Mountain Pass
I've found myself doing a lot of mountain driving these days.
I haven't played Boone, NC and Johnson City, TN in several years, but over the last few weeks I've returned to these cities for acoustic shows.
My show at Murphy's in Boone on March 5, 2005 was different from my usual solo acoustic shows. I normally will play an all-original set, colored by a few cover tunes here and there. The number depends on how long I am contracted to play. Generally, the original to cover ratio is about 10:1. On this particular night, I noticed I was getting a lot of requests for bizarre songs. I was in such a good mood, I decided to indulge in Carly Simon and Tool covers. It was strange for me, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. After all, the function of entertainment is to entertain.
A week later, I found myself traveling the same route back to Boone, but I added an extra 50 miles to get to Johnson City, TN, which is just over the NC/TN border. 50 miles doesn't sound like a lot on paper, but when it's through 25 mph curvy mountain roads, it's quite a distance. It took me an hour and a half to plot my way through the ups and downs. I drive a Mazda Protege that has a v6 engine. It was tough to accelerate up some of the hills.
The club in Johnson City was quite nice. It was called The Sophisticated Otter. It was mostly wooden, which is nice for live music. I played after Chip Roop (Acoustic) and before The Part Time Heroes. I only did an hour set which went by rather fast when I think of the 3 hour vocal onslaught that occurred the week before at Murphy's. I noticed that a group of about 7 people were really into my set, so I asked them for requests. I didn't do many songs that I had wanted to do, but I played the songs that the more enthusiastic folks wanted me to play. After all, the function of entertainment is to entertain. I'd say about 50 people were there when I finished, but more and more kids were coming in as the Part Time Heroes took the stage.
I decided that the mountain roads were far too dark to traverse at that late hour...1 a.m. So, I took the interstates to get home. It kind of rattles one's brain when you have to drive on 81 N and 77 S at the same time, but it makes sense when you look at the map. It took me about 3 and a half hours to get home this way. In time, it was equal to my journey to Johnson City. In distance, I added about 50 miles.
I gotta say that the best part of the trip home, for me, was coming down the mountain near the VA/NC border at 3 a.m. The lights were amazing and I could see for miles. I don't recommend driving at that hour, but the effect should be the same if you were to drive that route at say 10 p.m.
I haven't played Boone, NC and Johnson City, TN in several years, but over the last few weeks I've returned to these cities for acoustic shows.
My show at Murphy's in Boone on March 5, 2005 was different from my usual solo acoustic shows. I normally will play an all-original set, colored by a few cover tunes here and there. The number depends on how long I am contracted to play. Generally, the original to cover ratio is about 10:1. On this particular night, I noticed I was getting a lot of requests for bizarre songs. I was in such a good mood, I decided to indulge in Carly Simon and Tool covers. It was strange for me, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. After all, the function of entertainment is to entertain.
A week later, I found myself traveling the same route back to Boone, but I added an extra 50 miles to get to Johnson City, TN, which is just over the NC/TN border. 50 miles doesn't sound like a lot on paper, but when it's through 25 mph curvy mountain roads, it's quite a distance. It took me an hour and a half to plot my way through the ups and downs. I drive a Mazda Protege that has a v6 engine. It was tough to accelerate up some of the hills.
The club in Johnson City was quite nice. It was called The Sophisticated Otter. It was mostly wooden, which is nice for live music. I played after Chip Roop (Acoustic) and before The Part Time Heroes. I only did an hour set which went by rather fast when I think of the 3 hour vocal onslaught that occurred the week before at Murphy's. I noticed that a group of about 7 people were really into my set, so I asked them for requests. I didn't do many songs that I had wanted to do, but I played the songs that the more enthusiastic folks wanted me to play. After all, the function of entertainment is to entertain. I'd say about 50 people were there when I finished, but more and more kids were coming in as the Part Time Heroes took the stage.
I decided that the mountain roads were far too dark to traverse at that late hour...1 a.m. So, I took the interstates to get home. It kind of rattles one's brain when you have to drive on 81 N and 77 S at the same time, but it makes sense when you look at the map. It took me about 3 and a half hours to get home this way. In time, it was equal to my journey to Johnson City. In distance, I added about 50 miles.
I gotta say that the best part of the trip home, for me, was coming down the mountain near the VA/NC border at 3 a.m. The lights were amazing and I could see for miles. I don't recommend driving at that hour, but the effect should be the same if you were to drive that route at say 10 p.m.
1 Comments:
Hahah you should come into boston. At one point we have a road that is:
16W, 2E, and 3S.
Im still looking for the elusive road that manages to be all 4 directions.
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