For BOOKING INFORMATION, please contact:
booking@damionwolfe.com

or call
443-831-1472.

Damion is on :



and

DAMION WOLFE COVER LIST

Please support

NOTES FROM THE ROAD:

RANDOM SCHMANDOM

I've been back on the East Coast now for 1 month and I sometimes still feel as if my foot (and my brain) is stuck on a gas pedal somewhere between Kansas and California. I don't usually blog alot when I'm not touring but would like to try and keep the process abounding while stationary.

A couple of people asked me what I was listening to when I was on the road, so I thought I'd start off with that. Honestly I wasn't listening to alot of cds for a good portion of the trip. Mainly the radio and the sounds of silence. Occasionally though I would toss in "Poses" by Rufus Wainwright...I think it's a brilliant venture in songwriting and production. I didn't have alot of cds but I did have "God Shuffled His Feet" (Crash Test Dummies) and some Suzanne Vega. Earlier in the trip I was also tuning in to alot of jazz on the radio. At best I can only play jazz at an elementary level but have had a kindred connection to it since I was a teen. I try and work some of it in to my songs when I can.

Right before I left San Francisco, my friend Bernard turned me on to "Ohio"-a release by Lampchop. I think this band is out of Nashville or the midwest. Good sound with solid songwriting and a great voice. I also picked up an old favorite, "A Few Small Repairs" by Shawn Colvin. Man, this CD brought me back to 1997 in a big way. For some reason this seemed to be a very pivotal year for me, and also for many others as I've noticed over time..A cosmic mystery that eludes my feeble comprehension. But, I was listening to this alot when I made my first CD, "Damion Wolfe". In retrospect I realize that it definitely influenced that release in a big way. It's really amazing how music can have so many amazing effects on us. For me in particular how it seems to transport oneself through time to another place, feelings, and memories...with a sometimes melancholic abrasion, and sometimes with a re-ignition of the heart. These can be great places to visit while on a long road trip.

So, what's the deal with cupcakes everywhere!?!? For what it's worth, I think it's awesome! It seems like almost every major city I went to I saw at least 1 cupcake shop ready to deal out a scrumptious concoction of something tasty and wonderful...but not guilt free. I guess I wasn't feeling too guilty though because I kept obliging! We have a great one here in Baltimore called the Cupcake Company and for my money they are still the best I've had yet. Of course I'm willing to keep sampling....no problems there.

Since being back East I've been trying to dig up work along the way. In the meantime I haven't written alot. Instead I've been digging up and polishing off (hopefully improving) some old songs from the quiver. For whatever reasons some tunes lose their impact on me, and I give up on them, or perhaps vice-versa. Some do vanish into the ethers and never return. But some seem to just be away on extended vacation choosing to come back when they're good and ready. "Best Lover" "Don't Sell Out" "Taller Than Me" and "All So Good" are such fickle comrades that have reappeared on recent set lists. Thanks guys for the resurgence and kicking my tired buttocks.

Thanks for reading.

Damion?

BACK HOME . . . FOR A BIT

Hi Everyone,

As some of have noticed, I've temporarily returned to the East Coast. When I left for tour in early May my plan was to finish my longest tour ever (8 weeks), somehow find that magical place that resonated with me during my travels, and then stay there. Well I completed the tour, and after about 5 or 6 weeks into it surprisingly realized that my affinity was for San Francisco. Although I've been to all of these places before (Seattle, Portland, California) SF seemed to be the place. After hanging out there for a few weeks I realized that because of the economy out there (%11), lack of gigs for solo guys like me, and as I mentioned in other blogs...a real under-compensation for the gigs that were there. Realizing that I wasn't ready yet to put my music on the back-burner and pursue other employment, I reluctantly pointed eastward and decided to come back. Honestly, it's not been an easy adjustment...not that here is bad by any means, but I know in my heart that I belong out West. So while I'm back, I'm re-grouping, brainstorming and working on new plans to re-locate.

In the meantime I'm starting to pick up shows in the area again. I feel very fortunate that I've been able to pick up as many as I have so quickly. I figured most people would be booked up at this point. This time around I won't be performing as much as usual. I'm really going to steer away from the type of gigs that I consider "soul-sucking" and really focus on playing the venues that I like, and like me. I'm going to be picking up more shows where I can feature my original material more as well. In fact, this Friday I'm performing an original set at St. Elmo's Coffee in Alexandria, and next Saturday (July 31) another original set at Chloe's Coffee in Gaithersburg, MD.

