Deerasic Park...

Ever wake up knowing that the day is going to be an absolute catastrophe? Yesterday was one of these... but still an awesome time. To start off, rain delayed the stage from being built. We were also in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone service, making contact with the venue impossible. I think that every detail i had preplanned for the trip was changed at least three times. Everything pretty much went wrong; from hotel rooms, soundcheck, showtimes, number of bands playing.... it was wild. I'm glad that we are conditioned to deal with chaos like this. Some people lose it, we just roll with it. All i know is that when we finally hit the stage, it rocked. It rocked hard haha. Kyle, our guitar tech, got to take down some audience members that climbed up on stage. The band really cut loose. We played a two hour set of the usual originals and threw in some fun covers that we hadn't done in a while. The audience, made up of hunting and wildlife fanatics, really loved it. At the end of the night, we found ourselves absolutely hammered on the bus having a smokey and the bandit/dance off party.. good times. I passed out face down in my bunk and my lip kinda hurts...

the year of change...

Well, just as i was settling back down... they puuull me back in. Over the last year, i made one of the most important decisions of my life. The opportunity to relocate to Nashville, Tn arose and i jumped at it. I've been blessed to play with fellow musician and friend, Frankie Ballard over the last few years. He signed a record deal with Warner Bros last year. His career is taking off and we are working our asses off on the road! Life is exciting and my eyes are being opened to so many new things...

Right now i'm sitting in a hotel room somewhere in Ohio. We flew out of Nashville this morning for an acoustic radio show in Akron. With a little time to kill, Frankie, Lindsay (midwest radio rep from warner bros who is awesome!!!) and myself cruised over to Little Italy to visit one of my favorite places on earth- Corbo's!!!! I stocked up on Cannolis and had an awesome lunch. Frankie and Lindsay were bombarded with my stories of hanging there as a child. I was in a good place.

The station visit was great. The programming director, Sue, was absolutely a blast. We went out to a really nice dinner afterwards and talked for a couple hours while feasting on what i would call masterpieces- alligator tastes pretty good haha. We covered all the things you aren't supposed to mention at dinner; sex, politics, religion, animal cruelty haha. Good times.... that needed to keep going...

An hour later we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere at this crazy "fun" place. Go karts, bumper boats, batting cages, putt putt golf, and more... It was AWESOME. Frankie threw down on some super passes for three of us- unlimited everything, that's how we roll. Eventually the sun set and it was time for us to head to the hotel. My clothes are still kinda wet from the bumper boats, and i'm kinda sore.. time to watch Robin Hood and pass out.

Playing a festival tomorrow, meeting the tour bus in the morning then it's back to work!

Reminiscing

I actually wrote this blog a while back.. but right now it seems very fitting.

spent some time looking back on things today...

there's a song, some of you know it, others don't..

"Baby Grand" performed by Billy Joel and Ray Charles; a very beautiful duet...

I guess I can't wait for the day when I'll be able to perform that song and legitimately be able to relate to it... looking back at all the gigs, all the experiences, all the shitty bars, all the great bars, the crowded corners, the giant stages, the great people, the conniving people, those who will applaude you, those who will take advantage of you, the close calls, the missed calls...

the early years- taking lessons from a bunch of different cats; learning the science, the picking, the listening... my buddies were playing soccer- i wanted to as well, but found myself being the kid scared shitless sitting in at bars completely focused on not fucking up, hoping that the singer wouldn't point to me for the next solo...

Years later i wouldn't have to take orders anymore, no longer one man's band- everybody's in it together.. do what you want, it's the feeling of family. Here comes the emotions in music, things that cross your mind when you look out through the smoke at people just listening and having fun. After arriving home at three or four in the morning unscathed by the events of the evening, I would get that grin, that thought of "haha, just another night being Ed.. how the hell did I pull this one off?"

My guitar has been good to me...

I guess for the last few months I've had a slightly different lifestyle... It's weird not being booked all the time, going on crazy musical excursions late at night, being pumped about making enough dough to cover gas and a hefty bar tab... i wonder if the cute girl in the bright red pants would have given me her number? Did that guy who had the heart attack during the freebird solo make it? I sure as hell hope so.. that's such a played out song to croak to...

I'm in this new environment now... every day seems normal, I wake up at the same time, I do the same things that other people do for the most part. I get my fix by attending a couple jam sessions a week. Stepping on stage, nobody knows who I am, where I came from, or what I've done... just a fresh start- and I can't help but to have that huge grin on my face again... as if I have a secret, if you wanna know... just say hi.

