The 806 in Rainy Amarillo, TX 03/21/2012
Man… last night was so much fun, and fairly unexpected. I started the morning off in Albuquerque, NM after playing the night before, then drove the five or so hours east on I-40 through crazy winds to Amarillo, TX where I spent many an hour looking for a PA repair shop and a hook up for a last minute gig since my schedule got a little out of whack on this leg of the tour. I ended up finding a shop or two first, but no luck on getting the part/repair done, so I moved onto looking for a gig. I lucked out and found one at The 806 on Sixth Street.
It turned out that these guys, The River Monks, who were on tour from Des Moines, IA, were scheduled to perform, but I guess the opening act had cancelled earlier in the day. As they say, timing is everything, so I jumped at the opportunity to hop on the bill and was psyched to check out this cool venue along the historic Route 66. I played a short little acoustic set, then got a chance to meet the folks in the audience, sell some merch (people went nuts over the ChiMcClean.com logo pint glasses), and then kick back and enjoy The River Monks’ set.

Hanging with photographer Nancy Smith-Blackwell from Amarillo Music Scene, after the show at The 806. Photo: Jimmy Joe
In attendance last night was local photographer from Amarillo Music Scene, Nancy Smith-Blackwell. It turns out that she shot most of my set, so we got to talking and I met some of her buddies who came to join her for the show. We had a great time catching up during the performance from The River Monks and decided to shoot some photos for a minute, so shoot we did… I’m not a camera guy, but we had some fun anyway and got a few really interesting shots, too. Big thanks to Nancy for hanging and posting all the great photos. If you ever come through Amarillo, TX, be sure to check out her page on Facebook for all the local happenings. It’s awesome.

Surprise! You're on camera! Watching The River Monks after my set at The 806 in Amarillo, TX last night. Photo: Nancy Smith-Blackwell
BIG THANKS to the crew at The 806 for hosting me last night (and for giving me a couch to sleep on afterwards) and to The River Monks for giving me some stage time to warm things up for them before their set. I had a terrific evening, met some great folks, and got to listen to some amazing music. Now, it’s time to get back on the road in search of another town and another gig. Hope to see ya soon, Amarillo!