Joke Of The Week...

My favorite joke this week:

Q. What does 80 year-old pussy taste like?

A. Depends.


Ouch!

Yeah, I know.

Classless.

Funny.

But classless...

Day Off at Home

Terry came back today to finish the front porch job. He's not only the best songwriter around, but the best painter, too.

Stayed home and made dinner again tonight. Vegged out in front of the TV.

Happy Birthday, Angela Jackson, wherever you are!

Day Off at Home

My buddy Terry came over to paint my front porch. He also sealed the tongue & groove planking I had installed when the repairs were made. He'll be back tomorrow to finish the job.

Went to the Rockford for dinner with Paige, Jeff & Kim.

Day Off at Home

Going down to Charlotte today to visit my Mom. Pick Greg up from his house around 9am and hit the highway.

Drop him at the Verizon Amphitheatre north of the city, then head to Mom's.

I spent the afternoon with her before heading home, kinda bummed out.

Went to Mitch's and got shitfaced…

Day Off at Home

Drive over to Durham this morning to pick up Greg Howard, guitar tech extraordinaire. He's on tour with Aerosmith right now. They played Jones Beach out on Long Island last night and will be passing through on the way to their next gig, in Charlotte. Today's an off day for them, so I pick him up after the bus drops him off and drive him to his house here in Raleigh. He's gonna chill with his wife, then ride to Charlotte with me tomorrow.

Tonight I made dinner for the first time in my house. Bought it in January, moved into it in May, and tonight is the 32nd night I've spent here. Been going out or ordering in the whole time. Until now.

After dinner, it hits me how much I enjoy just staying home and cooking for myself. It's just that my damn social life demands my attention. Who would I be to deprive the world of the pleasure of enjoying my company?

Day Off at Home

My bus driver buddy Joel is in town today. He's out driving some opening act on the Rascal Flatts tour. I run out to Walnut Creek around 1pm to pick him up. Take a quick look at the stage – Holy Shit! Twelve or thirteen trucks worth of gear up on deck. Waaay too much stupid shit. Oh, well, country sells.

Tonight, me and a bunch of friends are going to see the Carolina Rollergirls. They're the local roller derby team.

Folks start gathering at my house around 4pm. Hot sun, cold beers. Meet up with everyone else over at Dorton Arena before gametime.

Wow! It was awesome. Afterwards, about 10 of us went and sat outside at The Raleigh Times for dinner and drinks. After dinner, everybody else split, leaving just me, Terry, and Carina to go to the Rollergirls after-party at King's, a nearby shithole of a bar. Waaay too loud in there, so we only stay for a beer and some conversation with a Rollergirl. Terry gets his picture taken with her, then we split for some bar hopping.

We hit Slim's, the PourHouse, Tir Na Nog, and finally The Capital Room. Carina splits for Durham, then me & Terry wind up on my deck back at the house. We crank up the Rolling Stones and get stupid. He decides that the best way to sober up after all those Jaegermeister shots is by switching back to Guinness. He was gonna crash on my couch, but around a quarter to 4, he decides to head home to Bunn.

Day Off at Home

Gonna be a good day. I get to see Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kicking Team not once, but twice today. Hoorah!

Foy & Terry Beal come over around 3pm to enjoy a few adult beverages on the front porch with me before heading downtown.

The OAKTeam's playing one of those big, dumb Bud Light/Downtown Live events in Moore Square. I'm glad they're on early (4:30-ish) because later on there's gonna be 5-10 thousand dumb, drunk assholes here to see whoever's headlining. Get in, get out, get on with your bad self somewhere other than here, that's what I say.

Meet a cool chick from Durham named Kathy, who came over alone to see the show. Smart girl, got herself a room at the Sheraton 2 blocks away so she could have some fun (adult beverages) and not have to drive home.

So the Beals and I adopt her for the night.

After OAKTeam, we watch most of Hobex before wandering down the street to grab a little Mexican food for dinner.

Wound up out at Northside, Kathy still in tow. Had a few beers there, then head back into downtown to Slim's for the next OAKTeam show.

'Twas quite a late night of drinking and merryment.

At Home

My new bosses, The All-American Rejects, won the "Best Group Video" award tonight on the MTV Video Music Awards show.

At Home

Another crappy day spent working. Turned in the rental car at the airport and took a taxi downtown to get the rental car that I'm paying for until I get my car repaired.

These blog entries are pretty much gonna be boring until something fun happens. Or did you already notice that?

At Home

Worked all day. Went to dinner alone at the Carolina Ale House down the street.

