FROM CONROE BACK TO SNOW

Home, to some it's EVERYWHERE, to some it's the soles of their FEET. To some it's WHEREVER they can lay their HEAD. And to the Folks in the Nick David Tribe, we  call MINNESOTA HOME. We look past the double digit negative numbers because our Hearts warm with  a FIRE here. HERE,  WE ARE HOME. This is where our ROOTS are planted. This is where a lot of our TRIBE'S STORIES MEET.

We have been blest since late SEPTEMBER to be able to  start to make a good portion of this country our HOME. Thanks again to EVERYONE who's come OUT to SEE US. It has been AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL and A TRUE PRIVILEGE to SING and PLAY for YA'LL. It has been SUPER COOL to MEET YOU in PERSON as well. 

Most of the time when we meet, I'm always thinking "YOU'RE THE PEOPLE THAT WATCHED ME ON TV" Seriously it's an honor to meet EACH and EVERYONE of YOU.

Truly folks in ALL SINCERITY, PEACE and MANY THANKS for not only your SUPPORT, but for your LOVE. Thank you for sharin your stories with me. It TRULY REAFFIRMS WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT THIS IS THE COURSE AND NOW IS THE TIME.

In keepin with TRADITION; one of the many pillars here at A BEARD'S EYEVIEW, here's a recap on our FINAL night of the GOIN SOUTH TOUR. Hey Now!

Our last stop was THE DOSEY DOE CAFE in CONROE TEXAS. www.doseydoecoffeeshop.com

This place was super cool, after driving around a good portion of Texas not to mention just gettin back from out EAST we were a little tired. We rolled up to the spot and it was connected to a strip mall. Truly folks, we've learned to keep an OPEN MIND on the ROAD. We walked into the spot and the second you walk in, it's like your in a trading post from the late 1800's early 1900's. And peppered through out the walls, were signed guitars by many a country great. We ALL once again had some extra pep in our step folks.  The twists and turns of this journey filled our SPIRITS with some of the MAGIC of the past. When MUSIC was the SHOW.  It was so cool. What ambiance, what history. I don't take a second of it for granted. To walk the highways of the STORY of music, to WALK the FOOTSTEPS of the GREATS, to TRY and LEARN. To TRY and BECOME BETTER. 

The show at the Dosey Doe was an earlier one ladies and gents. We took the stage at half past 7. Also known as 7:30. I do believe part of it had to do with it being the last night of pretty close to a month of being on the road. And I'm sure part of it was the mood of the cafe and how close the people and our band were. Super Intimate. It was beautiful. I had tears in my eyes for a good portion of the songs the entire evening. It was powerful. The range and exchange of EMOTION and ENERGY was very special and something I will never forget. The show in Conroe came with some extra Passion, we left it ALL on the STAGE.

BIG THANKS to STEVE, TEDDY, AMY, ELLEN, and the rest of the SUPER AWESOME STAFF at the DOSEY DOE CAFE. Thanks to Kevin for helpin us get things set up on stage.

And THANK YOU THANK YOU to  THE FEELIN BAND, thank you  DYLAN NAU, MAXAPHONE, TIMMY CARROW! JIM on sound, MA on merch. What an Adventure. Thanks to the rest of the FEELIN BAND holdin down the fort back home. Thanks DEBRA G., MIKE CINI and JOHNNIE TIMM. Thanks Miss Abi for the wonderful artwork. Thanks to Jackson for keepin the interwebs moving, as well capturin some VERY BEAUTIFULLY UNIQUE images. www.aframeforward.com ...Thank you to Mike and Maureen who help get the word out on what we're doin. And last but certainly not least, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the WONDERFUL FOLKS at NEW FRONTIER TOURING www.newfrontiertouring.com for CONNECTING the DOTS and MAKING IT POSSIBLE for US to take it to the STREETS!

But what are streets without people? Well I guess they're still streets, but what is a TRIBE without PEOPLE? NOTHING. None of this would be possible without YOU folks. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

We'll HOPEFULLY see you out on the road. PEACE, PEACE, PEACE.

Holy LUCKENBACH folks!

Now ladies and gents, as some of you well know, we have been taking it to the streets. Taking it to the people and it has been truly amazing. And as amazing as it has been, it's been very crazy to keep movin from town to town. You start to gain and build this momentum, it get's kinda hard to slow down.
So a little tired we headed out from Austin to LUCKENBACH for their annual BLUESFEST.

After driving over rolling hills, covered with the tree's you saw in the Young Guns movies, and many a turn we found the LUCKENBACH DANCEHALL. www.luckenbachtexas.com

Please go check it out for yourself folks. And in keepin in line with these gigs walkin in the footsteps of the greats, this place was no different. Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings as well as Robert Earl Keen to name a few.

