March Tour w/the Fighting Jamesons- supporting Lucero, Shamrockfest, & more!!!!

w/the Fighting Jamesons @the Norva March 15th, 2014

Just got home recently from the end of our tour for March with the Fighting Jamesons. Previously in late January and throughout February we had recorded our new album, "Every Day Above Ground"- and  then set out all across the country to tour supporting the new album- which yes, is available on i-Tunes and also available on our website or at any of our shows/as it was released at our hometown/release party show at the Norva a short while ago on March 15th. "Everyday Above Ground" is my first album with the band, and the bands second album altogether- and it consists of 12 tracks- 9 originals, and 3 covers (2 traditional Irish numbers- "Rocky Road to Dublin" and "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya" + 1 old Virginia folk-tune redone Jamesons style, "Mid the Green Fields of Virginia")- its got some of what you would expect I'd think in terms of the Irish folk-rock/punk that the band was already known for before I joined, but also this new album has some extra little surprises along the way such as our fiddle player Tim's bluegrass influences shining through and making an appearance on, "The Ramble Home" and a bit of a semi-gypsy vibe on the song, "Song For Letting Go" along with a few other ingredients added to the melting pot. You can get previews of it on Amazon and CDbaby as well. It was a really great experience recording it, and I had a great time in the studio with the guys doing my takes, hearing their takes, and watching Mark Padgett's process in terms of recording. It was definitely a memorable experience and I had a great time being a part of it. A huge thank you to my bandmates, Mark Padgett, and all of the indiegogo contributors who helped make it all possible, as well as my family and my fiance for their continued encouragement and endless support.

Billboard for our show in Vally Center, CA

In my opinion, some highlights of the tour in particular were the Hook's Irish Rock Festival in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, our stop at the casino in Harrah's Rincon Pavillion in Vally Center, California, our hometown show at the Norva celebrating the release of, "Every Day Above Ground", our three dates supporting Lucero, and of course ShamRockFest at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.!

I think I came to the conclusion that I really love playing outside when we were in New Jersey, I think I've known this somewhere in the back of my mind- but the light bulb went off that day and I was like ah! this feels so great out here! The Norva of course was bound to be fun as it was our hometown show, and it was great to officially release the record and see so many familiar faces in the crowd. The three dates with Lucero were spectacular: They are touring to support their new EP, "Texas & Tennessee"- I even learned quite a bit from watching them: everything from little tips of how I noticed Mary run their merch, their setup, and Rick Steff's piano/organ/accordion performances were inspiring and brought to light some interesting techniques. Rick Steff is actually a really interesting guy- he's recorded with Dexy's Midnight Runner's and been involved with Cat Power and some other really notable acts; though I didn't get to chat with him too much, he seemed extremely intelligent and had a really funny neat story he shared with us briefly one night about a tour he once did with Hank Williams Jr. in both the U.S. and Canada.

On top of all this- I had a complete blast at the show in Valley Center, CA. We had a really powerful performance that night, a wonderful response from both the audience and the staff there. I also was lucky enough to get to see my future-in-laws- my fiance's oldest brother Lee and his wife Mary- and had a great time chatting with them afterwards, it was really nice to see someone I knew in a place so far from home, and we had a great time hanging out after the show.

The Irish Sea (of people!) at ShamRockFest

ShamRockFest in itself is a truly amazing and spectacularly enormous event! We arrived early enough to get to watch a lot of other great acts: I feel perhaps most interesting was Black 47. Apparently this is their last ShamRockFest and they are retiring in a few months- but I really enjoyed the majority of their set (I missed just the first couple of songs)- they have a really unique blend of Celtic, punk, and reggae complete with horns, bagpipes (I saw possibly the most amazing bagpipe solo I've ever heard in my life that day!), tin whistle, and were also the only Irish band there you could both skank and jump around to. It was a really special set, it also dawned on me that their frontman is sort've like a Celtic-rock version of Richard Hell- which was really cool and unique. I am definitely planning on getting their final album, "Final Call" for my turntable in the near future!!
As far as having the honor and privilege to play at ShamRockFest, it was absolutely a thrilling and changing moment- it was just a sea of people- to have roughly 30,000 people singing along to our cover of the, "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme and then launching into the opening track, "Year Gone By" off our new album was a total rush. I'll never forget the ShamRockFest experience and am looking forward to hopefully returning to it next year (as I know the band has played it 2 or 3 times before I joined)- it's a remarkable festival and definitely a special occasion to attend both as a fan of the music and as a performer as well.

I've also very recently decided to start writing some material for a solo EP, as to what it will be called is currently undecided and I just have a song and half written so far- it will be a long journey and something I work on only in between my time with the Fighting Jamesons- it could easily be a year or two before it's all written, recorded, and released- but it's something I've decided to carry forward with and am excited to have begun gradually writing it. In the mean time, please check out the new Fighting Jamesons album, "Every Day Above Ground"- as I'd/we'd love to hear what you think of it and hope you enjoy it!  Until next time......