The Darkness Long On Players (On) The Edge Of Town

This weekend I'm involved in a really cool project. There is a band here in town called The Long Players, made up of a bunch of A-List veteran Nashville players. Core guys - Bill Lloyd, Steve Allen, Steve Ebe, John Deadrick, and Brad Jones. As The Long Players, they assemble to do album tribute shows - 47 since 2004, I believe. 2 months ago, they did "Exile On Main Street" with none other than Bobby Keys on sax. Their bass player Brad took over from the original bassist when he moved out of town 3 years ago. Garry Tallent. Yeah, that Garry Tallent. This weekend, The Long Players are doing Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness On The Edge Of Town". And I'm singing in it!

As those of you who know me know, I am a completely delirious, unjustifiably ridiculous Bruce Springsteen fanatic. While Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt's muses may in fact be closer to God than anywhere I'll ever visit, Bruce Springsteen's rest in our unique earthly orbit, and musically and spiritually they permeate every single artistic thing I seem to believe in. I've seen him in concert something like 11 times. I would likely have seen him more times, but until I finally had the opportunity, he hadn't really toured in any capacity that I could attend since the '80's, when I was still a child, and hadn't really grown into him yet. The first time I saw him was when he did a 15 night stand at The Meadowlands in July/August 1999. I went 4 nights. 3 were in one week.

I've grown up some since then - meaning I spend less money on concert tickets - but I have been psyched like a teenager for this show since I got the call 2 weeks ago. Last night at the rehearsal, the reminder I'd set on my phone for the show - before I was even in the show - went off right as we were starting. Is this crazy? Sometimes you just have to remember the reasons you devoted your life to music, and surrender fully to the joy. Not surprisingly, the rehearsal itself last night was one of those moments! I was telling Kim right beforehand that I didn't know the last time I was as excited for a rehearsal. I love rehearsing with my band, it's very fulfilling and is always time well spent. You learn a lot, and you get better. But...I was practically as pumped for this rehearsal as I have been for the show itself tomorrow night. I slept for only two hours the night before (for other reasons), but went on pure adrenaline. I'm almost afraid I blew my load too early, and might not have another level to go to tomorrow night!

I guess its likely that won't be a problem. One of the other reasons I'm excited about this show, though, is it's a great hang, and a great opportunity. I got involved in this sort of thing back in Austin, too, with a bunch of guys called Will Taylor and Strings Attached. Through it, I met and started working with a whole new network of people. It opened up a lot for me, things that wouldn't have happened otherwise. A bunch of new friends, a bunch of new people in the audiences. I enjoyed everything in Austin more. Looking back, my last few years in Austin were definitely my happiest years in Austin - for a few reasons, obviously. That wasn't all of it, but it certainly contributed to the picture.

Anyway...needless to say, if you can come to the show this Saturday night at Mercy Lounge (March 20) - you should. 10% of the door goes to a selected local charity. The band is so spot on, and I feel practically every singer involved will be unleashing at least part of their inner teenage fist clenching, heart thumping, boundary breakin'....EARTH QUAKIN', HISTORY MAKIN'....er, self.

If you missed it, check out Bruce with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon, I've been buzzing on this performance for 2 days. What intensity. ?uestlove - Jesus, man! Sit through the 30 second commercial, it's worth it.

Also below is something from print the day after the show.



Backing Bruce Springsteen on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night was a near-surreal experience for The Roots drummer ?uestlove. "During rehearsal, when the producer said, 'Ladies and gentleman, 'Because The Night' with the Professor and Little Steven, here's Bruce Springsteen and The Roots' — I couldn't move," ?uestlove tells Rolling Stone. "And they were looking at me like, 'Okay count the song off.' And I was like, I said, 'Holy shit. I heard that.'"

He adds: "I mean, I've done some intense playing on our show, but that was the most intense playing I've ever done. He completely surpassed any expectation I've ever had for any mythical god of rock figure."

In a rare talk show appearance to promote the new Darkness on the Edge of Town box set, Springsteen chatted with Fallon on the couch about everything from his brother-in-law to the setbacks of new technology. Alongside The Roots and E Street band members Steven Van Zandt and keyboardist Roy Bittan, he ripped through five-minute takes of rockers "Because the Night" and "Save My Love" — and hilariously dressed up as himself circa 1975 for his own take on Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair."