My schedule is still fairly wide open so if anyone can use me for anything please feel free to give me a holla'.

On a random note, does anyone out there teach, or know anyone who teaches Digital Performer or Logic Pro?

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer.
Damion

THERE'S BUBBLE TEA IN SALT LAKE CITY!

I never would've thought that Salt Lake City would offer such a peaceful resonance. I've been on the road now for over 2 months and I'm now succumbing to total exhaustion. As I'm still in the midst of deciding whether to return westward or head eastward I find myself stiller today than I have been in a while. Nothing like a load of laundry, loving family and friends via phone, and a sunny day stirring into a synergy of bliss. It's funny because this is the first time I've had over a week off from performing in a year and a half...it's a bit uncomfortable yet savory. I once asked Ellis Paul about feeling burnt out from playing, and he said something along the lines of "remember, we play because we love it." I interpreted this as learning to know what our limits are as performers. I think about all of the wonderful famous performers we know and love and most of them don't even perform 6 months in a year. What a nice gig! Still, I'm beginning to itch for it again as the blood starts trickling back through my creative spark plugs.

I find myself very disenchanted lately with my beard. Because I've been too lazy to shave when I look at myself in the mirror I'm starting to feel like I'm looking at Willie Nelson and not Damion Wolfe....this amount of gray protrusion is intolerable, unconscionable and downright contravening to my desire for eternal youth!! My grandfather went gray early on, actually completely white. Yet he pulled it off with a classy finesse that I can hardly fathom....whoa is me. LOL!

Ok....enough of my egocentric, internal rant. There is a purpose in this note besides my aimless cacophony.

There are some neat things happening and I just wanted to lay them out for your perusing pleasure.

1. WIZARDS OF THE PCT is a new documentary being released by Shane O'Donnell. He will have copies soon if not already. He's featuring the music of several different songwriters and bands. I'm fortunate enough to be included in the bevy with these 4 of my songs: "Reckoning", "Salvation", "Be Your Man" and "Is Everything Enough?" Find out more about the film at: wizardsofthepict.com and on their facebook page . Shane did a sped up video using "Be Your Man" as a promo for the film. Check it out on YouTube. Thanks Shane.

2. There's a chance that Microsoft will be including my song "Carry Me" in a new application to be featured soon. This is happening through my friends at Quickstar Productions. Hopefully I will know more affirmatively in the near future.

3. ITUNES, AMAZON, EMUSIC, RHAPSODY, MYSPACE MUSIC, NAPSTER and several other online music stores have a bunch of my songs available for download. "How I Love My Maryland", "Brittany" and "Carry Me" seem to be the top 3 downloads as of late.

4. I just found out that Shelton Ivany, former editor of "Hit Parader", and now the reviewer of www.jsitop21.com, had rated my latest cd "Damion Wolfe" in his "TOP OF THE LINE" category. This was a while back but it was a nice surprise to hear about this. I'd met Shelton at a show in Soquel, CA 2 or 3 years ago and given him a copy of my disc. This was the closest thing to a review I've had in years! Thank you Shelton.

5. WWW.FREEDOMRADIO.NET and WWW.PARADIZERADIO.COM are still giving some spin to my music. The only thing is that my rotation is contingent on the DJ spinning at the time. Duane Garderner, DJ Duckee, and DJ RedBear I know for sure are giving some love to "DAMION WOLFE". They're spinning an eclectic assembly of musicians and tunes. Thanks guys.
When I started heading home the other day I decided to take RT. 50. My buddy, Mark, told me about this and oddly enough in all of my travels I didn't realize that it was the same 50 that ran to Ocean City, MD. I must say that I was blown away by how beautiful it was. It was one of the most incredible scenic sojourns that I've ever viewed in the U.S. Definitely recommended if you've got time to explore and sight see.

So there's more to say on random subjects like "musician etiquette", "why I love cupcakes", "whatever happened to cafeterias?" and "why I'm still a sucker for wanting to keep performing and writing after all these years". Seriously, thanks for reading everyone and for staying in touch.

God Bless,
Damion

p.s. yes, there really is some great bubble tea here in SLC.

BOOMERANG DREAMER TOUR COMPLETE!!!!!

