Kickin' Out the Jams w/the Fighting Jamesons

@ Shamrockfest 2015.

We spent the end of February having a blast in Indiana at all three of the 9 Irish Brothers locations in Lafayette as well as the new one in Indianapolis. Leading into March we zipped out to Charlotte, North Carolina to perform at Amos Southend. After that we went to Salisbury, Maryland to play at the brand new Headquarters Live venue-- they have a really unique and fun setup; a converted firehouse turned into a music venue and bar, we had a wonderful time and those folks are definitely putting Salisbury on the map for concert-goers-- we can't wait to return!

We came back home to Norfolk after Salisbury to play Shamrockin' In Ghent; the Deloreans kicked off the night with their stylish 80's tribute set. Despite the weather, the rain and cold wasn't holding anyone up-- Colley Avenue was filled with people ready to party, and we had a blast jamming out for the St. Paddy's celebration.

The next day we were quite busy in Raleigh, North Carolina-- luckily the rain stopped just in time for us to play-- though the wind and runoff water from the roof of the stage provided a serious challenge, we prevailed. We opened for Carbon Leaf at the festival during the day, then we had the honor of closing out the night, as they had been having numerous groups all day long; with a full set later that night a Tir Na Nog. The house was packed full of people and they were most definitely a fun wild crowd that night: full of moshers, happy boozers, and people pumped up for the pre-St. Paddy's celebration! We had a killer night, and were glad to see some new faces as well as folks who had came to see us before.

@ Tir Na Nog

For St. Paddy's this year we performed at the National in Richmond. Born Crooked opened up the night with their bluesy hard-hitting brand of rock' n roll. They remind me a bit of the White Stripes and the Black Keys. It was refreshing to have something that fit the bill with us, it's great to have a band opening for us that is particularly different from us and adds variety to the lineup for the night. They came along and played with us once more when we rode out to play at the Southern in Charlottesville. Unfortunately the Newport News show was cancelled, however stay tuned as we will be doing a make-up date for it in the near future.

Then we set off for Shamrockfest 2015 in Washington D.C. where we took to the Dewey Beach stage after the energetic Go Go Gadget and gave D.C. an hour of our finest raging celtic-punk tunes; we did a set consisting of some classic Irish folk covers as well as some original material from both the first and second album. Our bassist Ryan Ware and our buddy Cooper even met up with some of the dudes in Reel Big Fish while walking around! Afterwards we came back home to Viriginia Beach to play the Shamrock Marathon and the marathon's after-party at Murphy's as well.  

Fairly recently we added several new shirt designs to our merchandise catalog-- so be sure to check that out at our online merch store (personally, the new fist logo design is my favorite!)-- we've got some exciting plans ahead-- so stay tuned to our Facebook, Twitter, and our official website for the details to come.

A diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: Mayhem's, "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"

Mayhem's, "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"

I picked up this incredible reissue of Mayhem's debut black metal classic today at Skinnie's Records. It was re-released a little while back by Back On Black records in 2013 on 180 gram and on a limited 500 copy press of purple splatter vinyl.

This album came third in line after Burzum's first two albums and Darkthrone's first three albums; and the Mayhem debut along with these albums are the three quintessential bands that created the second-wave black metal sound that would spawn countless of other bands to follow in their footsteps and make it known beyond the borders of Norway and as a new subgenre of its own.

Mayhem have always had lots of controversy surrounding them with the suicide of their original vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin (better known by his stage name, "Dead") and the murder of Øystein Aarseth (a.k.a, "Euronymous) by Mayhem's own Varg Vikernes, whom is also the one-man band behind the Burzum moniker. However, plenty of media coverage/silly hype and documentation is rather over-saturated on this angle. This review, and the reason for my personal interest in the group is strictly for musical purposes only and for its historical importance within the context of heavy metal.

Back of, "De Mysteriis Dom Sathans"

There are a lot of interesting things happening musically around the creation of this album, and there was virtually almost nothing else quite like it with the main exceptions of Burzum and Darkthrone (of course some first wave black metal such as Bathory also applies-- the bottom line is that its a very short list of a small handful of groups mostly in Norway all contributing to an entirely new extreme form of metal).

