Friday, May 1, 2009

Holy crap, did we just dirtbuggy through the South Carolina night?

So we'd been looking forward to Wednesday's show for a long time.  It was at a little barn called Awendaw Green, about 20 miles outside of Charleston, South Carolina.  We had been in touch with the venue owner, Eddie White, and he seemed like a true patron of the arts: the guy went out out of his way to help us book other gigs and make everything easy on us.

Turns out the gig was on my birthday, so after our warmup song, Kat had the whole crowd of 100 sing happy birthday to me.  Aww, thanks Kat!  We rocked out for an hour and a half, it felt great.  I played and sang a song of mine, Coming Spring, which was the biggest crowd I've sung to by far.  (My biggest crowd so far had been living-room-sized.)

Eddie had offered to put us up at the barn that night, so after the crowd dissipated, we hung out with Nat, the resident sound guy.  (The property also has a recording studio and living area.)  He and his friend took us out on a dirt buggy ride through this track the neighbors built, which feels like stepping into a driving video game.  The leaves whipped us and we sped around corners and over jumps like ridiculous madmen.

Did I mention that Eddie's a dentist?  Eddie's a dentist, and the next day he woke us up to bring us to his office and clean our teeth.  He then took us out to this crab shack and got us delicious seafood, and another gig there.  Thanks Eddie!

But wait, Eddie's even cooler than you expected!  Nat took us over to Eddie's property in the swamp and we went kayaking.  I fell off the kayak (note: kayaking upright is difficult) and Kat got bitten to hell.  (She's been slapping herself at random times since, and she draws some great stares.)  

Those were some of the best times we've had on this trip.  It's a really surreal feeling to wander into and through all of these fascinating and beautiful scenes, people, and places.  I feel compelled to mention more cool things about Eddie.  Did I mention he's a great dad?  The reason he built this whole Awendaw Green complex is because his son loves music, and he wanted to give him a place to record.  Eddie White: if you're reading, I'd bear your children if I were able.

5 comments:

  1. shawn, what a fun and exciting way to celebrate a milestone in your life with a couple of others as well--playing your undoubtedly beautiful song to a large audience, and spending time with such wonderful people in the midst of such a joyful and unpredictably fulfilling adventure. you're setting yourself up well for the next 25 years; congrats papichulo!

    were you nervous when you played your song?

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  4. LOL for your gift of clean teeth! Eddie is my friend! Joy warms me as I hear about your fun.

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