Guten Tag Meine Freunde!

You see I’ve still got some German left in me. Those three months of language school plus three years of living in Berlin have really paid off, hehe. Now that summer is really and truly over and done with and we’re in the midst of my favorite season of the year, I recall how I used to heat my flat in Berlin — That’s right, with coal! Yesterday (or a few days ago) was our first truly cold day here in Detroit but I don’t have to call the coal delivery people and schedule a dropoff, I just have to press GO on the old thermostat. So glad I actually bought a furnace and had it installed professionally. That’s definitely the biggest, most expensive thing I’ve ever bought. Until I turn it on I will continue to drink lots of hot tea but I think today is the day…

In this email I will share my upcoming tour dates through to the end of the year, as far as I know, tantalizing tidbits regarding the forthcoming new release from The Corn Potato String Band, and plenty of reliable ramblings from yours truly.

The past month here has been full of house projects, slow but steady progress booking the next tours for The Corn Potato String Band, preparing to release our new album (!), and getting out and about in Detroit and in Michigan, meeting people, playing tunes and seeing other bands. I got to sit in with my old pals, The Two Man Gentleman Band, when they came through town, I saw Chris Coole and Ivan Rosenberg, a great banjo/dobro duo, and my friends Behind The Times opened for them. This past weekend Lindsay and I played in Grand Rapids, South Haven, and Kalamazoo, MI, that last one for a square dance with our old friend T Claw calling. And today I’m missing a free P-Funk concert in Detroit because I’m tiling my bathroom floor!

The month ahead promises a few shows for our full Corn Potato trio in the Boston area before I head to Eastern Europe with Tumbling Bones for our US State Department Cultural Diplomacy Tour. Apparently we will spend the month of November touring in Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Ukraine. I’m so excited to seek out fiddle music over there, hopefully learn some tunes and do some dancing! Unfortunately I still don’t know exactly when we’re playing where on this tour but will share that information as soon as I have it. After the State Department tour I’m meeting up with Lindsay and with Luke Richardson for a FOAOTMAD workshop and two-week tour in the UK. So here are the upcoming tour dates!

– Sunday, Oct 19, I play a solo set for a variety program in Flint, MI, called Humanity in Harmony. The theme is peace, harmony, diversity, and the variety of music played with stringed instruments, so perfect for me! The event is a celebration of Daniel Pearl World Music Day, a day that honors journalist Daniel Pearl, who was killed while reporting in Pakistan. In addition to being a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Pearl was also an accomplished violinist. Daniel Pearl World Music Day is his family’s way of celebrating his life and legacy. I am honored to take part in this event and the other performers will be a diverse and interesting group. It’s happening at the Flint Institute of Music in the MacArthur Recital Hall at 2pm.
– Friday, Oct 24, Middlesex, VT at Nutty Steph’s we’ll have our first Corn Potato String Band show with Ben Belcher since our Europe tour! 8pm, FREE (suggested $5 donation)
– Saturday, Oct 25, Andover, MA, Corn Potatos teach workshops and perform at The Real School of Music, 7pm, $10 cash at the door, children 12 and under FREE – Workshops earlier in the day, call (978) 475-1223 for more info.
– Sunday, Oct 26 we play a house concert at my friend’s house in Somerville, MA. It will be a lovely potluck event and I’m sure we’ll get some jams in after the show, too.

And then I go to Portland, ME, to rehearse with Tumbling Bones for a few days before we go on our U.S. STATE DEPARTEMENT CULTURAL DIPLOMACY TOUR OF ROMANIA, BULGARIA, UKRAINE AND GEORGIA. That’s all the iformation I have for now…

And THEN! When that tour is finished I will fly to London and make my way to Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, to teach an intensive weekend fiddle workshop Nov 28-30 (which may be sold out already? Contact Andrew & Emily at [email protected] for details) with Luke Richardson teaching banjo. After the workshop weekend we will spend two weeks touring with Lindsay as another incarnation of the Corn Potato String Band — Here are the dates!

1 Dec – Bristol – Stag & Hounds, 8pm, FREE!
2 Dec – Towersey – Three Horseshoes, 8pm. £10
3 Dec – London – What’s Cookin, 9pm, FREE!
4 Dec – London – Betsey Trotwood, 8:30pm, £7, with local openers Foghorn Leghorn!
5 Dec – Norfolk – Wiveton Hall Cafe, 7:45pm, £10
6 Dec – Ninfield – BluegrassPlusClub at Memorial Hall, 8pm, £10
7 Dec – Swanage – The Square and Compass, 1pm, FREE!
8 Dec – Liverpool – The Caledonia, 9pm, FREE!
9 Dec – Edinburgh – House Concert, 8pm, £10
10 Dec – Coldingham – Village Hall, 7:30pm, £8
11 Dec – Newcastle – Cumberland Arms, 8pm, £5, with House of Black Gardenia, and Screamin Miss Jackson and the Slap Ya Mama Big Band
12-14 Dec are TBC, any ideas, anyone?

We’ll fly back to the US soon after our last show and do a three-day square dance tour with T Claw calling:

18 Dec – Louisville, KY – Holiday Hoedown Square Dance at Danny Mac’s, Amvets Post 9, Doors open at 7 with jamming
Beginners dance workshop around 7:30
Dancing from 8-10:30
Open mic calling at 10:30PM
How Much? – $5 (Vets, Youth, & Volunteers Free)

19 Dec – Oxford, OH – Holiday Hoedown Square Dance at Oxford Community Arts Center, 7:30pm, $5

20 Dec – Nashville, TN – The Old School Farm Dance Holiday Hoedown, lesson at 7:30, dancing 8-11

And as always, more up-to-date info can be found on my own website calendar and on the band’s tour listings page.

Whew! That should do it for 2014. I’m working on putting together tours for the Corn Potatos in the US (Midwest to Southeast and maybe Northeast as well) for late March through mid-April, and another big tour in Europe for May, June and July. I’m still new at this booking thing and I need all the help I can get. If you know anyone that books bands in any of these places or just have any ideas for us for festivals or great venues, please let me know!

I’m not waxing philosophical too often these days as I feel like I have more work to do than ever before. That reminds me! I almost forgot to say something about our new record — I just got the masters late last night and have been listening the whole time I’ve been writing this, and it sounds great! We’ve decided, creatively enough, to call this new record, “Corn Potato String Band, Volume Two.” The artwork will be done by the same Ben Belcher that plays on the record and did the artwork for Volume One. It will be available in another month or two if all goes well. I hope you’re as excited to hear it as I am to be able to put it out there!

Until soon,
I remain,
Yours Faithfully,
The Dust Blows Forward And The Dust Blows Back,

Aaron