7.24.2008

Howdy,

Well, I again failed to update the blog day in and day out as I had hoped, but the hotel did not offer free wifi as I was told.  blah blah blah.  Point is, I just didnt' get it done.  I hope you enjoyed my little video of the guitar pool.  that was on the first day of meetings.  I actually had a great time going up and down music row east and west.  For those of you who are interested, music row east is 16th avenue south and music row west is 17th avenue south.  When people used to talk about music row I would always have this picture in my mind of this great wide street with big shiny buildings plated in glass and gold.  But the truth is, for the most part it's two streets of smallish, older, nicely kept houses, and besides the nice signs outfront, it looks like any other neighborhood you'd find in a college town. 

As I've made connections over the years, it's gotten much easier to get in to places.  To actually get into the offices, sit down and talk with the staff, instead of being told to just drop your stuff off at the front desk.  That sounds like a small difference, but it was a monumental paradigm change. 

Here is my classic Nashville story from this trip.  I went into this big building with a lobby the size of a football field for my first meeting of the day last Wednesday.  This man comes out in a three-piece suit and calls me into his office.  The office looks like it belongs to Ron Burgandy.  There is a plush leather couch, leather-bound books in a dark wood case, a high-back leather chair, and the whole joint smells of mahogany.  I'm trying hard not to blurt out "Good Night San Francisco, you stay classy."  Anyway, this man doesn't look at me, just asks for my music.  He pops in the cd and turns his chair around so I'm looking at the back side.  I can't see him at all.  As the music starts I see his arm reach down under the desk and it pulls up a box of Cheerios.  I then hear him pour some into a bowl.  He puts the box back, but the arm then pulls up a small carton of milk.  Then there's crunching.  This dude is eating cheerios for breakfast while my music is playing.  Now!...I've eaten a lot of cheerios in my lifetime and I know full well that when you're crunching you can't hear anything but the crunching.  This is a typical type of story, especially from my earlier days, but what's different this time is that when "Hinges" came on he stopped chomping.  And when "Rolling Thunder" came on he put the bowl away.  So we had a nice chat and the meeting ended well, but man, the beginning had me laughing.

That's about my funniest story.  I could bore you with a bunch more, but I'm not a cruel dude.  We won't know how much progress we made for another week or so, but the trip was worth it and I felt it went really well, even if nothing big comes directly from it. 

I will relate one other story.  I had a meeting with the president of Universal South Records and he was a super cool guy and was really helpful and encouraging.  But what was really cool is that he invited me to a private showcase that evening for their new signing, a guy named Jonathan Singleton.  He's the guy who wrote Gary Allan's hit "Watching Airplanes".  He's a phenomenal singer and a great songwriter as well.  There were a lot of heavy hitters there at the party.  For instance, I had Billy Currington sitting literally directly to my right and Scotty Emmrich (Toby Keith's writing partner) sitting at my left.  It was really a great time.  Scotty and I talked about the Cubs a lot.  Appearently he's a big fan.  I had to break the news to him that they still suck despite their record ;) And that they will break his heart...again.  I heard someone say that Gary Allan was supposed to be there, but I never saw him show.  Anyway, that was a great experience and a great insight to the way that small community in Nashville operates.  (Christ, I sound like biologist observing wild life!)

Anyhoo...

The band and I are gearing up for a great fall.  We've got several big gigs coming up here beginning in the middle of August:

August 15th - Windsor Harvest Festival
August 23rd - Cowden Pioneer Days
August 29th - Tentative Nashville Date
August 30th - Partiot Guard National Rally, Danville VA
September 6th - Arcola Broomcorn Festival
September 20th - Mid America Funfest
September 27th - Robinson Main Street Pub
October 4th - 2nd Annual Posse Roundup (this year's theme:  Three Bricks Shy...)

We hope to see you there!

Reading:
Kingdom of Fear - Hunter Thompson

Listening:
Steeldrivers - Steeldrivers (I am obsessed with these guys!)

Watching:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Where the Buffalo Roam
The Future is Unwritten (Story of Joe Strummer)
Stoney LaRue Live at Billy Bob's

Joke of the Week:
Question:  What's the difference between Sasquatch and a smart Cub's Fan?

Answer:  Sasquatch has actually been spotted.  zing!

That's All I got.  See you guys soon!!
Matt

And now for your moment of Zen:

Everything I've ever done was out of fear of being mediocre.
~ Chet Atkins

Howdy,

We got here today around 3:00pm.  We're staying at these really swank digs down on Broadway.  It's within walking distance of nearly everything.  Music Row is literally right around the corner and the Strip is just down the road. 