Home At Last

Finished the trip to Raleigh. I got to my house around 9pm. Man, nothing on earth beats sleeping in your own bed…

Headin' Home...

Road trip!!!!!

We're out of the hotel by 9:15, pick up the rental car at the Newark Airport at 10:00.

Wound up not taking the Cape May Ferry (the New Jersey to Delaware ferry – 17 miles, 80 minutes or so). Instead, we drove all the way to Chincoteague. Had a room at the Comfort Suites in the middle of town.

Went for beers at the local redneck dive bar. Stayed for dinner, watched the race, drank, drank, drank. The band there was absolutely horrible. Almost as bad as the bands that Northside Billiards books back home.

Later, we went down the street to another bar later. The (very young) cover band there played an All-American Rejects song.

I think we were back in the room by 1:30 or 2:00…

Game Day in New York City

Awesome. I'm finally doing Madison Square Garden.

Bummer. I'm doing Madison Square Garden with a damn basketball tour instead of a rock band.

The best news: last game of the tour. I'm going home from this shit tomorrow!!!!!

My buddy Chris Sheridan is flying in today to drive back down to NC with me. With flying being a PITA (pain in the ass) these days, I figured I'd just rent a car and drive home instead. We're gonna just mosey down the coast and stay overnight in Chincoteague, VA. Sounds like fun to me.

Got confirmed on my next gig this afternoon. I'll be out for 12 weeks with a band called The All-American Rejects. I actually like their music.

I split after the game and meet Chris a couple of blocks down 7th Avenue from the hotel. He's got a table outside some bar and is sitting with a couple of crazy and cute lesbian chicks. Major drinking in progress. I jump right in. Big fun!

Somehow wind up back at the hotel later…

Day Off in New York City

Another day off in my all-time favorite city. Yay!!!!!!

Kinda bummed today. That gig I alluded to a couple of days ago might be getting squirrelly. The business manager emailed me with their salary offer. A bit on the insufficient side, I'd say. Maybe I don't want that gig, after all. I'll send my counter offer soon…

Rains a bit today, which keeps me in the room most of the day. Around 7pm, I head out to meet my friend CJ and her husband Bjorn for dinner. I want to take the subway, but to get from here to that part of the East Village is a 3-train, 2-changes pain-in-the-ass. So I jump a cab, instead. I'm running late, got in the cab at 8:20 and I'm supposed to meet them all the way down on Avenue A in 10 minutes. Guess I'm gonna be late.

But, no! Seems I got into a cab driven by an aspiring Formula One driver. He is driving like a bat out of hell. I say nothing, just hold on tight. Maybe he'll get me there on time. Besides, I've paid more than this for a ride at an amusement park that's not nearly as fun.

I arrive one minute late, but I beat CJ and Bjorn there. Dinner was great. We ate at a place in the East Village called the Flea Market Bistro. French food.

Afterwards, they headed to the Mercury Lounge to see some band and I walked about 45 minutes uptown, in the direction of my hotel.

I was walking on 7th St. going past McSorley's Old Ale House when an idiot frat-boy-looking dude came out the door and just EXPLODED with puke. Glad I was on the other side of the street.

Finally jumped a cab for the rest of the journey back to my hotel.

Day Off in New York City

Well, I can't believe it, but the FUCKING RETARDS that ride my bus managed to outdo themselves. The Indianapolis-to-Chicago outrage is now the second-worst bus ride I've been on. This one was waaaaay worse. Not one wink of sleep did I get during the 5-hour drive, due to the noise. This was with earplugs in, too.

Fuckers. I hope you all rot in hell.

We pulled up to the hotel at 5:15am. I got into my room and laid down about 6, but was awakened at 7:15 by all the traffic noise outside. I'm on the 7th floor, with a corner room (extra windows!), overlooking Penn Station. Lots of commuters, lots of cabs, lots of everything. Lots of noise. Oh, well, at least now I have an early start on the day.

Around 4:30, I head out. I'm taking the train out to see Kenny Soule and his lovely wife, Anne. They live in Richmond Hill, in Queens. Across the street from my hotel, at Penn Station, I catch the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) out to Jamaica, Queens, then double back a bit on the J train to Richmond Hill. I called Kenny 2 stops before arriving and he walks down to the station to meet me, then we walked the 3-4 blocks to their house.

They have a lovely home. Too many stairs for my tired old ass, but a killer place nonetheless. Kenny's got his drum lesson studio in the basement with 2 drumkits set up. Main floor has the foyer, a small parlour, living room, and kitchen. Upstairs are the bedrooms, and a third floor has Kenny's getaway room. Like I said, great house.

