Archives

So we are somewhere at a truck stop in western Arkansas but hey, at least the weather is total crap. Like how positive I am? Sorry I’ve not kept yall more in the loop as of late. I know, ‘bad singer! No!’ Truth is we’ve just been crazy busy. Most all the shows have been pretty great. A few yappers in a few places have kinda pissed on things. But all in all it’s been cool. Some highlights, definitely Birmingham. Great crowd. Setlist seemed to work well. Tried out alot of tunes we don’t usually play. I think the fine folks over at heartbreakavenue.com may even have a bootleg of it. Columbus at the Basement was good. Chicago was like playing in a pizza oven. And Milwaukee was killer. I really LOVE Shank Hall. Had a wonderful show then got ‘heckled’ with the ol’-Milwaukee-10-more-song-chant. To backtrack, a few years ago we played and someone yelled that, I thought it was hilarious, and we did it. Well this time we had 0 intention of it but as the encore got rolling we thought what the hell. But me being hardheaded decide by God we will do 11. Shared a nice Spinal Tap moment with their light up Stonehenge. Good times for all. And yes, I’ve never seen Spinal Tap. What? You say. Nope. I’ve never seen it. I don’t dislike it. I’m not afraid of it. It’s just that after being on the road for 12 years you know all the jokes. All the lines and scenes get quoted on a daily basis by damn near everyone you meet. So there, I said it. Hope we can still be friends. If it helps I have seen Star Wars like 3417 times. Am I cool enough now? Ok now off to Oklahoma City.

En route to Birmingham (AL not UK) and Memphis this week. Pretty excited about both. Haven’t visited either in quite some time. Haven’t posted anything since Mountain Stage but it went smashingly well. The response was truly more than we could’ve hoped for. They’ll be airing it the week of November 6th if you’d like to listen. The following week started at my new favorite venue ever the Barns at Wolftrap in Vienna VA. This is everything you could want as a performer. The crowd was so damned attentive. It was truly a pleasure. I hear a rumor we may be back next year. I hope it’s true. Plus the Amazing Kreskin was playing the next night. It was all I could do not to cancel the Charlotte show and stay for that. If you’re unfamiliar you should check him out. It’s amazing(thus the title). Fortunately Charlotte showed in full force and made it all worthwhile. The addition of a noodle house next door and me keeping my pants on during the show led to this being far and away our best Visualite show to date. Hope maybe we can do it again next year. Then Atlanta on Saturday was fun too. The Loft was also a nasty memory of an ex crew member driving off with the trailer doors open and losing gear and a job all over W Peachtree. Again these said scenarios were avoided making this time far superior than the last. We had Nathan Angelo sit in on keys for a song and that was lots of fun. He’s done quite a bit of stuff with my brother and was kind enough to keep Siggi employed during our down time so it was fun getting to play together a bit. Some folks have been asking about touring for the rest of the year and it looks like we are gonna wrap up after the Indy show in November. So if you’re wanting to see a show you’d best come on. Then next year is Rock Boat X then over to Europe for a mess of dates. But I suppose that’s getting the cart a tad ahead of the proverbial horse. Anyhow just giving yall a heads up. Now I’m gonna go sleep off this H1N1 vaccine………..

Well here we are with nothing to do this Wednesday. I must say that these June shows at 12th and Porter were about as much fun as I think I’ve ever had onstage. Special thanks to the folks there for helping us put it all together. Each show was really quite different. I think we only repeated 4 songs through the entire run. Not bad if I do say so myself. I saw so many familiar faces. Folks that we’ve met at shows over the years. Guys that I grew up playing ball and going to school with that I’d not seen in 15 years. Parents of friends, old band mates, it was just a really amazing time. All the guests were really special. Getting to play with my brother and my dad were obvious thrills for me. I want to say an extra big thank you to all of those who came to these shows. Some came for all four, some for just one. Some traveled great distances others just down the street. None of this was lost on us. I truly feel like the luckiest guy in the world. There was a moment during ‘The Highway’s Home’ on the final night that was really one of my favorite moments ever on stage. Folks quiet, listening, then singing along as loud as you could. It meant the world to me and the band. This time away has taught us all a lot. Musically, personally, etc. I thank you all for your continued support. I promise you all we will try now more than ever to deliver YOU GUYS a show that you can all be proud of. One that we hope inspires you to go back to your work or school and spread the word. A show that will inspire us to be better each night. We’re all really excited.

