My Inclination

Trying out my friends picture imaging website http://www.tangeloimages.com

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Galore acting strange

Just recently I decided to purchase one of the new portable video cameras.  My cell phone doesn’t capture video that well and I thought when some of the strange things that happen to me occur, I’ll have a camera to capture it.  So I purchased a Mino Flip HD Camera.

Already it has become useful.  My cat Galore does some funny things.  And maybe if I capture it on video I can win one of those funny video contest.  Who knows?  So anyway, Galore started acting strange (rolling around on the floor) on 3/31, so I quickly grabbed the camera and captured this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y568Sj9m1WA

That following Saturday, I’m at home.  I’m working around the house and noticing Galore looking out the window watching the birds eatting from the bird feeder.  Normally she just watches the birds and meows a few times.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  Then all of a sudden she started making this odd chattering noise.  I had never heard her make this sound.  I looked out the window to see a bumble bee hovering just outside the door, where she was watching.  This was her reaction to the bumble bee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ5TXIDL7ag

Is this some strange language that cats have with bees?  She was found as a week old kitten in a briar bush outside a Starbucks.  Maybe she encountered bees there because the only time she’s been outside is when she’s with me on the back porch.

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You always want to be remembered favorably

Not all of my Blogs are about music. They just happen to have skewed in that direction. But it’s my inclination to post events that strike me as interesting and this is one of them.

What transpired over the past two days gave me a nice little pick-me-up that I felt I should write a blog about.

On Saturday, I was driving around, running errands and looking for a place to go for lunch. There’s a Chipotle Mexican restaurant, so I decide to grab some tacos. I get my order, sit down and notice my phone vibrating. So I either just got an email or received a text. I check the phone and realize that I received a text message. I have it set up so that I get a text message if i get a friend request or message on facebook. I look at the message, recognize the name requesting the connection, and smile. It’s a friend from college! She was one of the little sister’s of my fraternity and dated one of my fraternity brothers. Then I start recalling the things I remember about her. I remember going over to her apartment once and noticing that she had a photo of a child in Africa that she was sponsoring. I don’t recall having much money in college, and definitely didn’t have enough to spare to sponsor a child. I’m sure she was in the same financial situation as me, but somehow found a way to do amazing things. I remember her being a complete Angel.

Then I recall another cool event that happened. The only fast food restaurant that was close to campus was a Hardees. One day I’m going through the drive-thru to get something to eat before heading to class and I notice her in her car behind me. From my license plate, it was easy for her to know it was me in front of her; I had a vanity license plate that listed what fraternity I was in. Plus I probably waved to her (I don’t quite recall). I pull up to the window and pay, but have to wait for my order to be made. I’m holding on to my change and realize, how cool would it be to pay for her order (haven’t you always wanted to do that?). So I ask the person through the window how much the order was for the car behind me and I pay for hers. I get my food and drive off, picturing in my mind, what’s about to transpire when she goes to pay for her order. It’s not until a few days later that I see her again and I remember her thanking me for paying for her order. I think she was late for class, so it worked out perfectly that she didn’t have to wait too long to get her order.

So I can reply to the text message with an “add” and have her automatically added to facebook. I can access the internet with my phone, so after I finish my lunch, I pull up her profile. She has a picture of her, her husband (my fraternity brother) and their kids. She and her husband haven’t changed a bit since college. They still look great.

So when I get home later, I send her a message on facebook, thanking her for finding me and sending me the add request. I also tell her how she made my day by contacting me and reminding me of past events.

The next day is my nephew’s birthday. The family decides to meet at a McDonald’s to celebrate (birthday boy’s choice). I ride with my Dad and we get there before my brother, his wife and my nephew. We’re sitting waiting and my phone vibrates. I check it and see that I got a text message because my friend has responded to my message. Part of the message is listed in the text and I have to laugh. It says, “…Still remember the day you were in front of me in the Hardee’s drive thru and bought my lunch just because. Always so kind, sure this finds you the same.”

You know how when you look back on past events, you wonder how you’ve been perceived by others. How cool is it that when someone thinks of me, they remember something thoughtful that I did over ~15 years ago. Karma has a long shelf life and has an incredible way of turning up when I’m feeling down on myself and wondering if the things I do make a difference.

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Jakob Dylan @ The Variety Playhouse

I have a good friend that I love spending time with and one of the things that we enjoy talking about is music. She told me that she had gone and seen Bob Dylan last year, and I was so jealous. It’s not often that you get to see a legend singing live on stage. So I told her that I had seen somewhere that Jakob Dylan was coming to Atlanta to play a concert. When I found the information later, I emailed it to her. I had earlier told her about the record player I bought after getting Shawn Mullins vinyl record (see 3/8/08 Blog), and let her know that any albums she had, I could convert to MP3’s or CD’s. So I get an email from her saying that she wanted to have some CD’s made of Bob Dylan albums that she had and that she had bought tickets to the Jakob Dylan concert and wanted to know if I wanted to go. This was awesome. She was taking a trip and wanted to have the CD’s for the long drive so she dropped the albums off to me on a Wednesday. I made the CD’s and gave them to her the next day. The Bob Dylan albums were amazing and in pretty decent shape. The first one was “Self Portrait” a double album from 1970. The 2nd one was “Desire” from 1976. It was cool to hear these albums since there were several great songs that aren’t on any of the compilations I have. The CD’s came out pretty good. There were a few skips, but that’s probably to be expected from 30+ year old vinyl.

The Jakob Dylan concert was at the Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points. Little Five Points is an eclectic place. It has always been since I started going there as a teen. It hasn’t changed too much. And what’s cool is everyone there gets along. We were able to grab dinner near the venue and walk down the street to catch the show. I had been to the Variety Playhouse back in November to see Shawn Mullins, so I recommended sitting in one of the sections off on one side. If we wanted to, we could aways go down in front of the stage. So we grabbed a seat and waited for the opening act. There wasn’t any notice of who the opening act was going to be, so we didn’t know what to expect. We weren’t sitting too long when 2 guys and a girl come out from back stage and announce that they are “Anna Kramer and the Lost Cause“. Once they started playing, my friend said, “Oh, we’re going to want to stand up for this”. So, we jumped up and ran down in front of the stage. They were amazing. It’s incredible how much sound was coming from this group of 3. The songs had tones of all types of music. It had a kinda rock-a-billy style. They definitely put on an rockin’ show. Not quite what you expect from an local group asked to be an opening act at the last minute.

