Catching My Breath

Whew! It's been a whirlwind of activity these past few weeks....
Recent touring has seen Hot Buttered Rum all over the West and taken us to the great states of Georgia and Florida.
A two-week tour with the Chicago band, Cornmeal, started in Denver. It was the biggest show of the whole tour on night one! We love our
Colorado crew and the evening set the tone for the whole tour. Everywhere we stopped there were people there to welcome us with open arms.
We stopped at Mystic Hot Springs in Southern Utah and played an intimate show after an epic soak on a red rock hillside.
Two nights in Salt Lake City showed us that the live music scene is strong in that community. We were hosted by a kind couple who served an
amazing dinner to some weary musicians and pumped up locals, ready to throw down!
Portland proved once again that Hot Buttered Rum and Cornmeal are bands whose music is appreciated and respected. I love that city and
I had some amazing Lebanese food with my wife and the woman who married us! Love you Annie!!
Bellingham was maybe the sleeper show of the run. A raging Sunday night with a bunch of crazy caped Canadians who made it feel like a
weekend blowout! Our friend runs an ice cream shop called Mallards, truly great ice cream, and she brought 6 pints down to the venue. Nothing like
a post-show ice cream orgy!!
Other tour highlights include free dumplings after the Bend show, another early-week dance party! A sold-out Arcata show that got the California leg of the tour going...
A memorable show at the Great American Music Hall that made me proud to be from the Bay Area. The music fans here are so passionate and help push us to new musical
boundaries. The tour closed in Lake Tahoe and we had our best show there to date! It was a snowy drive home but the Sierras were looking beautiful...
A few days later...
We flew to Atlanta! The Spirit of Suwannee Springfest was the next stop. This is a phenomenal festival and the lineup had some of our best friends! Emmitt-Nershi band, Greensky Bluegrass, Larry Keel, Elephant Revival, and more...We played two sets and the fine folks in the Southeast sopped us up! Really good reception to our vibe and I felt so lucky to be able to play music for so many first-timers. We drove back to Atlanta and played a show at a club called Olde Smith's Bar. It went well and we teamed up with Elephant Revival and The Old Cavalry for a rockin' triple-bill. Hope we can get back to the area soon!
I'm writing you now from my apartment in the East Bay and am getting ready for a couple local events.
This Saturday, Hot Buttered Rum is playing in Felton, near Santa Cruz, at a club called Don Quixote's. Another great band is joining us called The Brothers Comatose. We teamed up with them before and enjoyed their sound immensely! hotbutteredrum.net for info.
Then next Friday, Kinky Buddha will be joined by the Sleeping Giants in San Francisco with special guest Nat Keefe at the Brick and Mortar. This is a benefit for the Belize Barrier Reef. aaronredner.com for more info.
No rest for us though...a two-week run through the Northeast and the Midwest in April is on the horizon....Whew!!

Love to all!
Aaron