jimmy goes country!

i attended my first ever country western concert last night. i went to see my good friend, Brandon Bush, who, when not playing with Train, tours with his brother's band, Sugarland. They opened for Kenny Chesney last night in Las Vegas. it was actually very entertaining! i have to admit, i'm not a big fan of country music, but i had a really great time last night. Sugarland are a very good band. good songs. not the whiny traditional country crap that i tend to associate country music with. it actually felt more like a rock show. Jennifer and Kristian, Brandon's brother, are very good entertainers and super sweet people. and Kenny Chesney was very enjoyable, as well. he had an amazing production. very impressive. i'm not sure, though, if that song, "You Make my Tractor Sexy" is about a girl or a guy. actually, it doesn't really matter. he seems like a very nice, extremely wealthy guy. chicks dig him. all in all, i had a pretty fantastic time at my first country western concert. and no, i didn't wear a cowboy hat! speaking of hats...i'm getting ready to watch the Kentucky Derby. what's with the hats? it's kinda silly. i realize it's a tradition and all, but did these women look in a mirror before they left home? i don't know, it kinda seems like a lot of hubub for a simple horse race. am i missing something here? why am i watching this?! nobody watches horse racing until the Kentucky Derby, and then we all tune in for some reason! and some of those hats are just ridiculous. i mean, i love hats on a woman, but...anyway, it was great chatting with Brandon after the show last night, too. i miss that guy. he's a sweetheart.

i was in Chicago last week, writing. i flew there after a short trip to Atlanta, where i performed with Pat at a charity event, which was nice. it's always good to see Pat and catch up. before the event, we had the pleasure of meeting Michael McDonald, Garth Brooks, and Trisha Yearwood. Johnny Colt was also in attendance, as was Brendan O'Brien. in Chicago, i mostly worked on my book, though i did go out on monday night to see an old friend perform an acoustic set at a small downtown club. i ended up sitting in and playing guitar with the headling band, which was fun. i'm always hungry after playing the guitar, for some reason. so, me and a few friends went down the street to a famous Chicago blues bar called the Kingston Mines, where we ate ribs, and drank until very late. Muddy Waters Junior was performing. i don't get out much these days, so it was an interesting week for me. gotta go. it's almost race time, and then i'm taking my daughter to see Spiderman 3.



Go Bulls!!
talk to you later...
jimmy

Gettin' old!

Thank you all for the birthday messages! I wish you could all be in Atlanta to buy me a drink tonight! I'm here for the Recording Academy Honors Awards. Pat and I will perform one song acoustically in honor of Mike Clark who passed away earlier this year. Mike was the owner of Southern Tracks Studios in Atlanta, where Train recorded three records. Pearl Jam, the Black Crowes, Stone Temple Pilots, and Bruce Springsteen are among the many other incredible artists who have recorded at Southern Tracks over the years. Mike was a very respected figure in the Atlanta music scene for many many years, and an amazingly wonderful human being. He will be missed.

So, that's what I will be doing tonight on my birthday. It should actually be a very nice event. It'll be nice to see Pat, as always. We'll get to dine together at a table with Mr. Brendan O'Brien, producer extraordinaire, who will present an award to Mike Clark's widow. Tomorrow, I'm off to visit my parents in Morris, Illinois, and then I'll spend a few days writing at my Chicago condo. I'm going to a White Sox game Saturday night, which should be fun. They're playing the Angels, who apparently still play "Calling all Angels" every time they take the field when they're at home in Anaheim. Monday night I'm planning to check out an old friend of mine, Al Morphew, who is performing an acoustic set at the Elbo Room. He'll also be at Uncommon Grounds tomorrow night, Friday, if you're looking for something to do. He's a talented guy. Anyway, later next week I will return to Las Vegas and will be seeing Mr. Brandon Bush, who is touring with his brother's band, Sugarland. They'll be opening for Kenny Chesney. I'm not a very big country guy, so it should be interesting. Maybe i'll wear my cowboy boots and hat! Oh wait, I don't own cowboy boots or a hat.

That's all for now. The book writing is coming along very, very well, and things are also starting to come together on the business end as well. I will keep you posted as things develop more. Take care...

your friend, who is only a day older than yesterday,
Jimmy

Cubs, Train, and Pat

Just a quick note to let you know what I'm up to for the next few weeks.

I'm taking my daughter to see the Chicago Cubs in Las Vegas tonight. They're playing their final two spring training games against the Seattle Mariners here in Sin City. Hot dogs and cotton candy...should be a good time.

Train is getting together this Sunday in Laguna Beach, California to play a private corporate show. We played two private shows in Florida last weekend and had a really good time. It was great to see the guys and to play music in front of a live audience again. I don't typically look forward to playing these corporate shows, as they can sometimes be a little stuffy, but last weekend's shows were a blast, and so I find myself very much looking forward to going to California this weekend. I will actually be staying in L.A. for a few extra days to play guitar on a few songs on Pat's solo record, which I am also very much looking forward to. From what I hear, the songs he's recording are really great. I have no doubt. But they'll be even better when I get through with them!

