Jumpin' At The Woodside

Not every day you stumble across physical evidence of a past crossroads in your life. Today while cleaning out some old boxes I found a job offer letter from a company in Wayne, Pa, sent to me in 1999. My choice at the time was either to take this job at a new company, or stay at my current company if they matched the offer. They did. It was a tough choice, and I remember at the time I felt like I was making the right choice. I ultimately wanted to stay where I was as our division was about to be spun off into a new company, and it seemed like big things were on the horizon. Dot Coms were booming and everyone was cashing in, so it seemed like everything was going my way. About a year later, the Dot Coms went bust. January 2001, I found myself in a conference room where most of our company, myself included, received the news we were being let go via speakerphone. I eventually got back on my feet, but I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like had I taken that job offe...

Here it is, this year's summer mix . Includes a few sound effects, and as usual, it's a kind of "journey" from start to finish... Pure Imagination - Joe Alterman Up and Away - Dave Matthews The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) - Snow Patrol Feels Like the First Time - Foreigner American Nomad - The Apache Relay Summer Day - Sheryl Crow We Are the Tide - Blind Pilot Rumble and Sway - Jamie N Commons The Ceiling - The Wild Feathers Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne Train In Vain (Stand by Me) - The Clash September - Earth Wind & Fire Her Favorite Song - Mayer Hawthorne Wiser Time (Live) - The Black Crowes I Go Swimming (Live) - Peter Gabriel Breathe (In the Air) - Pink Floyd Float - Pacific Air Long Time (Sans Foreplay) - Boston Lost Kid - The Apache Relay All Your Life - The Band Perry Bet you didn't see that last track coming, but then neither did I - Salud!

Rogue OREgasmic Ale Greetings and Hoppy Friday! Tonight's brew is  Rogue's OREgasmic Ale ... "Brewed using 100% OREGON Ingredients. Micro Barley Farm Dare™ & Risk™ Malts; First Growth Micro Hopyard Revolution & Independent Hops, Pacman Yeast and Free Range Coastal Water." Believe me it lives up to its name, it's good stuff. That is of course if you're a hop fan, if not then probably not so much. This week was our somewhat quarterly "All Hands" meeting, and as usual it was held at the EpiCentre Theaters , maybe the finest movie theater complex I've ever seen. Immediately following our meeting was the theater's regularly scheduled showing of the latest Batman film. When the meeting started, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was thinking of the victims and their families in Colorado . Actually a few times this past week I found myself thinking "what if..." in various public places. Granted I doubt there a...

Route 95 South - Virginia After the previous night's show , Sunday morning came bursting in quickly as the hotel shades didn't close all the way. No matter, we were excited to hit the road and get started to Virginia Beach that morning. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel's buffet. We gassed up on our way to route 95, refreshed the cooler's ice and grabbed some refreshments for the drive. Good thing we got an early start as we hit traffic due to an accident outside Va. Beach, but the three-hour drive went by fairly quickly. We got to the hotel before check-in time so we hit the 11th St. Tap House Bar & Grille for lunch and then checked in. View from the balcony - Va. Beach I noticed the Tap House sold souvenir sweatshirts. Being that I had no cool weather gear and the strangely cool day was going to get even cooler in the evening, I picked up a sweatshirt to wear to the show that night. Monkey drunk as a coot again... just kidding, he asked me ...

While sometimes I may be a bit, how they say... "loco en la cabeza," but this does not negate the fact that I believe the word "party" is a noun. - Salud!

Our 2012 DMB VA trip - Google was actually spot on for best routes. When I looked at this year's Dave Matthews Band tour schedule I thought they have back-to-back shows in Virginia (Bristow and Va. Beach) on June 16-17, which are basically hometown shows for the band. They were also looking at a short break following the Va. Beach show, and young blues guitar slinger Gary Clark Jr. was opening both shows... I thought this was a must see. Without regard to travel plans, I bought the tickets and reserved hotel rooms nearby both locations. My first thought was I might fly into DC (Dulles) and meet up with my pals who would then drop me back at the airport on their way home the day after the last show. After some time to think on it, I came to the conclusion it would be best to fly up to the Lehigh Valley, see my family and then drive down to the shows and back with The Monkey. Friday afternoon beers at the Legion. I flew into Allentown, Pa., a couple days ...

I've been seeing a lot of Warren Haynes of late. First time was with Gov't Mule here at the Fillmore in 2009 . With Gov't Mule visiting again this year on June 9, I've seen Warren a few times within the last year. Gov't Mule - June 9, 2012, Charlotte, NC A year ago on this date (6/25/2011) the Warren Haynes Band played a slot during the Dave Matthews Band Caravan in Atlantic City, NJ , and then later that night Warren joined DMB on stage for their classic song "#41." Later that summer I caught the Warren Haynes Band again in Charlottesville, Va., playing a gig at the Jefferson Theater following a Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds acoustic show at the nearby outdoor amphitheatre. Dave & Tim joined Warren and the band for an encore that included a funky cover of "All Along the Watchtower" and The Band's "The Weight." Whiskey Warehouse rooftop bar - June 9, 2012 This time around, I went with my old friend Michele (aka ...