Day 3 - 3/10 - Salt Lake City, UT to Sierraville, CA - show at Sierra Hot Springs

The first few days of this leg and the last few days of this leg will include the most taxing drives. 8 hours from Colorado to Salt Lake and then another 8 hours from Salt Lake to Sierraville, CA (then Seattle to Bozeman, Bozeman to Fort Collins). Once we're in California we work our way up the coast and the shows are much closer together. This is good, because 8 hours in the Fit (which my mom has named "MR. BUMPY") makes my lower back rather unhappy.

We packed the car, bid our adieu's to Rex, Renee and the cats that DIDN'T try and rip the noses off our faces and headed west through the flats and Nevada. Breathtaking country out here, none of which is captured properly whatsoever in the pictures you see above.

Arrived in Sierraville and the Hot Springs about an hour before show time. Very few people here, pretty much what we expected. Our pay was a free room and dip in the springs, and that was pay enough. Although the pics show little to no one, we did make a few new friends as the night wore on and attracted 8 or so guests to our greenroom with our folky-pop-blues shtick. We even sold a few CD's. Bonus.

Too exhausted for the springs-dip tonight, but I'm soaking myself all day tomorrow, as it is a day off.

Day 2 - 3/9 - House Concert - Salt Lake City, UT

My tour partner was mutilated by a cat this morning. She bent down to pet the wild bitch of a beast and it scratched her nose. It drew blood. I went up to the cat and said "Listen, you 12 pound bully, I've hitched my little boat on to the Ford F150 of her talent so if you mess with her, you mess with me" and the bitch cat just meowed at me.

Rex came home and took a long lunch from work. He's a swell guy - bought us lunch at the Blue Plate Diner, where the waitress said they had this amazing hollandaise sauce. It was okay. By far the best hollandaise sauce I had ever had in Utah (this being my first time in Utah).

Afterwards we went back to the house and recorded some live tracks. Don't know how they turned out - I am quite ill and we're not really that well-rehearsed yet. I think the word I'm looking for here is "raw". "Raw" is the word I'm looking for. We were "raw".

Went downtown for the concert. Thank you Ike and Tiffany, our hosts. 20 people, Teresa and Drew (her friend and talented bass player from Park City) and myself crammed ourselves into their fabulous apartment as the rain poured outside. This was my first house concert and I had a blast. I squeaked and squawked my way through a solo set and then enjoyed T and Drew, before the three of us closed the night as a trio and blended so well that I think we even surprised ourselves a tad. Then we conversed with many lovely people, signed CD's, I gave a lesson on how the "magic" loop pedal works (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain) and tasted some of the best lemon squares I've ever tasted.

Rex was plucking a guitar by the fireplace when we came back. I joined in and before long we were sharing songs and serenading the cats with F.H.G. by Tenacious D. The perfect lullaby to end a pretty much perfect day. Thanks to Rex, Renee, Ike, Tiffany, Drew, Jeff, Jenny and all the guests who made tonight special.

JEREMY's FIRST CD, "GIMMICK" for sale HERE: www.cdbaby.com/jeremyfacknitz2

Day 1 - 3/8 - Colorado Springs to Salt Lake City, UT

I woke up around 8:30am to say goodbye to Paul Franco and Associates. No real need to rush as I've been packing since February. I was beyond sick of the planning and thinking and beyond psyched to start doing. Paul was late (so unlike him) and had a client waiting so I didn't get a proper goodbye from him... no fist dap, no high-five, not even a pat on the ass. It stung but he is forgiven.

I had one last I.T. job in Littleton (I work as a freelance tech for Advanced Service Technologies out of Centerville, OH. They throw me a nice chunk of change every year, I'm called to do a job a month or so and it usually entails quite complicated tech stuff like color coordinating CAT5 cables or hooking up a printer) and then it was off to Longmont, home of my tour partner Teresa Storch.

T (as she is called by myself, because Teresa takes forever to say) would like everyone to know that this is her tour, and I've been invited along. She's right. Although this is also her first time in the northwest as a performer, she has friends in high places, low places and about 134 more friends in between. To be successful in this business you need to know people, and I hope to someday know half as many people as T. Storch.

