In the Studio with Lloyd Green and Mike Auldridge...

It was a fine Friday morning when we loaded instruments and such into the House of David recording studio in Nashville.

Peter Cooper and I had realized that with a bit of fast logistical work we could make a dream come true and get into the studio with both Mike Auldridge AND Lloyd Green.

Lloyd has recorded two full records with Peter, and was the featured player on my duo record with Peter, "You Don't Have to Like Them Both." And Mike had recorded with me in The Skylighters a few years back (making a dream come true for this longtime fan of the original Seldom Scene lineup).... Then on April 6, Mike joined the two of us (and trumpeter Kevin Cordt) on stage up in Rockville, MD, at the Inst. of Musical Traditions show.... That's when we started dreaming.

And when Mike told us he was coming down to Nashville to lay down some dobro tracks on a Patty Loveless session, well, the cogs just started turning.

So, long story longer..... Mike said he'd love to stay another day for the chance to record with Lloyd Green, his long time friend and major influence on pedal steel (Mike is quite the steel player as anyone who's heard The Skylighters CD knows). And Lloyd said he was free on April 17 and would love to record with Mike, his major influence on dobro.

Peter and I called up House of David and booked the room. Then we called Richard Bennett (gutar and octave mandolin), Pat McInerney (drums), and Dave Roe (upright bass). They were all free and eager to record with a couple of legends. If you don't know those guys, they are among the best on their instruments. Bennett made the guitar sounds on S. Earle's "Guitar Town" and is currently in Mark Knopfler's band. McInerney is the longtime drummer in Nanci Griffith's Blue Moon Orchestra. Roe toured for years with a guy named Cash. Yep. That guy.

The next thing was the material. Hmmmmmm.
I had a song that Karl Straub and I had written, called "It Won't Be Me." It would certainly work with this band. Peter had a fine, fine tune co-written with Don Schlitz called "Suffer a Fool." Perfect. But we needed more. So we did what we did when we made our duo record.... racked our brains and listened to records and came up with a list:
* "Wait a Minute" by Herb Pedersen, recorded by the Seldom Scene
* "I Wish We Had Our Time Again" by John Hartford
* "I Flew Over Our House Last Night" by Tom T Hall
* "Silent Night" by Jon Byrd

Peter and I had sung "Wait a Minute" with Mike up in D.C., and we're both huge Seldom Scene fans... and that's such a great song....

"I Wish We Had Our Time" is an old fiddle tune that Hartford added words to. At first it seems like a lighthearted romp, but then you realize, it's one of the best songs about years going by ever written....

The Tom T. song I've recorded with Last Train Home, on the "Live at IOTA" DVD, but it's such a great song and we knew that Lloyd and Mike could really sink their teeth into it.

And the Jon Byrd song first appeared on the "Yuletide From the Other Side" CD that I put out in 2007 on Red Beet Records, and I can't get it out of my head. It's just gorgeous....

So... we had the songs...
And then we went into the studio...
Brenton was behind the boards running things...

and...
it...
was...
amazing...

I can't say for sure when these songs will see the light of day.... We all agreed that we should find 6 more songs and book another day in the studio. That will all depend on Mike's travel schedule this year, but he is up for it, so I can promise you that I will try hard to make this happen. That will make it a full album.

We were also filming the proceedings (well, Eric Fritsch was behind the camera) so I'll bet that we'll have a short video up soon on YouTube (you can go there now and type "red beet" and see some other stuff we've been up to...)

Okay... that's all for now....

Surrounding myself with talent.....

So it's Tuesday, April 14, and I'm getting ready to play a show tonight at 12th & Porter, a fine venue here in Nashville.... It's the Billy Block Show, and Peter Cooper and I will be doing a 25-minute set starting at 8 pm sharp. So if you read this in time, then come on down... it's going to be really good.
We've got a full band with us tonight : Paul Griffith (drums), Dave Roe (bass), Tim Carroll (electric guitar), Jen Gunderman (keys), and Pete Finney (pedal steel). It'll be mighty fine.

