Cody's Music Blog

Blog for February 2012

Cody Jinks, February 13, 2012

Language warning, It's been cold everywhere I've been, I've fallen and I can't get up, Stranded, and OH Boy that's a big one.

I suppose I'll start this one like I always do when I'm on a Trans-Atlantic trip. We are somewhere over the big middle of the Atlantic headed home, and you know what I say... They would never even find us if we went down. Lovely thoughts I have every time.
Been really busy for the most part, a lot of time in the van and on airplanes. I hope this New Year is finding you well; there is much to talk about so I'm just going to open up the calendar and we can begin. Had shows in our area the first week of January, and the week after which was nice but then it opened up and it was back to the races with twelve shows in fourteen days. Got to do a song swap with Ted Russell Kamp in Ft. Worth the night before we left on our Midwest run. Ted's been around a long time with a nice solo career going now; he played bass for Shooter Jennings for a long time prior to his solo stuff as well. Very Cool Guy. The band left Tuesday and hit OKC; Missouri on Wednesday at The Dawg House in Forest City, that tiny little place is quickly becoming one of my favorite places most of you will never see. Lincoln Nebraska the next night, had a pretty full bar with a good show made better by three cowboys that drove seven hours from Laramie Wyoming to see us. They had already been hitting it pretty hard before we got there and just having a large time. One of them got so plowed he was nodding off an hour into the show and his friends were asked to leave or at least get him out. His buddies didn't know what to do with him and didn't want to leave the show so we all carried him out to the van, piled a bunch of blankets on him, and locked him in. He passed out for the rest of the show and we had to wake him up for load out four hours later. Why all the blankets on his drunk ass? It was five degrees, good time's boys and thanks for driving all that way. We did end up taking them back to where they were staying; none of them could drive or remember where they were staying for that matter. Pretty Funny.
Then on up to Maplewood Minnesota just outside of St. Paul at a really cool little tavern with great sound. It was minus two the next morning when we were leaving out, that's Fahrenheit people. Back down to our favorite place to play, The Snorty Horse in Columbia Missouri for a live recording, I think I'll get to hear some of it this week. We had a great time there as usual. Five shows, six days, and 2,300 miles, 1,900 of which were handled by Dean Skidmore, our part time merch guy/driver, and all around good guy to have on the road.

Played my last Monday show at The Magnolia a couple of weeks ago, Rebecca being pregnant again I'm trying to watch how much I'm gone during the week. I had a lot of fun and jammed with a lot of cool folks that I haven't jammed with in years, or I would just invite people I'm a fan of.
Last weekend we hit the Texas Bull which broadcasts the shows live all over the world, mostly for the people in the service on Notforgotton.tv. I know of folks in four or five countries that tuned in for sure. Thanks to The Double D in Mineral Wells for the pickup date last week that the Magnolia failed to tell me they pulled from me. Getting double booked happens from time to time, but not even being told about it until you enquire the week before...well that's just bullshit.
That Sunday the 29th of January The Rockett Club hosted a benefit for our old friend Dorothy Spicer; she has a neurological condition affecting her muscle response. She owned the Red Moon Cafe in Ennis for years, a place I did a lot of teeth cutting, as did many others. There was a huge turnout and some of my favorites performing. As I played Cast No Stones she slowly got out of her chair and was helped to the front of the stage to listen. It's hard to sing with tears in your eyes, we love you Dorothy.

Had last Monday off only to fly out for the week on Tuesday. Dallas to Chicago, to London, to Berlin. That's too many planes in one day. Got into Germany Wednesday and took a jet lag nap, then went down to the bar was to play Thursday. Met the owner, had a couple of beers, a burger and met up with some of the other musicians.
Played The American-Western Saloon acoustic Thursday night and it snowed and iced some while I on stage. I left the bar at one or two in the morning for the half mile walk back to the hotel with my guitar case. I hit some ice and went down hard on the right side of my rib cage. I do believe I laid there on the ice and snow for a minute trying to catch my breath and assess the situation. There was nobody around and I didn't know if I needed to go to the hospital, who would take me anyway. So finally made it back to my feet and finished an extremely painful walk back to my hotel.
Friday I didn't have a show thankfully because I couldn't manage to wiggle/slide my way out of the bed until six that evening when I finally convinced myself I had to go down to the festival to make an appearance and try to move some CD's. Saturday was the same and the others since have followed suit. I haven't been able to cough, sneeze, roll over in bed, and can barely pick my suitcase up or take a deep breath. I think one of the ribs is cracked but I do know they are bruised all the way around.

