Adrianne Gonzalez

I got up early. 7am is really early when you get home at 4am. I visited my ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat). I've had a chronic cough that's effected my singing as of late. They gave me some magic beans to plant in my back yard.
I came home & took a 2 hour nap. Then I met Adrianne Gonzalez at the studio. She had Derek Murphy play drums on three songs. I also played bass on 2 songs & piano on 1. Her stuff is great. I knew of her back when she was a student at Berklee. She was a couple of years older than me. I always thought she was "too cool for school" to hang out with. I was glad to find out today that I was wrong about that. She's really cool.
I need sleep - NOW!

Ladson, SC

After a slight case of insomnia & watching horror movie after horror movie on AMC, I finally wore myself out late, late last night.
Shortly after waking up, Jimmy Petty, our bus driver, & I went to the World Famous Beacon Drive-In for lunch. I had a the delicious tandem of Cheeseburger & Fries. Their iced tea is the best. I don't even like iced tea. It was a welcomed trip.
We left Spartanburg around 3pm for Ladson (which is just north of Charleston, SC). It was a boring trip. Usually when we're moving down the road I'm either sleeping or watching TV. It's easier for us to travel at night. It's almost like the rainy day effect. When it's crappy outside you don't mind being indoors. When it's nice, all you wanna do is go outside. When you're driving down the road during the nighttime, it's like the "outside" doesn't exist. It's easier to be inside. I know... I'm crazy.
Our gig was cold, but easy. We played just over an hour. Our dynamics were the best that I've ever witnessed with this band.
Danny Ligon, our truck driver, is driving us Atlanta boys home tonight. That should be interesting. At least we're only 5 hours away from home.

Sox win! Sox win!

The Sox have won 3 of the last 4 World Series. Alright, alright! One of those year was the White Sox, but who's counting.
I remember it clearly: last year, I was driving the RV from Fargo on our way to Tucson. It was night one of the trip, a full 48 hours before I contracted salmonella. The Cards won the series that night.
When the White Sox won it in '05, I was in The Atlanta Room at Smith's Olde Bar - myself. I played with Y-O-U that night upstairs. The night the Red Sox won it in '04, I was driving back from The Nick in Birmingham. In '03, when The Marlins won it, I was in the bed. I don't know why I just wrote about it. I guess I'm just filing it away in my brain for posterity.
I'm not doing any better as far as my throat or cough is concerned. I'm just sitting here in this hotel in Spartanburg. I need as much rest as I can get. I've been trying to do the smallest amount of talking as well. I seem to do better when I don't talk.
Even though Mike Lowell won the MVP of the series... the Boston pitching staff, collectively, was my MVP.

Metropolis, IL

I'd say the only thing to do in this town is gamble... & every one in town is a' doin' it. This casino, be it tiny, was at full capacity today. Some slot machines were 2 deep - yes, that means people waiting in line to pull slots. Crazy.
Our show tonight was great. Great in the fact that it was only a little over an hour. I am still struggling with my voice. Thank God Doug only had me sing one song tonight. We technically played on a riverboat tonight. I mean, it's on the water... but I don't think this thing could float down the river at any significant clip.
I'll try more sleep & see if that does the trick. Were on our way to Spartanburg for a day off. I'll take it. I need it.
Oh by the way, the Dawgs beat the Gators for only the 3rd time in 18 years. Take that Gator nation! We could still win the SEC East. Who knew?

Palatine, IL

We left St. Charles, MO at 8am. I tried to sleep on the ride to the Chicago area but nothing seemed to work. I watched two movies & listened to two albums on my iPod. I guess I got too much sleep last night for exhaustion to kick in. By the time we got to Palantine, I didn't have time to take a nap. If I did I would have been groggy.
Durty Nellie's was the scene of the crime tonight. It is a 500 capacity bar in Palatine, IL. Stuart Swanlund sat in with us for the whole night. It was kinda fun. However, my voice is shot. This is the first time that it has happened. Last Sunday, following our stint in Tucson, I started getting this chronic cough. By now, I've coughed so much that my throat is VERY irritated. Singing some of these high harmonies are nearly impossible in this condition. I'm gonna go to sleep & see if I don't feel better tomorrow.

