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

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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

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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



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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

LDL 2.0 Time Slots and SOOP 2.0 Sneak Peak!!!

The time slots for the Second Annual Laying Down the Law Show have been set! Here's the way the evening's going to go:

8:30-Art Edwards and his Defunct Band
9:30-Buck Daddy
10:30-South Slope Cutthroats
11:30-Refreshments Tribute

My band was given the option to play later in the night, but I opted for the first slot because:

a) we're a trio, and something about fewer guys onstage makes going first seem appropriate

b) my guess is we're a just little quieter than the other bands that will play that night

c) it's our debut gig...earn your slot, rookie!

What does this mean to you? It means that, if you want to catch the debut performance of Da 'Funct, you can't lollygag your way to J.J. Kelley's that night. Get cleaned up, get some grub down your gullet, and get to the show!

And have you seen Randy's poster?



On a more bummer note, I'm sad to announce that Dead Hot Workshop will not be playing at my triumphant return to the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe on September 6th. We're working on filling the slot, but you can rest assured plenty of law will be laid down that night regardless. Phoenicians, have you marked your calendars? September 6th!

Finally, I've received the final proof of the revised Stuck Outside of Phoenix--which comes out at my Web site on Monday August 4 and will be for sale at all of my shows starting with LDL 2.0--and I'm freaking over the results. Curious? Here's a slightly pinkish version of the cover art:



That's it for this week, folks. Time for Defunct to rehearse!

Thanks,

Art

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Plumber's Butt

First of all, a new gig!

I will make my encore appearance at the ever-charming Uncommon Ground in Wrigleyville on Thursday, September 18 at 8 PM. I will be playing solo acoustic, and I will be featuring some new material, along with all of your old favorites, Refreshments and otherwise. I'm tempted to call this the Cubs Clinch the Pennant Show, but past experience keeps me from making such a stupid mistake. Suffice it to say you should mark this one on your calendars now before you forget and waste your Thursday night watching some inane tripe on TV.

When people ask me about being on the road with the Refreshments, I'm always ashamed at how little I remember of it. I don't want to continue the weird reverse-romanticism of the road being this awful existence. I don't think it is an awful existence. It's just that, unless you're Led Zeppelin, it's unmemorable.



Valhalla, I am coming.

I do have one very clear memory of being on the road with the Refreshments, and it seems a great time to tell it to you since it features Brian Blush, whose new band the South Slope Cutthroats has recently joined the line-up for the 2nd Annual Laying Down the Law Show on August 9th.

Flash back to the winter of 1995-96. The band had finished its debut record for Mercury, Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy, but the label had yet to release it. We were touring with local heroes the Gin Blossoms and Dead Hot Workshop, and we were traversing the western United States in our used-but-new-to-us Econoline van. This was to be an easy day; we had all day to drive from Seattle to Ketchum, Idaho with no gig that night. The drive was supposed to take about ten hours, but with snow in the Rockies it wound up taking about 14. We were just about to Ketchum, it was 1 A.M., when Swaff, Tempe legend and our road manager, pulled over to get some gas. Blush, who'd been sick for a couple of days, had one bench in the van to himself--I don't think I'd heard a word out of him the whole trip--and I had a bench to myself, trying to sleep a bit before Ketchum.

Everyone else had gotten out of the van except the two of us. Some clown had left the side door open, so I was getting a good dose of Idaho winter blowing in on me as I tried to sleep. I looked up to see what the deal was when I was affronted by the person at the pump across from us.

I don't know what he was doing--filling up a gas can, working with something on the ground--but in his arching over he exposed to me the largest expanse of plumber's butt I'd ever seen.



So I smiled and lay back down.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I heard this noise. It started as just a rumble, grew into a titter, and climaxed into a full-fledged giggle. It was Blush in the bench behind me, chortling at the bad moon rising just outside the van.



It seems silly now, but that's my most vivid memory of being on the road with the Refreshments: some Idahoan's butt crack at 1 A.M., Blush giggling like a schoolboy from the bench behind me, and me unable to keep from chuckling too.



I think Brian started feeling better after that, and so did I.

Gotta love rock 'n' roll.

Thanks,

Art

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Stop the Presses!!!

Last week I told you about the Laying Down the Law Show that's happening on August 9th in Lansing, Illinois.

I told you about Buck Daddy.

I told you about Art Edwards and his Defunct Band.

(Oh, actually I didn't. Art Edwards and his Defunct Band is my new Chicago-based band. The Laying Down the Law Show will be our debut performance.)

I told you about the Refreshments tribute portion of the show. (FFB&B in its entirety, baby!)

What I didn't tell you about is the fourth act on the bill.

I didn't tell you about it because I didn't know about it at the time.

I didn't know about it at the time because, well, that's just how life happens.

As of a couple of days ago, the fourth act on the bill is the South Slope Cutthroats.

Who, you ask, are the South Slope Cutthroats?

The South Slope Cutthroats are an ornery bunch of cusses who hail from Northwest Indiana.

They're also the new band fronted by Brian Blush.

Who's Brian Blush?

Aw, hell. Everyone knows who Brian Blush is.

Brian Blush was the lead guitarist of the Refreshments.



The Refreshments laid down the law big time in their day.

So, come to the 2nd Annual Laying Down the Law Show on August 9th and not only will you get the South Slope Cutthroats, you'll also get two Refreshments in the tribute band for the price of one.

Oh my. This is starting to get good.

Seven weeks, baby.

Art

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Buy Songs from Memory

Announcing The Second Annual Laying Down the Law Show!

We had a great time at Uncommon Ground on Friday! It was wonderful to see some old--and not so old--friends, and to play some songs solo acoustic for my new favorite city. And what a great turn-out! I'm always glad to see new faces.

If you want to hear a track from Friday, check out my MySpace Audio Page.

Rob, who came to both the Abbey Pub show in March and this one at UG, admitted he has two CDs in the visor of his car: Songs from Memory and Too Fast for Love by Motley Crue.

I have to admit: Too Fast for Love was always my favorite Motley Crue CD.



So, I'm honored and humbled.

Anyway, Chicago, thank you for treating me like family. We'll have to do it again sometime.

Like, how 'bout August?

The Laying Down the Law Show 2008

Randy Anderson, of Chicagoland's Buck Daddy, and I are teaming up to bring you a night of new and classic music. The date of the show is August 9th, a Saturday, and it's at JJ Kelley's in Lansing, IL, just south of Chicago. Events will include a set of music by Art Edwards and his Defunct Band, a set by Buck Daddy, and a set featuring me, Randy and a cast of musicians performing the Refreshments classic Fizzy, Fuzzy Big & Buzzy in its entirety! This is sure to be a fun night of music and memories you won't want to miss.

Last year, at the inaugural LDL show at Martyrs' in Chicago, we had a great turn-out, with lots of fun and plenty of rock to tame that outlaw inside of you. Many of the same performers have signed on for the Refreshments tribute portion of the show, including Bobby Shaw of Buck Daddy on drums, and Todd, the singer, who brings new meaning to the phrase "laying down the law" (he's a cop, folks). This is one you need to start planning on right now. I bet you won't regret it.

Saturday, August 9, 9 PM, JJ Kelley's in Lansing, IL.

See you there,

Art

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The Day After

Um, wow.

This gig would not have happened without the Herculean efforts of Randy Anderson of Buck Daddy, who not only secured the gig, but promoted it, got players for both the Buck Daddy and the Refreshments material, wrote and recorded almost an entire album of Buck Daddy originals, scheduled rehearsals, had posters made, put up with a few primadonna moments from me (yes, it’s Art “Buddy” Edwards) and performed his first ever gig as a frontman. Could you tell? I couldn’t. That explains why he didn’t allow himself any caffeine until after the Buck Daddy set. Running on adrenaline. Whatever you’re doing, Randy, keep doing it, and send me some in the mail.

And if Randy has his way, we’ll do this whole thing again next year. He won’t get any argument from me.

But I’m not ready to start talking 2008 yet.

I’m hoping to take my acoustic act on the road in 2007, securing dates for the second half of the year. I’ve got two cities already on the radar. If anyone out there would like to have me in your town, and you think together we can get others to turn out, run your idea by me. It might not be as impossible as you think.

I’d also like to thank the fellas who laid down the law during the Refreshments set, Randy, Danny, Bobby, and Todd. They showed up big time, helping to send some Refreshments fans back to their happy place. (Jim Gerke may be permanently stuck there.) A potent shot of rock. Everyone who came for that, got it.

