Dave Potts - Acoustic Folk Singer Songwriter

DP's Best of 2008 Awards

2008-12-31T14:32:00.000-08:00

Top 6 Gigs of 2008
1) Birchmere – Alexandria, VA 2/23, opening for Christine Lavin. The Birchmere is one of the premier venues for singer/songwriters in the country, and it was a great honor to play there, as well as to be asked by Christine Lavin to open the show. The staff and hospitality were first rate, and playing in front of a 300+ listening room audience is a rare treat in this business.
2) Magpie House Concerts – Salt Lake City, UT 2/8. A beautiful drive through snow covered mountains brought me from Las Vegas up to Salt Lake City. I had met Grant, the host of the series at the 2007 Folk Alliance Conference, and had always wanted to come back to play in Salt Lake City (I hadn’t been there since 1996). The living room was absolutely packed for the show, only a couple feet between myself and the front row of seats. It was one of the most folk friendly audiences I had ever performed for. Everyone was hanging on every word, and the whole night couldn’t have gone better. Even the pregame meal of Memphis-style barbecue was better than I could have expected. (I didn’t expect much out of barbecue in Utah, but it was the real deal)
3) Vanilla Bean Café- Pomfret, CT 6/7 with Jud Caswell. This night was a perfect example of what I love about being a touring singer/songwriter. Vanilla Bean Café is a perfect setting for acoustic music, tucked away in a very small town in the northeast corner of Connecticut. Jud and I had played 4 gigs together in the span of 2 weeks, and we finally had our act together for this show, we had figured out how to play on each other’s songs, and if I do say so myself, we sounded pretty darn good. Despite the very small audience, I have rarely had a better time performing.
4) Chapel Meeting House – Foxborough, MA 10/18 – A very quaint little venue run by a nonprofit organization, they only hold a couple of concerts per year, the room was filled nearly to capacity on a cold October night. The audience was very fun to play for, and I had a very good time making Bill Belichik jokes throughout the night.
5) Moore Music In The House – Rockville, MD with Jud Caswell 5/31. Scott and Paula Moore are among my very favorite people in the folk music community, and it was quite a pleasure to play at their house concert series. Despite having to listen to Jud, the audience seemed to have a great time:) The greater DC area has a pretty good number of venues and house concerts, and it was good to see several other concert hosts and old friends in the audience.
6) Music In The Burbs – Bloomfield Hills, MI 5/10. The last gig of a weekend swing through Indiana/Michigan, Jay and Renee were great hosts, and they had the largest crowd since they began doing house concerts. The room was very well set up for house concerts, and lent itself well to a fun night.

Best Tour of 2008 - Las Vegas/Los Angeles/Utah, February 2008. My favorite tour of the year only had a little bit to do with the concerts I played. The #2 concert of the year, Magpie House Concerts was part of this tour, but the highlights were hanging out in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. I flew into Las Vegas and spent a couple days there, playing a nice concert series called Garage-Ma-Hall. The first night I was in Vegas, I went to see Stomp! Out Loud. That is written up later in this blog. Then, I played a little blackjack in between eating pizza at New York, New York, and watching the lion tamers at the MGM Grand. After the first Vegas gig, I drove to LA, where I watched the Super Bowl with Ryan Brown. It was great to see Ryan, as well as watching one of the best football games you will ever see. Later in the trip, I got to spend some time with Rob Seals as well. And though it wasn't quite as exciting as our 2007 trip to Disneyland, Ryan, Rob and I did have a musicians day out at In 'N' Out Burger! (which is very close to Disneyland in excitement level). After LA, I drove back to Vegas and spent a few more days playing blackjack and seeing some comedy shows, before heading off to Utah for the Magpie concert.

CD of the Year – Though it actually came out in 2007, I didn’t get it until 2008, Andy Gullahorn’s ‘Reinvent The Wheel’ is fantastic. A very close 2nd is Joe Crookston’s ‘Able Baker Charile & Dog’. If you are a fan of acoustic singer/songwriters, you should definitely check out both of these artists, www.andygullahorn.com and www.joecrookston.com

Hosts of the Year – Sam and Erin Hensley, Washington, DC. The weekend of the Birchmere gig in Alexandria, VA, I stayed for 4 nights with my friends Sam and Erin Hensley. Sam a very talented singer/songwriter, (certainly more talented than he turned out to be at NCAA Football on the Sony Playstation). Sam booked me a couple additional gigs in the area, at which he performed as well, and they were great shows. Sam and Erin had the place stocked with Vanilla Coke before I arrived, took me to some very good restaurants (even the Steak & Egg was worth a visit), and even stopped to pick me up some Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food after the Birchmere gig, so I could celebrate the great gig with a couple thousand wonderful calories. I have stayed at a LOT of places over the past 15 years and 400,000 miles, and Villa de Hensley was definitely one of the better experiences. (I’m sure the dominance of DP-led Auburn in the NCAA Football didn’t hurt my opinion of the place.)

Rental Car of the Year – In late May, I toured in Northern Virginia and Maryland, flying into Reagan Int’l Airport in DC. I have been getting stuck with a lot of PT Cruisers over the past couple years, but someone at Hertz was informed as to the fact that the amazing, world famous Dave Potts was renting a car, and they gave me a Mustang. Finally a car that could nearly match my level of awesomeness. (I am pretty sure that’s a real word)

Movie review of the Year – I’ve never heard a movie summed up so well as this; While waiting in line to buy tickets to Batman, There were a couple of college guys in front of us talking about the movies that were playing. One guy asked his friend if he intended to go see Mamma Mia! He summed up all of my deepest feelings about the idea of seeing that movie with his response.. He said, "Mamma Mia! Did you see the previews? I wanted to kill myself." Well said college guy.

Best 2nd Half of a Play – I actually attended several plays (as in live theater, like real people on the stage, you know, no editing or overdubs or re-do’s). My wife and I went to see ‘Wicked’ in Atlanta, we had both heard wonderful things about the show for years. For the first half of the show, I was beyond confused as to what the fuss was all about. It was OK I guess, but OK is the highest rating I could give it. However, just before the break and for the rest of the performance, it really picked up steam, and by the end I could say I was very impressed, and was very glad we went, even though it always against my better judgement to dress up.

Best stage performance of the year – In addition to several plays, I saw Stom Out Loud! In Las Vegas. It is a version of the touring show, Stomp, which I had always wanted to see. It was fantastic, and I will probably go see the show again if I have a chance.

Movie of the Year – In the most lopsided vote in movie of the year history, Batman:The Dark Knight is an easy choice. I only saw it 4 times in the theater, so I am glad it is being re-released prior to the Oscar’s.

A great Christmas Tree

2008-12-30T18:45:00.001-08:00

Just got this photo sent to me yesterday. As far as I know, it is the first DP Christmas Tree Ornament. Thanks to Mark in Mobile, AL for including me on his tree that has over 500 ornaments from places he's visited and people he's met.

The DP Best of 2008 Awards will be posted tomorrow night!

DP takes over YouTube

2008-12-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of putting some new videos up on youtube. There's about a dozen videos up there now, and in the next week, I should have 5-6 more up. There's a bunch of songs from a show I did in Goshen, IN earlier this year. I am putting in some songs from a show in Pensacola, FL in 2004, and a Bluebird Cafe performance from 2003. I am working on getting a hold of some other videos from shows in the past couple years as well. Here's one from the Pensacola show;

Big venues/small venues

2008-12-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about my Top 5 gigs of the year for 2008, always something I enjoy doing, to look back over the past year and pick out my most enjoyable concerts. It seems like it should be a no-brainer for this year. I had the opportunity to play at the famed Birchmere Concert Hall in Alexandria, VA, which is by all accounts on of the top venues in the country. I opened for Christine Lavin, who is one of the most recognized folk singers, and thanks to her, I played for an audience of around 300 people. It was quite an honor to play at the Birchmere, and even more of an honor to be asked to open for Christine.
But, does my music, and my stage persona fit at a large venue like that? I used to think, as most musicians do, that the definition of success was how high up the ladder you got, and that record deals and filling large theaters was the ultimate goal. It has become very clear to me this year that is not what I am meant for. Even if that were a possibility (which it probably is not), I am a small venue, small crowd artist. The current folk singer/songwriter scene, mostly played out in house concerts and small venues throughout the country just doesn't mesh with the big business glitz of Nashville country acts, or commercial pop/rock artists.
To be clear, The Birchmere, and venues that are large but still cater to acoustic singer/songwriters are not in the previous category, they are great venues, and the larger acts of this scene, such as Christine Lavin, John Gorka, David Wilcox, etc need a place to play.
But, there is no way a large venue can match the feel of a house concert or small venue (100 people or less), and for grass roots artists such as myself, there really is no better venue than the intimacy of a small room where the interaction with the audience really is what drives the show.

For those of you that are fans of acoustic music, where you do like to go to hear singer/songwriters? Do you prefer the local coffeehouse, or the monthly concert series held at a community center or church, or house concerts, or larger venues like clubs or theaters?

One month to work on the DP Best of 2008 Awards

2008-12-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

My favorite journal/blog entry of every year, is always the much anticipated DP 'Best of' the Year Awards. The nomination process can now begin, as this is what I spend most of the month of December doing.
I am opening the floor to suggestions for new awards categories. If you have anything you'd like to see included in this year awards, speak now!

Someone in Boston had a great weekend

2008-10-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Didn't quite work out for the Red Sox, but I had a great weekend tour in the Boston area.
I flew in Friday morning, and drove up to Topsfield, north of Boston. I played a great house concert series, hosted by Ashara who does a great job with the series. Making the show even better was being joined by Jenny Goodspeed, who some of you may remember as the harmony vocalist on my 'South Side Diner' and 'County Line Road' CD's. She is also a great singer/songwriter, and she did a wonderful opening set. During my set, she joined me for harmonies on '$12.99', 'One Mississippi', 'You're All The Stars I Need' and 'How Will You Remember Me.'
On Saturday, I headed down to Foxboro, Mass, home of the Patriots. I had one of my more enjoyable concerts in recent memory at the Chapel Meeting House. It was a beautiful little building, and pretty well full with about 40-50 people, and 5 different kinds of pie! I had a great time performing, making Bill Belichik jokes and eating desserts...The show was taped (doesn't everyone get taped when they go to Foxboro) for a local cable channel, and I'm hoping to get a copy of the show, and if I do, I'll be able to post some songs on the website.

Sunday, I met up with my friend Jud Caswell in Franklin, Mass for a house concert. Jud played some new songs which were great to hear, and we spent some time after the show talking about the state of the travelling singer/songwriter scene today and how it impacts us. I may get into some of that later.
After the concert, I went to Pizzeria Uno and polished off a deep dish pizza, which is always a good idea.

The pictures are from the Kick Off Your Shoes House Concert in Topsfield, Mass with Jenny Goodspeed, photos taken by Jenny's husband Erik Hofner.

Political songs, what to do with them?

2008-09-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

I've had an interesting situation come up recently, and without going into too much detail about it, I will talk about the questions it has brought up, and I'd love to hear any feedback any of you might have.

If you're not aware, the folk singer/songwriter "scene" that encompasses most of my concerts, fanbase, fellow artists, etc is very issues based, a lot of songwriters share their political and social views through their music. Often times, I disagree with the views being expressed in songs written and performed by my peers. I quite often appear on stage with other performers, doing co-bills, in-the-round concerts, etc. And, unavoidably, sometimes an artist will perform a song that offends some members of my audience. Keep in mind here that I am talking about artists who have just a few songs of strong political/social opinion, and for the most part have a catalog of songs similar to mine, and with no particular viewpoint.

