Life On The Ranch

Down in Austin, we had the night of our lives with the Theatre at the Ranch gang, enjoying an after the show hootenany with some of the best folks we've found.

Our first Austin show was a benefit for POPWORKS, which is "a new venture created for raucous, mind-bending, foot-stomping, heart-breaking artistic events and media. POPWORKS is always looking for creative, ambitious, enthusiastic accomplices to help realize our particular brand of practically impossible performance."

And--I guess to prove their point--they turned their driveway into a concert hall, their yard into a bourbon-lover's paradise and at least one bedroom (Thanks, Sam!) into a five night sleepover spot.

"I'm so happy," Jemison beamed somewhere in the night that included David Garza strumming and playing in the living room and driveway, with me, Georgiana and a stand-up-bass-slapping Douglas Snead joining along for a song or two. Chris Searles was there as well, getting us two thirds of the way to a full on Twang Twang. A few days later David was inducted into the Austin music hall of fame, so it was mighty kind of him to drop in. (By the way--Twang Twang makes their New York debut at joe's Pub next week.)

After the Balthrop set, Reese tickled them ivories like he meant to break a land-speed record and Westen played every instrument he could reach down and get his hands on while Adriene sang like a depession era angel. It was about as fun as fun can be.

We aim to go back because once you've seen fun as fun can be, you've gotta go back, you've just gotta. Mad thanks to Sonnet and Sam and Adriene and Westen and Reese and David and Chris and everyone else who made the stay so hard to leave!

Vanity Piece

They didn't make the cut, these two.

First of all, that does not look like Lou Barlow. Secondly, I used the musical note thing in the Watson Twins drawing. Done and done.

The rest of the drawings made the cut, but these two didn't. To see the 19 other drawings from SXSW 2010 that I drew for Vanity Fair, click here.

Piano Man

Jamie Cullum at Joe's Pub, Wednesday March 3.

Sessions

Chris Buckridge on bass and Bernie DeChant on camera at recent sessions for Lauren Balthrop's solo record over at Saltlands Studio.

A few days later I returned to Saltlands where Lauren, Josh, Jason, Annie, Steve and I recorded a song I wrote a while ago that's gonna go on the album. It was pretty cool, but Bernie wasn't there and I was busy singing, so there's no real evidence that it happened.

Until the rekkid comes out . . .

Through the Cracks

For the last couple of weeks, Bernie and I have been moving the studio from the Gowanus area over to Dumbo, I've been working on the Velveteen Rabbit designs, we've been getting stuff ready for a couple of Balthrop shows (and upcoming tour) and I recorded a song for Lauren Balthrop's upcoming solo album.

It's been a busy, crazy, exhausting time.

But, as a consequence, I have a bunch of drawings that I haven't had time to post. So, I'm going to play catch up a little and post a few of the ones that slipped through the cracks.

Like, for example, this drawing of author and storyteller, Dan Kennedy.

A couple of weeks ago I was hanging out backstage at the Bowery Ballroom, waiting to go on with Nicole Atkins. The dressing room was pretty packed with the various writers and musicians and friends of the writers and musicians who were performing that night. I was sitting over on the couch, a little nervous and doodling--trying to get warmed up--and I quickly drew this little portrait of Dan. I meant to post it in Facebook and tag him, but he's not in Facebook (though he tweets in Twitter), and I didn't get to scan it before I took apart the scanner for the big move, so here it is now, a quick drawing from a packed green room.

And here's the video from the show, me and Nicole Atkins and David Byrne . . .

Nicole Atkins & David Byrne, Neptune City from Nicole Atkins on Vimeo.