Side Note of History:
I'm actually right next to a gas station where, when I first came down here in Old Blue (my '79 heavy chevy), some dude jumped in my car one night while I was filling up and demanded I take him to his home some miles away.  He wasn't visibly armed and we were in a public place so I expressed my surprise in a colorful way and he left me alone.  I never locked my doors back home so why would I lock them here.  I do now:)

Anyway, I had one meeting today and that went very well, so we're off to a good start.  Met and chatted with Jimmy Wayne for a bit while I was waiting in the hallway of this joint on music row.  He was a real nice guy.  I then introduced my better half to the Opry Mills Mall tonight.  Had another chance meeting with Pete Finney, Reba's pedal steel player, who also played on my album Hinges, at the Gibson outlet store.  He's doing well and enjoying some downtime before hitting the road again in September.  I wish I had him AND a Gibson outlet store in Effingham!  Anyhoo, going to bed now.  You all be good and I'll meet you back here tomorrow!

Later on,
Matt

Well...not off, but I'll be a part of the bluegrass band, The Stitchgivers, this weekend at a wedding, instead of the usual.  Much less stress involved, and that can be a relief sometimes. 
Last Saturday, Flag Day, I played down in Flora IL for a POW/MIA memorial ceremony.  It was really moving to see those guys from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam there.  Some of them were prisoners of war for more than 5 years.  I can't imagine that.  5 years of your life spent in a prison in some foreign country, not being able to contact any loved ones at all.  No one knowing what happened to you.  Then just like that, you're back home.  How bizarre would that be?   To have some of those old-timers come up to me with tears in their eyes, thanking me for writing Rolling Thunder is a very surreal experience.  I don't know if I'll ever get used to that.  It's probably best that I don't.  God bless ALL the troops, past and present for doing what you do, so we don't have to.  

In other news, for those Posse members out there...Opie and Bethany had their baby.  She's a happy healthy little girl, from what I hear.  Congratulations to you guys!!   Also, Kristin married off her sister Karly a couple of weeks ago and she has posted on the forum that she has no other sibling weddings to interfere with any more of my shows:)  That's good news!  We miss you Kristin!!  The only thing that might keep her away is her OWN wedding, or a Dierks show...either would be understandable.  Kristin, you need to get me on tour with Dierks so we can just keep all the music together! ;)

June 27th, I'll be back out at the Rosebud, providing warmup entertainment for the Colgate Country Showdown.  I play from 5:00 - 6:00pm.  It's a free show, so come on out to support for your hometown heroes as they vie for the chance to win 50K and a recording contract. 

June 28th, I'll be out at the Harley Barn with Rolling Thunder for their annual Birthday Bash!  We'll be playing with The Georgia Satellites, so that's a show NOT to miss.  I think everyone should be able to have a Bash on their birthdays! 

Speaking of Bashes, it's not too early to start talking about Posse Roundup 2008.  Last year we had a softball tourny.  I'm looking for good ideas for this year.  We could always do softball again, but I'm not opposed to change either.  Let me hear your ideas!  If you're new to this list, the Roundup is an annual fanclub party that includes a tournament of somekind, a catered dinner, and an acoustic concert.  It's a great time had by all and a great warmup for the Fan Appreciation Concert that night.  Hope to see you there!

Listening to:
Dierks Bentley - Greatest Hits
Mudcrutch (Tom Petty's new/old band)
Eric Church - Sinners Like Me
Jerry Lee Lewis - 18 Original Sun Greatest Hits (The Killer)

Reading:
Willie Nelson - An Epic Life

Your Moment of Zen:
When a black person has no electricity, no water, they call it the ghetto. When white people have no electricity and no water, they call it camping.
~ Carlos Mencia 

Adios!
Matt

Howdy,

We had a blast last wednesday at the Rodeo Parade.  Thanks to all who stuck around for the show.  I heard that we raised 2K for the Scholarship fund buy all you guys who bought hamburgers and pork burgers.  For those of you who weren't there, you not only missed us, but you also missed a very special appearance by brother's Bill and Larry and The Ginn Sisters. 

Howdy All,

Just a couple of quick announcements:

1) I'm gonna be on TV tomorrow morning at 9:00 on WTWO in Terre Haute Indiana. (http://mywabashvalley.com/) This is news Channel 2 for those of us living in the Wabash Valley. I'll be on the Local Valley Spotlight. There will be a short interview followed by me singing "Guitar Slingin' Man" off the new album. Hope you can tune in!

