If living in Nashville as a musician is anything like the last two days, I just won’t use a laptop ever again.  I haven’t been able to get any time to update everyone on my trip since day 2 and I’m on day 5 here with only 48 hours to go.  And technically I spent a good chunk of time in Johnson City, TN.  Okay, so I guess I’ll start where I ended.

Saturday 10:30am

I awoke and packed to leave Nashville for a gig in Johnson City.  It’s about a 4 hour trip out there.  When I had planned this trip, I wanted to end in Johnson City and then go home.  But a showcase I originally booked on Tuesday got canceled til the following Tuesday and I didn’t want cancel the JC gig, so I kept it.  Laney made us some great eggs with onions and cheese in them and showed no ill effects from stubbing her toe the prior night.

One thing about Nashville is that they’re an hour behind east coast town, so although I left at 11:15am here, it was really 12:15pm in JC.  I’m not sure where the line is where things change over, but I always wonder–what if you lived as far west in the eastern time zone but worked in the Nashville time zone?  That would mess with my mind and sleeping schedule.

I called Keely, my girlfriend, from Knoxville.  Seems to be the only other city with good 3G connection east of Nashville.

Saturday 5pm – 7:00pm

I arrived in JC (I don’t feel like writing the city out).  My mind was thinking about the potential recording session the whole drive, so I sat with my iPhone and recorded the basic guitar parts to a couple songs.  And started tinkering with other guitar parts until I looked at the clock and saw it was 7pm and rushed to take a shower.

Saturday 7:30pm

Get over to The Acoustic Coffeehouse to set up.  A middle aged man came up to me and knew my name.  He told me he heard my songs online and was really excited about hearing me.  Wow–that was a first!  I recognized the girl working there and she also remembered me–her name is Morgan, I like that name for some reason.  I asked her who was running the sound, since the last time there someone was the sound guy, and apparently no one was there to run it.  Luckily, years of figuring out other sound systems worked in my favor and I was able to get myself up and going, though a very bushy eye-browed man came up to help me.

Saturday 8:10pm t0 9:30pm

I start rocking.  A young kid, probably around 21, comes in with his djembe and played a couple tunes with me and it sounded good.  Folks in the audience were listening, some intently others not really.  You can’t please everyone.  Several folks threw me gas money and bought some cds.  I talked about living in DC, traffic, and stories behind some songs.

Saturday 9:30pm to midnight

I met lots of folks.  Some connected with my songs or what I was saying about them when I introduced them.  One guy was a vet who can no longer work and has become an anti-war protestor.  Two guys were musicians and invited me to Rhythm & Roots Music Festival in Bristol, VA–free place to stay.  The bushy eye-browed man ended up being a photographer of up and coming models–he’s good I checked out his stuff. Everyone was welcoming and I was glad to have made the drive out.  I also had to run sound for the last band, Aaron Berg.

Midnight to 4am

I lost track of time.  I drank beer and hung out.  Out back, folks were getting high, but I didn’t partake.  I talked politics with a couple folks and learned the Acoustic Coffeehouse is the only bastion of progressivism in JC, most of the area is Republican.  I really don’t care that it is, but it’s nice to meet folks of the same mindset.  After too much to drink, I take a break and sober up a bit before driving  home.  A woman, along with the kid who played djembe with me, was singing some of the most silly songs and had great facial expressions to go along with it.  I start writing stupid things on twitter that I thought were funny and actually weren’t.

Sunday 4am

I pass out back at my hotel.

Sunday 10:30am

After very little sleep I get up and have to check out.  I wasn’t with it and needed coffee and a wi-fi spot.  The Acoustic Coffeehouse was closed, so I grabbed coffee at McDonald’s.  Since I hadn’t seen JC, I drove around.  The city has Eastern Tennessee State University, so much of the business is built upon that.  Though there was an old run down train station, old factories, and many stores downtown were out of business.  It helps to know that the times are still really tough, because in DC it feels like the recession was not that bad.

Noon to 4pm

I drive back to Nashville.  Call Keely again from Knoxville.  Listen to tunes.

5pm to 1am

Upon my return to Nashville Laney wanted to take me to a popular store McKay’s.  We were there in no time with Laney’s lead foot, and even though she’s not from my home state of New Jersey, I dubbed her “Miss NJ Driver of the Year”.  It’s a store were you can buy used CDs, DVDs, vinyl, books and that sorta stuff.  I love these kinds of stores because they take me back to how many of us used to buy and discover music and movies.  The place was huge.  You could get CDs for 92 cents.  I grabbed a nice stack of CDs and DVDs that included a couple Wilco albums, a Jeff Buckley DVD set with live footage and interviews, and even Season 1 of 24 which I was a fan of and have not seen since it aired.  More stuff to add to the stuff I have at home, Keely is going to love it.

After McKay’s we drove back and got Courtney and went out to Taco Mamacita for dinner.  I hadn’t seen Courtney much due to her work schedule and even though she was tired, she was her old self–funny, silly, and sharing music on the drive with me.  It’s always refreshing to be around people you don’t get to see much and be reminded why they are who they are.  I’m glad Nashville is treating Courtney extremely well.

We then drove to a spot with a couple bars called Winners and Losers, which are right next to each other.  I flipped a coin and we ended up at Winners.  The TV had the American Country Music Awards on TV.  I realized at that moment, since I’m not a country music fan, that so many country acts are solo songwriters.  It’s a genre where you’re on your own for the most part.  I should give country a chance, though I do get tired of the similar subject matter it puts out there that I can’t relate to in some instances.  I probably mentioned this my last trip to Nashville in December.  So at the end of the awards show was the biggest award, country artist of the year.  Who wins?  Taylor Swift.  The whole bar groaned all at once.  I was secretly hoping Kanye West came up and interrupted her speech.

I had heard a story a couple nights prior about Taylor Swift.  Her family owns a large moving company and apparently bribed a music label to sign their daughter.  $3 million apparently.  Most people know Taylor Swift can’t carry a tune.  I also learned recently that a woman named Liz Rose writes many of her songs.  This is the sad state of the crumbling music industry.

After a Miller Lite debacle, a story about Graceland Too, and many laughs we headed home.  My recording session on Music Row was set up for the next day and I had to get some sleep.  I played some of the song ideas for Courtney and we also shared music recommendations with each other.  There’s so much music to hear, most of it better than Taylor Swift (and not autotuned), and these days I tend to only hear an album once and not go back to it unless it really impresses me.

I will save my entry about recording for tonight when I get back from being out all day.