Tour June 2006

Earth Day Shin-Dig 2009

Thu, 21 May 2009 21:30:00 GMT

So it is long overdue but I still want to give everyone a taste of Earth Day 2009 if they couldn't make it and a chance to reminisce if they did!! I won't blah blah blah about it - but thank-you to EVERYONE and now enjoy some video!!

First up was Lara Ewen and here she is singing her ass off as usual on a great song called "Reckless". She sounded great and I thank her for opening the show so beautifully! That's Mark Marshall on Guitar and Shakey Dave Pollack on Harmonica!

Alex Battles and the Whiskey Rebellion (Shakey Dave Pollack, Smilin Charlie Shaw, Dan Forbes) singing about a liberated, or shall we say, Easy Girl. Not nearly as R-rated as last year - sorry Mom!

Bryan Dunn with Andy Mac, Jim McNamara, Jennie Muoio, and Shaky Dave doing one of my favorite songs of his... And making fun of my dumb ass to start....

Wolfe and the Wayside - Jon Lundbom, Aaron Wolfe, Danny Reisbick, and Colum Young - kicking our asses!

Me. Girl in the Tree. I do have video of this up already but this one is better as it also includes a performance by Mr. Battles on the side... And that's Alex Sweeton on piano and vox, Joe Brent on violin, Angelo Merendino on drums and Max Hinojosa on bass!!

And finally Jennifer Merendino who was so kind as to give us a little GREEN education!! Thanks Jen!

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION 2008!

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:21:09 GMT

So the Earth Day Celebration for 2008 was another great success!! Thanks for everyone who came out and was a part of it!

We raised ALMOST $1500 for Earth Justice and Sustainable Harvest!! If you weren't there & are now inspired to donate - just click on their names!

The bands all sounded GREAT!! And how lucky am I that they all gave their time for this event? THANK-YOU BANDS!! But rather than going on and on about it here are some clips of my favorite moments from everyone's performances... Enjoy!! Thanks again for coming out and I hope to see everyone next year!!

BIG WET SMOOCHES!!! XXXXXXX

Alex Battles' Banjorama and the song he dedicated to. My. MOTHER! Ha!

Pickin' Chicken's answer to that.

Bryan Dunn doing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. Man, can that boy sing!!

One of my favorite Alex Sweeton songs with her kick ass band, Willard Dyson, Ann Klein and Max Hinojosa

Jodie Manross' very soulful last song

Julius EXPLODING!

And finally - my anthem to the planet with my awesome band - Phil Bloom, Joe Brent and Alex & Max again... I Don't Wanna Live on the Moon!

Thank-you for listening!!

15 Minutes of Fame!

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 02:06:56 GMT

The first 15 MINUTES OF FAME was officially a success! Here are a few pics of the folks I was lucky enough to have there singing for me (and I guess everyone else!) Unfortunately I didn't get everyone but...

Hi from all of us!

David Goldman post-great set!

LJ Murphy kickin' butt.

They have food now! Chili Fries!!!
My kick-ass featured songwriter Ann Klein with Joe Brent and the spontaneous mandolin war!

Julius noisied the room up a bit!!

Adorable and awesome Lara Ewan

Picken Chicken!! Or Hilary Hawke of Hogzilla - such a great set!

And last but not in the least least - Rick Snyder!!! What an awesome treat to end the evening!

Bye Bye Hair!!

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:04:30 GMT

So I had mentioned to a few of you that I was going to do this... and now I have!! The hair went bye bye! I got it chopped off on this past weekend at Salon Bohemia in Park Slope (thank-you Karen!).... and now it is officially on it's way to LOCKS OF LOVE in Florida! It turned out I had 14 inches to give to them! Yay!!

Here's a little photo diary of all the fun and trauma (thank-you to Angelo Merendino of JuliuS for the pictures!):

Right before the cut!

Holding my breath...

14 Inches! Yikes.

The cutting begins...

And keeps going....

And going...

AND going....

GONE!

Sadness for the new bang-ed do...? Nah - it's all good!

