|
site credits © 2008 Andy Hersey
|
|||
old journal entries
01.04.08 "fine, and you?" Thanks Grammy.
10.01.07 House of Blues in Vegas, Cains Ballroom in Tulsa, and Texas
08.07.07 prove it / no tips please
06.10.07 owed to God and country
05.04.07 good month
03.06.07 back from reality
03.01.07 too long
01.02.07 looking back, looking forward
10.22.06 music, music, music
10.7.06 oh atlanta
10.1.06 tales kinda blurry
9.9.06 shurman sojourn
8.31.06 tall tales made short
8.16 - 8.17.06 troubadour journal
twenty five hours, twenty-three minutes, phx.
8.4 - 8.6.06 songwriter/ troubadour account of AZ. NM. CO.
6.25.06 summer solstice...
3.5.06 Equine voices fundraiser was a complete success...
journal entry
01.04.08
"fine, and you?" Thanks Grammy.
Grammy used to have a retail display company in Tucson. She would get calls to put up window displays downtown and so on.....nowadays you can still see a pink...............yep, pink .......fiberglass rhino on top of "Furriers western tire center" on Palo Verde road. I've got pictures she took with her ol' "box camera" ........of me as a kid sitting on top of that pile of fiberglass..............."TUFFY" ..........was gray back then.......... in the yard at the house and if I'm not mistaken, I was the only kid for miles around to cover that animal for a 8 full seconds. She loved capturing images and developed her own film in a "dark room " at the family home that she and my granddad built from rock and redwood during the depression. Grammy used to answer the black rotary phone........ "Western Enterprise, Display". The thing that always stood out to me was how she seemed to imply some type of question with this particular greeting by placing emphasis on the leading syllables........ western ENTerprise, DISplay..........? Maybe you had to be there or maybe with luck, I can describe the subtlety of her strong character with justice. This was the same woman who taught me to command respect as an individual without standing on ceremony.
How many times have you and I walked into a place of business and been greeted with no words, but a simple head gesture at best, to acknowledge our presence? As if whoever behind the counter was doing us a favor by accepting our money! Grammy taught me to say something akin to "fine, and you?" In an effort to point out that grunts and head gestures won't get my business and as if to say "did you forget to ask how you might assist me today?" I don't care if people think of this type of common courtesy as old fashion, and if people like me are laughed at or thought of as hayseed, so be it. I was raised right. thanks Grammy.
11-something-07
I stepped off the road and was looking forward to some time to get low and write. the doctor had diagnosed me with an upper respiratory infection and exhaustion. i've had much more strenuous occupations in times past, but rolling down the road completely solo, in rental car or a van got the best of me on that particular stint. planning on hitting the road with a newfound ferocity in the spring....a few shows close to home and writing........... hope your new year is off to a good start. all the best.
Andy
journal entry
10.01.07
House of Blues in Vegas, Cains Ballroom in Tulsa, and Texas
Danielle and I got to the house of blues in vegas at 1:30 on a nice hot Sunday afternoon. we asked the security guy at the back door where we might get something to eat. "we've got a gospel brunch happenin' right now.......help..... your........ self". mmmmmmmmm cool enough, right? we did as instructed and went to sit down.....the only silverware available was on the tables.......it was a sold out show. there we were, soul food in hand and no way to chomp. i approached the inside door lady and explained to her that i was the opening artist for RCPM at the venue for later that evening....she called somebody on the radio, who called somebody else on the radio and we ended up side stage on folding chairs and couple of plastic "sporks" shouting to beat all whenever the lead singer would ask....."CAN I GET A WITNESS?' At one point the bass player from the all black group looked over to the wings where Dan and I were sitting to get a good look at these white people who think they may have seen somethin'...............got a chance to talk with the band after the show, kind hearts and very talented....I was wearing my green John Deere hat and at one point after the show the bassman said."looks like country came to town". fun stuff. Danielle said she had not crashed a party since college............I really know how to impress a girl...huh?
Cain's Ballroom. Tulsa.
The sign over the three foot high stage said "the house that Bob Wills built" This place is probably fifty thousand sq. ft. a quanset hut with open steel rafters, old wood floors and antique pictures....six feet tall. bob wills, hank williams, hank snow, patsy cline, ernest tubbs..... I felt right at home. a few hours before the doors opened, Steve Larson came walking out from backstage to one of the church pews against the wall where i was changing guitar strings and introduced me to Stoney Larue who was on the bill that night also. Stoney is a talented, kind spirit and part of the "red dirt" music scene coming out of the panhandle area of OK. and TX. Think of cross canadian ragweed and maybe reckless kelly. I got a chance to talk with him for a while and we found out we have a lot of the same heroes. what a great guy, great music.......he didn't know me from anything other than steve's word that i was somebody steve wanted him to meet...........thanks steve. i love you like a brother. Cains ballroom has the kind of soul that is hard to find and might very well be the most comfortable place i've ever had the pleasure of playing.....larson asked me after my set..."so, hersey.........how many stages can you say that you've played on that bob wills and hank williams played on too?" I met some folks in the crowd that were full on cowhands... one country boy had on a black CORB LUND t shirt............I had mine out in the duffel bag in the rental car and had almost worn it on stage that night.....i called him out from the stage and told him i was a corb lund fan as well.....we shared a beer after the show. great people there, i hope i get to go back...
