Hell of a good time last night at The Grocery in Ocean Springs. Kudos goes to the crowd who, in my opinion, made the night what it was. The audiences have been steadily picking up these last few months it seems like, and it goes back to the fact that more and more good talent is showing up on the scene in combination with the dedication that Alvin, the shows MC, puts into making sure everything runs smoothly each week.
Accompanying me last night was Ryan Vanskiver, who, with his very improv stand-up style provides a different experience every time he goes up. Feeding off the rowdy, energetic crowd, he worked through a 15 minute set where, at one point, a musician fellow actually came on stage at Ryan's request and played a tune. Afterwards, the two steadily engaged each other in friendly banter that had everyone laughing. Ryan went on to relay stories of his childhood in a bit I call the "Porno Sting" where his parents bust him and a friend watching late night naughty shows. Other stories include tales of Ryan's body builder cousin, a bad trip to Vegas, and woman problems.
Outside, we joked about playing dodgeball as kids, which I used this morning to write several pages of material on a new bit. However, last night I reconnected with my slide guitar as it's been to long since I've brought it up. The audience was alive in rare form as I plugged in to play whatever came to mind. On this night, it happened to be a warm up of Led Zeppelin's take on "Travelling Riverside Blues", followed by a strong start with "Rollin' and Tumblin'" mixed with lines pulled from Robert Johnson, Robert Plant's "When The Levee Breaks", my own verses, and, of course, the man R.L. Burnside himself. Other songs included original number "Dog On Water", Jack White's "Little Bird" and a closing of Son House's "Death Letter".
All in all, it was a solid ride and it's hard to imagine I almost didn't show up. Thanks go to Ryan, who put fuel to the fire and inspired a great night. Me Ryan and Daniel are currently working with Mezo's Juke Joint to make a new open mic geared toward stand-up comedy that will hopefully lunch next month. More on this later. Be sure to check out Ryan on the Coastal Noise Podcast page. We've done two episodes with him and they have both been a really fun time. A new episode is in the works over the next couple of days, so please come back for more good ole-fashioned chit chat, music, and more.
Accompanying me last night was Ryan Vanskiver, who, with his very improv stand-up style provides a different experience every time he goes up. Feeding off the rowdy, energetic crowd, he worked through a 15 minute set where, at one point, a musician fellow actually came on stage at Ryan's request and played a tune. Afterwards, the two steadily engaged each other in friendly banter that had everyone laughing. Ryan went on to relay stories of his childhood in a bit I call the "Porno Sting" where his parents bust him and a friend watching late night naughty shows. Other stories include tales of Ryan's body builder cousin, a bad trip to Vegas, and woman problems.
Outside, we joked about playing dodgeball as kids, which I used this morning to write several pages of material on a new bit. However, last night I reconnected with my slide guitar as it's been to long since I've brought it up. The audience was alive in rare form as I plugged in to play whatever came to mind. On this night, it happened to be a warm up of Led Zeppelin's take on "Travelling Riverside Blues", followed by a strong start with "Rollin' and Tumblin'" mixed with lines pulled from Robert Johnson, Robert Plant's "When The Levee Breaks", my own verses, and, of course, the man R.L. Burnside himself. Other songs included original number "Dog On Water", Jack White's "Little Bird" and a closing of Son House's "Death Letter".
All in all, it was a solid ride and it's hard to imagine I almost didn't show up. Thanks go to Ryan, who put fuel to the fire and inspired a great night. Me Ryan and Daniel are currently working with Mezo's Juke Joint to make a new open mic geared toward stand-up comedy that will hopefully lunch next month. More on this later. Be sure to check out Ryan on the Coastal Noise Podcast page. We've done two episodes with him and they have both been a really fun time. A new episode is in the works over the next couple of days, so please come back for more good ole-fashioned chit chat, music, and more.
