Upcoming Shows:
9/19 Harrisonburg, PA, Appalachian Brewery
9/20 Washington, DC, South on South Capital show
920 Washington, DC, Bayou on the Pen
9/21 Richmond, VA, The Camel
9/22 Hot Springs, NC, French Broad Fall Festival
We are sitting in Williamsport, PA. If you're a baseball fan and that rings a bell, it is because this is the home of the Little League World Series, along with the Little League World Series Hall of fame (of course!). It also has some really great hiking trails close by, we hear; we don't know for sure since yesterday was our day off and it rained almost 3 inches. I hear that NC had a lot of rain as well.
The trip has been good so far. It's always fun to see people experience New York City for the first time, and this trip was Scott's.
We met up with Big Something to play Sullivan Hall, which is known as one of the best small venues in the whole city. We had a whole slew of NC boys in NYC that night.
Outside Sullivan Hall in NY.
After the show, we found out that we were on the same block as the place we visited last time we were in the city, a place called The Red Lion. On that trip, the house band let BDL (sans banjo) get up and play a few songs. We had a blast that night and couldn't believe we were so close to it again.
I can tell you that I absolutely loved this band. They are called Days of Wild - be sure to check them out. The guys from Big Something met us there and we watched one of the most amazing shows we had seen in a while, and this is why I love NYC so much. To survive in the city -where tiny one room apts are $2500/month- you have to be really good at something. Here we have this house band that plays a couple of times a week and charges no cover, and they are better than almost any other band we see on the road. And this goes for most of the people you'll meet in the city. They are both very smart, and very good at what they do, which is the combination of things that make people extremely interesting. I've loved everyone I've met in the city because of this, and I think it is why there is a palpable electric charge in the air that everyone notices when visiting.
We see a lot of music on the road: some of it is pretty good, and some of it is just ok. On this night we saw a band made up of people from all over the world (Japan, Britain, Brazil, and France were all represented here), and they absolutely rocked it. We were blessed with the presence of the biggest BDL fan in CA that night, as Jenny De Guzman flew to NY with her friend Dennis, to hang out with us, and I remember standing beside her saying, "You know, this reminds me why I play music." It doesn't matter what job you have, it can become mundane sometimes with the ins and outs of the daily grind, and this does happen to all of us, but I remember standing there feeling like I was falling in love with music all over again. These musicians understood their craft on a very deep level, a place where the groove is a living and breathing entity that everyone plays a small role in, and no one controls. We all agreed the trumpet player (not in this pic) was probably the best player we've ever seen, and he was there with his girlfriend who had a small board set up and literally took tap-dance solos with a super funky beat behind it. It sounds weird, but it worked. You can see the drummer in this picture, his name is Papa Guyo, and he was a character. Full head of white hair and white beard, but he lived and breathed a funky groove, or a straight Latin-flavored beat, whatever they decided to play. His drum kit consisted of a bass drum, snare, hi-hat, one cymbal, and a cow-bell (oh yeah!) and he played more on that minimalist kit than you'll see drummers play on a set of 15 drums.
The next time you're in the city, find The Red Lion.
Our next stop took us to Wilkes-Barre, PA, to play a cool venue called the River Street Jazz Cafe with our new and fast friends, MiZ. They first opened for us in Boone, NC, and now we get to open for them in their hometown. We really like these guys a lot. They are all super-nice and all great musicians, and we're proud to be sharing another show with them on October 20th at the Berkeley Cafe in Raleigh, NC.
Me sitting in with Miz. Mike Mizwinski and Justin Mazer L-R
Our "anchor" for this trip, as we call it, was the Wormtown Music Festival in Massachusetts. Here are a few pics from the festival.
You don't see this very much! Tie-dyes beside a 19th century graveyard!
One of the stages at Wormtown
Here is the guitar player of a Grateful Dead cover band. Yes, really!
Sometimes sleeping arrangements aren't what you would call "optimal" and we have to do the best we can. The reason we call the van "the bus" is because it doubles as sleeping space as well.
Scott and Scotty showing how to properly sleep in the bus.
The next day we headed to the very scenic Burlington, VT, where our manager Tom Baggott lives. He's worked with bands such as Phish and Railroad Earth when they were our size, and he seems to see the same potential in us, which is the type of person we want on our team! He was able to get us into the legendary venue of Nectar's that is known as being Phish's home base as they were starting out. And no, we didn't play "Rift." We talked about it and debated it but decided not to.
Tom has always told us the VT mountains will remind us of home and they really do. I can see why people love this place so much, as it is one of the most beautiful places we've ever been. This was definitely the farthest north I've ever been in my life.
