Dialog Thirty Eight.
Somebody told me to stop and smell the roses the other day. It really made me think about things a great deal. Not superficial shit but things like: Where I am in life now, how much success the band is experiencing and what’s to come, my son and his needs, my aging parents, and so on. Coincidentally, Michael (swamp gtr) & Tina had given me a book for my birthday entitled “The Secret”. Well some of you I’m sure have read the book or seen the movie. If you haven’t, I strongly suggest that you do so. The Secret is about harnessing the laws of attraction to, in essence, manifest your good will. The thought training is the hardest part. My point here is that stopping to smell the roses had a larger impact on me due to understanding and utilizing the laws of attraction. So anyway… I did stop to smell the roses. I can tell you that I am very happy in life. I am excited about the new album tracks hitting in a couple weeks. I love my son and therefore know true love. I am excited for my son as he steps into the adult word with a dream of his own to follow. I am grateful for everything I have received. I can hold my chin up and smile as I look into the eyes of my friends and colleagues as a trusted and true person. So I’m thinking hey, this smell the rose’s thing is pretty cool, can you smoke ‘em!! LOL!
So now you kind of see where my head is tonight. I have been meaning to and really need to blog about the great things happening in the Swamp. But hype is as hype does, Right? You will get plenty of that out of me as we blog on, trust me!
I live in the country a few miles outside of Mount Holly, NC. It’s an 18 acre spread only 5 miles from the interstate, 20 minutes to the city but full on country setting with the thick woods and distant neighbors armed with 12 ga shotguns!! So it’s convenient to both worlds, city life and country living. I spent my childhood in the country. I was raised in a small one horse town called Pine Level in North Carolina. That’s where I spent my summers in tobacco fields until I was 16 and old enough to drive. Well the driving privilege only lasted a couple months before my dumb ass lost them for being a renegade. But now getting back the grateful thing, that’s when I picked up the guitar. So I am grateful to have lost my license then. Man is I wondering or what!
So you see or I see from just what’s coming out on this paper that I am feeling thankful for what I have and grateful for what’s to come.
I guess I will round this blog up now without bludgeoning into more sappy reasons why I love the country and have smelled the roses with a thought for you;
I sometimes forget what I’m wishing for, sometimes I know
And sometimes I know what I’m missing, sometimes I don’t
And sometimes I ask for forgiveness.
Don’t we all?
Thank you for being a part of my reality!
As always I remain truly yours,
Gig
In a Final Note:
Run Forest Run! Forget what you’re running from and remember what you’re running to.
Why do you read my blogs? If you find it interesting let me know, even suggest some topics if you like.
Dialog Thirty Seven.
It is with a broken heart and teary eyes that we say goodbye to very special person today. Jesse passed away this morning from kidney failure. A young mother and a beautiful wife, the daughter of perhaps our biggest Swamp Fan & friend Dan Nowlin and the niece of our Business manager Darell Belk, she will be missed terribly among family and friends. It was a bizarre event that was totally unexpected and it is ripping through the hearts of many who knew and loved her. If it’s in your heart please make a donation in Jesse’s name to the National Kidney Foundation. You may donate online by going here: http://www.kidney.org/support/donate.cfm to learn other means of support. SwampdaWamp will certainly be doing all that we can to help this cause.
Lot’s to tell this week folks, but out of respect for Jesse Nowlin it will have to wait until the next blog.
Till then I remain truly yours,
Gig
In a Final Note:
Light a candle for Jesse and remember to always let the ones you love know that you love them everyday.
Dialog Thirty Six.
Annnnnnnnd I’m back! (You applaud here) LOL!
WOW, I must say that the first 2 weeks of 23008, yes I said 23008! It seems like we’ve come through a portal of time entering a whole new world for the band. OK!!LOL! But I am in a hype mood so prepare to hype along with me!
It’s 2008 and yes what a first 2 weeks! We returned from Nashville TN yesterday and today back at it with lots of exciting things to tell about. We rolled into Nashville last Monday to be welcomed at The Preston Hotel by the manager Bill, Chef Danny, and our favorite bartender and all around super heroine, Barbara. We love staying at The Preston and highly recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Nashville. We were there to finish up the new release which is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2008. The first single anyway to radio and on the net of course.
Well, damned if Jeff Keith, the lead singer of Tesla, didn’t show up a few minutes after we checked in. Jeff was there rehearsing for his country solo debut on Saturday night there at The Preston. Well we hung out with Jeff for a long time to find out what a great guy he is, very down to earth and funny! We hit it off nicely and tore down the bar together!! We caught some of his show Saturday night and I must say the boy got kuntry in em!!
Anyway we met lots of great people while there. We were in the studio from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm everyday working on the new tracks, which are becoming highly anticipated! Well Check this out. We had the critically acclaimed guitarist Johnny Highland come in to play a guest track on 3 tracks, and Mike Brignardello ,a legendary bassist, play on a couple as well. Man did they frikken jam the tracks, just wait! I give Kudos to all of my band mates for their performances as well. We have finally cemented as a band and the writing collaboration is defining the Swamps sound finally on tape. Can you tell I’m excited!! Our manager is just as excited and the whole swamp camp is a buzz~ Just a few more weeks folks and it will be here. You can hear the new stuff live now at our shows and they always tear down the house!!
The next thing we will be finishing is the video stuff and re-skinning the website to match our new logo and the cover art of the new release. We are introducing a new interactive piece on the site sure to kill you!! It is very cool!!
