4.29.12: Our Work Here is Done

Well, that's it. The Dig It Up festival is over. All of the bands have scattered in various directions. Some are still touring. The Hoodoo Gurus, Redd Kross and Fleshtones played in Perth last night. But Linda and I remain, like some stubborn settlers, holding firm on our new land like settlers here in times past. We've moved from touring rockers to locals. Or so we think. In our most humble and sincere attempt to be locals for a day, we have just come back from the Queen Victoria Market (one of the best open markets I've ever seen) with kangaroo meat, baby spinach, mushrooms, various cheeses and bread in hand to go with the wine we bought on our expedition with Dave Faulkner (they call him Uncle Faulkie and he indeed was an able patriarch for the day) last week. It's Sunday and time for a home cooked meal. See? "Home." We do indeed live here. At least until tomorrow morning.

Our wonderful promoters have put us up in this apartment on Flinders Street in Melbourne and we have a CD player (Husker Du playing right now) and a kitchen. We were joking with the Fleshtones that the rooms were larger than most NYC apartments. But we weren't joking. So, it's a good chance to hunker down before heading out for one last night of local style raging with our new pals at Ya-Ya's, the fantastic club where we played with the Fleshtones on Friday night. Both bands were in full force that night (I mean, we did have a day off on Thursday) and the party went well into the evening, bartender Lorena treating us to her concoction called Kick Out The Jams (cointreau, frangelica, amaretto, lime juice, some other stuff I've since forgotten). Weird drink. You keep drinking them and never get too buzzed. Just happy.

What can I say? I think that we made a good connection with the fans here who had either been waiting patiently for 25 years or who had joined the party since then long distance by CD or vinyl or YouTube clips. I had said that my main goal (besides meeting nice people and having a great time) was to make sure that I played well enough to come back soon. I think it will happen. I hope it will happen. I like it here.

Some of the highlights of recent days:

• watching what they call the "fairy penguins," all 12 to 14 inches of them, coming ashore onto the rocks at St. Kilda, staring and hooting back at the tourists who had come to stare and hoot at them. You are encouraged not to use flash photography since the little guys have very sensitive eyes so no photos here.
• The Fleshtones teasing the audience with bits and pieces of some of their historical chestnuts like "Stop Fooling Around," "Hexbreaker" and "Shadow Line" before capping their set with Keith Streng leading the band through an incendiary, punk rock version of "Communication Breakdown" on which he managed to be both Robert Plant AND Jimmy Page at the same time
• eating mysterious but delicious Turkish snacks with Fleshtones Peter Zaremba, Bill Milhizer and our tour manager Wally around 4am.
• Sitting a few rows behind Uncle Faulkie, our host Dave Faulkner as he drove us around all day, singing along with Kinks songs (and choosing some fantastic road soundtrack tunes from Television to the Rolling Stones and back again).
• Getting to know Died Pretty singer Ron Peno, a true gentleman and having the chance to see him lead his solo band through an elegant set at the Forum, just down the road.

There's more. I'm sure there's more. But there's a rock festival called the Cherry Festival just outside our hotel door and I think it's time to move back into the mainstream of Melbourne life. We do live here after all.

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4.25.12: Southern Aggression

It's good to take some time and look at the map of Australia. Everybody open your textbooks to page 32. Very good. Notice how a 2-city tour of this country (and both of my tours of this country have indeed been limited to the two biggest cities), firmly places you in a pretty small quadrant, name the Southeast. It's almost like if you came to the US and only played Miami and Myrtle Beach. Or if you placed the routing into a funhouse mirror, you could say that we've come to play New York City and Boston. Or you could say we came to the UK and only played Newcastle and Sunderland. Or, try this on for size--it's as though we flew into the solar system, booked gigs on Pluto and Neptune and then hightailed it back to where we came from.

