Ben Gibbard and Awesome Punkness.

No, Ben Gibbard didn't bring out his awesome punk band.  (Although that would be fantastic as well, I am sure.)

Instead, he brought two guitars (an Epiphone and Gibson to be exact) and put pickups in the piano from the coffee shop upstairs in the Haw River Ballroom and sold out one of the most beautiful venues in the SouthEast.

Where did I get to sit?  THE FRONT FREAKING ROW. 

I mean, really, the only way I could have been closer would have been to be up on stage with him. 

It's weird.

There are some musicians that I want so desperately to rock out with on stage, get inside the show, and help them rule a venue for a night.  Like a little army of musical goodness.

As an aside, I am lucky.  I've pretty much had the chance to play music - even if it's just a few minutes - with everyone I have ever dreamed I would make music with.  (That's still living on this plane of existence that is.)  Except maybe Loretta Lynn... but Jack White is close enough.  :)

AND THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME.  But anyways.

Back to what I was talking about...

There are some musicians I would never want to rock out with on stage.

(I know... SAY WHAT?!)

Ben Gibbard is one of those guys.

I have ADORED his songwriting since I first heard "Such Great Heights" on a mix CD that a boy in high school gave me as a present (I know... mix CD's!  Almost as old school as mix tapes!) back before iTunes made it easy to give the person you love a CD of rare and fantastic love songs.  I heard that song and decided that I had heard the most perfect love song ever written.  No really.  I had no idea who it was, no idea what band it could be, and we didn't have "SoundHound" to help figure out a song.

And, at that time, it was too new to be found on the internet.  BAM!  Can you imagine that time ever existed?

It should be noted at this point I had not heard the entire Beatles catalog yet, nor ventured into the world of popular music very much, so this random love song on this mix CD was a huge deal.

Sitting down with my guitar in my college practice room (Yes, I should have been working on classical guitar studies, but instead) I found myself playing that song over and over again until I finally figured it out.  Delighted, my favorite love song was now mine.  It wasn't until months later that I figured out who wrote it.

Let's flash ahead, shall we?

I'm front row at The Haw River Ballroom... dork-face Billie was super prepared with her cup of coffee at the ready to sit and listen all night long.  It's a little strange being on the other side for once. 

Ben starts his set, and begins it with... what?  Yup.  "Such Great Heights". 

He may have done that to save the crowd from shouting it over and over and over again until he played it and causing general distraction, but it caught me off guard. 

There it was.  The song I'd spend hours going over in a practice room, trying to figure out exactly how the songwriter would have played it... right in front of me.  "Farmer chords" and all.  Perfect.

I'm sure I looked like a complete fool with my head tilted and smiling the whole time, but it was exactly what I wanted.  A cup of coffee, a guitar, and one of my favorite songwriters.

Sure, I love a big stage show.  I fell in love with Aerosmith at a young age on the Nine Lives tour with all the pyrotechnics and stage flair and I love punk music with all it's crazyawesomefunness.  (I'm tossing this "L" word around like it's nobody's business, huh?  Meh.  Not my problem.  :) )

But... bring it back to it's most simple point and it reminds me of that moment when the elegant solution is finally found.  When the puzzle in finally solved.  That missing piece finally slips into place.

Simple chords, a box of wood with six strings, someone to play it, and one person. 

Perfect. 

Elegant, simple, and perfect.

I'd have it no other way.

I've put off seeing him in Death Cab for Cutie or one of his other fantastic incarnations, just because I remember that moment in my practice room with me and guitar.  I wanted to see that, yes, my favorite songs started out the way that my songs do - just a person and an instrument.  Nothing else.  No fancy clothes, no beautiful boots, no million dollar sound system, so perfect make up...

...just a person and their instrument of destruction.

Yeah, I think that's how John ultimately won me over.  Sitting on the couch, he'd call out to me the magic words,

"Hey, can I play something for  you?"

It's as if someone just invited to me a priceless musical concert for two.  At that moment, I'm the most luckiest girl in the entire universe.