Key characteristics of the album and of Mayhem's early sound are part of what made this album and the early era of the second wave of black metal so unique. Hellhammer's drumming is arguably totally the most impressive display of talent up to this point within the genres early releases; effortlessly blastbeating away, excellent tom rolls, with pummeling double bass on the kick drum. The fuzzed-out guitar effects created the icy distortion the genre is so known for-- the tonality of it was so distinct and different from the classic death metal tones of the time, particularly from that of the Swedish death metal scene. Tremolo picking pulls and breaks apart minor chord progressions, along with thrashy pulverizing riffs, coupled with melodic chunky bass lines. Varg Vikernes (though not a permanent member of Mayhem's lineup) did fill in to play bass on the album, the bass lines are well executed-- but its the drumming and the guitar work that takes the spotlight on this record. I would argue the most addicting track is the legendary, "Freezing Moon"-- the song showcases an incredible riff and a sense of memorability to it, while also displaying all the trademark characteristics of the bands sound.

Attila Csihar took over vocal duties after their original vocalist Dead shot himself. There are recordings of demos and live concerts with Dead--- but this was the groups first studio/official LP recording, and Attila took over after Dead's suicide. His style is unique to the genre at the time-- he intentionally did very strange moans and deep eerie chant-like voices, he sets a very haunting atmosphere appropriate for Mayhem, and his performance matches the music well. 

Reissued on purple splatter colored vinyl.

Originally released on Euronymous's Deathlike Silence label, the record has now been re-released a total of 31 times on various formats. An original copy of the first LP pressing (cataloged as Anti-Mosh 006) has up to date sold at the highest at $453.14 on Discogs (too rich for my blood-- I will just enjoy this reissue!). So the reissue of this historically important and also timeless classic of the Norwegian black metal scene is now affordable and a neat addition into the collection of diehard metal fans. I imagine it will only be a short time before it gets reissued time and time again, as a record so ahead of its time is bound to have people looking back and listening to it over and over; as black metal continues to evolve, and even the newest and most groundbreaking bands within the genre carrying the torch today are undeniably influenced by Mayhem.

A diamond in the rough, from my vinyl vault: Dischord's Faith/Void split- a DC Hardcore masterpiece!

Cover to Faith side

When I was younger and diving into the treasure chest of punk rock's glorious past, along my way I like many other people of that age interested in that music, inevitably stumbled across Minor Threat. Arguably more interesting, or certainly at least equally interesting-- was when I looked on the back and noticed the small logo reading: Dischord Records.

So naturally, I was curious-- what label put this out!? Do they have more stuff like this!? Why this light-bulb hadn't struck my peers as well and/or more often, I have no clue! Next thing I knew, I was looking into the label and its amazing catalog of material, and at some point while digging around stumbled on this record; not realizing my new favorite album in this realm of hardcore would soon be more appropriately thought of as simply an all time favorite. Recently I made a little trip to Skinnies Records to pick up this classic split.

Faith and Void were two powerhouse D.C. hardcore bands in, and also rather different from each other as well. Part of what makes this record particularly intriguing is that though they might not have been the most groundbreaking bands of their time, within punk or hardcore-- but they were certainly different from most bands of their style. Even more so they were rather different from each other, making this an extremely neat pairing of groups for a split.

Faith side of lyrics sheet

Faith was a high-energy band fronted by a particularly striking front-man-- Alec Mackaye who gave off a rather sincere style of both his lyrics coupled with his aggressive delivery behind the mic. Faith was surprisingly at times rather melodic for a hardcore group, and what made them so unique was how well written their songs are, it's strange to bring up terms like poppy and dare I even say digestible, and yet strangely they also feel rather appropriate when Faith comes to mind.

