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July 2004
Hello: Well, I’m back here in L.A…been on the road much of the summer, and I’m only halfway done. Tonight I saw an acquaintance of mine, Jack McGee, in the debut of a great new TV series about the FDNY called Rescue Me.Jack used to be a New York firefighter – he was born to this role. This show, like anything about New York, got me missing the place terribly. As I sat in the hall of my building here in West Hollywood, smoking a cigar and feeling maudlin, I felt once again like an exile, far from the motherland. Now that I’m married to the woman I’ve always loved the most, New York has become the ex I sit around dreaming of; the one that got away. We’ll get back together one of these days, when we’re ready. I’m just back from was what I have been referring to as either the “Swing States” tour, or the “No Cell Phone Service” tour. I played Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina, mostly in small towns. Map dot towns. First stop was Parkersburg, WV. I played Todd Burge’s songwriter’s night at the Front Row. This place was a beer joint like a million others I’ve passed through, except that my name was on the plastic marquee right under Junior Brown. If ol’ Junior Brown plays the place, it’s more than good enough for me! This was followed by two nights in Pomeroy, OH. Pomeroy clings to the west bank of the mighty Ohio River. Its 19th century architecture and raffish river-town air have been perfectly preserved. I found it to be a delightful place. First gig was at the Court Street Grill, a little blues bar just off the main street and steps from the muddy river. What a great night I had there…the crowd was with me all the way, and the owner, Jackie Welker, was a memorably great guy to work for. Fed me, treated me with respect, paid in cash. Why can’t they all be like that? The next night was the Rhythm on the River summer music series. I played an outdoor amphitheatre for a crowd of around three hundred. Tiered seating sloped down to a stage right out over the river. In addition to the folks watching on land, boats gathered out on the river within hearing range of the music and blew their horns in lieu of applause. A very cool gig. Next stop was Wooster, Ohio, up in Amish/Mennonite country. I got off interstate 77 and spent an hour traversing a country road, dodging horses and carriages most of the way. Wooster is a snug little college town. A real slice of Americana. Nary an ugly postwar building marred its squeaky-clean downtown. At five o’clock, the church bells played “God Bless America” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy” for all to hear. I did my gig at a small coffeehouse (no microphone, no monitor, great coffee) and blew town immediately after. I had a few days off after this, which I spent at the home of my friend Kristy Jackson in Greensboro, NC. Kristy is a wonderful human being and a great songwriter, too. She wrote “Take It Back” which was a number one hit for Reba MacEntire. I looked around her lovely house and reflected that, relatively low real estate prices in NC notwithstanding, it was literally bought for a song. Kristy and I do gigs together occasionally and she always says she wishes she was a road doggie like me. I always tell her she can have all my gigs as soon as she can arrange to have her royalty checks forwarded to my address. During this respite I also got in some wonderful hang time with Kristy’s boyfriend, “Wasabi” Bobby Kelly. Bobby is a bass player of some repute – has played with a long list of blues legends. He also played with me at a festival gig four years ago, but I was drunk that night, and didn’t remember much that happened. He said it went well. A relief for me, I can tell you. We smoked a lot of cigars, ate a lot of sushi, and generally had a grand time. Greensboro is full of great restaurants, friendly people, and everything is cheap…made me realize that I’ve never actually lived in a place I could afford. Last stop was the Greenwood Blues Cruise, a blues festival held in tiny Greenwood, South Carolina. This fest is run by Gary Irwin, known as Shrimp City Slim when he’s on stage playing that down-and-dirty blues piana. He has been booking me for years at the Lowcountry Blues Bash in Charleston, SC. I had a great set at the outdoor mainstage downtown. Went on right before they gave out the awards for the best barbeque. That was the other attraction at this event – they came from miles around to see who’d win the prize for the best pork butt, dry-rubbed half-racks, and hot links. The smell of cooking pig and tangy barbecue sauce was all around, it was all I could do not to drool on the microphone during the show. I don’t like to play on a full stomach, so my plan was to have me some barbeque right after finishing the set. It was not to be. Everything was sold out by the time I was done. Nary a piece of meat was to be had. I’m still bitter about this. Next month I’ll be at the Cincy Blues Fest in Cincinnati, OH, and then a three week tour of the southeast. Because I really dig humidity. Atlanta, Winston-Salem, New Orleans, Nashville, South Florida, I’m sweatin’ bullets just thinking about it. See you out there! Love, Bob
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