Yeah, well, that's about all for now. After the trip to L.A., I plan to stick around Las Vegas for a few weeks and get some writing done. Later in the month, on my birthday actually, Pat and I will fly to Atlanta to perform acoustically at a private charity event, but that's about the only traveling I plan to do in the month of April. I think I will wait until early May to visit my place in Chicago again. Maybe I'll go there from Atlanta. Yeah, that's the ticket! Jon Lovitz. I'm making very good progress on my book and am starting to actively shop for a publishing deal. I'm still looking at an early 2008 release date. We'll see how it goes.

Have a good weekend!
Jimmy

Prince and Red Carpet Talk

hi everybody. did you remember to move your clocks ahead? okay then.

it's a gorgeous day in las vegas today. i haven't gotten out to enjoy it yet, but i do plan to head to starbucks soon. i slept in today, because of the time change and a very late night last night. i went to see Prince in a small club. he's been playing in vegas every weekend for a few months now. my theory is that he's warming up for his upcoming tour, which, judging by last night's performance, should be amazing! and what's with that guy? he doesn't seem to age! i kept waiting to see if he would do the splits like in that one video, but he didn't. he's still got the moves, though, and his band was incredibly tight. and even though he mostly played new material with only snipets of three old hits, it was a thrill to see him so up close and personal. i'm pretty sure one of his hot, sexy dancing girls wanted me. i don't know. i was dressed up pretty nice last night. maybe i was imagining it. i can't remember. i had a few drinks at the wine tasting dinner i went to before the show, where i sat at a table with a very nice couple who were at Train's Warfield performance in San Francisco years ago when we filmed our DVD. they told me that Prince's sexy dancing girls would probably think i was cute. so, whatever.

i just finished doing a phone interview with Red Carpet Talk. the incredibly beautiful Lisa Cash interviewed me. i know, it was phone interview, but i saw her picture on MySpace. trust me, she's hot! anyway, i believe it's an audio interview that will air this wednesday for a week on www.redcarpettalk.com. we spoke about the band, the book, and possibly spending the rest of our lives together. just kidding! really, i'm kidding. i'm a kidder. i was thinking it, but i didn't SAY it! geez. what kind of a guy do you think i am?! hey, did i tell you i saw Prince last night? he was good. really good. oh, and did you notice that there is a MySpace fansite for me? yep. my very own fansite. i think that's pretty cool. everybody should have one. and no, i didn't make it for myself! a "fan" did. see? i told you i had fans, Bob. asshole.

talk to you all later...

jimmy

TRAIN NEWS

Hey everybody! just wanted to drop a line to keep you posted on what's going on in the Train world. Pat has decided to record a solo CD this year. he plans to release it later this summer, tour a bit, and then return to Train. the other band members, including myself, support his decision and wish him the best of luck. after all, a crappy solo release won't help Train one bit! Go Pat! in the meantime, i am focused on finishing my novel with hopes of having it published in early 2008. i'm very excited about how the book is progressing so far and can't wait to share some of it with you. i am planning to host an online chat sometime soon, to answer questions about the band and the book. i will post a bulletin with the specifics when i get it together and will look forward to speaking with all of you then. talk to you soon...

jimmy

my first effort

this is my first ever posting on this blog site! i was introduced to this site by a friend who thought it would be a good place, outside of the band website, for me to keep in touch with fans and friends. as you know (or maybe you don't!), I am the guitarist for the rock band, TRAIN. we are on a bit of a hiatus this year as we have decided to take some much needed time off to pursue our own personal endeavors. for me, this means writing the book that I have always dreamed of writing. loosely based on real people and real events in my life, the book is a fictional novel that I began writing in June, 2006 while on tour with the band.

titled “The Guitar on the Wall," the book is a coming of age story about a teenage boy who decides to write a book about his famous father, a rock star who died alongside his band mates in a bizarre tour bus accident three months before he was born. With the help of his high school English teacher and an offbeat ex-superfan, the charismatic and talented Samuel Wilson Gonzalez embarks on a fact-finding journey to unearth the life of a man he never knew. His research takes him deep into an unfamiliar world of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, where he discovers the truth about his father and the world at large – finding himself along the way.

I am very excited and enthusiastic about how this book is coming together so far. the characters are very real and believable, while the story itself is developing better than I could have ever imagined. I am currently spending my time writing between homes in Las Vegas and Chicago, with plans to have the book published in early 2008. I would like to use this blog site, or whatever the hell it is (I'm very unfamiliar to this whole "blog" world), to keep in touch with TRAIN fans, friends, and new fans of "The Guitar on the Wall." check back often, or subscribe, or whatever you have to do to remain in touch with me. you can also visit me on www.myspace.com/jimmystafford1. thanks, and pleasant dreams.

jimmy