Nate Houge

February has been my busiest travel month in years.  Jodi’s too.  This week will be the first week since the end of January that neither of us are leaving the state.  Fear not though, there’s still plenty going on.

This last Friday the original Nate Houge and the Honest Folk line-up made a migratory journey south.  All the way to northen IA.  Oh, and for you younger fans the original Honest Folk line-up is Jason Moran.  Jason is was and always will be the Honest Folk.  Although in the early days we sometimes went as Jason Moran and the Lying Stinkin’ Guitarist. 

In IA we lead music at a jr. high retreat hosted at Lutheran Lakeside Camp.  We brought a bunch of percussion instruments (about 30 altogether) and did an entire evening worship service without me playing guitar.  I did lead one song on acoustic lap steel and one song on fisher price xylophone (the kind with rainbow bars) but everything really depended on the percussive leadership of Jason. 

It was great.  The executive director at the camp had a huge native american drum that he lent us so we included Heleluyan, a hallelujah from the Muscogee tradition (171 in the ELW) that I just learned 3 weekends ago at a global music training event.  I was really pleased with how Jason and I were able to facilitate worship with the percussion, but even more amazed at what a great group of singers had assembled.  Once again the bar has been raised for Jr. High kids everywhere.  This group was outstanding.

It was also funny to think that only a week before I had been loading in a dozen stringed instruments and now I had traded that in for a suitcase of shakers, sticks and bottle caps, and was pretty much doing the same thing.  They’re all just tools some times and us artsy fartsy types get the luxury of picking the right tool for the job. 

What a great job.

Friday morning we picked up Craig and Michael (drums and guitar) from the airport and together we headed down to the DE-MD High School Synod gathering.  After a stop, per Michael’s request, at Wawa we arrived at Ocean City MD mid afternoon.  We were greeted by a ton of helpful High Schoolers who quickly loaded in all our stuff – up to this point we had only been doing acoustic stuff but now we got to bring in the electric stuff too.  Here’s what they brought in:

2 electrics, 3 amps, two pedal boards, electric lap steel, acoustic lapsteel, banjo, mandolin, melodica, xylophone, 2 acoustics, a bass, small keyboard and merch.

Indulgent.  But, I’d like to point out that everything was played during the weekend.  We made good use of our resources.  I also learned that you can quietly play a small xylophone with brass fingerpicks.  Good to know.

It was a great band.  Micah switched over to bass and along with Craig on drums they kept us all together.  Michael did his thing that he does so well on electric, I got to fill in on whatever was left, usually mandolin or banjo, but there was room for slide and electric stuff too.  Rachel Kurtz hammered out her songs and we backed her up and got all kinds of great compliments.  It was a vocationally affirming weekend.

Like every other day of the tour we were up till at least midnight and every morning I was awake by 7 – usually earlier.  It allowed me to get a few runs in, but really I would have appreciated my body letting me sleep in a bit later. 

We wrapped up the weekend with lunch at Panera (my new favorite chain when traveling) and Micah and I said goodbye, got back in the van, and drove another 8 hours towards home. 

Gettysburg.

The drive to Gettysburg was fine till we got to the rolling hills.  I think we were on Hwy. 30.  Lots of ups and downs and twists.  Micah and I were glad we hadn’t started the day with a large glass of warm whole milk.  As it was we came out of that stretch a wee bit nauseus. 

We arrived at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg a bit later than hoped due to the twisting and turning and a stop at Starbucks (where for the first time in months the barista actually cared about coffee and teach us a thing or two about what we were drinking).  Our host Joel was gracious and after a relatively quick set up in the chapel he gave us a cliff notes tour of the battlefields surrounding the seminary.  Maybe its me getting older, maybe it’s the US invasion of Iraq, but those fields hold way more significance to me now than they did when I last visited them 12 years ago.  That’s all I’ll say about that for now.

It was a great show – it’s hard to beat playing for a crowd of smart young Lutherans.  Check out Micah’s flicker site for a few photos. The greek professor and a few of his students were present so I did Metanoia and quizzed the students.  They didn’t quite pass… but the prof totally appreciated it and also gave me a nice Bill Mallonee compliment after the show.  (Metanoia is greek for ‘repent/turn around’)  I also met a pastor from MD, Pr. John Greenstone http://www.emmitsburg.net/elias/about_joh.htm who’s doing really cool work with faith and the environment.

