Coming Home

My Grandma passed away this week. She holds a piece of my heart as we have always been very close. She has always been such a supporter of what I've done and especially my musical endeavors. When she was able she never missed a concert and always had a smile and hug waiting for me at the end. She so kindly helped a great deal in my first full length album "Two for the Show." When my Grandpa passed a few years back I wrote a song entitled "Coming Home." It was about how, unbeknown to him or me, he had such a great impact on my life. The song never felt complete because I realized one day that my Grandma and Grandpa were a team. I finished the song this week, four years after I started it and now it finally feels finished.

V1
all things considered, i think i'm doing fine
for what just happened, my life changed on a dime
and in time

CH
i'm coming home, on a train bound glory
i'm coming home, with a book that holds his story
i'm coming home...

V2
i look out the window, it all looks the same
and i am reminded, the laughs on cherry lane
and i'm back again

CH
i'm coming home, on a train bound glory
i'm coming home, with a book that holds his story
i'm coming home...

V3
he is there lying, in his clothes of white
and she stands there crying, holding his hand so tight
loves perfect sight

CH
he's going home, on a train bound for glory
he's going home, with a book that holds his story
he's going home

BR
it's been so long
he's been watching over you
a sweet embrace
and an angels song is heard

and we all cry
cause we'll miss her smile so warm
but we all smile
to see her safely home

CH
and they are home. plant a garden tell your stories
they are home, with a love that's waiting for me
they are home

i'm coming home...

reminiscing on some past shows...

Make a Smilebox photobook

Sandy Amphitheater

a few pictures from the sandy city amphitheater concert. great show for everyone in attendance. thanks to all those that made it so great including our sound man joe anderson. besides the TSA folks at the airport it was a perfect trip. i guess they've never seen cologne before because they were freaking out about it.

top desert island disc's

i'm playing a show at the sandy amphitheater with sam payne and the rest of his project. sam sent us an email going over different ideas and such for the show. he also asked for everyone to submit their desert island disc. sam is going to get each of our favorite records, put them together in a box set and do a drawing for them at his show. i thought that was the coolest idea and it obviously got me thinking about my top 10 favorite albums, and in no particular order. hmmm....

1. Crash - Dave Matthews Band (this was the album that will be in the sandy amp. box set)
2. Red on Blonde - Tim O'brien
3. Drops of Jupiter - Train
4. Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek
5. The Score - The Fugees
6. Drive - Bela Fleck
7. Live in Charleston - Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
8. Manzanita - Tony Rice
9. Busted Stuff - Dave Matthews Band
10. Legend - Bob Marley

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP PICKS? CLICK "COMMENTS" AND ADD YOURS!

steff mahan

i'll post some pictures in a bit, but i wanted to say that those that did attend 3rd and lindsley this past saturday night were not disappointed in any way. steff brought the house down with her great songs and stories. check back for pictures. in the mean time go to www.steffmahan.com for more information.

a couple shows...

i just wanted everyone to know that i'll be playing with steff mahan this saturday evening at 3rd and lindsley. i'd love to see you all out. steff's music is fantastic (alt. country folk).

lacey and i played yesterday at the wilson county fair with the cripple creek cloggers. we did four sets of neverending bluegrass fiddle standards. it's always a blast to play the fairs and i wouldn't miss that opportunity ever! the best people watching venue in america.

a little bit of my thoughts

i took a little hiatus from nashville the last couple of weeks. flew out with my little family to utah to visit family, friends, and especially some ill grandparents. i remember why i loved and still love utah so much, with the beautiful mountains, clear cold lakes, sandstone slickrock, and even the rivers. i was able to get together with some friends to play music and even had the opportunity to play a few gigs (even did a late night set for a couple hundred twilight book fans).

i did have the chance to sit in the living room (of which i've done many many times) of a great friend and musician sam payne. i know i've written a few things on my blog about him and his music, but this experience was something new for me. i watched as he and my wife lacey worked on a song together that was submitted to an inspirational youth compilation cd. as i was there i realized very quickly that sam was one of the most prolific song writers i've heard. he told a story of his first dance as a kid (14 years old i think) and then played a song that he had just finished about that experience. i didn't know what else to say but wow!

visiting my grandpa who is sick with cancer, and my grandmother who is very ill also made me realize the significance of enjoying the moments that pass a long the way. as i listened to those songs, and watched the two of them write a new song, i took a moment to enjoy that moment, and am glad i did.

