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Beach Notes (explained - sort of)
One thing I want to do with the revamp of E2TG is to write about my experiences in the (East) Nashville music community, and I want to do so while finding a specific "voice" in telling these stories. Over the last couple of months, I have been teasing the concept of "Beach Notes" on my Facebook page. Basically short - stream of consciousness, observations. Why "Beach Notes"? Well, I have my reasons. Basically, it goes back to Darrin Bradbury's song "Exile on Myrtle Beach" which may not entirely be about the South Carolina community. That's all I will say for now.
Beach Notes 12-3-2019 $2 Tuesday
It promised to be a good one. I mean $2 Tuesday's are all good (or at least I can't remember one that wasn't), but this one - well, I knew (or at least knew of) everyone playing, and I would get to meet Mark Cline Bates whose album King of the Crows was among my favorites of 2019 and hear him perform.
The night got off to an auspicious start - Jon and Adrienne were already there when I got there. I caught up with Jon and our talk turned to the intersection of punk rock and Americana music. As it does. It was good to catch up.
Serious conversations about the challenges of life and aging and ailing parents. A math professor originally from Holland told a joke in Saxon. (Yeah, it was that kind of night). The 5 Spot is always a good place for people watching. You see all kinds of people there. As an observer of human behavior, I like to see how people behave. Go figure.
The music was top-notch - which almost goes without saying. Mark Cline Bates, Stephie James, Clark Paterson, host Derek Hoke, and Jon Byrd and a particularly potent version of Byrd's Auto Parts (David Conrad, Justin Amaral, Leo Grassl, Diego on Trombone, and Nick Beaudoing (of Runner of the Woods) on accordion.) With Tim Hibbs holding down the 1s and the 2s spinning $1 finds from a New York trip. We were all singing along at some points, and I had to tell a younger person what "Back on the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders was.
$2 Tuesday is about the music and the community and the $2 Yazoos, and it is about expecting the unexpected. Once again, I think how cool it is to live where I do and how cool it is that Derek Hoke started and has continued this weekly tradition for so long.
Now - let's jump back into our recap of 2019!