TEXAS SHOWS
Thanks to the association with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, I've been privilaged to play my tunes at the best venues in Texas and therefore, the country. Roger Clyne......I love you, my friend, and thanks for the endorsement and burst of wind in my sails. Texans prides themselves on music and are great hosts when it came time for us arizona boys to roll through their towns. amarillo, antone's in austin, sons of herman hall in dallas, and the continental club in houston. C'MON! Too many stories to tell.....but at the continental in houston, after the show. Me, jamie, larson and trey. a cool guy who is with the club, we're playing shuffle board. after my first shot, i set my beer bottle down on a round steel table at the end of the board.......this caused the entire table to ring like an anvil....only with a pretty, more pleasant tone.....I was in awe of the temper needed to create such a tone and inquired as to the maker....."that's an old anchor" says Trey......."you can have it". after I lost my ass playing shuffle board, the bus was loaded and as this was my last date of the texas road stint with the peacemakers, i loaded up my 125lb anchor/ end table in the passenger seat of the rental car, buckled it in. The driver was just putting the "stallion" down in gear as I gave rog and the rest of the guys a hug and wished them well on the rest of the trip....more soon.
thanks for looking in on the webpages...hope to see ya at a show soon,
Andy
journal entry
08.07.07
prove it / no tips please
"Aside from past success and what you think you know, you're always gonna have to prove your abilities over and over again." That's what I heard myself say to someone asking about the life. Every show has to be slightly different and better in order for the energy to play out and be shared in every new room. I'm not worried, hell, it's just a show, not life or death or anything that will immediately solve the most important problems of this ol' world. Now, if you want to think about something else, enjoy a few moments of levity and not think about the evening news. that's when it's time for the songwriters of the world to prove that we can take it from here.
One of my favorite movies is titled "The Fabulous Baker Boys". The cast includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau and Jeff Bridges............Jeff Bridges is the most astute actor in the world by the way.............and this is the story of two brothers kicking it around the hotel piano lounges of Seattle in the early '90's and doing okay.... then enters the female singer, kind of a torch singer.......my, my...........and things get better for awhile. One of the most pointed exchanges happens after a crappy gig.....Jeff says to Beau "we've always been small time, but we've never been clowns, tonight we let them turn us into clowns". This brings me to the point....NO TIPS PLEASE. I realize when a gratuity is offered it is a compliment and very much appreciate the thought. For years I've accepted them..nowadays I'd rather you buy a disc and take my songwriting home with you. I play a lot of shows which are free to the public......."live music tonight" signs littering the sidewalk in front of a bar which has no stage but just me in the corner next to the juke box on the floor where people are free to bump into the microphone which in turn bumps into my teeth. Then the same fool who just bloodied my lip will try to hand me a five and request "brown eyed girl". The argument the club owner/bartender will make is that some people will throw three bucks out as a gratuity before they spend fifteen on a disc or pay a cover......my thoughts are that if the club were wise enough to charge a cover in the first place, patrons would not feel the need to turn the artist in the corner into more of a clown. A live show and a disc for fifteen bucks?!
NO TIPS PLEASE. I don't do it for the money.
This last road stint was solo........2200 miles three states, nine shows. All of the shows were very enjoyable as a writer with people who were listening and really not afraid to have fun with the music. I made it back from Las Cruces at about four am on Sunday morning. as I rolled onto the rain soaked ranch road, I realized that I had not slept since the show I had played with Kene Terry in Portales two nights before. The book reads as follows: played the Portales show to a great group of people, found the hwy to Las Cruces and an in-store performance at Hastings....more great people, dinner at the world famous La Posta restaurant, played the show at one of the coolest bars in the world....El Patio, to a terrific group of appricionados and then found my way home, a quick four hours away.
I just woke up this morning (thirty hours later) to Danielle bringing in fresh eggs from the coop, basil, squash and cucumbers from the garden looks like breakfast is about to happen.
Coffee is brewin'.....more soon.
Andy
journal entry
06.10.07
Owed to God and Country
it's time to be careful now. after two long years filled with a desire to release our second full length original set of recordings....it's out, free to fly or fall. it's a good sound recording and package, derived from artistic talents of the best i know in "the business". judging by the release show turn out and professional review to-date, it seems to be flying and i'm grateful and relieved. in the end i'll write and sing whatever i damned well please, no matter how eclectic or off the beaten path. as a writer i allow myself all words, all rhythm and all thoughts in an effort to avoid the latest country music craze of one-dimensional "redneck" lyric as well as to avoid insulting the intelligence of a good listening audience. i've learned, not everyone who comes to see a show or buys a disc, has good intentions. does this surprise you? it surprised me at first. most do have good intentions of course, and i've had the pleasure to meet thousands of terrific people through music and art, my best friends in fact and i've heard and learned from every story they've ever shared. however, some would just as soon see failure or cast bitter criticism....... having never created or invested themselves in any art form they can truly stand behind. i'm a fan of music based on lyric and melodic thought and i can honestly say there is no one for whom i wish failure, furthermore, the art/artist will have to support community long before community will support the art........ careful, careful....... don't screw around and cast uneducated criticism...... the artist and the community will collectively kick your ass. please understand..... artists true to themselves will never fail.
