This week...

Let's see what happened just in a week. Hold your breath now it's gonna be a bumpy ride. I had about fifteen meetings this week, who'da thought a musician would have so many freaking meetings? Here is a brief summary. Justin Campbell and I met about the Motown Show we are doing at Woodlands Feb 19th, 2 ASB rehearsals, brainstorming meeting about the We Are Columbus unofficial SXSW showcase, meeting with Via Vecchia about doing some music there...awesome place btw and great people running it. Ok then practice with Jimmy Castoe (um..need I say more? bad ass) and Charles Scott (Mojo Flo) we have been working up a set of some original tunes of mine and covers. A video shoot with Matt Monta for The Columbus Duets Project (thanks Jeff Tobin for filming), played happy hour with Donna Mogavero at Woodlands, played in Chillicothe with Andy (bro), Andyman Hopkins, and Adam Cummins..great time! What next? I went to the Columbus Bridal Show (huh?) and passed out some flyers for Shaw Brothers..gotta get those wedding gigs! Another meeting with all the bands for the Austin/Columbus showcase at Kobo, and rounded off the week with another gig at Woodlands for "Last Night Out" with Jeff Tobin and Chris Bell. Check out Chris Bell immediately! So now what? Well, it has been a very busy year so far just planning, organizing, finding sponsorships for the We Are Columbus Showcase in Austin. Please come out to the show there will be a Columbus Showcase (two actually) February 10th and March 5th both at KOBO. Jacob Wooten has been kind enough to wave production fees so all the money collected will go towards funding the project. www.wearecolumbusohio.com for more info! Otherwise Andy Shaw Band and The Columbus Duets Project dual release February 25th at Ruby's 1978 Summit Street. Phew...till next time!

Been a while

I always feel like it's been a while since I last posted...probably cuz I am busy. Well, X-Mas happened, nothing too exciting except I got some money to pay for an electric guitar amp, which I bought today. Wow I think I got a really good deal it's a Fender Super-Sonic (sweet name!) and it was $512 and I had $515 in my bank to get it, ha nice! I was going to get a blues junior which are $500 new..pahh, this one blows that amp out of the water..so pumped! So that was sweet and I played on that some today, need to do more of that tomorrow it was a busy day I got a lot done I feel like, at least. Andy and I had an interview with Mr. Pete Vogel who is putting a documentary about the music scene in Columbus together. We played together in Matt Monta's band and he is a suuuper awesome guy and a huge cheerleader for C-Bus. I am so excited he is doing this documentary and from what I have seen it looks like it is going to be awesome. So then I went to record some violin with Jessie Barr at his house/studio. We worked on a Beatles/Paul song called "Junk" that Jessie had recorded with Joey Hebdo and John Elliot..great version and am excited to hear the final product. Then over to Ruby's for the Tuesday Evan Oberla jam session....great fucking time! The first song we played was kinda reggae-ish and Tony G. Finesse and Ollie Hightower freestyled back and fourth over it, good shit. The second song I played was Jessie Barr singing a Bob Marley tune (I did not recognize wtf?) and it had the crowd dancing, always fun when you have never played together and you can get the people dancing. Good freaking day and night, wow just awesome. Tomorrow Joey Hebdo and I shoot a video for The Columbus Duets Project out February 25th along with the ASB cd release...busy busy busy year in 2011 can't wait! Enough links? Well go visit them already!

Long time no see..sorry!

Sorry sorry, I know I have not updated in a while. I never know who I am talking to on this blog, is it future me? Hopefully someone finds this blog useful, entertaining, or maybe so annoying and stupid they keep coming back to see what other idiotic things I post. Well it's been a while. What has happened in the past few months. I went on a cruise with my bro and had a great time...thought briefly about shipping off to see and playing music. Not that someone offered me a job, but I thought about it on the ship, that would be an interesting job, hopefully I would be able to keep my soul while doing it. A lot of the musicians on board looked like they hated life and I hope that I will never ever be like that. ASB had a great show with Ed Mcgee/Tan Beer Band and Jahman Brahman at Woodlands. Kevin Smith came in and did lights and he is soo awesome it was a great night ending in the whole crowd singing a couple of our songs along with us. Also chants of "Andy Fucking Shaw"...that was hilarious, we are going to make t-shirts by the way. But the main thing I want to talk about is this weekend which was The Columbus Songwriter Sessions.