The next day we had a very long 9.5 hour drive to get back to PA and play in Williamsport, at a great place called the Bull Frog Brewery. We found out after our first set that quite a few people had driven over from Wilkes-Barre who had seen us 2 nights before for their first time. We just thought that was awesome. This was probably the best reception we've had so far, as everyone at the show really got it. They were engaged with every song we played, and we could feel the energy and had a blast. The owner of this brewery actually gave us the 2nd floor of his building, which is an empty banquet room, to stay in for free for the last two nights.
Our accommodations for 2 days! They trusted us with a stocked bar!
That's about it for now. Thanks for keeping up with us, and feel free to share this blog on all the inter-web tubes so we can get the word out! We'll be back home in NC soon.
Oh, and we've picked up some brand new shirts that we are very proud of. Probably our favorite shirts so far. So be on the lookout for them at our merch table. We'll get some good pics of them to post soon.
We'd love some street team help as well. If you're interested please send info to: bigdaddystreetteam@gmail.com.
Also, we are now in the season of "best of" voting. We are VERY appreciative of any votes you give us in the following polls. We were thrilled with our top 25 finish last year on WNCW's top 100 albums of the year. Hope we can do the same this year. Click here to vote on WNCW Click here to vote for HomeGrown Music Network
We've had a whirlwind 12 days recently that included a trip up to the Big Apple itself. I'll concentrate on that for my portion of this post, and we will also feature our very first guest blogger, the accomplished writer Ms Stacy Hope Jones. She will be describing her experience in our hometown of Sparta, NC.
First of all we want to congratulate Cassey Mikles on winning the contest on our last blog post. The correct answers are:
Ashley - E I have a trophy for getting 1st place in the Waltz competition at a
Cotillion that is larger than any of my baseball trophies, I was born on
Easter Sunday, and the first band I was in was called Leather Veil.
Brian - C Played in a Guns n Roses Tribute band in college. Studied Fish and
Wildlife management in college hoping to be a Park Ranger. I think Bon
Jovi's song "Wanted Dead or Alive" is one of the greatest rock songs
ever written. I had a childhood club called "The Star Team"
Chasper - B I once lived in Laramie, WY. I use to work at Sherwin Williams plant
cleaning out tanks with HIGHLY explosive chemical solvents. My very
first paid club gig was at the age of 16. I used to be a licensed life
guard. My current favorite music dvd
is Zappa meets Zappa.
Daniel - D I used to be obsessed with golf. The only competitive sport I competed
in in high school was tractor driving in FFA. I have owned 7 different
motorcycles and four wheelers in my life. I spent a year studying fish
and wildlife management.
Joey- A I have never rode a horse, I got 3 underage drinking tickets in one
day while at App st. lawn party, I used to dye and laminate
human lungs for Duke med students, first concert was Janet Jackson.
Congratulations Cassey!!
We had some good shows in Chapel Hill, Elon, and Harrisonburg VA, before driving up to New York.
Here's a clip from the van as we headed up to NY.
Getting the van and trailer through Manhattan was quite an experience since we didn't know that you can't take trailers through certain tunnels. But we finally did it, found our hotel in Brooklyn near the venue and unloaded. We went back into Manhattan to find my two cousins, Scott and Shawn Cimock, who were going to play tour guides for us. We met up at the Spring Lounge on the corner of Spring and Mulberry. This was a great little pub that had the feeling of any neighborhood bar. If you've seen the movie "Something Borrowed" with Kate Hudson then you've seen this place before.
Spring Lounge
As we all sat inside and enjoyed a drink, Daniel went outside and just took it all in. This was his first time to the city and he was awestruck to say the least. I think he introduced himself to almost everyone that walked down the street and encouraged them to come see the hillbillies play in Brooklyn the next night. When you own your own business you are never "off work."
Then we headed to a restaurant called Kittichai. We had no idea what to expect here. We walked in and were amazed by the decor of the place. Unlike anything we had ever seen in NC.
Joey and Daniel waiting. The flowers behind them were amazing.
There was a pond with floating candles and flowers in the middle!
We then sat down and proceeded to have probably the best meal any of us have ever had. Scott ordered all the food for us, as he comes here often, and we just went with it and tried everything that came. Every bite of something new caused our eyes to light up and a search for new accolades and descriptive words. Afterward we went upstairs and were treated to an authentic Cuban band.
