Strangers When We Meet (Again)

   Tonight, I write with a full heart. Earlier today, I was invited to hang out with my old friends John and Jay Dub at their band, Strangers When We Meet's practice. It was a great chance to catch up with a couple songwriters that I became close with in the early days of becoming Dallas Danger. We reminisced about years gone by, even recalling that I released CDs of my live set from the first night we met at an open mic at O'Mainnin's Pub in Bristol, Tennessee. 
   In addition to seeing John and Jay Dub, I got to spend some time with their talented drummer, Tyler, John's brother, Jeremy (who has always been a big supporter of my music), John's wife Lily (another big fan), John's son, Clark River (who I share a birthday with), and even Quentin Horton, who you may recognize from the liner notes of both of my full-length albums (seriously, his name is all over them haha). 
    After listening to SWWM run through a couple of their songs, I got to play them a couple of mine, including a song that they were the first people to hear. I've always respected John and Jay Dub as songwriters, so it was nice to get feedback on a brand new tune. 
   All of the aforementioned made tonight a really great time, BUT the most exciting part of the night was that SWWM asked me to open for them on St. Patrick's Day! I'm so excited for a couple reasons. First, the show will be at Market Street Social Club in Kingsport, TN; a venue that is still very young but has the personality of a long-standing institution you might find along Broadway in Nashville. The other reason I'm so excited is that I'VE NEVER PLAYED A SHOW ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY BEFORE! Not once in my entire career. So, this will be a long overdue first for me. 
   One of my main goals for the incoming year is to be more vulnerable and open to getting out of the house and being seen. It would have been easy to turn down a 5pm invite to a 6pm practice. I could've come up with plenty of reasons not to go, even though I didn't REALLY have one. I'm obviously very glad that I decided to go and be seen. Here's to plenty more great nights like this in 2023!