Category Archives: Papa

Where to eat during SXSW (if you don’t want to fall apart)

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SXSW is the craziest time of year for dear old Austin Texas, the live music capital of the world. Most of the year the weather is walkable, the beer flows cold, there is a seat for you at every table, and the tex mex is cheap. During Southby (as we call it) this town becomes a drunk 20 year old with a great fake ID, a penchant for mixing beer with liquor and waking up in unfamiliar places. It’s very attractive and fun, but unpredictable. I have put together a list of my favorite places to eat. I want you to eat your veggies during the day so you can hang later at night to see Prince at La Zona Rosa (wha??!?!!).

HEALTHY HIPSTERS PARTY HARDER (where to eat in Austin):

  • El Primo & Once Over Coffee Bar (South 1st & Live Oak, 78704)- best coffee in town, and this is coming from a dyed in the wool Portland-bred coffee adict. I would also stake my reputation on the fact that El Primo, the trailer in the parking lot, has the best breakfast tacos in town. I’m serious.
  • Thai Fresh (South 5th & Mary, 78704)- healthy, homegrown thai food in a wide open space with a kids corner. This place is run by a wonderful woman of Thai descent. They also have a large case of gluten free and/or vegan deserts. This is where i went for my birthday.
  • Elizabeth Street Cafe (South 1st & Elizabeth, 78704)- this is gourmet Vietnamese food. If you have a meeting with a fancy record exec, meet them here and come off as pretty cool. it’s loud, so you’ll have to lean in close.They have amazing french pastries as well. This is where we went for Andrew’s birthday.
  • Curra’s Grill (614 E Oltorf, 78704)- this is real tex mex, y’all. Get the Avocado Margarita if you are tequila-inclined. i hate margaritas and i love these.
  • Fresa’s Chicken al Carbon (915 N. Lamar)- pieces of amazing chicken to go. this is our newest addiction. Locally sourced and delicious.
  • East Side Kings (there are multiple eastside locations: www.eskaustin.com)- Home fried beets with sour cream sauce among other deliciousness.They have multiple trailers behind various dive bars in East Austin. This place is run by the guy who used to cook for the fanciest sushi joint in town. it’s real.
  • Wheatsville Co-op (N. Guadalupe & 31st, 78705)- It’s our one and only grocery co-op and they do it right. Yes, the Whole Foods is shiny, but it’s downtown and that is going to be a battle. Also, this is LOCAL. put your money where your mouth is. Also put the popcorn tofu where your mouth is… ohmygod.
  • P. Terry’s (multiple locations)- It’s a fast food burger, but a good one. They actually care about what they’re serving you.
  • Blue Dahlia (1115 E 11th S, 78702)- yummy french food. They will give you a fresh salad with every item. If you can’t get in, there are a 5 great cafes within two blocks of here. Including Franklin’s BBQ which sells out by 11am every day, prompting people to line-up at 8am. I think they’re crazy… I wouldn’t wait in line for 2 hours for any kind of food.
  • Taco Deli & Houndstooth Coffee (4200 N Lamar Blvd, 78756)- Ok, there is another place to get a great cappuccino and a great taco up north. if you can’t make it to Once Over & El Primo, this will certainly do. The taco place closes by 3pm, so if you’re super hung over, you may not make it.

Eat well. Have a good time. Stay hydrated. Keep your eyes open. Don’t cross the street against the light. Be nice to all your servers & bartenders. don’t fuckin talk over a quiet show!!
Love you Southby, glad you’re here!

Home for a few days

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We have been home from Toronto for a few days now.  The weather is perfect.  Emmett is running around like a lunatic, making stacks of blocks and destroying them and saying all kinds of interesting things.  Raina and I are enjoying downtime at home before the chaos of the spring starts.

This week has been spent almost entirely together.  We haven’t really left the house much, except for some errands, dinner at a friend’s house and a nice hang at the Once Over Coffee Bar yesterday.  It seems to be easiest to exist at home with Emmett these days.  He is no longer interested in being held for more than a few minutes at a time.  Running around is far more important.

Next week I will do a 6 night tour with Nancy & Beth.  We are playing Largo in Los Angeles on March 6 (opening for Rhett Miller), The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on March 8 and the Wilbur Theater in Boston, MA on March 10.

Then I fly back to Austin for 4 nights of SXSW (overcrowded indie rock party that takes over the entirety of Austin, TX). I have about 6 or so gigs and parties to attend.  Lots of friends are coming to town to play shows.  My parents will be here helping with Emmett, which is a huge relief for me and Raina.