We hit a few more places before finding a fantastic band playing, led by Jerry Duggins. We walked in and we knew this was the place for us. There was only about 20 ppl in there but the band just blew our doors off from the first note we heard. We also noticed this older gentelman dancing right in front of them. I was immediately drawn to this guy, and turned to the guys and said, "That's it, that's how we should live our life, dance like no one is looking everyday!" He allowed the music to consume him completely without any sense of ego or self-consciousness. It was beautiful. Ashley got a picture with him afterwords. You can see him in this video.
Wookie with a man who dances like no one is watching!
Then in typical BDL fashion the guys ended up onstage showing how we do it in NC! Unfortunately they had no banjo with them. Oh well, we made up for that a few nights later! This video has a guest keys and sax player sitting in, Craig Dreyer, who is awesome. Check it out!
We had a fantastic time the next night at the Brooklyn Bowl. This place is amazing and is actually a top-notch music venue and bowling alley right beside each other. You think to yourself, "What? That won't work." But it really does!
The bowling alley to the left of the stage
Soundcheck!
The next night we headed back to the Brooklyn Bowl because our manager, Tom Baggott of Invasion Management Group, got us on the guest list for the Robert Randolph show!
Here's a vid of RR playing the great Michael Jackson song Billie Jean. Give it about 30 seconds before the melody comes in.
The only thing I want to say about our Sparta show before our guest blogger takes over is that part of the way through the show I started thinking about how amazing it is to be a part of something that brings together our small community for a night of music. Back around the turn of the century, before there was Netflix and YouTube and sitcoms, there would be community square dances featuring the best fiddlers of the area, and this was a very big deal for the small communities to come together. We don't have that these days, but when BDL plays Sparta I sense the spirit of those old-times and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.
And now we turn the floor over to Ms. Stacy Hope Jones!
The annual Big Daddy Love Thanksgiving
Throwdown show Nov. 25th in Sparta, NC the small rippling mountain mountain
town where three of BDL grew up together (Dan, Joey, Brian), had a thick as
water hometown turnout of family members of the band, old friends, high school
and college friends, and of course, a heck of a lot of cousins. Having been to
this in the past coming from Winston-Salem, the Piedmont-Triad turnout driving
up the hills to Sparta is growing. To see the fellas in their hometown play
their music to the people that have raised them is one thing, to feel the
lyrics of songs, like Home Tree especially, reach out and be embraced by
the kind people of Sparta is really one of the all-time most authentic energy
shows BDL does. With the addition of two mini-Dan’s on stage (sons John Paul
and Davis) singing Good Morning Sunshine, you see the roots of this
music in its best ‘let it grow’ way. No matter where you are from, when you
come to Sparta, everyone smiles and gets to know you, and it’s real. It brings
to mind the world’s shortest poem, spoken by Muhammad Ali, “Me...We!” It’s one
of the friendliest places I’ve ever been and such a dedicated group of people
supporting BDL.
Sparta gives back to its people. That’s
one of the great beauties of these kind folks. I was there to help The Love Bus
hold its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, first time at the Silver Dollar
Music Theater this year, benefiting Alleghany
County Ministerium’s Food Closet. (A big thank you to Lawrence and the
team with the Food Closet for all your help!) Droves of bags of canned and
boxed food came in and sweet faces that hadn’t heard about the food drive put
generous donations into the jar for the Food Closet. These were BIG donations
too. People handed us all the cash in their wallets toward this. It really
meant a lot and goes a long way to help out. All food donations and cash/check
donations went directly and entirely to the Food Closet, and will go directly
to the families in Alleghany County that need it. This was the third year I’ve
helped with a food drive for BDL and now well over 1,000 pounds of food has
been donated through the efforts of all the fans and friends.
Alleghany County Ministerium Staff on hand for the Food Drive. Thank you!
**(BLATANT CHARITY PLUG: Next, we’re
doing a Marine Toys for Tots Holiday toy donation drive
for the Dec. 8th BDL show at Pour House in Raleigh. New, unwrapped toy
donations can be dropped off at Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem Nov. 30th at
and Dec.7th for anyone not able to attend Raleigh.)
Oh yeah, these folks of Sparta know how
to throwdown too. For instance...
There is what is known around N.C. as
‘Sparta-dancing.’ It leaves you speechless. Complete, unabashed, dancin’,
cloggin’, flat-footin’, tap dancin’, jazzercizin’, former baton twirlin’,
hollerin’, hootin’, hands wavin’ and preachin’ for the words of the songs of
medicine. Taking a slug from the jug of the rug of the wooden floors and
throwing down. The amazing Danny Sheperd tapped on stage with Big Daddy Love
(hoorah!) and some of the Silver Dollar staff joined in the get down too.
