"Welcome back my friends...

...to the show that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside come inside" ~ELP

Hello again from Nashville, Tennessee. I know I haven't posted in awhile but things have been busy here in NashVegas. The boys and I put on three incredible shows this past week and they're getting better every night!

Douglas Corner Cafe in Nashville was a pretty cool show. Nice little (keyword: little) venue, but at least I had a drum riser!! I think I wrote about Deric Ruttan sitting in with us that night, but in case you missed it... he rocks!!

Then it was off to ol' St. Louis for a Thursday night show at the Voodoo Lounge inside of Harrah's Casino. The load in was a minor pain in the posterior cause we had to go up a flight of stairs and road cases aren't the lightest things in the world! The show went well and the sound was pretty good, considering the soundman was mixing from the side of the stage. Speaking of the stage, it was over the top of the bar! Quite the interesting viewpoint for the band.

Mom and Dad came out to the show and had a great time. With the exception of getting lost in St. Louis trying to find their hotel, I think they enjoyed the trip. It was their first time seeing the band and I get the feeling that they were quite impressed. I might've even seen Dad bobbing his head a little bit!! Careful Dad... next thing you know you'll be growing your hair long, wearing flared jeans and sporting polyester shirts with massive collars!!

Friday was a travel day. I've already lamented about six guys in a Durango, so I won't mention it again. The rest of the day was cool though as Bryan, Paul, Bill (new keyboard player) and myself went to El Torero for dinner. It is THE best Mexican restaurant in Nashville and probably the best Mexican I've had anywhere (with the exception of maybe Cancun). Then after we dropped off Bill, we went to Guitar Center and drooled a little bit. (Don't worry Mom, I didn't buy anything!).

Saturday night was another stellar performance for the group. This time it was at BB King's in Nashville. This is a very cool venue, and the crowd was very responsive. I think I had my best drumming show to date and I had a pretty good vocal night as well. After the show, we headed out to the Mercy Lounge to catch the last of Bonepony's set. Kenny Wright, who I took the place of in TS, plays drums for them now, so it was very cool for me to get to actually meet him.

Last night (Tuesday) was another "off-the-chain" party at BB King's. The club is where Nashville Star holds it's after party, so the boys decided we should all go down and hob-nob. Jackson Hill was playing and they are THE best band in Nashville (besides us... :-) ). My buddy Tim McDonald plays keys for them and he always puts us on the guest list... it's great to have friends! The party was okay until Bret Michaels showed up... then it exploded!!

Bret (for the uninformed) is the lead singer for the rock group Poison, and he is also a judge on Nashville Star. He got up and performed with Jackson Hill, and ended up finishing the night when JH's singer took a spill onstage. I think he may have twisted his ankle or something, but whatever it was, it got him pretty bad. Paul ended up playing bass with Bret, as he was more versed in 80's rock than JH's bassist. Colin Raye (country singer) showed up near the end of the night, but no other celebrities of note were in attendance.

Oh, with the exception of Anthony Gomes. If you haven't heard this guy play guitar, then you'd better get out from under your rock!!! I had no idea who I was listening to until they introduced him when he was done. He is absolutely insane!!

I also forgot to mention that before BB's, Bryan and I went to dinner at Noshville which is a New York-style delicatessen. It's run by Jewish owners so everything was kosher... and it was GREAT!! FRESH pickles (they make their own), incredibly large sandwiches (I had brisket and pastrami with provolone and monterey jack cheeses on pumpernickel bread!!), and THE BEST cheesecake I have ever eaten in my ENTIRE life!!! The best thing about it though... it's CHEAP!! We also went down to the Second Fiddle club on Broadway and sat in with Bill's group on a few tunes.

Tequila Sunrise will be performing again at BB King's this coming Sunday for any of you in the Nashville area... we'd love to see you out there.

Also, feel free to log on to the Tequila Sunrise website and EXPLORE OUR MESSAGE BOARD! (Yes, I'm fishing here....) We feel lonely and would love some posts by our adoring fans...

That's everything up until today.. looking out my window I see a beautiful, sunny sky and the temp is about 75... I love Nashville!!

(note to all readers: Anything in color is a link... mouse over it and click and it will take you to the specific webpage...)

Playing with a Canadian superstar...

Hey again..

Sorry I forgot to mention it, but last night we had Deric Ruttan sitting in with us as Glenn Frey. For those of you who don't know Deric (which I'm figuring is most of you...), he's a Canadian singer/songwriter who has had pretty good success in Canada. He won a CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) award this year but I'm not sure which one it was. Check out his website and I'm sure you'll find out. He nailed all the parts and his vocal inflections were awesome.. hopefully I'll get to work with him again in the future! It was a blast! Thanks, Deric!

Flying High Again...

Good day friends, family, passers-by...

I'm now back in Nashville (thank God!!). Got in town last Thursday and spent Thursday and Friday just hanging out. Spent some time with Bryan, Paul, Sean and John for St. Patrick's Day and had a few brews. All in all it's been a good trip so far.

Tequila Sunrise had a show last night at the Douglas Corner Cafe and it was pretty cool. The crowd could've been bigger, but Bryan had a lot of family there that I knew so it was almost better than playing to a larger crowd.

We've got a gig in St. Louis at the Voodoo Lounge on Thursday the 24th, and Mom and Dad are thinking about coming down... woo hoo!! I'll be sure to write back and give you all the details. Hopefully we'll have some pics from that show up on the website soon.

I'm thinking about staying in Nashville for the month until our gig in Cleveland so that the band can rehearse and get tighter. Money is an issue, but I'll find a way... donations??

Hope all is well with everyone... take it easy!

IT'S A BOY!!

No, I'm not having a baby... my cousin-in-law is!! It's 12:25 am and my cousin Aaron just called to tell us that there's another little Thoma in the family. Brooke had Max at around 12:15 (I'm guessing...). Max Thoma. I believe he's named after my great-grandfather on Dad's side. If I remember correctly, Max was also percussively inclined... so maybe it will come with the name? We'll just have to wait and see. I'll get info from Mom later today about the whole ordeal and also Brooke and Aaron's address and phone if you'd like to send your congratulations! It's a happy day in Thoma-land!

All good things...

... must end. :-( Unfortunately our vacation is ending today. Mom and I are flying out of Tallahassee at 5:25 this evening and returning to the frozen Midwest around 8:30. It's been a great trip with the exception of the uncooperative weather. It rained most of the time we were here, but it was nice enough to walk on the beach a few days. (Although we had to stay in our jeans and sweatshirts while we were walking...) Last night was a lot of fun. We all went out to dinner at Mori, which is a Japanese Hibachi restaurant. Y'know.. one of those places where they cook everything right in front of you and singe your eyebrows off with the flames? It was a blast. The chef had a great time joking with Mom, and I got to have Green Tea ice cream again. (Don't gag... it's good!) After dinner we all went out to a karaoke bar/restaurant. They didn't have an age limit, so Katlin was able to get in. I sang "Some Beach" by Blake Shelton and "I'm Movin' On" by Rascal Flatts. I was really impressed when Kiel got up and sang "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down. He's a pretty good singer!!! Anyway.. we're leaving in about 3 hours, so I've gotta go pack again.. :: sigh :: By the way: NEW PICTURES ON THE TEQUILA SUNRISE SITE!!! Check em out!!!