Owed to God and Country part ll the show, the people.
someone in the van said that we were enjoying the light from a "blue moon" as we drove to pioneer hall in sonoita for the God and country release party and community dance. i guess a blue moon is what we call two full moons' occurring in the same month, someone else in the van then asked if we could release another disc sometime before the next blue moon, and we all had a good laugh. i could see the leaves from the soap-tree yucca glistening as the new stalks stretched and made a strong showing for the calm and illuminated nighttime summer sky...... i love arizona...... i was feeling relaxed and prepared for the show that night, more than ever actu
ally. the band was in place and had sounded great at the rehearsal in tucson just a night or two before. i had the set lists printed out, set times in place, new strings on my favorite guitar, a clean pair of jeans, cool friends all around, a three beer buzz and a good new disc to talk about. daniel simonis and the west texas millionaires were on first, did a great job...... then my plan was to play all of the songs from the new disc, top to bottom, i'd play a few on my own as would bruce andre (a good friend, multi talented artist and the MC for the evening) then the band would all get together on stage and wind things up with tunes from the compañero blanco disc. we knew that at some point our buddies from shurman would crash the stage (after a performance in tucson they were gonna come down and jam) and i was hoping that my friend karen carter (a co-writer on a number of the new tunes as well as some compañero blanco tunes) would take the stage for some of that perfect harmony she is known for in studio. it all happened just like we planned................... do you believe me? of course we knew it would never happen in that particular order........... but it was a great looking crowd. the show ran long and i was feeling like the community got their money's worth. i know i got the rush. i saw three hundred friends from the stage.... got to say a brief hello to a few friends after the show, bruce andre broke out with an acoustic ax and sang a celebratory cd release song.... making fun of me of course as he wrote lyric right on the spot.... something he is known for all over the world. we all laughed our tails off and surveyed the hall.....once the unforgiving florescent lights were turned back on, it looked to me as though a mexican beer factory had exploded, bottles and peanut shells were strewn all over, complimented nicely by the corn meal on the wooden dance floor.....i had a few minutes alone to reflect once we all got back to the ranch and before the rest of the all nighter started..... i realized that my set list was gone, most of the band (save simeon and erik truelove) had dispersed, my three beer buzz had been replaced by a calm resolve, my jeans were filthy, my strings on my guitar would need to be replaced but i still had a bunch of friends and family around and a new disc to talk about.............. here i am talking/writing. thanks for looking in on the site. the purpose of this journal is to stay in touch with friends, document the fun brought about by music and voice opinion in order to evoke thoughts and actions.... i hope some of this is entertaining as well.. all the best.
Andy
journal entry
05.04.07
good month
it's been over a month since i've thanked everyone who checks in on the website journal. therefore, thanks for making it to the shows, thanks for the e-notes, thanks for the kind thoughts and stories of life.
this month or so has been a series of one-two punches. mostly playing shows on weekends ...... south by southwest in austin and then back to tucson. lubbock then deming, durango then gunnison and home in time for easter dinner (thanks mark febbo)......how was your easter?
this month has encompassed birthdays, a series of good shows, creativity, and more preparations for the release of "God and country".....how's by you? doin' good i hope.
a few things come to mind as i write today....very few things...... ever have one of those days?
quick note, please check out www.corblund.com. corb played tempe az last week which is no small task when you consider that he calls alberta his home. his most recent disc is titled "hair in my eyes like a highland steer" which has won canadian music awards. i've seen him live a number of times with his brothers in the band...."the hurtin' albertans" and i know a number of people like me, who discovered corb's writing and had to have his entire catalog.....some of which you can get on vinyl....did i spell that right?
we are looking forward to another good month. it's starting to feel like summer around the rancho and we have much to be thankful for. i hope all is peaceful where you are. more soon.
Andy
journal entry
03.06.07
back from reality
i knew i shouldn't have said anything...........but there i was on stage, trying to be funny and cool...... all the while talking about something which would never come to fruition. The thing is, i had gotten a call from the people casting a "reality" type show for country music television titled "america's top cowboy". the call came in a few weeks ago and they told me they were down to choosing the final 6 out of 25 "contestants"...with 2 alternates. the next call was a voice on the line congratulating me on making the cut. i was to be on the ninety minute feature show....the producers would call soon. this is when i started running my damned mouth, asking even my best friends to wish me luck and planning what i was going to say when i won the fifty-thousand dollar prize money.
I had as many questions for the producers as they had for me and the conversation ended abruptly with many of my questions re the production still unanswered..........i think i inadvertently talked my way out of the show. Yesterday the call from the casting people..... said they had "reconfigured the casting format" or something, and i was out.......so, back to the point of our story. in reality "America's top cowboys" are still alive in some form, however, any modern contest with the good cowboys today (and our modern medicine) will be symbolic compared to the plight of the cowboys who created and rode the chisholm trail. (this is what i was gonna say when i won the fifty large) I wish all the best for the cowboys on the show and i would have enjoyed being a part of it, excuse me now, i just got back from "reality" and i have to call all of my best friends and tell them i was full of shit.
as always, thanks for looking in on the website. I hope all is well with you and yours. the days on the ranch have been beautiful since the wind stopped blowing....gonna go saddle a horse and maybe look for a billboard. more soon.
Andy
journal entry one will encounter as a troubadour.....i recall sliding sideways @ 35mph through a herd of elk on the road just north of durango and FYI .....when you see the big game crossing sign and the yellow lights flashing as a warning for elk on the roadway, it might be too late. i was lucky....the elk actually should be credited with avoiding an accident. Also, I got a chance to get horseback with a newfound friend...rick baird...who runs a ranch on the new mexico line. rick used to be a state brand inspector in AZ and we knew about two hundred people in common. The local paper was kind to run a story about the music in gunnison and it was great to see Kode and Joy as well as a number of their friends at the show. i made it down the eastern slope and just five miles outside of pueblo when the transmission went out on the rig..i can't say i didn't see it coming, but i thought i might get just a couple more thousand miles out of it..wrong. got the trans fixed and made it to the denver show. we were few but we were proud and i'm grateful for the appricionados coming down from eagle and other parts north to see the show. leaving denver that night...detour signs having been blown over by the frigid wind, i had one hell of a time finding the rt. south and ended up getting on a state rt. just to be able to find myself on the map. made it ten miles north of colorado springs before i could feel the transmission slipping out of gear again.....no, not joking. the only thing more dangerous than being on icy roads is being on icy roads with the tranny engaging at random. spent the night in the van (in 13 below ), thank goodness for the diamond shamrock coffee, left the motor running and got towed again to the aamco in co springs in the a.m.. the tech said it was a faulty part. i had 48 hrs to get to abilene, had to cancel lubbock. got to abilene and the people were great...i kept my road story to myself. austin was great, lost $20 on a long distance bet re the superbowl (my favorite team is the point spread) and played the hilltop bar on "superbowl monday" ....thats the day when everyone is hung over. i made it home to danielle and the boys fifteen hours later with bags under my eyes and a smile...good to be home for a while. The AZ shows are great, played a few tunes on stage with RCPM last weekend and looking forward to a new disc release and the release show as well. The "between God and country" tunes will be our sophomore indie release. when i say "our" i mean..... my family, the people involved with production, the brothers in the band, and the folks who are credited with keeping this website afloat www.tomeistudios.com as well as bookings.... my friend and co-writer, karen carter, other talented musicians...the guys from www.shurmanville.com, www.azpeacemakers.com, www.vincemoreno.com, www.eriktruelove.com who are constantly encouraging me to stick with the feeling we all know to be true about this music biz craziness. I'm feeling more of a buzz about this release than the last one. i'm grateful for the hometown press and the e-mails from folks who have recently found our brand of music. please keep yours eyes out for a release date and the shows to follow....it's been too long, I hope this note finds you and yours, happy and healthy. journal entry
03.01.07
too long
thanks again for looking in on the website friends........too long since the last note. last month's road trip was as eventful as ever. most of the clubs i played were new places and the people were terrific. The road itself on the other hand was quite trying. i found myself passing derelict rigs (i-40 just west of holbrook) which just a few mile earlier had passed me with a distinct and cavalier indifference to the dangers of ice and slush as the driver covered my windshield and then hit the brakes. legally as motorists we are obligated to stop and render aid. but everybody looked to be upright in the median and if i were to stop, i might have ended up doing more harm than good to that driver......not really, but it sure sounds tough ...don't it? They closed 40 and i found myself in holbrook for two days...loved it. i tried to update this blog right then, however the hotel computer ate all of my lil' bits of trivia before i could punch "send". I walked into a place called "young's corral" Jack Young proprietor. hell of a good guy.....allowed an impromptu show for about a dozen people the next night and told me all about the pony express ride to take place ...snow or shine ....the next week. These are the guys who get sworn in as actual mail carriers and carry the mail horseback from holbrook, down off of the mogollon rim, through payson and into downtown scottsdale with a police escort. these are the last of the mail carriers to carry on the tradition and makes me even more proud to be from arizona.
Too many miles and too much has happened since to write about all of the unique people
01.02.07
looking back, looking forward
i'm looking back on the last road stint with shurman which came to a close at the two day mexfest in pto. peñasco mexico. roger clyne and the peacemakers played host to three thousand people for "circus mexicus" as well as shurman, todd snyder, jason boots and called me out on stage for the cameo and maiden performance of a song rog and i wrote called "wake up call". wake up call is kinda like .......tom clancy meets the three amigos in song. it had been some time since i had played the tune and roger was on his toes when he picked up the lines i had misplaced or dropped during the performance..i can't remember ever being speechless on stage...until (as i walked on stage) roger invited me to the mic to introduce the song......um, yeah. i remember looking at the crowd and saying something....something. what was it? this was not due to booze overload but rather the inability to shift into performance mode....i guess i wasn't ready to take the stage... i may have still been on my ass from todd snyder's performance (which danielle, kyle and steve enjoyed down in front of the stage with friendly people from chicago, cleveland) i came up with all kinds of clever crap to say right after i stepped off stage. that has never happened before and i pray, never again. it was still fun, and i'm proud of the rcpm camp for what they have created at their event. circus mexicus started some years ago with a crowd one hundred strong. glad to say i was at that one too.
my family and our friends lester and cassandra (www.tomeistudios.com) had rented a house within banana boat distance from the outdoor stage..we extended the weekend through monday and we all enjoyed lester and cassandra's accounts of adventurous journeys to find lost missions in various parts of mexico...... sin motivo. as lester and i sat on the back steps of the beachhouse and the front steps to the baja, we decided that all "patrons of the arts" might now be called "apprecionados". we think this might be more inclusive and encompass more of the art we love in life than just the word "fan." so, thanks goes out to all of the apprecionados, looking forward to the next time.
Jan. 11, '07
down time, over.
i saw a group of my high school buddies at a toys for tots show at berky's bar in tucson. great guys dave, scott, matt & my friend richie says i needed to knock the damned cobwebs off this website and write something....so, here ya go rich.
the great songwriter, roger miller said (about songwriting) "sometimes the well runs dry and you have to wait for it to fill back up before you can write again". that's cool enough however miller also said (about willie nelson) that willie "flushes to the beat of a different plumber" so i'll accept his wisdom with all confidence. at the same time i can tell you that some of the songs i've started to write i haven't finished because i'm not done living them yet. i think i'm just gonna make up some stories and get on my songwriting horse. i'll tell you later if my buddy richie likes 'em or not.
the down time has been enjoyable, looking forward to another short road stint, solo, starting next week. we've gotten a number of projects done on the ranch and now i'm turning my thoughts back to my pen, my road map and breaking guitar strings. hope to see you at a show. thanks for tuning in.
journal entry
10.22.06
music , music, music
Tales.
