Southern Railway Deli and Towed Away....

I had a chance to play at Southern Railway Deli this afternoon- and the place was packed! Must have been about 80 people in there mostly people from local businesses downtown, and a younger crowd of 30 somethings wanting to get something to eat. So I set up on the patio and did an hour and a half set. Already at 11:30 just when I arrived, it was booming, so then I had some out there. Its a large cafe- about the size of 3 Starbucks in one, so plenty of space. And its nice and clean in there. They have good stuff such as wraps , sandwiches, and drinks. I got a free slice of pizza and a coke. And Ryan Corbitt stopped by when I was just about done. It was warmer, but it felt good to sing in the sun! I made some tips, and gave out business cards. The manager enjoyed my set too, and wants to have me back. Its kind of my idea to start music there, and I'm one of the first to play there. Everything went swell until I went back to get my mini van- which wasn't there! Oh, Lordy, well I parked in the Bottom's Up Pizza lot, but next to the spots, and in a space that needed a decal.

Daddy wasn't too pleased when I called him on the phone and needed a pick up. He said I interrupted his "afternoon nap". Well, anyways, he came over in the Ford Escort and I loaded my stuff into there. Then I had to get the number for Marshall Brothers. It was 65$ to pick up the van, and I paid 100$ cash. So there goes some of my "record money". But I still have some in savings left. So then, anyways, I went back home and was feelin' ditzy. I got on my bike later and rode out to U. of Richmond campus in near WestHampton. On my way back, I saw them having that Greek Food Festival at that Greek church. So I was interested. Went back with Gretchen, and the line was so long for the food, I just didn't feel like waiting. So we drove out to Picadilly Cafeteria, where I was a good boy and had a house salad with a sweet tea and a sliver of apple pie. And some black eyed peas. Then we went over to Short Pump Mall- they had just finished a show with Steve Bassett and The Mystic Soul Bubba's, but we looked around anyhow. I walked Mosby. Yesterday, I did 12 miles on my bike by riding all the way downtown past Dock Street then back up West Broad St to Willow Lawn.

A Record Weekend...

So, it was the big weekend as planned, I got to record 2 songs for my upcoming single- "My Loudoun County Home" and "Moved By The Spirit". For Loudoun Home, I was able to get a phenomenal fiddle player by the name of Dennis Elliott- he was won many championships, and added so much to the song. He has played with the notable bluegrass band "Jackass Flats".It was recorded at Ryan's studio- he plays piano for us at church. And he had a neat set up there. I got Ron and Larry from Meadow Street Band on bass and drums. It was a neat session, although a bit harder than a truly live performance, as I couldnt see Ron and Larry in the other room. The fiddles make the tune amazing. We came back to church afterwards and set up the PA for the service and rehearsed a bit. We were there til the midnight hour or so.


Sunday- was the big kick off for Lindsay Comstock, as she is leaving the church for East Asia. Being her last Sunday, it was fitting that the Meadow Street Band put together some prelude music. Most everyone liked what we did- a medley of mostly Country-Rock flavored Gospel tunes and we ended up on Josh Turner's "Long Black Train". Only one neo traditionalist lady thought the songs were good, but it was too loud, and drums and keyboards don't belong in church. But it went swell otherwise. I think we turned a sour goodbye, into a happy send off. Lindsay was thrilled . They had a short reception after church, and later we got to record "Moved By The Spirit". It took us about 3 takes to get it right. We also put down an alternative version of "My Loudoun County Home", as well as "Love Is A Rose" . And Terry covered "Anyway" by Martina McBride. It was a long hard day, though. I only had gotton about 3 hours of sleep and I was at church all day long. I felt exhausted!

After we wrapped up the session , Ron and Larry and I went to the new McDonald's on West Broad Street (where the old one was demolished). And we talked about future plans with the band. Ron travels a lot, and has been out to Nashville and got to see some big named Country Stars- including Reba McEntire and others. I had a 10 piece chicken mcnuggets and some sweet tea. I think it will be neat to do stuff with this band, and we seem to click well together. I can't wait to get the stuff mastered. Im releasing it on a cd and also 45 single. My very first vinyl effort! I am very proud of it, so far.