St. Charles, MO

I was up fairly early... for me anyway. I wrote a song today. It's for the new Marshall Tucker album. We're slated to record some tunes in December for a summer release. It's a good feeling to know that I can sit down & just write a song 'like that.' As long as I have a thorough idea, I can quickly write about anything.
We played 2 shows tonight at the Ameristar Casino. I've played here before. Tucker plays here every couple of years. Cassidy Caldwell, Toy Caldwell's daughter, was in attendence tonight. It's always good to see her. Our stage volume was perfect tonight. We had our gear, our monitors, we didn't play loud, we were close together, & we followed each other's cues perfectly = a great night. I like playing here.
Sox win in a squeaker tonight. They won big last night... but tonight Colorado had a chance & couldn't come through. That's when you know when you're done, son!

A Short Week

I haven't really done anything of consequence this week (for work). It felt pretty good. Michelle & I went to see "Gone Baby Gone" today. It was pretty good baby good. We also watched the full season of Showtime's "Californication" on OnDemand. It's a GREAT series. I have really enjoyed this mini-vacation. MIchelle dropped me off at the airport (for the bus) at 7pm. The Sox destroyed the Rockies tonight - that's what you get when the best Varsity team plays the luckiest JV team.

Rest

I slept in. A little. Michelle & I took our mothers to The Dillard House for lunch. I really enjoyed it. It took a lot of time out of our day, but it was worth it. Michelle & I did some stuff around the house - then we watched 'House,M.D.' Then we went to the studio. One of Michelle's new jobs is cleaning the studio. While she cleaned, I sat in the control room & started mixing my record. It's been a long time coming. I didn't have much 'gas' left though. I only got through knocking the dust off of 4 or 5 songs. We're both VERY tired.

It's Official

I slept in today. I let Michelle hear the Emily Kate Boyd record. We ran some errands. I went to the studio for a meeting, but it got cancelled. I also voted on the Grammys today. In this stage of voting we take hundreds of submissions down to 5 in each categories. To be honest, this wasn't a good year for music. This wasn't even an average year for music. It was terrible. Over time, the record companies' poor decisions, terrible "modern" production techniques, & the lack of listeners (or, customers) have put us in this shape. Each of these points has a 30+ minute explination. The more I think about it, the more I become an cranky old man... "these kids & their music today." I guess a big band leader thought the same thing when he heard Hendrix. There just doesn't seem to be much 'soul' or creativity anymore. Why couldn't I have been born in the early '50's?

Worthless

We left for the airport at 3:30am. We don't have many weekends where we get this little amount of sleep. But this has been brutal. I was miserable the whole trip home. I just wanted to stretch out & go to sleep. I got home, took a shower, & laid in the bed for the rest of the day. My body is weak. I'm feeling a sick coming on.
Michelle had me watching Showtime's Californication with David Duchovny. It's really good. I suggest it. GO SOX!

Tucson, AZ

The only reason that Georgia didn't lose today was because they didn't play. Sorry, that was below the belt. This just isn't their year, ya know?
We left the hotel at 7am. We were on the plane with the band Starship. Mickey Thomas is a cool dude. He also sang "I Fooled Around & Fell in Love." He's still got it too! They played before we did today. The lineup was:
Rick Derringer
Starship
MTB
Loverboy
Kansas
The Doobie Brothers
What a day for classic rock. I turned in early. The Sox kicked ass tonight!

San Antonio, TX

I woke up at 4am to leave at 4:30am. It was a rather tame day of travel. I ate at Mamacita's twice. That's some good Mexican food! I also got some nap time this afternoon. I needed it with the travel, lack of sleep, & the 11pm (CST) showtime. Jay Boy Adams sat in with us on guitar. He's a great writer. You should check him out sometime.
I have an earlier day tomorrow. Need sleep.

Just slam wore out!

I did revisions on the Emily Kate Boyd mixes. I'm pretty happy with them. I also finished cleaning out that closet here in the studio. I came home to pack & rest. I have to leave the house at 4:30am for the airport tomorrow morning. Good luck to me! SOX WIN! Speaking of that: Josh Beckett is the perfect storm. He has more than 2 great pitches. His accuracy & speed are ridiculous. His focus & choices are amazing as well. It's not like Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens & he's pitching close to 100mph. He's just plain unhittable.

