Billy Goodman: Journal

Back in Heidelberg.....Beautiful sunny day. A little jetlagged but feeling grateful. That three weeks in America sure turned in to five and a half months pretty quick. I spent the last week in Miami visiting my brother Jon. Drove down to the Keys, saw some old friends, soaked up some rays. It was darn nice. Now I have to get my ducks in a row for Mr. Kimock's imminent arrival. Oh yeah, baby.

My cousin Isabel and I visited the Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania last week and played some of the most amazing guitars I ever had the pleasure of handling. One was a 1929 Ditson dreadnought (that Jackson Browne had played a few days earlier) and the other was a 1942 D-45 purchased three months earlier for $270,000. I've posted some shots in my photo gallery. They were beautiful.

Steve and i played our first duo gig in Bethlehem, Pa. last Saturday night to a full house and it went really great. We played two and a half hours of originals, old blues classics and cool covers by Ry Cooder, Stones, Beatles etc...
It was a good warm-up session for the upcoming Europe tour. Steve played some incredible lap steel and really had the beauty and the terror going on when he strapped on that old stratocaster. Can't wait for the next gig.

Heading in to New York City tomorrow to meet up with my brother Frank who is on his way to Thailand and my brother Jon who is up from Miami for a few days. This will be fun.

I fly back to the east coast in the morning. The west coast tour was excellent from start to finish. The band was unbelievable, the management and road crew team were the best. I was blown away. Mickey Hart from the Grateful Dead even came to the last show in Forestville. The shows can be downloaded at www.digitalsoundboard.net
Steve and I recorded video with interviews and live songs at jambase in San Francisco today. They'll be up in a day or two www.jambase.com
I'm a very happy camper.

We lost our good buddy Martin Fierro yesterday. He hangs with angels and will be missed. Steve played with a vengeance at The Great American Music Hall last night.
I'm sure it was his way of letting Martin know that he was feeling the love. We're heading back there now for tonight's sold out show and we're gonna tear the roof off that place.

Here are the confirmed concert dates for Steve Kimock and Billy Goodman in Europe...

May 21 The Cave- Heidelberg, Germany
May 22 Wagenhallen- Stuttgart, Germany
May 23 Vario Bar- Olten, Switzerland
May 24 ZAK-Jona- Jona, Switzerland
May 28 Turning Point- Herrenwies, Germany
May 29 Turning Point- Herrenwies, Germany
May 30 Roccafe- Denzlingen, Germany
May 31 Weisses Ross- Immeldorf, Germany

Finally, California.....
I've been here two days now just driving around with the top down visiting old friends.. Fantastic !!

Oooph...will it ever stop snowing and get warm again ? Thank God my back is feeling better and I'm not hobbling around. I'll be posting the confirmed dates for the German tour in May as soon as they're finished. In the meantime I'm just working away in the barn. Lots of songs to learn. I leave for San Francisco on Wednesday. I better get packing.

These are the confirmed dates for the Steve Kimock and Friends northern California shows in March 2008.....
Check out the link below if you want more info.....should be great.

3/11/08 Red Fox Tavern - Eureka, CA
3/13/08 Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
3/14/08 Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
3/15/08 Forestville Club - Forestville, CA
3/16/08 Forestville Club - Forestville, CA

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409642471

thats german for "the witches shot".
you know, you go and innocently pick something up off the floor and whammo....yeah, thats the hexenschuss....lower back pain....i been hobbling about for two days with this nasty syndrone...it could be worse so i won't complain....it's been snowing like crazy here.... i'm in the rehearsal barn learning songs, goofing off on the computer etc....the cd manufacturer said "big red barn sessions' is in production and we should have it for sale at the first show in california...that's good news....we all worked hard to make that happen....saw the re-make of 3:10 to yuma last night.....now that rocked my world.....nothing like a good western......ouch !!...just sneezed......that hurts.

We finished the artwork yesterday for the new CD thanks to the graphic designer Dave Hunter.
Billy Goodman with Steve Kimock
"Big Red Barn Sessions"
Here's a tracklist:
1. Johnny Anonymous
2. You Are With Me
3. Barbed Wire
4. Ghost Town
5. Evangeline
6. Counting On You
7. On The Run
8. Shaking Leg
9. Thank You That You Loved Me
10. Cowboy

We'll probably preview most of the tracks on the west coast tour. Can't wait. Now I'm practicing Steve Kimock originals. God help me.

The CD is finished.....Sounds cool.
Now we're working on a two week tour for Steve Kimock and myself in Germany in the latter half of May.
ooooph.....There's a lot goin' on.

Gonna' start mixing these 10 songs today...
I'm excited.
The snow is falling here in Pennsylvania so hopefully we can get up to Brian's house with the equipment. Brian is Steve's sound man who has been kind enough to help us in our barnyard production.

Here is the link for the Steve Kimock newsletter with the confirmed California dates in March.
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409642471

I'm currently in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania writing from the farm house of my old friend Steve Kimock. I'm here with Steve, his wife Jenn and his sons John, Skyler and Ry. The vibe is very much like the home I grew up in. Lots of action and lots of music. I could write a lot about Steve but let's just say that anyone who knows music would admit that on a given night Steve is the greatest guitar player on the planet. We were also young brothers together and we have a strong bond, musically and otherwise. Johnny is a gifted 18 year old musician who plays drums like a seasoned pro. He's also modest, beautiful in more ways than one and a second degree black belt in karate. Very interesting young man. Jen is awesome and has her hands full with Skyler who's four and Ry who is new born. She's the one keeping it all running smooth here. That includes business, domestic and otherwise. I don't know how she does it. Thank you Jen ! Steve has invited me to play dates on the west coast with him and his band (John included) in March so here I am back in my old stomping grounds down on the farm and getting some work done. We recorded 10 new songs of mine written with some other fine writers including my brother Frank in the barn last week and we're having another stab at it tomorrow with a full backing band.
I'll be back soon with some more info.