A Day in Denver

So here I sit in the Denver Colorado airport, how did I get here though?  Well, last month for my birthday I told my Dad I wanted to go to Wintergrass, a big bluegrass festival in my home town Bellevue Washington.  I didn’t know Dad would be on board with this, but he looked it up and said “Sure, let’s do it!”  And he foot the bill to not only the tickets to the all weekend event, but getting me from Nashville to Seattle as well.  He bought the ticket from Frontier Airlines and I left on Wednesday morning February 22, 2012.  Another great piece to this weekend, was that, Tennessee Jimmy Harrell was going to be coming up from California to meet us in Seattle as well!  This weekend was shaping up to be a great time, and still will be.

            My flight left Nashville to Denver at 9AM, it was delayed about an hour due to high winds in Denver, they told us not to worry about any connecting flights, because the whole airport was delayed.  When I got to Denver, and asked about the connecting flight, the lady at the desk said “It already left, go see the customer service desk, down by gate 36, there is a long, long line, you can’t miss it.”  Great…

After waiting in line with at least twenty other people that missed this flight, so they must have sent an empty plane to Seattle, I was told the best fastest option was to fly in to Phoenix Arizona, and then to Seattle.  A little odd, but ok.  Now, my main concern was of course, my banjo.  I had to gate check it back in Nashville, so I knew it was here in Denver, but at this point I didn’t really trust Frontier Air as the most reliable people.  So, I asked about it, and decided to go get it.  And I did.  I had to go out of security and back through again, but now I had my banjo, my clothes though, who knows where those are at this point. 

            Of course the gate to Phoenix was right next to a bar, and there was no way I was going to pass up a beer as cold as The Rockies, by The Rockies.  Turns out the flight to Phoenix was delayed for two hours, which means I would miss my connecting flight to Seattle from there.  I went to the customer service desk again and the first thing they said was, “You’ll have a problem getting that guitar on board, I can tell you now, they will make you check it…” To which I responded, “It’s a banjo, and I don’t care about that right now.  I need to get to Seattle.”  Which in five minutes they got me on an on time flight to Seattle from Denver that left at 6PM!  What the Heck?! If there was an open spot, why would you send me to Arizona? And if I hadn’t said anything I would be stuck there all night!  What is wrong with these people?! I feel like there policy is, “If you have a customer issue, just send them somewhere else, and let someone else deal with it!”  I would love to do that at my work, any complaints, just send them to another side of the country, odds are, we won’t see them again.  I’m pretty sure the only flight that left on time today, was the empty flight from Denver to Seattle.  So I’ll never be flying Frontier again, but that’s the breaks, how hard is it to use your head and problem solve? Phoenix Arizona? Really?

On a side note, Denver seems like a beautiful place, I would love to visit some time and see more than the airport.  I forgot how cool it is to look out and see the mountains.  Also, I’m sure I’ll have much more to write about after a weekend of bluegrass in Bellevue!

Empty Bar Room, Band Still Playing, Living The Dream.

            Yesterday, I noticed on Twitter that Ted Russell Kamp, was playing a show in Nashville.  I became a TRK fan years ago while he played bass in The .357’s, Shooter Jennings back up band.  I saw Shooter a few times in Seattle and in L.A. When I saw them in L.A. I was with Elliott, and we got to meet the band and hang out with Shooter a bit, and it was a great time, especially for the 19 year old country fan that I was.  At the time, Kamp opened the show with his solo act and it was great, Elliott and I bought a CD there and then the rest on iTunes, and I continue to buy his stuff when it comes out. 