We took the new Honda Fit, my car, aka "Ruby Tuesday". Left around 3pm and made our way west to Salt Lake City where we will perform our first show, a house concert downtown tomorrow night. Staying with Rex and Renee - T knows Rex from "Song School". I'm headed to Song School in August... it's in Lyons, CO. I've already bought my new tennies and Michael Jordan Trapper Keeper in hopes that the other songwriters think I'm super cool.

8 hours, a few snow squalls and a Subway sandwich later, arrival in Salt Lake City. The hosts are asleep. I got my own room in the basement, with the cats. It is cozy, warm and far quieter in suburban Salt Lake than it was the night before in downtown Colorado Springs.

Organs For Sale and March's Newsletter

Anyone want to buy my organ? I could use the money.

Here I go. All the planning, the life changes, the single life, the purchase of a new car, the quitting of the only "job" that provides a steady stream of income, moving my belongings into storage rendering myself (in a way) homeless. It leads to Sunday March 7th when I hop into a tiny, red hatchback with fellow singer/songwriter Teresa Storch and head west.

The plan is to tour on and off for the next year until February, 2011. At which point I'll assess where I'm at and figure out where to go from there. In the meantime, I will have no real residency. I will stay with friends and family and pay them rent with beer, pizza and my smiles. When a friend isn't readily available, I will sleep in the car.

I'm off to a good start already, touring this first leg with the amazingly gifted and long-time road warrior Teresa Storch (www.myspace.com/teresastorch) who has been living this way for the last 6 years or so (although she does have a remote day job and a condo in Longmont). She has much to teach me and I am an attentive and willing student. We have 20 shows booked together in the month of March alone.

SHOWS, THE MONTH OF MARCH.

Saturday, 3/6/2010
DOWNTOWN BAR
103 Central Plaza * Pueblo, Colorado 81003
10PM - $3, 21 and over

TOUR DATES, PACIFIC NORTHWEST WITH TERESA STORCH

Tuesday, 3/9/2010
House Concert in Salt Lake City, UT

Wednesday, 3/10/2010
SIERRA HOT SPRINGS RESORT AND RETREAT CENTER
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
* SIERRAVILLE, CALIFORNIA 96126
http://www.sierrahotsprings.org/map.htm
More details to come!

Friday, 3/12/2010
ZELDA'S ON THE BEACH
With Teresa Storch (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
203 Esplanade * CAPITOLA, CALIFORNIA 95010
9pm - midnight, no cover.
Call Zelda's at (831) 475-4900‎.

Saturday, 3/13/2010
MAMA LLAMA'S
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
490 Main St. * WEAVERVILLE, CALIFORNIA 96093
Doors 7:30, Music 8:00 - $10 in advance, $12 day of show. Call Mamma Llama’s at (530) 623-6363.

Monday, 3/15/2010
LIQUID ASSETS
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/tereastorch)
96 N. Main St. * ASHLAND, OREGON 97520-2790
No cover - 7-9pm. Call Liquid Assets at (541) 482-0149.

Tuesday, 3/16/2010
PASCHAL WINERY
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
1122 Suncrest Rd. * TALENT, OREGON 97540
6-8pm, FREE! Visit http://www.paschalwinery.com/Contact.htm for more information!

Wednesday, 3/17/2010
House Concert in Ashland, OR

Thursday, 3/18/2010
WHITE EAGLE
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
836 North Russell Street * PORTLAND, OREGON 97227-1732
8:30-11:30pm, no cover - call White Eagle at (503) 282-6810.

Friday, 3/18/2010
House Concert in Portland, OR

Saturday, 3/20/2010
FLIPSIDE (behind MUDDY WATERS)
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
Opening for local acts STEEL FOR SCENERY and MOLLY BANG
2908 SE Belmont St. * PORTLAND, OREGON 97214
Call (503) 233-1923 or visit http://www.muddywatersportland.com/ for more information!