-w/John, Sue, Yuching, Mark and Ani after Chat Roulette Show-Berkeley, CA

6/28/2010

A peaceful California wind slightly careens my face as I reach "THE BOOMERANG DREAMER TOUR'S" omega. The final show was at The San Mateo Farmer's Market. It was back to the basics-just me and a guitar, no effects, no microphones, but a lot of fun. It was nice to end with a show in which I really got a chance to connect with some people and see a lot of smiling faces. Of course having my friends Mike, Mark, Ani and Jessica there was a bonus, too. Mike, Mark and I have been friends so long I don't wish to purvey the "how long" at this time, but there's nothing like being on the road for so long and the comfort of seeing some friends at the finale. As is our tradition we love to eat, so afterwards we all went out for some great Vietnamese dining which really hit the spot....and then of course my ever-lovin'-yumma-yumma bubble tea (which NONE of my other friends like..lol!).

The Saturday appearance at The Chat Roulette Show was unlike anything I've ever done. It was a recipe of multifarious ingredients: a smidge of daunting, a dash of fun, a lot of penis, a splash of "being willing to make a complete fool out of yourself" and some nice people. Thanks to Sue, Mark, Ani, Yuching and John for coming to this bam-bang-strange event. Friday's show at The Bay Street Plaza was abruptly cancelled after the staff of the aforementioned could not find it within reason to assist me by watching my equipment while I parked my car. Having capitulated enough in my career so that I wouldn't "piss anyone off" or seem "difficult," and since I wasn't getting paid for this performance, I decided it was time to cash in some of that credit and say "thank you, but no thank you....see ya!"

Wednesday in Santa Barbara was anxiously anticipated. After such strange skirmishes with that town recently (strange show, outrageous parking ticket and someone flicking me off for being nice) it was quite ironic that The Good Cup songwriters showcase fell into my lap (thank you Casey McDonald). This was hosted by local songstress, Lisa Danhi. I got to share the stage with some open mic artists and the other feature, Colin Shepherd. Colin was great. I had a great time performing too. It was night and day. The SB folks there were very receptive and nice to boot. Thank you Lisa, Colin and everyone who made it such a fun occasion!

BIZ RANT:*****This section applies more to musicans, artists and those in the entertainment biz. I wanted to chime in on some of the music scene out here. It has been really interesting to note how people in California (in a majority of areas) don't really seem to value the value of their musicians as much as back home. This basically equates to: we don't want to compensate you well or at all, but we want you to do a lot for us. For doing that we'll let you sell cds and put out a tip jar, and you get exposure. Of course to me this is a bunch of b.s. that's been propagated around this area for a long time. People say that it's because there are so many musicians out here, but the bottom line (in my not so humble proclivity to opine) is that there are a lot of musicians in a lot of places. Back in the Baltimore/DC metro area competition is stiff and abundant, but at least there seems to me more worth put on performers. Down in the LA area it can be even worse from what I hear where a lot of bands have to do some sort of "pay to play" scenario.

This has been unlike any other tour I've ever done in several ways. It was originally scheduled at 7 weeks but then I was fortunate enough to add another within a short period of time. It's been by far the longest I've ever toured, which in some ways presented challenges I didn't anticipate, but well worth learning. Along the way I've had some smooth sailing, hit some bumpity-bumps, met some wonderful people, seen some great art and artists, drooled over a multitude of vistas offered up by the Earth Mother, fallen in and out of love with my music several times, felt elated, entertained loneliness, been tousled by frustration, spooned by love, lost weight/gained weight (started off skinny as a rail at 163 pounds, but now harboring a moderate "bump" in my belly), seen old friends and newer friends, and made new friends. Probably most importantly is the handful of times I've been blessed enough to have one of my shows or songs make a positive connection with someone. It may seem vain, but this validation brings levity to me because it confirms that I'm not totally f*#king insane for still doing this. You want to know that your art connects with people in an affirming way, not just for your own ego, but for them as well. I featured a lot of new material on this tour as well. It was encouraging to know that with these songs, "Boomerang Dreamer", "Old Guns" and "World Was Better" in particular, that I'm still able to write something that resonates somehow...even if with just a few people.

