Dark Side of the Bar (hi8us' NH weekend 1/29 -1/30/10)

This past weekend the four of us shot up Rt. 16 to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to play some rock for the fine patrons at The Red Parka Pub in Glen, NH and then the next night at The Barley Pub in Dover. Colin and I made it up the night before to hang and hopefully ski the next day. Our buddy Tommeeee was the man of honor this weekend. We all celebrated his birthday at a sweet cabin in the woods that we crashed for the weekend. The cabin crew had a late night Thursday night, then awoke to crazy cold temperatures and high winds Friday morning. Colin and I made the call that skiing would not be fun under these conditions, so we joined the rest of the crew in a quest to find Ebenezer’s in Lovell, Maine. Our buds Tommy and TJ are brewers for Cape Ann Brewery, purveyors of the fine line of Fisherman’s Brews.

Their whole existence revolves around making and enjoying the finest beers the world has to offer. Today that quest took them on a trip to find the famous Ebenezer’s Restaurant and Pub. After a drive through the rural roads of NH and Maine, we found this little oasis of beer perfection at the end of a random winding road. The crew of six of us walked in and the needle scratched across the record. The locals all turned and looked at us like, “Who the fu..?” Eventually, Chris emerged from the back room and greeted us. We pulled up some seats, and began to peruse the beer menu. It should be noted that the attraction to this modest looking bar in the middle of the woods is that the proprietor, Chris, is owner of what has been voted the best beer collection in the entire world. No lie, he has won awards year after year from beer geek magazines as having the best beer collection in the world. Geez, I hope he shares with his friends. Actually he does. After hanging out for a little while and tipping back our first pint, the Fisherman’s boys introduced themselves and struck up some beer talk with Chris and his bar hand, Hannah. They quickly spiraled off into a beer conversation that I couldn’t process. They were using terms like chlorophenolic, balling degrees and trub. I just sort of glazed over and started sipping my pint.

After a short time, Chris retreated to his back room and emerged with a large bottle of some rare beer. He explained to us that if you are not drinking sour beer, you are a loser. All the craziest brewers in the world are brewing sour beers. They are the beers that real beer drinkers want to try and are the hardest to perfect. I was skeptical, but Chris poured this beer into glasses for all of us to try. We all toasted this sour specialty, and, I must admit, it was quite delicious. Even my undeveloped beer palate could recognize the quality in this beer. So much so that I can’t even remember the name of it. I do remember having a beer from a brewery called Pumpkin Jack that day that was amazing though. ;)

Anyway, this is a band blog, right? So, after Ebenezer’s, we shot back to the Granite State. Colin and I parted with the cabin crew and met up with Max and Mike over at The Red Parka. The Parka is an ultra cool après-ski pub near Attitash and Wildcat. They have a devoted following of skiers and riders, and the vibe is everything you would hope for in a ski bar. The whole room is post and beam, and at one end is a perfect stage with an easy load in. We set up, ate some delicious food and jumped on stage. We had 3 sets planned for the evening. Babz and the staff treated us like kings from the moment we arrived. We were all feeling great. We played a relatively tame first set since the dinner crowd was still lingering a bit. We could feel a great vibe brewing in the room during that first set, and people were already getting fired up. We got huge responses for some of our new originals like Work From Home as well as Tuesday Night. We had a great stage mix going taboot… everything seemed right on.

We finished up the first set and threw on some Willie Nelson during the set break. With “Night Life” caressing the ears of our crowd, we slipped out the back door of the stage to get some air. Outside it was bitter bitter cold and the wind was whipping. We said, imagine how cold it is on top of Mt. Washington right now… probably 50 below! The trees blew violently in the gusts. We could feel our ears getting numb. As the time came to hit the stage for set 2, we were completely primed and ready for the night to take off. We had saved all of our best stuff for the late night sets. Mentally, we were all on the same page. We get to step onto the bandstand to a full room, and immediately start playing. All of our friends from the cabin were in the crowd and feeling rowdy. It was perfect.

So we open the door to the stage and walk into a room of complete darkness. Huh?! Yup, those wicked winds had blown the power out. The room was dark and you can bet our amps were off. With no acoustic instruments in tow, we were without the ability to make noise. We hung in there as long as we could with no power, but the bar eventually declared that they were closed, and people reluctantly made their way towards the door. I think I met a guy named Buzz Killington as we were packing up in the dark. The power eventually came back on when we were back at the cabin. The next night at The Barley Pub was a little better as a whole. At least the power stayed on the whole night. ;) Them’s the breaks, I suppose. Live free or die. In the words of Willie… The night life… ain't a good life… but its my life.

jim

On Cape for the weekend... kid!

Playing Cape Cod in the off-season is quite an experience. hi8us spent the weekend of Jan 22 -23 down Cape playing and chilling out. Friday night we hit Tommy Doyle’s in Hyannis and opened up for Tripl3Crown, the local 3-piece headliner. The crowd was pretty thin the whole night, but we all had a blast. We were pretty happy with our set, and loved Tripl3Crown’s set as well. The dudes in the band were on the level, and we all hung out for each other’s sets. They have great original material, and totally nailed their cover of Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein. It was excellent.

After the gig Friday we shot to Orleans where we were playing The Land Ho! the next night. We set up camp at The Olde Tavern Inn where we always stay when we play “The Ho.” Brandon, the owner, was there late-night to check us in for our two-night stay. He knows us by now, and we all caught up a bit. The next morning we ventured down Cape to P-town for some sightseeing. On the way we stopped off at a bunch of beaches and scenic spots to take in the off-season solitude of the outer Cape during these winter months. It was cold as a mother that morning, but the sky was clear blue, and the clean ocean air was perfect for awakening the senses after a long night.

We hit JoMama’s for coffee, then Coast Guard Beach and then The Marconi Site. The Marconi Site marks the location of the first transatlantic radio signal to be sent from the US across the Atlantic. The year was 1903, and it was right around this time of year. We were late by about 107 years to the day to witness this feat first hand. ;) My dad used to always trek the family to The Marconi Site when I was little and on vacation on the Cape. Also, my dad can send 20+ words a minute in Morse code, which is the Morse code equivalent of being able to run a sub 5-minute mile. Yeah Pop! We arrived in P-town, and had some lunch at a place on the main drag. I had been talking about lobster bisque earlier, and it was the soup of the day, so I went for it… and it was good.

That night we set up at The Ho and played to a surprisingly packed, lively, room. The night was a ton of fun, and we raged The Olde Tavern for a second night after the show. We had a few Cape fans that made the weekend run of hi8us shows, so we were psyched about it. Highlight hi8us fan sightings were our old friends Joe Mullet and Jamie. Good times on the Cape, pal! C-ya!

jim

A 212 State of Mind...

hi8us played a weekend run down to CT and NYC last weekend. The trip was really a ton of fun. As always, we had fun playing the night away at O’Neill’s in Norwalk on Friday 1.15.10. Saturday morning, Mike and I made our way towards the big city. Unexpectedly, we were able to meet up with a local legend, Mr. Ethan Insel, in his hood of Morris Park in the Bronx. Ethan brought us to Franky and Johnnie's for some afternoon Italian specialties. We sipped cappucinos and caught up with a solid 2+ hour “hang” that was long overdue.

After the restaurant, we stopped back at E’s place before heading out. The apt was great… completely unspoiled. Highlight of Ethan’s apartment is his cigar box collection, his original, turn of the century, World’s Fair upright bass in the corner, and his newly acquired seltzer-making machine which he showcased for us with amazing, seltzer-making precision. The seltzer that it produces has the perfect amount of bubbles, I would say.

After our refreshing afternoon in the Bronx, we descended on Manhattan Island. Part of our crew was already at our hotel on the east side hanging out when we met up. We all hit Fontana’s around 8. Everyone at the club was super nice, and we even found a parking spot smack in front of the place. These variables can sometimes make or break the enjoyment of a gig experience when looking back. Our parking good fortune turned out to be an accurate foreshadowing of the night as a whole. A bunch of our good friends made it out to the gig, and we felt that we pretty much melted face when we were up there playing.

“Then after the show it’s the after party.” In our case, this involved just hanging out at Fontana’s some more and catching up with our NYC friends while getting progressively more intoxicated. Mike and I split after a while and cabbed it back to the hotel. We met back up with Foss and crew and ventured back out into the big city. We were determined to take full advantage of the extended bar hours that the city has to offer. We stumbled upon a pub near the hotel that was whispering for us to come on over from across 3rd Ave. We obliged and headed in. We all hesitated right when we stepped in, since the pub kind of smelled like poop, but it wasn’t overwhelming, and they had a good beer selection, so we pulled up to a table. After a pint, we forgot about the poop, and enjoyed some oat sodas and gabbing.

After the Poop Pub, we headed back to the hotel, and I forced people that were still awake to play poker. We played… poorly. On the way home Mike and I stopped at the Silver Star Diner.

jim

Red Square... I know you're giving me the stare!

After getting snowed out the previous weekend in Maine, we were able to make the trek up to Burlington, VT on Sat. 1.9.10 to play music at Red Square. The night was awesome, and we were psyched to have our MC sit-in, Adam Foss, along for the ride. He made friends with Hyle at the bar, and even stepped up to the mic a few times for some of our favorites during the show. The night was super fun, and the only downer of the whole trip was listening to the Pats get destroyed by the Ravens in round one of the playoffs during the ride home…

Oh, and when we got back to the hotel late night, some of our beers had frozen, as we left them out back to chill. Oddly enough, some did not freeze. We chose to drink the not-frozen ones first, then by the time those were gone, the previously frozen beers had thawed, so we then drank those. So, it actually worked out famously! It still stinks that the Pats lost though. See ya!