Dallas, poor david's pub
Back on track. the last time i'd played in dallas, i had my band with me and we played at a place called adare's. the club owner was fine to work with and said we could come back any time....paid us well enough........ the crowd was friendly and somewhat receptive to my tunes but wanted us to play cash songs all night.........i dig cash as much as anybody does............anybody........ and i played all of the cash songs i knew. forgive me for saying that i'll be damned if i'll roll thousands of miles one way to simply play someone else's tunes. The crowd at poor david's pub this time around was as quiet and respectful l as could be for some guy with the straw c'boy hat from so. AZ… playing solo with an acoustic ax and with talent yet to be proven.....not that the room wasn't extremely alive, just very respectful. i was feeling as comfortable and relaxed as i have ever been on stage......much of Aaron's family was there and i wanted to make him proud. i believe this was the best performance i'd put forward on this particular road trip and i was actually satisfied. the room was filled with emotion when shurman took to the lights, so many times it's impossible to see the audience due to stage lighting....eye contact is unobtainable, somehow aaron got it done. the whole band got it done. they knew the room, the room knew them and we all shared the rush from the energy and the music. music , music, music.
Tales
austin, continental club
The shurman show was flat out, in your face, original indie americana, at it's best. I don't care where you claim to be from..............that is to say, by any standard, these boys brought it. there were three bands on the bill that night, the booking happened late, so, no room for yours truly. i'm actually glad it happened that way, the energy in the room might come down if you put a soloist on the bill between two full volume artist and bands......i was glad to listen from the back of the hall and help break the fall of those people who might be unfamiliar with shurman's music as they fell backwards on their asses. i'm looking forward to see what jayson (one of the best guys you'll meet and the videographer documenting this tour) captured on hi def. jayson does great work and always found a way to work with whatever light provided from venue to venue to capture the magic when it happens.........he's got several dozen hours of tape he'll be editing once he gets back home.....lots of work to be sure. when you figure he documented a rock band which covered over 7000 miles in five weeks..............i'll bet he's got sixty hours of tape to edit ...........can't wait to see it and i'm past positive it will be pro. love ya brother.
Tales
directions from austin to the ranch.
From austin, take 290 west through fredricksburg. get on i-10 and follow the signs west for fifteen hours. if you need to make up some time.....let's say you need to get to pto. penasco mexico two nights later to join roger clyne and the peacemakers and three thousand of their friends for a lil' party called circus mexicus......it's good to drive in shifts. aaron and i took the first shift through fredricksburg and several hundred miles of i-10. keith and nelson took the next few hundred miles through tx. then damon and jayson. although all of us have endured much longer shifts on various other road stints, there was no need for one guy to shoulder the burden of the wheel and much safer when the driver isn't tired.
when we left austin, it wasn't long before aaron and i were the only ones awake. it was a beautiful day to be on the road and we had a chance to recap much of what had just gone on. aaron understands the art from the inside out, he lives it. he understands to trust art and knows what he wants.....i know he'll get it. he knows he's got it. it would be talking out of school to run the list of subjects discussed and the personalities of the guys in the band, but i will tell you that there was no conflict anywhere, anytime and these guys were very kind to invite me in the first place and given the chance i'll be there again. the music is one thing and i've expressed my thoughts and admiration for the depth of talent which is shurman, living together at the mercy of countless public places and strangers is another thing. these guys hold together stronger than the ties holding railroad tracks and i'm glad to call them my brothers. five weeks out, a new set of shurman tunes recorded at sixteen ton studios in nashville, a few new publishers where i might send my song offerings and new friends at every venue.
while we were out this time........the shurman boys and i collectively endured the loss of two family members.......god bless them. we missed a number of birthday celebrations at home including my own and my son steve (thanks for understanding young man....i love you) and any number of anniversaries.........thanks for tuning in to the website and more about circus mexicus tomorrow.
Shurman's YouTube page with video journal entries from the road and Sixteen Tons recording studio is at...
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=shurmanband
journal entry
10.7.06
oh atlanta
with a rock record complete and a select few publishers now willing to accept my songwritings offerings, we gave danny white a handshake and a hug and rolled south out of nashville. a few hours later i woke to see the lights of downtown atlanta from the front bench seat in the van. we were on our way to damon and aaron's hometown stomping ground and family home. the show was like a homecoming party for the shurman boys......lots of great people in the room all of them beaming with pride for the association with these guys. the show was the best i've seen and felt so far, save some of the magic which took place in the studio. if you get a chance, shoot over to shurmanville.com and also check out the YouTube video for a more vivid picture of the events in the studio. urgent family priorities have caused us to cancel our part of the show in mobile.....we are sorry we won't be making it to alabama this time. the tour picks back up in dallas. i hope all is well with you and yours....more soon,
Andy
journal entry
10.1.06
tales kinda blurry
denver and the three kings night club, small but enthusiastic crowd...nice to meet ya all.
fox theater the following night....great venue, I'd played there supporting rcpm on the sonoran hope tour.......no room for me on the bill this time. shurman put on a fine show and some of the great people from the three kings show made the trek ......we were glad for that for sure.