Check out the bangs!

So I lived through it! Would I do it again? I dunno! Ask me in a couple years!

Happy New Year

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 09:51:38 GMT

I hope everyone's holidays were magnificent and that 2008 has been great to you so far!

Here is all the exciting news for the new year...

Seems it is going to be a very Kenny's Castaways year once again. My first show of '08 will be there! And a it's a full length Andi Rae show with her own band, including Alex Sweeton on back-up vocals... not til Feb 23rd - so plenty o' time to mark your calendar!

ALSO... on Feb 27th I will begin hosting an open mic at Kenny's. It's set to be a FULL BAND open mic - drums and everything! So very fun - please pass it on to anyone you know who needs a stage to test out some songs! We're hoping to make this very fun and Maria (of Kenny's) is even talking about some drink specials for our open mic-ers.... so come out and bring your friends! Last Wed of every month!!!

On Fri March 14th, I will be in Brooklyn at the lovely and recently beautifully renovated Bar4!! Sharing the bill with Bryan Dunn and Jodi Shaw.

AND - YAY! 2nd annual Earth Day Show is in the works!! This will also be at Kenny's Castaways. Last year was amazing and I'm shooting for that and even more this year so - again - mark your calendars for Sat, April 19th.

SO! As that takes us almost into 2009 - I guess I'll stop there! I'm looking forward to seeing you. Stay warm and happy. And here's wishing an amazing 2008 for us all!!

xo

HELP!! And cool news!

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:26:37 GMT

So I have 2 cool pieces of news!

First of all - I could really use everyone's help. I'm doing fairly well on this music site... And it would awesome if anyone's has a spare second to help me out with some votes! You can vote everyday - after the first time when you register it takes 2 seconds! So if anyone has the time to make that their morning or evening ritual for a few weeks you'll be feeling the love from me! Here's the link again:

http://pop.musicnation.com/v16f

Also!

I am SO excited to have booked an Earth Day Show at the Living Room! It's all for charity so PLEASE PLEASE put it on your calendar! There will be lots of bands and and I think it's going to be a blast. I'll have a list of who is playing and details on who we will be donating to very soon.

That's all I've got for now! Take care of yourselves!

xoxo

Dewey Beach Americana Music Fest

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 11:15:14 GMT

I LOVED the Dewey Beach Americana Music Festival!! What can I say? The Rusty Rudder was a very cool place, they had 4 stages set up 2 out, 2 in and they would just switch off... so there was always someone playing while someone else was setting up! For those of you who have been to a festival before, I'm sure this isn't big news, but it was my first and I thought it was awesome!! And especially because I got to play on the big inside stage! (What did I do to deserve this??) Here is the ONLY picture I have, because I left my camera in the hotel room. I know. Lame. You don't know the half of it! You can just barely see Max on the side and Willard in the back. And Roland is sawing away on the right. The band was amazing! Everyone signed on last minute and they all killed it. They sounded incredible, and they were ALL troopers! Willard drove himself there and back all in one night, Roland took the gig out of Joe's hands 4 days before and still played perfectly... But I have to give special props to Max who I had to wake up first thing in the morning when I discovered the flight I had booked to get back to New York on Saturday morning (so I could pick up a car and drive these boys back down to Dewey Beach) DIDN'T EXIST. That's right, the flight didn't exist and I had NO way to get to New York in time to get back! So Max got up, went into the city, picked up the rental car, picked up Roland, went back to Brooklyn to get his gear and then got them both down to Dewey Beach in more than enough time for the show. Without one little peep of a complaint. I owe you Maximiliano!! (Mom & John drove me there - thanks Mom & John!) Also, there were so many New York bands there - it was like a big reunion party, even with the people that I had not met before! I saw Gretchen Witt, Pemberton Roach (subbing for Last Charge of the Lighthorse) and met Pete & J... and I think those 2 owe me a Philly trip! All in all, great time. Was worth all the exhaustion I feel right now!!!

I am Background Music!

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:56:38 GMT

So, after some much needed rest, I took Alex wandering around in Norfolk before the show Friday night. We ran into my friend Joel who was SO happy to see us.

