There is so much I’m looking forward to and I feel a fresh energy in the air, almost as if THIS were the actual beginning of my new year.
I can’t pretend that the first couple of months of 2010 weren’t a little brutal. I had a kinda major shoulder injury, dental nightmares, cars towed and broken into, an iPhone soaked, a laptop ruined, 2 flat tires, and a couple weeks of illness. Definitely not the hardest time of my life and small potatoes in the long run, but not what I expected when I drunkenly assumed 2010 was going to be pumpkin pie.
But the new month of March promises much goodness. On the very first day, I will premier the BRAND NEW music video for my song ‘Ghosts’ from the ‘Never Was’ EP. We shot it on a rainy Saturday a few weeks back and the director Kevin Thompson showed me the first cut on Tuesday. I love it. It’s dark and simple and sweet and very CJD. Kevin also directed the video for ‘Over My Head‘ and it’s amazing to watch him grow as a filmmaker. I couldn’t be more comfortable than I am with him and that always makes for a good time.
The rest of the month is devoted to promoting the living hell out of the DOUBLE TROUBLE tour with myself and Aiden James. Check the poster. He gets allll the credit for hooking this baby up. It couldn’t be better!
The tour kicks off in LA at Room 5 on Tuesday March 23. From there, we hit San Fran and Portland, finishing the short run in Seattle. I can’t tell you how excited I am to share the stage with this guy. I’ll be looking for your help to spread the word about this in a week or so!
There is much more on the horizon, with shows in Phoenix, NYC, Cedar Rapids, and my home town of Milwaukee. Want me to come to your town? Let’s find a small venue or big living room and make it happen! While 2010 kicked off to a strange start for me, my one resolution was to give it all to music and THAT is the only thing going according to plan.
As always, I’m wicked thankful for all of your support. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you on Twitter and Facebook and am endlessly grateful for your part in helping me spread the music. Ya’ll know I have no agent, no manager, no pr, and no record label… and no money. What you’ve helped me accomplish is on par with my sweetest dreams.
Be well and don’t be a stranger. See ya Monday for the premier of the GHOSTS video!
Wednesday was one of the most beautiful nights in recent memory.
I approached the day with a bit of anxiety because I really didn’t want to let Jen down. We set a goal for $6000, the price of ONE prescription… but with the current state of the world, there are so many deserving places to put your money. Plus, let’s face it, who isn’t broke?
But come Wednesday morning, we were only $1000 from our goal and I was pretty certain we would reach it and maybe even surpass it.
Molly Malone’s is a great venue! I had expected it to be a bit more of a dive bar, but the set up is great- the bar is isolated from the music room, mimizing noise– and the sound is pretty dope.
Syd started out the night with really great set. I put Syd first on the bill because I knew that he would get the evening moving in the right direction. He is charming and in-the-moment and never gives a sub-par show. I learn something everytime I watch him. He sang a few songs from his EP ‘Upswing’ and my favorite older song of his ‘Skeleton Key.’
Keeley took the stage next and brought with her Danny Byrne on electric guitar and Natalie Metcalfe. Keeley is a sweetheart with a big huge voice and a heart to match. These three have been playing together for a couple of years now and they are TIGHT. They played songs from her most recent record ‘Three Cities’ as well as a couple of new ones that I can’t wait to have on record.
I took the stage next and chose to sit because my shoulder was acting up again.
Here’s my set:
Count the Shadows
Mistake
Subterranean
Little Bit of Blue
Gimme More
Ghosts
Hard to Breathe
Over my Head
Right on Time
My voice felt really strong that night and I’m proud of the performance. Check out this video of ‘Subterranean.’
And THIS one of ‘Right on Time.’
All in all, we raised $6700, well beyond our goal. I’m blown away, Jennifer is blown away. And we are so grateful for your support. And I promise, I won’t ask ya’ll for money again…. until I start fundraising for my next record
Thank you ALL so much for spreading the word and for donating your money. You made a concrete difference in one person’s life and ya’ll should feel good.
I myself am now shifting gears to get ready for some trouble. DOUBLE TROUBLE! My tour with Aiden James starts in LA on March 23! Look out!
So much going on the next few days! I’m chock full of excitement and energy. Here’s the scoop:
TONIGHT Rainbow World Radio is airing an interview I did with host Len Rogers last week. We had a really fun chat and he is going to play Sad Brit and Never Was (Tangent, I often acccidentaly type ‘Never Was’ as one word. Like it’s a place: Neverwas.) It airs at 8pm eastern at RainbowWorldRadio.com, but if you can’t listen live, you can stream it on the site for a few weeks.
TOMORROW, I’m shooting a video for ‘Ghosts’ with Kevin Thompson, who directed my last video for ‘Over My Head.’ I can’t wait to have a visual element to compliment my favorite song.
Then on WEDNESDAY, we’ve got the Benefit for Jennifer at Molly Malones with sets by yours truly, Keeley Valentino, George Stanford, and Syd. Fundraising is going really well, especially considering the multitude of deserving places one has to put their money this day and age. I know that Jennifer is really overwhelmed by the generosity and I’m certain that when all is said and done we will reach our goal.
Finally, I wanna give a shout to Fay Wolf, who totally achieved the holy grail of music placements last night when her beautiful song ‘Yours’ was on Grey’s Anatomy. And to top it off, she debuted at Hotel Cafe with an absolutely gorgeous set. Check her out!
