Howdy Nashville!

I landed in Nashville around 1:00 Sunday. Sitting in the last seat gave me a great view of the gash in my guitar case as it rolled down the conveyor. Made for an anxious wait to get off the plane. The gash was about 6 inches across with various dents all around, and punched all the way through the bottom of the case. Miraculously, there were no marks on the guitar! Much relief there. I spent over an hour at the baggage claim as the guy called various numbers to check on my coverage option. In the end, they offered nothing. United Airlines, if you’re wondering. I was so exhausted by that point that I didn’t put up much of a fight. I’d been awake since 4 AM and hadn’t really slept much anyway.

But around 6 or so, Scott from the baggage claim called and said that he looked into it more and thought he could get it covered. I just had to bring the case in and leave it for his manager to inspect. I was a bit frustrated by this, since Scott had already seen it, and also because I needed the case to carry my guitar around Nashville!

But I figured, no matter what the airline does for me, the case is pouched. So I popped into Gruhn Guitars on Broadway and got a new one. They were also kind enough to write a formal assessment of the damage to let United know that it couldn’t be repaired. I’ll bring the old case to the airport today. Fingers crossed for some $.

It was about supper time when I got settled away at the hotel. Had a quick nap before heading to see the show at the Bluebird. The Sunday night shows have a group of songwriters who’ve played before and made it through the audition process. There were about 10 of them, I guess, and they each played three songs. There was a broad range of styles and experience levels. A couple of people stood out for me. One fellow’s name is Josh Wooten, a Nashville native who writes great, heartfelt country songs. Another was Sara Petite from Sacramento, I think, who has a great quirky Americana style and a great voice.

This show helped calm my nerves about playing the open stages this week, gave me an idea of what to expect from other writers and where I fit in the mix.

So, Monday morning rolled around and, despite how zonked I was, I couldn’t manage to sleep in past 8. Had breakfast at the Commodore in the hotel, which is also apparently a hot open mic spot, so I’ll be back there one night this week. Ran some errands around town, new guitar case, CDRs, printing labels, etc.

Checked in at SOCAN House around midday. What a lovely place! Great comfy furniture, awesome old wooden table that I love to write at. I got a nice start on a new song too. Had been singing and humming bits and pieces while driving around and scratched down some lyrics for it here. It’d be nice to finish it before I head home on Sunday.

Last night I lined up in the rain to play the open mic at the Bluebird. The fella next to me said it was a short line because of the weather! When the doors opened, we each wrote our name on a scrap of paper and put it into a basket for a random draw of play order. I came out #26. After Sunday’s show, I expected 2-3 songs but we got to play only one each. So I played This Old House, a song I wrote for my parents’ anniversary shortly after I moved to Toronto from St. John’s. It’s become a bit of a standby for me, good for getting the nerves out. And since I only had one song, it made the most sense.

The Bluebird is a “listening room” and unlike any venue I’ve ever played. NOBODY talks during performances. So it was easy to hear what you're doing, which then of course allows you to give a better performance. The song got a fantastic response, and I was really happy.

The people in this town are all so warm and friendly, it’s a good place to be. I met some folks in line who were very kind and shared their table with me all evening. Oliver, Pauline and Paula: Thank you! The Bluebird show ended at 10 and I managed to convince Paula to introduce me to another local venue, the Basement. It reminded me a bit of Bar None back in the day in St. John’s. There were gig posters overlapping each other and every inch of the walls and ceiling. Jason Adamo from Raleigh North Carolina was playing. Great voice, great songs. By the end of his set, I was pretty zonked so we called it a night.

This morning I’m meeting the SOCAN liaison at 10:30, and then off to ASCAP at 1:30. In between, I’m going to drop a disk into one of the writer reps at BMI and roam around music row. Then I’ll drop the old guitar case off at United and come back ‘home’ to work on the new song before heading out to an open mic. I think it’ll be the Commodore, we’ll see.

I think I’m allergic to something here. My throat feels really tight and sore just like it did before I started taking ragweed shots a few years ago. Not much fun, but I’m pretty sure it’s allergies and not that I’m getting sick.

  

That’s about all I can think of at the moment. Off to find a much-needed coffee and get this day rolling!