Greetings from New Orleans, I arrived here last night after spending two nights in Nashville. I write to you now from Roochie Toochie HQ, where I will spend the next two weeks in intensive concentration with Roochie Toochie And The Ragtime Shepherd Kings to prepare our newest efforts for the wax cylinder machine, and, of course, for your welcoming ears! In this post I will keep it pretty brief. I’m just going to tell you about – The Big News, i.e., today the new Corn Potato record is officially released! – Quick story or two about what I’ve been up to the past month or so – Some recent Corn Potato reviews and writeups that have made us proud – Book reports – And that’s about it. I don’t have any shows coming up in the next month because I’m only focusing on recording with the Roochies, and after that, the Old 78’s and friends back in Nashville, en route home to Detroit. So! You may have already taken advantage of the bandcamp link for Volume Two, which allows you to stream the album for free…

Party People In The HOUUUUUSE…! I’m back in the D and I’m staying warm amid the below-zero temperatures with the help of a forced-air heating system, lots of hot tea, and dreams of the future. Winter is my time to thrive, in terms of sitting in front of the computer and writing to you. I hope. Anyway, here’s what I have for you in this particular newsletter: – The big news! Corn Potato String Band, Volume Two is almost here. – Upcoming tour dates, aka Please help me find a gig – News and videos from the American Voices Abroad tour in Eastern Europe with Tumbling Bones and from the UK tour with Luke Richardson – Too much personal information – Extensive book report (I’ve read a lot since my last letter to you) and some of what I’ve been listening to Let’s dive right in to the big news — I know some of you have been anxiously awaiting this new record, and this one especially goes out to those of you who have asked for a record with more vocals. We’ve creatively decided to…

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…

Hello Dahlings! I’m back in Detroit, the city where I was born and raised, and I plan to live here for the foreseeable future. My house is now habitable (meaning we got plumbing and electrical mostly figured out, working doors and windows, and a good furnace installed) and looking great, although there is a lot of work left to be done. I’m staying home to work on the house, work on the upcoming tours, and most importantly meet people, make friends, and find out where the music is happening around here. Just today I had a fine time with my friends Ben, Ben, and Rachel of Behind The Times, who opened for us Corn Potatos this past Wednesday at PJ’s in Corktown. (That’s in Detroit.) And Lindsay and I got to play some tunes with them and meet a bunch of their great musician friends. And tomorrow we’re going to the Hamtramck Festival to see polka bands, Breezee One, and who knows what else. In the coming month I have absolutely zero gigs to announce. The next big thing I…

Greetings from Berlin! I’m in my former home town where I used to live for a few years, catching up with friends and searching out all my favorite places for food and drink. The weather is great. Today we rented bikes and visited the Soviet War Memorial, an incredible place in Treptow. I’m winding down from nearly four months of incredible touring with only one more concert here in Berlin and another in London before I fly back to the US at the end of the month. In this email I might give you some BRIEF tour highlights. (Just about every day had some highlights so I could never put it all in one email. Maybe I’ll put the tour log online like I did with the India trip and you can see all the highlights there… But that will come later.) I will also include some videos from our tour, a link to download a free track from our session at RTE in Dublin, upcoming tour dates and plans, and a little book report, too, if I can still think clearly…

I’m a Tumbling Bone, I’m a Corn Potato, I’m Aaron Jonah Lewis. I’m sitting in the kitchen of my friend Joe’s house in London and the soundscape here features many little bubbling and gurgling sounds. These sounds are coming from the many containers of homemade wine, cider, beer and spirits that he is preparing for the Fire In The Mountain festival coming up weekend after next in Wales. Of course I will be there with the Corn Potato String Band. We release our new album on the 31st! (In case you’ve been wondering how to get a copy if you can’t make it to a show, the answer is: Wait until the 31st and then visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/cornpotatostringband but not before the 31st!) Our UK tour begins tomorrow in Milton Keynes, taking us all over England, Wales and Scotland before we head to Ireland for the Westport Bluegrass Festival and more. I’ll list all the dates below, and for all the most up-to-date info regarding my Corn Potato touring schedule visit this link. The tour with Tumbling Bones tour was so wonderful and so full of new adventures, new friends and visits with…

Greetings from sunny County Tyrone! I’ve been on tour in Ireland with Tumbling Bones for about two weeks now and we’re enjoying a beautiful day off. We brought the good weather, apparently. It’s sunny and just lovely here, and that means a lot when it’s cold and rainy and windy much of the time. In this email I will list my upcoming tour dates, share some exciting news, reviews of the new Corn Potato String Band album, some bonus videos from the vault, and my latest book report. Not all in that order. First, the exciting news! I auditioned for the American Music Abroad program with Tumbling Bones a couple of months ago and right before we left for tour we found out — We’ve been chosen to represent the USA with our music on a tour in some yet-to-be-determined country next year! Many bands audition and few are chosen so we’re proud and very excited to participate. The Corn Potato String Band record is getting attention for some reason. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the best thing I’ve…

I just arrived in Detroit last night after driving for two days from New Orleans. Had a nice visit in Nashville on the way. And New Orleans was everything I could have hoped for. Life-changing parades, great concerts and so many wonderful people I got to meet for the first time and I know it won’t be the last. When I wasn’t playing music on the street or in some great venue or in somebody’s backyard I was working on the upcoming UK/Ireland/Europe tour for the Corn Potato String Band and finishing up our debut record. That tour is coming along nicely and will commence in late May. That record is off to the printers, set to be released officially on May 31 but YOU, my dear subscribers, get first crack at it! Here is the link for listening to the whole thing for free on bandcamp. You can download it for $7 or more if you like — The price will go up to $10 after the official release. (Or more. Should it be more? Or should I just…

Friends, I am in New Orleans for more than a night or two for the first time in my life. To say there is a lot of good music (and food) here would be a gross understatement but let it suffice to say that Les Bon Temps are rollin! What am I doing here, you may be wondering? Well, I have my work cut out for me for the next couple months until I leave the country: I’m preparing a big UK/Ireland/EU tour for the Corn Potato String Band and I’m getting our new record ready to be released! That’s a lot of work, and I could do it anywhere, so why not in this amazing city that is also slightly warmer than most. Interestingly enough, I don’t have any gigs lined up this month at all although I’m sure I will play a lot at parties, impromptu sessions and other people’s gigs that I get invited to at the last minute, e.g. Matt Bell and Joy Patterson‘s (of Roochie Toochie & The Ragtime Shepherd Kings) Western Swing band I…

It’s the season! That’s my new default response for any situation. “Must be the season,” “Of course, it’s the season!” or “It’s just the season, you know.” Personally I’m having a fine time in Portland, Maine, where I’ve been hanging out with a fine group called Tumbling Bones. Last night we had a little pickin party with some more Portland musicians, the night before we had a session at some new bar/restaurant in town and that morning (very early in the morning) we did a presentation at a middle school. I love being back in Maine — I graduated from College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, and I’ve been missing it ever since. I caught up with some great friends and I’ve been greatly enjoying the massive piles of snow and occasional blizzard conditions here. Seriously, I’ve been looking forward to this cold and snowy weather since August in India. Before I go any further let me mention now that the Roochie Toochie and the Ragtime Shepherd Kings’ Indiegogo Campaign is only a few days away from its end, and I strongly encourage…