I wonder if it is in any way my responsibility to distance myself from views that I diasgree with, and those that may upset some of my fans. I know I have fans on both sides of the political spectrum, and have different views on social issues from many performers that I know and like.

I have always had the opinion that a persons views on these type of issues, so long as they are not a majority of their songs, and only shared sparingly, don't bother me at all, whether I agree or disagree. But, I realize many people can take a song very seriously, or really feel the need to distance themselves from someone they have a fundemental difference of opinion from. Think about what happened to the Dixie Chicks when they made comments about Bush a few years ago. They were basically thrown out of country music. I personally could care less what Natalie Maines feels about politics. Good music is good music. Obviously, several hundred thousand other people who stopped buying their records couldn't shrug it off as easily.

So, the question I would pose and appreciate feedback on is this; If I am appearing on stage, either opening for, doing an in-the-round performance with, or otherwise on the same bill as a musician that I know has songs that I disagree with, and that some of my fans may be offended by, should I refuse to appear with that artist? Or, should I feel the need to say anything about it? What is my obligation in that sort of situation?

And, let me pose this question to you as a listener; If an artist has 25 songs that you like and 1 or 2 songs that you strongly disagree with , do those 1 or 2 songs change your opinion of the artist, or the other 25 songs that you like?
Let me know if you have any thoughts on my ramblings. As always, thanks for listening.

$18.97 on E-Bay!!

2008-09-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

I was looking for Bernie Kosar memorabilia on ebay tonight, and decided to check on Dave Potts items while I was there. My 2nd CD, 'Music In My Soul', which I don't sell anymore, and I joke about being a "collector's item", is on sale for $18.97. I'll be honest with you, it's probably not worth $18.97, but I sure hope someone buys it. Maybe a museum will want it.

By the way, if the $18.97 copy sells before you can get there, I have a couple boxes stuffed in a closet somewhere, and I will gladly sell you one for $18.96.

Great new CD from Joe Crookston

2008-08-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

I've just heard a new CD, that you need to check out. It is by my friend Joe Crookston, who I met at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference. I've always liked his music, but this latest record is a step above what he's done before. The CD is called Able Baker Charlie and Dog. Before you wonder about the title, I won't ruin it, but the title cut is just a brilliant song that you need to hear.

Joe tells real stories about real people that he has met, he is a master storyteller. I am a storytelling songwriter, I suppose, but my stories are usually either autobiographical, or mostly made-up. Joe's stories are real, and you can feel the truth and it's relevance in the songs. 'Freddy the Falcon' is one of the best songs I've heard in years, I heard him play it at NERFA just after he had written it a couple years ago, and I've been humming it ever since, I'm so glad it's finally on CD. it's the story of a kid he met when he used to do work in a youth detention facility. Just a great story, even better because it's true.

In addition to 'Freddy The Falcon' and the title track, other standouts to me are 'Mending Walls' and 'Blue Tattoo'.

I highly recommend you taking a listen to this great songwriter, his website is http://www.joecrookston.com/. you'll be glad you took the time.

$4 gas, how about $40 CD'S?

2008-08-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

I think if all musicians united, we could convince people that paying $40 for CD's is reasonable, and necessary. You see, if you understand supply and demand, you would realize that China uses so many CD's, there are less CD's available elsewhere.
And, while there may be millions, perhaps billions of rough CD's waiting to be turned into working CD's in Alaska and off the shore of Florida, none of us knows for sure exactly how long it would take to get all those CD's dug up and dusted off. Plus, we don't know how safe it is to dig for CD's, because what if a bunch of bad music escaped, and all of a sudden Michael Bolton songs were heard on the beaches of Florida, and nobody could stop it.
For another point, I have found recently that most people have never even heard of CD speculators. Congress really needs to step in and get these people under control!
Of course, while the majority of CD's will cost $40, there are a number of you who have very sensitive ears and stereo's, you will need to purchase plus, or perhaps premium CD's. Those will be $42 and $44 respectively.

Big times in Murphy, NC/Great Quotes

2008-08-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

Had a great time at The Daily Grind Concert Series in Murphy, NC Friday night. I shared the gig with Greg Adkins, and we always have a great time performing together. We've done enough shows together that we can sometimes sound like a duo that has actually practiced. (which we haven't). We had some nice harmony vocals, Greg knows keyboard parts to a few of my songs, and guitar parts to some others, and I can play and sing on about half of his songs as well. If you haven't yet heard Greg's music, please go have a listen at http://www.gregadkinsmusic.com/, and I highly recommend getting a copy of his 'Chase The Western Sky' CD. (which has some of the most stunningly amazing harmony vocals in the history of recorded music). Here's a pitcure of us after about 3 iced mochas.

I have 2 great "quotes of the week" to share with you;

First, my wife and I were waiting in the ticket line at the movie theater to see Batman... There were a couple of college guys in front of us talking about the movies that were playing. One guy asked his friend if he intended to go see Mamma Mia! He summed up all of my deepest feelings about the idea of seeing that movie with his response.. He said, "Mamma Mia! Did you see the previews? I wanted to kill myself." Well said college guy.

Quote #2, came from a meeting of our homeschool group yesterday afternoon. My wife was talking to some friends, when this little nugget of wisdom appeared... "Kids are like Sponge Bob. Well, they're not yellow, but they absorb." Fantastic!

Is it live or is it DP in a studio?

2008-07-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

I had a talk with Rob Seals last week, and we chatted a little about what the next DP project might be (in between the baseball trade deadline talks).... I have been thinking about doing something a little different. I have done 7 studio CD's in my career, 4 of which are still in print, and am thinking it may be fun to do a live CD. I would love to hear your thoughts on live vs. studio CD. If I did a live CD, it would include some new songs, some old favorites, probably a couple cover songs. There would likely be a mix of solo acoustic, stuff with limited backup musicians, and a couple of full band songs...
If I did a studio CD, it would be a similar feel to '$12.99', with mostly new DP songs, along with a couple of cover songs.
If you have any opinions, thoughts, please feel free to leave a comment, or send me an e-mail. I'd love to have my devoted fans (you are devoted, aren't you?) involved in the planning stages of this next project.
There is still no timeline for this, but at least the thinking stages have begun.

Have you seen Batman yet?

When something's this good, gotta talk about it

2008-07-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, Batman 'The Dark Knight' is an amazing movie. I don't care if you don't like superhero/comic book movies, I don't care if you like action movies or not, I don't care if you don't even like movies at all, you must go see this movie! It is a stunning film on so many different levels... Big budget Hollywood blockbusters are not supposed to have this much depth. But this is art, pure and simple. Fantastic.

Note : Do not take your children to see this movie. It is violent and disturbing, and probably should be rated R instead of PG-13.

To CD or not to CD?

2008-07-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

That is the question... I am starting to think about the possibility of doing some recording in 2009, and am wondering if the CD is starting to reach the end of it's useful time? Digital music is becoming much more popular every year, and at some point, will take over for Cd's entirely. I remember in 1999 when I put out my 'County Line Road' CD, I also made cassettes. Before that point, it had been necessary to have cassettes, but soon after, cassettes were totally obsolete, and I still have a box of 'County Line Road' cassettes.
I don't want to end up with a box of thousands of a new CD while everyone is busy downloading my music, and using my old CD's as frisbees, coasters, etc.
There are becoming more ways to distribute music digitally, ITunes being the most popular. There are also download cards, which I can sell at shows. And, of course, you can download songs or full albums straight off the homepage of my website.
But, on the other hand, some people still do enjoy having an actual CD, and there are still people who haven't joined the current century, and don't know how to download music, much less put it on an mp3 player.
If you have thoughts on the 'to CD or not to CD' question, please do share!

it's all art to me

2008-06-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

I may be really reaching for a topic here, but this is what I've been thinking about. It started when I was at the NBA Finals in Boston last weekend....
Quite often, I hear artsy people complaining about how much everyone loves sports, and why can't people understand that music, art, etc. is more important and a better way to spend their time and money... Being a musician, I think it would be great if more people spent more of their money going out to hear obscure folk musicians rather than going to football games, but the thought that somehow art is more valid or important than sports is a pretty silly concept.
When I hear people complain about the insane amounts of money that atheletes get paid, I usually nod my head and agree for a minute, but then if I stop and think about it, that is a ridiculous thing to be upset about. Last weekend, I saw 20,000 in Boston who had payed an average of a couple hundred bucks to go to the NBA finals, and thousands more outside hoping they could find a ticket to buy. The night before, I played a concert in Connecticut, and about 30 people came, willing to pay $12 to see some darn fine folk music (if I do say so myself). Well, of course Kevin Garnett should get paid more than I do! Now, the idea that one form of entertainment is "better" than another is not something that is even worth arguing about. Some people like live music, some people like art galleries or theater. But, even more people like sports, and you know what? It seems to me that they are all serving the exact same purpose, for people to be entertained, and to have some sort of an escape from their everyday lives.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment if you want. Am I off my rocker, or are sports and art basically the same thing?

Two fun weekends.

2008-06-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm back from 2nd straight weekend tour of gigs with Jud Caswell (www.judcaswell.com). We spent one weekend in Maryland and this past weekend in New England. There were some great shows, and it was fun spending some time with Jud, and hearing his music. I'll give you the basic rundown of the past 2 weeks, then in upcoming posts I'll go into some details about specific parts that were quite fun.
On May 29th, I started my tour in Stafford, VA, after flying into DC, and getting a vert cool rental car, a Ford Mustang. Nothing says Mustang like Dave Potts! On May 30th, I met up with Jud for a house concert in Baltimore. We spent Saturday walking around downtown Baltimore, then Saturday night, we had a house concert in Rockville, MD, with Moore Music, some of my favorite people in the folk scene.
I flew home to Alabama on Sunday, and spent a few days drinking sweet tea before flying up to Boston Thursday night. I got into Boston at midnight, and drove a couple hours north to Brunswick, Maine, to Jud's house. I slept until noon, which I hadn't done in quite a while, it was great! Friday night, after a fantastic dinner at Beale Street Barbecue in Bath, ME (more about that bbq later), Jud and I played a show at The Chocolate Church Arts Center, which is a very cool venue.
After another morning of sleeping in (only till 11 this time), Jud and I headed down to the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret, CT which has long been one of my favorite venues. It was a wonderful show, after 4 shows together, Jud and I finally had our act together and really put on a good show if I do say so myself. We made a late night jaunt back to Maine, with plans to play an open mic feature in Boston Sunday night. But, other plans came around, as 2 friends of mine from high school were going to be at Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Boston. Shane called me and asked what time my gig was, and if I'd like to try and get a ticket to the game. Open mic feature or Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals? tough call... You probably know what I chose, Game 2 of the NBA Finals was fantastic!! I'll be writing some more about that soon...
Just wanted to give you the rundown since I haven't written in a while, I'll be posting interesting details from the trips over the next couple days, and maybe even a sound clip or two from one of the concerts, so check back soon.

Great house concert!

2008-05-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful house concert last weekend to end my Michigan/Indiana tour. I was in Bloomfield Hills, MI at 'Music In The Burbs'. There was a VERY full house, and a great enthusiastic audience. It was definitely one of the best shows of the year so far, there's nothing like a house concert, as you've heard me say before. The hosts, Jay and Renee, were very hospitable, and did a great job of managing a very large crowd in the living room. My old friend Shelley, who lives in Clarkston, MI, brought me a very refreshing mason jar of sweet tea, to make the night even better. I also got to meet a very talented singer/songwriter, Jill Jack, who was a member of the audience. All in all, it was just a great night.

