Friday, May 14
Lincoln Wine Bar, Mt. Vernon, IA

What a great little spot outside of Cedar Rapids.  One of those historic distric towns.  They have a very well known cafe a few doors down with limited seating so people put in a res. and come to the wine bar to conversate til their table is ready.

These are tough gigs cause when people aren't there to hear music you gotta really work hard to be a part of their evening rather than a seperate entity in the corner.  Couples have been at work all week and this is their moment to re-connect and the trick is not to interupt that connection but become a part of it.  To make their night even better.  If you get ticked that noone is paying attention you miss it.  If you try to get loud and obnoxious, you miss it.  If you understand that your their for them, not the other way around, you get it.

Everyone tips if you become a part of their night, you even get a few who become interested listeners.  I was amazed that a couple listened til their table was ready and than came back after their dinner to catch a few more songs.   A right attitude makes a difference.

I'll be back at the Lincoln Wine Bar on Aug. 6

Saturday, May 15
Rock Island Cafe, Neenah, WI

My first trip to Neenah.  I was exhausted, I wanted to be home.  I work full time and spent the evenings mixing so I hadn't seen my wife or daughter all week.  I delight in being home even though I love playing music.  I've been basically working 7 days a week with the gigs on the weekends and it wears on you. 

So being tired as I was, I was thrilled to see a bench out front of the little cafe.  I grabbed my National style N (the silver shiney one) and sat on the bench to rest and play. 

TIP:  If you want to stop traffic on a busy street, play a resophonic guitar.  I literally almost caused an accident.  A Suburban slammed on the brakes, rolled down the windows and listened for a good minute...now a minute doesn't seem long but tell that to the people waiting behind him.

I can safely say I attracted more attention than expected.  People were waving, honking horns, it was a site for sure.  Unfortunately it was a very quiet night indoors.  I should've stayed on the bench.

Mixing: Day 2

When: Wednesday, May 12
Where: Underwood Studio's, Minneapolis, Mn

Live So God Can Use You – Muddy Waters
I Know the Lord Will Make a Way – Miss. Fred McDowell

We got 2 songs done, which doesn’t sound like much. But if you figure it took us 6hrs to do 4 solo songs than 2 band songs in 6hrs is about right…being that there’s 3x the work.

And it is work. It’s actually exhausting. Your trying to put a puzzle together; you’ve got all the parts, now how do they fit to make the picture? You can force the song to come together or you can spend the time to find out how the song wants to be mixed.

Yup, the song determines how it wants to be mixed/heard. The song wears the pants. It’s the boss. After 14yrs of recording this is a new revelation.

I remember it drove my wife crazy when, in the first few years of marraige, she'd ask me to do something and I reply, “Don’t tell me what to do.” Not in an angry way but in a, “I know it needs to get done and it will get done eventually” sort of way. And I can hear the songs echoing that phrase back to me...I’m sure my wife is smiling, revenge!

I can safely say necks are gonna get sore listening to this disc cause we got some great heading bobbing tunes on here. Some great grooves for sure.

Day 3 - 5/13.

Stay tuned…

Mixing: Day 1

When: Tuesday, May 11
Where: Underwood Studio's, Minneapolis, Mn

A great day to start mixing. It's hard to be in the studio when the sun is shining...no problem today.

We decided to start with the 4 solo songs, Mark Stockert and I, so we did just that.

I Am in the Heavenly Way - Booker White
Lord I'm Discouraged - Charlie Patton
Nobody's Fault But Mine - Blind Willie Johnson
This Little Light of Mine - Son House

I won't say much about it, as there isn't much to say, it's guitar and vocals.  

I will say that for a while we were scratching our heads, looking for more...more sound, a fuller sound, but than stated the obvious, there just isn't more. So we were satisfied, more than satisfied, it actually sounds like great guitar and vocal.

I can also say that it's a bit unnerving being out there solo on record. Sure, I mostly perform solo these days but performing solo and recording solo are two very different things. Your naked brother, not the sexy airbrushed kind of naked, but the lumpy, bumpy, flabby, real kind of naked.

At 1st listen your like, "sounds great" but by the 150th pass you hear every mistake, every mistake, every mistake, and soon it all sounds like mistakes. Almost to the point where you say, "No one can hear this!" But than you step away for a few minutes, come back, and it's the 1st pass again and can confidently say, "hey, this is dang good."

I can see where you could spend months going over every word til its perfect, every note til its pristine, til, let's be honest, it's no longer really you...I don't play perfect, don't sing perfect.  No, the real is good enough.

I will also say, recording your work is the best thing, mixing that work is not.

Thankfully, I love my dear friend and top notch music producer of 7yrs, Mark Stockert, so it's more like hanging out with my buddy than self autopsy.

It's going to be a powerful and great album!  Day 2 tomorrow.