Okay, so this July it’s actually more like reading, relaxing and recording for me. I’ll be doing some more recording and mixing this month for the new album while also taking the kids to the Atlantic coast to get some sand on their toes. Since I won’t be playing any live shows this month I want to go ahead and mention two early August shows.

Saturday, August 2nd I’ll be sharing the stage with some old and new friends at The Rutledge in Nashville. Our pals Ned Van Go will be hosting my band as well as Kentucky’s Josh Nolan, PLUS the return of the mighty Les Honky More Tonkies! This is gonna be a rock-n-roll throwdown so make sure to mark your calendars now!

On Saturday, August 9th I’ll be having another homecoming show, so-to-speak, performing at the very first Star Hill House Concert in Sweetwater. Our friends, and generous supporters of live music, the Hendershots have been talking for a while now about opening their home up to and small number of people to host house concerts. Jason and I went down to their house one day a couple months ago and talked to them about our previous house concert experiences and I’m honored to be the first participant.

Make sure to check out the Shows page for all the details regarding reservations for the house concert, and all of my upcoming shows. Have a great month, get them yung’ens back in school and we’ll see y’all in August.

ROCK-N-ROLL ON THE PIKE! Saturday the 28th the band and I, along with Psychic Baos, The French, Tim Lee 3, The Loudermilks, Dixieghost and Black Atticus, will be playing the Big Fatty’s Bands, BBQ & Beer Bash, presented by Blank Newspaper and WUTK. Come on out and see which bands were brave enough to take the stage in short britches!

Tha Stupor rides again! Derek Senter, Manning Jenkins, Vance Hillard, Brad Henderson and I are playing another punk tribute show Saturday the 7th at The Pilot Light. Superdrag bassist and all around badass, Senator Pappas, and his Tom Pappas Collection will close out the night. Come act like you’re 17 with us.

Saturday the 14th I’ll be heading back up to Richmond to play the 1724 House Concerts (presented by Shit Your Pants Productions – HA!). I first played at Zach and Paige’s place last summer when Mic Harrison and I were on the Full Body acoustic duo tour. We had an absolute blast! Our gracious hosts were spectacular, but what made the show was their neighbors and friends, most of whom had never heard mine or Mic’s music, came over to support the event and simply have a good time. We had so much fun that we went back up and played the final Full Body show there in December… to equaled support and enthusiasm. Mic & the High Score are in the studio this spring so this time I’ll be bringing my band, Gray Comer on drums and Mike Murphy on bass. I’ll play some acoustic stuff like the times before but we’re also gonna rock it out a little bit for ya. Grab some hooch and a dish to share and come on over. Clean britches optional.

I’m excited to say that I’ll be going into the studio this month to start work on the next record, tentatively to be released later this year. We’re also going to start work on the first video for the new album, for the song Moto Kids, so stay tuned for details on that!

On Saturday the 10th, after I finish up my stage managing duties at Vestival, I’ll be heading over to Market Square to play Blank Fest. The boys and I will be sharing the Preservation Pub stage with The Sheiks, Lipliplip Hands, Hudson K, Cutthroat Shamrock and Dixieghost. Visit the Blank website and Facebook page for up-to-the-minute updates and visit the Shows page here on my website for all my upcoming shows.

Late addition to the calendar… I’ll be playing guitar with the John Myers Band at The Well on Saturday the 26th for Chris Durman’s Earth Day Birthday Bash. Also on the bill are The Lonetones and Chris’ band Exit 65. Check out the Shows page for all the details.

I always look forward to sharing the stage with the amazing songwriter Chris Knight. His fans have always been great to me and I look forward to meeting some new ones on Friday the 4th when I open for him at Puckett’s Farm Equipment in Charlotte, NC. Side-note… the KAB played at Puckett’s several times back in 2009–2010 and we were WAY too loud to be playing there. Gary, the owner, and bartender James told us every time we played there that we needed to be playing The Milestone, but we never could get booked in there, so Gary kept letting us come back to Puckett’s. HA! Hope they’re both there Friday night.

