He's Back Home

Back in the nineties, Last Train Home was practically the house act at Iota. Those shows were always so popular and so much fun that the band would play the whole weekend- Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Since then front man, Eric Brace has moved the band to Nashville, and LTH shows are much rarer now. Die hard fans sorely miss that band, but Eric has teamed up with Peter Cooper and has a new thing going on that is well worth checking out.  I saw them play in Chevy Chase last year, and I have to say these two know exactly what they are doing with their rock solid harmonies and songs. Here's the scoop on their show this Friday night at Jammin Java with Dan Navarro:  

"At 7 p.m. Friday there will be an "In The Round" performance, with Eric, Peter, and Dan all on stage together, taking turns singing songs and talking about them and their lives in music. This will be a two-hour show, with no breaks.
Then at 9:30, Eric and Peter will take the stage as a duo, augmented by the beautiful trumpet playing of Kevin Cordt (whom most of you will recognize from Eric's band Last Train Home). They will play a full hour set, and they'll be followed by Dan Navarro, playing a full set of his tunes. He will be joined by other musicians as well. Somewhere in there, Dan will join Eric and Peter (or vice versa) to sing a bunch of songs they all know and love.

Eric and Peter are celebrating the release a new CD.  "Master Sessions"  a collaboration with two of their musical heroes: Lloyd Green, a Grammy-nominated member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame who played on more than 100 #1 country hits and with non-country greats like the Byrds and Paul McCartney, and Mike Auldridge, an IBMA Lifetime Achievement Award winner who played dobro with the pioneering progessive bluegrass band, DC's own Seldom Scene."

Come on out Friday and welcome Eric home.

The Last Train Is Home

It used to be you could see Last Train Home  headlining more often than not at Iota, but since DC homeboy and band leader, Eric Brace moved to Nashville, he has gotten involved in all kinds of musical projects. (imagine that, in Nashville, of all places) Lately though he has been busy bailing out his basement and helping out neighbors after record flooding hit his new home town destroying homes and lives.
So welcome back Eric and company for the not so common upcoming  LAST TRAIN HOME weekend at Iota. This includes the wildly popular Sunday matinee- a magnet for junior bar flies in training. 
Please come out and show your support for our old friend who just keeps on getting better as time goes on. (Those guitar lessons really paid off.) Set times 9 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. As always DC ROCKS shows stay under budget- tickets just $12 for real live entertainment.

Old Home Week

The unstoppable Bill Kirchen  calls this area home, but only when he's not out on the road terrorizing the rest of the country with his guitar. Bill has been around since those hazy days of Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, but he's still got the kind of energy that you see in kids and wish you could bottle. Catch Bill's Honky Tonk Holiday Show this Friday at Jammin Java in Virginia. $20

Also DC's own Eric Brace and his band Last Train Home- which has replanted itself in Nashville- will be faithfully back for their holiday shows at Iota all weekend long- Friday and Saturday nights as well as the Sunday matinee which is always a madhouse meet and greet for kids of all ages. $12

And if you need a quick break from the holiday madness- check out Eric's new song "Tranquility Base."

Party at Broad Branch

Broad Branch Market has been in and out of business for a long, long time. It once was a DGS (District Grocery Store) which used to be all over this area. Now I can't find a thing about them, but the ones I remember were sometimes in houses, sometimes not, but all were much smaller versions of the mega food stores that we have now. The old Broad Branch Market went under a few years ago, but the new market is a blend of old and new. You can still get household staples and candy, but there's also high quality prepared foods and good ole Gifford's ice cream.
This Saturday the market is celebrating its one year anniversary with an all day party featuring a moon bounce and live music on the porch starting at 10 a.m.
He may live in Nashville now, but DC's own home boy Eric Brace will be on deck around 3 p.m. If you haven't heard his impressive new song Tranquilty Base check it out. Eric will be playing with Peter Cooper.

A moon bounce and a great song about the moon. Now that's a good party.

Heat Index

Hazy hot and humid. Some things about DC never change except now we have this thing called the heat index which Bob Ryan keeps mentioning. If the thermometer doesn't make you run screaming for a cold shower, the heat index will make you wonder why we would ever get OUT of a shower. ("It's 95 out there, but it FEELS like 102.")
On the music side of things:
My friend, John Meadows is trying to find small bands to play at 100 King Street, the restaurant he's managing in Old Town, Alexandria. And Eric Brace is going to town gathering kudos for Last Train Home's latest CD- including a good review in the Washington Post of the band's last show at Iota, and a mention in USA Today of all things. (Do people read that thing if they aren't traveling?)