Before the show, the band rehearsed for 90 minutes, running through "Because the Night" six times and "Save My Love" four times. "[Bruce] was just like, 'Hey, you do what you do,'" ?uestlove says. "'I don't want you to be Max Weinberg. I want you to be you.'"

But soon, during a take of "Because the Night," the drummer got found himself in one of Max Weinberg's familiar dilemmas. "Bruce and Little Steven were giving me the exact opposite instructions — It was kind of like good cop, bad cop," he says.

Check out the exclusive Rolling Stone Q&A with Springsteen

"There's a moment on the bridge where Bruce said, 'You got to watch Steven's body language. He will come over, bend his knees — that means to bring the dynamics down. Play to a whisper," he adds. "But then two seconds later during the song Springsteen's looking at me like, 'Yo man,' jumping up and down and Steven is like on his knees. My band's laughing at me because they know exactly, you know, the type of quagmire I'm in right now. One guy is telling me he wants to see blood drawn because he wants me to play real powerful and the other one wants me to bring it down a little bit."

He met them in the middle. But on TV, nothing was brought to a whisper. And just as Springsteen has been known to do in arenas, the band went over their allotted set time. "If you look at the last 20 seconds [of "Because the Night"], all of us are literally in a circle. It's like no one else is in that room except Little Steven, the Professor, Bruce, and all seven of my guys," says ?uestlove. "We're totally disregarding the minute mark and the deadline. I'm surprised they got it all on there 'cause Lord knows we went 32 bars over. We were supposed to end after the end of the bridge, but we just kept going. None of that stuff was expected — the guitar solo."

But "Whip My Hair" will be the moment fans remember the most — Springsteen decked out in his classic beard, sunglasses and leather jacket while Jimmy Fallon is dressed as a 1970-era Neil Young, duetting on Willow Smith's viral hit. It was Fallon's idea, but "[Bruce] was absolutely game for it, especially dressing up as his 1975 self," says ?uestlove.

He's silent for moment. "I just got a text from Jay-Z saying he's watching right now and it's incredible."

Hallowe'en and The Who

I hope you all had a fun hallowe'en. Ours was good - in one of the more rare occurrences of my life, I actually dressed up in costume. I didn't go all out - no makeup or wig (you need to plan more than 3 hours ahead for that), but I still made the effort. I was Dio.



Or can't you tell...



It was fun, we blasted Neon Knights all the way to the Grace Potter show we attended. Kudos to Grace and co, they did a great show, one that it turns out was their tour finale. They dressed up for hallowe'en, too:



The whole show had a 'sense of occasion' vibe about it, which made it special. Kim, as usual, put a bit more thought and planning into her costume, so consequently we were Dio and a much more badass ladybug.



Good times!

Last night I was watching a thing on TV with some footage from one of the great rock performances of all times: The Who, at The Concert For New York City. It's something I've had on audio for years, but haven't seen since that night. This was one month after 9/11, and truly, as far as all time most memorable performances...I mean....Hendrix at Monterey, Dylan at Newport...whatever your poison, this is a performance to behold, and community at its finest. Everyone was happy for the first time in their new lives. Daltry, Entwistle, Zak Starkey were all on their A game, but Townsend - my god - he was possessed by something that night I don't know if I'll ever understand. I don't know if I've ever been as close to tears watching a man play guitar in my life - and this is 9 years removed from all the emotion of that time. Attacking his guitar like a goddamn F-11. You want to talk about the healing power of rock and roll, you need not look any further than this, and the faces of those heroes in attendance. There will never be another night quite like that, and there will never be another band like The Who.

And the thing that made me smile at the end, as it all came to a close, was looking down on the stage in front of Pete. 2 pedals. A cord going in, a cord connecting them, and a cord going to the amp. Woohoo!

For your viewing pleasure, here is the entire 4 song performance. I don't remember where it was in the running order of the night, but it is certainly the moment that no-one who saw it will ever forget.

Who Are You...


Baba O'Reiley...


Behind Blue Eyes...