TRK lives in Los Angeles now and plays shows all over the place, so when I saw he was in Nashville and I was off work I pretty much had to check it out.  It was snowing just a touch last night and in this town if it looks like snow, NO ONE goes out.  I got to 12^th and Porter, at 8:00pm when the first guy, Hugh Mitchell was supposed to be on.   There were 4 people working at the bar, and me.  The stage was down stairs and not open yet, so I thought maybe I read the times wrong, where was the line of people?  This was Ted Russell Freakin Kamp?!  I got a beer and leaned against the bar and waited for the show.  There as about ten of us down stairs by in the stage room and I was litteraly the only on that was not friends with the band… yet.  Ted played bass for both opening acts, it was real rock and roll, Americana, with some bluesy country twang, good stuff all around.  Hugh Mitchell was great, then Bart Ryan went on and did a solo singer songwriter act, it was a really fun show to watch.  Between acts before TRK went on, He was talking to a girl and I heard him say, “Excuse me I need to go introduce myself to the one guy I don’t know here…”  Which was me.  We talked for a bit I told him I saw him with Shooter a couple years ago and have been a fan ever since, and living in Nashville now I was excited to come see his show tonight.  He appreciated it and thanked me for coming.  He and his band did an awesome show, I felt like I got to sneak into his band practice, because at this point there were five of us in the audience, probably a little disappointing for him, but way cool for me. 

He did some new stuff, some old stuff, and then said, “Thank you to Mike, for doing the sound, Jeff, working behind that bar… and Hell, thanks Laura for being here, Cooper, and Michelle, thanks for staying.”  Then the last song he played was “Steady at The Wheel” a song he wrote and Shooter Jennings cut on his first album “Put the O back in Country” and said, “Coop, this one’s for you, welcome to the club, its not a big one, but it’s beautiful” He’d already dedicated the love songs to all the girls there. 

After the show we talked a little more, apparently he has lived in Seattle, L.A. and Nashville, places I too have lived.  I told him he rocked, I already had all his CDs, which he replied “Really? Cool!”  And he said good luck with your music, he loves banjo and said keep me updated on your music, as he comes to Nashville every few months.  And I signed up for his email list.

I realize Ted Russell Kamp isn’t Brad Paisley and a lot of people don’t know who he is, but I am a big Shooter Jennings fan, and I have been listening to TRK for the last six or so years, and I am a fan of his.  To me he is a great country artist just like Dierks Bentley, Jack Ingram or Brad Paisley.  I had no idea there wouldn’t be many people there last night, and they were so good, there should have been a packed house, but I enjoyed it the way it was. I also loved that everyone there loved being on stage playing, I'm sure they wanted a bigger turn out, but they were going to rock faces off either way.  to me,  he’s living the dream, I can’t wait to play an empty room and meet a few people that say “I love your music” or “I love that one song, I lived it!”  And head out to the next show the next day!  Keep it up TRK and if you want to hear some great music, listen to some Ted Russell Kamp!

We're putting the band back together, we're on a mission from God.

I have now played up on stage in Tennessee!  The church had a women’s retreat this past weekend and they put together a band for the services.  I was asked to play banjo on a few songs.  It was a lot of fun, and I just kind of noodled around for most of the songs and added a little banjo twang here and there, but for a few of the songs I took the lead and we played some fun bluegrass hymns.  I had a lot of fun up there playing and the drummer even told me after words that he had never played country/bluegrass drums but he really liked it, and I realized I’ve never actually played worship music but I really liked it too.  It’s fun to play with musicians that are humble and really talented, they all play by ear, they say what key its in, and then they all just start playing.  Since that weekend, I have been on a crazy banjo addiction.  I have been playing hours everyday and I LOVE it!  Mostly playing hymns and Steve Martin tunes, yep, you can play anything on a banjo, except a sad song of course.

After playing I started listening to some of my hero, Brad Paisley, as I often do, and came across “Life’s Railway To Heaven” an old hymn that he does bluegrass style on his latest album.  I have heard the song many times before, and I am pretty sure I listened to that CD non stop for the first three weeks after it came out.  But it was a little different this time because this is exactly what I wanted to play like.  Even though I really only played for two or three songs, it was really fun and defiantly was a confirmation of why I am in Tennessee.  I am really thankful they invited me to play with them and I am looking forward to doing more of it.  And Andrew and I were asked to play for a pre worship service on an upcoming Sunday!  Hope ya’ll are ready for some hillbilly praise time!