We ended up just staying where we were for Jakob, since we were right down front, real close to the stage. After a short break, Jakob and his band came out. It was kinda neat how leisurely it was. Jakob’s performance was as if it was with a bunch of friends just sitting around. And since we were right up front, within feet of him, we caught a lot of the nuances of the performance.
Jakob’s set-list (as listed online and from what I remember):

*All Day and All Night
*Something Good This Way Comes
*Everybody Pays As They Go
*Here Comes Now
*Evil Is Alive and Well
*This End of the Telescope
*The Beautiful Side of Somewhere
*Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Marionette) [Jakob alone]
*Mourning Train [Jakob alone]
*War Is Kind [Jakob alone]
*Three Marlenas
*Will It Grow
*Closer To You
*I Wish I Felt Nothing
*Empire In My Mind
Encores:
*From the Bottom of My Heart
*On Up The Mountain
*How Good It Can Get

Jakob’s performance was excellent. It was a really cool concert. Between songs Jakob would talk with the audience as if he knew the people. It was a pretty comfortable interaction. At one point he looked over and read what was written on two girl’s shirts saying, “There is love in my creation”. He first realized that they both had the same shirt and saying. Then he commented on how that was a great line and then he questioned them asking, “did I write that?” Then he asked what song it was. And was told or realized that it was from his song, “I Told You I Couldn’t Stop”. It was a pretty funny moment. Another moment someone yelled out that they loved him and he seemed to trip over the lyrics of the song. It was an amazing night of music spent with a great friend. What more could you ask for?

Posted by Tom under Jakob Dylan,Main Blog,Variety Playhouse | Comments (0)

Audrey Spillman @ 12th & Porter

Disclaimer: All copyrighted material will be removed at owner’s request.

So Audrey Spillman was down in Atlanta for the 500 Songs for Kids in May and I told her that I saw that she was performing in June on a Saturday and that I would try and get up to Nashville for the show. I had driven up before for her “Next Big Nashville“ show and it wasn’t a bad drive.

I started out from Atlanta early afternoon, knowing I had plenty of time to get there with the show starting late, and with the time change from EST to CST. I completely forgot that this was the same weekend that Bonnaroo was going on (signs warned on possible traffic), but traffic wasn’t bad going through Manchester, TN. It takes about 4 hours to get there so I made it to Nashville around dinner time. I grabbed a bite to eat and hung out until around the time when the show was about to start.

Since I had time, I located the venue and tried to find where I could park. 12^th & Porter is an odd place. It’s in an industrial area next to an auto body shop and other warehouses. When it got close to the start of the show I parked at the gravel lot at the end of the street and head into 12th & Porter. From my first impression, the place seemed like a dump; a dive bar. Garage door windows, concrete floor, odd chairs, tables strewn about and a plywood stage. This was an odd bar. I didn’t have to pay a cover to get in the front door, so I wasn’t exactly sure how this was going to end up. I purchased a beer and people-watched. I didn’t hear any music, so I assumed the show had not started.

As I’m sitting there I notice a line forming, a guy taking money and people going through a door off to the side of the bar. I originally assumed this was a bathroom entrance. After awhile (although it seemed strange to pay to go to the bathroom), I jump in line, pay the man and head back behind the door. Like Dorothy entering OZ, I exit a dreary colorless hole-in-the-wall into a nice colorful music venue. There’s another bar, a private balcony, large stage, huge speakers and tons of stage lights. I found a spot to watch off to the side. Kristi Neumann started the concert followed by Sarah Silva. They were good. I liked the songs and will have to listen to them again when I get a chance.

I took a break while the opening acts were singing to see if I recognized anyone up front in the bar. Before I had a chance to recognize someone, I hear, “Tom!”. It’s Audrey. She’s at a table, chatting with some friends. I get a hug and we talk a bit. I know she’ll be getting ready to go on soon, so we don’t talk too long. I head back into the venue and they start setting up the stage for Audrey. Then I recognize someone tuning a guitar off on the left side of the stage. It was Matthew Perryman Jones. This was unexpected. I knew that Matthew and Audrey knew each other, worked together in the studio and co-wrote some songs together. But I didn’t expect to see him at her show. I think the last I heard he was somewhere on the west coast touring. So Matthew recognizes me and jumps down off stage to talk to me. We continue our conversation from his show at Smith’s Olde Bar and I tell him that I remember him from High School. He seems surprised that I would drive to Nashville from Atlanta to see Audrey. Shortly thereafter, Audrey started her performance. As always, she was amazing. The new band she had was good and made all her great songs better. There were a few songs I had forgotten about. I forgot how good “Comfort You” and “Flood” were. Since these songs weren’t on the CD that I had of her music, I had not heard them in a while. Halfway through, Matthew jumped up on stage, grabbed his guitar and performs with Audrey for the rest of the show.

It was a great concert. Not like what I had expected and definitely worth the drive. I hung around afterward and talked with Patrick Lochridge’s parents. They remembered me from the Eddie’s Attic show on 11/13/07. Audrey came out shortly thereafter and I told her how great the show was. She told me that she would be recording an EP soon and planned to perform at Eddie’s Attic in August. She was hoping to have the CD ready in time to make the performance a CD release show. I talked to Matthew before leaving and found out that he would have his new CD out soon and that he would be back down in Atlanta performing at Eddie’s Attic with a group of performers. It would be called the 10 out of Tenn, for the ten singers from Tennessee.

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Matthew Perryman Jones @ Smith’s Olde Bar

This is funny. Strange occurrences happen to me all the time and I’ve written about a few. This one ranks pretty high on the list.

So I have become a fan of Audrey Spillman and her music. And had discovered Matthew Perryman Jones, based on hearing from her that they had co-written a song together and that they were working in the studio together. I had seen him at Eddie’s Attic in November (see 11/3/07 Blog) and I knew he had one of his songs used on TV and had recently had some other songs used for the shows “Private Practice” and “Eli Stone”.

From songs I had purchased/downloaded off of his Myspace page, I really liked his music. I had also heard a concert of his in Nashville that was broadcast over the internet and really like some new songs that had not been recorded. So when I heard that he was playing Smith’s Olde Bar, I thought it would be a great concert to see. The Eddie’s show was acoustic, so the Smith’s show should be a little more rockin, with electric guitars and a full band.

So after work, I grabbed dinner and headed over. I got there a little late and went upstairs to find out no one was playing yet, so I hung out downstairs until it started. An odd group from Nashville opened the show, Parachute something? I couldn’t really get into the music. Based on the billing I wasn’t sure if Matthew was up next or if the other singer, Evan McHugh was. Evan had opened for Shawn Mullins at The Variety Playhouse show that I saw on 11/24/07.