2) We're gonna be out at Lake Sara Beach this Saturday from 7:00 - 9:00pm. We are headlining the Lake Sara Summer Kick off Party. It's a FREE event and an All Ages Show, so bring the whole family. The whole day at the beach will be filled with games and activities and plenty of food and drink to go around. If you want some cold adult beverages then you'll have to bring those yourself. Hope to See You out there! Did I mention FREE!

3) And....we are a mere 7 short days away from the "Hinges" Album Release Party out at the Rosebud Theatre, May 30th. This is a FREE show, Friday May 30th at 7:00pm. It will feature my band, Rolling Thunder as well as Special Guests, The Stitchgivers (Bill Martin, Larry Paul Passalacqua, Ted Grunloh, Bill Passalacqua, and Tommy James), Fran Bergfeld, Alex Thoele, and Ben Siemer. It will be a night of music and hope you can make it out there!! It is a FREE show but you do need a ticket, and that can be found at The Rosebud Theatre and from WCRC in Effingham. Again...did I mention FREE!!!!! This is for the fans and I hope to see you ALL there!

4) Last but not least...Bravo Company's (Effingham's Guard Unit) deployment has been pushed up to June from September, so the folks at Legacy Harley Davidson have pushed up their going away Party from August 9th to May 31st . These guys have already been overseas a couple of times so let's all send them off with a bang and show our support by helping them party the night away May 31st. Me and Rolling Thunder were supposed to play and I'm still hoping we can, but if we can't as a band then I will hopefully get to play some solo. I'll be there regardless of whether I'm playing or not. I hope you can make it out too. I'm hearing strong rumors of a pig in the ground and beer on ice.

All right...that's all I got for now. Hope this finds you well and I hope to see you soon!

cheers - Poss

"High On A mountain, tell me what you see
Fourteen Hippies and They were coming after me..."

The above couplet is from a song a banjo/fiddle/guitar playing friend mine and Marty's, named Tommy James, wrote and was a hit of massive proportions at the 36th annual Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival, other wise known simply as "Winfield".   For those of you who aren't familiar, I'll do my best to explain what this is:  Take thirty thousand acoustic instrument playing musicians from all walks of life, place them in the middle of a river bottom fair grounds outside of Winfield Kansas and turn them loose to wreak havoc and that's Winfield.  It is a site to behold.  Just the sheer mass of string instruments is staggering.  You've never seen so many Hippies, Hillbillies, Professors, Preachers, Lawyers, Welders, Harley Riders, Green Peace flag waving, REd state, blue state, hallucinogenic state, string pickin sonsabitches in all your life.  And the party never ends.  You'll hear jam sessions going all night long.  You may notice a lull from 6:00am to 8:00am but that's about it.  

We brought some of dad's ashes out there with us and had a ceremony where we sprinkled some of them into the Walnut River running through the camp grounds.  We took what was left and buried them in the camp site where our group always stays each year.  The ashes are buried 7 staggers east and 5 rolls north of the first light post that sits katycorner to the porta-potties at the bottom of the hill at the beginning of Pecan Grove.  Got that?  Good.  ;)   Seriously, it was a very moving experience and a very cathartic experience.  I really think Dad would have loved that. 

In other news...

I'm so stoked about the party coming on the 29th!!  In case you haven't heard the news, read the website, heard on the radio, or read in the papers, we'll be holding the 1st ever Wild Bunch Round Up in two weeks at the KC hall in Teutopolis (TTown).  Come one come all!  This is a fan appreciation party it is absolutely FREE!  So if you can't find a sitter just bring the kids out too.  This will be an all ages show.  The show starts at 8:00pm and last until 9:30, or until we feel like quitting.  I hope to see you all there!!

Until Next Time - Matt

Listening:
1.  The 100 Classic Bluegrass Songs of All Time
2.  The Greencards - Viridian
3.  High Lonesome Sounds 

And Now, Your Moment of Zen:

"This hippie chick was wearing a dress and the sun came shining through
I could tell she hadn't trimmed her Chia Pet in at least a month or two"
- Tommy James

 