What I'm trying to say is that we are in a big country and that our one day of travel was a relative breeze. We dusted ourselves off a little too early after a wildly satisfying, frenzied, unhinged, cathartic, freaky show with the Fleshtones at a club called Sando's and then got to the airport, boarding a one-hour flight to Melbourne on a plane filled with all of our festival bandmates. Roll up for the mystery tour. We landed here in Melbourne only hours before stage time at the festival. It's always best to just keep moving, ask very few questions and stay in the moment. And every moment down here has been great. The Australian music fans are enthusiastic and, gratifyingly, seem to know the music I've made since I was last here 25 years ago. I was afraid that I would have to wear the guise of Nostalgia Act and then surreptitiously sneak in the newer tunes, "Halloween" being a trojan horse for "Resolution," if you will. But it turns out the newer tunes are getting as strong or stronger a response as the old ones and that the system of importing and exporting my records is alive and well. All hail the postal system.

As is the case with multi-band adventures, it's been a great chance to make new friends (a Died Pretty here, a 5-6-7-8 there) and to get to reacquaint with old friends (the McDonald brothers of Redd Kross--who were stunning yesterday, the first time I had seen them since the early 90's) and even get to know good friends even better (some great conversations with my buddies in the Fleshtones in recent days). And then there are the days off, days that can be even more adventurous and potentially perilous than the "work" days themselves. And today is indeed a day off which means a lobby call for 10:30 at which time Dave Faulkner of the Hoodoo Gurus, our hosts for this week, will be taking some of us on a wine tasting tour, some boot shopping and then over to a local theater to see Ron Peno from Died Pretty play with his new solo band on a bill with Mark Lanegan who may or may not have a few of my buddies from Giant Sand in his band. Pacing? Hardly necessary when the tour began last Saturday and will be done and in the books by this Saturday morning. Let the final stage of the Southern adventure begin.

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4.23.12: Battle of the Bands, Indeed

I will say this for the Hoodoo Gurus. They really put together a festival of bands that know how to put on a live show. There are many bands who are great on record (and plenty more that aren't) who don't know what to do once they hit the stage. But it seems that every band on this Dig It Up festival explodes from the minute they hit the stage. I tried to see as much as I could yesterday but realities of 4 venues at different ends of a very crazy and lively block meant that I had to pick and choose depending upon our own schedule and demands of setting up for our 5pm show. I caught about 5 songs of the Tek/Younger band (veterans of Radio Birdman among many others) who blew my mind, especially with a souped-up version of the already souped-up "Don't Look Back" by The Remains. I had never seen Died Pretty and only had heard a few songs in passing over the years but I'll be damned if they didn't kick out the proverbial jams. And The Sonics? Man, I saw their comeback show in 2007 at the Warsaw club out in Brooklyn and was stunned by the energy of guys who had made their first records almost 50 years ago. But at this show, five years later, they left that last one in the dust. The band features 3 original members and they were as sinister, maniacal and explosive as a band could be. What's that expression? "We've been schooled." Yeah, that was it. Funny how it seems that each of the bands at the festival had been influenced by other ones there--Died Pretty and the Hoodoo Gurus had been fans of the Dream Syndicate and Fleshtones, I was a huge fan of the Fleshtones as well, etc--but ALL of us had cut our listening teeth (and I recommend that you never go and cut those listening teeth) on songs like "Psycho" and "The Witch" and "Strychnine" by the Sonics. Oh, and speaking of the Hoodoo Gurus, they closed out the evening in fine style, playing their entire first album and then coming out to play one of my favorite all-time songs "Bittersweet" for the encore. Do you see the size of this paragraph? When I write a paragraph this long without any kind of break, you can be sure that I'm mighty excited about what went down. And I could keep going but I think that this paragraph (and you all) might need a break.

Oh, and our set. Right! I was so happy to see a jam packed room when we hit the stage and our little Aussie ad hoc band was on fire, if I say so myself. Being flanked by Keith and Ken (putting Linda in the QB position) turned us into a kind of SW/Fleshtones hybrid. Those guys had their Fleshtones moves in fine form! Damn, made me want to do some leg kicks but I knew better. Not without proper stretching, my doctor might say. It was nice to expose a whole new audience to songs like "Amphetamine" and "Resolution" and "Cindy, It Was Always You" that I play so often but had never played on this continent. Very exciting indeed.