Speaking of how lucky I am to play with such great musicians, I gotta say, this coming Friday, there's something really special happening. Peter and I will be going into the studio with some pals of ours, including pedal steel legend Lloyd Green and dobro legend Mike Auldridge. I've played with Lloyd on this recent recording I did with Peter Cooper ("You Don't Have to Like Them Both"), and Peter has recorded a bunch with Lloyd on his own. I got to record with Mike on "The Skylighters" project with Jimmy Gaudreau and the LTH rhythm section... but here's the thing: Mike and Lloyd have never recorded together like this (Mike on dobro and Lloyd on steel). They *did* record a double-dobro instrumental that Mike wrote called "Lloyd's of Nashville," back on Mike's self-titled album from around 1975... but they've never done *this* before...
Peter and I each have a new song, and we cherry-picked some tunes we wanted to hear these fellers on.... and we've come up with a half-dozen that would be suited to the world's greatest pedal steel player and the world's greatest dobro player (what songs *wouldn't* be improved with those two playing on them???)
We'll be joined in the studio by Dave Roe (bass), Pat McInerney (drums), and Richard Bennett (guitar). The thing is, those three are at the top of any list for their respective instruments too. It's going to be spectacular...
I'll report back on how it all goes....

David Peterson's CD release party

I think this qualifies for the “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” award of 2009.

I think this qualifies for the 'Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina' award of 2009.

Last week while at the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis (where Peter Cooper and I were showcasing our snappy little duo act), Peter found out that he was headed to the Caribbean soon thereafter to be a part of the Cayamo “music cruise.”

I was instantly jealous.

But then I was instantly not so jealous, because he told me he thought I could be his cabin mate if I wanted.

I wanted.

Especially since the cruise embarked on Feb. 28, which was my birthday, and since Peter never knows what to get me for my birthday, I figured I was really doing him a favor.

And so it is, this second day of March, 2009, I find myself on the “Norwegian Dawn,” docked in Samana, Dominican Republic. As I say, don’t cry for me. Except maybe for my skinned knee, scraped on an underwater bit of driftwood as I took a dip in the fine, salty, wavy Caribbean this afternoon, after riding an ATV over some hills and dales to get to a spectacular beach.

Okay, you don’t have to cry.

As the song says, “I got lucky bones.”

So the cruise started in Miami.

Peter and I flew there from Nashville on Friday night, made our way to the hotel where many of the musical acts were gathering the night before Saturday’s boarding of the ship. In the lobby all kinds of folks were milling about, great artists, plus their various band members….

Let me just give you a rundown on some of the folks performing on this 7-day cruise: Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, John Hiatt, Indigo Girls, Webb Wilder, Joe Ely, Patty Griffin, Darrell Scott, Brandi Carlisle, the Greencards, Kathleen Edwards, a fellow from Barenaked Ladies, a fellow from Sister Hazel, Vienna Tang,Tift Merritt, Glen Phillips, Shawn Mullins, a fellow from Collective Soul, o man o man… I’m drawing blanks… there’s about 20 more artists on board. Oh ! I’m remembering some of the less well-known performers: Katie Herzog (great), Girlyman, ummmm

Well, you could look it up:

www.cayamo.com

Anyway. I’ve never been on a cruise before. It’s un-be-lieve-able. Several very good restaurants serving food all the time. A 24-hour casino (Peter knows his way around a blackjack game, and with his help, I managed a $120 win the first night. We won’t talk about the second night…) Four performance halls. A movie theater. A library. Of course a big pool deck, lots of hot tubs…. I mean…. I could go on and on… but let’s just say it’s mind-blowing. There are a little more than 2,000 guests on board, I hear. And apparently 1,000+ employees. (Because of all the health issues on cruises the past few years, there are folks walking around with spray bottles of hand disinfectant ready to zap you.) I’m sort of dumbfounded by the whole thing, frankly.

I mean, I’d seen big cruise ships, like when Last Train Home came down to the Caribbean in 2005 and 2006 (I think that’s when it was…?? Oy my brain…). We weren’t on the ships then, but we always saw them docked at the places we were playing. My reaction then was to dismiss them. And you and I could certainly get into a discussion about the pluses and minuses of the cruise industry, but being on the inside of this thing gives me a new perspective.

I won’t lie: I like it.

I’m even hoping that Peter and I, or Last Train Home, or both, could get invited back as performers next year. It’s like an enormous music festival that happens to be on a big ship in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.

So, no, in answer to the unasked question, Peter and I aren’t performing. Dang.

