techniques. There should be a good amount of time for Q&A and one-on-one instruction. Bring your looper, if you have one. September Shows Thursday, 9/25 - 7:00 pm w/Tonya Buckler and Danny Flanigan at The Rudyard Kipling in Louisville, KY / $5 suggested donation - pass the hat Friday, 9/26 - 5:00 pm Bruning's Wine in Beavercreek, OH Saturday, 9/27 - 7:00 pm Spinoza's in Beavercreek, OH Sunday, 9/28 - 7:00 pm Short Set at Leo Coffeehouse in Cincinnati, OH Monday, 9/29 - 8:00 pm The Trolley Stop in Dayton, OH Tuesday, 9/30 - 6:30 pm Black Bear Burritos in Morgantown, WV (Pleasant Street location) October Shows Wednesday, 10/1 - 11:30 am CCAC North Campus in Pittsburgh, PA / free, open to the public Wednesday, 10/1 - 5:00 pm (Later That Evening) Backstage Bar in Theatre Square in Pittsburgh, PA Wednesday, 10/1 - 9:00 pm (Even Later That Evening) Rock n' Bowl at Arsenal Lanes in Pittsburgh, PA / $8 for all you can bowl Thursday, 10/2 - 11:00 am CCAC West Hills Center in Oakdale, PA / free, open to the public Thursday, 10/2 - 6:30 pm Black Bear Burritos in Morgantown, WV (Evansdale location) Friday, 10/3 - 7:00 pm Moon Shadow Cafe in Accident, MD / please call for possible cover info Sunday, 10/5 - 4:00 pm North Country Brewing Company in Slippery Rock, PA Tuesday, 10/7 - 9:00 pm Feature Set at Hambone's in Pittsburgh, PA Wednesday, 10/8 - 12:00 pm (noon) Market Square in Pittsburgh, PA Thursday, 10/9 - 7:30 pm Hill Chapel House Concerts in New Market, MD / $20 donation Friday, 10/10 - 7:00 pm Providence House Concerts in Providence, RI / $10 donation - Please email k_teichert@hotmail.com to RSVP, and to get further details Saturday, 10/11 - 8:30 pm Small World Coffee in Princeton, NJ Sunday, 10/12 - 7:00 pm Central Coffee in Sperryville, VA / $10 donation Monday, 10/13 - 4:30 pm Looping Clinic at Brewer's Alley in Frederick, MD / $20, space is limited Monday, 10/13 - 7:00 pm (Later That Evening) Feature at the Songwriters' Night at Brewer's Alley in Frederick, MD / pass the hat Tuesday, 10/14 - 8:00 pm w/Melissa Alesi and The Hummingbyrds at The Electric Maid in Washington, DC / $10 donation Thursday, 10/16 - 8:00 pm Columbus Inn in Wilmington, DE Friday, 10/17 - 9:00 pm Suba in Harrisburg, PA Saturday, 10/18 - 7:30 pm w/Matt Wheeler at Green Room House Concerts in Ephrata, PA / $10 donation Sunday, 10/19 - 12:00 pm (noon) Bluemont Vineyard in Bluemont, VA Monday, 10/20 - 9:00 pm 622 North in Blacksburg, VA Tuesday, 10/21 - 6:00 pm House Concert in Forest, VA / $5 donation Wednesday, 10/22 - 12:00 pm (noon) The White Hart in Lynchburg, VA Wednesday, 10/22 - 7:00 pm (Later That Evening) Benjamin's Cows and Crabs in Forest, VA Thursday, 10/23 - 5:00 pm Big Lick Tropical Grill in Lynchburg, VA Friday, 10/24 - 7:00 pm Salty Dog House Concerts in Cameron, NC / $15 donation - Please email Rob120m@aol.com for details and to RSVP Saturday, 10/25 - 1:00 pm (Tentative) Keswick Winery in Charlottesville, VA / please call ahead, as this show is tentative Sunday, 10/26 - 2:00 pm Music Mania House Concerts in Mills River, NC / $15 donation Monday, 10/27 - 2:00 pm Lake Junaluska Bookstore and Cafe in Lake Junaluska, NC For complete details and updates, visit JeffMillerOnline. See you at the shows! Jeff

©2014 Jeff Miller | Nashville, TN

The Latest Newsletter - Spring Tour and Acting Debut!(?)

