Jon Troast

Texas part 2

jon — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:18:54 +0000

Man, that tour was a blast! Texas is big, and the range of experience it offers is big too. A few examples- I learned about being a stunt man. I ate some delicious barbecue. I met a dog who can run up a tree. I heard a story of a man who fell five stories and didn’t break a bone. I learned about restoring old cars. I fell in love with someone’s daughter…oh wait.
I’ll let you guess which photo goes with each story. Thank you Texas!

Texas Troast

jon — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:31:54 +0000

I’m right in the middle of the Texas Troast tour. Having a great time! The first leg of the tour was the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Here are some of the group photos. Some of these groups include people I’ve met before, some I met for the first time. It’s pretty cool when people open their doors and let you in on their lives. The “crazy” version of these groups can be seen on facebook or twitter .

Music making

jon — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:51:06 +0000

It’s been a busy couple weeks! Here’s a quick summary, in alphabetical order?

I played a show in Akron Ohio. It was a surprise a guy planned for his wife. Very cool! Here’s a link to some video footage of the surprise.

The “B” cd will be on iTunes THIS TUESDAY, Jan. 17!

The “C” cd will be out in the next couple months. In the meanwhile, I got together with some folks to record some live performance videos for a couple songs on “C”. Pictured here are Stacy Lantz, Andy Osenga, myself, and Grant Howard. (not pictured, but equally important, Jeremy Bose and Ozro Davis). I’m excited for you to see the final product!

Andy Osenga and I have also been working on “D”, which will be out a few months after “C”. It’s so fun being in the studio with people as creative as Andy. Here he is playing some stand-up funky Rhodes (electric piano). The mandolin on the wall might have also made it onto the recording. Stay tuned, and thanks for listening!

In the running (like a horse)

jon — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:30:37 +0000

Breaking news! I’m in the running for Singer/Songwriter Discovery of the Year on Sirius XM’s “The Coffeehouse”. I’d love all the support I can get! It takes about 10 seconds to vote and requires no registration, etc. Here’s the link. Please vote as often as they’ll let you. I think the voting goes until the end of the year. Spread the word. Thanks!

In other news, I played some house shows recently. At an orthodontist’s house in Vestavia Hills, AL-

For the good mountain folk on Monte Sano in Huntsville, AL-

And out in the country of Bells, TN-

All of them were uniquely a blast! Maybe even more fun than having a magic mirror horse-

Probably not so magical if you still need to stop for gas:)
It does bring up a good question though. Would you rather be a horse made of mirrors so people could see themselves in you or a horse made of glass so people could see the world through you? Personally, I’d rather be a person than a horse:)

A Ford commercial

jon — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:47:29 +0000

Big milestone for the old Ford Focus station wagon. 200k!

I’m so grateful for such a reliable ride. Going for another 200k!
Here are a few photos of people that helped get me to that mark.
Alexandria, VA-

Arlington, VA-

Herndon, VA-

Frederick, MD!

Washington, DC-

Cookeville, TN-

Tonight I’m playing in Alabama. The odometer keeps clicking…digitally.

Country Song Demo

jon — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:05:31 +0000

For any country music fans out there, this is a song I wrote recently (click on the Country Music Demo title above). I mean, I live in Nashville now. It’s bound to happen. I tried to told back on the “twang” as much as I could:)

A Note from Home

jon — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:03:33 +0000

It’s been a great couple weeks here in Nashville! Enjoying my new place, hitting the gym, the usual stuff:) I’ve also played a couple more local house concerts, both in Mt. Juliet, TN-

And, I went back in the studio with Andy Osenga to record the third ep, “C”. The “B” ep is getting printed right now, and should arrive soon! Although most of the “C” ep will be stripped down acoustic stuff, we did add a little bit of drums and bass. Here’s a photo of how it worked-

Andy was playing bass in the control room, while Paul Eckberg (the guy on the tv) was playing drums in another room. Pretty amazing. There was also at least one member of the Beatles there:)
To make sure I don’t get too “settled in”, I’m setting out on another house concert tour tomorrow morning. Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland are on the list. Feel free to sign up on the website to host your own!
More goodness to come!

Moving

jon — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:23:23 +0000

Well, the second half of the tour really kept me moving! There were stops in Elverson, PA-

Lincoln University, PA-

Clarks Summit, PA-

Clarks Summit, PA again-

North Haledon, NJ-

Bound Brook, NJ-

and Pottstown, PA-

I arrived back in Nashville just in time to move into my new place. It’s great! And now, to make sure I can keep moving in the future, I’ve got to bring my car to the shop in the morning to have the engine smoke issue checked out…Thanks to everyone who hosted on this last tour! Your kindness moved me:)

Shooting stars and green clovers

jon — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:18:26 +0000

It was a great weekend in Western Pennsylvania! Friday night was a family cabin in Titusville-

There was plenty of wildlife (exhibit A – the antlers on the wall), stories of bear encounters, and a big yard for releasing sky lanterns (which one child determined “must be how they make stars”). With all of that, who really needs running water?:)

Saturday was Scottdale-

and we had so much fun, we did it again Sunday-

So great getting to know these families! And to the little girl who was upset that she didn’t get to talk to me before I left this morning because she was eating her Lucky Charms- I understand. Lucky Charms were always one of my favorites!

Playing for Dumbo

jon — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:04:22 +0000

Erie, PA. The beach is a little windy-

and quite beautiful-

I played last night at a place called Claytopia. The owners wanted to use the space instead of their living room, and it worked great!

Plus, Dumbo and Cinderella were in the audience-
People stayed to paint afterwards, adding color to the blank canvas. That’s the goal!