When the record suddenly rips open with, "It's Time" and its grooving heavy riff, the energy just keeps building and mounting together-- until Alec belts out his grand declaration in the chorus with, "I'm gonna' make society bleed!" Its very interesting that this opening song is actually quite slow for this band; yet the bar for the level of intensity on the whole record has been set in this one moment, and it almost seems unthinkable that it could never once let up or fall below when the bar was set so high from the get-go.

"Trapped", is an amazing song-- a song that often after listening to side A of this record can get stuck in your head for hours-- who knew hardcore could be this catchy!?! Its approach to social situations is the perfect example of how lyrically this band is above and beyond other hardcore groups. "You're X'd!" is another classic song, a propulsive tune bursting with an emotional depth to the lyrics on the subject of straight-edge quite possibly never matched by anyone ever since.

Cover to Void side.

Void is insanely interesting from start to finish. Their style was so explosive and wild, which is no small accomplishment in a form of music where things are already high-speed and blaring full blast at all times.  Although Void is very guilty of something most hardcore bands always try to do: play as fast as possible at all times! However, unlike most other bands-- Void executed this to the max and almost effortlessly!

The guitarist Bubba Dupree played wild licks and solos-- shredding and bordering on heavy metal (which they later would stylistically shift to), yet rhythmically and song structure-wise still within the confines of hardcore. He had amazing control and technique with the whammy bar, and it's definitely a key component in what made Void so much more exciting and drastically different from other hardcore bands.

Void side of lyrics sheet

The ferocity of vocalist John Weiffenbach and his mischievous behavior behind the mic are trademark to the bands sound as well. Lyrically, Void was also very interesting, but for totally different reasons than Faith. They had an eerie spooky vibe to their content full of violence with songs like, "Time to Die" and, "Condensed Flesh; as well as a confrontational in-your-face attitude with their anthems, "Ignorant People" and arguably the highlight of side B, "My Rules".

This reissue edition of the record comes complete with a digital download, and a killer lyric/photo sheet inside. This is definitely a must-own for any punk/hardcore collectors, and if you somehow haven't managed to come across this yet, then you are about to have that same light-bulb mentioned earlier shine your way!

John Weiffenbach

John Weiffenbach

A diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: Burzum

Burzum's 1st album

I was lucky enough to scoop up a good deal on this particular record at Skinnies Records in Norfolk. There were also some really nice re-releases of Mayhem, Darkthrone, and Burzum there as well that hopefully I'll get around to picking up eventually. It wasn't an easy process of elimination that day between those choices-- as each of these groups helped start an entirely new style of heavy metal, but I figured why not start off with this intriguing classic as a very first for the Black Metal section of my collection.  Rather than be redundant of other blog and/or site that has spoken of Varg Vikernes controversial past and points of view (none of which are what interests me in him), I have chosen this record because of its importance to the history of heavy metal. Its significant for its rather large role in supporting the creation of the black metal sub-genre, and especially for the concept of the one-man black-metal band.

To outsider ears of heavy metal-- some will struggle to hear the difference between death metal and black metal. Especially since in the time since the original scenes have moved on, newer bands have embraced both styles and infused them. At the time though, these original groups made every effort to musically state that they were separate and a new breed if you will. This album encompasses practically all of the characteristics of black metal: unlike death metal, where the guitarist often did just power chords or even just drop-tuned and played the top three strings to create the deep chugging-riff style typical of that style-- black metal guitarists were often using full bar chords (particularly as minor chords) with tons of distortion. The vocal styles are both screaming yes, but rather then simply write it off, its notably a different technique: death metal was distinct in its low-guttural approach (such as the Swedish death metal band Entombed for example) whereas black metal vocals tended to be not necessarily high-pitched, but not concentrated on achieving a low growl, more of just the most fierce scream of terror the frontman could deliver. The drumming certainly had the most similarities: lots of double bass and often blast-beats as well.

Inside of album gatefold.

