What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

Well folks, it's over - sadly the SRP tour of 2009 has come to an end. Last night the band played an emotionally charged set at St. Mathias in Asheville, grabbed some pizza at Barley's and got on the road for Greensboro. It was strange for us all to not have to get up and drive or think about playing a show today - in fact the only thing most of us are thinking about is hibachi for lunch - Mmmmm!! We've been talking about it since like Day 2, and now we get to indulge. Not quick hibachi either...we're talking about one of those deals where they cook it in front of you, and the chef throws knives and makes jokes the whole time.

I have to say, it's been a fantastic experience traveling with these guys and listening to them play for the last ten days. Not only are they amazing musicians, but they're incredible people as well. We've seen and done things over the last 240(ish) hours that none of us will ever forget. I used to wonder how big bands tour for literally months at a time, and now I think I have answer - it's all about love. Love inside the band, love from the communities we played for, love for the music and love for God. I wish I could sit here and continue to wax poetic about this amazing experience, but hibachi is calling and we're all really hungry.

So until next time River Rats (and there just might be a NEXT time), thanks for all the support and so long from the road!!

~The SRP

8 Down & 2 To Go

Hard to believe that there are only TWO shows left in the Sloan River Project’s 2009 Summer Tour! We’re currently back in Chattanooga and just finished setting up and sound checking for the show tonight (5:00 btw). The band seems really happy, and everyone’s energy seems to be really high – even those of us who got on the road @ 5am today and drove across TN. Thanks again to Star Smith for encouraging the trip, driving to Tunica, putting us up for a couple hours of sleep, and otherwise being absolutely awesome. Also the band would like to give a shout out to Star’s very good friend Chris Parnell – we’re hoping for a guest appearance as the opening act next tour, or at least a pre-recorded intro and an autograph.

When I stop to think about it, I have a hard time believing we’ve only been seven days on road – but I can’t decide if it feels longer or shorter. Last Monday feels really far away but the tour as a whole seemed to go by incredibly quick. Sitting in tonight with the band is guest bassist Allen Shikoh – a good friend of Mr. Hopkins. Allen mentioned to the band that he’s been playing a lot of jazz of late and is really looking forward to playing something different tonight.

So Josh just had to change his shirt (it’s crazy hot outside again) I just noticed that he has an interesting black ink tattoo on his chest…I'm curious what it means, so I'm going to ask.

Me: Josh what does the tattoo mean?

Josh: Well, they’re Chinese characters, and it translates to “impermanent”. It’s my reminder that even things that we think last forever really don’t.”

That’s pretty profound for a tattoo I think, and it’s a very relative sentiment for this tour. Somehow I think we all thought it was going to last forever, even as we talked about our post-tour plans and going back to our regular lives. Everyone has really been living into the moment – every day has been a new adventure in one-way or another. There have been new venues, new dynamics and new challenges and those things have kept us from really appreciating how brief this little experiment has been, and how quickly it will be over.

But all good things must come to an end, and this is no exception. The last two shows will be amazing (I’m particularly looking forward to tonight), then we’ll have a final band meal in Greensboro (Hibachi) and be on our way. Tonight though, after the show is over, and everyone has gone home, there is only one thing the members of the SRP want to do – GO BOWLING!!!

 

Until tomorrow…

Matt & Sam vs. Tunica

Tonight after sending the rest of the band on their merry way to Chattanooga, myself, Sam, Star Smith and the Burress siblings decided to take on Tunica. By the light of of the full moon the battle was waged, and in the end - we emerged triumphant. (to the tune of +$800)

I don't care what happens for the rest of this tour, nothing can bring me down now!! :-)

Small But Powerful

"We're small but powerful tonight!" That's how Sam introduced the show this Friday night - and it's true. The crowd is on the smaller side, but the energy is good and everyone is having fun, which is what counts.

Travel today fun - we stopped in Nashville and had lunch with Trone Sawyer and the soon to be Mrs. Sawyer, Catherine Nelson. Many tacos were consumed, and a good time was had by all. Catherine was also given the important job of tallying the final results for the band mix contest. It was a close affair, but in the end Mix #1 (crafted by yours truly) came out on top. The set-list went as follows,

Up Around The Bend (Credence Clearwater)
Trashcan Song (Delta Spirit)
Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show)
10,000,000 Slaves (Otis Taylor)
The Boxer (Carbon Leaf)
I Could Sleep (Band Of Horses)
Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones)
Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins)
My Name is Jonas (Wheezer)
Electric Feel (MGMT)
Paper Planes (MIA)
Interstate Love Song (Stone Temple Pilots)
See The World (Gomez)
Rivers of Babylon (Sublime)
Walking In Memphis (Rockapella)
Night Swimming (REM)

I'm honored to have won, but in the end what we really had were 6 hours of really great tunes to listen to as we traversed the country. I highly recommend this little game for anyone planning a road-trip in the near future.