Ok, maybe he WAS kinda happy to see us.

We got a little windblown.

And Aromas in Williamsburg, that night, was interesting... One whole half of the room was not paying any attention to poor Alex and me....

but I got to be super goofy while playing so it was very fun.

Also, Dave, who booked us, was so awesome, he gave us some free mugs - I wish I'd taken his picture... since we took pictures of almost everything else that night!! So, since no one would pay attention to me there, I will now make YOU look at my pictures!!! LOOK AT ME!! Ha ha ha. And then it will be on to Dewey Beach for my first Festival!!

Alex and I post-show. Great one of me - thanks Joel!

My brother Jeff and his girlfriend, Cheryl....

Mom pontificating...

Lord have mercy, Joel and Alex got hold of the camera...

Mom and John....

I think I scared John!

Me and Mama and Jeffy!!

Akshay & the Blue Mountain Cafe

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 09:45:24 GMT

So back out on the road again! But only for a few days this time...

Left New York on a rainy Tuesday and it rained the WHOLE WAY. But it was a pretty uneventful trip considering!

Spent all day on Wednesday just hanging around at Mom's and wishing I didn't have shows and that I could just continue to lie around (luckily I don't have pictures of this.)

BUT I did make it to the show and had the best time!

I got to see my friend Jenny and my friend Brian who I had not seen a long looong time!

So so so good to see them and it made me very nostalgic. I'll be going to back to visit soon, to revisit all the places in Richmond I used to hang around while in college and catch up more with my long-lost buds!

As for the show itself... Alex was sick but awesome!

And here I am...

Then Akshay came up and did Damien Rice's 'Volcano' with me...

And we had a great local co-biller - Andy Moore!

Then afterward, we had some Peppermint Shakes at the Galaxy Diner with Akshay and Andrew! Akshay treated! Thank-you thank-you thank-you!!

Then back to Mom's pad in Hampton to try and get some sleep for the Williamsburg show tomorrow...

How it went...

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:17:24 GMT

So my long over due assessment of the tour!!

I never did get to stop at one of these....

I also didn't get to ride a mechanical bull. I found one in New Orleans but the bar was no empty. No fun.

However, I learned some things...

-There are certain shirts you should not wear for a show unless you are a stripper.

Me trying to expose myself (again)

-What grackles are and that they will steal your food.

- Music Row is not as exciting as it sounds! (Although the nude statue is fun!)

-58 is NOT the fast route to VA from TN. (But now I know where they grow the Christmas Trees!)

-New Orleans is best done with a friend.

-Houston is hot.

-I'm pretty sure I could drive aournd forever!

Yes... I was ready to keep going and going. The freedom was so amazing. I would love to have someone with me, but at the same time, doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted was pretty cool. And there are still a million places I need to go and maybe next time more off highway roads like 58.

At the same, I gained a greater appreciation of New York while I was away... There is something wonderful about a slower pace and sometimes New York makes you crazy, and it's really hard to go BOWLING here... There is just something you get here that you don't get anywhere else. I could still do without the winters though. Maybe here in the summer, Austin in the winter?

Anyway!! My favorite things about being gone were being basically barefoot ALL THE TIME,

my Mom's fried chicken (she filled my cooler with it before I left and, rather than getting sick of it, I became an addict), my awesome hotel in Nashville,

Big Wilson Creek,

eating lots of breakfast in Atlanta with Brookie and Lynn, finding the "city of the dead" in New Orleans, getting some cool pictures (before my camera broke),

and all the different coffee houses...

And not to mention getting to do show after show after show.