Last but far from least I want to say thank you to all of you who've stayed in touch and sent good vibes since I've been on the road. Please know that it's been incredibly important to me. Also a shout out to all of the new friends I've met as well. And, to everyone who's offered me a bed, couch, floor space, etc. Special thanks to Mark & Ani who've let me crash with them for quite some time now since I've been in the Bay Area. Also dibs to Webmaster, Mike Horn (who celebrates a birthday on Tuesday, June 29), for keeping the website up to date. Shouts out too to www.paradizeradio.com and www.freedomradio.net for giving me some spin these last couple of months.
For those of you who I haven't been able to connect with directly yet, please feel free to join me at
www.facebook.com/damionwolfe, or the mailing list at damion@damionwolfe.com. Also there's music for download at itunes, amazon, emusic, napster, rhapsody and several other online stores.

I'll still be updating as I float into this next phase of existence.

Love and Thanks,
Damion

-w/Elana, Christy, Philip, Jonathan, Reva and Pete after Chat Roulette Show-Berkeley, CA

THE JOURNEY

The succulent extremities of the West and California have greeted me with a pensive seduction. California seems to be a world of worlds...where one planet can be occupied by apathetic zombies and the other filled with vivacious love and open arms....and then everything in between. Last night I had the opportunity to fall into the arms of The Clubhouse crowd in San Luis Obispo. It was a love fest construed with the larger than life talent of the many artists there....Ricky Stein, Casey MacDonald, Mathias, etc. We had a great time. I felt more alive and funnier (funnier looking too-see pic) than I had in awhile. I just got to play 4 songs: "Treasure", "Old Guns", "Small Museum" and "Some More" (tied in with a little Michael Jackson). It was a great time! I want to say much thanks to April and her dog, Kashmir, for letting me crash and grab a shower. I was just so impressed by the generosity around here.

Unfortunately Saturday's show at Gypsy Den in the OC was not as glorious. I had a great time performing and the crowd seemed accepting from the stage, but afterwards there wasn't much crowd love. It's the "afterwards" in shows that is almost as important as the show itself. Let's face it, as performers we want to have the chance to perform but also promote our art, and connect personally as well. When there's not much of anything in the "afterwards" it can be a bit heart-breaking sometimes. Still, it was great to see Joe and Sandya. I want to thank them for coming out, gathering a posse and putting me up again for the night. The acts I opened for that night were great.

On Monday I took a trip out to The Grand Canyon. I'd always wanted to see it and was super-grateful for the ranger that let me in without having to pay the $25 fee. I didn't have much time to skirt around the Canyon...just got to walk around one of the main parts and get a snapshot of it's magnanimous glory. Maybe it's because I'm as old as dirt, but I find myself more and more put off by crowds as I "mature".The place is so inundated with loud, and sometimes down right rude tourists that it makes the visit a bit bitter-sweet.

I've been very fortunate on this tour because of the nights where someone puts me up for the night, or when I can afford a hotel room. The numerous nights of sleeping in the car wore out romanticism's welcome mat for me several weeks ago. The reason I bring this up is that I must admit to being a bit horrified about the amount of homeless persons that I've seen on this particular trip. I don't know if it's just because I'm traveling, or because I'm in another part of the country, the economy, or whatever else....but it seems worse than I've ever seen it. Having a background in social work in addition to having worked in a homeless shelter, I've got to see some of the issues up close and in person. I'm not pontificating....just observing. It's deeply saddening and is a dilemma mired in so many dynamics. It scares me sometimes to think that could be me...it could be any of us. I'm glad that I have friends and family who love me.

So it's onward to Santa Barbara tonight....the town that I was super eager to leave last week! I know, I can't believe it...I'm choking on the dust, but this showcase at Good Cup with Lisa Danhi fell into my lap and I dared not resist. I just hope that I get through the town unscathed!

Thanks for reading everybody,
Damion



-with Bill at Java Joe's-Ventura, CA



- with Lindsay at Java Joe's-Ventura, CA

- Sandya and Joe-Costa Mesa, CA




-April and Kashmir-San Luis Obispo, CA



-w/Casey McDonald and Ricky Stein-Clubhouse-San Luis Obispo, CA

-w/Mathias and Casey-Clubhouse-San Luis Obispo, CA

Here's a new internet station giving me some spin @ www.freedomradio.net. Also Shane O'Donnell, a film maker I met years ago, just completed a documentary of the Pacific Crest Trail. A screening date has not been set as of yet, but I was psyched to know he included
several songs from my 2002 CD, "Here There And That Way" in the film. "Salvation, "Reckoning," "Be Your Man" and "Is Everything Enough." I don't remember how to play half of these songs anymore but I'm sure glad they still have a home somewhere. Thanks Shane.

