2005. It would be too easy to say ’05 sucked. So, I’ll say it was “bittersweet.” Certain words come to mind such as “bed rest,” “studio,” “keys,” “home improvement,” “twins,” “contracts,” “travel,” “hurricane,” “Yoko,” “Judas,” “sleeplessness,” “health,” “depression,” “loss,” and “Et tu, Brute?” Therefore, let’s look at the glass half full.

God blessed us with twins in March. The twins were born on Tuesday, March 8th at around 8:40 am. They were seven minutes apart. The first, Coble Alexander Hartman, weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz. The second, Kellen Andrew Hartman weighed 5 lbs. 1 oz. They’re both healthy. Carol Anne did awesome. She was only in labor a few hours. No “C” section had to be done. Carol Anne got to come home with the twins on Thursday, which happened to be her birthday. Kellen was a lil’ cold and low on blood sugar, so I didn’t have many pics of him. He had to stay in the nursery most of the time. Carol Anne and I don’t think they’re identical twins, but we won’t know until they get older. I will be neutered. Timmy finally got his “Herbie” party.

I finished basics on the new flash and html websites and wrote an album’s worth of new tunes for the band to help me arrange and track in 2006.

Midtown 51 in Pineville, NC played host to supporter Brandon Castagna’s annual birthday celebration on Friday, January 21st. Brandon used to travel with the band quite a bit. We kicked things off at 10 pm and his brother Jared performed in between sets. Midtown 51 is located on Pineville-Matthews Road near Jack in the Box and is a fine venue for original music.

On Saturday, January 29th we were interviewed by WRIR 97.3 FM in Richmond, VA from 6 pm. We discussed a failing music industry, traveling and progress on the upcoming album.

Doors opened at 8 pm when we appeared with Dave Matthews Cover Band and Tad Kell on Tuesday, February 1st at Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem, NC from 9 pm. Later that week, we performed Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC from 6:30 pm.

Special thanks to Simplified and Jared & Co. for their performances at The Evening Muse and to all the folks who joined us for a great time. The Muse is one of the best sounding rooms in Charlotte. More thanks to the folks in Richmond who caught us at Café Diem and came out to Siné. Thank you and God bless you for requesting original music. Another special thanks to Stephanie and her extremely supportive crew for traveling all over creation to finally find us at the correct addresses and locations. I apologize for the typos. I’d also like to thank Jersey girl Shaney for coming out. She grew up about an hour from where I grew up in Jersey. Small world.

I enjoyed an incredible jazz improv performance, tickling the ivories with drummer, Rick Cline, double-bassist Mike Holstein and saxist Scott McCloud at PBS renowned and nationally recognized Olde Hickory Tap Room in Hickory, NC on February 13th from 8 pm. I was also fortunate enough to play keys for Jared Allan & Co. several times at several locations throughout the course of the year.

We returned to Boardwalk Billy’s UNCC on Saturday, February 26th for the first time in three years. Phone the neighbors and wake the kids. Boardwalk Billy’s UNCC was host to our first CD release party in ’02. We’ve met some of our most dedicated fans at the UNCC location including Brandon and Jared, Dan “The Fan,” Erin, New York Stephanie and her brother (who I miss dearly), Purity, Jamie and a lot more I’m sure I’m forgetting to mention. Thank you for your years of support. Thanks to the old Boardwalk Billy’s UNCC crew for coming out. Felt like ol’ times at the Boardwalk. Thanks for the Reeses Pieces, Shaney!

Trahan’s was a lot of fun and a great place for intimate, acoustic music. If you didn’t hear JAK on that djembe, you missed out. More thanks to Stephanie, Kelly and the rest of their crew for hanging out with us. Support from our fans like this is what’s going to continue to really make a difference on my journey. Stop by Trahan’s if you get a chance. It’s a great venue for acoustic music.

We finished tracking the new studio album! Still shamelessly desperate for funding, though. Any contribution is much appreciated and will help master, duplicate and package the album. Thank you all for continuing to support original music.

Thanks to Brandon and Somer for supporting us [abridged] at The Graduate Uptown and to Stephanie, Kelly and the crew for once again making our night enjoyable. I’d also like to thank the pole dancer and her dance partner at Galway Hooker for ramming my mic down my throat. It builds character.

Thanks to all the folks in Mocksville for making our year! You made us feel like a crowd should make musicians, good or bad, feel – appreciated. You’re definitely the best music supporters we’ve seen in quite a while. Thank you for supporting live, original music. I can’t say that enough.

