I’m almost back to Austin after a few months on the road from Austin-to-Boston and around the northeast. I promise a very detailed update and blog post soon!
BUT…more importantly, I’m chilling in the beautiful mountain town of Murphy, NC and I JUST found out I was accepted as 1 of 15 finalists out of 400 for The Recording Conservatory of Austin‘s UNSIGNED ARTIST COMPETITION.
I don’t normally do these contests, but I could win a ton of money for recording, studio time, musical equipment, and other stuff…this means NEW CD! I’ve been working on a bunch of new music and this would be a great opportunity to record.
Please click here and vote for my name! I’d appreciate it
What’s up y’all (that word is getting very out of place up here in NY),
Before we begin, let me say that cats love my guitar case. On my tour up from Austin-to-Boston, I had four cats in four seperate cities sleep in it. My cat, Dyna, has been rolling around in it nonstop. Entertain yourself with some cat in guitar case pics:
So, I’ve been back in NY for a few weeks now, well, a week in upstate NY, 4 days up in Maine, couple days in NYC, and then back to my hometown of Mahopac for a bit. Things have been great and I’m really loving this north-east vibe. Especially the green rolling mountains everywhere, 80deg weather (as opposed to 3 months of 100+ in Austin), and hanging with my family and friends.
A view from a hill 10 minutes from my house.
My house in Mahopac, NY (and my faithful highlander that's traveled from Austin-to-NY 7 times now).
Tommorow, I’m heading on a mini-tour up north. I’ll be playing the Utica Music Festival in Utica, NY on Fri and Sat, then I’m gonna spend 2 days chilling in the Adirondack mountains, then I’ve got 2 shows in Burlington, VT a The Skinny Pancake(which I’ve heard is an amazing city), 2 days in Montreal, Canada, and then back down to NY… ONLY to head back out on another 4-day tour out to Bridgeport, Providence, Boston and back. TOUR INFO here: http://www.brettrandell.com/tour
THEN… I can rest. I think.
Well, I don’t want to bore you with words…so, I’ll post a bunch of pictures from my travels over the last month or so. Enjoy and thanks for reading.
Peace, Brett
My friend, Colby, and I, hiking Enchanted Rock outside of Austin, TX
Food and merch from a great house show in Mobile, AL.
My friend, Steve Jumper, started his own surfboard company. He makes them above his garage! Check out Jumper Surfboards. http://www.jumpersurfboards.com
Another Jumper Surfboard, this time with art from his sister, Marissa. Amazing stuff. http://www.jumpersurfboards.com
View I woke up to in my friends apartment in NYC.
Mmmm... New York Pizza. From my favorite place: Paolo's in Mahopac.
Our dogs.
A misty view from the cabin my friends and I go to every year up on Pleasant Pond - Caratunk, Maine.
I finally made it to Boston again – an epic 2500 mile drive. Two weeks straight of performing music almost every night has been incredible and tiring. Luckily I love the nomadic lifestyle – It’s great waking up in a different city each day. You’d be amazed at how different the vibes of culture and people are in each US city. Now, I’m hanging at my brothers pad (he moved to Boston after the last Austin-to-Boston tour) and we’ll be jamming with the saxophone again.
On another note, it’s truly unbelievable to sleep in your own bed (in my case… in Mahopac, NY)…especially when it’s a queen bed with tons of blankets and pillows (sadly I write this after sleeping on a lumpy couch and air mattress in Boston…such is the road). I slept for about 11 hrs straight the day I got back home.
City/show updates below:
Pawling, NY – Towne Crier Cafe
One of the first open mics I used to attend was the legendary Towne Crier Cafe in Westchester, NY (it’s also the first place I performed my song “Soldier” live with Jon Dorme on violin and Joe Marrone on guitar). It’s an honor to be able to perform there and open for great musicians. I opened up for the awesome Kenny White, who will be playing the main stage at Kerrville Folk Festival next year. His piano playing was phenomenal – my jaw was hanging to the table during his solos. Definitely check him out if you get the chance.