Before the music started I noticed Bob Ephlin walk into the room at Smith’s Olde bar. Bob is the owner of Eddie’s Attic and I recognized him from all the times I’ve been to Eddie’s attic for shows. I had read somewhere that Matthew once worked and started out playing at Eddie’s attic, so I guess Bob was a fan of Matthew’s music. I thought it was cool to see the owner of a competing music venue at Smith’s Olde Bar to listen to a show. One of the phrases widely used at Eddie’s Attic is, “Live Music Matters”. Seeing the actions of it’s owner, I guess that rings true.

So Matthew goes on and the performance is phenomenal. Hearing him with a band is completely different from listening to him acoustic. So, in the middle of one of his breaks between songs, he’s tuning his guitar and he asks the crowd, “so who all here went to Tucker High School?” (or something similar) and a bunch of people scream out. I think I caught myself yell out too, then start to wonder, “wait, what did he say”? I went to Tucker High School, but I didn’t understand why Matthew was singling out THS in the crowd. He continued his performance, covering all the great songs on his current album and a few that will probably be on the album he releases in a few months.

MPJ’s set list:

Without a Clue
Don’t Fall in Love with Me
Amelia
Motherless Child
Waiting on the Light to Change
Echoes of Eden
Meghan’s Song
Feels Like Letting Go
Refuge
Save You

After his performance, I see him go over and talk with Bob and assume that they know each other pretty well. And actually as Bob was leaving he stopped and asked if I was someone he knew. I told him that I wasn’t the guy he named, but that I come to shows at his place and was actually there the night before to see Brandi Shearer. And he tells me that he is a fan of Matthew Perryman Jones, confirming my suspicions.

So I notice Matthew heading to the back of the room with a group of folks. The table back there was selling his CD, so I buy one (even though I purchased & downloaded most of him current album tracks online) so that I can get him to autograph it for me. I get his attention and ask for his autograph. He looks at me and says that I look familiar and where he might have seen me. I told him that I saw his show in November at Eddie’s Attic and that I’m also a fan of Audrey Spillman and that it was through her that I learned about him and his music. He immediately realizes that he recognizes me from a picture of Audrey and me that she has running on a slide show on her MySpace page. Then I ask him about the Tucker High School reference. And he tells me that he went to Tucker and that a lot of people in the crowd went to Tucker and came to see him play. I tell him that I went to Tucker and graduated in ’88. I said that it was too funny and he agreed. So to recap: to hear about and become a fan of Matthew Perryman Jones (a guy, I went to High School with), he had to move Nashville (years ago), befriend and co-write a song with Audrey Spillman, who I would ultimately become a fan of, and who would inform me about MPJ and his music. Weird, huh!? When I get home after the show, I look in my High School yearbook and find that when I was a Senior, Matt Jones was a Sub-freshman (we had 8-12 at Tucker, so 8^th grade was sub-freshman). And I think I remember him based on the yearbook photo. Take away the beard and consider Matthew as a skinny 13 y/o kid. Since we were in different grades, it wasn’t like we hung out, but I definitely think I remember him from High School. Too strange and funny to categorize.

Posted by Tom under Main Blog,Matthew Perryman Jones,MPJ,Smith's Olde Bar | Comments (0)

Brandi Shearer @ Eddie’s Attic

I had seen Brandi Shearer perform in January and really liked her music. I had been listening to her CD on and off since that show. So when I saw that she was coming back to Atlanta, I tried to work out my schedule to see her again. She was playing Eddie’s Attic, so I knew the show would be a little more mellow and acoustic than the show I saw at Smith’s Olde Bar. I had wanted to catch Andy Zipf also that night and was hoping I could get across town in time to see Brandi. I knew if she was the opening performer, I was screwed. So I get there and Brandi has already started. It turns out she was the 2^nd act. I missed hearing Quincy Coleman the opening act. I don’t think I missed too many of Brandi Songs and was able to catch most of her performance. She was great and I enjoyed hearing her with a new backing band. You just cannot beat a live performance. I had already bought Brandi’s CD and had her autograph it at her performance in January, so I talked to her after her performance to see when she was going to have another CD out. She seemed to enjoy Decatur, so hopefully she’ll be back soon.

After Brandi’s performance was Kate Walsh. Kate was from the UK and sang with a beautiful sweet voice. I bought Kate’s CD and got her to sign it after her show.

Posted by Tom under Brandi Shearer,Eddie's Attic,Kate Walsh,Main Blog | Comments (0)

Andy Zipf @ 1*FIVE*0

I saw that Andy Zipf was coming to Atlanta to play a show. He had listed Atlanta as a tour stop at one time last year but removed it. And he had not been in the area to perform since I last saw him back in Feb ‘07 at the Devil Stole the Beat show. I have several of his songs that I had purchased off of his Myspace page, but there were some MP3’s he had listed on his DiscRevolt page that I wanted to get. The only way to download those songs was to purchase one of his DiscRevolt cards to get an account number and download the songs. I had not heard of 1*FIVE*0 and wasn’t quite sure how the show would be. So after work, I headed over to the location. 1*FIVE*0 is a clothes boutique located in the newly refurb’d westside of Atlanta. One of the owners of the shop is Leslie Fram, former Music Director/DJ at 99x. They set up a stage in the front window of the shop and have music shows. Proceeds from the show go to a local animal shelter. Andy was the 2^nd act to go on. Considering the venue and crowd, Andy put on a phenomenal performance. The crowd didn’t get into his songs as much as they had at Smith’s Olde Bar. But that might have been because they were standing around clothes racks and display cases. After Andy’s performance, I was able to catch him and purchase the DiscRevolt cards. I purchased some things from the store (some folk art & other neat sundries they sold) I had to rush out because I wanted to get across town to see Brandi Shearer perform at Eddie’s Attic.

