As I sat down to type this, I saw a story come across the wire that Tilly Norwood - an AI generated “actress” - is set to star in first feature film. I can't even say “her” first, because it's a genderless AI manifestation. And the reason I bring it up, how it's kind of apropos of this entry, is because I am SICK of AI crap. I'm sick of it being foisted upon us, sick of people using it to cut corners, sick of people telling me it's “the future.” I long for REALNESS.

That's where the Jones Winery show comes in.

I love playing at Jones Winery. David, who books me and runs sound, is a delightful human. When I first played there years ago, in roughly 2019, I asked him, “Should I play covers or originals?” He replied, “Do whatever you want.” So, that's what I've been doing when I play there… whatever makes me feel comfortable, which is usually an original-heavy set list, with a few covers sprinkled in to change it up. But on this particular night, I did something different.

I was determined to get two solid sets of originals cooking for this performance, not something I normally do. Even when I play the “all-original” shows, it's ususally a 45-60 minute set. At Jones Winery, I play two sets, every time. And this time, I dedicated myself to playing all my songs. Well, except for ending with The Beatles' ‘With A Little Help From My Friends.’ I almost always end with that, no matter what.

It can be a challenge trying to “sell” these songs that many people haven't heard before, so it helps to tell stories about them. And tell stories I did. It not only helped me pace myself, as opposed to frantically running too fast through the songs, but it gave me an opportunity to connect with the audience, make them laugh. Many places I perform at, it's hard to do that because there are a number of things happening all at once. At Jones, they are focused on the wine and the entertainment, and that makes me feel very happy!

There was a time when I basically played the entire album of “Where You Come From” because those were the only songs I had. Then “Amplify” came along and I got to be choosier. Then “Steel Tempered Pride” came about, and I had even more songs to choose from. These days, I've been focusing on the singles I've released over the past few years, as well as the songs from “Fits and Starts and Stops.” I haven't really been playing anything from the “Amplify" record over the past few years, but for this show I rotated ‘Seventy Letters’ and ‘Not Sad To See You Leave’ into the set. And the song from “Amplify” that I've really been trying to resurrect and have brought back a few months ago is ‘I Can’t Wait To Let You Down.' I always loved that song. It feels good, new, and refreshing to bring these older songs back around.

So, how does this connect to my intro rant about AI? This show felt REAL. Playing live music feels human. Playing songs that I created feels even more real and human. I'm so grateful for venues like this where I can share my art. I'm grateful for people like Ron (pictured below) that make it out to hear me play. This show was a good one to have this summer, keeping the original material front and center.