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We began a week back playing in Nashville at Live On The Green. Fun show. Growing up there there used to be these big free concerts every week. Dancin In The District was downtown on the river. Then Uptown Mix was, well, uptown. I saw so many great shows. So it’s cool that they’re bringing free music back to the city. Things got a wee bit wonky because the symphony can’t play if it’s below 65 degrees.  Haha. Insert whatever joke you’d like. Besides being moved into the ‘happy hour’ portion of the afternoon it was fun. Great crowd. Our old pal Jefferson even came out and joined us for the show closer of ‘Pocketful Of Change.’ Fun times. Great getting to rock with him again.

Then we spent a bit at home getting stuff together to begin the ‘When I Get My Wings 2011 Tour’. Very excited. Got to play the Grand Ole Opry for the second time which I must admit that even without Vince Gill in our band it was STILL an amazing experience. Got to see Ricky Skaggs and his band. Saw Jean Shepard sing ‘It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels’!!  Seriously!  All gals that THINK you wanna be a country singer and don’t know her….you shouldn’t be allowed to be a country singer. Trust me. Fantastic. Also got to hear/see Bobby Osborne. Can’t really explain how awesome that was. Just do yourselves a favor and seek these folks out before they’re all gone. You will thank me for it. In fact it was such a special night I even treated mama and daddy to Waffle House afterwards. Yep, that’s how kick ass a son I am.

Last night we did the Music City Roots show back home at the Loveless and that was fun too. Saw some great new bands. Really liked Yarn and also Hymn For Her. Hope to share stage time with both again in the future. Drove overnight to Greenville SC for a solo show tonight and then full band tomorrow outside the Peace Center. Should be fun. Getting to reunite with our old touring mate/friend Edwin McCain. I laugh my ass off every single time we are together. Should be lots of fun.

The ‘When I Get My Wings’ video has debuted and we are tickled to death with the great response it’s getting thus far. I must admit it’s been very cool to see it on CMT right between all the big stars of the day. Plus my wife and kids think that’s KILLER!  Points for the old man, thank you. I appreciate the folks at CMT taking a chance on us. It means alot.

So that’s really it for now. Getting VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY excited(yes…..7 x’s very, get it?) for the new album Number Seven to come out on Tuesday. Preorders have been signed and shipped. I hope you guys are as proud of it as we are. Please spread the word about it and drag a few new folks out to see us on the road. We’ll hope to see you soon. Thanks as always for the love and support. We couldn’t do this without you.

So we’re in Boulder for the week. I think that pretty much means we live here, at least for now. Hell there’s certainly worse places and I’ve been to most of them. The Dallas show turned out to be a killer on Saturday. Great club, the crowd was wonderful. We all had a blast. We finished the set, did the encore and thought we were done. The good folks there wanted a little more…..and just then our old pal Jefferson strolled by the backstage room heckling us to play another tune. He was in town visiting family and it was very cool of him to drop by. We said, “we’ll do another, but you’ve got to play piano….” He insisted he was too drunk. I explained that he never used that excuse when he was IN the band, he damn sure wasn’t gonna get to use it now. He was hilarious. It was a rowdy good time for sure. Some might call it unprofessional of us, I would rebuke by saying it was delightfully defiant. Some may call it out of tune or sloppy, I would then say it was wreckless and exciting. Point is, we had fun. I love Dallas. A lot. Made our way up through Wichita and now we’re in Colorado. Taping a Studio C session for KBCO tomorrow morning that we’re all very excited about. Then down to Denver on Thursday and back up to Boulder for a free show on Friday night. Please spread the word to any folks you know in the area and tell them to come down. Our old pal Jordan Rivas in gonna be back in the fold for Denver and Boulder and it’ll be good to see him again. Lots of other cool bands playing too so hopefully we’ll get to check them out. On a hometown note, my mama called to say that she heard “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” on WRLT back home. It’s always always cool to have their support. So if you’re around there LISTEN. Tell them thanks for supporting us. We certainly wouldn’t be here without them. I think we’ll be seeing a few of the Lightning 100 folks here on Friday which will be nice too. New song, the title track from the album “The Wreckage” goes up tonight. We just started playing it live last week and it’s starting to really take shape. Give it a listen and I hope you enjoy it. Ok I’m gonna go climb a mountain….or hike….or something……

So Wednesday’s show was another great one for us. The band has been having an incredible time. All the guests were great. Pat KILLED it, like we knew he would. Slim was great on ‘Woman Be Strong.’ Randy and the horn section we thought were spot on. They felt they ‘missed’ a thing or two, we however strongly disagreed. haha. Jefferson joined us for ‘The Letter’ and ‘King Of Grey.’ We got tickled afterwards because ‘The Letter’ is like the perfect tune for Erson to play on. It felt wonderful. Cool to see the crowd moving around through the whole song. Jim Lauderdale sang two with us as well. Both are songs soon to be released, one on the album, one on a pre-release 45 that we’re very happy about. So there’s one more week to go. We’re finalizing the guests for the 24th and will post all that in the next day or so.