Rather than give you a track-by-track detail (as there are more than enough of those reviews on Metal-archives of all sorts of opinion)-- I'd rather sum up the sides of the record and also make note of its overall atmosphere. It's important to realize that black metal is about atmosphere. Both the first self-titled album, and the included Aske mini-LP included are loaded with tremolo-picked blistering icy distorted guitar, pummeling drums, blood curdling eerie vocals. Surprisingly, there are strange creepy ambient noise moments, a bit of calm before the storm. The entire record is a unique blend of heavy metal, that is both haunting and eerie. There is a unique air to this style and sound, it possesses a strangely addictive quality-- it technically should be considered one of the worst things you've ever heard, since it breaks a lot of rules musically and also for recording production. Yet the fun in this musically speaking is much like Halloween-- it's an entertaining form of heavy metal to be sorta scared of at the same time. This might sound strange at first, but historically speaking this is not dissimilar to anything before with say Screaming Jay Hawkins popping up out of a coffin during his songs, or Alice Cooper "executing" himself on stage-- its now just taken on its own form within the realm of heavy metal.

Some other quite interesting and rare things compared to even other black metal acts at this early point in the movement, was that Burzum never played live, and never has played live (and quite possibly maybe never will). This was very rare at the time, as how was a record supposed to draw any attention at all if you never performed it to help make it known? So naturally this struck people as odd. Also, Burzum was simply just Varg Vikernes--- he played all the instruments and recorded it entirely by himself, so unlike Darkthrone and Mayhem- he was strictly a one-man band. Not only was this very uncommon for black metal, but this is extremely not common for metal in general. Quite possibly the most important thing would be the intentional direction of the production of this record. Varg chose intentionally "bad" sounding things. He made the guitar scratchy with too much overdrive, he only has the drums set up to be just audible enough without trying to a achieve the "big" drum rock'n roll sound that most bands aimed for in the studio, and he allowed the vocals too scream and clip over-top of the recording sometimes (apparently he recorded these by screaming into a headset as he stated in the documentary Until The Light Takes Us). He intentionally used the cheaper equipment, and did things not recommended for the "ideal" sound, and sloppily selected reverb and mix settings. Hahaha, can you imagine how weird this was for the recording engineer? Weirdest day at work ever!

Back of record.

Some have argued that this is an overrated album in the vast amounts of black metal now available since its heyday in the nineties. However, before judging so harshly it should be considered that this album created a template in which most bands of this style after Burzum would follow. It should be kept in mind at the time this album came out, other than Mayhem & Darkthrone-- there was virtually nothing else that sounded like this. Though of course Bathory is a huge influence, and there was also Venom before-- while groups such as these made vital contributions to the very existence of black metal-- it didn't truly become its own style until Burzum, Mayhem, and Darkthrone put out their significant releases marking the turning-point of this new music). Everything about this record was musically rebellious to the current thriving thrash and death metal of the time: the style, the production, the theme, the look, and the atmosphere were all unique. This album in particular was not only significant to the birth of black metal, not only a blueprint for the enormous amount of black metal to follow in its footsteps, but also forever put Norway on the map for heavy metal and has wrote a very interesting chapter in the story of heavy metal.

Top 10 Best Experiences While Busking EVER……

Yuri Lemeshev of Gogol Bordello.

Top 10 Best Experiences While Busking EVER……

1. Why it just so happens I met my lovely lady Stephanie while busking! Best tip I ever got!

2. Meeting Gogol Bordello while busking outside the Norva. Before the show I did see Eugene Hutz- regrettably I admit I froze and other than saying, "Hey" I just froze. I know- I'm an idiot! Lol. Luckily I did not repeat this mistake all night. I met pretty much met the entire band- including- their accordionist Yuri Lemeshev! I actually met a good chunk of the band both before and after the show- while I was busking before the show he said to me, "Sounds good" and nodded- I was kind've afraid to say much at the time- I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally starstruck.

Jason Webley!