Posted by Tom under 1*FIVE*0,Andy Zipf,Main Blog | Comments (0)

Songs for kids (last night) @ Smith’s Olde Bar

So I had made my donation last week and had my ticket/pass to the last night of the Songs for Kids concert at Smith’s Olde Bar. I had a family commitment, so I wasn’t able to get there until after 11. But since I had a guaranteed ticket, I figured I’d have no problem getting in. When I entered Smith’s I saw a line waiting to get upstairs to the venue, so I walked around them figuring I could show my ticket and go on up. As I’m passing the line of people waiting to go up, I hear someone yell out my name. It turns out it’s Patrick Lochridge, the piano player in Audrey Spillman‘s band that I had seen the week before. He saw that I had my ticket, so I told him I would see him when he got upstairs. With my ticket I got right in with no problem. They were into the final 20, so I grabbed a spot to catch the show. The night I got my ticket, they had announced that Ceelo (of Gnarls Barkley fame) would be singing the last song, “Hey Jude”. But before they reached the final 10, Ceelo jumped on stage to perform #77 on the countdown, his own hit “Crazy”. This was an unexpected treat. Other great performers were there. Levi Lowrey (who I had seen the night before at Eddie’s Attic) was there and performed Garth Brook’s “Friends in Low Places”. A neighbor of mine, Masonic lodge brother of my Dad’s, and co-owner of my favorite Pizza place in Tucker (Enzo’s), Kenny Creswell was there playing drums. Kenny’s company provides a lot of the equipment for concerts, so I’m sure he provided most of what was on stage. I even caught where on one song, one of the volunteer drummers didn’t seem to know the song, so Kenny went over the top of him (and the guy ducked out) and Kenny finished the song. Peter Stroud (Atlanta guitarist who’s tours with Sheryl Crow and who I saw perform with Shawn Mullins at The Variety Playhouse) was pulled on stage to help play guitar for a lot of the rock ballads. Angie Aparo sang Don Mclean’s “American Pie”. Shawn Mullins performed John Lennon’s “Imagine”. Butch Walker performed Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian”. The final song, The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, was sung by Angie Aparo, with Kenny Creswell on drums, Peter Stroud on guitar, Butch Walker on keyboard, The group Heavy Mojo , and Backing vocal by Kevin Spencer and the Songs for Kids staff.

Words can’t reveal how incredible this concert was. If you missed it you missed out.

Video’s I found on youtube:

Ceelo performs “Crazy”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJOhDCNd8uo
Closer clip:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oeOsVXM0Yko

Angie Aparo performs Don Mclean’s “American Pie”.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GBasgGrt3oM

Kiss’ “Rock N Roll All Nite” performed by Tim Smith. Peter Stroud, Kevin Spencer, & Kenny Creswell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wov4s2rnkPo

Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” performed by Butch Walker, Kevin Spencer, Peter Stroud, Tim Smith, & Kenny Creswell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN18H-um1BE

The Beatles “Hey Jude”
Part 1:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-GE-uhgQxmQ
Part2:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y66k_ceR0RQ

Posted by Tom under Angie Aparo,Butch Walker,Ceelo,Levi Lowrey,Main Blog,Peter Stroud,Shawn Mullins,Smith's Olde Bar,Songs for Kids | Comments (0)

Darrell Scott @ Eddie’s attic

Last week, when I had gone to see Jess Klein, I got there early and was hanging out at the bar. Eddie was there and I asked him who the singer was that they were playing over the speakers prior to the show. He told me it was Darrell Scott, one of his favorite performers that would be performing on 5/9. That seemed like incentive enough for me, so I bought a ticket to the show.

I had planned to have dinner with friends, so I was hoping that I wouldn’t miss too much of the show. When I got there, the opening act was already performing. Levi Lowrey opened for Darrell and his performance was amazing.

You never know what you might discover when going to see a live show. It was neat to see Levi as he seemed to be a huge fan of Darrell’s and seemed honored to be opening for him. Levi had only a few homemade CD’s (with handwritten song listings) which were sold out quickly. He could have sold a lot more based on the crowd’s reaction to his performance.

Darrell came on and was an incredible musician. I had not heard much about Darrell. From what I had read, he had written several successful songs that here performed by other artists. I thought he might play something I had heard before, but only played music he had released. Nonetheless his performance and musicianship were amazing.

Posted by Tom under Darrell Scott,Eddie's Attic,Levi Lowrey,Main Blog | Comments (0)

Songs for Kids (Day 3) @ Smith’s Olde Bar

500 Songs for kids. Josh Rifkin and his Songs for Kids foundation put on a yearly fundraiser at Smith’s Olde Bar. Last year they had a countdown of the top 500 songs (as listed by Rolling Stone Magazine) performed by local artists. This year they chose to do a countdown of the THE 500 GREATEST SING-A-LONG SONGS OF ALL TIME.

Here’s the list of songs:

http://www.songsforkidsfoundation.org/500songsforkidscountdown.asp

I don’t remember why I missed the concert last year. Audrey Spillman had been invited to sing and performed the Rolling Stones song “Wild Horses”. I remember hating that I had missed it. Audrey was invited back this year, so I went to check out the show.

This was the 3^rd night so they were covering songs 400-351. The performances were great. Each act got to do a cover of one of the songs on the list. As I looked down the list I noticed #373 was (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin and I hoped that it was the song that Audrey was going to sing. Sure enough, when it came to that number in the countdown, Audrey and her piano player, Patrick Lochridge, walked up on stage to perform Aretha’s song. Here’s a video I was able to take with my digital camera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D3aCIgEQss

I love how the crowd reacts and gets into the song which causes a cool reaction from Audrey. After her song, I caught her off stage and got to talk with her and Patrick.

The concert was a fundraiser for the Songs for Kids charity, so they were taking donations there. They had a deal where if you donated over $100, you got a ticket, and guaranteed entry, to the final show. The list of performers for the final show was incredible, so I said what the hell, and made a donation. I had received my economic stimulus check into my checking account the day before so it seemed like the right thing to do with some of that money.

Posted by Tom under Audrey Spillman,Main Blog,Smith's Olde Bar,Songs for Kids | Comments (0)

Jess Klein @ Eddie’s Attic

April has been a slow music month. I had not been to see anyone all month. Then I noticed a bulletin on 4/28 on Myspace that said that Jess Klein would be performing at Eddie’s Attic, Tuesday 4/29.

I didn’t remember seeing a notice prior to this and I’ve been waiting for Jess to come perform in Atlanta. I wasn’t sure if I could get my work done in time to see the show under the short notice. I had seen Jess perform when I lived in Hartford back in 2004. She opened for Vance Gilbert. A co-worker of mine in Hartford had been a fan of Jess and invited me along to the show. My co-worker described her music as “coffee house” music. Back then I was blown away by the large sound coming from this petite woman. That night I became a fan of both Jess and Vance. I bought her CD at that show and have listened to it occasionally over the years. And I had tried to keep track of her music and see when she might come play at a place near me. The show at Eddie’s was great. Jess has a soulful sound and sings from her heart. It was good to see her again. After the show I bought her new CD and got Jess to autograph it for me.

Jess was opening for an Irish singer named Damien Dempsey. I didn’t know anything about the guy before the show so I thought I’d stay and listen. I met 2 guys that had come down from Cincinnati just to see him, so I was curious to hear what he had. His music didn’t interest me. He was kinda scary. He was built like a football player and sang his songs in short mono-tone words. He played guitar well, but he had no melody in his lyrics. I saw a review that called him the “Bob Dylan” of Ireland, which seemed like an insult to Mr. Dylan.

