Last updated January 16, 2008
1/14/08 All For The Love of Music
This weekend the Usual Suspects and I got back on the road, our first show of 2008 and unfortunately all did not go off without a hitch. So many people have no idea what really goes into a good band, what goes into putting on a show that you can come and enjoy and be truly entertained. Well this weekend I found myself very appreciative of all those things and contemplating all those things as we got ready for a show.
There is one reason I feel I am finally seeing some success in my music career after almost 5 years of really trying to get things going that one reason is simple, I am finally surrounded by talented people. I am not talking about just musically talented which they all are, I am talking about professionalism, knowledge of their craft, knowledge of the equipment, being able to put in the hours and hours of work you need to put in before you can get on stage and call yourself a band.
There is obviously only one reason why we do this and that answer is simple, we all love music, country music, rock, whatever. We love to perform the music we play, we love to entertain grounds, but truly that is the easy part, getting on stage and playing that first chord in front of fans. My biggest struggle was just finding a group of guys that I could work with and get along with. Then as a band you have to start the sacrifices to be successful, we put in time working on music instead of seeing friends, we bargain with our spouses or families about time spent. Then the business end of the music, booking shows, on top of working regular jobs, trying to make the best deal possible, and once we finally get the shows, we are hit with the dreaded set up and tear down! Up and down our gear goes, gear by the way that will break on you and then you are introduced to what is called in the business world as overhead!! But then something happens!
Once all the shows are booked and all the sacrifices have been made, the gear is up the sound check is done, the praying for a good show is over, finally, finally we get to play our music, we get to play that first chord and only then does all the sacrifice, all the hustling, all the frustration of this business go away. It goes away because we are where we love to be the most, on stage, playing the music we love, entertaining our fans and friends. That is why we do this!
To the guys in my band who I could not do this with out, Thank You! Thank You for helping me live my dream and Thank You for all the work and sacrifice you all put in every day and every time we step on that stage together!
To my wife and the families of all the guys in the band Thank You for being open to supporting our dreams, standing behind us and putting up with our musician ways, only you can do it!!
BL
2/10/07 The Show Must Go On!!!
I believe the process is called “paying your dues”. This is done when you set up to do a show, and the attendance for the show is a bit less than what you were hoping for. We just played a show last weekend in Jackson that well, just didn’t have the turn out we were hoping for. We did have some fans come down from Lansing which was very cool, my wife Keri hung in there with us through set up and teardown but that was it, not counting bar staff. Most important this is that the show went on! As a group we still delivered the music as if the bar was packed wall to wall, and when we were done performing (a bit early, mind you) we all laughed knowing that one night didn’t matter and we still did our jobs. All the same though next week we may do a bit more promoting for the show!!
BL
2/1/07 Back in the Light
Hey everyone, well it feels great to be back on stage and playing music again, it will never get old the feeling of performing the music I love in front of great fans and being surrounded by great sound, it is a feeling that is very unique. The boys and I have made some waves already, making a local paper, and doing some shows that have already impressed local on lookers. We are looking forward to a big February as we have something going on every weekend, should be a fun month of country music!
BL
1/1/07 BL and The Usual Suspects
Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know I am still here and kickin'!!
My new band and I The Usual Suspects have been finally making some noise the last few months, finally getting into some venues around the area. The band is made up of three musicians that I have hoped to get together for a long time. First Bill Molitor, a Dewitt native plays a mean bass and is the creative genius behind many of our new logos and designs. Phil Steel a Lansing Local is the man on the drums, a master of the stick flips his skills can only be learned in the high mountains of Asia (not really but it sounds cool), and last but not least GW is our lead guitar play, an Eaton Rapids resident this man knows how to make his guitar scream, and there is no better gum chewer in all of the U.S. Together we strive to give the highest energy country show possible to all who venture out to see us. Our focus right now, is the local scene and then looking to expand out as far as possible, Our first original tune It’s Ain’t Me, It’s the Music has already been recorded and is available to hear on my myspace account. I am looking forward to doing great things with this group and building a fan base of crazy and wild country folks that love good music and great entertainment. Well time to get back on the road!!!