Peter is wearing his journalist hat and helping coordinate media interviews for some of the better-known artists (there are a few music journalists on board…)…

Cell service and internet service are pretty expensive, so mostly they both remain in “Off” mode. I’ve only seen one clock on board—seriously. It’s easy to just let it all go….

The first 48 hours since Miami have included shows by Lyle Lovett, Darrell Scott, Shawn Colvin, Kathleen Edwards, Indigo Girls w/ Brandi Carlisle, Webb Wilder, Katie Herzog, the Greencards…. And those were just the ones I saw… there were a dozen more I didn’t make it to. Insane.

And besides the music, there turns out to be lots of folks I know on board. It’s easy to just walk around and find someone you know and have a nice chat, then move along and find a nice lounge chair and worship the sun.

I think the Cayamo Cruise infomercial is over now.

I’m just checking in to say hi.

And thanks to everyone who sent birthday greetings (man, that Facebook is quite a phenomenon, isn’t it??)

Peter and I get back on Sat. March 7, and that very night we head to Norm’s River Roadhouse, where we’ve got a gig playing with the great Phil Lee and the tremendous Tom Mason. If you’re in Nashville, come on out.

And if you happen to be in Johnson City on Friday March 13, PC and I play the Down Home that night…. And if you’re in the DC area, PC and I play Monday March 16 at the Institute for Musical Traditions concert series in Rockville. I’ll be sending out a note about that…

Okay, back to the shuffleboard court.

Hope to see you all soon….

-- eric

Station Inn CD release... a mighty fine night....

So Saturday night Jan. 24 was a night to remember. It was the CD release show for "You Don't Have To Like Them Both," the duo CD that Peter Cooper and I have just released. But that's not why it was a night to remember. Well it's ONE reason...
But here's another, and here's what's going to stick in MY head: I got to meet Tom T. Hall and sing a song of his and have him declare it "really fine." Oh lord. I can die happy.
Tom and his wife Dixie were at the Station Inn here in Nashville that night because Peter Cooper had invited them. You see, Peter is the music writer for the Tennessean newspaper (it's his tiny little side gig besides playing in a duo with me.... oh, and he's also a Vanderbilt professor.... the man is busier than anyone I know).... and over the years Peter has gotten to know Mr. Hall, and written about him a bit, and has recorded a song of his, and we've done several Tom T. songs live, etc etc...

So the first set of the night was just the new record, top to bottom, 12 songs. And starting at 9 pm, we let 'er rip, with this band: Dave Roe (upright bass), Pete Finney (pedal steel), Paul Griffith (drums), Tim Carroll (guitar), and Jen Gunderman (keys, accordion). It was sooooo great to bring these songs back to life after having had such a good time recording them back in August.

When we finished the last song of the set (a version of Todd Snider's "Yesterdays and Used to Be's"), Peter leaned over and said, "You wanna do 'I Flew Over Our House Last Night'...? Tom T. is here and he probably won't stay for the second set." So, with shaking nerves, we did that song, one I consider just about the finest country song ever written. Seriously. It's perfect. Last Train Home recorded it on the "Live at IOTA" DVD, and Peter and I have sung it a long time together, so i thought we could get through it without screwing it up....
and we DID! (get through it, not screw it up)....At the end of the set, we took a break, and I saw Tom T. walking my way... i got nervous... He stopped in front of me and stuck out his hand: "Young man, I just wanted to introdcue myself and say thank you for playing my song." Oh boy, how about that....???We had a nice chat.. he told me how he'd come to write that.... on a plane over Kentucky, returning to Nashville from a gig (he was on a bill with Connie Smith, was was on the plane too)... He said: "I looked down, and we were passing right over my ex-wife's house. I took a piece of paper out and wrote down 'I flew over our house last night.'"
Tom T's bandmate, sitting in the seat next to him asked: "What's that you're writing?" and Tom said, "I flew over our house tonight... trying to start a song." And nearly 40 years later, there I am, singing it and hearing the story about the song straight from the man who wrote it....Only in Nashville.The rest of the night was great too... lots of friends, fellow musicians, etc... and we had a blast.... I got to wear my sparkly suit... and I can't imagine having a better time....

(Ann Soyers who booked us and worked the door, and Kurt Storey who did sound both deserve big shout outs here... THANK YOU BOTH!!)