Wednesday, March 30, 2005

"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...)

2 comments:

Ron, Kathy & Katlin said...

Keith - Great Post! Glad to hear what you've been up to. Sounds like you have been enjoying your time in Nashville. We heard you're staying, we're proud of you and will be praying for you!

By the way, thanks for the heads up on Anthony Gomes. He can play. Both Kathy and I like him alot. He is actually going to be in Destin in May, so we are thinking about going seeing him play while he's there!

Take Care - we're very happy for you! Love Ron & Kathy

Lauren said...

Hmmm has anyone said yummy yet? Of course y'all are tallented... and how am I qualified to judge that? But my goodness the sexy voices and sheer appeal of all of you... I had SUCH a good time at BB's on Tuesday and even got to hang out with you all afterward. You're not only good, you're alot of fun too. Hugging the drummer was a bonus....