In a way, it feels ridiculous looking back at all of this... like there's no more to come... What is next for me to discover? It's all been around; the women, the dealers, the late nights, the fights... Europe sounds good... Hot stage lights sound good... The good ole days can't be over... I'm not old enough for that yet.

I'm coming up to that fork in the road again where I can settle down, get hired into the company, find a house, a nice girl, make a living... OR I can bail and start on my next chapter...

HOLY UPDATES BATMAN!

Where am I now? Well, I have delved into a new activity/lifestyle frequently referred to as “a real job.” While this phenomenon is looked down upon by some, it’s really not too shabby. In the world of advertising I find myself surrounded by explorers, thought leaders, artists, and an assortment of creative folk that concept wild ideas for a living. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had unlimited access to a wise old talking owl fully equipped with a monocle and large rubber stamp labeled, “Go With It.”


Work.
When I started this blog, I was on an adventure– playing music, taking wild trips, often avoiding reality in any way possible. Now I’ve finished school, moved to Detroit, and accumulated a nice assortment of slacks, dress shirts, and corduroy blazers as I slowly transform into the somewhat typical, creative city slicker type. Don’t get me wrong though, I still throw on the ripped jeans; grab an axe [guitar] and head downtown for some late night blues jams. I couldn’t live without that stuff.

So what’s next? Over the next month I’m looking into new positions at the agency, and a few on the west coast just for kicks... I’m looking into a few downtown lofts where I can setup a decent recording area and really get back into making music. I’m hanging with some really cool people, staying out of trouble, yet still living up to my given reputation of “always kickin’ it.”

Ciao.

It's been a little bit...

So things are starting to get back to normal. My life sorta stopped for a couple weeks as I lost a close family member. My grandfather was a proud man, and he was proud of his grandson. I always thought he would be around forever. He will be greatly missed. I did play a great show last friday though, in my own mind, it was dedicated to him. When emotions come in, better music always comes out. That's how "I roll" so to speak.

Right now, I'm very excited that school is done for the semester. The last week or two has been insane with studying and rehearsals. I'm still in kalamazoo all the time. Nothing too new at the moment, just prep work for a big show with some western people. I still have about 40 songs to learn, it's gonna be close! I should be off to chicago a week from next monday for some blues jamming. I can't wait!

Here is something that I have to add. I strongly dislike booking agents :) I lost two gigs recently and compromised a good ongoing relationship with a certain establishment due to the lack of communication on my agent's behalf. I never claim to be a genius, but I would think that if a band was hired to play a certain night at a certain time... I would need to be informed right? Also when bands don't show up, the owners get angry. Needless to say, this guy is out of the picture.. which is also a good thing because now I don't have the pay 25% for someone to make a phone call (or not make in this case...)

okay, back to work.

oh yeah, I found my old rock-star picture. Laugh away :)

a few random pics from the last few years

Blues Festival, somewhere near indiana... 2006
"Jack's Money"- My acoustic duo, this was in kalamazoo at "Harvey's on the Mall"
Frankie B, myself and Mr. Eddy Lester- my blues brothers. These guys are top notch musicians. Every time we perform, there is no prep- the whole night is on the fly, yet it seems as though we've practiced together for years. Good stuff.
Old pic of the rock band- I'm the dude with the fro in the background hehe. Wedding gigs are great- 8 songs for a thousand bucks? Yes please.
And "Mr. Wonderfuls" -2005

This is a very historical basement blues bar in kzoo. The place stinks of nicotine and old beer, but everybody who is anybody has jammed here. The bass player in the pic, Robin Merideth, did work with the Rolling Stones. He is amazing. Jamming at this bar on a weekly basis was an awesome learning experience for me. I'll never forget that place, and I try to go back whenever I'm in the area.

it was a good week

The week is just about over. I wanted to take a little break, but that didn't happen. I ended up playing tuesday, wednesday, and thursday night. It was a great time. To top it off, it was blues all week, which is my favorite. I played with a bunch of old friends, and we put on some sweet shows every night. I felt kinda bad taking the money because I had such a good time, but I gotta pay those bills I guess haha. I should have some good pics coming from a couple of the shows, I'll try to post them up in the next few days. I jammed with some very very good musicians this week; old cats that have been around, played with the big names, and paid there dues. It was a very good week :) Do it again next week? Hell yeah.