I also wanted to mention a new singer/songwriter I "discovered" the night before. I played an in-the-round (www.jamminround.com) in DeWitt, MI, and had the privilege of playing with Chris Castle, who was a really great artist. Do yourself a favor and go listen to a couple of his songs at www.myspace.com/chriscastlepage

Next weekend, I've got a couple shows with Jud Caswell (www.judcaswell.com) in the DC area, and then in New England the following weekend, I'll let you know how they go.

The magnolia's are in full bloom here in beautiful Auburn, and baseball season is in full swing (no pun intended) Life is good!

Goshen, IN and the South Side Diner

2008-05-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Back out on the road this weekend, I flew into Detroit early this morning, and unfortunately forgot to pack my parka and mittens. It is ridiculously cold for May up here. I drove down to one of my favorite towns, Goshen, IN, home of the South Side Diner. As always, a great pre-show meal, I had the Philly Steak Hoagie today (Nick, the owner, is from Philly, and knows how to do it). Closed the meal with a great key lime pie. I was excited to find out that the diner has been fetaured on the Food Network, they're show will be airing one more time, on Fri. May 16th at 12:00est.

I performed at The Electric Brew, one of my old favorites. I have been playing at The Electric Brew about once a year since they opened in 1996. I was sad that the original owners have sold the Brew, and moved out west, but the place is still up and running just as it was, and still a great place to be.
There will be some videos from the concert up on YouTube within a couple days, so check them out.

Tomorrow I'm off to Lansing, MI. Will report from there.

David Wilcox is Back!!

2008-04-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Those of you that know me well, know that David Wilcox, along with John Denver, are my biggest musical influences. It was his album 'How Did You Find Me Here' that really got me into writing contemporary folk music, and is to this day, my favorite album of all-time. He has made many, many CD's over the past couple decades, all of them very good, but I've sort of slipped away from my appreciation of him. Well, not that he ever really left, but he is definitely back. He has put out a record called 'Airstream', that is all just him and his guitar, recorded in his Airstream trailor. (clever name, heh?) There are not many people that can pull off an all solo acoustic record, but he really can.

If you are a fan of music, or Airstream trailors, you will like this.

Great new music

2008-03-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

I've just found some amazing new music that I want to share with you... There's a songwriter named Andy Gullahorn that just put out an incredible CD called 'Reinventing The Wheel'. I have is previous CD's, that are great, but this is even better... I highly recommend checking it out, www.andygullahorn.com. The whole CD is amazing, but if you only have time to listen to one song, check out 'That Guy', a daring song to write with an amazing message.

Also, my good friend Erik Balkey, who stopped touring full-time last year to focus more on songwriting, has really hit a new level with his writing, which was more than fantastic to begin with. Go to his myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/familyalbumbyerik, and listen to the song 'My Daddy Is My Spiderman'.

You will be glad you took the time to listen to these writers.

The Birchmere!

2008-02-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

Playing at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA was an incredible experience. The famed venue is definitely all that is cracked up to be. It was a thrill to open for legendary singer/songwriter Christine Lavin, who has been so very kind to me. She goes out of her way to help up and coming singer/songwriters like myself, and it is much appreciated!There was a crowd over over 300 people, and certainly one of the best crowds I've ever performed in front of.

The day of the concert, Feb. 23rd, was my daugther Emma Lynn's 5th birthday. It was very, very hard to be gone on her birthday, so I called her from the stage at the Birchmere and 300 people say Happy Birthday to her, and then I played her favorite song, 'In My Backyard'.

I certainly hope that I will have the opportunity to play the Birchmere again.

I also want to really thank my friends Sam and Erin Hensley for great accomodations as well as fantastic local dining experiences over the weekend. Sam is a wonderful singer/songwriter (http://www.samhensley.com/), and he set up 2 additional concerts for me in the DC area, helping to make the weekend trip even better. He also opened both shows, and it is quite a treat to hear him sing. I wish I could say he has equal skills at NCAA football on the Sony Playstation, but it only seems right to mention that I did win the weekend series 6-4, as Auburn was quite unstoppable.

Somehow, I got the smaller font size on the street side billboard. Come on, I played first, shouldn't I be mentioned first? And, I am taller than Christine.

It's cold here!

2008-02-21T20:29:00.000-08:00

I am writing tonight from the cozy house of my friend Sam Hensley in Washington, DC. I just got finished a thrilling victory in Playstation NCAA Football, as my Auburn Tigers handed the Oklahoma State Cowboys an overtime defeat.
They are predicting snow and freezing rain for tonight and tomorrow, how very nice that will be. I'm hoping not to have a repeat of my February 2006 tour to Massachusetts, where I got snowed in for 2 days!

To catch you up on recent happenings, I had a wonderful time in Daphne, AL last weekend, where some very fine folks hosted their first ever house concert. It was an absolutely fantastic crowd, for mostly first time house concert attendees, with first time house concert hosts, I was thrilled with the turnout and response. Unfortunately, I was getting over a cold, and coughed my way through the second set, but the energy from the audience helped pull me through. So many of my favortite shows over the past couple years have been house concerts, and often hosted by folks just like you who have never tried it before. If you have any interest in hosting you own house concert, please get in touch with me and let's schedule one! I've got a page with hosting info at my website (www.davepotts.com/hosting.html).

The night before the house concert, I ran sound for Johnsmith at our local Sundilla Concert Series. Johnsmith is absolutely one of the very top singer/songwriters performing today, and it's always a treat to hear him. If for some reason you're not familiar with his music, visit www.johnsmithmusic.com

I've got 3 shows in the DC area this weekend, highlighted by the show at the Birchmere with Christine Lavin, I am also doing 2 shows with Sam Hensley at local churches in DC.

Have a warm night!
-DP

In-N-Out West!

2008-02-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

I had a nice trip out west last week, I played in Vegas and Salt Lake City, and got to see my good friends Ryan Brown and Rob Seals in LA.
The trip started out in Las Vegas with a show at Garage-Ma-Hall. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from a concert in somebody's garage, but it was actually a rather fantastic venue. It wasn't quite your typical two-car garage, it was actually a permanent stage in a very, very large garage, with the audience comfortably seated in couches and easy chairs. Richard and Betty have a wonderful venue, and I hope to get back there again sometime. Speaking of Vegas, it is pretty easy to lose a lot of money really fast there, not that I would know anything about that.
I drove to Los Angeles to watch the Super Bowl with Ryan Brown, my friend and drummer of the last 15 years. It was a shcoker to see the Giants upset the undefeated Pats (sorry Jud!). What a great game to watch. Of course, now that the Super Bowl is over, it is officially baseball season. Pitchers and catchers report!

What is the best thing about going on a trip out west? It very well could be In-N-Out Burger! We don't have In-N-Out down South, but then they don't have Zaxby's or sweet tea on the west coast, I guess we'll call it even!

An early candidate for concert of the year was Magpie House Concerts in Salt Lake City, UT. I met Grant, who runs the series, at last years Folk Alliance Conference. I am so glad we were able to work out a date. There was a very full crowd of 40 people jammed into a living room, it was about as full as a room can get. As I'm sure you've heard me mention before, it's not the size of a crowd in numbers as much as their interest level and how full the room is. It was really a great show, and I can't wait to get back to Utah.

Next weekend is the big show at the Birchmere opening for Christine Lavin, I will be sure to let you know how it goes,
DP

South Florida Folk Festival

2008-01-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

Just returned home from a great weekend in South Florida, attending the South Florida Folk Festival. We took the kids to Disney World for a couple days on the way down, and had a fantastic time. I highly recommend 'Expedition Everest" roller coaster at Animal Kingdon Park for you thrill-seekers!
I had a great house concert on Friday night before the festival, hosted by my friends the Humphrey's. They had a wonderful crowd of about 30 people, plus 3 cheesecakes! I stayed up late after the show to play Sony Playstation with their son Tim. It turns out I am a dominating force at NCAA Football, you can't stop my running game, can't stop it!

Saturday at the South Florida Folk Festival I finally found out how it feels to win one of these songwriting contests that have been my nemesis for so many years. I was very honored to be chosen as one of the 3 winners along with my good friend Jud Caswell, and Friction Farm, a great duo from the Atlanta area. My winning songs were '$12.99' and 'If I Broke The Record'. It's nice to get a pat on the back sometimes, even though I know judging songwriting is a crapshoot at best, and several of the other finalists certainly could have been chosen as the winners instead.
I got to perform 4 different times at the festival, including an in-the-round with Jud and Friction Farm at the winners concert, and an in-the-round with one of my all-time favorite groups, Storyhill. I even had the honor of having Chris and Johnny of Storyhill sing 3-part harmony with me on 'This Old Guitar', my favorite John Denver tune. It was a thrill to sing with them. If you aren't familiar with Storyhill, be sure to check them out at www.storyhill.com.
Jud Caswell and I also sang a duet on stage, covering 'Houses In The Fields' by John Gorka. Jud and I are playing several shows together this spring along the east coast, and that is going to be a very fun time!

There was also a vendor at the festival selling half-pound cookies. Yeah, that's right, Half-Pound Cookies! They were pretty unbelievable.

Thanks to Matthew Taylor (mtaylorphotos.com) for sending me these pictures from the South Florida Folk Festival. This is me performing at the winner's concert on the festival mainstage on a cold Sunday afternoon.

DP Best of 2007 Awards

2008-01-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! It is one of my favorite yearly traditions, the making of the DP "Best Of The Year" Awards. I know you enjoy them almost as much as me, and without further addooooo, here we go;

Top 5 Gigs of 2007
5) Rick’s Music, Raynham, MA. 4/20. A music store/café with very nice folks. The concert was also a fundraiser for Homes For Our Troops, a great organiztion that builds homes for injured soldiers.

4) Sweet Grass Café, Oscoda, MI. 9/14. A lovely, quaint café in a small town on the shores of Lake Huron. A cool early autumn night, with homemade apple pie, and the Paul Bunyan Festival going on across the street.

3) Electric Brew, Goshen, IN with Greg Adkins. 2/10. The Electric Brew has always been one of my favorite venues, it was great to have Greg Adkins share the stage with me, playing for a full house. As usual, the pregame meal was at the South Side Diner!

2) Messages Concert Series, St. Augustine, FL 7/28. TheDP 2006 DJ of the Year, Stu Weaver of WFCF in St. Augustine started a new concert series at Flagler College, and I was the first concert of the series, quite an honor. A wonderful crowd in an old historic building on a beautiful summer night.

1) Swallow Hill, Denver, CO. 5/19. Probably the #1 gig of all-time. I got my start as a performer back in high school at Swallow Hill open mics. I also took numerous lessons and workshops at Swallow Hill, and always dreamed of performing there. To be a headliner was really an honor, made even better because the incomparable Rob Seals flew out from LA to accompany me on stage. It was a near sell-out, playing to an enthusiastic crowd filled with old friends. Perfect!

Best Tour of 2007 - February Midwest Tour with Greg Adkins – I almost always travel and perform solo, but travelling and sharing 5 gigs with Greg was a wonderful experience. We played in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, which in retrospect, are not the best places to be in February! The gigs were great, and it was fun swapping songs with Greg, and learning his songs. Depsite being a Tennessee fan, he is still an OK guy.

Best Tour of 2007 (family version) - October tour in Ohio with my baby girl, Emma Lynn. You can read all the details of the tour complete with pictures in my blog post from October, but it was a wonderful experience having my sweet baby (she's 4 now, but she'll still be my baby even when she's 20) on the road with me.

