Brushes with Greatness

Telisha and I had a night recently that we'll remember forever. It was just amazing. John Laird, or agent, landed us an opening spot for Charlie Louvin! We were pretty excited about it as soon as we heard about it, and as the date got closer the excitement just kept building. We actually started getting really nervous- I mean, we were going to MEET and OPEN FOR a country music legend. Member of the Grand Ol' Opry. Member of the Country Music Hall of Fame! His music, with his Brother, Ira, influenced so many others that you really can't listen to rock or country and not hear, at least indirectly, some influence from the Louvin Brothers. Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Buck Owens, the Beatles-- people who we all cite as our influences today--were all influenced by the Louvin Brothers.

Needless to say, the day of the show I was a wreck. Telisha and I were both just as nervous as we could be. We were on schedule to get to the venue early, but we didn't want to get their TOO early. We did a little drive-by and didn't see much life out in the parking lot so we decided to head down to a grocery store and buy a 6 pack of beer. Not that we needed beer, we just needed something to do, and you can always use beer.

After we'd twiddled our thumbs for what we thought was a acceptable time we finally pulled into the parking lot of the Handlebar in Greenville, SC. No sign of Charlie (story spoiler: Later on, he tells us to call him Charlie, not Mr. Louvin- just didn't want you to think we were being disrespectful!) or his band yet, so we load our stuff in, met the sound engineer, and sat down in the middle of the room and proceeded to twiddle our thumbs again.

The side door swings open - Telisha and I stand up nervously and just kinda walk around in circles, trying not to look anxious, but trying not to look bored either- hell, I don't know what we were trying to look. Anyway, the band finally comes comes in. It's like big scene in a movie. Third in line is Charlie, in his tennis shoes, blue jeans, button down shirt and cowboy hat, with a cigarette hanging from his lips. Telisha and I amble over and she says "Hello Mr. Louvin- we're very excited about tonight, it's a pleasure to meet you!" or something like that. He replied with "Boy, you sure are cute!" and turns and walks back out to the van. Cute. We stand there for a moment both feeling like we had just said "I carried a watermelon"