Now, about all of this wind in kansas. we stopped at a state park for a songwriting session around a picnic table and a beer or two before setting up camp.....the tents felt more like hammocks due to the 30 plus mph winds howling off of the lake....this was the same wind we would encounter all day long on our eastern heading.... dangerous driving conditions and my hands needed to be pried from the wheel when we finally came to a halt.
we rolled east on 70 and found our way to abilene....quick stop to say hello to the proprietors of the lebold mansion which is built over the top of the dug out my great, great granddad built when the town was founded......more on this later.
the kc show was a romp and i'd like to go back, the chi-town show was the same great time it always is when our friend chris mota is at the helm.
it was great to meet keith hanna's family in cleveland and shurman put on quite a rock and roll event. thanks to all of the hanna family....lot's of love surrounds those great folks.
on to Nashvegas.....my first night in town i called my friend vince moreno.......eric truelove had called earlier that day and said he thought that vince was in nashville as well. Yep, vince was in town with an artist he has been with for awhile now, neil mccoy. they were playing at the opry. the opry. the grand ol' opry. what's that vince? do i want to go? what's that you say? a guest of the band? on the bus and backstage?............I saw my long time friend vince play his first appearance at the grand old opry....that's right, the kid from willcox az. who has worked harder than anyone i know at various clubs in tucson az.........my buddy played the opry. what's more, one of the songs was just neil's voice and vince's keyboard playing to a full opryland crowd. neil told the audience of this being vince's first time on this legendary stage....then called him out from behind the keys to the center of the stage for the photo op. I gave my brother a huge sidestage after the performance...the busses were loaded and down the road neil and the band went......nice to meet all of those guys and i couldn't be more proud of vince.....oh, by the way he played his part perfectly and effortlessly....not too bad considering the nervousness.....if that had been me having to play out there..... i would have been so tense, you couldn't have driven a needle up my ass.
the AMA awards were a thrill. the highlight for me was when vince gill introduced rodney crowell for a lifetime achievement award and told tales of how and when rodney had influenced him.....as an artist, a father, a man, a guitar player and writer.......it was as though vince couldn't stop praising rodney's integrity....and nobody in the room wanted him to stop.......................true heroes.
shurman is in the studio now and there have already been a series of magic moments.....i'll be knocking on publisher's doors if you need me, wish me luck.
thanks for looking in on us, all the best, more soon.
Andy
journal entry
9.9.06
shurman sojourn
the first of the road shows with shurman kicked off for me in williams az. at the world famous sultana with chopper dan being a terrific host and the good people of williams ready for a rock and roll show. they got one. i warmed up the crowd with a few tunes, but the room was already torrid and the shurman show was scalding.........great to see a good turnout, familiar faces and newfound friends. the shurman boys played a new tune or two and the crowd was very responsive. that is to say, they danced their collective asses off.
the road to aspen started at the crack of noon, we stopped and set up camp just after hitting the ut. border, just after dark. I started the fire, keith was camp cook, the rest of the men found soft spots to pitch the tents and the sojourn was underway. we passed the bottle around the fire and talked of future success with levity. we woke to see vast and gorgeous country, shook the dew from the bed rolls and made our way toward aspen.
aspen is terrific........and um.......expensive. the walls of the venue were covered with nicely framed pictures of artists and the dates of prior shows....kristofferson had just played there in august......roger clyne and the peacemakers pictured with the men from shurman dressed as pirates as they crashed the stage made the hall complete. the stage was world class at the belly up, great sound & lights as well as fine technicians to run things. before the show, we enjoyed dinner at a place called KENICHI, this may have been the finest "dining" experience i've ever had. kobe beef, sushi, japanese beer, wine. i'm unfamiliar with most of the courses we enjoyed...... numerous, seemingly endless and we savored all. if you are ever in aspen, austin, kona or dallas....do yourself a favor........next stop denver. more soon, thanks for looking in on us.
journal entry
8.31.06
tall tales made short
thanks for looking in on the latest journal. some of the events or accounts written about are straight out of the handwritten journal i keep for myself, some entries are too long and too personal to share. here is the long ... (a) section… and short (b) section… of today's journal. none of the names are ever changed and no one is innocent.
(a) It all started with my son and i stopping in the steakout in sonoita az. for a hamburger last sat. afternoon. we talked about father/son stuff ...........i feel like i should keep very current with this good young man with the idea that he has just started high school and things change fast. On the way out the door we ran into a few friends, one of whom, Roy,............... a great man who is enjoying remarkable life and has a million stories to tell ........... accounts of everything from running for office to running from the mob.......was asking if danielle and i were planning on going to the willie nelson show in phx the following day........sunday. Roy and i have a running joke (nothing to do with any previous running mentioned) about willie and how disgusted roy was when we both happened to be at a willie concert a few years ago in tucson and somehow i had scored seats directly in front of him.......same seats one row ahead of him! this irked him. But not so much i guess, he said he couldn't go to this particular willie show and would i like to have his tickets.....well friends, there is only one answer to that question and after i got over the initial shock that the song writing/guitar playing hero known to us kids as WILLIE NELSON was in az. and i had forgotten, i gladly accepted the tix.......third row. cricket pavilion.
(b) my son and i stopped and a hamburger, i ran into a buddy of mine, he gave me some tix for a willie concert last sunday.
(a) The show was great. willie played an hour long set in front of john fogerty. the ability to sing badass lyric into the mic and then step back and find the same emotion via guitar string is amazing and both of those guys get it done. the seats were great, thanks roy.