And another club show coming tomorrow night here in Sydney and two to follow in Melbourne. Good news since I need to see Redd Kross, the 5-6-7-8's and many other bands I missed on Sunday. Keep your eyes on those YouTube clips of the many band playing the festival. You might see me grooving right there on the side of the stage

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4.21.12: The Cure For Jet Lag

And, really, there are many ways to adapt to a new environment and time zone. I've always chosen to just hit the ground running, spit in the face of chemistry and immediately bend to the new reality. We're staying in a neighborhood of Sydney called Surrey Hill on what my pal Robyn Hitchcock would call the "groover's strip," an area filled with cool restaurants, bars and shops. Most of the restaurants in the Top 10 Guide I brought with me seem to be within 3 or 4 blocks. I hope to try them all.

I spent most of the day yesterday walking--making my way over to Darlinghurst and then Central Sydney and doing all I could to stay awake until it was time to head over to Bondi Beach for a birthday party for Maxie, a woman we met in Brooklyn at the Hoodoo Guru's Dave Faulkner's 50th birthday party (ah, the trail of birthday parties), just a few years back. The soiree was at a place called the Iceberg and the Fleshtones had been slated for the evening's entertainment. And, really "Fleshtones" and "Evening's Entertainment" should be synonymous. Also, this gave Linda and I a chance to bum rush the stage for a quick warm up with our bandmates for the trip, Keith Streng and Ken Fox. It was great to play "Tell Me When It's Over," "Boston," "Resolution" and "The Days of Wine and Roses" while watching Peter Zaremba, Brad Shepherd and Dave F line the front row. Eventually, we all engaged in a round robin of Rocking-And-Watching as Linda I took over the front row to see the Hoodoo Gurus rock out the Beatles' "Birthday" before the Fleshtones took over to do what they have been doing for 35 years and better and better with each passing decade and year. What a band!

That's how you cure jet lag. Garage rock, party snacks (sliders stole the show), beer, dancing and hanging with old and new friends. It really works. Or at least it did work until the point when Linda and I both pretty much hit the wall and sadly had to seek refuge in a cab with the last echoes of Super Rock wafting out from the club over the midnight moon shining across the very active waves of Bondi Beach. A hard scene to leave but I think that many more such highlights lie ahead. Our big Sydney festival gig is just a few hours away and sometimes you just gotta close your eyes for a few hours.

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4.20.12: Somewhere Over the Pacific Ocean

The last time I toured Australia was back in 1986. I was in the Dream Syndicate and we had just finished a tour of Europe which meant our flight from London to Melbourne was a whopping 27 hours (with stops in Dubai and Malaysia). 27 hours! As at least a few members of our band found out, that was enough time to get wildly drunk, painfully hungover and sober again just in time for a few cocktails before landing.

This trip is easy by comparison, aside from the 25 years older part. Linda and I are on the second leg of a NYC to LA to Sydney journey that will take 24 hours in total. See? Three hours shorter. Piece of cake. And I'm pretty excited to be going back. I remember thinking during those previous shows that I was hoping we would kick some serious butt so that we could return as soon as possible. Butt was kicked but it took this long to get back. Reasons? Explanations? I've got none but I'll consider this adventure my Round 2 and try for more of the same.

We've been invited to be a part of the Hoodoo Gurus 30th Anniversary bash, a roving touring party called Dig It Up and/or the Hoodoo Gurus Invitational. The guys in the H-Gurus said online that they had heard that Linda and I had played often as a duo. Not true. I think we had done it 3 times--in Tokyo, Tilburg and Tucson (sounds like a Lowell George song!) And I was up for the challenge but when I saw that my pals (and childhood heroes) the Fleshtones were on the bill, I asked guitarist Keith Streng and bassist Ken Fox if they would round out our duo to a full quartet. They graciously accepted and the rehearsals back home sounded great.