Out back, their back yard is pretty amazing. The lady who sold them the house had one helluva green thumb. There must have been 30-40 different types of plants out there. Also, a great patio with a table and chairs, and a hidden and very private area at the rear of the yard.

There's a massive park just steps from their house. Kenny tells me it's about a mile long. Cool.

We kill some time watching the new Grand Funk DVD that came out 2 weeks ago – mine's waiting for me at home. Anne shows up from work, we order some Thai take-out food, then Kenny and me jump in his van to go pick it up. Along the way, I get the nickel tour of where they used to live in Forest Hills, not far from the U.S. Open Tennis Stadium, which we drive around at one point.

Back at the house with the food, we dine outside on the patio. The weather couldn't be nicer. Chat for some time, and then Anne goes to bed around 10:15. Kenny and me hang, just drinking and talking for a long time. He tells a couple of good stories that involve doing gigs with Andy Swindell, who's always good for a laugh.

I could do this all night, but I gotta split, so I can get the trains back into Manhattan. Kenny walks me to the station, then he heads back home. Always a pleasure to hang with him. He's one of the reasons I love having a day off in NYC.

Back in my room around 1am.

Day Off in New York City

Well, I can't believe it, but the FUCKING RETARDS that ride my bus managed to outdo themselves. The Indianapolis-to-Chicago outrage is now the second-worst bus ride I've been on. This one was waaaaay worse. Not one wink of sleep did I get during the 5-hour drive, due to the noise. This was with earplugs in, too.

Fuckers. I hope you all rot in hell.

We pulled up to the hotel at 5:15am. I got into my room and laid down about 6, but was awakened at 7:15 by all the traffic noise outside. I'm on the 7th floor, with a corner room (extra windows!), overlooking Penn Station. Lots of commuters, lots of cabs, lots of everything. Lots of noise. Oh, well, at least now I have an early start on the day.

Around 4:30, I head out. I'm taking the train out to see Kenny Soule and his lovely wife, Anne. They live in Richmond Hill, in Queens. Across the street from my hotel, at Penn Station, I catch the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) out to Jamaica, Queens, then double back a bit on the J train to Richmond Hill. I called Kenny 2 stops before arriving and he walks down to the station to meet me, then we walked the 3-4 blocks to their house.

They have a lovely home. Too many stairs for my tired old ass, but a killer place nonetheless. Kenny's got his drum lesson studio in the basement with 2 drumkits set up. Main floor has the foyer, a small parlour, living room, and kitchen. Upstairs are the bedrooms, and a third floor has Kenny's getaway room. Like I said, great house.

Out back, their back yard is pretty amazing. The lady who sold them the house had one helluva green thumb. There must have been 30-40 different types of plants out there. Also, a great patio with a table and chairs, and a hidden and very private area at the rear of the yard.

There's a massive park just steps from their house. Kenny tells me it's about a mile long. Cool.

We kill some time watching the new Grand Funk DVD that came out 2 weeks ago – mine's waiting for me at home. Anne shows up from work, we order some Thai take-out food, then Kenny and me jump in his van to go pick it up. Along the way, I get the nickel tour of where they used to live in Forest Hills, not far from the U.S. Open Tennis Stadium, which we drive around at one point.

Back at the house with the food, we dine outside on the patio. The weather couldn't be nicer. Chat for some time, and then Anne goes to bed around 10:15. Kenny and me hang, just drinking and talking for a long time. He tells a couple of good stories that involve doing gigs with Andy Swindell, who's always good for a laugh.

I could do this all night, but I gotta split, so I can get the trains back into Manhattan. Kenny walks me to the station, then he heads back home. Always a pleasure to hang with him. He's one of the reasons I love having a day off in NYC.

Back in my room around 1am.

Day Off in Boston

Bummed around the neighborhood a bit today. Hit the grocery store for lunch – they had a salad bar. Went to Newbury Comics, which is the cool, long-established independent record store chain in the Boston area. Bought a CD by the new band Black Stone Cherry, then headed back to the hotel.

My buddy Steve is tour managing for Nick Lachey on his upcoming tour. I'll be consulting on it, meaning that I'll be setting up all of the settlement files for all the shows. Steve sent me all of the deal sheets via email, and we spend about 30 minutes on the phone going over some details. Hopefully, I can get started on this stuff while I'm out here on this lousy tour.

