Decatur (GA) Book Festival this Weekend plus more LDL Photos!!!

That's right. I will be at the Decatur Book Festival this weekend reading from Ghost Notes and playing tunes from Songs from Memory with the fellas who helped make the album what it is, Bret Hartley and Kevin Leahy. Expect me to take the stage at Eddie's Attic for my reading at noon (Come have lunch!) and with the band around 10 P.M. Eddie said ticket sales have been promising, so if you are definitely going, you might want to check in with Eddie's Attic and make sure there's a spot reserved for you.

I was contacted many months ago by Thomas Bell, one of the organizers of the festival, asking if I'd attend. They were specifically looking for writer/singer-songwriters. I was thrilled anyone was looking for writer/singer-songwriters, and I immediately signed up. But it turns out the Decatur Book Festival is kind of a big deal, with over 200 writers and 100,000 people in attendance, and Eddie's Attic is the premier listening room in the Southeast, as confirmed by Mr. Hartley and others.

So, I'm a lucky some' bitch.

If you're in the Georgia area and want to be thoroughly entertained over Labor Day weekend, I highly recommend coming to downtown Decatur for some readings and food and music.

And, hey, I'll be there.


As you can see, new photos from the now legendary Laying Down the Law Show a couple of weeks ago are ready for viewing. Elizabeth once again made us look great.



Or, you know, she did what she could.

Check this out. My good friend John Austin, with whom I've toured with and drunk with and joked with, just got a really nice blurb in Paste magazine. Well deserved. Everyone out there should buy a copy of Satellite Blvd.

"John is certainly one of the most under-appreciated songwriters writing today, and his latest album is downright tasty, especially in the jangly acoustic songs like "Our Day in the Sun," where he sings, "Other days may come around when you're feeling like a first-rate second-class, third-place hand-me-down." John's first album came out 16 years ago and the life of a talented struggling artist pops up in songs like "Living in the Past" and "Nowhere with You." But the tenor is hope, and it's a pleasure to listen to front to back."

http://www.pastemagazine.com/high_gravity/2008/08/paste-favorites-with-new-records.html

Thanks,

Art

Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix



Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory

New Chicago Defunct Gig plus Chicago Solo Acoustic Gig

First of all, a new Defunct Gig!

That's right. To follow up the 2nd Annual Laying Down the Law Show, Art and his band of Defunctinators will play at Reggie's in the south Loop area. We are thrilled to be able to play 90 minutes this time, and the cover is...free! Get that? Come and see me and the D for free! This will be our first Chicago proper performance, and I'm already giddy about it. The date is October 23rd, a Thursday night. (Mark your calendar now!) This will be a World Series show featuring Defunct and two other bands. It might be a very special World Series show.



But any Cubs fan knows better than to count his chickens before they're fried.

Speaking of the Cubs, you haven't forgotten about my Cubs Clinch the Pennant Solo Acoustic Show at Uncommon Ground on Thursday, September 18 at 8 PM, have you? This is a great venue right in the heart of Wrigleyville (Cubs play that afternoon; you'll find parking), and I'll be playing new tunes along with your old favs. I predict an intimate and fun night, but you have to make reservations to be there. Small place. The reservation number is 773-929-3680. Call now, or very, very soon.

What more do you need? Full-on rock show. Full-on acoustic performance. Rock 'n' roll may not save the world, but it sure feels good.

Finally, here's a link to Liz's photos of LDL rehearsal. Was this already over a week ago? Seems like yesterday. Enjoy!

Thanks,

Art

Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix



Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory

The Dissipation of a Shirt

There's something that puzzles me about last night's Laying Down the Law Show.

It's not that I wonder if the law was laid down.

It was. (Defunct did their 'functy thing; Buck Daddy bucked us up with their distinct brand of Region Rock; South Slope Cutthroats hooked us in the gills and wouldn't let go; Refreshments Trib honored the memory of a favorite band of most--if not all--of the people in the room.)

It's not that I wonder if everyone had a good time.

They did. (I saw Blush get airborne at least a dozen times.)

It's not that I wonder if I enjoyed seeing Brian Blush again after all these years.

I did. (Thanks for reminding me of the album release party photo, the Seattle show with the Elvis impersonator, and of course the dead guy in Las Vegas. "We took that as a good sign." Ha!)

It's not that I don't have regrets.

I do. (Why didn't we play "Rasta Train" all the way through?)

The things that puzzle me about the show last night number two:

1) At what point during the Refreshments tribute set did Brian Blush's shirt come off?

One second we were ending a song, the next I turn and there Blush was, naked to the waist, his guitar mysteriously still strapped over his shoulder.

If you're not a musician I don't think you can fully appreciate the complication of this move.

You have to take the hat off, take the guitar off, take the shirt off, put the guitar back on again, and put the hat back on again. Then there are all these cords and pedals involved, and there's never a guitar stand around when you need it. I'm usually stumbling over it all when I'm just trying to take a guitar off and put another one on.

And Blush did all that in what must've been a split second.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is a professional. It's the only explanation for such a seamless manuever.

But the real question is:

2) Why did Brian take his shirt off?

Was he hot?

Was he excited?

Did he want some kind of dramatic exclamation point for the evening, one that only male nipples can supply?

We may never know.

I was a little shocked at first, but I eventually learned to accept that Brian was half naked across the stage from me. And there's so much rock history backing him up.







Still, we're all thankful the pants stayed on.

Thanks for coming, Brian, and thank you all for supporting our music.

Art

Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix



Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory

This Week: SOOP 2.0 and LDL 2.0!!!

Okay, big week for me.

You can now buy the new, improved version of Stuck Outside of Phoenix at my Web site.



Hey, it's the right color! Thanks, Brian!

Why you should buy and read Stuck Outside of Phoenix 2.0 if you bought and read Ghost Notes:

Because you'll learn so much more about Hote: what bands he's played in, what his favorite fast food restaurant is, where he likes to get drunk. You'll also learn about Hote's first big gig, be privy to a formative meeting with Digs Ven at Richmond's, and witness the first truly classy lay of Hote's life!

Why you should buy and read Stuck Outside of Phoenix 2.0 if you've already bought and read the previous version:

Because this is a new, improved version of the Tempe rock lit classic; it's been re-edited, comes with a new cover design, and will nicely round out your collection of Defunct merch.

Why you should buy and read Stuck Outside of Phoenix if you've never read anything by me:

Because it's the first in a series of at least three easy, breezy, fun novels, which means you get to start at the beginning! (Remember when Star Wars started at Episode Four? What the hell was that all about?) And Novel Three, which is called Badge, is coming together quickly. Climb aboard the Hote train now!

What to do if you want a new, improved Stuck but don't want to pay for shipping:

You can buy one at any of the events listed on my events page, starting with the 2nd Annual Laying Down the Law Show on August 9th.



I'll have Stucks and Ghosts and Songs from Memorys at each event!

What to do if you like the pink cover better:



Rock me tonight, baby!

See you all at JJ Kelley's on Saturday!

Art

Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix



Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory