Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Friday October 17, 2014 - Huntsville, AL

Tour Blog – Day 9 – Huntsville

The drive trough Mississippi and Alabama yesterday was beautiful with its rolling hills and forests and we felt pretty good after our sleep in a nice hotel. We were making good time as we approached Birmingham, Alabama so we decided to stop for lunch. Mrs. Winner’s Fried Chicken has been a favorite stop for my wife and I whenever we get to Alabama, Georgia or Arkansas, and there’s one in B’ham so we punched the coordinates into Karen (our trusty GPS) and she got us there. We were a little disappointed to see that it was part of a gas station, but we couldn’t be stopped. Gabe and I got the chicken meals and Patty got the boneless. It was pretty amazing, but the setting left a bit to be desired.

After lunch we headed a few blocks over and stopped at the Civil Rights park and the 16th Street Baptist Church. The church is known for a bombing by the KKK in 1963 where 4 young black girls were killed. The tragedy was considered a turning point in the Civil Rights movement and a visit to the church and the dark, iron sculptures and the 4 fountains (representing the 4 girls) across the street is an intense experience. In the north we’ve read about these things but to be there in person puts it all in a more impacting perspective.

We paid our respects and headed north to Huntsville with Gabe at the wheel. Our hotel was nice and it was cheap (a great combination, and a relief after the debacle in NOLA) but we had to head across town to film a couple songs for the Rocket City Sounds – House on the Hill series. We set up in a beautiful hardwood room in an empty house and played a couple songs acoustically that will be coming to a YouTube near you soon.

The Sports Page is a non-descript sports-bar/dive near our hotel. It didn’t feel all that rock & roll at first, but it has a cool stage and the folks there were friendly enough so we loaded in and got some sandwiches. It was our pal Justin Tidwell’s birthday and our pal Mike Jett from Louisville surprised everyone with an appearance, so there was an extra air of party-time too. By the time we hit at 10pm it was filling up nicely and about 3 songs in we hit our stride and played to a great room of really enthusiastic, loud patrons. People were going nuts, we were drenched in sweat, whiskey and beer, and it was the most fun I’ve had on stage in a long time! Next up were locals Local Orbit who were fun and nice dudes, and then TCR, who once again just tore it up. We’ve had some good shows on this tour, but the people of Huntsville were amazing. We sold piles of merch, drank many drinks, loaded out, and headed to the after party.

The hosts of the after party were super-friendly people with a great dog and a nice house with a small pool and big grill. There was plenty of beer and hot dogs and we had a great time hanging with TCR and the local folks. Everyone in Huntsville was so cool and nice to us – we don’t get that kind of hospitality everywhere. We can’t wait to come back!

I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a rough damn morning that came way too soon. We just crossed the Tennessee state line, we’re about an hour south of Nashville and heading to Louisville for the last show of the tour. It’s certainly bittersweet. I can’t wait to get home, see my wife and sleep in my own bed, but this has been a great run, and we’re going to miss our brothers after tonight.