After the show, I met Yuri again with Sergey Ryabtsev their violinist. Sergey is sooooo funny and cool- he's really full of personality- HE FREAKED OUT when I asked him to sign my CD of their first album,"Voi-La Intruder" (which for any of you remember that wonderful place while it was there- I picked up one day at Relative Theory Records! UGH! I miss that place!)- he was like, "Oh my God! I can't believe you have this!! We have to get Yuri in on this one! YURI!!!!!" I'm pretty sure what he meant was that because of the whole Mysapce craze at the time with their song, "Start Wearing Purple" (though that song is also on the first album- the version that mostly came into the public eye was the Underdog Worldstrike one) and their latest album at that time (my personal favorite so far to date!), "Super Taranta!"- so they were really excited and surprised to see someone asking them to sign the old one. Later the other band members signed my copy of Super Taranta- it's a memorable night I'll never forget- Gogol Bordello- along with Korpiklaani, Beirut, Flogging Molly, and some other bands- they are one of THE MAIN REASONS I was inspired to start playing accordion.

3. Meeting the Drowningmen and getting into their show for free w/Moneybrother and Flogging Molly on the Green 17 Tour. Unforgettable night.

4. Meeting Jason Webley before he played at the Taphouse in Norfolk, VA. He came up to me and introduced himself and was really nice (he looked much different in person- as he had short hair- and every photograph I had seen of him was with long hair) I made really nice tips that night and used it to buy his records- and he put me on the guest list and got me in his show for free.

w/Aly aka Lady Lamb.

He was a really great guy- not just as a musician- but it was great to get the feeling that he actually cared and was enthusiastic to talk to the fans. His performance by the way- was incredibly memorable- and he has the greatest commanding ability of forcing everyone to just shout and scream along even if they don't know the words. He does a lot of neat fun audience participation in challenging one half of the room to be louder than the other. He does some cool accordion improv- he lets the audience pick songs sometimes for him too- that night he did a cool 80s pop song improv- people just shouted them out and he'd think about it for about 2 split seconds- and start playing whatever songs people called out. Instead of that whole audience worshipping the performer vibe- he creates a different vibe where its like a big party and he's the life of it- musically impressing and hanging out with everyone.

5. Meeting Aly Spaltro (aka Lady Lamb and the Beekeeper)- she offered to get me in the Beirut concert for free- though I already had a ticket, I had a neat chat with her. She put on an incredible opening act! Though only slightly an odd pairing with Beirut (I can't explain why)- she is incredibly captivating- I can often lose interest in watching the lone-singer-songwriter on a guitar- but she had the whole room in the palm of her hand.

Similar to the tattoo the girl on Colley had...

Though this second part didn't really occur because of busking it's still awesome- that same night after the show Zach Condon of Beirut signed my record and said, "That's a very nice accordion". I told him I was surprised that their accordionist, Perrin Cloutier was playing a chromatic button accordion since all the photos I'd seen of their live shots before showed him using a piano accordion- and he goes, "Yeah he recently switched/learned button too- he locked himself in a room for a week" lol though that was brief it was totally awesome. I also met Luke also shortly approximately around this time I think (because I know I've mentioned seeing Beirut before to them all) and then he introduced me to Hunter and John and later on we had Nate aboard- and that's part of how our band met. : )

6. The second time I got to see Drowningmen live when they were touring with Alkaline Trio- while busking outside- Matt Chapin who plays trumpet in Mewithoutyou came up to me and showed me this really awesome huge accordion tattoo on his arm and struck up a neat conversation with me when he said, "That's awesome man- check this out- my grandfather played accordion!" Also while busking after the show was over- people were super nice and excited and into the accordion tunes- their spirits were so high after Alkaline Trio finished up.

7. Improv jamming with various friends/people in the street- Aaron Evans (glockenspiel & guitar) & Mike Twark (drums)- good guys, Wes Sutherland- good harmonica player- always had fun hanging out with Wes- we'd hang out a bit both go hit a corner- and meet up again later- I miss seein' him around- I hope he makes it into a blues band someday- it'd be the perfect fit! Charles from DJ P & Mr. T on violin- I love that guy! He's so nice- and he kills it at the violin- unfortunately we only got to jam together a few times- one time at this cafe together with this guy on tables and the energy was just really clicking'…. various other strangers- a guy who played spoons, a guy who juggled……

8. Another tattoo: this was incredibly funny and cool- busking on Colley avenue- this girl walks up to me and flexes her arm (but she had to use her other hand to jokingly push her "muscle" up- she was a tiny thing lol) and its a tattoo of an accordion and says, "Squeeze this!" lol so awesome. Before that it was just an ordinary day lol.