Won't Get Fooled Again...


Long live rock!

Promo Video, Memories of Jeff Buckley

So there's that.

I did a 2 1/2 week job in Lexington, KY this past month, to help make ends meet. Er, actually...to create two ends, lengthen them, make them meet..the whole nine! It was...different...but had its ups, and I got to hear Lyle Lovett perform, which is always cool. And I listened to Jeff Buckley all the way up and back. Having not put him on in at least a couple of years, I taken by both how quickly I was thrust back into his landscapes, and also by the immense character he has in his silken voice - a character in my world usually reserved for gravelly throated old man troubadors (ie. 90% of my favorite singers). I have always been pissed off I did not have a more weathered sounding voice. I could just never commit to all the whiskey. I've always kind of felt like if you're trying to sing the truth, you've got to at least sound like you've put in the years making the mistakes required to even come close to understanding the subject. Howling Wolf, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan... even in their younger days, a raw and unrefined glory, letting you know they're really of the earth (well I can't speak for Wolf, I don't know if he ever was young).

Anyway, Jeff reminded me you don't have to sound old to be an old soul, you just have to believe the life you live. I miss Jeff and his music. He was gone right as he headed out of the gate, and it's everybody's loss. He was one of a kind. Like Wolf, Dylan, and the rest of them..



New DN music coming soon..

New Tour, Same Home

Over the last few weeks, I went out and made up the dates I had to miss in July. This took me to Ruidoso and Las Cruces in New Mexico, and Midland/Odessa in Texas. As you all know, I'm terrified of driving, but over the course of 2700 miles, I seemed to settle down. I was a little nervous heading into Ruidoso, as I hadn't done a full night of my own material in 8 or 9 months, and I remembered the crowd there as being pretty attentive. Somehow it all came together, though. In fact, I felt a little extra surge, as maybe it had all built up. Some of these songs, it had been quite some time, it was exciting to actually play them again.

Maybe it helped that the drive out there looks basically like this:



Also helping wasthe added serenity I experienced all the way out there, having discovered this newfangled invention - the audiobook. Ahhh. My ears aren't dead after 20 hrs of driving an old Volvo.

Oh, speaking of long drives, that reminds me - I haven't yet mentioned the end of my tenure with Natalie Stovall and her band. Yes, it's true. All things must come to and end, and my memories are fond. We're all friends, I have little doubt we'll all work together in varying capacities in the months ahead. Certain paths seem to cross for a reason. I wish them all the best.

Sadly though, while they've filled the hole left by my departure, I haven't quite filled the ones of my own resulting from...their going back out on the road! I kind of got ZP into that gig with me, and with Miguel I kind of stumbled into the good fortune of having him on for a few gigs and recording sessions. One good thing about sharing musicians with the other band is that when it's your break time, it's their break time, too. But alas, they're back out getting paid again, and I've got work to do. I'm not sweating it, but I will offer a shout out: ZP, Jefe - you're both unique talents, as well as special guys. It'll never be the same, but...22-25!

A few weeks ago, we had a great show at 3rd & Lindsley, and were graced with Natalie's presence for a song as well... Note her exceptionally awesome hair on this night!







So now I'm working with my booking agent on filling up my fall and winter, and plugging away with the recordings for an eventual new record. Kim has been sweeter than ever. I've been under the weather all week, and spent a lot of time at home with Alaska listening to the radio and playing cat toy hockey. All in all, it's good times.

Amarillo

Well I took my first serious drive in the wake of our crash over these past two days. I've driven around town and stuff, but not this kind of driving. I left Nashville yesterday morning, and am in Amarillo tonight. Tomorrow morning I head to where my first solo tour show is - New Mexico. This is a lot of driving for someone who is suddenly paralyzed with fear on the road! When can I be Fleetwood Mac and just fly everywhere? Everything is different now. It's hard to believe that during all the time before, I just....assumed I was going to stay on the road and not be subject to death or serious injury at any moment. Like traveling in a mobile metal projectile on wheels at 75 MPH for 8-10 hours straight doesn't lend itself to odds that something crazy might happen. What are the chances? I'm doing the best I can to believe that rubber tires can actually achieve traction on a concrete road - even when going around a bend - but it's not automatic like it used to be. Especially in Oklahoma. It's always noteworthy how sudden your surroundings change when you enter one state from another. As soon as you enter New Mexico from Texas, for instance, you see vague plant life in the desert, a different hue in the land, a different sound in the wind. Enter Colorado from New Mexico - suddenly there are more trees, mountains, it's greener. And as soon as you pass by the "Oklahoma - Discover The Excellence!" sign, you spend the next 4 hours fending off death from some of the most unbearable highway in America. Then you hit Texas, it's suddenly smooth again. Right now it's even worse, because the whole of Okie's I-40 is under construction (I guess Tom Coburn decided to use that money after all).

