Portland Show Update

So you know this much:

Saturday, September 1, Labor Day weekend, I will be playing solo acoustic at the very cool Mississippi Pizza Pub in Portland, Oregon at 7 PM. I will be playing tunes from my forthcoming solo album, along with a Refreshments classic or two. Old news, right? Tell us something we don’t know.

How about this?

My support for the show, the guy leading off for me at 6 PM, will be none other than fab Phoenician Jim "Jimmi G" Gerke, who will be making the trip all the way from the Valley of the Sun just to regale you with his heartfelt tunes of merriment and woe (He’s also escaping the summer heat). Yes, it seems James Allen had a little too good a time at the Laying Down the Law Show in June, and he can’t wait to get back out there for another taste of the action.

For those of you who don’t know him, Jim Gerke has been part of the Tempe music scene for, what, like, a hundred years, playing in bands with the likes of me and Tim Anthonise of Gloritone, and generally keeping things fun for anyone who ever sat next to him at Long Wong’s. Jim also sings lead on the single for Stuck Outside of Phoenix, a tune called "Nickel". Check it out, if you haven’t.

And here's something else.

The show will be called the Uhavegonaway to Oregonaway Show.

Why?

Because Jim, having lived in Phoenix for most of his life, has steadily watched droves of folks abandon the heat of Arizona for the milder climes of Oregon. (You might even say he’s been tempted a time or two.) This show will celebrate that special relationship between AZ and OR, the sun and the rain, the desert and the foliage, the tan and the green, and the many folks who have made the choice to stay or leave, one way or the other. We’ll drink Oregon beer and wine, play road trip songs, and make fun of Californians. Maybe we can even get Stephen Ashbrook to stop by and play a song or two.

If you’re one of those folks who's made the migration to Oregon from Arizona, or to Arizona from Oregon, or maybe you’ve just thought about it, tell us all about it in the comments section. I know you’re out there. We’d all love to hear from you.

So, come on out to Portland’s Mississippi Pizza Pub on Saturday, September 1—Labor Day Weekend!—at 6 PM. Jim and I will each have our own set, but you can bet we’ll be playing some songs together. That’s just the way it works out.

Next week, tune in for some Tempe-Portland music trivia. For example, can you name the most famous Tempe musician to abandon the Valley and settle for a time in Portland?

Art