6/19/10

Ventura is a nice little beach town about an hour north of LA. I got to skate around on Thursday, trying to relax a bit. On Friday I visited Ojai, a nice lil' California town a few miles inland. I used the day to refresh and re-focus for the next couple of shows. Java Joe's in Ventura is a relaxing cafe in South Ventura. There were very few people there but once again I tried to make the best of it. I met a very amicable guy by the name of Bill, a locally based singer-songwriter, who was great and supportive. He stayed for the whole show. I also got to meet Jason who stayed for a while and Lindsay too. As the night weaved on a small wave of others came and went. Despite the low turnout of the night I had a great time and ended up performing much longer than I anticipated. Having had some sparsity in my playing dates the last week and a half it was good to re-connect with some of the songs I hadn't played for a while. Afterwards Bill, Lindsay and I went out. It was great to connect with some new friends and learn more about this area. It gave my faith in California a bit of a re-boot.
I've been poking at a lot of material for songs on this tour, but nothing has formed into a complete tune as of yet. It takes me so long to write sometimes....it drives me crazy!! Hopefully soon something will present itself from cover to cover.

Tonight I'm opening for some bands at The Gypsy Den in Santa Ana, CA. I've heard nice things about this cafe and looking forward to the visit.

After tonight I have 3 shows tentatively booked for next week further up the coast in CA. I'll be making a decision soon about whether to stay out here or head back home for a while.

Thanks for reading,
Damion

*^$#@!!!!

Rufus Wainwright has a song about California citing the line, "...I'd rather stay in bed." Martin Sexton makes reference in his song, "Beast In Me" about leaving the sign that said Welcome To Hollywood. As I've been coasting around the belly of this beautiful, tempestuous state I now pay homage to these 2 fine writers and their 2 fine songs. With the exception of a couple of wonderful shows that I had in San Diego and San Francisco, this state is a breeding nest of heartache, and ostensibly even for those much more talented and successful than yours truly.

If I never step foot into Santa Barbara again it won't be too soon. This place smells like Macy's and looks like Disney. I played a show in a beautiful room last night called "Live Culture" run by a great guy. But honestly, I've played more livelier shows at wakes...there was very little fun about the people in this room except the conversation going on among themselves. Even the other musicians in the room seemed too cool to give any consistent love to the other performers. In a room full of posers, model wannabees and self-absorbed phantoms it's no wonder that we were vibrating on 2 different frequencies. Still none of these rich-folk could seem to dig into their pockets and cough up anything for a travelling musician doing (what I thought was) a decent show. Santa Barbara seems to be one of those towns where if you're not from there then nobody will treat you seriously. Perhaps if you spend a year there schmoozing and kissing ass, you maybe able to eventually convince one person to take you serious as an artist. Well, at this point I just had to draw on my Catholic roots and do as Jesus did- just shake dust off my shoes (okay and I threw in a couple of "Fuck You's" too...I can't help it) and get the hell outta that town. "I love California, but California is not my lover. I love California, but California don't love this brother. Ahh...California."

Tuesday I got to play at the Clubhouse hosted by the super-cool Casey MacDonald. Americana great, Bob Cheevers, was the feature that night and was a treat to watch. Real admirable guy. Casey and his girlfriend, Jane, put me up for the night. It was so great to meet and connect with such hospitable people. Thanks guys.

On a couple of other good notes there's a new internet station on the scene that's spinning some of my music. They are brand spankin' new and certainly worth a listen at www.freedomradio.net! Also thanks to DJ Duane from www.paradizeradio.com for spinning some deeper cuts off of my cd-"Do The Math" and "Mountain" to be exact. Last I checked my song, "Carry Me" had moved up to the number 1 download from my "The Collection" release on ITUNES. If you haven't had a chance to download that, or some of the other faves like "97" and "3 Again" they're all available at several download stores like AMAZON, NAPSTER, EMUSIC, RHAPSODY, MYSPACE MUSIC, etc, etc.

Ok everyone, thanks for tolerating my rant. If nothing else this whole blogging thing serves as a great way to broker my own sort of "self-therapy" while on the road. Oh and btw, since I mentioned Rufus and Martin above, please make sure you check out their artistry if you haven't already. Martin is an incredible crooner and raw performer and Rufus is hands down one of the best singer/songwriters out there.

