The night I opened for Ernie Halter and Tony Lucca
Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007Okay, so I know I’m waaay deliquent in the epic story about opening for E$ and Tony. But I went offshore for work like 4 hours after the show and was gone a week, and then I’ve been overloaded with work/family crap ever since.The show was Sunday night — I went up around 3 to clean my house (since the guys were staying with me afterwards) and to practice a bit with the guy who was gonna play a few songs with me. I met Ernie, Tony, and Johnny at the venue for around 7 for the soundcheck, and we hung out and chatted with the sound guy and manager while we waited for the doors to open and the crowd to show up. I use the word “crowd” loosely, as it was mostly friends and relatives of mine, along with about a dozen local musicians and myspacers.
The back room at 307 (the venue) is very jazz-clubish — dark, low ceilings, small round tables spread throughout, and cocktail waitresses in all black that bring you things all night. Tony, Ernie, and the manager decided to push the start time back from 7:45 to 8:30, to give a chance for the band playing up front to finish and come back and listen (a local guy, John Paul Summers, was playing up front — another acoustic guy who’s pretty good).
Cousin Johnny asked if he could play a few songs first, like a pre-opener. I said, “Sure, fine with me.” He played a few originals and then a cover of “By Your Side” (by Sade) that he brought me out for.
Then it was my turn. My set is mostly a blur, though I’m told it went well. I played Jealous Guy (Lennon), Rocketman (Sir Elton), Come Back to Bed (you know who), Say It Ain’t So (Weezer), Pretty Girl (you also know who), Grace’s Amazing Hands (you know who #3), and a few others. Then I brought my friend Butch up on the guitar, and we did Comfortable, Rand McNally, and Clarity with him playing and me singing. By all accounts, Rand McNally was the best and Clarity should’ve been left out.
Tony was next — he’s damn good. I’d love to be able to play like he does; powerful, percussive, purposeful, and determined. He played for probably 45 minutes before Ernie went on.
Ernie brought me up for Love in L.A., and asked me if I wanted to take the first verse, which of course I did. When it came time for him to come in with the second verse he started the first verse again. When he heard me giggling he realized what had happened. He said, “Oh, shit, I just messed up the words to my own song! You know what happened — no one ever sings the first verse to this song. I think JT’s the first person to ever sing it besides me.” And then we went back into it — it was awesome, and I wish someone had it on tape.
Ernie took requests all night, and he also took Jaeger shots all night. So much of the latter that his playing was getting noticeably slower throughout the night (tempo-wise). I joked that if he’d played two more songs we’d have been there another hour. It was amazing, though, really.
He also brought Tony and I up for Melissa (last song of the night); we did the harmonies during the chorus. After the show they took pictures, signed autographs, and sold CDs for about 45 minutes before we finally were able to pack up and head back to my house. I went to sleep at 2 am and those guys were still in the living room, talking. It was a blast, and Tony promised that we’d do it again if I ever make it out to LA.
Ernie and Tony both told me how much fun they had, how great the venue was, the town was, and the crowd was (it was only about 30 people, but they were all really into the music, no one was being obnoxious or ignoring the stage). The manager at 307 told me a week later that he couldn’t wait to hopefully get them back, together or separately, on a Friday or Saturday night when he could really pack the house.
I’ve always liked Christina. Since day one, it was clear that she was the most talented of the bubblegum pop group including Britney, Jessica, Mandy, and a few lesser known artists. Of course, she was tiny, blond, and hot, which never hurt anyone.