Anyway, I know this is kinda short but none of us got a whole lot of sleep last night for various reasons, so I'm a little tired. On top of that we have a fun filled evening ahead of us in the form of some cosmic bowling...so I'm going to wrap this up. I might add on later...but who knows. If not, then the next thing posted will be the band video interview I did earlier this afternoon. Best wishes and have a good weekend!!

Live Blog From Rhythm & Brews!!

(7:25) I'm blogging live from the show at R&B where the band just opened with "SunFlower Land"! I'll be updating this blog every five minutes or so, which is as close to a live feed as I can get with the technology we have right now. So far the show is sounding really excellent - the sound system here is really fantastic, and is simply better than what you can haul around in the the back of a Honda and a Volvo. Best part of this place so far though? Bands drinks for free... :) 

(7:30) Second song of the show is "Little Help From My Friends" and I can't help but think about how much this applies to a band. The fact is, not everyone in a band is going be on their game every show, every night. Heck folks might not even be in the best mood every night - but band members lean on each other. They support each other when they're not feeling up to snuff, and they lift each other up on stage - it's a real group effort, and you can see that when these guys are together, and esp. when they are on stage. I'm not going to lie, there was some tension in our little family earlier today for whatever reasons, but now the conversations have been had, the show has started and everything is fine. Pretty awesome. Third song tonight, "Prodigal Son". Pretty ironic that Sam prefaced this song with a humorous story about squandering wealth. 

(7:35) Band intro's...could anyone look more Scottish than Drew? And yet Steven Hopkins get the biggest round of applause. Who says we don't have groupies? Next song on the list is U2's 40, which I really love....esp. with our guest base player tonight  really bringing out the bottom. Tonight's benefit concert is to help raise money to help feed and shelter the homeless, and so I find this song to be particularly apt. When you're hungry and on the street, how hard must it be to wait patiently to be uplifted,  and when it happened, how can you not sing a new song to the Lord? Sadly not every soul is uplifted, which is why nights like tonight are important and necessary. Tonight The Sloan River Project is doing something truly Christian, and maybe even holy.

(7:45) Next up..."Broken". Really nice sounding vocals on this one tonight. Also lyrically inspiring. Band went into "Shine On" after that, which feels like a really good transition. Sadly Josh cut the very entertaining song intro about the hippie commune up north somewhere, which is where this song was purportedly written - maybe because I had a good chuckle over said story last night, but whatever. Sometimes less is more, though I do think the origins of this song as worth explaining sometimes. Josh got a nice and well deserved round of applause at the end of "Shine On" - he sounded excellent. Now, "Trying To Find A Purpose" by Vertical Horizon. I love this song!

 

(7:55) You know what's really entertaining? Watching five white guys do a reggae song  like "One Love" which is what's going on right now. It's such a happy song, everyone starts dancing in place while the audience sings along. It's a good time. Having the esteemed Kathy Tuggman singing harmony is a really great addition as well. Now Sam is introducing "Umbrella" which means we're getting to the high point of the show, at least in my humble opinion - from here the band will go into "Long Train Runnin" (LTR for short) which is unquestionably the best song SRP has. Right now though, we're in the middle of "Umbrella" and with the energy these guys put into this song, it's hard not to get up and dance. I'm watching the crowd to my left, and everyone is singing and grooving to the beat. Fun stuff! Sam's totally right on about a comment he made earlier, the lyrics to this song really are more meaningful than I think Rhianna or whoever wrote them meant for them to be. 

(8:05) And sure enough LTR ends the show...hope you've all enjoyed this little stream of consciousness experiment. I'm gonna shut down and listen!

Band Pic From ATL

I know it's only one...but here is a picture of the band taken last night in ATL. I'll get more up as soon as time allows! Thanks for reading!

Back to the 'Noog

A Blog Entry By Steven Hopkins:

Today was yet another eventful day on the road. We woke up early, said goodbye to the Robertsons (who are very generous for letting us crash at their place), and headed for Atlanta. The listening portion of the mix CD contest ended today as we heard the final two mixes. I'm going to need some time to figure out which one to vote for. They pretty much all sound good, except that mine is the best...clearly. 

I was happy with the show this evening. I thought everyone played really well. It would sound a lot better if Ben hadn't left us, but Sam and Josh are doing a really great job holding the bottom down in his absence. The set was similar to the previous night's with a few minor changes here and there. As always, "Umbrella" seemed to be somewhat of a hit. Thanks Rihanna :)

After we loaded all the gear, the band went it's separate ways for the night. Josh and I drove back to Chattanooga and we're staying at my (parents') house on the mountain. We spent the evening going over some songs for the show tomorrow. The rest of the group stayed in Atlanta and will drive up here in the morning to get ready for the concert. Speaking of, it's at Rhythm & Brews at 7:00. Ticket info: here. FYI, the money goes to charity, so come on out.

Until some time later,

Steev

P.S. We did laundry tonight. Sweet.