Dwight Raby

OK, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration. I’m really only going to play in Evansville, IN for a couple of days with the band. Still, I’m psyched. Jeff can’t make it so I’ve got former Sundomingo drummer Nathan Lathouse on the road with us. Frank will be there. I anticipate a weekend of merriment that will be recorded in the annals of fun times and gigglesmoot. Just made that word up. I think it’s gonna catch on like misunderstimated did a few years back.

If you’re anywhere withing 1000 of Evansville, IN either Friday night or Saturday night and you don’t come to the show, then you’re not cool. All the cool kids are in Evansville.

You ever meet one of those people that just embodies the love of what they do so wholeheartedly that even if you don’t see them for a while you can’t help but be moved by them even in absentia. That’s how I’ve always felt about Gareth Asher. I don’t really know him that awful well, but for some reason I happened upon a youtube video yesterday and realized why I like that guy so much. I’ve just never met anyone who loves songs and songwriting as much as Gareth.

Hey everybody I just wanted to give you an update on how recording is coming along with Big D and the Refugees. We’ve got our songlist done finally and have started recording the following:

1) The Band Played On
2) Learned My Lesson
3) Dangerous
4) Rubberman
5) Mary and Jesse
6) Angel
7) Off the Ground
8) Bleed
9) Comfortable
10) Strong Hands

I’m really looking forward to this. When you’re recording a lot of times things happen that you weren’t expecting. This album is starting to become bluesier all the time, which is good because that sounds more like me! Josh is killing it in the studio as are Jeff and Frank. Got some fun ideas in there! We’re looking at a summer release and then world tour.

Wow, Columbia SC was fun! Thanks to all the girls from ZTA at University of South Carolina what a fun event! Can’t wait to get back see you all soon!

This weekend I got to go on tour. By “on tour” I mean I drove to Lexington, KY for a gig. It was great! Jeff and Frank were previously engaged this weekend so I grabbed local funk legends Kevin Scott and Duane Trucks from The Atlanta Funk Society for the gig. We loaded up the trusty Honda Element and headed up to Kentucky. I actually lived in Kentucky when I was a kid, but I haven’t been back since then.

The venue was Tin Roof Right off of the University of Kentucky campus. There was I time that I was a UK basketball fan because I liked Rick Pitino. Then he spent a few years ruining my real basketball love – the Boston Celtics – so I had to divorce UK because of their prior relationship with him.

The gig itself was a little odd. UK had a huge blood drive that day so not a lot of people were going out. It’s tough to grab a crowd when there’s no crowd. We still had fun though. About 30 minutes before the end of the gig I went ahead and let Duane and Kevin start packing up and I just played solo. About that time everybody started getting into it. I think it was because they had finally gotten enough liquor in them, but I told Duane and Kevin it was probably because they sucked. That’s not true, but it’s fun to say it. I could tell that this place was usually a rocking joint though and I can’t wait to get back!

The best part of the trip was the ride back. I’m not much of a night driver, but Kevin ad Duane are pros. Play with Col. Bruce Hampton for long enough and I think it become second nature. The music vocabulary of these two is kind of insane. I slept mostly but in between road naps I kept hearing different styles of Pandora music from funk to pop to cheesy 80′s ballads. It was pretty cool.

Anyway, thanks guys for a great trip. I’m beat but I loved it can’t wait to do it again!

Like anybody else who makes his/her living in music, I am intrigued at the songwriting process and how it manifests itself differently in different people. There are some people that can just sit down and write a great song on demand. I’ve done that, but I find that the songs I’m most proud of are the ones that fester over time and then magically write themselves. That process seems to be coming to a head today for me. I’ve had 3-4 songs swinging around in my head for months and their starting to crash down on me now. Since I’m heading into the studio pretty soon, that’s good news.

I’m really happy with the two songs I’ve already tracked with Brian Collins – Angel and Off the Ground. Later this month I’m going into Josh Golden’s studio to record some more stuff. I can’t wait to get in there with this new material!

Some of you may know this, but in addition to playing music I also enjoy running and tennis. I’ve been with my mixed doubles ALTA tennis team for a few years and, for some odd reason, have developed a reputation as a bit of a wise-ass.

So, today I was pushed by our captain, so i felt the need to respond in kind. I’m just better at this than she is:

I actually wasn’t feeling it today. But now Russ makes me feel like I
have a reputation to uphold. Soooo……

Of course, I’m kidding about all this, except the part about me being
married and attractive, caring, sensitive, etc. The legs thing is true
too. Meredith and Margaret are cool, it’s just weird with Margaret
partner crushing on me all the time.

Dwight Raby
–
Singer/songwriter, Dog Lover, Mountaineer, Ankle Model, Tantric Yogi, and
USDA Certified Generally Good Guy
www.dwightraby.com – solo website
www.bigdandtherefugees.com – band website
www.bestlegsinthesoutheast.com – modeling website
www.howtomakeyourwomancrytearsofjoy.com – relationship advice website