This weekend I’m house sitting and taking care of a co-workers dogs (Different co-worker that last time)  Although I’m not desperate to stay away from where I live any more, I do like playing with puppies and getting paid to hang out in someone else’s house, I forgot my banjo tonight though…

On a side note, I have been to many, many, country concerts mostly Brad Paisley, and I have always been in the audience.  So it’s a lot of fun to be on stage now, and the best part was it was al for Church and God.  However, it was nice to play on stage in a room full of beautiful women. ;)

For the Record-ing

So, how do you top a blog about drugs, murder, guns, and banjos? I had a somewhat less exciting week, and that is A-OK with me. 

I’m still trying to deal with some stuff from Monday’s events but it’s mostly behind me at this point.  I cannot possibly express how much I am blown away by the support I have received from people around here, and back home.  It truly amazes me how many people have helped me during this last week.  The only thing I can do is say “Thank You!” and know that someday if any of them or anyone else needs something I can provide I would do it in a heart beat.  As a songwriter, everyone is expecting a song out of this, and I do have one coming.  Not exactly what you might expect seeing as drugs, guns and shooting is more of the rap scene not bluegrass.  But I got a special one brewing.  Now it’s back to the music! And what I am doing here in Tennessee in the first place.

Andrew and I have been writing and recording music.  I could write a whole paper on recording.  Recording is a long process and much more complicated than what I used to do on my own.  It’s also much more rewarding when done right.  For the first time I am writing songs, that are really GOOD!  The other day we stayed up till about 5AM but we finished a song and I like it a lot.  The coolest part about it is that, it is honest, and it is clearly a song the two of us wrote.  It’s also really cool to start with an idea of a song, write it out, and get it recorded, then listen to the final product. Although, we don’t have final products yet, like I said, it is a long process. 

We have set up a recording studio in the McBride’s back barn room.  Everything we’re recording is through Garage Band on my laptop, so nothing out of control, but it sounds good.  I have some really big goals, but they are starting to seem like they could be really realistic goals.  We have a list of songs that we are fixin’ to record, and a few others to be written.  And now we need to get them in recording.  After that, we put it on a demo CD, and try to sell it around as well as selling ourselves at songwriter nights and music bars.  Sounds simple, but we have a long way to go.  The exciting part is, I am one step closer, and I am actually doing musical things, besides practicing in my room and working all week at an un-rewarding job. J

One injured, One killed, One pickin' banjo...

I don’t think of myself as a great storyteller, however since I started to blog and write things out I found, I can spin a good yarn.  I also found when I tell the same story over and over again it loses a lot each time.  The point here is that since last night I have told this story many, many times, so if any one asks, I will send them here.  This is a bit longer than my usual blog, so here it is again…

I have mentioned that I do not like my roommates, one of which is a drug dealer.  The past month I have been trying to move out with no luck, stuck in my lease.  On Monday night, I was in my room playing banjo, and my drug dealing roommate was in the living room outside of my room door, which was closed.  I heard someone break into the front door and start yelling “Where the weed at?!” and my roommate pleading, “Ok! Ok!” At this point I made sure my door was locked and I barricaded myself in the bathroom and called 9-1-1.  I told them someone was breaking into my apartment, she said stay calm where are you? I told her and said they were beating up my roommate.  Now if I was rooming with friends, like back in California or some of my new friends here, I can tell you I would be out there shoulder to shoulder helping fight the good fight.  However none of my friends would bring this kind of mess home.  So I have no shame hiding out in el bano, this was exactly what I was warned about and why I was trying to move away!  I talked to the 9-1-1 operator the whole time, she did a great job at what she does.  The struggle ended up moving down the hall and back out the front door.  At this point there were five gun shots.  The operator told me she heard five gun shots, to which I replied, “I didn’t even count.” She said, “That’s my job.”  And the responded, “Well, look at you doing your job all good…” totally calm and goofy, not like someone’s getting shot in my home or anything.  Any way, I heard my roommate’s voice come back in yelling he had just shot someone.