Best New Artist of 2007 – Brad Yoder. It is true that Brad Yoder is not a “new” artist. He’s not even really new to me, as I met him in 2006, but at this year’s Northeast Folk Alliance Conference, he really caught my ear, and I became a huge fan. I now own all of his CD’s, and can’t get enough. It also turns out, he used to work at the South Side Diner in Goshen, IN. Small, wonderful world! www.bradyoder.com

Best Concert of 2007 – A brief 20-minute showcase by Lowen & Navarro at the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis is this year’s best concert. Lowen & Navarro is one of my favorite acts, and Eric Lowen is suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It was an extremely inspirational moment to see Eric, barely able to lift his hands, but still playing his heart out, even to a small crowd in a hotel room in Memphis. Magical.

Best CD of 2007 – Going to put 2 CD's on this list.
Brad Yoder - Someday Or Never. This record features some fantastic songwriting, and such solid production, that it works for me even though it is pretty far away from my normal listening range. I got this CD on November 11th, and despite only having it for 6 weeks of 2007, I know I listened to it more than any other CD I got this year. 'School Together' is my favorite song of the year, and is just one of many gems on this great project.
Greg Adkins – Chase The Western Sky. The harmony vocals on this CD are so amazing, they alone make the purchase worthwhile. (J) Seriously though, my cameo aside, this is a great, great record. Greg worked with producer Chris Rosser in Asheville, and put together a great collection of songs. www.gregadkinsmusic.com

Vacation of the Year – Taking the kids to Disney World for the first time was a wonderful time. Disney World is really a great experience for the kids, and to see the joy on their faces was priceless. I kind of liked the rides too!

Musicians Day Off Day Of The Year – As if going to Disney World wasn’t enough for one year, in October, I went to Disneyland with two of my best friends and musical compatriotes. (I have no idea if that is a word). I joined Rob Seals , producer/sideman extraordinaire (and his wife the Ashbear) and Ryan Brown, long time friend and drummer for a great day of roller coasters and spinny things. If you ever go to Disneyland, you need to go with Ryan Brown, he could write the Disneyland handbook.

Sweep of the Year - The Cleveland Browns take both games from the Baltimore Suckens, I mean Ravens. The 2nd game, an overtime victory in Baltimore was sweet, with a last second, game tying field goal from Phil Dawson, that hit the upright, bounced in and out and in, and left Baltimore fans sick to their stomachs, which is how they deserve to be!

Have I Seen This Before? Football Game of the Year – Auburn defeats Florida for the second year in a row! Florida may be last year’s defending champ, and a football powerhouse, but my boy Tommy Tuberville absolutely owns Urban Meyer.

Have I Seen This 6 times Before? Football Game of the Year – Auburn beats rival Alabama for the 6th straight year. Auburn is undefeated in the Iron Bowl since the birth of Christopher Potts in 2001.

Fantasy Baseball Performance Of The Year - 'Thome's Tigers', managed by Dave Potts. This fantasy baseball team finished #5 out of 11,000 teams on sportingnews.com.

Book of the Year – Yeah, right, we’ll just pretend like I read so many books, I could never pick just one:)

Movie Of The Year – I took a lot of heat for last years choice of Talladega Nights as movie of the year. That made me very tempted to go with Blades of Glory for this years movie of the year, but I’ll refrain, and go with ‘Dan In Real Life’. Great acting by Steve Carrel, as my favorite character from another show (The Office), he did a great job of creating a new, believable character, that I never confused with Michael Scott.

All I want for Christmas is a new CD

2007-11-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving. It's shopping season now, so I've decided to help you out with yours. Below is a list of some of my favorite independent songwriters, who's CD's would make great gifts for your friends and family. Check them out;
-Greg Adkins, Chase The Western Sky. www.gregadkinsmusic.com
-Zane Williams, Hurry Home, www.zanewilliams.info
-Jud Caswell, Blackberry Time, www.judcaswell.com
-Berkeley Hart, Wreck 'N Sow, www.berkeleyhart.com
-Charlotte Kendrick, North Of New York, www.charlottekendrick.com

Start with those, and if you want more suggestions, let me know.

NERFA review

2007-11-12T13:19:00.000-08:00

I spent the weekend at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in Monticello, NY. For those of you unfamiliar with Folk Alliance Conferences, it is a few hundred songwriters getting together with concert presenters, DJ's and other folk music industry people, and spending 3 days sharing songs and coffee. The idea of attending these conferences is usually to try and get gigs, increase name recognition in the scene, and generally hope to enhance your career.
However, for me this weekend turned into getting much needed inspiration from fellow songwriters. I did have several showcases, and hopefully will get some work out of that, but really I felt more like an audience member than anything else.
Here are my highlights from the weekend;
The trio 'We're About 9' was probably my favorite act at the conference. I have known of them for years, but have only heard them play one or two songs, and didn't realize how much I liked their music. Great harmonies and energy, but the quirky, inventive songwriting is what really stood out to me. Check them out at www.wereaboutnine.com

My best single moment of the conference was hearing Joe Crookston play his song 'Freddy The Falcon' at a small late-night showcase. I heard the song last year when he had just written it, and the chorus was stuck in my head for the whole year, and I would occassionally find myself humming it. Usually when I remember a song that fondly from the past, it often ends up disappointing me when I hear it again, but this song was even better than I remember it. I got that wonderful chill in the spine feeling that can't really be properly described. That song is going to be on his upcoming CD, but in the meantime you should check out his last CD, 'Fall Down As The Rain' at www.joecrookston.com

Another gem that I somehow overlooked last year, and didn't even fully appreciate until listening to his CD's on the way home is Brad Yoder. He is not your typical folk singer/songwriter. He's a little more pop than most folkies, and he's got more funny songs and quirky songs than I usually like, but upon honest evaluation, I think I'd proabably have to put 3-4 of his songs in my Top 10 of the conference. It's pretty hard for me to describe his writing, except to say I listened to his CD's for 2 hours driving home from the airport, and when I got home, I immediately put them on and listened again because I just had to hear them more than once. He's got several free mp3's on his website, www.bradyoder. Do yourself a favor, and go download 'Local Band', 'Excellent Trouble' and 'Everybody's Got A Record'. Then, send him a couple bucks because this music is too good to be free.

There were other old friends who I always love to hear, including Jud Caswell, Joe Jencks, Amy Speace, Marc Douglas Berardo, Anthony Da Costa and Karen Mal. They are all worth checking out. Jud and I will be touring together in the Northeast in 2008.
There were also some new faces that I was unfamiliar with, that I am glad to have found out about, including Laura Bullock who's song 'The Net Below' was one of my favorites of the weekend. I was also pleasantly surprised to see my old friend Jenny Goodspeed, who has just released a new CD. Jenny is the harmony vocalist from my 'South Side Diner' CD. She joined me on 'One Mississippi' for old-time's sake, even though we hadn't rehearsed it since 1997, it sounded great.

I started a couple new songs this weekend, and hopefully the spark of inspiration will get me several new songs for you to hear.

If I Broke The Record!

2007-11-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

We went to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday, and I put to rest any doubts about folksingers and their athletic prowess. I obliterated the old record of 59 points on the Chuck E Cheese basketball game, putting up a solid 70-point performance! It is true that most of the people who play the games at Chuck E Cheese are under 12 years old, but hey, a win is a win!
And by the way, I was immediately tested for performance enhancing drugs, and they found me to be within the legal limits of pizza and Coke.

I broke the record, and I did it clean.

On Tour in Ohio with my baby girl!

2007-10-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was my first time taking my 4-year old daughter Emma Lynn on tour with me. I had a couple house concerts in Ohio, and we had a wonderful time on the road together. We left Thursday afternoon, and drove halfway, stopping at a motel in Kentucky, with an indoor swimming pool and hot tub. My kids love swimming. I've also taught Emma Lynn to be a baseball fan, so we watched World Series Game 2 as we drifted off to sleep.

Friday morning, we headed towards Ohio, and I did a house concert in Johnstown, OH. The Duick's host house concerts on a pretty regular basis, and they have hosted some of my good friends and favorite artists in the past. They were great hosts, and they had 2 kids and 2 dogs for Emma Lynn to play with. It was a very nice intimate crowd, and a fun show. Saturday morning, Theresa even painted Emma Lynn's face for our Saturday adventure to the Columbus Zoo.

As we were driving to the zoo Saturday, the brakes in my Camry (250,000 miles and running strong) began to grind in a very ferocious manner. I had a house concert that night in Dayton, OH, with my old friends Jeff and Wendy Stands, and so we found a Big O Tires store near their house. It was nearly 4:00 when we got there, and the store closed at 6:00. They checked my front tires and brakes, and they were in bad shape, the callipers (I didn't know what those were either) had frozen, and the brake pads had worn so thin, the front rotors were getting mashed, causing the grinding noise. Long story short, that is all bad news, and we would not have made it back to Alabama in that condition. I told the manager Mark about my plight, and that we were planning to drive back home Sunday morning. He drove 45 minutes down to Cincinnati to get the needed parts, and kept the shop open an hour late to get my car fixed Sat night. Needless to say, I really appreciate what he did, and I officially recommend Big O Tires!

The Sat. night house concert was much more enjoyable with the car situation fixed, and even more enjoyable because of Jeff's famous cheesecake. Some of you may recall, Greg Adkins and I did a house concert at the Stands back in February and were raving about the food. They did not disappoint this time, along with the fantastic cheesecake, Jeff also made an apple pie along with several other desserts. Cheesecake and apple pie may sound like a lot, so I only had 2-3 pieces of each.

We had a small crowd for the concert, but they were very enjoyable to play for, and it was very nice to see old friends again, including Wendy's parents, who were like a second family to me back in Colorado in my elementary school days. Emma Lynn made a new best friend as well, their dog 'Tigger'.

It was wonderful to be able to take Emma Lynn on the road with me, and I look forward to more trips with my kids in the near future.

By the way, the leave a comment, win a prize contest is still going on.

Great results so far, and new use for DP music

2007-10-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

So far, the response to the "make a comment" for a free mp3 post has been amazing. I would have never guessed so many people would jump on this opportunity, wow!

I sold a CD the other day to someone who heard my songs at the dentist office. She said she hated going to the dentist, but after listening to my music while there, well, she still hates the dentist. But, nonetheless, I still feel comfortable recommending that you all take a Dave Potts CD to your next dentist appointment (you know, in 2011), and see if it helps.

Unbelievable new song! (made me cry first 5 times)

2007-09-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

Who is Chuck Wicks? After investigating a little, I still don't really know, what I do know is he has signed with RCA, and his first single, 'Stealing Cinderella' is one of the best Nashville country songs I have ever heard. It is right up there with the best of Skip Ewing, Steve Seskin, and my other favorite writers...I heard the song in the car as I was heading out of town on my midwest tour 2 weeks ago. I can honestly say, with no exaggeration, I have never cried so much, in a good way, from hearing any song. Now, to be fair, if I didn't have a beautiful, baby girl I love so much, it wouldn't have hit me as hard as it did, but still would be a flawless song. So good!

a slice or two of americana

2007-09-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

I spent some time in some very cool towns on my latest trip through Michigan and Ohio. Last Friday, I woke up on the shores of Lake Michigan, and drove across the state to the shore of Lake Huron. Both the lakes, for lack of a better term, were "great". They were having the annual Paul Bunyan Festival in Oscoda, MI. It was quite the event! I had a great time playing at Sweet Grass Cafe, a very charming, intimate venue. Great, freindly audience.
Saturday, I headed down to Amish Country, Ohio (Charm, OH to be exact). It really is like a trip back in time. Even those who are not amish are living a simpler life out there. I spent the night in a very quiet, peaceful cabin, not another human within shouting distance. (although my verizon cell phone still had full bars!) I stayed up late and ate 3 pieces of delicious homemade cheesecake.
Sunday, I got to watch the 1st half of the Browns dismantling the Bengals secondary at a small pub in Coshocton, OH. I had a wonderful gig at an historic museum (I'm pretty sure you're supposed to use "an" instead of "a" before h-words, that was masterful grammar right there!!), the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. It was there first time to host a listening room concert, and they got a very nice crowd, and it was a great way to end the trip.