We followed the show with great Chinese food.  The next morning I went for a run and ran across the field along Picket’s Charge.  It was moving.  No pun intended.  Micah took this photo of Pickets charge:

Great coffee and scones at the Ragged Edge, and we were off to pick up the rest of the Rachel Kurtz band in Philadelphia.  The Nate Houge and Micah Taylor leg of the tour was over and the Rachel Kurtz and the Rescue Mission leg had begun.

The first couple of hours on the road were complete crap.

But it got better and soon we were soaring down the tollway, wondering where our toll dollars were going considering the roads were junk (and we hadn’t even got to PA’s roads yet), and by mid afternoon we were in N. Canton OH.

I got to reconnect with my friend, now pastor, Matt Skolnik.  We first met in the summer of 1995 on a trip around the world, flying out of CA, traveling by train, bus, and plane across Russia, and returning to the East coast.  We were with a group called LOGOS and traveling with Russian youth groups singing in an English/Russian choir.  Weird, huh?

Anyway, Matt and I have kept in touch and visited over the years (though it’s been 9 since we actually saw each other last!)  But he and his wife and daughter graciously took us into their home and church and it was awesome.   The concert was great.  We got to set up all our stuff in a cool old sanctuary and played to a very receptive crowd.  One of the highlights for me was having an old friend, Denise, along with her daughter and 3 grandaughters drive 2 1/2 hours from Pittsburg just to see us, and to see us play!  Holy Cow!  Denise is a very important person to my music as it was her financial gift that allowed Jason Moran and myself to record our first demo, ‘twang twang boom boom.’  I’m so grateful and in debt to her and to folks like her who see the value in art and the power of song and support it actively!

Matt, Micah, and I stayed up late talking and eating local potato chips.  The next morning we were up and at it, fully showered and caffinated we hit the road.  Off to Gettysburg, PA.

Let’s see, what happened that first day of the tour?

Tuesday morning Micah pulled up to the house and we loaded up the minivan with about 12 instruments.  Hence the Tour of Indulgences (that and we offer great deals on forgiveness).  Early on the ride we got a call from our contact in Valpo who said we should be forewarned of lake effect snow.  What’s lake effect snow?

Bad.

We had beautiful clear roads up until we hit the Indiana border.  The last 30 minutes of driving took about 90 minutes.  Out of nowhere we were getting dumped on.  Valpo U, where we were going to play, cancelled classes.  Our contact graciously met us when we finally got to the chapel but had to take off, understandably, to get home 20 miles away.   We had a few hours to kill before the show, and we figured we’d play a stripped down set (so much for indulgences).  As we wandered around the union we saw one of our posters up which is always fun, and then we noticed a Kathleen Edwards poster right next to it.  Who is Kathleen Edwards?

Good.

And she was playing that night at 7:30.  We were playing at 7.

So we played our show, hung out with some great students, and packed up.  Figuring it’s not everyday you get to see KE we decided to stop by the venue and see where the show was at.  We missed the opener, but we had time to buy tickets and sit down just as Kathleen took the stage with sideman Jim Bryson.

It was freakin’ great.

We stayed with some great seniors, had great conversations, got up at 5:30 (I don’t know why…) and shoveled the van out from under a foot and a half of snow and we were on the road.

It was a great start to a week on the road.

Afterwards we got to chat a bit and they were all very fun to talk too, and cool about asking how our tour was going and what not.  Jim is a new dad so I gave him one of my new CDs and we talked about how wierd it is to be on the road away from our families.  You wouldn’t think you’d miss getting up at odd hours and taking caring of the little punks, but you do.

I just got back from a Global Music Training Event in Chicago, IL at The Lutheran Center.  For those of you who care about ELCA hierarchy, you know the Lutheran Center is the churchwide headquarters.  For the rest of us… well… THE Lutheran Center?  THE?  There aren’t others?  Google it.  Perhaps they should rename the building, A Lutheran Center.  I know, I’m a heritic.  Bull me.

Anyway, the last 48 hours were brilliant.  An amazing group of 50 church musicians with 50 different stories.  (Recount: 49, my roommate came down with the flu and was unable to attend – Jonathan get well soon!  You were missed!)  Rather than attempt a summary I’ll simply say I am grateful to be part of a church that reaches beyond borders to grow in a fuller understanding of God’s redemptive work in the world.  Or, for those of you who don’t speak the flowery fru-fru dialect that is Christianese:  God loves the world, and I get to be a part of a church that sees singing all of God’s songs as important and life changing.  Was that less church talk?  Not really.  Oh well.  Here’s something the rest of the music fans out there will appreciate.  Gary Louris sat down next to me at the airport.  I like Gary but had nothing to say of any significance so I let him sit peace.  Later, as we were getting on the plane we ended up standing next to each other.  Might as well say, “Hi.”

