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by Oz – Hear ya

I first saw Will Hoge open for Jason Isbell in San Francisco several years ago and he stole the show. I admit to not owning anything in his back catalog which includes six other albums, but I started following his story in 2008 when he and his scooter took on the passenger side of a van and lost. Will suffered numerous broken bones (ribs, sternum, shattered femur, knee cap, shoulder blades), and lacerations to his face, arms, and torso requiring over 100 stitches. I still missed his album following the accident, but here I am now. Although it was released in September of last year (I was moving to KC at the time), I finally nabbed it and have been dedicated to the stories on #7for several weeks.

“Fools Gonna Fly” opens the album and my immediate thought was “Hello guilty pleasure.” Its sound fits squarely in pop-country territory. “Too Old To Die Young” follows with a similar country-rock anthem sound, but the storyline is the stuff of pure country music.

Spent a lovely night at an exclusive Madison resort called the Baymont Inn and Suites. Quite lovely thanks. Went last night to see Jason Isbell and Justin Townes Earle. The show was great. Isbell’s band keeps getting tighter and tighter. Blade and Siggi had never seen Justin play and were really impressed. Blade made the comment that, “between the shows with Katie Herzig and seeing him(JTE) play it feels good to be from Nashville.” Agreed my friend. Off to a radio interview in a bit, then the show, then the 10 hour drive home to make my brothers wedding. Wish us luck

The last run of the year begins in about 2 hours as we head towards Huntsville. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. Lots of friends, family, etc. All was great here. Actually playing Santa Claus is WAY cool. A kid kinda reinforces the ‘better to give than receive’ thing. Good times had by everyone on my end. I’ll catch up with everyone on the ride to Alabama and update you on any and all of their favorite/worst gifts too.

Made it through the acoustic gigs. I’ve got to say I had a damned good time at these shows. It was just Llama and I on the road so the bus was a wee bit empty feeling. All 3 of the shows were a blast. York, SC was this really nice little theater. Everyone there was incredibly gracious and the whole experience was a good one. Met back up with an old pal Eliot Morris for this show. Good seeing him and he was playing a singing great. I was so nervous about these shows. Would anyone come? Would it be good? If not, I can’t blame Siggi like I normally do, it’s just all my fault. Luckily for Siggi and myself, it went well.
Next night in Augusta was a cool little community theater. They do more plays and such and this place so there’s all sorts of costumes and props in the dressing room. It brought back fond memories of my old band’s first gigs in Nashville. The only place that would let us play was a transvestite strip club. Backstage was all whigs and make up and boas and props. I guess that another story, but Le Chat Noir reminded me a bit of that. It’s hard not to come onstage dressed as a nun when presented with the opportunity. Fortunately I fought the urge and just went out in normal rock regalia. Crowd response was again very encouraging. Eliot had another really good night I thought.
Next night was the sold out show at Eddie’s Attic. There’s really nothing but wonderful things to say about Eddie and the whole cast and crew there. It’s a place I will ALWAYS come back and play. Count on it. Our friend Shalom who runs sound there had had a heart attack the previous Sunday. Luckily he’s ok. Back home doing fine. Of course like most Americans, and even more in the music biz, he was without health insurance. So we’re doing what we can to help. I can’t say thanks enough to those of you who donated to the get well fund after the show. It means the world to me and will be an even greater gift for him. We’re putting all the money together now and will be sending it to him January 2! If anyone else is interested in helping out drop me a line and I’ll get you some info as to where/how to help. The outpouring of support afterwards was a perfect end to a really perfect little 3 day run. Justin Townes Earle was the opener in Atlanta. He’s a fellow Nashvillian(whom I had to got to Atlanta to meet) and a great singer/songwriter. I’d love to have him out for some more shows later next year.
Got to revisit lots of songs that don’t get as much attention during the rock and roll shows. It was quite educational. I’d hoped to get some new stuff finished, but I was kind of caught up in the whole experience and got lots of new inspiration, but didn’t finish shit! Oh well, another time.