I also wanted to clue you all in about this great function that is happening Saturday night, the 20th. It’s taking place at the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Check it out, get tickets, etc. at www.goldenhourlateparty.com. It’s to help with the Vanderbilt Trauma Survivors Network and the American Trauma Society. My family and I have seen firsthand over the last 11 months the amazing work that these folks do. We’ve also seen firsthand how hard these things can be on the individual as well as the surrounding family. Trying to reintegrate back to a normal, everyday existence takes lots of work. Mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, you name it. And these programs will aim to help ease all of these things. This is something we’ll all be involved with alot in the future as we feel it necessary to try and give back to these folks that have given us so much. If you’re around Nashville Saturday, come by and check it out. If not, there will be more opportunities in the future.

As always, thanks for all the continued support. I’ll check back in Sunday and give you all the details for the final Wednesday show next week.

So I’m heading out tomorrow for London. Overnight flight. Land day of show and then pretty much rock my way across a whole other continent for 4 weeks. It’s funny because touring has really become second nature to me. The US I can damn near get you anywhere with my eyes closed. But this will be a totally different experience. Different languages, unknown cities, travel by train, new clubs, new faces, completely by myself, etc. It’s gonna be interesting. So what does one take on a journey around Europe for 4 weeks completely by oneself? Funny you should ask. Here goes:

1 new pair of Dan Post cowboy boots
4 pairs of blue jeans
4 snap up cowboy shirts
1 jacket
1 scarf
1 Gibson J-125
1 Gibson L00
1 Boss tuner
1 capo
1 10′ instrument cable
1 toothbrush
1 tube Crest toothpaste
1 bottle xanax
1 hat
4 harmonicas(C, G, A and E flat)
1 harmonica holder
1 Blackberry
1 mac laptop

I think that’s about it? We’ll see how this all turns out. If you’ve got any folks over that way, please send them out as it is a loooooong way to travel to play for noone.

Had a good trip out to San Francisco last week for the NARM convention. It’s always a fun city to me. Great sushi. Alanis Morrisette was our ‘opening act’ which was hilarious. I think the Bible may be the only thing that has sold more copies than her first record. She was good. Just her and two guys with acoustic guitars. Met another good bunch of Jersery fellas in a band called Parlor Mob. I think their record came out on Tuesday. You should check them out. I only heard two songs live but I liked them and they seemed to have the right kind of work ethic about touring and such. Give them a shot if you can. Afterwards we flew from SF to Denver. Then Denver to Oklahoma City. Then picked up the van and did the 10 hour drive home. Ah, planes, trains and automobiles!

Upon arriving home in Nashville I had a conversation with Adam Fluhrer and it’s been decided he will no longer be a member of the band. We thank him for his hard work and wish him all the best in all of his future endeavors.

A few days later we got word from Jefferson that he will not be returning as a member of the band either. To Jefferson also we can only say thank you for your time and hard work and wish him the best as well.

So where does that leave us? Well, I guess it’s time we have this conversation. I’ve spent 10 years of my life doing this. I’ve spent my money like Hillary Clinton investing in my own campaign. I’ve mortgaged my houses. I’ve lost countless friends to the carnage of this business. Loved ones, family members, etc. And for what? I guess there comes a time when you have to say, “I gave it my all.” “I’ve done everything I can and just can’t do anymore.” A time to walk away and pursue other things. Go after the other dreams in my life.

I’d like to say to all of you now that this is NOT that time. I can’t pursue other things. There’s no other dreams. There’s no net, no fall back plan. Could things be better, yes. Will they get better, yes. They always have. People will say, “…is it frustrating? Why aren’t you bigger than you are?” I appreciate the pseudo back handed complement and say, “I don’t know.” If I could wave a wand we’d all be living the ‘big dreams.’ Beach houses, yachts, etc. Truth be told, that’s not what I want! The truth is we’re doing all we can. All I’ve ever wanted to do is be a musician. Make records, play shows. Now I get to do that ALL OVER THE WORLD!! Hell, I AM living the dream. I’ve got the best job in the world. I don’t have to sit in a cubicle, or pave roads, or pack boxes. Do I ever wish it was easier? Sure. Could it get bigger faster? That’d be great. But it doesn’t change why I’m here. MUSIC. MUSIC. MUSIC. Things keep getting closer to the final goal with every new album, with every new tour so the only thing we can do is keep on going. It means the world to me that y’all take the time to listen to my albums. Pay your hard earned money to come to my shows. Spread the word to other folks to do the same. I can’t thank you enough for the continued support. We’re looking at some new players and I feel certain they’ll meet y’alls exacting standards. This rock and roll roller coaster is nothing if not entertaining huh? So we’ll put a new coat of paint on this ol’ house and get it back on the market when I get back from overseas. Deal? Deal.

Alright, Indiana Jones is on tv. I’m out.