On the road again/review from Sing Out!

2007-09-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

I am back out on the road, for a week or so of shows in Michigan and Ohio. I enjoyed my relaxing summer in Alabama, but it's always fun to be back out on the road, seeing old friends and making new ones...I started out the tour in Paw Paw, MI, at a new series held at a very cool old theater. Andy Baker, who has run a house concert series for a couple years and is a fine singer/songwriter himself hosted the show. Not that any many of you who read my blog happen to live in Paw Paw, but if by chance you're neaby, my friend Jim Bizer (www.jimbizer.com) will be playing next months show.
Yesterday, I did a house concert in Clarkston, hosted by my good friends John and Shelley. (really Emily and Riley are in charge there). They are good people who have been very supportive of me for many years, ever since I met Shelley at the old Java House venue in Conyers, GA. I know some of you remember the Java House.

Just before I left for this tour, I got a nice surprise, a great review of $12.99 in the new issue of SingOut Magazine. Here's what they had to say;
Dave Potts is a seasoned artist who has finely honed his craft. And you’ll find that this CD proves that well. Beautifully executed from start to finish, Potts doesn’t throw away one song, word or note in this well-produced and conceived portraiture of his art and performance. Rob Seals, who produced, engineered and mixed $12.99 has put together a tasty mix of backing instruments that allow Potts’ easy-to-listen to and warm voice to take center stage, along with his writing. The melodies and arrangements move the record along in an enjoyable journey that ends much too fast each time it’s over.
Potts has won many songwriting honors over the years, and there are many winners on $12.99 as well. Dave’s writing reflects his understanding of what some of us are too busy to notice, and adeptly helps us to remember and value those same things. Songs like ‘In My Backyard’ probably sums up Dave’s current life – his need to tour, but knowing the value of what’s really grounding him in a way that explains the dichotomy that many musicians face. ‘Old Chevelle’ is a languid piece that features seductive guitar, harmony and lyrics and harkens back to the innocence of youth and love. Perhaps one of the most moving melodies and lyrics that hit home on a variety of levels is ‘The Garden We’re Growing’. Here we find a man complaining about the mundane responsibilities and annoyances of life while he is brought up short as he puts into perspective, “Right now, somewhere across the sea, a soldier that I’ve never met fights for me. And his wife and his kids pray that he’s doing fine, though they have no way of knowing. And me, I’m just yelling at my son to slow down, as he runs through the garden we’re growing.” As Dave says in his title cut, “It’s amazing the things you can buy for $12.99”. This record is no exception.

Great music

2007-08-18T21:09:00.001-07:00

I spent Thursday afternoon in Asheville, NC, singing harmony vocals for Greg Adkins new CD, due out this fall. I've never driven 5 hours to sing backup before, but then, there are not many songwriters I admire as much as Greg Adkins, and it is an honor to be on his CD. He's recording with Chris Rosser, who in addition to being a great singer/songwriter, is a highly regarded producer. From what I heard of the recording, this is going to be an awesome CD. (harmony vocal aside). I knew most all of Greg's new songs, from playing with him on a midwest tour earlier this year. There are some absolutely tremendous songs on this CD, notably for me is 'The End Of You And Me', which you may have heard me do a cover of recently.

The thing I was thinking about on the long drive home late Thursday night, is what is it that makes Greg's songwriting so good? Why does it speak to me more than other songwriters? One theory I've come up with, is that the place that his music fits in his life, is exactly the place where songs should come from... What I mean by that, is Greg writes and performs music because he loves doing it, not because he is trying to accomplish some ridiculous level of fame (like most singer/songwriters I know, occassionaly myself included). Greg has a great job that he enjoys, a wonderful family, and a strong faith, all of which are clearly more important to him that his music "career". Without that distraction of searching for fame or critical acclaim, he is able to write songs that matter to him, and write about the things that mean something to him.
The fact that he can write as well as he can from the technical side, and his music/vocal abilities are just good fortune on his side. Some people have it, and some people don't. But, there are plenty of people who have "it", but don't put enough truth and feeling into their songs, and it shows. Greg Adkins has "it", but he also has the skills to let it shine.

I will be letting you know the moment his new CD is available, and I hope y'all will buy a copy, because it deserves to be heard.

Big times in Florida

2007-08-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

This summer has been pretty slow for me on the touring front, as summer usually is. I did, however, have a great trip down to Florida last weekend.
I made my first ever trip to the nation's oldest city, St. Augustine. Stu Weaver, host of 'Messages' on WFCF Radio set up a concert for me, sponsored by WFCF at Flagler College. They are hoping to make this a regular concert series, and from the turnout of the first show, I certainly think they should. It was a wonderful crowd, and I owe a lot of it to the promotion work of Stu, who also opened the show for me. His is a great singer/songwriter in addition to his radio work.

The next day, I drove down to Orlando to play at the Live at Leu Gardens Concert Series, put on by the Central Florida Friends of Folk. Many thanks to Doug Spears and Barry Brogan for getting me down there. My old friend Garrison Doles opened the show, and it was a treat to hear him again. Noteworthy from the Orlando show, is that a family drove up from West Palm Beach, a 3 hour drive, to see me perform. I am always quite humbled when someone enjoys my music enough to want to go that far out of their way to see me, thanks!

Congrats to Charlotte Kendrick

2007-07-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

Many congrats to my friend Charlotte Kendrick, who has won 1st place in the folk category of the 11th Annual Unisong Songwriting Contest. Her song, 'Thank You' has always been a favorite of mine, and it's a well deserved winner. She performs with her husband, Dan, who is a ridiculously nice guy, and also a great upright bass player/harmony vocalist.
I highly recommend checking them out if you have a chance, www.charlottekendrick.com.

Last Comic Standing and how it relates to song contests

2007-07-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

So, I was watching Last Comic Standing tonight, and I had an epiphany. (I always thought an epiphany would hurt, and maybe require stitches, but it wasn't bad at all).
The judging process for the show is a lot like the judging for the song contests that I'm always entering. Tonight I watched a bunch of people who have worked at their craft for years and years have 3 judges determine their fate, and either tell them they were good, or to go home. The thing is, some of the people who didn't move on to the next round were absolutely hilarious to me. What makes the 3 judges opinions more legitimate than mine or yours? When you see a stand-up comic, you will either find them to be funny, or you won't. No "expert" can tell me whether or not somebody's funny.
Now, just for the record, I am in no way opposed to the judging of comics or songwriters or any other group of artists, it's just that there's no such thing as better or worse, it's just one person's opinion vs. another.
And, my opinion is, that dude on the show who was talking about being hero, and beating some guy up in the bathroom, was just phenomenally funny. Now, I just need to find out his name, and send him an e-mail, or maybe a check for $10, cause darn it, he deserves it.

My latest project

2007-07-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new songwriting project, thought I'd let you know about. I am going to do a full CD of songs about people, places and events in my home state of Alabama. Y'all probably already realize how much I love Alabama, I thought it'd be fun to dig into some specific characters and places that I don't yet know about. I am going to try and find something from every area of the state to write about, and do some interviews, and then travel around and get some photos of what the songs are about.
Don't know how long this will take, but hopefully by early 2008 I'll have this project ready, tenatively titled 'This Is Alabama'.
If any of you know of anything/anyone in Alabama that you think would make for a good song, please let me know.
Thanks!

The omop by Method - Fantastic!

2007-06-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

So, my wife bought a new mop for cleaning the kitchen floor. She got the omop, from a company called Method. I don't have any idea if it cleans well, but it is by far the best mop on the market today, hands down. Go buy one, whether you're in the market for a mop or not.

The instruction manual is priceless, I've just finished my 3rd full reading of it. I've put a couple photos from the booklet.

I was assembling the handle, when I began to notice the fun somebody had putting this all together. Step 1 of alingning poles says this; "align flat side of male pole with flat side of female pole (this sounds dirtier than it is)" It also worth noting that they officially named the little metal parts you have to push in, "metal doodads".

The inside of the booklet is all about how to use it and keep the floor clean, and it talks about the old saying 'a floor so clean you could eat off of it'. Well, a few pages in, it has a picture of a place setting set out on the floor with instructions where to put silverware, etc.

It goes on and on, and only gets better. Including step 3 of the ceramic tile cleaning page, "allow lovely aroma to conquer your olfactory senses and entice your palate (for food, not the cleaner)"

The fine print sections where it tells what their lawyers said they had to say is well worth pulling out a magnifying glass for as well.

I just can't tell you how impressed I am with this mop. Again, I have no idea if it does a good job cleaning floors, but does it really matter?

Nice reviews for '$12.99'

2007-06-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here's some recent reviews of '$12.99'. The first site listed, www.c0nsensus.com, is a website where anyone can submit a song to be reviewed, and it's gets sent to 5 different reviewers, selected at random. Each reviewer rates the song on a scale of 1-10, in several different categories. Right now, '$12.99' is the highest rated song on the website!
http://www.c0nsensus.com/ourpicks.php

A couple more recent CD reviews;
Parrotheads Ramblings (yes, Jimmy Buffet fans like me too)

FAME Reviews

Live Recording - Free Downloads

2007-06-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you like free music, here's a couple new downloads for you.
For those of you who don't like free music, well, I guess you can send me some money.
These are from the concert at Swallow Hill Music Hall in Denver on May 19th, featuring Rob Seals on lead guitar.
These are also available on my website, along with several other live and unreleased songs. (www.davepotts.com). Enjoy!

'Ferris Wheel'

'Black Coffee'

Vanilla Coke is back!!

2007-06-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed yet, Vanilla Coke is back!! I have always been a huge fan of Vanilla Coke, and when it came out about 4-5 years ago, I figured I was set for life. But a terrible thing happened on the way to being set for life; the vanilla coke went away.

Never fear my friends, it is back, and good as ever!

Now, don't forget, the best way to get vanilla coke is still straight from the fountain. I recommend South Side Diner's vanilla coke (Goshen, IN).

Sweet tea for lunch, vanilla coke for dinner, sweet dreams!

Kerrville New Folk

2007-05-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

It's becoming nearly an annual ritual for me to finish 7th (or so) in the Kerrville New Folk Contest. It was a very wet weekend down in Texas, but I had a great time catching up with some old friends, and hearing some great new artists. As you may know, I usually camp in the summer heat, but I splurged for a room at the Motel 6 this year. By far the best money I ever spent, plus, I got to watch City Slickers in spanish, which was at least as funny as the english version.
The winners of this years New Folk Contest were Danny Schmidt, Storyhill, Carla Gover, David Llewellyn, John Wort Hannam and Anthony da Costa. They were all great, and well deserved winners. 3 of them were actually winner on my secret ballot as well. I won't say which 3, but I will tell you my 3 favorites who didn't win, but should have in my estimation; Pat Wictor, Jan Smith and Edie Carey.

I would say there is a good chance this will by last time in the Kerrville New Folk Contest, though I certainly am not certain about that. Consider this a Roger Clemens-like retirement from New Folk. To be chosen as a finalist 4 years has been quite an honor, and I'm sure I'll be back at Kerrville again, even if not as a New Folk Performer.

It is great to be back home for awhile. This officially begins my summer season of relaxation, and performing close to home. I am excited to be able to spend most of the next 3 months at home with my family. They are so wonderful for putting up with my crazy travelling schedule, and still get excited when I come home!

