it's all art to me

I may be really reaching for a topic here, but this is what I've been thinking about. It started when I was at the NBA Finals in Boston last weekend....
Quite often, I hear artsy people complaining about how much everyone loves sports, and why can't people understand that music, art, etc. is more important and a better way to spend their time and money... Being a musician, I think it would be great if more people spent more of their money going out to hear obscure folk musicians rather than going to football games, but the thought that somehow art is more valid or important than sports is a pretty silly concept.
When I hear people complain about the insane amounts of money that atheletes get paid, I usually nod my head and agree for a minute, but then if I stop and think about it, that is a ridiculous thing to be upset about. Last weekend, I saw 20,000 in Boston who had payed an average of a couple hundred bucks to go to the NBA finals, and thousands more outside hoping they could find a ticket to buy. The night before, I played a concert in Connecticut, and about 30 people came, willing to pay $12 to see some darn fine folk music (if I do say so myself). Well, of course Kevin Garnett should get paid more than I do! Now, the idea that one form of entertainment is "better" than another is not something that is even worth arguing about. Some people like live music, some people like art galleries or theater. But, even more people like sports, and you know what? It seems to me that they are all serving the exact same purpose, for people to be entertained, and to have some sort of an escape from their everyday lives.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment if you want. Am I off my rocker, or are sports and art basically the same thing?

Two fun weekends.

I'm back from 2nd straight weekend tour of gigs with Jud Caswell (www.judcaswell.com). We spent one weekend in Maryland and this past weekend in New England. There were some great shows, and it was fun spending some time with Jud, and hearing his music. I'll give you the basic rundown of the past 2 weeks, then in upcoming posts I'll go into some details about specific parts that were quite fun.
On May 29th, I started my tour in Stafford, VA, after flying into DC, and getting a vert cool rental car, a Ford Mustang. Nothing says Mustang like Dave Potts! On May 30th, I met up with Jud for a house concert in Baltimore. We spent Saturday walking around downtown Baltimore, then Saturday night, we had a house concert in Rockville, MD, with Moore Music, some of my favorite people in the folk scene.
I flew home to Alabama on Sunday, and spent a few days drinking sweet tea before flying up to Boston Thursday night. I got into Boston at midnight, and drove a couple hours north to Brunswick, Maine, to Jud's house. I slept until noon, which I hadn't done in quite a while, it was great! Friday night, after a fantastic dinner at Beale Street Barbecue in Bath, ME (more about that bbq later), Jud and I played a show at The Chocolate Church Arts Center, which is a very cool venue.
After another morning of sleeping in (only till 11 this time), Jud and I headed down to the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret, CT which has long been one of my favorite venues. It was a wonderful show, after 4 shows together, Jud and I finally had our act together and really put on a good show if I do say so myself. We made a late night jaunt back to Maine, with plans to play an open mic feature in Boston Sunday night. But, other plans came around, as 2 friends of mine from high school were going to be at Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Boston. Shane called me and asked what time my gig was, and if I'd like to try and get a ticket to the game. Open mic feature or Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals? tough call... You probably know what I chose, Game 2 of the NBA Finals was fantastic!! I'll be writing some more about that soon...
Just wanted to give you the rundown since I haven't written in a while, I'll be posting interesting details from the trips over the next couple days, and maybe even a sound clip or two from one of the concerts, so check back soon.

Great house concert!

I had a wonderful house concert last weekend to end my Michigan/Indiana tour. I was in Bloomfield Hills, MI at 'Music In The Burbs'. There was a VERY full house, and a great enthusiastic audience. It was definitely one of the best shows of the year so far, there's nothing like a house concert, as you've heard me say before. The hosts, Jay and Renee, were very hospitable, and did a great job of managing a very large crowd in the living room. My old friend Shelley, who lives in Clarkston, MI, brought me a very refreshing mason jar of sweet tea, to make the night even better. I also got to meet a very talented singer/songwriter, Jill Jack, who was a member of the audience. All in all, it was just a great night.