And of course, the people I met. I feel so lucky to have come across so many awesome souls. Let me just thank Julie AGAIN for everything she did for me in Austin. She helped make it my best stop along the way. And I had such a good time visiting with Hilah's bro - he's coming to NY soon to visit - yay! I finally got to meet my MySpace friend, Kari, then got to meet Akshay and sing a little Damien Rice with him the same night... I made a friend after the show in Apex, Jason. He kept tabs on me along the way, kept me from getting too lonely (of course, Shambo, you did this for me as well - but I knew you already! :). My fellow 'Andi' in Houston - she tried to take me out after the show but, I'm spoiled in NY and couldn't handle the amount of smoke that kept collecting in the bar! Oh well. Scott and Donny kept me company in Nashville... too fun. Wanted to pack up them into the car with me!

And one BIG thanks to my Mama! She made me all the chicken and hard boiled eggs AND macaroni salad, she printed all my posters and sent them out, she kept giving me directions when I ran into a glitch with the ones I had, was at 3 shows and hleped me promote them... What else? Oh, she gave birth to me! And it was good to get to hang out with her...

So, I guess I'm torn being back. Sad it's over but familiar territory is always nice. And I'm excited about the Pianos show! And the Rockwood show. And I got to go back to Sammy's and sing some backup for Alex Sweeton's new album which is coming along very nicely! AND I got to see Lenore and Andrew while seeing the lovely Mr Depp in 'Pirates'. And also, there seems to be a tubing trip & an Atlantic City in my future! So, I guess I don't have it so bad, eh?

I'll keep up the blog now, but obviously not so often! I won't be writing about the cup of coffee I had this morning but I will definitely keep you up to date with any interesting things that come my way!

xoxo

No Sleep 'til Brooklyn

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 10:38:11 GMT

And here I am - so sleep I must. Just a quick note and a couple pictures from the last show, which was very intimate and, surprisingly, after 9 consecutive shows, I was a nervous wreck for... But Joel Haberli and Al Law kicked but with their ukelele/guitar duo!!

Gotta work on that posture!

Joel & Al or, the Hawiian Invalid Twins

Gotta work all day tomorrow but I'll have more to say about the past 3 weeks on the 4th! Have a great weekend!

xo

Where all the Christmas Trees Come From...

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 20:53:23 GMT

I'm not kidding! There was hill after hill covered with Christmas trees just like this! Don't know if they are really farming X-Mas Trees or just filling out the hills - I kinda hope they are just filling out the hills!

So I ended up here in Christmas Tree Land when I decided that the way yahoo maps was telling me to get to Hampton, Va from Knoxville was ridiculous. So I looked on the map and saw that Route 58 goes almost straight there! So I got off 81, went to THE ice cream stop for a toffee milk shake, and hit 58, which ended up adding THREE HOURS to my trip! Oops. But I wouldn't do it differently. The drive was AMAZING. It was just as beautiful and more fun (cuz it's less scary - no ocean to fall into) than the Pacific Coast Highway - which I have done twice. It was just curvy enough for me to thoroughly enjoy myself (altho, I might have scared anyone else in the car), I went through cute little towns, by neat old buildings,

it was so green,

and I drove along side a creek most of the way.

When I stopped to get this picture there were butterflies flying all over the place. It was like a freakin' Disney movie!

(Speaking of butterflies, I forgot to mention that I was attacked by one in Austin while having lunch with Julie - since when are butterflies on the offensive?)

So anyway, I followed this creek for awhile, the Big Wilson Creek,

and drove over a few others: Big Buffalo Creek, Butcher Creek, Rudds Creek, and then drove into Hampton and to Mom's while listening to Nickel Creek, ha! ('Why Should the Fire Die' - love this album - but I DIDN'T plan it that way!) And the beginning of the trip was new music drive for Andi. I started with Beck's 'Guero' (didn't like it as much as 'Midnight Vultures'), then Neko Case, given to me by Julie - very cool and kinda different, and Bruce Springsteen's 'We Shall Overcome - the Seeger Sessions'. Perfect for the drive! Never been a Springsteen fan but this album is great (it's all songs that Pete Seeger made famous).

