January 19th-25th: Thunderbirds Roar On Tuesdays and Conneaut Jams on Sunday!

I decided to complete my blog this week on Thursday because I have some great things to say, and I just couldn’t wait to tell you!

I had the pleasure of hitting up another local winter jam this last weekend, at The Conneaut Hotel, right near the infamous Conneaut Lake Amusement Park. First, I must tell you that if you are a fan of old-school amusement parks, or just amusement parks in general, than you HAVE to visit this place in the summer. It’s filled with the vintage vibe of it’s glory years- the rides, the food, the layout, and of course, the hotel itself. Plus, the view of the lake from the shore on a hot summer day reminds me of a private community, like Chataqua Lake. Just a beautiful sight. However, during the winter, it reminds me more of Chernobyl, post- nuclear meltdown (it’s kinda sad, but it’s also a really interesting feeling.) Driving to the hotel is like driving through a wasteland, with all the snow sitting on old carousels, roller coasters in the trees, and boarded up food buildings, sealed up for the season. Eerie, but it puts you in a whole different time. I digress (I could talk for a while about my thoughts with this.)

Anyways, bluegrass- the festival was killer! Got up there Saturday, late morning. Things got going kinda slow (Ive gone to these sorts of festivals so much that I can kinda tell by walking in the door what’s going on.) I took a quick gander through the 3 floors of the hotel, but only found one jam. So, I stopped and played, then went back down stairs after about 2 hours and sat in the lobby, where another jam had formed. Got to see some great friends of mine who were just passing through. Watched the great Echo Valley perform on stage in the grand ballroom and ate some food. After all of that, I found a larger jam than I had initially played with before- and so I stopped again. By the time it was all said and done, I left the hotel around 5 am, after playing for roughly 8 hours straight! It was a killer jam. Must’ve been 10 pickers in total, and people who were watching the festival in the ballroom must have gotten word of what we were doing, cause there was probably 30 or 40 people where we were at, drinking, eating, partying- it was an all-out throw-down pickin’ fest. Finally slept until 12 noon on Sunday, and drove home after I woke up. Another successful festival in my book.

I also got the chance to play at the brand new Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The great Joe Dep (aka Hog Willy) prompted the invite a couple weeks ago, as he facilitates the whole event. Luckily, I was able to book the date immediately after the release of my EP, and Joe was okay with me promoting the release! Perfect! I was backed by the house band of Trish Imbrogno (upright bass,) Rocky Youhon (fiddle,) Joe (banjo,) and Jim Kuzmeka (mandolin, but for only part of the night.) Overall, I think the reaction was REALLY good. I vividly remember playing certain songs, and looking out at the crowd, and seeing them unbury their heads from their 2nd or 3rd beer to get a glimpse at what was going on at the stage was awesome! It’s happened before, but to have it happen in the city, in a place I’ve never played, makes it even better. I also got to play a couple of solo tunes as well, to show some versatility. When I walked among the crowd, I saw some people that I already knew, and met a bunch of people who were very impressed. A number of people bought EPs, and I’ve continued to get raving support on it. Very promising!

Finally, I had the pleasure on Monday to make it back to The Rock Station 97.7 in Butler for a recording of their Grass Roots Show. I talked to Bob Cupp and Utah Burgess a little bit about the things I’ve been up to since I last saw them, and we talk a bit about the EP. The airing of the show will be on this coming Sunday night, and you can stream it live online on their website. They’ll be playing 4 of 6 songs, so you’ll have to buy an EP from me/CDBaby.com, or stream the EP on Spotify or iTunes.

I’ll see you all in roughly a week! For now, keep an eye on the schedule to see where I’ll be playing!