Thanks to the folks in Richmond for an awesome Day-After-St.-Patty’s-Day-Day! Special thanks to Debbie for dinner and Shaney and the gang for hangin’ out with us at Wild Wing.

We hit the beach running in March. I turned 31 at the end of the month and on March 31st we celebrated Tenth Street style in Conover, NC off exit 131. I called it “31 on 31 @ 131.” Tenth Street is a great place to hang out and full of folks who support live, original music. I squeezed my keys in their that night. The band is completely different than what you’re used to hearing with the acoustic. More music, less sports. Thanks to the folks in Roanoke for a great night in April and special thanks to my friends for making my little birthday party birthday so special.

We performed at Carowinds on Saturday, April 9th from 9:30 am in an effort to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). We’ve enjoyed a wonderful relationship with JDRF over the past four years, supporting one another. The Walk to Cure Diabetes is a walkathon held in more than 200 locations throughout the year. Thanks to the folks who turned out for the Walk to Cure Diabetes at Paramount’s Carowinds. Thanks to your contributions, they were able to raise 1.4 million dollars! We’d also like to thank the awesome crowd we had in Charleston. You guys know how to handle a Friday night.

We performed up in the mountains quite a bit. The weather was beautiful up there. Ya’ll came on out and made a day of it and a night out of us. I’m not sure that makes any sense.

We were invited to festival NewtonFest in Newton, NC on Saturday, April 30th from 2:20 pm. Other artists included Tampa Blue & Snakebite Hoffman from 1 pm, Elliot & the Untouchables from 3:40 pm, Contagious from 7 pm and Mac Arnold & The Plate Full of Blues from 8:30 pm.

Thanks for the great times at Midtown 51. Thanks to Dan “The Fan” and Jared for keeping us company at Angry Ale’s in May!

We hit the road pretty heavy. The great news is that we returned to Disney thanks to ET’s diligence. We were at the Rock & Roll Beach Club on Disney’s Pleasure Island from May 16th through May 19th. Thanks to those who stopped by and saw us in Conover and Charlotte before we hit the road! Special thanks to Disney for having us! It was a blast! Particular thanks to Larry, Matt and the rest of the crew for your wonderful sound engineering. Thanks to Tanya for the Star Wars tickets!

We appeared on 91.7 FM WSGE out of Dallas/Gastonia. We discussed the pros and cons of the local music scene and you heard three cuts off of the upcoming, second studio album!

A happy surprise birthday party shout-out to Tony! We performed the second annual Greater Hickory Smoke BBQ Festival at 1:30 pm on Saturday, May 28th at LP Frans Stadium in Hickory, NC. Miss Kirstin Elrod, reigning Miss North Carolina, was with us during much of the event. Other artists included Bob Sinclair, Uncle Jam, Lunatic Fringe, Moosa, Tater, King Johnson and Hobex. It also happened to be ET’s birthday! Special thanks to the folks at Café Diem in Richmond and the folks who did such a wonderful job putting together and running The Greater Hickory Smoke BBQ Festival! We were in Hickory much of that week. I saw some folks I hadn’t seen in a while at the Hickory Tavern and The Olde Hickory Tap Room! Again, thank you for supporting live, original music.

Festivals! We appeared before Pat McGee Band at Roanoke, VA’s Festival in the Park on Wednesday, June 1st from 7:30 pm. Music and entertainment was scheduled throughout all times of the festival at three locations. The featured concerts and show start-times varied slightly each day. Weekend concerts ended at 10:30 pm and weeknight concerts ended earlier. Our scheduled performance at Hickory Alive was in danger of being moved into the Olde Hickory Tap Room on the square if it continued to rain that Friday evening, but we weren’t to begin until after 9 pm if that happened. Thanks for sayin’ a lil’ prayer before ya’ll hit the sacks. It didn’t rain and we got started outside, according to schedule at 7 pm!

Phew! Lots to talk about. We’d been haulin’ tail all over creation and we’d got a regular change of pace one week. We were up in the mountains and back down to Charlotte at Smokey Joe’s where we opened for MarsupiaL. A huge shout-out to Josh at the Hickory Daily Record for putting us in the spotlight and the front page of the paper. Thanks to all of those who came out and supported us at the festivals in spite of the weather and extra special thanks to those who allowed the festivals to continue in spite of the weather. Thanks, Skip! Thanks to the folks in Virginia for a good time. Thanks to our fans for supporting us at Angry Ale’s Uptown in Charlotte, NC.

