It’s been quite a winter. I went to Nashville for a week and it was colder there than St. John’s! It was a great learning experience. I stayed at the SOCAN house and wrote some new songs. I played a couple open mics and made some connections but the longer I stayed the more I realized I don’t fit in. I’m not trying to write modern country pop and I felt a bit like an imposter in the culture. I had some super hot chicken wings at Boltons and Prince’s (Bolton’s was better) and scored a front row ticket to the Grand Old Opry at The Ryman.
From there I went to New Orleans which was maybe the best place I’ve ever been. There is a dark side: poverty, violence, racism…yup. But the place is dripping with music culture and history. I felt totally inspired the whole time. So much to see. I went straight to Parasol’s (thanks Vice) for a shrimp Po Boy and the place was filled with local bartender/musicians drinking on their day off. They gave me some fine advice on what to do and how to get in on the music scene. I played an open mic and the bar manager offered me a gig. Too bad I don’t live there cause I could put together a crazy good band. I was there for the first weekend of mardi gras parades. Krewe Du Vieux was pretty raunchy.
After that I went to LA where I ate the best tacos and spent many hours on the bus exploring the city. It’s good to be there the first week of any given month if you want to get into museums and gardens for free. I did a lot of that. I had a rough night in Joshua Tree after wandering off in the dark. I thought I knew where I was but I ended up shivering through the night waiting for the sun to guide me back to my tent.
Now I’m back in St. John’s writing up a storm. I’ve weened myself off facebook and other vices and things are going swimmingly. A big shout out to The City of St. John’s Arts Council for a bit of support. Check out my youtube channel as I’m posting rough takes on newly written songs quite regularly.