Well, it has been nearly a month since my last blog so here I am writing down thoughts and feelings. I have so much to say, so here I go!
Well I am now officially a college graduate! As of May 1st, 2010 I am unemployed and loving it. HA! Seriously, graduation was a blast. All of my family was up, we ate chinese that made me sweat for about three hours (LOVED IT!) and hung out with friends all weekend. What a great weekend of celebration. I was also a student commencement speaker. I made people laugh and it was a grand time.
The following weekend, May 7th, Small Town Anthem played at Station 4 for some Capitol Records Rep. We were definately the most unique sounding band that evening and he loved us! We were either the only band, or one of two, that he listened to the whole time AND he did not text during our set. Thank you heavy metal rocker dudes that all sounded the same...
The next week I thought would be a boring week, but it turned out to be one of the most exciting weeks of my life! Monday morning I get a call from my good friend Anna Johnson who lives in Nashville now. She came back for a couple of weeks to promote her new album and get ready for her cd release. I helped find her a bass player named Tyler. Tuesday through Friday of that week, we rehearsed and played gigs everyday and we had a blast. Anna and Julia are lovely people that sing so beautifully together and also write GREAT songs. Check out their music, you will love them!
To my surprise, I got a call from my friend/mentor David Stanoch on Friday. He invited me to hang with him and Ed Clift (Paiste cymbal rep) at the Chicago Drum Show. To make things better, Ed flew us out their on a little Piper Dakota plane. It was the most beautiful day on Saturday and the weather was perfect! It was the smoothest airplane ride I have ever been on. Plus I saw the skyline of 5 major cities in the US!
The Chicago Drum Show was a blast! Dave so kindly introduced me to all of his friends in the business and I made a lot of great contacts. Thanks Dave! Plus, I got to hang and learn from my biggest drum hero, Billy Ward. What an amazing guy, he is such a huge inspiration to me, thanks Billy. I also got to hang with Danny Seraphine, drummer from Chicago! Time to go practice my shuffle!
Thanks Ed and Dave for a great Saturday afternoon filled with laughs and drums.
Back to Anna and Julia. They had their cd release concert on Tuesday evening and the performance was awesome! The band and her producer flew in for the show and rehearsals and they all sounded great. I am so proud of the girls, I can't wait to perform music with them again. The Johnson family treated me and the guys so well, it was such a lovely and inspiring day.
Ok, below are some pictures and videos. ENJOY!
Anna and Julia performing the Old Folks Song!
Andre 5000, Me, Julia, Anna, Tyler
Billy Ward Clip
Billy Ward and I!
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