9. Busking in Williamsburg- early morning before Accordion Festival once- and then later that year before a Reckless Passengers gig at William & Mary: ) 

10. Getting hired for various gigs- some weddings, a French speaking club, Valentines Day, and some restaurant gigs all from giving my number to people in the street who liked what they heard- being fortunate to find a gig for the first 4 months I moved to Alexandria too. : )

DROWNINGMEN SHOW!!!!

Nato Bardeen w/Drowningmen @ the Jewish Mother

It's now the 3rd time I've seen the Drowningmen play; this time it was at the Jewish Mother, and like always their performance was top-notch. They did an incredible set with a nice selection of stuff from the new album, "All the Unknown" and their 1st album, "The Beheading of the Songbird". For those who don't know this band- seriously, I highly recommend that you just dive right into this stuff- these albums are basically classics of our time. I can't stress how much you should see this band live if you can, their performances are always so much intense.

They were relatively recently signed to Flogging Molly's own label Borstal Beat Records (the only band other than Flogging Molly themselves so far to date)- it should be really interesting to hopefully see the label handpicking and releasing other great bands on this label in the future as well. I can't find much of any information about any future plans from the label on the net/interviews with the band, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

James Smith w/Drowningmen @ the Jewish Mother.

Drowningmen have a neat instrumental setup- piano and organ, two guitars, sometimes mandolin, bass, and drums. Part of what I love about watching them play, is that the frontman in this band is quite versatile; Nato Bardeen switches between guitar, piano/organ, and the occasional mandolin and theremin appearances. He is a captivating frontman, the songs are well crafted and he channels them seemingly effortlessly to the audience.

For some songs, James Smith remains on guitar while Nato does additional keys along with Gabe Messer at the organ, creating a neat swirling effect. Jeff and Nato on guitars together create well layered sounds with excellent riff work. One example of such crafts and also one of the highlights of their set-list is a number from the first album called, "Caroline, You're A Mess" with a constant crashing feel, backed with an heavy propulsive beat. It's such an addictive moment on that album and a climatic point in their live show. Crowd-pleaser and potentially a lead single from the first album, "Rita" features a brief melodic guitar inro that introduces and enforces the melody of the vocal lines in the moments to follow. It's a song that wins the heart of the audience and has them singing along with its user-friendly chorus, even though they've maybe never heard it before.

Nato Bardeen of Drowningmen

Some really interesting moments in there set are their songs, "Player Piano (Web We Weave)" from the first album, along with, "The Waltz" plus, "Bored In A Belly", from the second album all have these neat waltz beats coupled with a hard indie-rock feel at times.  they are truly unique- as I can't think of anyone they sound too much a like- just similar pinches here and there.

Gabe Messer w/Drowningmen

Todd Eisenkerch (bass) and Rory Dolan (percussion/drums) give the band the driving rhythmic backbone it needs. Rory in particular, has a a somewhat peculiar set-up and a very unique drumming style, he's definitely a hard-hitting drummer; pounding away at the kit much more savagely than most, but his dynamics are top-notch, he even takes it back appropriately for the softer moments and breaks out some mallets.

Drowningmen write very articulate and enormously infectious indie-pop gems. It's a wonderfully layered sound: waves of organ, ripping guitars; all topped with a unique lead voice, and followed by a tight driving rhythmic force. Some bands you go see, it's a fun night; but it becomes just another night and gets lost in the back of your mind. That's not the case with these guys, they make you remember them each time.

Strapping on the accordion!

As this is my first post, I figured I would make a blog of my various experiences and opinions in the hopes of reaching out to fellow musicians and music lovers becoming part of a network of like minded individuals.

