Moonshine & Thunderstorms

Went "down south" this weekend to a part of the country I really hadn't spent much time in- Oklahoma and Missouri. Turns out, we had pretty bad timing. During the entire drive from St. Louis to Tulsa it rained so much I could barely see the road ahead. Then when we finally arrived in Tulsa, the sky was an eerie yellow color and we were told that we were under tornado warnings for the next two days. Of course, this is tornado alley. . .
After a house concert in Tulsa, we headed back through Missouri and had the privilege to play at a wonderful place- the Copper Run Moonshine Distillery. Well, they don't just make moonshine. . . they also make their own rum, vodka and aged whiskey. Delicious. Their Sunday afternoon shows are apparently very popular, being one of the only bars in the area open on Sunday (Bible Belt). The unrelenting rain made a nice backdrop to the music, and the bbq ribs being smoked outside filled the whole place with delicious scents. Luckily, after the show the rain finally ceased and our gracious host, Jim, made a bonfire. We enjoyed some of their fine cocktails (my favorites were the fresh mint mojito and the moonshine margarita) before turning in.
Of course, the next morning as we prepared to drive home to Wisconsin, the sun finally came out.

 getting a tour of the distillery

Northeast Re-cap

Well, another tour has come and gone. Sorry for the lack of posts lately, it always slips my mind when I'm on the road. . .
We spent the last 2 weeks in the Northeast part of the country- mostly Massachusetts and New York. Starting off the tour was a show at the Nelson Odeon just outside of Syracuse.  I had the luck to play there last fall with Peter Mulvey and was very excited to headline a show there this time. The Odeon was created from a refurbished old country grange hall. It's got more character and charm than just about any venue in the country, and the owners, Jeff and Linda are incredibly hospitable!

Next we cruised through Massachusetts, stopping for a night in Northampton, and settled in Boston. Unfortunately, a show fell through in Connecticut at the last minute, but fortunately we had some extra time in Boston. The weather was fantastic so we spent a lot of time walking around the city, and even got some beach time on Cape Cod!

Boston Common

Cape Cod
Our final stop was NYC.. . the big apple. . . the city that never sleeps. . .well, you know.

We spent 5 nights with friends in Brooklyn. . . Bushwick to be exact. It's an "up and coming" neighborhood. I ended up playing 3 shows in the city, including a very fun house concert and a last minute gig in Prospect Heights with my old friend, Jon Ladeau. On the last night, we met up with Katie Powderly from Madison and played a gig at the Living Room in Manhattan.

All-in-all it was a great tour and I got to catch up with a lot of old friends. My only regret is that we stopped for lunch in Newark on our way out of NYC . . . got pulled over and issued 3 tickets by a very grumpy, uncompromising cop! Oh well, something had to go wrong.

take care,

Josh

Here's a video of me hanging out with Jim and Sarah on Leith FM in Edinburgh, Scotland a couple weeks ago.

Still raining.

Tonight is the last night in Ireland. It happens to be a night off and it happens to be in Dublin. I'm sitting in the kitchen of the hostel where a few folks with nothing in common, other than be being broke enough to be staying in a hostel, are all making dinner. Everyone is just getting started but the room is already filled with the smells of three distinctly different parts of the world.
We came in today from just a bit south of here in a town called Kilcullen. It's near Ballymore Eustace where the bank holiday prevented a show at Ballymore Acoustic from happening but, will not prevent the show on the next tour. I did, however, get to sit by the fire place in a place called Bardons with Roy, who runs Ballymore Acoustic, and play songs with him for a few hours.

hanging out with Roy in Kilcullen

The night before was in Cobh which is a seaside town next to Cork in the south of Ireland. Cobh is pronounce Cove. Cobh is also the last place the Titanic stopped to pick up passengers and also the resting place of several of the Lusatania passengers. When we got to Cobh we looked for a hotel online and found one in a good location near music for 60 Euro. We went inside where the owner insisted it was 80 so we went out to the car in front of the hotel, stole their WiFi and booked it online for 60. When we went inside to check in she said "you'd like to check in? Great, that will be 80 Euro"....to which Jess replied, "actually we booked it online for 60." As you can imagine this was not necessarily a welcome response and was met with a bit of scorn and a thorough review of our confirmation receipt. Once allowed to check in we drank all the complimentary coffee and tea and promptly stuffed our bags with the provided  shampoo, mending kit, and shoe shine supplies.
This morning marked another trip to the Dublin airport to return the Fiesta, a failed mission to find the Delta counter, and take another double-decker bus ride through town.

the lovely seaside town of Cobh

Now, some dinner and perhaps some amateur comedy next door or a poetry open mic at the Shebeen Chic down the street.....to be continued.