BL
Walking Through Nashville 10/01/06
Well I just got back from Nashville this Sunday. I went down there for a week to go to a Nashville Songwriters' conference on Nashville’s famous music row. Which for those of you that don’t know is the street where the major record labels call home. My first day there was a little odd; I was in a pretty ruff hotel right across the river from downtown Nashville. It was a little lonely my first night as I didn’t really know anybody there and didn’t really know where I was so I stayed close to my room and rested up for the next day.
The next morning was good, I got to a ride to Belmont University with my old buddy Charlie Reul and his wife. Charlie and I got to know each other a few years ago after doing the Mission of Hope Benefits together. He had been living in Nashville for the past couple years working to build a name as a songwriter and country music singer. Which by the way if you are not from Nashville, everybody from the cab drivers to the bar owners are songwriters and country music singers! I got to start off my week by listening to a panel of speakers that NSAI had brought in for us to listen to. It was some major writers, men and women who had written top hits for Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and a few other big names. They were very impressive with their answers and advice to us would-be songwriters.
The afternoon was more of the same but the panel included Record Reps and some A&R guys from some major record labels. One of the writers there was a guy named Craig Wiseman who if you didn’t know was one of the men who wrote Tim McGraw’s hit Live Like You Were Dyin'. He also sang us some stuff he had written for Kenny Chesney while he was taking questions and giving advice. The whole day was a blur as we sat listening to these men and women who had worked to be at the level me and the rest of the audience were hoping to some day be at.
Tuesday was the start of my workshops. I would walk 3.3 miles from my hotel down Broadway (Nashville’s most famous strip) then up a few roads to music row. My first class was in Warner/Chappell, which is the record label for artists like Hank Jr, Faith Hill, and a few other very big names in country music. The first thing I noticed was a huge wall of gold and platinum records across the large waiting room. I was scanning over then (drooling a bit I won’t lie) when I realized I didn’t even recognize some of those names, records that were released in the late 90s. Artists that had come and gone without me ever knowing but had the kind of success I could only dream of. It made me realize at that moment how fast it could all be over, and was a great realization to hit me seconds before I walked into my first workshop.
My week was filled with lots of workshops (9am to 5:30pm everyday) and lots of walks up and down Broadway. By the end of the week I had more information stuffed into my head than I knew what to do with but I finally had a lot of the answers I had been looking for as to where to take my career. I called my band on Thursday and told them I was excited to come home and get things going with them. I hung out with some of my new friends that I had made there, Ange from London, Sash from Germany, Tim from Florida, and Pam from Michigan. All people who I found in Nashville doing the same thing I was, chasing a dream and trying to get better at our craft.
On my flight home I was planning on sitting back and letting the whole week wash over me and I would be able to reflect on everything that had happened. Instead, I met a bluegrass band by the name of Blue Horizon who were down from Canada for the Bluegrass Festival in Nashville. They were so damn peppy and chatty we ended up talking about the week all the way back to Detroit where we parted ways, but only after I was given an honorary Canadian Flag to wear. Thanks, Jess and Mary!
Over all it was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to get my tail back down there as soon as possible. I hope all of you make it down there whenever you can it is an amazing city for music lovers, my only piece of advice leave your cowboy hats at home!
See you all soon,
Brian
Going Solo 5/1/06
So as many of you have heard by now I decided to leave the B&G Show and head out to pursue my own solo career. I can not stress how tough of a decision this was and that my reasons for making it were in no way swayed by my relationship with George. He is a great friend and very talented singer and entertainer. I just couldn’t shake the image of me on stage solo and in this business if you don’t follow your heart, the music will die with you. So in the past few months I have gone solo, put a band together, played my first solo gig with a band, and I am getting ready for what I hope to be a busy and successful summer. My hope is to move from some of the smaller bars and venues we have been playing in and move up to the bigger ones and out of state to the Indiana-Ohio region. I am doing a lot of song writing and re-recording some songs from Six Strings and Out With the Boys, for a demo package that I will be sending out to labels and hopefully as a CD to head over to Europe as a bit of a test market.
I am very excited about where things are going and hope that the fans that were there before the B&G, and during the B&G, will still be supporting me now that the new solo career has started. It was a great run, with so many great memories and times, I regret nothing from it and only hope that I can have as much success with this new solo venture as I did with the B&G.
Hope to see you all on the road,
BL
Lansing Idol Competition 4/13/06
Hey everyone! George and I heard about this contest called “The Lansing Idol Contest” being held at a club called the Cadillac Night Club in Lansing. It was a twelve week competition George and I entered in on the second week. The first couple weeks we were shut out by some tough competition and some tough judges. Finally on the 5th week of the competition The B&G Show walked away with a spot in the finals and a request to be on the cover of “The Noise”, a popular entertainment magazine in Lansing. The article mainly covered the Lansing Idol competition, but did have several mentions of The B&G Show in it. As we gained friends and popularity at the club the finals rapidly approached. Finally on April 12th we arrived at the finals. After a small pre-party we headed to the back of the club to get a limo ride to the front. We loaded up in the Hummer limo (pictures available on this site) and cruised around to see a ton of spectators fans and cameras awaiting us. It was a great feeling to be cheered and hollered for by so many of our fans that showed up to enjoy the night.
As the competition started it was tough to pay attention to the talented performers as we noticed so many of our friends and fans that came out to support us that night. We saw faces that we hadn’t seen since the Dawg Haus days and some of the loyal faces that were there at the very beginning of the B&G Show. George and I performed in the middle of the group; we performed “Gone”, the song that got us into the finals. It went good: the crowd responded, the judges responded, but in the end after the final bow we fell just short. We took away a very hard earned third place, losing to two very talented ladies, Angie Carr, who placed second and Perkins Pryor who won the competition outright.
It was a great experience with the competition and the friends we met, it was something I will never forget doing. The night ended with George and me sitting onstage singing cowboy in a capella style. A fitting and final performance for the B&G Show, thanks to all for the great memories!
BL
Coming Home - December 11th 2005
Always funny to me how things in life can and do come full circle, at the beginning of this year we had just started playing at what was then The Dawg Haus in Charlotte. We were picking up speed and really starting to do well for ourselves and for the bar. Suddenly life changed, the bar changed ownership, we got the boot and decided to take our show on the road, which worked out well. All of a sudden toward the end of our summer run, I got a call from the new owner of the bar who was now calling it the Cactus Juice Steak House asking us if we would like to come back for a few months and try to get things going again. George and I accepted and last Friday we found ourselves full circle from a very busy year, a little wiser and a lot more seasoned as a duo and back on the stage where it started. So we did what we do best...we shook and hollered, we had some pudding and did a few shots and we were welcomed back to where it all started. It was nice to come home.
BL
Entertainer of the Decade - Nov. 13th 2005
As most of you know I won Entertainer of the year for the Mission of Hope Cancer Fund back in 2001. It was a great honor for me then as having been shut out of winning any prizes the year before and walking away from the contest completely empty handed. Thanks to Rock Mangus (the founder of the Mission of Hope Cancer Fund) who really pushed me to start competing more and to attempt to grow as an entertainer I found myself walking away with The Entertainer of the Year for 2001 won beating some pretty good competition with my infamous rendition of “Footloose”.
Well earlier this year Rock told me that this year's benefit Karaoke Contest would be the last one held, and with that he told me he was going to have an Entertainer of the Decade award given out to a returning Entertainer of The Year. Excited at the idea I looked forward to the show, coming off of a great summer with the B&G Show I looked forward to a brief moment of solo performing and the chance to put a cap on what I started in 2000, going from being shut out to winning the top award.
