
Gettin' the folk out in Eugene, OR!
Man! No matter how you prepare yourself for a music conference like this one, you never go into it with enough sleep and you never have enough energy to manage the whole thing. By the end, you’re just running on fumes… On Thursday afternoon, October 20th, 2011, I arrived in Eugene, OR at the Hilton Hotel & Conference Center, checked in, showered up, ate a quick bite, then warmed up my guitar, my voice, and hit up four showcase performances for industry, songwriters, house concert hosts, musicians, and more. It was a ton of fun and I felt really strong after six days on the road honing in my set beforehand, despite a lack of sleep and some allergies doing their darndest to get the best of me!

My hotel room mate, Mr. James Lee Stanley, mesmerizing the house concert crowd at one of the many showcases at FAR-West this year.
I generally don’t room with folks on the road as I like my privacy and need some quiet time in between performances, especially at a conference, but due to a number of reasons, I ended up rooming with songwriter James Lee Stanley. To be honest, I’m not too clued into what’s been happening in the folk scene, but as soon as I looked up this guy’s name online, I knew he was a heavy player, and not just in the folk circle. He’s played with just about everybody (Stephen Stills and Chick Corea being just a few top names) and has toured/performed almost everywhere and is a truly accomplished writer, singer, and guitar player – not to mention, a hilarious comedian. I had a great time getting to know him and even more fun listening to some of his performances at the conference. While there were a number of talented performers and writers showcasing at this conference, James Lee Stanley is a healthy cut above them all. If you ever need to brush up on your on-stage presence, writing or playing, just check out one of his sets. You’ll learn a lot.

Happy Halloween from Ninkasi Brewing Company!
Not ALL of the past four days were filled with music non-stop. Yesterday afternoon, after an awards presentation and luncheon, I bumped into artist manager Steve Garvan and artist/songwriter Beth Wood whose husband is the sales manager the “fastest growing independent brewery in the US”, Ninkasi Brewing Company. As my parents love to say, “Timing is everything.” Turns out, those guys were headed over for a private tour of the brewery followed by a tasting and asked me to come along. Of course! We got there and took a tour, enjoyed tasting a ton of terrific beers all made right there on site, and even had a few gourmet hotdogs from the local cart outside the brewery. What an afternoon!

Mmmmm... Beer! A delicious tasting of Ninkasi Brewing Company's finest!
Afterwards, I decided to take the long way home and walk back to the hotel to, err, sober up and get ready for my four final showcases last night. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon in Eugene, OR and I got a chance to get a feel for the town a bit by taking it on by foot. The funny thing about this town is that it’s apparently not zoned, which is to say that you can have a brewery right next to someone’s home, a car repair spot next to a day care facility, etc. It’s crazy cool as you can end up living right next to some neat places if you’re lucky. (Imagine being next door to this brewery! Ooh… I’d never leave.) Later on that evening, I had dinner with a few new friends, talked music, caught a few showcases, then performed my butt off four more times making it a total of twelve showcases from Thursday night through Saturday night. It was the last evening of the conference, so I left everything there in those showcase rooms with nothing to spare. Go big or go home, right? I ended up jamming with a this really talented accordion player, Lee Garland (I know, I know… sounds weird, but…), who just killed it. We had so much fun playing my final showcase at 2:10am, as late as it was, in the Whiskey Poets showcase room to a full house. Man… what a way to close out the conference!

Heading back south to play Liquid Assets this evening, October 23rd, 2011 at 8:00pm.
Right now, I’m hanging in Starbucks typing out this blog post, mapping out my drive south on the I-5, and ramping up to play in Ashland, OR again at Liquid Assets Wine Bar from 8:00pm until 10:00pm this evening before continuing on south into California to play Cottonwood, then Sacramento, followed by Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, and finally, Sonoma. Go ahead and check out the show listing for tonight in the upper right hand corner of this page or click on over to my SHOWS page, grab the details, and meet me there if you’re in the area. It’s a nifty spot with great wine and food, and the acoustics are killer. Well… here’s to keeping this show on the road. Take care and see you all soon!