The police got there right about then, I stayed locked in my room until the came and got me by name, the dispatcher had told them Cooper was in his room.  There was so much chaos going on that needed to be cleared up.  I have to tip my hat to the Murfreesboro PD, they realized who I was in the mix fairly quick, and took care of me.  I was taken to the Police Station, and waited for hours, but I just hung out down stairs with a bunch of cops watching the Alabama, LSU football game.  I heard a detective talking about me to another detective, she said, “This one’s the banjo player that is already packed up to leave…” A title I am ok with having.  I waited for about 6 hours before the detectives talked to me.  I was a little annoyed, but I learned what went down, and I was ok with waiting.  Turns out these guys broke in going for the drugs and money, there was a fight, and they kicked in both my roommate’s doors and fought both of them.  The drug dealer getting the worse, no one touched my door.  This was God at work, I know that for a fact.  If you’ve ever been to a night club or bar, and seen the giant Michael Clark Dunkin looking guy, arms crossed wearing a black t-shirt that’s too small, standing out front of the VIP room.  That was God outside my bedroom door.  The Russian roommate bolted out and made it to another apartment to call the police. From what I could gather, I believe the drug dealer roommate, shot an intruder in the head, who later died.  He was a 19 year old kid.  The two other suspects got away.

            I never saw a thing, which I am pretty thankful for.  People keep asking me if I am ok and how I am doing, I’m not going to lie, it was scary, but I had a sense of comfort around me.  The last 3 months I have been a prayer addict and front pew church guy, as out of control as it all was, I wasn’t alone.  Not only did I have God, after the police took myself and the Russian, back to the apartment, and police waited while I packed ALL my stuff into my ChevyCoop, which took about fifteen minutes, I had a place to go.  I showed up at Andrew’s door at 230AM and he welcomed me to his couch.  The next day I got together with the Pastor and his wife, from the church I’ve been going to. 

It was a crazy night and a terrible thing happened to all involved, but I am ok, and got out with out a scratch.  I know that if I didn’t have the church here, and God hadn’t set me up like he has with the people around me, I would be somewhere in New Mexico, headed back West by now, giving up on everything I came for.  I saw my two roommates in the police station, druggie was taken away, and I knew I would never see either again.  The apartment complex offered another two bedroom, I had words with them, and will be going in tomorrow to be released from my lease and any thing I might owe.  I wanted to get out of my apartment, this is not exactly what I had in mind.  It’s over now, I am living with Andrew, writing songs, and reading the Bible.  It honestly wasn’t traumatizing for me, it’s more of a thankful feeling I have now.

On a side note, when some one is shot in the head outside of your apartment by your roommate over drugs, and your apartment is covered by cops, and they are taking you to the station to clear it all up.  They look at you funny when you say “Hey make sure my banjo stays safe!”  Priorities right?

PS

The banjo is just fine.

Twelve Steps Forward, One Hundred and Six Steps Back…

For some reason there is no Wells Fargo Banks in middle Tennessee except for down town Nashville, which is thirty miles from where I live.  So I headed up to Nashville on Monday to make a deposit, since I was there I decided to find something to get into while there.  I checked out Antique Archeology the American Picker’s shop which was super expensive, especially considering if you’re a fan of the show and you have seen them get this stuff for $5 at a garage in the mid west.  Anyway, I found myself at the Nashville Palace across the street from Opry Land after a quick stop at the Dukes of Hazzard museum.  The Nashville Palace was pretty empty and having a song writer’s night, and man, there were some great song writers there.  A couple were legit Nashville song writers and that was how they made their living.  One of my favorites was two guys, one did instrumental guitar and was great!  He told a story of how he played a bar like this once and after he got off stage an older man came up to him and said “You’ll never make it in this town.”  He replied with, “Well I wish you would’ve told me that before I played on all those platinum records, this is just some thing I do when I’m not Toby Keith’s lead guitar player.”  That was such a cool night for me because, not only was it a listening to good, original country music, but it showed that these talented professional guys come and hang out with new song writers at a local bar.  I never saw that in any other music, or in LA.

