March 1st-7th: Hey It’s Good To Be Back Home Again!

Welcome to March! It’s the month when everything starts receding from the depression of winter, and the grass and trees start growing back, and the birds start singing more among the trees. We’re not out of the woods quite yet, but things are on their way!

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? tribute show! Being sold out for a second year was a real treat! I wont linger on this too long-there’s plenty of videos and photos on the internet of that show, so go and find them if you’re interested!

I looked at my schedule this week, and realized I didn’t have much going on for shows-which gave me an opening to catch up on some other events, particularly local open mics! Monday and Tuesday, I attended two different open mics, both run by the same guy-Rob Adams. One was at The Harmony Inn, and the other was at North Country Brewery. Rob has been running these events for a long time, and the venues just started bumping the frequency of these events up to every week! I managed to get myself on the setlist both nights, and everyone in attendance enjoyed my portion of the show! Some folks bought EPs, others came over to chat for a little, and it was nice to see friends, new and old. This week, there are some other open mics, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to hit them, as I have some other endeavors already booked-I know Donny Eozzo is doing his usual open mic at the Rock Ann Haven this evening, but he also is debuting his event on Thursday at the 11th Frame, which is a new and exciting thing! Donny has also been a long time promoter of open mic venues locally, and it’s fantastic to see him expanding his reach in the community. If I can make it, I’ll try to let y’all know!

This week’s events include a show tonight with my good friend Shawn from Dinnerbell Road! We’ll be opening up for Seckond Chaynce at The Crafthouse Stage & Grill in Baldwin (not the one in Kittanning- I found that out this week, which was a complete surprise to me.) Our opening set starts at 6 PM, and I will have my merch for sale, though I don’t think I’ll be playing any songs from that record. The setlist will be more tailored around the Dinnerbell Road record we released last year. It’s been a while since I played with Shawn (October 2019) and I’m excited to get back on stage with him.

I also am getting back into the studio with Steve Ludwig of The Casual Hobos. We’re still chugging away at his record, so keep an eye out for that!

Lately, I’ve been really inspired in a lyrical sense. I think I already have 3 song ideas this month, either started or completed. I’m hoping that I can continue this through this week, or through this month if I can! My song ideas, as of lately, have come from sprouts of mental inspiration- I’ll just think about a line or phrase, and think about how that impacts me personally, and write from those responses. I’ve been really itching to write something a little closer to home, that still can be reflected to the audience. Great example would be something like “Keep Your Nose To The Grindstone” by Tyler Childers. The song is written based on his life of dealing with drugs and addiction back in West Virginia-something that everyone can relate to, even if you’re not from WV.

Im going to open up the comments section below for everyone, and particularly for the songwriters-how has your lyrical writing been going lately? Any hiccups? Great strides? Describe your process (if you have one.) Talk about things you wish you could do with your writing. I’d love to hear about what other folks are doing!

As always, I’ll be back next week with more content on what’s going on with me! For anything else, hit me up on Instagram and Facebook, and keep it here at the website! See you next week!!