Road Trip Recap... by Jim

It's hard to believe it's been a year since my friend Matt and I took one of our musical road trips, otherwise known as Cephas and Milo's Rusty Strings Roadshow. (I'm Milo, in case you're wondering.) Well, it was that time again already. Since I've had very little time to practice, I really felt that I was putting the "rusty" in Rusty Strings Roadshow, but it was still a blast.

This is something that we've been doing for six years now. It was actually an idea of Carrie's. Since Matt and I live so far apart, she suggested that we take a weekend road trip. Over time it has turned into a really fun excursion.

The original idea was to pick an interesting route and plan some music gigs at a few locations-playing for tips, food or whatever people would pay us. The first two years, we went to Williamsport, PA and Hocking Hills, OH. The third trip, we ventured out the Lincoln Highway to Chambersburg, PA and Hagerstown, MD. We had such a great time at these locations that we have been back to Hagerstown for the last four years.

This year's trip started out in Pittsburgh, actually. Matt came down Friday afternoon and we played an all-acoustic show at Big Dog Coffee, on Pittsburgh's Southside. It's a beautiful shop with great food and drinks. The owners, Nikolay and Cortney were extrememly nice and we hope to return soon. A big shout-out to Carrie, Pastor Bill and my friend Barb for stopping by. Be sure to visit BIG DOG COFFEE on Sarah Street.

You can't really miss the sign...

Cephas & Milo in the flesh...

Matt, er...Cephas, and Barb hanging out after the show...

Inside Big Dog Coffee...

As is typical in the Southside, parking can be hard to come by... I like the double signs.

Then it was on to Hagerstown. Despite bald tires and a perpetually "on" Check Engine light, the 1998 Ford Escort sputtered it's way to our destination. Carrie booked Matt and I a nice room at the Hagerstown Hotel - we even got to play at an open mic they had in the lounge Friday night.

Potomac Street...

After our complimetary continental breakfast, it was on to play at the Gourmet Goat Restaurant and Bar. It's a cool place - awesome food and great owners, Paul and Steve. We have now played there three years in a row. We schedule our trip during the weekend of the Maryland Blues Festival, so there is always tons of people in the city and a great musical buzz about the town.

A clip of "Midnight Special" (click below) ...

Me playing a solo (click below) ...

One of the best things about doing this is all of the nice people that we've met. It's cool that people remember us from previous years and come out to see us again, or buy our t-shirts and Matt's CDs. I hope this is something that we are able to do for a long time to come.

Check out Matt's music at myspace.com/matttexter.