Posted by Tom under Eddie's Attic,Jess Klein,Main Blog | Comments (0)

Shawn Mullins @ Eddie’s Attic

I received a notice through Myspace that Shawn Mullins was releasing his new CD in March. And he planned to have a release party/concert at Eddie’s Attic. Knowing how small the venue is, I knew that this was going to be a great show and a perfect opportunity to see Shawn. I knew with the lay-out Shawn would have to walk through the crowd to get on and off stage and that it would be a perfect opportunity to have him sign his new album. I contacted the friends that went to the Variety Playhouse show and found out approximately how many wanted to go. Tickets were going to be available online. So on the day and time they were for sale, I quickly got on and purchased a table with a few extra tickets. We didn’t have enough people for 2 tables and I figured we could work out who would sit at the table and switch off if needed.

When the day of the show arrived, we all met up in the side bar area before going into the concert room. They were selling the new Album, so we bought it before the concert. Shawn decided to make his album available on vinyl. If you bought the 2 record set, you also received the CD. I don’t have a record player anymore, but thought it would be cool to hear the songs on vinyl. Plus I know they now sell record players that have USB connections so that you can save them as MP3’s. They started letting people go in, so I went to see where our table was before the rest of the group. I must have been one of the first ones to order tickets because our table was real close to the stage. And we sat right next to the area where Shawn would go to get to the stage.

The concert was great. Shawn is such an amazing talent. He played several songs from the new album. Some we had heard from the Variety Playhouse concert in November. He played a few of his well known hits as well as some songs that had not been recorded. After his last song, he left the stage and walked off stage. Knowing there would be an encore; I didn’t try and get his autograph then. Cheers from the crowd, brought him back up on stage where he gave the audience what they wanted. As he walked off stage, I quickly got my sharpie and the album ready and had it ready for him as he walked by. He noticed me, stopped to sign his album and thanked us for buying it. What a great night of music.

Posted by Tom under Eddie's Attic,Main Blog,Shawn Mullins | Comments (0)

Edwin McCain and Gary Pfaff @ The Roxy

My friend Neida found out that Edwin McCain was playing a Concert at the Coca-Cola Roxy on Peachtree Street in Buckhead on Valentines Day, 2/14. It was the first stop on his tour. Neida knows (see Nov 25^th 2007 Blog) I’ve been trying for years to see Edwin live. Neida bought tickets and She, Jim and I went. I didn’t realize that this was going to be one of the last concerts at the Roxy before closing for remodeling. I had never been to the Roxy before. I had seen several concerts advertised for there and driven past there countless times, but I had never gotten tickets.

A local singer named Gary Pfaff opened for Edwin. In between one of Gary’s songs, he told the story of how he met Edwin. Back in the 90’s, Gary was singing in a bar across from the Roxy where Edwin was singing. Edwin walked over to the bar after his concert and heard Gary playing. Gary was a fan and immediately knew who he was. Since then, Edwin has somewhat mentored Gary.

We were blown away with Gary’s songs. After his set, I walked back to the lobby and purchased Gary’s 2 CD’s and had him autograph them.
Videos (not mine) from that Concert:

Gary Pfaff – Never Looking Back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oquzAgyWo5s

Gary Pfaff – I’m Gone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r0NQaRfzrs

Gary has an incredible song that any acoustic/blues fan would enjoy:
Gary Pfaff – Mississippi Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCIRyfcTHfE

Edwin’s show was phenomenal. I always expected one of his shows to be good, and this one proved it. He played several of his old songs. I have to admit that I haven’t played Edwin’s CD’s lately and I forgot about a lot of the great songs he has.

Posted by Tom under Edwin McCain,Gary Pfaff,Main Blog,The Roxy | Comments (0)

Time to Celebrate!!!

I just made my last payment on the S…She’s mine!

5 years ago this week a young(er) man with a lead foot and a love for sportscars, set out on a quest to buy his dream car.

I was living in NJ, having moved there for work (not my 1st choice). I had leased and then purchased my ‘95 Accord and had not had a car payment for a few years. While it was great that I owned the Accord, I wished I had something cooler. I had spent all those years making payments on the Accord, and was left with just an Accord. What if I had made payments on something cool? I had considered buying something classic. My neighbors, as I was growing up, had (67-68) Mustangs or (56-57) T-birds, so I thought about something like that. But once I started looking into it, I wondered how much additional it would cost just to maintain a classic car. I did know that I wanted a convertible. That would insure the fun factor. Rather than getting a maintenance nightmare, I decided to get something that was new, had a warranty and would most likely be reliable. Something that might be a classic car in the future and definitely cooler than the Accord. I considered and looked at the S2000, the Boxster, the 350Z, the TT, the SLK and even the T-bird (no judgments, I was just looking folks). Part of my consideration was what would be reliable. The Accord I owned was an incredibly reliable car. I still own it today as my 2nd car. And I had previously owned an ’84 Accord that had 210K miles on it before I donated it to charity. So I kept coming back to the S2000. The dealership I passed on the way home each day had 3 Silverstone S’s and it was the middle of winter (and in NJ). I figured they’d be willing to make a deal. I emailed the dealership to schedule a test drive. The Saturday I went to the dealership, it had snowed the day before. The car had to be dug out of the snow before driving. The salesman I had spoken with was already helping someone when I got there, but took the time to let me test drive the car. As soon as we got back to the dealership, I said, “I’ll take it!” (He really didn’t have to try and sell it to me) He quickly completed my sale and went back to helping the other customer. A day or so later, my salesman picked me up, drove me back to the dealership, and I got to drive her home. It was snowing as I drove her carefully home. Here’s a picture of her the week that I brought her home.

Because of the snow, I had to park her. I think the day after I bought her; I bought a car cover that arrived a week later.

At times I had wondered if it was a wise decision to purchase the S. I got paid pretty well and thought that I could afford it, but living in NJ and later in CT wasn’t cheap. I additionally thought about selling the S when I was out of work for 6 months and had moved back to GA. All thoughts of regret quickly disappear once I realize the great group of friends that I’ve gained from owning the S and all the thrills this little car has given me.

So 5 years later and 60 payments, she’s mine! Yeah!!

*No, I am not now going to by a BMW now.