*Sidenote: Just saw on the news that Bush took the Prime Minister (a big Elvis fan) of Japan to Graceland yesterday. Bummer - a couple days difference in my schedule and I could have run into our illustrious prez! Apparently, I also missed some crooning by the Japanese PM...*

Moving on!! My last show in a strange town, Knoxville, was interesting, but good! They have a loft above this restaurant, Oodles (where they offer a discount to performers) that has 7 beds, a little kitchen and bathroom for the artists who are coming through! Pretty awesome. So I hung there for a bit before the show (I stayed with Jodie Manross that night but she had rehearsal until 10PM). Then I was encouraged to start much later than the show was, as Knoxville is a late night town! And I was warned that this is not a listening room but it was still a bit disconcerting having people chatting away while I was playing... However! Everyone still clapped and cheered between songs and I sold CDs - so I can't complain! :) In fact, I would call it a success.

Talking up the audience...

Mac Comer

Brendon James Wright

with Jodie Manross

really wanted her to play that night (she has a beautiful voice) but it didn't work out :(

And Knoxville is so cute! The Preservation Pub is in this little Square full of stores (the pub has the yellow columns)

and there are other neat areas - love this sculpture that I found...

Couldn't stay long though, had to get on to (what I didn't know then would be) my 10 hour drive! Didn't feel like throwing up after this one though! Even felt good enough to get Mom to take a pic with my little Ford Focus...

I returned him yesterday. Sniff. And the last tour show is tonight! I am so sad. And I feel a little weird being back off the road (driving back to NY still but VA is also home). Almost like it never happened. I need to take a minute to reflect and absorb soon...

The LONG drive to Nashville...

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 00:27:14 GMT

FIRST of all... a couple of corrections from earlier...

You can find Brook's song from the show on his myspace.

And Warren's (the wonderful boy who changed my strings in Atlanta) band is here.

Andi also - I wanted to you to see the cool picture I took in Texas!! (It IS Austin, but still...)

So, as you know, I left Austin on Sunday, sadly. (on a recommendation I got some Lonestar beer for my NYC friends on the way out - cheers!) I was NOT prepared for the drive I had ahead of me! Turned out to be almost 10 hours, which isn't much more than I thought, but of course, I was hoping to to cut time OFF not add it on! I drove through Arkansas (which Jamiey tried to convince me was pronounced a-RAK-na-sas)

and I was ready to throw up by the time I got to Memphis.

But I DID get there and Gina's Mama and Papa were waiting for me! (but my camera broke :( - no pics of them!) So I had a nice, comfy bed and a big shower and a banana! A quick drive-by tour of Memphis (after buying a disposable digital camera)

Graceland from afar - you can see the windows of the house far away!

Beale Street

Sun Studios

and then on my way to Nashville,

and my GREAT hotel! I got a little spooked at the hotel in New Orleans, so treated myself to something nicer in Nashville, but I still got a great deal through Hotwire. So I have been enjoying a little room service (yes, an unnecessary extra, but it was just a little breakfast!), some sitting by the pool, a big fluffy bed and a great view.

The show at 3rd and Lindsley was cool. It's a great club and there were a lot of people there. Clay played great, of course, amazing guitar skills (no pic - disposable camera doesn't work as well in the dark). And Keeley & Stan

managed to throw a band together a couple of days before the show and they ROCKED! This girl has a voice like no body's business! And great songs.

Yesterday I wandered around Nashville a bit. Saw Broadway

and music row (not that exciting unless you get to go in the buildings and give your CD to people. Maybe I should have done that!) I made some new, fun friends, Donny and Scott

and they took time out of their day to keep me company at lunch and at the Basement for some great live music! And, of course, the first great band I saw there was called KaiserCartel and they are from... Redhook in Brooklyn! Ha! Anyway - they are awesome - go listen!

So now it is onto Knoxville! I had a little article written about me in a local paper, the Daily Times. Kinda neat. This will be the last stop in a strange city, then one more in VA and home!! Just managed to book a Pianos show so, I guess I will see you soon!

Where do I begin?

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 21:59:59 GMT

Seriously. Austin was (as I was told it would be) amazing and I have so much I wanna say!

First of all, can I just say how AWESOME Julie is? I was going to stay with her for a night and then head to a hotel but she let me stay for THREE! nights AND showed me around all day on Saturday. WE LOVE JULIE!!!

