Still here and breathing

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Chris Jones

Hello friends, I’m sorry to you and to my patient web developer Lisa Jacobi (of the band Playing on the Planet) for taking so long to write an update. What was going to be a relatively laid back couple of weeks in Nashville became very busy, as we went into the studio to work on some new material.

Things went really well in the studio. I’m not at liberty to discuss the details, but we recorded a new song that will be unlike anything we’ve done before (though it’s something we currently perform on stage). Sierra Hull, Claire Lynch and The Infamous Stringdusters‘ Jeremy Garrett joined us as guests.

I just arrived back in Alberta, where I’ll be for a few days before my wife Sally and I embark on our first ever duo tour of Europe. It will be a short tour (dates will be posted soon), and we’ve even given our daughter a week off of school to come along (we’ll see if we can make up for the lost school time by teaching her a new language — then she can teach it back to us!)

I’ll return to Nashville later in the month as we get the really busy touring season underway with a stop at one of our favorite events, The Appalachian Uprising, in Scottown, OH (see tour dates page.)

If you’re the social media type (i.e., if you waste time like the rest of us), don’t forget to link to my Facebook and Twitter pages from here

So long for now. Studio action shot below.

- Chris

Rehearsing at the Rec Room Studio in Nashville, with Sierra Hull, Claire Lynch and Jon Weisberger

Posted in Music, News, Performances, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

We’re Back!

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Chris Jones

You may have noticed that this web site was down for a few days. Thanks for your patience while I quickly paid off some Australians to regain control of my domain name. My threats to do my next Bluegrass Junction show with a (poorly executed) fake Australian accent failed to move them; they insisted on cash.

A quick news summary: The Night Drivers and I resume touring next week, playing shows in Cobden, IL and Evanston, IL on the 27th and 28th, respectively (see the tour dates page for details).

We’ve managed to get back into Bluegrass Today‘s top 5 with “Final Farewell,” currently at #2 on the weekly chart, and at #4 for the month.

Speaking of Bluegrass Today, my column this week outlines the schedule for my proposed parallel IBMA trade show, the Argumentative World of Bluegrass (AWOB): http://bluegrasstoday.com/40523/2012-awob-schedule-of-events/

In the photo below: some of the health food we plan to be partaking of when we arrive in the Chicago area on the 28th:

 

 

Share
Posted in Music, News, Performances, Sirius/XM, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

My Kind of Town (Chicago is)

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Chris Jones

Hello from outside “The Northern Studio” in northern Alberta’s Peace Country. The Night Drivers and I have had some time off the road, but we’re ready to start up the matching fleet of navy blue Scions and hit the highway again. First stop is the Carbondale, IL area (Cobden) for a newly added show at the Yellow Moon Cafe on April 27th. Then we return to Chicago, where I spent four years living while playing with Special Consensus (I was there long enough to become a Chicago Cubs fan, which means that I’ve been heartbroken now for decades!). Our show there is in Evanston on April 28th (details on the tour dates page).

Do you like to argue about bluegrass music, debating its definition, origins, future, etc? I don’t, and I decided to write a tongue-in-cheek column on the subject for this week’s Bluegrass Today offering: http://bluegrasstoday.com/40248/sos-your-old-man/

Speaking of Bluegrass Today, we’re still hanging in there in the top 5 of their monthly airplay chart. Thanks again to bluegrass DJs and broadcasters for playing the song.

In addition to our new Cobden, IL show upcoming, we’ve also added new shows in Dade City, FL, and Tucson, AZ for the fall.

We hope to see you down the road somewhere soon. Meanwhile, below you can see what I’ve been doing in my “spare time” (estimated at up to 2 hours per week) in Alberta.

Thanks, as always, to the talented and beguiling Lisa Jacobi of the band Playing On The Planet, who is our web developer.

 

Share
Posted in Music, Performances, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

New CD Out!

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Chris Jones

Sorry it’s been so long since the last post. There’s been touring, laryngitis, tax preparation and other fun activities getting in the way. There’s lots of news, though:

First of all, our new collection on Rebel Records, “Lost Souls and Free Spirits” is now out on the market. Just in time for the release, our advance single, “Final Farewell” hit the #1 spot on Bluegrass Today‘s national monthly airplay chart (after two trips to #1 on their weekly chart). We managed to edge out IIIrd Tyme Out, Alison Krauss, and other artists we admire for that honor, without having to resort to robocalls or attack adds financed by Super PACs.

There’s a new review of the CD for All Music on our product page.

Meanwhile the band is off the road for a little while, as we get ready for a busy touring season ahead that will take us from Chicago, IL to Denton, NC to Chilliwack, BC. I’m tired just thing about it, but it’s a good kind of tired. All our current dates are posted on our tour dates page, with more to come.