N: Hey Gary

G: Huh?

N: Thanks for doing what you do, I’ve apprecitated your work for a long time.

G:  Oh, Thanks.  I saw you in the airport.  You look just like one of my old road managers.  Like, just like him.

N:  Was he a good road manager?

G:  Oh yeah, the best, I really liked that guy.

N:  Cool.  Well take it easy.  I just wanted to say thanks for making great art.

G:  Yeah, you’re welcome, thanks.  We’re back at it too. 

[And then his voice kind of trailed off as we got onto the plane, so technically I’m not sure if this conversation ever ended…He may still be chatting it up.  I hope he’s not dissappointed when he realizes I’m no longer there.]

There you have it.  I look like an old Jayhawks’ road manager.  And a good one at that.

For those of you who already have both an instrument and a copy of Mysterious Kung Fu Ninja and The Pink Princess of Pretty Pretty Land (my next album will have a much shorter title I promise) click here http://natehouge.com/news/wordpress/endeavors/mknatppoppl/

And get the song book.  Now you too can be an amateur children’s musician.

Not to be confused with Godfrey the sickly unemployed amateur children’s magician.

Tomorrow night Micah and I will be doing our monthly Bean Factory gig.  As always if you are a musician and would like to play some of your stuff, please show up and we’ll see if we can wiggle you in.  Two things I’m looking forward to tomorrow: 

1) Micah and I are getting ready for a 7 day tour out to Maryland and back.  About half of the days will be playing as sidemen for Rachel Kurtz and the other half we’ll be doing our own stuff.  So tomorrow we’ll be running through that and checking out are setup.  Kind of a pretour dress rehearsal.  Which means bringing in twice the gear we normally do, but it’s nice to work out the kinks.

2)  Micah and I both have new songs to debut.  I believe his is called ‘at arms length’ and mine is called… I guess I haven’t titled it yet.  How about ‘last generation of the pen pal.’  Kind of long, but it works, eh?  It’s a poppy tune – reminds me a bit of Damien Jurado’s ‘Titanic’  It’s also goes between 6/4 and 4/4 with a 3/4 bridge.  I think.  I’m not one to count and play.  Watch out Dream Theater.

So check out the shows listing, come to the Bean Factory, and of course the new kid and family CD will be available.

About a year ago I started recording a CD for kids and families.  Yesterday afternoon I went and picked up the finished project from the manufacturers.  I’m proud to announce the arrival of my latest CD, Mysterious Kung Fu Ninja and the Pink Princess of Pretty Pretty Land.  There’ll be more info about this CD in future blogs and e-mails and of coures there will be an official release party and release date.  Of course if you can’t wait shoot me an e-mail (nate at natehouge dot com) and you can order one from me.  Or catch me at a show – I’ll have them available at all future gigs, even if we’re playing at 11pm on a Tuesday night at the 400 Bar.  (Not that I see that ever happening again.) 

It’s all very exciting.  Nate.

Nate Houge was a workin’ man, he used to load the red minivan.

Hey there hoodlums!

Welaware is playing tomorrow night at the Fine Line- click here for all you need to know and free tickets:

http://www.finelinemusic.com/calendar/view_entry.php?id=571&date=20090106

I’m stoked because we’re playing at 8p.m.  Sharp.  Me likey.  I’m also stoked because I’ve been working on my guitars and I like how they’ve turned out.  You will too.  Even if, like 99.9% of the world you could care less about what kind of pickups are in my Tele.  That was a generous percentage.

If you’re wondering how to turn this indie rock joy ride into a spontaneous date try this:

At 6pm Tomorrow (Tuesday Jan 6)  Check this blog again.  (I’m guessing you check it on the hour already so this should fit into your routine just fine)  Now say to your significantly other – “Sweety/Honey/Babe – It looks like Nate and his band Welaware are playing a free show at the Fine Line!  It starts at 8!  What a reasonable hour!  Let’s ditch the kids/hire a babysitter/turn on cartoon network and get something to eat at Pizza Luce – we can make it into a fun date night!”

Indie Rocker/Romantic Consultant.  The Nate Houge Story.