3rd and Lindsley

In a town where almost every band is self-labelled "energetic" or "dynamic," it is incredibly refreshing to witness a show where those words actually ring true. Such was the case at the downtown Nashville 3rd and Lindsley club last night where Due West, an "energetic" vocal trio, brought the house down. For the full review please visit: mycrazymusicblog.com

Fire Engine Red

10 months ago I ordered a calton case for my fiddle and mandolin. pledged as the best case for your instrument, by the company and musicians alike, i took the plunge. completely custom made by humans and not machines, i was ok with the wait time, and i'll come to terms with the price. i also found out from calton case that only two fire engine red fiddle/mando combo cases have ever been made; mine and allison krauss's.

Still Crooked

Last Sunday night the Basement, in Nashville, was open for quite a cool event; the CD release tour of Crooked Still's new record, Still Crooked. There have been some personnel changes in the band in recent months, but one would never have guessed as their sound was still uniquely defined. Former cellist Rushad Eggleston left the band in November 2007, and the quartet quickly turned into a quintet adding a fiddle player (should have done that a long time ago) and a new cellist, Triston Clarridge. (He's won the Grand National Fiddle competition three times!)
I was nervous that their sound might have changed with the new line-up but I was very pleased to hear that Crooked Still was definitely "still crooked". For the full write up please visit: mycrazymusicblog!

Such a Payne

I wrote a review of my friend, Sam Payne, on MyCrazyMusicBlog.com. I wanted to also show a great video of his sister Eliza Wren Payne who lives in London, England. I was first introduced to her music/voice at a Sam Payne concert in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was in town, and Sam asked that she come up and sing "Summertime." I do believe that it was the audience favorite of the night. Here is a link to her website and a music video of "Dance Song." www.elizawrenpayne.com

Paint with Grey video

the 'Paint with Grey' music video...

Trailer Choir Review - My Crazy Music Blog

Check out my review of Trailer Choir on My Crazy Music Blog!

"M" - soldat rose - en francais

my older brother introduced me to a french musician/producer etc... by the name of Mathieu Chedid. this is a cool song and a cool video. what i do when i should be working - looking at cool youtube video's which is an endless journey. enjoy!

Sam Payne – Father to Son Live Album

For those of you who have had the opportunity to hear Sam Payne, whether at a live show or a recording, you understand what I’m talking about when I simply say “Wow.” For a full review of this album please check out: http://www.mycrazymusicblog.com/

hard rock

i'm playing a quick afternoon gig at the hard rock cafe in downtown nashville during the cma music festival. make sure to stop by. should be a lot of fun for the whole family. i'll be playing with zane lewis, all the way out from the big state of texas.

the quest for perfection

so i've spent the last month buying, selling, and trading gear. i'm looking for that perfect rig that will do everything i need it to do, plus be simple enough for anyone to tweak with it. for the past few years i've had the millenium falcon of pedal boards - the boss gt-8! i mostly play acoustic music on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, and the boss gt-8 it was total overkill. i switched to the tc electronics g natural but there were flaws in the way it was patched together for my use. this month i've made the switch to individual pedals. i think i've finally found the magic that i've been searching for. easy to control nob's, a simple volume pedal, eq, tuner, reverb, and delay. it sounds great and my mom could figure it out. i guess i've gone from the millenium falcon to a starfighter....

oh canada!

i wanted to give some love to schatten design in ontario canada. i first used one of their pickup's on my violin six years ago. i was getting ready to do a european tour with a bluegrass band and need to be plugged in. most of the shows/festivals needed to get high volume with mobility on stage - thus plugging in. i did some serious research on violin pickups, and ended up going with the V-02 model, which is built right into the bridge. (http://schattendesign.com/violin.htm) the day before we took off, i sat in my dorm room shaping and carving my bridge to fit just right. i never had a problem with that pickup... in fact several of my peers purchased one. i also never needed to use a pre-amp which was great as i was using this mostly with a wireless guitar pack. i have been doing some studio work as of late and purchased a "3 tree" bridge without a pickup built in to get the best sound in a studio. with that switch i've moved to the vvm pro pickup and absolutely love it. it has that "woody" fiddle sound that i love so much. not only are the pickup's fantastic, the service is great too. i've tried every pickup out there for my fiddle, and my guitar, and can say with some authority that schatten is the best. one love!

benton paul - 4/3/08

i think one of the important aspects of the music world is to share with other's good music. it's such a bonus when that person you are sharing just happens to be your friend. in the small town of provo, utah a vast amount of good music is being produced. sam payne is coming out with a live record, ryan shupe and the rubberband are coming out with a new record in may, peter breinholt is coming out with a "best of" record, to name a few.