Zombie-walked around the mall (attached to the hotel) for an hour or two. While there, I found a Legal Seafood and decided to have dinner there. Ponied up to the bar, got a Bud, and a menu. While perusing it, I had a flashback to a bar/restaurant that Dennis and I walked past last night. Much as I love Legal Seafood, this one had just a few too many lawyer/stockbroker types in it, so off I went.

Glad I did. I have a new favorite bar here in Boston. It's called the Summer Shack. I grabbed a seat at the bar and settled in. I could immediately tell I was gonna like this place. At first I thought it was another one of those "oyster bars" that didn't have one, and they kinda didn't, but they did have a dedicated shucker who was pretty awesome to watch. Fast, too. Unfortunately, being fast means that some shell bits occasionally make it to the customer. I though I was gonna break a tooth at one point. Had a dozen of whatever the special was, then got some steamed shrimp, which were great, too.

As I was eating, a lovely young lady asked if the stool next to me was taken. The place was pretty full and I guess I looked safer to sit next to than the crazy frat boys at the other end of the bar who were next to the only other empty stool in the place. (Little did she know, hey-hey-hey…)

Her name was Helene, and let me tell you, she was NOT ugly. Nosiree, not by any stretch. She used to work here before she moved up into New Hampshire. She was in the process of moving back and would be working here again soon. She told me all about the history of the place. And a lot more…

Before I knew it, we'd been talking for about 3 hours. What's that quote by Albert Einstein? Oh, yeah:

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity."

True 'dat, Al.

Anyway, I had to scoot. Shame. That was the most fun I've had in weeks.

Day Off in Boston

I woke up when Danny pulled into a truckstop near West Haven, CT. That was around 4:15am, and after tossing and turning for over an hour trying to go back to sleep, I gave up, got dressed and sat up front with him for the rest of the drive to Boston. It was just pissing down rain.

We drove through a bit of the "Big Dig" getting into downtown. I kept my eyes open for falling panels.

Pulled up to the Sheraton Prudential Center about 7. Tossed bags inside, cranked up the AC and went out for breakfast.

Watched the race during the afternoon. My buddy Dennis showed up around 6pm to go to dinner. We ate at the Capital Room Bar & Grille, which is a steakhouse a step ABOVE Morton's, which means it's awesome. Dinner was ace. I even had a Martini afterwards, a real martini, not some foofy concoction of flavored crap, but a gin & vermouth one, with olives. Mmmmm, tasty.

After Dennis split, I wound up back in my room, watching some godawful Ben Affleck movie with Uma Thurman in it. I think it was Paycheck, but I’m not sure. Couldn't take it, went to sleep…

Day Off in Philadelphia

Had lunch today with Jim Bodenheimer, the guy who owns Egotrips, Inc., our trucking vendor. He offered me a couple of tickets to go see Tom Petty tonight at the amphitheater here, but I don't really care to. Petty's in Raleigh in a few weeks (when I'm home), so maybe I'll see him then.

Other than that, 'twas a pretty laidback day spent mostly in the room.

Quizno's for dinner in front of the TV. Again. Boring!

Thinking about home…

Day Off in Philadelphia

Woke up at 5:30am, just as we pulled up to the hotel. We're in Philly, staying at the Marriott on Market Street. The last couple of times I was here, I stayed across the street at the Loew's Hotel, so I know the neighborhood pretty well.

The usual story – hot room, so I crank up the AC and take a walk – maybe I'll find something new around here. Turns out I know this area better than I thought, but I still walk around for an hour, as the room cools.

Hit Starbucks in the lobby on the way back to my room, then sit up and read a couple of papers, followed by an hour's worth of catnap.

Around 2, I go a block to the Reading Terminal Market for some lunch. It's a really cool combination of farmer's market/restaurant area that I always go to when I'm in town. Go to the place I ate at last time to see how their oyster stew is. This is a little odd; they serve their oyster stew with a side of horseradish. Huh?

Well, shortly I find out why. This is the worst excuse for oyster stew that I've ever had. Now, admittedly, my mom made the best. But come on, It's not that hard. We're talking whole milk, butter, pepper, and oysters. This shit is totally watered down – seems like it's one part milk to 3 parts water, and they pretty much just waved a stick of butter over it. Plenty of oysters, but they're far too big to be used in stew. I chow on the oysters and pass on the stew. And don't even get me started on their oyster crackers, which are round (?), the diameter of a quarter and stale as hell. Yuck!

On the way out of the market, I spot a vendor I've never noticed before, a juice bar. I grab a made-in-front-of-me 20oz. carrot juice, a bargain at $3.20. Now THAT hits the spot. Off I go.

