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.

New Song(s), New Life

Work has begun. Hot on the heels of "Hard to Swallow" a new collection of songs are being prepped for recording. Some new, some we've been playing... but a solid collection in my humble opinion. More on that later. Here's the lyrics to a new one. I just returned from the beautiful and awe-inspiring subject of this song, so recently that I can still taste the clear mountain air.

I wrote "Cottonwood Canyon" on the first sitting. I can't remember the show I saw that night, but as soon as I got back to our house I bee-lined for my guitar and it all fell out... every single word. The chords and lyrics leaped from me all at once. That's not the sort of thing that happens with every song I write, but when it does it really creates a bond between us (myself and the song).

I used to struggle to write things that were not directly about my life. In the past few years I've been able to find the path to turn real-life experience or emotion into fiction. This song was written, perhaps (as I'm still not 100% sure), from the point of view of some one on their death bed. Crying out of delirium for the wishes never achieved, or opportunities never attained. The protagonist has seen and lived hard times. He's been infirmed since his youth and, nearing the end, wants to return to the one ray of light that cut through the murk of his rough journey.

"Cottonwood Canyon"

When we going back to Cottonwood Canyon
All my life I've been asking,
But you just talk about the bad times.
You just recall all the bad times.

We packed everything we owned
And headed out for the West
Nothing wet like the Pacific
Just dirt and brier and all the rest.
Not a penny for bread,
not a nickel for beer
You can't hide that shaking in your eyes,
holding back all the fear.
When we going back to Cottonwood Canyon
All my life I've been asking,
But you just talk about the bad times.
When we going back to Cottonwood Canyon
All my life I've been asking,
But you just talk about the bad times.
You just recall all the bad times.

When I was just 15 years old
My lungs were filled with black coal dust
The town doctor, he sent me home
To lay around my days and rust
Nothing but dirt to fill our bellies,
we were too damn dry to cry
That poor son of a bitch my daddy,
he's just waiting around to die.
When we going back to Cottonwood Canyon
All my life I've been asking,
But you just talk about the bad times.
When we going back to Cottonwood Canyon
All my life I've been asking,
But you just talk about the bad times.
You just recall all the bad times.

I remember those summer days
When the creek would get all swollen
We would lay in the tall grass there
In the quiet we'd stolen.
You were a vision all covered with dirt,
brown and sweaty from the field you worked
And I just laid there 'neath that broad shade tree,
dreaming away the hours 'till you were there with me.
When we going back to Cottonwood Canyon
All my life I've been asking,
But you just talk about the bad times.
When we going back to Cottonwood Canyon
All my life I've been asking,
But you just talk about the bad times.
You just talk about the bad times.
You just live amongst those bad times.


*I can also see the song as a duet, with a female voice singing the last verse.

Affirmation from on High

I don't want to say much, but what I will say is it was pretty freaking cool. We managed to get "Hard to Swallow" into the hands of some folks who are supposed to know what our kind of music is all about. The kind of folks who are big enough that bands are super stoked when they get with them, and leave feeling controlled and reined in.

They took the time to call me, we chatted and I hung up feeling good. They aren't working with us but the response was more than encouraging. They proclaimed the record to be "well written", with a "great vibe", and "well recorded". Contact info was swapped and encouragement was laid thick like the guy who's repairing my leaking roof right now is hopefully doing.

Right now I feel this way, I'm sure it will change in time, but...
If nothing ever happens, if the band implodes, if life pulls us away from the path - at least my work (as the chief songwriter) and the hard work of the rest of the boys has be affirmed by at least one person who's supposed to know his shit. At least I can say that the hours and hours, the spilling of guts and the dollars spent were worth it to some extent. Whether anyone hears it or not, at least it "Could have been a contender". I mean, in this day and age who has the time to call some random bunch of hacks to blow smoke up their ass, right?

We All Brought It

Last Friday night we played the Waterfront. It was great to be back after a much too long hiatus. The place was packed and folks were really into it - dancing and hollering, singing along at times, and (would you believe it) actually listening. We had a blast, and it seemed like everyone there did as well. In a joint where the crowd can be in a constant flow, in and out on some nights, it was great to see groups of people staying through the whole show. It was also great to see so many folks (old friends and new) really digging it all and having such a good time. It's infectious, when a crowd brings it, when they're into it. It makes us play better, and it just makes the whole thing more fun for everyone. Thanks so much for all the kind words after the show, too!

After what's been a bit of a grind the last few months, it was great to get out (and get into it) and really deliver like the band can. The rhythm section tightened up to air tight as the night went on and allowed me to go where ever the hell I wanted... and it felt great.

Nights like these... they make you want to get after it again.

yeah,yeah, it's the holidays

I wrote and recorded a Christmas song for a well intentioned compilation record that never saw the light of the ornaments. We (Matt and I) recorded it with the Booker Lee boys and the Compound Choir up in Gettysburg. It's been posted to our myspace page (myspace.com/lawnchair) where it's available for listening and download. Here are the lyrics:

"Even Us"

The steps they're all icy
Every row home on the avenue.
The lights are strung all over town
And who's front door did she walk through.

First white Christmas we've had in years.
The snow quiets everything to a hush.
Peace on earth, good will to man
To everyone, but us.

We've both got closets full of skeletons.
We've both gone down some bumpy roads.
In the glare of the tinsel and the blinking lights
(Well) all those hard times sure do show.

First white Christmas we've had in years.
The snow quiets everything to a hush.
Peace on earth, good will to man
To everyone, but us.

Let's put it all aside for just one night.
Come a little closer let's thaw out our hearts.
Wrap up the bad blood between us
It seems like a good time for a new start.

First white Christmas we've had in years.
The snow quiets everything to a hush.
Peace on earth, good will to man
To everyone, even us.

WTF!?!

Yeah, so we played a show last night that... prior to getting into it... was a complete cluster fuck. The show was double booked then rebooked, but for a different room than we thought. Then, after wrangling everyone and the proper equipment and sound checking, our buddy Andrew Grimm played some songs to kick off the festivities. Grimm was playing through my guitar rig when my amp went up.

As if the night was not fucked up enough, my amp shit the bed. Well, Grimm is a pro and he got through it - all lit up for the holidays. The dude is a great writer and musician. Sorry about the whole mess, Grimm.

I was boiling from the entire fiasco. So we got rolling, but my head was swimming. I (we) struggled through the first couple of songs, but things pulled together as we went. Thanks to all the folks who came out and had fun with us. All in all I had fun playing... I pretty much always do. The boys are great and thank god we've got things back on track personnel-wise after a shaky fall. As the night drew to a close, folks were really into it, dancing and hollering and spilling beer. We had to shut down at midnight in the room we were in which bummed me out because I had finally shaken the baggage of the whole night, the boys were really tightening up and I could have played all night. We shut her down though, took a breath, and realized we came out of it alive and well and feeling better for it.

No, Mr. Grimm, we did not all die.... we came out alive. Maybe a little part of me is dead, but most of me is alive. Then of course it was a full-on scene trying to get out of there. Today I'm drained. Emotionally, physically. Everything does not have to be so fucking hard man. It really doesn't.