So I spent the day of the show wandering about a bit on my own. I went and got a a little sun at Barton Springs, which is part of the river that runs through town!

Wandered through the shops on South Congress, and went to Guero's, on Julie's recommendation, for lunch. It was awesome.

Then the show itself was REALLY great as well! Two Austin ladies, Cindy Hill and Ginger Leigh opened up a great shop (I would recommend checking it out if you are ever in Austin) called Love, and they have little concerts out on the front lawn called "Love on the Lawn"... So cool!

And before I go any further - look at the pinkish house in the background. Guess who lives there? Emily. Emily who used to be my downstairs neighbor in Park Slope. How unbelievable is that, I ask you? Why didn't I take a picture with Emily? I'm dumb.

It turned out to be a great show - everyone was so talented (again!) and we had a wonderful, supportive crowd!!!

Luke Balencia

Julie and her bass player, Matt

Suzanna Choffel

If only one day I can play guitar like Suzanna!

And a wonderful gentleman named Phil took some pictures of me...

I really, really enjoyed this show. I would come back in a heartbeat. And I really wish I had had a video camara! It was just such a great vibe. Thank-you Love!!!

After the show I went to a place called Momo's with Julie and her boyfriend Jamiey and caught some more live music. And then on Saturday, as I said, Julie spent her whole day showing me around Austin. She made me breakfast, bought me a Thai iced tea, took me around downtown, Red River, the UT campus, the capitol building (which has a beautiful lawn out front that you can just hang out at and roll down the grassy hills!). Here are a couple pics of me there being a dork....

We had a lunch at a great non-McDonalds burger joint and ate outside with these crazy scary birds - grackles?? They are really loud and will apparently steal your food.

Then we went to Town Lake (more of the river) and wandered around and Julie bought me a custard! (She says this isn't technically the South, but she sure has the Southern hospitality thing down!!) We rested a bit, then went out for some dinner with Jamiey again (again, on Julie!), got a good perspective of the music scene in Austin from these 2 local musicians and then got some Mexican Martinis!! These are essentially margaritas straight up, with salt and OLIVES! Oh yes, I will be introducing these to New York. Jamie wanted to know what a Knick was - but no one that I texted asking this question sent me an answer?!? Sorry Jamiey.

So, I'm sure I forgot something but I have GOT to get on the road!! I have 9 1/2 hours to go to get to Memphis, where I'm staying with Gina's Mama!! So off I go...

Hot hot hot humid hot

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 01:27:30 GMT

Hello!

Oh yeah baby...

And ohmygosh! It is SOOO hot down here!! (If you didn't get that already) But, as anyone who has spent any time with me at all knows, I am always cold so, actually, I think I like it! Wish I could find a beach though.

So on my way out of New Orleans I took a few more pictures, found a cool cemetary and the drive out is so cool! I guess you are driving right through the swamp and it makes me wonder why we don't just sink but it looks so neat and I was trying to get a picture but the dumb guy in the truck behind me was having a little fit so I stopped trying (and passed the guy in the truck - he was in no hurry so he could have calmed down!) On the other hand, I'm sure I was annoying.

So here are some of the bulidings that have yet to be fixed back up..

Below is a high school...

Working on it... Thought it was funny cuz the guy waved at me!

Of course, the real damage was further west, closer to the water, the poorer sections (as you know)... Metarie? The girl from the shop said that some of her family is living 8 people in a house right now because they lost homes and just haven't found new ones yet... Anyway, I ran out of time to try and get over there.

But I did find this neat cemetary like you read about in books and see in the movies...

I really do have to come back here!

And so anyway!!! HOUSTON! I really like Houston, too! It seems like there is a lot to do here. Westheimer, where the show was, is a very cool street with lots of cool shops and things of the sort. I found a half-priced book store where they sell the BEST selection of used CDs!! I got REM 'Green', the B-52s 'Cosmic Thing', Edie Brickell 'Throwing Rubber Bands at the Stars' and Aimee Mann 'I'm with Stupid' all for $23.17!

