Click it to download it, then repost the crap out of it!

Well, I hope you took the time to vote in the Asbury Music Awards, which will be held on November 17th, at the Stone Pony.  I’ll likely be there, and likely won’t win (I just hope Anthony Fiumano does, because that guy’s rad).  Now, moving on to more pressing matters:

All right netterwebs, listen up.  I’m going to be doing the most super-de-duper show on Asbury Park’s First Saturday, December 1st.  I’ll be taking over the Twisted Tree Cafe for an early evening show from 5pm-9:30 (which means you can hang with me until the bars get interesting).  David DiGioia, Ben Sbar, SemiPop (led by the inimitable Mike Shearer) and Alex Biese (of Day For Night) will join me in this barage of awesomeness, and I’ll be somewhat accompanied by Graham Schumann and perhaps some combination of the above artists.

So, mark it on your calendars for December 1st, rope in a few friends, and enjoy my favorite restaurant in Asbury Park while we present the acoustic rock for you.

I JUST found out that we can vote in the Asbury Music Awards. Go to thesaintnj.com/AMAballot2007.pdf and follow the instructions, but keep in mind that THIS Sunday is the deadline, so you can only use snail mail if you get it in tomorrow morning. Also, I’m not saying “vote for me”, but I am saying that Benedict Arnold was hanged. Take from it what you will.

The Asbury Music Awards awareness show went well.  Everyone played well and several of the awards voters came out to see us (which restores a good deal of my faith in the voting process, just knowing that many of the voters have actually made the time to find out who we are and how good we sound).  Scott, one of the owners of the Saint, which runs the AMA’s, was quite pleased with the job I did running the show and asked me to do the same for the “Best Female Acoustic” showcase next weekend.  However, my sister is getting married, so I’ll by in Doylestown, PA.  Watch out, Pennsylvanians!  I’m a-comin’!

I’ve got some maybe shows in the works, so keep your eyes open for updates.  Also have some band developments, but nothing to officially announce yet, other than that the band will continue.

I am oh-so-stoked to be playing an Asbury Music Awards awareness show with my fellow “Best Male Acoustic” nominees, Bob Denson, Keith McCarthy, Christian Beach, Astronaut Jones, Anthony Manno and Dakota Bends. The show is THIS SATURDAY, 10/27, from 1-5pm(ish) at the Twisted Tree Cafe.  So come out, enjoy the acoustic rock, have some lunch and see us play.

I finally got enough content submitted and then got off my lazy duff and created the Audio page of the You section. It features two live recordings, two remixes and one cover (for now). In addition to other somewhat-unwitting contributors, MASSIVE amounts of thanks to Chandra who created much and submitted most of the content. She has set the bar. Now who’s gonna take her on and submit me some content? Now go check it out, suckaaaaas!

I’ve been nominated for an Asbury Music Award, in the category of Best Male Acoustic Act.  I’m up against some of my favorite artists (and, surprisingly, not up against some others).  I doubt I’ll win because I have so much respect and adulation for many of the other nominees, but I’m really thrilled to be in the top ten.  Who wants to be number one, anyway?  Nowhere to go but down, and everyone’s got your number.  The awards will be held on November 17th, at the Stone Pony.  I’ll be there.  Come hang out with me!

 Check out all the nominees at AsburyMusic.com

Had a blast last night on WMCX, Monmouth University radio, with Lily O and Sean on their live-music radio show, The Lawn.  Graham Schumann and I did an acoustic set featuring songs off both of my albums and generally had a comical time.  Thanks to all of you who listened.  Lily tried recording the show, but the CD didn’t burn right, so we’ve been invited back in the very near future to have more fun and give the CD another try.

You can catch the two of us playing another acoustic set on Saturday, October 13th, at the Twisted Tree Cafe, alongside solo performances by our other two bandmates, David DiGioia and Mike Shearer, as well as the lovely and talented Sarah Donner and Ben Sbar (the “lovely and talented” applies to both).  Check the Shows page for details.

It’s been a whirlwind 4 months!  Having performed over 30 shows, in addition to appearing at, perhaps, 40-some-odd Open Mics, finally assembled an incredible band, and almost completely sold out the first run of my new album (9 copies left, for those of you keeping track), I officially call it a wrap.

I’ll be taking a month off from shows and Open Mics to devote my efforts into scheduling my ‘07/’08 college tour.  Want me to come to your school?  Comment below and I’ll get in touch with you.

I will return with news of my pending tour on October 13th, when I rock the Twisted Tree Cafe with Sarah Donner, Ben Sbar, David DiGioia and Mike Shearer.  In the meanwhile, you can grab your fair share of the few remaining, limited release, numbered copies of my new album, Disconnect, over in the store, or download it from the music section.

And bonus points go to those of you who caught the Peter Searcy reference in the title of this post.  Pat yourselves on the back; you rock!

We played The Saint, last night.  It was our first time playing out together.  Hell, it was my first time playing out with a band, period.  It felt really good, and everyone who was there seemed very impressed (not the friendly, “you were so good”, but a serious amount of surprise from people so used to hearing me acoustic that they had no idea how much rock I had pent up inside me).  I picked up a recording of the night, on CD, from the soundboard, but they didn’t have my guitar up enough in the mix and didn’t mic the bass amp, so even though the sound was great in the room, it didn’t translate well to anything worth posting here.  However, I’ll put up some video in a few days.  There’s also completely unconfirmed talks of last night being the start of something good.  More full band stuff?  We’ll see (I hope).

It was such a thrill seeing Peter Searcy, live.  I’ve been such a fan for so long, and I would have been there, hands down, whether I was on the bill or not (it was our first time being in the same state as one another in 8 years…I wasn’t going to pass it up).  Even just hearing him sound check was a thrill.  He played his way through songs off all four of his albums, switching off between guitar and cello, with a terrific piano player and a drummer who really knew how to pull back and let the songs speak.  It was such an insane pleasure hearing him sing, live.  He’s got such an incredible voice.  Oh, and not only did I pick up Trust Falls, Peter’s not-really-released third album, but I also found out that my copy of Could You Please and Thank You, his debut album, is completely out of print, and a collector’s item (his piano player told me that even she had to download it on iTunes).  So, if you missed the show, who knows when Peter will be back again, but do be sure to pick up his new album, Spark (which I found at FYE and on Amazon.com, so I’m sure it’s out there for you to find).

Thanks to everyone who came out, to Scott Stamper for the opportunity, to Peter Searcy for being so personable and not letting me down in the slightest, to Leo Zaccari for speaking kindly of me during his radio interview with Peter and, of course, to my incredible band, featuring Graham Schumann (of The Key to Our Secret), David DiGioia (also of The Key to Our Secret, and an incredible singer/songwriter in his own right) and Mike Shearer (of Semipop, whose forthcoming debut album is going to kick all of your asses).

If any of you have video footage or photos from last night, please be sure to post them in my You section.