NECKTIE SECOND 05 - Tour Pt.1

Plus, 2xLP deluxe reissue for Record Store Day! And pictures from the road!

GIG REMINDER! Tickets are on sale for my upcoming show at Vashon Center for the Arts on 3/29/25. Elaine Summers and I will be playing a bunch of songs from Necktie Second and debuting tunes from my forthcoming album, Fade Away Blue. Plus, a super special guest will be sitting in on a few numbers.

NECKTIE SECOND (DELUXE)! My debut album, Necktie Second, is being released on vinyl for the first time on April 12 as a part of Record Store Day 2025! And it’s getting the deluxe treatment. For all the details, check out this post.

Welcome to the first in a multi-part series recounting highlights from the whirlwind year and a half that followed Necktie Second’s release. Last year, to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary, I posted all about the making of the album.

My Debut Turns 30 • Recording Pt. 1 • Recording Pt. 2 • Recording Pt. 3

Necktie Second hit the streets on May 24, 1994. At the time of its release, we had no shows booked other than our record release show at Portland’s Alladin Theater. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. My team was trying to find an opening spot on a tour to no avail. We almost landed a slot with Collective Soul, who were breaking out with their first big hit, “Shine.” But that was not to be.

Eventually, we took matters into our own hands. If we can’t go out on someone else’s tour, we’ll go it alone. The label had a novel idea: a residency tour of clubs in the Northeast. The idea was to play a handful of cities seven weeks in a row.

My agent at ICM, Shelly Shaw, got busy working out the details. Here is the schedule we landed on. On Mondays, we played The Fez in New York City. Tuesday’s gig was in Boston at the Kendall Cafe. Wednesday, we hit the Tin Angel in Philly. And Friday, we graced the stage of the old 9:30 Club in D.C. On our off nights, we’d fill in with one-night stands in various towns in the area.

One of those one-nighters was opening for Freedy Johnston at the ledgendary Stone Pony in Atlantic City. This would be the first of a few encounters with the great singer-songwriter who was riding high on the success of his single “Bad Reputation.” We’ll meet up with Freedy again in future posts. Spoiler alert… before year’s end, we’ll land in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Random Notes together.

Freedy Johnston and his entourage outside the famous Stone Pony. 1994

To get out to the Northeast, we loaded up our trailer with gear and piled into our new home away from home, a white 15-passenger Ford Econoline van owned by my label, American Recordings. We had only two stops along the way. First, we braved the sweltering Summer heat in Denver for an outdoor street fair gig. Then, we stopped in Des Moines, Iowa, for a radio visit.

Gregg Williams (drums), Robert Cooper (bass), and Elaine Summers (background vocals, percussion, and guitar), who had all contributed to the record, provided the foundation of my road band. We needed another guitarist to handle lead duties. Elaine was friendly with a fantastic musician named Jeff Trott. Jeff had recently returned from a big tour with Tears for Fears. Before that, he had played with World Party and Wire Train, among others. Assuming my gig would be beneath him I called to simply ask if he could recommend anyone for the job. He enthusiastically replied, “I’ll do it!” I was thrilled to have him.

New York, Boston and Philly proved to be successful runs. New York, especially so. As I mentioned before in this post from April 26, 2023, it started modestly with an audience made up primarily of folks from the label and its distributor, WEA. But by the seventh week, it was the place to be on Monday nights. We were turning people away while adding tastemakers from Rolling Stone and MTV to our guestlist. My pal Mike McCready stopped by to sit in. The after-show hang was fun, too. I met and partied with Nile Rodgers and John McEnroe. I even shared a joint on the sidewalk outside the club with Trent Reznor.

With Jeff Trott, Mike McCready, Gregg Williams and Rob Cooper on stage at The Fez NYC. 1994

Philly was another bright spot thanks to the early support WXPN gave to the album’s lead-off single, “Straylin Street.” The first time I heard myself on the radio outside my hometown was listening to XPN on the way into Philly. What a thrill that was! I will forever be grateful to Bruce Warren, David Dye, and everyone at that wonderful station for spinning the record. (Bruce’s killer taste in music is on full display right here on Substack—check out his newsletter.)

I don’t remember the specifics, but “Straylin Street” landed on the AAA radio charts that Summer and made a pretty good showing. It didn’t reach bonafide ‘hit’ status, but it was a solid start.

XPN invited us to play their Singer-Songwriter Weekend at Penn’s Landing. Here’s Jeff and I trading hot licks.

With Jeff Trott at Penn’s Landing in Philly. 1994

Like NYC, our Boston gig at The Kendall Cafe grew week after week. Our first show started modestly with about 17 people in attendance. By the end of the seven weeks, the place was jam-packed.

By the fourth or fifth week, I got a sense of why this residency tour was a great idea. An influential music writer came to see us and explained that he was happy to finally catch a show. He explained that he’d wanted to attend since the beginning but always had another commitment that took precedence. So, in addition to growing our audience, we were increasing our chances of getting in front of important tastemakers.

Much of the success that Necktie Second would enjoy resulted from the hard work of American Recordings’ radio promotion powerhouse, Karen Durkot. Together, we made the rounds visiting radio stations, one-stops, and record stores. Killing time backstage and schlepping around from station to station, we formed a life-long friendship.

Here we are, hanging out after a show at The Kendall Cafe.

With Karen Durkot at The Kendall Cafe in Boston. 1994

The only city that did not work out so well was D.C. It was difficult to find a club that was available for seven Fridays in a row, so they decided to have our gig after hours at the famous 9:30 Club. Once the regular show had cleared out, we would load in for what they called “Insomnia.” An unknown artist playing a gig after 2 am? What could go wrong? Well, nobody showed up—no one except for Elaine’s family.

The alley behind the old 9:30 is famous for two things. It’s where John Wilkes Booth jumped out of the Ford Theater after assassinating Lincoln. And it’s teeming with super-sized rats. As we loaded out, with vermin scurrying about, I was sure Elaine’s folks would disapprove and insist she come home with them and leave this rock and roll world behind. Surprisingly, they were as supportive as could be.

After a few weeks, we relocated to a tiny club called 15 Minutes. Even though we could now play at a decent hour, things did not pick up any steam for us in the Nation’s capital. It was not until later in the year, when the great WHFS started playing the record that we gained any traction in the market. More on all that later.

Coming up next, we mount a residency tour in the Midwest.

Until then… here are a few random photos from the NE residency tour

Peace & Love Songs,

Pete

With Elaine Summers, Jeff Trott, Gregg Williams at Tower Record in Boston. 1994

The great Warren Zevon said it best, “Enjoy every sandwich.” Backstage at Penn’s Landing gig with Elaine Summers. 1994.

Van trouble. With FOH engineer & TM Mike Comstock and Two Truck Man.