First Things First

Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2014! Some of you may have caught some hints at some exciting news recently . . . news that I was waiting to unveil at the right time. When I was 8 or 9 years old, I took a survey in school with the rest of my classmates. In retrospect, I think that the point of this exercise was to get us to use computers. Yes; I realize that 5-year-olds now know how to program mobile apps, but these were simpler times. We were tricked into typing on a computer through the allure of a survey about our favorite subject: ourselves. The survey included a decent number of questions (for some reason, 25 pops into my head), all about ourselves: birthdays, height, eye color, favorite foods, favorite subjects in school . . . After every student had completed his or her survey, we received printouts of the surveys, and I think the computer program even did a little bit of match-making, telling us what other students answered the most similarly to us. This is my first memory of being asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I think we were allowed three answers for this question, and for some reason, one of my answers was an actor. In looking back on this, it has kind of confused me as to why this was one of my answers. I never really pursued it, and I never really felt that I had a passion for it. I don't think I've ever told anyone about that little survey. It might be in a box of things that my parents brought in a recent visit, or it may be gone forever. I still wouldn't say that I've pursued the acting field, but it kind of fell into my lap earlier this year, when I got the opportunity to work as an extra on the set of ABC's hit show, "Nashville".

Don't worry. I haven't gone Country (and Country music isn't the only thing on the show, in case you haven't seen it). And (so far!) my "role" on the show is not a musical one. But you can witness my major network acting debut tomorrow night (Wednesday, 2/26) at 10 pm (9 Central) on ABC! I can't say too much, but I play a reporter, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be visible in this episode (number 15). Just don't blink. If you can be the first one to send me a picture (screen capture, however you want to do it - just make sure that you point out where I am!) of myself on the show (simply attach it to an email and reply to this Newsletter), I'll send you a free digital download sticker for one of my albums! These new stickers, which I mentioned in the last Newsletter, contain a code to download one of my 4 full-length albums. So check out the episode tomorrow night, as my 8-year-old self's dream comes true. And I'll be in at least a few episodes, so we'll continue the "Where's Jeff Miller?" game over at my facebook page.

Loop of the Week

Click here to see the entire Loop of the Week video series.

The Loop of the Week series continues to go strong. In fact, my page used to only get about 150 views a month; it now receives over 4,000 views a month. Thank you for checking out the new videos each week. I hope that the stuff that I'm coming up with is interesting enough to keep you coming back to listen/watch! If you'd like some background music while you're at work, you can choose to play all of the songs, back to back. There's now more than 2 hours of material in the series. We broke the half-year mark a few weeks ago, and this week's video will be #29 when I get to recording it. Subscribe to the page if you want to be sure to catch each new creation. If you haven't checked the channel out in a while, here are some highlights from the videos that have been created since the last Newsletter: ▪ Christmas Song ("O Come, O Come, Emmanuel") ▪ "Auld Lang Syne" ▪ Some Fast Looping (starting at about 2:30) ▪ Backwards Whistle Looping ▪ Classical Guitar ▪ Rocking Out

Show Schedule

I have a few more TN shows before the 2014 SPRING TOUR begins! I am filling in a few holes in that tour, so now's the time to get in touch if you have some suggestions or want me to play a particular venue (even your residence - House Concert?). I have a short string of dates - April 2nd through 4th - that I am specifically hoping to find shows for. The areas that I can consider are: Washington, DC and vicinity; Philadelphia area; New Jersey; central PA.