Make sure you’re checking out www.heartbreakavenue.com. It’s a message board that will allow all you guys to stay in direct contact with one another, talk about shows, trade recordings, etc. Thanks to them for coming to all these shows and keeping that forum open. Hell, we may even stop in and visit from time to time.

The new album art work is pretty much finished. The vinyl will be available first followed shortly after by the CD. Sorry, no cassettes. Damn the luck. Anyhow, there will be more about all this coming soon.

I do want to let you know that ‘Even If It Breaks Your Heart’ will be the first single. For those of you in Birmingham, be listening to Live 100.5 as Dave Rossi and his crew will be giving you a first and very early chance to hear it. Starting…..oh…about 1 hour ago. haha. I hope y’all will enjoy it.

I guess that’s it for now. Gonna sort of lay low for the 4th. I’ll let y’all know more details about all the album stuff in the next bit. Spread the word and we’ll hope to see you soon.

I was gonna title this one, “I Hate The Lakers” but I’m trying not to start a feud between me and my dear friend and manager the Doug Buttleman. Ok, enough venting.

Made our way down to Birmingham on Saturday afternoon to play at City Stages. Really great festival. It wasn’t the tightest show I’ve ever done but it was certainly the most fun I’ve had on stage in quite some time. I’d forgotten how much I love playing with Dan. Hell, I’d forgotten how much I liked playing with Blade and Siggi too for that matter. We decided last minute to bring our pal Michael Webb along to play keys. He played on our last session when we recorded ‘Just Like Me(Without You)’. He’s a helluva player. We always joke that with each new member they get less and less rehearsal. Staying true to that Michael now wins as we basically just ‘discussed’ the songs on the drive down. Pretty damn funny. So we’re hoping he’s gonna be making some periodic appearances with us over the next couple months.
We got to see Grace Potter and her band play. I really like them. Then we got to all have dinner and discuss interesting and various ways and places to pack for modern day air travel. Quite informative if I do say so myself. If I only had pictures.
Caught part of the show and got to have a great chat with Dave Barnes as well. He’s another Nashville musician and truly one of the nicest people I know. Wishing him all the best with his newest album and hoping to see him again soon.

Got to spend some time with the Broussards too. Had dinner with Marc. Chad saved our ass with a ride cymbal. Thanks brother. Unfortunately I couldn’t hang to see them as my kid brother was doing a show Saturday night back in Nashville. So we loaded up and headed back to catch that. It was fun. I’ve not gotten to see him play alot with our busy schedules so it was nice to be able to see him at home.

Excluding Europe, I think I saw more live music on Saturday than I saw last year. Kinda funny. Or sad. Or both. Yes, probably both.

Ok, off to finish some songs. Gotta get this new album together to start recording soon. Y’all be well.
Go Celtics!

Ok….so the bonus live CD has been shipped. It’s in the mail as of this morning and y’all will have them soon. Sorry for the delay, I’ve been packing/shipping them from home so that’s the reason. International orders will be going out later in the week. I appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding. Now, enjoy the CD!

This weekend turned out really great! Birmingham and WorkPlay are always a pleasure. Great crowd. Fun show. It took a few songs to get it ‘going’. Probably leftover from all the eating the day before. One of the best versions of “Wait Til Your Daddy Gets Home” that we’ve ever done. Warm In The Wake started the show and they were killer. I’d heard a track on xm one night and was excited to have them on the bill. They did not disappoint. Hope we’ll see more of them in the future.
The Tabernacle in Atlanta was everything we’d hoped it would be. Just an amazing room the whole way around. It was great seeing the Broussard’s again. Plus Sons Of William, so it was kind of like a family reunion. I guess that was sticking with the holiday theme. We were all thrilled with the response. Heard lots of great feedback after the show at the merch table. Can’t say thanks enough for all the kind words and support from faces old and new. Headed out in a nearly empty bus after the show. Sorry to the folks that we’d sent out to the Claremont Lounge. It was Sean’s birthday and we’d been planning for months to go there. The Broussard’s played a little longer than expected and we didn’t get out of there until after 2. The bar closed at 2:30. You get the dilemma. So we opted for bar on the bus en route to Nashville. We stopped at Waffle House and got Sean a waffle with matches in it in place of candles. Effective, but I think he may have arsenic poisoning now. Oops. Sorry Mrs. Connelly.