Jim

New Year's Eve and a Random Top Ten List

I was a bit concerned about this year’s New Year's Eve show going off. We all worry about rallying our friends out to these big shows, and as the date approached, it was still uncertain how the night would turn out. It ended up that we had a great room full of friends and fans, and the music was terrific. I enjoyed sitting in with John Doney, and it sort of memorialized the late night jam session he and I had the night before, which was a blast. It seems 2009 was a crazy one for most. All things considered, I feel totally blessed, and am thankful to whoever is looking over me. Sometimes it feels like bullets are whizzing by, and I am somehow still standing.

Anyway, I have been listening to a lot of albums. I have been turned on to some musicians that have been around, but that I haven’t paid much attention to, prior. There are also a few albums that I just popped back on, and they have resonated in a whole new way for me. So, here is my Top 10 List of Albums I Really Listened to in 2009. This list is in no particular order.

The Whitest Boy Alive – Dreams
Ryan Adams – Stone Roses
Seu Jorge – The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
The Perishers – Let There Be Morning
Willie Nelson – The Essential Willie Nelson
Sun Kil Moon – April
Band Of Horses – Everything All The Time
Session Americana - Diving for Gold
Pinback – Blue Screen Life
Alice In Chains – Jar of Flies

jim

Skyscrapers... and Everything! The Bitter End 12.21.09

In the footsteps of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and even… Lady Gaga, hi8us made their debut at The Bitter End in NYC this past Saturday, 12.21.09. The show was super fun, and we had a nice crowd despite the royal dump session of snow that came down along the East Coast that night. We battled crazy conditions to and from the city. Staying with hi8us tradition, we shot down to the West Village Saturday afternoon, played 'til the wee AM hours, then packed up and split home. I hit the Commonwealth around 9am the next day, after near blizzard conditions traveling at a steady 40mph and a brief nappy nap at a rest stop somewhere on I-84 in CT.

Thinking back on the gig, it was especially cool. Camp Rakusin came out in force and made the night special. We were psyched with the sound and the other bands on the bill were super nice and had some cool sounds. I remember rolling through Times Square and looking up at those crazy lights. It's cool to have that realization that you are pretty much smack in the center of civilization when you are there. That little intersection in the world makes you feel pretty tiny. So many big events that the rest of the world focuses on happen right around those few blocks in that big city. As I looked up at those big lights and all the people around me, I thought of Regis Philbin… don’t ask me why.

jim

Burlington VT and Other Random Thoughts

The other day I was thinking about music, and writing songs, in particular. Song ideas will often come to me while I am running around the Charles after I get home from work. If I stumble upon something in my head during a run that sticks in my mind, I try to repeat it to the tempo of my feet hitting the road until I get back to my apartment. The litmus test for me is if a musical idea stays with me the whole way home.

There can be lots of distractions during a run that can throw you off an idea. You could nearly be hit by a vehicle at the Mass Ave. Bridge. You could have some meathead that you pass decide it was too big of a shot to his ego to see you run by him, so he tries to race you for a couple hundred yards with an erratic series of bursts and lulls in his pace. You can witness a near pile up at Fiedler Bridge section of Storrow Drive or even pass Tom Cruise who is running in the opposite direction of you with his bodyguard.

Anyway, if the idea sticks, when I get home I have this habit of bringing my beater guitar into the bathroom with me. I usually sit on the pot and fool with whatever idea I have until my legs start to tingle. If things come quickly, I am usually psyched, and feel that the idea is intrinsically good, and that I should stay with it. I am always trying to stay cautious of how I attempt to develop a simple musical idea into the framework of an entire song. The concern is that you always revert back to your comfort zone and end up with essentially the same song as the last one you came up with, but with different lyrics, and in a different key. On the other end of the spectrum, I don’t want to force something into being so different and atypical that it no longer has any type of impressionable quality, but instead unintentionally sounds like a fugue or something, and someone listening to it tunes out 30 seconds into it.

Anyway, occasionally, I come up with something that I get incredibly excited about. I start to think it will be my breakthrough song. I play it until it is engrained in my DNA. I will play it for anyone who listens, then sort of assess their body language and general reaction to see if I am on point with my excitement about it. On occasion, my enthusiasm about what I have is met with a corresponding positive reaction from whoever is listening, and collectively we burst into a jubilant celebration about the song. More often though, I think the person hates my new song, and I usually abbreviate the arrangement on the spot so that they don’t have to sit in awkward silence as I muscle through my newly drafted opus. Deep down I probably still think it rocks at that point, but it is a little bit of a let down.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say on my songwriting endeavors today. Our gig up at Red Square in Burlington on Sat. 12.12.09 was wicked awesome, pal! Mike and I got to the hotel at around 7:30 and thought we were going to have a good hour to chill… not the case! Max and Colin cracked the whip on us about 20 minutes after we got there, and we had to split to the club. The gig was really fun, and we all felt really good about it. Playing inside at Red Square is a nice setting. The room is hip, and packs with UVMers that have a tendency to dance and support bands they’ve never heard of. It is ideal. Thank you for that, kids! Finally, we are really psyched for The Bitter End in NYC this upcoming weekend. That show will be something. Look OUT!

jim