I don’t really have a lot to say about this, but we are excited to be able to halfway fill up a widget to put out there. We’re very excited to have the shows as well.

It’s cool to clean out the noggin every once in a decade, right? It feels like that for me. I want to share some OMG! great news. But I don’t have any to pass along. All I’ve got is your run of the mill dairy goodness.

I think it goes without saying that playing out with Ovada is super good news! We played 123 Pleasant St. last Thursday with The Young Reptiles and David Bello. Both are well worth your time. This was the first time the Reptiles played out, and really carried themselves well. Their website is a blast! And oh yeah, they got some cool songs. David Bello did a solo set that was hip, solid, and right on.

We’re going to be back at 123 on September 2nd with David and Captain Catfeesh. Also, we’ll be playing at Adelphia on August 26th. This is a nice new performance room for the valley. If you haven’t been, I strongly urge you to! Joseph and I will also be playing Adelphia on August 20th as part of the Songwriter Night Invitational.

Kevin Montgomery is going to be playing at the house on November 29th! Can’t wait to see him again! Visit his website and friend him on Facebook. He’s a fun person to follow.

Other than that, Lou and I are just trucking right along. I’m not the least bit worried about covering football this year. I plan to make some college football songs, though. I’ll have to put a link back up on the sidebar to Songbook Sports. Please do go check it out. I’m part of a network and they don’t like that I have been on leave for so long.

After my last post, I had to do something that wasn’t so harsh. You know, just to balance everything out. So here’s a new song, Naked Souls. Once again, Joseph does great work helping me craft this song.

I had to come back and edit this. Sorry anyone that was offended. I want you all to vote out the incumbent. Just vote them out. Don’t worry if they are a Democrat or Republican. Just vote them out and send a real message.

Kevin Montgomery is getting ready to head out on his 2010 50 States/50 Days tour and he could use your help. Why should you help? I’ll tell you why. Kevin is the kind of person that isn’t just in it for himself. He’s sponsored a charity on every tour, giving a sizable portion of his earnings to said charity. He’s connected and engaged with these charities. You’ll notice the link to the Wounded Warrior Project at the bottom right of the side bar as well as Farm Aid and the Red Cross. Inspired by him. True story! I know I’m not a magnet for helping charities, but I try. Many hands make light work. Right?

I haven’t mentioned that he is quite funny and personable. Or that he’s a damn good songwriter and performer. Hosting one of his house concerts truly is a “get more than you give” evening. He really is that good, and in a way I feel bad that he isn’t more famous. I think he should be a household name. But the world’s loss is our gain.

What I ask of you is to go to his website and read and listen and enjoy. If you are on Facebook, you should join the 50 States in 50 Days group.  If you are interested in hosting Kevin or you know someone that has the perfect house to host, contact him at kevin at kevinmontgomery.com. The logistics of doing a 50 day tour in 50 states is as hard as you might imagine. I could go on forever, but I’m afraid that I might lose you. So here’s the video from the concert at my house last year. I wasn’t drunk. Nope. Not at all.

Ideas…we’re open to just about anything.

With the conference shuffle cycle screeching to a halt by virtue of Texas et al staying in the Big…it’s just wrong to use the old names. We may have to consult the college football odds to see just how long this version of the conferences stays together. Can you bet on such things? There needs to be new conference names, though. Something that doesn’t tie itself down to numbers. Something that is a true expression of the personality of each conference.

Big East Conference of Kent

Since I’m a WVU fan, we’ll cast the first stones at ourselves. Above average by most standards, but seriously lacking in some obvious ways. Kent is intelligent enough to be with the big boys, but lacks anything resembling street smarts. Everyone wants to take something from Kent, but no one wants to hang out with him except ECU, Memphis, and Central Florida.

ACC Conference CPA-Crimson Permanent Assurance

The original conference raiders. It’s funny because you watch it and you think to yourself, “this could never happen.” Kind of like when you think about the ACC in any sort of championship game. It’s just too ridiculous to be real.

Big 12 Big Texas Conference

Say what you want, this conference is still together because of Texas. The Kansas and Kansas State basketball coaches should both send a portion of their salary to the Texas AD.

SEC The Ron White Conference

It seems like everyone I’ve met from SEC country can tell a story like this. It deserves as much respect as the football programs deserve. If you love college football, you should go to an SEC game. And now that the love fest is over, we still hate them.

Big Ten Spaulding Conference

Rich as hell, but still flawed in so many ways.

I’m sorry to the rest of the conferences. Maybe next time. Hey! That’s what the BCS says.

I know I’m a little late with this, and I am sorry. But I thought since most people will have something planned for the 4th, now would be a good time to give them something to do the following weekend. Hosting house concerts doesn’t require a lot of work. But it makes you think a lot about how to promote it. I’d rather not bombard folks with the same info. Just hope to do it right the first time. And what better way to start than to let them talk?

We are creative visionaries and healers. We believe in the power of music. We are based in downtown Princeton, West Virginia where two of us run The RiffRaff Arts Collective and one of us runs Sacred Ground Healing and Meditation Center.  We breathe positive, creative energy into a downtown which was once dark and depressed. We burn incense and blow bubbles onto the street. We play didgeridoos on the sidewalk and hold drum circles in the town square. We give light and hope wherever the door is open. We pour our hearts and souls into organizing Culturefest World Music & Arts Festival, which you should attend.

This is where you come into the equation. You have to go to Option 22′s website and listen and look and decide. You know you aint doin’ nothin’ special! Seriously, you clicked the last link I gave you. Didn’t you? Click this one and listen. IMHO, this should be a great live show!

I could see Joseph sitting in with them real easy. By this point you’ve gone and listened and decided. But before you give your final answer, just remember that Ed Orgeron is always watching…always.

Tickets are only $10 with my usual spread of goodies to munch on. And Lou just had a birthday today. So don’t forget to bring a little something for him. July 9th, 830pm. Email me or find me on Facebook.

credit for the Ed Orgeron photo goes to LSUFreek of course.

Much thanks to Joseph again for the backing vocals! I’m really happy with the way this one turned out. Again, this is still a rough mix. Whenever I’m done recording the cd, I guess that’ll be the final mix. Ha!

I thought I’d try this Reverb Nation player.

I realize that I am not posting here very much lately. I’ll be back. It’s just that I’m spending a lot of time recording and writing. So basically, it’s me not you. Until I have something for you to listen to, here’s Joe Jackson with “I’m The Man.”

Aw hell, how bout  one more? How bout “Stepping Out.”

As the recording goes on, I’m thinking that I should just record them all and have someone else do the final mix. By the time you hear the song, I’ve listened to it probably 200 times if not more. I get to this point where I really can’t hear anything. It’s just there and I have lost all inspiration of what it should sound like and given way to what it is. I’m content to do something else if not satisfied. This is the importance of friends! This is also a rough mix in case you didn’t get that from the above rambling.

Anyway, this song was written back in 2002-2003 while I was a computer tech. Some of it has to do with being a manager at a grocery store, which I was for a six year period. I was never able to meet up with my friends and do stuff. I was always at the store or resting to go back. It’s tragic to me that I wasted so many years of my life doing something I hated. Especially now that I have time and the resources to do so many of the things that I enjoy, like recording music. It might be a sad story, but I had a shit ton of fun recording it!

Joseph did some great backing vocals and keyboards, as well as timely suggestions. Thanks pal!

Hope you enjoy it!

Oh No