today, on a very fitting rainy "grey" day, i wanted to give a shout out to benton paul's new record "grey." great in every way. the album from top to bottom is fantastic. my favorite songs on the disc are "paris," "don't go," and of course the hit single "where are you." please visit itunes and pick up a copy of this new disc. you will not be disappointed at all. in fact i think you will all be pleasantly surprised. much love benton!

www.bentonpaul.com

just waiting - 4/2/08

though not about music at all, i just wanted to quickly write a blurb about my excitement. my wife and i are expecting our first little one any day. i don't think i've ever gone through so many emotions in such a short period of time. i am very excited for baby emmy to be a part of our family. i'll keep y'all posted. hope spring is wonderful for everyone.

influential records - 3/10/08

last night my wife and i were talking about major records that changed our lives. i’m not talking in the sense of just enjoying the record or a few songs, but more of an epiphany based on the disc. i’m sure things would have eventually lined up and the change would have happened regardless to the record, but they definitely pushed me in the right direction. i’m sure that so many of us can identify parts of our life with different record albums or even particular songs, so in this entry i wanted to give a shout to two different records that influenced me and my music.

#1 - 1996-97 - Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband - “If I Were a Bird.”

at the time a local sensation (now a national phenomena), rsrb was doing gigs like no-one that i’d seen. they were rehearsed, refreshing and not doing all the folk and bluegrass covers that every other utah band was doing. i bought this cd at a concert and wore the sucker out. at the time i was a freshman at byu playing bluegrass music with the area’s best. we played local gigs and most were for the corporate world, but rsrb were doing concerts for people that paid money to see them. i wanted to do that. this record was the first spark for me to take a leap of faith into the world of professional music.

www.shupe.net

#2 - 2000 - Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek

i was at borders with a 20 dollar bill burning a hole in my pocket. i was cruising through all the latest in bluegrass and folk and stumbled across a brand new album by nickel creek. i must admit, i wasn’t to thrilled to buy it based on the cover, but they were young and i was looking for something in the bluegrass world to re-spark my interest. the album was one of five featured in the bluegrass/folk section so after listening to a few tid-bits from the songs i purchased the album. both my wife and i agree that this album completely changed us. wow! it was another affirmation that this is what i wanted to do. it was also a helpful insight into young bluegrass kids making it in the “old timey” bluegrass world. little did i know at the time of buying this album, that nickel creek would have crossed all musical boundaries and generations. i followed their careers from a concert of 25 in park city utah, to their final utah concert that was sold out at abravanel hall in salt lake city. pretty amazing journey i’m sure for them.

www.nickelcreek.com

the "whole" package - 2/22/08

i had to write a quick note on my experience at guitar center this week. i was there buying some new gear for a gig that i have this weekend, and i just happened to notice a grandpa and his grandson in the store. they were buying an entry level p-bass package (amp and all). i could tell it was for the grandson, whom was about 8 years old. i didn’t go and talk to them and i don’t really know the circumstances that surrounded the situation, but it did my heart good seeing the excitement in his eyes. maybe it was a list of chores done, or maybe good grades, or maybe just a desire to play the bass so badly that grandpa finally obliged; whatever the reason it made me think of walking into burt murdock music store 25 years ago. i really didn’t have a desire to play an instrument. i think my only desire at that point was to throw dirt clods on my grandpa’s farm and ride bmx bikes. in that music store i had a choice to make. piano or violin. at the time i had no clue to which that decision would effect and enrich the rest of my life. i guess i could go on and on but it was just nice to watch that situation unfold this week. my thanks to that old grandpa and his grandson.

christmas spirit - 12/20/07

last night i was reluctant to take a youth group from my church christmas caroling. i was in charge of the activity and, truth be told, didn’t really want to have anything to do with it. at 4pm i called a local nursing home in our area and asked if we could come sing some christmas songs later that night. they hesitantly said yes, and the evening was planned.

the night before i had expressed to lacey how i wasn’t really in the christmas mood this year. being very busy at work in a inner city high school, i’ve just not caught that spirt of christmas for some reason.

we showed up to the nursing home, and after quieting them down some, we found 4 elderly folks in wheelchairs out in the hall. we circled around them and started to sing. it was no mormon tabernacle choir, but the songs touched those that we sang them too. one lady in particular, named helen, didn’t even want us in her room but we started to sing anyways. halfway through silent night, she brightened up and started to sing a long, thanking us over and over again for coming to visit her.