February Show

Friday, 2/28 - 7:30 pm TOPZ Frozen Yogurt in Hermitage, TN

March Shows

Friday, 3/14 - 7:30 pm TOPZ Frozen Yogurt in Hermitage, TN
Saturday, 3/15 - 6:00 pm Cafe Fontanella
Monday, 3/17 - 11:30 am Einstein Bros. at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN
Thursday, 3/20 - 7:00 pm SPRING TOUR Begins at Gillie's in Blacksburg, VA
Friday, 3/21 - 6:30 pm Palisades Restaurant in Eggleston, VA
Saturday, 3/22 - 1:30 pm Lake Junaluska Bookstore in Lake Junaluska, NC
Sunday, 3/23 - 2:00 pm Private House Concert in Forest, VA
Monday, 3/24 - 8:00 pm The White Hart in Lynchburg, VA
Wednesday, 3/26 - 8:30 pm The Neighbors Place in Lynchburg, VA
Friday, 3/28 - 7:00 pm Fredericksburg Songwriters' Showcase in Fredericksburg, VA
Saturday, 3/29 - 1:00 pm Bluemont Vineyard in Bluemont, VA
Saturday, 3/29 - 7:00-ish pm Cristina's Cafe in Strasburg, VA
Sunday, 3/30 - 7:00 pm With Ray Bennett at Caffe Amouri in Vienna, VA
Monday, 3/31 - 7:30 pm Brewer's Alley in Frederick, MD

April Shows

Tuesday, 4/1 - 10:00 pm Vermilion in Alexandria, VA
Saturday, 4/5 - 7:00 pm Standing Stone Coffee Company in Huntingdon, PA
Sunday, 4/6 - 5:00 pm Songwriters' Night at Frederick Coffee Co. in Frederick, MD
Tuesday, 4/8 - 6:30 pm Black Bear Burritos in Morgantown, VA (Downtown location)
Wednesday, 4/9 - 9:00 pm Arsenal Lanes in Pittsburgh, PA / $8 for all you can bowl
Thursday, 4/10 - 5:00 pm Backstage Bar in Theatre Square in Pittsburgh, PA
Thursday, 4/10 - 10:00 pm Duke's Pub & Pizza in Mt. Lebanon, PA
Friday, 4/11 - 7:00 pm Bark at the Moon House Concert in Lisbon, OH
Saturday, 4/12 - 6:00 pm Faith Cafe in Sharon, PA
Sunday, 4/13 - 1:00 pm North Country Brewing Company in Slippery Rock, PA
Monday, 4/14 - 6:30 pm Black Bear Burritos in Morgantown (Evansdale), WV
Tuesday, 4/15 - 11:00 am CCAC Boyce campus in Monroeville, PA
Wednesday, 4/16 - 7:30 pm Skibo Cafe at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA
Friday, 4/18 - 1:30 pm Fundraiser at Wright State University in Dayton, OH
Friday, 4/18 - 7:00 pm Spinoza's in Beavercreek (Dayton), OH
Saturday, 4/19 - 3:00 pm Bruning's Wine in Beavercreek (Dayton), OH
For complete, up-to-date info, please visit JeffMillerOnline.com
See you at the shows!
Jeff

2013 Fall Tour starts tomorrow!

I realize that it's been a decent while since my last post.  There are a couple of reasons for this:

1)  It's very difficult to find time to post while I am in the middle of a tour that has more shows than days on the tour.  Over the years, I've had more shows on my tours, and less time to work with as a result.

2)  My family was with me during my Summer Tour.  I didn't even have a chance to think about posting an entry during that tour.


But my biggest tour begins tomorrow, Friday, September 20th, and includes 40 shows in 30 days!  I hope to see you while I'm out on the road!

Here's an overview of the schedule (click on it to make it huge):

Full details can be found, as always, at JeffMillerOnline.com

Hopefully I will find the time to post a few times during the tour, but don't count on it!

2012 Fall East Coast Tour Blog #8 (End of Tour)

I am currently in the middle of my 2013 Spring Tour, but I feel compelled to finish retelling the account of the 2012 Fall Tour, because it was the best tour of my life so far (though this year's Fall Tour looks like it will surpass it).  It also included at least one more freakish incident at the end of the tour.  I'll try to get through the rest of it quickly.

