I'm playing Cottage Grove and Portland on October 4th and 5th respectively!  Two great venues and both shows are with my pal, El Gringo Mariachi.  I'll have a full band behind me including my wife, Susan, on bass; Mark Breitenbach playing keys; and Chris from Rootjack on drums. Tickets available through the clubs' websites which you can find here.

We're hitting the road tomorrow for a few dates in Arizona and Colorado.  I think the Durango show is going to be something special.  Maybe we'll see you out there on the road.  All of our dates, still at the above link.

I have a handful of shows coming up.  Two in Kingman, Arizona.  One in Durango, Colorado...and possibly one or two more shows may shake their way out in between and I'll be sure to post them here.  For the September 18 Kingman show and the September 20 show in Durango, my wife, Susan Kearns will be playing upright bass.  Go here for the full calendar.

I'm a musician from Portland, Oregon.  I grew up there in the 1980's and started playing in bands and recording local groups in the mid-1990's.  Fred Cole and his band Dead Moon were omnipresent.  Even if you didn't attend their shows, if you lived in Portland during this time, you couldn't escape Fred's presence.  And that was a very good thing. 

Fred owned Tombstone Music, a guitar and amp shop, in the suburb of Clackamas.  He recorded his own band and pressed his own records.  He owned a record press.  Dead Moon toured the world. Fred Cole was a role model for Portland's early DIY culture. (For a more detailed history of Fred Cole's life in music, here's wikipedia.)

Fred's actions touched me directly in many ways that I wasn't aware of initially. Two stories come to mind immediately. 

Back in the mid 1980's, Fred employed a kid named Kelly Manahan at Tombstone Music. And that's where Kelly learned his guitar shop skills.  He also drew the famous Dead Moon logo. These days, Kelly is one of the owners of Centaur Guitar.  My old studio, PermaPress Recording, shared a lease with Centaur.  Tombstone is no longer running, but you sure can feel it's presence when you're in Centaur Guitar. In 2007, I needed to find a new location for my recording gear. I may not have survived that studio move without the building lease partnership I had with Centaur. It's not right on the surface, easy to see, but Fred deserves a little bit of credit in Centaur's and PermaPress's existence.  Centaur was their spawn....and I was the weird neighborhood kid that clung along.

The second story that comes to mind involves The Nice Boys.  They were the first post-Exploding Hearts band featuring Terry Six.  Their other guitar player, Gabe - was he still going by Amphetamine Blue - really wanted to have some Rickenbacker 12 string on their record which I was recording at my first little studio in SW Portland, Studio 13.  And Fred loaned one to us!  I heard some controversy later about the return of the guitar.....but that's an amazing person....A guy who owns a guitar shop and he loans a guitar to a neighborhood punk for a recording session.  That's truly, truly, truly beyond generous.

Of course, there's the music too....But I wanted to tell you a couple of around town stories I have of Fred.  If you can find them, ask any old Portlander about Dead Moon and most people will tell you an "in the bar" Loomis story.....But you'll also hear a lot of stories about Fred and his amazing heart.

Fred had that effect on lots of people.....that's why Los Angeles is paying him tribute.  It's an honor to get to play a tune on this special night.  I'm looking forward to hearing Toody, Fred's wife and Dead Moon's bassist, play too.

Adding few more dates here and there.....not a proper tour, just going places....We have the previously announced Nevada City show this Friday (see the next post for the scoop). Boulder City, NV the Friday of Labor Day Weekend - Aug 31.  And adding Colorado dates now beginning with Durango on September 20.  Get your details on the Performances page.

Here's a few chances to catch me this summer.  I'm playing a private event here in Joshua Tree on July 14.  Hit me up by email or if you run into me and I can tell you about that one.  July 21, I play Landers Brew Company as a guest for Joe Garcia's Urban Desert Cabaret.  And July 27, I'll be in Nevada City, California, playing with my long lost friend, Jonny Mac at The Ol' Republic. That one starts at 6pm. 

Here's to a year of living off the electrical grid, 100% powered by the sun, way out in the Mojave.  I love this place.

