Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Tuesday November 11, 2025 - Asheville, NC

Road Blog
November 11, 2025
Asheville, North Carolina

Tommy had us up and at `em and out the door at our Jacksonville AirBB and 8am. It was sunny but freezing cold, and not what we expected when we booked Florida tour dates. A long-billed curlew was walking around the yard looking for snacks as we loaded the van, and Nicholas quickly identified the species and provided some interesting facts about them. “Push It” by Salt N Pepa played as Joel turned the van north and we said goodbye to Florida.

It was a long drive to our crash pad in Tyron, North Carolina – about 7 hours. We stopped for some BBQ at Maurice's Piggie Park in Columbia, South Carolina where I got the pulled pork and ribs combo with mac & cheese and brisket-baked beans. It was pretty awesome and cool old joint that’s been servin’ `em up for decades. We made it through the next couple Fleetwood Mac albums and the Buckingham Nicks record along with the 4 KISS solo albums as well. It’s been cool to explore the pre-Stevie/Lindsey era of Fleetwood Mac, but I’m glad we’re finally into the stuff that I really like. My opinion of the KISS solo albums remains: Ace’s is great, most think the best. I am a huge fan of Paul’s – the best production, IMO, super strong singing, and great songs. Better than Ace’s? In some ways, sure. Maybe not others. Gene’s is spotty but the ballads are awesome, and Peter’s is, well, not so much.

In Tyron we stopped at the house of one of Jack’s friends Deena, who’s been kind enough to put us up for the night. She lives on a horse farm in the mountains about 45 minutes south of Asheville, just north of the South Carolina border. Her house is amazing and I have my own little bed-nook in the loft, sort of similar to a bed on a tour bus. I met her horses Martin and Pirate, and her puppies Banjo and Fiddle. Banjo is a feisty little dude who would rather you not mess with his bone because it’s his bone and you can’t have it. Fiddle is a little more laid back, like “whatever…” Her kitty is Carl Dean, named after Dolly Parton’s recently departed husband, who died the day Deena found him. He likes to watch the birds play in the trees and comes over for head scratches every few minutes.

We headed into the city and pulled up to Sly Grog Lounge and loaded in. It’s a different, but very cool joint, with a large outdoor area with tons of TVs showing B-movies and tons of other vintage pop-culture artifacts. I’m sure it’s great out there when the weather is nice, but we were relieved to see that there was a room inside too, where we’d be playing. We set up and sound-checked, said hello to the opener Galen from the_40_20_10s, and got a round of drinks. My friends Chris and Jen showed up, then my uncle Todd and aunt Susan. Each couple had traveled in from a couple hours away in opposite directions, and I was really happy to see them and grateful that they made the trip.

Galen went on around 8 and played a great set of originals, solo-electric. Great songs and guitar tones, and a super nice guy. We went on a little after 9 and played about 90 minutes of our collective A-list material. I stepped off for a couple tunes and from the bar room I heard the beat and bass from “Push It” and knew it was time to get back up. The crowd was thin, to put it mildly, but we played our best-set-yet of the run, and had a good time up there.

We said our goodbyes and loaded out in the freezing cold. Kernel pointed us south back towards Tyron after a 24-hour burger joint debacle that turned into a drive-thru-only pain in the ass that we aborted, ending up instead at a Sheetz about halfway back to the pad. I didn’t get much on the count of I was exhausted and had a to-go box full of leftover BBQ in the van, but most everyone else got some made-to-order stuff that smelled pretty great. The mountain roads were dark and winding, but it’s beautiful country, and Kernel got us back safe just after 1am.

This morning I was (as usual), first up and blogging when Deena came back in from feeding the horses and made some amazing coffee. Joel got up, then Tommy. Banjo seems much less uptight today, making the rounds and looking for t.r.e.a.t.s. Carl Dean HAD to go out, then quickly sat outside the glass door looking with regret in his eyes to get back in from the freezing cold. There’s sausage gravy and biscuits and eggs for all, and everyone is in good spirits after a great night’s sleep.

Thanks to those who came out last night, Galen, and the great staff at the Sly Grog Lounge. Sundays through Wednesdays are always rough, so we make the best of them and do our best.

Tonight we’re in Raleigh, North Carolina at the The Pour House Music Hall with pals Karbuncle (buddy Jer) and Hank Sinatra. Word is that it’s a fantastic room with great sound. We’ve got 4 shows left, working our way back north. See ya out there Raleigh, DC, Baltimore and Akron!