Thanks for reading,

Damion



-w/Americana Great: Bob Cheevers and Host: Casey MacDonald

GOOD SHOW BUT WHERE'S THE RICE-A-RONI?

Had a great time chuckin' out the tunes at Paddy's Coffee on Friday. Of course, as has been on par with most of the tour, the crowd was sparse, but the crowd there was cool. Great to see Paddy excited to see me again, and also great to see my friend Debbie who was in town visiting SF from D.C. I had a great time playing too. It still good to know I am continuing to breathe some excitement into these songs after playing them for several weeks.

So as a young lad I was taught that Rice-A-Roni was the San Francisco Treat....well I've been bangin' around this town off and on for several days and I haven't seen one grain of rice. What's going on? Was my childhood television experience just a land of subterfuge with people hanging off trolleys contrived to seduce the yearnings of my appetite? I feel cheated and robbed! My innocence has been tainted. Ok, not really...but I have been randomly humming that catchy catch phrase...."rice-a-roni, the san francisco treat!"

So I got another musical comparison last week. For fun I've been keeping track of people's unsolicited comparisons of me to other artists. So far it's been Jason Mraz, Keller Williams, Phish and now adding the list: Paul Simon and Adrian Belew.

TIP FROM THE ROAD: Always, ALWAYS carry a pee-bottle. 'Nuf said.

Thanks for reading,
Damion



-w/Debbie at Paddy's Coffee-Union City, CA



-w/barista Marvin at Paddy's Coffee-Union City, CA



-w/Paddy at Paddy's, Union City, CA

HERE COMES LOVE

There is an astute profundity of weirdness in the air. It hovers at a distance, then it capricously sweeps in like a vulture, and then suddenly vanishes without any forewarning of its next infliction. I feel as if me and the world are randomly rotating through the Twilight Zone.

That being said, let me tell you about some good things. Monday I played at the Rockit Room in San Francisco. I was 3rd on the bill with Erica and The Heated. Two very distinct and talented acts....Erica was a great entertainer with a wonderful voice although perhaps a bit too self-assured. She brought in a huge crowd. As I predicted to my friend Sue, what would happen is that the crowd would gradually dissipate during The Heated's set, and then by the time it got to me hardly anyone was there. Well forget this music heartache, I'm taking up fortune-telling!

The Heated was great. What was neat is that we all brought different stylings to the set which kept it a diverse night. Of course I always hate having to follow talented women on a bill only because it's a bit intimidating (and they're much prettier than I am), but always great to hear new music. Thanks to my friend Sue and Mike Miller's (from DE) cousin, Annie, for coming out. Sue took some nice shots of the night.

Set that night was something like this:

LITTLE TINY
BE YOUR MAN
THERE IS A LIGHT
DO THE MATH
OPTION OUT
BOOMERANG DREAMER
WRAP YOU UP/SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY


Tuesday morning I left to head northward for Ashland, OR where I played for a total of 3 people at Tease. Ashland's a beautiful town amidst the crevice of two mountains. On Wednesday I did an about face and took off for Sacramento. On the way I got to stop and check out Chico which was a nice college/art town. The Coffee Garden in Sacramento had a nice vibe-as aforementioned in the nomenclature, there was a beautiful garden/patio for customers in the back and a nice cafe up front. I started off performing in the back to 3 guys who'd just graduated from High School. They were cool and hung out for the set. Afterwards I figured I would give it a shot by moving inside and doing a brief unplugged set. I enjoyed playing to a semi-indifferent patronage of about 8 in the cafe.

It's now Thursday and I've been hanging in SF all day. I had a great lunch meeting with a multi-talented guy by the name of Brendan Aanes. Brendan filled me in a little bit on music and life in the city. It's amazing how much you appreciate human contact and phone conversations when you've been away this long. I also want to send another shout out to my friends Mark and Ani for letting me crash with them for several days. Having a safe place to lay your head is a good thing.

Tomorrow I do a return engagement at Paddy's Coffee in Union City, CA. I hope it goes as well, if not better, than last time.

" Here Comes Love, saying everything that I want to hear
Here Comes Love, 'like this, like that, or I'm out of here!'
Here comes love, give me everything that I want, and I'll always love you"

I've been thinking about these lyrics recently that I heard from a new artist out of New York. Being one for contemplation, it beckons me to ponder the stylings of how we define "love" in our western (especially U.S.) culture. What is "love" and is love even sometimes really love, or just some dolled up concoction we occupy ourselves with to fill some pre-ordained illusion/delusion of happiness?