Construction or not, though, I feel like Luke Skywalker when he's barreling down the Death Star corridor - needing to do what he needs to do and get the hell out (in his case blow up the Death Star and save the universe) - every time I pass a semi. You just never know, you try to get by them as quickly as you can, and occasionally they still flash their blinkers when you're about halfway up on them. Word - do they see me, are they blinking in anticipation, or are they about to go? I've had them start going on me in my little Volvo a couple of times over the years, and have to fend them off with the horn. Passing, I mean, not hanging out in their blind spot. But it's too terrifying, especially the part at the end when the air pocket sucks you up for that millisecond, and all you can do is ease through it and pray. No fun.

Relaxed driving used to be second nature to me, now it's going to take some time, I guess.

In short, the road used to feel something like this to me:



Now it's more like this:



The tie fighters are the semis. The semis, and those IQ 25'ers who slow down from 105 mph to tail you from two feet behind, because they want you to move. Even if the 4 cars in both lanes in front of you are going kinda slow, too (or if you're actually in the freakin' slow lane already). I swear, it's all I can do sometimes not to hit my brakes so they can slam into me and I can take their money.

That last line is a joke. I wouldn't do that, I'm just especially sensitive with aggressive drivers these days, knowing how easy it is for something terribly minor to go wrong, resulting in things very major. People should remember the immense mass, weight, and kinetic force of what they so callously weave and twist - sometimes push - throughout those lanes with. You ever accidentally bump a pole or something while backing into a parking spot? That's going at 3 MPH. Imagine swiping someone at 80.

Anyway, I'll get over it. It's part of the gig, I have to. And people think being a musician is all about making music...

Rose Falcon, Eric Paslay, David Newbould, The Wooten Brothers - This Wednesday at 3rd & Lindsley

Good afternoon from Nashville. I have a huge show coming up this Wednesday night at 3rd & Lindsley.

Wednesday, July 28:

6 pm - Rose Falcon!
7 pm - Eric Paslay!
8 pm - DAVID NEWBOULD

9:30 pm - The Wooten Brothers!

It's the last show in town with my band for awhile. My band and I hope to have much work in the future. Wednesday night could be a step in that direction. I'm not gonna lie to you, world - it's been a tough month. I haven't had any work, we had the accident...things are at a standstill, and it's all we can do to keep our spirits up. Add to that, I think I've got carpel tunnel. Is it over? The other night I was looking at myself in the mirror - it looked like someone else looking at me, I expected him to start moving and talking to me. Not fun.

So that's what I look like?

Anyway, what it would mean to have a full room at 3rd & Lindsley, and for us to make you leave with joy in a rich heart, and a smile on your face...I can't tell you. Rose Falcon and Eric Paslay are two of my favorites (Rose and I are even friends! Proof below...), so I can tell you the night will not suck! The Wooten Brothers are the first show I took Kim to when she came to town, and they are like going to a clinic of funk, craftsmanship, and good times. Good shit! Their great saxophonist, Rudy Wooten, may he RIP.





This afternoon I spent taking my guitar in. After the accident, I was amazed that it escape seemingly unscathed. The low E string was a little flat, but that was it. Upon playing it more, I've discovered that (not-so-amazingly) it must have gotten a little bit affected, as it plays differently. I had just finally gotten it all repaired and playing right, too, so drag of a discovery.





A few shots of me and said guitar from over the years. We've had a good relationship.

Though she does seem to want me to close my eyes...

See you Wednesday.

