Be a Bum, Just Do it!

"I wish I would have a real tragic love affair and get so bummed out that I’d just quit my job and become a bum for a few years, because I was thinking about doing that anyway."
- Jack Handey

I'm Back...

I was thinking a lot about inspiration today and all the places one can feel inspired. For me it is often in the form of music, but it also sneaks up on me when I least expect it in different places. As the snow melts in Jackson town and everything turns to muck, I surprisingly caught myself today smiling at the sight of a very craptastic looking butte in town. But it wasn't the butte - it was the deer hanging out, blending almost perfectly with the mountain and walking oh so close to the highway. But they were very aware, and they were beautiful. Something beautiful against something drab. That is worth some insipiration.

And earlier tonight I was inspired in a much different way while watching a news anchor lose his shiz for a good ten minutes on his audience. But I couldn't turn away or change the channel. I wanted to turn it up!  It was a great inspiration for me as I thought, "dear lord, never let yourself go that crazy bananas...in public." You ask - why was he losing his shiz? The government. What else? And no, it was not Fox News (which I also enjoy watching for the crazy, shiz losing anchors).

But back to music inspiration...this week I discovered that one of my favorite songwriters is coming out with a new album in June. And the lead track has been bopping in my head ever since. So. darn. catchy. Thank you Miss Jill Andrews. I don't have a great vid of that track to share, but this one is just as good.


Jill Andrews - "A Little Less" - HearYa Live Session 4/22/10 from HearYa.com on Vimeo.

You know you need a drink when...

You almost, ALMOST, follow a jack-ass Austin driver to tell them exactly what a jack-ass they really are. Then, you realize you are 5'nothing and they might be bigger...and yell back at you. Because if they don't care that they almost ran you down, they probably don't care to pounce on you if you fight back.

Errr....so now I am enjoying an ice cold brewsky. And it's not Lone Star - I can't do Texas beer in this state of mind.

But, this made me realize that my beloved slice of Texas heaven has its drawbacks. Well, really, just one - TERRIBLE DRIVERS. And when I say terrible, I mean worse than anyone you could imagine at this moment, believe me.

When will the beer kick in?

Does that make me Crazy?

Yes, possibly. Today I have spent too many hours staring at a screen, working, playing, and getting into all sorts of trouble in this crazy tech world we live in today. I posted a Blog entry over on my MySpace account, replicated that over here for all my non-MySpace buds & fam, attempted to create an event in Facebook (boo) and finally gave in to the latest craze....Twitter.

Please forgive me...

Austin and the road to Ol' Wyom

It's been 6 months since I walked into this crazy music town of Austin, Texas with wide eyes and uneasy hope. I say uneasy because I had no clue what to expect, good or bad.

Well, it's been very, very good, to say the least. I have met some of the most talented, kind hearted musicians you could imagine. I also managed to meet quite a few non-musician folks who are equally sweet and helped me in too many ways to count.

While in Austin, I was able to: jam with great players, play shows at some amazing venues, record a demo with one of Austin's best guitarists, write enough new material for a few albums, learn about Texas pork tacos and queso, see 3 of my heroes for the first time in concert (Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams & Ray LaMontagne), experience my first SXSW (crazy), spend too much time and too much money in Whole Foods, enjoy movies at the Alamo with full service beer and food (it should never be any other way I've decided), open my ears to many wonderful Austin bands and acts, and so on and so on.

I leave in one week to head back to Wyoming for the summer. I won't deny that I am a little sad. Austin has been a true home to me in every way possible. But, I look forward to seeing those old friends back in Wyoming and getting away from the Texas summers I have been hearing so much about. There are exciting shows in Jackson (solo and with Screen Door Porch), so look me up if you ever feel like seeing some Rocky Mountain wide open spaces.

And, I'll be back Austin....in just a few months time.

The NEW March Madness

As many of you already know, the mayhem that is known as SXSW has hit Austin this week. The interactive and film parts of the festival began last week and the music "technically" starts tomorrow. This will be my first time experiencing the festival, and I must say I am giddy and anxious for what is to come. In all my festival days, I have never been to anything of this mass or proportion (redundant?, perhaps). Crazy doesn't begin to explain it.

Tomorrow begins some day party madness for me. I am super excited about some of the acts I am planning (and crossing my fingers that I will get) to see! I will try to update the blog with pics and such from shows....On tomorrow's list of hopefuls:

- A much buzzed about Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers - fronted by a great young singer/songwriter from OK.
- Elvis Perkins in Dearland - great new album...should be awesome
- Heartless Bastards - no, not the ones with James McMurtry - I was fooled at first as well. But, this would be the Ohio Heartless Bastards with some rocking grooves.
- M. Ward - AHHH! yeah, that pretty much describes it.


Oh, and forget NCAA brackets for me this year...SXSW has me way too hyped up to think about BBall. But, of course, I have to give a shout to my Tigers! PS, Clemson - let's make it a little longer than the recent ACC tourney, k?

They Call it Home

I've been wondering lately (a little too intensely) about the concept of home and our "localities." Having moved around quite a bit in the last 5/6 years, home has generally just evolved with me. But, if anyone asks "So, whereabouts you from," I will immediately answer "North Carolina." But, I wonder if that's true anymore?

The real answer to that question is not so easy. Yeah, I'm from NC, but I spent a good 4 years in South Carolina, then another 4 in Wyoming, before making my way to Austin, TX about 6 months ago. That makes me feel like a very mixed up mutt. In between all the moving around, I lost a good portion of that Southern twang, picked up a good bit of Western know-it-all and now slosh around even better Texas twang.

I've noticed in each area I move to, there is huge, I mean huge, pride in being a "local" and even more in "born, raised, stayed." In every area, it's exactly the same. And don't you dare call yourself a local around one of them...that's just cause for a fight. But, wait, I can't call myself a local in NC (b/c I haven't lived there in 8 years or so), or Wyoming (even though I OWN a place there), or in Texas (b/c I just haven't been here LONG enough). So where do I fit in?

Nowhere you say? Yeah, exactly. Hmm, maybe home is "where the heart is." Oh wait, that just made me puke in my mouth a bit. Nope, home has to be much simpler than that. It's got to be that place that takes my money every month for a dry square of land.

And local pride? Well, okay, if you were lucky enough to be born, raised and choose to live (for all your life - those are the luckiest) in let's say, Poodunc, USA town, well okay I'll let that slide. Because, damn you sure are lucky to never have lived in any other amazing places just the US has to offer. But, I digress....