TIPS FROM THE ROAD:
If you're forced to travel hotel free for a couple of days, stopping at hostels for a shower is usually a pretty
good deal. I've conjured a shower for as low as 3 bucks and so far they've been clean and efficient.

Thanks for reading everyone. I really do appreciate all of you that have been checking in!

Damion



-w/melissa at tease-ashland, or



- w/sue at rockit room-sf

-w/annie at rockit room-sf

-jammin' at rockit room-sf (photo by sue eich)

-rockit room-(photo by sue eich)

-on the table at rockit room-sf (photo by sue eich)

-brendan in SF

-w/guys at coffee garden-sacramento

-more guys at coffee garden-sacramento

Hey From San Francisco. It's an awesome day, with the weather hovering in the '70s and a nice breeze. Although I've been to SF several times before I'd forgotten how beautiful it is. I'm really hoping that the doldrums of some tough gigs last week will shake off and I'll emerge into a good groove tonight with my show at The Rockit Room.
Speaking of last week, the saving grace of the week was my show at Brainwash Cafe in SF. It was a very responsive crowd and it was also great to see some people that I know: Mark, Ani, Sue, Karyn and Jessica and meet a couple of new folks as well. It was a fun set and it went something like this:

LITTLE TINY
WORLD WAS BETTER
BE YOUR MAN
SOME MORE
CARRY ME
BOOMERANG DREAMER
WRAP YOU UP/SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY
MOUNTAIN

Afterwards a bunch of us went out for a drink (I had fruit juice since I was driving), but it was great to get out with some people. Saturday at Cafe Azul was horrible. 3 people came in who didn't stay and the rest of the time it was dead. Thank goodness that the sweet & smart barista girl, Kelly, was clapping for me or I might have lost my mind at that point. It's always strange when you're playing a venue (for free) and the owners don't even clap for you. After that I called it quits and left early. I think having the day off Sunday was good for my soul just to relax, do breakfast with Sue, and then catch some dinner with Mark & Ani. It was the worst week of the tour. I've noticed that people out here (more than other places) may be really digging your music but they're very aloof/stand-offish after the show and some don't seem to understand the concept of tipping.

After tonight I head up to Ashland, OR and then Sacramento. I'm looking forward to the chance to play some more shows this week. One of the most rewarding things of touring for me is the opportunity to play a set of my own music every night. Regardless of how the crowd responds afterward, I'm thankful for the opportunity!!

TIP FROM THE ROAD: **If someone offers you a place to crash, take it (unless they reek of psycho or mal-intent)!

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone is well,
Damion



-w/Jess at Brainwash Cafe-San Francisco



-Ani and Mark at Brainwash Cafe-San Francisco



-at Brainwash Cafe



-w/Karyn and Sue at Brainwash Cafe

-having karaoke proclivities-San Francisco-Brainwash Cafe

BUSKER'S BLOG

Well, I finally did it....I went out to Union Square in San Francisco to busk today. Of course within the first 2 minutes I was told I couldn't busk in the square but I could on the sidewalk. The guy was very cool and helpful. I shuffled over to the sidewalk, where I played for about 45 minutes and made a whoppin' $2.90. Fortunately S.F. authorities are busker friendly, but most people walkin' by didn't seem to care. Afterwards I scooted over to another area but that was taken up by a guy doing a cool banjo/bass drum/tambourine/vocal thing. He was great!

So far the Bay Area is not my friend. I played last night to a polite, but very, very cheap crowd (the cheapest one yet of this tour) at Red Rock in Mountain View. Tuesday night in Newport Beach was just plain weird. At the risk of sounding unprofessional and whiny I'll leave it at that. I will say that it was great to meet Dan Krikorian-really nice guy with a good voice. And, it was great to see my friends Joe and Sandya who let me crash with them for a couple of nights. It was nice to sleep in a bed and use a real shower. Thanks, too, to my friends Mark and Ani up here in the Bay Area who came out last night and let me crash with them for several days!!

