I was doing so well! I had a blog going every month there for a solid stretch, then I fell off the wagon. I’m back though, with lots of stories and news for you. Get ready, this one might be a long read:
California
I began my journey on Nov. 10th with a 16 hour (!) drive from Portland to Los Angeles. It was my longest solo drive to date, but views like this made it much easier on me:
Nov. 11th – 13th: NACA West – Ontario, CA
One of the main reasons for this trip was to attend my 5th NACA Conference, being held in Ontario, CA. After seeing that Ontario was only 45 minutes from Los Angeles, I decided that I would stay with my friend in LA and make the drive back and forth each day. Terrible decision. With traffic, it was 1.5 hours each way. I lived in LA…I should know these things! Sometimes my ability to overlook details amazes even me. Regardless, NACA was a great experience as always. I got to see some familiar faces, make some new friends, and book some college shows.
The last day of NACA happened to fall on my birthday, and my dear friends from the University of Idaho were kind enough to throw me a private surprise party in celebration. When I walked into the hotel room, they had hung signs, bought pumpkin pie (my favorite), and completely decorated the room!
After three days of hard work, it was a welcome way to end the conference. I repaid them as best I could with a private performance of one of my new songs “Way Things Be.” (Note the slinkies on the table. Part of the oh-so-awesome birthday festivities).
Nov. 14th: Hotel Cafe/Shannon’s Birthday – Los Angeles, CA
The day after my birthday was the real celebration. First, I had a show at Hotel Cafe; one of my favorite venues in Los Angeles. Second, it was my best friend Shannon’s birthday. For those who know us, Shannon and I have a long history of performing together. We planned on playing the show and then going out to celebrate with friends after.
The show was fantastic. We played after fellow Austinite Gary Clark Jr., who came in with a full band and tore the place down. Not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous about following him. If you’re playing solo, it’s never ideal to go on after a full band. Especially if they’ve just played an incredibly energetic set in front of a crowd full of industry folks. Especially if it’s Gary Clark Jr. However, the show went off without a hitch. As long as you’re comfortable and prepared, things always seem to fall into place once you step on stage. Shannon sounded incredible as always, and it was great to be back on stage with her. I’m in the process of convincing her to move to Portland. Slowly but surely…
After the show, we celebrated for a while at Hotel Cafe before heading to Mel’s Diner with some of our closest friends. What happened there is the stuff of legends. One of my favorite nights in recent memory, capped off by this wonderful birthday cake presented to “Reed T. and Shanmoos!”
Nov. 17th: Ivy Hill House Concert – Oakland, CA
After a few more days in LA, I headed out to the bay area for a show in Oakland. I spent the first night in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities in the country. After a wonderful day spent bumming around the city, my friend Amberly and I headed out to Oakland for the show. Amberly is an amazing fiddle/violin player, and I’d invited her to join me on a few songs. We literally ran through each song once before she said “OK I think I got it.” That’s all she needed.
The show was great, and while I was a bit different musically from the rest of the bill, the audience was extremely welcoming. It was great to be part of such a strong music community for the night. Everybody there truly loved each other and each other’s art. We performed that night with Ever Isles, who are friends of mine and recently released their album “Cocoon.” It’s one of the most creative, inspiring things that I’ve heard in a long time. I highly recommend that you check it out.
After spending the night in Berkeley, I headed home to Portland the next day.
December:
When I got back to Portland I hit the ground running, returning to my usual busy show schedule. I really feel like I’m getting the hang of this city. Rainy season has started, and so far so good. We’ll see how I’m doing come July.
I went back to Austin for the holidays, and spent some much needed time with my family and friends in the sunshine. I performed at Lambert’s again on Dec. 23rd, which I always enjoy. If anyone has pictures/video from the show, please email me at reed@reedturner.com. I’d love to see them!
New Year’s Resolution – at least one blog a month. Go.