At a wedding gig.

Approximately around the time I started busking on a regular basis in late-winter/early-spring of 2010 I joined a small local accordion club called, "Valov" or also known as, "Accordion Lovers of Virigina".  It has been a great summer of playing in the street and I met a lot of great people along the way. I played all over really: all over outdoors in Chesapeake and Norfolk; also at a few small local shows at Winston's Cafe in Chesapeake, and in Norfolk at: Plaza Del Sol, Kerouac Cafe, and the Belmont, along with some nice wedding gigs too.

I met some really interesting people and fellow musicians along the way. Notably, I am glad to say I met Aaron Evans who is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar and glockenspiel among other things and currently in the band ARM and was also in Geneva. I also met Michael Twark who is also a multi-instrumentalist but plays mainly drums and is in many local bands in Norfolk (ARM, Glass Pennies, and Pan Galactic Straw Boss). I had a great time jamming with these guys on the street, which is how I first met them one day during an Art Everywhere event on Colley Avenue. 

jamming on Colley avenue w/Aaron Evans & Michael Twark

Later on I would also meet their friend and bandmate/guitarist Rex Bonney. Through playing near the Naro, I met some of their employees: Aaron Burgess (who is also a local musician in the indie-rock group Bonske) and Aria Maisey who is a local artist; she many times came out to visit me while I was playing and chatted with me. Hung out at and played some nice sorta informal shows at the venue Plaza Del Sol- where I also met Charles Abadam who is a violinist and also a member of DJ P & Mr. T and would enjoyed jamming with him sporadically.

with Nato Bardeen of the Drowningmen.

Later I met, local ukulele player and singer Skye Zentz at Fairgrounds Coffee at open mic she hosted while performing with the singer Rene Montague of my previous project that was called Heronland. I also performed on a few occasions at the Phillip Odango's Kerouac Cafe for Louis Fisher's art show and later some other events there too.

Later I met my friend and harmonica player Wes Sutherland while out busking who I jam with fairly often and have even busked with on a number of occasions and even jammed together with, including a small but enjoyable and memorable one with James Robert Smith from the band Musicplayer at the Kerouac Cafe. I was  slightly involved and played at the celebration of the start of the Soundcheck program at the 757 Creative Space as well.

I was also fortunate enough to get into two concerts for free as a result of my busking. I got to see the Drowningmen twice: the first time their photographer Ryan Renteria saw me playing accordion and took photographs and some video of me and then put me on the guess list to get into the sold out Flogging Molly show that night for free! The Drowningmen opened with a killer set that has had me hooked as a fan ever since. They were followed by Sweden's Moneybrother whom I've also been a fan their irresistible dancey rock tunes since.

w/Gabelani Messer & Rory Dolan of Drowningmen.

The second time around the Drowningmen's frontman Nato Bardeen who was not only nice enough to put me on the guest list and get me in for free the second time around but also let me get my buddy Wes Sutherland in for free as well, and I was flattered he remembered me from the months before. They came to the Norva again; the second time, I saw them opening for the Alkaline Trio. The Drowningmen always give an amazing live show sporting two guitars, organ, piano, slight usage of theremin, and Nato's soaring lead vocals. The energetic rhythmic qualities of their music and guitarist James Smith is awesome too. My personal favorite is when they do, "Caroline's A Mess" live. It is catchy as hell, full of energy, and just unbeatable! The fact those guys were so kind to me and even remembered me was a highlight for me as an accordionist.

Later after joining Accordion Lovers of Virginia and meeting the extremely talented Sidney Sward. I am highly benefiting both as a friend and musically from Mr. Sward, along with the other members of the club including Tip, Andy, and others I have briefly met.

That mostly sums up my experiences over the past few months and for the summer. Every day has been either at my part-time job or getting up and practicing then racing out to Norfolk from my home in the boonies in Chesapeake and performing anywhere from 2 to 4 hours at a time. I didn't even realize until I stopped long enough to think about it just now; just how much has happened during this time!

Thanks for reading. Until next time......