Speaking of Bluegrass Today (www.bluegrasstoday.com,) I’m continuing to write a weekly humour column for them. I have to explain that it’s meant to be funny, just in case it actually isn’t, and because otherwise people take what I write seriously and literally and then make some very bad decisions). The latest one is about bluegrass music camps: http://bluegrasstoday.com/38567/bluegrass-camp-survival-tips/

If you haven’t already “liked” our Facebook page or aren’t following us on Twitter, you can link to both from this site.

Below is a photo from our previous album release party, held during the IBMA at Layla’s Bluegrass Inn in downtown Nashville. I believe the photo was taken by Ted Lehmann.

 

Share
Posted in Media Appearances, Music, News, Performances, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Final Farewell is #1 on Bluegrass Today

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Jacobi

Share
Posted in Music, News | Leave a comment

Busy Week Ahead

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Chris Jones

Hello from northern Alberta (home of “The Northern Studio”), where the weather has been too bizarre to even keep track of, but, on the other hand, I’m told I’m missing some Nashville tornadoes.

Click here to Order Now

This is the week that our new Rebel CD compilation, “Lost Souls and Free Spirits“, premieres on Bluegrass Junction‘s “Track-by-Track”. It already aired once, but it can be heard again Thursday, Jan. 26th at 9:00 PM eastern, then on Sunday, Jan. 29th at 9:00 PM eastern Sirius XM 61

To end the prolonged tease, Rebel Records is ma

king our recent #1 single “Final Farewell” available for download this coming Tuesday, January 31st. Check back here for word one when pre-release copies of the whole CD will be available through this site. It should be very soon.

I’ll be hitting the ground running when I get back to Nashville next week. We’ll play at Music City Roots at the Loveless Cafe barn, then we’ll be at SPBGMA’s annual convention and award show on February 3rd. Then (drum roll please), we’ll hold our album release party at the Station Inn on February 9th.

All of these dates are listed on our tour dates page. Gotta run! More soon…

Share
Posted in Media Appearances, Music, News, Performances, Sirius/XM | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Number 1 song!

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Chris Jones

Happy New Year!

The Night Drivers and I have a few weeks off the road, but there’s lots going on. For one thing, our pre-release single, “Final Farewell” has hit #1 on the new weekly airplay chart published by Bluegrass Today: http://bluegrasstoday/chart  Employing the hard-to-get business strategy that had made us all thousandaires, the single is unavailable right now, even for download. Truthfully, this has to do with the distributor, and we wish it was otherwise, but Rebel Records has given me assurance that it will be downloadable within a couple of weeks.

The whole album, “Lost Souls and Free Spirits”, which is a remastered “best-of” collection with some new material, will be available for purchase in hard copy form by early February, and there will be a world premiere of the whole project on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction   on January 25th on “Track-by-Track”.

If you check our tour dates page, we have added new dates in Minnesota and Virginia, and you’ll see that we have an album release party for the CD in Nashville at The Station Inn on February 9th.

In other news: Ned Luberecki has returned from spending the post-Christmas and New Years holidays in London, England. Check Bluegrass Junction to see if he acquired a British accent while he was there.

We celebrated the end of “The Year of Bill Monroe” with a special 6-hour “Truegrass” in his honor. Below is a photo of me broadcasting on Sirius XM, wearing a shirt that was actually owned and worn by Bill Monroe in honor of his birthday. January 6th is Earl Scruggs’ birthday (and the day of Epiphany), so I’ll have some extra music from Earl on this weekend’s “Truegrass” (Friday, 3PM eastern, Sunday, 6PM eastern).

Share
Posted in Media Appearances, Music, News, Performances, Sirius/XM, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

May the calendar keep bringing…

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Chris Jones

Happy Holidays to you! The Night Drivers and I are off for the holidays, storing up strength for a busy 2012 (storing up strength is usually achieved by eating a lot of Christmas cookies.) As is the tradition, I’ll be heading to what I’m now calling “Northern Studio B” in the Peace Country of northern Alberta, spending the holidays with my in-laws on their beautiful ranch (see photo).

Quickly, the news: our single “Final Farewell” has returned to the Bluegrass Today chart and is currently back in the top 15. The official release date has been set for our collection on Rebel Records, “Lost Souls and Free Spirits”, and it’s February 28th. The album will feature the best of our Rebel material over the last 15 years, including some out-of-print material, plus new material (including “Final Farewell”) recorded by the current lineup of The Night Drivers. There will be a world premiere of the CD on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction on January 25th, when I will be Kyle Cantrell’s guest on “Track-by-Track” (my turn to be on the other side of the microphone).

I’m continuing my weekly column for the Bluegrass Today web site. Here’s the link to the latest post: http://bluegrasstoday.com/34947/band-management-dress-codes/

Have a wonderful holiday season. Make time to play in the snow (unless you don’t have any), and don’t make any New Year’s resolutions I wouldn’t make.

- Chris

Share
Posted in Media Appearances, Music, News, Sirius/XM | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment