Florida Follies and looking Forward to our Future

UPCOMING SHOWS
05.24.12 - Prison Brews (Jefferson City, MO)
05.26.12 - Meadowgrass Music Festival (Black Forest, CO)
05.27.12 - Quixote's True Blue (Denver, CO)
05.31.12 - River Jam Concert Series (Charlotte, NC)


May 1-11: Florida and Georgia

We spent 10 days playing through Florida and Georgia at the beginning of this month.  It was quite a trip, to say the least; but overshadowing the new venues and fans was the fact that it was our maiden voyage with Scott Moss, our new singer.  Even though we knew that we had made a great decision, it's always nice to first see a crowd's reaction to the new lineup, and the fans didn't disappoint. Here are some highlights of the trip.

The first gig at The Beach Side Tavern (which was 3 blocks away from the beach) was a good warm-up gig for us.  We were able to work through any nerves and hesitations about learning an entire show with Scott in just two practice sessions.

We also had to make a quick stop at the beach, just long enough to say "hi."   Here, our resident bird expert is showing us how sanderlings interact with the water.  Wook never fails to impress.

The second gig at Guanabana's was great.  We pulled about 100 people up to the stage and they absolutely loved us.  This is when we knew for sure that we "had it."  We connected with a crowd that is not used to seeing banjos on-stage, but they were totally into the show and every song.   We knew the music was good, but it was such a relief to know that we can completely connect with a crowd and get them fired up.  

The third gig was at one of the best venues we've ever been to, Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa, FL.   We played between sets of a Grateful Dead cover band who has been playing there for over 12 years, and again, the crowd loved us.  The guys in Uncle John's Band told us that we had the best crowd interaction of anyone playing with them in 5 or 6 years.

I joined the band for a few songs in their second set and then was able to just sit back and enjoy hearing some of the best music ever made.  

 

Skipper's Smokehouse in the daytime.  It completely transforms at night and feels like a parking lot of a Grateful Dead show. 

Sitting in with the house band, Uncle John's Band

After the show at Skippers, we were invited to go across the street to another venue where a local roots band was playing, The Apple Butter Express.   They invited me to sit in with them, making this the third band I played with that night.  Yes, we fell in love with Tampa. Here's a video of us playing the classic "I Know You Rider."

This is the manager of this Best Western in Bradenton FL, he took a liking to us and helped us get rooms for the rest of the trip.

Egor, the White Egret that comes and eats eggs and grits every morning in the front of the Best Western

We finally had a day off, and we just so happened to be at a beautiful beach: Fernandina Beach, FL.  The following picture is a rooftop bar where we hung out, and after dark we ended up playing a couple of acoustic sets for some new friends that we made. So much for the day off!

We FINALLY have a day off at the beach.  

A nice sunset at Fernandino Beach FL. 

We met up with an old friend from Stuart, VA, Chris Prutting, for a place to stay in Savannah, GA. Check out his festival, The Front Porch Festival in Stuart. Our friends Big Something will be playing there this year. 

I love the streets of Savannah GA. 

The last pic is at the hotel after our gig.  At 3:30 in the morning, we were sitting outside working on new ideas for songs.   Like Bob Marley sings, "Everything's gonna be alright!"

I'd like to say one last thing before I sign off. I know that it looks like we've been through a lot of change lately, and I can understand that it could look like we've hit a rough patch; but trust me on this, things have fallen into place for us better than we could have even imagined.  At this stage of our musical careers, we have made a promise to ourselves and each other that we will make decisions that will strengthen us, no matter how hard they are.  We have a core group of people that are all completely dedicated to living up to this promise and our outlook for the future is as bright as it has ever been.  Thank you for sticking with us though all this change. The next time you see us, just close your eyes, open your ears, and hear the music that fills the room.  I think you'll be as happy as we are. 

Brian and Big Daddy Love

SPREAD THE LOVE

We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

05.24.12 - Prison Brews (Jefferson City, MO)
05.27.12 - Quixote's True Blue (Denver, CO)
05.31.12 - River Jam Concert Series (Charlotte, NC)
06.01.12 - The Pour House (Raleigh, NC)
06.08.12 - Empty Glass (Charleston, WV)
06.14.12 - Galaxy Lounge (Johnson City, TN)
06.15.12 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)
06.16.12 - Quincey's Pizza (Damascus, VA)

BDL day at the Zoo!!

UPCOMING SHOWS
05.17.12 - The Box (Charlottesville, VA)
05.18.12 - Town Park Gazebo (Damascus, VA)
05.19.12 - Back To Your Roots Celebration (Glade Valley, NC)

Tuesday, May 15


This will be a mini-travel blog post about our day at the Columbus Ohio Zoo.

First of all, this is a Wookie paradise.  In case you don't know, Ashley has spent a lot of time working in the scientific field, with birds particularly, and so he was very excited about this opportunity.    I had to get a pic of him as we were walking in, complete with his safari hat, binoculars, and notepad to write down what birds he sees.   Right after I snapped this pic I told the guys that if Ashley wasn't in the band then we probably wouldn't have a travel blog.   He makes traveling more interesting to say the least.  




One of the funniest things that happened was Ashley putting the binoculars to his face, finding an exotic bird with them, and in a low voice he says, "Ohh...yeeaah..."    Joey almost fell down laughing.   We thought it was funny that he brought the binoculars, but then every one of us started using them.

 The shot of this leopard was one of the best shots all day long.  

We were able to watch one of the zookeepers interact with this huge gorrilla, getting it to climb up to get food.   The size of these gorillas is amazing.  

One of the oddest animals we've ever seen.  It's the only animal that is kin to a giraffe!

A Manatee!!

The largest bats in the world!  The are called Flying Foxes.

Koala Bear

An Arctic Fox

Fish!!

One of the most amazing things we saw was this huge brown bear swimming and playing in the water only a foot away from us (behind the glass).   Being this close to such a powerful animal is unlike anything we've ever experienced.  

We found the rare and elusive WOOKIE in his natural habitat.  I was able snap this pic. 





















I wasn't sure how I would feel about visiting a zoo.  It has been a long time since I've been to one and have obviously developed quite the affinity for animal rights since then, but what stuck out to me was how many of these animals were either on the brink of extinction or close to it.  Each exhibit showed the current populations of the animals, and it was alarming to see that we are losing so many animals at such a fast pace.   Overall it was a great experience, and I thought a lot about how vital it is for all of us to be able to experience the diversity of this amazing planet at close range.   Gaining a sense of the beauty and diversity of all living species will only help us foster a sense of kinship with the planet and take steps to preserve all the living things around us.  

SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

05.17.12 - The Box (Charlottesville, VA)
05.18.12 - Town Park Gazebo (Damascus, VA)
05.19.12 - Back To Your Roots Celebration (Glade Valley, NC)
05.24.12 - Prison Brews (Jefferson City, MO)
05.27.12 - Quixote's True Blue (Denver, CO)
05.31.12 - River Jam Concert Series (Charlotte, NC)
06.01.12 - The Pour House (Raleigh, NC)
06.08.12 - Empty Glass (Charleston, WV)
06.15.12 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)

April 25-28: Farewell Blues - Dan's last run with us

UPCOMING SHOWS
05.10.12 - 40 Watt (Athens, GA)
05.11.12 - Party On The Plank (High Point, NC)
05.14.12 - Woodlands Tavern (Columbus, OH)
05.16.12 - Mad Frog (Cincinnati, OH)

Hello out there, all you Big Bus Lovin' Daddios!!

As I write this, we are finishing up a long run in Florida, which I'll tell you all about in next week's post. I'd like this week's post to focus on Daniel's last week or so on the road with us; we had some incredible shows and felt a tremendous outpouring of love for him and all of us as we go through this transition. So Dan, this post is for you! We love you and thank you for everything you've done. 

April 25-26: Nashville and Johnson City


I've already told you all about the amazing Kickstarter party a few weeks back, which turned out to be the perfect afternoon for us and nearly 100 longtime, dedicated fans. It was a really special and emotional day for everyone. Many people there were seeing Dan with BDL for the last time, so I wanted to mention it again in this write-up.