As it turns out, their bus had broken down. They had piled 4 of the 5 band members and as much gear as they could fit into a rental van to make it to the show. They were all just a bit tense from the situation, but all warmed up to Telisha and me pretty quickly. I'll skip all the details here, but we really connected with them all. Brent, their bass player, was interested in Telisha's bass, so we fooled around with that for a while. They did their sound check and we did ours. One cool thing in our part of the sound check- We were checking our vocals and my guitar to Telisha's mandolin. This left the bass just sitting there. Charlie walks over and picks it up, so we break into an old Hank Williams tune with Charlie Louvin playing bass! (<---incredible moment #1) After sound check and a little dinner, we've still got a few hours before the show. Bob Saxton is playing guitar with Charlie tonight, and he's sitting on stage running through some Merle Travis songs. It just sounds great. I wander over with my guitar and unsuccessfully try to steal some licks. Bob is just a SUPER nice guy and we talk about music for a while and Telisha wanders over into the conversation. Bob asks if we ever do any Patsy Cline songs. Of course we do! We do several! It's at this point that Bob let's us know that he used to PLAY GUITAR FOR PATSY CLINE.... and asks us what key we do Crazy in. We settle on Bb and he starts playing. I know some of you won't believe this, but Telisha quietly and timidly starts to sing. The quiet and timid don't last long and we sit there on stage playing and singing Crazy with a guy who used to play it with Patsy Cline! (<---incredible moment #2) What a thrill. The cool thing was that it really thrilled Bob as well. He said "Patsy would have liked that!" and proceeds to call Telisha "Miss Patsy" for the rest of the evening. We hadn't been planning on it, but after this we decide that we've got to put Crazy in our set list for the night so we can tell the audience that story. It's finally about time to get dressed for the show, so we do that and then go sit down backstage with Charlie and Brent. Brent is a pretty young guy, but a little older than Telisha and me, I'd guess. He's very aware of how cool it is that he gets to play and sing with Charlie every night. We sit there and listen to story after story out of Charlie. Just amazing things, some that I probably shouldn't repeat! He tells me to go get my guitar, he wants to sing some songs for us. I go get it and hand it to Brent, who, by the way, is a fantastic musician. They serenade us (well, Telisha, but I was in the room!) with some really cool old songs. Telisha sings one or two for them, too. So yeah, we're hanging out backstage jamming with Charlie Louvin! (<--#3, right?) Now it's time for us to take the stage. I honestly don't remember what we played, or in what order. It was just such a rush. Like I said earlier, though, we did put Crazy in the list to play. We told the story to the audience, and they all thought it was a cool story, too. Not to brag, but we kinda had 'em in the palm of our hands. So we start into Crazy, pretty confident that we're really gonna kill 'em with it. About three bars into it I catch something out of the corner of my eye- Bob walks out on stage with us and fires up his amp, grabs his guitar, and dives right in! WOW!! He follows our arrangement (which, he informed us earlier, is different from Patsys) and we give him a solo in the middle. It's just beautiful. We get to the end of the song, do the final "...for loving......... youuuuuuuuuu....." and let Bob put a really tasteful, pretty tag on the end of it. Telisha and I just start jumping up and down in excitement, cheering with the rest of the crowd. (<---#4, almost too much, huh?) We shake Bobs hand and hug him and thank him for doing that. He smiles and tells us he really enjoyed it, waves at the crowd, and heads back stage again. We make it to the end of our set, just completely full of energy, and head backstage ourselves. We decide at that point that no matter what else happens tonight, it was worth it. Nothing could bring us down. We pull ourselves together and head out to the back of the room to watch the main part of the show. If you've heard the new Charlie Louvin record and thought that it sounds as good as it does because of studio tricks, you're wrong. His voice sounds fantastic. Every note was spot on and loaded full of honest emotion. It was just a fantastic show. Charlie announced that he had had a great time, thanked everyone for coming out, and said he was going to do his last song. He had told Telisha earlier backstage that if she knew a harmony part to anything he was singing, she should hop up on stage and join in. Of course she knew harmony parts on lots of the songs he'd played but hadn't gotten up the nerve. The last song was "Cash On the Barrel Head". I looked at her and said "If you don't go out there right now, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." That was all the prodding she needed, and she made it to the microphone by the chorus, just in time to join in. It sounded great, and I'd give anything if we'd been recording that show. They finished up the song, and Charlie was just grinning ear to ear. He looked at Telisha and said "Come here, Darlin'" and held his arms out for her. He squezed his arm around her shoulder, held the microphone between them, and sang a benediction to the audience. Telisha really didn't know the words to what he was singing, but she could add in a nice little harmony on the ends of the pharses. It was really cool. (<---I think that's 5, 6, and 7)

So that's it. Well, not quite- we did hang around backstage with Charlie and his band a little longer, trading email addresses and so forth. A few more stories and a few more jokes. Out in the hallway between the dressing rooms and the exit door, away from everyone else, Brent made a very profound statement to us. If I included it in this post, it would be #8 in the incredible moment tally, but I think we're going to keep that one just for ourselves. Our own little private moment that we'll never forget. We said our goodbyes, hugged, promised to stay in touch, and headed for the Waffle House to try and calm down a bit.

So that's our night with Charlie Louvin. Memories we'll carry forever. Thanks for reading- Sorry this one ended up so long! Just too much to say....
Doug

Beck & Andres Got Married (and I helped!)

A few weeks ago I got to do something really cool. I got to preform the wedding ceremony for my sister and her now husband. It was a pretty exciting moment, and pretty surreal. It's a long story and not all that interesting explaining how I got the credentials to be able to do it, so I'll just skip that part. Several of the people who were there and some that weren't have asked me to email them my "sermon" from that day for Becki and Andres. I decided it would be easier to just post it here in the blog for you all to read. So here are my notes! Enjoy!

"It’s exciting for me today to get the chance to perform this ceremony, not only because Becki’s my sister, but also because Andres is my friend, and I think I have at least a little bit to do with Becki and Andres being together in the first place

Several years back, Telisha and I were playing music almost every weekend at a little Italian restaurant in Collinsville called the Capri Café. The Capri was actually owned by a couple from Venezuela, and we got to be friends with the owners. We also got to be friends with another native Venezuelan who spent some time there, Andres.