Sunday, 3/21/2010
DRIFT INN
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
124 U.S. 101 * YACHITS, OREGON 97498
6:30-9PM, no cover. Call The Drift Inn at (541) 547-4477 for more information!

Thursday, 3/25/2010
C&P COFFEE
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
5612 California Avenue Southwest * SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98136-1515
6-8pm, no cover - call C&P Coffee at (206) 933-3125 for more information!

Friday, 3/26/2010
WHITESTONE WINERY
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
111 S. Cedar * SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 99201
6-9pm - no cover. Call Whitestone Winery at (509) 838-2427 for more information!

Saturday, 3/27/2010
EMPTY SEA
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
6300 Phinney Avenue North * SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98103
This is one of the finest listening rooms in the country. Doors 7:30, music at 8pm. $15
Call Empty Sea at (206) 228-2483 for more info.

Tuesday, 3/30/2010
THE FILLING STATION
With TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
Opening for THE TOM COOK BAND
2005 N. Rouse Ave. * BOZEMAN, MONTANA 59715
Opening for The Tom Cook Band (www.myspace.com/thescumbags2)
8pm - no cover! Call The Filling Station at (406) 587-5009 for more information!

Thursday, 4/1/2010
AVAGADRO'S NUMBER
Wih TERESA STORCH (www.myspace.com/teresastorch)
605 S. Mason St. * FORT COLLINS, COLORADO 80524
8pm, all ages - More details to come

From Fort Collins, I face south, wave to Miss Colorado Springs 2.5 hours south of me and keep moving east through Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and on to Michigan in April. May will find me in Boston, Vermont, New York, with stops in Chicago and Nebraska on the way back to Colorado Springs. Then in June after a 3 week respite, I'll head back to the west coast again.

If you're like me, you probably have friends and/or family all over the country. I rarely ask anything of you (okay, aside from "come to my shows", "watch my video", "buy my songs", etc.) but I need your help.

If you see that I'm going through the neighborhood of someone you know out there, tell them to come to my show. Tell them they have to go or you won't visit, call or even Facebook (GASP!) them anymore. Threaten them the only way you know how.

As always I CANNOT thank you enough for your support over the years. I CANNOT be successful at this without you. As much as it makes me wince to to admit I need anyone, I need you. If you like my music, please share it with as many people as possible. I don't mind if you burn what you have, file share and give it to them for free - because at this point, I don't mind losing that massive .07 cent paycheck I get from an iTunes sale (bastards) if you think one of my tunes might win over a friend. I need to be heard. I need that chance. So share, share, share.

Follow this blog. Come on tour with me.

I'll see you out there.

BUY THE FIRST ALBUM, "GIMMICK" (not available at shows!)

www.cdbaby.com/jeremyfacknitz2

Visit my rather unprofessional (yet expensive! Great combo!) website!
http://www.jeremyfacknitz.com/

Or just go to the free myspace page for some tunes.

www.myspace.com/jeremyfacknitz

My Valentines Date with My Neighborhood in Colorado Springs

This morning I awoke to find I had no voice. It might just be a cold, although I don't have any other symptoms. It started Friday night at Rico's performing with Nick and then after 3 hours of squeaking and squawking my way through a set at Boondock's in Pueblo West (great crowd!), it's all but dead.

Which is fitting, because our elders always said "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" - and today is Valentines Day, and whether I've had a significant other or not on any given February 14th, I've never had anything nice to say about Valentines Day. Being recently engaged and now... not, I'm even more sour than most years.

I can still type.

Nothing is as insulting to the male intelligence as those Jared Jeweler commercials. If you've missed them, they sort of go like this: Woman excitedly tells her friends she's engaged by exclaiming "He went to Jared!" and all her hot friends jump up and down, squealing and declaring her the luckiest girl on earth. The message Jared is trying to get through to me is "if you give 1/4 a years salary to Jared (and ONLY Jared) for a ring for your special lady, not only will SHE have sex with you, but all her friends will want to, as well!"