Posted by Tom under Main Blog,S2000 | Comments (0)

Matt Nathanson and Ingrid Michaelson @ The 40 Watt

Back in October ‘07, I caught Matt Nathanson and Ingrid Michaelson at the Loft in Atlanta (see earlier blog). I missed part of Ingrid’s music because I got there late, but after the concert I listened to her CD and really like the music. And after the concert, I got a chance to listen to Matt’s music more, listening to it on my daily drive to and from work. So I saw that they were returning to play the 40 Watt in Athens and I bought a ticket (through pitchatent.com ““ interesting choice for a url). When I was 16, a friend and I drove out to Athens one day. We thought it would be cool to try and sneak into the famed 40 Watt bar, CBGB of the south. The place where R.E.M, Pylon, Dreams So Real, Love Tractor & others got their start. Because it was the middle of the day, we got in with no problem. Other than seeing the place and the 40 watt bulb lighting the whole bar, it was a non-event. I think my friend wrote his name on the bathroom wall with the rest of the graffiti.

So, normally with my work, I am slammed at the end of the month. I bought the ticket hoping I could go, but wasn’t absolutely sure if I could get away from work and drive 1 hour to Athens for the show. I got my work done early on Monday and was able to get away early. Plus the traffic wasn’t too bad. When I got to the venue, I discovered that this was a completely different location from what I had visited in the 1980’s. I was kinda expecting this small venue. The bar was wide and well lit. Not a narrow bar lit with a 40 watt bulb.

I could easily see it turning into a packed concert, so I grabbed a spot off to the left of the stage. The location was a 2^nd bar area, that wasn’t being used that night. It was raised a few feet off the floor level, so I thought it would be a good place to catch the show without having too many heads in front of me to look around. Ingrid and her guitarist Kate Moss opened. One might think that with Ingrid Michaelson’s success and getting her music in television commercials and shows, that she might be the headliner. But she was the opening act.

Ingrid & Allie put on an amazing show. They have a playful way about them that gets the audience involved. They sound incredible considering it’s just Allie on guitar with Ingrid on keyboard. Songs she played:

Breakable
Overboard
Corner of Your Heart
Die Alone
The “Full House” theme song
Far Away
The Hat
Christmas Song?
The Way I Am
The “Prince of Bel-Air” theme song
Cant’ Help Falling in Love

Matt Nathanson came on next. Matt sang songs from his new album and a lot of the great songs from his previous albums. Everyone seemed to get into each song. I was amazed at how many songs he sang over the course of the night.

Songs in his set:

To The Beat Of Our Noisy Hearts
Curve of the Earth
Gone
Heartbreak World
Princess (w/ Rick Springfield’s Jesse’s girl)
Come On Get Higher
Pretty The World
“Delilah banter”
Angel
I Saw (R.E.M.’s You are the Everything)
Loud (Duet w/ Ingrid)
Suspended
Car Crash
Wedding Dress
La Bamba
Still
Falling Apart
Detroit Waves (w/ Kim Wilde’s Kids in America)
Answering Machine
Little Victories

Videos (not mine) from that Concert:
Matt Nathanson – Gone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_T0KN2WgII
Matt Nathanson – Heartbreak World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIj9s_Nj6dQ
Matt Nathanson – Falling Apart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5SNHKkDQEc

After the show, Ingrid (w/ Allie) and Matt stuck around and sold albums, signed autographs and allowed folks to get their pictures taken with them. I already purchased Ingrid’s CD, but purchased another one there for her and Allie to sign. After seeing Matt back in October, I had bought Matt’s newest CD, “Some Mad Hope” and one of his CD before that, “Beneath These Fireworks”, so I ended up buying “Beneath These Fireworks” again for him to sign. I also got his live CD’s, “At the Point”, since I’ve enjoyed Matt’s live performances and was curious to see if that was captured on the CD. I had the “Beneath” CD out for Matt to sign (he signed it, “Tom is the Man!”:D ) and he saw that I had the Live “Point” CD. So he asked if I wanted that one signed too. I said sure! And he ripped the cover plastic off and signed the cover. An awesome show by some great performers.

Posted by Tom under Ingrid Michaelson,Main Blog,Matt Nathanson,The 40 Watt | Comments (0)

Brandi Shearer and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals @ Smith’s Olde Bar

Several weeks ago I came across a myspace profile for a musician named Brandi Shearer.

I can’t recall how exactly I found her (it was a link to a link to a link). But like most artist I’ve found, I added her as a friend so that I can go back later and listen to the music. Some of the pictures of her remind me of Monica Bellucci and several of my friends and I have become fans and expressed our deep appreciation of the beautiful Italian actress. So seeing the pictures and listening to her songs, I thought, what a perfect mix of beauty and music. I really liked the sound of Brandi’s voice. Something lately has drawn me to artists with soulful passionate voices and lyrics. A few days later I got a newsletter from Gibson guitar and in a list of artist with music you could download for free was Brandi.

I was able to download her song “Heaven” from here:
http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Downloads/Brandi%20Shearer/

I also noticed that it listed on her profile that she would be performing here in Atlanta at one of my favorite venues, Smith’s Olde Bar, on 1/19. I kept the date in mind, but wasn’t really sure if I’d go. The day came and the threat of the snow storm, so I was still unsure if I would go. News reports were saying not to go out unless absolutely necessary. I had been out earlier, running errands and didn’t see the danger. So at the last minute I decided to go. I didn’t have a ticket prepaid, but figured I could just buy one at the door. I was running late, but thought I would just miss some of the opening act, a band called Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. When I got to Smith’s there was a line through the bar waiting to get upstairs. I had not missed anything as they had not let anyone in the venue yet. I waited at the bar for the ticket holders to be let in and jumped in the end of the line. It turns out Brandi was the opening act. Her performance was incredible. Her voice and the songs sounded just as they had online. I bought her CD at the stand in the back of the room. After her performance, I saw her going back and forth from the venue to the bar, so I was able to catch her and get her to autograph the CD. She was very cool and appreciated everyone that came out to the show. The following act was Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Grace was a little spitfire. Her performance reminded me of Janis Joplin. There were songs where she’d start on the Hammond organ and then go to electric guitar. I liked the songs and this type of music, but it’s just not something I’m into right now. Although, the performance and the showmanship was amazing. It was a great night of music.

Posted by Tom under Brandi Shearer,Grace Potter & the Nocturnals,Main Blog,Smith's Olde Bar | Comments (0)

Ellis Paul, Kristian Bush & Caroline Herring @ Eddie’s Attic

I saw Ellis Paul and Kristian Bush (of Sugarland) at Eddie’s Attic on 11/25. I had heard and am a fan of Ellis Paul and his music from when I lived in New England, but had never seen a show. I had seen Vance Gilbert in Hartford and he mentioned Ellis several times during his performance. So I checked out his music and liked what I heard. When I saw that Ellis was coming to the Attic, I bought a ticket and by chance got the ticket for the show he was doing with Kristian Bush (not really knowing who he was, I’m not into Country Music much). They did a similar show to what Matthew P.J. did at the attic (see Matthew Perryman Jones Blog), where it was “in the round”. They grabbed a local artist, Caroline Herring, to be their 3rd.

