Greetings from the Cigarette Capital of the United States

[bassist_25]

...because I'm vain enough to think people in cyberland care about what's going on in my personal life. But for those who do want to humor my ego...

I've been in North Carolina for about a month and a half now, and things are going pretty well. The weather's great, and now I can go outside during the day without needing a coat. However, when an average snow storm does hit, it can be a major event. A snow storm hit the day before I got here, and I had to call on some rally driving techniques to get around. They don't use road salt and aren't really equipped for heavy snow. It really made me appreciate PENNDot and the local PA boroughs, because those cats are often lambasted when things go wrong once in a while and are never praised when things go right.

The city is pretty cool. The roads are unnecessarily wide (i.e., three and four lanes per direction), which means there's rarely any serious road congestion. In my experiences in the South, people are more courteous and laidback drivers than in the North. Downtown is a breeze to drive in with low traffic density and a well-thought out road system. Winston-Salem is pretty spread out and doesn't really have a "city feel" to it. Most everyone I've come in contact with have been incredibly nice.

The gig is pretty cool. I'm slowly being worked into the agency and learning the procedures.

I've been slowly checking out the cultural things on the weekend. I've yet to experience any live music, but that's definitely on my list. I haven't touched a bass in over a month and a half, and it's been really nice. All of my equipment is sitting in my father's house back in Houtzdale right now. I was pretty burned out on music by the time I left Pennsylvania. I'm definitely contemplating my return to music, but right now, I'm fine just chilling until the time is right again to get in a room or on a stage with some cats and make sound again. I do still frequent Rockpage, and it looks like the scene's going through some changes. I don't recognize the names of a lot of the up and coming bands. That's music, though: always something or someone new.

While I don't miss the weather, I do miss the other things about Pennsylvania. I really miss living in Indiana. I've applied to a doctoral program back in Pennsylvania, so hopefully I'll be back to go through the exciting process of comprehensive exams and defending a dissertation proposal.

I hope everything is going well with everyone here. Without sounding fruity ( ), I do often think about the people I've met here and through music in PA.

[f.sciarrillo]

Where you are now is a whole different world away from where you once were. If you ever get a change, check out Atlanta; I know it is a little bit of a drive from where you are now. All you have to do is get on 85 and it it takes you right to it. It is a beautiful area. I am contemplating Atlanta or Miami when I get my degree.

[Bag]

People down there will actually pull off the side of the road to let a faster vehicle go by too! Blows my mind every time I'm down that way.

Miss you on stage little brother! Hope things are going the way you want. I just saw Bad Daze for the first time since you left and Kent did an awesome job filling in. Still seemed a little strange without you.

Keep in touch, my friend!

[THEM BONES]

Good luck with everything my brother! Sounds like things are going well for you as we all knew they would. Like Bag said, Kent is kicking ass on bass but you are still missed by all of us. Good luck man, and keep in touch.

[RFBuck]

Isn't great down there, Paul?? I was always amazed at the general attitude everywhere I went in that region, and especially at the drivers. No rush, no one up your ass tailgating. I actually had to re-adjust as I brought my driving habits with me and probably looked like a total ass.
And what amazed me was they had slow down lanes for turning...even on two lane roads!! (at least in a few states) Now why hasn't that caught on everywhere?? That's what keeps things flowing so nice down there...someone used their brain when it came to road building.
Good that you put the bass down...sometimes the best way to stay in love with something is to walk away for awhile. Jake E. Lee left it alone for years after Ozzy until Ray Gillen pestered the crap outta him & he did the Badlands thing...which turned out pretty good in my opinion.
I've always wanted to move that way...I detest this state and should I ever save up enough to do so & find a good secure job, my ass is outta here and I'll never look back. I made a promise to myself this cesspool will not have my cold dead body in its soil.

[songsmith]

Hit the folk-scene clubs, Paul. NC is the epicenter of a new acoustic revival... Asheville is the new Seattle, many of the hottest new bands are coming out of there. It's not really bluegrass, although it generally uses BG instrumentation... it's more of a Rusty Gun Revival sort of thing, usually more staccato and driving the beat. It's college-oriented, and lots of groups feature female members.
Some of the best BG in the world still comes from there, too. Pretty much any BG fest you attend will be excellent, for the same reason there's so much good Renaissance art in Rome: that's where it was invented (generally speaking).
Have fun, man. I almost moved there in the late 80's, it's a cool place.--->JMS

[Hawk]

Good to hear from you Paul. I'm glad all is well with you. Take Care.

[bassist_25]

Isn't great down there, Paul?? I was always amazed at the general attitude everywhere I went in that region, and especially at the drivers. No rush, no one up your ass tailgating. I actually had to re-adjust as I brought my driving habits with me and probably looked like a total ass.
And what amazed me was they had slow down lanes for turning...even on two lane roads!! (at least in a few states) Now why hasn't that caught on everywhere?? That's what keeps things flowing so nice down there...someone used their brain when it came to road building.

That has totally been my experience, Buck. Whoever did the civil engineering were practical and had heads on their shoulders. Like I said, most of the main roads in town are 6 - 8 lanes. There could easily be four lanes everywhere, and the drivers would manage; however, there is hardly any cogestion, even during rush hour. Most of the roads are divided by a low median. Every quarter or half mile, there's a left lane dedicated just to making U-turns. Plus, you can do U-turns off of traffic lights in normal interesections so as long as you're in the left-most lane. It took me a day or two to figure that out, but when I did, it made driving incredibly easy. Also, it makes getting on the road from a store or something a lot easier as well. Back in Pennsylvania, I didn't like to try left turns in high traffic areas unless I had an arrow. If there wasn't an arrow, oftentimes, I'd turn right, go down the road a bit, and find a parking lot or something where I could turn around and go in the other direction. That's not a problem here, because I can just turn right, find the U-turn lane that's always just right down the road, and be on my way in the opposite direction.

Hey Johnny, I take it you're talking about a lot of the bands listed at this place: http://www.the-garage.ws/ That venue looks really cool and I want to check it out. There also seems to be sort of this quasi-funk thing going on here. One of my colleagues told me that they have jazzfests and things like that downtown in the warmer months, so I'm planning on checking some of those out as well.

[DMFJ03]

If you get the chance to check out Barefoot Wade, do so. He's a great guy, and full of humor. Always puts a smile on people's faces.