Just to clarify what I mean by useful traffic.  For me, as an independent musician/performer (whatever you want to call it) the number one thing on my priorities list in terms of this ‘career’ is my communication with my audience.  You guys are my ‘lifeblood’  because without you, I can’t do what I want to do.  So, as far as traffic that I consider useful, it’s that one-on-one dialog that I’m able to have with you.  I would say that over the past 3 months, I haven’t had any conversations with any fans (friends really, every time I get to know you guys that’s what I’m feeling).

So… myspace… time to go.  At least my profile.  Perhaps we should all send a message and do a mass exodus.  I’m down.  Let’s start deleting myspace profiles and help them out.  Starting Saturday I encourage all musicians/performers/comedians to follow…  let’s start the euthanization.

cheers,
Alex

Here lies myspace

Everytime I start to send out an email to you guys I just start typing and typing.  Next thing I know it’s super long and I start thinking “who is going to read all this?”  I can’t help it.  In my head, you guys are talking back to me so sending out emails is like having a conversation with you.  I promise though, I’m going to work on keeping those short.

Luckily, those rules don’t apply to me here. phew!  So I’ll begin my ramble now…

First off… myspace.  It’s dead.  let’s admit to that. I’m tired of updating it and looking at it. Like many people I have more than one.  One I started some time ago before I actually headed in the direction I’m in now and then a new one for the album.  I’ve noticed that things have been dying off over there for some time. In fact, for the last few months I haven’t gotten anything from you guys there.  Just about everything now is through facebook.  So I’m thinking of just deleting those account entirely or just putting a RIP image up.

Next…

The Wallflower Gallery

Some ‘are we there yet?’ videos are almost done.  I have three pieces that are going to go up first.  They are informational pieces on The Wallflower Gallery in Miami, Central Square Records in Seaside and DaVinci in Deland.

These are three places I played in January that the owners were very much into supporting music and pushing independent artists. I want to put these up as a thank you to them and to also allow them to introduce themselves in their own words to any other musicians/artists.  So if you’re a musician and looking for a place to play, I totally recommend looking up these three places.

Also, I’ve got Day1 of the 30A songwriters Festival all edited and just waiting on some other minor post editing shtuff to happen.   This project is taking a little more time than I thought it would but it’s worth it.  Definitely learning a lot of things about video production.

road trip (again)…

I’m getting ready for the trip up to DC. This should be interesting. I think I’ll document my travel into the cold part of the world for “are we there yet?”  In my opinion, there is a lot of stuff in the Element. It’s packed.  I even took a seat out.  I always try to leave space in case sleeping in the car is necessary.  It’s been awhile since I’ve driven in snow.  But this is going to be cool.  Hoping to ride up through the night and make it there by tomorrow.  Did something similar last year when I went up to North Carolina. I know know, this is further!

The main reason for going up is to play a show as Crash Basket.  A band I was formerly in with Paul Roub and Marhall Wilner.  We’ve been talking about getting together for years but things haven’t worked out until now.    On friday night, Paul and I will play individual sets and then on saturday we’ll rock it as Crash Basket.

I’m super stoked that I’ll also see Gordon Withers.  He’s my buddy that recorded the cello on my album.  Gonna try to rock out with him as well.

On the way back, I’ll make a stop over to Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, GA and see how things go.  I’m nervous and excited all at the same time.  it’s tingly.

So that’s all I got so far.  Time to go finish packing and getting everything ready. I’ll be in touch.  Next up I’ll do a follow up to killing the myspace.  The next will be killing the pictures musicians take with train tracks. No more train track pictures guys! ok?

talk to you soon.

Michelle Luchese & Cody Copeland

Was supposed to wake up much earlier to have  breakfast with Bob Corley but I just couldn’t wake up early enough.  woke up in time for lunch with Carmel (Mikol) and Evan (LeFloch).  Luckily, lunch was at Bud & Alys across the street from the hotel.  I was really hoping to see Cody Copeland play.  And that’s what happened.  We met Cody at the private kick-off party on Thursday and really got a good vibe.