Went to the airport yesterday morning to come home, boarded and left Tegal Airport for London, circled London and had to fly back to Berlin due to weather. Shit happens but once we get back to airport in Berlin and to the information desk we found two women changing tickets and rebooking flights while the third lady was making hotel reservations for the stranded. So with two women changing flights for almost two hundred travelers at about fifteen minutes per person, you're talking eight people per hour. Everyone had to stand there hungry, for we had not been fed because our flight was supposed to leave at seven, everyone was there by five or six, and it was to be a short flight. I had a bag of mixed nuts, five stale potato chips, and one bottle of water by the time they got my new vouchers to me and got me to the hotel they put us up in.
Talk about a bunch of adults acting like children, people cutting, people cussing each other out, it was unreal and British Airways didn't pull any other staff to help. I definitely cussed the customer service lady who was rude and mean and I should have given her a couple more F-bombs than I did. But I didn't get really pissed until two pieces of shit (an Asian chick and a Middle Eastern man that assume were a couple) cut in line, and when the lady beside me said something to them the Asian chick said, "Mind your own business and shut the F up B". Now everybody was looking. The lady beside me then turns around and says, "Excuse me but you just cut in front of all these people". Then Ahab (the dude) looks at her and says,"Hey B, we said shut the F up". Nobody said a word so... I had to. I stepped over to Ahab, made sure he saw me and proceeded to tell him along with everybody watching, "Listen M-fer!, I don't know where you're from,(though I had a pretty good idea) but where from where I'm from we don't talk to women like that. I don't want to hear it and she doesn't deserve that. Do you kiss your Mom with that mouth?" He muttered something but neither of the shit heads said another word. And the nice lady that nobody else spoke for had tears in her eyes a she looked at me and smiled, for an hour earlier she had given me her Twix bar because she knew I was hungry. I had suggested that we share it but she insisted I took both of 'em. I would have had her back anyway.
So now I'm about to land at JFK to have a two hour layover before I make it home.  The biggest bitch is that my wife flys out today for San Francisco.  By the time she gets back it will have been two weeks a part...and I have no idea how I'm getting home from the airport tonight.

ROCK and ROLL

Part Two

2/10/12
12:10p.m. Texas Time
I landed in JFK and made it through customs much faster than I thought so then I had a couple of hours layover so I had drink and a sandwich and had to listen to bartenders talking about their "G-Men" who had just won the Super Bowl the previous day. Absolutely unbearable to a Cowboys fan, as we all know how our season ended. That didn't stop me from talking some shit myself, it was fairly entertaining. You know New Yorkers, loud, obnoxious, argumentative, and fun to talk shit too...Oh and most of them aren't even from there.

In news: I've started watching the BBC as I've found they don't swing one way on our issues, they just report. Novel concept. I'm sick of political races, I'm sick of Syria killing its own people in their neighborhoods and the two "Big Red" countries won't help and don't want us to. What happened to the humanitarianism we had left? Or maybe we're just in the pangs of a major depopulation, you know, the kind when the nations rob and kill their own.

On a positive note: During December y'all donated almost one hundred pounds of canned goods and non perishable food item that went to the Roanoke food bank. We are going to keep it going so make sure to bring your three canned goods and get a koozie.
In closing, it's been a nice week off at home to rest. I am still keeping my eyes peeled for a part-time booking agent to take some of that load off. Remember to get your pre-order made for 30 (the new record) at Codysroadies.com under merch. That means an autographed copy sent to you the day we get them in.

Getting rid of my '06 Harley Soft tail-great shape, low miles. Just too busy to ride anymore. As much as we're gone, I don't want to go anywhere when I'm at home, not even on a bike. And now that we are about to have the second child there will be less time. On another positive note, we went for an ultrasound yesterday and our baby looks to be healthy and happy, kicking around in his belly home. That's right HIS...and evidently it was "very easy" to tell he is a boy so said the sonogram tech and doctor. They used words like "prevalent" and "wow." I just smiled in affirmation.

Reading: Just finished Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Listening: Waylon Jennings, Delbert McClinton, Depeche Mode