Where do I start....

Wow. Lawnchair has had a fun little run of gigs! Back on Saturday, March 7th we played Club 66 in Edgewood, Maryland. We had no idea what we were in for. Club 66 is a privately owned social club that puts on its fair share of shows. The walls were lined with memorabilia from past performers such as Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and Fog Hat to name but a few. The sound system and vibe were huge. We had a long day, due to a 3pm load in/sound check and a 9pm stage time, but the folks made it a nice time for us.

We headlined the show, and followed two progressively heavier modern rock bands (Critical Element and Encalidus). As the sonic bombardment increased, we were unsure of how our country-rock was going to go over with the building crowd. About halfway through the second band's set (each band had a 1.5 hour set... we had a 2 hour set), a large crew of 'Chair heads showed up (feeling good) in a pimped out short bus complete with a flat screen and wii.

By the time we hit, we were amped. The crowd was super into it and responsive. We slammed through a blistering set, filled with hoots and hollars of response. We were tight and feeling great. The second set was fun and loose, thanks to half a fifth of Makers Mark (thanks Jared). The night concluded with a monster jam out on Johnny Be Good as called out by the club's owner Dave, who sang it for everyone's pleasure. As a side note, during our first set (I think the song was Snake Oil) Dave came up and played a hand muted broken bicycle horn, and damned if he didn't rock it. During the final jam someone leaped onto the stage and played some blues harp... and rocked it too. The night was left in a blur of compliments and well wishes and promises of returns. I really hope to return to Club 66. The place is a huge surprise and the way all venues should be... those good folks are all about the music and not about any kind of bull shit... oh, and did I mention it's BYOB?!?!?!?

This past weekend (March 13 and 14) we played two more fun shows. We hit our usual 2nd friday of every month show at the Waterfront in Fells Point. As usual, it was fun and loose and folks were dancing up a storm. There were a couple of fellas there who travelled 4 hours up from Norfolk, VA just to see us. I feel pretty confident that we made it worth their while. The show was also attended by our new super-fan Jim, who can now be seen around town sporting his Lawnchair t-shirt.

The second show was up in Gettysburg with our good friends Booker Lee and the County Fair (or Bangers and Mash as they were known for the night). This was either the 3rd or 4th St. Pattys Day party we've played up there at the Pike, and as usual it was a blast. The night started with a surprise (at least to us) performance by a pseudo-traditional Irish group, a gaggle of 12 or so drunken middle-agers with tin whistles and the like. Well, when they were done, things got shaken up a little bit. We cranked through a super tight high energy set that had the Booker Lee boys proclaiming it was the best they've seen of us. It sure felt good, and the sound was great. The Booker Lee gang went on to play two sets of Pogues-style Irish rock. They were great, and I don't think anyone could have not had a great time. It was yet another fun, fun night.

Well, Lawnchair is all fired up. We're running hot and tight, and we're hitting the studio Tuesday night to start some new sessions for our third record. I, for one, am really stoked to track this puppy. Some of the songs are old, some we've been playing for months, and some are brand spanking new. I'll post on our progress as we go... I promise. Onward and upward... I can't wait!

Incoming and Upcoming

Here are some upcoming shows!

Sat. 3/7 - Club 66 in Edgewood
Fri. 3/13 - Waterfront Hotel in Fells Point
Sat. 3/14 - The Pike in Gettysburg with Booker Lee and the County Fair

Look for an update soon.

Another years done gone...

Lawnchair's 2008 came to a close back on December 12th, back at the old Waterfront. We had a pretty fun year all in all and it ended up in a rather rollicking way. The show started with a technical meltdown which, in the end, turned up a positive. Issues had plagued my gear for a while and I couldn't pin point the problem, that is until it all but crapped out. Well, that'll be fixed for '09. Anyway, we got rolling along having a good old time, and sure enough the shots came flying. Some old friends wanted to help us have a blast playing our last show of the year. As we played through the sets, shots of all type and proof came from all angles. Jimmy, on his usual trip around the bar, received an early christmas gift (or should I say a pair of gifts). On his extendo-solo trip around the bar, playing bottles and glasses along the way, a rather striking blond said "Play these!" Down the top went... as did Jimmy's jaw. After a momentary pause to consider (Jimmy actually dropped the beat - that never happens), Jimmy couldn't take the though of injuring such a giving woman's chest and made his way to the bar and back.

It was a great night. I can't say that we played our best, but damned if we didn't have a blast. Thanks to everyone who came out, and bought us booze, and sang along and danced their asses off at this past show and every other throughout the year! Y'all have helped us have a ton of fun and hopefully we've done a little of the same for you... especially during such a shitfull year.

Onward and upward. Thanks again, and we hope to see y'all a little further down the road.

I got a feva...

A week or so ago I couldn't even look at my guitars. I thought I might just hang it all up for a while. We played a lack luster show down in Silver Spring, and it was all starting to feel like too much work... the booking and the promotion and - the whole thing just seemed like a drag.

Well, I woke up last Friday morning foaming at the mouth to play. Who knows why, but I was amped. I could only think about that night's show. All day I sat at my desk, boiling on the inside, just waiting to rock.

So I get to the gig and the band from the early show isn't loaded out yet. We've played this Friday gig for something like three years now, and we've never had the early show run so late. Parking was horrendous as usual, so I dumped my gear so I could circle like a vulture to get a decent parking spot. One of the guys from the early band started giving me a bunch of shit about how much easier it would be to load out if my gear wasn't there. I bit my lip (though I wanted to completely pummel this little fuck in front of all of his slow-moving bandmates just to prove my point), and stated my case. Fuming, I hopped back into the car and found a place to park. On the walk back to the club, the seed of doubt started to sprout in my head. "See, you were right, it's all become a huge pain in the ass."

