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* "If it's Tuesday, this must be Los Angeles..."

The past week and a half has become a bit of a blur amid the whirlwind of 10th-anniversary activities we've hosted across the country so far. Many thanks to those of you who have come out to our events at Bumbershoot in Seattle, Waterloo Records and the Continental Club in Austin, Mercy Lounge/Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, and the Regulator Bookshop in Durham.

We've sponsored Bumbershoot's Backyard Stage for several years now, but our show there on September 2 with Tift Merritt, Billy Joe Shaver, and Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion was particularly special, serving as the kickoff for our "10 Years, 10 Shows" celebration. Hard to imagine that in 1995 at this time, we were just down the street at our friend Art Chantry's old studio on Western Avenue finishing up ND #1 (thanks, Art) -- and now we're able to present some of Americana's finest artists directly beneath the Space Needle (thanks, Bumbershoot). A most pleasant surprise for me was reconnecting with my cousin Greg Gunn, who I hadn't seen for 30-some years. Greg's the diving coach at Princeton University and happened to be visiting friends in Seattle; he went to the show not knowing I'd be there, till he saw me come out to introduce the acts. It was great to chat with many of our subscribers at our booth, but having Greg come over and say hello really made my weekend.

Visiting Austin on September 7 was another highlight for me. I grew up there in the '70s and '80s, and both Waterloo and the Continental figured heavily in my musical education. It occurred to me that although ND is celebrating its 10th anniversary, coming back to Austin in 2005 felt sorta like a 20-year milestone to me, because the summer of 1985 was when my world was changed forever by that city's vibrant music scene. Before then, I was pretty sure I wanted to be a sportswriter; but after a summer and fall of seeing countless shows by Zeitgeist, the True Believers, Doctors' Mob, the Wild Seeds, Glass Eye, Timbuk 3, the Commandos and others, my journalistic ambitions turned toward a different road. I don't think, though, that I ever imagined I'd be returning two decades later to find my own name on a welcoming-banner at my all-time favorite record store. My sincere appreciation to John Kunz and all the Waterloo folks, and everyone who came out to the Continental later that night, for helping me (to quote a song-title from Charlie Sexton's new disc) "Bring It Home Again."

Off to Nashville the next morning; hadn't quite done the math to figure out that a show till 2am and an 8am flight meant I'd get approximately 3 hours of sleep. Running on adrenaline was enough to get me through the afternoon, and in the evening, our 10th-anniversary show at the Mercy Lounge/Cannery Ballroom overflowed with such an amazing array of talent that it was hard to imagine it had all happened on one night's bill. By the time the one-two-three-four upstairs/downstairs flurry of Marty Stuart, Solomon Burke, the Knitters and Buddy Miller had finished things off, it might've been easy to forget what had come before -- except that there had also been stellar sets from Bobby Bare, Elizabeth Cook, and the Avett Brothers. (I was particularly impressed that at least three or four people stopped me the next day to say how much they'd enjoyed the Avetts, who apparently made a strong enough impression as the opener to linger in the memories of many folks even after the onslaught that followed them.)

After another day in Nashville for the Americana Music Association Awards -- the first to be held at the Ryman, which made for a very special evening (highlighted by Marty Stuart's touching Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech, and New/Emerging Artist winner Mary Gauthier's exquisite rendition of "Mercy Now" with a Buddy Miller-led supporting cast), it was off to North Carolina -- another homecoming of sorts, as I'd lived there for four years before returning to the Seattle area in 2004. Putting together our show at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill was relatively simple, thanks to the abundance of talented acts who call the Triangle area home. It had been awhile since I'd seen the Two Dollar Pistols; their performance served as a strong reminder of just how admirably they carry the honky-tonk and country-soul torch. By contrast, I'd seen Caitlin Cary just one night earlier, dueting with Thad Cockrell at the AMA convention; her set with Tres Chicas included a slew of new songs from what looks to be one of next year's most anticipated albums. Chris Stamey turned in his own typically engaging set, and also was responsible for suggesting the night's opening act, Sally Spring, whose beautiful vocals were supported by an A-list band including the great Graham Maby on bass. (I confess I also kept an eye on the big-screen TV in the back room from time to time, elated to find at the end of the night that my alma mater Texas had beaten Ohio State.)

Sunday and Monday provided my wife Lisa and I some time to visit with her family and with some of our closest friends -- most notably David Menconi, who joined me for book-reading events at Quail Ridge and the Regulator to promote The Best Of No Depression: Writing About American Music, a new anthology on University Of Texas Press. David and I first met in 1987 and had been through many adventures long before No Depression ever got off the ground, some of which he humorously recounted from the podium at the bookstores. His ease in front of an audience -- compared to my general nervousness -- made me envious the first night but inspired me to do better on the next one. Fortunately we also had first-rate musical guests at both events: Kenny Roby entertained in Raleigh, tossing in a brilliant Doug Sahm medley to cap the proceedings, while Tres Chicas expanded to Quatro Chicas in Durham when Tonya Lamm's daughter Sofia joined in on harmonies with Tonya, Caitlin, and Lynn Blakey. (Lynn, by the way, just might be the best female singer in Americana today. Yes, she's that talented.)

Tuesday brought another early-morning flight, this time back across the country to Los Angeles. A transfer in Nashville brought a chance encounter with guitarist/songwriter Duane Jarvis, who happened also to be L.A. bound on the same Southwest Airlines flight. The mountains and the rivers and the plains and finally the vast Mojave desert stretched across the landscape as our jet zoomed from horizon to horizon. We talked about the the placed we'd been recently, the precarious state of our nation, and, of course, music -- including the Wednesday ND 10th-Anniversary show at L.A. club the Mint with Tom Freund, Grey DeLisle and Murry Hammond. Thursday, it's on to Chicago for shows at the Metro with Sufjan Stevens (Friday-Saturday 16-17) and the Hideout Block Party with Freakwater, Autumn Defense, the Lamentations and Devil In A Woodpile (Friday 16). Maybe we'll see you there.

adios,
peter

Posted by peter on September 13, 2005 11:53 PM | Permalink