So that kind of brings us full circle as to where we’re heading now. We’re spending tonight through March 1st on the road with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. I’m so excited about this tour. All great cities. Sharing the stage with a great, like minded rock and roll band. I’m ready to get it started. We’ll be swapping off who opens and closes most of the shows. I don’t know if it will even be announced as to who is doing which because it won’t matter! You just need to be there. Come to see us…..stay to see him and vice versa. It’s gonna be a good one! I’ll check back in later in the week and let y’all know how it’s going so far and leave a more detailed and gushing thanks to all of you for a great 2007!

Alright, I’m off to shower and pack up…

Hanging back in Nashville before heading out for this brief solo run later in the week. That should be fun. Good chance for me to get back into some old songs plus work on a few new things.

So we left off in LA. Well this show was sort of a bust. We were going out to the west coast with the intention of this being something it just wasn’t. We got there and only got to play 40 minutes, no soundcheck, etc. It was really a bummer. But I guess we should just feel lucky to be onstage in such an illustrious room on such a wonderful lineup, right? It’s LA baby. Good news, we’ll be back in January for a REAL show and damn I can’t wait.

Erson and I flew home on Sunday so that I could handle some business/family stuff around here. The plan was to meet the band back in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately the weather threw a wrench in that so then that show got cancelled(luckily too we’ll be back in Jan/Feb). Now we were really feeling like this whole run might be a waste of time.

We decide to regroup in Denver. The Walnut Room is a cool little place. Great crowd, the show was lots of fun. WCUV had me in earlier in the day and it was good to meet all those folks. They’ve been playing “Washed By The Water” quite a bit and it was good to get a reaction from that tune. We’re hoping to make it back by before the Boulder show in February. Got to see our old pal Jordan which is always a pleasure.

Headed out the next day, post Cracker Barrel to get to Oklahoma City. Insert blizzard here. After being towed out of a rest area(ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous!) we limped down the icy roads only to end up in a Super Wal-Mart parking lot for the night. The state trooper at the off ramp was cool. They were trying to divert all trucks/buses to some parking area as this was the only exit in Kansas for like a million miles. They didn’t want folks parking at the Wal-Mart, but being a fan of rock and roll the fella just sort of let us “slip” through. Thank you kind sir! Now we as much as anyone else love to support the ‘little guy’. The mom and pop, local retailer. But I’ll tell you what, in the middle of Kansas, in 2 feet of snow and ice, after being towed off of a ditch, at 1 am, really damn hungry, there are few things better than the warm glow of the corporate gluttony that is the 24 hour Super Wal-Mart! After a lean cuisine, some chips and a copy of the Bourne Ultimatum, all was well in our little worlds.

Woke up the next day and dug our way out of the parking lot and got back on the road for OKC. Took a while, but we made it. The Wormy Dog is quickly making it’s way onto our top 20 list of places to play. Few and far between are the clubs that actually DO have an audience that just comes to hear, see and enjoy live music. Well folks, this is the place. Just a little slice of honky tonk heaven in the middle of Oklahoma. Can’t wait to get back to it soon. Thanks to everyone for coming out and rocking with us.

So that’s really it. Hopefully I’ll find time in the very near future for some sort of holiday shopping for friends and family. If not, I guess it’s “Draw The Curtains” and a Will Hoge t-shirt for everyone.

I’ll check back in later to update you on the solo shows and gush over how excited we are about our upcoming dates with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Yep, it IS gonna be kick ass.

So we’re on the doorstep of the release of “Draw The Curtains” and things feel really good. Started with a great show in Columbus on Thursday. Wonderful crowd, so into the show, even the new songs. It was great. The radio station there has also just added the single so hopefully that’ll help y’all with spreading the word for when we come back. I do love the Basement.

