House of Blues

Wednesday was a fun day. With the weather in the 50's, Charlie and I went down to the University of Akron to flier and promote the upcoming March 4th Northside band show. We met many cool and interesting people, pinned up a few fliers and got our excersize walking all over campus. Then, we headed down to Highland Square, Chipotle, and Square Records (to flier). At Square records, I found a 12" 45 of Prince's Let's Go Crazy (the dance mix with Erotic City as the B-side). That was a nice plus!

Then it was on to the House of Blues.

The Cambridge Room is one of my favourite rooms to play in Cleveland. The walls are adorned with Eastern statues, and is generally adorned with Eastern/Indian decor. Beautiful rugs carpet the floor, and there is at least one couch and several chairs.

Plus, a great sound system ,and wonderful sound man (thanks, Steve)!

This night, I was supporting Trevor Hall. He has a cool sound similar to Matisyahu (who is a friend of his). And he has a wonderful air about him of calm and peacefulness. As I walked in with my guitars, he and his band all said hello, and asked if they could help me load in. (Certainly a first for me with any fairly large act I've supported). After soundcheck, some friends of his made him this huge home cooked meal (of which he offered me some). And his band was as sweet as he, which made for an incredibly enjoyable evening!

Speaking of incredible: Chris Steele - Trevor's drummer/percussionist. Wow. He did a couple of songs on this percussion set of cajones, cowbells, tambourine, his hands and a brush. And on this he did a drum solo that honestly blew my mind. More so than the Kin's drummer who was quite impressive.

It was nice to meet so many folks and see some old friends. There was a lot of love in the room.

That love really was prevailing during my set. The crowd was energetic and supportive of my music - singing along with Perfect, dancing with me during Life, and taking Manifest to heart. It was truly a very beautiful performing experience for me. It was an energy that only happens once in a while. It was the sort of energy that makes you feel the light of a higher thought glowing all around.

The highlight for me was in Trevor's set. He wrote a song with Matisyahu called Unity. Such a gorgeous song. It's going to be on his upcoming CD. I reccomend buying that song (if not the record). I am trying to remember the exact chorus, but I wouldn't be doing it justice. If i find the lyrics or a clip online, I will post it. It is one of the most inspired lyrics I think I have heard.

The other plus side - T-Shirts are sold out! The first design sold out in less than 2 weeks. Not too bad. Lets see if we can make the 2nd design sell as quickly!

I hope to do more shows with Trevor and his band.

Until then - March 4th @ Northside. 8pm. The full band being moving and uplifting. And it's Free!