Viva Marie!

During my recent late night bouts with my formidable opponent, Insomnia, I've been digging into archive.org and checking out the old black & white films that are in the public domain.  I came across a 1932 movie called, "Que Viva Mexico!"  The imagery is stunning.  Late nights and long hours, due to my limited editing abilities, led to this:

Check out this new video from my buddy Johnny Hickman.

Colorado Fire Relief Effort

I was recently asked to be part of a very important project.  Jock Bartley of Firefall, wrote and recorded the song "Another Fire's Burning" (produced by John Macy) about the recent devastating fires in Colorado. The recording features the vocals of yours truly, as well as members of Big Head Todd, Poco, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Cracker, Flogging Molly, The Flobots, the Subdudes, Chris Daniels, just to name a few. You can download the song for a donation at http://www.anotherfiresburning.com/ as well as read all about this huge effort by Colorado's music community. 100% of the donations go toward helping those affected by the fires.

More RCPM Dates

June 15, 2012 - Antone’s Austin, TX 78701New Braunfel 

June 16, 2012 - Gruene Hall, New Braunfels, TX 

June 17, 2012 - House of Blues, Dallas, TX 

June 19, 2012 - Blueberry Hill, Saint Louis, MO 

June 20, 2012 - High Noon Saloon Madison, WI 

June 21, 2012 - Shank Hall Milwaukee, WI 

June 22, 2012 - Cabooze, Minneapolis, MN 

June 23, 2012 - Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL 

June 24, 2012 - Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH 

June 26, 2012 - The Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI 

June 27, 2012 - Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, NY 

June 28, 2012 - BB King’s, New York, NY 

June 29, 2012 - World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA 

June 30, 2012 - State Theatre, Falls Church, VA

July 01, 2012 - Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH 

RCPM Tour Dates

April 27, 2012 - Rialto Theatre Tucson, AZ
April 28, 2012 - Whiskey Off-Road Prescott, AZ
May 5, 2012 - Pepsi Amphitheater, Flagstaff, AZ
May 10, 2012 - Belly Up, San Diego, CA
May 11, 2012 - The Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco, CA
May 12, 2012 - Key Club, Hollywood, CA
May 13, 2012 - Fulton 55, Fresno, CA
May 15, 2012 - Cargo, Reno, CA
May 16, 2012 - Hop Monk Tavern, Sebastopol, CA
May 17, 2012 - WOW Hall, Eugene, OR
May 18, 2012 - Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
May 19, 2012 - Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
May 20, 2012 - Wild Buffalo, Bellingham, WA
May 22, 2012 - Knitting Factory, Spokane, WA
May 23, 2012 - Butte Depot, Butte, MT
May 24, 2012 - Knitting Factory, Boise, ID
May 25, 2012 - The State Room, Salt Lake City, UT
May 26, 2012 - Denver  Day of Rock, Denver, CO (Railbenders & (RCPM)
May 27, 2012 - Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Bellvue, CO
May 29, 2012 - Woolys, Des Moines, IA
May 30, 2012 - MOJO's, Columbia, MO
May 31, 2012 - Wakarusa Music & Camping Fest, Ozark, AR
June 1, 2012 - Firehouse Saloon, Houston, TX
June 2, 2012 - Wormy Dog Saloon, Oklahoma City, OK
June 3, 2012 - Santa Fe Brewing Co, Santa Fe, NM
June 8, 9, 10 - 2012 - Circus Mexicus XXI, Puerto Peñasco, Mexico

Two nights ago, fellow Denver musicians, the Fray, performed our national anthem before the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship between Kentucky and Kansas.  I'll admit it didn't sound good.  And I'm sure they'd be the first to admit the same.  Musicians make mistakes.  And yes, it was a mistake.  They didn't intend for it to sound like that.  I believe that Joe was playing a wrong note in the one of the chords (Ab instead of G) which was causing it to clash and not sound right.  Sometimes with live performance, nerves kick in, and I'd say even panic can take over and it's hard to get out of when you are in the moment.  I've been there.  I had many panic moments early on, stepping onto the stage with RCPM, trying to fill the shoes of the brilliant guitarists that came before me.  One of my first shows ever was playing in front of 10,000 people (opening for Kid Rock) in Tempe, AZ.  It was a cold night and my fucking guitar went out of tune on the first song.  It sounded like shit.  I frantically tried to figure out which string it was mid-song.  It threw me off.  I missed some parts.  I got a weird look from PH and Roger.  I can't imagine playing the anthem live on TV in front of millions and have something go wrong.  But the Fray are getting lambasted for their performance.  I cannot believe the personal attacks and vicious things I am seeing being hurled at these guys.  It's really harshing my mellow.   Let it go people.

Tonight, I am joining my friend Johnny Hickman at the Mercury Cafe to try and help raise money for a young lady named Andrea who was involved in a horrible accident, and is trying to make a difficult and expensive recovery. Please join us if you can. http://andreaswayback.com/. I know $75 is a lot to ask, so if you cannot buy a ticket to the Mercury, there are other ways to donate on the website. Thank you.

HDG in Rapid City

My partner-in-crime, Johnny Hickman and I played a private house concert recently in Rapid City, SD, as part of his Kickstarter campaign for his solo record.  The hosts, Tim & Susan, were amazing.  Catering/Food was fit for kings.  A few pics below.  1) Tiny plane we flew on  2)  Listening to Johnny's new record for the first time, which sounds amazing! 3) Picture of Mt. Rushmore.  It's not as big as I though it would be.   4) Landed back in Denver. HDG express in background.

Coming home Sunday was an adventure.  What was supposed to be a 1 hour 40 minute flight from PHX to DEN turned into a 14 hours of sitting in three different airports, waiting on tarmacs, or flying in a holding pattern.  Phoenix to Lubbock to Albuquerque to Denver.  All courtesy of Mother Nature.

A review of Saturday's St. Patrick's Day show.  http://thealternativemusicblog.com/?p=280

St. Patrick's Day

In Tempe, AZ tonight.  What better way to spend St. Patty's Day, than to play a show with Flogging Molly!  I hear over 5,000 tickets sold in advance.  Looking forward to this.

Happy 2012. I’m just happy to be here.

Thanks to everyone who spent New Year’s Eve with RCPM in Scottsdale, AZ.  The evening was beautiful (picture above is a crowd shot I took from stage).  But, wow, we had a scary moment.  As soon as we finished our show and started heading off the stage, a transformer blew right in front of our eyes and power lines dropped to the street about a hundred feet from where we were.   If you’ve ever heard or witnessed this happen in person, it’s scary shit.  There is a loud explosion and then that dreadful noise like you would hear during an electrocution.  It happened on the street/alley behind the stage where the band and I were heading to get to our bus.  If it had happened a few moments later, when thousands of revelers were filing out, I hate to even think about the outcome.  But miraculously, nobody was hurt and I’m thankful and I’m counting my blessings to start off this brand new year.   Here’s wishing you all a safe and prosperous New Year...JD