We left off just midway through the tour.  On the 14th of October, I made a fairly lengthy trek from Ringoes, NJ to Mt. Airy, MD for a winery show.  The crowd there was a tad on the slim side, but it was a very supportive one, and I somehow managed to sell ten CDs and increase my CDs per show average, somewhat to my surprise.  That evening, I stayed with an old friend and her family, and they insisted on taking me out for dinner.  This is something I have tried to gratefully decline over the years (especially when it is from a tour host), but I have been very fortunate to have grown accustomed to the kindness of friends (and strangers) when I am on the road.  I don't take it for granted.  That evening, I had the chance to repay them by helping them disassemble, move, and reassemble some furniture in their house.

On Monday the 15th, I had the opportunity to perform as part of a monthly series at a venue I had been trying to get into for at least a few years.  The venue was nice, and they fed me dinner, which was also nice, but the music room did not get very full that evening.  There were maybe 7 or 8 people in attendance.  It was a nice, listening room show, but I only managed to sell one CD.  A few of the people there were actually people I had met previously at house concerts in the area.

That evening, I stayed with some other friends, and had this awaiting me in the guest room:

I've never had towel animals made for me when I've been on tour, so having two in three days was quite surprising.

I had another decent drive on Tuesday, as I would be returning to New York City.  Trips to NYC are always an adventure, but this trip to NY was perhaps the least eventful one that I've had in all my years of touring.  Getting through the Holland Tunnel (this tunnel takes you from NJ to NY or vice versa) can take anywhere from 15 minutes (usually very late at night) to an hour.  On this occasion, it only took me about 15 minutes from the moment that I could see the tunnel to the moment that I had exited through the other side.  My show in NY went really well, and several friends came out.  We grabbed a late dinner together after the show, which was great.  I don't usually get to hang out with a group of people like this while I'm on tour.  I may see a lot of people, but it's usually at shows, when I am not really able to really catch up and spend quality time with them.  That evening, I stayed with a good college friend.

On Wednesday the 17th, I would return to Connecticut for a show for the first time in I don't know how long.  I played at an Irish Pub in West Hartford.  I ordered dinner (bangers and mash), and unloaded my gear onto the stage area while it was being prepared.  The "stage" was a small area raised up by a few inches from the rest of the floor, and it usually has tables and chairs on it.  The staff cleared away all the tables and chairs that weren't being used, but two men remained at their table, talking.  This wasn't a big deal, as I wasn't ready to plug things in and sound check just then.  But I kept my eye on them as I waited for my meal to arrive.  They were already done eating their dinners, and were just talking.  It was obvious that there was going to be music that evening, and there were several open seats at the bar, but these men stayed there until it was impossible for me to set all my gear up and start playing on time.  The pub apparently has a policy of not asking customers to move...

Though they did eventually get up, they didn't leave.  They sat down at the bar!  They could have done so 20 minutes earlier than they did.  Oh well... it was just a strange thing.  The pub wasn't a music venue per se, so I was basically background music.  It was basically a non-responsive crowd for the first set.  Thankfully, a couple came in at the beginning of the second set and sat at the table closest to the stage.  They were really excited that there was live music.  I basically played that set for them, and when the night was done, they asked me a bunch of questions, including ones about looping.  They grabbed a couple of cds and asked me to sign them.  So an emotionally draining situation turned into a fulfilling one by the end of the gig.  That evening, I stayed with a high school friend who I hadn't seen in way too long.  We hung out with some of his friends, one of whom was known to shake salt onto chocolate chip cookies before he ate them.  He convinced me to try it.  It wasn't bad.

On Thursday, I made another lengthy drive, from West Hartford to a tiny town, the name of which escapes me, but it's about as close to being in PA, MD, and DE at the same time as you can get.  As I was driving in unfamiliar territory, I ended up passing the address of the venue.  There were no cars in the parking lot, and it didn't quite seem like a restaurant to me, so I drove a little further.  I called the number that I had for the venue, and no one answered; but their message had a recording that advertised live music, so I thought that seemed hopeful.  Anyway, I backtracked to the place that I thought might have been the venue.  Sure enough, it was.  But this is what the parking lot looked like:

(That's my car on the right.)  Thankfully, driving to this closed venue did not add too many extra miles to my tour route, but it's always disappointing when a venue cancels, and even more disappointing when they don't have the courtesy to let me know.  They apparently had shut down a couple weeks prior, but made no mention of it on their facebook page (or their phone message).