Not to help matters after I'd groggily wrestled my way out of LA traffic yesterday I got a mega-speeding ticket. Was not cool and I was honestly just pissed at myself more than anything. 2 great things did happen out of yesterday though-despite the weird crowd at Red Rock I had a great time performing and was pretty happy with my performance. Got to play some songs I haven't performed much on this tour like "Small Museum" and "97."The other thing is that I had some technical difficulties on Tues. night with the pick-up in my Santa Cruz Guitar. It was serendipitous that I was heading in the direction of Santa Cruz that afternoon and they were gracious enough to let me come by so they could take a look at it. They are a super great guitar company. Steven totally set me up and the bonus is that I got to meet Richard, the owner, as well as one of the original members of the Ventures-Nokie Edwards. He and his wife were super cool to me!! Santa Cruz is a great company that hand builds their guitars and I think only make about 600 a year.

***As I've mentioned before I try to be as straightforward as I can be (within reason) in my blog, but sometimes that doesn't always equate to a "good time" or "happy, fluffy moments" (I feel like a chris farley sketch with all the quotes!) so please don't be alarmed. I think it's important to know and share that life on the road is not always a blast....sometimes it completely sucks, you get home-sick, tired, hungry, poor, and downright grumpy sometimes. It makes me totally understand why so many major touring acts have chemical dependency issues. Other than that, it's fun!!!

Thanks for reading,
Damion



-Richard (owner of Santa Cruz Guitars) and The Ventures' own Nokie Edwards @ Santa Cruz Guitar Co.

-Steven, The True Mr. Awesome himself, at Santa Cruz Guitars

More pix of Damion's Boomerang Dreamer Cross Country Tour are available here.

UPDATES:

Hi Everyone. I'm getting ready for my "BOOMERANG DREAMER CROSS COUNTRY TOUR 2010" commencing on May 2 in Baltimore, MD @ Hon Bar (7pm). Returning to some familiar venues in places like Des Moines, Seattle, Oregon, San Diego, and performing in a lot of great new venues as well in Chicago, Minneapolis, Indiana, Pittsburgh, and several on the West Coast.
I will be updating my blog from the road. Also, I'm doing my annual tour postcard send to the first 20 people that would like for me to drop them a good ol' fashioned snail mail postcard from the road, just send me your mailing address to damionwolfe@hotmail.com.

This tour will feature many brand new songs on my end, and some new electronic additions. I've added a loop station to my vocal set-up and will be incorporating it into the show with some of the new and old songs. With the ubiquity of loops these days I promise not to go overboard in using them. Just enough to keep it interesting and fun.

The tour begins soon. I hope to see you out there. Click here to see the tour dates.

ParadizeRadio.com is spinning Damion's Carry Me. They're a great radio station based out of Canada.

MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC....

For the last year I've had a CD available at live shows simply entitled "Damion Wolfe". This release is a remastered sampling of songs from the 3 previously released. Also available for all Maryland lovers is the single "How I Love My Maryland" which has gotten play at Orioles' games, the radio, and the Governors Conference on tourism (see below). If you can't pick up a cd, my full collection of 33 songs is available for download (individual songs or the full sha-bang) @ Itunes, Napster, Emusic, Lala, Rhapsody, Amazon and several other online music stores. Some of the most requested songs from the last tour were: Carry Me, Choosing Matter, and 97.


OTHER AVAILS....

For the last year or so I've been writing songs that I hope to market to Nashville, Publishers and Artists looking for songs. These are songs that I don't usually perform out because their focus is geared to a specific audience and style of writing. I'm also still on my quest to get songs and music into film and t.v. If anyone happens to be interested in any of these kind of things or may know someone who is please feel free to drop a line.

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE MARTIN

CDs available here

You can request DW tunes at:

WRNR, 103.1
ANNAPOLIS,MD
Requests during Damien Einstein's Show,
Monday-Thursday, 7p-12a
410-269-1031

and at

WTMD-FM, Towson, MD
410-704-8936

Interviews from the Artist Profile Series archived here.

Damion's newest bumper stickers have arrived and are now available at all DW shows free of charge. It was designed by New Haven, CT's own, James Polisky (WWW.JAMESPOLISKY.COM). If you like the look, feel free to grab one at a show and support DW!

We're also excited to announce Damion's digital release to several on-line stores on the internet.All of Damion's previously recorded material is now available at several sites including:

I-Tunes
Rhapsody
Napster
Sony
Audio Lunchbox
Imeem
eMusic
Music Now
Snocap
Amazon

etc. for .99 cent downloads per song. Please take a second to visit one of the sites for a purchase of your favorite DW song, and even write a review!