Break the Silence

Not that I’ve been witholding information, I’ve just been straight out crazy with everything going on.  Since my last blog we’ve:

– Been hired as Martin Sexton’s opener/backing band for his national “Sugarcoating” tour

– Done our own full tour of the U.S. Virgin Islands

– Rehearsed incessantly on Martin’s tunes as well as our own new stuff

– Finished new songs and recorded a new full-length album with Martin Sexton producing

– Flown to Omaha, Nebraska and back for one show

– Begun Martin’s “Sugarcoating” tour, which included the 9:30 Club in D.C., and a sellout crowd at the enormous new House of Blues in Boston

– Begun living on a tour bus for the first time in our lives

Where to begin?  I’ll guess I’ll start with Martin.

As I’ve been saying for years, the guy is my musical hero.  I used to work at the old House of Blues box office in Cambridge, MA, and would geek out on his website, learning about and listening to everything I could.  I’d go to his shows at Somerville Theatre, or the State Theatre in Portland, or the Orpheum and pass out CDs of mine to people on the way out.

Then at Gathering of the Vibes in 2006 I met him and his wife Georganne and was so excited!  They were so nice.  Phew…

Then I got put on as an opener with the trio for nine shows on the “Seeds” tour in 2007.

Then I got put on as opener for the entire “Solo” tour in 2008.

Then on this past New Year’s I got a call from Georganne, asking if the band would be interested in being the opener/Martin’s backing band for the entire tour for his new album.  We cleared our schedule, learned three of his new songs for an audition/rehersal with Martin at our house and he offered us the job.

Since then, it’s been a ton of work on these tunes, tons of group rehearsals as well as practice individually.  I’ve never been a sideman in my life (other than my first college band) so this is something very new for me.  I’ve been sort of freaking out, actually.  In addition to my lack of basic musical training, this is Martin Sexton, a man who has entertained thousands of crowds by his lonesome.  I don’t want to be the guitar player who gets in the way.  I want to be a great guitar player for his songs.  It’s coming along, but I have a long, long, way to go.

In the midst of all of the talking schedules, tours, tunes, etc., came the fact that we had our own record to make.  Martin offered to “throw his hat in the ring” as a potential producer, and after some quick negotiation among friends, we were in the recording studio in Cambridge, MA (www.campstreetstudios.com) with Mr. Sexton at the helm.

Over two sessions for a total of 11 days, we tracked 15 songs, 13 of which will likely be on this new record.  All signs point to September for a release.

Camp Street is the very same studio in which “Sugarcoating” was recorded, so this whole thing just had a lot of synergy from the start.  We were working on Martin’s new tunes, he was working on ours, and we all recorded it in the very same place.  He was outstanding in the studio, really setting a tone of ease and comfort, and vowing not to put his own “fingerprint” on this record.  He wanted it to sound like us and I think he did that.  At the same time, he got us to do some things we would never have done on our own.

So all in all, 2010 is shaping up to be a big year for our little band.  We are very much riding the Martin Sexton train and couldn’t be more excited.

Right now that “train” is in the form of our current home: a big black tour bus, now parked outside of a Days Inn on the outskirts of Cleveland.  This is our day off and I am thankful for the rest.

I do think the guys are killing it and it’s a thrill to see them, to see all of us on the same stage as Mr. Sexton every night.  Doesn’t even seem real in a way.  Like I said, this guy hits closer to home than anyone for me.  All of this is actually beyond my dream.  I never thought I’d be in his band!  Must play great…  For his sake, for mine, for the audience, and for the simple fact that when we open up for Dave Matthews Band in June, I don’t want to be up there imagining all of the guitar players in the audience wondering what I’m doing up there.  Must play great!

As always, I vow to blog more.  And I think I really mean it this time.

For some photos that are much, much better than the ones I shot below, visit BenShotMe.com

Camp Street Rough Mixes

Good studios have good ghosts.

Fan

Aye, Scudder!

Another Sweaty Tour in the Sun U.S.V.I. 2010