Accident

Is anyone out there following my career? If so, you may have noticed I've gone kind of underground. If you're not in the know, last month, my girlfriend Kim and I were in a car crash. We were driving on I-10, headed towards Houston, the first stop of my solo tour. We were going to spend a few days hanging out together in Austin, visiting old friends and having tacos at Torchy's twice a day. She was going to fly back to Nashville, I was going to head out west for more touring. But it wasn't meant to be. The road was wet, and I spun out in the left lane. We flew across the right lane while spinning 180 degrees, and crashed head on (rear on, I should say) into a tree. Ow. It all happened in about 4 seconds, thought I'd say by the time we hit the tree, the wet grass had probably sped us up to about 85 mph. That type of impact is something I hope you never experience. Those 4 or 5 seconds too, where you realize your life is suddenly purely in the hands of fate, are also something no-one should go through. Needless to say, we are lucky to be alive, with only a severely bruised midsection on Kim's part, and a slightly messed up right hand on mine. Unbelievable, really. The cop on scene told me that hydroplanes happen all the time in that stretch, and a friend of his was killed spinning out in that same area. Have you ever seen the roads in Louisiana? Not to blame the road necessarily, but I'm not surprised by this at all.

My shows were either canceled, or in some cases rescheduled for next month. Among the many fortunate upsides stemming from this otherwise completely UNfortunate incident, is the fact that Kim's mom lives only about an hour and a half from where this happened (I-10, just went of New Orleans). Kim was hospitalized overnight, I of course stayed with her, and the next day, her mom and stepfather took us back to their place, where we rested for two days. Then they performed the very charitable act of taking us back to Nashville. Thanks, Diane and Ernie! Oh, I forgot to mention: our minivan (purchased specifically for touring once my Natalie Stovall days ended) was totaled. I signed it over to the junkyard. That's a weird feeling. I was still in the process of registering it in Tennessee (it had been registered in Texas, where I bought it in January), so hadn't yet insured it with a new TN based insurance company, and hadn't bothered to upgrade beyond basic liability the coverage with what was soon to be my old insurance company. So...no replacement coverage. Goodbye minivan, goodbye second vehicle that allowed Kim to get to work and around town when I'm away. Give us 6 - 12 months, maybe we'll be able to afford something again. Really though, I can't tell you all the things I've learned from this accident. Maybe that's a good thing. Kim and I are still here, and as always, it just means more digging, more prioritizing, and hopefully, onward and upward. We have much to be thankful for...even if it originates from something to be kinda pissed about.

This is the more friendly of two photos I took at the scene. The other one shows more graphically how the back of the car wraps around the tree. That photo kind of scares me, and I don't really want to put it up.

This is maybe my favorite picture - holding hands in our matching hospital bracelets.



2 weeks later, we got our his and hers matching hospital bills in the mail. Not as romantic a moment.

After all of this, though, I have to say the most puzzling aspect is how little things have changed at all. I mean, for a week or so I had this notion that I was going to do things differently, slow down, not let the little things in life bother me, etc. etc. But soon I became just as frenetic, scatterbrained, and disorganized as always. The only thing different is, well, I'm more cautious than ever when driving now, and I seem to have developed this numbness inducing fear of rain and wetness when on the road (go figure). Other than that, though...nothing different. Damn. I guess drastic change is really a byproduct of how serious the incident of inducement is, and luckily, it really wasn't as serious as it easily could have been. One thing that got to me, though, was when I got the police report in the mail the other day, and saw that the cop filled in my condition (as the driver of the vehicle) as "inattentive". Really? One of the most emotional moments of my life, my poor girlfriend is moaning on her back, as they're trying to somehow dig her out of the car...I'm as fixated on my love for her, and what I should do, as I ever have been...and somehow I still come off to the world as "inattentive". Do you ever advance past 3rd grade? I mean, I'd just slammed into a tree and almost killed us, but still...

Anyway, I'm choosing to end this with something happy and lighthearted, so here is something emblematic of a much happier, simpler time...in all our lives (cue soothing music). I give you scenes from the greatest sitcom of all time - Welcome Back, Kotter!

My dear late Aunt Marie introduced me to this great show when I was 4. You can thank her.