Complacency

The world is easily more connected now, at this moment, than it ever has been before in the history of humankind. We can connect with one another as effortlessly as a few sliding motions of fingers on our smart-phones, or the tapping of keys on a computer, awash in a mesmeric glow of attention and information. But this ease of connection requires a certain insulation, a particular removal from the tangible world and a retreat into the intangible world through a device, through a screen, through the looking glass you might even say. What can you do, when you find yourself removed from the world because of your connection to the world? The Pockets are writing a song all about it. Stay tuned. -Nate Bellon(bass)

Sunset Sessions: Artists We Saw

Michele Clark's Sunset Sessions are just jam packed with interesting industry peeps and fantastic musicians. The Empty Pockets not only had a chance to play but also see some really rippin' artists, such as the previously blogged about Eric Hutchinson [ blog ]. As we move through the year, we'll be recapping our favorite performances from said awesome artists. Today's positive post: Jason Mraz and Mona Tavakoli!

In the beautiful Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, there are many great places to see a show. Exquisite ballrooms, beautiful terraces and gorgeous vistas all serve as a perfect backdrop for wonderful music. We were lucky enough to experience just such a picturesque mini-concert experience when Jason Mraz performed for the Sunset Sessions crowd in the Santiago Courtyard, the very same place The Empty Pockets had played the day before! The lunch-time show featured a wickedly intimate performance by Jason Mraz and percussionist Mona Tavakoli along with tasty treats served up by Chipotle. Jason even informed us that his farm was supplying the local Chipotle with it's fresh avocados, which we were gobbling up in the burritos and guacamole whilst jamming out.

If you could extend this video out to the right about four feet, you would see The Empty Pockets sitting and rocking, front and center for the festivities. The video above was shot by one of the attendees of the Sunset Sessions and shows how supremely gorgeous the surroundings were and how excellent Jason and Mona both were, even though we can't see Mona's gorgeous face. The video below is a section of the same performance, but you get to see Mona jam out on the solo section. So freaking good!

Needless to say, it was a concert experience The Empty Pockets will never forget, and we have Michele Clark and the Sunset Sessions to thank. After the show, we even got a chance to chat with the talented Mona Tavakoli before her and Jason jetted off to Dubai for their next concert. She was super gracious and our very own lovely doll, Erika Brett, got a classy picture with her. Gear! Check out Mona's band, Raining Jane on the interwebs. [ link ]

We'll be featuring more awesome artists and positive people from Sunset Sessions all through the year. Enjoy!

Cheers!
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Sunset Sessions: People We Met

Whilst we were at Sunset Sessions, we got to meet some really excellent people and enjoy their prodigious company. The Sunset Sessions attract all manner of world-class people, including our new friend, the awesome Laura Curtin, a music industry and rock-and-roll titan as well as current El Capitan of Curtin Rises Music Promotion. (Editors Note: Link removed due to malware. Google this woman, it's worth it! -N.)

Laura's "About" page reads like a Who's-Who of modern rock and pop. She's been responsible for the success of such artists as Pearl Jam, the Spin Doctors (my favorites!), the Indigo Girls (Eri's favorites!) and Rage Against the Machine, to name only a scant few. On top of that, the company currently represents a huge cross-section of musical styles, from Keb' Mo' to the Backstreet Boys to Korn. She's the real deal, yo.

Laura and Chris Rock! Wooooah!

The Empty Pockets had the distinct pleasure of hanging with Laura several times throughout our stay at the Sunset Sessions. She's very nice and an excellent laugh-er, which made Erika's jokes actually funny.

Empty Pockets Manager David Spero, Laura Curtin
and Erika Brett chillin' at the Sunset Sessions.

Born into the Boogie,
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Sunset Sessions: Artists We Saw

Michele Clark's Sunset Sessions is a premier music industry event that mixes together artists with noted industry folk of all varieties, culminating in what can only be called a seriously rocking time. The Empty Pockets were incredibly delighted to perform at a lunch-time showcase and were honored to be in the company of so many interesting people. 

To give you a little taste of the excellent experiences we had at the Sunset Sessions, we'll be rocketing back into the blogosphere our highlights of some of the artists and fascinating people we met

Our series begins with an artist spotlight on Eric Hutchinson. Wham.

Who is Eric Hutchinson? Even the man himself asks this question during an improvised song at the Minnesota State Fair (Thanks, Tony Lorino!). [ youtube ] We had the chance to watch Eric really nail it out at Sunset Sessions. He stepped on stage with his acoustic guitar and proceeded to rock the joint. The Empty Pockets sat in front, digging the whole scene, and we urge all those unfamiliar with Mr. Hutchinson and his groovy brand of pop-rock to check out his website. [ website ]  

Enjoy the video from my cell phone below, fresh from Sunset Sessions. 

Listen to the radio for Eric's new single, "Watching You Watch Him." 

Rock on, ya'll.

