Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Friday October 16, 2015 - Knoxville, TN

Road Blog – Knoxville, TN
October 16, 2015

After the rough morning in Dayton we headed south down I-75 into Kentucky and towards Tennessee. Soon the scenery changed from flat and drab to the Appalachian foothills with leaves turning and blowing around and the sun beating down over the blue grass and hillsides. The closer we got to Knoxville to more beautiful the terrain became and it was a real treat to drive through.

We checked into our Air B&B first thing. Our host was Niles, a local musician and scenester who has a very band-friendly house with a plethora of guitars and other instruments around. His cat Diane is a sweet lady and he was a great host. He was super friendly and has a genuine interest in the local music scene and suggested some record stores for us so we headed out to do some shopping. My find of the day was the first Armored Saint ep (with lyric sheet!) and an early Accept record. Gabe scored a Seduce record, and that was a great find too. We had a little time at the house before load in to work out a couple chords on one of our new tunes, but that was about it before we had to head out again.

The Preservation Pub is a cool bar on Market Square in downtown Knoxville. To load in we had to drive our van down the narrowest alley in Tennessee, no doubt, and it was a real challenge. We got loaded in, ordered pizzas and beers and chatted with the opening band a bit. The Floorboards – from Richmond, VA – hit first and had a great set of some darker Americana and Country. The songs were great and their lead guitarist and steel guitar player were both awesome. During their set we were happy to see Niles walk in – with his other 4 guests in tow – 4 girls, 3 from Argentina and 1 from France. They were bright-eyed and ready for some rock and roll! We made a couple other friends too – including a girl who was born in Marquette (my hometown). The people of Knoxville are an incredibly welcoming bunch!

We took the stage just before 11:30 to a great crowd and room. People were engaged from the start, rocking out, chirping out requests, and even dancing a bit. We had a blast playing, we played well, and even got called out for an encore. It was an exceptional night in front a big, appreciative crowd. After us, Jake and The Comet Conductors played a great set of psychedelic blues in the vein of SRV or Hendrix. Smoking guitars and great riffs!

After the show it was back to Niles’ place for a beer and some much needed sleep. The girls were still up so we chatted briefly, Patty got a photo, then lights out.

This morning we hit the road early and it was really amazing driving east into the Appalachian Mountains and North Carolina. The scenery was breathtaking with hills, peaks and hollers around every turn. The fall colors added to the beauty and we really had a great drive.

Were in Durham now, doing some guitar maintenance and a fix to a floor tom before tonight’s show in Chapel Hill. We’ve got a couple hours to chill for the first time since the day before we left home. We’re playing at The Cave tonight and it’s game day in CH, so it should be a rockin’ show!