I rode from the outer banks to Norflolk where I was to fly through Chicago to Grand Rapids for the highly anticipated Hoxeyville festival. I land in Chicago to find out that my connection to grand rapids has been cancelled and I'm automatically booked on the 7:30 am flight the next day. So..... there I am, in Chicago, on a Friday night at 7:45 pm with 11 hours to kill. I'm going out. I cab it over to Brendan Bayliss's place for beers and then to the House of Blues to see Sound Tribe Sector Nine. My old buddy Andrew Queen who is now teching for Sector 9 got me tickets and passes to the show (thanks drew). This cancelled flight was truly working out in my favor. I have one of the Sector 9 live records on my ipod. I've listened to it on the plane and it had always put me in a state of bliss at high altitude. It’s been a while since I've seen them live. I was blown away. The first half was dark and slightly leaning toward the crunk side of electronica. The latter part of the set opened up to some blissful type of music, which put emphasis on the instruments and not the computers. All the songs that I saw had very prominent melodies accompanied by super cool video. I was able to say hello to Drew and the band during set break. I was excited to learn about the possibilities of Sector 9 acoustic. I'm very interested in hearing what that sounds like.

I've always heard wonderful things about the Targhee Festival. Nestled in the Tetons, this fest makes me think that this is what the Telluride Bluegrass fest was like 25 years ago. This is the 23rd year for this fest, and it is cool, mellow, beautiful, intimate and inspiring. The place is a small ski resort but what looks to be spectacular terrain. We took the chairlift to the top which was weird without any ski/boarding gear. Amazing view from the top. 360 degrees of beauty.  We pulled in on Thursday night as the Targhee bluegrass camp was wrapping up. There were little circle jams scattered about wafting acoustic music, filling the crisp air. Oh yeah...it was chilly which was refreshing coming from the hellish humidity of Virginia. The music started at 4pm with the punch brothers. Chris Thile fronts this super insane bluegrass band. With intricate changes and over the top genius musicianship, the punch brothers are not your average bluegrass band. Jaw dropping chops and crystal clear pitch perfect vocals, with just a hint of pop music make this string band out of the ordinary.

What a total and complete honor to be invited to play in the Rhythm Devils.  Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann from the Grateful Dead head up this interesting combo that infuses Grateful Dead material with recently written music from Robert Hunter and Mickey Hart.  The Rhythm Devils material is peppered with samples and loops, which were designed by Mickey Hart.  He has an incredible vision of creating a type of spacey tribal trance using not only these loops and samples, but joining his gear with the bass and 2 guitarists by way of midi clock.  This means that each of us has an effect processer that is synced together with the tempo of Mickey’s loops and samples being locked in with our delays and freeky modulations.  Sound complicated?  It is to the outside world, but to Mickey it’s just plain simple.  During the 3 shows we have done thus far, I feel we have come close to achieving his idea.  We are not quite there yet.  With 8 shows to go, there is still time to get there.  Positivity and encouragement goes a long way with musicians who are trying to bring to life somebody else’s vision. Speaking of positivity, Bill Kreutzmann is boiling over with it. His vibe and demeanor carry over in his playing as he dances effortlessly behind his kit. Sikiru plays the talking drum.  This is a 2-headed drum with one on the top and one on the bottom connected by ropes.  Simply place the drum under your arm and squeeze while you play thus tightening and loosening the heads creating actual notes on the drum.  Sikiru is a master.  He can conjure up bass lines and take super interesting rhythmic solos.  His instrument and his vibe is a very important part of Mickey’s vision.  Andy Hess is as solid of a bass player as they come.  He's played with such greats as John Scofield, Warren Haynes, and the Black Crowes.  He’s been somewhat of a guru of arrangement.  The go to guy to answer your musical queries.  He can bring the funk and freek me out with his tasty jaco fills at any given moment.  Davy Knowles is a young, ripping blues guitarist from the Isle of Man.  We call him "the kid" because he's so disgustingly younger than everybody else.  The kid rocks.  His playing style is super skilled drawing from blues, rock, and fusion. He also plays lap steal with authority.  He only started listening to Grateful Dead music once he was offered this gig.  He has really done his homework with these songs while keeping his personality and his musical integrity in tact.  The kid has a long career ahead of him.  I'm looking forward to the next 8 shows.

Ahhhhh, the river boat. Thank you to all in attendence. The front speakers were crappy, the poweramp left us hanging at the encore, and there was zero sightline except for the freeks 1 foot away from my microphone. But.......no one seemed to care. This was the second cd release party I've done on the spirit of fredericksburg. It's just a special show. Slowly floating down a narrow river with the sun setting and people grooving, drinking, smoking and just enjoying life. It's pure joy for me to be able to play for folks like that in such a great setting. I only hope I can do it at least once every year.