The show was at a place called Helios which I could see hanging out at. There was a open mic poetry reading going on downstairs, and we played upstairs and the bartender was a guy who has played at Bar4 in Brooklyn! Just 2 blocks from where I live!! Crazy...

Arthur Yoria set up the show and gave me a place to stay! Bless him!! Here we are... with a disco ball.

And I had one person there who (although she was a fan of Arthur's) was there to see me as well! Her name is Andi also!!

And now I am at Cafe Artiste... writing to you, getting ready to get a milkshake and head to Austin while listening to one of my new (old) CDs.

xoxo

NO LA

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 23:10:08 GMT

So now I am in the middle of the French Quarter, on a street called Chartre in a coffee house called La Boucherie. I like it here. I need to come back!

I wandered all around the Quarter yesterday. Bourbon Street is pretty cool. You do find the same things in all of the shops but that didn't keep me from getting some souvenirs! I had to do my itty bitty part to help the economy while I'm here! :) I imagine that the time to really enjoy Bourbon St, though, is at night - so I'll have to come back for that! Bar-hopping just didn't sound that fun by myself!

I did, however, get myself a pina colada to walk around with, just because I could! And it was strong - so I had a nice little buzz while shopping.

I only found one voodoo shop and it did offer readings but I was too afraid to ask for one. I had a lunch of turtle soup and oysters (yummy) here at Desire.

Turtle, oddly, tastes a bit like beef to me! That's another reason to come back, I need to have more time (and $$) to try to all the local cuisine. I saw an ad for "dirty rice and roasted corn". Sounded interesting.

It's definitely messy here. I have to admit, I was a little scared at first, until I finally started walking around. And it was weird coming in as someone who has never been and seeing construction everywhere and, being from New York where there is ALWAYS construction everywhere, not being sure what is rebuilding and what is construction. I was told though by a girl in one of the shops that it's mostly rebuilding. And the big thing is that nothing that they are used to is the same and everything is taking so long to get back to normal, and that is what is most frustrating for them. Understandable.

Anyway - it was nice having a couple days off from shows but now I guess it's time to get back into the car and go wow Houston tonight!! Hopefully Houston has drained a little from the rain!

Took a picture of myself with Plaza d Armas - cut myself off!

Home Sweet (Hilah's) Home

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:57:49 GMT

Well, I learned my tour lesson #2!!! Even if you're guitar strings are only 4 days old, they don't want to do 4 shows in a row after much travelling and climate change! During my very first song at Smith's in Atlanta I broke, not one, but TWO strings!! But Brett was nice enough to let me use his guitar while an angel (named Warren - check him out, he's NOT 14...) changed my strings for me. So, I skipped a song, got on with the show and it turned out to be a good one!

My friend Hilah's brother Brook came up and played a great song (it's called 'quefuerte' and should be on his myspace soon) in the middle

and everyone that played that night was awesome. Including Kahle Davis, who is the host of the writer's night at Smith's Olde Bar. He got up at the end and played a song called "The Music is Live" that you must click here and listen to!!

Brook also helped me record the show and so now I have a version of my new song "I Could" for you to hear (it's at the end of the music player).

And staying with Hilah's mother, Lynn, and Brook was SOO nice! They gave me a bed and a shower AND they fed me! Thank-you thank-you thank-you to them and to Hilah for arranging it for me!

I really just wanted to stay there for a few more days. But I also wanted to see New Orleans... so back into the car I went! I did a phone interview with the Daily Times in Knoxville (he's doing a feature on me - neat!) and then drove for 7 hours until here I am in the French Quarter. I have yet to venture out... wanted to update you first!!

xo

Athens

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 21:29:58 GMT

So, after a 6 hour drive (and I got a little bored - don't you feel safe knowing I'm on the road taking pics of myself and my pengun?)

here I am in Athens, at a place called Jittery Joe's, drinking a Decaf Vanilla Chai Frosty Joe (who needs Starbucks?) This was definitely one of the more interesting stops on my trip so far!