Au Revoir Reveley...

A classmate of mine from Notre Dame Academy died just this early morning. She is on the West Coast now- San Francisco, I believe. Her name was Reveley. Reveley was the sweet kind of girl who was kind of quiet but nice and very much into her work. And she never had an unkind word to say about anyone. She was pretty nice to me, also, when some of the kids at school were less than cordial. And I think she really was gone too early. She had a brain aneurysm about a month ago- after extensive treatment and tests , they had to get rid of things called "veospasms". The MRI revealed later, that her damage was much more massive than they had assumed and there was no chance of recovery . Being that she was an organ donor, and it was her wish, they decided to do that. I do feel it was rather in haste , but perhaps the family prayed hard and reached it was the right time to let her go. Its very sad, yet in a way Reveley is part of my own healing process. As tonight I looked over the old high school year books from '94 and '95, my Freshman and Sophomore year that I attended Notre Dame in Middleburg. I feel like just coming back from that same area and the Polo Cup, can't be a coincidence. I hope Reveley's family find peace. I don't believe I can attend her funeral next month, but I have chosen to send flowers.

As I am typing now, Patsy Cline's "Crazy" is playing on my new Rheem Califone portable record player, and Conan O'Brien is hushed on the TV. I feel a sense of calming, but a sense of disbelief, in that a young woman could die so young, and in my class, its hard to swallow and a bit of a shock. Its really weird having someone my age, that i knew pretty well die. But Im glad she went peacefully and I'm glad she had a lot of people around her that cared.

Nicole Kidman Goes Crackers at Cracker Barrell?

I can't say I'm a little dissapointed in her. Its not like it was Bob's Big Boy or anything. Cracker Barrell can be really good! I just lover their hush puppies..

According to "The National Inquirer" (I know not a very reliable source) she stormed out of Cracker Barrell after telling Keith Urban "This is where we are going for lunch? I hate this place, everyone is staring at us"... When he told her to calm down she didn't. Well I think it was the hormones talking. I dont think Nicole could honestly resist that fried okra and corn bread!

These past few days have been okay . Sunday after church we had brunch at the Can Can . I have to say- the place does fail to impress me. It has that nice French-Paris vibe to it, but the French toast wasn't all that great. And they kept saying "you guys" when I was out with my sister and thats not nice. Because my sister is not a guy! So anyhow, they dont even have sweet tea! How uncivilized!

They will be hearing from my lawyer. No, seriously, I just need to have sweet tea. Oh well then laterI relaxed at home. Nothing much else to do.

Short Pumpin'

Went out to Short Pump this evening again. Mosby had a walk to Carytown (he lied down on the grass but got up within a few minutes- i think hes alright). We walked around. A lot of kids were dressed up for prom. The girls looked pretty, but I tried hard not to look because I forget I could get arrested these days for such a thing. Hard to believe over 10 years ago was I their age. Anyhow, I got a sweet tea and a glazed donut at Starbucks. The evening was nice and pleaseantly cool. Later, we stopped at Ukrop's again - this one on Pump Rd. I got a chicken salad. No dressing. I was happy to get home and then took Mosby for another walk.. He did fine this time. Some people were having parties as usual this time of year in the Fan it really starts up.

I like finding what people write about me on the internet. Ive been mentioned quite a lot lately on quite a few blogs. I found this recently:

new idea. Not radio, public TV. The machine and I making mixes for an hour. Guests included. Advice on how to advance your music compilation skillz. ”The Allison Hour”.

meade skelton got his start on the community access channel and hes pretty much my favorite person ever, and if you get on tv you should plug our show and maybe we could be on tv but secretly i had been thinking all along from the moment we started our show we could make something like meade skelton but if it was just you on tv i would watch i think your funny and intersting i would most likely record it too, on vhs not tivo, and design a fancy box for the vhs recordings and pop them in whenever i wanted to watch them and sneak them into boxes at blockbuster so that other people can discover you too

Its so nice to know my fans really do appreciate my work! I guess I can inspire people. I keep thinking that I've wasted all these years doing rinky-dinky things, then I read something like this that is so heart stirring. I dont have to be a Big Star to make a difference. Now, if you'll excuse me, Id like to take a shower and savour this moment.