So, get ready for tales and photos of the usual--music, tourism, food, tall tales, behind the scenes nonsense and more. My only food memories from the first go-round was a thing called Burger With The Lot, which means a burger with a fried egg on top. My main musical memories was discovering a new singer songwriter called Paul Kelly and the aboriginal rock of the Warumpi Band. This time we'll be traveling with not only the Hoodoo Gurus and Fleshtones but also The Sonics, Redd Kross, the 5-6-7-8's, Died Pretty and a lot more. I guess you could call it Rock Show With The Lot. But I'm not sure who will stand in for the fried egg. See? This is why you'll have to pay attention

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11.30.11: Bowery, Buckfest and other Surprises

Bowery Electric

Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 | New York City | Friday, December 2 - 9pm

Yes, I'm writing my own concert preview. It must be the retired rock critic in me (--granted, I haven't been a rock critic since I was 19, but you have to stay in shape). Nonetheless, the Miracle 3 and I don't play nearly enough, especially in our own town, so if you're in the neighborhood this Friday, you should drop by. We'll most definitely be revved up and bursting at the sonic seams. Also, it will be our first gig at the Bowery Electric, my favorite new club in town. It's just a stone's throw from where CBGB's once stood and is doing a good job of carrying on that club's tradition of delivering raw cathartic rock in a no-nonsense, great sounding room that's made for our brand of shenanigans. Hope to see you there. Bowery Electric—327 Bowery (at 2nd Street), New York, NY

Buckfest

And if you're NOT going to be in the neighborhood, you could do worse than to spend the first days of 2012 in the warm climes of Todos Santos, Mexico (right at the bottom tip of Baja California) with The Baseball Project as we kick off a 3 week festival that continues with Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 and then concludes with the Minus 5—yes, all bands that contain my band mates Scott and Peter. You can go here for more information. Swimsuit and suntan lotion not provided.

Finish Line

Yes, 2011 is wheezing to the finish line. And what a year it was. I released new albums with both the Miracle 3 (Northern Aggression) and the Baseball Project ("High and Inside" as well as the limited edition "Broadside Ballads") and toured most of the year, playing about 100 shows on either side of the Atlantic with both bands as well as various acoustic combos. What's in store for 2012? More of the above, for sure, but also some surprises both new and old. And it's the 30th Anniversary of the release of "The Days of Wine and Roses" so expect some nods to that occasion as well. In the meantime, may you have chestnuts roasting by an open fire and Jack Frost nipping not too hard at your nose. A very happy holiday to you and yours, thanks for all of the support this year and all the best for 2012.

Steve

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8.25.11: Battling the Elements--The Road to New London

It's easy to talk about The Baseball Project using metaphors from the game itself. We had a Spring Training tour last March, a regular season tour in May and now it's time to embark on--what else?--our Pennant Race tour. Yes, six months after the release of "High and Inside" and about 60 gigs into 2011 and we're still in the running, trying to take it all the way, giving 110%, stressing the fundamentals and...okay, sorry about that. The long-lapsed sportswriting in me was rising to the surface once again.

But we are a team and we do, in fact, have one of our players on the Disabled List. As you might know by now, Peter Buck injured his back a month ago and is going to be out for our summer touring season. We brought Miracle 3 bass guitarist Dave deCastro over to Europe for shows in Holland, Italy and Croatia (they just love baseball in Croatia!) and now we're in the van and on our way up to New London for a 10-city run with Sal Maida on bass. Sal has toured with Roxy Music (I actually saw him play at the Hollywood Palladium as a wide-eyed high schooler back in 1976) and Sparks and is a current member of Cracker. Oh, and he is a lifetime, hardcore Yankees fan.

Much like most of the East Coast (and this includes many baseball teams), we are being thrown a curveball by Hurricane Irene and tonight's show has been moved from it's original outdoors location to the indoor and much drier Crocker Music Hall. We are also crossing our fingers for Sunday's show on Cape Cod as that location and that day are set for a home plate weather collision. We'll just have to see what happens. My fingers are crossed since I never like losing a gig and also know that the Beachcomber is a blast and that the Spampinato brothers (with Joey from NRBQ) will be opening. Rain, rain go away, etc

But enough about that. If you live anywhere between Virginia and Maine, you'll have your chance to see us battle the elements and maybe even play a Roxy Music cover or two. Oh, and baseball songs. So, pack your poncho and come on out and join us for a night or two. We're taking it all the way to the post-season

