After having a great week on the road I always find it hard to come home. I want to keep rolling on to new places, meeting new people and rockin' the house with my brothers in the band. Sure there were a few tough moments, but over all it was a really good time.
Wednesday night we played the Barley Pub in Dover NH. It is kind of a funky hole in the wall place, good beer, interesting paninis and live music. Then we rolled on to Scotty Kings place in MA, had a few beers and crashed out. Thanks Scott!
The next day we hit a really sweet beach for a couple of hours of swimming and relaxation.
That night we played at the Madfish in Gloucester. The Madfish sits right out on the water and has plenty of room to dance. John Funkhouser of Soul Rebel Project sat in on keyboards for most of our set. That man can bubble! We were also joined by the best horn players I have heard in a long time. Stoo, and Friendship of the Hornitz sat in on several tunes improvising sweet lines and taking a few solos on tenor sax and trombone. I have to admit I was a little hesitant, wanting to keep the show tight and all.From note two my mind was more than at ease, it was in a state of bliss. These guys are top notch pros!
Soul Rebel Project finished up the night. Mike Francis, lead vocals and rhythm guitar for SRP writes some great lyrics and does not hesitate to take on tough subject matter. He deserves Big Respect in my book. SRP serves up some heavy rockers reggae that gets every body in the place shakin'! We will be playing more shows together in the future. Make sure to check them out!
Friday night we hit the Falmouth Raw Bar. Now I have to admit that this one was a bit tough. The load in was tight and the playing area too. We also played at the lowest volume we possibly could and they were still asking us to turn down. The Pulse Prophets are a dance oriented band that relies on bumpin' bass and drums to get the place jumpin". You can probably imagine what it was like for us to play at background music volume. The crowd was louder than we were and not very responsive. Never the less we give BIG THANKS to Billy theONE for hooking us up with this gig which helped us out on the green side. Seriously, it made the difference between coming back in the black verses the red.
That night we stayed at the Budney family home. Alex's dad took me out earlier that day looking at some ponds and lakes where I might find some small fish that I am interested in. Yeah I am a super geek, into native non game fish and aquascaping. If you are wondering what I am talking about you can look up my facebook page and check my photos. Anyway, I went back to one of the lakes after the gig in search of Madtoms and Banded Sunfish. I caught the most beautiful Bullhead I have ever seen with a metallic gold body and black edged fins, but had to let him go as I do not have room in any of my tanks for another fish that gets that big. No madtoms or sunfish were found, but I did manage to get wrapped up in spider webs and fall into a mucky hole. Good Times, Good Times! I got back at about 5 AM and slept a few hours before we had to hit the road again. Thanks to the Budneys for putting us up, feeding us, and their all around hospitality.
On the road again, heading to one of my old hang out spots, Martha's Vineyard. I used to get together with a big crew of friends at the end of every summer there. My friend Kim's Grandmother lived on the island and let us pitch our tents in the yard and hang out for a week. Those were really good times. I always get nostalgic when I go back. Gram, as we called her has gone on so we gather there no more. Big up to the Vineyard crew! I miss you guys and hope you are all well. One day we'll all get together again.
We set up and sound checked at Nectar's MV. Then Rudy and I headed to my favorite beach, Claw and Jolly headed to the office to catch up with work. After beach time, we took a bus to Edgartown and ran to Mad Martha's for ice cream with fifteen minutes before the next bus back to Nectar's. We cruised back to the terminal as the bus was rolling up. I said to the bus driver, "You do not leave for seven more minutes right?" (no food is allowed on the bus) She says, "Are you telling me or asking?" She was a sassy one! "Asking" She laughs, "eat your ice cream." I managed to get in the last bite just in time to get on the bus. Love that coconut ice cream! When we were getting near Nectar's the driver asked with a knowing tone, "Anyone here going to Nectar's?" she dropped us off at the end of the driveway. There is no bus stop there.