Stop at the Kinko's/FedEx on the way back. Need a box and some tape to ship my brother the Norfolk/Southern hats from the other day in Norfolk.

Bum around all day, then head to Chinatown around 7 for some dinner. There's a killer Thai place about a ½ block from the Trocadero (legendary Philly club) that I've eaten at a couple of times, so a grab some chow to go, then stop by the liquor store for a six-pack of Bud. Back to the room…

Day Off in Norfolk

Talk about a lazy day. Did much of nada. Really can't tell where the time went. My buddy Foy told me about some cool stuff to do all around the area, but I couldn't seem to get motivated enough to do anything today

Got another job opp thrown my way today. Threw them a resume, they came back looking for my salary range. Good gig with a popular band, but again, I don't wanna say who it is yet, lest I jinx it.

Take a walk during the afternoon and wind up over at the Norfolk/Southern Railway building a couple of blocks from the hotel. My dad worked for the company his whole life, from the age of 15 on. He died the day he retired, at 59.

Just off the lobby, there's a N/S museum, which I wander around in for an hour or so, learning all sorts of stuff about the history and mechanics of railroading. There's even a locomotive cockpit simulator where after going around the circuit once with the computer controlling the train, on the second go-round, YOU operate the controls and drive the train. Pretty cool. I'm sure after I tell my brother Bill about this, he'll immediately drive down from Richmond to check it out.

The museum's not a really popular place. I'm only the 4th person to sign in, and it's 3 in the afternoon. An employee stops by while I'm in the simulator to welcome me, then gives me a couple of hats and other souvenirs. I thank him, even though I don't really want them. I figure I'll send them to my brother, who's a way bigger train nut than I'll ever be.

Watched TV in my room for my evening entertainment…

Day Off in Norfolk

Laundry Day!

After googling my options, I grab a cab and head out. Wind up at a killer coin laundry. What's so cool about it? Air-conditioning, Starbucks a block away, a bunch of restaurants, and lots of pedestrian traffic, so I can indulge in a couple of hours of people watching. I'm in a cool neighborhood called Ghent, which is not too terribly unlike Five Points back in Raleigh.

Amazing older houses, stupid expensive according to some folks I talked to. If I lived in Norfolk, this is exactly the neighborhood I'd want to live in. Probably couldn't afford to buy, but I'd rent here in a heartbeat.

Got contacted about a fall gig today. Don't wanna say anything, lest I jinx it.

Chilled out in my room most of the afternoon. Around 5:30, I head next door to sit on the patio at Outback and watch the afternoon traffic flow by (cars and people). Read the Washington Post and enjoy a few beers. What great weather! It's probably 82 degrees and very low humidity.

Back in my room around 8:30.

Day Off in Norfolk

Finally, a hotel with a clue. Opened the door to my room around 4:30am and it was absolutely FREEZING in there. If you read this blog much, you know how much it pisses me off to get into a room in the middle of the night, only to find it's 80 degrees in there. No way in hell I can sleep in a hot room, so I usually crank the AC and go walking around for an hour or two while I wait for the room to cool off enough for me to sleep in it. Not today. I actually had to back the AC off a bit. Slept like a baby.

We have 3 days off here, and a game on Wednesday. The only thing I have to do today is watch NASCAR. Tough day, I know.

Went walking around for a couple of hours during mid-morning. This is the Waterside area of town. We're a few blocks away from the Norva, a killer club I've done shows at with a few bands. Lots of bars and restaurants nearby, along with a mall. If my room was across the hall, I'd have a great view of several Navy ships.

Lazy day, read the Sunday paper, watched the race. Grabbed some Buffalo Shrimp from Hooter's next door for dinner.

Day Off in DC

I was right. Woke up at 8:30, and I've been lying around the room feeling like crap all day. Mixed too many different types of beer last night. Glad I don't have to work today.

I was gonna go see Watershed at the 9:30 Club tonight, but I'll probably have to pass. Just don't have the energy. Besides, they're playing in Raleigh in three weeks so I'll catch them then.

Day Off in Washington, DC

We pulled in to the hotel around 5am and I actually managed to get to sleep by 6:30 or so. Accomplished much of nothing all day.

Around 6pm I grabbed a cab to my fave beer joint here in DC, The Brickskeller. It opened in 1957, and I've been drinking there since 1976, the year I graduated high school in the suburbs here. They have more than 1,000 different foreign and domestic beers to choose from. Amazing.

Probably won't feel too good tomorrow morning.