So, it's going to be a good week, I think. I am typing this from the back yard of a house in Jersey City, with little dogs sniffing around my bare feet and, literally, a couple roosters making a lot of noise just over the fence. Light breeze, easy temperature, the night off, and a lot to report and announce.

Had a wild weekend. A couple gigs in Mass. with the Adaptables in Salem and Gloucester that went pretty well. The little thing I have going with the Adaptables very well might turn into a bigger thing, not just a simpler way to play up in New England. I may have mentioned some of that in the last blog, so instead of being a broken record, if you'd like to know more, please scroll down.

Anyway, we had a couple great gigs. Afterwards, I had to high tail it back to Jersey for Easter and an evening radio spot on 90.5 The Night with Stu Coogan (which was pretty fun, by the way).

I did, however, get home early enough to run over to the Stone Pony for a crazy packed show featuring Keller Williams, and one of my favorites, the Juggling Suns (www.jugglingsuns.com). Dude, Juggling always delivers for me, and more specifically, Mark Diomede. This man is a bad-assed guitar player. So bad-assed that in over fifteen years of seeing him perform, with Juggling and the precursor, Solar Circus, I have never stopped thinking of this guy like a hero. Talk about underappreciated. When Asbury Park throws its yearly Awards Thing and people start thinking about the who's who of local guitar players, Mark Diomede's name, albeit absent from nominations, very humbly gets up and schools people. Though line-ups change, I can always count on some wild, otherworldly playing that is exciting, sophisticated and just plain fucking cool. Thank you Mark, you're the man.

Some readers may remember me talking about Indie Solutions, my little company, some moths ago. Well, it's still plugging along, under the radar and getting good results. We just got word that a pretty good blues act we pitched to a pretty sweet gig got hired, an artist we've been working with just got some designs picked up and have gone global and probably the most exciting news is that, I, James Dalton, officially will be doing a little overseas run of dates called The Silent Station Tour running through Germany and the Czech Republic.

I am really excited about it, and what's more, keeping true to the spirit of Indie Solutions, all the shows have been booked DIY. There will be no outside producer, etc. Just me. Keeping things in the hands of artists is pretty cool. It can't be done all the time, but when it does happen, it's time to rejoice.

Anyway, it's been ages since I've played for some of these people over there. In fact, the last time I played in Germany, I was in this cool little club called the Penitzebuhne in Nurnberg owned by this hip German Deadhead who totally says to me, "So James, I see on the internet that you have played with the Juggling Suns." My jaw drops and he proceeds to click play on his computer and the sounds of my harmonica and Mark's guitar playing intertwining at a Juggling show at the Stone Pony, in Asbury Park, like a year or so before, come through the speakers.

As we listened, I felt like a rock star, but even more I was stoked that Juggling was not just a band who's guitarist lived the next town over from me. That, suddenly, they were a band to name drop overseas in other countries, far, far away.

Fuck yeah, go Jersey.

Questions? Comments? [email protected].

The Silent Station Tour Dates

April 30th Indra Music Club - Hamburg
May 1st Bar Cabanna - Hamburg
May 4th the Globe - Prague
May 6th Blumen Jungeggers - Schwabach
May 7th Weisses Ross - Immeldorf
May 9th Scruffy's Irish Pub - Karlsruhe