Howdy All,

Well it's Friday, and me and the boys have the night off!  Feels kind of funny not having to restring my guitar or change the batteries in something somewhere bouncing around in Sue or in Marty's Van.  It's been a crazy and fun summer and it's just now heating up.  Thanks to everyone who came out to Robinson the other night.  What a blast that was.  Here it is the middle of summer, a beautiful night out and the Main street pub was packed to party with the wild bunch.  I saw Kristin from Indiana (we need to perfect that teleport thingy for you girl so there's no more long rides home in the middle of the night...you know my Mom always said that nothing good happens after midnight...Of course, that's why I always wanted to stay out too late, but that's completely besides the point.)  Thanks for the Red Snapper, BTW.  We had Sara, Heather and another friend (who I can't remember her name and she even bought both my cd's and it's killing me...sorry!)  from Altamont burning up the dance floor.  Thanks to Jerry Crozier, as always for making it out!  Go Bears!  Then there was all the wives (Teresa, Vicky, Rhonda, and Penny), Lisa, Deena, Lil Sista, Mindy, and so many others that night shaking what they gots on the dance floor.  Good times. 

The night before that we were over in the big MO at the St. Charles County fair.  The crowd was thin due to a tractor pull, and a cards game, but we still had a great time.  I got to see an old friend Dave Lee and his ever-growing family.  There was also another man and wife who brought their entire family out to see us play.  They'd seen us here in Eham at the Harley Birthday party a while back and happen to live near STL.  I didn't get their names but certainly thank their enthusiasm (sp?). 

We're gonna be in our old stomping grounds, The Whiskey Wild Saloon on the 10th, so definately make plans to get loud with us then.  After that, it's down Cisne for the Cisne Reunion.  That's Mart-eye's old hometown, so that should make for some good fun.  

Of course the biggest news we have is that we've been invited to play at the National Harley Davidson Hog Rally in Knoxville TN on the last weekend of August.  That's gonna be huge for us.  

Last Note:  A Big Congratulations to Opie and Bethany on their wedding day tomorrow from all of us here at Wild Bunch Central!!!!!!  Opie...you couldn't have done any better.  Bethany...God help you!  hahahahahahaha!!!!  Have a great day and have a great honeymoon.  Cheers!

All for Now - Matt

Listening:  
George Strait - It Just Comes Natural (Awesome)   

July 7th - Belgium Were rolling over to Brussels today and we're just passing Waterloo, where Napoleon lost his fateful battle. Sorry I haven't posted lately but its been harder than expected to get my hands on the internet. We had a couple of days off on the 2nd and 3rd when we were just hanging out on base at Ramstein and tried to catch up on sleep. On the 3rd we did get out to sightsee at Trier, the oldest town in Germany. It was founded by the Romans in 300-something. It rained all day long so we didn't get to tour around outside, but just to be walking in the footsteps of Roman Legionnaires was pretty cool. On the 4th we played on Ramstein at the freedom festival going on. It was a big beer tent, like an Octoberfest deal. Big steins of brew, brats, and lots of folks looking for a good time. Ramstein is just a mammoth sized base, a virtual city in and unto itself. So many families both in the military and in civil service. I'm blown away by how many american civil service and ex-pats live over here with the military. We are at the venue now and medics are on board looking at Mikes foot. He rolled it last night at Cheviers and it appears that he broke it. They are bringing him out to hospital on a stretcher...hohoho. Photo opp! The night after Ramstein we played at stuttgart (pronounced shtut-gart). The weather was like October, but people were ready to party. So we all sang and danced in the rain together:). We met a great lady named Martha who showed us around and brought us out to eat at a real Italian resturaunt. She also ran home and got us all jackets to wear. Thanks again Martha. We also met a guy named Bill who has served down range three times. He is also a videographer and wants to make a video of rolling thunder and bring it down to the guys and gals downrange. Too cool. Last night we played in cheviers and it was one of our best performances. Even geo was caught on film jumping up and down. Its an army base so that means lots o beer. It was a really small base but that made it very close knit and the show had a real relaxed feel to it. Everywhere we go folks go out of the way to make us feel at home and that was in full gear last night. A crazy group of MPs (kyle, evan, etc...)were hooting and hollering for us as we rolled in. To be continued...

Howdy everyone,

Matt here.  It's 12:44am right now, so that's around 5:44pm back home.  Most of you are probably just getting back from work.  Things are going well.  Adam has told us about 1000 little known facts, Tim's run out of shirts, Rexy got us in trouble (see below), Marty's been scared to death (see below), Eric and Jen have been laughing nonstop (well that goes for most of us), Mike's knarly-ass turnip toe is about to fall off, and Geo just won't shut the hell up;)   We've all got/have had sore joints, bumps and bruises, and giddy sleep-deprivation giggles.  And the buses crapper is full!  The tour is going great and we're already halfway through. It's flying by. 