I also wanted to mention a new singer/songwriter I "discovered" the night before. I played an in-the-round (www.jamminround.com) in DeWitt, MI, and had the privilege of playing with Chris Castle, who was a really great artist. Do yourself a favor and go listen to a couple of his songs at www.myspace.com/chriscastlepage

Next weekend, I've got a couple shows with Jud Caswell (www.judcaswell.com) in the DC area, and then in New England the following weekend, I'll let you know how they go.

The magnolia's are in full bloom here in beautiful Auburn, and baseball season is in full swing (no pun intended) Life is good!

Goshen, IN and the South Side Diner

Back out on the road this weekend, I flew into Detroit early this morning, and unfortunately forgot to pack my parka and mittens. It is ridiculously cold for May up here. I drove down to one of my favorite towns, Goshen, IN, home of the South Side Diner. As always, a great pre-show meal, I had the Philly Steak Hoagie today (Nick, the owner, is from Philly, and knows how to do it). Closed the meal with a great key lime pie. I was excited to find out that the diner has been fetaured on the Food Network, they're show will be airing one more time, on Fri. May 16th at 12:00est.

I performed at The Electric Brew, one of my old favorites. I have been playing at The Electric Brew about once a year since they opened in 1996. I was sad that the original owners have sold the Brew, and moved out west, but the place is still up and running just as it was, and still a great place to be.
There will be some videos from the concert up on YouTube within a couple days, so check them out.

Tomorrow I'm off to Lansing, MI. Will report from there.

David Wilcox is Back!!

Those of you that know me well, know that David Wilcox, along with John Denver, are my biggest musical influences. It was his album 'How Did You Find Me Here' that really got me into writing contemporary folk music, and is to this day, my favorite album of all-time. He has made many, many CD's over the past couple decades, all of them very good, but I've sort of slipped away from my appreciation of him. Well, not that he ever really left, but he is definitely back. He has put out a record called 'Airstream', that is all just him and his guitar, recorded in his Airstream trailor. (clever name, heh?) There are not many people that can pull off an all solo acoustic record, but he really can.

If you are a fan of music, or Airstream trailors, you will like this.

Great new music

I've just found some amazing new music that I want to share with you... There's a songwriter named Andy Gullahorn that just put out an incredible CD called 'Reinventing The Wheel'. I have is previous CD's, that are great, but this is even better... I highly recommend checking it out, www.andygullahorn.com. The whole CD is amazing, but if you only have time to listen to one song, check out 'That Guy', a daring song to write with an amazing message.

Also, my good friend Erik Balkey, who stopped touring full-time last year to focus more on songwriting, has really hit a new level with his writing, which was more than fantastic to begin with. Go to his myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/familyalbumbyerik, and listen to the song 'My Daddy Is My Spiderman'.

You will be glad you took the time to listen to these writers.

The Birchmere!

Playing at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA was an incredible experience. The famed venue is definitely all that is cracked up to be. It was a thrill to open for legendary singer/songwriter Christine Lavin, who has been so very kind to me. She goes out of her way to help up and coming singer/songwriters like myself, and it is much appreciated!There was a crowd over over 300 people, and certainly one of the best crowds I've ever performed in front of.

The day of the concert, Feb. 23rd, was my daugther Emma Lynn's 5th birthday. It was very, very hard to be gone on her birthday, so I called her from the stage at the Birchmere and 300 people say Happy Birthday to her, and then I played her favorite song, 'In My Backyard'.

I certainly hope that I will have the opportunity to play the Birchmere again.

I also want to really thank my friends Sam and Erin Hensley for great accomodations as well as fantastic local dining experiences over the weekend. Sam is a wonderful singer/songwriter (http://www.samhensley.com/), and he set up 2 additional concerts for me in the DC area, helping to make the weekend trip even better. He also opened both shows, and it is quite a treat to hear him sing. I wish I could say he has equal skills at NCAA football on the Sony Playstation, but it only seems right to mention that I did win the weekend series 6-4, as Auburn was quite unstoppable.

Somehow, I got the smaller font size on the street side billboard. Come on, I played first, shouldn't I be mentioned first? And, I am taller than Christine.