Valentines Day is almost (almost) as insulting. Have you seen the commercials selling 5 foot stem roses at $50 a pop? The ads scream "Attention males! You poops! Buy these to prove you love her! Buy these to prove that your love for your girlfriend is a good 4 inches larger than your buddies love for his girlfriend. Buy these and get praise and good-lovin' for Valentines Day!"

My Valentines Day gifts to my lady usually consisted of cooking breakfast, a kiss on the forehead and a "Happy Bullshit Hallmark Holiday." I usually did not "get any" on the 14th, but the Mrs. (whoever she was at the time) usually came around to give me good lovin' by the 16th - and I'm used to waiting, anyway.

I always figured if you needed Hallmark to remind you to show your woman that you love her, or your a female that bases love on how big the gift is when he's told by society to buy it, you're probably a real shit. It just seems unromantic to me. Maybe this is why I'm single now...

But I digress.

This is about my Valentines date with Colorado Springs.

Today, I called my dad. It's his birthday. He's 58. Couldn't talk long because, well, I can't talk.

Then I went for a walk around the neighborhood. It's a bitterly cold day but beautiful. I moved north to Dogtooth Coffee and popped in for white hot-chocolate and the cute coffee girl said "did you know it was Valentines Day?" Her eyes twinkled with excitement so I didn't have the heart to tell her to shove my white hot chocolate up her bum. Then she gave me a kiss. The Hershey's kind, from a bowl on the counter. I took two more. That's my good lovin' for the day.

I walked west to Cascade - passing the houses, runners, smiling faces, families and puppy dogs barking "hello".

I came to my house. It's already my house. My stuff isn't in there yet, but it's already mine. It's a mansion on Cascade and I won't tell you the address because it's mine. I'll invite you to the housewarming party come spring 2014.

I walked and walked, pausing only to steal glances of Pikes Peak. As long as I was in the sun, not facing the southbound wind, I was warm, and - wait for it - I felt love. On Valentines Day.

I love this town.

It has so many faults. If you live here, you know. It leaves it's socks on the floor. It forgets to take out the garbage. It can be a real disappointment sometimes. It's an odd melting pot without a solid identity; a college town, a military town, a hippy town, a Dobson town. It seems everyone who lives here is from Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Missouri... some of us move here and buy western gear to try and fit in with all the other people who wear western gear and aren't from the west (actually, I've found that you can almost be sure that anyone wearing western clothing in this town was born east of the Mississippi River).

Despite all it's faults I realize I am in love with it - and today I was able to stroll in the sunny cold, touch it's face gently and say "You dumb ass. I love you. Happy Valentines Day!" and really feel it and mean it.

I've been so focused on getting out of here - marketing for the tour, booking it, hustling - that I had forgotten. But I'm really gonna miss this place when I take off in 3 weeks, and it was good to have that romantic feeling and share that time with my little-big town this afternoon.

How about that. Jeremy Facknitz felt romantic on Valentines Day.

But I'm not going to Jared and I'm not buying 5 ft. stem roses.

Colorado Springs will just have to deal with it.

Tim Reynolds Show, 1/22/2010

A few weeks back I was fortunate enough to open for Mr. Tim Reynolds (of "Dave Matthews Band" fame). Stargazers Theater offered Jeremy the opening slot after some gentle nudging (read as: me calling John @ Stargazers everyday waiting for Reynolds' management to approve) and I cannot thank them enough.

T'was an honor to support a talent like Tim's, t'was an honor to be able to shoot the shit with the man and TR3 (Dan and Mick), fine chaps from the outer-banks of North Carolina.

T'was an honor just to be onstage with his guitars.

FACKNITZ SET LIST:

Bijou Bridge

Vaguely Alamosa

Better Than Us

Trivial Pursuer/Pinky and the Brain

Riann

Songwriter Strikes Back

Thanks to all the friends who came out and made big noise for me.

J

It Really IS All About Me, Isn't it God?

Welcome to my blog. I am Jeremy Facknitz. You can piece together a lot about me and who I am and what I do to pass life by typing my name (Jeremy Facknitz, in case you've forgotten) into the Google search engine.