So a few of us came up with this idea a few months ago and we ran with it. Let's get a bunch of bands together and showcase them in a stripped down almost MTV Unplugged kind of way in a theater. So we rented the VanFleet Theater in Olde Town East (also called the Columbus Performing Arts Center), got a ton of sponsors, lined the bands up, worked our asses of promoting and did it. This event was SO AWESOME and now that we are done to me it's like a no brainer, DUH, this is it. This is music, this is Columbus, this is my life and how it will now go from here...and it will just get BETTER. I worked really effing hard along with Phillip Fox, Andy, Jesse Henry, and Kerry Henderson and we really pulled this thing off. Though I wanted the first night to be sold out (as I should) it was 75 people from doing that, around there...it was a GREAT night. The audience was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Jesse Henry's new band "Jesse Henry and the Great Divide" in my opinion really stole the show the first night. Steven, Chris, Caleb, Jake, and Jesse playing some of Jesse's tunes, some gospel, and bluegrass all in a traditional bluegrass style around one mic. They are fabulous players and Jesse is just an amazing performer, wordsmith, and presence. I love that the music goes from sad to happy to funny to just a party where you want to stomp your feet. I feel like that is my next goal as a songwriter to write a song that gets people moving and or laughing...I don't feel I have really accomplished that yet. Jesse is so talented and such a nice guy, I can't wait to collaborate with him more and I know it will happen. Phillip Fox was great too, this was the first time I saw his whole band and it was a great show indeed. I love the Floorwalkers and always have it was really fun sitting in with them especially in this format. Ben on upright, Kerry on mando or guitar, Tom on djembe/snare, and Jon singing of course. I played some fiddle on some of their lesser known tunes like "Some Love" and "Whatever It Is" love hearing Ben sing.

This weekend just felt like this is how it is supposed to be. People come to the show to see music and to listen. They sit and they watch quietly and they clap at the end. Yes, it sounds odd that this is not how it normally is as a musician but it is not. Noisy corners in restaurants with the manager telling you to turn down, bars where people come to hook up and get drunk and yell "freebird" at you, windy, wet, rainy streets where people throw pennies at you..maybe it sounds dramatic but I have been in all of those situations. I could get on a big rant about how no wonder musicians become alcoholics or are stuck in dead end jobs to pay rent while trying to make it as a musician on the side. I hear the story so many times and I see so many fucking talented people that are just hopeless and it's really sad. Anyway, this weekend was a shining glimmer of hope for music. I am not saying I don't have hope for music cuz I do and always have and will. I am in control of my own career and this is why my brother and I (with help of others) set up things like the CSS because we are in control and we are not going to wait for anybody to help us out. It's just nice to see other musicians in this environment all sharing the stage, singing together, getting along backstage, shaking hands, sharing a laugh and just being who we should be in the environment we deserve. No distractions, just here for music. Phew..I think I am going to write a song now! :) Thanks again for all who came and check The Columbus Songwriter Sessions out on facebook we will do this again. Also there should be some video footage soon and audio so I will try to post when it comes.

Make Yourself

So I think a lot about "making yourself"...kinda like Incubus said. I am a big proponent of just going and doing it, no excuses. Another quote that has influenced me a TON is "Be the change you wish to see in the world" -Mahatma Gandhi. It just makes sense to me, if you want something to change you have to change yourself and lead by example, others will follow. So I have been trying really hard to do this for a long time.

The music scene in Columbus is great, and one way to make it even better is to do things you "wish" would happen in Columbus. There are a ton of people already doing this in this town that's why I think it is great. The Rock Potluck is a night where a bunch of musicians get together from different bands and all form a band for one night, rehearse 2 covers, and write one original and then do a concert all in a day/night. It is pretty awesome. Cowtown Round at Rumba Cafe every Monday puts two of C-Bus' best songwriters (in my opinion) Jesse Henry and Jason Quicksall on stage together with another songwriter (sometimes local, sometimes not) and has them rotate songs in an acoustic fashion. A lot of times the musicians will spontaneously collaborate on stage and it's magical. There are plenty of other examples.

So my brother and I have been trying to do different things that we feel are missing or that are just cool and maybe other people will catch on. We house musicians from out of state and do house concerts for them. Plan it out, people come over, eat, talk, listen to live music, and usually they tip the traveling musicians a good amount/buy their cds and hopefully become life long fans. We also do songwriter nights where we invite a group of local musicians over to play acoustic songs in the round, eat, laugh, share,,,,getting the idea? This creates community and allows people to be introduced in a non bar setting, just musicians. It is a great networking night and just always awesome in general. The next project we are embarking on is South By Southwest in Autin Texas in March 2011. We are gathering a group of Columbus' best to do a showcase down in Texas. Andy and our good friend Genean are going down this next weekend to secure a venue. This is going to be a great thing for Columbus in general and the idea is to promote the city through the event. Columbus bands, Columbus beer, Columbus sponsors of all kind but really celebrating the music of C-Bus. I am really excited for the next year and I guess the whole point of this blog is help others and you will end up helping yourself. You will also feel good and meet a lot of cool people, hopefully in the end it will come back but if not you know you helped a bunch of others. And I am not saying I am awesome or I helped anyone but and I rule..just saying that this is my journey and I really have enjoyed it.

I often get frustrated when people say they "want to be professional musicians" but then opportunities come up and they just have other priorities or what not. I am all for doing music on the level you want but don't say you want to be professional and act like it takes no work. It takes a ton of work, tenacity, sweat, blood, tears, being really poor, and I just sometimes find that people don't understand that. That being said, I love creating my own success, opportunities, and allowing others to be a part of it. Lead by example rather than saying "you suck, I am not including you". I will include you as long as you put the work in with me and we work together. Anyway, now I feel like I am just rambling. In the mean time check out the house concert we are doing November 3rd with Raina Rose and Rebecca Loebe

More adventures

So an update on some of the things happening in my musical world. A great happy hour with Shaw Brothers at Woodlands happened September 1st thanks for all who came out and thanks to Michael Miller from LA for playing with us. Mellissa Fraley had a great debut at the open mic right after our happy hour set. Myself, Andyman Hopkins, and Adam Cummins backed her up and she sounded really good! Look for her in the future she is gonna be big! :) ASB played at Hookahville for the first time..that was awesome! I got to meet Anthony "AC" Cole the drummer for JJ Grey and Mofro, really nice and humble guy and incredible drummer. I have always loved Mofro and the drums that came with and never knew till recently who it was. I slipped him an ASB cd, hopefully he listens to it, who knows. JJ Grey and Mofro played a great set at Hookahville and I was upset at the crowd size. The crowd for Kottonmouth Kings was bigger and I just think that's a shame cuz Mofro is really good. Not to say Kottonmouth Kings aren't good, they do their thing but in my opinion Mofro puts on a better show. ASB played right between arguably the two biggest bands at the festival (well besides Hookah) but as far as national acclaim, we were between the two biggest bands. It was an honor to play and Hookah RIPPED there set on Saturday night. Ok so after Hookah was our marathon gig week,,,I actually love these weeks though they are tiring I feel just very productive and like a real professional musician, ha. So here is a run down. Sunday house party, Monday Upper Arlington Labor Day arts festival, Tuesday Pearl Market with Shaw Bros, Wednesday another Woodlands happy hour, Thursday Rumba with ASB/Wet Darlings/Molehill from Chicago (nice set guys!), Friday off (phew), Saturday at One Eyed Jacks in Dayton which was really fun despite feeling kinda sick, and tonight we are playing in Granville for Nat Reebs open mic as the featured artist, just Andy and me that will be fun..forget the name of the bar sorry!