Half way and raining.

Well, Dublin was good. Had the first pint of Guinness; played a show with a family in the front row that clapped to everything...occasionally in time; reluctantly turned down the chance to go to the late night disco with a couple of 18-year old Dutch guys who happened to be crashing with the same guy we were; then slept on on couch that would have been perfect if I were 3 1/2 feet tall...and used my jacket for a blanket. Yes folks, this is what we call living the dream.
Next day we hired a little gray Ford Fiesta and drove to Tipperary which is about half way between Dublin and Galway. Amazingly I remembered the twisty turning backroads that lead to the McGrath house above Lough Derg where we'd be spending the next couple days. Donnie and Kay and the crew are fantastic people, which would be implied by their being Irish but also helped along by the fact they are related to our good friend Tim Quigley.

 the beautiful scenery of County Tipperary (notice how narrow this "two lane" road is!)

Larkins, Garry Kennedy-Tipperary, was a two part show. Friday and Saturday.
Friday-nice crowd with two fireplaces burning, a couple pints of Guinness, and a fantastic after hours jam with a couple local guys by the fireplace...again, a couple pints of Guinness. In my brief time here I've learned that when offered a pint, one accepts the pint and the one that follows.
Saturday- Now this was the kicker. It was Brenden O'Connors 50th birthday and it turns out the multitudes that didn't come to the show the night before were waiting for Saturday. The place was jam packed and there was a live band. Since it was Brenden's birthday he hopped out of the guitar spot pretty early and replaced himself with me. Which was awesome. I played with the band for a good part of the night and re-learned that part about being offered Guinness. Then just when I thought we were leaving (around 1 am), I ended up back with the band for a few more. To say the least, Garrykennedy was fantastic.

Now, Killarney and a day off to explore the Ring of Kerry...in the rain. But hey, it's awfully green.

Hello England

Hey there,
Well, it's been an interesting first week of the tour. Where to begin.....
We flew in a week ago today and it seems the jet lag has just now let go. However, the jet lag has not been so forgiving with my watch as it appears to have died. We spent the first night in London and rented a B&B's broom closet for the evening. The  place was called the Good Wood and they even offered a boiling pot for water...for the tea, of course.

We rented an adorable little Fiat Panda and on my first day of driving, I was amazed at the number of roundabouts. . . I was just starting to think I'd figured out mostly how they worked when I entered yet another one. The SatNav(English for GPS) informed me that I needed to take the 3rd exit rather than the 2nd. I figured that since I was out of the way of the fast moving traffic in the second and third lanes I could continue on to my desired exit. However, the following screeching of tires,  blowing of dust,  abrupt turning of the wheel, and the stearn announcement from the navigator led me to believe something wasn't quite right. It was then I realized I'd nearly smashed into another car that was exiting the roundabout. Now, you might think crash averted so everything is just fine. The same thing was in my mind until I noticed the car I nearly hit was a police car and by this time the lights were on.
At this point an annoyed and somewhat perplexed looking police man and his partner came walking towards the Panda and I figured I'd be deported shortly. Instead, he took pity on me and offered a tutorial on the intricate workings of the roundabout.
Since then things have gone pretty smoothly- I've had great radio sessions with Mick Smith in Nottingham and also with Barry Everett in London on the House Of Mercy. Both sessions will be available very soon and I'll put up a link for anyone who'd like to check them out.

 Hanging out at the House of Mercy, London

The Square and Compass is one of the best pubs in the UK and is the only venue I've ever been to that provides it's clients and musicians the opportunity for a 3 mile seaside hike should you like the adventure.

 The Square & Compass, Worth Matravers

Monday night came Sheffield and the Greystones with Rod Piccott. Rod is a great writer and player from Nashville, TN and I suggest you seek him out quickly.

That brings us current and I'll be back with more tales of adventure and roundabouts when we get to Berwick-Upon-Tweed for the next show on the 21st!
take care
Josh