I'd hear all my music that way if I could.  Maybe that's why I'm attracted to minimalist music, or music taken down the the bare elements... power trios, duos, solo acts - there's something really special there.  Maybe that's why I love teaching one on one.  There's magic and power there.  It's the foundation, and without a solid foundation the whole structure falls, no matter how fantastic it is. 

So, adoration of my boyfriend and Ben Gibbard aside... what did I take away from the concert?

Happiness. 

I have a guitar, I can play some chords, and I like to write. 

Why did I ever stop doing that?  Why did I ever put that to the side in pursuit of other things?

Not saying that those other things are not worth it, but part of me has been missing something.

The part that will always be satisfied with just a guitar, notebook, and pen.

Sure!  My songs may go NOWHERE.  No one might care, no one might ever come to one of my solo concerts, nor book one. 

But I don't care.  They have this wonderful outlet now where you can record yourself and put it out on the internet for all to see.  All the shame and all the glory.  No one may care, but years from now... I still will.  And that's what makes me feel whole, strong, and able to face the whole world every day.

So, yeah, the punk band.  Where does that fit?

I've been putting of the punk band for a number of reasons... Dillon's family moved away and we were unsure as to what was going on, Josh talked about changing jobs and was in the middle of a move to a new place, and John and I were wrapped up in The Rosewood Bluff and our own lives.

We met for the first time in months on Saturday, and... I must say... it's like that band has evolved light years.  Maybe it's that old saying - set something free, and if it comes back, it was always yours and meant to be.  So, there were three were, in Josh's new pad, drinking coffee like the old days and going through the set list for the upcoming shows.  Josh is telling me how he discovered that the recording of our new cover was different from the tab online (BWAH?!  Is this our bassist talking?!), and Dillon nailed the solo in... oh... ten minutes?

So, if you get the chance, stop on by one of our upcoming shows.  The P-90's are really getting good.

Maybe it took a lung infection on my part (Yeah, try going through one of the biggest auditions of your life with no freaking voice, and having to cancel a bunch of important shows... it'll humble the "rock star" outta you real quick) and stepping away from the band, going through some crazy life changing, and general quarter-life crisises for a while for all of us to get our war game perfected and really appreciate the music we make. 

I mean, really... we're all very lucky.  We get the chance to do what we love and want to do.  Not many people get to that point.

So, that's what I felt last night sitting in the front row.  Very lucky and very thankful.  Sometimes life gives you those wonderful, beautiful, perfect moments that you never dreamed would happen.  When the light breaks through and the puzzle is solved.  The equation makes sense.  The Ah-ha Moment.

There was my favorite love song... played on a guitar by the gentleman that wrote it less than five feet away from me.  Sure, he missed a chord, but it made it that much more real.  I felt the most vulnerable I have ever felt sharing that moment with a sold out room of people, and that took a while to work out in my head... but... yes, this moment really happening.  I never need to meet Ben, shake his hand, or tell him how much I admire his songwriting.  I just needed that moment.  Clock out and call it a sucessful day.



It reminded me of hearing John sit on the couch and play my favorite songs.  Just sheer joy beyond explanation.  All the years of hearing a sonic recording... all those collectors who try so hard and spend so much money to get the recordings to sound as real as possible...

...it's never as good as the real thing, I hate to break it to you.  :)  In all the heartbreak and awe of realization, nothing is as fantastic as seeing happen with your own eyes and ears.  I've been rather blessed by this crazy universe.

I remember when my college buddy Heather Wible would look and me daily and ask... "What is your most beautiful thing of the day?". 

What a lovely way to look at life.

Speaking of which, I have business to attend to known as bedtime.

Until we meet again!

Hugs,

~Billie.

Thursday, Take Two!

Hey!  Look!  I did it!

Isn't it three times, and it's a habit?  One more week, and I'll be a regular Thursday blogger!

I don't have long.  My brain is on shut-down mode, and it's almost past my bed time.  There's a huge conference at The Haw River Ballroom tomorrow (Switchpoint, I believe - someone correct me if I'm wrong), so I'm getting up early to help for a few hours, before heading to the repair shop, then back to Winston-Salem to teach, then BACK to Chapel Hill to play the Cave.  Dinner happens somewhere in between, I promise.