The next early Wednesday morning found us loading up the Love Bus for the long drive to Nashville. We have been honored to make three previous appearances on the Jim Lauderdale-hosted weekly live music show, Music City Roots; this time, we were especially excited to share the stage with the legendary band Leftover Salmon. The Loveless Cafe served up their famous chicken and biscuits before the show, and there was a packed house by the time we took the stage.

MCR streams the whole show online, and you can watch the archived version right here! Make sure to check out the other great bands, and the big jam at the end.

Watch live streaming video from musiccityroots at livestream.com

The show ended early in the evening, so we had the rare chance to go to a local brewpub for an afterparty jam to hang out and relax. Joey took this photo, so I can't really explain what's going on here.  We were joined by two great friends and two people who are "fan of the week" alumni,  a follow Spartan Jamie Bryan, and our great friend from CA, Jenny De Guzman. 

Our friends, The Volunteer String Band, were playing the after-party and got us onstage to play a few songs for the packed house.  

On Thursday, we again had a fairly long drive over to Johnson City, TN. We played a new-to-us venue there, the Galaxy Lounge. There was a good crowd, and several people were in costume. The venue also had people doing face and body painting.

If there was a costume contest Gaelyn Porter would have won!

I have no words for this picture....

April 27-28: Winston-Salem and Lexington

Friday night found us back in Winston-Salem for our first ever show at Ten O One. Dan wanted it to be a big celebration, so we made it one! We had a really fun, energetic crowd, a series of special guests on stage including Bill Stevens on keys, Lauren Caudle, Jennifer Clowers, and Stacy Jones, and a few surprise cover songs (including "Sweet Child of Mine). We let Dan do a lot of talking, especially in the first set. You can listen to and/or download a great recording of the show here, thanks to our archivist, Travis Viars.

On Saturday, we started the afternoon with a set at the Lexington BBQ Cookoff. We always have a good time in Lexington at our High Rock Outfitters shows, so it was great to see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd. Dan's family came up for the show, and his sons sang on a couple of songs. Check out his boys on stage with the banner they made:

We invited all the kids in the audience to come up on stage; the only rule was that they had to dance.

No matter where we all go, this will always be family.

We had one more show that day, at a wedding in Eden, NC. We love playing private events like this; and please know that if you ever hire us to play your wedding or event, we will put our best foot forward, as evidenced in this video:

Dan, we wish you the best of luck, and much love to you. Love Bussers, the Bus rolls on, and we will see you very soon!

We are sitting here in Athens Ga, finishing up a 9 day run through Florida, and I would like to encourage all our faithful fans to come to High Point tomorrow to the Party on the Plank event.   I know many of you are wondering about our next phase and this will be a great introduction.   As the late great Bob Marley sang, "Everything's gonna be alright....Everything's gonna be alright..."

SPREAD THE LOVE
We would LOVE for you to help us out with the street team activities. If you'd like to help promote an upcoming show, email streetteam@ufomusic.net and we will set you up with everything you need. We've got great e-flyers, widgets, and other tools you can use to help promote online, so if you've got Internet access, you can help! If you want to hang up posters, hand out flyers, and talk to real people, feel free to print up the digital posters. And of course, we'd also love your help over at the merch booth! Check out the list of places we could use help spreading the love.

05.10.12 - 40 Watt (Athens, GA)
05.11.12 - Party On The Plank (High Point, NC)
05.14.12 - Woodlands Tavern (Columbus, OH)
05.16.12 - Mad Frog (Cincinnati, OH)
05.17.12 - The Box (Charlottesville, VA)
05.18.12 - Town Park Gazebo (Damascus, VA)
05.19.12 - Back To Your Roots Celebration (Glade Valley, NC)
05.27.12 - Quixote's True Blue (Denver, CO)
05.31.12 - River Jam Concert Series (Charlotte, NC)
06.01.12 - The Pour House (Raleigh, NC)
06.08.12 - Empty Glass (Charleston, WV)