I have played a few times at the hilltop bar outside of austin tx. which is owned by willie's stage and road manager....poodie locke. jimmy lee jones is a texas artist and had introduced me to poodie one night at the club. on a whim, i called poodie before the willie show and welcomed him back to az ........reminded him of our intro and my that my band had played at his bar.............. asked how this particular road stint was going. he remembered my band and asked how the biz was treating me, he said the road stint had started in july and willie and family would be out for another two weeks. I asked if he had time to say hello as i would like him to meet danielle, he cleared us at the back gate and we pulled in and parked next to one of ten busses. this particular bus is the one which carries poodie, kenney, a couple of other great guys in the crew whos names i can't remember just now. and jody payne. jody payne is a great guitar player and has been willie's guitar and harmony wing man for about forty years as well as an artist in his own right. jody's son, waylon payne, played the roll of jerry lee lewis in the recent film "walk the line". talent runs in the family ....huh? i introduced dan to jody and poodie, and the guys, opened a bottle of anejo i happened to have.. we talked about any number of music related things. ray wiley hubbard's latest. "snake farm" jody's latest. the state of FM radio and i pointed out how ironic it was that the FM station doing the remote from the parking lot.............. didn't play enough willie. i got some great advise from both of those guys re music biz. after about a half an hour or so, not wanting to wear out our welcome, i stood up and shook hands, thanked the guys for welcoming us and sharing some time. as dan and i stepped out into the hot night ....jody thanked us for letting the band entertain us........... danielle was taken back by what he said, such honest talent accompanied by such humility.
(b) the show was great. i sneaked backstage and drank tequila. i like ray wiley hubbard.
(a and b) I'm glad willie and family's tall tales haven't been made short. the secret of longevity must directly relate to honest talent and humility.
Thanks for finding your way to our site... please check out our shows page as well as www.shurmanville.com. the road stint starts in less than two weeks. i'm going out solo as support for shurman's cross country rock storm................. i'm not sure what they are really gonna name the tour......but i'm looking forward to rocking with my friends.........it would be great to see new faces as well as familiar at the shows. i hope this note finds you well. more soon.
journal entry
8.16 - 8.17.06
troubadour journal
twenty five hours, twenty-three minutes, phx.
With thoughts of september and the road i settled into a hammock and a book about will rogers. i've read it before....i think. it's reading very familiar. this was at approx. 6pm which meant i had about an hour before the sun would go down and send the hens to their roost. i could hear the phone rattling in the house .....but i could not reach it. aw shucks. the juniper trees i was swinging from stand about twenty five yards from the house....whoever planted them knew what they were doing. these trees were planted just under ten feet apart and align northeast to southwest ...perfect for.....forgive me, "hammocking". after a few pages of the book had been read, the horses were fed and the coop door closed, i reluctantly went to check the message on the tele. my partner, brother and friend, roger asked that i call. okay, cool call.......... we had been playing marco polo on the ....forgive me...telephono for the past few days. i called him back, he was just sitting down to dinner and would call back after he kissed the kids good night.....okay pal, just so you know TAG, YOU'RE IT. long and short, i was on the road to phx. at 10pm with plans in place to write with roger in the AM.... and record the tune......pre-production, demo, on a song we have been trying to find time to sit down and finish together for quite some time. roger and his band are the strongest independent band you will find and therefore on the road a considerable amount of the year, so any window of time he and i, or our families can find to spend together is important to us. i pulled up to the house just before midnight and parked it. i guess i caught rog just before he hit the hay. he walked out front to greet me.....right hand shake, left arm hug....."wanna beer"? "naw, thanks rojilio, i'm too tired".........."yeah, me too, i was just trying to be nice". we then made plans for mornin'.
just before 8am. sounds of clyne kids giggling as i wake to see three sets of bright eyes waiting to hand me a coffee mug which says "kartchner caverns state park" on the side. kids were off to school and the coffee continued along with the final verse to the song........ rog and i wrote, laughed, talked about how clever and funny we are, laughed some more, talked about how full of crap we are, and then went to the studio to meet P.H. (drummer/vocalist and driving force for roger clyne and the peacemakers) early in the afternoon, song in hand. I suppose i'm not a big fan of recording. the thing is, first you've got to sing or play in order to record it, then, you have to listen and dictate the performance.....repeatedly. a recording studio atmosphere is very unforgiving and i don't need to hear myself sing anymore than i need to hear myself sing..........are ya with me?
Well, after alot more laughter in the studio, after singing "call and answer" lines with roger and amending a word or two, we left the studio with a rough mix of our session on disc for further review via hi-fi. back at the clyne casa dinner was in the makings and i accepted the invite. then the highway back to the hersey house. i was glad traffic was light as i hit kerr blvd. i was wishing i would have had time to call other friends in town..lester & casey, chad, brendan, mike, chris, dog,.......and on. i got back to the ranch at 11:23 pm. twenty five hours and twenty three min. after i had turned the key to leave. i didn't listen to any music at all over the 175 one way jaunt....that is until i turned the key to accessory and the disc player on in the gig rig while it sat cooling in the driveway. had to check out the session from earlier that day.....i laughed some more and took the key out of the rig and started hunting a pillow.
Thanks for finding these webpages, i hope all is well with you and yours. more soon.