Of course, as it is with all our friends, Andres also got to know the rest of our family. Eventually, though, it seemed like Andres was spending more time with my sister than the rest of us. At the time Becki was living in Raleigh, so that was quite a feat. They both assured us for months and months that no, they weren’t dating, they were just friends- they just liked spending time together. But Love is patient, and sure enough, over time, it became obvious to us all that that they were indeed in the middle of a budding romance.

I wanted to just speak briefly about the verse we just heard from the bible, from 1^st Corinthians Chapter 13. I think no matter what your religious background is, that’s a pretty strong text. Not only that, but it gives us a fantastic definition of love, something that can otherwise be rather difficult to define.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”.

Becki and Andres, I’d be willing to bet that if you asked any truly happily married couple what the secret to their marriage was, they would respond with something that could in one way or another be paraphrased as the above scripture.

Always be patient with each other.
Always be kind to one another.
Don’t be jealous- be sure to trust each other with all of your heart.
Let go of little things- don’t be angry at each other for every little thing that comes up- just get out a new roll of toilet paper and forget it.

Work hard to be closer to each other on each tomorrow than you were on each today. It won’t always be easy- it’s just impossible to make it through with out hard times, but if you protect each other, trust each other, and persevere, you’ll make it. Listen to each other and support each other.

Now, perhaps the most important part of that scripture – Love never fails. If you both promise to follow the above advice, this is the reward- love NEVER fails.

As your brother and your friend, I hope both of you remember that long after today as you look back on years and years of wonderful memories.

Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

So there it is. It was a great day, and now I've got a new brother- in-law. Beck and Andres are back from their honeymoon now. Actually, right as I'm posting this, we're down at the coast with them and my parents for a long weekend. Looks like a nice sunny day. I think we're getting ready to head to the water, so I'll sign off for now since everyone else is ready to go. As usual, I'm last : )

Doug

Groooooovin'

Okay, Okay, I missed the month of May, but I'm back on track! We just had a fantastic trip through TN and TX. We put the RV to the ultimate test of major miles, major heat, and loads of stuff!
A week ago yesterday, we had the time of our lives groovin (literally)on stage with Kenny Malone! It was our Nashville performance debut at The Douglas Corner, and we had a great time. If you don't know Kenny Malone, I encourage you to check him out. He plays percussion with almost everyone in Nashville, and I assure you he is no average drummer. Doug and I have a grand time listening to old Don Williams music on satellite radio, and trying to predict whether or not Kenny is playing on that particular cut. There's a definite "essence" to Kenny's playing. If you've heard him at all, you know what I'm talking about. Not only is he (in my humble opinion) the absolute best percussionist in the world, he's also the closest thing to Buddha I know. Doug and I just love being around Kenny. He exudes positivity. I challenge anyone to try not to smile when Kenny Malone walks into the room!
The TX part of our trip was part business/part play. We were heading down to Austin for our friends', Kathy and Derek's wedding. The festivities began on Friday night at the roller skating rink. We were all joking about it being hard to believe that it'd been 20 years since most of us had been on these crazy rolling contraptions. It's not exactly like riding a bike, but it did come back relatively quickly. Kathy and Derek had a beautiful wedding, and it was good to catch up with some friends we hadn't seen in far too long.
We took two days (11 hours each) to drive home. Time to clean the R.V. and stock up for our next road adventure!

Turning the Corner

So, check this out. I'm turning the big 3-0 this weekend. I know, some of you don't think it's a very big deal, but it's my first major milestone (besides 21), and I'm excited! Birthdays are a fantastic time to celebrate who you are, who you've been, and certainly, who you hope to one day be. I've always enjoyed a birthday, and am excited to celebrate those of my friends and family, too. My father-in-law shares a close birthday with me that was also significant this year (I won't give it away). As I look back on these short 30 years, I think about some pretty amazing things. I think about friends I used to have, places I've visited, outfits I should never have worn, and events (both happy and traumatic) that have shaped this 30 year old woman. I feel that at this time in my life, my path is right, and I'm happy to keep moving forward.

