Miss Tess: Blog

You know how they tell you to picture everyone in your audience naked to beat stage fright? At our first show of August tour, we didn’t have to. Sometimes you take gigs for the experience. So when we got an offer to play at a nudist festival in Paw Paw, West Virginia, I said yes. It was kind of cold and rainy that day, so people wore panchos and t-shirts, but no pants. They seemed really against pants. I don’t think we’ll go back anytime soon, but it’ll be a good story for the grandkids. The moral of the story is that it is easy to play for naked people; the hard part is when you have to sign autographs afterward. Sorry, they wouldn't let us take any pictures. We left immediately after our set and drove nine hours to Chicago.

We rolled out of our price-lined hotel room the next morning early enough to make it to sound check at Millennium Park. The city of Chicago hosts daily free afternoon concerts here and we were the lucky band that got to play that day. We [...]

On March 4, 2010 another tour began. This time, we started in Ashland, Virginia. We played at a nice listening room called Ashland Coffee & Tea. The most impressive thing about this venue was the railroad tracks that ran right beside it. Periodically, our sound would be muddled by the sound of a train whistle and wheels whistling over the tracks. These train tracks run right through the middle of town and actually serve as a lane divider on the main street, to the dismay of one drunk redneck who decided to drive his truck straight across the tracks for a u turn. He got the wheels of his truck to straddle the tracks as a train was approaching. Luckily some observant townspeople noticed, ran down the tracks, and managed to stop the train from smashing into the truck. The also managed to convince the guy to get out of the truck. We dedicated “Train Ride to Caroline” to him during our set.
 
After the show we drove 2 hours to stay with our friend Jeremiah in [...]

Our tour this time started in Frederick, MD. Who would think there would be such a nice little music venue in the town we used to call “Fredneck” growing up as Marylanders. We had a great time playing at Café Nola, and even got to participate in an after hours bar top dance party!
 
The next day we drove to Norfolk, VA to play. It was really cold and there was an impending snow storm, so we weren’t sure if anyone would turn out. We were pleasantly surprised by a big crowd that night. It might be a small beach town, but we always do well there for some reason. There are videos from that night here --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwS_5hmgnIs
 
It wasn’t until the next day that we got slammed with snow. The Virginia folk had bought up all the bread and tp, and we got out of town in the morning and drove 8 hours in the snow until we got to Charlotte. It didn’t really matter how long it took, because our gig was cancelled anyway. [...]

I just wanted to send a message out to the general press. First we're called "Miss Tess & The Bon Bons: Vintage Bluegrass with a Modern Egde" in an ocean side tourist restaurant in Florida. Then in Asheville we were listed as a "formidable Celtic Rock Trio" for our gig at Jack of the Wood. Now on pg. 63 on this week's issue of The Village Voice, we are listed as "Miss Ten & Bon Parade" for our appearance at the City Winery. Thanks guys - you're really doing a good job.

And so began another journey with The Bon Ton Parade, Ben, Alec, and Matt...This tour started November 5th, 2009, in the hills of West Virginia, home of one of my favorite hauntings, The Purple Fiddle. We carried on, played music, drank local moonshine, and called it a night. It snowed.
 
The next day we drove seven hours to Salisbury, NC. The good thing about long car trips is that you have plenty of time to practice harmony vocals with your backing band while enjoying some lovely fall scenery. That night we played at an artist collective gallery space, and played for a sparse crowd in a new town.
 
Then came Asheville, another one of my favorite places. Such a cute little town nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. You can't throw a rock without hitting a musician there. Another perk is you can iron your suit jackets on the large iron in the middle of  town. Tonight we played at a cozy spot called Jack of the Wood and had a great time! Ben & Alec were [...]