The contest finally arrived and after debating a bit I decided to go with what got me there and did “Footloose”, for the competition. There was a bit of a let down when I learned that not all the former entertainers of the year were going to be there. One especially, a guy who really opened my eyes to learn what it meant to have stage presence and to go beyond just the music when performing. If any of you were wondering his name was Darrell Taylor, Best of luck bud if you ever read this!!
My actual performance was a little rough as George and I had performed the two nights before and tried to save a little for the contest. I was doing pretty well through the song then for the first time ever singing Footloose (and we are talking a lot of times!) I totally forgot the words to the song, mind you it was only for a few seconds and I recovered pretty quick, but let me tell you I almost panicked for a second there. So I did my thing, shook my hips and took a bow at the end of the song hoping it would be enough. When the judging came I was honestly nervous and excited, they announced the second place winner, I closed my eyes put my head down and heard the MC announce my name over the mic. I won’t lie, I got choked up, I will admit it, it was a great moment for me. I held the trophy high, got a great cheer from the crowd, waved Hi to my mom and my girlfriend in the audience and as Entertainer of the Decade took a final bow to the audience and judges.
BL
A Great First and Last at Charlies - Nov. 12 2005
The B&G Show made it’s way over to Charlies Bar in Potterville MI this week. I wasn’t too sure how the bar would receive us, the same as I always feel about any new venue we walk into. Given the fact that the bar was right up the road from the old Dawg House, the original home of the B&G Show, I was very hopeful though. It was a big night, new place to play, lots of loyal fans in the seat and my mom had come down to see the B&G Show for the first time so I was looking forward to the night.
The night was filled with great fans, great new friends and nothing but smiles and cheers from all who where there...or so I thought! By the end of the night the dance floor was filled, some old friends from the Dawgg House days came out to surprise us and we were really tearing up the bar. After a brief stint of me tearing off my shirt during “Kid Rocks, Cowboy”, we said good night and closed the bar down, believing that we made everyone happy and we going to be welcomed back soon...welll!
I got the call a few days later from the manager that some of the patrons at the bar didn’t like the fact that they couldn’t get up and sing as well during our show, and threatened not to come back, so unfortunately our first night at Charlies was our last! But for all of you who where there for the table dancing, the shots of tequila, the hip shaking, the shirt tearing and the screaming, sweating fans, thanks for one great night!
BL
Hangin out With Roger Marshall
Just got back from a fun weekend of hangin out with Roger Marshall and the Law. I got introduced to him through our mutual friend Dick Patterson who hooked us up with the Buck Lake gig. Roger and his band are tasting success as a group and were kind enough to invite George and I down to their CD release party in Fort Wayne IN. Gladly George and I cruised down with another new friend Aubrey Lynn to check out the show and hopefully meet some new contacts. It was fun for a change to just go to the bar and hangout and just enjoy the music and just be a fan again. We handed out some of our demo’s before the night started and Roger was cool enough to have his camera man give The B&G Show a short interview but when the music started it was nothing but a good time. Watching and hearing the bands really got George and I fired up to take things to the next level and get our own group up and running, a topic we covered a lot on the drive home. The CD release was a good time, the band was on and put on a great show for the packed house.
The next day Roger was gracious enough to grant us access to be back stage with the band at the Benefit Concert he was doing with Josh Turner and Billy Currington. After a long lunch and a even longer discussion about music and the business we took a slightly detoured route back to the site of the show and began to watch the stage take shape for the show. We sat back and listened to Josh, Billy and Roger’s band do their sound checks. All the little and big details that go into making a show work, things I am used to but this was on a much, much larger scale. Roger and his band The Law opened the show and did a great job to get things going for the rest of the night. It was a great night of fun and music and a very educational weekend for us both. We would like to send out a huge thanks to Roger his wife Bev and the boys in the band for treating to strangers like friends all weekend and showing us a good time Best question of the night was when the key board play for the band Paul, looks and George and I and says “Guys I was wondering who the hell are you two?” We explained our selves and best as possible and moved on with the rest of the night. Hopefully we will be able to pay them back soon for the good time. I suggest to everyone who is reading this to go and check out Roger Marshall’s web site. It really was a great weekend for George Aubrey and I hanging out with these guys, hopefully we will get to share the stage with them someday soon.