Rawlins isn't just a city in Wyoming. It's a state of mind,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Cut-Resistant Slip-ons: A Missed Market? (or Bloody Feet Aren't Fun Feet)

The Empty Pockets like to play to a dancing crowd. There's nothing better than a bunch of people boogieing down, cutting loose on the dance floor and really workin' it hard to some crunchy jams. Folks like to dance in all sorts of ways, and the ladies of the crowd often find that the dressier of the shoe choices lead to aching feet during a dance-marathon, so they (wisely) choose to remove them. This is when disaster can strike.

Dance floors get packed with people and people bring on dust and debris, but that's all fairly harmless on the feet. What can get you barefooted boogie-bots is broken glass, the enemy of barefoot enthusiasts everywhere.  It happens by sheer accident: A crowded dance floor gets cleared when someone drops their drink, causing a ripple of people moving away from the shattered glass and slippery liquids until it can (hopefully) be fully cleaned of any dangerous particles.

The enemy of bare feet and good times

This very thing happened this past weekend at the wedding of Dennis and Lindsey in Cincinnati. Everybody was getting their groove on and a glass got shattered on the dance floor, causing a small ruckus and a slight boogie interruptus for the dancers. The highly competent staff at the Western Hills Country Club managed to get the dance floor cleaned up and safe for everyone's continued enjoyment, which they did with GUSTO, I might add.

But all of this got me thinking: What if there was some sort of solution that could allow barefoot boogieing to continue unabated and unconcerned with dangerous particulates?

What about something like a Kevlar(tm) or similar half-sock. You know, kind of like the sock they give you at the department stores to try on shoes with? Can these be made of some sort of cut-resistant material? Every sock that's commercially available which is made of some sort of cut-resistant material is marketed towards the seriously tough jobs, rugged outdoorsman, or hockey players of the world. They are thusly built with aesthetics as an after-thought, and rightly so. But what about a dainty, unobtrusive-yet-stylish sock made of cut-proof material for all the barefoot dancers of the world? 

I can't think of anything better than something that would improve the crowd's enjoyment of dancing barefoot with the knowledge of the safety of their tootsies. Imagine the reckless abandon that would be shown on dance floors worldwide. Now all we need is something to stop people like me from stepping on the toes of our dancing partners. (Aha, I think those are called dancing lessons. D'oh!)

Mayhaps we should get someone to sew up a prototype and start an Empty Pockets brand cut-proof slip-on. What would we call them? "Safe Slips"? "Boogie Bottoms"? "Pocket Protectors"?

Bringing 'Safety Dance' a new meaning,
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Happy Van-Time Listening (or Lock The Gates!)

The Empty Pockets get their travel on. A lot. From the West Coast to the East Coast, we drive our van and play our tunes here, there and everywhere. That leaves a lot of time in the van to do all sorts of things like reading, sleeping, or a hybrid-activity I'm working on called Sleading. (It's pretty difficult so far, but let it never be said I'm not up for a challenge.) We also listen to a lot of different musics and a variety of podcasts. One of our favorite podcasts to listen to in the van these days is a wonderful piece of brilliance lovingly crafted by this man.

Marc Maron: POW!

His name is Marc Maron and his podcast is "WTF with Marc Maron"  [ link ] wherein he converses with comedians and other working professionals (writers, actors, etc.) about their career, the ins-and-outs of the business, life and generalities, both brilliant and banal. Each episode invariably includes Marc explaining his early dislike for the guest or checking to see if their relationship is in a good place, which it almost always is. The show itself is a poignant look into a business that seems to mirror the Music Business in a variety of ways and thus delights us to no end and the Empty Pockets all find relate-able material throughout. Sometimes the interviews are touching and sometimes they are uproarious, but they're always fascinating. The live shows are always a hoot and a half, such as this one with another band favorite, Maria Bamford: (NSFW: Adult Language Ahead.)

So, to wrap all this up into a nice little package, "WTF with Marc Maron" is an excellent podcast that the Empty Pockets thoroughly enjoy listening to on the road. It involves real moments of honesty from people whom we respect and enjoy and it's a true boon to have it readily available. You can subscribe to WTF on iTunes of course, and we highly recommend you check it out.

We're on the road to Cincinnati this weekend for a private event and you can be sure we're going to listen to a few of the WTF's on our way to and fro. Maybe the recent one with Amy Sedaris? Or maybe the one with comic legend Jonathan Winters? Who knows. The possibilities are endless. So thank you, Marc Maron, for making the Empty Pockets road experience that much more joy-filled. You rock, sir.

POW!
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Getting the Most Out Of Your Hotel Breakfast Buffet ( or Warren, Jimmy, Hotel Breakfast)

The Empty Pockets stay in a lot of hotels these days as we travel hither and yon about this great big country of ours. One question seems to emerge at every hotel, big and small: "What time does breakfast close?" You see, most of the hotels we stay at offer a complimentary "breakfast buffet" that opens at some horridly early time in the morning and closes just slightly earlier than a reasonable musicians wake-up time. That being said, the breakfast buffet is often worth rising early for, as it can provide much needed energy for the day and be quite a boon on the old pocket book. But after awhile, you can become bored with the standard fair of fruits, grains, dairy, meats and juices offered by anything but the most modest hotel buffet and crave something more substantial. Well fear not, for the Empty Pockets have a sure-fire way to get the most out of your next hotel breakfast buffet experience. Read on, MacDuff!