He did not disappoint.  His setup for this show was a micro-korg, a floor tom & snare, and a guitar.  He has a really unique way of playing the guitar and his songs were simply amazing.  as an added perk we got to see  Michelle Luchese who was also just amazing.  Cute little quirky songs that just make you smile.  All in all, it was a great start to the day.   Just seeing Cody play the drums, the keyboard and sing at the same time made my head spin.

Augustine

Then a little bit of Augustine.  Augustine is a acoustic duo comprised of Louis Johnson and Jordon Meredith.  They are not a couple.  Why is it when two people from the opposite sex hang out or do something together people assume they are a couple?  huh? huh?  Anyway, they ARE NOT a couple and they made it pretty clear “We are not a couple, you can hit on us.”

Anyway, they rocked it.  Totally awesome.  You can check them out at http://augustine-music.com/.

Bud & Ally’s was a great venue.  It was pretty much the center venue of the festival. The nice thing about it was that it was a covered patio.  So you got the nice sea air but since all the sides were covered, none of the gusts.  Sweet.

I just realized that this was the last time I was able to have a decent meal.  Later that day, I had a tooth that decided it wanted to cause some trouble.  So it was super painful to eat anything after that.

Shawn Mullins and Nicole Witt

Then over to Central Square for the workshop with Shawn Mullins and Nicole Witt.   By the time we got over there it was very crowded.  I remember a lot of people trying to ask about where the inspiration came from and it was suggested that everyone just throw out their televisions.  Nicole sang an amazing song that I just can’t remember the name of.  All I remember was that it was amazing.  If anyone reads this far into the post and was there or knows here, please let me know what that song was called.

Ok Then, so in the middle of the ‘workshop’ I was forced to go back to the hotel to start getting ready for my show at 2:30.  So off I went.

Then run back to room for warm up and practice.

Alex Nelson @ Bud & Aly's

Over to Bud & Alley’s I played with Louise Mosrie and Jeep Rosenburg.  Holy crap I played fast.  It was super cold. I couldn’t stop shivering and I moved around WAY more than usual.  You know what those last sentences were?  Excuses.  But seriously, it was a really windy day and each time a huge gust would blow against the outiside of the tent I felt like we were going to take off!  This was the same place Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs opened the festival at.  Only today it was really windy.  The wind would sneak into the tent and it would make this sound that made me think we were going to go flying.  I was assured that we were safe.

A special thanks to Suzi.  Suzi, it was really nice meeting you. Thank you so much for your support!

Alex Nelson @ Central Square Records

Then over to central square for a set.  Brian, whom I met the night before was also there.  Thanks Brian!  This was a good set.  I was able to do an actual full set since this was just me performing.  Since this wasn’t a performance that was part of the festival, I was able to meet some really nice people from all across the country.   So people who were just in the store visiting got a chance to hear and be a part of the festivities of the weekend.

The store was host to several performances and workshops.   It was one of my favorite places to play.  Surrounded by books and albums.  Everything inspiring.   It was great. I had one of those “this is really cool” moments and the audio couldn’t have sounded better.

There will be a little intro of the store in the next episode of “are we there yet?” The place was amazing, I had to share.

Susanna Hoffs, Paul ?, Matthew Sweet, Shawn Mullins, Amy Ray

then over to aly’s beach for shawn mullins, amy ray, matthew Sweet, susanna hoffs.  Amy Ray ROCKED IT!  Totally.   The entire night was great but I had two ‘favorites’.  The first being Susanna’s Bangles medley and the second was Amy Ray doing “Rural F****t.”   Simply amazing.   The show ended with everyone on stage (and audience) singing Here Comes the Sun.  There was a little hickup at the beginning since there was  a brain fart and some people couldn’t remember the second verse.  but after a quick restart it went well.   Mistakes like that are humbling.  Sometimes when I’m on stage I might drift away and forget some words.  It’s nice to know that it’s just human and it happens.  The nice thing is when it’s live we can just move past it. Unless someone is recording it.  ha! I filmed a little of this and I’ll see if I can post some of the highlights up.  I’ve got hours of footage, so it might take a while.