We have an extremely busy week this week;
I just got off a phone in interview with my good friends Dana Steele and his partner in crime Brett from Shop Rock all the while sipping on wine that was sent to me by Shop Rock sister Renee! How cool. ShopRock.com is their pod-cast show. I listen to it daily and so should you. Dana has that witty and respectable voice that simply belongs to radio airwaves and together with Brett they put together a great compilation of music and fun!! We thank you guys very much for all your support!!
Weds morning at 8:00 am we arrive at FOX News Rising morning show for a 5 song performance and interview. That’s WCCB TV in like 14 surrounding counties of Charlotte, NC. Based in Charlotte they reach literally millions of viewers each day. That is a huge deal for us at this point of the game. If you’re outside of the area you can probably stream it. I do have to say that I am very concerned about this show simply for audio quality. But that’s always a concern and you just have to make your best hand to play. The performance will air Friday Morning at like 6:00 am or something! It’s ok though, you can TIVO!!LOL!!
Then Friday night we are sharing the stage @ Amos South end in Charlotte with Mothers Finest!! They had a big influence on me when I was a kid; this will be my first time meeting them! A for sure sold out show!!
Then Saturday we are off to headline a show at Midtown Harbor side at Lake Norman. This is a very cool event and close to my heart. This is a drive for America’s Second Harvest Food Bank which is a national non profit organization similar to Salvation Army. The admission to the show is a canned good! How cool is that!! Please everybody that can come on out, do so. A great night with The Part Time Blues band going on at 10:00 pm and the Swamp at 11:00ish~ we are all about good deeds!
Thanks for sharing the ride with us everyone!!!!! I will get more in this week, some good behind the curtain stuff!! Oh and I will get those pictures up soon!!
Tell ya next Blog!! LOL!! Maybe!!
Till then I remain truly yours,
Gig
In a Final Note:
One Hundred percent of nothing to this day remains nothing. One shouldn’t lose perspective and always remember that the people you pass over on your way up are the people that you will certainly be passed bye on your way down.
Why do you read my blogs? If you find it interesting let me know, even suggest some topics if you like.
Dialog Thirty Five.
Happy New Year my friends!! Goodbye 2007! Sooooooooooo~ Any resolutions? I’m going to get to that subject in a minute! LOL!!
Man we had a kick ASS show in Lynchburg Virginia this past Saturday night! We were supporting act for David Allan Coe at one of the best venues we’ve been to since House of Blues, Cattle Annies. A sold out show of about 1,500 people, some of the finest, rockin folks we’ve had the pleasure to share our music with and talk with. You should definitely keep up with this clubs schedule. It’s a just, short drive from wherever!! January is a weird month for us and what a great first show of the year. I got to meet lots of our myspace friends, new people and then got to enjoy DAC. The Coe Man rocked the house baby! It was a treat to see him, he has an aura like no other!!
OK now the behind the scenes!! LOL!! So it’s Friday Jan 4 (day before show in Lynchburg) and we’re scheduled to have a band meeting at the Legion Of the Swamp Headquarters (insert laugh). Well Friday was also my birthday. I wasn’t expecting anything but maybe a drink or 2 after the meeting. Well it was a fruitful meeting and we all felt good about the decisions that we made concrete and David Lee kept saying, are we done yet? I was like well yeah oh but what about blah blah, you know I was still buzzing on the meeting and kept thinking of stuff to add. Turns out they had planned a little get together for my Birthday, which I affectionately refer to as Gig Awareness Day (insert laugh). So we wrap the meeting and the debauchery begins! It was very cool because the road crew showed up just as we cut the meeting bearing gifts of drinkable nature!! Thanks to my brothers for making it a special birthday, you are my family.
So now we’re about 3 gallons of Crown deep with a couple fifths of Vodka not to mention the tequila and the Jager in the freezer. Let’s just say we tied one on. Visit our site to see some of the pictures!
Alright Bus call is now at 11:00 am, Sat morn. I think we were all hung over~ had a great drive up through the beautiful country seeing the world through a moving glass, I love it! We arrived we thru down and we left. We made it to Greensboro, NC and stopped at Denny’s (who I don’t endorse) for some fuel for the weary. After a few pancakes and coffee we suddenly realized we were in some kind of bad Steven Segal movie and got the hell out to the bus. Well then the bus had an air line break still in the parking lot of Denny’s. This was about 3 am. Hats off to Wrong Way Dave our Bus Driver! He is the salt of the earth and dealt with all the bullshit while we slept. We woke up on the bus at 9 am to see that we were still at Denny’s (who I don’t endorse, remember). Anyway the mechanic came and away we went…into the sunset of a thousand dreams~~~~Blah Blah Blah~~
So we leave out for Nashville Tenn in the morning. We’re going to finish up some guitar and vocal tracks of the new release due out in Feb. We are all really excited about it! Wait till you see the new Logo! ba blam! A lot of things I cant mention now are coming and we are all stoked up in the Swamp camp!! We are having Jonny Hyland as a guest player on a couple of the tracks, Google his ass~Damn~ We’re going into Quad studios with Dave Kline at the engineers helm and Mighty Joe Boyland at the producers reign.
I’m laying the final vocal tracks this week and I really dig working with Joe on the process, I will be re-writing some lyrics this week! Hats off to Joe Boyland for making us a better band!! What’s coming is scary~~
Well that’s about it for now, I’m about 6 dbl crowns into this and I just can’t keep going!!LOL!!!
Out with the old and in with the new, the good stuff is coming~~~~~~
2008 Resolutions:
Tell ya next Blog!! LOL!!
Till then I remain Truly yours,
Gig
In a Final Note:
You really do get by with a little help from your friends~:~