We followed the signs to where it said Band Load parked, saw an awesome looking hat shop, walked right up and saw my hat that was waiting for me for I don't know how long. I said I would love to try on that hat, and the second it was on, it was mine. 

Thanks Boo for takin the time to be so helpful, thanks for fitting my favorite hat on the planet. And truly thanks for being so awesome. Next I said hello to Cowboy R and hopped on Tumbleweed, a huge Texas Longhorn. 

All of this happened within the first 15 minutes of setting foot on this magical land. HEY NOW and HOLY BUCKETS!  Not to mention the wonderful music of Garrett LeBeau www.garrettlebeau.com

as all this is happening. Talk about a recharge folks, there was definitely some more pep in my step. We then headed backstage to get ready for the show. The wonderful Miss Abbey who was the main reason we were in LUCKENBACH asked us for a pic of our whole team. Here we are.....

Hope you do enjoy.

Minus me in the 10 gallon hat, our crew is JIM on sound, MA  on merch and mom power, miss Abbey "the one who got us on the bill", D Nau on guitar and sampling, Maxaphone on sax and EWI and Timmy Carrow on keys. This is part of our TRIBE and huge parts of making all of this possible. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU miss Abbey for makin this possible and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the NICK DAVID TRIBE. HEY NOW!

If you can't tell folks, this was and is a special spot and was almost like a world you read about in the storybooks. This place charged my battery 10 times over. What a magical spot. Before we knew it, it was time to hit the stage and share some stories of the Heart with the wonderful people.

The wonderful, the beautiful, the amazing miss Tameca Jones went on right before us and she dusted off that stage with some solid soul. She can SANG. www.reverbnation.com/tamecajones

A quick side note, miss Tameca and I met auditioning for the voice, so this wasn't the first time and it most definately won't be the last. As we were getting our gear ready, they had time for one more and she told the people how we met and dedicated "with a little help from my friends" to me..so's waitin in the wings and after many "you should do it", I went and up and joined miss Tameca on the choruses it was so on the spot and so fun. Then it was our turn.

The show was rippin and full of energy! We brought some of that Northland FUNK and the people loved it. The exchange of energy was wonderful. What was an hour and fifteen minute set felt like a few songs. So much fun. The next thing I knew we were done and had clear the stage for the next act

Malford Milligan. Again this dude's got a very soulfully smooth voice. So blessed to share the stage with such talented and gifted spirits.

Speakin of gifted spirits, Thank you to everyone who came out to the LUCKENBACH BLUESFEST.

Ya'll truly truly lifted our spirits and sent us wonderfully on our way to CONROE. Thank you folks for your support and love. It warms my heart and brings such JOY and GRATITUDE. I AM so GRATEFUL. Peace and Many Many Thanks. 

p.s.

there were a couple other bands on the bill that played before we got there and after we left, they were 

Texas Tornados,Van Wilkes and Debbie Walton. It's an honor to share the stage with such talented folks. Also a big big big THANK YOU to VIRGIL who was head of security. Thanks for all your help and thanks for the awesome walkin cane. HEY NOW and HOLY BUCKETS!

Back on the Road, TEXAS style

Welcome back folks, after being HOME for two days to recharge with  FAMILY before headin southbound to TEXAS! We managed to leave the great state of MINNESOTA during another "polar vortex" and when we got to TEXAS it was like 30 degrees! Now for a Minnesotan, especially this winter that's practically spring.

We left Minnie around 9 am and made it to Texas about 2am, Holy Buckets! After finding out our hotel rooms were sold, they then moved us to a different hotel , when all was said done the alarms were goin off, we had a spot on Good Day Dallas.

Everyone at KDFW FOX 4 NEWS was very welcoming and kind. It was very nice to work with helpful considerate folks, especially after the ride down, and getting very little sleep. Plus the audio guy Dennis is an amazing scientist of all things audio, he showed us so many cool old, vintage microphone, home-made DI's, it was cool and very refreshing to see someone LIVING their LIFE with passion.

Here's Dennis ya'll. Thanks Dennis.

And here's a link to our spot on GOOD DAY DALLAS,  just click the link that'll take you to the Video page, where I'll be waitin. Hope you do enjoy..

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/category/233373/good-day

After the TV spot, we went back to rest and prepare for the show at the HOUSE OF BLUES DALLAS!

Thank you, Thank you to the folks of Dallas for comin out and sharin your evenin with us we truly appreciate.

It is truly a wild and amazing honor and blessing to be able to take the songs of the heart to the streets, and honestly not knowing what to expect each night in each town. But, every night YOU the people come and share your time, your breath and your stories. YOU the people make this possible, and WE are so grateful, and BLESSED by your continued LOVE and SUPPORT.

PEACE and MANY MANY THANKS.