One of the nice things about the venues is that the organizers setup special reserved seating for artist that were performing.  It was really nice since we were able to go see our peers without having to rush from one show to the next.  This made the entire weekend amazing and everyone was able to support each other without any troubles.

After the show I ran into Shawn and had a little conversation about what he’s been up to. Turns out this year I’ll be playing a lot of places he’s played and he offered up some advice and story’s about some of them.  Then it was back to the hotel for a clean up and getting some work done.  While in the room, I noticed that I had missed a call from Flash at the Wallflower Gallery in Miami.   When I called him back he mentioned that he was thinking of something that perhaps I might be able to be a part of.  In the end though, I think it turned out that I was going to be out of town and wouldn’t be able to do it.

For only three weeks gone by, it’s sure feels like we’ve crammed a lot in.  Anyway, after returning a bunch of phone calls and catching up on emails is on to get some entertainment.

Greg Barnhill & Tim Nicols

then over to Seaside meeting hall theater for Tim Nicols  & Greg Barnhill.  Tim Nicols wrote “live like you were dying” which was made famous by Tim McGraw and Greg wrote “House of Love” which was made famous by Amy Grant.  They had a bunch of other ‘hits’ as well but I think those are the most recognizable.   It’s really nice to see the ‘invisible’ guys behind the curtains of the big stars.   Sometimes I think these performances are better than the actual mega-star that sings them because the writers of the songs, actually have a connection to it.  Not that the big stars don’t, but there is actually a true connection between the song and the songwriter that makes it more powerful. At least, that’s what I think.  Or like to think.

Gre and Tim’s show was the last for me that night.  I walked over to the room afterwards and changed my strings for the next day then sat up all night watching Psych.  I started to feel a pain too in the back of my mouth.  Something weird was going on there.  More on that later.

I would like to end this by saying Adam Shiland is awesome.  The awesomenest.  A super hero.  A super model. You should find him and give him hugs and money.  He also has impeccable fashion sense. FYI ladies, he gives johnny depp a run for his money.

Or perhaps Day zero?  It’s Friday morning or Thursday night.  Depends on how you look at it.  Woke up early this morning around 6am and started the drive up to Santa Rosa Beach to the 1st Annual 30A Songwriters Festival.  The festival officially starts tomorrow but today the organizers are holding a private party for the performers.  A little get together to celebrate the start of the festival.  Tomorrow evening will be the ‘official’ kick-off party which will be open to those who were able to buy tickets.  The festival sold out a few days prior to today.

Tonight I met several of the artists that I’ll be performing with over the weekend including Bob Corley, Kailey Billings, Carmel Mikol, K.C. Clifford, Cody Copeland as well as many of the event’s coordinators.  So many people so many names.  Some pretty big names here as well.  Headliners include Matthew Sweet, Susanna Hoffs, Shawn Mullins, Rodney Crowell, Jeffery Steele and the Indigo Girls.  I got to meet Emily Saliers tonight at the party.  Super nice.

It was a great night.  I haven’t heard anyone play yet aside from what I’ve heard on the myspaces and such, but just from meeting them I have a good feeling things are going to be really great.  The event is SUPER ORGANIZED.  Amazing.

I arrived in the afternoon and proceeded to check in. Everything went smooth. The accommodations they provided were amazing and the area was gorgeous.  Santa Rosa Beach is located in Florida’s panhandle.  It’s got a super soft, super white sand on the beaches.  Just amazing.  Anyway, just checking in tonight.  Gotta start getting ready for tomorrow.  Show starts at 8:30 pm over at Stinky’s Fish Camp.   I’ll be collected some video to be posted later when I get some time to go through it all.  In the mean time, here are some photos.  The motel had a courtyard with restrooms.  I liked the way they labelled them “men” and “women.”