Then I fly back to Los Angeles for the night of March 15 to play at Largo with Nancy & Beth.  I’ll be back in Austin before noon on March 16 to play a couple of afternoon gigs and see a few other shows before SXSW closes down.  After that, throw in a quick trip to Houston, a recording session and an SF trip.  I’m already so tired of the airport and I haven’t even packed yet.

It’s going to be a pretty insane couple of weeks.  I will literally fly all over the country.  I will spend 7 of those nights away from Raina and Emmett.  That is definitely the most challenging part of my job.  It puts a strange tax on the entire family.  Emmett is too young for me to explain that I’m even leaving.  I just get out of the car at the airport and show back up a week later.  I wonder what goes through his mind.  Is he wondering where I am?  Is he waiting for me to get back?  Does he even notice I’m gone?

Raina is amazing.  She handles parenting without me like a champ.  She has high morale.  She has amazing patience.  Her comfort in the situation shows Emmett that there is nothing to worry about.  Papa will be home soon.  So he seems to go about his business building block stacks and knocking them down, eating yogurt and sweet potatoes, climbing on Hopi (our dog) and saying fascinating nonsense.

This will be a good trip, though.  The shows are at excellent venues.  The band is sounding great.  The people are some of my favorites.  But I will miss my boy and my lady.  I will think about them constantly when I am sitting, waiting for the next show to start.

Langlois, Oregon

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Papa here,

I’ve been on the road, playing bass with Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers. I left Emmett and Raina on January 30 and flew to San Francisco. I rehearsed 1.5 times and played my first gig the following night in Sacramento, where I used to live.

It went so well. The venue was packed. I spent a lot of time learning the material. It paid off. I was way comfortable at the first gig. I had a lot of fun.

We’ve done 9 gigs since then. We drove from SF to Vancouver. The shows have been great. The band is a lot of fun.

Our last gig is tonight, in Langlois, Oregon. We start in about an hour. I am currently sitting in the van outside the venue, which is an old barn.

We head to SF tomorrow. I fly home to Austin on Friday. I am so excited to see my baby boy and raina. It’s crazy. I haven’t been gone from either of them for this long since before Raina was even pregnant.

I’m sure Emmett is a totally different dude now. I’m sure he has better balance. His hair is longer. He is probably standing straighter and walking faster. Mind-blowing.

Friday afternoon can’t come quickly enough. This has been a great tour. But I am ready to get back to my lady and my tiny dude.

Papa!

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Hey hey folks!

My name is Andrew. I am the papa in this family who spends much of our time on the road.

I play bass. My main focus is playing bass with Raina and helping our band grow and develop. I also I spend a pretty sizable portion of my time on the road with different songwriters and bands.

Here are just a few of bands I play with in addition to Raina Rose:

Carrie Elkin
Sam Baker
Steve Poltz
Nancy & Beth
Anthony da Costa
The Bluegrass Outfit
Danny Malone
Rebecca Loebe
Elliott, Rose, da Costa

As well as many others.

I am on the road a lot. I love it. I see all kinds of beautiful places and meet tons of people. I play a lot of interesting gigs.

Expect to see posts from my travels and insights about how Raina, Emmett and I continue to figure out how to have a normal, close and supportive family while we’re out on the road together and apart.

Dig it!

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Edom, TX

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We drove for about four hours to the Northeast of Austin today. Andrew and I are a part of Carrie Elkin’s Greats. Carrie Elkin is a firecracker songwriter who is a pillar of the folk nation community. She and her partner, Danny Schmidt, host a slew of traveling folksingers in their home in east Austin. They are amazing.
Here’s a picture of the men’s at the Firehouse in Edom, tx.

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talking crowd-sourcing!

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Today we had breakfast with the original rust-belt vagabond, Greg Klyma. I met Greg at my first Kerrville Folk Festival in 2005. He was one of the people who inspired me to leave my comfy home in Portland, OR, find a minivan and get on the road. Greg has been independently touring for over 10 years. He and Andrew are talking crowd-sourcing, the new model for the small entrepreneur.

We ran a successful kickstarter campaign in October, through 644 backers we raised just over $20k. It was a wonderful/stressful time. We felt deeply humbled and grateful to have such community support for our art. Andrew has a lot of ideas on how to make kickstarter an easier thing for musicians who may feel overwhelmed by the idea of asking their fanbase for money. Truly you are just pre-selling your amazing music. You can do it. Also, this is not our kitchen, we are house siting 😉

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