Thanks again Roger and Bev!
BL
Welcomed by Wayland
George and I finally got out first show in the Wayland Hotel in Wayland Michigan this week. I had been trying to book a gig there for a while given it is my girlfriend's home town and we knew we could get a lot of people to come out to the show. I finally got a couple dates booked up after I got to stand in with a band that was in the bar one night, guess that MaryKay must have liked something she heard. George and I both were a little nervous at first because it was a new venue and a lot of people we knew would be there and we wanted to be sure to put on the best show possible.
By the time show time came around we had our old friend Amanda Huizenga with us and a full house to sing to. Both Friday and Saturday ended up being great nights for us, even though we didn’t have Amanda on Saturday.
Wayland rocks and we can’t wait to get back there as soon as possible. Maybe next time we will even bring a band!!!
Thanks Wayland!
BL
Following some famous steps
After winning a qualifying round in Marshall, George and I were asked to come down to sing in the finals at a place called The Buck Lake Ranch in Angola, Indiana. I had never heard of it until my new friend Dick Patterson started telling me about it and all its history.
It was built in 1946 and held every famous old school country act you could think of. It was closed for a while but they have been trying to bring it back to life these past few years.
So George and I headed down to Indiana for the contest and when we got there I was very surprised by the reaction I had. Stepping into a musical venue with that much history and knowing I was about to perform on the stage got my stomach all tied up and rather excited. We got the tour from some of the guys down there of the place before the contest and I was in awe to see all the historical pictures of past entertainers; there was great shot of Elvis (who happens to be one of my heroes) on stage performing there back in the day. Finally we made it backstage and I literally felt all the hair on my arms stand up as I entered the waiting room where so many famous and talented acts had once been...very cool!!
George and I won the contest that day and have been asked to headline a few shows this year as well as next summer on the historical stage. Be sure to check out the web site for some shots from our first show down there as well as some of the names on the wall behind us from past acts. I think it is safe to say we found a great opportunity, hope everyone gets to come join in on it.
BL
Great Fans come to the Road Runner
The B&G show picked up a little more speed after loosing the Dawg Haus by getting into our second new venue. We headed over to Vermontville to visit The Road Runner, a fun bar with a great stage for what we do. It was nice to see some familiar faces show up that we hadn’t seen in a while (Yvonne, and the Charlotte ladies!). I also finally got a chance to meet a great fan who has been following me and staying in contact with me for a while now. I let her come up on stage and sing with us; she was a bit nervous but did good. She knew all the words to a couple of the originals I did; it was pretty cool. I am looking forward to seeing her and her friends again at the next show in Charlotte; it is people like her that make performing all worth it.
BL
I Need Help
Hey everyone! I am working with a guy from New York who is going to help me try to either sell some songs or get some of my songs noticed by labels but I can only give him three at time. If any of you get the chance, go through the CDs and let me know which three are your favorites or ones you would want to hear on radio.
Thanks for the help,
Brian
Wedding Tears June 18th, 2005
I headed over to Grand Rapids to celebrate a friends wedding. The bride had asked me to sing a song that I wrote called “The Only Man”, it is a song I wrote last year for my sister's wedding. It is basically a father/daughter dance song, it went over big last year and my friend was excited for me to sing it for her dance with her Dad.