Caroline held her own between the CMA Award winning/Grammy nominated artist (Bush) and the Farrelly Bros. Movie Soundtrack/Boston Music award winning artist (Paul). Kristian would play mandolin on Caroline’s songs and it was unbelievable. It’s amazing to see such talented artists perform. I’m now a Kristian Bush & Caroline Herring fan

Youtube video’s of Caroline’s Performance @ Eddie’s Attic:
Devil Made a Mess
Song for Fay
Stone Cold World
Mistress
Paper Gown

Posted by Tom under Caroline Herring,Eddie's Attic,Ellis Paul,Kristian Bush,Main Blog | Comments (0)

Shawn Mullins @ Variety Playhouse

Had my friend Neida email me about a concert that Shawn Mullins was going to have on the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Variety Playhouse and was wondering if anyone wanted to go. I have one of Shawn’s CD’s and have always been a fan of his music. I thought it was cool that he started out in Atlanta and was still living in the Decatur area. I had always meant to buy his other CD’s but had never gotten around to it.

Neida knows I’m a fan of acoustic artists and we’ve been trying for years to go see Edwin McCain in concert, but haven’t ever been able to go. Something had always conflicted with the night he was in concert. I had tickets once to see Edwin in Connecticut, when I lived up there, but it happened to fall on the weekend that my Dad was going to be in NJ for his High School Reunion. So I decided to drive down and see my Mom and Dad that weekend and ended up giving away my tickets to the concert. No one in my family ever came to visit me when I lived in Chicago, NJ or CT, so I thought it would give me an opportunity to at least show my parents were I once lived and worked when I was in NJ. Plus my dad being an only child and his parents dieing when I was young, he hasn’t ever told us much about growing up in NJ. I figured this would be a great opportunity to find some things out.

Anyway, I’ve strayed from the subject, which is my inclination to do.

So a group of us met up for dinner and headed over to the Variety Playhouse in Little 5 points to see Shawn. I’ve been to several concerts in Atlanta, but I had never been to the Variety Playhouse. The venue is different. It’s set up like a movie theatre but there are seats with tables on the sides, with normal theatre seats in the middle. Evan McHugh opened the show. When Shawn came out, it was just him, which seemed strange because there were instruments set-up all over the stage. He played a few songs by himself. Then he had an intermission. After a 15 minute break, he came out with his full band. The show was unbelievable. Shawn truly is the prolific singer/storyteller and was amazing alone and with his band. I can’t believe I only paid $20 for the concert. It was more than worth it. They were video taping the show, so hopefully it’ll show up on DVD and I can see it again.

Posted by Tom under L5P,Main Blog,Shawn Mullins,Variety Playhouse | Comments (0)

MySpace Fan Showcase @ Eddie’s Attic

So a back in June, Eddie’s Attic posted a MySpace Fan Showcase promotion asking that fans nominate their favorite Myspace artist to have them play a special free concert. Rules were that they couldn’t be signed with a label, they haven’t played the Attic already (other than Open Mic) and they where geographically viable to the venue.

After Audrey’s performance at Smith’s Olde bar in February for the “the devil stole the beat” concert, I had messaged her on Myspace as to how I could purchase her music. She was scheduled to perform at Eddie’s Attic on May 7^th, so I also told her that I looked forward to seeing her again in Atlanta. She responded that she was working on putting a handful of songs that she had recorded onto a CD and that she would have them available by the 5/7 show. I went to the show and happened to catch her near the entrance after her performance and asked her how the CD was coming along. She immediately realized who I was and began apologizing for not having a CD available. She was still working on getting the songs together and she told me then that she would mail me a CD. The next day I got a message from her (she tracked down my original message to her) thanking me for coming to the show and saying how bad she felt that she didn’t have a CD for me, saying that she’s always good about keeping her word. In one of her messages, she told me that she always wanted to play at Eddie’s Attic and assumed that the best way to play there was to do an open mic.

So when the MySpace Fan Showcase promotion was posted in June, I immediately contacted Audrey to see if she’d be interested, since I knew she wanted to play there again and I knew that she qualified for the contest. She said that she was interested, so I submitted her name with a link to her page and music. And when the voting began I tried to get people to vote for her. When the final tally of votes was made, Audrey came in 6^th. At first I was disappointed, but as it turned out, they took the top 9, so she was in! They had 3 separate Tuesday nights reserved in November for the 9 performances (3 each night).

Audrey’s show was on the 13^th. As always, she was incredible. Even the other artists on the bill were amazed at her talent. I even received a personalized “thank you” from her while she was on stage, for the support I’ve given, which was really cool. And afterward we got to hang out and talk a bit.

I was able to purchase a CD from Mrs. Lochridge (Mom of Patrick Lochridge (Audrey’s keyboard player)) and have Audrey and Patrick autograph it for me. Audrey kept her word and got me a CD. It was an incredible night of great music from amazing people.

Posted by Tom under Audrey Spillman,Eddie's Attic,Main Blog | Comments (0)

Matthew Perryman Jones @ Eddie’s Attic

Saw Matthew Perryman Jones at Eddie’s Attic last night. I first learned of MPJ’s music from Audrey Spillman (see earlier blog) and hearing that he had helped co-write a song with her. I saw that he was playing Eddie’s Attic and thought it would be a great opportunity to see him perform. He was there with Katie Herzig (another friend of Audrey’s) and Peter Bradley Adams. The concert was part of the American Songwriter magazine, “American Songwriter presents… ‘in the round’ tour”. So instead of one artist opening, another following, with the headlining act closing, they all played on stage together, alternating between the three and collaborating on each others songs. Seeing Matthew play guitar during Katie’s & Peter’s songs showed how talented a musician he was. He was able to add something additional to songs that weren’t his. I could see why Audrey’s collaboration with him went so well. Matthew had his song “Save you”, used in the television show “Kyle XY”, and it seemed like most fans of his music came to know him from that song and its popularity. Katie was cute. Earlier in the day, she had taken the opportunity to go lamp shopping at our local IKEA. Katie played percussion on the songs Matthew and Peter played and guitar on her songs. Each of Katie’s songs had catchy rhythms and lyrics. Just the week before she had her song, “Fools Gold” featured on the television show, “Grey’s Anatomy”. Peter’s songs had a nice mellow tone to them. Something about his sound reminds me of Jackson Brown. Overall it was a great concert experience. Not what I expected when I heard the concert would be “in the round”.