Just finished watching the Republican/YouTube debate. hmmmmmmm. Let’s just say this. Mitt Romney is a douche. Mike Huckabee…pretty smart guy. There fair, balanced and equal. Oh don’t worry we’ll discuss lots more later.

Finishing laundry to head over to Chapel Hill tomorrow. Really looking forward to the shows this weekend. NC, then Baltimore and Falls Church. Lots of fun rooms. Hell I suppose that’s it for now. We’ll talk to you all soon.

So let’s see where we left off. Birmingham, one of I think my top 5 shows we’ve ever done. It was a blast!
St. Louis, best show there to date. Hooked up again with our ol’ Canadian pals from Matt Mays. Great band, great to see them. Plus our new friends from Detroit the Deadstring Brothers. They’d played with us once at a festival in Greenville and we’ve been wanting to have them on the road ever since. Glad we finally got to do it. They’re killer.
Ended the week in Lexington. The Dame is really becoming a favorite too. Great room. Great hat store next door. It was a great way to end the tour. A great way to say farewell to our friend Jordan Rivas. He’s been like a brother to us all for a while now and we wish him only the best in his future. I promised we wouldn’t show any of the photos of the ‘naked spanking send off’ that he got, but trust me, they’re hilarious! He looks like one of those little red assed monkeys. Rumor is he may not be able to sit down until school starts.

Next up, fatherhood. Young Hoge arrived last Tuesday and is now home and all is well. Luckily for me, musician hours and new daddy hours are quite similar. Hell, for that matter, the baby rearin’ and musician baby sitting are fairly similar too. At least you know whats in baby puke and baby poop. It’s really an amazing experience. I thank the band and all of you for the patience, love and support during this special special time.

There’s gonna be lots of news about the new album in the next 10 days so be ready for that. Ok, time to feed……gotta go….

Started off this week in Philly. Great show! Best we’ve done there. I really love World Cafe Live. I know I’ve probably said it before, but it reminds me alot of WorkPlay in Birmingham so you know we like it! Cool people on staff, just a great night.

Next night was Annapolis at the Ram’s Head. One of those sit down rooms, but always turns out to be fun. That held true again. Many thanks to everyone there for all the love and support. I was worried that I may have burned a bridge there when I made a comment in between songs about porno films. See this place has a very strict NO TALKING policy. Now that’s GREAT!! There’s plenty of other shows that I wish people would be more quiet, but in between songs it’s just awkward as hell. To which I responded something about, ‘….this must be what it feels like to do a porno film. You and a couple ladies go at it. You’re feeling like the man. Super pimp. You finish(you know what I mean) and then there’s a room full of people just standing there. ummmm….nice work. Could we try that again. Maybe hold her leg a little higher, and you, moan a little more….’ blah, blah, blah. Anyhow, I felt lucky that it came off funny. You gotta love adult film humor.

This leads us to last night in NYC. Two days ago I’d gotten an email that the presales for the show were good. We were all happy as this was to be our first time headlining the Bowery Ballroom. Got there yesterday and the numbers were even better which is great because the club folks get much nicer to you. Anyway, the club was just great. Finally felt like we were in the right room in NYC. Well the show sold out!! A couple hours before we went on they told us and we were just thrilled. It was a killer night. The Trews played first and sounded great. Good to catch up with them again. Hopefully more of that soon. Good bunch of local guys called Wormburner played next. It was good to know them. Then Matt Mays and his gang and then yours truly went on. It was one of those nights that just felt good from the get go. Had lots of our friends there. Our booking agent Jordan was there and I was as proud for him as I was for us. Thanks for all the hard work! Our new lawyer Reid was there. Great to get to hang with him a bit. Then all sorts of folks from other shows around the area. Thanks to y’all for making this whole thing happen. The folks at the club were really supportive and we’re already working on getting back again. So please keep on spreading the word!

Heading down to Pittsburgh tonight. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Should have some more exciting news for y’all soon. Keep on listening………