All that being said, Doug asked if he could start refering to me as "his old lady" now, I suggested that he not.

T

Duo Bliss

Hello folks! So I fell slightly off the wagon and had no post for February. Give me a break, it was a short month, and the end really sneaks up on you.
We did have a fantastic experience in February, at The Folk Alliance in Memphis. This was our third year attending, and it was fantastic. We were lucky enough to be included in a DUO CO-OP, organized by Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart. They got 9 duos together, we all pitched in a little money, and the Co-Op was represented by an exhibition hall booth, a showcasing room, and an ad in the Folk Alliance program. It doesn't get much "folkier" than that. People . . . people helping people. . . are the luckiest (okay, I'll stop). I'm listing the websites of the duos that participated with us, because I think they're really worth checking out. Doug and I were honored to be in such great company over the weekend, and let me say that our little co-op certainly made a splash at the conference.

Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart (www.staceyandmark.com): If you don't know these folks, you really need to. Stacey and Mark have been our heroes for years. They are an inspiration to us, and we are unbelievably greatful to call them friends.

Small Potatoes (www.smallpotatoesmusic.com): These guys have a great reputation in the folk world, and we can see why! We were proud to be associated with such a talented duo.

Jeff & Vida (www.jeffandvida.com): We met Jeff and Vida last year, and immediately felt a kinship. Jeff is a hot picker, and Vida's voice and command of the stage is astounding.

The Laws (www.thelaws.ca): John and Michele Law form this duo that proves country music has not all gone to hell in a handbasket. Once you hear their playing, harmonies, and heartbreaking country tunes, you'll understand what's been missing for years on the Nashville Scene.

The Milroys (www.themilroys.com): CJ & John are fantastic! Doug and I have been singing their songs ever since we got home. Great Writers and fantastic delivery, what more could you ask for?

Beucoup Blue (www.beaucoupblue.com): This father-son duo from Philadelphia will knock your socks off! When you hear these two play together, you know it's something in their genes! Only family can sound like that!

Annie and Rod Capps (www.anniecapps.com): Not only are Annie and Rod a fantastically talented duo, Annie worked WAY OVERTIME, preparing the promotional materials for the Duo Co-OP and they looked fabulous! Annie sings about life, and makes you either wish you were there, or mourn for the character being sung about. Annie's energy is contagious and Rod's playing is superb!

Sally Spring with Ted Lyons (www.sallyspring.com): We learned that Sally and Ted live only an hour away from us, and we're actually going to see them tonight! Sally is a petite little sweetheart, with a powerhouse voice that fills the room. Ted is a passionate player. When they sing it, you know they mean it!

We truly are thankful to have been associated with such a fantastic group of people. We've started friendships that will last for a long time, with folks that understand the ups and downs of this industry at least as much as we do. We recommend you checking out all of these fine duos and supporting them by passing along the word, buying a cd (or four), and catching a live show when they are nearby!

T

Goodbye "Little E"

Well, I'm officially within the resolution time frame that I created for myself. My last post was in December and it is still January (I realize that I'm pushing it a little). Doug and I post with bittersweet feelings today. Over the weekend, we traded our beloved Honda Element (Little E) for a Winnebago View (www.winnebagoview.com). We deliberated long and hard over the decision, but decided that with the amount of time we plan to be on the road in 2007, it was the only way to go!
Speaking of the amount of time we plan to be on the road, Doug and I have exciting news! We recently got signed to The Americana Agency with John Laird as our Booking Agent. We are thrilled about John accepting us on this fine roster (Diana Jones, Johnathan Byrd, SONiA and Disappear Fear & The Carolina Chocolate Drops). John's a great guy, and we couldn't be happier about this exciting partnership!
Back to Little E . . .
Our Element was a FANTASTIC vehicle. Since December of 2004, our Little E has traveled a whopping 61,000 miles with us. Talk about over the river and through the woods! It was a suprisingly emotional departure. We are nonetheless excited about our new travel arrangements, and have already enjoyed the RV in "Mobile Party" mode, traveling with some friends 30 minutes away for dinner and a movie.
We'll keep you posted on the RV traveling experience, and we'll be sure to let you know when she's earned her name.

T