And my car has started to idle funny (miles, maybe?  Hmmm, clearly my car didn't ask for my lifestyle).  Not looking forward to checking that one... but I'll figure something out.

What's happened in the past week?

I have new contacts!!!! HURRAY!!!  I can finally see again!  Thank you Downtown Winston Eye Care Center for being so gosh darn convenient.  I didn't have time to navigate Stratford Road (yay traffic) but the new location is pretty sweet.
 
I'm also super excited because I finally have dual P-90's in my Les Paul.  YEEEEHAWW!  I didn't get the chance to crank up The Evil Twin at my studio, but I did get to hear it on a clean setting, and, boy... those pickups don't mess around.

May I guitar-nerd for a moment?  You can sit back and let your eyes glaze over for a second until I get this out.  This won't take long.

So, I ordered the pickups from Lindy Fralin (they're the best I've heard out of the repair shop so far... the Lollars are pretty spectacular too), but Lindy's 1950's P-90's are my favorite for the chainsaw grind and high end scream I'm going for.  It looks like he even baked them for me after I gave him the description of wanting to sound as much like Johnny Thunders on LAMF without losing some 50's retro-ness.  Nicely done, Sir!  The only thing I miss on the Fralin's is the fact that you can get the Lollars with your name inscribed on the back of the pickup, it's a pretty cool touch, I must admit.  Kind of reminds me of getting one's ipod engraved.  :D  Oh, and they hum cancel if you put it on the middle pickup setting.  Awwww yeah.  For those extra quiet moments.  (Bwah?!  In a punk band?!)

Through the routing process (no, that part I didn't do... I don't trust myself to rout my own guitar.  Plus, if I mess up I'm the one that has to look at it and curse myself forever - no thanks!) the discovery was made that, indeed, I luckily obtained one of the maple top/mahogany bottom-ed Studios.  MEGA score.  Take that, Les Paul Standard!!!

Back to other things, besides my really beautiful, awesome sounding guitar - (Hey, I've waited on this mod for a loooooonnnng time, I have to boast just a little - he's my little sports car I'm gonna drive around town on Sunday just because I can) -

THIS WEEKEND'S SHOW REPORT!  (cue theme music... I'm envisioning the Star Wars opening theme...)

Friday -

The P-90's are back at The Cave with The Pheurotics (our other band had to cancel, so they stepped up to the plate!) and the rock starts at 10:00 PM.  New pickups included.  Come make a fool of yourself and have a blast - that's what punk shows are for.  We're here for you.

Saturday -

RECORD STORE DAY!!!   Whoopie!  John Howie Jr. and The Rosewood Bluff are doing an in-store during the day at SchoolKids Records in Raleigh as part of the festivities, and I'm too tired to remember the exact time.   Keep an eye on The Rosewood Bluff facebook page for up to the minute details.  It's an entire upright bass set, so it's a rare Bluff moment indeed.  And... my first record store in store.  I'm elated.

Apparently, John is taking me on a date Saturday evening.  We're going to see a real live movie and a have a real live night to ourselves.  Rare!

Sunday -

Band pictures for the Rosewood Bluff (FINALLY HAPPENING, if it doesn't rain on us) and a show at The Nightlight with Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons.  This should be an absolute blast.  Come join us!

Then, it's back to normal on Monday.  Normal being working in a guitar repair/building shop.  Not too bad.

It seems like everyone in Chapel Hill who owns a Taylor guitar had decided to smash through the back of them, or at least that's what I've been doing a lot of lately - so fair warning for all you Taylor owners... :)

BEDTIME.  Gotta go.

Love to you and yours, wherever you are.

~Billie.  (and her rekindled love affair for her Les Paul)

Bluffycakes and Thirsty Beavers.

Hey again.  Yeah, it's been a while... but I told you I'd come back, didn't I?

So, Thursday is going to be "blog day".  I've put in on my calendar, marked it in ink, highlighted it, and made it a date for myself.  Hopefully this time it will stick.