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6.10.11: The Road to Madison (first pitch, final shows)

There's nothing like celebrating a birthday on the road. The party is right there and waiting for you. You're with your pals, you're in a bar, you get to play some music and strangers will make a fuss over you. And that was the story on Wednesday for Linda as she rang in a new year in Ferndale, Michigan--just a few miles outside of Detroit--at the Magic Bag, a fine club that I was playing for the first time although Scott had been there a few times before with Robyn Hitchcock. Our man McCaughey raved about an old school Italian restaurant next door called Como's and it was the perfect place for a celebration--various items covered with red sauce, provolone cheese, garlic--all items guaranteed to be filling, comforting and celebratory. And how does one follow up such a celebration? Well, in Linda's case it was by throwing out the first pitch at a Quad City River Bandits (single A league for the St. Louis Cardinals) the following day. Just check out her form in the accompanying photo and video. This hurler just gets better and better.

And the birthdays just keep on coming--today we get to celebrate with our tour manager, buddy and superstar guitarist (Apples in Stereo, Dressy Betsy) John Hill. And his wife Tammy (singer in Dressy Betsy) is here with us. Les Bon Temps Roulet. I sure hope I spelled that right.

Last night was a full circle of sorts. In a literal sense, we have made a complete loop, starting in Wisconsin, moving through Detroit to the east coast and then back again. And in a musical sense, we were reunited with Kevin Dutcher who played keyboards with us at our first gig in Minneapolis two weeks ago. Ah, the rotating corps of excellent keyboard players in our band. Let's recap--our first guest was none other than Mike Mills who played with us at the very beginning of our 2011 tour back in Atlanta and Athens (before moving to the bass spot on this tour). And then there was Josh Kantor who joined us in Austin at South By Southwest as well as at three shows this week. We thank the Boston Red Sox (something I rarely do) for letting us borrow his services. And how about Robert Lloyd! He laid out the template, playing most of the keys on our new album and he worked his way up the West Coast with us. Love that Robert! And Andy Burton was there for the one night stint in Cooperstown. Not everyday you get to play with someone who has backed both Ian Hunter and Peter Noone. And then finally our buddy Kevin who zipped down to our show last night in Rock Island (a city made famous by both Leadbelly and the Blues Brothers, not to mention the groovy website DayTrotter) before returning to his day/night gig with the Minnesota Twins. Gentlemen, rise up from your piano benches and take a bow.

And now? It's the final stretch. A show tonight at a game in Madison (we are actually playing between each and every inning--a series of 2 minute gigs!) and then tomorrow in St. Louis at Twangfest where we'll be on the bill with Marah and some combo called Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3. What a way to wrap up the tour! Stick around and join us Monday for the post-game show.

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6.07.11: The Road to Pittsburgh

All of this baseball has gotten in the way of our non-ballpark eating. Anyone who has read this diary regularly in the last 15 years knows that dining adventures get covered right up there with music, van travel, friends and roadside attractions. Remember the last Baseball Project tour in March? It was all Mexican food, all the time. If it's true that you are what you eat (I mean, what DOES that mean?), then the six of us were all various shades of carnitas and refried beans by the time we ended up in Portland.

This time it's a different story. Sure, we had the occasional good meal at a club and we certainly had a plethora of hot dogs and peanuts at the games. But nary a Mex meal to be found, rare lunch stops and breakfast bonanzas. And, to be honest, the stadium food hasn't been as dazzling as one would hope. I mean, we love dogs. You love dogs. Must love dogs.

But last night at the Phillies vs. Dodgers at Citizen Bank Park in Philadelphia? I think I ate the best food item I've ever had at a ballpark. The Tony Luke's roast pork sandwich with provolone and broccoli rabe? An award winner in my book. And it definitely put us in good spirits to sing "Take Me Out To the Ball Game" at the 7th inning stretch before hustling over to the North Star Bar for what was most likely our best show yet. Best ballpark food? Best show? And a really good acoustic band session at WXPN to boot? Well, thank you Philly

Then again, you may want to check out the enclosed photo from today's lunch at John's Diner somewhere along the highway in Philadelphia. Sometimes there are some food items that can't be explained in words and taste alone.