I think it would be against my personal values to update from any place other than a coffee shop, so I sit now in “The Brooklyn Coffee House” in Mahopac, NY writing this entry. It’s been an incredible week since I last let you know what’s up. I’ve toured from Athens, GA to Johnson City, TN to Washington, DC to Lititz, PA to Brooklyn, NY to Pawling, NY to NYC and now I’m hanging home in Mahopac, NY.
Check out my beautiful and inspiring backyard, as well as my family’s stoic dog “Tucker” pondering the intricacies of life as he gazes off towards the lake.
Well, it’s great to be on the road again. I’m back in the touring mindset and loving it. There’s a certain feeling you get once your only mission is to drive town to town, play music, and meet new people. It’s both epic and meditative at the same time. I’m in a cool coffee shop in Athens, GA right now…sipping a dark roast and updating my website.
Sadly, I left my computer charger back in Austin, so every city I go to… I have to find a coffeeshop, sit next to someone with a macbook, and borrow their charger for an hour. Luckily most mac-users are really nice (although I was in one coffeeshop where everyone had Dells and I was out of luck).
The finale is here! We made it over 2800 miles to Boston and it’s been one hell of a journey (even though I’m a slacker and I’m writing this weeks later). Boston was actually one of my favorite cities… ironically I grew up only 3 hrs away and never visited my whole life until now.
Updates, updates, updates. This part of the tour was awesome because we made it up to the northeast where all of my friends and family are. Also, my good friend and piano player William Rodriguez flew out to join us on the DC, Philly, and NYC portion of the tour. Check the vid blog below!
Washington, DC
It was great to be back around my college (University of Maryland) and the city I used to work in (DC). We played at a great restaurant/music venue called The Rookery and I got to see a bunch of old friends. Will joined the tour to add his epic piano power to the mix. After eating crappy UMD pizza, watching a bunch of frat fights and realizing how ridiculous college nights out were… we crashed on the floor of my friend’s place and shot off to Philly.
So, here are some updates from the third part of the tour! From Charlotte, NC all the way up to Lancaster, PA – we covered a lot of ground in these days and had some awesome shows.
Check the vid blog below!
And read on about the different cities…
Day 9 Charlotte, NC
We got an awesome chance to play during the First Friday gallery crawl at The Evening Muse, a very awesome venue in Charlotte. After playing a great set, we walked around the galleries, ate way too many sandwiches, and drank the perfect amount of beer. The rest of the acts on the night were awesome, especially MeTalkPretty from Brooklyn, NY. The night closed out with another awesome band from Austin called Wisebird. Charlotte’s NODA arts district had a really cool vibe and was one of my favorite cities (which I say about every city).
So, I’m sitting in a coffeeshop in Charlotte, NC as I right this (I’m lying – I wrote this a few days ago…it’s now 4th of july and I’m way behind on updating). The tour is getting better and crazier. I’m loving all of the interesting characters we meet in each city. Each show is completely different than the other – from small dinner/house shows, to art gallery crawls at great venues to late-night jams after the bars close.
From Lake Charles to New Orleans to Mobile and on….
Hey y’all! So, I’ve come to the conclusion that I love touring. It’s an amazing mixture of music, traveling, and work. My brother Cory and I are 6 days into the tour… now heading to Knoxville, TN from Decatur, GA.
Check out this crazy footage from my first 3 shows (Lake Charles, New Orleans and Mobile, AL)…
So, I’ve been back in NY for a few weeks now, well, a week in upstate NY, 4 days up in Maine, couple days in NYC, and then back to my hometown of Mahopac for a bit. Things have been great and I’m really loving this north-east vibe. Especially the green rolling mountains everywhere, 80deg weather (as opposed to 3 months of 100+ in Austin), and hanging with my family and friends.