WHEW!

Crazy.  Where to start?  I've given myself 30 minutes, and the clock's ticking.

I'm also doing this at the same time "SoundCloud" is loading and attempting to find my musical friends.  Well, it's crashing.  Apparently, I have the amount of musical friends on my Facebook account that would cause a website to crash.  :)  That's a wonderful thing!  I'm lucky to have so many musically inclined buddies.

You can do it, little website!

My mom keeps bugging me to do Hallway Waltz stuff (as does my brain, since I tend to lose my favorite punk songs all over the house.  GRRR!  Don't worry, they're coming.  Eventually.  I promise.

So, where am I?

In Winston-Salem, sitting at Krankies Coffee downtown (I work for the other Krankies, the one in the silver airstream - Yeehaw!) and allowing my brain time to wind down from teaching, repairing, and driving all over creation.  

Earlier today, I'm driving down Franklin Street (because all the secret back ways through Chapel Hill are currently being "worked on" in some form or another) which allows me time to almost crash into the car in front of me several times due to my attention deficit people watching.  A guy passes by the car in a punk rock vest with an awesome Misfits back patch.  Before I could snap a picture and send it to John, the car behind be decides to honk at me for not moving fast enough down a pedestrian laden street.  I wave. 

Chapel Hill would not be complete without someone honking at me in frustration daily.  I've learned to embrace it and laugh about it.  I'm also getting a water gun soon to squirt at them.

That's not assault, is it?  I mean, it's just water... and it's just a car window... right?

ANYWAYS.

Proof that Franklin Street's proud punks are coming out of the wood works and starting/restarting/joining/rejoining the scene revolution.  I love it!  Take that, naysayers!!!!!

And there was that girl with the awesome cowgirl boots.  Party on, my dear.

Enough about Franklin Street!

Shows. 

Friday found me at the Cave playing bass with STAG (Micheal Rank's band, formerly of Snatches of Pink - John showed me the MTV episode of him and Sara Romweber.  I wanted to steal Micheal's boots and Sara's hair!) with Mr. Howie Jr. on drums.  It's the first time John and I have gotten to be a rhythm section together, and we had a BLAST.  Normally, it's him telling me what to do (kinda) or me telling him what to do (I try, doesn't work so well :) ) but it was a fantastic change of pace to have us both in the backline.  It gave us a chance to make funny faces at each other, or have me smile at his cues/drum faces.  The show went well, and we had a good crowd.  What a fun night!

Saturday was a long day - we woke up from a late night ("What time do we have to be in Winston again, Billie?"  "Oh, we have to leave in an hour."  Grumblegrumblegrumbleshowergetdressedloadthecar) only to be shuffed to Winston-Salem to play PhuzzPhest.  We were the first act on a 1:00 on Saturday.  One of my students turned up and it made my day!  The P-90's played really well (go team!) and I was impressed by everyone's ability to be awake and ready to play the show.  I'm blessed to be in such great bands.  John's drum gear took some rigging (meh, it's punk rock!) but ultimately it went off without a problem, even with poor Dillon recovering from having an organ removed only days before.  It was the first time we've played PhuzzPhest, and I hope we'll get to do it again next year!  I hung out for a little bit to catch some of the bands (it's amazing... I've been playing live music in this town for almost 10 years, and I STILL don't know all the musicians!) and was really excited by all the different bands this town produces.  WS pride, beeotches.

I did feel a little out of place in my ripped jeans, studded belt, and Ramones shirt... but I just can't embrace the skinny jeans movement.  It's a cool look, but sadly I wasn't built for skinny jeans - they bring back memories of having to wear stirrup tights in elementary school.  Same with big 80's glasses... they look cool on some people, but after having to be forced to wear them as a child I just have to pass.  :)

But!  Even if I felt a little out of place at first, it was clearly all in my head.  I ran into friends Ryan Synder and Richard Emmett as well as some old school Werehouse crew, and felt welcome. 