Friday in Louisville started with a live lunch at WFPK. GREAT TIME. They’ve got such a killer set up, plus it’s such a great station. It was a pleasure. Big room with a nice Steinway for Erson to play. We stripped it down and it was just beautiful sounding in there. We kind of pissed all over the first verse and chorus of “Draw The Curtains”, but hell, it was a noon performance and we ain’t even up that early usually. Luckily, the end was strong so noone really noticed. The show that night at Headliners was great too. Another great turnout and really has us feeling like Louisville is turning a corner for us. Got to share the stage with Scott Miller and the Commonwealth. They’re fantastic. Scott writes really smart, catchy, good songs and his band is equally as good. I’ve know his drummer for a long while from Nashville so it was good catching up with him too. We’re already trying to figure out how to work out more shows together.

Drove home afterwards, slept in our own beds(or at least some of us did, the others slept in their own bunks outside my house) and then headed to Mucklewain. I’d love to tell you it was crazy packed with thousands of people, but it wasn’t. Scott Miller got quote of the day as he sauntered onstage and asked the crowd, “…um, did y’all all come in one car?” I spit sweet tea out of my nose. Funny. Anyhow, back to the point. Mucklewain was just awesome! Such a phenomenal line up. Got to see Scott and his band again. Jason Isbell and his 400 Unit were right before us and they’re better every time I hear them. If you’ve not gotten that record, do it. Drivin n’ Cryin’ was great too. Garrison Starr just killed it!! She’s so good. Such a pure pure voice. Plus she’s got an ol’ pal Bones Hillman playing bass. I met Bones as the bassist for Midnight Oil when we were out working with them years ago. He’s a wonderful bass player and his harmonies with Garrison were stunning. Adam and myself were just blown away as we watched. Anyhow, saw a few other friends, ate fried chicken, soy-sage quesadillas, drank sweet tea and just enjoyed a beautiful night in the country. Plus was BACK in my own bed by 2 am. Pretty good day all around.

So we’re spending the next 2 days getting all of the pre-order stuff packed and shipped. It’s like a little band assembly line in my den. We’ll catch you up on all that soon.
Adios.(Spanish for au revoir)

Fortunately for renters everywhere, there’s NOT another story like the last one……..yet. However, Friday in Richmond was a good night. The last time we were supposed to be there I had to cancel because I was in the hospital. So this was really the first time headlining there and it was good. Lots of dudes rocking. It was cool. We’ll hope to see you back that way soon.

Wilmington of Saturday was an even bigger surprise. GREAT crowd!! Singing along, having a good time. It was a pleasure.
The presales for “Draw The Curtains” should start late tonight or tomorrow. It was delayed just a bit as we had to finish mastering the live CD that will be available with it. That’s all squared away now. Sounds even better than before. Just to let everyone know the only place you will get the bonus live CD is by ordering the album through us. Amazon, iTunes, etc. will not be making that available.

More good news, our friends at EarXtacy in Louisville will be making the album available for sale Friday night in Louisville. There will be a signing after the show. We’re all so excited about you hearing it. So come on to Louisville and pick one up.

I’m sure we’ll be making a big announcement about this later but I wanted to go ahead and let y’all know about New Year’s Eve. There’s gonna be a run of shows announced between Christmas and NYE that is gonna be way cool, but as for NYE it’s gonna be a great GREAT way to end the year!!! Charleston, SC at the Music Farm with Charleston’s own Leslie, our friends(and future touring partners)Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and then yours truly. It’s gonna be a killer. You ought not miss this!
Alright, gotta go.

So we’re back down here in Florida. Orlando was KILLER last night. Shared the stage with Centromatic and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Both great bands. Crowd was very into the whole night for all the bands I thought. Very nice to be a part of it. The Social is always a great stop so thanks to everyone there for taking good care of us. Had some late night pizza as always and then that was about it. We’ve been watching the roast of Flava Flav over and over and over. Hilarious! That led to us going back and watching the roast of Pam Anderson too. Fucking hilarious too!

