OK this next blog starts here sitting in a hotel here in Richmond, Va. Currently I’m on tour with Porter Batiste Stoltz some of the damn funkiest musicians to come out of New Orleans, LA. Beginning where I left off on the last blog… I had a lot of downtime once I got off the last tour so I did some local shows with good friends Damn Right, Basshound, and Earthtone, worked on my Porter Batiste Stoltz cues I needed to have ready for the tour, started looking for some new pieces of gear to incorporate into the show, and to go over some repairs and accessories I need. It’s funny when you’re out on the road you don’t realize how much crap will pile up for you when you get home.
That is why downtime is so precious I found out because when you think you have some time off to relax you have all these other things ready for the next time you go out. Also a guy like me just can’t sit on my ass without touching a console, so making a couple extra bucks isn't a bad thing either. So my weekends usually stay busy and on the weekdays I like to lock myself in the apartment, go over my paper work, and plug myself into the internet to look at some potential new investments of gear.
Damn Right
After this period of downtime I hit the road with Porter Batiste Stoltz for a week straight of gigs spanning from Baltimore, MD to Charlotte, NC. This particular tour was a little different from Bonerama’s. On the Porter Batiste Stoltz leg we had a few more crew members. Having more crew make more things less complicated for the band. Especially when the guys know what they’re doing; they’re respectful, take charge of things, and have the experience. With all those attributes things got done correctly and efficiently which will make the band happy and the overall production. I like to say that I learned a great deal from my crew guys this tour and thank them for all the great advice. Especially this philosophical story: So there’s a young bull and an old bull standing at the top of a hill looking down on a flock of cows. The young bull looks over to the old bull and says “I’m gonna run down there and f*%k one of them”. The old bull looks back at him and says “Lets walk down there and f%*k all of them.” This idea will never be forgotten in my approach during shows and will help keep me patient when I get the itch to pull of the big guns too early in the show (plus its hilarious!). Another thing that was different was the music. These guys are only a three piece and have no horns involved. They don’t use pre written setlists (it’s all called from stage), and it jams a bit longer. Also I had to study the music not only from their collaborative effort but from their solo albums, and old Funky Meters tunes. So after shows I got to obtain setlists and show recordings which really helped me on this tour. Big ups to our taper/archivist Bret who helps take care of all of that. So by the third show I was dialed in, and gelling real nice with everything. I had a lot of fun on this tour and it was another great experience meeting some new people and running into some familiar faces. Next blog I’ll toss in some more photos from the recent Porter Batiste Stoltz tour describing a few of the rooms we came through and how I like to organize my rig to help keep the PBS looks differently than what I have set for Bonerama. For now here’s a few cool pics of PBS w/ special guest Kenny from The Bridge and me with George Porter Jr. whom I am truly proud to be considered his colleague.
Baltimore, MD
Charlotte, NC
Song of the week: 311 “loco”
Movie of the week: Spiderman II
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