And now a message from the Justice League of Americana

Today marked my debut performance with a full band at Robert's Western World. Featuring Zach Shedd, Grant "Big Smokey" Johnson, and Steve Latanation - I've dubbed the band, The Justice League of Americana.

Although we had never played together before as a group, Steve, Zach and Grant had all played together supporting different artists over the years so there was a natural chemistry.

Here's a few clips that capture the raw energy of the set.

Waking Up On Stage

Just woke up from a long nap. After being out way too late last night, I woke up early again to play a solo shift at Robert's Western World. There was a decent flow of people that came through the door, but they were a generous bunch so they made it worth it. In many ways it was a warm up for my first full band show at Robert's tomorrow morning. I have Zach Shedd (while not on the road with HANK III fills in with many bands around Lower Broadway) on bass, Grant "Big Smokey" Johnson (a fellow Seattle native, who plays with Derek Hoke and has been a player on Lower Broadway for years now) on guitar, and Steve Latanation (who played with Orange County punk band Agent Orange before relocating to Nashville, he also plays with Derek Hoke and is a mainstay on Lower Broadway as well) on drums.

Here's what I played to the best of my memory (with clips from past shows):

1 I Heard that Lonesome Whistle Blow (Hank Williams)
2 Your Cheatin' Heart (Hank Williams)
3 I Can't Help It (Hank Williams)
4 Lost Highway (Hank Williams)
5 Ramblin' Man (Hank Williams)
6 Singing the Blues (Marty Robbins)
7 Six Days on the Road (Dave Dudley, covered by everyone)
8 He'll Have to Go (Jim Reeves)
9 I Really Don't Want to Know (Eddy Arnold)
10 I'll Cry Instead (The Beatles)
11 In the Pines (Leadbelly, via Nirvana)
12 I Gotta Get Drunk (Willie Nelson)
13 Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot)
14 Country Heroes (Hank III)
15 Big Boss Man (Jimmy Reed)
16 House of the Rising Sun (Traditional, via The Animals)
17 Little Sadie (Traditional, via Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Mark Lanegan)
18 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Bob Dylan)
19 You Ain't Going Nowhere (Bob Dylan, The Byrds)
20 Meet Me in the Morning (Bob Dylan)
21 Cryin' Time (Buck Owens)
22 Waiting Around to Die (Townes Van Zandt)
23 Black Widow Blues (Townes Van Zandt)
24 Man of Constant Sorrow (Traditional, via O Brother Where Art Thou?)
25 Sea of Heartbreak (Don Gibson)
26 I Can't Stop Loving You (Don Gibson)
27 Oh Lonesome Me (Don Gibson)
28 Love Me (Elvis Presley)
29 That's All Right Mama (Elvis Presley)
30 Little Sister (Elvis Presley)
31 I'm Movin' On (Hank Snow)

Being that I was playing solo, I didn't have the luxury of being able to extend songs with guitar solo, etc, so even with 31 songs I still needed to sneak in a few of my songs to pad out the 3+ hour set...

My songs/songs I've recorded:
32 Fair Warning (from Hey Lazarus!)
33 Since You've Gone (from Hey Lazarus!)
34 I Know I Should Know Better (I'm Gonna Live the Life)
35 Let Me Down Easy (Shouting at a Silent Sky)
36 Idle Hands (Shouting at a Silent Sky)

So there you have it. I will let you know how tomorrow goes. Hoping to get some video, or at least photos to document this historic event!

All the News That's Fit to Print

Life has gotten a bit busier the last couple of weeks. I've started working at my favorite honky tonk in downtown Nashville - Robert's Western World! The very first day we drove into town we stopped into Robert's. Seattle-native, and my girlfriend Meagan's lifelong friend, Sammy Barrett (who moved out here a couple years ago), has worked at Robert's for a while now and she helped me get the job. Most of the crew at Robert's has been working there for years, so I feel lucky that the timing worked out for them to hire on a new employee. For the most part I have been the "door guy", but I've also served as cook, and tonight I will be bar-backing for the first time. On my first night at the door, my neighbor and local photographer, Mickey Bernal shot this picture of me. It's been a great job to make new friends, and a good chance to meet some of the local heavy hitters - whether they are playing our stage or just quenching their thirst at the bar.

As I said in my previous entry, Meagan and I were very lucky that the recent flooding did not affect our home or our work. But to show you how bad some people got hit, here is a photo of Aaron Tosti, my frequent drummer, "fishing" in his normally lush, green and dry backyard. Tosti owns the place and has a few roomates rent from him. This gives me the chance to introduce Aaron's roommate and the newest member to my Nashville Wrecking Crew - the appropriately named, Eric Newcomer. Eric's main gig is playing bass with House of Heroes, but with lots of free time between tours, I've really enjoyed having him involved. Eric played bass for us at the 64-Ten show a couple weeks ago when my regular bassist Nathan Thomas was out of town. With Nathan securely behind that bass again Eric switched to lead guitar at our recent show at the Basement. This brings me to my next item...

The other personal headline of the week is that we are playing a *real show* this Monday night at the Basement. After a well-received short set last Tuesday for their "New Faces" night, owner Mike Grimes has asked us to return for a two-band bill we are sharing with Chelle Rose. He's hoping we can bring 25 people out, so I've been posting about it non-stop on facebook and twitter. If you are in the Nashville area, come on down, it should be the best show yet!