On the 19th, I played in my home state's capital: Harrisburg.  I have stayed in Harrisburg several times, but this would be only my second performance in the city.  The show was at The Midtown Scholar, a humongous bookstore with two levels.  A band from Connecticut opened up for me.

I'm always concerned that I won't be able to hold the audience's attention when a band opens for me.  But this show went extremely well.  The sound was great, the audience was great.  I only knew two or three people there, but I wound up selling 8 cds, and one person went out of his way to tell me that he came because he saw my poster, and that he enjoyed my set more than a Keller Williams show that he had recently attended...quite a complement.

On Saturday the 20th, I returned to a little coffee shop in Wayne, PA (just outside of Philadelphia).  This place used to be a regular stop for me in my first years of touring, until they limited their live music nights to just Saturdays.  Since my Fall Tour, they have cut out all live music, except for their open mic.  I made a decent amount in tips and sold 2 cds.  It was a decent crowd, and included a fan from years ago, who happened to be walking by the coffee shop as I was setting up, and didn't realize that I was in town to perform.  After the show, I drove back to Harrisburg for the night, largely in order to avoid driving through areas of higher population the following day.

And on that following day, I made the long drive from Harrisburg, PA to Blacksburg, VA, after which I had (dinner and) a three-hour show.  No one at the venue was expecting me, but I pointed out that my posters had been up on their doors for at least 2 weeks, and told them who I had booked the show with, and everything turned out fine.  They had also reserved space for a small party to watch the Sunday Night Football game.  This party never showed, oddly enough.  All in all, everything turned out well, considering the potential setbacks.

On Monday, October 22nd, I had my only day off of the tour.  In anticipation of this, my hosts, who are both excellent photographers, suggested shooting some videos of songs.  So we spent most of the day working on one of the songs.  It will hopefully be up soon... I don't want to give away too much, but it involved a lot of leaves.  And there was no shortage of them in the area.  Look at this - they actually have trucks come along that vacuum up the leaves from the street, and residents are encouraged to move their leaves to the street.  My neighbor would be irate.

On Tuesday the 23rd, I had the first of two midweek House Concerts.  House Concerts are my favorite type of show to do.  I usually do them on weekends, however, and crowds are unpredictable on weeknights.  Unfortunately, this night's show in Mt. Airy, NC was thin in attendance.  The host, who is also a musician, was great, and offered me a small guarantee, and I was able to sell 4 cds.  Though it could have gone much better, it was still a decent night.   You can't win them all.

On Wednesday, I played at a Bed and Breakfast in the small town of Blackstone, VA.  There was a great, engaged crowd that filled all of the seats in the living room where I played.  I wound up selling 11 cds, which I'll take on any Wednesday night.

On Thursday the 25th, I headed back to Blacksburg for another show.  After the show, we did another video shoot for another song.  Again, these videos should be up on my YouTube page sometime soon - please feel free to subscribe to the page to stay on top of all of the new videos!

Friday was the second to last day of shows.  I had two shows in Asheville, NC.  I really like that town, but have struggled a little in my attempt to find a great venue to return to for shows.  My first show was at a really neat place, though, called French Broad Chocolate Lounge.  It's not really a music venue, but they do have music on the weekends.  Tonight's visit was the best one I've had there so far, and I managed to sell 5 cds.  I think it was the fourth time I've played there.  After that show, I quickly packed up my car and headed to another venue for a midnight set.  Prior to that first show, I actually went to the second venue to grab dinner.  Anyway, there were very few people at the second show, and, in retrospect (you'll see why if you read a little further), I wish I hadn't booked the gig.  I sold one cd, but it really wasn't worth the extra running around...

...or hitting a bear with my car as I drove to my hosts' home that evening.