We got through the wedding and a little drinking and eating when it was finally time to start the dancing part of the evening. I snuck up to sing as my friend's Dad didn’t know what was going on and realized almost all three hundred people in the hall were staring up from the floor. I smiled and thought to myself I better not screw this up. I was about half way through the song and pretty happy that I hadn’t screwed it up yet when I looked up to check the crowd out. All the wedding party and anybody I could see was staring up and me and just crying their eyes out. Suddenly I got all choked up and dropped my head really quick to keep myself together,,,YES I am a very emotional person at times, nothing wrong with that. Anyway finally came to the end of the song everybody cheered for daughter and father and it was a great moment I was very happy to be part of. I did get back up on the mic a little while later to sing a little country for the city folks. I dedicated my first song to my buddy who got married, “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”!
Congrats you two!! Thanks for letting me be part of your day!
BLB&G Hit Gizzard Fest, June 17th 2005
George and I saddled up and headed over to Potterville for a little singin' and dancin' under the beer tent at Gizzard Fest. Yes they actually have a festival that celebrate Gizzards for all you who are wondering, and yes they taste like chicken!
We had a great reception from our fans and some locals that slid into the tent to come see what all the noise was about. All went well and from the reaction we got from the owners we should be returning as a main act next year under the big tent.
BL
The End of the Beginning, May, 2005
Well for all of you who made it to the Dawgg Haus in Charlotte/The Cactus Juice Steak House you were witness to what George and I like to call the beginning. The place where we realized that we can put together a killer show and realized we are a good duo together, also that it never hurts to have a really hot 6 ft. blond who can sing her butt off performing with you!
We were told last week that the bar will no longer be doing entertainment and for whatever the reasons we will not be playing there anymore. It is a little sad to us because of all the good times we have had in there and plans we had for the bar and the town, but as they say all good things must come to an end. So we have officially labeled the end of entertainment at the Dawgg Haus/The Cactus Juice Steak House as the end of the beginning.
Well on to bigger and better right? See you on the road.
BL
Hey everyone,
For all of you who helped make April a great music month thanks so much. I have some great shots posted from last month from all the shows so don’t miss those. I don’t have any real outrageous stories to add, just a lot of thanks from Amanda, George and myself.
Hope to see you all in May...it will be a busy month!
BL
Hey guys!
Wow it has been to long since I have updated this journal, but I have been busy no worries. The B&G Show got booked up for the rest of the year in one bar and got banded out of another all in the same week!!
I got to play my first college gig this week, the great country fans at Aquinas College came to hang out with Amanda Huizenga and myself at an acoustic show in the Moose Café. I was the first country act to play there in years and man what a turn out for the show. Sarah and her staff did a great job to country up the place up and the fans were great as they packed in and sang along all night.
Thanks Aquinas!!!! Amanda and I really appreciate you coming out and hope to see you all again soon.
On other fronts George “The Animal” Damron and I (known to others as the B&G Show) along with our good friend Amanda Huizenga have found a great home for our show at the Dawgg Haus in Charlotte. We have done several shows there the last couple months and have been met with a great response to our style of entertainment.
So all is going great, I am sending some demo’s out to some companies from Texas and New York so everybody keep your fingers crossed.
Well best wishes to all I hope everyone is going great I hope to see everyone at up coming shows.
See you all soon!!
BL
Makin' Memories in Eaton Rapids
The B&G Show made its debut appearance at Darb’s Patio in Eaton Rapids this month and was met with great fan support and a wild night that lasted till close! The show also debuted the very beautiful and talented Amanda Huizenga, who is also a singer on the Mission of Hope Country Concert Tour. The highlight of the evening besides Amanda’s party friends who traveled up to hear us play (see pictures) was the crowd of local patrons that stayed and kept things going all night.
George and I went into the bar and did sound check at 4:30, nothing fancy just went in to set the levels and play with the sound to get things right. In the process we did Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy to test the sound out. Well at around 9:30 during, our first break, our new buddy Jeremy came up to me and asked me if we could do Save a Horse again because he enjoyed the last time we did it. I looked at him funny and said that we could do it, but we haven’t done it yet tonight. He smiled back and said “you guys did it earlier today”. I looked at him a bit shocked but knew what he meant. Jeremy had been in the bar since we did sound check earlier that afternoon. I laughed, smiled back and told him we would take his request...no problems. Jeremy hung in till the very end and was just one of a host of great people we met that night at Darb’s.