We Are Home

We are home ladies and gentleman. I know that I say THANK YOU a lot, and I mean it  a lot, even when people thank me, I normally say "thank you", instead of  "you're welcome". Thank you not only to everyone we met on the leg of this tour, but truly THANK YOU to EVERYONE we met the last tour and the tour before that, THANK YOU to the people that have been HERE since day ONE! THANK YOU for the ONES that are reading this right NOW. THANK YOU to EVERYONE and EVERYTHING, it has brought US exactly to right NOW, THIS VERY MOMENT.
And this very moment we are back home, trying to charge our batteries, if only for a second, before we hit the road again, and head SOUTH, this time to TEXAS!
But, before we go any further in TRUE BEARD'S EYE VIEW fashion, we gotta fill you in on the final night of our TOUR in LARCHWOOD, IOWA.

As we left Kansas City, and got closer to our last spot before we stopped HOME, the scenery started to look at little more familiar, big skies, mostly gray in the winter, open prairies, speckled with trees throughout, we were getting close to home. Except we didn't see much snow.
Our last spot was in Larchwood Iowa, which is pretty close to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We played the EVENT CENTER at the GRAND FALLS RESORT AND CASINO.
www.grandfallscasinoresort.com

In keeping with the tradition of this tour, this is the room that many of the people that have added a chapter or two to the history of music played, plays, or is going to play in this room. I grew up listening to KOOL 108, which was actually 107.9. We got asked to sign the wall, and we look at the wall and it's B.B. King, Michael McDonald,  the Guess Who, REO Speed Wagon, Grand Funk Railroad, WAR, Charlie Daniels Band, it was crazy. They've even had Bob Newhart. I share these names, only to share a dream coming true and in a HUGE  way none of it would be possible without YOU.
Every piece plays a part. THANK YOU.

In keepin with "Tradition" we loaded our gear onto the stage, but this time folks our BAND morphed and transformed for this gig. DebraG went to participate in what is becoming an annual tradition in Minneapolis;  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANIS, where a bunch of the TWIN CITIES LEADING LADIES get TOGETHER and pay Tribute to the ONE and the ONLY MISS JANIS JOPLIN!

We met up with our rhythm section too 

folks. "we're getting the band back together"  We were joined by Mike Cini on the drums, Johnnie Timm on the bass and Timmy Carrow on the keys. It was great to see them again, and before we knew it, it was SHOWTIME. 

Peace and many many Thanks to EVERYONE for YOUR SUPPORT. Thank you Thank you to Dan, Sharon, Cheryl, and everyone else at  Grand Falls Casino. Thanks to Trevor for helpin on monitors, Thanks Billy and everyone else doing the video and other audio. And a special Thank you to everyone who came out and shared your evening with us! We almost sold it out, they said "we haven't had this many people here since Miranda Lambert"

Truly folks, thank you for your LOVE and SUPPORT without it, none of this would be possible.

HEY NOW and HOLY, HOLY, HOLY BUCKETS!

Welcome Back Folks

Well well welcome back folks, we are back at it with one more show to go for this run. But, in keepin with tradition let us have a quick recap of last night.
Yes ladies and gents we've left the east and circled back to the midwest, landing in Kansas City, Missouri.

Almost every spot we've played on this tour have been spots that so many of the greats have played, and this spot was no different. We are soaking up the history and following the footsteps of some of the ones who have paved the way for the story of music. We are honored and blessed, and Knuckleheads in Kansas City Folks is a spot like no other.  www.knuckleheadskc.com

This is a place to be experienced folks. It'll put some hair on your chest. On our way to the spot we took a wrong turn and ended up in some kind of truck yard/ rail yard. It was awesome, we were surrounded by semi's goin here and there and a bunch of rail road tracks and smokestacks bellowing smoke. Then we took a couple of turns and rolled up on Knuckleheads.

So's we did what do many a night and that was load our gear in, take instruments and cords and plugs out of boxes, and take out stands and set our instruments on and stands, and then I take out my grandfathers license plate and my other grandfather's crucifix and begin to build my altar, other pieces of the past mixed with various blankets and cloth, and I can't forget my Minnesota flag. The stage is set, we check our instruments and then go and get ready for the show.

What was a 90 minutes seemed to go so fast and before we knew it, the show was done. We brought the funk, the bounce, the groove, the moves, then held the hearts with humility. Then left Kansas City on the ups with a song, almost our theme song from the prophet Willie Nelson, NIGHTLIFE.

Thank you Frank, Pete, Richard, Dennis and the rest of the kind folks at Knuckleheads for havin us. Thank you thank you thank you to the wonderful people of Kansas City, MO for comin out and sharin your evenin with us we really appreciate it. 

Peace Peace Peace, next stop IOWA. Peace and many many thanks folks for your continued support. I don't take an inch of it for granted. It is truly appreciated and truly strength for this blessed journey. Truly truly from the breath of my heart THANK YOU.