growing up my family performed around 100 shows a year. all 5 boys and mom and dad clogged (www.doubletoe.com) and played a bit of bluegrass music. many of these shows were at retirement communities and nursing homes in the san francisco bay area. during the christmas time we would sometimes do 3 or 4 shows a day leading all the way up to christmas eve. in fact for 10 years, our very last clogging show of the christmas season was always sunnyside court at around 2pm. it capped a 30-40 show season in the month of december and we were excited for that show in more than 1 way.

i guess i needed to show a little love to the elderly folks in nashville for it to really feel like christmas to me. spending all that time in nursing homes and retirement homes did had a profound affect on my life. it wasn’t the “cool” thing to do as a 14 year old boy wanting santa to show up, but it enriched all of our lives, and taught me the true meaning of the season.

i guess i can finally say this season: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

guitar hero - 12/10/07

my wife and i went to the tim o’brien show this weekend at the world famous station inn. when you live in nashville TN. it’s no surprise that bryan sutton, and stuart duncan show up to play with tim. it’s also no surprise that they all blow my mind every time i get a chance to see them. over the past few months of living the nashville scene i’ve taken notice to what i like about musicians and performers. i guess the real pleasure for me is to see or play with folks that are real. that’s why the tim o’brien show was so great. it was a bunch of real people doing what they love to do with no pyro-technics, or insane lighting or sound. it was good players playing good instruments playing good songs.

i’ve been lucky enough to play this “real” type of music. one person who’s music is always real, is my brother matthew. it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of music business. i was sucked in pretty quick by large peddle boards, in-ear monitors, wireless instrument rigs, etc. not that any of that is bad. i love music gear as much as the next guy, but i was falling for all the “hype” that is created with such things. i could even see that the music “hype” was dictating what people said and did, and even what the clothes they wore. i was no exception to the rule. i was losing that “realness” that i loved so much about music.

then one day i was put in my place. i won’t share those details, but it very well may be one of the most important musical experiences of my life - not because i heard something amazing, or played a 2 million dollar violin, it was because i had lost that “realness” and my brother called me on it. it was hard to swallow.

i’ve since learned much from that experience and continue to learn from it. i guess we learn the most when we least expect it.

live studio audience - 11/26/07

i can’t help but smile whenever i get the chance to play with sam payne. in my mind (and i stand by it 100%) i am the luckiest fiddle player around to be able to play with such a musician/ songwriter/ and person. for some time now he has been asked to bring that story telling brilliance to a cd. he did just that over the thanksgiving break with ryan tilby and myself. on tuesday nov. 20th, we lit 50 some odd candles and in front of a live audience recorded 20 songs with all the stories. it was captivating and many times tear jerking. those in attendance realized that they were a part of something truly wonderful. i was just glad to be a part of something so great. i’m not sure when it will be released, but i can’t wait to get my hands on it. i think my response will be, as sam says in one of his stories, “no freaking way!”

headed west - 11/13/07

i had the chance to record a little mandolin for the group due west on their upcoming record. if you live within a thousand miles of nashville you should hit the due west website and check out the next concert. i promise you won’t be disappointed.

www.duewest.com

southwest anxiety - 10/15/07

For all us cheap travelers, we seem to meet up at the same place in life - at the airport fighting frantically for a spot in the “A” line. If by chance you forgot to get online at least 24 hours in advance you are probably going to sit in a “B” seat and if you checked in at the airport, it’s going to be “C.” I decided that if I get the “C” ticket anymore, it’s just not worth flying. It always seems like there are 900 people getting on the plane before you (even when the plane only seats 150!) and you end up having to gate check your carry-on’s because there is no room in the inn. Try talking to the gate agent about NOT gate checking an instrument. That concept doesn’t even register to ANY employee of any airline. It’s always the same discussion -

“Sir you are going to have to gate check that item.” “Well I can’t, because you won’t insure it? ..and i’ve seen how they toss the bags off the conveyer belt.” “Sir you are holding up the line, just check that item please.” “I guess I wasn’t clear - I’M NOT CHECKING THIS!” I guess you have to be a musician to understand this little conundrum that we face each time we fly. It would be like gate checking your child I guess. I’ve even seen a musician buy a 2nd seat in order to carry on an instrument. I hope to see you in line “A” in the future. If not, I’ll try to save a middle seat!

Portland Oregon - 9/27/07

good show with good friends, for good people. sam payne, steve lemmon and steve flaig were all there making lots of folks smile. sam was in top form! i must say that i love the portland, oregon area. everytime music has brought me there i’ve loved every second. last time i was there i flew in a day early just so i could drive to the coast. i didn’t know that the show “goonies” was filmed just west of portland, in cannon beach and astoria. that was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and a such a cool place with a cool vibe. if you haven’t, then it would be a place to check out.