All Good Report

Just got home from a fun little weekend jaunt through Ohio and West Virginia. We hit Cleveland on Friday night, where we did a show at Wilberts, which is literally spitting distance away from Progressive Field, where the Indians play ball. We played a with a super band led by drummer Paul Stranahan, who can do some mind-bending stuff with polyrhythms.

Then it was on to Masontown, WV for the All Good Festival on Saturday. The Ropeadope people took great care of us, and the crowd gave us a lot of energy on stage. It seemed like we all really connected with the music. Maybe it would sound average if you listened to a recording, but it felt amazing while we were playing. That feeling is indescribable. It was also really a trip that people were asking for autographs after the show. We've been around the block a little bit as a band, but we're still at the level where if someone asks you for an autograph, the first thought is, "really?" It feels like such an honor. Like everything else, that feeling probably wears off once you've done it a thousand times, but when you're not used to it, it takes you by surprise. I hope we can make those signatures worth something someday.

Tom Cleary, a former piano teacher of mine who I studied with for four years while doing my undergrad degree at UVM, recently started playing with ex-Phish bassist Mike Gordon's band, and luckily enough, they were performing on the same day as us. I've learned lots of things from lots of people, but Tom was the one who turned me from a novice pianist into a real musician. As far as Phish goes, let's just say that I literally own hundreds of cassette tapes of bootleg Phish shows, and at one point, you could've blindfolded me and popped any random tape in the player and I'd be able to tell you exactly what show it was. While I'm not the Phish-head these days that I once was, they're still basically "musical gods" to me, as well as the other guys in the band. It was great to see them play together, and later on, Tom and Mike came to check out our set. Unfortunately, neither myself or the rest of the guys had the chance to talk to either of them very long before we were rushed on stage, but I've gotta say it was really cool just to shake Mike's hand and exchange a few words. My heart was definitely beating a little faster on stage knowing that one of my musical idols was backstage listening. Also, as a student, you never get over that feeling of wanting to perform well in front of your teacher, even if that person isn't technically your teacher anymore. See, Tom, I've been practicing!

I have plenty of pictures from this weekend, as well our recent northeast tour, which I promise will be up soon.