June 30
Day Off in The Forest

Fresh off the heels of a gig at LOVEFEST with Kdubalicious (my keyboard trio with Jay Starling on keys, Mark D on drums and me on bass), this Saturday was a day off, spent mostly traveling to Electric Forest in Rothbury, Mich., to meet up with The Travelin’ McCourys and begin a short run of festie dates. Louis Gosain (front of house engineer, tour manager and harmony vocalist) and I flew from Omaha to Muskegon, Mich., with a connection in Chicago.

My tour manager Lou wishing for good luck under a pheasant at Muskegon AirportBy the time we got onsite that evening, The String Cheese Incident’s set was well under way – with explosions and fireworks and freaks of all shapes and sizes smiling, dancing, flailing and even crawling across the top of the crowd inside a giant see-through plastic bubble ball. The band is performing as brilliantly as ever, playing off of instinct and looking like they were truly enjoying themselves. I believe it’s no secret that Electric Forest is largely fueled by the electronic dance music scene. SCI has stepped up way into that realm while still maintaining their bluegrass roots. Still playing the hits that we know and love, but now digging deeper into the jams.

Kickin’ it with my boy Kyle in Michigan

Girl Talk followed with his brand of mash-up goodness, mixing hip-hop/rap with cheesy white pop music – all with infectious beats and dance grooves underneath that seem to work well. I also saw Major Lazer as well as heard beautiful, ethereal grooves from STS9. I listened from The Forest – The Electric Forest. The spacious space that is chock-full of trees perfectly spaced apart. This area separates two stages and is truly one of the festival’s main elements and attractions. During the day, The Forest is pure human carnage, with hammocks and sleeping bodies strewn throughout. But at night, it becomes a living, breathing organism that consumes and absorbs you. Lasers and mirrors and moving lights – oh, my. Words and pictures can’t describe it properly. This was my third time to experience The Forest and this year was, by far, the best. July 1
Show Day at Electric Forest

Chillin’ in the Electric Forest
I tried to talk the McCourys into sticking around until dark so they could experience The Forest in all its glory and splendor. They had early flights the next day out of Detroit to get there coveted day off before our gig at Big Top Chatauqua in Northern Michigan. So they split. For me, after SCI was Bassnectar, which provided so much power that my face began to be ripped off my skull. I had to tie a bandana around it just to keep it attached. ‘Twas wompalicious, indeed. Next, was Big Gigantic, who I enjoyed from the comfort of The Forest. Electric Forest – what a great fest. I can only hope to be a part of it again next year.

This would be the first of three shows that week with The Travelin’ McCourys: Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle and Alan Bartram on bass.
Just in case you don’t know, they are the Del McCoury Band without Del. And just in case you don’t know, Del McCoury is a living legend and bluegrass icon. Del and the boys had shows in Missouri on Friday and Taos, N.M. on Saturday. They flew in and hustled to the site and showed up about 90 minuets before our set time. They don’t call themselves the Travlin’ McCourys for nothing. They had just enough time to eat, change and learn a new song. I’m constantly trying to throw new material at them, and they are super pros and open-minded about it. The new songs for the day were: “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer, which had an injection of “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc., performed in a fast bluegrass style (of course, duh).

The set was at 5 p.m., with the sun still way high in the sky. It was hot as balls. You could see a few thousand people who were seeking shade around the perimeter of the Ranch Arena stage. In fact, there was a decent amount of shade to be had, and it looked as if every inch of it was occupied. Another couple thousand brave souls came into the dance space for a closer look and a killer sweat. Some people seemed untouched by the heat and danced their asses off. Others stood there gazing with their mouths open, like they were gonna pass out. This was Sunday, so there was some burned and crispy skin and brains. We blazed through our set like fire through a puddle of gas. We played material off of our new record called Pick, as well as some covers. One song that seems to go over well is “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People. That one got the biggest response and should have been the closer. A big topic among band conversations was the amount of bare breasts that were in front of the stage. Some were painted with beautiful artwork. Others had last night’s artwork smeared around, and some were just bare. I’m not sure if The McCourys had seen anything like that before but one thing is for sure: They played the best I had ever heard. Maybe we need bare breasts in front of us at every show – it’s good for lifting spirits!

My spirit needed no lifting as I was so incredibly happy to be playing music and singing with some of the finest musicians and singers on the bluegrass circuit – and probably the planet and even the solar system. After our set, SCI took the stage for a late afternoon/early evening bluegrass set. Ronnie, Rob, Jason and I sat in for a massive cluster pluck. ‘Twas pure bliss indeed. Especially the “Best Feeling” we played – it brought me back to the late ‘90s when I was a regular opening act and would often sit-in with SCI.