Live A little...

Well I have been trying to catch my breath this past week. Yesterday I went with Gretchen to Borders bookstore where I picked up a copy of Richmond and Y'all Magazine.. Then a few dvds ("For Whom The Bell Tolls, and "The Three Faces Of Eve") We were bored out of our minds, so we decided to go out to Short Pump. Somehow we wound up eating at The Cheesecake Factory- a very non-Hipsterish place. There I had the blackened chickened sandwich with a sweet tea. The weather was not too bad.

Today I rode my bike to Hollywood Cemetery. I also took Mosby for a walk. Later we went to Smoothie King in Carytown where I got a Celestial Cherry. Then over to Ukrop's on Three Chopt Rd- I got a big salad there. We watched "The Three Faces Of Even" tonight. Joanne Woodward is quite a looker and a fine actress. She looks a lot like Grace Kelly, but she can act. I also rode my bike this evening through Joseph Bryant Park. Not much else. I was trying to get in as much exercise as I could. I'm still retaining water like a fish.

Getting Nicole Mounted

On poster board, of course! I went to Ben Franklin today and took the two posters I got on ebay. One is "Bewitched" and the other a very sexy Nicole on the cover of "Batman Forever". I think I got a good deal- both for 10$. They are large life size posters- about 27x40. The guy looked them over, and I could tell he was trying not too look too hard at the sexy Nicole poster. Of course, I knew I couldn't resist myself! He said that she was quite a talented lady. When he took out the Bewitched poster, he bemoaned it was a bad movie- but she was much better in "Practical Magic". Anyways, I concur. Not a great film, but I like collecting anything with Nicole Kidman. So anyways, the posters will be mounted onto a nice black backboard - that will give them some support. I plan to have them framed later. I didn't realize it would be so expensive. But it will always put a smile on my face waking up to Nicole over my bed! Anyways, later on, we went to Ukrop's where I picked up a sandwich. I listened to some more records today. Then I went to choir. It was brief. We just did "Giver of Every Perfect Gift", and called it a night. They gave me something to read for Sunday. Since choir was over early, and I had nothing else to do, I went over to Bev's ice cream parlor for a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone. It was sure packed for a Wednesday night. Wednesday must be the new Friday. Since Thursday is the new Saturday? I'm not sure. Anyways, the cone was good. The weather has been okay, but still a little too cool for May.

Live From The Best Western

And this should show that behind all the glitz and glamour of celebrities, such as myself, it really is a lot of ups and downs !




Yesterday was Mother's Day and rainy. I was so tired from the trip I missed church. But I got up later and went and put a rose on my mother's grave and my grandmother's grave. Then later we drove out to Short Pump. Not much to do out there, so we went back home . The dreary weather has got me down a little. I do like rain, but not like this. The weather is supposed to get better. I am still looking for another day job, but I have enough money to do my record, and hopefully to pay for most all the printing too. I can't wait to get it out , but it probably won't be officially ready until late summer. I dont think I'll do a release until September or so. I wish I could travel more this year, but it looks slow. Last year seemed to have a lot more pace. Anyways, its been a bumpy ride, but I have my seat belt on!

America's Cup of Polo

I had quite an experience this past weekend. I was asked to sing a tune I wrote called "My Loudoun County Home" for America's Cup of Polo at Movern Park. They saw my song on youtube, and invited me. I was sure surprised !

I went up Friday, and checked into the Best Western- where later I tried to play the piano in the lobby to no avail because no one was there! So I just went to the open mic at King's Court Tavern. It was hosted by a blues lady named Sallie- and she was great on the guitar. I did a few tunes, then jammed with some other musicians.