A standard bit of morning deliciousness.

Beginners Tip: The Parfait

Everybody's got to start somewhere, so why not start somewhere delicious, like the breakfast buffet parfait? It's a healthy morning treat, super easy to make and nearly every hotel buffet, small to large, has the components to make a tasty parfait. Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious!

Step 1) Get some yogurt. Often there will be a few flavors to choose from, my favorite is strawberry, but you can use whatever you would like.

Step 2) Get some fruit. The easiest to obtain and slice for parfait usage is the almighty banana, but you can use any fruit if you're willing to put in the effort to slice it up small enough with those silly plastic knives that are often the only utensils available.

Step 3) Get some granola or granola-type cereal. If the hotel doesn't offer a granola cereal, you can use corn-flakes. (Pro-Tip: Frosted Flakes may sound like a great idea.... because it is.)

Step 4) Combine all of the ingredients in a cereal bowl and enjoy! You've just created your first breakfast buffet parfait and hopefully not your last. Mangia!

"Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet!"

Intermediate Tip: The Breakfast Sandwich


The breakfast sandwich is a delicious way to mix up the offerings of your hotel breakfast buffet into a new flavor sensation. It's a classic breakfast treat and is fairly easy to make. Most hotel breakfast buffets will offer more than one option as well, so customize to your heart's content!

Step 1) Get a bagel and slice it open. Alternately, you can also use an English Muffin, or if it's offered, a buttermilk biscuit. Toast to taste.

Step 2) Locate the eggs and add as many of those as you think you can handle to your sliced and possibly toasted grain base. Be careful, they're going to squish out the sides whilst you enjoy your tasty treat, so take less than you think you should. But only a little.

Step 3) Add your meat option to your burgeoning sandwich. Often, hotels will offer bacon and sausage and sometimes they offer both a sausage patty and sausage links. The sausage patty is basically designed for this use as a sandwich meat, but do what you feel. (Pro-Tip: Only sausage links available? Slice those suckers down the center for a no-roll meat-option.) Vegetable-tarians can skip this step, of course!

Step 4) Add cheese. Some breakfast buffets won't offer cheese at all, so this may not be an option. But if it is, may I recommend you exercise your right to dairy? You'll thank me for it. (Pro-Tip: Slap that sucker in the available microwave for 15 to 20 seconds to get the cheese melty.)

Step 5) Combine and enjoy! Delicious sandwich goodness is the spoils of your victory of over the boring breakfast buffet blahs. All alliteration aside, enjoy this tasty bit of breakfast heaven.

If you could have this, why wouldn't you?

 Expert Tip: Improving Bad Sausage Gravy


Bad sausage gravy is a terrible thing, something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. It's flavorless goop that only serves to make breakfast a sad state of affairs, especially if you were expecting deliciously good sausage gravy. Well fret-not, because here's an easy, sure-fire way to improve the quality of the sometimes lacking hotel breakfast buffet sausage gravy. (Side note: Not all buffets will offer sausage gravy and not all sausage gravy offered by breakfast buffets is bad. When in doubt, check the gravy. If it's white rather than grey and has no discernible bits of sausage in it, it could probably use some help.)

Step 1) Get your biscuits and place them on your plate or in a bowl, whatever your preference.

Step 2) Get your sausage gravy and place it in a separate bowl, as it's about to get modified. Grab a spoon for mixing and serving purposes.

Step 3) Get the local sausage offerings. Patties are easiest, but you can also make links work. Chop the sausage up into the smallest bits you can. (Pro-Tip: If links are the only offering, you can slice them down the center and scoop the ground sausage off the skin.)

Step 4) Add the chopped sausage into your sausage gravy and mix furiously. If everything is not pipping hot, place it in the microwave for 10 - 15 seconds and then mix again. Good sausage gravy is made with the pan leavings from cooking sausage, so you're goal is to get your chopped sausage as thoroughly integrated as possible. (Pro-Tip: For the Paula Deen method, add some butter while it's in the microwave. She's always adding butter to stuff.)

Step 5) Add your slapped-up sausage gravy to your biscuit and enjoy the luxury of not eating below-standard sausage gravy. Dee-lish!

The breakfast of champions.

The possibilities are limitless! Just use your imagination and the hotel breakfast buffet can be a gastronomic wonderland ready for your plucking. Hell, if you have any favorite breakfast buffet combinations or tips and tricks, send them our way. The Empty Pockets always appreciate a bump-up in the food department.

With visions of biscuits and gravy dancing in my head,
-Nate Bellon(bass)