Raising the curtain in Arkansas

4/5, 10:47pm: Hi music fans! I write this from my hotel room in Arkansas; Fayetteville, Arkansas, to be exact. We’ve kicked off another leg of the tour and despite what was a grueling 5 weeks in Europe, I was looking forward to seeing everyone and doing the show again.

Yesterday, JD (piano), Jeff (MD), and I flew out of LAX together for Arkansas via Cincinnatti. I arrived early Monday morning at LAX at 7am for my 8:30 flight to be confronted by; not one, not two, but three different (and long!) lines before boarding my flight. I have come to the conclusion that there is no longer such a thing as being too early for a plane. Think you can waltz in 30 minutes before boarding that quickie to Phoenix? Forget it! Those days are over. We should bomb the shit out of...I don’t know...somebody, just for forcing us to go through this song & dance now. Oh how I long for the days when you’d walk through the terminal in your suit & tie, fedora tilted to the side, and mosey out onto the tarmac where the prop job and a pretty lady in a crisp stewardess uniform would be waiting. Ah, how I miss those days.  <cue “As Time Goes By”>  Wait a minute, I wasn’t even born yet! In any event, I do recall at least a slightly simpler time when people weren’t so scared. I wonder if we can ever regain that trust & peace of mind.

So, we had a show tonight at the Walton Performing Arts Center. Now, a quick note about the name “Walton”. It’s the last name of Sam Walton who is the founder of the store we have come to know and love as Wal-Mart. Yup folks, I’m here at ground-zero of one the great American retail success stories. Will I trade in my burgundy turtleneck for a blue vest & name tag? Only time will tell. For now, I still have a gig.

Anyhow, tonight’s show went beautifully. We have a couple of new faces in the band and they not only nailed it, but they brought in a fresh element to the overall sound as well. I look forward to getting to know and working with our new drummer and backup singer as they are both friendly & talented people.

So, with what seems like a band of refreshed and newly exuberant musicians, I am optimistic about the weeks ahead.

And Mr. Walton, just in case, I wear a large.

Until next time...
--Adam