That's something you may feel like putting off at the moment. You may be so deep into this blog, so entranced that you've already lost yourself in the previous 5 lines (author pausing, sitting back, grinning). It happens to me all the time. It happens whenever I can steal a reflection of myself and gaze into my own dreamy, hazel eyes.

Where was I? Ah yes - you see, I build myself up right now because that's what I need to do to survive. Truth be told I'm just a scared little boy. For those of you who haven't left these blogged (pronounced blah-jed) words to Google search my name (or forget about me completely), I am a 31 year old singer/songwriter from Holly, MI. I've recently "divorced" my fiance/girlfriend of five and a half years because she had developed a habit of not liking me very much at all! Actually the divorce was more her choice, so I guess I LIKED being not liked, at least enough to stick with it. Sigh! What hopeless romantic I am - er, was.

On the career front (author sticking out chest as he's about type for you the 9 year-old claim-to-fame story) I won a Detroit Music Award WAY back in 2001 as a member of "The Ottomans". We beat out "The White Stripes" that year as the "Best New Alternative Band". A year later they were mega-famous and The Ottomans were history.

I've worked tirelessly for the last 13 years at music. Nothing else on this planet has brought me so much joy. Now, as far as pursuing it as a livelihood and career, nothing else has brought me so close to throwing myself off a 6 story building on to the concrete courtyard below (but we'll talk more about my time on opium in Boston, MA at a later date, mkay?).

Music music music. Writing it, recording it, performing it. Chances are you've never heard of me. That's probably due to certain realizations I'm coming to about myself; A) I've worked very, very hard, but not always very, very smart. B) I've done everything on my own. No lessons or mentoring of any kind, ever. Until recently. This was a mistake. This has caused a lot of failure, which yes builds character but makes the trip that much longer and more painful at times. C) It's possible I'm just not as good as I or you or my mother would like to believe and D) I love "B sides", therefore I write "B sides" (FOR THE KIDS: A "B side" refers to the lesser side of an archaic music listening device known as a "45 record" made popular in the mid 20th century. It's was considered the lesser side because it typically housed the song that showcased the artists "art". It was placed on the flip side or B side of the "hit", which was placed on the A side. EXAMPLE: The song you recognize and sing along to at the concert is an "A side", as opposed to the song you buy beer to and take a piss to at the concert, which is a "B side).

In any event, here I am. 31, single, no health insurance, a wedding that was planned for June that now is not, no salary, no prospects, no 401K, no kids, no dogs, no cats, no goldfish, 3 albums, 65 or so fans, 13 years under my belt and a microphone screen that still has tar in it from all the smokey bars I played in Ohio and Michigan 8 years ago. I make $20,000 per year and sometimes I'm really, really tired.

So what do I do now? Quit? Go back to school? Man, I am sick of those human tool sheds who interrupt Judge Judy at 2 in the afternoon and tell me what a loser I am because I don't have my degree but... umm... maybe they're right? Maybe then I can find a good woman to make me some babies, find a good job with good benefits to feed them all, buy a 3 bedroom house in Castle Rock, CO so the Mrs. can shop at the outlet stores every week while I slowly climb each soul-crushing rung of the corporate ladder?

Nope. As far as the music career goes, I'm just getting started my friends.

This blog is for me and anyone else who knows what it's like to have to follow your dream because you know in your heart of hearts that there is absolutely, positively, no other option.

YES SIR AND/OR MA'AM! That's what this blog will be about. Here we go! On tour in March with a woman I barely know (www.myspace.com/teresastorch) in a place I've never played before! 3 weeks in the car together! Then back east to play for more people who can't pronounce my last name! Then on to Boston for... closure! Living out of my car! Still no health insurance! Playing for tips and CD sales! Busking! Gypsy! $20,000 will seem like a posh existence! I'm scared shitless! I'm so excited! I can't wait! I'm having an anxiety attack! NOW NOW NOW! This must happen NOW! While I'm still young and somewhat pretty! While there's still a smidgen of life left in these hazel eyes! This is the time. NOW! WHY IS MY CHEST SO TIGHT?

Pictures, video coming soon.

Are you ready to come with me?

Stay tuned...

(author sitting back, exhausted)