Swallow Hill!

2007-05-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Just home from a great trip out to Denver. The highlight of the trip was my gig at Swallow Hill. I got my start as a singer/songwriter at Swallow Hill Open Mics back in 12th grade. It is there that I saw Dave Crossland, an independent touring singer/songwriter, and realized that it was possible to do this for a living. I have never looked back since that night..
To be back as a headliner at Swallow Hill nearly 15 years later was such a thrill. I had a nearly full house, and they were a wonderful audience. The one and only Rob Seals joined me on stage, and his playing adds so much to the music.
I hope to be able to make Swallow Hill a regular tour stop in the years to come.

I also had 2 great house concerts on the Colorado tour. Acoustic Avenue in Longmont is a great series, many thanks to Bruce and Dale for having me back. I learned something very important that night... they now make vanilla cream hershey kisses! Wow, good stuff.

On Sunday night, some good friends of mine down in South Littleton hosted a house concert for me. It was their first time hosting, and they did a magnificent job of getting a great audience and creating a wonderful space for a concert.

I've got 2 days at home before I head off to Kerrville for my 4th appearance in the last 5 years as a New Folk Finalist.

Magnolia Time!

2007-05-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

There are countless reasons why I love living in Alabama, but this is definitely near the top of the list. If you're bored sometime, go through my songs, and count how many times I use the word magnolia. It's probably a lot.

Hey Mon, that fish has a head!

2007-05-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Howdy y'all -
We are down in the Bahamas for a great vacation at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. I know what you're thinking, how does a folk singer afford a trip to the Bahamas? Well, he doesn't! My wife is a Pampered Chef Director, and she earned the trip for FREE!! It is a great place, there's a huge waterpark and about 14 pools and 4 beaches at this resort.
We went into Nassau for dinner Tuesday night, and I figured I'd get some fresh seafood. I ordered grouper and snapper, and boy was it fresh. The snapper still had it's head on^%$^%$!#$#! I guess that's how we know it's fresh. I just used the word fresh a lot in that paragraph.

After going home for a few days, I'll be heading off to Denver next weekend for the big show at Swallow Hill, where I'll be joined on stage by the one and only Rob Seals. Can't wait!

CD of the week - Jud Caswell, Blackberry Time

2007-05-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

If you make a habit of reading my posts (and who doesn't?) you've heard me mention Jud Caswell before. If you don't trust my judgement in saying he's one of the very best indy singer/songwriters today, listen to these folks;
2006 Kerrville New Folk Winner, 2006 Wildflower Performing Songwriter Contest Winner and 2006 Boston Folk Festival Winner.
His new CD, 'Blackberry Time', which he handed to me at a hip-hop night club in Massachusetts (another story for another time), is stunning. He self-produced it, which normally I am very skeptical of. Most singer/songwriters do not do a very good job on their own records, but Jud did a fantastic job of recording and capturing his live sound, with all the warmth and intimacy, while making a compelling listen with great backup musicians.
He is a top-notch songwriter, my favorite tracks on the CD are 'For Sale', 'Blackberry Time' and 'What Ever Happened To Rob'.
I really encourage you to listen to it, http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/judcaswell4, and considering purchasing a copy to help support a great singer/songwriter. (I'm sure he'll give me a percentage)

You can make comments

2007-05-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all -
I'm curious how you're enjoying this new blog/journal. It has taken the place of my website journal page... You can make comments to my posts, to make this a more exciting, interactive thing. (I know what you're thinking, how could this possibly be any more exciting?)
At the bottom of each post, there's a link you can click to add comments. You know you want to comment.

Northeast Tour Wrap-Up

2007-05-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

I am back at home in the warm (hot) sunny south after 11 days on the road. After my weekend in the Boston area and New York (see last post) I headed down to the DC area. My friend Sam Hensley (www.samhensley.com) helped me set up 2 shows and offered some fine accomodations complete with ice cream, popcorn and Playstation football. He also took me out for some great pizza at a place in Alexandria called Generous George's. Next time you find yourself wandering around Alexandria looking for pizza, that is a place I would recommend.
On Wednesday night, I played in Rockville, MD at an event for Focus Music. Focus puts on folk concerts at a couple different venues around the DC area. I split the night with Maria Dunn, a singer/songwriter from Edmonton. We did an impromptu performance when she accompanied me on accordion on 'One Mississippi'. The show was held at a barbecue restaurant called O'Briens, and they had sweet tea! That's right, sweet tea in Maryland.
Friday, I headed down to Fredericksburg, VA for a writers-in-the-round series held at a music store/theater in historic downtown Fredericksburg. We had a great night, hosted by Bob Gramman, who after the show, gave us a tour of his guitar workshop. He builds beautiful guitars, check them out at http://www.bobgramann.com/.
The tour came to a close Saturday night in Columbia, MD with a house concert. I opened for Freebo & Photoglo at the Panzers House Concert Series. They put on a wonderful show, and I enjoyed the opportunity to play in front of such a wonderful audience.
I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to Columbia in time for lunch, becuase I found a mall that had a Pizzeria Uno right next to a Cheesecake Factory. Wow, that would have been a pretty special day!

Speaking of cheesecake however, my wonderful wife made me her famous candy bar cheesecake for my birthday. It is the greatest dessert in the world, with no real competition.

A great weekend in the Northeast

2007-04-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

I spent 3 great days in the Boston area over the weekend. After my marathon 1200 mile drive, I began the tour at Rick's Music in Raynham, MA. We had a great crowd for the concert, and fundraiser for Homes For Our Troops. Please visit www.homesforourtroops.org and consider supporting this wonderful organization.

Besides the concert, the highlight of my visit at Rick's was that it was my first time ever performing at a venue that had a signed drumhead by the drummer of Twisted Sister.

Thanks to Tom Irving for getting some photos of the night, and here they are.

On Saturday, we had a full house at the Open Book Coffeehouse, held at Canton Public Library in Canton, MA. Many thanks to Dan Chauvin who opened the show and provided the sound system. (www.myspace.com/danchauvin)

Sunday was a bit of a crazy day, started when I got some green donuts at Dunkin' Donuts. Why were they green?? I have no idea, I ordered vanilla frosted, and they were green.. maybe it's a Boston thing, I've no idea. (or ideer, as the locals say)

Sunday afternoon there was a Habitat For Humanity benefit at the Mozaic Room coffeehouse, and there was a ton of great music all day.. I got to hang out with Erik Balkey for a few minutes, and play my cover of his great song, 'Baseball In My Blood'. Below is a pic of me performing with my world famous harmonica at the Mozaic Room/Habitat Benefit. (Picture again courtesy of Tom Irving).

Sunday night, I went to a very unique little venue in Westford, MA called Parish Center For The Arts, which was an old church building turned into an arts center in a sleepy little New England town, a very nice setting for some folk music.

Monday night, I survived the big city! New York City was no match for the mad driving skills of the boy from Alabama. I drove straight into midtown Manhattan, and played an open mic at the Birdland Jazz Club, which is 2 blocks from Times Square. Christine Lavin invited me to the Birdland, she hangs out there most Mondays, and they have an extremely unique open mic, quite unlike any I've experienced before. It was mostly cabaret, broadway style singers, backed up by the house pianist and bassist. Only 4 people out of about 20 played the guitar, so that was unusual for me. It was great to spend some time with Christine Lavin, such a friendly, helpful, down-to-earth superstar.

I am in the DC most of this week, and I'll keep you posted on the goings-on in the nation's capitol.

8 states in a day

2007-04-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

I'm writing from Rhode Island... If I stretch my arms out wide, I can reach both Connecticut and Massachussets from here!
I am starting my Northeast Tour tonight in Raynham, MA, I'm very excited about the gig tonight at Rick's Music, which will also be a fundraiser for 'Homes For Our Troops'.

It turns out it's a long way from Alabama to Massachussets... After driving to Knoxville Wed. night (for some 5-star accomodations at the Adkins household), I drove through no fewer than 8 states yesterday! Man, that was fun. Thank goodness for XM Radio and day baseball games. My wheels hit the pavement in Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Today, we're adding Rhode Island and Mass, with Alabama and Georgia on Wed, for a 3-day total of 12 states. Just in case you're keeping track at home.

It's Amazing the things you can buy.... for $12.99

2007-04-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Shelley, up in Michigan, e-mailed me this photo today.. It was too good not to share it with you. Never underestimate the amazing things you can buy for $12.99!

Buy This CD Now – Benny Skyn, ‘Chewing On Broken Glass’

2007-04-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

This is really a gem, and one that you have almost certainly never heard of. A few months ago when I was on the road with Greg Adkins, he played me a few songs by this guy Benny Skyn.. Greg used to see Benny at open mics around Knoxville. He described him as a rough old man with no pretention, no interest in the music “biz”, just a beat up old guitar and some great songs. Benny made a low budget recording back in 1994 called ‘Chewing On Broken Glass’. It’s all recorded just guitar and vocals, no fancy overdubs. It’s pretty hard to explain how good it is, but you need to buy it yesterday. His music is much rougher than what I normally listen to, but it really grabbed me. Some of it is absolutely hilarious, some of it is heartwrenching. There is a photocopied note on the back of the homemade CD cover from WUMB, the nations premier folk radio station. It was written by the station manager who listens to hundreds of CD’s a year, and was raving about this CD, just as I am.
There are hundreds of CD’s made everyday by singer/songwriters with moderate talent and high dreams and hopes. This one really stands out, by someone with extreme talent, and little desire to get lost in the singer/songwriter rat race. www.bennyskyn.com

Songwriter's In The Round

2007-04-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Had a great night at Eighth & Rail in Opelika Tuesday. There is a monthly songwriter series hosted by Martha's Trouble, and I played this week with Chris Rosser and Jeff Talmadge. Chris, who lives in Asheville, has long been one of my favorite songwriters. It was a thrill to play with him, he's an exceptional piano player as well as guitar. He's also a wonderful producer who has worked with many of my good friends. Check out his music at www.chrisrosser.com
Jeff Talmadge lives in Atlanta now, and is an americana songwriter with a great lyrical mind. He writes in a very unique style, that will remind you of something you've never heard before, but remember clearly. If that doesn't make sense, check out his music at www.jefftalmadge.com and you'll know what I mean.
In addition to Chris and Jeff, bassist Don Porterfield also joined us on stage. Don lives in North Georgia and plays regularly with many of the best singer/songwriters, such as Pierce Pettis, Chuck Brodsky and Billy Jonas. He tours with Jeff quite often and has played with Chris before. He was nice enough to learn a few of my songs, and I loved his parts, it added a lot to the music. I'm hoping to get him on board again soon.

I hope you're enjoying the start of baseball season as much as I am, the Indians are off to a great start, heading towards the pennant already!

Midwest Tour Wrap-Up

2007-03-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

I am back home in the beautiful sunny south, after 10 days in the Midwest. I enjoyed the trip quite a bit. I've written about the first leg of the tour... After the last Chicago gig I went to Keyeser, Wisconsin, just outside of Madison. The difference between downtown Chicago and downtown Keyeser was noticeable :) Here's a couple photos of downtown Keyeser, along with the baseball field, with a little leftover snow. If you know me, you know I'll take the sleepy small town over the big city anyday. I played at a charming little church coffeehouse, and had a great night. The crowd was wonderful, and to add to the night, they had mini-cheesecakes and Dove chocolate candy. At the end of the night, I packed up my stuff, and filled my pockets with what was left of the Dove!