We got her going and things were weird. The crowd was pretty thin and uninterested for the first few songs. Aw man, was I right about all this?

Well, the bad tide washed out and a big full high tide of listeners and ass-shakers rolled in and lifted us on their backs. By the end of the first set, the place was going ape and they were crying out for more. We took a quick break to regroup and rehydrate, then lit into a blistering second set. The band was playing some inspired stuff. Ebbing and flowing... we could go anywhere we wanted. We were tighter than a bull's ass in fly season and the crowd was into it, fully invested. We took one last, quick, break and they all hung with us. We pounded down a round of bourbon together and fired into what would be the last set of the night. The whole thing ended with an explosion of sweat and sound. The whole joint was screaming and clapping as we closed out the last song. What a night!

While we were packing up and folks were on their way out, we were showered with kind words and promises to do it all again. We sold some disks and loaded out. The whole band felt great. We were all grinning from ear to ear, feeling great about what just happened. They are an awesome bunch of talented guys, all in it together. I left the night feeling lucky to be a part of such a good thing, and have the guys so onboard and supportive of the songs.

I can't wait for the next show.

It's a Summertime Thing

It's been a long, long time...
Lawnchair has had a great Summer thus far. We've been having a blast playing Gettysburg, Brooklyn, and our dirty old town of Baltimore.
The 4th of July gigs in Gettysburg went great even with some last minute rearranging due to inclement weather. As usual, the folks up there were great and they really dug the show. We rolled straight from the house party to our home-base up there, the Gerryowen, where we came blasting through the back door and straight through a super rocked up set. We were flying! The next night we played a gig up at Woodhall Wine Cellars, where our contact Al and his crew laid out the hospitality. We played some old songs and new ones for the small but receptive crowd. 3 shows in 2 days, and it was great. The varying locations and crowds had us playing 3 drastically different shows, from quiet and intimate to loud and raucous, and somewhere in between.... all straight up fun.

Then, it was up to NYC to play Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn. We were supposed to split the night with our old palls the Country Devils, but their lead singer/guitar player broke his hand a few days before. So, we headed up on our own, to play 3 sets to a small but receptive crowd. We had a blast. It was a trip full of bonding, catching up, mechanical breakdowns, and rock-n-roll. Keri, the bartender/sound engineer who kept us fueled up and sounding good all night, served far too many shots and made it possible to pass out for an hour or two in the sweatbox that night. The next morning's technical issues and drive, however, did not benefit from the libations.

The first show of August was back home at the Waterfront Hotel. I was testing out a new (used) guitar, the crowd was packed in and tuned up, and we got our friend Jenny from the SLC in Utah to sing one with us. It was a great night. We were throwing the Bohs down as fast as we were sweating them out. I'm not sure why, but I love those sweaty, packed shows.

Last week was loaded up with some great music. For what ever reason I hadn't been to a big rock show for awhile. On Wednesday night I finally caught Lucero live. Man, that band rocks. The first set was great, but the second slid into a drunken mess. This seems to be their M.O., but I think that it cheapens a potentially wildly good band. Ben Nichols writes songs that are far too good to become a second set laughing stock. The show definitely had some great moments though. Saturday I caught John Hiatt at Hot August Blues, and man-o-man he was exemplary.... I leave it at that.... damn he was good.

We've got some more shows coming up, and we hope to see you there. Check the schedule at:
myspace.com/lawnchair

Long time no blog...

It's been quite a while and we've been having a blast, so much so that we can't really remember everything that's gone down since. We'll just say that HonFest was great and we have a bunch more cool shows lined up for this sweaty summer. Lawnchair will be spending the 4th of July in Gettysburg, PA, playing a private party then rocking out with our buddies Booker Lee and the County Fair at the Garryowen.

WTMD played "Hard to Swallow" a couple of weeks back... that's pretty cool. We're playing Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn with the Country Devils on July 19 and Quarry House in Silver Spring with them on September 20. Check the schedule at myspace.com/lawnchair and come on out and see us.

Oh - work should be resuming shortly on the new record!!!

In the Can

Well, it's been a while since the last post, but some big stuff has gone down. Lawnchair recorded what will eventually become our third record. Our friend Colin was off of the road (Allman Bros./Gov. Mule) so we had him come back to "Old Yellow House" to record some songs for us.

The weekend started off great. We loaded the gear in on Friday evening, ran all the cables, set up mics, checked the set ups and headed out to throw down some beers and catch a Glenmont Popes show. We had a long day planned the next day with a long list of songs and a short time to get them.

Saturday morning I woke up with some sort of awful stomach flu that I initially thought was the worst hangover I'd ever had. All the fellas arrived and we got to work. I had to play through it. I was not going to waste the opportunity. We worked fast and furiously all day. My illness, though inaudible on the recording, made me focus and we knocked the songs out in few takes. Any chance to lay down between takes was taken advantage of - if someone was tuning, I was laying down or getting some fresh air in the hope of not puking halfway through the next verse.

From what I heard of the play back (I didn't listen to much, I fell into my bed as soon as the last note had rung out) and from what the boys said, it sounds great. Again, there's an assortment of styles and tones on the record. Colin was sort of amazed at the difference in the band's sound since the last record. There's going to be something for everyone on the new record; from straight up rockers, to more mellow material... even a solo arrangement.

There are a few overs to do - solos and backing vocals - but I can't wait to hear the first mixes. Colin is doing all the mixing of the record, instead of Eric and I. It will be interesting to have it completely out of our hands. I can't wait to hear it.