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.

Mic and I will be hittin’ the road next week for one more Full Body acoustic duo run. Friday the 6th we’ll be in Washington DC opening for Whitey Morgan and the 78s at Gypsy Sally’s. Saturday the 7th we’ll return to the site of not only one of our favorite gigs of 2013, but one of our favorite gigs ever, at the 1724 House Concert in Richmond. We met some of the greatest people there back in July – can’t wait to see you all again!

photo by Sherry Walsh (July 5, 2013)

On Wednesday the 18 I’ll be at The Well opening solo acoustic for Sugarman outta Cincinnati. This is an early show starting at 8:00 so I look forward to seeing all the hometown friends. Please visit the Shows page for all the details on this show and all the others then make plans to come out and see us.

I’ll be enjoying a variety of musical activities over the next few months… November 30th I’ll be joining Itchy & the Hater Tots and several very special guests at The Shed to perform the soundtrack to the 1969 film “Easy Rider.” I’ll be joining them for the Steppenwolf classic, “The Pusher.”

The first weekend in December Mic and I will be going back out for one more Full Body run – Gypsy Sally’s (Washington DC) > 1724 House Concerts (Richmond, VA) – so make sure to visit the Shows page for all the details and ticket links.

And stay tuned for details on the Punk Tribute Night I’ll be playing at the Pilot Light with some of my favorite people on January 17th. We call ourselves… Punken Stupor!

Mic and I will be hittin’ the road later this month for another round of Full Body shows, this time we’re invading Smith’s Olde Bar (17th), The Southland Ballroom (18th), Horizon Records (19th), The Thirsty Beaver Saloon (20th) and The Well (23rd, opening for Tim Easton), then at the end of the month I’ll be debuting my new band at Capone’s (26th) on a twin-bill with our pals Ned Van Go.

Something I’m really excited about though is that I’ll be playing my first show ever in my hometown of Madisonville, Tennessee on Friday, November 1st! This is a special benefit performance for Hiwassee College and MACA (Monroe Area Council for the Arts) and tickets are on sale now!

The recording of two new songs, “Wild Wild West” and “Second Thoughts,” went well last month and I couldn’t be happier with them. We’re gonna fool around with them a bit on the mixing board and I’ll keep you updated on the progress. Wrapping up the summer I’ll play again down in Spartanburg, SC on the 6th at a new club, The Speakeasy, then return home to open for Donna The Buffalo at the Bijou Theatre on the 13th. Ain’t no place like the right time!

I’ll take to the studio this month to record a new song or two that I’ve been working on with my pals the Tim Lee 3 – more details on that as they become available. In the meantime, Mic Harrison and I will be doing a few more Full Body dates together in Alabama and Tennessee. Friday the 23rd we’ll be playing Moonlight On The Mountain in Birmingham with the red hot Hillary Reynolds Band, the next night we’ll be back in Nashville for an evening at The Family Wash, then Monday the 26th we’ll finish the run off back home in Knoxville opening the SOLD OUT Huey Lewis & the News show at the Tennessee Theatre! The heart of rock and roll is still beating, Baby!