I can’t explain what its like to be at a bar like that was. I’ve been to many, many country shows. I’ve seen my hero Brad Paisley, over a dozen times, and while it is a blast and I’ll see him play anytime I can, that is in a great big arena with tens of thousands of people.  So being in a little bar, with less than ten people (and half of them musicians themselves) is a completely different and fun experience.  That is why I love this town so much.  With my new goals in set for this year, I will be playing these stages soon.  As of right now Andrew and I still play the streets busking, we made a cool $12 during the day.  Later my car was towed and cost $106, but it’s the little wins in life you have to focus on… right? 

On a side note, if you have a sign saying “No Parking in front of every parking spot except for 3 spots on the end, wouldn’t you think those spots are ok?  Not in Nashville. Still love it though.

Nashville New Year!

Nashville New Years!  A co-worker of mine went down to Alabama for new years with her boy friend; they live together here in Murfreesboro and have a dog.  She asked if I could house sit, and watch the dog, and I said gladly!  They were super happy I was able to because they couldn’t find anyone else to take care of the dog, but what they don’t realize was how happy I was to stay out of my apartment for a few nights.  New Years Eve, I headed to Nashville with a very big group of new friends, we took 3 cars to get up there. At about 10:15PM and about 10 miles out of Murfreesboro, Car #1 blew a tire, so we all met them up on the side of the freeway, they didn’t have a spare tire for the truck, however, Car #2 did so we put that spare on, and we went back on our way.  We didn’t get to far, until Car #2 called and said their battery died while on the side of the freeway, so we turned around again and met them back up, and jump started it, and again, went on our way. 

            We made it to Nashville, and actually, parking wasn’t all that bad.  Lower Broadway, where all the famous honky-tonks are, was PACKED, Lynard Skynard was rocking the place for the last hour of 2011, and a giant music note was ready to drop.  It was a good time, people watching, and singing along to Skynard in downtown Nashville.  I made it to church on Sunday morning and heard a great New Year’s sermon.  A friend said that the word “Resolution” was weak, and I completely agree, so I am making some New Year goals for 2012.  I had no idea what was coming this time last year.  I would have never imagined in January 2011, that by the end of it I would be living in Nashville actually going for a career in Banjo Music, but here I am. 

            So, my goals this year are simple, and kind of obvious.  In the last three months I have learned a lot and continue to learn each day.  My first goal is to play more music.  Plain and simple, I want to practice hours every single day, I want to play with more people as often as I can, and I want to start playing out and gigging and playing shows.  Another goal is to continue to write and write more.  This counts both for writing music, writing lyrics, and also writing in a blog! And finally, I want to get closer to God, and study the Bible more, and as much as I can.  Without evening realizing it, I have been set up in Tennessee, and surrounded by musicians, churchgoers or both.  With all that in place, I am very excited for 2012, it has the potential to be a very musical year.  However, like I mentioned, before, January 1, 2011, I had absolutely no idea that by September I would have quit my job and moved to Nashville.  Just goes to show that you never really know what’s going to happen, and A LOT can happen in one year. 

            Set your goals, make your plans and follow through.  Keep your faith strong, take challenges head on, and when things don’t work out exactly like you thought they would, just remember its probably for the best,  and Happy 2012!

            Side note, I got home at about 3:00AM New Years morning, and since I was staying and Amber and Kevin’s I was actually able to come home and sleep!  My apartment was gearing up for an all night rage that afternoon, which is fine, but suck when you live in that rage.  Another goal is to get rid of my lease this month!