Thanks ER for a fun night, hope to see you all again soon! BL
Marshall and Charlotte Rock!
Just wanted to give a big thank you to everyone who came to the shows on Friday and Saturday in Marshall and in Charlotte. Both nights went well and I know both nights people came from a long ways away to see us so thank you to everyone! If you did miss the shows you didn’t miss much except, dancing, singing, a few shots, a few games of cards, a few people having a little to much fun and having to retire to early and one person who even brought a can of whip cream to the show! Hey it was original!! BL
Can’t Win Them All
I have been playing in bars, schools, and doing concerts for about 6 years now. In all that time nothing has topped this story as far as something just shocking me while on the road.
So I went back to my home town of Moran, MI to do a show at the Rock Bottom Bar. Now, it is important to remember the Moran/St. Ignace area is not big at all. It is small town living which means everybody knows everybody and everybody knows everybody’s business.
A few hours before the show George Damron—who was doing the show with me that night—and I went into the Rock Bottom to have lunch and talk about the show set-up with Chuck the manager. We were in the middle of our lunch when two guys walked into the bar and sat down about five feet from our table. I knew the two guys to be local and paid no more attention. As George and I continued our lunch I heard one of the guys read my name off a sign that said I was playing that night.
One guys says to the other, “Brian Lorente playing tonight, have you heard his CD yet?” The other man at the table replies back “Yeah his Dad wanted me to buy one, I didn’t really like it.” At that point George and I both picked our eyes up and started laughing to ourselves with a completely shocked look on our faces.
The two went on this way for almost five minutes talking about my music and how they didn’t really like it and their opinion of country music in general which wasn’t too hot either. By this time George and I are stuffing food into our mouths to stop from laughing out loud at the things these guys were saying. It was hard for me to believe I was getting just ripped on not five feet away in my hometown, hours before doing a show in the very bar we were sitting in. I got a little control and looked at George and asked how I should handle this. I decided to do it with some class. Finished my lunch, paid the bill, and as I was putting my jacket on yelled across to Chuck, the manager what time he wanted me to set up for the show tonight. As soon as I said it the two looked up at me and I looked at them. I smiled back to both of them, they said nothing and looked back down to there food.
The event left me a little sour but the turnout for our show was great, and everyone there had a good time. Thanks to everyone who came out by the way!
And to my surprise, we didn’t see those two guys that night, huh!! Can’t win them all. BL
Touching Moment
I got the chance to do a solo acoustic gig at a bar down in South Jackson called the Artesian Well. Very cool bar, Harley’s all over the top of the bar, fun place.
The night was pretty slow, I had a few people stroll back to the back room where I was playing and hangout. At the end of the night suddenly ten or more people just came flying in. I was almost done with the gig but I have a rule that at this stage in my career if people want to listen I am going to play all they want. I went back through a few songs I had already done, took some requests and eventually had to call it quits for the night. I said for the last song I would do a song I had just helped co-write with my buddy Joe Bays.
The song is called “Stay With Me Tonight” and is all about someone telling their significant other how much they need them. Now remember Joe and I just wrote this song not a month before.
As I started to play I noticed a couple sitting in the corner by themselves table dancing. They were sitting face to face and swaying back and forth. It was very sweet and very cool to see the song was getting to them. As I was rolling through the last chorus of the song I realized that the man was actually singing to his girlfriend, he was singing the words to the chorus to her as they were swaying back and forth just lost in each other. The moment was so powerful for me I lost focus and misplayed a few notes. It sent chills down my spine to see a song I had helped to write have an effect like that.
I spoke with the couple after the show and thanked them for coming out. As soon as I got in the car I called Joe and told him what happened, we were both pretty excited.
So to the couple in love singing our original: much love and thanks from Joe and myself.
BL