I head on back to my studio (John decided to crash there after the show... he had the much harder lead singer job later), pack up another round of gear for the Rosewood Bluff, and truck on down to Charlotte to play The Thirsty Beaver.

I love The Thirsty Beaver.  If you haven't checked it out, please do.  It's only one of the coolest bars ever - covered in old honky-tonk awesomeness. 

The crowd felt a little wilder this time - ladies dancing on the bar (Why never men?!  Huh?!  I mean, I'm all for the ladies having a good time, but throw a girl a bone!  Howie, it's you next time), a bachelorette party, etc. - but the Beaver never fails to please.  It was good to see old friends and make some new ones, and had a blast with my favorite country band - The Rosewood Bluff. 

I us Junior and his Bluffycakes.  I know, it makes no sense.  But it's fun to say. 

Try it! 

.....

See?!  Told ya.  BLUFFYCAKES!!!! 

Anyways.

We'll see you soon, Charlotte!  We're coming back to the Snug Harbor next time, and I'm pretty excited since we're playing with The Overmountain Men - and Bob from the Avett Bros.   Yay!   Upright bass players unite!

I got to spend Easter Sunday at The Haw River Ballroom (I'm a guest barista!  It's so fun, and pretty out there - stop on by and say "Hi!" some Sunday) doing the opening shift, then back home to wake a sleepy Howie with an Easter basket (you'll have to ask him about the lipbalm he got :) ), take a short break, and then on to Salisbury to see my mom, dad, and brother.  It'd been a while, so it was good to catch up.  I miss them often - even if my brother is only 30 mins away in Raleigh.  Life's just too busy sometimes.

Okay, thirty minutes up.  Gotta hit the road again. 

I've got nothing but Loretta Lynn songs stuck in my head.  The P-90's are at The Cave on April 20th with Slawterhaus 5 (Winston-Salem, represent!) and hopefully we'll have Fist City up to snuff by then.  I can't wait to do that cover.  I'll even wear my Fist City shirt.  Promise. 

The Bluff is back in Chapel Hill this week at The Nightlight on... GASP!... SUNDAY!  April 22nd with Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons.  Catch us there or the day before at SchoolKids Records in Raleigh for our Rosewood Bluff instore for Record Store Day!!!!  I've always dreamed of playing an in-store! 

Play an in-store.. CHECK!

PS - that means you have to show up, little brother of mine.  MUAHAHAHA.

For real this time... gotta go.  I got boys to get home to who are probibly wondering where the h-e-double-hockey-sticks I am.  Catch y'all in Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem, or Saxapahaw real soon.

Or, you can just listen for the person getting honked at for pissing other drivers off in Chapel Hill.  There's a 80 % chance it's a pollen-covered black Volvo with band stickers.  Make sure to wave!

Hugs, and.... Bluffycakes.  (Bet you said it, didn't you?!  BLUFFFFFYCAKES!!!!) 

~Billie.

Hey gang,

Check it!  I did it!  I wrote another entry!!!  I deserve a cookie.  Or, well, a really nice glass of wine.  Neither of which are in my general vicinity, so if they are in yours, please partake with grand blessings.

It's good to see you all here again, I hope you enjoy the visit.

Before I go too far, if you are of the more visually inclined side of the universe, please visit my Facebook photo journal entry of this weekend's shenanigans at...

(http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.539669871757.2030226.166600182&type=1&l=af205b72a8) or HERE.

Okay.  Yes!  What's gone on this past weekend.  Amazingly, it's only two hours away from Friday as I write this.  Yippie!  Time flies when you have a full schedule.

Friday found The Rosewood Bluff in Spindale, NC for a live/on-air appearance at WNCW 88.7 - one of the biggest and most popular Americana stations in the world.  The best one, in my humble opinion, but maybe that's because I can get it on my radio in Winston-Salem and Salisbury when I visit mum and dad.  :)  Spindale and Isothermal Community College are truly in the middle of nowhere, but worth every minute of the "are you sure we're going the right way?" conversation.  One of the most state-of-the-art broadcasting facilities I've ever been in, and lead by a wonderful group of talented, brilliant, and kind-hearted people.  I mean, I'd be happy too if I all I had to do all day was play records and artists I love for an audience who appreciates it!

