Here’s a quick note before I hit the road for one of the best destinations in the GREAT state of Texas: the San Marcos River, where I’ll be visiting and recording with old friends at Bob’s Box. Rowdy T of Austin’s KOOP radio will be there, too, so it’s bound to be a big weekend on the water! (I met Rowdy when he single-handedly staged the sell-out smash “Cash Bash” at the Continental Club in Austin last February. And wherever Rowdy goes, there goes a guaranteed good time for all—no kidding.) A highlight of my trip will be to play Threadgill’s original location at 6416 North Lamar in Austin on Monday evening (July 21). It is really exciting to have been invited back to this spot where Janis Joplin and so many other heroes have left some of themselves behind over the course of these past seventy-five years. The venue is a real landmark in the history of music: http://www.threadgills.com/history.cfm And the best part is that I’ll be there with Hank Alrich, who “beyond being a huge part of the Armadillo World Headquarters, . . . is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist who played with folks like Diamond Rio and Balcones Fault.” It will be an honor to meet someone responsible in part for one of the most important music movements in U.S./World history. (Last time I was there, I met Mr. Eddie Wilson, and we had a good talk—but I didn’t know who he was, which was probably for the best or I might have been shy! Imagine that.) Here’s a link to one of the best quick reads I’ve come across online lately: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo_World_Headquarters And there’s always more . . . and it just keeps getting better . . . The release date for The Road Less Traveled was July 15, through Burnside Distribution in Portland, Oregon. So now the album will be available in stores pretty much everywhere! The radio campaign is coming along really well, too, with more stations from coast to coast adding The Road Less Traveled to their play lists. And I’m still up for a Houston Press Music Award in the “Traditional Folk” category. I would surely appreciate your vote. It only takes about five minutes, and you don’t have to live in Houston: http://houstonpress.com/polls/musicawards08/ And speaking of Houston, I’ll be back in town by the end of next week to immortalize my brand new song at Sugar Hill Studios, thanks to my good friend in music, Jimmy Baldwin, who told me I’d better record it NOW! Wow. That really got my attention. I’ll post it on the Web for fun and let you know when it’s up. I’ll bet you’ve never heard anything like this in your life: “The Cougar Anthem.” And it’s not about the University of Houston, either—hah! I’ll sign off for now. I’ve still got a lot to do before I can get out on the road. You know how it goes: “The bed needs making, the dishes need doing, the house needs dusting, the coffee needs brewing . . . And that’s how I found out I’m insane . . .” Life. Don’t be a stranger now. Y’all come!