I didn't sleep well that night- I guess being in a motel doesn't encourage me to rest easy. So with maybe 3 hours of sleep, I got up and went down to the restaurant for some of the "Continental Breakfast". Well, I can see why it was free... the grits were a tad runny, and the bacon tasted chalky, and the scrambled eggs didn't slide all that easy down my throat. But at least it was something. They had a lot of out of towners there talking in the lobby. All around the motel there were hunt prints and such- trying to really sell the Hunt Country Theme.

Later after I checked out, and I headed to Movern Park. I was really mad at myself for forgetting to bring my cowboy boots! So, anyways, I just had my blue tennis shoes, and I was decked out with my blue sportscoat, grey slacks, and my white cowboy shirt. I got there, and it was a bit of a maze, but a nice fellow in front lead me down to where the main event was. When I got there, it was pretty busy with people going around in golf carts and security everywhere. No one stopped me , suprisingly, and I drove up right to the main stage. They seemed to know who I was there, and took my keyboard for me. I went back to park and came back. They had the Opera singer Vittorio Grigolo warming up. He was very good- and I could tell he wanted everything just right. He did a sound check for at least an hour. Some blunt Englishman was running sound. He was specifying how everything had to be "perfect" for Vittorio- which was understandable since he was the star. I felt a lot like a rooster out of a coup listening to that great Tenor. How could I even be on the same level? Anyways, I felt kind of like on the set of a movie. They had someone setting up a large boom camera, and they had a lady going around with a clipboard, and several sound stage people, and then the picky English sound guy. Before I knew it , it was my turn to set up. I was on first- they were running behind an hour - and they had cancelled the polo cup, then uncancelled, then cancelled, then uncancelled! I don't think word of mouth got around, since most of the VIP people were showing up.

I got on stage and got ready to set up. I decided to a trial run. The Englishman said "yeah, yeah, just dont make a meal out of it". So with just like one or two phrases, he said I sounded okay. They had some couple sing before me too. More Opera singers! They were very good too. I certainly felt out of place. They were playing a lot of Italian Opera, and here I was doing a simple folk song about Loudoun County. Before long, they announced me to the sage. I took my spot, and began playing. The PA system seemed to push the music pretty far, as I sang "My Loudoun County Home" to people entering and being seated. They had some folks filming me- some novice, and some professional. I imagine when I was playing, maybe about 2,000 people were there so far. I finished and they all seemed to give a nice response. Quickly, I was rushed off stage and they commenced the other pre-opening acts. Well, I did it .I felt pretty good about it. I stuck around a little for the commencement ceremonies, but since everything was running late already- I was so tired and I decided to go home. Just before the match. I stopped in Leesburg and got a bite to eat at "The Georgetown Bakery". I was the only customer in there, since it was too early for dinner and too late for lunch. I left down that old Carolina Rd past Oatlands plantation, and took the scenic route down Rt 28 through Nokesville onto Fredericksburg on 17 and Richmond. I was awfully proud of having the opportunity to go that far up in high cotton !

I'll Fly Away...

I sang this song this morning in church . I didn't have an arrangement for it until I started. The Lord gave it to me. I'll Fly Away, because its the end of the post Easter Season. We ate brunch at Karsen's. It was really good. I had french toast with grits. They didn't have sweet tea though, so I had a coke. Normally sweet tea is much easier on my stomach. Daddy comes home today on the train from Charleston, so we pick him up at 5ish this afternoon. Then we may have supper at Shoney's. I'm not sure. I went to Hollywood Cemetary today. Someone left a beer can near Great Grandaddy Skelton's grave! Must have been some Oregon Hill person. Anyways, I cleaned it up. People need to show more respect for the dead.


I tried my hand at "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge . Im not a fan of the Karaoke-esqe style of performance, but it is nice to sing without having to play for yourself. And its more freeing. Although I think I sound a big draggy. And its a hard song to sing- because you can really butcher it, much like "O Holy Night"


Anyways, this is the last cover I'll do for awhile. I also did "When You Were Young", by The Killers.