Andy
journal entry
8.4 - 8.6.06
songwriter/ troubadour account of AZ. NM. CO.
past the point of giving a shit whether or not an agent or venue owner hires my band......i took to the southwestern state hwys. ....solo........found my way off I-10, onto state rt. 191 and the apache natl. forest...not really a camp ground, more like a place where i felt like pulling off to the side of the road and parking the overloaded son of a bitch. not one car passed by during the night .....not one.............. a lot of rain over the past few days in that country.......that's what everyone was talking about at the garage sale I happened upon just outside of Luna nm the next day......morning?....probably not. bought a vintage quiver full of arrows for my son....Kyle. I was thinking about a song which a friend of mine is writing....and then another song another friend of mine and i are writing.....then.....a song I found with a newfound friend................the open country of western NM............... whom I was reintroduced to........... just west of Magdalena..............I was wondering if we could finish this tune by the time i hit the next "campground". turkey, elk, more turkey, coyotes, raccoons, more turkey, deer, birds of prey which i shouldn't try to exact by name (i know they weren't turkeys)......magestic and beautiful. i'm not sure what was wrong with the people there.....they ALL waved to me as i drove down the road....like they knew me or something..... men & women horseback, guys on quad runners, "traffic"....all seven cars over 150 miles....headed west, a well driller, a carpentry crew, tourists at rest stops,.... the sheriff......what the hell has this part of the world come to? how rude! ....now i'm forced to wave back....hell, a guy could throw his elbow out of place or something..............I almost cried!....... due to the pain in my elbow, of course. How beautiful?
None of this has anything to do with the destination......do i wish i knew where i was going? Ended up at willee's blues bar in santa fe, the library bar and grill in alb. and found my way to the blueford inn just south of raton nm on saturday night........the BLUE FORD inn is a great place to stay if you are ever in that part of northern nm.......of course it might be that you stay at the TAN SUBURBAN inn or the YELLOW MUSTANG inn or maybe the RUSTY OL' GMC inn....depending on what you are driving......not bad for the price.
Sunday was a lot like the road........found my way to a rest stop just south of trinidad co. finished a book i had been reading and tried to ignore full grown truck drivers while they took their miniature dogs for a piss and talked to the dogs as if the damned k-9's understood baby language ( i almost threw up on page 411 of my book), Later....put pen to paper my own self...the writing credits for this tune will read Hersey/western nm. later again, i started for trinidad...the nice lady at the bar in raton nm said that i would have more luck finding a place to play my tunes in trinidad...approx. 17 miles north...........no kidding? the hollywood bar? from left to right as i walked in this unfamiliar tavern...unannounced, guitar case in hand, Mike, his son Joel,............ Mikes' girlfriend who didn't like me ......(i can't understand that, they love me in nm.) Cleo, Laurence, Al & his wife (who would be there any minute) and "red" tending bar.....the interchangeable wooden sign with burned letters which read "now on duty" .............you guessed it ...."RED".
Songwriter to barkeep; excuse me ....um.....Miss RED, do y'all ever have live music here?
Miss Red to songwriter; no.......used too. What can I get ya?
Songwriter to Miss Red; is there a stage around town where a guy can make a dollar playing original tunes ....or ......ya wanna hear some right here? right now? how about a bud?
Miss Red to songwriter; sure, here's your bud.
I played for awhile,....maybe a half a dozen tunes..........ten more people walked into the place and quietly nodded to those already sitting around the hot corner of the bar (every bar has a "hot corner" where locals have regular seats and are IN the inside jokes)....all knew each other....no one spoke.............. out of respect...........respect for the fire eyed,. stinking, guitar/ harp player from southern az........ with the hat......whom no one there knew.....playing songs they had never heard and genuinely applauding the art.....not so much the songs or presentation but the idea of a poet telling his story, singing his shit, like it or not,........thank God and the good folks of Trinidad CO. for liking it.........ya know, poets REALLY need that...........yes they do. Thanks for looking in.... I hope all is well with you and yours....... more to come.
Andy
journal entry
6.25.06
Hola friends,
Thanks to all who have been making it out to the shows we've been playing. Writer's mode is still in effect and we have a number of things happening before the end of the year, We have new recordings we are planning on turning loose and a road show or two.
The summer solstice brought just enough rain to measure here at the Rancho and what there is left of the southern AZ. grasslands which hasn't blown away is thereatened by fire everyday..............We'll be raindancin' until we see y'all at the shows.
As always, Thanks for looking in on us.
Andy
journal entry
3.5.06
Hello friends,
The Equine voices fundraiser was a complete success and the organizeres did a terrific job. thank you to everyone who came to the event and please note that anyone who can show proof of a $100 donation to equinevoices.org will get into our April 22nd community dance in Sonoita free of charge.
Last week proved to be a great amount of fun for the band...Red Garter Saloon in Tucson, The last exit in Tempe and the Museum Club in Flagstaff......I saw some friends I hadn't seen for a long time in Flagstaff They said they had moved to Flag, saw the Band advertised in the paper and wondered if it was the same guy they used to listen to ten years ago................Yep,........thats me baby............ still kickin'! Thanks to everybody who came to the shows.
Also, a very special thanks to Lester and Cassandra at TomeiStudios.com ............ for the encouragement & cammraderie, the love & friendship, the insight & wisdom.......................oh yeah, and the beer, Gracias from the entire band. As always thanks for looking in on the site.
All in all times are good here on the ranch........ haven't had to bust the ice off of the water troughs for awhile now, this year's spring chicks are getting feathers on the tips of thier wings, two days ago a trace of rain hit the ground...just enough to remind us all of what wet grass smells like and stir our emotions. I hope this letter finds you and yours well.....more soon,
Andy