I got a hair cut. I ate a nice sandwich at Panera bread. Panera is definitely a pricey place to eat, but the food was solid. Also, during the day that place is like a buisness office. So many business meetings, people on laptops, and sales meetings going on. I wonder if people work solely out of Panera. I want to see a business card that says, "Joe Blow, 1111 Main St. (inside Panera)."
I also took some time to attend Mass. I was staying in Brentwood, which according to my buddy Bryan, is the more affluent suburb of Nashville. I have to say that going to church here was a unique experience. First off, there were a TON of families. Kids everywhere. Also, I was about 10min early, so I had some time to sit before the service started. It was so loud as everyone was chattering. I would say that the norm in a Catholic church is to observe a reverent slience before mass, but it was as loud as a school cafeteria in there. Not that I think anything was wrong with it. A majority of people were talkling to their families, but a lot of other people were socializing with their friends and neighbors. I think church should be a social experience, and often times in catholic churches, it falls a bit short. I attribute this to the fact that TN is further into the bible belt, and churches here probably pick up a lot of habits from protestant churches. Often times, the priest at the beginning of mass will say something like "why dont we all turn to the people next to us and introduce ourselves," and people will shake hands with the people around them because the priest just told them to do it. But here, people actually talked to me and were very welcoming.
Also, to fit the stereotype of Music City (Nashville), the music at the service was really really good. During the homily, the deacon even busted out a saxophone and played a little piece that he incorporated into the sermon. I turned to the people next to me and joked that they must have performances during every homily in Nashville. The laughed and said this was the first time.
On my way to church, I saw several running trails. I went for a very relaxing run through the wonderful trails in Brentwood. I was surprised that not a lot of people were running on the trail, but I found out later that the weather was really hot (86 degrees). I thought it was great weather. I would never be able to run at noon in Texas. If it had been that nice in Austin, that trail would be packed. Also, I noticed that guys there dont run with their shirts off. I actually do wear a shirt when I run, but I will normally take it off and the end of the run to cool off. I figure people are just more "proper" there.
It was nice to do some normal people things. Being perpetually on the road can be tiresome. After the relaxtion, it was time to do Nashville things.
I wanted to check out the Bluebird Cafe. It is a famous "listening room." A listening room is more dedicated to showcasing singers/songwriters, and people arent there to party....they are there to listen. I knew of this place mainly because of my CD "Together at the Bluebird with Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Steve Earle." If you know any of those artists, you can probably guess that it was a pretty epic recording. Suprisingly, the Bluebird is in a suburban strip mall, not in downtown. After further investigation, I discovered that it is incredibly hard to see a show at the Bluebird because seeting is so limited (about 120 seats). Fortunately for me, shows on Sunday nights are first come first serve. I showed up right when the doors opened, and I barely made it in. The group behind me wasnt allowed to go in.
In the front of the cafe were plenty of round tables, but I sat near the back (which was still really close to the stage) in a set of old church pews. Sitting behind be was a bachelorette party from LA. They were on day two of a four day extravaganza, and they seemed like a party hardy crowed. I am not sure why exactly they picked the Bluebird. The unofficial motto of the Bluebird is "Shhhhhh". I am not sure if they knew this. The folks sitting in the front gave these girls plenty of nasty stares. They werent really that loud, but its supposed to be dead silent. I kept waiting for them to get kicked out, but it never happened.
The band that played was called Cassino. They were a three piece with a guitar/vocalist, fiddle, and guitar/harmoica players. Most of their songs had very dreamlike and sureal lyrics. Most of their songs were slower and contemplative, and I felt like they could add some faster songs to their repetoire (but hey, i guess fast songs just arent their style). They musiciainship was actually pretty solid; the interplay between the two guitarist was pretty cool. The fiddle player had a face melting solo during one song, but during most of the songs, we was in less prominent of a role.
Sitting on my other side was this guy named Adam. We struck up a wonderful conversation. Apparently, he moved from Phoenix with his wife and he is a songwriter. He was there to support a coworker who was playing in the band. We had an interesting convo about what it takes to be a songwriter. I asked if any of his songs have made it big yet, and he said he has been close a couple of times. Apprarently, getting your song picked is all about who you know. It crossed my mind that this process is different from how things work in Austin (i think, i am not a musician, so I might not know how it works in austin). In Austin, it feels like all the bands that do well are grassroot efforts that are always looking to build their fan base, as opposed to the top down approach of Nashville.
He also mentioned that him and his wife have a little Americana music project called Amelia. This type of thing is right up my alley, and I checked out their website. It sounds great, and I will download their songs when I get to a desktop (cant download on mobile :-(. Unfortunately, I totally spaced getting a picture with Adam and his coworker Kelly who gave me great Nashville advice. Adam if you are reading this, I dig your music, and I really appreciated the friendly conversation. I am linking to their website and embedding a video for you to check out their music.
After the show, I regrouped at the hotel and headed to Broadway in downtown Nashville for dinner, beer, and music. I thought Broadway wouldnt be crowded since it was a Sunday night, but I was wrong. Let me make this analogy Nashville:country::New Orleans:jazz. Broadway was very reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans, although Broadway is smaller.
The first place I went was called Rippys, and it had an upstairs bar that my buddy Bryan had recommended. The band was pretty good, and was playing country covers and requests. Rippys is known for their ribs, so I ordered that. When it arrived, the first thing i did was spray BBQ all over my shirt. Crap. The sauce was in this squirt bottle, and it ended up all over my shirt and the front of my face. Not good. I was contemplating the shame of walking all over Broadway for the next couple hours with BBQ sauce all over my shirt when I realized I could just go to the van and change shirts. One of the advantages of carrying everything you own in the car.
Next place I went to was Tootsies Orchid Louge. My friend Alison G. had recommended it. I am not sure if those large AC ducts are part of the decor. I am guessing they added it recently bc their AC went out. It was VERY hot in that place. The band was playing country covers just like the previous band. Actually, walking around these bars was like listening to the radio. I heard the same songs over and over (Zac Brown band, folsom county blues, assorted nashville hits.) Apparentely, two days earlier, Keith Urban played a short set at Tootsies and Steven Tyler showed up and sang with him. I guess you never know who you will see.
Any Ramblin Rose fans out there?
I just want to take a quick paragraph to discuss the awkardness of experiencing night life while on a solo road trip. Everybody is with their group of friends at these bars. There is not really an opprotune moment to engage in conversation with other people. I am not there to party, and I am not there to meet women. Pretty much you end up being the one younger dude in the bar standing by himself, not drinking (i did have a couple beers, but I gotta drive home folks). Lots of people look and wonder who is that weird dude by himself. I dont really care, but it is a different experince than going with a group of friends.
Next, I went to Roberts Western World. This place played more old school country, and it was also packed. I saw lots of interesting facial hair and mullets here. I saw two really extreme red headed mullets, and a guy with mutton chops that were at least 5in long but no beard or mustache.
I saw a sign for a cigar bar, and I thought this would be more my pace for the evening. People are more receptive to discussion in these places, and I have been craving a cigar for a while. I enjoyed a cigar and whisky, and looked out the window at the street below (on 2nd floor). The bar was pretty much empty, but I discussed random Nashville crap with the bartender. She is trapped there, so she has no choice but to talk to me. I appreciated it.
While in the cigar bar, I heard the band downstairs play Wave on Wave by Pat Green. What I noticed is that most of the country music I am familiar with is Texas Country, and is totally unheard of in Nashville (which makes sense why they would know wave on wave, bc it is Pat greens sell-out album). Most of the songs that these bands were playing were what I consider to be crappy pop-country songs. I went up to the band that played Pat Green and asked if they knew "Oklahoma Breakdown." I thought it was a popular song, so there was a better chance that they could play it. They said they had heard of it, but didnt know it. In texas, I know there has always been a rivalry between Texas Country and Nashville country. I normally dont weigh-in on such matters, but I can now say that Texas Country is way better than Nashville country. Dont get me wrong, I had a fantastic time in Nashville, but it is what it is. I am very proud in the music from our state.
After listening to a couple original songs the band had written, I headed home. I had such a great time seeing everything in Nashville, but it was time for rest. Back to Best Western.
The next day: Atlanta to see my friend Meredith P.
In the words of Cory Morrow, "Nashville Sucks!"
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