First of all, even though Cliff (one of my co-billers last lst) offered me a place to stay, I forgot to cancel my hotel (MOTEL) reservation so decided I might as well use it since I was paying for it! And this place definitely made me feel like I was on a lonely road trip from a David Lynch movie! If you are ever looking for a seedy place to stay in Athens - the Campus Inn, baby!

Then there was the show... I have yet to be disappointed with my co-billers - everyone was awesome last night. We had a quality show. BUT apparently, in Athens, it is common for drunk men to wander in off the street and harass the performers? It happened 3 times!! It started out cute. A guy walked in and shot a polaroid of Cliff while he was playing and gave it to him (next album cover!).

THEN while Joshua was on, someone else rolled in and would NOT stop going on and on, loudly, about how great the violin player was and that they need to play the first song again because "That's the hit!!". People finally had to ask him to shut-up.

And in the middle of all that, a couple of guys stumble through one door and out another and grab one of my CDs on the way... I thought about just letting him steal it for some extra exposure, but decided to go ahead and ask for some cash or the CD back. He didn't have any cash. Guess it looks good enough to steal though, Andrew!! Thank-you!

So I was told by Brett, welcome to Athens... But despite all of the excitement I am a little lonely here and am looking forward to getting to Atlanta where Hilah's Mama and brother are waiting for me!

Playing in Athens

Taking the Long Way...

Sat, 17 Jun 2006 21:08:01 GMT

So, Norfolk was much easier to get to, a bit more lucrative and it turns out that one of the bar owners was someone I used to work with on the Spirit Cruises years ago! Never knew what happened to him but there he was. Here he is...

Alan

So I'm excited about that! And I got to see my brother...

And then this morning the REAL adventure began as I finally set out down a highway that I had never been on before!

This time I started out to the Dixie Chicks new album "Taking the Long Way" (thank-you very much Addie!) and it's great - as is their first single 'Not Ready Too Make Nice'. Good for them!! So, anyway, I am now, much to some of your chagrin, completely on my lonesome! The drive was so easy and so pretty and totally uneventful! The show in Apex (Raleigh) was small but nice. My co-billers, again, were both great and the people here in NC are lovely!

And now, as I write this, I am sitting at a cafe in downtown Apex (right in the middle of Raleigh & Durham) and it is a beautiful day and I guess I better get a move on since I have a long drive ahead of me to Athens... And I have to figure out where the mics and speakers are going to come from for the show tonight since it did not occur to me to worry about that before. Well, I guess this is lesson learned number 1!! Have a great weekend...

One Down!!

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:01:08 GMT

So!! I made it from NYC to Virginia! Officially started my trip off on Tuesday evening (the lucky 13th) to The Pixies "Bossanova", which is always a great album to start a trip on! (Seth, if you are reading- that one's for you!) Made great time until I was less than a mile from Mom's at 1:30 in the morning and I got pulled over!!! Luckily they just wanted to tell me I was supposed have a light on my rear license plate (??) and since it was a rental - not my fault!!!

Mom and I set out early in the afternoon the next day (I KNOW - it's my 'Sinner' Tour and bringing Mom along isn't sinner-esque but too bad. I LOVE my Mama!!) for the Richmond show because I had an interview with Scott of the RichmondBuzz.com at 4PM - made it there by 5PM (Rain and traffic! Luckily Scott is very nice!) and had a nice chat and meal before making our way to Shockoe Espresso for the show...

At Shockoe they didn't know we had a show!! Oops. Got that cleared up, though, set up, and had a wonderful time. Akshay and Kari were both wonderful performers. I couldn't have asked for a better first show. Maybe even better than that, though, was when we jammed for awhile OUTSIDE the coffee shop when it was over! Akshay does a mean cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" and I got to sing the girly part.... And Kari has a list of song she covers like you wouldn't believe so she could have taken requests for hours! But we did eventually have to go home... so here I am in Hampton! Norfolk, Va show today!

xo

The street show AFTER the show!

Playing at Shockoe Espresso

Akshay

Kari Smith