Post by Greg adkins on Jun 13, 2006 8:38:46 GMT -5
Hey everyone... just got back from my show at the Bluebird in Nashville yesterday and thought I would let everyone know how it went.
First of all, it was a real honor to play at the Bluebird... you always hear about the place and how legendary it is. I don't think I really appreciated it until I went there and read their little brochure they give you that tells you who all has played their stage. Basically, everyone has played there, especially in the folk / country genres... anyone who is anyone played the Bluebird, so to stand on that same stage and play was undeniably cool. The days of record executives sitting at the bar handing out record deals are long gone (since country radio isn't about songs anymore but looks and marketability) but it was still fun to go.
Sunday nights are kind of a writers showcase night... they have in a handful of writers who play about 15 minutes each, then end the night with a featured writer who plays about 45 minutes. I was one of the guys doing 15 minutes... there were 7 of us and I went 6th which isn't what I like to do... I'd rather go 3rd or 4th... kind of right in the middle. But, it worked out really well for me... the place was absolutely packed. It's a small place, but every seat was full.
The other thing you need to know about the Bluebird is that it is a listening room above all others. Their motto there is "Shhhhh" and they aren't kidding. No one talked at all, the whole night... when you were onstage playing, that full room listened to every word and appreciated good songs when they heard them. From a writers perspective, that was just a dream of a crowd to play for... especially when you're a guy like me who is used to playing coffeehouses where people are playing scrabble or working an espresso machine or talking to their girlfriend on their cell phone while you're trying to communicate deep spiritual truths to them in a 3 minute ballad.
I played "Old Radio", "The End of You and me", and "the Black Keys". I didn't miss any notes, didn't forget any words... so for me, that's pretty good. I received a very favorable response and honestly, was pretty surprised. After the night was over, there was actually a line of people wanting to talk to me (no record deals in hand unfortunately) and I sold several CDs (thanks a lot Steven, Laura, David, and the other nice lady from Chicago...). A couple of folks from the Bluebird told me they really enjoyed my songs and that they would love to have me back which was really nice... they hear songwriters every night so for them to come talk to me and invite me back just meant a whole lot to me. I was afraid of embarassing myself or that I would get there and realize that I'm just kidding myself... I was half expecting to get blown off the stage all night long but you know, it was okay. I held my own... I felt like my songs were as good as anything else all night (with the exception of the featured guy who had written like 20 top 10 country hits... every song he played was awesome. His name was Walt Aldridge... look him up.)
So... this morning I'll be calling to reschedule... we'll see how that goes. Also, my wife videotaped the whole show, so I'll hopefully have some audio and video files to post on here soon. I have to figure out how to post a video but as soon as I figure it out, I'll get it up here. ... it will be just like you were there.
You know, when I started doing this... like, 9 months ago, I had absolutely no expectations. I kind of figured I would be like countless others before me who start doing this and find out how tricky it is and how little it pays and I would just burn out and quit. I never dreamed I would meet so many friends or go so many new places, and I sure as heck never dreamed I would be playing stages I had seen on TV shows and heard about all my life. All that to say, God has abundantly blessed me and I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful that even one person bothers to read this... I'm certainly not worthy.
Thanks to all of you for hanging out with me here in virtual land... I appreciate you all.
- Greg
First of all, it was a real honor to play at the Bluebird... you always hear about the place and how legendary it is. I don't think I really appreciated it until I went there and read their little brochure they give you that tells you who all has played their stage. Basically, everyone has played there, especially in the folk / country genres... anyone who is anyone played the Bluebird, so to stand on that same stage and play was undeniably cool. The days of record executives sitting at the bar handing out record deals are long gone (since country radio isn't about songs anymore but looks and marketability) but it was still fun to go.
Sunday nights are kind of a writers showcase night... they have in a handful of writers who play about 15 minutes each, then end the night with a featured writer who plays about 45 minutes. I was one of the guys doing 15 minutes... there were 7 of us and I went 6th which isn't what I like to do... I'd rather go 3rd or 4th... kind of right in the middle. But, it worked out really well for me... the place was absolutely packed. It's a small place, but every seat was full.
The other thing you need to know about the Bluebird is that it is a listening room above all others. Their motto there is "Shhhhh" and they aren't kidding. No one talked at all, the whole night... when you were onstage playing, that full room listened to every word and appreciated good songs when they heard them. From a writers perspective, that was just a dream of a crowd to play for... especially when you're a guy like me who is used to playing coffeehouses where people are playing scrabble or working an espresso machine or talking to their girlfriend on their cell phone while you're trying to communicate deep spiritual truths to them in a 3 minute ballad.
I played "Old Radio", "The End of You and me", and "the Black Keys". I didn't miss any notes, didn't forget any words... so for me, that's pretty good. I received a very favorable response and honestly, was pretty surprised. After the night was over, there was actually a line of people wanting to talk to me (no record deals in hand unfortunately) and I sold several CDs (thanks a lot Steven, Laura, David, and the other nice lady from Chicago...). A couple of folks from the Bluebird told me they really enjoyed my songs and that they would love to have me back which was really nice... they hear songwriters every night so for them to come talk to me and invite me back just meant a whole lot to me. I was afraid of embarassing myself or that I would get there and realize that I'm just kidding myself... I was half expecting to get blown off the stage all night long but you know, it was okay. I held my own... I felt like my songs were as good as anything else all night (with the exception of the featured guy who had written like 20 top 10 country hits... every song he played was awesome. His name was Walt Aldridge... look him up.)
So... this morning I'll be calling to reschedule... we'll see how that goes. Also, my wife videotaped the whole show, so I'll hopefully have some audio and video files to post on here soon. I have to figure out how to post a video but as soon as I figure it out, I'll get it up here. ... it will be just like you were there.
You know, when I started doing this... like, 9 months ago, I had absolutely no expectations. I kind of figured I would be like countless others before me who start doing this and find out how tricky it is and how little it pays and I would just burn out and quit. I never dreamed I would meet so many friends or go so many new places, and I sure as heck never dreamed I would be playing stages I had seen on TV shows and heard about all my life. All that to say, God has abundantly blessed me and I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful that even one person bothers to read this... I'm certainly not worthy.
Thanks to all of you for hanging out with me here in virtual land... I appreciate you all.
- Greg