I’d also like to thank the guy in River Oaks who loaned me his pristine Fender P-Bass, and whom I never met. Sir, the ax is fab. My thanks is perhaps late, but no less sincere.

I’d also like to thank Sue Potter, who manned the merch fort with patience and aplomb.

So, what did I think of the night?

If you were there, you know what I thought, or at least how I felt. I had fun, I screwed up, I laughed it off, and I had fun again. I got amped, got tired, then I completely ran out of breath singing, “Come on River Otis make me.” Playing Refreshments music can take your breath away. I knew that going in.

So, thank you, Chicago. We’ll see you again in 2008.

Tune in next week for the announcement of my next gig. Maybe it's in your city.

Art

The Big Gig

Things are developing rapidly with our Chicago Martyrs’ gig on Saturday, June 9th, for which tickets are now on sale at (800) 594-TIXX . Let me touch on a few items that may have slid by without my mentioning them.

First of all, it’s called The Laying Down the Law Show. How cool is that?

Secondly, there are four acts on the bill.

River Oaks will be anchoring the show, a local Chicago band whose music reminds me of Hedwig and the Angry Inch--and that’s a compliment! Come prepared to rock all night.

A Set of Refreshments Songs with Buck Daddy and Art “Buddy” Edwards on Bass. We’re excited to bring you some Refreshments tunes you may not be expecting. Think deep cuts.

Buck Daddy will be performing--and releasing their new CD at the show! Randy’s been talking about it for months, with that tone in his voice. (Ah, I know it well!)

And don’t forget Art’s Acoustic Set, with a new twist. My set will feature a special guest appearance by Jim “Jimmi G” Gerke , who will be coming all the way from Phoenix to join me for a semi-acoustic version of a *Stuck Outside of Phoenix* classic.

And there’s one more very important detail about my acoustic set…but you’ll have to wait until next week to hear about it. This one truly deserves its own post.

Thirdly, The Sticker.

So, I’m digging around in my closet a few months ago, and I come across a handful of Refreshments stickers. You know the one I’m talking about, oval, purple, with a gold and white Refreshments logo shooshed across the middle. So, I start thinking: what’s the best way to get these stickers into the hands of people who really want them? Here’s what I came up with.

The first twenty people to buy a copy of Stuck Outside of Phoenix at The Laying Down the Law Show will also get a complimentary Refreshments “bookmark." How’s that sound? Now, there’s a limited supply of these, so come early, buy a book, get a free a “bookmark," and catch a bitchin’ acoustic set by yours truly! Show starts at 8:30.

And tune in here next week for a big, big, big announcement from Budland, one that will make a free sticker seem, well, silly.

Art

Art Edwards's Plan for 2007-Part I

Hi, folks. Here are my musical plans for the next few months.

Stuck Outside of Phoenix Song Comes to Life

You know the song in Stuck Outside of Phoenix, right? The one the guys play in the gig scene at the end the book? Ever wonder what it sounds like?

The song's called "Nickel," and it happens to be a song by the Solemines, a band from my Phoenix days. Jim Gerke, singer/songwriter extraordinaire and former singer of the Solemines; Tim Anthonise, singer/songwriter of Gloritone and former guitarist of the Solemines; and Scott Hessel, drummer of Gloritone, have agreed to record this song with me. It's going down at Tony Robinson's Wahalla Music, and I hope to have the whole thing mixed and up on my MySpace Music Page by the end of March. All members of my mailing list and blog will be able to get a copy of the mp3 for free! Details will follow on my MySpace Music Page, this blog, and elsewhere. Keep checking back.

The Laying Down the Law Show-2007

Randy Anderson, of Chicagoland's Buck Daddy and formerly of Wookie Luv, and I are teaming up to bring you a night of new and classic music. The date of the show is June 9th, a Saturday, at Martyrs' in Chicago, and events will include a solo acoustic set by yours truly, some Buck Daddy originals, and a set of Refreshments material featuring Randy, myself on bass, and a cast of musicians. This is sure to be a fun night of music and memories, so if you'll be in the Chicago area, mark June 9th on your calendar and start looking forward to it. Details are still forming, so be sure to keep an eye on my Web site for the latest.

And that's just the beginning for me in 2007. I have some potentially bigger news coming down the pipe, which I hope to announce at the Martyrs' show.

Art