Thoughts from NashVegas

As expected, Nashville was quite an adventure. For years and years, i've heard (and read) about the scene down there and it felt great to be immersed in such a music rich culture.

Being a student of the rock school, it takes a bit of an adjustment to hear so much country, see framed pictures of those stars and hear music blaring from the Country Music Hall of Fame out onto the streets on a cold Sunday morning, but i respect the tradition.

The bulk of the weekend was spent at Sony/Tree Studios, that we used as something as a kickoff event for our new venture. It's excellent to be involved with 2 guys that I learned to play music with so many lifetimes ago. For me, Ben will always be the ridiculously tall kid in the leather jacket who's cracking jokes and playing 10 instruments far better than I can master one. And to be playing in a room with Jeremy behind the skins takes me back to his parents boiler room, which doubled as our practice space growing up. Until we were suitable enough for the garage. Funny how that works, especially since I hate the heat.

Our session on Saturday lasted about 15 or so hours, breaking only once for a late meal at 11:00p. This dedication and drive did not surprise me, it's something that Ben demonstrated the last time I recorded with him in Athens, in the fall of 2004. Hard to believe that 8 years have passed and now we're at Sony. The song ideas that came out of the weekend would all be very suitable being placed in TV, Film or commercial projects which is part of the goal these days.

On the snowy plane ride home, I kept thinking about what an advantage we had just by being in the Sony environment and working with friends who are pretty much like family. It's such a difference than recording at any other studio, where you're paying by the hour and hiring some engineer who really doesn't give a shit about your music or your mission. It made me think about all the solid material that I have with Leo or the band, and what level it could be taken to, if given the chance to use such resources.

Hard to know how it will all play into the bigger picture, but for right now it all seems like everything is headed in the right direction.