The Work Never Ends

I finished the Kahler remixes this afternoon. I took frequent breaks to clean out a closet here in the studio. AND boy was it dirty. There was more junk in there than J-Lo's booty.
Emily Kate Boyd came in & sang a last minute vocal for here record. I also played piano for a while today. With so msny great sport contests on the TV as of late, it feels weird to NOT watch one tonight. I turned in early... well, early for me.

Toozdee!

I made my way to Suwanee, GA this morning. I had to drop some $$$ off to Wallace. After that I did some maintenece at the studio. I also spent some time remixing a few Matthew Kahler tracks. Don't ask. Hopefully, the album will be done before '08 rolls around. J/K. Michelle & I had a quiet evening watching the Red Sox officially lose control of this thing.
In boring news, I reaquainted myself with my 1980 Gibson Les Paul Elite 80 with Asher lap steel pickups. I love it! I've never loved it before. I made some adjustments, but I guess it's my new found spider sense.
I also confirmed the line up for the Super Happy Fun Time Hour on November 7th: Mark Cobb, Emily Kate Boyd, Gareth Asher, & Troy Bieser.It will be an improvised show. All of these artists are going to come on stage & Mark & I will improv our 'backing them up.' I'm pretty stoked about it. NO FEAR!

Day Off, SON!

I finally woke up around 10am. I laid in the bed for another hour after that. Michelle & I ran some errands & then made our way to the Midtown Arts Cinema. "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" was on the docket for our afternoon. I liked the first 'Elizabeth' movie much better. There was more drama in this movie... as if it was written by a woman. I suggest it if you're a fan on the first one, but it's nothing particularly special. Nothing else to report. I took the liberty of actually resting today.

Houston, TX

Oh, where to start? My alarms went off at 3:30am. We were at the airport by 4:15am. No so bad. If 'no sleep' is the worst that happens, I consider myself lucky. Oh well. We got to the Houston airport only to find that our bags had been sent on to Atlanta... & there they would stay & wait on us until we got there later tonight. AND by bags I also mean guitars, basses, & peripherals. Thanks Continental... you're the best! Since the show was such a big bill the backline company had guitars for us to use. I was a little uncomfortable on a crappy Tele, but I made some good chicken salad. We left the gig for the airport. I'm on the plane, as I type, on my way home. I will sleep good tonight.

New Port Richey, FL

Today was pie. We left the hotel at 10am for the Tampa/St. Pete area. I got to see a lot of orange trees today. Georgia BARELY pulled it out today against Vandy. It's almost like there's even more parity in the SEC... like the talent pool is more shallow for ALL teams. Hell, even South Carolina is good. Now all we gotta do is get Ole Miss & Miss. St. up to par. "Dangerous" Dan Toler sat in with us tonight. He sure is smooth with his playing. We had a lot of fun jammin.' He seemed like he was itchin' to jam. Well, late gig, early call, gotta go.

West Palm Beach, FL

I woke up in the parking lot of the hotel. Not a bad place to hang. Barry Borden & I rented "The Simpsons Movie" in my room. I thought it was pretty funny. We have a late night club gig tonight. I'm sure it will be satisfactory. I'm really ready to play. I haven't been doing it enough over the past few days. I'll take whatever they throw me.

Jim Wolf, day 4

I drove way north of the city to Wallace's store today. I picked up 4 guitars for MTB. We're signing them & donating them to different charities. I finished up all of the rough edges on the Jim Wolf tune. It's been real easy to work these half days & get my personal errands done. Sometimes you gotta just work a little bit... especially when the opportunity arises. Michelle & I had dinner, ran some errands, & watched some TV before she dropped me at the airport. The bus felt like an old pair of worn in jeans. I was happy to be on it.

Jim Wolf, day 3

I sang a background vocal or two on JIm Wolf's tune today. Then I proceeded to mix. It's so easy to work on a tune when you've engineered everything yourself. You know the direction of the tune before you push any faders (or in this case, move the mouse). Michelle & I left the house just before 5pm. We attended the Cumming County Fair this evening. She was jones-ing for a funnel cake & a ferris wheel ride. I can't blame her, but I get enough of fairs on the road. She doesn't get the exposure to 'corndogs & cowshit' that I get. We also hung out with the guys from The Charlie Daniels Band. I've made fast friends with those guys. I was glad to see that Pat McDonald (Charlie's drummer) was doing well with his cancer treatments. They say that he's slated to make a full recovery.

Jim Wolf, day 2 (Attack of the Clones)

Nicole Jurovics picked me up to go to the NARAS meeting just before noon. Not much was discussed this week. Everyone was just decompressing & revisiting the Atlantis Music Conference. After I got home I took 4 guitars to the studio. Then I came right back home to hang with Michelle, who got home early. After dinner I went back to the studio & started overdubbing bass & guitars on the JIm Wolf tune. Nick Niespodziani joined me around 8:30pm & cut me playing Hammond & Leslie guitar. I love working with NIck. He & I just know each other in the studio. After I cleaned up, I played the piano to an empty studio for an hour or so. I haven't done that in ages. It's so liberating to tool around on a great sounding, tuned piano. It kinda makes you feel powerful or important... kinda like Elton John, without the outfits.

Jim Wolf, day 1

I spent the day cleaning my mess from last week. After dinner, I spent the night tracking Mark Cobb on drums in a song for Jim Wolf. I love working with Mark Cobb. He knows exactly what to do. Jim sent me this tune & we're trying to make it better. I love my job.

Going Home

I was in the lobby at 4:30am. Our flight sat at the gate for an hour and a half longer than it should have. They had a dent in the door of the aircraft.
Michelle & I saw "Into the Wild" today. It's a story about a kid who leaves college to live on the road for a couple of years in search of THE trancedental experience. I won't ruin it for you... but it's a REALLY good movie.
Not much else to report.

Albuquerque, NM

I woke for the 1st time at 5am. It was 7am EST. I forced myself back to sleep for a couple hours... then wallowed for a couple more. By the time I got up I felt a sense of relaxtion & accomplishment. Today was an amazing day for sports. I saw most of it before our bus call. Sure, Georgia lost, but this wasn't there year anyway. You can't lose to South Carolina & hope to amount to anything. Maybe next year or the year after that. It all kinda matters in your quarterback play. Matthew Stafford ain't ready yet. Funny, David Greene was ready out of the gate.
We played the world famous balloon fiesta here in Albuquerque. The playing was great tonight. We had some technical difficulties but all was forgiven. I have an early wake up so... later!

To The West (again... & not the last time this month)

I got up early & drove to Kip Conner's house. He fixed the latch on my Jeep hatch back. I also found a AM/FM tuner at the Goodwill in Lawrenceville. You know they don't make them unpowered any more. I bought it for leisure listening in the control room.
Michelle dropped me off at the airport at 3pm. My 5pm flight was slammed full. Luckily I sat between Chris Hicks & Barry Borden... & it was a direct flight to Albuquerque, NM.
Chili's was a good decision tonight as well. Also, the new season of 'Numbers' is following form.

Reorganize, part 3

It came to me in that time in between sleep & awake. I had no idea that that state was so powerful. I hear artists talk about it all of the time, but I've only had a handful of impactful experiences... that I remember.
All I needed to do was buy a $100, 25' Digilink cable & all of my problems were solved. I moved JUST the computer to the other side of the room & made SOOOOO much more space. It also balanced out the room.
I spent ALL day pulling & repatching everything in the patch bay. It needed to be done. I don't want to soldering anything EVER again.

Reorganize, Part 2

I had a plan. It started falling apart... so much so that I gave up tonight. I came home puzzled. Every plan that I come up with has a flaw. It's hard to explain. I'm a little scared that I've opened up a can of worms that can't be fixed. This studio can be great... I know it can. Will some one tell me how?

Reorganize, part 1

Something must be done! I started making changes... or at least planning them. It's going to be quite the overhaul. I pulled all of the inputs & outputs out of the patch bay. It was a risky move, but I wanted to start fresh. There ain't no fresher than the beginning. I quit early for the sake of being fried. Michelle & I watched the new episode of 'House, M.D.' This season is getting better & better. Lightsabers out all day tomorrow!

Last minute stuff

I changed a couple of things on two Jesse Ruben mixes. I also sent them to him because he will master on Tuesday of next week. I also sent Alex Lowe a song for mastering. I did a bunch of cleaning... then I made a list of things that I wanted to change in the room (speaker placement, furniture, etc.). It was a day for miscellany. Oh the plans that will be filled soon...