Made it over to Jacksonville today on time! Yay for us. Funny I know but we’re NEVER late for shows and it seems like in the last few weeks there’s been something screwy every week that is making us have to cram. It sucks. The bus broke down last week after the show in Huntsville. ps…..the Huntsville show was the equivalent of eating a can of fried ass cheek with bull semen mayo on top. Good news, the new Crossroads club is cool. Bad news, it’s still in Huntsville and Huntsville just don’t like a the rock and roll. But at least we broke down afterwards!! Erica and I scoured the state of Alabama to find a van. Rented the only one in the entire state and we left the side of the interstate to head to New Orleans. Running late……none of our own gear, just guitars, keys and a snare drum, and we’re off to do our first show for the wonderful folks at Ryko! We roll in worn the hell out, load in soundcheck and shower and back to the club for a fabulous soul food dinner and the rock show. The show was kick ass albeit a short one. Met a great bunch of guys/gals from the label. I dare say I’m just thrilled to be a part of this whole thing. These people actually LIKE music! REALLY GOOD MUSIC!! Finally. Partied the night away with those kind folks and then headed to Little Rock early the next morning.

Last time in Little Rock our friend Jack Daniels got the best of us and we were incredibly disappointed in our half ass bullshit attempt at rock band that night. Maestro saved us with gear, Chris helped too. Thanks for that. The show came off great. Best night we’ve ever had in Little Rock. I think we more than redeemed ourselves for the last time. Then we scurried outta town to get back to Nashville.

The bus was finally back up and running by the time we headed for Athens on Thursday. Thank heavens!! Big Purple has a new engine and is running like a finely new engined machine. Good to have you back ol’ gal.

Story about the bus:
Adam2 was in the truck stop a couple of weeks ago waiting on a cheese sandwich and overheard the following conversation.
Old Woman(imagine her voice as Betty White circa Golden Girls): “…oh my that is certainly a big bus!”
Old Man(imagine his voice as a slightly less inbred Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade): “…what bus?”
Old Woman: “That purple bus. It’s a big, nice purple bus.”
Old Man: “mmmmm hhmmmmmm.”
Old Woman: “Who you think is on that bus?”
Old Man: “Prolly a rock band.”
Old Woman: “What rock band?”
Old Man: (pause)(pause a little more)”Prolly Smashin’ Punkins”
end scene.

They’d figured it out and that was ok by them. They then watched Erica smoke a cigarette and off we went and left them in their geriatric Siamese dream.

Finished the photo shoot for “Draw The Curtains” last week with a wonderful photographer named Andrew Southham. It was a pleasure to work with him and we’re all awaiting the final artwork for the album here in the next 10 days.
There will be lots more news about the new record and songs coming up soon. Thanks as always for the continued love and support. Keep on spreading the word and we’ll see you soon

So we’ve officially been off the road longer than I’ve ever been off the road since 1998. Shit. No wonder I’m tired. All is well here. I actually got to go out and see a show last night. Deadstring Brothers and Matt Mays were in town together at the Basement. GREAT SHOW!! I love the Deadstrings. They’re quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. Matt and the lads were rocking too. However, the babysitters needed rescue, so unfortunately I had to blow out a little early. Damn, that sounds pathetic doesn’t it. haha.
There’s gonna be a cool announcement here in the next couple of days about future records and releases for the band. I didn’t think I’d ever say this again, but it looks like we’re gonna sign a deal. WHAT?!?! Crazy, I know. But, well, I’ll wait and give you more details later. But know that we are all very, very excited for the opportunity to get more music out to more people starting very soon.

So here’s just some random revelations from my time off the road:
The new Tori Amos song is kick ass!
Fox News is the best comedy on TV since Saturday Night Live in ‘84.
The History Channel rocks my world.
GAC is actually worth watching. Yep. They play videos(featuring MUSIC!!) Gillian Welch was on today.
The new Jason Isbell record is something you should listen to.
Sushi is good.
As are homemade cheeseburgers on my new grill.
There are some sort of ‘country’ music awards on tonight. New drinking game. Do a shot everytime they call something that sounds like bad 80’s music ‘country’. Guaranteed to be drunk by the second commercial. I can’t wait.
The Austin City Limits Festival is gonna be a TON of fun.
Babies are hilarious.
New fathers are even more hilarious.
Porch swings should be mandatory whenever the temperature is between 63 and 77 degrees outside. Llama/Erson/Dean birthday extravaganza is coming this weekend. BEWARE!!

Ummmm…..I think that’s all for now.