I lost track of how many miles I drove in nine days for my East Coast Tour which lasted from July 8-14, but it must have been nearly 1000! I started with a great father-son show in Beacon NY at the Towne Crier with Happy Traum and Jimmie Dale and Colin Gilmore. From there Colin and I met up with the Kennedys in Asbury Park, NJ, to play at show at The Saint, a great dive bar that reminds me of CBGB. From there we were back in Woodstock for a duo show that my sister April sat in on playing drums and percussion at the Colony. From there we would hook up with Pete and Maura Kennedy for the duration of the tour in Bridgeport, CT, where we played at the Bijou Theatre. Then onto Brooklyn at the Jalopy Theatre and then finishing the tour in Tiverton, RI, at the Sandy Woods Arts Center for a great show that was a perfect end to the tour.

It was hard saying goodbye to Colin, Pete and Maura but I'm excited for my Straw Wattles shows coming up with my killer bandmates and brothers from another mother! Check out my schedule to find out what we have coming up.

After months of planning, endless calls, emails and Facebook messages, my run of six shows in seven days on the East Coast is finally here! This is my first foray into touring in the Northeast and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. When I expressed this to my friend he said nerves are a good thing because it means I'm not taking anything for granted. 

Planning a tour on another coast where there are flights, car rentals, sleeping arrangements and new fans to reach is a humbling experience. But it's also exciting and I feel lucky to have the opportunity to do this with my good friend and touring buddy, Colin Gilmore.

We are connecting with Pete and Maura Kennedy for four of the shows as well as my father, Happy Traum and Colin's dad Jimmie Dale Gilmore to kick off the tour on July 8. at the historic room, The Towne Crier. The chance to do this father/son gig will be a great evening if our last show together is any indication. I am also doing my first show under my own name in my hometown of Woodstock, NY. It will be great to have my family there as well as friends who I've know for years. 

I suppose anytime we step out of our comfort zone we learn what we are capable of and need to embrace not only the challenges but also our success. I look forward to reporting news of the road in my next blog post and rest assured I'm sure there will be some great stories garnered from this adventure, which you can't put a price tag on! 

 

 

When I was about 19 or 20 years old, I was  at MerleFest in Wilksboro, North Carolina, helping my parents man the Homespun Tapes booth. At the time it was a relatively small festival with mostly folk, bluegrass and old-time music in honor of the great Merle Watson.

Pete Seeger was playing and asked me to join him for a set on one of the stages. He also invited me to lead a song. I was so nervous and couldn't think of what to play. I was a rocker and electric blues player at the time and didn't have a traditional or folk repertoire. My dad said that I should just play what I feel comfortable with and so I worked up the nerve to play "Little Wing" by Hendrix on my little Takamine 3/4 sized acoustic guitar.

Pete was so gracious and after my song said it was "unfair that someone so young could be so good." I was honored and humbled to play a set with Pete and will remember that day clearly.

When I heard of Pete Seeger's passing I was saddened that our world lost one of the best people to ever walk the earth. RIP Pete Seeger! We'll miss you.

I had the pleasure of playing at the Sutter Creek Theatre in Sutter Creek, California with Jack Hines on bass a few weeks ago. It was  great show in a funky old theater in gold country outside of Sacramento in Amador County. We had a great show, but the magic really happened after the gig when the apartment they put us up in gave us access to the theater after hours. 

The Sutter Creek Theatre is supposed to be haunted and after we relaxed for a while and had a few cocktails to wind down from the show we picked up our instruments and had a really inspired jam session. Check out some of the sounds we recorded on a small hand-held recorder placed in the room. Follow the link and enjoy the song and see if you hear any sounds from the ghosts listening.

https://soundcloud.com/adamtraummusic/wide-river-to-cross-from-the