Vlog Day 22 - Greenville and Leopard Forest

Michele took me to Blue Ridge Brewing for lunch because of the ketchup. She was not joking either - the ketchup is AMAzing, as the first video demonstrates. We talked about the recent album review for 'Breathe Deep' (HERE) and how hard it is to strike the balance between being culturally relevant and maintaining excellence without giving in to the culture around you. She then showed me around some of the rest of Greenville, most notably the park that was recently renovated and the Warehouse Theater where she is part of an improv troupe and today was auditioning for a Shakespeare play. Michele said that only recently has competition between the theaters here become less cutthroat and more friendly - it's good to hear that community is being built instead of animosity.

Michele had arranged for me to go to an open mic in the evening at Leopard Forest Coffee in the town of Travelers Rest, so after a nap I headed over there. Jacob Johnson, who runs the open mic, turned out to be a great guy and a gifted musician, and I had a lot of fun listening as well as playing. I played 4 songs, the last of which, 'One Girl for Me' is on the video below, and people were really into the music. Leopard Forest Coffee itself is a really neat place - they get all their coffee from a single farm in Zimbabwe where it is specially grown (relatives of the owner), and have won numerous awards. The coffee is amazing, the atmosphere was welcoming and gracious.