Today was pretty laid back.  We woke up early and boarded the bus for Ramstein, which is where we are now.  This has to be the nicest base I've see so far.  They have everything, even a movie theater and a couple of bowling alleys.  We got onto the base, checked in, grabbed a bite to eat at a Chili's and then sacked out for about a three hour nap.  After that we went shopping down at the BX (like a Wal-Mart), bought some snacks for supper, and headed back home.  Rex, Mike, and I went over to the gym to work out while the others opted for a poker game and a DVD.  I guess everyone else thought that walking 2 miles the night before to the Irish Pub counted as exercise or something;)  After the workout we hoofed it back to the hotel on base.  Rexy burned some popcorn and got the fire department called over to shut the alarm off.  It was hilarious...they came up with in full gear ready to hack their way into the room.  We got some good pix so keep an eye out.  Maybe Eric can post those up here.  I'm sure he'll post them somewhere:)  Along with all the other goofy pix we've collected so far.  Anyhoo...that was the most exciting thing that happened to us today.  

The title of the blog refers to an incident involving Marty.  The other day he was taking a nap and when he awoke there was a huge dude peeking his head into Marty's room.  The man uttered a question.  Rather alarmed by this current development, and just waking up, Marty shot back, "what?"  The man repeated the question.  Marty said it sounded like complete gibberish and had to ask again, "what?"  Frustrated, the man spoke very slowly, but with a thick African accent, "Do... You... Speak... Eeng-glish?"  Marty understood this part and answered, "yes".  The next question came...again very slowly, "Do... you... want... your... room... cleaned?"  Mart-eye understood finally and gave a relieved "no thanks".  The stranger nodded and went on his way.   God only knows the various scenarios being played in the mind of a country boy from Illinois, freshly woken from a peaceful nap, while in Germany, by a large black man standing in the doorway of his bedroom speaking incoherently, but I'd wager that they were none too pretty.  hohoho.  Turns out, the dude was our floors maid and his name was Cyril.  Ahh, thanks for the memories Cyril:) 

We played at the Dexheim Army base last night and it was one of those unpredictable nights.  We got there and there was just a scattering of people, but they were all very nice and very helpful.  We were all thinking that we'd have a nice time playing to a few sand volleyball players and folks throwing horse shoes.  However, as it got closer to showtime, the crowd started showing up.  They brought us over to the cafeteria and we ate and met the residing Lt. Colonel.  He and his wife, Terry were super nice to us and made us feel extremely welcome and comfortable.  I met some really cool people there, namely Angie, Ricky, Matt and Jim.  They helped buck equipment, got us sodas, water and towels and made us feel right at home.  The went out of their way to welcome us.  The Colonel was just a great guy.  He was very charismatic and seemed to be well loved by his troops.  A couple of them snapped salutes as he walked by them and nearly scared me out of my boots.  
Anyway, the Lt.Colonel made a presentation for some soldiers who had just got back from down-range and he called us out to meet the troops.  Then he hands me the mic.  I was caught a little off guard, but we extended our thanks to them from the band and everyone back home.  After that we played.  The crowd was tough to win over at first, but by the middle of the set they were definately getting into it.  Then the Colonel declared that it was about to start raining and I'll be damned if it didn't.  That turned out to be a great thing for us because then all the people standing around outside came in under our pavillion to keep dry and it quadrupled our crowd.  Then we had them.  The rest of the show went off without a hitch.  Then the Colonel said it was about to stop raining and I'll be damned if it didn't stop.  Appearently, our officers have control over the weather here too:)  AFter the show the Colonel and his wife presented the band with certificates of appreciation and, a very couple of very special gifts, a Unit Coin (a very big deal from what we're told) and hand-made army fanny packs.  They also gave us a European tour book put together by spouses of deployed members of the armed forces.  Too cool.  We ended up visiting with everyone and signed autographs for about an hour or more until the fireworks started.  So what we thought was going to be a layedback quiet evening turned out to be a rip-roaring good time had by all.  

I can't get over how appreciative folks are towards us over here.  It's overwhelming.  We're doing this for them and we end up being the ones being catered to.  It's hard being away from our families, but it's been a blast so far and I can't tell you how proud I am to be doing this little bitty part for my country.  I know the others feel the same way.  These men and women over here have a lot to be proud of and we certainly are.  

We're off again tomorrow and then it's the 4th of July in Ramstein at Freedom Fest!!  
Til tomorrow - auf Wiedersehen!

Quote of the Day - 
"Well what'd you stick yer foot in the dog's mouth for in the first place?" 
- King George