Few things, the house party ruled thanks so much to everyone that made us feel welcome and despite this being a charity thing (our name was entered and someone bid on this house concert for a charity event) we were tipped over 200 bucks! Amazing! UA labor day fest was awesome thanks to all who came out early to see Andy and me it was fun playing that big of a stage with the duo. Bill Patterson, no joke you are fucking awesome at guitar. The Wet Darlings in general are just a perfect combo with Jenny Lute's obviously good vocals, Aaron Bishara's solid rocking drumming, Joe's highly under-rated solid as hell groove bass playing, and Bill being this architect with feedback and strange pedals that have to be held on music stands..it's just a killer killer band. I am really happy to see them having the success that they have seen because for one they are bad ass, and I know the brothers Patterson have been working a long time and they deserve every bit of success they get. Molehill, you guys were awesome too thanks for coming in I hope to play more shows with you in the future! Thanks to Rory (spelling?) the chef at One Eyed Jacks, Sayaka, Ellen, and all the other awesome staff for making us feel really welcome and the compliments were also really nice. We hope to continue to play OEJ in Dayton and bring the thunder every time! Phew, hears to next week!

Ahh..time flies

So I am not very good at updating this..ugh. What happened since the last time I posted. Wafflepalooza 2010....for one. This time it was more epic than last. Activity books were colored in, Speak Easy Three from Buffalo NY opened up, 3 waffle stations with like...5 cooks (with official WFLPLZA aprons) a menu including such favs as the Elvis Waffle which was bananas, peanutbutter, bacon, and honey..yeah I said bacon plus a lot of other musically named treats. My favorite (name that is) since I named it was the Rick James waffle..which was a plain waffle with powdered sugar, go ahead and do the math yourself.

My dad's happy hour retirement party at Woodlands was a success with the Shaw Brothers playing and Zoe's cupcakes, oh yeah good stuff. I think we even got a house concert out of it which is always a plus! After that show we went to the Black Keys concert. I got tickets at the LAST minute from my good friend Christina, thanks Christina!!! :) The concert was really good and Ginger got to go with me. I actually liked when they brought in the other players on bass and drums to fill it out a bit, it did not take away but it gave it a little extra oomph. I like them both too but it was cool to see a little more gusto behind them, just enough.

Tony's bar in Newark with ASB on the 14th. Pretty good crowd eventually, it was a bit empty at first. Kenny filled in on bass and did a really good job. We had some people come out to see us that actually knew who we were (thanks Ashley!) and invited us to a party afterward. We were all pretty tired but we went and enjoyed some Bud Lights and I personally enjoyed the hot tub, everyone else were being wimps! Who cares that the girl with the bloody foot got into the hot tub? Ha..ok that's gross but oh well it was fun I figure the heat killed all those germs..I'm still alive so I'm good. I felt slightly bad for the kid who was sitting on the side of the hot tub with his legs in the water that kept falling off...but like a trooper he kept getting right back on top of that tub, even though he would fall off two minutes later. Good times, good times.

August 20th we played at Rumba for the Keith Jenkins and Moving Parts CD Release. Matt Monta and HCB played and it was a bit weird seeing them play with a different fiddle player. Pete, ya did a good job! Now there are two Petes in the band..ha! I felt like our set was just reallly good that night. High energy and the room was packed full of our fans so that was nice. I like playing Rumba cuz usually we get a really good crowd and it's just so high energy. It was nice being able to play a short set and then go relax for once!

I also played two farmers markets, a nursing home, a frat bar, a benefit concert, a Jamaican themed party (including food..yum) at a country club in Chillicothe, and a hippie music festival called Ohmstead in which there was some excellent people watching to be had. My favorite was the older woman with the random drum that she danced with and went up to people at random to have them play on it and that was their ticket for her to leave you alone...ha. Thanks to the Ohms who had us out I really liked the festival and we all had a great time! Thanks to everyone else who set us up any of the previous mentioned gigs or anyone who came with us, good times by all. So this week starts my crazy gig week where I am playing today, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday (Fridays gig got cancelled..phew). Look for us on facebook search Andy Shaw Band and Shaw Brothers for our schedules! Whewwwww.

Spikedrivers at Goodale Park 2010