The man on the left hit the bear first.  He had pulled his car off to the side of the road (I-40 East, just outside of Asheville), as had a couple who saw him hit the bear.  I was moving my car from the right lane to the middle lane, and wound up hitting the bear because of this.  I then pulled my car off to the side of the road, and ran toward the other cars.  I yelled "Is it a deer?"  As I approached them.  The guy who hit the bear was pulling it off the road as I arrived where he was, and he said "Dude, it's a bear.  You know you gotta facebook this sh*t!"  It was certainly an experience, but I wish I hadn't had it.  I was going about 65 mph when I hit it, and it felt like hitting a speed bump much too quickly.  Fortunately, my car seems to have withstood the damage well.  Some plastic undergirding was broken off, and my front bumper was also mangled a little.  My alignment is a bit off now, too, but nothing that required a repair visit happened.  The first person's car was apparently pretty banged up, and he asked me for my contact info for insurance purposes.  A few weeks after the end of the tour, I got a call from Geico on his behalf.  I was nervous the whole drive to the place where I would be staying, but didn't notice any issues, and my fuel economy stayed pretty consistent.  As of this writing, I am currently getting about 45 mpg during my Spring Tour.

After this bear encounter, I was ready to go home.  But I still had one more show, and, thankfully, it was another House Concert.  Have I mentioned that House Concerts are the best thing ever?  If you're interested in hosting a house concert, please shoot me an email, and maybe we can line one up!

I arrived early to set up for the show, and encountered this sign as I turned onto the long driveway:

It was a great final show of the Fall Tour.  The weather was still nice enough to set up outside, and the owners of the home actually made a stage and mini amphitheater for their House Concerts.

There were between 15 and 20 people there, and the hosts actually apologized for the small crowd, saying that they usually get at least twice that number.  I wasn't upset though, as all the people in attendance were bona fide music fans.  I sold 26 CDs that evening, as well as a shirt.  I believe this is the highest number of CDs I've ever sold at a House Concert, and probably the highest ratio of CDs sold to audience members.

The next day, I made the long final drive from the Charlotte, NC area back home to Nashville.

The End.

2012 Fall East Coast Tour Blog # 7 (day 28)

Driving Stats:

Miles Driven      - 4312
Average Speed   - 48 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 44.5
Total Driving Time - 90 hours, 34 minutes (3 days 18 hours, 34 minutes)

We left off after I passed the strange pickup truck / motorcycle accident near Uniontown, PA.  I was en route to my first show at Cristina's Cafe, and my first visit to the small town of Strasburg, VA.  This was almost two weeks ago; I am way behind now.

The venue is very cool, and I hope to return.  But this show did not go well, unfortunately.  The local high school's homecoming football game was that same evening, which I am sure did not help.  That's just one (among many a) thing that makes planning tours more difficult than it already is.  Especially in small towns, one seemingly common event on the weekend can virtually eliminate any chance for a decent crowd.  Nevertheless, there was a good number of people there, eating dinner, during the opening act's set.  The opener was a Chapman Stick player who went by the name of Flint Blade.  I am nearly certain that it is a stage name, though he continued to go by Flint for the entire time that I interacted with him.

I usually don't do shows with other acts on the bill (and was originally the only act for this evening), but the owner of the venue suggested that adding another act would be good for everyone.  Flint played for about 80 minutes, and I grabbed dinner during his set, while I listened to him.  As he was reaching the end of his set, people were already beginning to head out the door, as they had finished eating dinner.  I tried to set up as quickly as possible, with the hopes that I would start while some people were still around.  One group, as they headed out the door, asked me where I was based, and after I said "Nashville", they voiced their disappointment at having to miss the set.  They said that they were on their way to something else... maybe the game.  But they probably assumed that I was a country artists, so maybe it was a good thing that they didn't stick around.  Unfortunately, almost nobody stuck around.  I think I played 2 songs, and then did a quick explanation of what looping is.  After that, there were only three people in the room, not including me.  And Flint and his girlfriend were two of them.  I was going to cut the set short, but a couple people came in, and instead of sitting across from each other, sat on the same side of a booth in order to be able to face the stage.  One of these women had an expression on her face most of the time that they were there that I can only describe as a seemingly-excited smile, one that indicated that she knew me (and I felt like I was supposed to knew who she was, and was trying to think of who she might be while I continued playing).  I never figured out who she was, and I don't think she knew me, either.  I played a few more songs, and the women came up to check out the CDs.  They grabbed a copy of the latest disc.  So, considering that only three non-performing listeners were in the audience, 33% was an okay result.  I just wish that more of the people would have stuck around, as there were about 25 people there at the start of the show.  I guess you can't win them all, but it was a pretty big dud of a show, especially for a Friday night.

