So there I was, sitting inside the Mercury Lounge during sound check hours before the show.  I was eating terrible chinese food.  I was eating it way too fast.  I was nervous that we might be biting off more than we could chew.  I had yet to meet the cellist, and never rehearsed with any of the brass.  The day before, I found out that Anchor and Braille’s car broke down and they could not make the show.  So this was it.  The defining moment.  Could we really sell out the Mercury Lounge Show?  Could we truly create the same magic that had happened there the month before?  Could I honestly concentrate on the magic of the moments and not worry about all the “suits” coming out to the show?  My good friend Harlan Alford had been running around town all day.  The show would not have happened without him.  The show would not have happened without you.

The clock strikes 10:00PM, and I have been second guessing myself for the past 3 hours leading up to this moment.  I strum my grandfather’s 49′ Electromatic and hope for the best.  I look up and it all hit me.  I am staring at people who know me well.  People who have heard this music in this city for the past 3 years.  New faces stand back in the dim light while the tried and true take deep breathes with me as I gather myself for the first note.  The rest is magic.  A time captured by something more important.  We were waiting for the future.  We were not worried about the past.  We simply were there in the present and completely taking in the greatness of the moment that was happening.  It’s not the songs, it’s not the music, it’s the community.

New ideas are on the horizon.  New songs have started taking up my moments of clarity.  Songs about you.  Songs about your stories.  Thank you for sharing life with me.

Zach