The studio was color coded, which make me smile profusely.  No more No. 1 plug, No. 6 hook up, input No. 25, or microphone No. 2. like I'd seen all my life... instead it was, "Billie, you're the yellow one."  Yellow?  Not black or grey or some other "normal" cable color?  Awesome.  Awesome.  And then, some more awesome.

It's the small things, yes?

It's a funny thing to play live on a radio station.  It feels like you're in practice... or maybe as if you and your buddies got together to "play" radio.  Or well, mine did.  Okay, maybe it was just me and my brother K. C. with our Dad's stolen...um, borrowed tape recorder.  Anyways!  You see that people are listening on the computer, but it's all just dots and numbers when you're locked into a sound proof room.  After you get over the nervousness, it all just becomes one big goofy giddy time... "Hey, guess what?!  We're on the FREAKING RADIO!!!  This is RAD!"  And then you drop a note, and you're like... "Oh, man... we're on the radio.  Better not do that again."

All in all, it was a wonderful experience.  The people at WNUW really have their stuff down, and are truly fantastic human beings.  For a moment, I got to say... "Gillian Welch and David Rawlings stood right here!!!  In this room!  The one I'm standing in!".  I'm not sure if everyone in bloggity land knows who they are, but I do love their music dearly.

After we say our goodbyes to the 88.7 crew, we load up the Volvo station wagon and head on back down the mountain to my other hometown, Winston-Salem to play The Garage.

I love the Garage.  Maybe it's because I will never get over the giddy butterflies of the first "real" club I ever was given the chance to play.  I owe a lot to Richard Boyd and the bo-stevens for dragging me into the fray and getting me addicted to playing live music.

Our friends, (and The P-90's bass player Josh Caldwell's brother-in-law) Andy Vaughan and the Driveline drove down from Richmond. VA to join the Rosewood Bluff on a two-day mini-tour.  It was the new Rosewood Bluff's line-up first time at The Garage, so we weren't quite sure how it'd go... but, man, the band sure is sounding fantastic.  I know I'm biased, but I'm also EXTREMELY critical of my own work and projects - I am really proud of the Rosewood Bluff.  The Garage, as many will tell you, is probably one of the best venues in the United States if not the entire world (I've only seen Belgium, Holland, France, and London, so take that as you will) with wonderful sound/soundman Brian Doub and the greatest club owners (Kim and Richard Emmett) to boot.   I know it sounds like ass kissing or maybe even some silly hometown pride... but, nope.  I'm not alone in this.  You owe it to yourself to visit this (historical?  Sure!) place and soak in some good vibes.  As I said once before, this is the only bar I will ever feel comfortable going solo to and staying all night.

Okay, so now that I've said my two cents about how much I adore The Garage, let's get on with the show.

The Hawkeyes from Pittsburgh, PA opened (HELL YEAH WESTERN PA!!!  Go Steelers) and they reminded me more of a band the P-90's should play with.  Cowpunk with a hard punky edge, these guys put on a energetic show no matter how many are listening - which says something about a group.  I've seen groups just give up when there's only a few watching (hey, I've been there), and I always want to cry out... "HEY!  I'm here!  And, I wanna be here!  And!  I want to support your music.  AND!  I really want to enjoy your music, so rock out for my sake, PLEASE?"  I've found myself in those situations a few times, then looking inward and telling myself, "remember when you were sitting in your bedroom practicing guitar to no one and you would have sliced off one of your limbs to be playing on stage in front of anybody?"

That being said, The Hawkeyes delivered.

Next up was Andy and The Driveline, and they're always fun to see.  For some reason, I feel like every time I see them, one more cowboy hat magically appears on the stage.  I can't blame them - I remember when I bought my first pair of real cowboy boots, got all excited, and wore them to a gig.  I felt like I had just solved some sort of personal mystery, and the cowboy boots were the missing link.  I haven't stopped wearing them since.  As Greg Bell once told me, "Sometimes, the scene finds you."