We're makin our way back

Well hello folks. We are officially done with the EASTERN leg of our tour. Thank you Thank you Thank you. This was our first time playin music in this part of the country, so's we didn't know what to expect, but night after night the people came and magic ensued. And last night in Annapolis was no different.

Local fella Alex Peters started the night off on vocals and acoustic guitar. And before we knew it ladies and gents, it was SHOWTIME.

With the room almost full and the way that the room was set up most intimate, the stage was set for some music from the heart and for the heart and these people were ready. We groove and moved and stripped the show down to guitar strums, stories, tears and laughter. I thank the CREATOR for the GIFT of music and ALL that it brings. We carry these songs from town and town, dust them off and share them with you the PEOPLE. And night after night, day after day, we meet. And it is good. We laugh, we cry, we fill our spirits with passion, we remember, and we recharge. Then we go back out into our lives and share what we have learned.
                " MAKE THIS A LAND A BETTER LAND THE WORLD IN WHICH"
                  WE LIVE AND HELP EACH MAN AND WOMEN BE A BETTER
                  MAN AND WOMEN WITH THE KINDNESS THAT YOU GIVE
                  I KNOW WE CAN MAKE IT, WE CAN MAKE IT IF WE TRY!

" I KNOW WE CAN MAKE IT, I KNOW THAT WE CAN, I KNOW DARN WELL WE CAN WORK IT OUT, YES WE CAN I KNOW WE CAN, CAN, YES WE CAN, GREAT GOSH ALMIGHTY YES WE CAN IF WE WANT IT NOW!"

Thank you Thank you Thank you kind hearted ladies and gentlemen from Philly, Ardmore, Washington D.C, New York City, Wilkes Barre, and Annapolis! Thank you from the breath of our hearts, we WILL remember you and we WILL BE BACK. We have a couple of travel days kind folks, so we'll be seein ya in a few. Hope you ALL are HEALTHY, HAPPY, and HAVIN FUN!
Until next time, PEACE and MANY THANKS! HEY NOW AND HOLY BUCKETS!
Next stop, Kansas City!

The Second Show

Hello kind ladies and gentlemen. We had an off day/travel day yesterday, and playin every night since the 8th, I treated it like an off day. We arrived in Annapolis around the same time the sun was setting. The band joked that we were going on a date. "dinner and a movie" We found ourselves at a local favorite spot JALAPENOS, for dinner, we had to get creative for a vegetarian option, but it worked.
After dinner we went to the picture show. It was a fun, relaxin Monday night. Thanks Annapolis!

Kind folks I would however like to backtrack even farther and touch on some of the magic that was our night at the RIVER STREET JAZZ CAFE in Wilkes Barre PA.

Folks if you are ever in the area this awesomely intimate spot is a little piece of musical history. Leon Russell, Garth Hudson, Col. Bruce Hampton,Keller Williams, Jimmy Herring, The Slip, Lotus, are some of the talented beings that have made this spot part of their route when they are taking the music to the people.

Here's a link if you want to check it out for yourself.www.riverstreetjazzcafe.com

The band was kind of tired as we were wrappin up a week of traveling and playin every night. It is a dream come true, but sometimes it get's a little tiring. Blessed but tiring. But when we started playing it was as if with each note we became stronger and gained more energy by the time the show was done our  batteries were charged. Thanks again to the wonderful people of Wilkes Barre for coming out and sharing their time and listening abilities and for sharing and bringing the love.

Local fellas Mike Dougherty on vocals and acoustic guitar and Dylan Skursky on upright/bowed bass started the night off. Those two are incredibly talented at their craft. What an honor and a treat to share the stage.
Thanks dudes. Please folks check both these cats out. Thanks. Then it was our turn to share our gifts and share we did. Thank you for the wonderful exchange of energy within the mystery.

Truly folks from the breath of my heart I thank you, thank you not only for your support in coming out to the shows, thank you not only for your support in spreading the music and message of hope and healing by buying the albums, but thank you for being you. Every night when we are done playing I go  to the merch booth and do the meet and greet. I call it the "second show".  I take a breath and a drink of water after painting my soul on the walls and go back to the table and say hello. I say hello to what you the people have to say. You bring me stories, personal stories, stories of love and loss, of hope and struggle, of joy and pain. You bring me smiles and tears and it is my fuel for this journey. And for that I Am forever grateful.. and while I'm thanking people, I would like to personally thank from the NICK DAVID TRIBE...thank you, thank you, thank you Tom, Alaina, Ben, Sara, Gino, Sam, Abbey, James, D.J. and the rest of the kind hearted folks at the RIVER STREET JAZZ CAFE. Peace and many many thanks.

PEACE PEACE PEACE, speakin of peace I will leave you all with a photo of a shrine brother Maxaphone spotted on the way to our place of rest. Peace to your hearts and peace to your minds. until next time. HEY NOW!