"AMBITIOUS OUTSIDERS" Vol. 2

Day Two.

The Perch: Leah and I headed over to The Perch in south Nashville's Brentwood area. Gorgeous place, and really something quite different. First, they're the only independent coffeeshop in Brentwood. Also, the building is divided; one part is beautiful, sunny spa, Skin Bar, the other is The Perch. The crepes are delicious-- we did the green apple and brie crepes at recommendation of manager Troy Akers-- and the coffee is from the wonderful Leopard Forest Coffee, which, if you are unfamiliar, is worth reading about.

Leah and I did our live-stream show (give it a sec, we started recording earlier than we realized) from the shop, made a bunch of new friends, and after, we chatted with aforementioned manager Troy Akers and had a great conversation about new approaches to doing business, old approaches that are new again, his band Kennedy Rock, their upcoming show at 12th & Porter in Nashville with The Four Kicks and Death On Two Wheels on May 7th. Great guy, with nice friends.

Parthenon: Nashville has a Parthenon. A full-scale replica of the Athenian original, in fact. I visited before, most recently with Einstein while on booktour in 2006, but I thought Leah shoudl check it out, too. And, it served as a great spot to meet up with Peter Cole of Keyhole Magazine. The Peter Cole who is also now the regional director of Pilcrow South.

Lunch: Logan's is a chain, yes. But, it was also a great spot for lunch and an afternoon locally-brewed Yazoo beer so the three of us could sort the pile and get Pilcrow South all thought out. We sat in a back screen-in porch sort of room, threw peanut shells on the floor, as per the establishment custom, and, indeed, got it sorted out.

Drive #1: Graciously driven by Cole, the three of us toured all of Nashville, stopping to consider coffeeshops and bars and galleries and such for Pilcrow South venue purposes. It was Record Store Day, so music and outdoor dancing crowds seems to pop up everywhere, in an easy, casual way. We also paid a visit to Jonathan Bergey at the Keyhole Magazine offices.

Funny Meeting You: With mentions of meeting up with Jackson Miller (@jaxn on Twitter) while in Nashville, but unsure if the logistics would pan out, we were surprised to run into him working in Ugly Mugs in East Nashville. East Nashville, by the way, underwent a stunning transformation in recent years.

Tweet-Up #1: Our evening tweet-up was in two phases. The planned part and the impromptu part. The planned part was at Hotel Preston's Pink Slip bar. Truly, Hotel Preston is a gorgeous hotel, and the cutomer service is excellent. Pink Slip is a very pretty and well-appointed bar. We were joined by Peter and Annie Cole, introduced them to both the video of my "Edgar'ing" Leah's condo and a drink Leah and I like to call "a vacation in a cup", and watched a group of professional, or perhaps aspiring, dancers take to the dance floor.

Drive #2: The Coles decides Nashville's main honky tonk drag was something we needed to see, so we dove around 2nd Aveune and nearby to take in the music and bars and neon. Highlight: turning into Printer's Alley and being confronted with a giant sign reading "Naked Karaoke".

Tweep-Up #2: Landing at Beyond The Edge in East Nashville, the four of us sat on the patio, drank Yazoo Brewery's Hefeweizen, ate a bit (check out the hummus quesadillas, should you happen upon this place), drank another round, and maybe another, and were joined by Jackson Miller, Marcus Whitney and Jonathan Bergey. Bergey, a Philly native, informed me there is a Guth Elementary School in fair Philadelphia. Someone remind me to check that out when I next pass through there.