But the venue was great, and definitely has potential, as long as I can try to be sure that nothing else is going on in town.  The owner of the venue also puts the artists up in her house, which is hugely helpful.  I wish more venues would offer this to touring acts, and am, frankly, a bit surprised that they don't.  Thankfully, I have a great network of friends and fans who continue to offer a place to stay, so this is usually not a concern while I am on tour (thanks, tour hosts!).  In addition to putting us up Friday night, the owner told me to stop by for breakfast on Saturday, on the house.  I gladly took her up on the offer after waking up and packing up again to hit the road.  I spent a couple hours there, eating a huge breakfast (it was closer to lunch time) and catching up with some things online and making plans for the upcoming drives for the tour.

My show on Saturday the 13th would require another long drive - one from Strasburg to Princeton, NJ.  I decided to drive through Harrisburg, PA in order to avoid the DC area.  DC traffic is the traffic that I hate the most.  It's the worst, and though the distance for the trip via DC and Baltimore was a little bit less than the route I took, it could have made the trip at least an hour longer, depending on what was going on in the area.  As it was, the trip took about 5 hours.  I was instructed by some friends to get dinner at Hoagie Haven upon my arrival in Princeton.  But there was a long line for ordering (out the door), and no available seating (it was pretty chilly that night).  So I went next door to A Slice Between, and got a couple slices of pizza.  Some day I will partake of a Hoagie Haven hoagie.

The last time that I performed at Small World Coffee was at least 4 years ago.  I played on a Thursday, and there were very few people there throughout the evening.  This time, it could not have been more different.  I was luckily able to snag a parking space almost at the door of the venue (it's on a fairly busy street that was completely full, but someone was pulling out of the spot as I waited at a red light).  Thanks to this parking miracle, I had ample time to unload my gear to set up for the show.  I needed my PA system, which obviously requires more set up time.  The place was packed, and it is large for a coffee shop.  The staff had to ask a group to relocate in order for me to set up in the corner of their upper level.  It was pretty loud there before I started.  I think this is due mostly to the number of people there and the material which makes up the surfaces on the inside.  I was a little bit concerned that it was going to be more like a bar gig with all of the noise.  But a woman and her daughter came up to me to ask when I would be playing, which was encouraging.  I started maybe 5 minutes after the scheduled start time, and as I began, the volume became a little bit less of an issue.  It was still loud (especially for a coffee shop - it was the loudest room of the tour up to that point), but it was obvious that there were tables of people that wanted to listen.  I sold 6 cds by the end of the night, including two to a student who was doing work, and was on the first level of the coffee shop, in an area that was one of the worst places to be able to hear the music.  He asked me why I was playing coffee shops and not bigger clubs.  I am flattered by these comments, but I never know what to say.  I just told him that I gotta do what I gotta do, and that it's not easy for an independent artist to set up and get people out to shows at bigger venues.  If any readers know the secret, I'm all ears.

After finishing up the show and talking with some listeners, I ordered a chai latte for the road.  Small World makes there own chai mix, and it is the spiciest chai that I've ever had.  The barista told me that she'd weaken it for me, but it was still very spicy.  My throat wasn't feeling the best (it rarely does after shows in loud environments, as I tend to over-sing in those situations), and I wasn't particularly enthused by the idea of consuming a very spicy chai.  I had about a 40-minute drive to my hosts' home, and finished the chai during the drive.  It was still very spicy, but it actually made my throat feel much better.