The tour ended on Sunday night in St. Louis, which has always been one of my favorite cities, though it's been almost 10 years since my last gig there. I played at The Focal Point, which is the premier listening room in St. Louis. Many, many thanks go out to Stacy, host of Backroads on KDHX Radio for helping set up the show, and promoting it for me.
I saw lots of wide open spaces and farmland, here's a little shot from out the window on I-57 that pretty well captures the view from my Camry window for most of the trip.
The Midwest is quite a bit like the south, nice folks, welcoming small towns, and great food. It's just a little colder, and a lot harder to find sweet tea. Also, I guess the people talk different.

Kip Kip Hooray!

2007-03-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

I had the great pleasure of playing 2 gigs this tour with my friend Kip Rainey. He is the mandolin player from my 'County Line Road' CD. He lived down in Auburn for a couple years, and we played a handful of shows together back in 1999-2000. He moved up to Chicago, where he plays in the band Tangleweed. He learned mandolin parts for many of my new songs, and we had a great time playing the Arts Alive Concert Series last weekend, and Fridays at the Ford this past weekend, both in the Chicago metro area.
After so many years as a solo artist, it is always a thrill to have someone join me on stage, and even more of a thrill when it's a great musician like Kip, who also happens to be one of the nicest people I know.
We will definitely be trying to play some more shows together when I'm back up in the midwest, so keep an eye out for that. Thanks Kip!

The Midwest Regional (Pizza) Final

2007-03-18T11:56:00.001-07:00

In the spirit of the NCAA tournament, I decided to have a little tournament of my own while out in the midwest this week. I wanted to find the best pizza, and after narrowing down the possibilities, the regional final came down to Quatro's in Carbondale, IL vs. Giordano's in Chicago. I mentioned Quatro's in the last post, they have some great deep dish pizza. Giordanos is a Chicago classic with the unique stuffed pizza. It was a great classic matchup, and the fact that is was a single elimination tournament played into the outcome... Had it been a best 4 out of 7 series, I think Quatro's may have been able to pull it out, as it is an easier pizza to eat several days in a row. Giordano's is so heavy and hearty, it's not really an every day kind of meal, but when it comes right down to it, Giordano's is the best pizza in the Midwest. Congratulations !

Life is good in Southern Illinois!

2007-03-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

I've had a great couple of days in Southern Illinois. Yesterday was one of the greatest food days of all time. It began at lunch with a trip to 17th Street Bar&Grill in Murphysboro. You may recall they were the winner of the Dave Potts 2005 Best Ribs Award. In addition to that prestigious award, they are also the only 3-time winner of the Memphis In May Rib Contest, which many people may actually consider to be a bigger deal than the DP Awards :)
I had a full slab of their delicious baby back ribs. It's also just far enough south that they have swet tea.

That would normally be enough food for one day, but at dinner I got invited to a local pizza joint called Quatro's. You know I am picky about my pizza, let me tell you I was not disappointed.
Their famous deep dish pizza was fantastic. I have a souvenier cup to commemorate my visit! The mischevious looking guy with the cheese dripping from his hat is Quatro's logo. I guess that's Mr. Quatro himself.

Another reason why Southern Illinois is such a great place to be, is because of one of my favorite radio stations, WDBX in Carbondale. They have 3 folk shows that air weekly, and I played live on 2 of them yesterday, Folk Fiasco and Special Folks. It is very hard for an independent, acoustic artist to find radio support, and WDBX goes above and beyond the call of duty.

If all that weren't enough, I've also had a couple great night of jamming with other musicians. The host of Red Bud Hill House Concert, where I'm performing tonight, is in a band called the Bone Dry River Band. They were over last night, and i sat in for a few songs (even got to play some bass), and they backed me up on a couple of Chris Knight tunes. There is yet another songwriter in the house, JP Jones, a poet-songwriter from Rhode Island, and we had a song circle Tuesday night.
It's been a great trip, and that's even before tonight's house concert, which I'm very much looking forward to.
Tomorrow I'm headed back to the big city up north where the wind blows cold and the pizza crust is thick. Very, very thick!

Michigan, Chicago and the pizza bowl

2007-03-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

I'm writing today from Maquoketa, IA, I'm staying with my friends Scott and Michelle Dalziel. (www.dalziel.net). I came in last night from Chicago, where I played a library concert series in Rolling Meadows. Kip Rainey, who is a great mandolin player from the band Tanglewood, joined me on stage. Kip used to live in Auburn and we played some gigs together many years ago. He also appears on my 'County Line Road' CD. It was a blast to play with him again, and he'll be at my show this coming Friday night as well.
Before the gig, I ate at the Chicago Pizza Company, home of the original Pizza Bowl. It was pretty crazy, it was just what it sounds like, a big bowl of pizza.. The bowl itself was made out of pizza dough, and filled with pizza ingredients, with the cheese on top. On Friday on my way back through Chicago, I plan to find a Giordano's. I'm sure you'll hear about that!

Saturday night, I was at the Trinity House Theater opening for Rachel Davis. It was a great night, I could play that venue every night... Rachel is a GREAT performer, with an amazing voice, if you have a chance to see her, you definitely should. (www.rachelbdavis.com) Here's a picture of the stage at Trinity House.

There is a little snow on the ground here in Iowa, but is melting as we speak, as I continue to hit some nice Midwestern weather.
Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Carbondale/Murphysboro, IL, I'll give you an update from there.

Chris Knight - Trailer Tapes

2007-03-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

Many of you probably know I'm a big fan of Chris Knight. He's an alt-country, sort of hard-edged songwriter from Kentucky... If you heard his music, and heard mine, you wouldn't figure he'd be one of my favorites, we're pretty different, but I think the man's a genius..
Anyhow, he just released a CD called 'Trailer Tapes'. It rough demos he made back in 1996,just him and his guitar in his barn in Kentucky. It was before he was signed to a label. It has a couple songs that made it on his first CD, but most the songs are unreleased. Some of those unreleased tunes are just awesome, everything he writes is so real. No pretty, not usually happy, but very, very real.
If I could write a song like him, I don't know if I would, but I know that I wish I could.
'Rita's Only Fault' is the highlight of the CD for me, check it out if you get a chance, www.chrisknight.net. I can't promise you'll like it, but I can promise that it's very, very good.

Back up north...

2007-03-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

I'm back up in Michigan. Thank goodness it's about 40 degrees warmer than last month! I got up here this afternoon, and just finished a house concert at my friend Shelley's house, whom I met about 8 years ago at The Java House in Conyers, GA. (notice, I just used the word "whom", and I believe that was gramatically correct). She had never hosted a house concert before, and she and her husband John were great hosts and had a nice crowd. Here's a photo from the show taken by Shelley with me, and some of the backs of the heads of her friends.
Tomorrow night I'll be back at the wonderful Trinity House Theater in Livonia, MI, one of the coolest venues anywhere. I'm opening for Rachel Davis, a fantastic songwriter, she won the Telluride Troubadour Contest back in '03 when I was a finalist.
I'm taking some pictures on this trip to put up here on the blog, but I have one of those very old digital cameras (can digital cameras be old already?) that uses floppy disks, and my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive, so you'll have to wait till I get home to see all the excitement the Midwest has to offer.

I'll be writing again soon, maybe when I get to Chicago Sunday I'll let you know about the pizza!

Folk Alliance Conference

2007-02-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

We just got home from 5 days in Memphis, TN at the North American Folk Alliance Conference. If you're not familiar with Folk Alliance, it is basically a mad house of about 2000 people, most of whom are performing singer/songwriters, competing for the attention of folk music presenters, DJ's, etc. Lara came with me, acting as my manager, she was in charge of running the booth in the exhibit hall, where she handed out CD's to prospective concert promoters, and got them to come see me showcase. I played in 8 showcases over the weekend, including 2 "Official" showcases, sponsored by Folk Alliance.
We made a lot of good contacts which should in time turn into concerts. We met people from all over the country, and quite a few in Canada as well.

In addition to the business of meeting presenters, Folk Alliance is also fun becuase I get to see a lot of my favorite musicians, and catch up with old friends. Some of the acts I got to see included Zane Williams, Jud Caswell, Johnsmith, Storyhill, Amy Speace, Charlotte Kendrick and Joe Jencks.
One of the big thrills of the trip was meeting Christine Lavin, who is one of the legends of the contemporary folk scene. She was so friendly and spent lots of time talking to Lara and I. She's going to play some tracks from $12.99 on her XM Radio show.

Also, it should be noted that the food in Memphis was fantastic. The first afternoon, we found a local legend called Rendezvous BBQ. It was tucked away in an alley in downtown Memphis. When we walked in, they said, "we're not really open right now, but we do have ribs, beans and coleslaw." I'm still not sure what they mean that they weren't open, because they certainly were serving some great ribs!
The rest of the weekend, we ate every meal at a local restaurant called Westy's. It was pretty unbelievable. I'm sure there will be some sort of spot on the DP Best of 2007 Awards for Westy's.

March is going to be a pretty busy touring month, beginning with RadioLive in Pensacola on Thursday night. Later in the month, I'll be in Atlanta, Michigan, Illinios and Wisconsin.
I hope to see y'all soon.

Love the South! Tour Wrap-up.

2007-02-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

After 5 straight days of temperatures under 20 degrees, it was wonderful to be back home in Alabama today. Greg and I finished our tour Sunday night in Indianapolis, and drove back to Knoxville at 3am. We really had a great time out on the road, the concerts were a lot of fun, after 10 years of performing as a solo act, having another musician on stage is a blast for me. Greg's music fits very well with mine, and by the end of the week we had quite a few songs worked out well. We ended all the shows on the tour with Pierce Pettis' 'I Will Be Here'. It was a huge hit. Greg is recording a new CD this spring, and it is going to be incredible, I can't wait to hear it. His songs 'Old Radio' and 'The End of You and Me' are instant classics.
I will definitely be planning more shows with Greg in the near future, so stay tuned for that. If you haven't already, go check out his website at www.gregadkinsmusic.com.

Saturday night, we played in Goshen, IN, always one of my favorite tour stops. We had dinner at the South Side Diner, and played at the Electric Brew. Many thanks to all of you who came out to the show. (Jason, no White Sox hat next time, OK?) I feel so at home in Goshen, I look forward to coming back there this fall.
At our Friday night show in Flint, MI, a long time fan who I met in Georgia years ago, showed up with some sweet tea. It really helped ease the pain of the 10 degree weather. Thanks Shelley!

The first couple days of the tour, Greg and I were both trying to eat at least mildly healthy. We looked like a couple of sissies stopping at Applebees and both getting salads. Luckily, we changed that in a hurry... Saturday in Lansing, MI we found a Bennigan's (Greg had never been to Bennigans). He had the Monte Cristo, which if you don't know, is a deep fried ham & cheese sandwich. I was proud of him for taking on those calories. Sunday, we played at a church in Indianapolis, and went to a great barbecue restaurant. I think it was called Parky's Barbecue in Lebanon, IN. I had some pretty impressive ribs. It was no Byron's Smokehouse, but still, it was very good for being that far north. Sunday night, we left out concert with a plate full of cookies, 2 slices of pecan pie, 2 boxes of chocolate covered cherries, and a bag of Valentine's message hearts. I guess it's no wonder we were able to stay up till 3am.

I still need to figure out something to do for Valentine's Day. Many of you have probably heard me rant about how ridiculous Valentine's Day is, as it is not in any way a real holiday. It is simply absurd! That being said, I do love my wife, so I will get her something. But it won't be roses and chocolate (that I could buy for half the price any other week of the year).
She's a pretty good sport about my anti-Valentine's feelings, mostly because I am such an incredibly romantic guy the other 364 days of the year.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, and having it updated much more frequently than the old journal, please let me know, and I'll keep it going. I'm going to try and take more pictures on my tours and get those posted, so this should become probably the most visited website in the history of the world. Or at least in the history of Dave Potts blogs. Whichever comes first.

