Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Monday October 19, 2015 - Asheville, NC

Road Blog – Asheville, NC
October 19, 2015

We headed into Asheville for some record shopping before load-in and were really impressed with the small city’s culture, geography and friendly people. First stop was Static Age Records where I scored a pressing of the great 80s Japanese hair metal band Loudness’ first record (with the hit Rock And Roll Crazy Nights). After that we checked out a couple other record stores and vintage shops in the neighborhood before we headed to the venue.

The Mothlight is a beautiful venue in the old area of the city. It’s a big room with a great stage, high ceiling and cool green room for the bands. We loaded in and got a rare soundcheck, which is always a bonus. After soundcheck we walked a couple blocks up the street for dinner and a beer. Patty got the salmon tacos (too saucey), I got the jerked pork tacos (tasty, but cold) and Gabe got the Baby Eagle – a buffalo chicken sandwich (meh).

Back at the venue, while we were waiting for the first band to hit, Gabe and Patty got into a pretty serious ping pong battle in the green room. Some people might call it table tennis, Patty calls it ping pong. Patty talked a big game but Gabe held his own. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out why the low E string has been slipping of the saddle on the bridge of my guitar lately. Shortly after the game my dad arrived. He’s been travelling around the area for the last couple days, visiting friends, and was able to catch a show. I don’t get to see him much, and he rarely gets to take in a show, so it’s nice when it happens. We had a short but good visit.

The Melons were first up. They played some groove-rock with a smokin’ guitarist stage right. Boris, their singer, is a good dude and these guys brought a ton of people out. They did a cool cover of Happy together by The Turtles and sounded great. We were up next and played a good set in front of a surprisingly good Monday night crowd. The Melons’ fans were slowly heading home but we had a good time playing and the sound was phenomenal.

Poet Radio played third, and once again there was a Michigan connection! Singer Madison and drummer Ryko are both from the mitten so we bonded over that. We loved their set from the start. Madison was a great front-person – rocking out between guitar and keyboards on some fantastic songs and great riffs. These guys were awesome, and super nice people too.

After load out we made a quick stop at the beer store and headed south to our Air B&B. A couple beers and a couple episodes of Portlandia and we crashed out. Today we leave the Carolinas for Athens, GA. We’ve had a blast here and can’t wait to come back and see all the friends we’ve made again!