Shinybass journal 3-13-11

From zero to 100 in no time at all…

Sunday already?  Well, I guess it DOES happen just about every week.  I sprung forward last night, and I am happy to report that I woke up after my time travel with no after effects.  I trust the same held true for you.  Would you want to travel back (or forward) in time? It seems that when people speak of time travel, they talk about going back rather than forward.  We always want to change things from the past, but not change the future.  Hmmm.  I’ll think on that.  But I am no expert on Einsten’s theory of relativity, which states that time travel is possible.  Read more on that here if you are feeling studious. But on with the show…

Tuesday, yes, Tuesday, which seems like years ago, I had an acoustic show with Phil Vassar out at The Factory in Franklin, TN to kick off the St. Jude’s home giveaway.  The St. Jude’s Foundation, which is an amazing charity leading the fight against Children’s Cancer, gives away a house, yes, a house, every year.  The tickets are $100, which sounds steep, but the house is in Franklin, TN, and worth over a half a million dollars.  With only 17,000 tickets sold, I like those odds.  Don’t bother entering, I have the winning ticket.  I’m telling you – the house is mine.  (Along with the HGTV dream home in Stowe, VT).  BUT if you feel like you MUST enter this contest, then I guess you can win one of the other prizes (a bunch worth over $1000).  Find out more at www.dreamhome.org

But back to the show.  We played for an hour or so as an ‘acoustic’ act, but the only real difference was that I sat down for most of the show, and Jeff Smith played an acoustic guitar as opposed to his usual electric.  And there was less smoke.  There was no set list.  Phil just sort of starts in, and we jump on for the ride.  I will be showing you lots of video from the road, but here’s a little taste of what you missed.  At the 2:00 mark, you can see my right hand.  Otherwise, the only proof I have that I was there is the knowledge of Sapphire, an amazing restaurant in The Factory.  The pork chop is as big as your head.

So that was about all I had going on with my next couple of weeks, until about 3PM on Thursday, when I received a text from Frankie Ballard’s band leader.  They had just been asked to open for Luke Bryan in Poplar Bluff, MO on Friday night.  4 hours up, 25 minute show, 4 hours back.  AND I get to see my boys from the LB band?  Well, OK.  Let’s do it.  Thank you, Jane Dear girls for being ‘sick’ and not taking the gig.  Your loss, ladies.  So, we packed up, headed west, and this was the first thing I saw when I got out of the van.  An 1850’s-era house with what looks like original curtains.  No scary nights in this thing…And it was literally right next to the loading dock.

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a smart ass – pretty much from sun up to sun down, with bathroom breaks in-between. So when I saw this sign posted at a gas station in the Middle of Nowhere, KY (that was a guess on the town’s name), then I HAD to take a picture.  Notice the white-tipped ferver of which I am breaking this rule…

A rebel without a clue, indeed.  So we played our tidy little set, rolled back home through Cairo (literally – look it up), and I crawled in my bed at 6AM on Saturday morning.  The whole time I was in Missouri, I could feel the heat of worry coming from one state away.  A friend booked me for a recording session, and he was scared I wouldn’t make it back home in time.  Alas, I was at Ocean Way studios one minute before scheduled load-in, and we started the session on time and without problems.  I love it when a plan comes together.  And I also love Ocean Way.  My first master session was there, what, 6 years ago, and the two songs I cut ended up on 2 movie soundtracks.  Not shabby!  Anyways, below are a few shots of the scene yesterday.

So where I was without plans on Thursday morning, I had a full Friday and Saturday before I knew what was going on. But such is my life.  I ended the weekend with a quiet date night last night : dinner, red wine and the Nashville Symphony for our fill of Rossini, Phillip Glass and Tchaikovsky.  Robert McDuffie, solo violinist was astounding.

There’s all the news that’s fit to print.  I am ready for an incredible week ahead.  My first vegetable garden seedlings are popping up, so I think I need to get my veggie garden box constructed.  I can’t grow watermelon from the sink.  I mean, I guess I could if I have to, but where am I going to wash the clothes?  I’m so rustic…

Make this week a great one, and

I

will

see

you

on

the

road!!!