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6.06.11: The Road to Philadelphia

I rarely have the chance to stop off at home during a tour. New York City is usually a starting and finishing point, not a pitstop along the way. But last night's show at the City Winery (my favorite Manhattan club, by the way) came right at the midway point of our two-week journey and allowed me and Linda (as well as our very special house guests, Scott and Mary) a whopping 10 hours at home. Is this a good thing? Well, the chance to wash clothes, rotate wardrobe, open mail, grab some books and magazines and reorganize the iPod is always good. On the other hand, you just know you're not going to get any sleep as you find yourself checking off a domestic to-do list that consumes all of your hours. It's all about efficiency, dear readers. So, what did sensible people like us do when we got in at 1am, buzzed by the gig and freshly fed on tamales from our local taco truck (96th and Broadway--highly recommended)? Did we dive into chores? Get some sleep with the alarm set for an early hour? No, not us? We ended up watching a two-hour special about Game 6 of the 1986 world series (the very game discussed in Scott's "Buckner's Bolero," while sipping on various liquid souvenirs from recent gigs). And that's why we went to sleep at 3:30 and why we're a little crunchy today as we motor along the New Jersey Turnpike for a day that will include a session at WXPN, a pre-game interview on the Phillies network, 6 or 7 innings of the game against the Dodgers, a rendition of "Take Me Out to The Ball Game" from the field of Citizen's Bank Park and a return to the North Star for our gig. Sleep, be damned--we're on a mission.

I haven't written one of these diary things in about five days so there are lots of details to be revisited and recapped:

--Taking in a game in Toronto between the Blue Jays and Indians, enjoyed from a very plush luxury box thanks to the legendary Canadian announcer Dave Hodge and the fine folks at TSN (thanks, guys!) followed by one very wild and incendiary show at the Horseshoe, a place that always seems to bring out the punkest sets. Don't know why--maybe because all of the best bands have played there over the years and you just feel the absolute need to raise the stakes in a battle of the bands against combos whose dust settled long before you arrived

--A behind-the-scenes tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (thanks to everyone at the HOF!) with Tony and Dennis of our wondrous management team. I got to hold the actual bat that Ted Williams used to hit a home run in his very last at-bat the year I was born. Scott proudly held one of the albums that Denny McLain recorded for Capitol (as discussed in "Past Time.").

It was Mike's first visit and I saw him gawking at the Hank Aaron exhibit, looking much as I imagine he looked as a teenager when Hammerin' Hank was in his prime. The baseball pilgrimage was followed by a show at the Ommegang Brewery. Man, they have some good beers over there and we were happy to share our backstage bonanza with pals Brigid, Josh (our fearless lawyer), Rebecca and Karen among others.

--A gig at the Foundation Room at Boston's House of Blues, just across the street from Fenway Park. You could actually see the stadium over our shoulders as you watched the show. We didn't get to see the Sox against the A's (it was a 1pm game time and we chose sleep over baseball this time) but we did manage to get the stadium's organist, our pal Josh Kantor to come over after the game and join us for the gig. We were a mighty five-piece and trotted out all of our many Red Sox songs.

--Last night's aforementioned City Winery show. Josh worked his day job, another 1pm game against the A's, and then hopped in a car and then barreled down the highway to NYC just in time to catch our opening act Simon Kirke. Simon Kirke. Do you recognize that name? We certainly did when he was offered as a support act. Simon was the drummer for Free and Bad Company and he ended up playing many of his hit songs ("Can't Get Enough," "Shooting Star," "Bad Company") on guitar and piano as we watched from the side of the stage. And he made Linda's day by telling her how much he loved her drumming. We were feeling great, a hometown show for 40% of the band and a fine venue besides.

And then we were indeed on our way home. But you know the rest of that story by now, bringing you up to date. John Hill is manning the wheel, as always, I'm riding shotgun and Josh is regaling the rest with Red Sox insider tales while Scott, Mike and I retool our fantasy baseball teams. Philly, here we come

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