We appeared at Hickory Theatre’s annual fundraising event in the Jeffers Theatre in downtown Hickory from 6:30 pm on Monday, June 13th. Carol Anne and I were married on stage at HCT and it’s always important for me to do whatever I can to support the theatre whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Thanks to the folks at Angry Ale’s Montford for the wonderful feedback. It will go a long way. Special thanks for our new British friend who paid his respects two nights in a row. Thanks!

We headed to Virginia a week later and rounded things off with a show at Angry Ale’s Uptown in Charlotte, NC. Then we resumed work on our sophomore studio album the following Sunday. Don’t forget, you can preview two tracks off of our upcoming studio album by visiting the media page on our website!

Thanks to the folks in Virginia for a good time. Thanks to our fans for supporting us once again at Angry Ale’s Uptown in Charlotte, NC when no one else would!

We appeared in between innings like a late-night, talk show band and post-game at the Gastonia Grizzlies Baseball Game on Thursday, June 30th from 9:30 pm ’til 12 am. Sponsored by 91.7 FM, it was “Thirsty Thursday” and you could get $1 beers and sodas. Scott Jeffrey’s Band t-shirts were available at the show for only $15. Thank you for supporting live music. Only you can make it America’s #1 pass-time.

We appeared outside the Wine Vault with Jared Allan on Monday, July 4th from 6 pm ’til 10 pm. Special guests included Carol Anne Hartman on vocals and Bruce Flynn on drums. Thank you for supporting live, original music and God bless America. It doesn’t get any more apple pie than Scott Jeffrey’s Band.

Thanks to the wonderful crowds we had in Beckley, WV and Cornelius, NC! I had a lot of fun. We also got to perform outside at a private party two houses down from where American Idol’s Fantasia now lives in Charlotte! Hope she heard us! Thanks to the wonderful folks at the party for their hospitality. Happy anniversary!

We headed into the eye of Hurricane Dennis. We were lucky! We had shows in the Keys, Tallahassee and Daytona, the following week. My favorite stop was Tir na nÓg Irish Pub in Daytona Beach, FL on Friday, July 15th (my father’s birthday!) from 10 pm. What a great venue for original music and a melting pot of people from all walks of life. A group of Harry Potter fans paid homage to the release of the latest book by dressing in character and swinging by the bar to celebrate.

We added a show to July. We were going to perform at the Evening Muse for the NoDa Block Party on Saturday, July 30th from 3 pm. It rained out!

We appeared at Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem with a Phish tribute band called “Phix” from 9 pm on Wednesday, July 20th.

We rounded our travels off with a fraternity performance for Georgia Southern College in Statesboro, GA on Saturday, July 23rd from 9:30 pm ’til 12:30 am.

Safe to say, Saturday’s August 13th performance at Olde Hickory Tap Room marked the end of an era. God’s will. The unbridled energy on stage coursing through our instruments and the resulting music is a feeling and a moment I’ll never forget.

The second studio album is almost finished thanks to Janet Black, Scott Applegate and Chris Garges! We’ve only got a couple more sessions left of mastering!

’05 lessons learned? Life good. My family’s the best. I have a nasty habit of measuring performance against potential. I’m definitely guilty of that. We were a good unit. Better than most. I know we could have been a great unit. Maybe the best. On and off stage. You’re either incredibly uninformed or a disseminator of misinformation. Forgiveness does not necessarily qualify for relationship. Written contracts good. Oral contracts bad. Don’t assume all of the risks when you invest in and for other people. Never take long shots. Talent means nothing in this game if U don’t make the right choices. There’s plenty of talented people out there who never see the light of day. It takes discipline because this whole game is one big long shot. If you don’t have the discipline to stay away from the “flyers” or from the “gambles” or whatever else you wanna call a “stupid move,” then I’m afraid to say one day you’ll go down. It’s inevitable. Make a list of everything you want now and then plan on spending the next 25 years of your life getting it, slowly, piece by piece. Most importantly… trust in God.

I hope ’06 finds you all well. It will be a full-circle year for me. Back to basics, if you will. New goals. New priorities. God, family, friends & fans. In that order. I couldn’t do what I do without such a strong support system. I’m trying my hand at theatre again in March and my trio’s been debuting gradually with an album’s worth of new material. God bless.