Remember in the immortal words of Rev. Bon Scott, “…it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll..”
Amen.

Hoping for good things in Winchester, VA tonight. Good people here and we’ve always had a good time when we play here. God knows tonight we NEED it!

This has been the worst week of touring ever for my band. Not just this group of guys, but EVER. In the history of Will Hoge Touring Inc. Thanks to everyone for being a part of this momentous occassion.

I thought it couldn’t get worse than Bloomington, but then Urbana proved us wrong. We made the best of it by taking everyone’s name down on a sheet of paper(including band and crew) that was interested in participating. Put them all in a paper bag and picked them out and then you got to pick any song you wanted to hear. My name even got picked first, damn the luck. Anyhow, 40+ songs and a gallon of Jack Daniels later we had somehow made it through. Set included such never heard numbers as, “Be The One” “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” “Hey Mr. President(complete with all the lyrics this time)” plus lots of other shit we didn’t know. All in all it was pretty damned fun. But don’t worry, we won’t be back for a long long while!!

Cleveland last night was fun sans the fact that we were playing at 7pm. The doors opened at……..you guessed it 7pm. So we roared through 40 minutes of rock and then did even more liver paralyzing alcoholic stunts! Hooray for us.
I do want to say a sincere thank you to Adam1, Adam2, Jefferson and Siggi for sticking by me Plus Erica and Sean too. This would’ve been a real easy time to ‘phone it in’ and say fuck it all week. But we’re trying to be the best band in the land and we’ve got to do that every single night no matter what. They’ve helped me do it and make me want to be better every night. Thanks my brothers!
Maybe next week will be better. Wait, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont………..well, maybe not.
Cross your fingers.

Sitting here just of I95 at South of the Border. If you’ve never been here, REGRET IT!! You should DEFINITELY come here. That’s all I’ll say. If you’re passing by this way….SSTTOOOOOOOOPPPP!! It’s awesome. Plus, Jefferson got stuck on the ferris wheel when it broke down. Just him all by his lonesome at the very top while the dude running it was scrambling on his cellphone to figure out how to get him down. Good news, he’s ok and we’ll be able to be in Annapolis tomorrow night.
Wilmington the other night was wonderful! So great having the support of WUIN down that way. I truly think that with their support and y’alls we can turn that into a great place for us very quickly. Can’t wait to get back there in the fall.
Last night in Myrtle Beach was great too. House of Blues is always kick ass so that goes without saying. We had a new background singer join us last night. Ms. Cristina Bello from Nashville. She was referred to us late on Wednesday night(as we were leaving at 5am Thursday). We tried to get her to just come and jump on the bus. Now mind you we’ve never seen her, she’s not seen/met us. We just call at 11pm and go, “Hi, my name is Will Hoge, you wanna go on the road and sing until July 4th?” Now there was a little more to it than that, but not much. She couldn’t join up with us until last night, but she did great. Poor gal’s flight got screwed up, then they lost her luggage, etc. But she made it through. Here’s hoping she’ll do well over the next little bit and then maybe we can keep her around for a while.
Back to the show last night, it was awesome. We were definitely the band that didn’t fit in last night. 3 really cool bands on the show with us, Big City Rock, Rock Kills Kid, and the headliner was Morningwood. Dean summed it up best when he said, “…they all sound like they’re influenced by the 80’s. A decade we don’t think even existed….” Ha ha. Funny. But it worked fine. They were all great guys and girls. Really good at what they do. Our friend Chad is tour managing Big City Rock so it was great to see him. Plus they’re all here spending the day with us at South of the Border. Hit if off real well with the fellas from Rock Kills Kid too. Super nice guys. Very good band. They’re playing on Letterman Monday night so make sure to check them out.
Post show we snuck into the Alligator Farm behind the club. Looking back, this was a bad bad bad bad idea. Luckily everyone still has all their limbs. Moral of the story….one alligator….cool, kinda scary. 300 alligators all coming to join him….VERY VERY SCARY. We gave them some chicken and salmon and apples, oranges, etc. Happy gators today!
We then had a run in with some jack ass police officer at the all night pancake house. He didn’t like our little sing-a-long at the table. Made an ass of himself(which all his other NICE officer friends were embarrassed by) which only furthered our jackass-o-rama. We left without incident but timed a phone call back there perfecty when they were all at the register. I asked to speak to ‘Office Tackleberry.’ The lady on the phone says, ‘Officer Tackleberry??’ right as all the guys are at the counter. I hear the other officers DIE laughing! Ol’ Tack picks up the phone madder than a wet hen!! We then ‘chatted’ for a bit. Lovely lovely conversation! It was great. So hopefully he’ll be catching shit for a LOOOOOOOONG time over that one. “Hey Steve, you remember when them hippies made you mad then called you Tackleberry?” Here’s hoping he’ll never live that one down!
Alright, there’s a band outside this back lounge window with a couple hundred bucks worth of firecrackers that need shooting……….
I gotta go.