On Thursday the 10th I’m very excited to be participating in the opening night of the SpringSkunk Music Festival in Greer, SC. This will be my first time playing there but I’ve heard nothing but great things about it from fellow Knoxville musicians who’ve played it in the past. I’ll be sharing the stage with Love Canon, New Country Rehab, the Jon Stickley Trio, Underhill Rose and Darby Wilcox. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the full three day lineup at www.albinoskunk.com

Saturday the 19th is gonna be a busy day for us with two shows 250 miles apart from each other. First, we’ll be playing at Lost & Found Records in Knoxville as part of their annual Record Store Day party. The Pinklets will be kicking off this free event at 11:00 AM then my band will be playing at 11:45 AM. Also participating are the Greg Horne Band, Dick Wagner, the Tim Lee 3, Black Atticus, Blaine Band and The Mutations.

Later that night we’ll be playing with our pals Ned Van Go at the Third Street Dive in Louisville, KY. We’ve played many’a show with ole NVG over the years – ALWAYS a good time! Brandon Atwell And The Broken Ground open the show. For more details on these shows, and all the others, make sure to visit the Shows page here on the website.

On Thursday the 6th the band and I are excited to be opening for Wayne “The Train” Hancock at The Bowery in the Old City. This will mark the first Knoxville show of this line-up of the band – Sean McCollough, Mike Murphy, Gray Comer and myself. On Thursday the 20th I’ll be participating in the “Enjoy Every Sandwich: An Evening of Warren Zevon for Rikki Hall” show at Scruffy City Hall. This party will feature music from the Tim Lee 3, Greg Horne Band, Itchy Bruddah, The French, Jack Rentfro And The Apocalypso Quartet, RB Morris and more, and will benefit the Little River Watershed Association. Check out the Shows page for all upcoming shows and details, including April 4th in Charlotte with Chris Knight and April 10th at the SpringSkunk Music Fest.

We’ve had fun making a few videos the last couple years and Couch By Couchwest is just a good reason to film another. Soooo… Jason, Dave and I got together last month and shot one for my new song Moto Kids. CXCW officially starts on the 9th but we’re not sure yet which day our video will debut. This is always a lot of fun so set aside some time to check out the website and introduce yourselves to some new artists.

On Saturday, February 22nd I’ll be participating (as a member of Punken Stupor) in the Dave Walker Benefit Show inside The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson in Maryville. Headlining this event will be The High Score, a band that Dave played in and was a member of when they joined forces with Mic Harrison in 2004 to form Mic Harrison & the High Score. The High Score will feature original members Chris Cook, Jason Peters and Robbie Trosper, with former V-roy Paxton Sellers filling in for Dave on bass. Mustard and The French are also on the bill.

As always, I had a great time performing at WayneStock Thursday night. Tonight I’ll be sitting in with the John Myers Band and performing The Velvet Underground’s classic “Rock & Roll” during the Grand Finale Tribute To Lou Reed. Thank you to all the folks who continue to make WayneStock something Knoxville looks forward to every winter. For more info on WayneStock and to donate to the cause please visit www.waynestock.org

Thursday the 6th I’ll be performing at Barley’s Taproom in Maryville for the “Behind The Barn” concert series. The show will start promptly at 8:00 PM and the first hour will be broadcast live on 105.3 FM WFIV and streaming live online at www.myi105.com. We hope you’ll join us at Barley’s but if you can’t make sure to tune in on your radio or computer. For all upcoming concert info please visit the Shows page.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVER’BODY! I’ll be kicking off 2014 with a one off punk rock cover gig at The Pilot Light in Knoxville on Friday the 17th. Derek Senter, Manning Jenkins, Vance Hillard, Brad Henderson and I are… Punken Stupor! Spades Cooley are also on the bill so make sure to come check us out.

WayneStock 4 kicks off on Thursday the 30th at the Relix Variety Theatre and I, along with Mike McGill, Christina Horn, Black Atticus and Sam Quinn, will make up the Singer/Songwriter Symposium. Make sure to visit the website for the full three day line up.