This is the video for "When You're New To Town" which was filmed and edited by A. Laura James.

Well....no need to repeat what's already on the poster here.  But I can tell you that I'm very excited to be taking over Saturday nights from my pal, Joe Garcia, for the month of March.  It's some big shoes for me to try and fill.  Joe's relieved to have a month off....and everyone's probably relieved that Joe will be back in April.

If you don't know about Landers Brew, there's nothing to really compare it to.  It's unlike any other bar on planet Earth....outside of the fact that they have a wall of taps.....lots of bars have that kind of thing.  And Landers Brew has a lot of them.  The Brew, or LBC, as we affectionately call it, is the little tavern out in the Mojave Desert sand in the unincorporated community that I live on the outskirts of, way out in the creosote and Joshua trees.  It's dark out here.  Your phone may not work.  But the beer is cold, the tunes are excellent, and the camaraderie is real.  Landers Brew is the final outpost, the last stop leaving the civilized Mojave.  Sometimes you wonder which side of the line that place is on.

Well, we've reached the end of 2017.  I've got lots of big plans for 2018..and I'm excited to get to it.  I'll be starting off the year with a show at The Laurelthirst on January 13 in Portland, OR, and a show at The Dawson Street Pub in Philadelphia on January 18.  I'm squeezing them in between work and a belated holiday visit to family back east.  When I return to the desert, I begin mixing three killer records at my Solar Cabin; Terry and Louie, The Reverberations and Analisa Six.  I'll also be tearing into what will hopefully turn out to be my next solo record.....it's been a start and stop process on that one so far.  I'm pretty sure I'm throwing everything out that I've recorded for it up to now and starting over because the performances are getting better and better....I just have to figure out how to track it at this cabin. 

I've been doing a bunch of writing too....but not for this blog.  Maybe I'll unveil something later in 2018?  I'm writing, but I'm not sure it's ready to show to anyone quite yet.

After all, it is that time of year. Here's the link to the holiday song I wrote and recorded for this year.  I borrowed some chords that John Lennon nicked off Bob Dylan.  Bob originally stole them from Woody Guthrie, so I figured they were pretty much fair game.  I hope you enjoy the tune.

And I hope to see you at Pappy & Harriet's on December 28.  We're kicking it off that night right at 8pm. It's free.  It's all ages.  I'm honored that The Adobe Collective asked us to open the night.  And it's even sweeter that Tim and Faith, heart and soul of The Adobe Collective, are rounding out my band with my wife Susan on bass.

Happy holidays!  Have a rocking New Year.  And let's all make the best out of 2018.  See you there!

Well, 2017, it's been quite a year already.  Toured the east coast twice.  Toured the Southwest with Susan for the first time ever. Played lots of places in the Pacific Northwest and I started playing shows around my new hometown in the Mojave Desert, Landers USA.  I met tons of great folks and made a bunch of new friends that seem like they're the lifelong type. I mixed and mastered some records in my off-grid, solar powered cabin.  And I started two new records out in the desert this November with Portland, Oregon's The Reverberations and Oakland, California's Analisa Six.

As we close this spin around the sun out once again, I'm excited to announce I have two shows before the end of the year up here in the high desert.  I'll be sharing the Beatnik Lounge stage in Joshua Tree on December 10 with Fire Bug and my friend, John Hardy for Rag's Songwriter in the Round series.  Fire Bug come with a fine pedigree and plenty of rock and roll....I'm looking forward to seeing them in this set up.  And John Hardy is a seasoned club man like myself and a collector of great songs.  We all be sharing songs and I don't think you're gonna want to miss it.

On December 28, I'm humbled to get the chance to play Pappy and Harriet's supporting 29 Palms own The Adobe Collective.  And to make it even better, Tim and Faith Chinnock of the Adobe Collective will be backing me up on drums and vocals/keys with my beautiful wife holding down the bass.  A few folks have told me they have already made reservations for a table with Pappy's for that night.....that's a really good idea and I recommend you do it too.