I stayed with friends of my wife's family that evening.  I assumed that they waited up for me, but they were more awake than I was, so they might be night owls.  Speaking of animals, I had this waiting for me on the bed where I would be sleeping:

I caught up with my hosts over a slice of pumpkin pie, and got ready for bed, as I had to hit the road again on Sunday morning, to make a drive to Maryland for an afternoon vineyard show.

2012 Fall East Coast Tour Blog #6 (Day 22)

Driving Stats:

Miles Driven        - 3243
Average Speed     - 47 mph
Miles Per Gallon  - 44.4


On Wednesday the tenth, I had my only three-show day of the tour.  On Thursday, I would have my first night off of the tour.  But I did have an afternoon show, to conclude my week of shows in western PA.  It was at the University of Pittsburgh, for the Emerging Legends series put on by Calliope.  I've played for the series twice previously.  There is usually an attentive crowd, a mix of many ages, some students, some not, and some there specifically to listen to music.

There was a good group there again, including some old friends and other familiar people.  The went fine, but I only walked out with 4 dollars in tips.  In the past, this was an album-purchasing crowd, so I was a bit surprised to not sell a single one.  But the people were very nice, and a couple of them even went out of their way to offer positive feedback.  One man came up to me as I was packing up, and said that he majored in music.  He said that he couldn't figure out how to make a go of it, and that he was impressed that I was able to.  He told me not to give up.  I get similar comments from people during most of my tours.  I've lost track of the times that someone has come up to me at a show, and explained how much they wanted to do music, but something got in the way.  I wonder if these people tell me to keep at it mostly because they wish they had...  I'd probably make similar comments to people if I wasn't still doing it now.

Enough of my philosophical waxing.  Here's a photo a high school friend took at the show.

I ate a late lunch at my parents' place after the show, and hung out with my wife and baby.  Having that Thursday night off worked out well, especially since I was in Pittsburgh.  The Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Thursday night game on the 11th, so it probably would have been a bad show if I scheduled one.  My wife and I headed over to my brother's house to watch the game.  A good high school friend of mine was also able to come over.  It was a great night, except for the loss that the Steelers managed to surrender.  They are already very badly beat up this season, though, so I give them a pass.

On Friday, I had the first long drive since Saturday the 6th.  This one was about 4 hours long, and this would be getting back into the more extensive ground covering of the tour, as this past week has been full of driving.  I refueled for the journey, and about an hour into the drive, I saw one of the strangest things that I've ever seen in my entire life.  And I'm pretty sure, looking back at the route, that I would have missed this site if I had stuck to the route that I originally intended to take.  I was going through a smaller town in PA; I believe it was Uniontown.  I came around a bend, and had to brake, somewhat unexpectedly.  There was an apparently recent accident in the opposing lane of traffic, and someone was directing traffic, letting groups of cars take turns using the one open lane.  The accident was right in front of a school which had just let out, so buses were also part of the mix, coming from the school's lot.  With all of this waiting for my turn to pass, I got a good look at what had happened, though I still have a lot of unanswered questions about the whole situation.  Here is what I saw:  a truck had wrecked into the back of a motorcycle.  Yes, it sounds terrible.  But here's the catch.  The motorcycle was still upright, and the back end of the the motorcycle was wedged underneath the front of the truck.  From what I could see, there were no injuries.  The driver of the truck was there, and was trying to dislodge the bike by running his truck in reverse.  It was not working.  A cop was there, as was the man directing traffic and a fourth man.  There was no ambulance, and I never heard any sirens or saw any other emergency vehicles in the vicinity.  The fourth man and the cop were trying to help to dislodge the bike by holding onto its handlebars (or perhaps pushing forward on the handlebars) while the man in the truck was running the truck in reverse.  Insane.  Has anyone in the area read anything about this?  I am so curious.  I managed to snap a picture, but it was as I was driving by, so I couldn't aim my iPod well enough to get a full picture; I just rolled my window down, point the iPod out the window, and hoped for the best.  I only managed to capture the front part of this meeting of vehicles, so you might not believe my story.  In retrospect, I should have tried to snap two pictures quickly.

I have to hit the road again.  I hope I don't see another motorcycle accident.  But if it's like this one, I'll try to get a better photo.