Posted by Tom under Katie Herzig,Main Blog,Matthew Perryman Jones,MPJ | Comments (0)

Matt Nathanson @ The Loft

Saw Matt Nathanson at The Loft on Saturday (10/20).

I first saw Matt on CBS Saturday morning’s “2nd cup cafe” singing “Car Crash” & “Come on get Higher”. I pulled up his Myspace page and saw that he had a show coming up here in Atlanta, so I bought a ticket.

A very cool concert. Matt is an amazing and funny performer. I only knew a few of his songs, so I’ll need to go through itunes to see which ones I remember.

From messages from Audrey Spillman on Myspace, I found out that Matt N. is on Vanguard Records and the producer that Audrey’s been working with is the VP of that label. She had just been given Matt’s CD around the time of her 3rd & Lindsley show.

Opening for Matt was Ingrid Michaelson and Melee

Ingrid had her song “Breathe” featured on the Grey’s Anatomy (Season 3) soundtrack. She seemed to have a lot of fans from that. I didn’t get to hear a lot of her songs (I got there a little late). She had a nice angelic voice. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.

Posted by Tom under Ingrid Michaelson,Main Blog,Matt Nathanson,The Loft | Comments (0)

Audrey Spillman @ 3rd & Lindsley

Drove up to Nashville yesterday to see Audrey Spillman perform at 3rd & Lindsley for The Next BIG Nashville Festival.

Songs in her Set included:

1). The Great Discovery
2). Comfort You (new, co-written w/ Trent Dabbs)
3). Whisperin’
4). Tomorrow
5). You Can Bring Me Flowers (cover of Ray LaMontagne song)
6). Let it Go (new, co-written with Matthew Perryman Jones)

It was a long 4 hour straight (fairly) drive up to Nashville, but I got up there early and got to look around downtown before her show. The show was definitely worth the drive. I can see Audrey making it big with her music.

Video I shot of Audrey singing “Tomorrow”.

Posted by Tom under 3rd & Lindsley,Audrey Spillman,Main Blog,Next BIG Nashville | Comments (0)

Sarah Tollerson @ Tasty World

Last night, I drove out to Athens to hear Sarah Tollerson perform at Tasty World for her CD release party.

Friend, Patrick Rives was playing drums.

Bought Sarah’s CD, got it autographed by her and got to meet her Mom (selling the CD’s).

The performance was great! Sarah’s a real good performer and she had tons of fans there singing along. It was good to see Patrick attacking the skins. Since meeting him through our online car club, I’ve always wanted to see him in concert.

Posted by Tom under Main Blog,Sarah Tollerson | Comments (0)

What Galore does when I’m at work.

Back in May, I came home from work to find one the
matchbox cars I got at an Auto show at the top of
the stairs (not where I had left it).
(I keep toys (collectibles & stuff I had growing up) on
a bookcase in my living room.)

I go further into the living room to discover G.I. Joe
(with the kung-fu grip) laying in the center of the carpet

Who’s been playing with my toys while I’m at work

The culprit:

Posted by Tom under Galore,Main Blog | Comments (0)

“the devil stole the beat”

Came across a posting on the internet for a artist showcase at Smiths Olde Bar put on by ASCAP and BMI. The event was titled, “the devil stole the beat”. So I bought a ticket online and went last night.

Included with the ticket I bought online, was a card provided by discrevolt containing an account number so that I could download songs of the artists performing.

Another cool thing was that I could check out the performers Myspace page before going to the concert and get an idea of their songs.

I really enjoyed the performances by Andy Zipf, The Less , Sonia Leigh and Audrey Spillman.

Posted by Tom under Andy Zipf,Audrey Spillman,Main Blog,Sonia Leigh,The Less | Comments (0)

New Kitten

So a lady I work with, who rescues animals, had a kitten a friend had given her and was looking for a good home for it.  The kitten was found in a bush outside the Starbucks on Peachtree.  There was a cat that had recently been hit outside the Starbucks and it was thought that it was the mother of this kitten.  Since I now have a place of my own and don’t have any rental restrictions, I thought it would be good to get a pet for my home.   Something excited to see me when I got home from work each day.  So I agreed to take the kitten.

When she first took in the kitten, my co-worker originally thought it was a boy and was calling it “Bond”.  I thought it was a great name considering that the kitten had black and white markings like it was wearing a tuxedo.  And being a 007 fan, I thought it would be cool.  Then she realized that the kitten wasn’t a boy but a girl.  So the first name that came to my mind was, “Galore”.  So now she’s called Galore.
Welcome the newest member of my Family.

Posted by Tom under Galore,Main Blog | Comments (0)

Weird Coincidences and Flickin bottle caps

OK, I have too many times when weird things happen in my life.
So for the weekend I’m up in North Carolina for the Wake The Dragon S2000 car meet. It’s Friday night and all the Atlanta attendees are sitting around, talking and enjoying a few beers. I had a few New Castles that I had bought earlier and after pulling the cap off of one, I proceeded to flick it into a trash can on the other side of the room. I had learned how to do this thing where you held the bottlecap and snapped and it went flying. I was thinking to myself that I hadn’t done that since college.
So I signed up for a myspace site a few month ago. And I’ve been checking it occasionally, but haven’t done much more. Most of the friends I have listed are from my car club. I’ve gone to the High School and College groups but had never recognized anyone until today on my college alumni group. She looked familiar, but I wasn’t too sure so I emailed her. She responded back that she thought I looked familiar and then it all came back to me. She had dated a Fraternity brother of mine. And like most parties we had, we had all sat around the Fraternity house and had a few beers on a few occasions. Then it hit me: She was the one that had taught me how to flick the bottle cap.
Tina is now on my friend list. From her bio, it says that she’s married, has kids and lives near Atlanta. When we can find an opportunity, we’ll have to meet up and flick some bottle caps.
It’s funny what you remember about people.

Posted by Tom under Main Blog | Comments (0)

Off to the Dragon

(yeah, I know it’s my first post and I should write something to open with, but I’m inclined to cut to the chase and talk about the here and now)
So tomorrow I’m off to the Dragon. Owners of Honda S2000’s will be traveling to Western North Carolina to participate in the 4th Annual Wake the Dragon event. The Dragon is a road that runs from Deals Gap NC Northwest into Tennessee toward Knoxville, with 318 Curves in 11 miles. It should be a fun weekend.
Here’s a pic of me from last year:

Posted by Tom under Main Blog,S2000 | Comments (0)