Enough about clothes though, onward to music!

The Driveline poured out a healthy dose of twang and country music standards (14 Karat Mind comes to mind) and I even saw a few snap buttoned shirt outfitted ladies in the back getting down with their yee-haw selves!  Hey, why not?

The Rosewood Bluff took the stage last, and it's always so satisfying to play in a band that locks in from the first song.  I'm filled with a bunch of crazy band hurrah lately.  The show went great.

I adore the bands I'm in, and that's a very harmonious (HA!) place to be.

I'll spare you the adventures we had later that night in my studio that involved trance music and a missing bottle of wine.  It just won't have the proper delivery online.

ASHEVILLE!  I love Asheville.  I can't afford to live in Asheville, or, well, I've never discovered a way to make it work... but I sure do love to visit.  Everyone that we ran into that night was super sweet.  For some reason, I feel like certain places in Chapel Hill can have this cold, stand-off-ish vibe (okay, okay, or anywhere else for that matter... maybe it's just the places I find myself ending up in) but everyone up there seemed in good spirits.  I mean, if I had to wake up every morning to a beautiful mountain view and tons of outdoorsy stuff to do I'd be in good spirits too!  We got there two hours early (WHAT?!  Early?!  I know.) and kept trying to figure out how to sleep in the car.  Wasn't gonna happen.  However!  Coffee in a double decker bus?  Yes, please!

We played in a spot called MoDaddy's which was wonderful fun, and the owner/bartenders were great.  It's on the same block as The Orange Peel.  John even had a guy make him a collage and put it in the tip jar.  No, really.  A collage.  Of Two Dollar Pistols stuff.  Kind of amazing.  Kind of... WTF?!

After a solid show and big hugs to Andy and the guys, we headed off down the mountain back to Chapel Hill.  Nathan's first comment in the car?  "I sure do miss my wife."  [Nathan and Amy were married recently in the coolest way possible... four weeks into the relationship they were married, and didn't tell a soul until six months later.  :)  "Loose lips sink ships, Howie." That in mind, they are some of the most solid and level-headed people I have yet to meet.]  It hit home, and fueled the three-ish hour drive back.  "Come on, John, we have a man to get back to his wife!"

Gabba Gabba Hey Y'all.  Hope you're safe, warm, and loved wherever you are.

Until next time!!!

Love,

~Billie. 

PS- Being 28 is weird.  Looking at 30 is starting to freak me out.  Guess I gotta make these last two twenty-something years kick arse!

Hey all!

Welcome to my new blog.

I'm baaaack... I'm nation wide!

Or something like that.

Yes, I've called it "Confused Cowgirl" to reflect both the country side, punk, classical, rockabillie and whatever else I end up getting myself into.  :)

I've ordered a new camera, that should be on it's merry little way to NC currently, and I have grandiose plans of dragging it with me to every band rehearsal, show, and show I attend in the hopes of motivating myself to keep a blog.  Perhaps also, to give others a glimpse of what I and my band-mates do with ourselves when we're not strapping on instruments and stepping up to the microphone. (Or standing on instruments, but you get the idea.)

I'm going to try keep the camera close by for band practice, to hang outs, to the stage... so hopefully you'll get some lovely details about our lives. (I can already hear John - "WHAT?!")

WHY?!

My hope is... maybe someone out there will find it as interesting as I do, and perhaps catalogue a little of what we as working musicians do.  AND!  It helps me get better at being a music photographer/rambling writer.  :)

Self-centered?  Maybe.  But, view it as a personal research project, and I promise you'll enjoy it more.

So, what's in it for you today?

ROSEWOOD BLUFF SHIRT IDEA!!!  Yup, straight from the minds of our in house graphic designer/pedal steel player, Nathan Golub.  It's a work in progress and we're all still editing/discussing, but it at least shows you what we're thinking of!  Thoughts?

Yup, SHIRTS!  To be here in time for the "Official" CD Release Party at The Garage.  Whoop, whoop!

Catch you all later, I gotta go home and make some late lunch.

Love,

~Billie.