July 2
Travel Day/Day Off

The next day began my 11-plus hour drive to the next gig – the Big Top Chatauqua in Lake Superior, Mich. We had a day and a half to do it. I would have flown but that would’ve meant an early flight and I just didn’t want to miss the late night action of The Forest. Flying would’ve surely led to a painful morning, so Lou and I drove instead.

An interesting element about the infusion of my world with the McCourys is travel. We never travel together. They have Del shows as well as The Travelin’ McCourys shows and I have my solo shows as well as shows with my other projects. Each entity is a well-oiled travel machine and we have our own ways of doing things and getting where we need to be. They’re productive – getting haircuts, going for a dip in the lake, eating a wholesome meal. (See exhibits A and B.) I stay for the late night shenanigans and suffer the long drive. Sometimes I go a little crazy. (See exhibit C.)

Exhibit A_

Exhibit B_

Exhibit CJuly 3
The Big Top Chatauqua

The Big Top Chatauqua gig was at the base of a ski hill under a hot, Big Top tent that holds 800 people sitting. Yes, it, too, was hot-as-balls. Eventually, everyone in the audience was fanning themselves. This was the first time I had ever heard of the place. The McCourys have been there at least six times, as it is quite famous in the bluegrass community. Everyone has played there: Willie, Haggard, Hartford, as well as countless others. The venue hosts five shows a week in the summer. This was definitely a gig where people had come to see The McCourys and I was the outsider. This excited me. There were small posses of freaks smattered around, as well as a few individuals skipping outside of the tent. I even met some folks who made the same drive as I did from Rothbury. The gig’s new song for the day was the theme to The Andy Griffith Show. We opened with it as a tribute to the bluegrass fan and actor who just recently left us the day before. We tightened up the song “Wicked” by Cage the Elephant with the special Travelin’ Mc’s vocal treatment. They gave it this dark, minor key gospel harmony that really made my hair stand up on end. It was a seated show with folks being really quiet. (I also had my earphones cranked so, there’s that.)

It makes me so proud to be a part of such a solid vocal harmony that it elevated me to levitation right there onstage. Luckily, no one noticed or else I would have to do it on command, which defeats the purpose of levitation. (At least in my mind.) The first set was all about the sweat. A little puddle of sweat drops that had dripped from under my left elbow was on the stage. My arms and ankles glistened. The second set was cooler and much more realistic, temp-wise. No heat can stop me from having fun with The Travelin’ Mc’s. Heat is a luxury problem. I truly look forward to my next gig with them, which is tomorrow in Deadwood, S.D. Let the levitation continue!

Mt KellmoreJuly 6
Black Hills Bluegrass Bash

Black Hills Bluegrass Bash was quite interesting. We walked in to a giant_, cavernous room. It looked like it had at least a thousand seats and could hold at least double that without the seats. There were a few different stages in other parts of the casino with other bands playing. One name I recall is 6 Mile Road. They were hanging backstage after our show was over; hanging next to my empty bottle of vodka, where only a single shot remained. I’m not saying it was them that housed the bottle; they were just the only ones around. Plus, I was grateful for the few drops that somebody – or bodies – left for me. ‘Twas tasty indeed. Anyway, our show started out as a seated, listening show. There were senior citizens in wheelchairs with small buckets of nickels in the front row. The stage lights were bright and the venue was dark, but I could still see the blue hair reflecting in the darkness. Throughout the set, I could hear hoots and hollers but could not see any evidence of the freaky people lurking in the shadows. It wasn’t until the final tune that people rushed the stage, causing the older casino security with blazers, earplugs and panicked looks on their faces to start grabbing at tie-dye shirts in an attempt to keep them from blocking the view of the kind and mellow seniors in the front row. I couldn’t help but notice the smiles on the seniors’ faces as the freaks flailed around. To them, it was probably the most interesting part of the show. We did an encore and went backstage as if we were done, cuz we were. Then we heard chanting and banging. We decided quickly to abandon the first rule in show business – which is to leave them wanting more. We went back out. The lights were up. The house music was on. The front of the stage was packed with people – young and old alike – and wheelchairs still in place. ‘Twas quite surreal indeed. They were given a choice between the song “Porta Pottie” or “Women Are Smarter.” The women won.

Call this guy if you’re ever in a jam and tell him I sent you