Danny Shepard gets board onstage.
Two unique things about Sparta dancin’:
1) Too much dancing going on to be holding a beer at the same time. They mean
business on that floor. 2)You better get ready when the slow songs play...all
of a sudden, I’m surrounded by slow-dancing jellyfish pairs, some wearing
cowboy hats. Maybe it’s that the Silver Dollar once was a gymnasium and evokes
the memory of school dances. Maybe it’s the music. No, it’s the people. They
live well by living simply. They love big and wild. When they are quiet, they
contemplate the echoes of the mountain and the great wide sky tumbling through
their Appalachian peaks.
Oh yeah, there’s always a kickass
after-party somewhere too. This is historically one of the best parts of the
night and everyone tangles at the end of the show finding out where to go.
(Though, there were several very-loved Sparta family friends that could not be
there this year, you know who you are, and you were in our hearts all night. We
missed you.) So, the sweaty bunch of us convoyed, looped, and curved through
the woods (many making the stop for Slim Jims and beer) to a blazing huge
bonfire out on the farm of a mountain brother Sparta native, all-time best beer
supplier, and good friend of the band’s, who’s Mom was Joey’s third-grade
teacher. (Joey, you should’ve come buddy. More fun than Mystery Hill.) We all
stood around jawing and laughing and cutting up circling this hot-as-hell
bonfire.
A thick furry row of Sparta men, donned
with toboggans, plaid shirts, beards, and hair that curls out from under a cap,
all look alike to me and they’re all good-looking, so that works out just fine.
And the Sparta ladies: mountain-pretty, sweet as pie and spunky as firecrackers
− what a great combination. (One married couple was so inspired and giddy that
they wanted to take off into the woods but wanted a chaperone for some reason,
so I tried to pimp out Swenk playing his banjo on the back of a four-wheeler
for a romantic ride for them at what I thought was a great fee of 100 bucks,
promising that his rendition of the Deliverance tune whilst kissin’ was sure to
bring them more babies and would be well worth it.) Sirius radio cranked out
some Allman Bros. and other great jams like a curtain around us on the dark
blazing hill and that fire was fed two sets of old bedroom dressers, white and
dusty with feminine curly cue handles which stoked and heated those flames like
the Phoenix storm of thunder music BDL brings during Big Country, or
better yet, my personal evergreen favorite, Mountain. Ok, well, Dreamwalker
is my favorite...Anyhoo, all our camping chairs backed way up on the sloping
hill, nearly toppling over. Thankfully there were several jars and plenty of
beer to keep us standing up straight, mostly. I’ve heard this fire spot ate an
entire piano before and other old furniture needing to get gone. That’s the way
they do more of that ‘giving back’ here in Sparta. Burn it, turn it to ash,
send it back to its maker as it came here. In other places, there is
‘recycling.’ Sparta calls this, “Let’s burn it”.
Daniel Justin Smith has told me that
writing Heed the Call, he was inspired in part by Into the Wild,
the story of a young man taking himself into the wild alone, seeking life and
peace amongst nature and himself, living on an abandoned bus. There is a bus in
Sparta and many go to it during Thanksgiving to celebrate growing up there, or
what it must have been like to grow up there, or just to be with family and
friends. It’s the Love Bus. It’s far from abandoned, it’s always getting
bigger, and it’s always welcoming to more. That’s the Sparta Way of Much Love.
Wow, I think asking Stacy to be a guest blogger was the best decision I've made in a long time! Thanks Stacy. That was awesome!
We wrapped up our 11 day run with two shows at our new favorite "home away from home," Nags Head NC. The shows here just keep getting better and better! And always a huge thanks go out to Robert and Cindy Via for the beachfront accomodations!
I finished this book sitting on the beach! Highly Recommended.
Nags Head Fishing Pier! Right out of our front door.
And to finish up, if you've ever wanted to learn how to "Speak Wookie" then here you go. Courtesy of Kevin and Jennifer Swenk!
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.
12.01.11 - Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill (Roanoke, VA)
12.02.11 - Machiavell's (Bristol, TN)
12.03.11 - The Grey Eagle (Asheville, NC)
12.08.11 - The Pour House (Raleigh, NC)
12.09.11 - The Backstreet Pub (Beaufort, NC)
12.15.11 - Olde Hickory Taproom (Hickory, NC)
12.16.11 - Blue Bourbon Jacks (High Point, NC)
12.17.11 - High Rock Outfitters (Lexington, NC)