House Concert Food Challenge is on!

2007-02-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

The 2007 "best dessert spread at a house concert" challenge has officially begun. Greg and I did a house concert in Dayton, OH, and host Jeff Stands made one of the most impressive display of snacks and desserts I have seen... The cheesecake was the big hit for me, as you know that's my favorite, but he also made Black and White AngelFood Cake, Espresso Panna Cotta, Double Chocolate Pound Cake, cranberry orange bread with strawberry spread, and dark chocolate raspberry swirl cookies....
So, for the rest of you hosting house concert this year, you have your work cut out for you to win this years food award. Start cooking!

The concert was a lot of fun, Greg had only played one house concert before, and he is a natural house concert performer. You may have heard me cover Greg's song "The End of You and Me" It's a really beautiful, and quite frankly, brilliant song, and he opened with that, and had a couple people crying... Crying in a good way, it's great to see music really move people, that's what it's all about.

It's probably about time to be getting to bed, but we are staying down in the basement, which happens to be where the XBox is, so we are going to be up for ahwile playing football!
We're off to Flint, MI in the morning.
-DP

It is FREEZING!

2007-02-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all -
I'm in Greenwood, Indiana, on my way to Dayton, OH tonight for the 2nd night of a 5-night tour with Greg Adkins. We had a great first show last night, but I will tell you it is absolutely freezing up here!!! I'm not used to this weather, and somehow my sweatshirt is not quite doing the job... I can barely move my toes.
Here is a picture of me with a couple layers of sweatshirts, as we're loading Greg's car Thursday morning.

Greg and I spent the first day of the road trip going through his I-Pod. He's got about 5500 more songs than I do on mine... He's got some great stuff, like Nich Lachey and other legends :)

Well, we're off to Dayton, I'll post another blog later on the tour.
-Dave

2007-02-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

MUSIC ON THE SQUARE 2/3/07

Last night, I played at a new venue in La Fayette, GA called Music On The Square. It is a music store with a cafe attached. It's a wonderful little acoustic venue tucked away in a small town in scenic Northwest Georgia.. Mark opened the store and cafe just last August, and already they are having weekly concerts on Saturday nights. About 20 folks came out on a freezing cold night, and were a very appreciative audience.
It was my first concert back after my 6 week vacation, so I was a little rusty, but overall the performance went well.
There was a video made of the show by a local company, and they are going to do some post production work, and in a few weeks, the DVD will be available for sale. I will let you know when that's ready.
Many thanks to Martha Ann Brooks who opened the show for me last night!

I am going to be back at Music on the Square later this year, I'll keep you posted.

Just finished watching the Super Bowl... I suppose I'm happy for Peyton Manning, and I'm definitely happy for Tony Dungy, who has always come across as a very nice guy. If you were wondering, Rex Grossman is a pretty bad quarterback. OK, maybe pretty bad is a mild term for it!

Talk to you later this week, when I'm out on the road with Greg Adkins for our Midwest tour,
DP

Back to work!

2007-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

Back to work! I've had a very relaxing start to 2007, we took a family vacation to Disney World. The kids had such a great time, it was one of my favorite times of my life seeing their faces when Mickey Mouse and friends showed up. Here's a few pictures from the trip.

I'm excited to get rolling with the 2007 touring season, starting next week. The year kicks off for me with a Midwest tour with my friend Greg Adkins. We'll be hitting Indiana, Ohio and Michigan next week. (come on, good weather!) As you know, I don't really own a jacket, so Michigan in February is not always the best idea, but we'll give it a shot.

Later in February I'll be spending a weekend at the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, where I'll be playing all kinds of showcases. Lara is coming with me to help me come across as a friendly guy. When people just meet me, they think "what's his problem". But, when they meet me and Lara, they remember "those Potts folks sure were friendly." In all seriuosness, I couldn't do this without all of her help and support, I'm a lucky guy!

March and April will be bringing more Midwest shows, and a Northeast-MidAtlantic tour.
I'm very excited about the next few months of shows, and I'm hoping to see all of you soon. I hope that 2007 is treating you well so far, and we'll talk soon, DP

The blog is back, for the first time, sort of

2007-02-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all -
I'm going to give this blog another shot. Several people have been asking me to post more journal entries on the website, or more blogs on my myspace page, so I'm going to try it here (again, for the first time) and see what happens.
I'm going to update this blog at least weekly with info on the latest gigs, songs, etc.
Please let me know what you'd like to see here, or if you're actually alive, and reading this!
Thanks,
DP

DP Best of 2006 Awards

2007-02-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, with no further addieu (addoo? aidooo?), I present the DP Best of 2006 Awards!
Top 5 Gigs of 2006;
5) Moonlight Music Café - Birmingham, AL 4/15 - Opening for Lucy Kaplansky. This was both a great gig, as well as my last time playing at this wonderful venue in B'Ham. Keith H. put his heart and soul into this venue, and made one of the best listening rooms in the Southeast. He had to close his doors this fall, and I will greatly miss him and the Moonlight.
4) O'Susanna Concerts - Blytheville, AR 11/18 - Something about the setting, on a cold winter night in a small town in Arkansas. A small locally-owned bookstore with a wood stove and wooden folding chairs signed by 15 years worth of authors and musicians. David and Susie have done a great job of establishing a concert series in a place you would least expect it.
3) Vanilla Bean Café - Pomfret, CT 9/16 - Opening for Pierce Pettis. Pierce is one of my all-time favorites, so it was quite a thrill to open for him at this charming venue in Connecticut.
2) Acoustic View House Concert - Byron, MN 4/28 - Mike and Stacy started their house concert series after seeing me at Acoustic Ave. House Concert in 2005 (see best of '05) They did a great job in only their 2nd house concert, and had a full living room of about 30 folks.
1) Canyon House Concerts - Phoenix, AZ 12/1 - Absolutely wonderful house concert series in the Sonora Desert of Arizona. A sold-out crowd of 70 packed in, and what a great, receptive audience! Many thanks to Jeanne and John for all their work in putting on the show.

Honorable Mention; Cousin Andy's - Carbondale, IL, Preacher's House Concert - Auburndale, WI (a 2005 Top 5), Prairie Grapevine Folklore Society - Springfield, IL, Mozaic Room - Avon, MA opening for Kate Campbell, Hattiesburg Public Library - Hattiesburg, MS, Daily Grind - Murphy, NC, split gig with Greg Adkins, Cherry Creek Arts Festival - Denver, CO.

Best Tour of 2006; April Midwest Tour - Started out in Hannibal, MO (hometown of Mark Twain), then headed up for a weekend in Appleton, WI for a conference at Calvary Chapel Appleton. I stayed that weekend with the Vanderloops, who make the list of 10 nicest people of 2006. From there, I played at Preacher's House Concerts in Auburndale, which after a great gig there in 2005, I wrote an all-time classic song, 'Punctual in Auburndale', noting how everyone was very on time for my concert. After a fun in-the-round show with Madison Songwriters, I headed off to Minnesota. There I played at Acoustic View House Concert (see Top 5 gigs), another very fun show in Cambridge, MN, where I was treated to a birthday 'Blue Ribbon Brownie' at Applebee's after the gig, and also performed at Book & Bean Café in St. Cloud.

Sideman of the Year - As you know, Rob Seals is my sideman, greatest sideman there is. But with Rob living in LA, we don't get the chance to play together much. This years award is a split-decision. The 2 winners are Rob Slocumb, of the duo, Martha's Trouble, and singer/songwriter Greg Adkins from Knoxville, TN. Rob sat in as part of the "Dave Potts Band" at this year's Summer Swing gig in Opelika and did a great job on backing guitar. Greg and I did 2 shows together this summer, and he learned piano parts to a couple of my tunes, which sounded great. We also did a in-the-round gig where we played together all night, and he jumped in and played on all kinds of tunes he'd never heard before. Greg and I will be doing a Midwest tour together this February.

Best concert I saw this year - Alison Krauss and Union Station at Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, GA. 1/19. Many kudos to my wife for surpising me with tickets for our anniversary.

Favorite new artist or group - I had a great year in meeting and hearing some great new artists. The winner of this award goes to Zane Williams. I met him at Kerrville, and was offended that he didn't win the New Folk Contest. Honorable mention for favorite new artist this year is Jud Caswell, who I also met at Kerrville. Luckily he was one of the winners of the New Folk Contest, so the judges were spared.

Best post-gig lodging - After a very nice, although laryngitis-plagued gig at Sounds of Grace Concert Series in Berryville, VA, I stayed at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast on the banks of the Shenendoah River.

Best radio station/DJ - Probably at this point should give a lifetime acheivment award to WDBX in Carbondale, IL - They won this award last year, so instead of going 2 in a row, we'll give them the LAA. And, the 2006 award goes more to the show 'Messages', hosted by Stu Weaver on WFCF, 88.5FM, St. Augustine, FL. He played the new CD nearly every week on his show after it came out in August, Thanks Stu!

Airline of the Year - And once again, the winner is AirTran! I took my guitar on 5 round trip flights, and was able to carry it on every time!

Best family event of the year - It's a 2-way tie; Barnum and Bailey's Circus, Feb. 15 in Atlanta, and the Alabama National Fair in Montgomery, Oct. 10.

Best half-family event of the Year - Christopher came with me to a gig in Fort Walton Beach, FL, and we spent a day together at the beach, and the swimming pool at the Marriott. About 2 seconds after he woke up, he said "where do you get breakfast around here?"

Best comment made after making a wish from breaking a Scandinavian cookie into 3 pieces (a highly sought after award) - Christopher Allan Potts on his second attempt at breaking the 'wishing cookie' into 3 pieces said, "Dinosaurs have just come alive" Dec. 21, 2006.

Dessert of the Year - It's ashame that I have never given this award before, and if I had I would be giving the Lifetime Achievment Award, as it would be the 3rd straight year for my wife's amazing Candy Bar Cheesecake!

Total Geek Day of the Year Award - I'm awarding myself with the geek day of the year for my first ever live fantasy baseball auction draft, held in Atlanta, April 2, 2006. Come on, Ryan Howard for $16? That's a steal!

Storm of the Year - Feb. 11th, I got snowed into Boston, after flying up to play at Mozaic Room Coffeehouse, I got stuck in one of the largest blizzards in the Northeast in the past 20 years. Luckily I had a wonderful place to stay, and spent a full day watching the Olympics and compiling stats to make fantasy baseball rankings. (speaking of geeks)

College Football Play of the Year - Auburn's blocking a punt, and Tre Smith diving into the endzone touchdown to defeat otherwise unbeaten Florida. Our house is about 2 miles from Jordan-Hare Stadium, and we could hear and feel the stands rocking from here.

NFL Play of the Year - Well, you know, the Browns pretty much sucked again this year, so I'm giving the 2006 NFL play of the Year to the 1989 Cleveland Browns, since I watched their highlight video this year, we'll go with Bernie Kosar's 97-yard touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter against the Bears on Monday Night Football, Oct. 23, 1989.

TV Show of the Year - The Office. It just keeps getting better and better. Incidentally, my booble-head of the year award goes to my Dwight Shrute bobble-head.

Movie of the Year - I apologize for this in advance. But, you know, I've got to be honest here. Millions of people are counting on me for my expertise and my thorough evaluations. As much as you might not want to admit it, you know it's true, the movie of the year was 'Talladega Nights - The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'. Come on, you know it was. This year's runner-up, perhaps a bit more legitimate is, 'Inside Man'.

Thanks for tuning in, Happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing y'all in '07. -Dave